Tag Archives: 2003 rewind

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-six

1 Comment

MINNESOTA 5, CHICAGO 2 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Thursday, September 11.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Brad Radke pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on nine hits and no walks and striking out five.  He threw 126 pitches, the most he would throw in a game all season.

Opposition stars:  Jose Valentin was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-fourth) and a stolen base (his sixth).  Frank Thomas was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fortieth.

The game:  Thomas homered in the first inning to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead.  The Twins came back with a big third.  Jacque Jones and Pierzynski singled and Cristian Guzman was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with none out.  Shannon Stewart then hit a three-run double-plus-error and Denny Hocking followed with a sacrifice fly, giving the Twins a 4-1 lead.

Chicago opened the fifth with two singles but did not score.  The Twins added a run in the sixth when Pierzynski doubled and scored on a Hocking single.  The White Sox added a run in the ninth on Valentin's homer, but did not threaten to get back into the game.

WP:  Radke (12-10).  LP:  Esteban Loiaza (19-7).  S:  None.

Notes:  Hocking was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Stewart was in left and Jones in right.  The Twins made no in-game substitutions.

Stewart was 1-for-5 and was batting .312.  PIerzynski was batting .306.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 1-for-3 and was batting .305.  Jones was 1-for-4 and was batting .302.

Radke had not walked a man in his last two starts (16 innings).  He walked just four in six August starts (38.1 innings).  For the season he walked just 28 in 33 starts (212.1 innings).  That may not be Carlos Silva, but it's pretty good.

Loaiza pitched seven innings for Chicago, giving up five runs on seven hits and one walk and striking out nine.  He pitched very well other than in the third inning, but of course the third inning counts just as much as the other eight.

The win was the Twins' second in a row.  It gave them a split in the series and moved them back into a tie for first.  The two teams would meet again for three games the next week, bur first the Twins had four games in Cleveland while the White Sox would go to Boston for three.  The Royals lost to Cleveland and were starting to fall out of the race.

Record:  The Twins were 78-68, tied for first with Chicago in the American League Central.  They were 3.5 games ahead of third-place Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-five

MINNESOTA 4, CHICAGO 1 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Wednesday, September 10.

Batting stars:  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits and one walk and striking out six.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, walking one and striking out one.  Eddie Guardado struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Jon Garland pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out five.  Magglio Ordonez was 1-for-2 with a walk.

The game:  The White Sox had two on with two out in the first and did not score.  That was really the only significant threat until the fifth, when the Twins broke the scoreless tie.  Torii Hunter and Corey Koskie singled and A. J. Pierzynski was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  The Twins didn't get a big inning out of it, but sacrifice flies by Cristian Guzman and Stewart put them up 2-0.

In the sixth singles by Tony Graffanino and Frank Thomas were followed by an Ordonez sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 2-1.  The Twins got the run back in the seventh when Koskie walked, went to second on a ground out, and scored on Stewart's single.

Chicago put men on second and third with one out in the seventh but did not score.  The Twins got an insurance run in the eighth when Doug Mientkiewicz walked and scored from first on LeCroy's double.  The White Sox did not get a hit after that and the Twins won 4-1.

WP:  Santana (10-3).  LP:  Jon Garland (11-11).  S:  Guardado (34).

Notes:  Luis Rivas was back at second base.  Stewart was in left and Jacque Jones in right.  Dustan Mohr pinch-ran for LeCroy in the eighth.

Stewart raised his average to .313.  Mientkiewicz was 1-for-3 and was batting .305.  Jones was 0-for-4 and was batting .303.  Pierzynski was 1-for-3 and was batting .302.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.92.  Guardado got under three at 2.95.

Having lost the first two of the four game series, the Twins needed this win.  They also needed Santana to come up big yet again, and he certainly did.  The bullpen, which had been solid all season, was solid again, too.

The win stopped the Twins' two-game losing streak.  They would have a chance to split the series and move back into a tie for first the next day.  Kansas City won, as they tried to stay in the race.

Record:  The Twins were 77-68, in second place in the American League Central, one game behind Chicago.  They were 2.5 games ahead of third-place Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-Four

CHICAGO 8, MINNESOTA 6 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Tuesday, September 9.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 3-for-3 with a double, two walks, and two runs.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Jesse Orosco pitched a scoreless inning despite giving up a hit and two walks.  He struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Carlos Lee was 3-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-eighth), a double, a stolen base (his seventeenth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Joe Crede was 2-for-4 with a double.  Magglio Ordonez was 2-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-seventh), two runs, and two RBIs.  Roberto Alomar was 1-for-4 with a home run (his fifth) and a walk.  Mark Buehrle pitched six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out two.

The game:  The White Sox opened the scoring in the second inning.  Lee singled and Paul Konerko walked, putting two men on with one out.  Crede doubled home a run, a sacrifice fly brought in another, and Tony Graffanino singled in a third to make it 3-0 Chicago.

The Twins got back into it in the fourth.  Mientkiewicz and Koskie singled, Torii Hunter had an RBI double, and a ground out cut the lead to 3-2.  It went to 4-2 in the fifth when Ordonez homered.  The Twins had three baserunners in the sixth, but did not score because they lost two runners on the bases.

The White Sox took control in the seventh.  The first two batters went out, but then Alomar homered, Frank Thomas doubled, Ordonez had an RBI single, and Lee hit a two-run homer to give Chicago an 8-2 lead.

The Twins loaded the bases in the eighth but didn't score.  It cost them, because they did get back into the game in the ninth.  Lew Ford led off with a double, Denny Hocking had an RBI triple, and Justin Morneau drove in a run with a single.  With one out, walks to Koskie and Hunter loaded the bases.  A sacrifice fly made it 8-5 and Jacque Jones singled.  It was 8-6 with the tying run on base and the winning run at bat in Michael Cuddyer.  He struck out, however, and the game was over.

WP:  Buehrle (12-13).  LP:  Carlos Pulido (0-1).  S:  Tom Gordon (11).

Notes:  Chris Gomez was at second base in the continuing absence of Luis Rivas.  Shannon Stewart was in left with Dustan Mohr in right.

The Twins used five pinch-hitters.  Michael Ryan pinch-hit for Gomez in the seventh, with Hocking going in to play second base.  Cuddyer pinch-hit for Cristian Guzman in the eighth and stayed in the game at second base, with Hocking moving to short.  Ford pinch-hit for Stewart in the ninth.  Morneau pinch-hit for Mientkiewicz in the ninth.  Jones pinch-hit for Mohr in the ninth.

Ryan was 0-for-1 and was batting .375.  Ford was 1-for-1 and was batting .333.  Stewart was 0-for-3 and was batting .311.  Mientkiewicz was batting .305.  Jones was 1-for-1 and was batting .305.  A. J. Pierzynski was 1-for-3 and was batting .302.

With various Twins starters either injured or ineffective, the Twins turned to Pulido for the start in this game.  He pitched three innings, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks and striking out one.  His ERA was 2.38.  Rick Reed came in and pitched three solid innings but fell apart in his fourth inning, so his line is 3.2 innings, three runs, four hits, and a walk.  His ERA was 5.08.  Orosco's scoreless inning lowered his ERA to 7.47.

The Twins scored their runs in the ninth off Jose Paniagua.  This was his only major league appearance in 2003 and the last of his career.  A sad way to end:  one-third of an inning, four runs, three hits, one walk.  He continued to pitch for several more years--in the minors, in winter ball, in independent ball, in foreign countries--not ending his playing career until 2008.  In his major league career, he went 18-21, 4.49, 1.52 WHIP.  He pitched 357 innings in 270 games (14 starts).

It came as a surprise to me that Carlos Lee had 125 stolen bases in his career.  He had 18 in 2003, one shy of his career mark of 19 in 2006.  He had double-digit stolen bases in seven seasons.

The Twins had dropped two in a row to the division leaders.  Kansas City lost again, so the Twins had no worries about dropping to third.

Record:  The Twins were 76-68, in second place in the American League Central, two games behind Chicago.  They were 2.5 games ahead of third-place Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-three

CHICAGO 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Monday, September 8.

Batting stars:  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  J. C. Romero pitched 1.2 perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Bartolo Colon pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on ten hits and one walk and striking out four.  Carlos Lee was 2-for-4 with a double.  Magglio Ordonez was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his ninth.

The game:  The White Sox ambushed Twins starter Kyle Lohse, scoring all five of their runs in the first inning.  With one out Lee doubled and Frank Thomas walked.  A line out made for two down, but Carl Everett singled home a run, Paul Konerko walked to load the bases, Jose Valentin hit a two-run single, Joe Crede singled to re-load the bases, and Miguel Olivo hit a two-run double.

Lohse did not allow a run after that, but the Twins were left playing catch-up the rest of the day and could not do it.  They scored twice in the second on a walk to Matthew LeCroy, a double by Torii Hunter (on which LeCroy somehow scored from first), a single by Koskie, and an RBI ground out.

But after that, it was a game of missed opportunities.  The Twins left men on second and third in the third, left a man on second in the fourth and fifth, and left a man on third in the seventh.  They would not score again, and lost the battle of co-division leaders 5-2.

WP:  Colon (13-12).  LP:  Loshe (12-11).  S:  None.

Notes:  Denny Hocking was again at second in the continued absence of Luis Rivas.  Shannon Stewart was in left and Jacque Jones in right.  The Twins made no in-game substitutions.

Stewart was 1-for-5 and was batting .313.  Jones was 0-for-4 and was batting .304.  Mientkiewicz raised his average to .303.  A. J. Pierzynski was 1-for-4 and was batting .301.

Lohse ended up pitching six innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and four walks and striking out none.  If he could've taken a mulligan for the first inning he'd have had a fine game, but of course the rules don't allow you to do that.

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

This was Colon's seventh complete game.  He would lead the league in 2003 with nine.  He threw 117 pitches.  His high for a game that season was 132 in a game against Toronto in May.

This was the first of a four-game series between two teams who were tied for first in the division going into this game.  The loss obviously dropped the Twins into second.  Kansas City was idle.

Record:  The Twins were 76-67, in second place in the American League Central, one game behind Chicago.  They were 2.5 games ahead of third-place Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-two

MINNESOTA 5, TEXAS 4 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, September 7.

Batting stars:  Michael Ryan was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third), a double, a walk, and two runs.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Grant Balfour pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Rick Reed pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Gerald Laird was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.  Michael Young was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Alex Rodriguez was 1-for-4 with a home run (his forty-second) and two walks.

The game:  Rodriguez homered with two out in the first to put the Rangers up 1-0.  Ryan countered with a home run leading off the bottom of the first to tie it 1-1.  In the third, Texas opened the inning with three singles, loading the bases with none out.  A home-and-first double play gave the Twins hope of getting out of the inning, but an intentional walk to Rodriguez was followed by an accidental walk to Rafael Palmeiro, putting the Rangers back up 2-1.

The Twins tied it in the fourth when Torii Hunter hit a two-out double and scored from second on a wild pitch (Twins Baseball!).  They went ahead 3-2 in the fifth when Denny Hocking hit a two-out double and scored on Mientkiewicz' single.  Texas went back in front in the sixth when Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch, Hank Blalock reached on an error, and Laird delivered a two-run triple to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead.

The Twins tied it in the seventh when Ryan doubled and scored on a Mientkiewicz single.  It stayed tied through nine.  In the tenth Mientkiewicz walked, Matthew LeCroy singled, and Jacque Jones reached on an error, loading the bases with none out.  Hunter then hit a sacrifice fly to win the game for the Twins.

WP:  Reed (6-12).  LP:  Francisco Cordero (4-7).  S:  None.

Notes:  Hocking was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Ryan was in left with Jones in right.

Lew Ford pinch-hit for Cristian Guzman in the seventh.  Chris Gomez came in to play short in the eighth.  Michael Cuddyer pinch-hit for Ryan in the ninth and stayed in the game in left field.  Justin Morneau pinch-hit for Hocking in the ninth.  Alex Prieto came i to play second in the tenth.  Michael Restovich pinch-ran for LeCroy in the tenth.

Ryan raised his average to .391.  Ford was 0-for-1 and was batting .321.  Jones was 1-for-5 and was batting .306.  Pierzynski was 0-for-3 and was batting .302.  Mientkiewicz raised his average to .301.

This was Prieto's first appearance for the Twins since August 2.  It was Restovich's first appearance since August 17.

Kenny Rogers started and pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks and striking out four.  J. C. Romero retired both men he faced to lower his ERA to 5.10.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out the only man he faced to lower his ERA to 1.97.  Reed lowered his ERA to 5.02.  This was his first appearance since August 17.

This was Laird's first career triple, and it came in his ninth major league game.  He would play 790 more games and hit eight more triples.  His season high was three, in 2007.

The Twins had won five in a row, eight of ten, and ten of thirteen.  Chicago and Kansas City both won, so there was no change in the standings.

Record:  The Twins were 76-66, tied with Chicago for first place in the American League Central, three games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-one

MINNESOTA 5, TEXAS 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, September 6.

Batting stars:  Shannon Stewart was 3-for-5.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-4 with a double.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-5.  A. J. Pierzynski was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his tenth.

Pitching stars:  Brad Radke pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out four.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Shane Spencer was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Rafael Palmeiro was 2-for-4 with a double.  Ryan Drese pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up three hits and striking out one.

The game:  The Twins started the scoring in the second.  Jones led off the inning with a single and scored on Torii Hunter's triple.  With two out Stewart singled to put the Twins up 2-0.

The Twins added to their lead in the third.  Mientkiewicz singled and Matthew LeCroy walked.  A balk moved the runners up, a ground out scored one, and Pierzynski hit a two-run homer to give the Twins a 5-0 lead.

The Rangers had only one hit through the first four innings.  They scored in the fifth, however, when Mark Teixeira singled and scored from first on Spencer's double.  They added another run in the seventh when Laynce Nix doubled and scored on Spencer's single.

But that was it.  They got a hit in each of the last two innings but did not bring the tying run up to bat.

WP:  Radke (11-10).  LP:  R. A. Dickey (8-7).  S:  Guardado (33).

Notes:  Stewart was in left and Jones in right.  Lew Ford pinch-ran for LeCroy in the seventh.

Stewart raised his average to .314.  Jones went up to .308.  Pierzynski was at .304.

With Santana's short start yesterday, the Twins needed someone to step up.  As so often happened back then, the someone was Radke.  He got his ERA below five, this time to stay, at 4.93.  Hawkins got his ERA below two, also to stay, for the first time since July 13 at 1.98.

Dickey lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks and striking out two.  He was also called for two balks in the game.  I'm sure that's nowhere near the record, but it is somewhat unusual.

The Twins were just 2-for-16 with men in scoring position.  They made the two count, though.

This has to be one of the best games for Ryan Drese in his career.  In 2003 he was 2-4, 6.85, 1.85 WHIP in 46 innings (11 games, 8 starts).  For his career he was 34-39, 5.31, 1.57 WHIP in 565.2 innings (105 games, 96 starts).  He wasn't any good in AAA either:  17-11, 4.68, 1.45 WHIP.  Teams obviously saw something in him to keep giving him chances, but whatever they saw did not translate into getting batters out consistently.

The Twins had won four in a row, seven of nine, and nine of twelve.  The Royals dropped both ends of a doubleheader, but the White Sox won.

Record:  The Twins were 75-66, tied for first with Chicago in the American League Central, three games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty

2 Comments

MINNESOTA 10, TEXAS 7 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, September 5.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-3 with two runs.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his thirteenth.  Matthew LeCroy was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixteenth.

Pitching stars:  Juan Rincon pitched three perfect innings, striking out two.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Michael Young was 3-for-4 with a grand slam, his thirteenth homer.  Jason Jones was 2-for-4 with a double.  Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a home run, his forty-first.  Shane Spencer was 2-for-5.

The game:  The Twins led all the way, but there were some uneasy moments.  Shannon Stewart led off the bottom of the first with a double, was bunted to third, and scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  In the second Jones singled, Corey Koskie walked, Pierzynski and Guzman had RBI singles, and a sacrifice fly made it 4-0 Twins.

The Rangers got on the board in the third.  Three singles loaded the bases, a ground out scored one, and a wild pitch scored another, cutting the lead to 4-2.  But the Twins came roaring back in the bottom of the third.  Jones singled, Koskie walked, Pierzynski singled to load the bases, and Guzman brought them all home on a four-run triple-plus-error, putting the Twins up 8-2.  With Johan Santana on the mound, it looked like an easy win for the Twins.

But Texas had something to say about that.  In the fourth a double and two walks loaded the bases with one out.  Young then hit a grand slam.  Later in the inning Rodriguez homered, and the lead was suddenly down to 8-7.

But as happened so many times in this season, the Twins bullpen came in and shut down the opposition.  The Rangers could come up with only two singles after that, one in the eighth and one in the ninth, and neither man got past first base.  The Twins got some insurance in the sixth.  Rivas tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly, and LeCroy homered later in the inning.

WP:  Rincon (4-6).  LP:  Mickey Callaway (1-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Stewart was in left with Jones in right.  Doug Mientkiewicz returned to the lineup at first base.

Stewart was 1-for-3 and was batting .312.  Jones was batting .306.   Pierzynski was at .304.

Santana's string of excellent performances came crashing to a halt.  He struck out six in four innings, but allowed seven runs on eight hits and two walks.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 2.00.

The Twins scored three runs on sacrifice flies.  I have no idea what the record is--I'm sure it's more than three--but three by one team in one game is at least somewhat unusual.

This was the one season of Jason Jones' major league career.  He played in forty games and batted .215/.298/.355.  He had hit all through the minors, and continued to hit in AAA in 2004.  His total minor league numbers were .286/.375/.458, and those numbers are not skewed by huge numbers in the low minors or anything.  The Rangers didn't have a super outfield in 2003--yes, they had Juan Gonzalez, but they also had Shane Spencer and Ryan Christenson.  In 2004 their outfield was David Dellucci, Laynce Nix, and Kevin Mench.  He was a corner outfielder, which limited him some, but still.  There was obviously something the Rangers didn't like about him, and apparently other teams saw it, too.  He retired after spending 2004 in AAA at age twenty-seven.  It seems like he should've gotten more of a chance, but as we've observed before, no one ever promised that baseball or life would be fair.

It was the third straight win for the Twins.  Chicago and Kansas City both won, too, so the Twins did not gain any ground.

Record:  The Twins were 74-66, tied for first with Chicago in the American League Central, 1.5 games ahead of third-place Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-nine

MINNESOTA 6, ANAHEIM 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, September 3.

Batting stars:  Shannon Stewart was 3-for-5 with a double and three runs.  Luis Rivas was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his fifteenth.

Pitching stars:  Carlos Pulido pitched 3.2 innings of relief, giving up an unearned run on one hit and no walks and striking out two.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Chone Figgins was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Shawn Wooten was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixth.

The game:  The Angels drew three walks in the first inning, loading the bases with one out, but did not score.  In the second, walks to Adam Kennedy and Wilson Delgado put men on first and second with one out.  This time, Figgins delivered an RBi single to put Anaheim up 1-0.  In the third, Scott Spiezio doubled, Bengie Molina hit an RBI single and Wooten blasted a two-run homer, giving the Angels a 4-0 lead.

The Twins got on the board in the fourth.  Stewart singled, went to third on a Rivas single, and scored on a ground out to make it 4-1.  The Twins really got back into the game in the sixth.  Cristian Guzman and Stewart started with singles and Rivas followed with an RBI single.  A walk to Corey Koskie loaded the bases and a pair of infield outs brought home two more runs, tying the score 4-4.

The tie lasted until the seventh.  DaVanan doubled with one out.  With two out he went to third on a passed ball, and he scored on a strikeout-plus-wild pitch, putting Anaheim up 5-4.

It was still 5-4 going to the bottom of the ninth.  The first two Twins went out.  Justin Morneau walked and Dustan Mohr pinch-ran for him.  Stewart then doubled down the left-field line and Mohr tried to score from first.  The throw beat him, but Mohr's slide knocked the ball from the catcher's glove.  Before it could be retrieved, Stewart had also scored and the Twins had an improbable 6-5 win.

WP:  Eddie Guardado (2-5).  LP:  Troy Percival (0-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Matthew LeCroy was again at first base in the absence of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Stewart was in left, Michael Ryan in right, and Jacque Jones at DH.  Denny Hocking pinch-ran for LeCroy in the eighth and stayed in the game at first base.  Morneau pinch-hit for Guzman in the ninth and, as mentioned above, Mohr pinch-ran for him.

Ryan was 0-for-4 and was batting .350.  Stewart was batting .311.  Jones was 0-for-4 and was batting .304.  A. J. Pierzynski was 1-for-3 and was batting .302.

Grant Balfour started but lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and five walks and striking out three.  This was the only start of his major league career.  He had not started in the minors since 2000.  While he didn't pitch well, it must be admitted that he was put into a difficult position--a pitcher with little major league experience pressed into an unfamiliar position during a pennant race.  At least he can say his team was unbeaten in games he started in the major leagues.

Pulido's ERA remained at zero through 8.1 innings.  Hawkins lowered his ERA to 2.04.

Ramon Ortiz started for the Angels.  He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on six hits and one walk and striking out two.

I remember listening to the end of this game on the radio.  As I recall it, the Twins had never scored a run off Troy Percival in his nine-year career.  Third base coach Al Newman was asked during the post-game show why he had sent Mohr home when it looked like he had little chance to score.  He said something like "I thought there was probably less than a ten percent chance that he'd score, but I thought our chances of getting another hit off Percival were less than that, so I sent him."  The logic may be questionable, but you have to admit it worked, and it was a big win for the Twins in the pennant race.

Kansas City won, but the White Sox lost in ten innings, so the Twins moved up.

Record:  The Twins were 73-66, tied for first with Chicago, one game ahead of third-place Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-seven

2 Comments

ANAHEIM 10, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, September 1.

Batting star:  Michael Ryan was 3-for-4 with a home run and a double.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  John Lackey pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and three walks and striking out four.  Shawn Wooten was 2-for-4.  Bengie Molina was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourteenth) and two RBIs.  Scott Spiezio was 1-for-2 with a grand slam (his fifteenth homer).  Garret Anderson was 1-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-ninth) and two runs.

The game:  Molina got the game's first hit, a home run, with two out in the second to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.  In the third, a strikeout-plus-wild pitch and two walks loaded the bases and Spiezio hit a two-out grand slam to make it 5-0 Anaheim.

The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the third when Ryan homered.  In the fourth, Corey Koskie walked and Matthew LeCroy singled.  A wild pitch moved the runners up and Dustan Mohr hit a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 5-2.

But that was as good as it got.  Ryan led off the fifth with a double and A. J. Pierzynski and Ryan hit one-out singles in the seventh, but nothing came of them.  The Angels put it out of reach in the eighth.  Anderson led off the inning with a home run.  Later in the inning a single and two walks loaded the bases and Wilson Delgado hit a two-run single to make it 8-2.  Anaheim added two in the ninth to bring the final score to 10-2.

WP:  John Lackey (9-13).  LP:  Kenny Rogers (11-7).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Denny Hocking was at short in place of Cristian Guzman.  Shannon Stewart was in left with Ryan in right and Jacque Jones at DH.

Mohr replaced Torii Hunter in center field in the third inning.  Hunter would start the next day but again exit early.  He would be back full-time after that.  Rob Bowen replaced Pierzynski behind the plate in the ninth.  Michael Cuddyer pinch-hit for Hocking in the ninth.  Chris Gomez pinch-hit for Stewart in the ninth.

Rogers pitched seven innings but allowed six runs on six hits and two walks, striking out five.

Ryan hit his first major league home run in this game.  He would hit five for the season and seven for his career.

This was the major league debut for Rob Bowen.  He would play in parts of five seasons, spending time with the Twins, San Diego, the Cubs, and Oakland.  He appeared in 216 games, had 378 at-bats, and batted .209/.300/.309.

This was Adam Johnson's first game for the Twins this season.  He gave up two runs (one earned) in one inning.  He would make one other appearance this season, and that would be the last of his major league career.

After climbing to within a half game of first place, the Twins had now dropped two in a row.  The White Sox were idle and Kansas City lost.

Record:  The Twins were 71-66, tied for second with Kansas City in the American League Central, two games behind Chicago.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-six

1 Comment

TEXAS 11, MINNESOTA 10 IN TEXAS

Date:  Sunday, August 31.

Batting stars:  Denny Hocking was 4-for-4 with a home run (his third), a double, a walk, two runs, and three RBIs.  Torii Hunter was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Luis Rivas was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a stolen base (his fourteenth), and three runs.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-5 with a walk and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Carlos Pulido pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.  Grant Balfour pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.  Joe Mays pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Hank Blalock was 4-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-fourth), a double, and three runs.  Alex Rodriguez was 3-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fortieth), two walks, three runs.  Mark Teixeira was 3-for-5 with a three-run homer, his twentieth.  Rafael Palmeiro was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirty-second), a walk, and two runs.  Laynce Nix was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Einar Diaz was 2-for-5.  Jason Jones was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third) and two runs.

The game:  LeCroy had an RBI single in the first to put the Twins up 1-0.  In the bottom of the first Blalock doubled and Rodriguez and Palmeiro hit back-to-back homers to make it 3-1 Rangers.  Jones homered in the second to make it 4-1.  In the third, two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out.  Nix singled home one and Jones hit a sacrifice fly, increasing the Texas lead to 6-1.

Hocking hit a two-run homer in the fourth to cut the margin to 6-3.  In the fifth, the Twins had men on first and second with two out.  Hunter doubled home one, an intentional walk loaded the bases, and accidental walks to Dustan Mohr and Hocking tied the score.  In the sixth Rivas led off with a double and scored on LeCroy's single to put the Twins in front 7-6.

The Rangers came back in the seventh.  Blalock led off with a home run to tie it.  Rodriguez walked Palmeiro singled, and Teixeira hit a three-run homer to give Texas a 10-7 lead.  But the Twins refused to go away.  In the eighth, LeCroy walked and Corey Koskie singled, putting men on first and third with one out.  Hunter singled home a run and Pierzynski hit a sacrifice fly to make it 10-9.  Hocking led off the ninth with a single, Stewart walked, a bunt moved the runners up, and Jacque Jones hit a sacrifice fly to tie it 10-10.

The momentum was all with the Twins, and it did them as much good as momentum usually does.  Nix led off the ninth with a single, was bunted to second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Diaz' single to win the game for the Rangers.

WP:  Francisco Cordero (4-6).  LP:  Eddie Guardado (1-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Hocking remained at short in place of Cristian Guzman.  Stewart was in left with Mohr in right.  Michael Ryan pinch-hit for Mohr in the eighth and went to right field.  Jones pinch-hit for Doug Mientkiewicz in the ninth.  Hocking moved to first base, with Chris Gomez coming in to play short.

Ryan was 0-for-1 and was batting .333.  Stewart was 0-for-5 and was batting .310.  Jones was batting .308.  Pierzynski raised his average to .301.  Mientkiewicz was 1-for-5 and was batting .300.

Brad Radke started and lasted just 2.1 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits and a walk.  He struck out none and his ERA went back up over five at 5.02.  His game score of 14 was his second-lowest of the season, ahead of an 8 in his second start of the season.

Pulido's ERA remained zero.  Balfour had an ERA of 1.65.  J. C. Romero allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning to raise his ERA to 5.20.  Mays lowered his ERA to 6.30.

Texas used three pitchers with connections to the Twins.  Starter R. A. Dickey pitched 4.2 innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits and four walks and striking out four.  Ron Mahay pitched 1.1 scoreless innings.  Aaron Fultz allowed two runs in a third of an inning.

There were six home runs in the game.  Five of them were hit by the Rangers.

Chicago won and Kansas City lost, so the Twins remained tied for second, but fell farther out of first.

Record:  The Twins were 71-65, tied for second in the American League Central with Kansas City, 1.5 games behind Chicago.