MINNESOTA 5, TORONTO 4 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)
Date: Saturday, July 27.
Batting stars: Corey Koskie was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Torii Hunter was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base, his seventeenth.
Pitching stars: Eric Milton struck out six in six innings, giving up two runs on five hits. Bob Wells struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk. J. C. Romero pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up two walks and striking out one.
Opposition stars: Shannon Stewart was 2-for-5 with two doubles. Josh Phelps was 2-for-4. Dave Berg was 1-for-4 with a double.
The game: The Twins scored four in the third to take a 4-0 lead. Guzman had an RBI double, Koskie brought him home with a single, and Hunter delivered a two-run double. The Blue Jays missed a chance in the fifth, stranding two runners, but broke through in the sixth on a Jose Cruz double and a run-scoring ground out. LaTroy Hawkins, who was having an outstanding season, came on in the seventh and gave up consecutive singles. He retired the next two batters on ground outs, one of which scored a run, but Stewart doubled to send home the tying run. Berg led off the ninth with a double but did not advance past second. In the tenth, Bobby Kielty led off with a single and was bunted to second. Guzman was intentionally walked, but Koskie came through with a double to deep right-center to bring home the winning run.
WP: Wells (1-1). LP: Kelvim Escobar (5-5). S: None.
Notes: Kielty was used as a pinch-hitter for Luis Rivas, who had gone 0-for-3. Dustan Mohr started in right.
Hunter raised his average to .311.
Mohr went 0-for-4 and was batting .303.
Despite giving up two runs, Hawkins still had an ERA of just 1.59. He had not given up a run since June 12.
Romero brought his ERA down to 1.95.
Kelvim Escobar was used as both a starter and a reliever at various points in his career. He came up to the Blue Jays in 1997, a year which he began in Class A. He made 27 appearances with Toronto, posting an ERA of 2.90 but a WHIP of 1.52, largely due to the fact that he walked 5.5 batters per nine innings. He struck out 10.5, though. He started 1998 in the Blue Jays bullpen but was pretty awful, and so he went down to AAA to get used to starting again, the role he had filled in his minor league career. He came back in August to make ten starts and did pretty well. He was in the Blue Jays' rotation for most of 1999-2000 and did not do well, however, so he started 2001 back in the bullpen. He did fairly well as a setup man and was moved back into the rotation in August, where he did even better. 2002 found him installed as the Blue Jays' closer, and while he had 38 saves his other numbers were not good: 5-7, 4.27, 1.53 WHIP. He was back starting in 2003, was not all that good there either, and after the season Toronto allowed him to become a free agent. He signed with the Angels and had his best years there. From 2004-2007 he went 43-35, 3.60, 1.26 WHIP. The main difference seems to have been his control, as he went from walking 4.2 batters per nine innings before 2005 to walking just 3.0 after. He missed much of 2005 and all of 2008 due to injury. He tried to come back in 2009, but was able to make just one start. He tried again in 2013, going to spring training with Milwaukee, but did not make the team. He pitched in Mexico that season, but then his playing career was over. He was still hoping to make a comeback in 2014, but could find no takers. He was up and down, but overall his numbers are okay--101-91, 4.15, 1.38 WHIP. He is a cousin of Alcides Escobar and Edwin Escobar. At last report, Kelvim Esocbar was living in the Miami area.
Record: The Twins were 63-42, in first place, leading Chicago by fourteen games.