Monthly Archives: January 2021

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Ninety-nine

SEATTLE 10, MINNESOTA 8 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, July 22.

Batting stars:  Shannon Stewart was 3-for-5 with a home run, his eighth.  Luis Rivas was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  James Baldwin pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up no hits and three walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Randy Winn was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer (his fourth) and two runs.  Dan Wilson was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Mark McLemore was 2-for-5 with a double, a walk, and two runs.  John Olerud was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs.  Julio Mateo pitched 4.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits and no walks and striking out three.

The game:  The Mariners loaded the bases with none out in the second.  They scored one on a ground out and Wilson then delivered a two-run double, giving Seattle a 3-0 lead.  The Twins came right back with two in the bottom of the second.  A. J. Pierzynski doubled and scored on a Jacque Jones single.  Chris Gomez singled to put runners on the corners and a ground out cut the margin to 3-2.

The Twins appeared to take control of the game in the third.  A single, a walk, and an infield single tied the score.  A hit batsman loaded the bases, Justin Morneau walked to force in a run, another scored on a wild pitch, one more scored on a sacrifice fly, and Cristian Guzman hit an RBI single to give the Twins a seemingly comfortable 7-3 lead.

The Marines did not agree, however.  Bret Boone hit a two-run homer in the fifth to make it 7-5.  In the sixth, a walk and two singles loaded the bases.  Olerud had a single-plus-error to bring home three runs and Winn followed with a two-run homer, putting Seattle up 10-7.

The Twins got one back in the bottom of the sixth when Stewart homered, but that was as good as it got.  The Twins got only one more hit after that, Stewart's leadoff single in the ninth.  A double play erased him and a ground out ended the game.

WP:  Mateo (2-0).  LP:  Joe Mays (8-7).  S:  Shigetoshi Hasegawa (7).

Notes:  Gomez remained at third in place of Corey Koskie.  Stewart was in right field.  Morneau was the DH.

Todd Sears, who was back up for a couple of weeks, pinch-hit for Rivas in the ninth.

Jones was 1-for-3 and was batting .307.  Stewart went up to .306.

Rick Reed started and pitched five innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks.  He struck out five.  His ERA was 5.06.  Mays allowed five runs in two-thirds of an inning, raising his ERA to 6.77.  Baldwin lowered his ERA to 2.57.

Freddy Garcia started for the Mariners but lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits and two walks.  He struck out two.  His ERA jumped to 5.05.  By game scores this was only his third-worst game of the season.  His ERA would reach a high of 5.57 on August 1.  He would then turn things around, and gave up just two earned runs in his last four starts of the season (27 innings) to end with an ERA of 4.51.

I can't think of Shigetoshi Hasegawa without remembering how Bert Blyleven struggled to pronounce his name.

The loss snapped the Twins' five-game winning streak and dropped them back below .500.  It also dropped them back into third place.

Record:  The Twins were 49-50, in third place in the American League Central, 5.5 games behind Kansas City.  They were a half game behind second-place Chicago.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 8

Walker Cooper (1915)
Jim Busby (1927)
Gene Freese (1934)
Reno Bertoia (1935)
Bruce Sutter (1953)
Ramon Romero (1959)
Randy Ready (1960)
Brian Boehringer (1969)
Jason Giambi (1971)
Mike Cameron (1973)
Carl Pavano (1976)
Jeff Francis (1981)
Jeff Francoeur (1984)

Three players named Jeff were born on this day.  In addition to the two listed above, this is also the birthday of Jeff Hoffman of the Colorado Rockies.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 8 →

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of January 6

MAZATLAN

MAZATLAN 7, HERMOSILLO 6 IN MAZATLAN (GAME 4)

Ricardo Valenzuela hit a two-run homer in the fourth to give Mazatlan a 4-2 lead.  They built the lead to 7-3, then held on as Hermosillo scored three in the ninth and had the tying run on third when the game ended.  Irwin Delgado struck out six in six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk.  Hermosillo out-hit Mazatlan 10-6.

Record:  Mazatlan stayed alive, but still trails the best-of-seven series 1-3.

Next game:  Mazatlan again hosts Hermosillo tonight.

GIGANTES

ESTRELLAS 7, GIGANTES 6 AT ESTRELLAS (GAME 4)

Fernando Tatis had a two-run triple in a four-run seventh that put the Estrellas up 7-4.  The Gigantes scored two in the ninth and had the tying run on first when the game ended.  The Gigantes stranded 13 and went 2-for-15 with men in scoring position.  Oneil Cruz was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and three runs.  Jose Siri was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.  Kelvin Gutierrez was 3-for-5.  Moises Sierra was 2-for-4 with a double.

Record:  The Gigantes missed a chance for a sweep, but they still lead the best-of-seven series 3-1.

Next game:  The Gigantes host the Estrellas tonight.

LARA, GAME 35

LARA 2, MARGARITA 0 IN LARA

Lara scored both their runs in the second inning.  Osman Marval was 2-for-3.  It was a bullpen game for Lara.  The starter, Leonel Aponte, pitched 2.2 innings, giving up three hits and two walks and striking out three.

Stats:  Ex-Twin Jermaine Palacios was 1-for-3 and is batting .600.  Cesar Puello was 1-for-4 and is batting .357.  Carlos Rivero was 0-for-4 and is batting .340.  Yordanys Linares was 1-for-4 and is batting .325.  Vicente Campos pitched a scoreless inning and has an ERA of 1.84.  Pedro Rodriguez pitched a scoreless inning and has an ERA of 2.57.

Record:  Lara is 22-13, in first place in the Venezuelan League West, two games ahead of Magallanes.

Next game:  Lara hosts Magallanes for a doubleheader Friday.

MAYAGUEZ

No game scheduled.  Mayaguez leads Manati in the best-of-seven series 1-0.  However, playing the rest of the series is uncertain due to COVID concerns.  If the series is not completed, Caguas, which had the best record during the regular season, will be declared the champion.

MELBOURNE

Melbourne did not play on January 6.  They are at Canberra on January 7.  They are in second place with a record of 5-3.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Ninety-eight

MINNESOTA 5, SEATTLE 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, July 21.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 3-for-4 with a home run, his seventeenth.  Chris Gomez was 3-for-4.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base, his ninth.  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his seventh.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks and striking out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition star:  Willie Bloomquist was 2-for-4.

The game:  Stewart led off the bottom of the first with a double and scored on a pair of ground outs to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  In the second Jones and Gomez opened with singles and a double play scored a run.  Guzman then doubled and scored on a Stewart single to make it 3-0 Twins.  Hunter homered in the third to give the Twins a 4-0 advantage.

It looked like that would hold up, as the Mariners did not get a man past first for six innings.  With two out in the seventh, however, Mike Cameron doubled, Ben Davis walked, and Mark McLemore hit a two-run double.  Bloomquist singled to put men on the corners, and consecutive RBI singles by Ichiro Suzuki and Randy Winn tied the score.

The Twins put men on first and third in the seventh but did not score.  In the eighth, however, singles by Hunter and Jones again put men on the corners, and this time Gomez delivered an RBI single to put the Twins ahead 5-4.  Seattle went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Juan Rincon (2-3).  LP:  Arthur Rhodes (2-3).  S:  Guardado (23).

Notes:  A. J. Pierzynski was back behind the plate after missing a couple of games.  Gomez remained at third in place of Corey Koskie.  Stewart was the DH.

Justin Morneau pinch-hit for Luis Rivas in the seventh and walked.  Denny Hocking pinch-ran for him and stayed in the game at second base.

Jones raised his average to .307.  Stewart went up to .301.

LaTroy Hawkins gave up a run in a third of an inning and raised his ERA to 2.64.  Juan Rincon struck out both men he faced to drop his ERA to 2.96.

Joel Piniero started for the Mariners and pitched 6.2 innings.  He gave up four runs on ten hits and a walk and struck out three.

Edgar Martinez walked and singled.  In both cases he was forced at second base.  He did not bat again, as John Mabry pinch-hit for him in the seventh.  I don't know if Martinez injured himself sliding into second or if something else was going on.  He would miss the rest of the series, but would be back in the lineup after that.

The Twins had won five in a row and climbed back to .500.  This was the first time they had won five in a row since May 4-9.

Record:  The Twins were 49-49, in second place in the American League Central, 5.5 games behind Kansas City.  They were a half game ahead of third-place Chicago.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 7

Kitty Bransfield (1875)
Al Todd (1902)
Johnny McCarthy (1910)
Johnny Mize (1913)
Alvin Dark (1922)
Dick Schofield (1935)
Jim Hannan (1940)
Jim Lefebvre (1942)
Tony Conigliaro (1945)
Joe Keough (1946)
Ross Grimsley (1950)
Bob Gorinski (1952)
Jeff Montgomery (1962)
Craig Shipley (1963)
Allan Anderson (1964)
Rob Radlosky (1974)
Alfonso Soriano (1976)
Eric Gagne (1976)
Brayan Pena (1982)
Francisco Rodriguez (1982)
Edwin Encarnacion (1983)
Jon Lester (1984)
Jhoulys Chacin (1988)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 7 →

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of January 5

MAZATLAN

HERMOSILLO 1, MAZATLAN 0 (GAME 3)

The game's lone run came in the eighth, when Alex Robles singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a two-out single by Luis Alfonso Cruz.  Mazatlan had just four hits, all singles, but drew five walks.  They stranded nine and were 0-for-7 with men in scoring position.  Carlos Munoz was 1-for-2 with two walks.  Matt Gage pitched six shutout innings, giving up no hits and three walks and striking out two.  He threw 97 pitches.

Record:  Mazatlan is 0-3 in the best-of-seven series.

Next game:  Mazatlan hosts Hermosillo tonight.

GIGANTES

The Gigantes did not play.  They lead their best-of-seven series with the Estrellas 3-0.  They are at the Estrellas tonight.

LARA, GAME 34

LARA 6, MARGARITA 3 IN MARGARITA

Osman Marval's three-run homer in the seventh gave Lara a 3-1 lead.  They added two in the eighth and were not threatened.  Yordanys Linares was 3-for-5 with a double.  Ex-Twin Rene Reyes was 2-for-3.  Marval was 2-for-5 with a double in addition to the home run, which was his second.  Carlos Rivero was 2-for-5.  Raul Rivero struck out five in five innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks.

Stats:  Cesar Puello was 1-for-5 and is batting .400.  Rivero is batting .352.  Linares is batting .327.  Gorkys Hernandez was 0-for-2 and is batting .324.  Ildemaro Vargas was 0-for-3 and is batting .320.  Jose Tabata was 1-for-3 and is batting .308.  Vicente Campos pitched 1.2 scoreless innings and has an ERA of 1.98.  Yapson Gomez pitched a third of an inning and did not give up a run, so his ERA is 1.47.  Pedro Rodriguez gave up a run in an inning and has an ERA of 2.77.

Record:  Lara is 21-13, in first place in the Venezuelan League West, 2.5 games ahead of Magallanes.

Next game:  Lara hosts Margarita tonight.

MAYAGUEZ

Their game with Manati last night was postponed.  In fact, the rest of the series is listed as "postponed".  This is apparently COVID-related.  I don't know what's going to happen with the rest of this best-of-seven series.  Mayaguez won the only game that's been played so far.

MELBOURNE

They did not play yesterday.  They are scheduled to play Canberra this afternoon.  They are 5-3, in third place behind Adelaide and Perth, but are in fact a half game ahead of them, as those teams have played just three games and are 2-1.