2002 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-eight

CLEVELAND 8, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, September 26.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 2-for-2 with a home run (his twenty-ninth), a double, and a walk.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4.  Tom Prince was 1-for-1 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Brad Radke struck out six in six innings, giving up two runs on four hits and no walks.  Juan Rincon pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Brandon Phillips was 3-for-4 with a triple, two doubles, and a hit-by-pitch, driving in four.  Coco Crisp was 3-for-5 with two doubles.  Greg LaRocca was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  There was no score until the fourth, when Brandon Phillips tripled and scored on a Lee Stevens single.  Hunter homered leading off the bottom of the fourth to tie it 1-1.  The Twins took a 3-1 lead in the fifth, scoring the lead run on a sacrifice fly and getting an insurance run on Hunter's double.  A sacrifice fly for the Indians in the sixth cut the lead to 3-2.  Cleveland went into the lead in the seventh, as a LaRocca single was followed by doubles by Chris Magruder, Crisp, and Phillips, putting the Indians up 5-3.  Prince hit an RBI double in the eighth to bring the Twins within one at 5-4.  In the ninth, however, Cleveland loaded the bases with one out and Phillips unloaded them with a three-run double, putting the game out of reach.

WP:  Ryan Drese (10-9).  LP:  Mike Jackson (2-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Jacque Jones was again out of the lineup, although he was used as a pinch-hitter.  Michael Ryan was the leadoff batter and played left field, going 0-for-5.

Michael Cuddyer was in right, going 1-for-4.

A. J. Pierzynski was 0-for-3, making his average .302.

Kevin Frederick made his last appearance as a Twin in this game.  It did not go well.  He pitched the ninth, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk.  He did strike out two.

Mark Wohlers made his next-to-last major league appearance in this game, throwing a perfect inning.  He would pitch against Kansas City two days later, giving up one hit but going unscored upon.

Record:  The Twins were 91-67, in first place, leading Chicago by 10.5 games.