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Archive for game logs from previous seasons.

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 160: Royals at Red Wings

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Can K-Slow get off the schneid for a coveted W? Inquiring minds want to know. The rest of us will be...?
From the Yahoo preview:

The Twins need to win two of their final three to avoid 100 losses, but sending Slowey (0-7, 6.54 ERA) to the hill might not help. Minnesota is 0-13 when Slowey pitches this season, and the right-hander has posted a 7.15 ERA in losing each of his seven starts.

Pitching matchup: 27-year old righty Felipe Paulino (3.72 FIP and 113 tRA+) vs. 27-year old righty Kevin Slowey (4.74 FIP and 85 tRA+ as a starter).

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game #159: Twins 6, Indians 4

Twins record: 61-98
Fangraphs
MLB Game Wrap

I didn't watch a bit of this game today. I barely paid attention to it online. But, I was glad to see they won it in the extra frame. Obviously, my ideas and enthusiasm for recapping games this season were tapped out by the end of July. I would apologize to the WGOM Nation for that, but I don't think the Twins are going to be apologizing to me any time soon, so we'll all just have to live with it.

Without going into too many specific points or breakdowns, I will say that I am not at this time particularly optimistic about this organization's chances for success in the near-term going forward. I was on record (privately, but I know I told this to at least one Citizen) before the season as believing the Twins would definitely not win the division or make the playoffs. I didn't foresee a collapse this large, but I didn't foresee the injury disasters of this season, either. However, I don't believe the injuries alone account for the weaknesses of this roster's construction. I believed in March, and I still do, that this roster, even at full strength, was not as good as last year's team and not good enough to make the playoffs. I hope the organization takes some major steps this offseason to address turning the team back around. I'm not sure I have much faith in the current regime's ability to do that meaningfully and successfully, though. I hope they prove me wrong.

Since this is the last Sunday recap of the season, I tallied up my non-joke Hitter and Pitcher of the Week awards. I now present you with the Second Annual DK Hitters and Pitcher of the Season.

Co-Hitters: Jim Thome and Jason Kubel each were awarded weekly honors five times. It's hard to remember (for me, anyway), but for a couple of months before he got hurt and the Team MVP took over, Kubel basically was the Twins' entire offense. I think all but one of his awards came in April or May. Thome, meanwhile, is the sentimental and very deserving pick for reaching a career milestone in a Twins uniform.

Pitcher: Scott Baker was also named five times this season. This, too, may be hard to remember, since he was shelved by injury for almost the entire second half, but Light Rail was by far the best starting pitcher the Twins had, showing, I hope, those who doubt him that he really can be a very valuable piece of the rotation puzzle when he's healthy.

2011 Twins Game Logs, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 159: Twins at Indians

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Final road game on this long, weary journey. There's been injuries, disease and a bunch of headaches. Have we run out of Tylenol yet?

My California math says its Liam Hendriks' turn to pitch, but that's only if he didn't get moved up to pitch in the doubleheader. The Twins want to win this one to try to avoid 100 losses, but really, why have we gone through this if not to see history? If they go 63-99, it would just be a miserable season. At least if they lose 100, we could say we saw a historically bad team. This end of the season run has been historically bad, that's for sure.

At least the offense has picked up at the end. Seemed to happen about the time Chris Parmelee arrived. GO TWINS!!!

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Games 157 & 158: Indians 8-7, Twins 2-6

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Like you didn't see that coming.

The Twins officially have the second worst season in their history and still have to win one game to avoid tying for the worst record. The Twins need to go 3-1 to avoid 100 losses, which ain't happening.

It's sad when a pitcher has a 6-0 lead in the sixth inning and you're just waiting for him to fall apart. Of course, considering all the balls in the air in the first five innings, it wasn't difficult to realize Diamond was living dangerously. Of course, it sure would be nice to get your best reliever in the game before you blow a six-run lead. It also would help if the Twins would stop running themselves out of innings (or at least scoring position).

In the first game, the Twins ended a nine-game streak of scoring at least three runs after scoring two runs or fewer in seven of their previous nine games. Of course, a lot of good the extra offense did them as the Twins went 1-8 in each nine-game stretch. At least the most recent nine have been more entertaining (and more painful).

Stat of the day: Ben Revere had six doubles in 451 career at-bats before getting three doubles in the doubleheader.

2011 Twins Game Logs

Game (1 of 2): Twins and Clevelanders

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Hey, doubleheader... why not?

So it seems that baseball's 200,000th major league game will be played today. They're counting the start of the actual National League as the first game, mostly because it's easier to place a direct date on it that way. If nothing else, it's kind of cool that much as it's changed over the past 140 years, there's still a certain heart at the center of the game that ties it all together.

Now, before I go all Field of Dreams on everyone and start misattributing everywhere, there are urgent matters to attend to in Cleveland. A win today would ensure that the race to the bottom will fall short of its "target". Much as I believe that this is the worst year of Twins baseball since the franchise got here, it would be nice the ragtaggers to win back at least that much of their dignity. Hell, if they sweep the doubleheader, they would only need one more win to avoid 100-losses. That would be.......something, I guess.

Looking into the crystal ball, we've got three opening day batters in our lineup (which, if I'm not mistaken is about the most there can be for the rest of the season, so the lineup's not getting nay better than this). Rivera gets to try to out-Butera Butera. Right now he's at a .406 OPS, so it'll be exciting to see whether he can push that into sub-400 territory.

Brian Duensing's on the mound, if he can make it through five and a third innings, he'll qualify for the ERA title. Then again, if he gives up 4 runs in those five and a third, he'll have the worst ERA for any qualifier, so... go Duensing?

David Huff pitches for Cleveland, he ate us alive his last time out, so maybe 1982 isn't safe, just yet.

2011 Twins Game Recaps, MLB

2011 Game 156 Recap: Twins 5, Gentleman Masher 3, Other Indians 3

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Weather: 61 degrees, drizzle
Wind: 12 mph, L to R
Time: 2:52 (:27 delay)
Attendance: 36,807

Box Score
Fangraphs

By the banks of the mighty Cuyahoga River (Non-flammable for Half a Century!™), the good people of Cleveland paid tribute tonight to Jim Thome. The Gentleman Masher rose to the occasion with a home run, a double, and an infield single, driving in half of the Tribe's runs for the night. I'm going to miss that guy. Oh, hell - I miss him already.

Like many games this season, the Twins could just as easily have won this one had they been able to coax a clutch hit with men in scoring position. The Twins left a team total of 11 runners on base, and left runners in scoring position in seven innings.

Despite that brain-rattling level of offensive impotence, the Twins managed to score five runs off Cleveland, four of them off starter Justin Masterson, who struggled with his command and didn't make it out of the fifth inning.

Chris Parmelee earned his coffee tonight by leading off the Twins' scoring in the top of the first, driving in Ben Revere and Trevor Plouffe! with a roller up the middle that made it to the grass just in time. In his next at bat leading off the third inning, Parmelee jacked one into the right field seats and took a 360-foot stroll. Joe Benson added to the Twins' tally with a productive out, scoring Dinkleman on what would have been a double play if not for a throwing error by pivot man Jason Kipnis.

With the game tied 5-5 going to the home half of the ninth inning, Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire sent seven-million dollar man Matthew Dicus Capps to the mound to extend the game. Instead, he extended an invitation to mash a tater to pinch hitter Carlos Santana, who deposited said tuber over the fence in right center. Meanwhile, in the District of Columbia, young Wilson "League Minimum" Ramos has played in 109 games and booked 420 plate appearances. He's batting .267 with a 112 OPS+. Drew Butera is not.

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game 155 Recap: Twins 3, Mariners 2

A win, an honest-to-God win.  I haven't seen on of these on my recap day since....

(goes to check the archives) ....

(scrolls further back in the archives) ....

Ah, here it is - July 14 was the last time the Twins won on a Thursday (they moved to 6 games under .500 on that day, 6 games out of first).  Which reminds me, let's check out the day-of-the-week standings with 6 days and 7 games (double-header on Saturday, get excited!) remaining.

W L PCT
Sunday 10 14 .417
Monday 4 15 .211
Tuesday 10 12 .455
Wednesday 12 11 .522
Thursday 8 10 .444
Friday 8 16 .333
Saturday 8 17 .320

I would have bet and lost a large sum of money that there wasn't a day of the week over .500 this season.  I will note that Tuesday now has the longest losing streak at 8 games (going back to July 26).

 

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game 154 Recap: Twins 14 hits, not enough runs.

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Twins 4, M's 5
WP: Jimenez (1-0)
LP: K-slow Who improved his record to 0-7 on the year. Yay!
Scotty Baker pitched a scoreless ninth earning an honorary save.
Save: S. League (36)
Twins record 59-95 (holy balls this team is bad)

36 saves, eh? Not enough to crack the top 5 on the leader board. Dancie McDoucheface is still in the lead with a perfect 47 for 47 saves converted. Kimbrel is hot on his heels with 45. I'm fully expecting Mr. McDoucheface to blow up in the postseason.

Yeah, I didn't watch this one. I'm in the process of working out the details of leaving the country, and I had to wash my hair. The Twins have a firm grasp on last place in the Al central, so, there's that.