MINNESOTA TWINS 12, OAKLAND ATHLETICS 10 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, July 19, 2001.

Batting stars: Brian Buchanan was 4-for-5 with a double, a walk, two runs, and four RBIs.  Tom Prince was 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs, and two RBIs.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two runs.  Corey Koskie was 3-for-6 with two doubles and three RBIs.  Luis Rivas was 3-for-6 with two runs and two RBIs.  Casey Blake was 2-for-3.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Frank Menechino was 2-for-4 with a home run (his eleventh), a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Terrence Long was 2-for-4.  Jason Giambi was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Johnny Damon was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Jeremy Giambi hit a two-run homer, his fifth.

The game:  Damon led off the game with a single and Menechino followed with a two-run homer, giving Oakland a 2-0 lead two batters into the game.  The Twins had men on first and second in each of the first two innings and had a man on second in the third, but it was still 2-0 until the fourth, when Long hit a two-out single and Jeremy Giambi followed with a two-run homer, making the score 4-0 Athletics.

The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on one-out singles by Denny Hocking and Blake and a Prince sacrifice fly.  They then took the lead in the fifth.  With one out, Mientkiewicz was hit by a pitch.  Buchanan and Koskie had consecutive RBI doubles to cut the deficit to 4-3.  With two out, Hocking walked and Blake and Prince delivered RBI singles, putting the Twins in front 5-4.

The Twins kept adding to the lead.  In the sixth, one-out singles by Mientkiewicz and Buchanan were followed by Koskie’s two-run double, making the score 7-4.  Prince led off the seventh with a triple.  One-out singles by Rivas, Mientkiewicz, and Buchanan followed, putting the Twins up 9-4.

Oakland tried to get back into the game in the eighth.  Menechino led off with a walk, Jason Giambi singled, and Ron Gant delivered a two-run double to cut the lead to 9-6.  There were still none out, but the next three batters were retired to end the inning.  The Twins got the runs back with interest in the bottom of the eighth.  A walk and a strikeout/passed ball put men on first and second with two out.  Rivas delivered an RBI single, Mientkiewicz walked, and Buchanan drove in two with a single, giving the Twins a seemingly comfortable 12-6 lead going to the ninth.

But the Athletics weren’t done.  Giambi walked.  Damon singled with one out, and Menechino singled to drive home a run.  Menechino then drove in a run with a single, Jason Giambi doubled home another, and Billy McMillon hit a two-run double, cutting the lead to 12-10.  The tying run was at the plate, but Miguel Tejada popped up and Eric Chavez grounded out to end them game.

WP:  Eric Milton (9-3).

LP:  Barry Zito (6-7).

S:  LaTroy Hawkins (25).

Notes:  Prince was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Hocking was at short in place of Cristian Guzman.  Buchanan was in left in place of Jacque Jones.  Blake was at DH in place of David Ortiz.

Mientkiewicz was batting .319.  He would finish at .306.  Blake was batting .318.  That’s where he would finish as a Twin in 2001, because he was sent to AAA after this game, was waived in September, and finished the season with Baltimore.  He would come back to the Twins in 2002, but be released after the season and sign with Cleveland, where he would go on to have some fine seasons.  Matt Lawton was batting .307.  He would finish at .293.

This was the third of four triples Prince would hit in his career.  His last would come the following season.

The Twins used five relief pitchers:  Eddie Guardado, Bob Wells, Travis Miller, Jack Cressend, and Hawkins.

Eric Milton was an all-star in 2001, something I had forgotten.  I suppose the Twins had to have somebody.  He was 8-3, 3.73 in the first half, decent numbers but not numbers that scream “all-star”.  He was 7-4, 5.01 in the second half, for a total of 15-7, 4.32.

Record:  Oakland was 50-45, in second place in the AL West, 18 games behind Seattle.  They would finish 102-60, in second place, 14 games behind Seattle.  This, of course, was the year the Mariners won 116 games.  It must stink to win 102 games and be nowhere close to the division title.

Minnesota was 58-37, in first place in the AL Central, 3 games ahead of Cleveland.  They would finish 85-77, in second place, 6 games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 8-6 (.571).