Monthly Archives: November 2020

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Thirty-six

MINNESOTA 9, BOSTON 8 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, May 11.

Batting stars:  Luis Rivas was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs.  Jacque Jones was 3-for-5 with a triple, three runs, and two RBIs.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4 with a double.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4 with a double.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Jeremy Giambi was 4-for-4 with two home runs, his third and fourth.  Manny Ramirez was 2-for-5 with a double.  Todd Walker was 2-for-5.  Nomar Garciaparra was 2-for-5.  Jason Varitek was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifth.  Bill Mueller was 1-for-5 with a home run, his third.  Ramiro Mendoza pitched two shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk.

The game:  Jones led off the bottom of the first with a single and scored on LeCroy's double.  They took a commanding lead in the second.  With one out, Mohr and Pierzynski singled, Luis Rivas had an RBI double, Jones hit a two-run triple, and a ground out scored another run.  It was 5-0 Twins after two.

The lead increased in the fourth.  Pierzynski, Rivas, and Jones all singled, loading the bases with one out.  An error scored two runs and a sacrifice fly brought home a third, making the score 8-0 after four.

Mueller homered in the fifth to get the Red Sox on the board, but it was still 8-1.  And the Twins got the run back in the bottom of the fifth when Torii Hunter and Mientkiewicz singled and a ground out brought the run home, so it was 9-1 after five.

Then the Red Sox started their comeback.  It started slowly, with one run in the sixth on singles by Walker, Garciaparra, and Trot Nixon.  With one out in the seventh Giambi and Varitek homered, Johnny Damon and Walker singled, and Ramirez hit a ground-rule double to cut the lead to 9-5.  Giambi homered again in the eighth to make it 9-6.

Then came the ninth.  The first two Boston batters went out.  Garciaparra and Ramirez singled.  Kevin Millar walked, loading the bases.  Shea Hillenbrand delivered a two-run single, making the score 9-8 and putting men on first and second.  But Bill Mueller grounded to short, and the Twins held on for the win.

WP:  Brad Radke (4-3).  LP:  Derek Lowe (3-3).  S:  Eddie Guardado (8).

Notes:  Denny Hocking replaced Corey Koskie at third base in the seventh.

Jones raised his average to .353.  LeCroy was batting .308.

Hocking was 0-for-1 and was batting .105.

Radke pitched well for six innings, but his line is 6.1 innings, five runs, ten hits, no walks, and two strikeouts.  His ERA went to 5.85.

LaTroy Hawkins gave up one run in 1.2 innings to raise his ERA to 1.84.  Guardado gave up two runs in one inning to raise his ERA to 1.84.

Record:  The Twins were 20-26, in second place in the American League Central, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.

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The War on Drugs – Under the Pressure

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Good time to play a Philly band, so that could mean...oh yeah MOAR WAR ON DRUGS

(A nice long one with some ambiance and some JAMZ for you, maybe by the time you finish listening some more of the PA count will be out) ("Up All Night" would've been fitting but I couldn't find a real good vid of just that one, maybe I'll try to find a good full concert and do the start/stop thing later)

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 6

Walter Johnson (1887)
Mack Jones (1938)
Jim Gosger (1942)
John Candelaria (1953)
Stine Poole (1958)
Chad Curtis (1968)
Don Wengert (1969)
Bubba Trammell (1971)
Deivi Cruz (1972)
Justin Speier (1973)
Adam LaRoche (1979)
James Paxton (1988)

Walter Johnson, of course, was a star for the franchise when it was in Washington, pitching from 1907 to 1927.

Justin Speier is the son of ex-Twin Chris Speier.

Stine Poole was traded by Detroit to the Twins for Sal Butera and played in the Twins minor league system for two seasons.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to brianS' mom and spookymilk's brother.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 6 →

Keeping Track

Mazatlan Recap: Game Nineteen

GUASAVE 3, MAZATLAN 1 IN GUASAVE

Batting star:  Carlos Munoz was 3-for-4 with a double.

Pitching star:  Irwin Delgado pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Fernando Miranda pitched 5.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks and striking out three.  Jesse Castillo was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.  Yosshel Hurtado retired all four men he faced, striking out one.  Rafael Cordova pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Geno Encina struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

The game:  In the second, Yadir Drake and Emmanuel Avila singled and Keven Lamas walked, loading the bases.  Samar Leyva singled home one run and a sacrifice fly brought in another.  A double play ended the inning, but Guasave had a 2-0 lead.  Castillo homered in the third to make it 3-0.

Mazatlan got on the board in the sixth.  Hector Mora singled, stole second, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a Munoz single to cut the lead to 3-1.  That's where it would stay, though.  Mazatlan got only a pair of singles after that and did not advance a man past first base.

WP:  Miranda (2-1).  LP:  Delgado (0-1).  S:  Encina (3).

Notes:  Jose Augusto Figueroa was 1-for-3 and is batting .500.  Munoz raised his average to .333.

Delgado has an ERA of 3.00.  Jeff Ibarra pitched a third of an inning without giving up a run and has an ERA of 2.08.  Hurtado's ERA is 1.69.

Each team stranded four runners and was 1-for-5 with men in scoring position.  Each team also struck out six batters.

Record:  Mazatlan is 7-12, tied for seventh place, ten games behind Obregon.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Thirty-five

BOSTON 6, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, May 10.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 3-for-5.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-5 with two home runs (his fourth and fifth) and three RBIs.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Manny Ramirez was 3-for-5 with a double.  Todd Walker was 2-for-5 with a home run (his third) and two RBIs.

The game:  Walker homered with one out in the first inning to put the Red Sox up 1-0.  Nomar Garciaparra followed with a double, went to third on a Ramirez single, and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.

The Twins tied it up in the bottom of the first.  With two out Corey Koskie walked and LeCroy hit a two-run homer to make it 2-2.  It stayed 2-2 until the sixth, when LeCroy homered again to make it 3-2 Twins.

The lead lasted until the next half-inning.  Shea Hillenbrand led off with a double and Doug Mirabelli hit a one-out double to tie it.  With two out, Walker delivered an RBI single to put Boston ahead 4-3.  That lead also lasted until the next half-inning.  With two out in the bottom of the seventh Mohr singled and Cristian Guzman tripled to tie the score 4-4.

The Red Sox got the lead back in the eighth.  Ramirez and Kevin Millar singled and Hillenbrand walked, loading the bases with one out.  Jeremy Giambi hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-4 Boston.  It went to 6-4 in the ninth when Johnny Damon led off with a double, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

The Twins rallied in the bottom of the ninth.  With one out, Doug Mientkiewicz had a pinch-hit one-out double.  Mohr singled to put men on first and third.  With two out Koskie singled to make it 6-5 and put the tying run on second and bring LeCroy up to bat.  He could not deliver a third home run, however, flying out to left to end the game.

WP:  Tim Wakefield (4-1).  LP:  Juan Rincon (1-1).  S:  Brandon Lyon (4).

Notes:  Todd Sears was at first base in place of Mientkiewicz.  Denny Hocking was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Mohr was in left in place of Jacque Jones.  Bobby Kielty was in right.

Jones came in for defense in the seventh, replacing Kielty.  Jones went to left, with Mohr moving to right.  Mientkiewicz pinch-hit for Hocking in the ninth.

Jones was 1-for-1 and was batting .344.

Hocking was 0-for-3 and was batting .111.

Kenny Rogers started for the Twins.  He pitched 6.1 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out four.  Wakefield was the Red Sox starter.  He pitched seven innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out six.

Rincon gave up two runs (one earned) in two innings to raise his ERA to 1.53.

Hocking had not played since April 21, presumably due to injury.  This was only his third start of the season.  It would be his last season with the Twins.  He was not significantly better or worse than he had been in other seasons, but his playing time was substantially decreased.  He would go on to play one year for Colorado and one for Kansas City before retiring.  He played every position but pitcher and catcher over his career, and would've been a candidate for playing all nine positions had he wanted to do that.  He played 287 games at second, 285 at short, 121 at third, 101 in right, 85 in left, 51 in center, 45 at first, and 19 at DH.  Even though he never had a regular position, he played over 100 games in six seasons.  I guess you could see he was kind of a poor man's Cesar Tovar.

The loss snapped a five game winning streak for the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 19-16, in second place in the American League Central, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.

Keeping Track

Mazatlan Recap: Game Eighteen

MAZATLAN 7, GUASAVE 6 IN GUASAVE

Batting stars:  Anthony Giansanti was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Ricardo Valenzuela was 1-for-2 with a three-run homer (his second), two walks, and two runs.  Isaac Paredes was 1-for-2 with two walks.

Pitching star:  Roberto Espinosa pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Emmanuel Avila was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Miguel Guzman was 2-for-4 with a triple and three runs.  Yadir Drake was 2-for-5 with three RBIs.  Yosshel Hurtado pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.  Manuel Chavez pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

The game:  Guasave scored in more innings, but Mazatlan had the big innings.  In the first, Guzman hit a one-out triple and scored on a sacrifice fly.  In the third, Jose Herberto Felix singled, Leo German walked, and Marco Jaime singled, loading the bases with none out.  Guzman then hit into a double play, scoring a run but taking Guasave out of the inning.  It was 2-0 through three.

Mazatlan took the lead in the fourth.  Carlos Munoz singled and Paredes walked.  A double play made it two out with a man on third, but Ramon Rios walked and Valenzuela hit a three-run homer to make it 3-2.

Mazatlan had another big inning in the sixth.  Paredes walked and Ricky Alvarez singled.  A bunt put men on second and third with one out and an intentional walk loaded the bases.  Jose Luna then hit a two-run double, and with two out Giansanti hit a two-run single, making the score 7-2.

Guasave did not give up.  With two out in the bottom of the sixth, Drake and Avila singled and Alejandro Ortiz walked, loading the bases.  Samar Leyva walked to make it 7-3, but that was all Guasave got.  In the seventh, a hit batsman and two walks loaded the bases with one out and Drake delivered a two-run single, cutting the margin to 7-5.  In the ninth Guzman singled and went to third on a Jesse Castillo double.  A ground out made it 7-6.  A wild pitch moved the tying run to third.  A hit batsman put the winning run on base.  But the next two batters struck out, and Mazatlan held on to win.

WP:  Edgar Torres (1-1).  LP:  Thomas Dorminy (1-1).  S:  Ryan Newell (3).

Notes:  Jose Augusto Figueroa was 0-for-1 and is batting .529.  Jose Luna was 1-for-3 and is batting .333.  Giansanti is batting .309.  Munoz was 0-for-3 and is batting .308.

Torres pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out none.  Espinosa lowered his ERA to 1.74.

Guasave pitchers struck out ten.  Mazatlan pitchers struck out only two--the last two batters of the game.

Guasave stranded ten and was 2-for-11 with men in scoring position.

Record:  Mazatlan is 7-11, in seventh place, nine games behind Obregon.

Next game:  Mazatlan is again at Guasave tonight.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Thirty-four

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MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, May 9.

Batting stars:  Todd Sears was 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana pitched five shutout innings, giving up four hits and a walk and striking out three.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  J. C. Romero pitched a perfect inning.  Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Jason Shiell struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a walk.  Jason Varitek was 1-for-2 with a walk.

The game:  Jones and Guzman opened the game with singles.  With one out, Sears singled to put the Twins up 1-0 in the first.

In the second, A. J. Pierzynski led off with a double and scored on a one-out single by Jones.  Guzman followed with a single.  With two out, Sears delivered a three-run homer to make it 5-0 Twins.

And that was it.  The Red Sox had some threats.  Nomar Garciaparra hit a two-out triple in the first.  Bill Mueller had a two-out double in the second.  With two out in the fourth, Shea Hllenbrand singled and Miller reached on an error.  But none of them came to anything, and the last ten Boston batters were retired.

WP:  Santana (2-0).  LP:  Pedro Martinez (3-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Sears was the DH.  There were no in-game lineup substitutions.

Jones raised his average to .338.  Sears was batting .308.

Luis Rivas was 1-for-4 and was batting .191.

Santana's ERA was 1.13.  Hawkins' ERA was 1.38.  Guardado's ERa was 0.66.

I remember that Sears hit a mammoth home run in his short career.  I'm wondering if this might have been it.  He only hit one other homer, so there's a fifty percent chance.  Memory tells me that it took out some lights on the scoreboard or something.  It was a big home run in the game, whether it was a monster homer or not.

Martinez pitched five innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out five.  He only lost four games in 2003, so this was an unusual thing.  He went 14-4, 2.22, 1.04 WHIP.  He led the league in winning percentage, ERA, FIP, WHIP, hits per nine, homers per nine, and strikeouts per nine.  He finished third in Cy Young voting, behind Roy Halladay and Esteban Loaiza, and while both of them have fine seasons you can make an argument that Martinez should have won it.  The one thing that probably hurt him is that he only made 29 starts and pitched just 186.2 innings.  Nothing wrong with that, but Halladay made 36 starts and pitched 266 innings, and eighty more innings makes a difference.  On the other hand, Halladay's ERA was a full run higher and Martinez actually struck out two more batters even though he pitched eighty fewer innings.  At any rate, Martinez was an excellent pitcher, and it was quite a thing to beat him.

This was Santana's first start of the season.  He was taking the place of Rick Reed, who missed a start due to injury.  Despite his strong start, he would go back to the bullpen.  His next start came on June 7, and he would not join the rotation until July 11.

The Twins had won consecutive games by a 5-0 score.  They had won nine of out of ten.

Record:  The Twins were 19-15, in second place in the American League Central, 1.5 games behind Kansas City.