Tag Archives: 2003 rewind

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Sixty-four

MINNESOTA 15, COLORADO 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, June 12.

Batting stars:  Lew Ford was 4-for-5 with a double and two runs.  A. J. Pierzynski was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his seventh and eighth), three runs, and seven RBIs.  Matthew LeCroy was 3-for-5 with a home run (his sixth), two runs, and three RBIs.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5 with a triple.  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-4 with two runs.

Pitching stars:  Kenny Rogers pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out three.  Tony Fiore pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Juan Uribe was 3-for-5.  Todd Helton was 2-for-2 with a double and a walk.  Larry Walker was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixth.

The game:  This one was over early, as the Twins scored seven runs in the first inning.  Ford led off with a single and scored on Guzman's triple.  Koskie walked and LeCroy had an RBI single.  Doug Mientkiewicz walked to load the bases and Mohr had an RBi single.  Pierzynski then hit a grand slam, making it 7-0 Twins.

The Rockies scored single runs in the second and third.  in the second Greg Vaughn doubled and scored on a Bobby Estalella single.  In the third Helton doubled and scored on a couple of productive outs.  But that was as close as Colorado would come.

The Twins got one in the sixth when Pierzynski singled, went to second on a balk, and scored on Ford's single.  They really put it away in the seventh, getting another seven-run inning.  Koskie led off with a single and LeCroy hit a two-run homer.  With one out Mientkiewicz and Mohr singled and Pierzynski hit a three-run homer.  Luis Rivas and Ford singled and Koskie hit a two-out two-run double, making the score 15-2.

Walker homered in the eighth to round out the scoring at 15-3.

WP:  Rogers (5-2).  LP:  Darren Oliver (3-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Mohr was in left in place of Jacque Jones.  Ford was in center in place of Torii Hunter.  Bobby Kielty was in right.

Denny Hocking pinch-hit for Mientkiewicz in the eighth inning and stayed in the game at first base.

Ford raised his average to .429.  Hocking was 0-for-1 to drop to .176.

Rogers threw 103 pitches over his eight inning.  Tony Fiore came in to pitch the ninth.  I strongly suspect that, when he entered the game, John Gordon solemnly stated, "This is not a save situation."

Two Rockies in the game had the same name as other, more famous players, even though they had solid careers in their own right.  Bobby Estalella was a reserve catcher for parts of nine seasons, but is not as fondly remembered as the outfielder immortalized by Dave Frishberg in the song "Van Lingle Mungo".  Javier Lopez, who gave up seven runs in this game, was in the first year of what turned out to be a fourteen-year career, but when we say Javier Lopez, most of us think of the Atlanta catcher.

After scoring zero runs two games ago, the Twins scored first seven and then fifteen.  That's baseball.

Record:  The Twins were 37-27, in first place in the American League Central, five games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Sixty-three

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MINNESOTA 7, COLORADO 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, June 11.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 4-for-4 with two doubles and a walk.  Justin Morneau was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two runs.  Luis Rivas was 2-for-4 with a double.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse struck out seven in six innings, giving up one run on six hits and a walk.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Preston Wilson was 3-for-5.  Jay Payton was 2-for-5 with a home run (his eighth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Todd Helton was 2-for-5.  Larry Walker was 2-for-5.

The game:  Guzman singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Morneau's single to put the Twins on the board in the first inning.  It went to 4-0 in the third.  Rivas led off the inning with a single, Jones doubled, Guzman delivered a two-run single, Koskie singled, and Torii Hunter knocked in a run with a ground out.

Payton homered leading off the fourth to cut the lead to 4-1.  The Twins put two on with two out in the bottom of the fourth, but did not score.  In the fifth, however, the Twins started the inning with consecutive singles by Koskie, Morneau, Hunter, and Doug Mientkiewicz, plus a wild pitch, taking a 6-1 lead.

The Rockies loaded the bases with two out in the sixth but did not score.  The Twins added a run in the bottom of the sixth on doubles by Jones and Koskie to go ahead 7-1.

Colorado came back in the seventh.  Charles Johnson walked, Juan Uribe hit a one-out double, and Payton singled to drive in a run.  Helton also had an RBI single, and Walker delivered a two-out single, cutting the lead to 7-4.

But that was as close as the Rockies would come.  They got a single in each of the last two innings, but did not bring the tying run to the plate.

WP:  Lohse (6-4).  LP:  Aaron Cook (2-6).  S:  Guardado (18).

Notes:  Morneau was again at DH.  There were no in-game lineup substitutions.

Morneau made an immediate impact, going 5-for-8 in his first two games for a .625 batting average.  Jones raised his average to .312.

Lohse lowered his ERA to 2.91.  This was the last time it would be under three--within a month it would be over four and in about six weeks it would be over five.  He sure kept the rotation afloat for the first two and a half months of the season, though.

Micheal Nakamura pitched again, so he started his career pitching in four consecutive games.  I wonder if that's close to some kind of record.  I'm sure it would take more time to figure that out than I'm willing to take, but if someone wanted to do the work, it would be appreciated.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 2.35.  Guardado cut his ERA to 2.60.

I had forgotten that there was a pitcher named Nelson Cruz.  He pitched in parts of six seasons, 1997 and 1999-2003.  He was pretty good for two of those seasons, going 5-2, 3.07, 1.27 WHIP for Detroit in 2000 and 3-3, 4.15, 1.17 WHIP for Houston in 2001.  This was his last season, and he was not very good:  3-5, 7.21, 1.42 WHIP.  He gave up a run in two innings in this game.

Despite going 3-for-5, Preston Wilson did not drive in a run in this game.  I mention that simply because he led the league in RBIs in 2003, with 141.

Cook was the starter for Colorado.  He pitched four innings, giving up six runs on eleven hits and three walks and striking out two.

Justin Speier finished the game on the mound for the Rockies.  He is the son of Chris Speier, who played for the Twins briefly in 1984.

Record:  The Twins were 36-27, in first place in the American League Central, 4.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Sixty-two

COLORADO 5, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, June 10.

Batting star:  Justin Morneau was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Tony Fiore pitched a perfect inning.  Micheal Nakamura pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Jason Jennings pitched 7.2 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and four walks and striking out seven.  Greg Vaughn was 2-for-4 with a home run and a double.  Charles Johnson was 1-for-3 with a home run, his seventh.  Preston Wilson was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his fifteenth.

The game:  Singles by Juan Uribe and Jay Payton and a three-run homer by Wilson put the Rockies up 3-0 in the first inning.  Johnson homered leading off the second to make it 4-0.  Vaughn homered with two out in the sixth to make it 5-0.

And that was that.  The Twins put runners on first and second with one out in the second, but a strikeout and a ground out stranded them.  They put men on first and second with two out in the fifth, but a fly out ended that inning.  A pair of walks put runners on first and second with two out in the eighth, but a ground out took care of that threat.

WP:  Jennings (5-5).  LP:  Brad Radke (5-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Bobby Kielty was in right field.  Morneau made his major league debut at DH.  The Twins made no in-game lineup substitutions.

Morneau was, of course, batting .500.  Jacque Jones was 0-for-4 and was batting .309.

Radke had the first inning trouble we came to expect from him.  For the game he struck out eight in seven innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and a walk.  His ERA was 5.61.  He would have one more bad game, then start the process of gradually bringing his ERA down to a more respectable level.

Nakamura has now appeared in three games in a row.  His ERA came down to 6.00.  Fiore had an ERA of 5.06.

Jason Jennings was a mainstay in the Rockies rotation for five seasons.  He was the Rookie of the Year in 2002, going 16-8, 4.52, 1.46 WHIP.  We assume people looked at the won-lost record and attributed the ERA and WHIP to pitching in Denver.  It also didn't hurt that in his first game, he pitched a complete game shutout and had three hits, including a home run.  He would post ERAs over five each of the next three seasons, but remained in the Rockies' rotation.  His best season as a Rockie was actually his last one, 2006, when he went 9-13, 3.78, 1.37 WHIP.  He was traded to Houston after that season and was awful for them, going 2-9, 6.45.  He became a free agent and signed with Texas.  He appeared in just six games for them in an injury-plagued 2008, not pitching well, but had a half-way decent season for them out of the bullpen in 2009.  He again dealt with injuries in 2010.  He had an excellent season with independent Grand Prairie in 2011, but then decided to call it a career.  At last report he was living in Frisco, Texas and operating a baseball training center there.

Record:  The Twins were 35-27, in first place in the American League Central, 3.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Sixty-one

SAN DIEGO 9, MINNESOTA 4 IN SAN DIEGO

Date:  Sunday, June 8.

Batting stars:  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his seventh) and two runs.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4 with a home run (his ninth) and two runs.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4.  Luis Rivas was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Joe Mays pitched six innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Mark Loretta was 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs.  Ryan Klesko was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer (his eleventh, two doubles, and a walk.  Sean Burroughs was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Donaldo Mendez was 2-for-4.  Gary Matthews was 2-for-5 with a home run (his third) and two runs.  Brian Buchanan was 1-for-1 with a two-run homer, his third.  Brian Lawrence pitched eight innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and no walks and striking out five.

The game:  The Padres put men on second and third with two out in the first but did not score.  The Twins put men on first and second with two out in the second but did not score.  San Diego got on the board in the third.  Matthews led off with a home run.  Singles by Mark Kotsay, Loretta, and Burroughs plated another, making it 2-0 Padres.  The Twins got one of them back in the fourth on consecutive one-out singles by Mientkiewicz, LeCroy, and Denny Hocking, cutting the lead to 2-1.

The Twins went ahead in the sixth.  Hunter led off with a single and Mientkiewicz followed with a two-run homer, making it 3-2 Twins.  The lead lasted until the seventh.  With one out Loretta singled, Klesko doubled, and an intentional walk loaded the bases.  LaTroy Hawkins gave up a single to Dave Hanses to tie the score, but got out of the inning without further damage.  Hunter then homered with one out in the eighth, giving the Twins a 4-3 lead.

But in the bottom of the eighth, it all fell apart.  Keith Lockhart walked and Matthews singled.  A bunt put men on second and third with one out.  Loretta singled home two and Klesko hit a two-run homer, making in 7-4 San Diego.  Micheal Nakamura then came in and gave up a single to Burroughs and a two-run homer to Buchanan, making it 9-4.  The next two batters went out, but it was too little, too late.  The Twins got a pair of one-out singles in the ninth but could do no more.

WP:  Lawrence (4-7).  LP:  Hawkins (4-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Denny Hocking was at third in place of Corey Koskie.  Lew Ford was in right.

Tom Prince came in for LeCroy in the eighth.  Dustan Mohr and Bobby Kielty were used as pinch-hitters for pitchers.

Mays was 0-for-2 and was batting .333.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-4 and was batting .314.  Mientkiewicz raised his average to .301.

Hocking went 1-for-4 to raise his average to .180.

Mays lowered his ERA to 5.21.  That was the lowest it would be the rest of the season.

Juan Rincon gave up a run in a third of an inning to make his ERA 2.88.

Hawkins was charged with four runs in one inning.  His ERA nearly doubled, from 1.27 to 2.45.

Record:  The Twins were 35-26, in first place in the American League Central, 4.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

 

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Sixty

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MINNESOTA 6, SAN DIEGO 2 IN SAN DIEGO

Date:  Saturday, June 7.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his seventh and eighth) and a walk.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his second.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana struck out seven in six innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk.  Micheal Nakamura struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit.

Opposition stars:  Mark Loretta was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fifth), a double, and a walk.  Scott Linebrink pitched 4.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on six hits and a walk and striking out three.

The game:  Jones led off the game with a home run to put the Twins up 1-0.  The Padres put their first two batters on base, but a double play took them out of the inning.  In the second Dustan Mohr walked, stole second, and scored on a Luis Rivas single.  Jones led off the third with a home run to make it 3-0 Twins.  Later in the inning, with two out, Torii Hunter walked, Mientkiewicz singled, and Mohr walked to load the bases.  Pierzynski then delivered a two-run single to put the Twins up 5-0.

San Diego got a leadoff double from Loretta in the fourth but could do nothing with it.  The Twins added another run in the sixth.  Mohr doubled and Pierzynski had an RBI single to put the Twins up 6-0.

The Padres finally got on the board in the sixth when Loretta hit a two-out home run.  They put two on in the seventh on a hit batsman and a walk but did not score.  In the eighth Gary Matthews and Rondell White walked and Brian Buchanan hit a two-out RBI single to make it 6-2.  Nakamura then entered the game and struck out Dave Hansen to end the inning.  San Diego got only a harmless single in the ninth.

WP:  Santana (3-1).  LP:  Carlton Loewer (1-2).  S:  Nakamura (1).

Notes:  Santana was 1-for-3 and was batting .333.  Jones raised his average to .316.  Mohr was 1-for-2 and was batting .300.

This was Santana's second start of the season.  He would take one more turn in the rotation, then would go back to the bullpen until mid-July.

This was the major league debut for Micheal Nakamura.  It was also his only career save.  There can't be a lot of guys who got a save in their major league debut, and there have to be a lot fewer for whom it was their only career save.  If someone with more time and/or initiative than I have wanted to look that up, I would be grateful.

Mientkiewicz had four stolen bases in 2003.  That was his career high in a season.  For his career, he had 14 stolen bases in 29 tries.

Santana's ERA was 2.49.

Loewer started for the Padres and lasted just 2.2 innings.  He allowed five runs on five hits and three walks and struck out two.

Record:  The Twins were 35-25, in first place in the American League Central, 4.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Fifty-nine

MINNESOTA 7, SAN DIEGO 5 IN SAN DIEGO (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, June 6.

Batting stars:  Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base.  Cristian Guzman was 3-for-6.  Chris Gomez was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Kenny Rogers pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk and striking out four.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Ex-Twin Brian Buchanan was 3-for-6 with a double.  Mark Kotsay was 2-for-5 with a double.  Mark Loretta was 2-for-5 with a walk.  Future Twin Rondell White was 2-for-6 with a double.  Jake Peavy pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and three walks and striking out five.

The game:  In the second, Mientkiewicz led off with a double, went to third on a fly ball, and scored on a ground out to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The Padres put men on first and second with two out in the fourth but did not score.  In the fifth Rogers walked, went to second on a Guzman single, and scored on Corey Koskie's double to make it 2-0 Twins.  The Padres got on the board in the bottom of the fifth.  Lou Merloni singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Loretta single.

It stayed 2-1 until the seventh.  Jacque Jones walked, Guzman got an infield single, and Torii Hunter got a two-out RBI single.  The Twins added another run in the eighth.  With two out Gomez singled, Matthew LeCroy reached on an error, and Jones hit an RBI single to make it 4-1 Twins.

Eddie Guardado came in to pitch the ninth, and the game looked secure.  But Buchanan led off with a double and Xavier Nady singled.  The next two batters went out, but back-to-back doubles by Gary Matthews and Ryan Klesko brought home three runs and tied it 4-4.

Each team scored once in the tenth.  A. J. Pierzynski singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Jones single.  But White doubled, Buchanan got an infield single, a bunt moved the runners to second and third, and a two-out wild pitch by J. C. Romero tied the score 5-5.

But the Twins prevailed in the eleventh.  Mientkiewicz was hit by a pitch and was on second with two out.  Pierzynski was intentionally walked, but it backfired when Gomez delivered a two-run double.  In the bottom of the tenth San Diego got two-out singles from Miguel Ojeda and White.  But Buchanan grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Romero (2-0).  LP:  Rod Beck (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Gomez was again at second in place of Luis Rivas.  Kielty was in right field, as there was no DH.

LeCroy and Dustan Mohr were used as pinch-hitters for pitchers.  Denny Hocking came in to play third in place of Koskie in the seventh.

Jones raised his average to .312.  Hocking was 0-for-2 and was batting .174.

Rogers' game score was only 66, perhaps due to a mediocre strikeout total.  Still, it was his second highest game score of the season to date, and he would top it only once after this, on August 15.  Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.27.  Guardado gave up three runs in an inning to raise his ERA to 2.70.  This was one of only two times all season that he would give up three runs in a game.

We noted Rondell White and Brian Buchanan as Padres with Twins connections.  Others with Twins connections who appeared in this game were Sean Burroughs and Jesse Orosco.

The Twins stranded 14, but were still 6-for-17 with men in scoring position.  San Diego stranded 11 and was 5-for-18 with men in scoring position.

Record:  The Twins were 34-25, in first place in the American League Central, five games ahead of Kansas City.

 

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Fifty-eight

MINNESOTA 5, SAN FRANCISCO 2 IN SAN FRANCISCO

Date:  Thursday, June 5.

Batting stars:  Cristian Guzman was 3-for-5 with a triple.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.  Bobby Kielty was 2-for-4 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks and striking out three.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Benito Santiago was 2-for-4 with a double.  J. T. Snow was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, his third.  Jim Brower struck out four in three innings, giving up one run on two hits and a walk.

The game:  Guzman tripled with one out in the first and scored on a Doug Mientkiewicz single to put the Twins up 1-0.  Their first two batters in the second reached base, but it stayed 1-0 until the third.  Torii Hunter walked with one out, stole second, and scored on Kielty's single to make it 2-0.  In the fourth Chris Gomez doubled and scored on Guzman's single to boost the lead to 3-0.  In the fifth Kielty got a two-out single and scored on Pierzynski's triple to put the Twins ahead 4-0.

The Giants got back into the game in the bottom of the fifth when Santiago led off with a double and Snow followed with a two-run homer.  That was all they could do, however, and in the seventh Hunter walked, stole second, took third on a ground out, and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2 Twins.

The Giants brought the tying run to bat in the eighth and the ninth, but did not score either time.  They had men on first and third with two out in the eighth, but Rich Aurelia grounded out.  Bonds walked to lead off the ninth and Santiago followed with a single, but the next three batters went out to end the game.

WP:  Lohse (5-4).  LP:  Jesse Foppert (3-5).  S:  Guardado (17).

Notes:  Gomez was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Kielty was in right field (there was no DH).  Dustan Mohr went to right in the ninth.

Jacque Jones was 0-for-5 and was batting .310.  He was on a 6-for-34 streak, dropping his average from .343.

Lohse's ERA was 3.01.  Guardado's ERA was 1.75.

Over his last six starts, Lohse was 3-1, 1.90.  He pitched at least 6.1 innings in all of them, at least eight in four of them, and had two complete games.  His ERA fell from 4.46.

Pierzynski hit 24 triples in his career, with a high of six in 2002.  Half of his career triples came with the Twins.

Benito Santiago seems to have kind of dropped out of memory, but early in his career he was as good a catcher as anyone.  He won the Rookie of the Year award in 1977.  He won four Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves.  He made five all-star teams.  The thing is that he did all of that, except for one all-star team, in his first six full seasons.  He was still a decent player after that, though.  He played in twenty major league seasons, which is pretty good in and of itself.  I don't say he belongs in the Hall of Fame or anything, but he was one of the top catchers in baseball for several seasons.

Record:  The Twins were 33-25, in first place in the American League Central, 4.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Fifty-seven

SAN FRANCISCO 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN SAN FRANCISCO

Date:  Wednesday, June 4.

Batting star:  Torii Hunter was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Brad Radke pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk and striking out two.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Ray Durham was 2-for-3 with a double and two walks.  Barry Bonds was 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk, and two RBIs.  Jerome Williams pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks and striking out six.

The game:  The Twins took the lead in the first on doubles by Jacque Jones and Hunter.  They increased their lead in the third.  With one out, Cristian Guzman doubled and scored on Corey Koskie's single.  Hunter doubled to put men on second and third and a ground out scored one, making it 3-0 Twins.

The Giants got on the board in the fourth when Durham walked and scored on Bonds' triple.  Each team put a man into scoring position in the sixth, but neither could take advantage of it, so it stayed 3-1 through seven.

In the eighth Jose Cruz singled and scored from first on a Marquis Grissom double.  That knocked Radke out of the box and brought J. C. Romero into the game. Durham singled to put men on the corners and Hawkins came in.  Rich Aurilia hit a ground-rule double, tying it 3-3.  An intentional walk loaded the bases with none out, but Hawkins retired the next three men to leave the score tied.

Juan Rincon came in to pitch the ninth.  Jose Cruz walked with one out and went to second on a wild pitch.  With two out Durham was intentionally walked and Aurilia was accidentally walked, loading the bases.  Walking someone to face Barry Bonds was not usually a good idea, and that proved to be true in this case.  Bonds singled to end the game.

WP:  Tim Worrell (2-2).  LP:  Rincon (1-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Matthew LeCroy pinch-hit for Luis Rivas in the ninth.  Denny Hocking came in to play second base.

Everyone reading this knows about Radke's first-inning struggles, but it was not the case in this game.  He only allowed one hit through three innings, a single by Marvin Benard with one out in the third.  He got through seven innings allowing just one run on four hits before apparently tiring in the eighth.  He threw 88 pitches.  Still, his ERA was 5.53 after this game.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.23.  Rincon gave up a run in two-thirds of an inning to make his ERA 2.55.

There were seven doubles in the game.  The Twins had four and the Giants three.

Some guy named Joe Nathan came in for San Francisco to retire the only batter he faced in the seventh.  I'm not sure whatever happened to him after 2003.

Record:  The Twins were 32-25, in first place in the American League Central, 3.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

 

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Fifty-six

MINNESOTA 6, SAN FRANCISCO 4 IN SAN FRANCISCO

Date:  Tuesday, June 3.

Batting stars:  Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-5 with a home run (his sixth), two doubles, two runs, and three RBIs.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and two runs.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5 with two doubles, a stolen base (his third), and two runs.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Joe Mays pitched six innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and one walk.  He struck out none.  LaTroy Hawkins retired all five men he faced.

Opposition stars:  PItcher Damian Moss was 2-for-2.  Barry Bonds was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourteenth.  Marquis Grissom was 2-for-5 with a home run, his eighth.  Chad Zerbe pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  Doubles by Guzman, Hunter, and Mientkiewicz plated two runs and gave the Twins a 2-0 lead in the first inning.  Guzman doubled again in the third, stole third base, and scored on Koskie's single to make it 3-0.

The Giants chipped away at the lead.  Bonds homered in the fourth to cut the margin to 3-1.  In the fifth Marvin Benard doubled and scored on Moss' single to trim the lead to 3-2.  The Twins got one back in the sixth when Mientkiewicz doubled and scored on Pierzynski's single, but San Francisco cut the lead back to one in the bottom of the sixth when Ray Durham singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Benito Santiago single.

In the seventh, however, Hunter drew a two-out walk and Mientkiewicz followed with a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 6-3.  The Giants loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Hawkins came in and got a double play from Rich Aurelia to end the threat.  The only San Francisco hit after that came when Grissom hit a home run with two out in the ninth.

WP:  Mays (7-3).  LP:  Moss (6-4).  S:  Eddie Guardado (16).

Notes:  Mays was 1-for-1 with a walk, and so was batting 1.000.  Jacque Jones was 0-for-5 and was batting .319.  Dustan Mohr was 0-for-4 and was batting .307.

Mays was 7-3 despite an ERA of 5.40.

Johan Santana pitched a third of an inning and did not give up a run, dropping his ERA to 2.65.  Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.37.  Guardado gave up a run in an inning to make his ERA 1.82.

Moss started for the Giants.  He pitched seven innings, but allowed six runs on twelve hits and two walks, striking out three.  He saved the bullpen, anyway.  This was his only year with the Giants.  He'd had a good year with Atlanta in 2002, going 12-6, 3.42, 1.28 WHIP and finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.  It turned out to be the only good year he had.  He only pitched in the big leagues through 2004 and had a career record of 22-19, 4.50, 1.48 WHIP.  He continued to play through 2010, though, mostly in independent and winter league ball.

The time of the game was 2:36, which is pretty good for a 6-4 game.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak.  Obviously, it was the Twins' first interleague game of the season.

Record:  The Twins were 32-24, in first place in the American League Central, 4.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Fifty-five

SEATTLE 9, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, June 1.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 2-for-3 with a walk.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his sixth) and a double.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-5 with a home run, his sixth.  Lew Ford was 1-for-1 with a home run.

Pitching stars:  Tony Fiore pitched five innings of relief, giving up two runs on three hits and no walks and striking out three.  J. C. Romero pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.  Eddie Guardado struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Edgar Martinez was 4-for-5 with a home run (his fourteenth), a double, three runs, and two RBIs.  Greg Colbrunn was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.  Bret Boone was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fifteenth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Mike Cameron was 2-for-5.

The game:  The Mariners scored six runs in the first inning before anyone was out.  Oddly enough, Brad Radke was not the Twins' starting pitcher.  They started the game with five singles:  Randy Winn, Carlos Guillen, Boone, Martinez, and Cameron all singled.  Colbrunn then hit a two-run triple and Jeff Cirillo singled, bringing the score to 6-0.  Jones led off the bottom of the first with a home run, but Boone led off the second with a home run, making the score 7-1.

To the Twins' credit, they battled to try to make a game of it.  In the second Doug Mientkiewicz doubled and Pierzynski hit a two-run homer, making it 7-3.  In the third, singles by Cristian Guzman and Koskie and a walk to Torii Hunter brought the tying run to the plate with one out.  All the Twins could manage was a sacrifice fly, though, and it was 7-4.

That was as good as it got for the Twins.  Martinez homered it the fourth to make it 8-4.  In the eighth Martinez doubled, went to third on a fly ball, and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 9-4.

The Twins got one more in the ninth.  With two out Ford pinch-hit for Luis Rivas and hit a home run, his first major league homer.  That brought the score to 9-5, and that's where it stayed.

WP:  Freddy Garcia (5-6).  LP:  Kenny Rogers (4-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  With the home run, Ford was batting .500.  Jones dropped his average to .327.  Dustan Mohr was 0-for-3 and was batting .315.

Ford was the only lineup substitute.

Rogers lasted just 1.1 innings, allowing seven runs on ten hits and no walks.  He struck out one.  He had a game score of seven, which was by far his worst game of the season.

Garcia pitched seven innings for the Mariners, giving up four runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out seven.  I remember him as being better than he was.  Not that he was bad or anything, but he was average to slightly above average for most of his career.  He started out really well, though, which may have skewed my memory.  He finished second to Carlos Beltran in Rookie of the Year voting in 1999, going 17-8, 4.07, although with a 1.47 WHIP.  He made the all-star team in 2001 and again in 2002.  2001 was his best year:  he was 18-6, 3.05, 1.12 WHIP.  He led the league in ERA, innings, and home runs per nine innings, the only times he ever led the league in anything except for 2005, when he led the league in wild pitches.  He finished third in Cy Young voting that year to Roger Clemens and Mark Mulder, and while I can't say that the voters were wrong it looks like his season was every bit as good as theirs.  For his career he was 156-108, 4.15, 1.30 WHIP and had a lifetime ERA+ of 107.  He appeared in 376 games, 357 of them starts, and pitched 2264 innings.  He was durable, pitching over 200 innings seven times.  Not a Hall of Famer or anything, but certainly a respectable career.

As mentioned above this was Lewwwwww's first home run.  He would hit 35 in his career, with a career high of 15 in 2004.

Ex-Twin Greg Colbrunn's triple was the last of his major league career.  He hit 12 of them, with a career high of three in 1999.

After playing so well for almost the entire month of May, the Twins had now lost four in a row.  They were swept at home, the first time that had happened since the Yankees series in April.  Luckily, second-place Kansas City was struggling, too, and had slipped to an even .500.

Record:  The Twins were 31-24, in first place in the American League Central, 3.5 games ahead of Kansas City.