CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN CLEVELAND
Date: Thursday, September 12.
Batting stars: Bobby Kielty was 2-for-2 with a home run (his tenth) and two walks. A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4. David Ortiz was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eighteenth.
Pitching star: LaTroy Hawkins pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.
Opposition stars: Jim Thome was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Karim Garcia was 2-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth. John McDonald was 2-for-3.
The game: Luis Rivas drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Twins a 1-0 lead in the second inning. There was no more scoring until the sixth, when Kielty hit a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 3-0. The Indians got on the board in the bottom of the sixth when Garcia homered to cut the lead to 3-1. With the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, Omar Vizquel hit a bases-clearing double to put Cleveland up 4-3 and Thome followed with a double to make it 5-3. Ortiz homered in the eighth to bring the Twins within one at 5-4. The Twins opened the ninth with singles by Kielty and Pierzynski. A bunt moved the runners to second and third and Jacque Jones was intentionally walked. Cristian Guzman hit into a forceout at the plate and Corey Koskie struck out to end the game.
WP: Jerrod Riggan (2-1). LP: Joe Mays (3-7). S: Danys Baez (3).
Notes: Pierzynski raised his batting average to .307.
Mays pitched well until the seventh. His line, however, is 6.1 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk and striking out four.
The Indians starter was C. C. Sabathia. He pitched six innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks and striking out five.
Jerrod Riggan had one good season in the majors. It was 2001, when he was with the Mets. He went 3-3, 3.40, 1.39 WHIP in 47.2 innings (35 games). He was traded to Cleveland after that season and was up and down three times with the Indians in 2002. He pitched 33 innings (29 games) and went 2-1, 7.64, 2.16 WHIP. He made two more appearances in 2003 and then was done. His career numbers are 5-4, 5.19, 1.71 WHIP in 86.2 innings (67 games). When I say "done", I mean done in the majors. He pitched for two seasons in Japan and made 14 appearances in the minors for the Mets in 2005 before his playing career ended.
Record: The Twins were 85-62, in first place, leading Chicago by thirteen games.