MINNESOTA 5, TEXAS 4 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Sunday, July 14.
Batting stars: David Ortiz was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run, his sixth. Denny Hocking was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Michael Cuddyer was 2-for-2 with a double.
Pitching stars: Kyle Lohse pitched seven innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk and striking out six. Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning.
Opposition stars: Dave Burba pitched six innings, giving up one run on five hits and two walks and striking out three. Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with two home runs (his thirtieth and thirty-first) and a walk, driving in three.
The game: The Twins loaded the bases with one out in the second but did not score. In the fifth, Bill Haselman singled home a run to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Alex Rodriguez homered in the second to make it 2-0. The Twins finally got on the board in the seventh. Bobby Kielty led off with a home run, making it 2-1, and later in the inning Luis Rivas lined a two-run single to give the Twins the lead at 3-2. It didn't last long, as Alex Rodriguez struck again in the eighth, hitting a two-run homer to give Texas a 4-3 advantage. That didn't last long, either. Torii Hunter led off the eighth with a home run to tie it and Ortiz made it back-to-back homers and put the Twins back in front 5-4. Guardado retired the side in order in the ninth to secure the Twins win.
WP: J. C. Romero (5-1). LP: Colby Lewis (1-2). S: Guardado (28).
Notes: Cuddyer pinch-hit for Jacque Jones in the seventh...Rivas was not in the starting lineup. He replaced Cristian Guzman at the start of the second inning. He went to second base, with Hocking moving from second to short. Guzman would be back in the lineup the next day...Romero faced only two batters to get the win. He came in with two out and none on in the eighth and the Twins trailing 4-3. He walked Rafael Palmeiro but retired Herbert Perry on a popup...Colby Lewis was in the first year of an interesting career. He would appear in the next Rangers game, then go back to AAA, coming back as a September call-up. He made 26 starts for Texas in 2003 and went 10-9, but with a 7.30 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP. He made three starts for the Rangers in 2004, then was injured and did not come back until 2006. By this time he was with Detroit, having been waived by Texas. He was mostly in AAA for the Tigers that season, making two appearances in the majors. He signed with Washington for 2007, was released in spring training, and signed with Oakland. He split the season between AAA and the majors, doing very well in the former and not well at all in the latter. He then went to Japan for two years, where he pitched extremely well. He came back to the United States in 2010 at age thirty, signed with Texas again, and had three solid seasons for the Rangers. He got hurt again, making just seven minor league starts in 2013. He came back to be in the Rangers rotation for three more seasons, 2014-2016 and did fairly well. He wanted to pitch in 2017, but the Rangers only offered him a minor league contract, and so he retired to become a special assistant to the Rangers' general manager. His career numbers are nothing to shout about. 77-72, 4.70, 1.34 WHIP. At his best, though, he was pretty good. He was also pretty good in the post-season: 4-1, 3.11, 1.18 WHIP in 55 innings.
Record: The Twins were 53-40, in first place, leading Chicago by nine games.