Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of 8/5-8/7

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ROCHESTER

Friday--Norfolk 4, Rochester 1 in Norfolk.  Aaron Bates had two hits.  Justin Morneau was 0-for-4.  Kevin Slowey gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out six in five innings.

Saturday--Norfolk 9, Rochester 1 in Norfolk.  Chase Lambin had two hits.  Justin Morneau was 1-for-4,  Liam Hendriks surrendered eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and a walk in two innings.

Sunday--Rochester 8, Norfolk 0 in Norfolk.  Justin Morneau was 3-for-5 with a double and drove in four.  Dustin Martin hit a three-run homer.  Andrew Baldwin went seven innings, giving up four hits and a walk.

NEW BRITAIN

Friday--Akron 6, New Britain 0 in Akron.  Deinys Suarez surrendered six runs on nine hits and two walks in seven innings.

Saturday--New Britain 4, Akron 3 in Akron.  Joe Benson had three hits.  Andrew Albers gave up two runs on six hits and no walks in five innings.

Sunday--Akron 10, New Britain 2 in Akron.  Brian Dozier had two doubles and a single.  Bobby Lanigan surrendered seven runs on nine hits and two walks in five innings.

FT. MYERS

Friday--Bradenton 12, Ft. Myers 10 in Bradenton.  Aaron Hicks singled, doubled, and homered, scoring three times and driving in four.  Logan Darnell surrendered ten runs (nine earned) on twelve hits and a walk while striking out four in four innings.

Saturday--Ft. Myers 6, Palm Beach 0 in Palm Beach.  Steven Liddle singled and homered.  Edgar Ibarra went five innings, giving up three hits and three walks.  Alex Wimmers struck out six in four innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Sunday--Ft. Myers at Palm Beach.  Postponed.

BELOIT

Friday--Beloit 4, Kane County 3 in Beloit (12 innings).  Lance Ray singled and homered.  B. J. Hermsen gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk in 7.2 innings.  Bart Carter struck out six in 3,1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Saturday--Quad Cities 6, Beloit 3 in Beloit.  Jairo Perez singled and doubled.  Ryan O'Rourke struck out eight in six innings, but surrendered six runs on twelve hits and a walk.

Sunday--Beloit 8, Quad Cities 2 in Beloit.  Daniel Ortiz singled, doubled, and homered, driving in four.  Manuel Soliman gave up two runs on six hits and four walks in five innings.

ELIZABETHTON

Friday--Kingsport 7, Elizabethton 4 in Kingsport.  JaDamion Williams singled and doubled.  Tim Shibuya allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk in 5.1 innings.

Saturday--Elizabethton 7, Pulaski 0 in Pulaski.  Matt Parker had three hits.  Roy Larson singled and homered, driving in four.  Derek Christensen gave up five hits and two walks in five innings.

Sunday--Elizabethton 11, Pulaski 3 in Pulaski.  Kennys Vargas had three hits.  Tyler Koelling hit a three-run homer.  Todd Van Steensel gave up two runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out five in five innings.

GCL TWINS

Friday--Red Sox 8, Twins 6 at Twins.  Kelvin Ortiz had two singles and a double.  Hung Yi Chen allowed four runs on eight hits and no walks in four innings.

Saturday--Red Sox 4, Twins 3 at Red Sox.  Kelvin Silvania had two hits.  Angel Mata pitched 3.1 scoreless innings despite allowing five hits and five walks.

Sunday--No game scheduled.

DSL TWINS

Friday--Postponed.  The fourth postponement in a row.

Saturday--Twins 4, Rockies 0 at Rockies.  Ronald Jimenez had two hits.  Randy Rosario pitched four hitless innings, walking one.

Sunday--No game scheduled.

2011 Twins Game Logs, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 114: White Sox at Twins

71 Comments

I started following the Twins on an everyday basis in 1986. My family had moved to Minnesota in 1984 and we had gone to a handful of games the previous two years, but I had not really discovered the joy of baseball yet.

Then, a plucky center fielder with a unique body build suddenly discovered his power stroke and the country began to take notice. I remember Bob Costas saying he would name his son after him if he was hitting .350 at the All-Star break. And, of course, that was how Keith Michael Kirby Costas was named.

Kirby was so fun to watch, it didn't really matter how bad the Twins were (and they were pretty bad that year), I just had to watch (or as often or not listen to home games) to see what he would do next. He could do it all. He could hit for average and power, he could steal bases and was a Gold Glove center fielder who specialized in leaping over the short center field wall at the Metrodome to rob the opponents of home runs.

The next season, of course, the Twins won the World Series, and what a magical ride that season was. That season cemented my love affair with baseball for life, but it was Kirby that piqued my interest to begin with. Of course, he's most famous for his Game 6 in 1991, but he was pretty good in Game 6 in 1987 as well (4-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a SB). Of course, he also was the ALCS MVP in 1991.

Of course, his career was too short due to glaucoma and his life was too short due to a stroke, which I guess is appropriate since he was deemed to be too short to play in the major leagues for much of his youth.

Today, Kirby will be remembered at Target Field, which will include a pregame video tribute. I sure hope I get to see it, along with a couple Thome dingers.

I mentioned yesterday that the Twins need to finish 30-19 to finish at .500. I would be happy, all things considered, if they could do that. I also would like to think they could pass the White Sox. A big step toward that goal can be accomplished today with a win. It's Peavy vs. Duensing. GO TWINS!!!

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 113: White Sox 6, Twins 1

6 Comments

Well, it was a step in the right direction, but not a big enough one.

Carl Pavano did his thing and gave the Twins a very good start. More than just a quality start, which the Twins did not have in the previous six games. Unfortunately, the Twins forgot how to catch the ball or take a pitch or three against a pitcher they hadn't seen before.

The Twins are now 10 games back and 11 games under .500 with 49 games left. For the Twins to just get back to .500, they will have to go 30-19. It was going to be a historic comeback if it was going to happen, but it's pretty apparent, it's not going to happen. I'd say it is time to play the kids, but really, who would that be? Plouffe, maybe. Call up Luke Hughes and send out Tolbert, I guess. But I think we pretty much know what these players offer. Revere, of course, should get more playing time. Let Delmon, Span, Cuddyer and Kubel rotate an off day.

I doubt we'll see the Twins ease up on the throttle yet. The upcoming series with the Indians and Tigers should take care of that.

I did at least get a chance to listen to TK in the booth. When someone has real insight into the game and chooses to use it, they don't have to have the most dynamic personality to be a joy to listen to. I especially enjoyed his sarcastic jabs at Adam Done and Anthony John.

2011 Twins Game Logs

Game 113: Sox at Twinkies

100 Comments

It'd be nice if Jim Thome would hurry up and hit number 600, so I can move on with my plan of watching games until we're losing by two, because we're back to the point where the starting pitching is bad, and a Twins lead sometimes seems like an insurmountable deficit. Things are tough to watch, a few players excepted.

The Smartest Pitcher in Baseball takes the mound tonight against Zach Stewart, who is making just his 4th big league start. Our favorite tater-masher should get some good cuts in today.

Let's see some dongers jacked... I mean... umm... yeah.

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.