We inaugurate a new year with our own home opener. If the first 6 games are any indication, this should be a pretty exciting year!
Continue reading 2015 Game 7: Kansas City Royals vs. Minnesota Twins
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Archive for game logs from previous seasons.
Game 6: Bad Guys 6, Good Guys 2
It's time for another Good Idea, Bad Idea:
Good Idea: Getting Oswaldo Arcia out of the lineup vs. Chris Sale.
Bad Idea: Replacing him in LF with Eduardo Escobar with a flyball pitcher like Phil Hughes starting.
Good Idea: Keeping Phil Hughes on his regular schedule so he can get as many starts as possible.
Bad Idea: Even considering starting Mike Pelfrey ahead of Trevor May, Alex Meyer, Jose Berrios or Taylor Rogers.
Good Idea: Switching to a RH reliever when Avisail Garcia, Alexei Ramirez and Gordan Beckham are due up in the eighth inning of a one-run game.
Bad Idea: Using Blaine Boyer when J.R. Graham is available to pitch.
Good Idea: Not using Tim Stauffer in a critical situation.
Bad Idea: Signing Stauffer to a guaranteed deal in the first place and then using that deal as an excuse to guarantee him a spot in the bullpen despite a horrible spring training, which then forced manager Paul Molitor to choose between a guy that was originally signed to a minor league deal and a Rule 5 draft pick in a critical situation after just one pitcher developed a stiff shoulder.
Good Idea: Throwing out stupid base runners to prevent runs.
Bad Idea: Losing a game when the other team looked like it was actually trying to lose it with their stupidity.
Good Idea: Assuming that the rest of the season can't possibly be as bad as the first week.
Bad Idea: Believing that the run of lost baseball seasons will be over soon without some major changes to the current roster, especially the bullpen.
Game 6: Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox
I heard all offseason that the club this year would play insufferable defense and have improved (but still mediocre at best) pitching. The talking heads and conventional wisdom suggested that, based on the performance last year, this team wouldn't have much trouble scoring runs.
The boys had one really nice inning yesterday, plating four runs off of Jeff Samardzija, before he settled in and the Twins' offense went missing. There were a few really nice defensive plays that were key to this, but mostly the Twins just couldn't do any additional damage.
Let's hope that they get it figured out today...unlikely considering they face Chicago's ace Chris Sale (0-0, -.-- ERA ... but 6-1, 2.45 ERA over 16 appearances and (eight starts) against the Twins). On the bright side, this is his first start of the season, recently off the 15-Day DL from a broken foot bone.
He'll be opposed by Minnesota's ace Phil Hughes (0-1, 6.00 ERA), who we're hoping can rebound from an unremarkable start to the season in Detroit (4 earned runs off of 8 hits (including 2 HR's) in six innings of work; 6 K's & 1 BB).
Game 5: Minnesota at Chicago
I don't see a game log for today, so here's one. Do it, Pelf!
Game 4 recap : Twins 6 Bad Guys 0.
Its always nice to get a win. To me, its always better when that win comes against the Southsiders. The sun shines brighter, the birds sing happier, the Twins Twittersphere has less angst.
The Twins wasted no time to get on the scoreboard as Joe Mauer knocked in Eddie Escobar and the score was 1-0 after a half inning. That is all Tommy Milone needed. Milone allowed only 2 hits and walked 2 in 7.2 of work, the longest a Twins starter has pitched this season. At one point, Milone had retired 16 straight White Sox batters. Its weird seeing a Twins pitcher be that stingy with base runners. Lets hope its a trend and not a mirage.
Back to the offense, The Twins walked 9 times today (3 IBB's), got a few extra base hits, and its resulted in 6 runs. I am not expecting 6 every night, but loved seeing the batting order churn over and over.
Get your rest, the Twins next game is in a few hours. 1pm central.
NOTES
-Paul Molitor notched his first win as manager. He needs 34 more to pass Johnny Goryl
-Brian Duensing got a save. He came in the 8th inning after Milone gave up a double to Tyler Flowers. Then the Twins erupted for 3 runs in the 9th. Molitor decided to keep Duensing in, even though Perkins was warming in the pen during the 9th. Its Brian's 2nd career save.
- WGOM.org's favorite player Torii Hunter stole a base in the 9th. Its his 127th as a Twin. There are only 4 players who have stolen more bases as Twin than Hunter: Kirby (134), Cesar Tovar (186), Rod Carew (271), and Chuck Knobluach (276)
- The Twins shut out opponents 7 times last year, with the earliest being April 17 against Toronto
Game 4: Twins at White Sox. 3:10 pm.
Early season baseball screws up my Twins watching. Games start at noon or 1 or in this case 3pm because spring temperatures make it not ideal for playing baseball or watching baseball in the stands. And because of these early starts, I only can catch an inning or two on my lunch break and see the score when I get home.
Well this year, I haven't missed much. The most exciting Twins related thing to happen was Bert Blyleven taking to Twitter and offering his insights on Detroit. That is not a good thing.
The Twins move on to Chicago to take on the White Sox. Both teams are 0-3.
Tommy Milone will throw for the Local 9. The current White Sox roster has a .250/.284/.391/.674 career slash line against him (67 plate apps). Chicago will throw out Hector Noesi. I would be willing to wager a lot of money that the Twins score more than 1 run this series.
GO TWINS
2015 Game 3: Twins at Tigers
Sean tells me that this is the twelfth time - ever - that a team has started the season by getting shut out twice. If the Twins are going to be just one of twelve rather than one of one to hold the record, they'll be needing that run today. I fully expect for there to be a sarcastic cheer when the Twins score a run, so let's get that out of the way and maybe even consider getting out of Detroit with a win.
Today, Kyle Gibson faces Shane Greene. Who is Shane Greene? This is his sophomore campaign after being a meh starter for the Yankees last year in fourteen games. He was an old rookie at 27, and his upside looks to be pretty limited, as he strikes out some but walks too many. He does KEEP THE BALL DOWN, though, so expect no home runs in our quest for a run. If they prove me wrong, even better.
At least there's no Scherzer or Verlander here, right?
Let's take something positive from this series, Twins.
Game 2 Recap: Twins 0, Tigers 11
2015 Game 2: Minnesota Visiting Detroit
In today's let's get back to .500 edition the hometown ii's look to take revenge on their fearless leader's former squad. Will this squad ever score a run, or are they already looking toward their World Series Win in 2016? Only time will tell.
Game Start: 12:08pm
Probables:
MIN: Ricky (Not Ricardo) Nolasco, RHP
DET: Anibal (Not an Island) Sanchez, RHP
Lineups:
MIN:
1. Santana SS
2. Dozier 2B
3. Mauer 1B
4. Hunter RF
5. Vargas DH
6. Plouffe 3B
7. Arcia LF
8. Suzuki C
9. Schafer CF
DET:
1. Gose CF
2. Kinsler 2B
3. Cabrera 1B
4. Martinez DH
5. Martinez RF
6. Cespedes LF
7. Castellanos 3B
8. Avila C
9. Iglesias SS
Go Twins!
Game Recap #1: Minnesota Twins 0, Detroit Tigers 4
(from the Holy Roller)
Well, David Price is a really good pitcher, and he'll shut teams down sometimes. Phil Hughes pitched well except for a few balls that went over the fence. On the plus side, I had a good day of bowling, going 143, 205, 171 for a 519 series. We'll just have to settle for 161-1!