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.