Game 6 back at Houston. Normally this would be good news for Houston but in this world series the home team has lost every game. Does that continue today or is there a regression to the normal and Houston wins this one and the World Series? Strasburg vs. Verlander so should be a doozy of a pitching match-up.
First Pitch at 7:07p on Fox.
Minnesota vs. Dallas in the battle of two teams trying to recover from really bad starts.
The Wild are back on the road again. They still only have one uninspiring win away from home. They've scored only 10 goals in 7 road games and have been shut out in both of their last two on the road.
Dallas started 1-7-1, then have won 3 of their last 4. They've really struggled to score at home (8 goals in 6 games), so don't expect firewagon hockey tonight. A divisional opponent without a dangerous offense? Sounds like a good one to win.
The Poissonnière was quite excited to see the season’s first blanket of snow on the ground when she woke up this morning, which made me glad. I’ve been trying to help calibrate her sense of cold weather, being very mindful to not describe temps above freezing as “cold,” and resisting some pressure to bundle her up when the fall weather turns chilly. That’s not an easy balance when each parent has pretty disparate thresholds for cold tolerance. But I do think people are generally happier if they don’t view the weather as intimidating or oppressive in some way.
Date: Wednesday, May 1.
Batting stars: Dan Gladden was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second. Kent Hrbek was 0-for-1 with three walks.
Pitching star: Scott Erickson pitched a complete game shutout, giving up two hits and one walk and striking out seven.
Opposition star: Greg Harris pitched seven shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks and striking out six.
The game: It was a pitchers' duel, as you probably guessed from the score. Neither team got a man on base until the bottom of the third, when Greg Gagne hit a two-out double. Gladden then reached on an error, but Chuck Knoblauch grounded out to end the inning. The Red Sox got men to first and second with two out in the fourth on an error and a walk, but nothing came of it. Boston got its first hit in the sixth on a two-out single by Jody Reed, but he remained at first base. Gladden got to third in the sixth when he led off with a single, took second on a ground out, and advanced to third on a fly ball, but that was as far as he got. Tom Brunansky had a two-out double int he seventh but did not advance. In the bottom of the seventh, Gene Larkin led off with a single, went to second on a ground out, and took third with one down on a pickoff error, but Mike Pagliarulo fanned and Gagne popped up to end the threat.
Finally, in the bottom of the eighth, Gladden led off with a home run. The Red Sox went down in order in the ninth, and in fact did not get a baserunner after Brunansky's double.
WP: Erickson (3-2). LP: Jeff Gray (1-2). S: None.
Notes: Larkin was again in right field, with Puckett in center. Shane Mack came in to play center in the ninth, with Puckett moving to right. Al Newman replaced Pagliarulo at third base in the ninth inning. Junior Ortiz was once again Erickson's catcher.
Larkin was 1-for-3 and was batting .382. Puckett was 0-for-4 to go to .325. Knoblauch was 0-for-4 and was batting .316. Gagne was 1-for-3 to go to .304. Erickson had an ERA of 1.58. He threw 125 pitches.
Gladden finally got above the Mendoza line at .205. Hrbek was batting .179. Pagliarulo was 0-for-3 and was batting .188.
Erickson was in his first full season and was twenty-three years old. In his first five starts, he averaged 115 pitches per start and had exceeded 120 three times. It's safe to say that would not happen today.
The two teams combined to go 0-for-9 with men in scoring position.
By game scores this was Erickson's best game of the season with a score of 89. His next best was against the Yankees on June 24, when he had an 88. His line scores were nearly identical: nine innings, two hits, no runs, one walk. The only difference is that he struck out seven in this game and six in the game in June.
I hadn't remembered that Larkin played so much right field in 1991. He made 39 starts there. When you're batting .382, they find ways to get you in the lineup. He obviously didn't do that all season, but he still had a fine year.
Hrbek wasn't hitting, but the Red Sox clearly still respected him. They walked him three times, once intentionally.
After their 2-9 start, the Twins had now won eight of ten.
Record: The Twins were 10-11, tied for fourth place in the American League West with California, four games behind Oakland.
Charlie Ebbets (1859)
Solly Hofman (1882)
Pete Richert (1939)
Jim Bibby (1944)
Darrell Brown (1955)
Terry Felton (1957)
Jesse Barfield (1959)
R. A. Dickey (1974)
Karim Garcia (1975)
Scott Randall (1975)
Dana Eveland (1983)
Jose Mijares (1984)
Charlie Ebbets was the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1898-1925. Ebbets Field was named after him.
Solo, Acoustic. Live on KEXP (Seattle), 2012.
(3 votes, average: 6.67 out of 10)
Loading... I hope Wiggins decides if he’s going to be good or bad this year, because I think it will be even worse not knowing what you’re going to get from moment to moment.
Date: Tuesday, April 30.
Batting stars: Scott Leius was 2-for-2 with a two-run homer, a walk, and two runs. Dan Gladden was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.
Pitching stars: None.
Opposition stars: Carlos Quintana was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer. Jack Clark was 2-for-4. Mike Greenwell was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer (his third), a double, and two runs.
The game: The Red Sox opened the scoring in the second. Clark led off with a single, Ellis Burks doubled, and Tom Brunansky hit a two-run single to give Boston a 2-0 lead. It went to 4-0 in the third, as Jody Reed hit a one-out single followed by Greenwell's two-run homer.
The Twins got back into the game in the bottom of the third. Gene Larkin singled and Leius hit a two-run homer. It did not kill the rally, as Gladden got a one-out single and scored on Chuck Knoblauch's double to cut the lead to 4-3.
The Twins loaded the bases with none out in the fifth on a single, an error, and a walk, but a force out and a double play ended the inning. The Red Sox put men on first and second with one out in the seventh, but a fly out and a pop up took care of that. In the bottom of the seventh, the Twins took their only lead of the game. With one out, Leius walked, Greg Gagne singled, and Gladden delivered a two-run double to make it 5-4 Twins.
The lead didn't last long. Greenwell led off the eighth with a double. With one out, Burks walked. Tom Brunansky popped up and it looked like the Twins might get out of it, but Quintana hit a three-run homer to give Boston a 7-5 advantage. That was pretty much it, as the only offense the Twins could manage after that was a two-out single by Randy Bush in the eighth.
WP: Jeff Gray (1-1). LP: Steve Bedrosian (2-1). S: Jeff Reardon (8).
Notes: Kirby Puckett was again in center, with Larkin in right. Shane Mack came in for defense in the eighth, playing center with Puckett moving to right. When the Twins fell behind, Bush pinch-hit for Mack in the bottom of the eighth and stayed in the game in right field, with Puckett moving back to center.
Larkin was 1-for-3 and was batting .387. Puckett was 0-for-3 with a walk and was batting .342. Knoblauch was 1-for-5 and was batting .333. Brian Harper was 1-for-4 and was batting .327. Gagne was 1-for-3 and was batting .302. Chili Davis was 0-for-4 and was batting .302.
On the other hand, Al Newman went 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter and was batting .158. Bush was 1-for-1 as a pinch-hitter and was batting .167. Kent Hrbek was 0-for-4 and closed out April batting .182. Gladden raised his average to .188.
Neither starting pitcher did that well, although they both got fairly deep into the game. Allan Anderson pitched six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and no walks and striking out none. In thirty-one inning, he had just six strikeouts. Boston starter Matt Young pitched 6.1 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out three.
I had completely forgotten that Jack Clark ended his career with the Red Sox. He was with them two seasons, 1991-1992. He was thirty-five in 1991 and was not what he had been, but he still hit 28 homers and had an OPS of .840. It was his last good year, though. He batted .210 as a part-time player in 1992 and then was done.
Mike Greenwell never became the star that some thought he would early in his career, but he still had a fine career. He was fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 1987 (behind Mark McGwire, which was understandable, but also behind Kevin Seitzer and Matt Nokes). He was second in MVP voting the next year, in 1988 (behind 40-40 man Jose Canseco), even though statistically his season was almost identical to 1987. He batted .300 or better five times and twice batted .297. He had an OPS over .800 seven times. In his last major league season, 1996, he batted .295 with an OPS of .777. He was only thirty-two at that point, and one would've thought he could continue for a while. Instead, he went to Japan, played in just seven games for Hanshin, and retired. It appears that injuries made him decide that playing baseball was just not worth it anymore. He raced stock cars and trucks for several years and now lives on a ranch in Florida. His son, Bo Greenwell, played in the minors for eight seasons, reaching AA. His nephew, Joey Terdoslavich, played for the Atlanta Braves for parts of three seasons.
Record: The Twins were 9-11, in sixth place in the American League West, four games behind Oakland. They were one game behind fifth place Seattle and a half game ahead of seventh place Kansas City.
Tommy Tucker (1863)
Frank Smith (1879)
Doc Lavan (1890)
Johnny Neun (1900)
Joe Page (1917)
Bob Veale (1935)
Sammy Stewart (1954)
Bob Melvin (1961)
Lenny Harris (1964)
Larry Casian (1965)
Juan Guzman (1966)
Braden Looper (1974)
Nate McLouth (1981)
Jeremy Bonderman (1983)
Daniel Palka (1991)
This is my thirtieth wedding anniversary. Coincidentally, it's Mrs. A's thirtieth wedding anniversary, too. She has announced that she is picking up my option for another year, for which I am most grateful.
Johnny Neun managed two major league teams, the Yankees in 1946 and Cincinnati from 1947-1948. Each time, he was replaced by someone who was nicknamed “Bucky”.
This is the opening theme from the first season of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
(3 votes, average: 8.67 out of 10)Loading... 
