2011 Game 91 Recap: Royals 2, Twins 1

Weather: 74 degrees, overcast
Wind: 9 mph, R to L
Time: 2:37
Attendance: 39,177

Box Score
Fangraphs

I <3 Ben Revere

This game was all about pitching. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Nick Blackburn pitched a good game. Luke Hochevar pitched a good game. Both went seven innings. Blackburn gave up no runs on four hits and two walks, Hochevar gave up one on three hits and three walks.

Coming out of the bullpen in the eighth, Joe Nathan and Tim Collins were good, neither giving up a hit and only Collins allowing a base runner on one walk.

Continue reading 2011 Game 91 Recap: Royals 2, Twins 1

Minor Details: Games of 7/15

Buffalo 8, Rochester 4 in Buffalo.  The Bisons scored three in the first and never trailed.  The Red Wings out-hit the Bisons 14-13.  Jeff Bailey had two singles and a double.  Rene Tosoni had three hits.  Chase Lambin and Toby Gardenhire each singled and doubled.  Starter Kevin Slowey gave up the first-inning runs but then pitched pretty well, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three in 4.2 innings.

Portland 10, New Britain 6 in Portland.  The Sea Dogs scored eight runs in the eighth to overcome a 5-2 deficit.  Deibinson Romero singled and homered.  Chris Cates singled and doubled.  Chris Herrmann hit a two-run homer.  Starter Brett Jacobson allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in 3.1 innings.  Blake Martin pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up only one hit but walking four.  Deolis Guerra and Tyler Robertson each surrendered four runs in the eighth, with Guerra taking the loss.

Ft. Myers 5, Daytona 4 in Ft. Myers.  The Miracle led 5-0 after six, then held on.  James Beresford singled and doubled.  Steven Liddle had two hits.  Aaron Hicks hit a home run, his fourth.  Logan Darnell pitched six shutout innings before tiring in the seventh; for the game he gave up three runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings, walking none and striking out seven.  Ricky Bowen struck out three in two shutout innings to get the save, giving up only a walk.

South Bend 10, Beloit 2 in Beloit.  The Silver Hawks scored in six of the nine innings.  Lance Ray doubled and homered, his ninth home run.  Daniel Ortiz and Daniel Santana each had two hits.  Starter Ryan O’Rourke took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits and five walks while striking out four in four innings.

Elizabethton 7, Greeneville 0 in Greeneville.  The Twins scored three in the first and three in the ninth.  Miguel Sano singled and tripled, Nick Lockwood singled and doubled, and Max Kepler had two hits.  The star, though, was David Hurlbut, who pitched seven innings, giving up three hits and no walks while striking out five.  Nicholas Alloway worked the last two innings, allowing a hit and two walks.

GCL Rays 7, Twins 4 at Twins.  The Rays scored three in the third and never trailed again.  Jorge Polanco singled, doubled, and tripled.  Drew Leachman had three hits.  Dereck Rodriguez singled and doubled.  Starter Hein Robb took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out five in 3.2 innings.  Mark Trau struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

DSL Twins 2, Diamondbacks 1 (14 innings).  Wander Guillen doubled with one out in the fourteenth, scoring Jose Rodriguez with the winning run.  Each team had only four hits.  Guillen had two of them, also getting a single.  Starter Edgar Martinez worked four shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Ezequiel Zarzuela then struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up two hits and three walks.  Francisco Nunez went the final four innings perfectly, striking out three to get the win to raise his record to 6-1 and lower his ERA to 0.29 in 31 innings (13 appearances).

Happy Birthday–July 16

Shoeless Joe Jackson (1889)
Doc Prothro (1893)
Jim Odom (1921)
Dr. Frank Jobe (1926)
Norm Sherry (1931)
Eddie Fisher (1936)
Lee Elia (1937)
Terry Pendleton (1960)
DeMarlo Hale (1961)
William VanLandingham (1970)
Kory DeHaan (1976)

Doc Prothro is the father of former NFL coach Tommy Prothro.  No players with connections to the Twins appear to have been born on this day.

2011 Game 91: Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins

Luke Hochevar vs Nick Blackburn

This has to be a perfect way to start the second half for the Twins. First, a warm-up against the Royals. Four games, more than enough to find the mojo and remind everyone about owning the AL Central. Then, taking on the first place Indians with another four game series. After that, yet another four game series against the other first place team, the Tigers.

I had some stuff written about the four consecutive series against AL Central, breaking down some possibilities. Someone decided to steal it for the game recap though. Instead, I'll close with Win Twins!

Where They Stand

Minnesota is 42-48, fourth in the AL Central, six games behind Cleveland and Detroit.  The Twins have won two in a row and are 7-3 in their last ten games.
Rochester is 35-56, sixth (last) in the IL North, 18.5 games behind Lehigh Valley.  The Red Wings lost their last game and are 4-6 in their last ten games.
New Britain is 46-43, tied for third in the EL East, 5.5 games behind New Hampshire.  The Rock Cats won their last game and are 4-6 in their last ten games.
Ft. Myers is 10-10 in the second half, fifth in the FSL South, 2 games behind Charlotte.  The Miracle lost its last game and is 6-4 in its last ten games.
Beloit is 10-8 in the second half, tied for second in the ML West, 1 game behind Kane County.  The Snappers have won two in a row and are 5-5 in their last ten games.
Elizabethton is 14-9, second in the AL West, 3 games behind Johnson City.  The Twins have won five in a row and are 8-2 in their last ten games.
The GCL Twins are 11-10, second in the GCL South, 1.5 games behind the Orioles.  The Twins have lost two in a row and are 6-4 in their last ten games.
The DSL Twins are 25-15, tied for second in the B. C. B. C., 1.5 games behind the Orioles.  The Twins lost their last game and are 5-5 in their last ten games.

This Week in Twins Transactions

Rene Rivera was optioned to Rochester by Minnesota.
Rene Tosoni was optioned to Rochester by Minnesota.
Delmon Young was activated from the disabled list by Minnesota.
Trevor Plouffe was promoted from Rochester to Minnesota.
Jair Fernandez was sent from Rochester to New Britain.
Carlos Gutierrez was placed on the seven day disabled list by Rochester.
Steve Holm was activated from the disabled list by Rochester.
Michael Tarsi was placed on the seven day disabled list by New Britain.
Spencer Steedley was activated from the disabled list by New Britain.
Daniel Rohlfing was sent from New Britain to Ft. Myers.
Andrew Albers was promoted from Ft. Myers to New Britain.
Matt Schuld was promoted from Ft. Myers to New Britain.
Estarlin De Los Santos was sent from New Britain to Ft. Myers.
Derek McCallum was sent from Ft. Myers to Beloit.
Clint Dempster was promoted from Beloit to Ft. Myers.
Brad Stillings was activated from the disabled list by Ft. Myers.
Matthew Tone was placed on the seven day disabled list by Ft. Myers.
Reggie Williams was sent from Ft. Myers to Beloit.
Andrei Lobanov was released by Beloit.
Bart Carter was promoted from Elizabethton to Beloit.
Nate Roberts was placed on the seven day disabled list by Beloit with a strained right knee.
Tyler Grimes was placed on the seven day disabled list by Beloit with a strained neck.
Sam Spangler was promoted from Elizabethton to Beloit.
Andy Leer was placed on the seven day disabled list by Beloit.
Javier Pimentel was promoted from the DSL Twins to the GCL Twins.
Wander Guillen was sent from the GCL Twins to the DSL Twins.
Alex Wimmers was assigned to the GCL Twins.
Miguel Munoz was assigned to the GCL Twins.

This Week in Ex-Twins

White Sox organization (AAA Charlotte) activates Michael Restovich from the disabled list.
Cubs organization (AAA Iowa) releases Augie Ojeda.
Detroit activated Brad Thomas from the disabled list and sent him outright to Toledo (AAA).
Dodgers announce the retirement of Juan Castro and name him special assistant for baseball operations and player development.
Yankees sign J. C. Romero and assign him to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA).
San Diego organization promotes Bobby Kielty from San Antonio (AA) to Tucson (AAA).
San Diego options Pat Neshek to Tucson (AAA).
St. Louis organization sends Ron Mahay to Palm Beach (A), then sends him to Memphis (AAA).
Washington organization (AAA Syracuse) releases J. C. Romero.

Game 90 Recap: Twins 8, Royals 4

MINNESOTA 8, KANSAS CITY 4
Record
- 42-48 (4th in Central, 1.0 game out of 3rd)
Highest WPA
- Liriano (7 IP, 1 ER, 4 SO, 2 BB), Plouffe! (2 for 4, HR, 2 RBI)
Lowest WPA - Danny V. (1 for 5, RBI) - the flyout double play in the first must have hurt him.
NOTES - 5 Twins had multi-hit games (Delmon, Plouffe, Mauer, Casilla, Nishioka)
Fangraphs

MLB Recap
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And so begins the second half.  Right out of the gate after the All-Star break the Twins have three 4-game series at home against AL Central teams.  With the doubleheader against Cleveland on Monday, the Twins will play 12 games in 11 days.  At the end of next week, when the dust clears, everyone in the Central will have played 100 or 101 games, so a lot of the "games in hand" that the Twins and Indians have had for most of the season will be gone.

I could have all kinds of fun breaking down all the potential outcomes over the next week and a half (and, trust me I have the spreadsheets to show that I have), and tell you what needs to happen to have the Indians, Tigers, White Sox, and Twins all within 0.5 games at the top of the standings next Sunday (it's unlikely).  Instead, let's consider what the Twins need to do to make up ground and whether or not they adhered to those guidelines in last night's victory.

Continue reading Game 90 Recap: Twins 8, Royals 4

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.