Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of 7/24

Indianapolis 3, Rochester 0 in Indianapolis.  The Indians scored in the fourth, seventh, and eighth.  The Red Wings had only three hits.  Denard Span was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .150 (3-for-20).  Scott Diamond gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks in 6.1 innings.

New Britain 7, Altoona 2 in Altoona.  The Rock Cats broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the seventh and put it away with four in the eighth.  Yangervis Solarte was 3-for-3 with a home run and a walk, driving in three and raising his average to .328.  Chris Parmelee singled, doubled, and tripled.  Chris Herrmann singled and tripled.  Steve Hirschfeld got the win, giving up two runs on eight hits and a walk in six innings.  Dakota Watts worked the final three innings, allowing just one hit in getting the save.

Clearwater 6, Ft. Myers 1 in Clearwater.  The Threshers broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the fifth and then scored four in the seventh.  Danny Rams had two singles and a double.  James Beresford had two hits.  Tom Stuifbergen allowed five runs on twelve hits in 6.2 innings, walking none and striking out five.

Lansing 6, Beloit 4 in Lansing.  The Lugnuts scored three in the first and never trailed.  Jairo Perez drove in three runs, but dropped his average to .357.  B. J. Hermsen allowed five runs, all unearned, on six hits and a walk in five innings.

Burlington 4, Elizabethton 3 in Burlington.  The Twins scored three in the sixth to take a 3-1 lead, but the Royals scored two in the sixth to tie and one in the ninth to win.  JaDamion Williams had two singles and a double, raising his average to .340.  Eddie Rosario had two hits.  Starter Matthew Bashore struck out five in three innings, giving up a run on two hits and no walks.  Derek Christensen worked 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hits and two walks.  Steven Evans started the ninth and took the loss.

GCL Twins.  No game scheduled.

DSL All-star Game.  AL 5, NL 3.  Erick Gonzalez was 1-for-2 with a double.  Francisco Nunez pitched the fourth and got the win, striking out the side.  The NL All-stars made five errors.

2011 Twins Game Logs, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 101: Tigers at Twins, Happy Bert Day!

126 Comments

I figured this will work for a game log and a Blyleven Hall of Fame speech log. The game was moved back to 3:10 CDT so fans could watch both, and I plan on doing just that.

Blyleven has always been one of my favorite pitchers for the Twins. I didn't know him in his first stint with the Twins, when he was more cantankerous than a character. I became a Twins fan after he rejoined the Twins. I really didn't start following the Twins on an everyday basis until 1986 when a sparkplug of a centerfielder had a breakout year and captured the attention of the nation, at least for the first half of the season. Before that, we moved to Maple Grove in 1984 and we went to a game or two each season, but I really didn't know baseball that well. Blyleven was traded to the Twins in 1985, but I seem to recall there being some buzz about such a good pitcher being acquired by the Twins.

My love affair with the Twins started in 1987. Most Twins fans seem to remember the 1991 team more fondly, but for me, 1987 will always be the best season. 1991 was more about the World Series, but 1987 was about the whole season. There was something magical about that team right from the beginning, especially at the Metrodome. And that team was full of characters, led by Blyleven. He was the biggest character and was terrific most of the season, especially in the big games. Most people forget that he was warming up early in Game 7 after pitching Game 5 three days' prior. If Tom Kelly had had a quicker hook for Frank Viola, who had been hammered in Game 4, Blyleven might have won Game 7 on two days rest and probably would have been the WS MVP. If that had happened, it might not have taken so long for him to get to this day. Look how much mileage Jack Morris has gotten out of his Game 7 moment.

This day for Bert has been a long time coming and I am very happy for him. In fact, I feel like I may have played a very tiny part in this. While I was a sports copy editor for a newspaper, I had a short-lived column about baseball stats, and in one of those columns I discussed the Hall of Fame case of Blyleven. I was surprised when I received a request from the administrator of bertbelongs.com asking if the website could link to my column. I of course said yes and it still is there today. Actually, my discussions about the hall of fame with the columnist at the newspaper may have had more of an effect, since I know he eventually went from a "no" to a "yes" on Blyleven, although I don't know if he was able to vote this year, since he was layed off from the newspaper the same time I was.

But this isn't about me, this is about Bert and I am thrilled for him. I just hope they don't broadcast his speech live. We know how dangerous that can be.

As for the game, the Twins need this one to finish with a winning homestand and to keep it just disappointing instead of a bad homestand. It's Liriano vs. Rick Porcello, who's had a lot of success against the Twins despite Kubel being 11-for-22 against him. It will be interesting to see if Mauer is behind the plate once again. Joe Nathan also could tie Rick Aguilera for the Twins' all-time record for saves. Let's get it done. GO TWINS!!

Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of 7/23

Rochester 12, Indianapolis 5 in Indianapolis.  The Red Wings led 5-0 after three and a half, had the lead cut to 6-5 after six, then scored five in the eighth to put it away.  Rene Rivera hit two homers, a double, and a single, scoring three times and driving in three.  Brandon Roberts had three singles and a double.  Jeff Bailey doubled and homered, driving in three.  Denard Span had two hits.  Dustin Martin hit a two-run homer.  Eric Hacker got the win despite allowing five runs on eight hits in five innings.  He struck out five and walked none.  Dusty Hughes struck out four and gave up one hit in two shutout innings, and Jake Stevens struck out two in two perfect innings.

Altoona 7, New Britain 2 in Altoona.  The Curve scored five in the first inning.  Mark Dolenc provided all the Rock Cats offense with a two run homer.  Starter Matt Schuld was charged with five runs on nine hits and four walks in 2.2 innings.  Andrew Albers struck out five in 4.1 innings, giving up a run on four hits and two walks.

Clearwater 8, Ft. Myers 6 in Clearwater.  The Threshers scored two in the fourth to break a 4-4 tie and never trailed.  Oswaldo Arcia had two singles and a double.  Jamaal Hawkins had two doubles.  Josmil Pinto singled and doubled, driving in four.  James Beresford had two hits.  Pat Dean surrendered six runs on nine hits and a walk in four innings.  Alex Wimmers struck out six in two innings, but allowed two runs on four walks and a hit.  Matt Hauser struck out three in a shutout inning, walking one.

Lansing 3, Beloit 1 in Lansing.  The Lugnuts scored single runs in the first, third, and eighth.  Reggie Williams provided the only Snapper run with his first homer.  A. J. Achter struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks.  Blayne Weller fanned two in a perfect inning.

Elizabethton 3, Princeton 1 in Princeton.  The Twins scored in the first, fifth, and ninth.  Jairo Rodriguez had two hits.  Pedro Guerra worked 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up seven hits and a walk while striking out six.  Madison Boer struck out three in 1.1 innings, giving up one hit and getting his seventh save.

GCL Twins 6, Red Sox 1 at Red Sox.  The Twins took the lead with three in the fifth.  Michael Quesada singled and doubled.  Candido Pimentel and Jorge Polanco each had two hits.  Starter Hung Yi Chen pitched only three innings, giving up a run on five hits and a walk.  The win went to Nathan Fawbush, who threw two shutout innings and allowed just one hit.  Gonzalo Sanudo struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up no hits and no walks. Marcus Limon got the save with two more shutout innings, giving up two hits.

DSL Twins.  No games scheduled.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–July 24

Tommy McCarthy (1863)
Jack Clements (1864)
Joe Schultz (1893)
Cotton Nash (1942)
Mike Port (1945)
Shigeru Takada (1945)
Mike Adams (1948)
Jerry Augustine (1952)
Barry Bonds (1964)
Joe Oliver (1965)
Jim Wolf (1969)
Stephen Larkin (1973)
Brent Stentz (1975)

Pitcher Brent Stentz did not play in the majors, but was in the Twins' minor league system from 1997-2001.  In 1998, he set an Eastern League record with 43 saves.
Stephen Larkin is the brother of Barry Larkin.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 24 →

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.