Tag Archives: 2003 rewind

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Seventy-four

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MINNESOTA 8, MILWAUKEE 3 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Sunday, June 22.

Batting stars:  Denny Hocking was 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple, a walk, and three runs.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his eleventh.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-5 with a home run, his tenth.  Justin Morneau was 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit home run, his second.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  LaTroy Hawkins retired all four men he faced, striking out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Eddie Perez was 3-for-4.  Geoff Jenkins was 3-for-5 with a home run (his sixteenth), a double, two runs, and two RBIs.

The game:  With one out in the first Hocking walked and Koskie hit a two-run homer to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.  The Brewers got one back in the bottom of the first when Scott Podsednik tripled and scored on a Jenkins single.  The Twins scored in the second when Dustan Mohr walked, went to third on a Tom Prince double, and scored on a ground out.  They got one more in the third on two singles and a double play, leaving the score 4-1.

Jenkins homered in the fourth to cut the lead to two, but Hocking homered in the fifth to build it back to three.  In the sixth Jenkins doubled, went to third on a Richie Sexson single, and scored on a sacrifice fly to cut it to two again at 5-3.

It was all Twins after that.  In the seventh Bobby Kielty walked, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Jacque Jones' double to make it 6-3.  Milwaukee put men on second and third with one out in the bottom of the seventh but did not score.  Hunter homered in the eighth and Morneau homered in the ninth to bring us to the final of 8-3.

WP:  Kenny Rogers (6-3).  LP:  Matt Kinney (5-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Prince was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Hocking was at short in place of Cristian Guzman.  There was no DH.  Kielty and Morneau were used as pinch-hitter for pitchers.

Morneau was batting .353.  Mientkiewicz was batting .306.  Jones was at .303.  Koskie was up to .302.

Rogers pitched five innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and one walk and striking out none.  His ERA was at 5.16.

Santana's ERA was 2.15.  Hawkins fell to 2.02.  Guardado was down to 2.93.

Ex-Twin Matt Kinney started for the Brewers.  He lasted 6.1 innings but allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks and struck out five.

The Twins managed to salvage one game of the three-game series.  They would now go home to face the White Sox.

Morneau's first two career home runs were pinch-hit home runs.  That can't be terribly common.

Record:  The Twins were 40-34, in first place in the American League Central, one game ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Seventy-three

MILWAUKEE 8, MINNESOTA 1 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Saturday, June 21.

Batting star:  Corey Koskie was 1-for-4 with a home run, his tenth.

Pitching star:  Micheal Nakamura pitched two perfect innings and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Wayne Franklin pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and three walks and striking out two.  Wes Helms was 3-for-5 with two home runs (his twelfth and thirteenth), three runs, and five RBIs.  John Vander Wal was 2-for-3 with a home run (his seventh), a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.

The game:  Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with none out in the first inning for the Brewers.  John Vander Wal drove in one with a single and a sacrifice fly brought home another to put Milwaukee up 2-0 in the first.

The Twins put runners on second and third with one out in the third but did not score.  In the fourth, however, Koskie led off with a home run to get the Twins on the board and cut the lead to 2-1.  But in the bottom of the fourth Vander Wal and Helms led off with back-to-back homers to make it 4-1.  In the sixth Helms hit a three-run homer to increase the lead to 7-1.

The Twins put a couple of guys on with walks in the seventh but nothing came of it.  Milwaukee loaded the bases with one out in the eighth and got a sacrifice fly to conclude the scoring.

WP:  Franklin (4-5).  LP:  Kyle Lohse (6-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Lew Ford was in left in place of Jacque Jones.  Bobby Kielty was in right.  There was no DH.

Ford was 0-for-4 and was batting .375.  Justin Morneau pinch-hit and was 0-for-1, falling to .333.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 0-for-3 and was batting .302.  Matthew LeCroy was 0-for-1 and was batting .301.  Koskie was batting .300.

Lohse had his second consecutive poor game.  He pitched five innings and allowed seven runs on seven hits and two walks.  He struck out four.

I have no memory that there was ever a pitcher named "Wayne Franklin".  This was his only year as a starter, and he wasn't particularly good:  10-13, 5.50, 1.52 WHIP.  He'd made four really good starts as a September call-up in 2002:  2-1, 2.63, 17 strikeouts in 24 innings.  I imagine Brewers fans really thought they had something, but it didn't work out that way.  He'd been a reliever every year before 2002, and returned to the bullpen after 2003.  2003 was his only full season in the majors, but he pitched in part of every season from 2000-2006.  His record was 14-16, 5.54, 1.55 WHIP.  He was in 143 games, 40 of them starts, and pitched 323 innings.  He pitched in Taiwan and in independent ball in 2007, in Mexico and independent ball in 2008, and then exclusively in independent ball in 2009, 2010, and 2014, when he apparently made a comeback.  He has stayed in baseball through coaching, and is a coach in the San Diego League, a collegiate wood bat league.

Since their hot streak ended, the Twins had now gone 8-14.

Record:  The Twins were 39-34, in first place in the American League Central, one game ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Seventy-two

MILWAUKEE 3, MINNESOTA 2 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Friday, June 20.

Batting star:  Luis Rivas was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Brad Radke pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out five.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.  Johan Santana struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Ben Sheets struck out eight in eight innings, giving up two unearned runs on three hits and one walk.  Geoff Jenkins was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Royce Clayton was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  Neither team got much going on offense until the fourth, when the Twins got on the board.  Corey Koskie drew a one-out walk, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch-plus-error to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.

The Brewers went ahead in the sixth.  Eric Young and Scott Podsednik each singled with one out.  Podsednik then stole second, putting men on second and third, and Jenkins delivered a two-run single to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead.  The lead only lasted for a half-inning, however, as Torii Hunter led of the seventh by reaching on an error, went to third on a Doug Mientkiewicz single, and scored on a sacrifice fly to tie it 2-2.  Each team got a man to second in the ninth, but neither scored, so we went to free baseball.

The Twins put men on first and third with one out in the tenth, but a strikeout and a ground out thwarted them.  In the bottom of the tenth Clayton led off with a double, went to third on a fly ball, and scored on a wild pitch to end the game in Milwaukee's favor.

WP:  Curtis Leskanic (4-0).  LP:  Juan Rincon (1-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  There was no DH.  Bobby Kielty and Denny Hocking were used as pinch-hitters for pitchers.  Justin Morneau pinch-hit for Dustan Mohr in the ninth.  Lew Ford entered the game in right field in the bottom of the ninth.

Morneau was 0-for-1 and was batting .344.  Mientkiewicz was 1-for-4 and was batting .307.  Jacque Jones was 0-for-5 and was batting .305.  Koskie was 0-for-3 and was batting .301.

Radke's ERA was 5.64, coming down from a high of 6.00.  It would continue to go down, slowly but steadily, for the rest of the season.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 2.10.  Santana's ERA went down to 2.19.

When I have more time I'll have to do a profile of Royce Clayton, because he was one of my favorite players for reasons I don't remember.  He was certainly never a star--he never led the league in anything and made just one all-star team, in 1997.  But he was a steady ballplayer who played in over 100 games every year from 1993-2006, and played in 98 games in 1992.  Most of those years he was a starting shortstop.  His career numbers are nothing to shout about:  .258/.312/.367.  But major league mangers thought enough of him to keep writing his name in the lineup for the better part of fifteen consecutive seasons, so they clearly thought he had value.

Record:  The Twins were 39-33, in first place in the American League Central, one game ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Seventy-one

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MINNESOTA 16, KANSAS CITY 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Thursday, June 19.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his eighth and ninth), a walk, three runs, and six RBIs.  Cristian Guzman was 4-for-6 with a stolen base (his fourth) and four runs.  Torii Hunter was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Jacque Jones was 3-for-5 with a home run (his ninth), three runs, and three RBIs.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-6 with a double and two RBIs.  Luis Rivas was 2-for-6 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Joe Mays pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks and striking out two.  J. C. Romero pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Raul Ibanez was 2-for-4.  Kris Wilson pitched 3.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on five hits and striking out one.

The game:  The Twins opened the game with three singles to score one run and a ground out plated another, making it 2-0 Twins in the first.  In the third, back-to-back RBI doubles by Justin Morneau and Hunter made it 4-0.  In the fourth Jones hit a two-run homer and Koskie had an RBI single to put the Twins up 7-0.

If it wasn't out of reach already, it was after the fifth inning.  The Twins scored seven runs.  Hunter doubled and Dustan Mohr walked, but they were on first and second with two out.  The next seven batters reached base.  Rivas doubled home a run.  Jones singled one in.  Guzman singled in another.  Koskie hit a three-run homer.  It didn't kill the rally.  Morneau walked and Hunter singled.  Mientkiewicz had an RBI double.  The score was 14-0 after five innings.

Koskie homered in the seventh to make it 15-0.  The Royals got on the board in the bottom of the seventh when Carlos Beltran doubled and Ibanez singled.  In the eighth Brent Mayne walked and Desi Relaford doubled to cut the margin to 15-2.  Mientkiewicz singled home a run in the ninth to end it at 16-2.

WP:  Mays (8-4).  LP:  Kyle Snyder (1-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Morneau was the DH.

With a blowout game, the Twins made numerous substitutions.  Lew Ford replaced Hunter in center field in the sixth.  Bobby Kielty replaced Jones in the sixth but went to right, with Mohr moving from right to left.  Matthew LeCroy pinch-hit for Morneau in the ninth.  Tom Prince pinch-hit for A. J. Pierzynski in the ninth and stayed in the game at catcher.

Ford was 1-for-2 and was batting .429.   Morneau was 1-for-4 and was batting .355.  Jones raised his average to .311.  Mientkiewicz raised his average to .308.  Koskie raised his average to .305.  LeCroy was 1-for-1 and was batting .303.  Pierzynski was 1-for-5 and was batting .300.

Mays had his best game since April by game scores.  It was his first game score over fifty in a month.  His ERA was still at 5.48.

Snyder started for Kansas City.  He pitched four innings, allowing seven runs on ten hits and no walks and striking out two.

The Twins certainly broke their losing streak in a big way.  Offense, however, hadn't been a problem in the streak: they had scored 2, 8, 8, 7, and 6 runs in the losses, an average of over six runs.  The trouble was that they had given up an average of over ten runs in those five losses.

Record:  The Twins were 39-32, in first place in the American League Central, two games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Recaps: Game Seventy

KANSAS CITY 8, MINNESOTA 6 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Wednesday, June 18.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Justin Morneau was 2-for-5.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Johan Santana struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Carlos Beltran was 3-for-4 with a stolen base (his eighteenth), a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Joe Randa was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Ken Harvey was 2-for-4 with a double.  Michael Tucker was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

The game:  The Twins got on the board in the first when Koskie doubled and scored on a Morneau single.  The Royals tied it in the second on a walk, a single, and an error.  They took the lead in the third.  One out singles by Randa, Aaron Guiel, and Beltran scored one run, Harvey's double scored another, and Tucker had a two-run single, making it 5-1 Kansas City.

The Twins got two back in the fourth.  Hunter doubled, Lew Ford had an RBI single, Denny Hocking walked, and Jacque Jones had an RBI single, cutting the lead to 5-3.  But the Royals got the two right back in the bottom of the fourth when Desi Relaford singled, Randa had an RBI double, and Beltran had a run-scoring single, making it 7-3.

A sacrifice fly in the fifth cut it to 7-4 and Pierzynski tripled and scored in the sixth to make it 7-5.  But in the bottom of the sixth Beltran walked, stole second, and scored on a Raul Ibanez single to increase the lead back to 8-5.  The Twins scored in the seventh on two singles and a ground out to make it 8-6.

But that was it.  The Twins got a man on in each of the last two innings, but did not advance him past first base.

WP:  Chris George (8-4).  LP:  Rick Reed (3-7).  S:  Mike MacDougal (15).

Notes:  Hocking was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Ford was in right field.  Morneau was the DH.

Ford was 1-for-4 and is batting .423.  Morneau was batting .370.  Jones was 1-for-5 and was batting .305.  Pierzynski was batting .303.  Mientkiewicz was batting .302.

Hocking was 1-for-3 and was batting .197.

Reed lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on nine hits and a walk and striking out one.  Juan Rincon gave up a run in 2.1 innings and had an ERA of 3.45.  Santana's ERA fell to 2.24.

The Twins had now lost five in a row, three of them to their closest rival.

Record:  The Twins were 38-32, in first place in the American League Central, one game ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Recaps: Game Sixty-nine

KANSAS CITY 14, MINNESOTA 7 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Tuesday, June 17.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-4 with a home run (his eighth), a double, a walk, and two runs.  Denny Hocking was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Tom Prince was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his second.  Justin Morneau was 1-for-1 with a home run.

Pitching star:  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Ken Harvey was 4-for-5 with three doubles and five RBIs.  Raul Ibanez was 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs.  Mike Sweeney was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Jeremy Affeldt pitched five innings, giving up one run on five hits and five walks and striking out three.

The game:  The Royals scored in the third when Carlos Beltran walked and scored from first on Harvey's double.  The Twins loaded the bases in the third but did not score.  They did tie it in the fifth when Lew Ford walked, went to third on Hocking's double, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  They took the lead in the sixth.  Bobby Kielty singled, stole second, and scored on a Luis Rivas triple.  Hocking's RBI single then made it 3-1 Minnesota.

Kansas City then exploded for twelve runs in the bottom of the sixth.  Two walks and a single loaded the bases.  Consecutive singles by Beltran, Ibanez, and Harvey plated four runs.  A bunt gave the Twins their first out, but singles by Brent Mayne and Carlos Febles scored two more.  Two consecutive hit batsmen brought home another run, Sweeney hit a three-run double, Ibanez had an RBI single, and Harvey had a run-scoring double.  It was 13-3, and the game was pretty much over at that point.

The Twins scored two in the seventh on Prince's two-run homer and one in the eighth on a solo shot by Morneau.  Harvey doubled home a run in the bottom of the eighth and Mohr homered in the ninth to bring us to the final score of 14-7..

WP:  Kris Wilson (3-0).  LP:  Kenny Rogers (5-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  This was the B lineup.  Prince was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Matthew LeCroy was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Hocking was at short in place of Cristian Guzman.  Ford was in left in place of Jacque Jones.  Kielty was the DH.

Mientkiewicz came in for defense in the sixth inning in place of LeCroy.  Morneau pinch-hit in the eighth and stayed in the game at first base.

Ford was 1-for-4 and was batting .455.  Morneau was 1-for-1 and is batting .364.

Hocking raised his average to .190.

Rogers pitched five innings, allowing seven runs on six hits and four walks and striking out three.  His ERA was 5.14.  Hawkins lowered his ERA to 2.16.  Eddie Guardado allowed a run in one inning to raise his ERA to 3.03.

The Twins stranded 12 runners and were 2-for-9 with men in scoring position.  The Royals stranded 5 and were 8-for-14 with men in scoring position.

This was Morneau's first major league home run.

I wonder what the most runs scored against the Twins in one inning is.  I doubt that it's twelve, but that can't be too far down the list.

The Twins only had two guys who played in this game whose averages were above .300, and they were both guys who hadn't batted much.  However, they had four players who were in the .290s:  Mientkiewicz (.299), LeCroy (.298), Mohr (.297), and Corey Koskie (.291).

The Royals were rapidly gaining ground on the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 38-31, in first place in the American League Central, two games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Sixty-eight

KANSAS CITY 9, MINNESOTA 8 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Monday, June 16.

Batting stars:  Matthew LeCroy was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-5.  Lew Ford was 2-for-2 with a three-run homer (his second), a double, a walk, and two runs.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.

Pitching star:  Micheal Nakamura pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Carlos Beltran was 2-for-2 with a double, a stolen base (his seventeenth), three walks, and two runs.  Mike Sweeney was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth), a walk, two runs, and five RBIs.  Angel Berroa was 2-for-4 with a double.  Michael Tucker was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Raul Ibanez was 2-for-5.

The game:  It was all Royals early.  Beltran's two-out RBI double put Kansas City up 1-0 in the first.  It stayed 1-0 until the fourth, when Aaron Guiel hit a run-scoring single to make it 2-0.

Then the Royals really took control.  Sweeney hit a three-run homer in the fifth to take the lead to 5-0.  In the sixth a double and two walks loaded the bases, a ground out scored one, and Sweeney's two-run single made it 8-0 Kansas City.

Then the Twins mounted a comeback.  With one out in the seventh, Ford's double, a Mientkiewicz single, and a walk to Dustan Mohr loaded the bases.  A. J. Pierzynski singled to get the Twins on the board and a ground out made it 8-2.  In the eighth an error, a Koskie single, and Ford's three-run homer cut the lead to 8-5.  The Twins started the ninth with consecutive singles by Jacque Jones, Cristian Guzman, and Koskie to score one run and LeCroy doubled home to more to tie the score.  The Twins had the go-ahead run on second with none out, but could not take the lead.

It cost them.  Beltran walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth and went to second on a wild pitch.  Ibanez then singled him home for the deciding run.

WP:  Mike MacDougal (3-3).  LP:  Eddie Guardado (0-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Ford pinch-hit for Torii Hunter in the seventh, leading one to think Ron Gardenhire had probably given up on the game at that point.  He stayed in the game in center field.  Bobby Kielty pinch-hit for Luis Rivas in the seventh.  Denny Hocking went to second in the eighth.  Justin Morneau pinch-hit for Hocking in the eighth.  He stayed in the game at first base, with Mientkiewicz moving to second.  Tom Prince pinch-ran for LeCroy in the ninth, which probably tells you all you need to know about LeCroy's speed.

Ford raised his average to .500.  Morneau was 0-for-1 and was batting .333.  Jones was 1-for-5 and was batting .307.  LeCroy was batting .305.  Pierzynski was 1-for-4 and slipped back below .300 at .299.

Kyle Lohse started for the Twins.  He did okay for four innings, but his line is five innings, five runs, eight hits, two walks, and three strikeouts.  His ERA went up to a still good 3.23.  Guardado gave up a run without retiring anyone, so his ERA went up to 2.83.

Nakamura had been on the team for nine games and had appeared in seven of them.  The Twins already had "Everyday Eddie"--was he "'Most every day Micheal"?

This was actually the second time Prince had been used as a pinch-runner this season.  The other time was on May 13, when he also ran for LeCroy.  I could not quickly find if he had any other pinch-running appearances in his career.

While the Twins were a good team, one thing that is becoming clear as we go through these games is how much they benefited from playing in a weak division.  I know it was commented on at the time, too, but the Twins' winning percentage would have put them in third place in four of the other five divisions.

Record:  The Twins were 38-30, in first place in the American League Central, three games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Sixty-seven

ARIZONA 12, MINNESOTA 8 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, June 15.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, three runs, and two RBIs.  A. J. Pierzynski was 3-for-4 with three RBIs.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-5 with a double.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  J. C. Romero pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Tony Womack was 4-for-6 with a double, a stolen base (his seventh), and two RBIs.  Robby Hammock was 3-for-5 with a home run (his second), a double, two runs, and three RBIs.  Alex Cintron was 3-for-5 with two runs.  Rod Barajas was 2-for-4.  Carlos Baerga was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

The game:  Baerga's two-out RBI single gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead in the first.  The Twins tied it on the second on Pierzynski's RBI single.  In the third, Arizona loaded the bases with two out and then got back-to-back two-run doubles from Lyle Overbay and Hammock to take a 5-1 lead.

The Twins got one back in the third, but they still trailed 5-2 until the fifth.  In that inning, the Twins loaded the bases with two out and all three scored on a single-plus-error by Pierzynski to tie it 5-5.  The tie lasted until the next half-inning, when Womack's two-run double put the Diamondbacks back in front 7-5.

The Twins again came back, scoring two in the sixth to tie it 7-7.  In the eighth, however, Arizona scored four times to put it out of reach.  Cintron had an RBI single, Luis Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly, and Baerga had a two-run single-plus-error to give the Diamondbacks an 11-7 lead.   The Twins got one back in the bottom of the eighth, but Hammock homered in the ninth to round out the scoring.

WP:  Mike Koplove (3-0).  LP:  LaTroy Hawkins (4-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Bobby Kielty was in right field.  Justin Morneau was again the DH.  The Twins did not make any in-game lineup substitutions.

Morneau was 1-for-5 and was batting .350.  Jones raised his average to .309.  Pierzynski climbed up to .300 with his 3-for-4 day.

Brad Radke's struggles continued.  He pitched 5.1 innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits and two walks and striking out two.  His ERA climbed to 6.00.  Hawkins allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning, but all were unearned, so his ERA went down to 2.23.

There were twenty runs scored in the game but there was just one home run, and that was a solo shot in the ninth inning.

Arizona players with Twins connections were Chad Moeller and Quinton McCracken.

Elmer Dessens started for Arizona.  He pitched 4.2 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on ten hits and three walks and struck out three.  He is the only major league player named "Elmer" since ex-Twin Elmer Valo retired in 1961.

I hadn't thought about Mike Koplove in a very long time, but he was a fine reliever for three seasons.  2003 was the last and best of those seasons:  he went 3-0, 2.15, 1.09 WHIP.  But he would be injured just a few days after this game and miss the rest of the season.  He had surgery for a frayed labrum and rotator cuff.  He came back to appear in 76 games (!) for the Diamondbacks in 2004, but had an ERA of 4.05 and a WHIP of 1.42.  He had a worse year in 2005, then made only seven more major league appearances from 2006-2007.  He continued to pitch in the minors and in independent ball through 2011, and actually had a really good AAA year in 2009, but he did not get a call back to the majors.  We'll never know what might have happened otherwise, but using him in almost every other game when he was coming off surgery doesn't seem like it was a very good idea.  At last report, Mike Koplove was a scout for the Phillies.

Record:  The Twins were 38-29, in first place in the American League Central, four games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Sixty-six

ARIZONA 9, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, June 14.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Juan Rincon struck out four in 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up two hits and no walks.

Opposition stars:  Miguel Batista struck out seven in six innings, giving up an unearned run on four hits and three walks.  Alex Cintron was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and three runs.  Luis Gonzalez was 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs.  Carlos Baerga was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBIs.  Rod Barajas was 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs.

The game:  Cintron hit a one-out double and scored on Gonzalez' two-out single to put the Diamondbacks on the board in the first inning.  The Twins had a pair of singles in the bottom of the first but did not score.  Back-to-back doubles by Baerga and Barajas made it 2-0 in the second.  The Twins again put two on in the bottom of the second but did not score.

Arizona broke it open in the fifth.  Tony Womack singled, Cintron walked, and Junior Spivey was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Gonzalez doubled in two runs.  An intentional walk to Mark Grace re-loaded the bases.  A force out at home made two outs, but back-to-back ground-rule doubles by Baerga and Barajas brought in four more runs, making the score 8-0 Diamondbacks.

The Twins got on the board in the sixth.  Koskie singled and an error put men on first and third with none out, but Torii Hunter's RBI ground out produced the only run of the inning.  In the seventh, consecutive one-out singles by Luis Rivas, Lew Ford, and Guzman produced another run.  Koskie walked to load the bases, but Justin Morneau grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Arizona added a run in the ninth on a double by Cintron and a single by Gonzalez.

WP:  Batista (4-3).  LP:  Joe Mays (7-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Matthew LeCroy was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Morneau was the DH.

Ford replaced Jacque Jones in left field in the sixth inning.  Tom Prince pinch-hit for Doug Mientkiewicz in the sixth and stayed in the game behind the plate, with LeCroy moving to first base.

Morneau was 0-for-4 and was batting .400.  Jones was 0-for-3 and was batting .307.

Mays started for the Twins and pitched 4.2 innings.  As you can see, he didn't do badly for the first four, but his line was eight runs, eight hits, two walks, and four strikeouts.

Guzman had two hits in each of the last four games.  He was 8-for-19 with a triple.  He raised his average from .255 to .268.

The Twins stranded 10 and were 1-for-9 with men in scoring position.

I remember Batista, but I'd forgotten he was around so long.  He played in eighteen seasons, playing until he was 41.  2003 was right about in the middle of his career.  He never had a season in which he didn't have at least one relief appearance, but he was primarily a starter through 2008 with the exception of 2005, when he made 71 appearances out of the bullpen for Toronto.  2003 was probably his best season:  he was 10-9, 3.54, 1.33 WHIP.  He was never great, but with a few exceptions he was never really bad, either.  For his career he was 102-115, 4.48, with an ERA+ of 100.  He appeared in 658 games, 248 of them starts.  He pitched 1956.1 innings.  Control, or rather a lack of it, contributed to keeping him from being better:  he walked 4.1 per nine innings and the only things he ever led the league in were walks (96 in 2004) and wild pitches (14 in 2006).  A guy who can be counted on to be average has value, and that value kept Miguel Batista in the majors for quite a long time.

Record:  The Twins were 38-28, in first place in the American League Central, five games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Sixty-five

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MINNESOTA 3, ARIZONA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, June 13.

Batting star:  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana struck out seven in seven innings, giving up one run on two hits and a walk.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and striking out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Brandon Webb struck out eight in six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk.  Eddie Oropesa struck out two in two perfect innings.

The game:  The Diamondbacks got two on with one out in the first inning but did not score.  That was the only threat until the sixth, when the Diamondbacks got on the board.  Tony Womack was hit by a pitch, Alex Cintron singled, a bunt moved the runners up, and Junior Spivey hit a sacrifice fly to put Arizona ahead 1-0.

The Twins came back in the bottom of the sixth.  With one out Jacque Jones and Guzman singled.  With two out, Justin Morneau had an RBI single, and on the throw home runners went to second and third.  Torii Hunter then delivered a two-run single, making it 3-1 Twins.

And that was it.  All the scoring came in the sixth inning.  The Diamondbacks opened the eighth with two singles, and a bunt moved the runners to second and third, but a popup and a strikeout ended the inning.  Arizona brought the tying run to the plate with two out in the ninth following a strikeout/wild pitch, but a fly out ended the game.

WP:  Santana (4-1).  LP:  Webb (3-2).  S:  Guardado (19).

Notes:  Denny Hocking was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Bobby Kielty was in right field.  Morneau was the DH.

Morneau was 1-for-3 and was batting .545.  Jones was 1-for-4 and was batting .311.

Hocking was 0-for-3 and is batting .167.

Santana lowered his ERA to 2.32.  Hawkins went to 2.27.  Guardado went to 2.51.

Santana, after two excellent starts, was sent back to the bullpen for another month, finally joining the starting rotation to stay on July 11.  At this point in the season, the Twins' rotation was Brad Radke (5-6, 5.61), Kyle Lohse (6-4, 2.91), Kenny Rogers (5-2, 4.67), Rick Reed (3-6, 4.37), and Joe Mays (7-3, 5.21).  I understand that some of those guys are veteran starters.  But with a rotation like that, you can't find starts for Johan Santana?  Reports were that Santana was upset about being sent back to the bullpen, and one can certainly understand why.

This must have been one of the few good games Eddie Oropesa had in the majors.  He was with Philadelphia in 2001 and went 1-0, 4.74, 1.74 WHIP in 30 games.  And he wasn't a young guy they were hoping would get better--he was 29 in his rookie year.  In 2002, with Arizona, he appeared in 32 games and went 2-0, 10.30, 2.13 WHIP.  He was back with the Diamondbacks in 2003 and went 3-3, 5.82, 1.68 WHIP in 47 games.  He moved on to San Diego in 2004 and went 2-1, 11.00, 2.11 WHIP in 16 games.  Add it all together and you get career numbers of 8-4, 7.34, 1.86 in 125 games.  He did not make it back to the majors, but pitched in Mexico in 2005, in the Northern League in 2006, and in the Netherlands in 2007.  You'd think that would be the end, but he came back in 2014 to pitch in 12 games in the Netherlands.  He's a testament to the proposition that if you're a left-handed pitcher, someone will almost always give you a chance.  I also assume that he's probably a really nice guy, because if he was a jerk he wouldn't have kept getting chances, left-handed or not.

Record:  The Twins were 38-27, in first place in the American League Central, five games ahead of Kansas City.