TEXAS 9, MINNESOTA 8 IN TEXAS

Date:  Wednesday, May 29.

Batting stars:  Denny Hocking was 3-for-5.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-3 with two walks.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  LaTroy Hawkins  retired all seven batters he faced, striking out one.  Mike Jackson pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mike Lamb was 3-for-4 with a home run (his third) and scored three runs.  Gabe Kapler was 3-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his fifth.  Todd Greene was 3-for-5.

The game:  With two out and none on in the second, Pierzynski doubled, Hocking singled, Jacque Jones walked, and Cristian Guzman and Mientkiewicz each singled, producing four runs and a 4-1 Twins lead.  The Rangers came back with three in the bottom of the second to tie it up, with two of them scoring on Lamb's two-run homer.  Juan Gonzalez led off the third with a home run and Kapler had an RBI single, putting Texas up 6-4 after three.  A sacrifice fly made it 6-5 after four.  In the fifth, a bases-loaded walk and a bases-loaded hit batsman, put the Twins up 7-6.  They lost a good chance to take control of the game, though, as they still had the bases loaded with none out.  Anthony Telford came in to strike out Hocking and Jones and retire Guzman on a ground out.  The missed opportunity would come back to haunt the Twins, as the Rangers scored two in the bottom of the fifth to re-take the lead at 8-7.  The Twins tied it in the eighth when Mientkiewicz scored from first on Hunter's double.  The Twins brought in J. C. Romero, who had been incredible so far in the season, to pitch the ninth.  He was not incredible in this game.  He failed to retire a batter, giving up singles to Rafael Palmeiro and Juan Gonzalez, giving an intentional walk to Carl Everett, and surrendering a single to Greene that ended the game.

WP:  Hidecki Irabu (2-3).  LP:  Romero (3-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Hocking was again at second base.  This game gave him a seven-game hitting streak in which he went 12-for-27 and raised his average from .210 to .260...Neither starting pitcher got much accomplished.  Rick Reed lasted just 1.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits.  It seems like an awfully quick hook--one wonders if he wasn't feeling well.  Texas starter Rob Bell pitched four innings, surrendering seven runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out two...Jackson lowered his ERA to 0.84...Romero's ERA nearly doubled, going from 0.31 to 0.61...I don't know if Gardy was criticized for leaving his closer in the bullpen, but as well as Romero had pitched up to this point it's hard to argue that he made a mistake by going to him...This was the second appearance of the season for Anthony Telford, who was in his last year in the majors.  He was drafted by Baltimore in the third round in 1987 but made just twenty appearances for them spread out over three seasons.  He didn't get to the majors to stay until he was thirty-one, with Montreal in 1997.  He had four solid seasons for them out of the bullpen, pitching 78-96 innings and posting ERAs in the threes.  He struggled in early 2001, however, was sent to the minors, and went to Texas for 2002.  He got off to a good start for them, going unscored upon in his first three appearances, but by mid-June his ERA was over four and by mid-July he was in AAA, never to return to the majors.  He pitched one more season, in 2007 in the independent South Coast League, and then was done.  At last report, he was living in Odessa, Florida.

Record:  The Twins were 30-23, in first place by two games over Chicago.

MINNESOTA 11, TEXAS 4 IN TEXAS

Date:  Tuesday, May 28.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 2-for-5 with a grand slam (his tenth homer), a double, and a walk.  He had five RBIs.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double.  David Ortiz was 1-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jack Cressend struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Rusty Greer was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Alex Rodriguez was 1-for-1 with a home run (his fifteenth) and a walk.  Juan Gonzalez was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

The game:  In the second, the Twins loaded the bases on a hit batsman, a double and a walk.  Jones then hit a two-out grand slam to give them a 4-0 lead.  In the fourth, Pierzynski hit an RBI triple and scored on a Jones double to make it 6-0.  Tony Fiore, making a rare start for the Twins, did not give up a hit through three innings, but gave up a home run to Rodriguez leading off the fourth.  He gave up three more hits and two more runs in the inning as the Rangers cut the lead to 6-3.  Bobby Kielty had an RBI single in the fifth to make it 7-3.  It stayed there until the eighth, when the Twins put together a two- out rally.  A pair of walks started it, Cristian Guzman singled home a run, another walk loaded the bases, and Ortiz lined a three-run double to put the game out of reach.

WP:  Fiore (3-1).  SP:  Chan Ho Park (1-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Denny Hocking played second base, going 1-for-2 with two walks...Pierzynski's triple was one of six he had in 2002, his career high.  He had 24 for his career...Chan Ho Park had been a fine pitcher for the Dodgers from 1996-2001, making the all-star team in his last year there.  He became a free agent, signed with Texas, and was awful for them.  With the Dodgers he had an ERA of 3.77 and a WHIP of 1.32.  With the Rangers it was 5.79 and 1.60.  He was with Texas through July of 2005, then went to San Diego and the Mets before coming back to the Dodgers in 2008.  He again had a good year, the last one of his career, going 4-4, 3.40 mostly out of the bullpen.  He was a free agent again after that season and finished up his career with Philadelphia, the Yankees, and Pittsburgh.  He played in Japan in 2011 and Korea in 2012 before retiring.  It's odd that he could pitch well for the Dodgers and no one else, but that's how it looks...This was Fiore's second start of the season, as he also started May 18 in New York.  He had thrown 98 pitches in the earlier start and threw 88 in this one.  The most pitches he had thrown in a game prior to these two was 49.  It seems very unlikely that, in 2017, a team would allow a pitcher coming out of the bullpen to throw that many pitches.  It also seems unlikely that, after he had given up three runs in the fourth, a team would allow him to not only pitch the fifth but to start the sixth.  I'm not making a judgment on which way is correct, merely observing that the game has changed.

Record:  The Twins were 30-22, in first place by two games over Chicago.

MINNESOTA 5, TEXAS 2 IN TEXAS

Date:  Monday, May 27.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourteenth), a triple, and three RBIs.  Tom Prince was 2-for-4.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse struck out six in 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks.  Bob Wells pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning while striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Carl Everett was 3-for-4 with a double.  Rafael Palmeiro was 2-for-4 with a home run, his eleventh.  Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-5.

The game:  The Twins scored two in the second, as Guzman had an RBI single and another run scored on a ground out, to take a 2-0 lead.  It went to 4-0 in the fifth on Hunter's two-run homer.  Lohse was unscored on through five innings, although he got into trouble in both the fourth and fifth.  In the fourth, the Rangers loaded the bases on three consecutive one-out singles, but Herbert Perry hit into a double play to end the inning.  In the fifth men were on first and second with one out by Michael Young was caught looking and Rodriguez fouled out to end that threat.  Texas finally broke through in the sixth as Palmeiro led off the inning with a home run.  The Twins got the run back in the seventh as Hunter again came through, this time with an RBI triple.  The Rangers got one run in the eighth but never really threatened to get back into the game.

WP:  Lohse (4-3).  LP:  Kenny Rogers (5-3).  S:  Guardado (16).

Notes:  Jacque Jones got the day off, with Dustan Mohr leading off and playing left field.  He went 1-for-4 with a walk to make his average .307...Brian Buchanan was the DH, going 1-for-3 with a walk...Prince was once again the catcher in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  He raised his average to .321..Jay Canizaro played second base, going 0-for-3 with a walk...Hunter raised his average to .323...Bobby Kielty was 0-for-4 but was still batting .337...Mike Trombley pitched an inning and a third, giving up one run on two hits while striking out one.  This would be the last appearance of his career.  For the season he was 0-1 with an ERA of 15.75, a sad ending to what was really a fairly decent career... Kenny Rogers was the starter for Texas.  He pitched seven innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on seven hits and four walks while striking out one... Corner infielder Herbert Perry played in nine major league seasons.  2002 was the year he got the most playing time, reaching 450 at-bats.  A native of Florida, he was drafted in the second round by Cleveland in 1991 and reached the majors in 1994. spending about three weeks in May with the Indians.  He was with the big club for most of 1995 but only started 47 games and got just 162 at-bats, despite the fact that he batted .315 with an OPS of .839.  He wasn't going to replace Jim Thome, of course, and Paul Sorrento hit 25 homers at first, so he was stuck.  He the had serious knee problems, missing most of 1996, all of 1997, and most of 1998.  He made it back to the majors with Tampa Bay in 1999 but again didn't get much of a chance, starting just 57 games and getting 209 at-bats.  He was again stuck, this time behind Fred McGriff and Wade Boggs.  He was waived early in 2000 and chosen by the White Sox, who finally gave him a chance to play.  He made the most of it, batting .302 with an OPS of .818.  He could not repeat those numbers in 2001, however, and he was traded to Texas after the season.  He had a solid year in 2002, batting .276 with an OPS of .813.  By this time, however, he was thirty-two years old.  He went through injury problems again in 2003, struggled through a poor 2004, and then his career was over.  For his career, he batted .272/.335/.436 in 1696 at-bats.  He had some bad luck, both with injuries and with timing.  He had a decent enough career, but one has to think it would've been better if he'd stayed healthy and had come up with a team that could give him a chance to play.  Wikipedia says that he went back to his home town of Mayo, Florida and manages a pre-cast septic tank business.

Record:  The Twins were 29-22, in first place by a game over Chicago.

MINNESOTA 5, ANAHEIM 2 AT ANAHEIM

Date:  Sunday, May 26.

Batting stars:  Bobby Kielty was 3-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Eric Milton pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out four.  J. C. Romero struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two walks.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Scott Spiezio was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Jose Nieves was 2-for-3.  Kevin Appier pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on nine hits and one walk while striking out three.

The game:  With one out in the second, the Twins put together three consecutive singles, with Pierzynski getting the third and driving in a run to put the Twins up 1-0.  The Angels got the run back in the second, as Alfredo Amezaga's two-out RBI double tied it 1-1.  Each team missed a chance in the fourth, as David Ortiz hit a leadoff double but was stranded at third and the Angels got men to first and second with two out.  Doug Mientkiewicz delivered a sacrifice fly in the fifth to give the Twins a 2-1 advantage.  In the sixth the Twins once again put together three consecutive singles, this time with two out, as Denny Hocking got the RBI to make it 3-1.  Garret Anderson hit a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth to cut the margin to 3-2.  The Angels got a leadoff double from Spiezio in the seventh, but could not bring him around to tie the score.  Corey Koskie had an RBI single in the eighth and Ortiz added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.

WP:  Mllton (7-3).  LP:  Appier (5-2).  S:  Guardado (15).

Notes:  Hocking was again at second base, going 1-for-4...Milton got his ERA under five in this game.  It would go back above five in his next start and would not get below it again for almost two months...Mike Jackson pitched a third of an inning and did not give up a run, dropping his ERA to 0.89...Romero's ERA went to 0.31.  That was as low as it would go, but it would not be above 1.00 for another month and would end up below 2.00...Alfredo Amezaga was a rookie 2002.  He appeared in five games in May and then seven more as a September call-up.  He was with the Angels through 2004, was with Colorado and Pittsburgh in 2005, but did not get any substantial playing time until he went to the Marlins from 2006-2009.  He had been an infielder before going to Florida, but there he was used mostly as a reserve outfielder.  He did fairly well in that role for his first three years with the Marlins, batting in the .260s with an OPS in the upper .600s.  He fell off in 2009, however, and was on the move again.  He was in the minors for the Dodgers in 2010 and was with Colorado and the Marlins again in 2011.  That ended his major league career, but he continued to play, appearing in the Cubs organization in 2012 and the Dodgers again 2013.  He didn't stop then, either, going to the Mexican League, where he continues to play both summer and winter.  He'll turn forty in January, but it looks like he's going to keep playing baseball somewhere as long as there's somebody who'll let him play.

Record:  The Twins were 28-22, tied for first place with Chicago.

ANAHEIM 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN ANAHEIM (13 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, May 25.

Batting stars:  Denny Hocking was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-6.  Dustan Mohr was 1-for-4 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Matt Kinney pitched 6.2 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out five.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out four in two shutout innings.  J. C. Romero retired all four batters he faced.

Opposition stars:  Adam Kennedy was 2-for-5 with a double.  Darin Erstad was 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, his sixth.  Jarrod Washburn pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out seven.

The game:  The Angels took the lead with two in the second on a run-scoring double by Kennedy and an RBI bunt single by Jose Nieves.  Hocking's two-run double tied it in the fifth.  The Twins took the lead 3-2 in the top of the eighth when Hocking again doubled and scored on a Cristian Guzman single.  Eddie Guardado came in to pitch the ninth and Twins fans were confident, but Scott Spiezio drew a one-out walk and pinch-runner Julio Ramirez scored from first on a double by Bengie Molina.  The Twins put two on with two out in the top of the thirteenth, but David Ortiz flied out to end the threat.  In the bottom of the thirteenth, Tim Salmon made the first pitch Jack Cressend threw the last pitch he would throw, sending it over the fence for a walkoff home run.

WP:  Al Levine (2-1). LP:  Cressend (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Tom Prince caught in place o A. J. Pierzynski.  He was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .306...Hocking was once again at second.  This game gave him a four-game hitting streak in which he was 7-for-15...Romero's ERA fell to 0.33...Mike Jackson pitched a scoreless inning to make his ERA 0.90...Hawkins' ERA dropped to 1.95...Cressend had four consecutive scoreless appearances, covering 7.2 innings, before this game.  His ERA had dropped from 8.82 to 6.00...Julio Ramirez, who scored the tying run, had a brief career, but it spanned five seasons.  A native of the Dominican Republic, he signed with the Marlins when he was sixteen in 1993.  An outfielder, he made his major league debut with Florida in 1999 as a September call-up, appearing in fifteen games but starting just four of them and getting only twenty-one at-bats.  He was primarily used as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner.  He was traded to the White Sox for 2001 and played in twenty-two games for them, starting twelve and getting thirty-seven at-bats.  He moved on to the Angels for 2002.  The game we're dealing with here came in the middle of a six-week stretch he spent in the majors, going down in mid-June and coming back in September.  He again didn't play much, appearing in 29 games but making just seven starts and getting just thirty-two at-bats.  He was with the Angels for six games in 2003 and with San Francisco for twelve games in 2005.  His career line is .167/.216/.229 in 96 at-bats.  Given that he was so often used as a defensive replacement or a pinch-runner, one assumes he was fast, but he attempted only five stolen bases and was successful only twice.  He stole much more often in the minors, getting 327 stolen bases (in 442 attempts).  He stole 135 stolen bases over two minor league seasons, getting 71 in the Florida State League in 1998 and 64 in the Eastern League in 1999.  He wasn't just a slap singles hitter, though, as he hit 101 minor league home runs, with a high of 23 for AAA Fresno in 2005.  On the one hand, it seems kind of unfair that teams kept calling him up and then not giving him a chance to play.  On the other hand, his AAA line is .253/.292/.399, which is not all that impressive, so maybe he should feel fortunate that he spent as much time in the majors as he did.

Record:  The Twins were 27-22, in second place, a game behind Chicago.

MINNESOTA 5, ANAHEIM 1 IN ANAHEIM

Date:  Friday, May 24.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 2-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and two hit-by-pitches.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his thirteenth.

Pitching star:  Rick Reed pitched a complete game, giving up one run on three hits and no walks while striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Brad Fullmer hit a home run, his fourth.  Donne Wall retired all five batters he faced.

The game:  Jones led off the game with a home run and the Twins led all the way.  Jones and Cristian Guzman led off the third with singles.  The next two batters flied out, but Hunter's fly ball went over the fence to make the score 4-0.  Pierzynski hit a home run with one out in the fourth to put the Twins up 5-0.  Reed took it from there.  He gave up a one-out single to Darin Erstad in the first and did not give up another hit until Fullmer's home run leading off the fifth.  The only other Angels hit was a Bengie Molina single with two out in the eighth.

WP:  Reed (5-2).  LP:  Ramon Ortiz (4-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Corey Koskie returned to the lineup, going 0-for-3.  Casey Blake, who had played some third in his absence, went back to the minors.  Jay Canizaro, who had also been playing some third in Koskie's absence, would stay until the end of May, then go back to the minors as well...Denny Hocking remained at second in place of Luis Rivas, going 1-for-4...This was one of two complete games for Reed in 2002 and was the batter of the two, at least by game scores...This was the best year, and really the only good year, that Ramon Ortiz would have.  He went 15-11, 3.77, 1.18 WHIP.  It was the only year he had an ERA under four and one of just four seasons (out of twelve) in which he had an ERA under five.  It was one of only two times in his career that he led the league in anything.  Unfortunately for him, it was home runs allowed, with forty.  He had a FIP of 4.87 as a result.  The other time he led the league in something was 2006, when he led the league in losses with 16.  He was, of course, a Twin for part of 2007.  He got off to a good start, but by the end of May he was pitching the way he had always pitched.  He ended his career 87-86, 4.95, 1.43 WHIP.

Record:  The Twins were 27-21, tied for first place with Chicago.

TEXAS 6, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, May 22.

Batting stars:  Denny Hocking was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5 with a triple.  Tom Prince was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk.

Pitching star:  Jack Cressend struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up only a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mike Lamb was 2-for-2 with a home run (his second), a double, and a walk, scoring three times and driving in three.  Herbert Perry was 3-for-4 with a double.  Kenny Rogers pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out two.

The game:  Gabe Kapler's RBI single in the second put the Rangers up 1-0.  Prince led off the third with a triple and scored on a ground out to tie it 1-1.  In the fourth, Lamb hit a three-run homer to put Texas ahead 4-1.  The Twins came back with two in the bottom of the fourth on Hocking's two-run single.  It stayed 4-3 until the ninth, when Rusty Greer's two-run single made it 6-3.  The Twins came back in the ninth, as Guzman had an RBI triple and scored on a wild pitch, but they never got the tying run on base.

WP:  Rogers (5-2).  LP:  Kyle Lohse (3-3).  S:  Hideki Irabu (11).

Notes:  Brian Buchanan was in right field, going 1-for-3...Gardy appeared to have settled on Jay Canizaro at third and Denny Hocking at second until Corey Koskie and Luis Rivas came back...Prince took A. J. Pierzynski's place at catcher and kept his average at .333...Torii Hunter was 1-for-4 and was also batting .333...Lohse pitched six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts...Closer Eddie Guardado was brought in to pitch the ninth with the Twins trailing by a run.  He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk...This was the last of four career triples for Prince.  He never had more than one in a season...Hideki Irabu came to the majors from Japan with great fanfare, but never lived up to the hype.  His contract was sold by the Chiba Lotte Marines to San Diego, but Irabu said he would play only for the Yankees.  Eventually he was traded to New York, a classic case of needing to be careful what you wish for.  He made a handful of minor league starts, then came to the majors for the second half of 1997 and was not very good, posting an ERA over seven in 53.1 innings.  He was fairly good in 1998, going 13-9, 4.06 with a 1.30 WHIP, but he was hyped as an ace, not as "fairly good".  He went 11-7, 4.84, 1.34 WHIP in 1999 and the Yankees had seen enough.  They traded him to Montreal, where he had two poor years and was released.  Texas signed him for 2002.  He made two starts and then, oddly, was made their closer.  He did quite well in that role at first and had eleven scoreless appearances going into this game.  The Twins, of course, ended that string here, but he still got the save, his eleventh in twelve chances.  This game was the beginning of the end for him as closer, however, as it started a string of seven games in which he allowed a total of sixteen runs.  He was moved to middle and setup relief for a handful of games, then was put back into the closer role after a couple of weeks.  He was okay, but nothing special, in that role through the middle of July, then missed the rest of the year due to injury.  That was the last of Hideki Irabu in the majors, as he went back to Japan.  He pitched there through 2004, made ten starts for independent Long Beach in 2009, and then was done pitching.  Sadly, he committed suicide in July of 2011.

Record:  The Twins were 26-21, tied for first with Chicago.

MINNESOTA 8, TEXAS 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, May 21.

Batting stars:  David Ortiz was 4-for-5 with a double.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-5 with a double and a home run (his twelfth), driving in five.  Denny Hocking was 2-for-3 with a home run and a double.

Pitching stars:  Eric Milton struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks.  Mike Jackson, J. C. Romero, and LaTroy Hawkins each pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Rafael Palmeiro was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his ninth.  Juan Gonzalez was 2-for-5.  Carl Everett was 2-for-4.

The game:  Again, it appears that there was nothing wrong with the Twins that playing Not the Yankees couldn't fix.  The Twins scored two in the first, getting one run on a Hunter sacrifice fly and another on a Dustan Mohr RBI single.  They added two more in the second, with Hunter doubling home one and Ortiz singling in another.  There was no more scoring until the fifth, when Hocking homered to make it 5-0.  Palmeiro hit a two-run homer in the sixth to get the Rangers on the board at 5-2.  In the eighth, Hunter put the game out of reach with a three-run homer.

WP:  Milton (6-3).  LP:  Ismael Valdez (3-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Bobby Kielty was again at first base, going 2-for-4 with a walk.  He was batting .333...Jay Canizaro was again at third and went 0-for-3 with a walk.  Hocking played second...Hunter raised his average to .335...Dustan Mohr was 1-for-4 with a walk and was batting .322...Jackson's ERA was 0.95...Romero's ERA was 0.34...Hawkins' ERA was 2.10...Future Twin Mike Lamb was used as a pinch-hitter and went 1-for-1...Hunter's eighth-inning homer came off Todd Van Poppel.  Van Poppel was drafted by Oakland in the first round in 1990 and was hyped as the Next Big Thing.  His minor league numbers are not particularly impressive, but because he was the Next Big Thing he kept getting promoted.  He made one start for Oakland in 1991, sixteen in 1993, and then was in the majors for full seasons from 1994-96.  By the end of that time, he was 20-33, 5.39, 1.53 WHIP in 343.2 innings.  He was also no longer with Oakland, having been waived in August of 1996 and claimed by Detroit.  He bounced around all over the place, as teams apparently were convinced that they could unlock the potential they believed he had.  He was with Anaheim, Kansas City, and Texas in 1997, moved on to Pittsburgh from the middle of 1998 through the end of 1999, and was with the Cubs from 2000-2001.  That was where he had his only major league success.  Used out of the bullpen, he went 8-6, 2 saves, 3.18, 1.42 WHIP in 161.1 innings.  His FIP was about a run higher each season, but still, not bad.  That was as good as it would get, though.  He was with Texas from 2002 to June of 2003, was with Cincinnati for the rest of 2003 and all of 2004, then signed with the Mets in 2005 but did not play for them.  He had injury problems along the way, which didn't help, but given his minor league numbers, one wonders if he was ever really all that in the first place.  His final big league numbers were 40-52, 5.58, 4 saves, 1.55 WHIP.

Record:  The Twins were 26-20, in first place, one game ahead of Chicago.

NEW YORK 3, MINNESOTA 0 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Sunday, May 19.

Batting star:  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Mike Jackson pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  J. C. Romero pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Roger Clemens struck out thirteen in eight shutout innings, giving up four hits and two walks.  Alfonso Soriano was 3-for-4.  Robin Ventura was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, his eleventh, and a walk.

The game:  Derek Jeter singled home Soriano in the first inning, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead before anyone was out.  It stayed 1-0 until the sixth, when Ventura hit a two-run homer.  The Twins had men on second and third in the second and on first and third in the fourth.  They also got the tying run to the plate with two out in the ninth, but Mariano Rivera struck out pinch-hitter Brian Buchanan to end the game.

WP:  Clemens (7-2).  LP:  Matt Kinney (1-4).  S:  Mariano Rivera (13).

Notes:  Kielty again played first base, going 1-for-4 to make his average .324.  David Ortiz was in the lineup as the DH...Jay Canizaro was at third, with Denny Hocking at second...Kinney struck out six in 5.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk...Torii Hunter was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .331...Mohr raised his average to .324...A. J. Pierzynski was 0-for-2 with a walk, making his average .303...Jackson's ERA fell to 1.00...Romero's ERA was 0.36...Future Twins Rondell White was in the lineup for the Yankees, going 0-for-3.

Record:  The Twins were 25-20, in first place by a half game over Chicago, who had gone 3-7 over the last ten games just as the Twins had.

NEW YORK 6, MINNESOTA 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Saturday, May 18.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-4 with a double.  Bobby Kielty was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching star:  Mike Trombley struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Ted Lilly struck out nine in seven innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk.  Bernie Williams was 2-for-2 with two walks.  Jason Giambi was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

The game:  Four consecutive singles produced two first-inning runs for the Yankees.  Tom Prince singled home a run in the second to cut the lead to 2-1 and Mohr's RBI double in the sixth tied it 2-2.  In the bottom of the sixth, however, New York opened the inning with a pair of singles, bringing in Bob Wells.  He gave up a three-run homer to Alfonso Soriano to put the Yankees in the lead to stay.  Shane Spencer singled home an insurance run in the seventh.  The Twins put two on with none out in the eighth, but their last six batters were retired.

WP:  Lilly (1-3).  LP:  Tony Fiore (2-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Brian Buchanan was at DH, going 0-for-4...Kielty was again at first base.  He raised his average to .329...Casey Blake was at third base, going 0-for-4...Prince was in at catcher and was 1-for-4, making his average .333...Denny Hocking was at second, going 0-for-4...Tony Fiore made an emergency start, one of two he would make in 2002 and the only two starts of his career.  He had a fine year in 2002, going 10-3, 3.16, 1.29 WHIP.  If you take out those two starts, though, he's even better:  9-2, 2.79, 1.02 WHIP...Torii Hunter was 1-for-4, making his average .339...Mohr raised his average to .318...This would be the last good outing of Mike Trombley's career.  He would pitch in just one more game.

Record:  The Twins were 25-19, in first place by a half game over Chicago.