Tag Archives: 2003 rewind

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Fifty-four

1 Comment

SEATTLE 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, May 31.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-3 with a home run (his seventh) and two RBIs.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.  Johan Santana pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Ichiro Suzuki was 3-for-5 with a home run (his fifth), a triple, and two runs.  John Olerud was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Bret Boone was 2-for-5.  Edgar Martinez was 1-for-4 with a home run, his thirteenth.  Ryan Franklin pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out three.

The game:  There was no score, or even a threat, until the fourth.  Boone led off with a single and Olerud hit a one-out single.  With two down, Randy Winn and Jeff Cirillo each hit an RBI single to make it 2-0 Mariners.  It went to 4-0 in the fifth.  Suzuki led off with a triple and scored on a ground out.  Edgar Martinez followed with a home run.

The Twins got on the board in the fifth.  Torii Hunter, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Mohr all singled to lead off the inning, bringing in a run and putting men on first and second.  A bunt moved the runners to second and third with one out, but the Twins could not get either run across, leaving the score 4-1.

Suzuki homered in the top of the seventh to make it 5-1.  Mohr homered in the bottom of the seventh to make it 5-2.  And that was it.  The Twins did not get a hit after Mohr's homer.

WP:  Franklin (4-3).  LP:  Rick Reed (3-6).  S:  Kazuhiro Sasaki (9).

Notes:  Tom Prince was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Chris Gomez was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Bobby Kielty was the DH.  There were no in-game lineup substitutions.

Jacque Jones was 0-for-4 and was batting .330.  Mohr was batting .322.

Reed started and pitched seven innings, but allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out four.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.46.  Santana lowered his ERA to 2.68.

The first five Seattle batters were batting over .500.  Suzuki was at .317, Carlos Guillen was at .321, Boone was at .308, Martinez was at .314, and Olerud was at .302.

Suzuki would set a career high, up to that point, in home runs in 2003 at 13.  He would top that in 2005 with 15.  For his career, he hit 117 home runs, which is more than I would have thought.  He hit 118 in nine seasons in Japan, with a high of 25 in 1995.

This was the first time the Twins had lost three in a row since a six-game losing streak from April 18-24.

Record:  The Twins were 31-23, in first place in the American League Central, 3.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Fifty-three

1 Comment

SEATTLE 6, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, May 30.

Batting star:  Cristian Guzman was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and one walk and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Joel Piniero struck out twelve in a complete game shutout, giving up four hits and two walks.  Randy Winn was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs.  Ben Davis was 2-for-4.  Carlos Guillen was 2-for-5.  Mike Cameron was 1-for-1 with a two-run homer, his sixth.

The game:  The Mariners opened the scoring in the second.  Randy Winn walked, went to third on a Jeff Cirillo double, and scored on a Davis single, making it 1-0.  They added two more in the fourth.  Singles by Edgar Martinez, John Olerud, and Randy Winn plated one run and a sacrifice fly brought home another, increasing the lead to 3-0.  They got three more in the ninth to put the game out of reach.

And that was it.  The Twins threatened in the third when Lew Ford led off with a walk and went to second on Jacque Jones' one-out single.  A fly out and a strikeout ended the inning.  The threatened again in the ninth when Guzman and Corey Koskie singled with one out.  The next two batters struck out to end the game.

WP:  Piniero (5-4).  LP:  Lohse (4-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Ford was in center field in place of Torii Hunter.  There were no in-game lineup substitutions.

Jacque Jones was 1-for-4 and was batting .337.  Ford was 0-for-2 to drop his average to .333.  Dustan Mohr was 1-for-3 and was batting .313.  Matthew LeCroy was 0-for-4, dropping his average below .300 for the first time since May 10.

Lohse's ERA went to 3.09.

This was one of two shutouts for Piniero in 2003.  The other would come on July 26 in Texas.  His twelve strikeouts were easily a season high--his next highest total was eight, on September 10.

This was the first time the Twins had lost two games in a row since April 26-27.

Record:  The Twins were 31-22, in first place in the American League Central, 3.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Fifty-two

SEATTLE 10, MINNESOTA 6 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, May 29.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 2-for-3 with a home run, his fifth.  Luis Rivas was 2-for-4 with a double.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifth.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-2 with a home run (his eighth) and a walk.  A. J. Pierzynski was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.

Pitching star:  Johan Santana pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Carlos Guillen was 4-for-6 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBIs.  Edgar Martinez was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Bret Boone was 3-for-6 with a home run (his fourteenth), two doubles, two runs, and four RBIs.  Mike Cameron was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base, his fifth.  John Olerud was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Ichiro Suzuki was 2-for-5 with a walk, a stolen base (his tenth) and three runs.

The game:  Seattle scored two in the first inning.  Suzuki led off with a single and scored from first on Cameron's double.  Martinez then hit a one-out RBI single to make it 2-0.

Jones homered leading off the bottom of the first to make it 2-1.  It stayed there until the fifth, when the Mariners struck again.  Suzuki again started the rally with a single, and Boone hit a one-out two-run homer.  With two out, Olerud and Cameron hit back-to-back doubles to increase the lead to 5-1 Mariners.

Mientkiewicz led off the bottom of the fifth with a homer to make it 5-2, but Seattle again added to its lead in the sixth inning.  Walks to Mark McLemore and Suzuki were followed by a wild pitch, putting men on second and third with one out.  Guillen singled in a run and Boone doubled in another, increasing the lead to 7-2.

Hunter led off the seventh inning with a home run, making the score 7-3.  The Mariners again added to their lead in the eighth.  Back-to-back one-out doubles by Guillen and Boone brought home one run and Martinez singled in another.  Olerud singled and Cameron walked, loading the bases.  With two out Mark McLemore singled home one more run, making the score 10-3.

The Twins got one back in the eighth when Rivas doubled and Denny Hocking singled.  They added two in the ninth to make the final score look better.  Dustan Mohr doubled and Pierzynski hit a two-run homer, bringing us to the final score of 10-6.

WP:  Gil Meche (7-2).  LP:  Brad Radke (5-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Kielty was again at DH.

Lewwwwwww Ford made his major league debut in this game, replacing Hunter in center field in the eighth inning.  He had his first major league at-bat in the ninth and lined a single to right.

Hocking pinch-hit for Jones in the eighth and stayed in the game in left field.  Matthew LeCroy pinch-hit for Kielty in the eighth.

Jones raised his average to .339.  Mohr was 1-for-4 and was batting .314.  LeCroy was 0-for-1 and was batting .300.

Radke pitched five innings, giving up five runs on eleven hits and no walks and striking out three.  His ERA was 5.71, as he continued to struggle.  Tony Fiore allowed two runs in one-third of an inning, raising his ERA to 5.55.

Juan Rincon allowed three runs in two innings, raising his ERA to 2.31.  Santana lowered his ERA to 2.75.  It was the first time in five games that he had not given up a run.

The Twins batted 1.000 with men in scoring position.  Unfortunately, that was only 2-for-2.

Gil Meche started for Seattle and pitched seven innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk and striking out four.

Coming into this game, Shigetoshi Hasegawa had allowed only one earned run all season (27.2 innings).  He allowed two in the ninth here, raising his ERA to 0.94.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak by the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 31-21, in first place in the American League Central, 4.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Fifty-one

MINNESOTA 6, OAKLAND 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, May 28.

Batting stars:  Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-4 with a three-run homer (his fourth), a double, and two runs.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.  Dustan Mohr was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixth.

Pitching star:  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Aaron Harang pitched four shutout innings of relief, giving up one hit and two walks and striking out two.  Mark Ellis was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Scott Hatteberg was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Erubiel Durazo was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Terrence Long was 2-for-5.  Chris Singleton was 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk.

The game:  The Athletics jumped on starter Joe Mays for three runs in the first inning.  With one out, Hatteberg and Eric Chavez singled, Miguel Tejada hit an RBI double, and Durazo walked to load the bases.  A sacrifice fly brought home a second run and Long's RBI single brought home the third.

The Twins tied it with three in the second.  Bobby Kielty reached on an error, Torii Hunter singled, and Mientkiewicz hit a three-run homer to make it 3-3.  The Twins took the lead in the third when Jones homered, but Singleton homered leading off the fourth to tie it again at 4-4.  The Twins took the lead again in the bottom of the fourth when Mientkiewicz singled and Mohr hit a two-run homer.  It was 6-4 Twins.

Oakland did not threaten again until the seventh.  Hatteberg led off with a double, but was still on second with two out.  Durazo then hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 6-5.  Ramon Hernandez singled, moving the tying run to second, but Long flied out to end the inning.

The Athletics threatened again in the eighth.  Ellis singled, Singleton walked, and Hatteberg was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with one out.  But a foul out and a ground out ended the inning.  Durazo had a leadoff single in the ninth, but a double play took them out of the inning and the game.

WP:  Mays (6-3).  LP:  John Halama (2-4).  S:  Guardado (15).

Notes:  Denny Hocking was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Chris Gomez was at shortstop in place of Cristian Guzman.  Kielty was the DH.

Jones was 1-for-4 and was batting .333.  Mohr was 1-for-4 and was batting .316.  Hocking was 0-for-3 and was batting .163.

Mays pitched six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out two.  His ERA was 5.48.  Johan Santana gave up a run in two-thirds of an inning to make his ERA 2.88.  LaTroy Hawkins was unscored upon in two-thirds of an inning to drop his ERA to 1.52.  J. C. Romero retired both men he faced to make his ERA 2.82.  Guardado's ERA dropped to 1.59.

Halama pitched four innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on five hits and no walks and striking out five.

This was Harang's first major league appearance in 2003.  He had pitched in sixteen games in 2002.   It was his only relief appearance of the season.

The Twins had won four in a row, six out of seven, nine of eleven, eleven of fourteen, and seventeen of twenty-two.

Record:  The Twins were 31-20, in first place in the American League Central, 4.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Fifty

3 Comments

MINNESOTA 4, OAKLAND 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, May 27.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 1-for-3 with a home run, his seventh.  Bobby Kielty was 1-for-1 with a three-run homer, his eighth.

Pitching stars:  Kenny Rogers pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks and striking out five.  Eddie Guardado struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Eric Byrnes was 2-for-4 with a double.  Scott Hatteberg was 2-for-4 with a double.  Barry Zito struck out ten in an eight inning complete game, giving up four runs on three hits and two walks.  Ramon Hernandez was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixth.

The game:  Neither team did much on offense until the fourth, when Koskie hit a two-out homer to put the Twins up 1-0.  The Athletics had a couple of two-out singles in the sixth, but did not get on the board until the seventh, when Miguel Tejada led off with a double and Hernandez hit a one-out two-run homer, giving Oakland a 2-1 lead.  It went to 3-1 in the eighth on back-to-back doubles by Byrnes and Hatteberg.

The Koskie homer was the only hit the Twins had for seven innings.  In the eighth, however, Dustan Mohr hit a one-out double and Doug Mientkiewicz was hit by a pitch.  Kielty then pinch-hit for Luis Rivas and hit a three-run homer, giving the Twins a 4-3 advantage.  The Athletics went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  J. C. Romero (1-0).  LP:  Zito (6-4).  S:  Guardado (14).

Notes:  Mientkiewicz returned to the lineup at first base.  Denny Hocking went in to play second base after Kielty pinch-hit for Rivas.

Jacque Jones was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .335.  Mohr was 1-for-3 and was batting .318.  Matthew LeCroy was 0-for-3 and was batting .303.

This was Rogers' first game score over 50 in a month and his first over 60 since April 17.

Zito had four complete games in 2003.  Three of them were losses, two of them to the Twins.  He had only three more complete games after 2003.

The Twins had won three in a row, five of six, eight of ten, ten of thirteen, sixteen of twenty-one, and twenty of twenty-five.

Record:  The Twins were 30-20, in first place in the American League Central, 3.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Forty-nine

MINNESOTA 3, SEATTLE 1 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Sunday, May 25.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 2-for-2 with two walks.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with a stolen base.  Chris Gomez was 2-for-4.  Dustan Mohr was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fifth) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Rick Reed pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks and striking out one.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Ryan Franklin pitched 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and four walks and striking out four.  Bret Boone was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth) and a double.

The game:  Jacque Jones led off the game with a walk.  Corey Koskie drew a one-out walk, and Bobby Kielty singled to put the Twins up 1-0.  Mohr homered leading off the second to make it 2-0.

The Mariners had only three hits, all singles, through the first six innings and never got a man past first.  That changed in the seventh, when Boone led off with a home run to cut the Twins lead to 2-1.  The Twins got the run back in the eighth when Kielty singled, went to third on a stolen base-plus-passed ball, and scored on Hunter's single.

Seattle got a one-out double by Boone in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate.  A pair of fly outs ended the game.

WP:  Reed (3-5).  LP:  Ryan Franklin (3-3).  S:  Guardado (13).

Notes:  Todd Sears was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Mientkiewicz came in for defense in the eighth.  Gomez was at second in place of Luis Rivas.  Kielty was the DH.

Jones was 1-for-4 with a walk and was batting .343.  Mohr was batting .318.  Gomez raised his average to .313.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.19.  Guardado lowered his ERA to 1.74.

This was the first of three stolen bases for Pierzynski in 2003.  Three was his career high, equalled in 2010.  For his career he had 15 stolen bases and was caught stealing 23 times.  I'm no sabremetrician, but I don't think that's a very good percentage.

I know Chris Gomez was a member of the Twins, but I don't have any actual memory of his time with the team.  Does anyone remember, were we excited about him at this point, when he was batting over .300?  Were we thinking he should replace Rivas at second base?  Or did we think that it was just a small sample size fluke, which it turned out to be?  I have no idea.

In his last three starts, Reed had pitched 22 innings and given up 4 runs on 19 hits and 3 walks.  He had lowered his ERA from 5.87 to 4.10.

Sears was sent back to AAA after this game.  He was batting .278/.365/.426, so it wasn't terribly fair, but Mientkiewicz was ready to resume regular duties at first base and there simply wasn't a spot for him.  He would come back for a couple of weeks in late July/early August, but then would be traded to San Diego for Alex Garcia, a middle infielder who couldn't hit.  He spent one year in Class A Quad Cities, then played two years of independent ball.

I don't remember Bret Boone as a slugger, but already hit his twelfth  home run of the season in this game.  He would hit 35 on the season.  He went through 2000, his age thirty-one season, only having hit 20 homers twice (24 in 1998, 20 in 1999).  Then, in his early-to-mid thirties, he hit 37, 24, 35, and 24 home runs.  A suspicious person might wonder if he had some help, although it should be pointed out that I'm aware of no evidence to support that suspicion.

The Twins had won four of five, seven of nine, nine of twelve, and fifteen of twenty, and nineteen of twenty-five.

Record:  The Twins were 29-20, in first place in the American League Central, 2.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Forty-eight

MINNESOTA 7, SEATTLE 2 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Saturday, May 24.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 3-for-4 with a three-run homer (his fourth) and two runs.  Chris Gomez was 3-for-5 with a triple and a double.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Corey Koskie was 1-for-4 with a home run (his sixth) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Kyle Lohse pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out seven.  He threw 114 pitches.

Opposition stars:  Ichiro Suzuki was 2-for-4.  Julio Mateo struck out four in four innings of relief, giving up one run on two hits and two walks.

The game:  The Twins put men on first and second with one out in the first but did not score.  In the second, however, Todd Sears walked, Dustan Mohr singled, and Pierzynski hit a three-run homer.  They got a pair of singles, putting men on first and second with one out, but could do no further damage.  Still, it was 3-0 Twins after two.

Each team scored once in the fourth.  Gomez hit a one-out triple and scored on a two-out single by Matthew LeCroy.  The Mariners got the run back on singles by Suzuki, Bret Boone, and John Olerud, making the score 4-1.

Each team again scored in the fifth.  The Twins got two in the top of the inning.  With two out, Pierzynski and Luis Rivas singled and Jones hit a two-run double.  Seattle scored once in the bottom of the inning when Randy Winn doubled and Suzuki delivered a two-out RBI single, bringing the score to 6-2.

Koskie led off the sixth with a home run to make it 7-2.  And that was it.  The Mariners only got one more hit, a two-out single by Carlos Guillen in the eighth.

WP:  Lohse (4-3).  LP:  Joel Piniero (4-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Sears was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Mientkiewicz came in for defense in the ninth.  Gomez was at short in place of Cristian Guzman.

Jones raised his average to .345.  Mohr was batting .317.  LeCroy was 1-for-5 and was batting .313.  Gomez raised his average to .300.

Lohse lowered his ERA to 3.06.  This was one of two complete games he had in 2003, with the other coming May 8.  It was his third-highest game score of the season, behind the May 8 game and his eight shutout innings in his first start.  It is very unlikely that he would've been allowed to complete a game like this today.

Gomez was a home run away from the cycle.

I have no particular memory of Julio Mateo, but he spent six years in the Seattle bullpen.  In two of those years he was really good:  2003, when he went 4-0, 3.15, 0.96 WHIP with 71 strikeouts in 85.2 innings; and 2005, when he was 3-6, 30.6, 1.09 WHIP with 52 strikeouts in 88.1 innings.  For his career he was 18-12, 3.68, 1.20 WHIP.  He walked only 2.4 per nine innings.  He was never a closer, and in fact had only two career saves.  But he was a solid reliever for much of the first decade of the twenty-first century.

Record:  The Twins were 28-20, in first place in the American League Central, 1.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Forty-seven

SEATTLE 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Friday, May 23.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Tony Fiore pitched three shutout innings, giving up one walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Mark McLemore was 2-for-3 with a home run (his second), a walk, and two runs.  John Olerud was 2-for-4.  Jamie Moyer pitched five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks and striking out three.  Bert Blyleven's favorite pitcher, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

The game:  The Twins had men on first and second with two out in the first, but did not score.  The Mariners jumped on Brad Radke for three runs in the first inning, although the defense did not help him any.  Ichiro Suzuki reached on an error, Carlos Guillen walked, and Edgar Martinez hit a one-out single, loading the bases.  Olerud then hit a potential double play ball, but Cristian Guzman missed the throw at second base, allowing two runs to score.  Mike Cameron hit an RBI double, making it 3-0 Seattle after one.

The Twins got one back in the second, but missed a chance for more.  Todd Sears led off with a single and Mohr doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  A ground out scored one, but a strikeout and a fly out ended the inning.  The lead went back to three in the bottom of the second, as McLemore led off with a home run to make it 4-1.  It went to 5-1 in the fourth on singles by McLemore and Dan Wilson, a sacrifice bunt, and a sacrifice fly.

The Twins scored in the fifth, but again missed a chance for more.  Luis Rivas and Jones opened the inning with singles, putting men on first and third with none out, but a ground out scored the only run they got, making the score 5-2.  And that was it.  The Twins got a man to second a couple of times, but never got the tying run up to bat.

WP:  Jamie Moyer (7-2).  LP:  Radke (5-4).  S:  Kazuhiro Sasaki (7).

Notes:  Sears was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Bobby Kielty was the DH.

Jones was batting .343.  Mohr was batting .320.

Radke pitched five innings, giving up five runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks and struck out none.  His ERA was 5.43.

The Twins were 0-for-7 with men in scoring position and stranded eight.

This was the only season in which Moyer made the all-star team.  He went 21-7, 3.27, 1.23 WHIP.  He finished fifth in Cy Young voting that year, one of three times he finished in the top six.  He was age forty in 2003, so he would only play eight more seasons.

Record:  The Twins were 27-20, in first place in the American League Central, 1.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Forty-six

MINNESOTA 6, OAKLAND 5 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Thursday, May 22.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Chris Gomez was 2-for-5 with a triple, a double, and two runs.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-5 with a double.  Bobby Kielty was 1-for-3 with a home run (his seventh), two walks, and three RBIs.

Pitching star:  Juan Rincon retired all five batters he faced.

Opposition stars:  Eric Brynes was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third) and two RBIs.  Mark Ellis was 1-for-2 with a home run (his fourth), two walks, and two runs.

The game:  The Twins had two on with two out in the second but did not score.  In the third, however, Jones led off with a double and Kielty hit a one-out two-run homer to put the Twins up 2-0.

The lead lasted until the bottom of the third.  Ellis led off with a walk and Chris Singleton doubled, putting men on second and third.  A sacrifice fly scored a run, Scott Hatteberg singled, and Eric Chavez hit a two-run triple to put the Athletics up 3-2.  That lead lasted until the top of the fourth.  Gomez led off with a double and scored on Pierzynski's single to tie it.  Luis Rivas reached on a fielder's choice and with one out Cristian Guzman and Kielty walked, putting the Twins up 4-3.  Torii Hunter then singled to make it 5-3.

Brynes led off the fifth with a home run to cut the lead to 5-4.  The Twins loaded the bases in the seventh but did not score.  They had two on with two out in the eighth but did not score.  In the ninth, however, Gomez hit a one-out triple and scored on Rivas' two-out single to give the Twins an insurance run at 6-4.  They needed it, as Ellis hit a two-out home run to make the score 6-5.  Adam Piatt then grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Joe Mays (5-3).  LP:  John Halama (2-3).  S:  Guardado (12).

Notes:  Matthew LeCroy was again at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  He was replaced, however, in the second inning by Denny Hocking.  There's no obvious reason revealed by the play-by-play, so one assumes it was either injury or illness.

Gomez was at third in place of Corey Koskie.  Kielty was the DH.

Jones raised his average to .341.  LeCroy was 0-for-1 and was batting .319.  Dustan Mohr was 1-for-5 and was batting .305.

Hocking was 1-for-4 and was batting .175.

Mays pitched five innings, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks and striking out two.  His ERA was 5.43.

Rincon lowered his ERA to 1.27.  J. C. Romero retired both men he faced and had an ERA of 3.00.  LaTroy Hawkins retired both men he faced and had an ERA of 1.25.  Guardado gave up a run in one inning and had an ERA of 1.83.

Halama started for Oakland.  He went six innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and four walks and striking out three.  I remember him as being a lot better than he actually was.  He had only one year with an ERA under four (3.56 in 2002) and four years with an ERA over five.  His best WHIP was 1.36 in 2004 and he only had one other season where it was under 1.40.  For his career, he was 56-48, 4.65, 1.45 WHIP in 911 innings.  He was in 262 games, 119 of them starts.

Chris Berman's nicknames eventually got old, but I did like John "Dalai" Halama.

The Twins had won five of six, seven of nine, thirteen of seventeen, and seventeen of twenty-two.

Record:  The Twins were 27-19, in first place in the American League Central, 1.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Forty-five

MINNESOTA 4, OAKLAND 3 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Wednesday, May 21.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 3-for-4.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his seventh.

Pitching stars:  Kenny Rogers pitched six innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and two walks and striking out three.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.  J. C. Romero pitched a perfect inning.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Barry Zito pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and three walks and striking out one.  Eric Brynes was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Miguel Tejada was 2-for-4.

The game:  Brynes led off the game with a walk, followed by singles by Scott Hatteberg and Tejada, loading the bases with one out.  Erubiel Durazo hit a two-out single to score a run and put the Athletics up 1-0.

The Twins put two on with two out in the second but did not score.  In the third, Byrnes led off with a single.  One-out singles by Tejada and Eric Chavez brought a run home to make it 2-0 Oakland.  The Twins tied it in the fourth when LeCroy hit a one-out single and Hunter followed with a two-run homer.  The tie lasted until the bottom of the fourth, when Mark Ellis led off with a single, went to second on a Terrence Long single, went to third on a double play, and scored on a wild pitch, making it 3-2 Athletics.

The Twins had men on first and third with one out in the sixth but did not score.  In the eighth Cristian Guzman singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a LeCroy single to tie it 3-3.  Luis Rivas pinch-ran for LeCroy, went to second on a ground out, and scored on Mohr's single to give the Twins their first lead at 4-3.

Oakland got a two-out single in the ninth, but did not more.  The Twins took the game 4-3.

WP:  Hawkins (4-0).  LP:  Chad Bradford (2-3).  S:  Guardado (11).

Notes:  Tom Prince was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  LeCroy was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Denny Hocking was at second base in place of Rivas.  Bobby Kielty was the DH.

Jacque Jones was 1-for-5 and was batting .340.  LeCroy raised his average to .322.  Mohr raised his average to .310.

Hocking was 0-for-4 and was batting .167.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.29.  Romero was at 3.10.  Guardado was at 1.45.

Ron Gardenhire clearly went with the B lineup in this game, but it worked.

The Twins had won four of five, six of eight, and twelve of sixteen.

Record:  The Twins were 26-19, in first place in the American League Central, a half game ahead of Kansas City.