ANAHEIM 4, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Tuesday, July 16.
Batting stars: Cristian Guzman was 3-for-5 with a double and a home run, his sixth. Torii Hunter was 2-for-3 with a walk. Tom Prince was 1-for-2 with a walk.
Pitching stars: Eric Milton pitched six innings, giving up three runs on four hits and a walk and striking out three. Michael Jackson pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.
Opposition stars: Jarrod Washburn pitched six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out four. Troy Glaus was 2-for-4. Garret Anderson was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his seventeenth.
The game: The Twins got two singles and a walk in the first inning but did not score. They got on the board in the third when Guzman hit a one-out homer to give them a 1-0 lead. It didn't last long, as Anderson hit a two-run homer in the fourth to put the Angels up 2-1. Guzman struck again in the fifth, tying the game with an RBI double. Again, Anaheim struck right back in the sixth, as Glaus delivered an RBI single to give the Angels a 3-2 lead. They got an insurance run in the ninth as Bengie Molina singled home a run. The Twins got the tying run up to bat in the ninth, as Corey Koskie led off with a walk. David Ortiz drew a two-out walk to put the tying run on base and bring Guzman up to bat. Unfortunately, he could not come through again, as he grounded out to end the game.
WP: Jarrod Washburn (11-2). LP: Eric Milton (11-7). S: Ben Weber (2).
Notes: Jacque Jones was held out of the lineup, with Guzman in the leadoff spot.
Michael Cuddyer was at first base, with Doug Mientkiewicz out of the lineup. Cuddyer was 0-for-3.
Prince got the start at catcher, with A. J. Pierzynski out of the lineup.
Matthew LeCroy was the DH, with Ortiz out of the lineup. LeCroy went 0-for-3.
Denny Hocking started at third base, with Koskie out of the lineup. Hocking went 1-for-4 with a double.
Jones, Mientkiewicz, Pierzynski, Ortiz, and Koskie all were used as pinch-hitters. They were 0-for-3 with two walks.
2002 was the best year Jarrod Washburn had. He came up to the majors in 1998, but each year between 1998 and 2000 was split between AAA and Anaheim. He finally stayed in 2001 and did well, going 11-10, 3.77. In 2002 he was one of the best pitchers in baseball, going 18-6, 3.15, 1.18 WHIP. He finished fourth in Cy Young balloting. He wasn't able to match that, but remained a solid rotation starter for the Angels through 2005. A free agent after the season, he signed with Seattle. He was adequate there for two years, but in 2008 he went 5-14, 4.69, 1.46 WHIP. He bounced back in 2009, going 8-6, 2.64, 1.07 WHIP through the end of July, when he was traded to Detroit. He then collapsed, posting a 7.33 ERA in eight starts for the Tigers. Unfortunately, that was the end of his career. He became a free agent, did not sign with anyone, and announced his retirement in May of 2010. At last report, he was a high school baseball coach at his alma mater of Webster High School in Webster, Wisconsin.
Record: The Twins were 54-41, in first place, leading Chicago by nine games.