2011 Game 87 Recap: Twins 8, Sweatsox 5

South Side Chicago

Weather: 77 degrees, clear
Wind: 7 mph, left to right
Time: 3:22
Attendance: 27,737

Box Score
Fangraphs

The South Side of Chicago is a place where people end up. They end up packing meat or assembling machinery on a line. They end up in the bar or pool hall Friday and Saturday nights and in church on Sunday morning. They end up in the hospital or jail. Sometimes they end up at the bottom of the lake, sleeping with the fishes.

The Twins blew into Chicago riding the crest of a winning home stand that saw them take two of three from the Dodgers, Brewers, and Rays. And this with a team that's still largely patched together with duct tape and baling wire. Morneau recovering from surgery. Span and Kubel nursing lower extremities. Delmon... okay, forget about Delmon, but having the others unavailable has been a big chunk of why the Twins are in fourth place, seven games back of Cleveland. You have to think had they all been healthy, they could have turned around the outcomes of several of those 19 one-run losses so far this year. But after two days of dominating the White Sox, again, the Twins end up just two wins from overtaking the Hosers for third place. In the best case scenario, the Twins would sweep the Sox while Cleveland and Detroit lose out to the All-Star break, with the Twins having gained 11.5 games on the division lead since the first of June. I won't hold my breath, but stranger things have happened in the game of baseball.

Tonight, even with Blackburn struggling to control his pitches and giving up five early runs, the Twins chipped away with single runs in the first and third. But in the fourth inning they opened fire on Gavin Floyd, who would exit the game after recording just eleven outs and adding seven earned runs to his stat sheet. The Twins, down early, came back from behind and beat the White Sox, and it really doesn't get much better than that. Shoot, if the Twins aren't careful they just might find themselves in a pennant race before this season's over.

2011 Game 87: Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox

Nick Blackburn vs Gavin Floyd

The last time the Twins have lost a series against Chicago was May 19-21, 2009. There was a two game split on May 11-12, 2010, but there's no doubt the Twins would have won the series if given the chance. Overall, the Twins are .732 against the White Sox from 2009 through today.

Blackburn has done his part this year, abusing the White Sox with a 0.61 ERA in 14.2 innings. His FIP is probably quite ugly though, since he struck out only two while walking five. Could you try to keep the ratio above two one today?

Where They Stand

Minnesota is 39-47, fourth in the AL Central, eight games behind Cleveland.  The Twins won their last game and are 7-3 in their last ten games.

Rochester is 34-52, sixth in the IL North, 15.5 games behind Lehigh Valley.  The Red Wings have won two in a row and are 4-6 in their last ten games.

New Britain is 45-39, third in the EL East, 4 games behind New Hampshire.  The Rock Cats have won two in a row and are 4-6 in their last ten games.

Ft. Myers is 6-8, fifth in the FSL South, 2.5 games behind St. Lucie, Bradenton, and Palm Beach.  The Miracle lost its last game and is 6-4 in its last ten games.

Beloit is 8-6, tied for second in the ML West, 1 game behind Kane County.  The Snappers won their last game and are 4-6 in their last ten games.

Elizabethton is 9-8, second in the AL West, 3 games behind Johnson City.  The Twins have won three in a row and are 5-5 in their last ten games.

The GCL Twins are 8-8, tied for second in the GCL South, 0.5 games behind the Orioles.  The Twins won their last game and are 5-5 in their last ten games.

The DSL Twins are 22-11, tied for first with the White Sox in the B. C. B. C.  The Twins lost their last game and are 7-3 in their last ten games.

This Week in Twins Transactions

Delmon Young was sent to Rochester on a rehab assignment.
Jake Stevens was promoted from New Britain to Rochester.
Jeff Manship was activated from the disabled list by Rochester.
Anthony Slama was placed on the seven day disabled list by Rochester.
Kevin Slowey was promoted from Ft. Myers to New Britain on his rehab assignment.
Bruce Pugh was sent from New Britain to Ft. Myers.
Dakota Watts was promoted from Ft. Myers to New Britain.
Joe Benson was sent to the GCL Twins on a rehab assignment, then was activated from the disabled list by New Britain.
Kyle Knudson was placed on the seven day disabled list by Beloit.
Matthew Summers was assigned to Elizabethton.
Stephen Wickens was activated by the GCL Twins
Kelvin Mention was transferred from the seven day disabled list to the sixty day disabled list by the GCL Twins.

This Week in Ex-Twins

Arizona organization (AAA Reno) activates David Winfree from the disabled list.
Cubs purchase the contract of Ramon Ortiz from AAA Iowa.
White Sox organization (AAA Charlotte) places Michael Restovich on the seven day disabled list.
Dodgers place Casey Blake on the fifteen day disabled list.
Yankees organization (AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) releases Bartolo Colon.
Yankees organization (AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) places Mike Lamb on the seven day disabled list.
Oakland assigns Grant Balfour to Sacramento (AAA) on a rehab assignment, then activates him from the disabled list.
Pittsburgh assigns Joe Beimel to Bradenton (A) on a rehab assignment, then sends him to Altoona (AA).
San Diego promotes Bobby Kielty from San Antonio (AA), where he was on a rehab assignment, to Tucson (AAA).

Minor Details: Games of 7/7

Rochester 6, Lehigh Valley 4 in Rochester.  Chase Lambin hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to break a 4-4 tie.  Lambin was 3-for-3; he also singled, doubled, and walked, scoring three times.  Delmon Young and Steve Singleton each had two hits.  Scott Diamond pitched seven innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on ten hits and a walk.  Dusty Hughes worked a scoreless eighth, walking two, to get the win, and Jim Hoey struck out the side in the ninth to get his second save.

New Britain 4, New Hampshire 3 in New Hampshire (12 innings—completion of suspended game).  Chris Herrmann’s two-out single brought in Yangervis Solarte with the winning run.  Seven Rock Cats had one hit each.  Blake Martin worked four shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out three.  Tony Davis got the win with two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.  Ex-Twins Yohan Pino and Bobby Korecky each pitched for the Fisher Cats, with Korecky taking the loss.

New Britain 5, New Hampshire 2 (Game 2—Scheduled 7 innings).  The Rock Cats scored all of their runs in the seventh inning.  Evan Bigley had two hits.  Steve Hirschfeld struck out five in six innings, giving up a run on three hits and two walks to get the win.

St. Lucie 5, Ft. Myers 1 in St. Lucie.  The Mets scored three in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie.  Jon Goncalves had two doubles.  Aaron Hicks singled and doubled.  Pat Dean allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits in six innings.  He struck out five and walked none.

Beloit 10, Peoria 4 in Peoria.  The Snappers scored four in the fourth to take a commanding 8-3 lead.  Andy Leer had two singles and a double.  Lance Ray singled and homered.  Jairo Perez singled and doubled, bringing his average back up to .396.  Wang-wei Lin had two hits.  B. J. Hermsen gave up three runs on six hits and a walk in six innings.

Elizabethton 9, Kingsport 7 in Kingsport.  The Twins built a 9-3 lead after five, then held on.  Roy Larson had two two-baggers.  Tyler Koelling singled and homered, driving in three.  Miguel Sano singled and tripled, raising his average to .310.  Rory Rhodes, Matej Hejma, and Justin Parker each had two hits.  Starter Pedro Guerra struck out six in 3.2 innings, but also allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits.  He walked none.  The win went to Bart Carter, who struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings.  Madison Boer struck out the side in the ninth for his third save.

GCL Orioles 3, Twins 1 (Game 1—Scheduled 7 innings).  The Orioles scored single runs in the third, fourth, and sixth.  Drew Leachman singled and tripled.  Hung Yi Chen struck out four in three innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and no walks.  Cole Johnson took the loss, as he gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks while striking out four in four innings.  The Twins made four errors.

GCL Twins 3, Orioles 1 (Game 2—Scheduled 7 innings).  A two-run third provided all the runs the Twins needed.  Aderlin Mejia and Jorge Polanco each had two hits, with Mejia raising his average to .368.  Starter Bobby O’Neill pitched three shutout innings, giving up just one hit.  Matthew Tomshaw got the win, striking out two in two shutout innings.  Luis Nunez worked the last two innings, allowing a run on three hits and a walk while striking out three to get the save.

DSL Diamondbacks 14, Twins 4 at Diamondbacks.  The Diamondbacks scored five in the first and ten in the first four.  Dubal Baez and Pedro Estaba each had two hits.  Starter Javier Vargas faced six batters and did not retire any of them, giving up three hits and a walk and hitting two.  He was charged with all five first inning runs.  Each of the four relief pitchers allowed at least one run as well.  The Twins made three errors, walked eight batters, and hit four.

Friday Music Day: July 8, 2011

Long awaited, my summer 2011 mix:

Perfect for little ears
1. Adele "Set Fire to the Rain"
2. WU LYF "Dirt"
3. Shakira f. El Cata "Rabiosa"
4. Tristen "Baby Drugs"
5. Battles "Ice Cream"
6. Katy B "Louder"
7. Hooray For Earth "No Love"
8. Ha Ha Tonka "1928"
9. Jonti "Firework Spraying Moon"
10. Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues"
11. Buraka Som Sistema "Hangover (BaBaBa) (Radio Edit)"
12. JKR70 presents Clay Hughes "Love I Gave You"
13. Dionne Bromfield f. Lil Twist "Foolin'"
14. EMA "Milkman"
15. LMFAO f. Lauren Bennet and Goon Rock "Party Rock Anthem (Radio Edit)"
16. Thurston Moore "Benediction"
17. Zammuto "YAY"
18. My Morning Jacket "Holdin On To Black Metal"
19. Chris Brown f. Benny Benassi "Beautiful People"
20. Beyoncé "End Of Time"

Dirty Addendum
1. The Weeknd "Wicked Games"
2. Beyoncé "Countdown"
3. Rihanna "Man Down"
4. Nicki Minaj f. Ester Dean "Super Bass"
5. Vybz Kartel "Go Go Wine"
6. Frank Ocean "Novacane"
7. Shabazz Palaces "Swerve... The reeping of all that is worthwhile (Noir not withstanding)"

See if you can tell which ones I've got dedicated to Chuck James in my heart.

Happy Birthday–July 8

Hank O'Day (1862)
Ivey Wingo (1890)
Clint Brown (1903)
Salty Parker (1912)
Antonio Ramirez Muno (1927)
Hector Lopez (1929)
Al Spangler (1933)
Darrell Brandon (1940)
Ken Sanders (1941)
Jim Ollom (1945)
Lerrin LaGrow (1948)
Alan Ashby (1951)
Terry Puhl (1956)
Bob Kipper (1964)
Jerome Walton (1965)
Bobby Ayala (1969)
Danny Ardoin (1974)

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR’s daughter.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–July 8

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.