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Archive for game logs from previous seasons.

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 44: Twins at—WHO CARES? THE PITCHERS ARE BATTING!

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I love interleague. There are so many reasons to hate it - and there are lots of places to find those reasons. I just like seeing pitchers attempting to bat. Without interleague, we don't get our favorite Johan Santana moment (the video link doesn't work, so just close your eyes, the highlight reel is still there, I'm sure). You don't get the crazy over-managing that ends with pitchers in left-field and utility infielders sitting on the bench, praying the game ends before their crazy manager gets any ideas and has them warming up in the bullpen.

I like that style of baseball. I don't know that I'd like it all the time, but a few games a year is interesting to me. I almost feel cheated when a National League team comes to Target Field, because that doesn't give me my "pitchers wearing batting helmets" fix.

Luckily, the Twins have seen fit to play much better as of late (well... the last 4 or 5 games, anyway). Now I'll have extra reason to enjoy sitting down, cracking open a beer and watching some late-night baseball.

Maybe they'll even win one for me tonight. Considering the fact that they're 1-6 on Saturdays, maybe that's asking for too much though. I guess I'll just be satisfied with the fact that I'm going to be able to watch Scott Baker bat.

Speaking of, here are tonight's pitchers.

Scott Baker (.050/.050/.050, 0 HR, 0 RBI, -0.3 WAR)
Micah Owings (.295/.323/.528, 9 HR, 34 RBI, 2.9 WAR)

Both of those are career lines, as neither pitcher has batted in 2011. For Baker, this is because he plays in the wrong league to show off his impressive hitting skills. For Owings, it's because while his secondary skills are legendary (he's pretty much the best hitting pitcher of all time), his primary skills (keep the opposing team from scoring runs) are sadly lacking. This is his first start in 2011, but lefties have eaten him alive over the course of his career, so unless the game is decided by which pitcher is a better batter, I like the Twins' chances.

2011 Twins Game Recaps

2011 Game 43 Recap: Gemini 7, Crotalus Atrox 8

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snakebit

Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy
Wind: 5 mph, R to L
Time: 2:46
Attendance: 27,450
Umpires: HP - Tim Tschida. 1B - Jeff Nelson. 2B - Marty Foster. 3B - Bill Welke

Box Score
Fangraphs

Three times this season the Twins have won three games in a row and failed to extend the streak to four. Three times. They failed again tonight in Arizona, their inaugural inter-league game of the 2011 campaign, but you have to give the boys credit for making it interesting. If you told me after the seventh, down by four runs in the wreckage of a five run Diamondback inning, that the boys would come back and break my heart in the ninth I would have offered up an earnest guffaw.

Continue reading 2011 Game 43 Recap: Gemini 7, Crotalus Atrox 8 →

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 43: Minnesota Twins at Arizona Diamondbacks

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Brian Duensing vs Ian Kennedy

And now begins the interleague preview.

The Twins have played the Diamondbacks three times. The most recent series was here in 2008, sweeping them. Livan out pitched Webb for the win in game 1. The Twins visited Arizona in 2005, winning the series 2-1, and again in 2004 with the same results. Their sole loss was a complete game by Randy Johnson. I guess Silva, Aaron Fultz, and Joe Roa weren't a good match against him. In 2003, the Twins lost the series 1-2, with the sole win coming from spot starter Santana. It was his final start for a month before he was permanently installed in the rotation.

Following the clear progression, I predict a sweep.

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game 42 Recap: Twins 11, A’s 1

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MINNESOTA 11, OAKLAND 1
Record - 15-27 (Last in the Central)
Highest WPA - Blackburn (7.0 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 1 SO) and Morneau (3 for 5, HR, 2 RBI)
Lowest WPA - Plouffe (1 for 5, HR, 3 RBI) - seriously, the guy who hit a 3-R HR ended up with the lowest WPA.
Fangraphs
MLB Recap

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I did not have a chance to see this game as it happened.  Work required my attention this afternoon, but I managed to avoid hearing anything about it and once I got home I turned on the replay.  Unfortunately, I can't recap the actual game, because someone edited in some obviously fake footage right over the top of what I assume to be the standard 2011 Twins effort.

Instead, I got to see Nick Blackburn pitch an effective seven innings, alternatively aided and hindered by his defense.  Meanwhile, the Twins offense put up double digit runs (I know, I know. This was one of the clues that something was up).  All those runs were the result of multiple extra base hits (strike two) including a home-run by Rene Rivera (Oh, come on!).

Prior to this "game" the Twins had won two straight, but this is the first time in a long time that Minnesota won a game that was never really in doubt.

Feels good.  Too bad it was a fabrication.  Anyone care to fill me in on what actually happened?

 

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 42: Twins at A’s

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A day game? Well, I'm at work and didn't realize that last night would have been the time to do this. Whoops.

Tyson Ross vs. Nick Blackburn. Blackburn has been saving his spot in the rotation over the past few starts, and Ross has been a revelation in what should still qualify as his rookie year, thus far going ERA 2.50/FIP 3.03 /xFIP 3.69. He does have an unsustainably low HR/FB rate, and if anyone's going to fix that, it's this Twins lineup!!11!11

Seriously, though, let's add to this little winning streak.

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game 41 recap: Twins at Elephants

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Twins 4, A's 3 (10)

Fangraphs thought we'd lost this one, too.
MLB recap

Twins record 14-27, 12.5 games out of first place
Save: Shortening bakes up a batch of outs for the Twins (7)

Time to check in on the king of the savers leader board. MoRo's corpse continues to dominate the league that counts, but two other dudes in the family friendly league race ahead of him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The twins got off to an early start last night by scoring a run in the first inning. I know, I know. I couldn't believe it either. plouffe (!)'s error cost the Twins two runs in the second, but the hometown nine roared back with two more runs in the third. Carl (no stache) Pavano tossed seven excellent innings giving up 3 runs, 1 earned, and kept the Twins in the ballgame. Pavano pitched well giving up 6 hits, striking out 2, and he issued no free passes. Glen Perkins continued his dominance out of the pen, pitching one and a third allowing a hit and striking out 2. Joe Nathan came into the ball game grooved a pitch the Kurt Motorbike smashed for a double. But not to worry murry, he struck out Mark Ellis on two pitches out of the zone, and induced a ground out to end the inning. Shortening came on in the tenth to close the game out after plouffe (!) knocked in Del on a sacrifice fly. All told, plouffe was responsible for five of the seven runs scored last night. I'm glad he provided 3 of them for the good guys. That's two in a row. We're going streaking!

2011 Twins Game Logs

Game 41: Twins at Oakland

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Pitchers:

Twins     C. Pavano (2-4)
Oakland    B. McCarthy (1-4)

Lineups:

Twins
CF Span, Denard
SS Plouffe, Trevor
DH Kubel, Jason
1B Morneau, Justin
RF Cuddyer, Michael
3B Valencia, Danny
LF Revere, Ben
C Butera, Drew
2B Casilla, Alexi

Oakland
RF DeJesus, David
1B Barton, Daric
LF Willingham, Josh
DH Matsui, Hideki
C Suzuki, Kurt
CF Sweeney, Ryan
2B Ellis, Mark
3B Kouzmanoff, Kevin
SS Pennington, Cliff

GO TWINS!

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game 40: Twins 2, Mariners 1

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Sorry for getting this up so late everyone.

It is strange to feel strange about winning a game. But it is a good feeling. I was disappointed with yesterday's lineup because I badly wanted them to win one in honor of Harmon. They still managed to win the game because they got great pitching. Liriano pitched a great ballgame, and it feels to me like he's turned a corner. I am definitely looking forward to his next start. Perkins has obviously had a robotic arm transplanted onto his left arm, and Capps was the Proven Closer that he is. The offense still feels like it's spinning its wheels, but to hear that Nishioka, Thome, and the sissy catcher Mauer are all down in extended spring training gives me a glimmer of hope.

Still, a win is a win. The offensive futility of both teams seemed fitting yesterday, in retrospect. They both got 3 hits and scored a total of 3 runs.

RIP, Harmon.

Final Score: Minnesota Twins 2, Seattle Mariners 1.
Twins Record: 13-27, 11.0 GB in the AL Central. Worst record in MLB.
WP: Francisco Liriano (3-5) | LP: Felix Hernandez (4-4)

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game Logs: Game 40 Minnesota @ Seattle

204 Comments

Franky

@

King Felix

I was kind of hoping to make this game log a eulogy for Harmon. There are plenty of people out there who could do a better job than me though. I thought maybe I'd write a clever story about the Killer looking down from the big Diamond in the sky, talking with Kirby, Lyman, and Delmon Young's zone judgment but thought better of it. I thought about writing about the game itself but it somehow seems insignificant.

Tonight, you have two pretty good young pitchers. If you have the chance, watch the game with your fathers, your sons, your mothers, or your daughters. Watch it with your grandparents, your brothers, sisters, or spouses. Life is a fickle thing. It takes away people who are by all accounts are amazing to everyone with little or no explanation. So raise your glass, thank those around you for the good times and hope that maybe, just maybe there might be a couple of people in Heaven rooting for Minnesota tonight.

 

2011 Twins Game Recaps, View from the Ballpark

2011 Game 39: Mariners 5, Twins 2

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Weather: "indoors"
Attendance: 14,859
Time: 2:31

Twins record: 12-27 (last in AL Central, 13.5 GB)
Fangraphs boxscore | MLB Game Wrap

"Highlights":

  • Highest WPA, hitter: Morneau .038 (1-4, SO) | Highest WPA, pitcher: Some band-aid whose name I've already forgotten .003 (1.1 IP, ER, 2 BB)

Lowlights:

  • Lowest WPA, hitter: Cuddyer, -.138 (1-4, R) | Lowest WPA, pitcher: Baker, -.172 (6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 8 SO, 4 ER)
  • Pretty much all of it.

Last night Scott Baker had a very Scott Baker-y outing. The Twins lost.

What else can I say about the game? I fell asleep after Pineda came out, it's now 2:30am, and I'm going to bed. If I've missed something important, talk about it below.

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This week's View from the Ballpark might be too easy, but I like the history behind it too much to let it go.

photo by Flickr user joshbousel

Over the years at least two former Twins have managed here. | photo by Flickr user joshbousel

Remember, no embiggening.