Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Sixty-one

DETROIT 9, MINNESOTA 8 IN DETROIT

Date:  Saturday, September 27.

Batting stars:  Michael Ryan was 4-for-4 with a two-run homer (his fifth) and two runs.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-3 with a home run, his sixteenth.

Pitching star:  Brad Radke pitched five innings, giving up one run on eight hits and one walk, striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Craig Monroe was 4-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Warren Morris was 2-for-5 with a double and three runs.  Carlos Pena was 2-for-5 with four RBIs.  Brian Schmack pitched three shutout innings of relief, giving up three hits and no walks and striking out one.

The game:  The Twins again treated this like a spring training game and it cost them in the end, although they may not have cared.  It looked good early.  Shannon Stewart reached on a two-base error, went to third on a passed ball, and scored on a sacrifice fly, giving the Twins a run before they had a hit.  The Twins had men on second and third with one out in the third but did not score, so it was 1-0 through three.

The Twins appeared to take control in the fourth.  Consecutive doubles by Corey Koskie, Torii Hunter, and A. J. Pierzynski made it 3-0.  Singles by Ryan and Guzman plated two more runs to make it 5-0.  The Tigers left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, and the Twins added some more runs in the fifth.  Jones led off with a home run, Koskie walked, and Ryan hit a two-out two-run homer to give the Twins an 8-0 lead.  Detroit got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, when Morris doubled and scored on a Monroe single, but it was still 8-1 and the game appeared to be well in hand.

It didn't work out that way.  In the seventh Morris singled, Bobby Higginson reached on an error, Monroe doubled home one, and Pena singled home two to cut the lead to 8-4.  In the eighth, four walks brought home a run, Monroe had an RBI single,  and Pena brought home two with a single, tying the score 8-8.

The Twins got a leadoff double from Justin Morneau in the ninth but left him on third.  With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Alex Sanchez walked, stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch.  The first Twins run and the last Tigers run scored without a hit, but the last one decided the game in favor of Detroit.

WP:  Fernando Rodney (1-3).  LP:  Jesse Orosco (2-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  It was essentially the regular lineup, with Stewart in left and Ryan in right.  As yesterday, however, most of them came out a little over halfway through the game.

Michael Restovich pinch-ran for Stewart in the third inning and stayed in the game in left field.  Lew Ford pinch-ran for Hunter in the fourth inning and stayed in the game in center field.  Michael Cuddyer pinch-ran for Koskie in the fifth and stayed in the game at third base.  Denny Hocking pinch-hit for Luis Rivas in the sixth and stayed in the game at first base.  Justin Morneau pinch-hit for DH Jacque Jones in the sixth inning.  Alex Prieto replaced Doug Mientkiewicz in the batting order in the sixth inning and went to second base.  Rob Bowen replaced Pierzynski behind the plate in the sixth inning.  Chris Gomez pinch-hit for Guzman in the seventh and stayed in the game at shortstop.

Ryan was batting .379.  Ford was 0-for-3 and was batting .319.  Pierzynski was 1-for-3 and was batting .312.  Stewart was 1-for-2 and was batting .307.  Jones was 1-for-3 and was batting .304.

Bowen was 1-for-2 and was batting .125.  Prieto was 0-for-1 and was batting .111.

After Radke was done the Twins went with the B bullpen:  Carlos Pulido, Juan Rincon, J. C. Romero, and Orosco.  Orosco's ERA went up to 7.68.

Gary Knotts started for Detroit.  He pitched 3.2 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits and no walks and striking out two.

This was the only year Brian Schmack would be in the majors, and this was the last game of his career.  At least he got to end on a high note.  He was 29 and had spent three years in AAA.  He had been in AA before the Tigers brought him up in late August.  He was 1-0, 3.46, 1.39 WHIP in 11 games (13 innings).

The walk Radke gave up was the only walk he allowed in the month of September (35 innings).

Detroit would not set an expansion era record for worst record.  They could still tie the record for most losses with a loss in their last game.

Record:  The Twins were 90-71, in first place in the American League Central, five games ahead of Chicago.  The White Sox had clinched second place.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 11

Bobby Winkles (1930)
Dock Ellis (1945)
Cesar Geronimo (1948)
Phil Bradley (1959)
Bryan Oelkers (1961)
Steve Reed (1965)
Salomon Torres (1972)
Bobby Abreu (1974)
Rich Hill (1980)
Dan Uggla (1980)
Frank Mata (1984)

Bobby Winkles was the head baseball coach at Arizona State from 1959-1971, winning three College World Series titles. He also managed and coached in the major leagues.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Zack.

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Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Sixty

MINNESOTA 5, DETROIT 4 IN DETROIT (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, September 26.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-2 with a double and a walk.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, and two runs.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-3.  Michael Cuddyer was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourth) and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Rick Reed pitched two perfect innings and struck out one.  Kenny Rogers pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.  Grant Balfour pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Dmitri Young was 4-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-ninth), a double, and two RBIs.  Alex Sanchez was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his forty-eighth.  Shane Halter was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his second.  Nate Cornejo pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and four walks and striking out one.

The game:  The Tigers took the early lead when singles by Sanchez, Craig Monroe, and Young brought home one run in the first and a sacrifice fly brought home another.  The Twins had men on second and third in the second and Detroit had men on first and second in the second and third, but it stayed 2-0 until the fourth.  Jacque Jones singled, LeCroy walked, and Koskie singled home a run.  A walk to Pierzynski loaded the bases and a Cuddyer single tied it at 2-2.

Young homered in the fifth to put the Tigers back up 3-2, but the Twins got the run back in the sixth when LeCroy doubled and scored on a Pierzynski single.  The Twins had men on first and third with one out in the seventh, but a double play took them out of the inning.  They had men on second and third with two out in the eighth, but again could not score.  Detroit had men on first and second in the ninth, but similarly failed to touch home plate, so the game went to extra innings.

With two out in the tenth, Justin Morneau walked and scored from first on a Lew Ford double to give the Twins their first lead.  But the Tigers tied it in the tenth when Young doubled and pinch-runner Andres Torres scored on a Halter single.  Cuddyer led off the eleventh with a home run.  Detroit got a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eleventh and bunted the man to second, but there he stayed and the game went to the Twins.

WP:  Eddie Guardado (3-5).  LP:  Franklyn German (2-4).  S:  Hawkins (2).

Notes:  Ron Gardenhire treated this like a late spring training game, starting many of the regulars but taking them out early.  An exception was that Cuddyer started at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Shannon Stewart was in left, Jones in right, and LeCroy at DH.

Michael Ryan replaced Stewart in the fifth.  Dustan Mohr replaced Jones in the fifth.  Rob Bowen replaced Pierzynski in the sixth.  Morneau went to first base in the sixth, with Cuddyer moving to third and Koskie coming out of the game.  Ford went to center in place of Torii Hunter in the sixth.  Chris Gomez pinch-hit for Luis Rivas in the seventh and stayed in the game at second base.  Alex Prieto replaced Cristian Guzman at short in the seventh.

Ford was 1-for-2 and was batting .333.  Ryan was 0-for-2 and was also batting .333.  Pierzynski raised his average to .312.  Stewart was 0-for-3 and was batting .306.  Jones was 1-for-3 and was batting .304.

Bowen got his first major league hit in this game, a single to center in the eighth, and went 1-for-2.  He was batting .167.  Prieto was 0-for-2 and was batting .125.

Eric Milton started and pitched five innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out one.  His ERA was 2.65.  Reed lowered his ERA to 5.07.  Guardado gave up a run in one inning and had an ERA of 2.89.  Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.86.

Sanchez would end up with 52 stolen bases.  That was only good for third in the league, behind Juan Pierre (65) and Carl Crawford (55).  The last time someone stole as many as 52 bases in a season was 2017, when Dee Gordon stole 60.  The last time it happened in the American League was 2014, when Jose Altuve stole 56.

This was not only Rogers' first relief appearance of the season, it was the first time he had been used in relief since 1997.

The Tigers had now lost 119 games, one away from the expansion era record of 120 set by the 1962 Mets.

Record:  The Twins were 90-70, in first place in the American League Central, six games ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 10

Gene DeMontreville (1873)
Art Herring (1906)
John Briggs (1944)
Wayne Twitchell (1948)
Greg Pavlick (1950)
Steve Howe (1958)
John Cangelosi (1963)
Mike Timlin (1966)
Aaron Bates (1984)

Greg Pavlick was a coach in the Mets organization for 26 years and was the rehabilitation pitching coordinator for the Yankees at last report.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 10 →

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-nine

DETROIT 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN DETROIT (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Thursday, September 25.

Batting stars:  Justin Morneau was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his fourth.  Michael Cuddyer was 1-for-3 with two walks.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana pitched five shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out three.  J. C. Romero pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Nate Robertson pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and three walks and striking out five.  Dmitri Young was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Carlos Pena was 2-for-5.  Shane Halter was 1-for-2 with a home run, his twelfth.  Craig Monroe was 1-for-5 with a home run, his twenty-second.  Chris Mears struck out three in two perfect innings.

The game:  The Twins put men on first and second with two out in the second but did not score.  In the third, however, singles by Lew Ford, Cuddyer, and Matthew LeCroy got the Twins on the board with a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers did very little for six innings.  In the seventh, however, Young and Pena led off with singles.  A bunt moved them to second and third and a ground out scored one.  Andres Torres then walked and went to second on defensive indifference.  Ramon Santiago delivered a two-run double to give Detroit a 3-1 lead.

The Twins went back in front in the eighth.  Ford walked, went to second on a ground out, and stole third.  Cuddyer then walked.  A sacrifice fly made it 3-2 and Morneau hit a two-run homer to make it 4-3 Minnesota.

The lead didn't last, as Monroe hit a one-out homer in the bottom of the eighth to tie it 4-4.  The Tigers had a man on third with two out in the tenth but did not score.  In the eleventh, however, Halter hit a two-out home run to win it for Detroit.

WP:  Mears (1-3).  LP:  Brad Thomas (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  The Tigers were trying to avoid breaking the 1962 Mets record for worst record in the expansion era.  The Twins, who were simply getting ready for the playoffs, certainly didn't put up as much resistance as they might have.  Not to say that the players weren't trying, but they were definitely using a B or even C lineup and bullpen.  LeCroy was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Morneau was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Denny Hocking was at short in place of Cristian Guzman.  Cuddyer was at third in place of Corey Koskie.  Michael Restovich was in left, Dustan Mohr in center, and Ford in right.  Michael Ryan was the DH.  Substitutes were Rob Bowen replacing LeCroy at catcher in the sixth and Chris Gomez replacing Luis Rivas at second in the seventh.  The relief pitchers used were Carlos Pulido, Grant Balfour, Jesse Orosco, Juan Rincon, J. C. Romero, and Thomas.

Ryan was 1-for-3 and was batting .346.  Ford was 1-for-4 and was batting .328.  Bowen was 0-for-1 and had a batting average of zero (0-for-4).

Orosco retired the only man he faced to make his ERA 7.56.  Thomas gave up one run in 1.2 innings to make his ERA 10.13.  This was only his second appearance of the season.

This was the only major league win of Chris Mears' career.  2003 was his only season in the majors.  He went 1-3, 5.44, 1.48 WHIP.  He appeared in 29 games (3 starts) and pitched 41.1 innings.  He would spend the next two seasons in the minors before ending his playing career.  He was born in Ottawa and pitched for Team Canada in the 1999 Pan American Games, the 2001 World Cup, and the 2006 Olympic qualifying tournament.  He later scouted for the Red Sox.

I have to wonder about the "defensive indifference" ruling on Andres Torres in the seventh.  It was a 1-1 game with two out and men on first and third.  Did the Twins really not care if Torres took second.  I mean, I know it was a meaningless game for them, but still, you play the game.  Were they really not holding him on or something?  It just seems strange.

The loss snapped an eleven-game winning streak for the Twins.  Again, I know it was a meaningless game for them, and the logical thing for them to do is get ready for the playoffs.  Emotionally, though, I'm sure I was upset the that the winning streak ended with B and C players on the field and Brad Thomas on the mound.

Record:  The Twins were 89-70, in first place in the American League Central, six games ahead of Chicago and Kansas City.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 9

Billy Southworth (1893)
Myril Hoag (1908)
Phil Seghi (1909)
Joe Paparella (1909)
Arky Vaughan (1912)
Jackie Jensen (1927)
Ron Kline (1932)
Jim Landis (1934)
Bert Campaneris (1942)
John Curtis (1948)
Darrel Chaney (1948)
Wendell Kim (1950)
Terry Mulholland (1963)
Benito Santiago (1965)
Vince Horsman (1967)
Aaron Boone (1973)
C. J. Nitkowski (1973)
Koyie Hill (1979)
Craig Stammen (1984)
Daniel Hudson (1987)

Phil Seghi was in baseball most of his life, serving as Cleveland Indians general manager from 1973-1985.

American League umpire Joe Paparella holds the record for most games umpired in a season, 176 in 1962.

The late Wendell Kim was a major league coach and minor league manager for many years.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 9 →

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.