Tag Archives: 2003 rewind

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Thirty-three

MINNESOTA 5, TAMPA BAY 0 IN TAMPA BAY

Date:  Thursday, May 8.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Corey Koskie was 1-for-2 with two walks.

Pitching star:  Kyle Lohse pitched a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and no walks and striking out three.

Opposition star:  Rocco Baldelli was 2-for-4.

The game:  The Twins opened the game with singles by Jacque Jones, Cristian Guzman, and Koskie, plating a run.  A double play took them out of the inning, but the Twins led 1-0.  Mohr led off the second with a double, Doug Mientkiewicz singled to put men on first and third, A. J. Pierzynski doubled home a run, and a ground out brought home another, making it 3-0 Twins.

It remained 3-0, with neither team building much of a threat, until the seventh.  Mohr singled, went to second on a passed ball, and scored on an error to make it 4-0.  They added one more in the eighth when Guzman reached on an error, went to second when Koskie walked, took third on a double play, and scored on a Torii Hunter double.

The Devil Rays only once got a man as far as second base.  Al Martin led off the second with a single and stole second with one out.  He was stranded there.

WP:  Lohse (3-3).  LP:  Dewon Brazelton (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Bobby Kielty was the DH.  The Twins made no in-game lineup substitutions.

Jones was 1-for-4 and was batting .333.  Kielty was 0-for-4 and was batting .304.

Luis Rivas was 0-for-4 and was batting .188.

By game scores, this was Lohse's second-best game of the season, second to his eight innings of shutout ball on April 3.  He threw 101 pitches.  He would pitch very well through the middle of June, then pitch quite poorly until mid-September, when he got it going again.  His ERA was 3.57 at this point.

Tampa Bay's starter, Brazelton, did not pitch badly.  He went seven innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks and struck out three.  This was only his second game of the season and just the fourth of his major league career.  I don't mean to be unkind to him, but he simply was not a good major league pitcher.  His best season was 2004, when he went 6-8, 4.77, 1.44 WHIP in 120.2 innings (22 games, 21 of them starts).  For his career he was 8-25, 6.38, 1.68 WHIP in 271 innings (63 games, 43 of them starts).  He wasn't very good in AAA, either--14-19, 4.55, 1.44 WHIP in 219.2 innings (42 games, 41 of them starts).  He was drafted third overall, behind Joe Mauer and Mark Prior, which is probably why he got as many chances as he did.  But he walked too many guys, didn't strike out very many, and really had no business having as long a career as he had.  He does have an interesting life story, though, and I encourage you to read the SABR biography of him.

It was yet another series sweep the Twins were involved in, their eighth in ten series.  The Twins had won four in a row and eight of nine.

Record:  The Twins were 18-15, in second place, three games behind Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Thirty-two

MINNESOTA 11, TAMPA BAY 6 IN TAMPA BAY

Date:  Wednesday, May 7.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 3-for-5.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with a grand slam (his third homer), a double, and five RBIs.  Bobby Kielty was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Michael Cuddyer was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5 with a stolen base.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his second.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-6 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Juan Rincon pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  J. C. Romero struck out the side in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Rocco Baldelli was 3-for-5 with a double.  Carl Crawford was 2-for-5 with a double.  Aubrey Huff was 2-for-5 with a double.  Travis Harper pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

The game:  For all the runs, the scoring was packed into a few big innings.  The Twins started it with four in the first.  With one out they put together six consecutive singles (Guzman, Koskie, Kielty, Torii Hunter, Mohr, and Michael Cuddyer) plus a sacrifice fly to score the runs.  The Devil Rays loaded the bases in the bottom of the first when Baldelli singled, Huff doubled, and Travis Lee walked, but could only score once on a ground out, making the score 4-1.

It stayed 4-1 until the fourth, when Tampa Bay came storming back to take the lead.  They started the inning with four singles of their own (Lee, Marlon Anderson, Toby Hall, and Al Martin) to score two runs.  A bunt moved the runners up and a ground out scored a run, tying the score.  Crawford then had an RBI double and Baldelli contributed a run-scoring single, giving the Devil Rays a 6-4 lead.

Their momentum lasted until the first batter of the next half-inning.  Kielty led off the fifth with a home run to cut the margin to 6-5.  Hunter walked, Mohr singled, and Cuddyer walked, loading the bases.  Pierzynski then hit a grand slam to put the Twins in front 9-6.  They weren't done in the inning, though.  Chris Gomez singled and scored from first on a Jones double.  Guzman then hit an RBI single to make the score 11-6.

And that's where it stayed.  The Devil Rays put men on second and third with two out in the sixth, but did not score.  That was their only real threat the rest of the game.

WP:  Rincon (1-0).  LP:  Joe Kennedy (2-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Cuddyer was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Gomez was at second in place of Luis Rivas.  Kielty was the DH.

Mientkiewicz replaced Cuddyer at first base in the eighth inning.

Jones was batting .336.  Kielty raised his average to .318.

Joe Mays started and did okay for three innings.  His line, though was 3.2 innings, six runs, nine hits, and one walk.  His ERA was 6.18.  By game scores this was tied for his second-worst game of the season, topped (or bottomed) only by a start in Chicago on June 30.

On the other hand, Rincon lowered his ERA to 1.15 and Hawkins was at 1.64.

Tampa Bay's starter, Joe Kennedy, fared even worse than Mays.  He pitched four innings and allowed ten runs on thirteen hits and two walks, striking out one.  His game score was -5.  It was, as you would expect, his worst start of the season.

This would be Cuddyer's last game before being sent down.  Oddly, the Twins sent him down just as he was starting to get hot.  He was 5-for-12 with a triple and three walks, raising his average from .197 to .233.  He would hit .306 with an OPS of .827 in Rochester, but would not come back until September.

At this point in the season Koskie had more stolen bases than Guzman, 2 to 1.  It would not stay that way, but the margin was not as big at the end of the season as you might think.  Guzman led the team with 18 stolen bases, but Koskie was fourth with 11.  Guzman was 18-for-27 while Koskie was 11-for-16.  The Twins were seventh in the league in stolen bases with 94.  The were fourth in caught stealing with 44.

The Twins had now won three in a row and seven of eight.

Record:  The Twins were 17-15, in second place in the American League Central, 3.5 games behind Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Thirty-one

MINNESOTA 7, TAMPA BAY 3 IN TAMPA

Date:  Tuesday, May 6.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 5-for-5 with two home runs (his second and third), a double, a stolen base (his fifth), and three runs.  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fourth.  Bobby Kielty was 2-for-4.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his fourth.

Pitching star:  Brad Radke pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and one walk and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Rey Ordonez was 2-for-4 with a double.  Rocco Baldelli was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his third.  Nick Bierbrodt pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out two.  Jesus Colome struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Jones led off the game with a home run, putting the Twins up 1-0.  With one out in the second, Kielty singled and Mohr followed with a home run, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead.  Jones led off the third with another home run.  Later in the inning, with two out, Todd Sears walked and Hunter hit a two-run homer, leaving the Twins ahead 6-0.

After one in the first, two in the second, and three in the third, it would've been cool for the Twins to score four in the fourth, but they didn't.  In fact, they didn't score again until the ninth.  It didn't matter, though, as they already had all the runs they would need.  The Devil Rays put two on in the first and again in the fourth, but did not score until the sixth.  They started the inning with consecutive singles by Baldelli, Aubrey Huff, and Travis Lee, loading the bases with none out.  All they could do, though, was score one run on a ground out and another on a sacrifice fly, only cutting the margin to 6-2.

Tampa Bay put two on again in the seventh, but a double play took them out of the inning.  In the ninth Jones singled, stole second, and scored on a Corey Koskie single to increase the lead to 7-2.  The Devil Rays got that run back when Chris Truby walked and scored from first on an Ordonez double, but that was all they could do and the Twins had the victory.

WP:  Radke (3-3).  LP:  Steve Parris (0-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  A. J. Pierzynski returned to the lineup behind the plate.  Sears was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz and Chris Gomez was at second in place of Luis Rivas.  Kielty was the DH.

The Twins made no in-game lineup substitutions.

Jones raised his average to .336.  Kielty was batting .310.

Radke lowered his ERA to 5.65,  Johan Santana gave up a run on a hit and a walk in two innings, raising his ERA to 1.59.

Jones raised his average by 30 points with his 5-for-5 game.  His slugging average went up 86 points, from .414 to .500.

Tampa Bay starter Parris pitched three innings, allowing six runs on six hits and a walk and striking out one.  I don't really remember him, but he pitched in the majors for parts of eight seasons:  two for Pittsburgh, three for Cincinnati, two for Toronto, and his last with the Devil Rays.  He had a couple of good years for the Reds, going 6-5, 3.73, 1.22 WHIP in 1998 and 11-4, 3.50, 1.37 in 1999.  He hadn't done much since, though, and by 2003 was at the end of the line.  This was his last major league start--he would make three relief appearances. then was released and his playing career was over.

After losing eight out of nine, the Twins had now won six out of seven and were back over .500.

Record:  The Twins were 16-15, in second place in the American League Central, 4.5 games behind Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Thirty

MINNESOTA 9, BOSTON 4 IN BOSTON

Date:  Sunday, May 4.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.  Todd Sears was 2-for-4.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.

Pitching stars:  J. C. Romero struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Manny Ramirez was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Bill Mueller was 2-for-5 with a double.

The game:  It did not look good early.  With two out in the first inning Nomar Garciaparra doubled, Ramirez hit an RBI single, and David Ortiz had a run-scoring double, putting the Red Sox up 2-0.  In the third Mueller hit a one-out double, Garciaparra walked, Ramirez hit an RBI double, and Kevin Millar had a run-scoring single, making it 4-0 Red Sox.

The Twins, meanwhile, were doing very little on offense, managing just three hits in the first five innings.  It was a different story in the sixth, however.  Mohr led off with a double and went to third on a Guzman single.  Koskie got the Twins on the board with an RBI double.  LeCroy singled to make it 4-2.  With one out Sears hit a sacrifice fly to cut the margin to one, and Michael Cuddyer delivered a two-out triple to tie the score 4-4.

The Twins had another big inning in the seventh.  Mohr singled, Guzman reached on an error, and Koskie singled, loading the bases.  LeCroy came through with a two-run single to put the Twins ahead.  An error produced another run, Cuddyer walked to load the bases, and Tom Prince hit a two-urn double to make the score 9-4 Minnesota.

Boston could come up with only a couple of harmless singles after that, and the Twins had the victory.

WP:  Kenny Rogers (4-1).  LP:  Mike Timlin (3-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Prince was again behind the plate and Sears was again at first base.  Mohr was in left field, with Jacque Jones given the day off.  Cuddyer was in right.

Doug Mientkiewicz pinch-ran for LeCroy in the seventh.  I suspect that was one of a very few pinch-running appearances for Mientkiewicz in his career.  Bobby Kielty pinch-hit for Mientkiewicz when his spot came up in the eighth.

Sears raised his average to .333.  Kielty was 0-for-1 and was batting .300.

Luis Rivas was 0-for-3 and dropped back below the Mendoza line at .198.

Rogers pitched six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out three.

Guardado lowered his ERA to 0.71.

Tim Wakefield started for the Red Sox.  He pitched well for five innings, but his line was 5.2 innings, four runs, eight hits, three walks, and four strikeouts.  Wakefield was thirty-six in 2003, and so would only play another eight years.  In only four of his nineteen seasons would he have an ERA under four, and he only made one all-star team, but he pitched for a very long time.  Of course, throwing the knuckleball helped with that.  For his career he was 200-180, 4.41, 1.35 WHIP.  He appeared in 627 games, 463 of them starts, and pitched 3226.1 innings.  A pretty solid career.

The Twins took the series and had now won five out of six to get back to .500 and to climb up to second place in the division.

Record:  The Twins were 15-15, in second place in the American League Central, five games behind Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Twenty-nine

BOSTON 9, MINNESOTA 1 IN BOSTON

Batting star:  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Rick Reed pitched 3.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Pedro Martinez struck out twelve in a complete game, giving up one run on five hits and no walks.  He threw 108 pitches.  David Ortiz was 2-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, and three RBIs.  Trot Nixon was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.  Todd Walker was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Kevin Millar was 2-for-4.  Nomar Garciaparra was 2-for-5.

The game:  It was close for a while.  The Red Sox started the scoring in the second when Manny Ramirez singled, went to third on an Ortiz double, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  They threatened in the third, but the threat came up empty when Johnny Damon was thrown out trying to score from second on a single.

The Twins tied it in the fourth when Cristian Guzman led off with a ground-rule double and scored on Koskie's single.  Boston went back in front in the fifth when Jason Varitek led off with a single, stole second, and scored on Walker's single.

The Red Sox blew it open in the sixth.  Ortiz walked, Millar singled, and Nixon had an RBI single.  An error loaded the bases.  A ground out brought home one run and a sacrifice fly scored another, making it 5-1.  Walker singled to put men on first and third, an error brought home a run, and Ramirez walked to load the bases again.  Ortiz then delivered a three-run double to make the score 9-1.

The Twins did not threaten to get back into the game, and 9-1 was the final score.

WP:  Martinez (3-1).  LP:  Tony Fiore (1-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was again behind the plate.  A. J. Pierzynski missed a few games, presumably with a minor injury.  Todd Sears was again at first base--Doug Mientkiewicz was also presumably dealing with a minor injury.  Kielty was again the DH.

Michael Cuddyer went to right field in the eighth inning.  Dustan Mohr went from right to center and Torii Hunter came out of the game.

Jones was 0-for-4 and was batting .306.  Kielty was 0-for-3 and was batting .304.

Mohr was 1-for-3 and raised his average to .188.

Reed also presumably was dealing with an injury--he came out of the game after just 3.1 innings.  He would not pitch again until May 14.  His ERA was 5.87.  Fiore came in and pitched well until the sixth, but his line is 2.1 innings, six runs (three earned), six hits, one walk, and one strikeout.  His ERA was 6.50.

Juan Rincon pitched the final 2.1 innings, giving up two unearned runs on two hits and a walk, making his ERA 1.46.

Jason Varitek stole two bases, his first two stolen bases of the season.  He would steal only one more base the rest of the season.  He had just 25 stolen bases in his career.  Oddly, ten of them came in one season, 2004, when he was 10-for-13 in steals.  He would steal only four more bases the rest of his career.  For his career he was 25-for-43.

The loss snapped the Twins' four-game winning streak.  It also thwarted their attempt to get back over .500.

Record:  The Twins were 14-15, in third place in the American League Central, five games behind Kansas City.  They remained a half game behind second-place Chicago.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Twenty-eight

4 Comments

MINNESOTA 11, BOSTON 7 IN BOSTON

Date:  Friday, May 2.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 3-for-5.  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third), a walk, two runs, and four RBIs.  Chris Gomez was 2-for-4 with a double.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-5 with two home runs (his second and third) and three RBIs.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and five walks and striking out two.  Juan Rincon pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Manny Ramirez was 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, and two runs.  Bill Mueller was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Trot Nixon was 2-for-5.  Nomar Garciaparra was 2-for-5 with a double.

The game:  It was a pitchers' duel early on, with neither team even getting a hit until the third inning.  The Red Sox got a pair of walks in the second, but nothing came of it.  They loaded the bases in the third, but again came up empty.  They loaded the bases again in the fourth, but again the game remained scoreless.

It was the Twins who started the scoring, in the fifth.  A single and a forceout put Bobby Kielty on first with one out.  A wild pitch moved him to second, Todd Sears singled to put men on first and third, and a ground out gave the Twins a 1-0 lead.  With two out in the sixth Corey Koskie walked and LeCroy hit a two-run homer to make it 3-0.  In the seventh Kielty singled and Mohr hit a two-run homer to put the Twins up 5-0.

It was looking good, but Boston broke through in the seventh, and they did it in a big way.  Johnny Damon led off with a walk.  With one out Garciaparra singled, Ramirez hit an RBI double, consecutive run-scoring singles by Kevin Millar, Nixon, and Mueller made it 5-4, and Shea Hillenbrand had an RBI double to tie the score.  A walk loaded the bases and Damon hit a sacrifice fly (presumably tying a record for most plate appearances in an inning without an official at-bat) to put the Red Sox up 6-5.  Another walk loaded the bases again, but Boston did no more damage that inning.

The Twins were apparently not worried about their "loss of momentum", as they got all six runs back in the eighth.  LeCroy homered with one out to tie the score.  Hunter singled and Kielty walked.  Michael Cuddyer and Mohr followed with RBI singles, Chris Gomez had a run-scoring double, and Jones and Guzman had RBI singles.  It was 11-6 Twins.

The Red Sox got one more run in the eighth.  Ramirez led off with a single and scored on a two-out double by Mueller.  But that was the last hit Boston got, and the Twins had their fourth consecutive victory.

WP:  Johan Santana (1-0).  LP:  Ramiro Mendoza (1-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was behind the plate, one of twenty-two games he caught that season.  Sears was at first base, one of fourteen games he played at first that season.  Gomez was at second.  Kielty was the DH.

Cuddyer pinch-hit for Sears in the eighth.  Tom Prince replaced LeCroy behind the plate in the eighth.

Gomez raised his average to .333.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-5 and was batting  .318.  Kielty was 1-for-4 and was batting .316.

Mohr raised his average to .178.

Romero gave up two runs and retired no one, raising his ERA to 5.11.  LaTroy Hawkins gave up two runs and retired no one, raising his ERA to 1.80.  Santana gave up a run in 1.2 innings, making his ERA 1.30.  Juan Rincon lowered his ERA to 1.80.

The Twins used four pitchers in the seventh--Lohse started the inning, Hawkins faced two batters and gave up two hits, Romero faced four batters and gave up three hits and a walk, and Santana finally retired the side.  But the Red Sox also used four pitchers in the eighth.  Kevin Tolar retired the first batter, Mendoza faced three batters and gave up two hits and a walk, Alan Embree faced four batters and gave up four hits, and Jason Shiell finally came in to retire the side.

Boston was 6-for-19 with men in scoring position, which is a) a good batting average and b) a heck of a lot of at-bats with men in scoring position.  Still, they stranded thirteen, and it had to be frustrating for them to leave the bases loaded three times.  The Twins were an amazing 7-for-11 with men in scoring position, stranding just five.

Record:  The Twins were 14-14, third in the American League Central, five games behind Kansas City.  They were just a half game behind second place Chicago.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Twenty-seven

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MINNESOTA 6, TAMPA BAY 5 IN MINNESOTA (13 INNINGS)

Date:  Thursday, May 1.

Batting stars:  Cristian Guzman was 3-for-6 with a triple and a double.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourth), a walk, and two runs.  Luis Rivas was 2-for-5 with a walk.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-7 with two doubles.

Pitching stars:  J. C. Romero pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up only a walk.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in 1.1 perfect innings.  Eddie Guardado struck out two in two scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  Tony Fiore struck out two in two scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Javier Valentin was 2-for-4 with two walks.  Aubrey Huff was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fifth), a walk, and two runs.  Lance Carter pitched three innings, giving up one run despite allowing three hits and three walks.

The game:  The Devil Rays jumped on starter Joe Mays for four runs in the first inning.  With one out, Rocco Baldelli doubled and scored on a Travis Lee single.  Huff walked.  Mays then had Lee picked off but threw the ball away, putting men on second and third.  Marlon Anderson doubled but only one run scored--Huff apparently thought the ball might be caught and only advanced to third.  He scored on a ground out, however, and Valentin singled in the fourth run.

Mays settled down after that, and the Twins worked on cutting that lead.  In the second Bobby Kielty singled, went all the way to third on a passed ball, and scored on a ground out to make it 4-1.  Koskie led off the fourth with a home run to cut it to 4-2.  Matthew LeCroy followed with a single, but the next two men flied out.  Todd Sears walked, however, and A. J. Pierzynski singled home a run, making it a one-run game at 4-3.

Huff hit a two-out homer in the fifth, increasing Tampa Bay's lead back to two at 5-3.  In the sixth, the Twins loaded the bases with none out.  Torii Hunter doubled, Kielty walked, and Sears was hit by a pitch.  Pierzynski brought home one run on a ground out, but that was all the Twins could do, and they remained behind 5-4.  They again loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but Kielty lined into a double play.

It was still 5-4 going to the bottom of the ninth.  With one out Koskie singled, Dustan Mohr doubled, and Hunter was intentionally walked, once again loading the bases.  Kielty hit a sacrifice fly to tie the score, but Mohr apparently tried to score from second on the fly ball and was thrown out at the plate, sending the game to extra innings.

This was back when men were men:  none of this weak "start with a runner on second" garbage.  Guzman hit a one-out triple in the eleventh, but the Twins couldn't score him.  The Devil Rays got a man to third with one out in the thirteenth, but also couldn't score him.  With one out in the bottom of the thirteenth, Jones hit a ground-rule double and Guzman followed with another double, winning the game for the Twins.

WP:  Fiore (1-0).  LP:  Travis Harper (0-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Kielty was in right field.

Jones was batting .324.  Kielty was 1-for-4 and was batting .319.

Mohr was 1-for-2, raising his average to .143.

Mays did well after the first inning, but of course the first inning counts, too.  He pitched six innings and gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks, striking out five.  His ERA was 5.30.  Fiore lowered his ERA to 5.74.

Hawkins kept his ERA at zero.  Guardado's ERA was 0.77.

I assume there must by more to the story of Mohr trying to score from second on a sacrifice fly.  I'm guessing that either the outfielder crashed into the fence and fell down, or the throw in from the outfield got away, or something like that.  Or, as I look at it, he may have overrun third base or fallen down between third and home.  What the play-by-play on b-r.com tells me is that he was thrown out at home and that the play went 8-3-5.

Fiore seems like an odd choice to pitch in the extra innings.  He had pitched an inning the day before, was having a poor year, and there appear to have been better relievers available.  Maybe Ron Gardenhire just didn't want to blow out the bullpen and decided Fiore was expendable to pitch as long as he could.  We have to say, he got away with it.

The Twins had now won three in a row and once again were involved in a series sweep.

Record:  The Twins were 13-14, in third place in the American League Central, five games behind Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Twenty-six

MINNESOTA 8, TAMPA BAY 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, April 30.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his third) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Johan Santana struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Carl Crawford was 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, a walk, and three runs.  Rey Ordonez was 2-for-4.  Rocco Baldelli was 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, and five RBIs.  Travis Harper pitched two perfect innings of relief.

The Devil Rays opened the game with back-to-back doubles by Crawford and Baldelli to take a 1-0 lead.  The Twins responded with four in the bottom of the first.  Jones led off with a single, Corey Koskie hit a one-out single, Todd Sears contributed an RBI double, and Hunter hit a three-run homer, making the score 4-1 Minnesota.

The Twins added two more in the second.  Tom Prince was hit by a pitch.  Luis Rivas had an RBI triple and scored on a Jones single, increasing the Twins' lead to 6-1.  Tampa Bay got back into the game in the third.  Ordonez singled, Crawford walked, and Baldelli hit a three-run homer to cut the margin to 6-4.

The Twins got some insurance in the fourth.  Rivas walked and Jones doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  Koskie's fielder's choice plated one run and a ground out brought home another, making the score 8-4.

The Devil Rays threatened in the sixth, as with two out they loaded the bases on two hit batsmen and a walk, but Ordonez flied to right to end the inning.  They got a run in the ninth when Crawford tripled and scored on a ground out, but never got the tying run as far as the on-deck circle again.

WP:  Brad Radke (2-3).  LP:  Seth McClung (2-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Prince was behind the plate, replacing A. J. Pierzynski.  Bobby Kielty was in right field.  Sears was the DH.  There were no in-game lineup substitutions.

Jones raised his average to .326.  Kielty was 0-for-3 and fell to .324.

Radke pitched well other than the three-run homer, but his line was 5.2 innings, four runs, seven hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.  His season ERA was 6.29.  It would not be that high again the rest of the season, but it would be a long time before he got it below five.

Santana lowered his ERA to 0.95.  Tony Fiore gave up one run in one inning to make his ERA 6.59.

McClung started for Tampa Bay, but lasted just 1.1 innings.  He allowed six runs on six hits and no walks and struck out one.

Sears had hit very well in AAA Edmonton for two seasons, but had the misfortune to be a first baseman who was ready for the majors when the Twins already had Doug Mientkiewicz and had Justin Morneau coming up.  As a result, he only got seventy-seven at-bats with the Twins, fourteen of them as a pinch-hitter.  He batted .260/.326/.390 in that time.  The Twins traded him to San Diego in September.  He bounced around for several years before his playing career ended after the 2007 season.

Record:  The Twins were 12-14, in third place in the American League Central, six games behind Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Twenty-five

MINNESOTA 5, TAMPA BAY 3 IN MINNESOTA

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 2-for-4.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4.  Corey Koskie was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third), a walk, and three RBIs.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-4 with a home run, his second.

Pitching stars:  Kenny Rogers pitched seven innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and no walks and striking out four.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Aubrey Huff was 3-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.  Chris Truby was 2-for-3.

The game:  Jones and Guzman started the bottom of the first with singles, and an infield out produced a run.  Huff homered opening the second to tie it 1-1.  The Twins had men on first and second with none out in the second, but three fly balls ended the inning.

The Twins took the lead in the third.  Guzman again singled, but this time Koskie followed with a two-run homer.  Hunter homered later in the inning to give the Twins a 4-1 lead.

The Devil Rays didn't give up.  In the seventh Damion Easley reached on an error with one out.  Singles by Truby and Toby Hall loaded the bases, and a ground out cut the lead to 4-2.  In the eighth, Terry Shumpert doubled and Travis Lee singled to make it 4-3.  Huff singled to put the go-ahead run on with one out, but LaTroy Hawkins came on to retire the next two batters and preserve the lead.

The Twins got an insurance run in the ninth.  Todd Sears led off with a double, an error put men on first and third, and a ground out made it 5-3.  Rey Ordonez hit a one-out double in the ninth, but that was all Tampa Bay could do.

WP:  Rogers (3-1).  LP:  Jorge Sosa (1-3).  S:  Guardado (7).

Notes:  Bobby Kielty was in right field.  Sears was the DH.

Dustan Mohr pinch-ran for Sears in the ninth.

Kielty was 1-for-3 with a walk and was batting .338.  Jones raised his average to .311.

Luis Rivas was 0-for-3 and was batting .194.

Hawkins' ERA remained at zero.  Guardado's ERA was 0.93.

This was the first game of the season for Sears.  He had appeared in seven games in 2002 as a September call-up.

The Devil Rays' center fielder was some guy named Rocco Baldelli.  I wonder what ever happened to him.

Huff was a better player than I remembered.  He played in thirteen seasons and batted .278/.342/.464.  He hit 242 career home runs.  2003 was his career high in homers, with 34.  He batted .311 in 2003, second only to his .313 average in 2002.  His OBP was .367, second only to his .385 mark in 2010.  His slugging average of .555 was his career high, as was his .922 OPS.  He never made an all-star team, but he received MVP votes three times (seventh was his highest finish, in 2010) and won a Silver Slugger award in 2008.  A very respectable career.

This was only the Twins' second win in their last ten games.

Record:  The Twins were 11-14, in third place in the American League Central, seven games behind Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Twenty-four

CHICAGO 3, MINNESOTA 1 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Sunday, April 27.

Batting stars:  None.

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

Opposition stars:  Esteban Loiaza struck out eight in seven innings, giving up one run on six hits and no walks.  Damaso Marte struck out two in two perfect innings.  Jose Valentin was 1-for-3 with a home run, his sixth.

The game:  The Twins got a pair of singles in the first but did nothing with them.  Valentin homered with one out in the bottom of the first to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead.  They made it 2-0 in the second.  Brian Daubach walked, Carlos Lee reached on an error, and the two then pulled off a double steal of second and home.

The Twins got on the board in the fourth when Torii Hunter had a two-out double and scored on an A. J. Pierzynski single.  Chicago got the run right back in the bottom of the fourth.  Magglio Ordonez led off with a double and scored on a one-out single by Lee, putting the White Sox up 3-1.

And that was it.  The Twins had only two hits after that, both singles, and neither man got past first base.  Chicago didn't do any more on offense either, but they didn't need to, and the game ended with a 3-1 score.

WP:  Loaiza (5-0).  LP:  Reed (1-4).  S:  Marte (1).

Notes:  Michael Cuddyer was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Chris Gomez was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Bobby Kielty was at DH in place of Matthew LeCroy.

The Twins made no in-game lineup substitutions.

Kielty was 1-for-4 and was batting .339.  Gomez was 0-for-3 and fell to .310.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-4 and was batting .302.

Dustan Mohr was 0-for-3 and was batting .125.  Cuddyer was 0-for-3 and was batting .197.

By game scores, this was tied for the second-best game of the season for Reed, and was his best of the season so far.  It dropped his ERA to a still-high 6.26.  Guardado lowered his ERA to 1.04.

This was easily Loaiza's best season.  He went 21-9, 2.90, 1.11 WHIP.  He led the league in strikeouts and finished second in Cy Young voting to Roy Halladay.  It was the only season in which he had an ERA under three, and one of only two seasons in which he had an ERA under four.  I don't know what was different about 2003, but it is really an outlier in his career.  His career numbers are 126-114, 4.65, 1.41 WHIP.

The White Sox really didn't have a closer in 2003, with Tom Gordon (12 saves), Billy Koch (11), and Marte (11), sharing the job.  And it really does look like sharing the job--it doesn't appear that they went with one, then another, then another.

This was Cuddyer's first appearance at first base in 2003.  He would play just a few more games before being sent back to Rochester, not returning until September.

The Twins had now lost eight out of nine games.

Record:  The Twins were 10-14, in third place in the American League Central, eight games behind Kansas City.