MINNESOTA 13, DETROIT 7 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, April 14.

Batting stars:  Matthew LeCroy was 3-for-4 with a triple and two doubles.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs.  Bobby Kielty had a pinch-hit home run.

Pitching stars:  Jack Cressend, LaTroy Hawkins, and Tony Fiore each pitched a scoreless inning, with Hawkins striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Craig Paquette was 4-for-4 with two home runs and two doubles.  Robert Fick was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Dmitri Young was 2-for-4.

The game:  Young had an RBI single in the first and Paquette hit a solo homer in the second to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.  LeCroy tripled and scored in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to 2-1.  In the fourth, RBI singles by Denny Hocking, Mientkiewicz, Hunter, and Corey Koskie put the Twins ahead 5-2.  Things were looking good, but the Tigers came roaring back in the sixth.  They led off the inning with two walks and Randall Simon followed with a three-run homer to tie the score.  Paquette then doubled, chasing starter Joe Mays, and Fick singled later in the inning to put Detroit up 6-5.  Paquette struck again in the eighth, leading off with a home run to give Detroit some insurance.  It wasn't enough, as it was the Twins turn to come back, this time with an eight-run inning.  Kielty hit a pinch-hit two run homer to tie it 7-7.  Two singles and a walk loaded the bases and David Ortiz had a pinch-hit  three-run triple to give Minnesota a 10-7 lead.  Hunter had a run-scoring single to make it 11-7, a bases-loaded walk to Kielty made it 12-7, and Jacque Jones hit a sacrifice fly to close out the scoring.  The Tigers went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  J. C. Romero (2-0).  LP:  Matt Anderson (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was used as the DH...LeCroy and Ortiz each had one triple on the season, and they both came in this game.  It was the only triple of LeCroy's career.  Ortiz went hit nineteen triples in his career, with a high of three in 2004...Pinch-hitters really came through for the Twins, with Kielty hitting a two-run homer and Ortiz a three-run triple...Hocking was used at second base...Mays pitched well for five innings, but fell apart in the sixth.  His line was five innings, six runs, eight hits, two walks, and no strikeouts...Hawkins lowered his ERA to 0.82...Romero and Fiore kept their ERAs at zero, with Romero having pitched 8.2 innings and Fiore making his season debut in this game...Steve Sparks was the starter for Detroit.  He pitched six innings, giving up five runs (one earned) on eight hits and one walk with two strikeouts...Anderson had been unscored upon in three appearances before this game.  Here he faced five batters and did not retire any, giving up four hits and a walk...The Tigers fell to 0-11 on the season...Jones was 1-for-5 to make his average .358...Mientkiewicz raised his average to .321...LeCroy was batting .375...Hunter raised his average to .353...Dustan Mohr was 0-for-5 but was still batting .361...In three starts, Mays now had an ERA of 11.57.  He missed the next three months due to injury, not pitching again for the Twins until July 20.

Record:  The Twins were 8-5, in second place, 3.5 games behind Cleveland.

MINNESOTA 7, DETROIT 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, April 13.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 3-for-3 with a double and a stolen base, his second.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Corey Koskie was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Bob Wells, Mike Jackson, and LaTroy Hawkins each pitched a scoreless inning, with Hawkins getting two strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Wendell Magee was 3-for-4 with a double.  Dmitri Young was 3-for-4.  Bobby Higginson was 2-for-3 with a double.

The game:  Young had an RBI single in the top of the first, but the Twins came back on Hunter's two-run double in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead.  It stayed 2-1 until the fifth, when three Tigers singles loaded the bases with one out.  Higginson's sacrifice fly tied the scored and Young followed with another RBI single to give Detroit a 3-2 advantage.  In the sixth, Mientkiewicz delivered a run-scoring double to tie it 3-3, took third on a ground out and scored on Hunter's sacrifice fly to put Minnesota back up 4-3.  The Twins put the game away in the eighth.  Their first two batters went out, but a single and two walks loaded the bases, A. J. Pierzynski singled in two, and a passed ball allowed the final run to score.  The Tigers opened the bottom of the ninth with two singles, but their next three batters were retired to end the game.

WP:  Eric Milton (2-1).  LP:  Jeff Weaver (0-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  The loss dropped Detroit to 0-10 to start the season...The Tigers' first four batters combined to go 9-for-17...Bobby Kielty was in right field, with Denny Hocking getting the start at second base...Milton pitched six innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and no walks with four strikeouts...Weaver pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits and no walks with two strikeouts...Jones went 0-for-4 to drop his average to .375...Hunter raised his average to .340...Hocking was 0-for-4 and was batting .063...Pierzynski stole a base in the eighth inning, his first of the season.  It would be his only stolen base of the season.  for his career he stole 15 bases in 37 attempts.  His season high was three, which he did in 2003 and 2010.  There were a total of nine seasons in which he had exactly one stolen base...Jackson's scoreless inning kept his ERA at zero through 5.1 innings (five appearances)...Hawkins had an ERA of 0.90 in ten innings (six appearances).

MINNESOTA 4, DETROIT 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, April 12.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Brad Radke pitched 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts.  J. C. Romero retired all four batters he faced, striking out two.  Eddie Guardado struck out all three men he faced.

Opposition stars:  Shane Halter was 2-for-4.  Mitch Melusky was 1-for-3 with a walk.

The game:  A week and a half into the season, the Twins finally got to play their home opener.  They scored all of their runs in the second inning, but that was all they needed.  With one out, Corey Koskie was hit by a pitch.  Mohr, A. J. Pierzynski, and Jay Canizaro followed with singles, the latter two driving in runs to make it 2-0.  Jones walked to load the bases.  RBI singles by Cristian Guzman and Doug Mientkiewicz made it 4-0.  The play-by-play makes it sound like only one of the singles was hit hard:  three of them were listed as ground ball through short left field or short center field, and another was a blooper.  Tigers starter Mark Redman (an ex-Twin, of course), must have been very frustrated.  Bobby Higginson led off the fourth with a triple and scored on a ground out for the first Detroit run and Andres Torres hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to make it 4-2.  The last eight Tigers were retired, however, five of them by strikeout.

WP:  Radke (2-0).  LP:  Redman (0-2).  S:  Guardado (5).

Notes:  This was not the year Detroit threatened the all-time loss record, but they sure weren't very good.  This was their ninth game, and they fell to 0-9.  Something about that sounds familiar...Canizaro was again at second base, going 1-for-3...Mohr raised his average to .419.  He would hit .366 in April, .247 the rest of the way...Jones' average fell to .409...Redman pitched seven innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  Redman would go on to have a decent season, but his best season was the next year, 2003, when he got a World Series ring with the Marlins.  He would not have a good year after that, but still pitched for five more seasons...Up to this point, Romero had made seven appearances, covering 8.1 innings, and given up no runs on two hits and two walks with twelve strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 6-5, tied for second with Chicago, four games behind Cleveland.

CLEVELAND 8, MINNESOTA 4 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Thursday, April 11.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and a double.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  LaTroy Hawkins pitched two shutout innings.  J. C. Romero and Bob Wells each pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Omar Vizquel was 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk, scoring three times and driving in three.  Ellis Burks was 2-for-5 with a double.  Jim Thome was 1-for-2 with a home run (his second) and a walk.

The game:  Jones led off the game with a home run, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Starter Kyle Lohse walked the first two batters (not the recommended way to start a game) and then gave up a two-run double to Burks, giving the Indians a 2-1 advantage.  Hunter led off the second inning with a home run to tie it 2-2.  Solo home runs don't hurt you, though, at least not when you have Thome to hit a two-run shot in the third to put you ahead 4-2.  In the fourth, an error by Guzman (his third in two games) brought home one run and Vizquel followed with a three-run homer to give Cleveland an 8-2 lead.  Doug Mientkiewicz singled home a run in the fifth and Bobby Kielty had an RBI double in the sixth, but that was as close as the Twins would come.

WP:  Bartolo Colon (3-0).  LP:  Lohse (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Kielty made his first start of the season, playing right field and going 1-for-4.  His average was .167...Denny Hocking started at second base and was 0-for-3, dropping his average to .083...Jones average dropped to .415...Hunter raised his average to .325...Lohse pitched 3.1 innings, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on five hits and four walks with two strikeouts.  His ERA was 11.74...Colon didn't have a great game, either, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts...Lawton was 1-for-3 with two walks to raise his average to .308...Thome's average went up to .200.

Record:  The Twins were 5-5, tied for second with Chicago and Kansas City, four games behind Cleveland.

CLEVELAND 9, MINNESOTA 3 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Wednesday, April 10.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 3-for-4 with a stolen base.  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second.  A. J. Pierzynski was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jack Cressend struck out two in a scoreless inning.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Jim Thome was 2-for-5 with a grand slam and a double, driving in five.  Ellis Burks was 2-for-3 with a double and two walks.  Matt Lawton was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.

The game:  Thome doubled in a run in the first inning to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.  In the second, the Twins loaded the bases with none out.  Mohr singled home the tying run and Pierzynski hit a sacrifice fly to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead, but a double play ended the inning.  In the bottom of the inning, Cleveland scored six runs to put the game away early.  Cristian Guzman made two errors in the inning, making all six runs unearned.  An error brought home the first run, Lawton singled in the second, and Thome hit a two-out grand slam.  It killed the rally, but it also killed the Twins' hopes of winning the game.  Burks singled home a run in the fourth to make it 8-2.  Mohr homered leading off the fifth to make it 8-3, but that was as close as Minnesota would come.  Omar Vizquel hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to round out the scoring.

WP:  Danys Baez (2-0)  LP:  Rick Reed (1-1)  S:  None.

Notes:  Jay Canizaro got another chance at second, going 0-for-2 with a walk.  His average was .167...Jacque Jones was 1-for-4 to make his average .432...Mohr raised his average to .393...Reed pitched five innings, allowing eight runs (only two earned) on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts...Baez pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and four walks with no strikeouts...Lawton was batting .306.

Record:  The Twins were 5-4, in second place, three games behind Cleveland.

CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Tuesday, April 9.

Batting stars:  Cristian Guzman was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his second.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base, his second.

Pitching stars:  Bob Wells pitched three shutout innings.  J. C. Romero retired all four batters he faced, three by strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Chuck Finley struck out seven in six shutout innings, giving up four hits and four walks.  Milton Bradley was 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk.  Matt Lawton was 1-for-4 with a home run, his third.

The game:  The Indians scored four runs in the second inning, getting an RBI single from Gutierrez, a two-run homer by Bradley, and a Lawton solo homer.  Gutierrez delivered another RBI single in the third to make it 5-0.  The Twins left the bases loaded in the third but didn't do a lot else off Finley.  After Finley left, however, the Twins got back into the game.  A. J. Pierzynski had an RBI double and Guzman delivered a run-scoring single in the seventh to cut the lead to 5-2.  The Twins missed a chance to get more, leaving men on first and third.  It was still 5-2 going to the ninth.  With two out and none on, Pierzynski reached second on an error and scored on Jones' single.  Jones then stole second and scored on a Guzman single.  That was as good as it got, though, as Doug Mientkiewicz struck out to end the game.

WP:  Finley.  LP:  Joe Mays.  S:  Bob Wickman.

Notes:  Matthew LeCroy replaced David Ortiz at DH and went 0-for-3...Jay Canizaro played second base and was 1-for-2...Warren Morris pinch-hit for him and went 0-for-1, his last at-bat as a Twin...Tom Prince gave Pierzynski a partial day off behind the plate, although Pierzynski pinch-hit for him in the seventh and caught the rest of the way.  Prince was 0-for-1 with a walk...Starter Joe Mays lasted only three innings, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks with one strikeout.  His ERA was 12.15...Jones was batting .455...Dustan Mohr was 1-for-4 and was batting .375...Bobby Kielty made his season debut for the Twins as a pinch-hitter, going 0-for-1...Future Twin Jim Thome was 0-for-2 with two walks.

CLEVELAND 9, MINNESOTA 5 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Monday, April 2.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 4-for-4 with a walk, a double, and a stolen base.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Jack Cressend and LaTroy Hawkins each pitched two perfect innings, with Cressend striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Matt Lawton was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second.  Ellis Burks was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Travis Fryman was 1-for-4 with a grand slam.

The game:  The Twins again jumped out to a first inning lead, getting RBI singles from Guzman and Dustan Mohr to take a 2-0 lead.  The Indians came right back with three in the bottom of the first, as Omar Vizquel had an RBI triple and Burks hit a two-run homer.  The Twins took the lead back in the third on an RBI double by A. J. Pierzynski and a run-scoring single by Jones.  In the bottom of the third, however, Cleveland took the lead to stay on a grand slam by Fryman that made the score 7-4.  Lawton hit a two-run homer in the fourth to give the Indians a 9-4 advantage.  Torii Hunter singled home a run in the sixth to cut the lead to 9-5, but that was as close as the Twins would come.  Cleveland did not get a baserunner after Lawton's fourth-inning home run, but by then it did not matter.

WP:  Ryan Drese.  LP:  Eric Milton.  S:  None.

Notes:  Denny Hocking started at second base.  He would become the starting second baseman until Luis Rivas came back in early June.  He went 1-for-4 to make his average .111...Future Twin Jim Thome was 1-for-4...Milton lasted four innings, giving up all nine runs on eight hits and a walk.  He did strike out four...Drese did not pitch particularly well either, going five innings and giving up four runs on eight hits and five walks.  He struck out five...Jones raised his average to .467...Mohr was 1-for-5 to make his average .400.

Record:  The Twins were 5-2, in second place, one game behind Cleveland.

MINNESOTA 10, TORONTO 6 IN TORONTO

Date:  Sunday, April 7.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 3-for-5 with a home run.  Corey Koskie was 1-for-3 with a home run, two walks, and three RBIs.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third), a walk, and three RBIs.  David Ortiz was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third) and two walks, scoring three times.

Pitching stars:  Bob Wells and Mike Jackson each pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Raul Mondesi was 2-for-5 with a home run, his second.  Carlos Delgado was 2-for-2 with two doubles and a walk.  Chris Woodward was 1-for-3 with a home run.

The game:  The Twins again jumped on a starter early.  A single and two walks loaded the bases with one out in the first.  Hunter hit a sacrifice fly and Koskie followed with a three-run homer to put the Twins in front 4-0.  Mohr led off the fourth with a home run to make it 5-0.  The Blue Jays got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on a Vernon Wells RBI double, but the Twins more than got the run back in the fifth as Hunter hit a two-run homer to make it 7-1.  Jacque Jones had an RBI double in the sixth to make it 8-1.  In the bottom of the sixth, Toronto put men on second and third with none out and a pair of RBI groundouts made it 8-3.  The Blue Jays got back into the game in the seventh, as reliever Jack Cressend gave up a home run to Woodward and a two-run homer to Mondesi to cut the Twins' lead to 8-6.  The Twins loaded the bases with none out in the eighth, but could only get one run on a Denny Hocking sacrifice fly.  Wells and Jackson shut the door on Toronto, however, and an Ortiz home run in the ninth rounded out the scoring.

WP:  Brad Radke.  LP:  Brian Cooper.  S:  None.

Notes:  Warren Morris got the call at second base this time, going 0-for-3.  He was 0-for-6 at this point and would get only one more at-bat as a Twin...Radke pitched six innings, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  The first inning blues had not hit him yet, as he had not given up a run in either of his first innings so far...Cressend would stick around until early June.  He had some good games, but when he was bad he was quite bad, giving up multiple runs in seven of his twenty-three appearances...Jacque Jones was 2-for-5 with a double and was batting .385...Doug Mientkiewicz was 0-for-4 and was batting .320...Mohr raised his average to .467...Cristian Guzman was 1-for-4 and was batting .190...Koskie raised his average to .174...Radke lowered his ERA to 6.97...Future Twin Shannon Stewart went 0-for-4.

Record:  The Twins were 5-1, tied for first with Cleveland.

MINNESOTA 7, TORONTO 5 IN TORONTO

Date:  Saturday, April 6.

Batting stars:  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4 with a double.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-5 with a double and a stolen base.

Pitching stars:  LaTroy Hawkins pitched 1.2 scoreless innings.  Eddie Guardado struck out two in a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Felipe Lopez was 2-for-4 with a double.  Carlos Delgado was 2-for-5 with a double.  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-5.

The game:  The Twins again jumped out to an early lead.  Guzman scored from first on a Mientkiewicz double to put Minnesota up 1-0 in the first.  Two walks, a single, and a ground out gave the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead after one, but the Twins came back with five in the second.  Jay Canizaro had a two-run triple, Tom Prince an RBI single, a run scored on a ground out, and a sacrifice fly rounded out the inning.  Toronto got one back in the third on a Delgado double, but it was still 6-3 until the eighth, when the Blue Jays opened the inning with four consecutive singles, making the score 6-5.  They put men on second and third with two out, but a popup ended the inning.  A Jacque Jones homer in the ninth gave Minnesota an insurance run, and Guardado came in to slam the door in the ninth.

WP:  Hawkins.  LP:  Scott Eyre.  S:  Guardado.

Notes:  Canizaro got the start at second this time and went 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs...Tom Prince caught for the second straight game in place of A. J. Pierzynski...Starter Kyle Lohse lasted just 4.1 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and three walks and three strikeouts.  He was removed in the fifth after consecutive singles put men on first and third with one out...Jones' home run was his third in five games...Guardado's save was his fourth in five games...Dustan Mohr was 1-for-3 and was batting .400...Jones and Mientkiewicz were each at .381...The Twins had four starters batting below .200:  Torii Hunter (.190), Guzman (.176), Koskie (.150) and Canizaro (.125).

Record:  The Twins were 4-1, tied for first place with Cleveland.

MINNESOTA 4, TORONTO 3 IN TORONTO

Date:  Friday, April 5.

Batting stars:  David Ortiz was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and a double.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk.  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, and a stolen base.

Pitching stars:  Rick Reed pitched five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  J. C. Romero struck out two in 1.1 perfect innings.  Mike Jackson struck out two in 1.2 perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Felix Heredia struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and three walks.  Dave Berg hit a pinch-hit home run.

The game:  The Twins jumped on Blue Jays starter Brandon Lyon, as Ortiz hit a two-run homer and Torii Hunter made it back-to-back homers, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead.  Shannon Stewart led off the bottom of the first to make it 3-1, but the Twins got the run back in the second as Tom Prince scored from first on a single-plus-error by Jacque Jones.  Carlos Delgado led off the fourth with a home run to cut the lead to 4-2.  There was no more scoring until the ninth, when Berg led off with a pinch-hit homer to make it 4-3.  A walk put the tying run on base, but a double play and a fly out ended the game.

WP:  Reed.  LP:  Lyon.  S:  Eddie Guardado.

Notes:  Luis Rivas was apparently injured in the second game of the season.  He would not return until June 4.  The Twins appear to have been auditioning candidates to replace him, as Jay Canizaro started at second yesterday and Warren Morris started this game, going 0-for-3...Prince replaced A. J. Pierzynski at catcher and was 1-for-4...All of the Toronto runs came on solo homers, by Stewart, Delgado, and Berg.  It was the first homer of the season for each.  I guess solo home runs don't hurt you...The Twins had several players batting well in the young season, as Mohr was batting .429, Jones .412, Mientkiewicz .375, and Ortiz .353.  On the other end of the scale were Cristian Guzman at .077 and Corey Koskie at .063.