MINNESOTA 5, TEXAS 2 IN TEXAS

Date:  Monday, May 27.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourteenth), a triple, and three RBIs.  Tom Prince was 2-for-4.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse struck out six in 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks.  Bob Wells pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning while striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Carl Everett was 3-for-4 with a double.  Rafael Palmeiro was 2-for-4 with a home run, his eleventh.  Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-5.

The game:  The Twins scored two in the second, as Guzman had an RBI single and another run scored on a ground out, to take a 2-0 lead.  It went to 4-0 in the fifth on Hunter's two-run homer.  Lohse was unscored on through five innings, although he got into trouble in both the fourth and fifth.  In the fourth, the Rangers loaded the bases on three consecutive one-out singles, but Herbert Perry hit into a double play to end the inning.  In the fifth men were on first and second with one out by Michael Young was caught looking and Rodriguez fouled out to end that threat.  Texas finally broke through in the sixth as Palmeiro led off the inning with a home run.  The Twins got the run back in the seventh as Hunter again came through, this time with an RBI triple.  The Rangers got one run in the eighth but never really threatened to get back into the game.

WP:  Lohse (4-3).  LP:  Kenny Rogers (5-3).  S:  Guardado (16).

Notes:  Jacque Jones got the day off, with Dustan Mohr leading off and playing left field.  He went 1-for-4 with a walk to make his average .307...Brian Buchanan was the DH, going 1-for-3 with a walk...Prince was once again the catcher in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  He raised his average to .321..Jay Canizaro played second base, going 0-for-3 with a walk...Hunter raised his average to .323...Bobby Kielty was 0-for-4 but was still batting .337...Mike Trombley pitched an inning and a third, giving up one run on two hits while striking out one.  This would be the last appearance of his career.  For the season he was 0-1 with an ERA of 15.75, a sad ending to what was really a fairly decent career... Kenny Rogers was the starter for Texas.  He pitched seven innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on seven hits and four walks while striking out one... Corner infielder Herbert Perry played in nine major league seasons.  2002 was the year he got the most playing time, reaching 450 at-bats.  A native of Florida, he was drafted in the second round by Cleveland in 1991 and reached the majors in 1994. spending about three weeks in May with the Indians.  He was with the big club for most of 1995 but only started 47 games and got just 162 at-bats, despite the fact that he batted .315 with an OPS of .839.  He wasn't going to replace Jim Thome, of course, and Paul Sorrento hit 25 homers at first, so he was stuck.  He the had serious knee problems, missing most of 1996, all of 1997, and most of 1998.  He made it back to the majors with Tampa Bay in 1999 but again didn't get much of a chance, starting just 57 games and getting 209 at-bats.  He was again stuck, this time behind Fred McGriff and Wade Boggs.  He was waived early in 2000 and chosen by the White Sox, who finally gave him a chance to play.  He made the most of it, batting .302 with an OPS of .818.  He could not repeat those numbers in 2001, however, and he was traded to Texas after the season.  He had a solid year in 2002, batting .276 with an OPS of .813.  By this time, however, he was thirty-two years old.  He went through injury problems again in 2003, struggled through a poor 2004, and then his career was over.  For his career, he batted .272/.335/.436 in 1696 at-bats.  He had some bad luck, both with injuries and with timing.  He had a decent enough career, but one has to think it would've been better if he'd stayed healthy and had come up with a team that could give him a chance to play.  Wikipedia says that he went back to his home town of Mayo, Florida and manages a pre-cast septic tank business.

Record:  The Twins were 29-22, in first place by a game over Chicago.

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.