MINNESOTA 5, TEXAS 4
Record - 24-38 (2.5 games out of 4th place)
Highest WPA - Chuck James (0.2 IP, SO), Casilla (2 for 5, GWRBI) and Cuddyer (2 for 4, HR, 3 RBI)
Lowest WPA - Mijares (2 batters faced, 2 hits), Revere and Morneau (both 0-4)
Fangraphs
MLB Recap
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Alexi Casilla in the last month - .325/.400/.410
Will it continue?
Probably not.
Is it fun while it lasts?
It was tonight.
The Twins return from a road trip that turned out to be pretty respectable, particularly because of winning six of their last seven. The team isn't that good, but they weren't as bad as they played up to that point, either, so whatever.
Now the Twins host the West-leading Rangers in another chapter in the ongoing saga of Josh Hamilton vs. Jason Morneau. Who will they be jacking 28+ dongers against tonight?
Derek Holland 5-1, 74.1 IP, 4.36 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 3.72 xFIP, 1.1 WAR
Nick Blackburn 5-4, 75.2 IP, 3.57 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 3.85 xFIP, 0.5 WAR
Some similar numbers there, but Holland's value comes from his ability to strike some punks out (60 in 74.1 innings, while over the same workload, Blackburn has negative three strikeouts). Holland is a lefty who tends to wreck lefties, so it's all up to Cuddyer and pals tonight. Ahem.
I'm feeling a little better about the Twins after the last week, but the Rangers could easily bring that to a screeching halt if our team continues to lose at home. Let's avoid that, Nick "Big Game Ace Superstar" Blackburn.
From Joe C:
Meanwhile, at Class A Fort Myers, Joe Mauer is back in the lineup at catcher tonight after catching eight innings last night, according to the Miracle's broadcaster, Alex Margulies (via Twitter).
Mauer isn't eligible to return from the 60-day disabled list until Sunday. The Twins are off Monday, but there is growing speculation that he'll be back at Target Field on Tuesday to face the White Sox.
Can you imagine the excitement if the Twins win the series with Texas and then Mauer returns Tuesday? And don't forget Kubel and Nishi should be back pretty soon. Glen Perkins and Joe Nathan have been starting to throw as well, although it sounds like Nathan is a lot further away. Haven't heard much on Jim Thome.
Anyways, the Twins play 30 of their next 40 at home and Interleague is coming up. Sounds like a good time to get healthy and make a run to get back in this thing. It would be a record comeback, but the schedule is in their favor, now they just need to get real major league bodies back in the lineup and bullpen.
Either my wife or I have read childrenʼs books nearly every night for the past ten years. The last four or five years have been more interesting as weʼve gotten into the chapter books read over multiple nights and not just repeated readings of Dr. Seuss or Berenstein Bears.
We do not read to them because we are convinced it will make them smarter or anything like that. The kids just really enjoy it and it is a nice transition for them from the activity of everyday life to sleep.
This will focus primarily on books that are good for five-to-ten year old kids since that is what I have been reading the past few years. I am not saying this is great literature or worthy of any awards (although some of it is). They are just enjoyable childrenʼs books and some of them do have some things the kids can learn from them.
Anyway, here it goes. There will be spoilers in each review as you may want to know how they end to decide if it is appropriate for your child.
Columbus 3, Rochester 1 in Columbus. The Clippers scored single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth. Aaron Bates had two hits to raise his average to .351. Kyle Gibson gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks in 5.1 innings.
Akron 10, New Britain 0 in New Britain (8 innings—rain). A seven-run seventh boosted the Aeros. The Rock Cats had only two hits, both singles. Steve Hirschfeld gave up one run on six hits and five walks in six innings. Blake Martin surrendered six runs on two hits and three walks in two-thirds of an inning and Santos Arias allowed three runs on four hits and a walk in 1.1 innings.
Ft. Myers 5, Palm Beach 1 in Ft. Myers. The Miracle scored four in the fourth to take the victory. Nate Hanson singled and doubled, Tsuyoshi Nishioka doubled, and Joe Mauer was 1-for-4. Logan Darnell worked seven innings, giving up a run on five hits and a walk. Matt Hauser pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts to get the save.
Beloit 6, Ft. Wayne 5 in Beloit (4-plus innings, suspended). The TinCaps are batting with a runner on first and one out in the top of the fifth. So far, Lance Ray has two doubles and Michael Gonzales doubled and singled. Manuel Soliman allowed five runs on ten hits and a walk in 4.1 innings. The game will be completed this evening before the regularly scheduled game.
DSL Cubs1 4, Twins 2 at Twins (Game 1—Scheduled 7 innings). A three-run fourth put Cubs1 in control. Ernesto Ciprian had two hits. Junior Subero allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks in 3.1 innings.
DSL Cubs1 4, Twins 3 at Cubs1 (Game 2—Scheduled 7 innings). Cubs1 scored a run in the fifth to break a 3-3 tie. No Twins player had more than one of their six hits. Starter Reyson Zoquiel gave up a run on a hit and two walks in two innings, striking out three. Ezequiel Zarzuela struck out six in two innings, but allowed two runs on a hit and a walk. Francisco Nunez struck out three in two innings, but gave up an unearned run on two hits to take the loss. Twins pitchers combined for five uses of the letter “z” in their names. There has been no word from Elias regarding whether this is a record.
Dude Esterbrook (1857)
Irish Meusel (1893)
Mike Ryba (1903)
Frank McCormick (1911)
Jimmy Newberry (1922)
Roy Smalley (1926)
Bill Virdon (1931)
Howie Gershberg (1936)
Jake Jacobs (1937)
Julio Gotay (1939)
Bruce Look (1943)
Tom Egan (1946)
Dave Parker (1951)
Tom Edens (1961)
Randy Winn (1974)
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to SBG’s uncle and to his brother.
A week and a half ago, I may have said that the Twins would never beat the Indians again.
Morrissey and his band of merry men cover James.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqy5a_HeBR0
Why is it easier to find a high quality video of a song from the 60's than the 80's?
(5 votes, average: 6.20 out of 10)
Loading... Twins 3, Tribe 2 (10)
WP: Matt Capps. Wait, what?
LP: Perez
Blown Save: Matt Capps. Yeah, that seems about right.
Save: Phil Dumatrait. Wait, who?
Twins Record: 23-38, 11.5 games out of first, 2.5 games out of not in the cellar.
Fangraphs loves a winner.
MLB recap.
Holy cows. Over the last one game the Twins have won one, in extras to boot. Hot Carl Pavano had a solid outing, allowing seven hits and one earned run over seven innings, striking out three, and walking one. Jose "My Neck Isn't Fat, It's Big Boned" Mijares came on for the eighth and retired all three batters he faced. Then Shortening come on to close out the game. He cruised through the first two batters and then decided to serve up a meatball to Jack Hannahan who promptly deposited the ball into the bleachers. Crisco had trouble with the next batter, Lou Marson, before getting Milton Bradley Michael Brantley to pop up to the glove of Butters in foul territory. This marks the 5th blown save in 13 attempts this season for Capps. At the dish the Twins relied on Ben Revere, who warned Texas that the Twins are coming. Sweet Ben went 3-5, driving in two runs, and scored the only other Twins run of the day off a Morneau double in the 6th. According the Dick, the Key "Hit" in that inning was Cuddy's ground out to the first baseman. Yeah, Dick, that hit really tied the inning together for the pitcher*.
Art, and culture. Cleveland is home to many fine art institutions, including the Cleveland Institute Of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and some sort of hall of fame. If you happen into Cleveland this summer I would recommend a stop by any of these fine institutions, and after you can refresh your palette here.
*edited for clarity
Not sure who's supposed to be on Wednesday, but they ain't here.
Pavano vs. Masterson.