Tag Archives: 2002 rewind

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Ninety-three

MINNESOTA 5, TEXAS 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, July 14.

Batting stars:  David Ortiz was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run, his sixth.  Denny Hocking was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Michael Cuddyer was 2-for-2 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched seven innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk and striking out six.  Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Dave Burba pitched six innings, giving up one run on five hits and two walks and striking out three.  Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with two home runs (his thirtieth and thirty-first) and a walk, driving in three.

The game:  The Twins loaded the bases with one out in the second but did not score.  In the fifth, Bill Haselman singled home a run to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.  Alex Rodriguez homered in the second to make it 2-0.  The Twins finally got on the board in the seventh.  Bobby Kielty led off with a home run, making it 2-1, and later in the inning Luis Rivas lined a two-run single to give the Twins the lead at 3-2.  It didn't last long, as Alex Rodriguez struck again in the eighth, hitting a two-run homer to give Texas a 4-3 advantage.  That didn't last long, either.  Torii Hunter led off the eighth with a home run to tie it and Ortiz made it back-to-back homers and put the Twins back in front 5-4.  Guardado retired the side in order in the ninth to secure the Twins win.

WP:  J. C. Romero (5-1).  LP:  Colby Lewis (1-2).  S:  Guardado (28).

Notes:  Cuddyer pinch-hit for Jacque Jones in the seventh...Rivas was not in the starting lineup.  He replaced Cristian Guzman at the start of the second inning.  He went to second base, with Hocking moving from second to short.  Guzman would be back in the lineup the next day...Romero faced only two batters to get the win.  He came in with two out and none on in the eighth and the Twins trailing 4-3.  He walked Rafael Palmeiro but retired Herbert Perry on a popup...Colby Lewis was in the first year of an interesting career.  He would appear in the next Rangers game, then go back to AAA, coming back as a September call-up.  He made 26 starts for Texas in 2003 and went 10-9, but with a 7.30 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP.  He made three starts for the Rangers in 2004, then was injured and did not come back until 2006.  By this time he was with Detroit, having been waived by Texas.  He was mostly in AAA for the Tigers that season, making two appearances in the majors.  He signed with Washington for 2007, was released in spring training, and signed with Oakland.  He split the season between AAA and the majors, doing very well in the former and not well at all in the latter.  He then went to Japan for two years, where he pitched extremely well.  He came back to the United States in 2010 at age thirty, signed with Texas again, and had three solid seasons for the Rangers.  He got hurt again, making just seven minor league starts in 2013.  He came back to be in the Rangers rotation for three more seasons, 2014-2016 and did fairly well.  He wanted to pitch in 2017, but the Rangers only offered him a minor league contract, and so he retired to become a special assistant to the Rangers' general manager.  His career numbers are nothing to shout about.  77-72, 4.70, 1.34 WHIP.  At his best, though, he was pretty good.  He was also pretty good in the post-season:  4-1, 3.11, 1.18 WHIP in 55 innings.

Record:  The Twins were 53-40, in first place, leading Chicago by nine games.

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Ninety-two

TEXAS 8, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, July 13.

Batting stars:  Bobby Kielty was 2-for-4.  Tom Prince was 1-for-2 with a double, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-3 with a double.

Pitching star:  Tony Fiore pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up no hits and one walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Kenny Rogers pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and four walks and striking out four.  Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-ninth), a double, and a walk, driving in three.  Rafael Palmeiro was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and four RBIs.

The game:  The Twins got on the board first, as Cristian Guzman scored from first on a Hunter double.  Alex Rodriguez homered in the third to tie it 1-1.  in the fifth, Rafael Palmeiro hit a  two-run double and Carl Everett had an RBI single later in the inning to  give the Rangers a 4-1 lead.  Texas scored three more in the sixth, getting a two-run double from Alex Rodriguez and another two-run double from Palmeiro.  The Twins did not get a man past second after the fifth inning.

WP:  Rogers (10-5).  LP:  Juan Rincon (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Jacque Jones was again out of the lineup, with Guzman moving up to the leadoff spot.  He was 1-for-5...Matthew LeCroy was the DH, going 0-for-4...Doug Mientkiewicz was also out of the lineup, with Michael Cuddyer playing first base.  Interestingly, when Denny Hocking was inserted into the lineup in the eighth inning he went to first base, with Cuddyer going to third.  Cuddyer went 1-for-4...Prince was the catcher, with A. J. Pierzynski out of the lineup...Dustan Mohr went 0-for-4 and was batting .300...Hunter raised his average to .305...Kielty raised his average to .317...Rincon pitched 4.2 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on eight hits and two walks and striking out five.  He would make one more start, then move to the bullpen permanently...Jose Rodriguez relieved Rincon and pitched just two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs on four hits and a walk.  It would be the last major league appearance of his career...Carl Everett is probably more remembered for his opinions about dinosaurs than for his playing career.  That's too bad, because he was a pretty good player.  He got a few weeks with the Florida Marlins in 1993 and 1994, then got to the majors permanently when he was traded to the Mets that off-season.  He was with the Mets for three seasons, 1995-1997, and got more playing time each season despite the fact that he was pretty average for them.  He was traded to Houston after the 1997 season, and that was when he really got things going.  He hit .310/.378/.526 in two years with the Astros, getting minor MVP consideration in 1999.  He then was traded to Boston and had a very good 2000 season, making his first all-star team.  He declined after that, although he was still a good enough player for the next two seasons.  He bounced back in 2003, batting .287 with 28 home runs and making his second all-star team.  He was traded to the White Sox at mid-season.  That was his last really good season, although again, he was still a decent player through 2005.  He signed as a free agent with Montreal for 2004 but was traded back to the White Sox at mid-season.  He stayed there through 2005, had a poor year with Seattle in 2006, played well in the Atlantic League from 2007-2010, and then was done.  His major league numbers are .271/.341/.462 with 202 home runs. Those are obviously not Hall of Fame numbers, but they're still quite respectable.

Record:  The Twins were 52-40, in first place, leading Chicago by nine games.

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Ninety-one

3 Comments

MINNESOTA 4, TEXAS 3 IN MINNESOTA (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, July 12.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 3-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Rick Reed pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks and striking out four.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.  Tony Fiore pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Ivan Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a triple.  Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-5 with a home run, his twenty-eighth.  Michael Young was 2-for-5 with a triple.

The game:  In the second, Hunter led off with a single and David Ortiz walked.  Mohr followed with an RBI double, then there were two run-scoring ground outs to put the Twins ahead 3-0.  The Twins stayed stuck at three, however, and the Rangers got back into the game.  Michael Young tripled home Frank Catalanotto in the third to cut the lead to 3-1.  Alex Rodriguez homered in the sixth to make it 3-2.  The Twins missed chances to get insurance runs.  Ortiz led off the seventh with a double but his pinch-runner, Michael Cuddyer, was stranded at third.  In the eighth, Guzman hit a one-out triple and was also stranded.  Still, the Twins were up 3-2 with Eddie Guardado ready to pitch the ninth.  Guardado started by giving up singles to Juan Gonzalez and Rafael Palmeiro (two pretty good batters), and Ivan Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to tie the score.  The Twins got Hunter to third with two out in the ninth but could not score.  They had the bases loaded in the tenth and were turned aside.  Mohr led off the eleventh with a single and was bunted to second.  Luis Rivas grounded out, but Jacque Jones delivered a line drive single to left to bring home the winning run.

WP:  Fiore (7-2).  LP:  Hideki Irabu (3-8).  S:  None.

Notes:  Hunter raised his average to .304...Mohr went up to .306...A. J. Pierzynski was 0-for-2 (pinch-hit for in the seventh) and was batting .312...Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.47...It was Guardado's fourth blown save.  He had given up runs in four of his last seven appearances, but would not give up another for a month...Fiore was trying to recover from a rough stretch.  He had given up ten runs in his last five appearances (six innings), raising his ERA from 2.12 to 3.59...I don't normally associate Ivan Rodriguez with triples, but he had 51 of them for his career.  Partly that's just because he played so long, but in every year from 1992 through 2010 he had at least one triple.  His high was five in 2005...My memory was that Alex Rodriguez, while still good, hadn't been that great for Texas.  My memory was completely wrong.  In three seasons there, he batted .305/.395/.615 and hit 156 home runs.  He finished sixth in MVP voting in 2001, second in 2002 (to Miguel Tejada--there really is no way Tejada should've won the award over Rodriguez.  Tejada had a fine year, but his OPS was 150 points less than Rodriguez', they played the same position, and Rodriguez won the Gold Glove), and won the award in 2003.  He also won the Gold Glove in 2003, won the Silver Slugger in all three seasons, and made the all-star team in all three seasons.  People held the huge contract against him, and he was never really The People's Choice even when he was in Seattle, but there's no question that he was a great, great player for three years for the Texas Rangers.

Record:  The Twins were 52-39, in first place, leading Chicago by 8.5 games.

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Ninety

MINNESOTA 4, TEXAS 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, July 11.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 2-for-2 with two doubles, two walks, and a stolen base, his eighth.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 1-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Eric Milton struck out ten in seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Kevin Mench was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, his tenth.  Herbert Perry was 2-for-4 with a double.  Juan Gonzalez was 2-for-4.

The game:  Michael Young led off the game with a triple and scored on a ground out to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.  Mench hit a two-run homer in the second to make it 3-0.  Koskie got the Twins on the board in the bottom of the second, as he led off the inning with a walk, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a failed pickoff throw by the catcher.  The Twins tied it in the third on consecutive RBI doubles by Mientkiewicz and Koskie.  The Twins loaded the bases in the sixth on a walk and two hit batsmen, but did not score.  In the seventh, the Twins got walks to Jacque Jones and Cristian Guzman and a double by Koskie to take a 4-3 lead.  The Rangers put men on second and third in the eighth and first and second in the ninth, but did not score.

WP:  Milton (11-6).  LP:  Chan Ho Park (3-5).  S:  Guardado (27).

Notes:  Texas out-hit the Twins 9-4...The Twins had only four hits, but drew five walks and had two hit batsmen...Jones was restored to the leadoff spot and went 0-for-3 with a walk...Torii Hunter was 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch, dropping his average to .303...Bobby Kielty was 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch to make his average .312...A. J. Pierzynski was 0-for-4 and was batting .315...Park pitched 6.1 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on three hits and five walks and striking out five...Kevin Mench was a solid outfielder for the Rangers for about five years.  He came up at the start of the 2002 season and was a mostly regular outfielder, seeing about equal time in left and right.  He hit .260 with fifteen homers and finished seventh in rookie of the year voting.  He got off to a poor start in 2003, went back to AAA for a month, and went on a tear when he got back, batting .354 from June 1 through July 8.  Unfortunately, he then got hurt and missed the rest of the season.  2004 was his best year, as he batted .279 with 26 home runs and an OPS of .874.  He again saw about equal time in left and right fields.  In 2005 he was the regular left fielder and had another fine season, batting .264 with 25 homers.  He was having another solid year for the Rangers in 2006 when he was traded to Milwaukee at the July deadline.  That was the beginning of the end for him.  He was terrible for the last two months of 2006 and decent, but no more, as a part-time player for the Brewers in 2007.  He signed back with Texas for 2008, but after a month in AAA was sold to Toronto.  He saw some part-time action with the Blue Jays that year, played in Japan in 2009, came back to play (poorly) for Washington in 2010, and then his career was over.  For Texas, he batted .274/.335/.480.  The rest of his career he batted .246/.288/.379.  He does seem to have been helped by playing in Arlington, but I don't know if that's the entire explanation.  At any rate, he at least was a pretty good player from 2002 through July of 2006.  At last report, Kevin Mench was working in the medical technologies industry.

Record:  The Twins were 51-39, in first place, leading Chicago by 7.5 games.

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Eighty-nine

SEATTLE 8, MINNESOTA 2 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Sunday, July 7.

Batting stars:  Denny Hocking was 2-for-3.  Jacque Jones hit a home run, his thirteenth.  A. J. Pierzynski hit a home run, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  John Olerud was 2-for-4 with two two-run homers, his fourteenth and fifteenth.  Mark McLemore was 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his thirteenth.  Bret Boone was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  Jones homered with one out in the second to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  It didn't last long, though, as Edgar Martinez and Boone led off the bottom of the second with doubles to tie it and a sacrifice fly gave the Mariners a 2-1 lead.  Olerud hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 4-1.  Pierzynski homered in the fifth to cut the lead to 4-2, but the Twins would get no closer.  The Mariners put the game out of reach with four in the eighth, two on an Olerud homer and two on a Dan Wilson double.

WP:  John Halama (4-2).  LP:  Rick Reed (5-6).  S:  Kazuhiro Sasaki (21).

Notes:  Jones batted sixth, with Luis Rivas again in the leadoff spot.  Rivas was 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, and a stolen base, his fourth...Matthew LeCroy was the DH, going 0-for-4 to drop his average to .313...Torii Hunter was given the day off going into the all-star break, with Bobby Kielty in center and Dustan Mohr in right...Kielty was 1-for-3 to make his average .318...Pierzynski was 1-for-4 and was batting .320...Hocking started at short, replacing Cristian Guzman...Reed pitched six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and no walks and striking out four...Seattle starter Halama struck out six in 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks...Kazuhiro Sasaki had a brief but excellent major league career.  He had played in Japan for nine years before coming to the Mariners.  He had been a star closer there, twice posting an ERA below one and posting a WHIP of less than one five times.  He came to the Mariners in 2000 at age thirty-two and immediately became their closer.  He was the Rookie of the Year that season and made the all-star team in both 2001 and 2002.  He had injury problems in 2003, injuries he said came when he fell down stairs while carrying a suitcase.  It appears many did not believe this explanation, although I did not quickly see an alternative explanation offered.  2003 would be his last season in the majors.  The Mariners wanted him back for 2004, but he asked for his release to go back to Japan.  His family had stayed behind in Japan when he came to the United States, and this apparently put a strain on his marriage.  Unfortunately, the return did not help him professionally or personally.  He was no longer the pitcher he had once been, and he and his wife ultimately divorced.  He pitched in Japan through 2005, then was done.  He is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.  In his four seasons in the United States, he was 7-16, but with 129 saves, an ERA of 3.14, and a WHIP of 1.08.

Record:  The Twins were 50-39, in first place, 7.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Eighty-eight

MINNESOTA 7, SEATTLE 2 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Saturday, July 6.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 3-for-5 with a home run, his twentieth.  David Ortiz was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fifth), a double, and a hit-by-pitch.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his fourth.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse struck out nine in six shutout innings, giving up four hits and five walks.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Mike Jackson pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Mark McLemore was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Edgar Martinez was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Jeff Cirillo was 2-for-2.

The game:  Seattle opened the first with two walks but could not score.  Ortiz made them pay as he hit a two-run homer in the second to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.  Each team then missed good chances, as the Mariners stranded five runners in innings two and three and the Twins left four in innings three and four.  The Twins broke through in the fifth, as LeCroy hit a two-run homer to make it 4-0.  Seattle stranded two more runners in the fifth.  Hunter homered in the seventh to increase the lead to 5-0.  In the seventh the Mariners finally got on the board off J. C. Romero.  With the bases loaded and two out, Cirillo singled and Ben Davis walked, cutting the lead to 5-2.  That was as close as Seattle would get, though.  Cristian Guzman doubled home a run in the eighth, the Mariners stranded two more in the bottom of the eighth, and Dustan Mohr had an RBI single in the ninth.  Seattle left sixteen men on base and was 1-for-14 with men in scoring position.

WP:  Lohse (8-5).  LP:  Jamie Moyer (8-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Jacque Jones was not in the lineup, as Guzman again batted leadoff.  He was 1-for-5 with a double...Hunter raised his average to .306...LeCroy was again the DH and raised his average to .324...Mohr was 2-for-5 and was batting .300...Brian Buchanan was again in right field rather than Bobby Kielty.  He was 0-for-3...Tom Prince caught in place of A. J. Pierzynski, going 1-for-4...This was Lohse's highest game score of the season so far (68) and would end us as his third highest.  It was the second consecutive game in which he issued five walks...Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.52...Jamie Moyer was thirty-nine at this point in his career.  He would pitch another ten years...The record for men left on base in a game appears to be twenty, set by the Yankees against Boston on September 21, 1956.  They got fifteen hits and drew nine walks.  They also got the benefit of five Red Sox errors.  The Yankees lost 13-7.

Record:  The Twins were 50-38, the first time they'd been twelve games over .500.  They were in first place, leading Chicago by 7.5 games.

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Eighty-seven

MINNESOTA 8, SEATTLE 4 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Friday, July 5.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk.  Bobby Kielty was 2-for-4.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-4 with a grand slam, his nineteenth home run.

Pitching star:  Eric Milton pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on seven hits and one walk and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  John Olerud was 2-for-4 with a home run, his thirteenth.  Mike Cameron was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, his fifteenth.  James Baldwin pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out three.

The game:  The Twins had a man in scoring position with none out in the second and one out in the third and failed to score.  It looked like that might come back to haunt them, as Cameron hit a three-run homer in the fourth to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead.  Olerud homered leading off the fourth to make it 4-0.  The Twins finally got to Baldwin in the seventh.  Koskie led off with a double and scored on a Matthew LeCroy single.  Jacque Jones followed with a two-run homer to cut the lead to 4-3.  The home run did not kill the rally.  Bobby Kielty and A. J. Pierzynski singled off Jeff Nelson, a wild pitch tied it up, and a walk, a bunt, and an intentional walk loaded the bases.  Hunter then unloaded them with a grand slam.  This time it did kill the rally, but no one cared.  It was an eight-run inning and the Twins had the game under control.  Milton did not allow a baserunner after that.

WP:  Milton (10-6).  LP:  Nelson (1-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Cristian Guzman was moved up to the leadoff spot, with Jones batting sixth.  They each went 1-for-4, but of course Jones hit the two-run homer...Hunter's average was now .301...LeCroy was the DH, going 1-for-4.  He was batting .320...Koskie had a ten-game hitting streak.  He was 13-for-34 and nine of his thirteen hits were doubles.  He also had a home run, meaning ten of his thirteen hits were for extra bases.  He also drew five walks and stole a base.  He would hit in one more game before his streak was snapped...Milton threw 119 pitches in the complete game.  Later in Gardy's career, I doubt he would've let Milton pitch the ninth, especially with a relatively rested bullpen and a four-run lead.  I can't prove that, obviously, and I'm not criticizing him for doing it.  Milton was pitching very well.  I just don't think that, say, 2010 Gardy would've had Milton throw a complete game in that sitaution.

Notes:  The Twins were 49-38, in first place, leading Chicago by 7.5 games.

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Eighty-six

1 Comment

SEATTLE 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Thursday, July 4.

Batting star:  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching star:  Juan Rincon pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits and two walks and striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Freddy Garcia struck out seven in seven innings, giving up one run on six hits and a walk.  Mark McLemore was 3-for-3 with a triple and a double.  John Olerud was 1-for-3 with a double.

The game:  Another pitchers' duel.  The Twins missed a good chance in the fourth.  Cristian Guzman and Koskie led off the inning with singles.  David Ortiz lined out, but Torii Hunter singled to load the bases.  A wild pitch brought home a run, and Doug Mientkiewicz was intentionally walked to re-load the bases.  The strategy worked, as Dustan Mohr and A. J. Pierzynski both struck out.  The failure to put up a crooked number cost the Twins.  McLemore led off the sixth with a triple and scored on Olerud's sacrifice fly to tie the game.  In the eighth, Edgar Martinez drew a walk and was replaced by Charles Gipson.  Olerud then doubled to left-center, scoring Gipson from first to put the Mariners ahead.  The Twins went down in order in the ninth, and in fact did not get a baserunner after Koskie led off the sixth with a double.

WP:  Arthur Rhodes (5-1).  LP:  Jose Rodriguez (0-1).  S:  Kazuhiro Sasaki (20).

Notes:  Torii Hunter was 1-for-4 to make his average .302...This was the first start of Juan Rincon's career, and it was the best one he would have.  He would start only two more times, both in July of 2002, then spend the rest of his major league career in the bullpen...This was the second game of Jose Rodriguez' career as a Twin.  He came in to start the eighth with the score tied 1-1.  He retired Ichiro Suzuki, then gave up the walk and the double that put Seattle ahead.  He gave an intentional walk to Ruben Sierra before leaving the game.  I assume Gardy was playing match-ups with the left-hander, but it seems strange that he would use Rodriguez in that situation when he had so many better relievers to choose from.

Record:  The Twins were 48-38, in first place, leading Chicago by 6.5 games.

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Eighty-five

MINNESOTA 2, OAKLAND 1 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Wednesday, July 3.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Brian Buchanan was 1-for-3 with a double.  Bobby Kielty was 1-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana struck out eight in 6.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits and three walks.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.  Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Mark Mulder struck out twelve in a complete game, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk.  Jermaine Dye was 2-for-4 with a double.  Olmedo Saenz was 2-for-4.

The game:  Terrence Long led off the third with a single, went to second on a balk, and scored on a Ramon Hernandez single to put Oakland up 1-0.  The Twins came back in the top of the fourth.  Koskie hit a one-out double.  With two out, Kielty doubled and Doug Mientkiewicz singled to put the Twins up 2-1.  At that was it for the scoring.  The Athletics had their chances.  They put men on first and second in the fifth on a pair of walks and in the sixth on a pair of singles.  Dye hit a two-out double in the eighth.  They never got the tying run farther than second base, though.

WP:  Santana (4-1).  LP:  Mulder (9-5).  S: Guardado (26).

Notes:  Denny Hocking was at shortstop in place of Cristian Guzman.  He was 1-for-4...Matthew LeCroy was the DH.  He went 0-for-4 to drop his average to .323...Buchanan was in right field and was now batting .319...Kielty shifted to center as Torii Hunter was not in the lineup...Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.56...Guardado got back on track after some rough outings.  He had given up runs in three of his four prior appearances, although twice the Twins won the game anyway...By game scores, this was the best game Mulder had pitched so far this season.  At the end of the year it would tie for second with another game against the Twins, on September 7.  His best game would be September 17 against Anaheim, a twelve-strikeout, complete game shutout.

Record:  The Twins were 48-37, in first place, leading Chicago by 6.5 games.

Keeping Track

2002 Rewind: Game Eighty-four

OAKLAND 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Tuesday, July 2.

Batting stars:  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run (his third), and three RBIs.  Corey Koskie was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his seventh.  Dustan Mohr was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Rick Reed pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and two walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Barry Zito pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out three.  Eric Chavez was 2-for-4 with a double.  Olemdo Saenz was 1-for-1 with a two-run homer, his fourth.

The game:  LeCroy hit a two-run homer in the first to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.  For a while, it looked like that might be enough.  Oakland got on the board in the fourth on a bases-loaded double play, but the Twins got the run back in the fifth on LeCroy's RBI double.  Mark Ellis homered leading off the bottom of the eighth, but the Twins still led 3-2 with Eddie Guardado ready to pitch the ninth.  This, however, would not be Guardado's day.  Chavez led off the ninth with a double.  Jermaine Dye struck out, but Saenz hit a two-run walkoff homer to give the Athletics the victory.

WP:  Chad Bradford (4-2).  LP:  Guardado (1-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Bobby Kielty led off in place of Jacque Jones.  He went 0-for-4 to drop his average to .317...LeCroy was the DH.  David Ortiz was at first base, with Doug Mientkiewicz out of the lineup.  Ortiz went 1-for-3...Tom Prince caught, in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  He was 0-for-4...LeCroy raised his average to .337...Torii Hunter was 0-for-4 to make his average .302...It was Guardado's third blown save of the season in twenty-eight chances...Ellis' home run was his second of the season.  Surprisingly (to me, anyway) he hit 105 home runs in his career, with a high of nineteen in 2007...Due to a lack of time, our player profiles are going to be on hiatus until probably about the first of the year.

Record:  The Twins were 47-37, in first place, leading Chicago by 5.5 games.