Tag Archives: 2003 rewind

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: League Leaders

Twins in the top ten in the American League in various categories:

POSITION PLAYERS

Defensive WAR

  1. Hank Blalock, Tex, 3.0

10.  A. J. Pierzynski, 1.5

Batting average

  1.  Bill Mueller, Bos, .346

8.  Pierzynski, .312

OBP

  1.  Manny Ramirez, Bos, .427

9.  Doug Mientkiewicz, .393

Triples

  1.  Cristian Guzman, 14

4 (tie).  Luis Rivas, 9

Hit by pitch

  1. Jason Giambi, NY, 21

6 (tie).  Pierzynski, 15.

Sacrifice hits

  1.  Ramon Santiago, Det., 18

3. Guzman, 12.

9 (tie). Rivas, 8

Sacrifice flies

  1.  Jeff Conine, Bal., 12

6 (tie).  Corey Koskie, 9.

Intentional walks

  1.  Ramirez, Bos., 28

5 (tie).  Pierzynski, 12.

GIDP

  1. Paul Konerko, Chi, 28

6 (tie).  Rivas, 20.

Caught Stealing

  1.  Alex Sanchez, Det., 18

5 (tie). Guzman, 9.

AB per strikeout

  1. Deivi Cruz, Bal., 11.2

9 (tie).  Doug Mientkiewicz, 8.9
Pierzynski, 8.9

PITCHERS

Walks per nine innings

  1. David Wells, NY, 0.85

3. Brad Radke, 1.09

6.  Kyle Lohse, 2.02

Games

  1.  Trever Miller, Tor, 89

5. LaTroy Hawkins, 74

6 (tie).  J. C. Romero, 73

Saves

  1.  Keith Foulke, Oak., 43
  2. Eddie Guardado, 41

Strikeouts

  1. Esteban Loaiza, Chi, 207

8 (tie).  Johan Santana, 169

Starts

  1. Roy Halladay, Tor, 36

8 (tie).  Radke, 33
Lohse, 33

Complete games

  1.  3 tied at 9

7 (tie).  Radke, 3

Shutouts

  1. 5 tied at 2

6 (tie).  Rick Reed, 1
Lohse, 1
Radke, 1

Home runs allowed

  1.  3 tied at 34

4. Radke, 32.

Hits allowed

  1. Halladay, Tor., 343

3 (tie).  Radke, 242

8 (tie).  Kenny Rogers, 227

K/BB

  1.  Halladay, 6.38

5. Radke, 4.29

10.  Lohse, 2.89

Earned Runs allowed

  1. 2 tied at 123

4 (tie).  Radke, 106

Wild pitches

  1. Victor Zambrano, TB, 15

6 (tie).  J. C. Romero, 9

Hit by pitch

  1. Zambrano, TB, 20

8 (tie).  Rogers, 11.

Games finished

  1.  Foulke, Oak, 67

3.  Guardado, 60.

Adjusted pitching runs

  1.  Pedro Martinez, Bos., 49

8.  Santana, 27.

Adjusted pitching wins

  1. Martinez, Bos., 5.1

8. Santana, 2.7

Base-out runs saved

  1.  Martinez, Bos., 52.61

6.  Santana, 33.22

WPA

  1. Loaiza, Chi, 5.3

7.  Hawkins, 4.1

9.  Santana, 3.7

Sit. Wins Saved

  1. Tim Hudson, Oak, 4.8

8.  Santana, 2.7

Championship WPA

1. Martinez, Bos, 5.5

3.  Hawkins, 4.7

8.  Santana, 2.5

Base-out wins saved

  1.  Martinez, Bos., 5.5

6.  Santana, 3.3

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: ALDS, Game Four

NEW YORK 8, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, October 5.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 3-for-4.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Eric Milton pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up two hits and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  David Wells pitched 7.2 innings, giving up one run on eight hits and no walks and striking out four.  Derek Jeter was 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk.  Jason Giambi was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Alfonso Soriano was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Jorge Posada was 2-for-5.

The game:  Well, it was good for three innings.  The Twins got a man to second in both the second and third, but could not get him farther.  The Yankees had only one hit, and did not advance the man past first.

Then came the fourth.  Jeter struck out, but Giambi and Bernie Williams hit back-to-back doubles to get New York on the board.  Posada singled to put men on first and third.  Hideki Matsui hit a ground-rule double to make it 2-0.  Aaron Boone popped up and Juan Rivera was intentionally walked to load the bases.  It backfired, as Nick Johnson doubled home two and Soriano singled home two more.  It was 6-0 Yankees, and the game and the series were pretty much over at that point.

They played the remaining five and a half innings, of course.  The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on consecutive singles by Hunter, Pierzynski, and Michael Cuddyer.  The Yankees scored in the eighth when Boone singled, stole second, and scored on a bunt single-plus-error by Rivera.  The Twins got a pair of two-out singles in the eighth to drive Wells from the game, but did not score.  Jeter homered leading off the ninth.

WP:  Wells.  LP:  Johan Santana.  S:  None.

Notes:  The Twins used their standard lineup with the exception of Cuddyer at DH.  Shannon Stewart was in left and Jacque Jones in right.  There were no in-game lineup substitutions.

Santana was dealing with a hamstring issue, which is likely why he could not keep it going after three innings.  His line was 3.2 innings, six runs, six hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.

The Twins were outscores sixteen to six in the series.  Six runs over four games, and three in the last three, is not likely to get the job done.

Little did we know the string of post-season futility this series began.

Record:  The Twins lost the best-of-five series, three games to one.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: ALDS, Game Three

NEW YORK 3, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, October 4.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 1-for-3 with a home run.  Shannon Stewart was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Kenny Rogers struck out three in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  J. C. Romero pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Juan Rincon pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Roger Clemens pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk and striking out six.  Juan Rivera was 3-for-4.  Bernie Williams was 2-for-3 with a double and two walks.  Hideki Matsui was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer.  Mariano Rivera struck out three in two perfect innings.

The game:  Williams doubled leading off the second and Matsui hit a one-out two-run homer to give the Yankees the early lead.  It went to 3-0 in the third on singles by Rivera, Derek Jeter, and Williams.  A. J. Pierzynski led off the bottom of the third with a home run to cut the lead to 3-1.

And that's where it stayed.  The Twins got a pair of two-out singles in the fifth, but pinch-hitter Michael Ryan struck out to end the inning.  Doug Mientkiewicz led off the sixth with a single-plus-error but was stranded on second.  Mariano Rivera again came into the game at the start of the eighth inning and the Twins could again do nothing against him.

WP:  Clemens.  LP:  Kyle Lohse.  S:  Rivera.

Notes:  The Twins again used the same lineup.  Ryan pinch-hit for Luis Rivas in the fifth.  Denny Hocking went in to play second base.  Lew Ford pinch-hit for Hocking in the eighth.  Chris Gomez went in to play second base.

Lohse started and pitched five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks and striking out five.  He threw 105 pitches in those five innings.  The Yankees of that era made you work, as have the Yankees in many eras.

The Twins were 0-for-6 with men in scoring position.

The Twins had held New York to eight runs over the three games.  The trouble was the Twins had only scored five, and had scored just one in each of the last two games.  The record of teams scoring one run is better than that of teams scoring zero, but it's still not very good.

The Twins would send Johan Santana, who was still dealing with an injured hamstring, to the mound to try to save the season the next day.  He would face David Wells for New York.

Record:  The Twins were 1-2 in the best-of-five series.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: ALDS, Game Two

NEW YORK 4, MINNESOTA 1 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Thursday, October 2.

Batting stars:  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Those were the only hits the Twins had.

Pitching stars:  Brad Radke pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks and striking out four.  Juan Rincon pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Andy Pettitte struck out ten in seven innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks.  Alfonso Soriano was 3-for-4 with a stolen base and two runs.  Jason Giambi was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Mariano Rivera pitched two perfect innings and struck out one.

The game:  Singles by Soriano, Derek Jeter, and Giambi loaded the bases for the Yankees with none out in the first.  All the Yankees could do, though, was get a sacrifice fly from Bernie Williams to take a 1-0 lead.  The Twins got a man to second with two out in the third and New York had a man on second with one out in the fourth, but the score remained 1-0.

Hunter led off the fifth with a home run to tie it 1-1.  An error and a single put men on first and third with two out, but the Twins could not take the lead.  The Yankees had men on first and second with two out in the fifth and the Twins had men on first and second with two out in the sixth, but the score remained tied.

But New York took control in the seventh.  Nick Johnson was hit by a pitch and was bunted to second.  Soriano delivered an RBI single to give the Yankees the lead.  Jeter then reached on an error, putting men on second and third, and Giambi hit a two-run single to make it 4-1 New York.  Rivera came in and the Twins could do nothing with him, so there is where the score ended.

WP:  Pettitte.  LP:  Radke.  S:  Rivera.

Notes:  Stewart was in left and Jones in right.  The Twins made no in-game lineup substitutions.

LaTroy Hawkins had a great year, but he couldn't get it done in this game.  He entered in the seventh with the score tied, a man on second, and one out.  He gave up the Soriano single, made the error on Jeter's grounder, and gave up the Giambi single.  J. C. Romero got the side out after that, but the game was gone.

Hunter and Stewart were batting .500 over the two games.  Corey Koskie was batting .250.  No other Twin was over .167.

Still, the Twins were even in the series, and were coming home for the next two games.  It seemed like they had a good chance to win the series.  At the risk of revealing a spoiler, it didn't quite work out that way.

Record:  The Twins were tied with the Yankees 1-1 in the best-of-five series.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: ALDS, Game One

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MINNESOTA 3, NEW YORK 1 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Tuesday, September 30.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4 with a double.  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-5 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana pitched four shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks and striking out three.  J. C. Romero pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Derek Jeter was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Aaron Boone was 2-for-4 with a double.  Bernie Williams was 2-for-4.  Alfonso Soriano was 2-for-5 with a double and a stolen base.  Mike Mussina pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out six.

The game:  Stewart opened the game with a ground-rule double, but was stranded at third base.  The Twins got on the board in the third, however.  One-out singles by Cristian Guzman and Stewart put men on first and third, and Luis Rivas hit a sacrifice fly, putting the Twins up 1-0.

The Yankees got a pair of two-out walks in the third but stranded them.  The Twins loaded the bases with two out in the fourth but also stranded them.  New York got a two-out double in the fifth but again could score.

The Twins added to their lead in the sixth.  Matthew LeCroy led off with a single.  With one out, Torii Hunter circled the bases on a triple-plus-error, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead.  The Yankees had men on first and second with none out in the seventh and did not score.  The Twins had men on first and second with one out in the eighth but were also turned aside.  It was still 3-0 going to the ninth.

New York did not go away quietly.  Williams led off with a single.  With one out, Boone doubled, putting men on second and third and bringing the tying run up to bat.  Ruben Sierra flied out, but Soirano singled, making it 3-1, putting the tying run on base, and bringing the deciding run up to bat.  But Nick Johnson grounded to third and game one belonged to the Twins.

WP:  Hawkins (1-0).  LP:  Mussina (0-1).  S:  Eddie Guardado (1).

Notes:  No spring training lineup here.  All the regulars played the whole game.  It was Stewart in left, Jacque Jones in right, and LeCroy at DH.

Santana had a hamstring injury which limited him to four innings.  The bullpen stepped up and came through.  Rick Reed was the first man out of the pen, and while the Twins might have hoped he would fill up some innings he pitched to just three batters, retiring the first two before giving up a double to Soriano.  First Romero and then Hawkins picked up the slack.  Closer Eddie Guardado had the worst game of any of the pitchers, but managed to get the job done.

Mussina had gone 2-0, 1.20 against the Twins in two starts (15 innings).  For his career he was 22-6, 3.09.  The Twins didn't exactly knock him all over the park, but they scored enough runs to win.

The Twins stranded 8 and were 1-for-6 with men in scoring position.  The Yankees stranded 10 and were 1-for-10 with men in scoring position.

Ah, those wonderful, innocent days of youth, when we actually thought the Twins had a chance to beat the Yankees in a playoff series.

Record:  The Twins were 1-0 in the best-of-five playoff series.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Sixty-two

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DETROIT 9, MINNESOTA 4 IN DETROIT

Date:  Sunday, September 28.

Batting stars:  Chris Gomez was 2-for-3 with a home run.  Michael Ryan was 2-for-3 with two doubles.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-3 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched three innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks and striking out one.  Juan Rincon pitched a perfect inning.  Grant Balfour struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Dmitri Young was 3-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch.  Bobby Higginson was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourteenth), a double, and two runs.  Brandon Inge was 2-for-4 with a double.  Ramon Santiago was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his tenth.  Craig Monroe was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his twenty-third.  Mike Maroth pitched six innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out two.

The game:  The Twins loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first but did not score.  It cost them, as the Tigers got on the board in the bottom of the first on Higginson's home run.  Detroit had a man on third with one out in the third but did not score.  The Twins got a two-out double from Ryan in the fourth but did not score.  So, it was still 1-0 going to the fifth.

With two out in the fifth, Gomez homered and Justin Morneau and LeCroy hit back-to-back doubles, giving the Twins a 2-1 lead.  In the bottom of the fifth, Shane Halter walked and scored from first on Inge's double to tie it 2-2.

Then came the sixth.  The Twins brought in Adam Johnson to pitch.  It would be the last appearance of his major league career, and let's just say he did not go out on a high note.  Higginson doubled and scored on Young's single.  Monroe hit a two-run homer.  Carlos Pena popped up, but Shane Halter, Inge, and Santiago all singled to bring home another run.  Kenny Rogers then came in and gave up a run-scoring double to Alex Sanchez and an RBI single to Warren Morris.  It was 9-2 and Johnson was charged with six runs in a third of an inning.

The Twins got a couple runs back in the eighth when Alex Prieto reached on an error, Michael Cuddyer doubled, and Michael Restovich and Lew Ford had RBI singles.  But the Twins never threatened to get back into the game.

WP:  Maroth (9-21).  LP:  Johnson (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  It was another spring training game for the Twins.  LeCroy was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Denny Hocking was at short in place of Cristian Guzman.  Dustan Mohr was in left, Ford in center, and Cuddyer in right, with Ryan at DH.

There were also numerous substitutions.  Justin Morneau pinch-ran for Mientkiewicz in the third and stayed in the game at first base.  Gomez replaced Luis Rivas at second base in the fourth.  Prieto came in for Corey Koskie in the fifth.  Prieto went to second, with Gomez moving to short and Hocking to third.  Rob Bowen replaced LeCroy behind the plate in the seventh.  Restovich pinch-hit for Ryan in the eighth.

Ryan ended the season batting .393.  Ford was at .329.  Mientkiewicz was 1-for-3 and was at .300.  Bowen was 0-for-2 and ended at .100.

The Twins' bullpen was Brad Thomas, Johnson, Rogers, Rincon, and Balfour.  Thomas had an ERA of 7.71.  Johnson's ERA was 47.25.

Detroit avoided equaling the Mets' expansion era record for losses, ending the season at 43-119.

Record:  The Twins ended the season at 90-72, in first place in the American League Central, four games ahead of Chicago.  They would play the Yankees (101-61) in the American League Divisional Series.

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

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

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

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-eight

1 Comment

MINNESOTA 3, CLEVELAND 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, September 24.

Batting stars:  Lew Ford was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third), a triple, and two RBIs.  Michael Cuddyer was 2-for-4 with a home run, his third.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched six innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks and striking out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Victor Martinez was 2-for-4.  Ben Broussard was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixteenth.  C. C. Sabathia pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out three.

The game:  The Indians got a man to second base with two out in the first and third, but did not score either time.  They got on the board in the fourth, however, as Broussard hit a one-out home run.  The Twins did not get a man to second base until the fifth and did not score until the sixth, when Ford homered with one out to tie it 1-1.  The Twins then loaded the bases, still with one out, but a popup and a ground out ended the inning.

The Twins took a 2-1 lead in the seventh when Denny Hocking hit a two-out single and scored on a Ford triple.  Cleveland tied it in the eighth.  Jhonny Peralta led off with a walk, went to second on a passed ball, took third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch.

Cuddyer led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run to put the Twins back in front.  Martinez hit a one-out single in the ninth for the Indians, but he did not get past first base.

WP:  Jesse Orosco (2-1).  LP:  Rafael Betancourt (2-2).  S:  Guardado (41).

Notes:  It was the day after the Twins clinched so it was even lower down the alphabet than a B lineup.  Matthew LeCroy was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Justin Morneau was at first in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Alex Prieto was at second in place of Luis Rivas.  Hocking was at short in place of Cristian Guzman.  Cuddyer was at third in place of Corey Koskie.  Ford was in center in place of Torii Hunter.  Michael Restovich was in left, Dustan Mohr in right, and Michael Ryan at DH.  Rob Bowen replaced LeCroy at catcher in the seventh.

Ryan was 1-for-4 and was batting .347.  Ford was batting .333.  Restovich was 0-for-3 and was batting .304.

Prieto was 1-for-3 and was batting .167.  Bowen made his first appearance since September 2 and was batting .000 (0-for-3).

Guardado lowered his ERA to 2.80.

Rick Reed gave up a run in 1.2 innings and had an ERA of 5.14.  Orosco retired the only man he faced and lowered his ERA to 7.64.  This would be his only win as a Twin.

Granted that Cleveland wasn't very good and was just playing out the season, it's still kind of impressive that the Twins were able to win playing a bunch of reserves and AAA players.

The Twins had won eleven in a row.

Record:  The Twins were 89-69, in first place in the American League Central, six games ahead of Chicago.