NEW YORK YANKEES 4, MINNESOTA TWINS 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, May 11, 2002.

Batting star:  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks and striking out five.  J. C. Romero pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Bernie Williams was 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, and two runs.  Robin Ventura was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.  Ted Lilly pitched 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks and striking out one.  Mike Stanton pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  The only man to get as far as second base in the first three innings was Dustan Mohr, who led off the game with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch.  Each team scored once in the fourth.  For New York, Derek Jeter singled and Jason Giambi walked.  Jeter went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a double play.  For the Twins, Matthew LeCroy hit a two-out double and scored on a Bobby Kielty single.

The Twins took the lead in the sixth, as Torii Hunter hit a one-out double and scored on a two-out single by Brian Buchanan.  The Yankees tied it right back up in the seventh when Bernie Williams tripled with one out and scored on a Robin Ventura single.

New York threatened in the eighth.  John Vander Wal singled and went to third on a one-out double by Alfonso Soriano.  Nick Johnson then grounded to second, and pinch-runner Gerald Williams was thrown out at the plate.  In the ninth, however, Bernie Williams doubled with one out and Robin Ventura followed with a two-run homer, making the score 4-2.  The Twins got a man on first with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but could do no more.

WP:  Mike Stanton (2-0).

LP:  Eddie Guardado (0-1).

S:  Mariano Rivera (12).

Notes:  Tom Prince was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Matthew LeCroy was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Denny Hocking was at second in place of Luis Rivas.  Casey Blake was at third in place of Corey Koskie.  Dustan Mohr was in left in place of Jacque Jones.  Mohr made most of his appearances in right, but Bobby Kielty was in right.  Brian Buchanan was the DH in place of David Ortiz.  

Torii Hunter was batting .345.  He would finish at .289.  Tom Prince was batting .323.  He would finish at .224.  Matthew LeCroy was batting .329.  He would finish at .260.  Dustan Mohr was batting .329.  He would finish at .269.  Jacque Jones was batting .308.  He would finish at .300.

J. C. Romero had an ERA of 0.45.  He would finish at 1.89.  Mike Jackson had an ERA of 1.32.  He would finish at 3.27.  Eddie Guardado had an ERA of 2.12.  He would finish at 2.93.

I don’t know why Ron Gardenhire went with what we used to call the “B” lineup in this game.  I had thought perhaps it was a day game after a night game, but b-r.com indicates this was a night game, too.

Bernie Williams had fifty-five triples in his career, but this was his first since 2000.  He would have one more in 2002 and just four more for his career.

Record:  New York was 23-14, in second place in the AL East, three games behind Boston.  They would finish 103-58, in first place, 10.5 games ahead of Boston.

The Twins were 22-15, in first place in the AL Central, one game ahead of Chicago.  They would finish 94-67, in first place, 13.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 24-26 (.480).

NEW YORK YANKEES 11, MINNESOTA TWINS 1 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Sunday, April 29, 1973.

Batting star:  Dan Monzon was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching star:  None.

Opposition stars:  Ron Blomberg was 4-for-4 with a double, a walk and three RBIs.  Graig Nettles was 2-for-4.  Thurman Munson was 2-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs.  Matty Alou was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Fritz Peterson pitched 7.1 innings, giving up an unearned run on six hits and three walks and striking out four.

The game:  New York took a 1-0 lead in the first, as Roy White walked, Thurman Munson singled, and a pair of productive ground outs followed.  The Twins tied it in the second.  Joe Lis reached on an error with one out, Danny Thompson doubled, Dan Monzon walked to load the bases, and Phil Roof delivered an RBI single.

It stayed tied until the fourth.  With two out, Ron Blomberg singled and scored on a Johnny Callison double to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.  New York increased its lead in the sixth.  Matty Alou, Bobby Mercer, and Graig Nettles all singled to bring home a run, and Blomberg followed with an RBI double to put the Yankees up 4-1.

The Twins put two on with two out in the seventh and with one out in the eighth, but failed to score.  Then, in the bottom of the eighth, New York put it out of reach, scoring seven times.  The Twins put one man on in the ninth, but fell 11-1.

WP:  Fritz Peterson (2-3).

LP:  Bill Hands (2-2).

S:  Lindy McDaniel (3).

Notes:  Phil Roof was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Dan Monzon was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jerry Terrell was at third base in place of Steve Braun.  Mike Adams was in left.  There really wasn’t a regular left fielder, with Jim Holt getting the most appearances there with 80 and Larry Hisle following with 50.  Hisle was in center, which was his primary position in 1973.  Danny Walton was in right field, with Bobby Darwin, the regular right fielder, at DH and Tony Oliva out of the lineup.

This was the second game of a doubleheader, which explains the number of regulars out of the lineup.

This was the first game in which Dan Monzon batted in 1973, so he was batting .667.  He would finish at .224.  Jerry Terrell was batting .364.  He would finish at .265.  Larry Hisle was batting .304.  He would finish at .272.  Rod Carew, who did not play in this game, would win the batting title at .350.

Ray Corbin had an ERA of 2.92.  He would finish at 3.03.

Graig Nettles played for the Twins from 1967-1969.  Bernie Allen, who was 0-for-2 with two walks, played for the Twins from 1962-1966.

Lindy McDaniel started pitching in the top of the eighth, with the score 4-1, which is why he was able to get a save.

What a team the 1973 Twins were.  They had a few good players, but their regulars included George Mitterwald, Joe Lis, Danny Thompson, Jim Holt, and Bobby Darwin.  The rotation was not bad, with Bert Blyleven (2.52 ERA), Jim Kaat (4.41), Joe Decker (4.17), and Dick Woodson (3.95).  Also making double-digit starts were Bill Hands (3.49) and Dave Goltz (5.25).

Kaat was in his age thirty-four season.  He would be placed on waivers in August and claimed by the White Sox, but would only play another ten years after that.

The 1973 Yankees had a lot of players who, if you remember them at all, you don’t remember as Yankees.  Matty Alou, Johnny Callison, Hal Lanier, Bernie Allen, all had substantial careers in other places.

Record:  New York was 9-10, in fourth place in the AL East, one game behind Baltimore.  They would finish 80-82, in fourth place, seventeen games behind Baltimore.

The Twins were 9-8, tied for third with California in the AL West, two games behind Chicago.  They would finish 81-81, in third place, thirteen games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 24-25 (.490).