MINNESOTA 5, ANAHEIM 1 IN ANAHEIM

Date:  Friday, May 24.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 2-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and two hit-by-pitches.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his thirteenth.

Pitching star:  Rick Reed pitched a complete game, giving up one run on three hits and no walks while striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Brad Fullmer hit a home run, his fourth.  Donne Wall retired all five batters he faced.

The game:  Jones led off the game with a home run and the Twins led all the way.  Jones and Cristian Guzman led off the third with singles.  The next two batters flied out, but Hunter's fly ball went over the fence to make the score 4-0.  Pierzynski hit a home run with one out in the fourth to put the Twins up 5-0.  Reed took it from there.  He gave up a one-out single to Darin Erstad in the first and did not give up another hit until Fullmer's home run leading off the fifth.  The only other Angels hit was a Bengie Molina single with two out in the eighth.

WP:  Reed (5-2).  LP:  Ramon Ortiz (4-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Corey Koskie returned to the lineup, going 0-for-3.  Casey Blake, who had played some third in his absence, went back to the minors.  Jay Canizaro, who had also been playing some third in Koskie's absence, would stay until the end of May, then go back to the minors as well...Denny Hocking remained at second in place of Luis Rivas, going 1-for-4...This was one of two complete games for Reed in 2002 and was the batter of the two, at least by game scores...This was the best year, and really the only good year, that Ramon Ortiz would have.  He went 15-11, 3.77, 1.18 WHIP.  It was the only year he had an ERA under four and one of just four seasons (out of twelve) in which he had an ERA under five.  It was one of only two times in his career that he led the league in anything.  Unfortunately for him, it was home runs allowed, with forty.  He had a FIP of 4.87 as a result.  The other time he led the league in something was 2006, when he led the league in losses with 16.  He was, of course, a Twin for part of 2007.  He got off to a good start, but by the end of May he was pitching the way he had always pitched.  He ended his career 87-86, 4.95, 1.43 WHIP.

Record:  The Twins were 27-21, tied for first place with Chicago.