MINNESOTA 5, ANAHEIM 2 AT ANAHEIM
Date: Sunday, May 26.
Batting stars: Bobby Kielty was 3-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch. A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4. Corey Koskie was 2-for-5.
Pitching stars: Eric Milton pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out four. J. C. Romero struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two walks. Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Scott Spiezio was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Jose Nieves was 2-for-3. Kevin Appier pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on nine hits and one walk while striking out three.
The game: With one out in the second, the Twins put together three consecutive singles, with Pierzynski getting the third and driving in a run to put the Twins up 1-0. The Angels got the run back in the second, as Alfredo Amezaga's two-out RBI double tied it 1-1. Each team missed a chance in the fourth, as David Ortiz hit a leadoff double but was stranded at third and the Angels got men to first and second with two out. Doug Mientkiewicz delivered a sacrifice fly in the fifth to give the Twins a 2-1 advantage. In the sixth the Twins once again put together three consecutive singles, this time with two out, as Denny Hocking got the RBI to make it 3-1. Garret Anderson hit a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth to cut the margin to 3-2. The Angels got a leadoff double from Spiezio in the seventh, but could not bring him around to tie the score. Corey Koskie had an RBI single in the eighth and Ortiz added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
WP: Mllton (7-3). LP: Appier (5-2). S: Guardado (15).
Notes: Hocking was again at second base, going 1-for-4...Milton got his ERA under five in this game. It would go back above five in his next start and would not get below it again for almost two months...Mike Jackson pitched a third of an inning and did not give up a run, dropping his ERA to 0.89...Romero's ERA went to 0.31. That was as low as it would go, but it would not be above 1.00 for another month and would end up below 2.00...Alfredo Amezaga was a rookie 2002. He appeared in five games in May and then seven more as a September call-up. He was with the Angels through 2004, was with Colorado and Pittsburgh in 2005, but did not get any substantial playing time until he went to the Marlins from 2006-2009. He had been an infielder before going to Florida, but there he was used mostly as a reserve outfielder. He did fairly well in that role for his first three years with the Marlins, batting in the .260s with an OPS in the upper .600s. He fell off in 2009, however, and was on the move again. He was in the minors for the Dodgers in 2010 and was with Colorado and the Marlins again in 2011. That ended his major league career, but he continued to play, appearing in the Cubs organization in 2012 and the Dodgers again 2013. He didn't stop then, either, going to the Mexican League, where he continues to play both summer and winter. He'll turn forty in January, but it looks like he's going to keep playing baseball somewhere as long as there's somebody who'll let him play.
Record: The Twins were 28-22, tied for first place with Chicago.