Tag Archives: 2002 rewind

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Three

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TORONTO 7, MINNESOTA 2 IN TORONTO

Date:  Thursday, April 4.

Batting stars:  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Roy Halladay struck out eight in eight innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and no walks.  Raul Mondesi was 4-for-5 with a home run and a double, scoring three times and driving in three.  Eric Hinske was 3-for-5 with three doubles.

The game:  The Twins scored in the top of the first, as Jones singled and Mientkiewicz doubled to put on second and third with one out.  A David Ortiz ground out plated the run.  The Blue Jays tied it in the third inning when a Darren Fletcher sacrifice fly scored Mondesi, who had led off the inning with a double.  Corey Koskie's RBI single in the fourth brought home Torii Hunter to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead.  From there, though, it was all Toronto.  A single, two doubles, and two more singles brought home three runs in the bottom of the fourth and chased starter Joe Mays.  In the sixth, back-to-back doubles by Shannon Stewart and Hinske made it 5-2 Blue Jays.  They added two more in the eighth on Mondesi's two-run homer.  The Twins got two on with none out in the ninth, but a fly out and two strikeouts ended the threat.

WP:  Halladay.  LP:  Mays.  S:  None.

Notes:  Jay Canizaro replaced Luis Rivas at second base and went 0-for-4...Denny Hocking replaced Cristian Guzman at shortstop and went 0-for-3...Mays pitched 3.2 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts...The Twins made three errors, one each by Canizaro, Koskie, and Mays,

Record:  The Twins were 2-1, tied for first place with Cleveland.

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Two

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MINNESOTA 1, KANSAS CITY 0 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Wednesday, April 3.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-4 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Eric Milton pitched seven shutout innings, giving up two hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Dan Reichert struck out eight in seven innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks.  Ex-Twin Dave McCarty was 1-for-3 with a double.

The game:  The lone run came in the third inning.  Jones led off with a single, went to second on a bunt, took third on a ground out, and scored on a David Ortiz single.  The Royals got both of their hits off Milton in the first inning, two-out singles by Carlos Beltran and Mike Sweeney.  Milton retired the last nineteen batters he faced.  McCarty led off the eighth with a double off J. C. Romero, who came back to strike out the next two batters before walking Carlos Febles.  Bob Wells then came in to retire Chuck Knoblauch on a popup.   Guardado then retired the side in order in the ninth. The Twins missed some chances to add to their lead, going 1-for-7 with men in scoring position, but as it turned out extra runs were not needed.

WP:  Milton.  LP:  Reichert.  S:  Guardado.

Notes:  Brian Buchanan was once again in right field.  In both of the first two games Denny Hocking was his defensive replacement.  In this game, however, he may have been injured, as he did not play again until April 19.  The last out of the seventh inning (after which he was replaced) was a fly to deep right by Joe Randa, so one suspects he may have been injured making the catch...Ex-Twin Knoblauch went 0-for-4...McCarty's double leading off the eighth was the only extra base hit by either team...Corey Koskie and Cristian Guzman were the only two Twins regulars who did not get a hit in the first two games.  Koskie was 0-for-7 and Guzman was 0-for-8...By game scores, this would be Milton's best game of the season.  After this game, of course, his ERA was zero.  He would not finish a game with an ERA of less than 4.60 the rest of the season.

Record:  The Twins were 2-0, in first place by a half game over Cleveland.

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game One

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MINNESOTA 8, KANSAS CITY 6 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Monday, April 1.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs.  David Ortiz was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, and a walk.  Brian Buchanan was 2-for-4 with a home run.

Pitching stars:  J. C. Romero pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts.  Mike Jackson pitched a scoreless inning.  Eddie Guardado walked two but still pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Neifi Perez was 3-for-5 with a triple.  Mike Sweeney was 2-for-4 with a double.  Carlos Beltran was 1-for-3 with a triple.

The game:  Jones and Ortiz each homered in the first inning and Buchanan homered in the second to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.  A sacrifice fly put the Royals on the board in the second and Sweeney hit a two-run double in a three-run third that gave Kansas City a 4-3 advantage.  Back-to-back RBI triples by Perez and Beltran made it 6-3 in the fifth.  Torii Hunter hit the Twins' fourth solo homer in the sixth to cut the margin to 6-4.  In the seventh, Jones hit a three-run homer to put the Twins back in the lead and a bases-loaded walk later in the inning provided an insurance run, making the score 8-6.  The Royals put the tying run on base in the ninth, as Guardado issued two-out walks to Carlos Febles and Chuck Knoblauch, but Perez flied out to end the game.

WP:  Romero.  LP:  Cory Bailey.  S:  Guardado.

Notes:  Buchanan was in right field.  Otherwise, the starters were the ones who would be the regulars all season...Brad Radke started and pitched 4.1 innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits and no walks with two strikeouts...Kansas City's starter was Jeff Suppan, who pitched six innings and gave up four runs on seven hits and no walks with three strikeouts...Ex-Twin Knoblauch started in left field, having left the infield due to his throwing problems.  This would be his last season, and he would hit just .210 with a .584 OPS.

Record:  The Twins were 1-0, tied for first with Chicago and Cleveland.