Tag Archives: 2003 rewind

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-five

MINNESOTA 8, CLEVELAND 2 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Tuesday, August 19.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a stolen base, his twelfth.  Cristian Guzman was 3-for-4 with two runs.  Luis Rivas was 2-for-5 with a triple.  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-5.  Matthew LeCroy was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer, his fourteenth.  Dustan Mohr was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his ninth.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana struck out ten in eight innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and a walk.  He threw 100 pitches.  Grant Balfour struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition star:  Casey Blake was 4-for-4 with a two-run homer (his fifteenth) and a double.

The game:  It was scoreless for four innings, and the only serious threat came from the Indians.  They put men on first and third with none out in the fourth and had the bases loaded with two out, but did not score.  Cleveland got on the board in the fifth, however, when Coco Crisp hit a two-out triple and Blake followed with a two-run homer.

The Twins bounced right back in the top of the sixth.  Guzman singled and scored on a Rivas triple.  Corey Koskie was intentionally walked, but the strategy backfired as LeCroy hit a three-run homer to put the Twins ahead 4-2.  The Twins added another run in the seventh when Guzman got an infield single, went to third on an error, and scored on Stewart's infield single.  They put it out of reach in the eighth.  Doubles by Jones and A. J. Pierzynski plated one run and Mohr hit a two-run homer, making the score 8-2.

WP:  Santana (7-3).  LP:  Jason Davis (7-10).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was again at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Stewart was in left, Mohr in right, and Jones at DH.  Denny Hocking pinch-ran for Koskie in the ninth and stayed in the game at third base.  Michael Ryan pinch-hit for Jones in the ninth.

Ryan was down to .500.  Stewart was batting .311.  Jones was batting .311.

Santana's ERA dropped to 2.92  Balfour went to 2.89.  It was Balfour's first game since July 12.

The Blake home run produced the only earned runs Santana had given up in his last three starts.  He had gone eight innings in each.  In 24 innings he had given up 14 hits, 5 walks, and struck out 23.  It appeared that he had shown he belonged in the starting rotation.

During the off-day on August 18, the Twins had dropped back to third place.  With this win, however, it was shaping up to be quite a three-team race.  A race of mediocrity, some might say, but a race nonetheless.

Record:  The Twins were 64-61, in third place, 1.5 games behind Kansas City.  They were a half game back of second-place Chicago.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-four

KANSAS CITY 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Sunday, August 17.

Batting stars:  Matthew LeCroy was 1-for-2 with a home run, his thirteenth.  Shannon Stewart was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth.  Luis Rivas was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  Joe Mays pitched four shutout innings of relief, giving up three hits.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Joe Randa was 2-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth.  Raul Ibanez was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixteenth.  Angel Berroa was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Mike Sweeney was 2-for-4.  Darrell May pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and no walks and striking out three.

The game:  The Twins couldn't overcome one big inning.  Rivas started the scoring with a first-inning home run.  The Royals got the run back on consecutive singles by Berroa, Sweeney, and Carlos Beltran.  The Twins went back in front in the top of the third when Cristian Guzman singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Doug Mientkiewicz single.

But in the bottom of the third, Kansas City went into the lead to stay.  Singles by Berroa and Sweeney and a sacrifice fly by Beltran tied the score.  Then came back-to-back homers by Ibanez and Randa, giving the Royals a 5-2 lead.

The Twins got one back when Stewart homered in the fifth.  They had men on first and second with one out in the seventh but did not score.  LeCroy homered in the eighth to pull the Twins within one at 5-4.  Michael Ryan hit a two-out double in the ninth, but he could not get beyond second base.

WP:  May (6-6).  LP:  Reed (5-12).  S:  Curtis Leskanic (1).

Notes:  Stewart was again in left, Michael Restovich in right, and Jones at DH.

Mientkiewicz came out of the game in the third inning, presumably due to injury.  LeCroy replaced him at first base.  Mientkiewicz would miss the next few games and be back in the lineup August 22.

Ryan pinch-hit for Restovich in the seventh and stayed in the game in right field.

Ryan was 1-for-2 and was batting .600.  Stewart was 1-for-4 and was batting .310.  Restovich was 0-for-2 and was also batting .310.  Jones was 0-for-4 and was batting .306.

Reed lasted just three innings, allowing five runs on nine hits.  He neither walked nor struck out anyone.  His ERA went to 5.10.  Mays lowered his ERA to 6.12.  Hawkins' ERA went down to 2.21.

Reed's game score was not his worst of the season.  It was not even his second worst.  In fact, it was only tied for third-worst.  After this game, Ron Gardenhire had finally seen enough.  It would be Reed's last start, not just for the season but for his career.  He would spend September in the bullpen, and it would be his last season.  Kind of a sad end to a pretty decent career, but on the other hand, it's hard to argue that he deserved better.

Ex-Twin Curtis Leskanic had 55 saves over his career.  He was never "the closer" for an extended period of time, but he always managed to pick up a few saves here and there.  His high was 17 with Milwaukee in 2001.  He had 12 with Milwaukee in 2000 and 10 with Colorado in 1995.  He had come to the Royals in July of this season.  This was the first of two saves he would have for them in 2003.

Despite the loss it was a good series for the Twins, taking two of three from the first place team in their ballpark.  They would go to Cleveland for two, then host the Royals for four games in the Metrodome.

Record:  The Twins were 63-61, tied for second with Chicago in the American League Central, three games behind Kansas City.

 

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-three

MINNESOTA 14, KANSAS CITY 5 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Saturday, August 16.

Batting stars:  Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-5 with a walk and two RBIs.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base (his second), two runs, and two RBIs.  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two runs.  Luis Rivas was 2-for-5 with a walk and three runs.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-5 with three RBIs.

Pitching star:  Juan Rincon pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Carlos Beltran was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his nineteenth and twentieth) and three RBIs.  Mendy Lopez was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his second.

The game:  The first two Twins batters went out.  Then Mientkiewicz walked, Corey Koskie singled, Jacque Jones and Hunter had RBI singles, and Pierzynski hit a two-run double, putting the Twins up 4-0.  The Royals responded in the bottom of the first, as Aaron Guiel doubled and Beltran hit a two-run homer, leaving the score 4-2 after one.

The Twins gradually pulled away.  In the second Mientkiewicz had an RBI single and Koskie hit a sacrifice fly to make it 6-2.  Cristian Guzman hit an RBI triple in the third to make it 7-2.  Hunter had a two-run single in the fourth to make it 9-2.  Shannon Stewart's RBI single in the fifth made it 10-2.

Beltran homered again in the sixth to cut the lead to 10-3.  The Twins responded with three in the seventh.  A single and two walks loaded the bases with one out.  MIentkiewicz had an RBI single, Pierzynski was hit by a pitch to force home a run, and a third run scored on a ground out.  Lopez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh.  The game's final run scored on Michael Ryan's sacrifice fly in the eighth.

WP:  Kyle Lohse (10-9).  LP:  Runelvys Hernandez (7-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Stewart was again in left, Mohr in right, and Jones at DH.  Denny Hocking replaced Koskie at third base in the seventh.  Ryan replaced Stewart in left in the seventh.  Michael Restovich entered the game in the ninth, going to right with Mohr going to center and Hunter coming out of the game.

Stewart was 1-for-3 and was batting .310.  Jones was 1-for-6 and was batting .309.  Koskie was 1-for-2 and was batting .302.

Lohse pitched seven innings, allowing five runs on six hits and no walks and striking out four.  He pitched well if you don't count the home runs, but of course the home runs do count.  His ERA went to 5.03.

This would be the last start of the season for Hernandez.  He would go on the disabled list, would not pitch at all the next season, and never really be any good again.  In this game he pitched 3.1 innings and allowed nine runs on nine hits and three walks, striking out one.

Pierzynski stole fifteen bases in his career.  His high for a season was three, set in this season and matched in 2010.  He was caught stealing twenty-three times in his career but only once in this season.

The Twins were not only getting back over .500, they had two consecutive wins over the first-place team in their ballpark.  They also caught up to second-place Chicago.  Could the Twins get a sweep?

Record:  The Twins were 63-60, tied for second with Chicago, two games behind Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-two

MINNESOTA 9, KANSAS CITY 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Friday, August 15.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Corey Koskie was 3-for-5 with a double.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Luis Rivas was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fifth) and two runs.  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-5 with a double.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer, his twenty-second.

Pitching star:  Kenny Rogers pitched eight innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and a walk and striking out seven.

Opposition star:  Mendy Lopez was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

The game:  The Twins opened the second with two singles but did not score.  In the third, the first two batters went out.  Then, however, Rivas singled, Koskie hit an RBI double, LeCroy walked, Jones had a run-scoring single, and Hunter hit a three-run homer, putting Minnesota up 5-0.  It went to 8-0 in the fifth.  LeCroy singled, Jones doubled, and A. J. Pierzynski was intentionally walked, loading the bases.  Guzman delivered a single-plus-error that cleared the bases.

The Royals got on the board in the fifth when Joe Randa reached on an error and scored on a Lopez single.  The Twins got the run back in the sixth when Rivas homered.  Kansas City got their final run in the ninth when Raul Ibanez doubled and scored on another Lopez single.

WP:  Rogers (10-6).  LP:  Jimmy Gobble (2-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Shannon Stewart was in left, Mohr in right, and Jones at DH.  Michael Restovich pinch-hit for Jones in the eighth.

Restovich was 1-for-1 and was batting .325.  Jones raised his average to .311.  Stewart was 0-for-6 and was batting .310.  Koskie raised his average to .301.

By game scores this was the best game Rogers had in 2003.  The only one that came close was when he threw eight shutout innings in Detroit on April 17.

J. C. Romero gave up a run in an inning to make his ERA 5.06.

This was the third start of Jimmy Gobble's career.  He had done really well in the first two, giving up just one run in 12.1 innings.  Obviously, that came crashing down in this game, as he allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk in three innings.  He's another pitcher who kept getting chances long after it was clear that he wasn't good enough.  In seven seasons he had two in which his ERA was under five and two in which it was over seven.  He had just one year in which his ERA was under four.  He was a reliever that year, and his WHIP was 1.47, so the chances are he was allowing a lot of other people's runs to score.  For his career he was 22-23, 5.29, 1.49 WHIP.  He pitched 435.2 innings in 247 games, 43 of them starts.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak and moved the Twins back to two games above .500.

Record:  The Twins were 62-60, in third place in the American League Central, three games behind Kansas City.  They were one game behind second-place Chicago.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-one

CLEVELAND 8, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, August 14.

Batting stars:  Matthew LeCroy was 3-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Joe Mays pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Brian Anderson pitched 8.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks.  Travis Hafner was 4-for-5 and hit for the cyle, including his eighth home run.  He scored three times and drove in two.  Ben Broussard was 3-for-5 with a double.  Jhonny Peralta was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs.  Angel Santos was 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base.  Casey Blake was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourteenth), a double, and three RBIs.

The game:  Hafner homered in the second to put the Indians up 1-0.  In the second, Peralta and Blake doubled to make it 2-0.

It stayed 2-0 until the seventh, when Cleveland took control.  Hafner had an infield single-plus-error, was bunted to third, and scored on Peralta's double.  Santos then doubled to make it 4-0.  With two out, Blake hit a home run to make it 6-0.

The Indians added to their lead in the eighth.  Broussard singled, Hafner had an RBI triple, and Josh Bard had a run-scoring single to increase the lead to 8-0.

The Twins avoided the shutout in the ninth.  LeCroy hit a one-out home run.  Jacque Jones doubled, Michael Restovich had an infield single, and a sacrifice fly made it 8-2.  An error put men on second and third and Guzman singled home a run to conclude the scoring.

WP:  Anderson (9-9).  LP:  Brad Radke (8-10).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was behind the plate in place of A. J. PIerzynski.  Denny Hocking was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Chris Gomez was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Shannon Stewart was in left, Dustan Mohr in right, and Jones at DH.

Michael Ryan replaced Stewart in left in the ninth.  Michael Restovich went to right in the ninth, with Mohr moving to center and Torii Hunter coming out of the game.  Rivas pinch-ran for Jones in the ninth.

Ryan made an out for the first time all year and was batting .667.  Stewart was 0-for-4 and was batting .314.  Restovich was 1-for-1 and was batting .308.  Jones was 1-for-4 and was batting .307.

Radke pitched pretty well for six innings, but his line was 6.1 innings, five runs, nine hits, no walks, and three strikeouts.  His ERA was 5.09.  James Baldwin allowed three runs in one inning and his ERA went to 5.40.  Mays lowered his ERA to 6.33.

Rick Reed made his first relief appearance of the season, pitching two-thirds of an inning and giving up no runs.

Santos' stolen base was the only one of his major league career.  An infielder, he appeared in 41 games and had 99 plate appearances.  He batted .207/.245/.370.

With a three-game losing streak, the Twins were in danger of dropping back to .500.

Record:  The Twins were 61-60, in third place in the American League Central, four games behind Kansas City.  They were two games behind second-place Chicago.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty

CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA (14 INNINGS)

Date:  Wednesday, August 13.

Batting star:  Jacque Jones was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana struck out eight in eight shutout innings, giving up four hits and a walk.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Eddie Guardado pitched two perfect innings, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jason Davis struck out six in six shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.  Rafael Betancourt struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Terry Mulholland pitched four shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.  Ben Broussard was 3-for-5 with a double and a stolen base, his fourth.  Jhonny Peralta was 2-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base.  Jody Gerut was 2-for-6.

The game:  This is what you would call a pitchers' duel.  Neither team even put two men on base until the seventh, when the Twins got two-out singles from Jones and Torii Hunter.  Neither team got a man to third until the eighth, when Michael Ryan doubled and went to third when Cristian Guzman reached on an error.  That was the closest the Twins came to scoring:  they had men on first and third with none out.  But Shannon Stewart grounded out, Luis Rivas hit into a fielder's choice with Ryan thrown out at the plate, and Corey Koskie grounded out.

It remained scoreless until the fourteenth, when it all fell apart for the Twins.  Juan Rincon was in his second inning of work.  He gave up consecutive singles to Casey Blake, Gerut, and Ryan Ludwick, with the last one bringing home the first run of the game.  J. C. Romero came in.  A bunt moved the runners up, Tim Laker was intentionally walked, Travis Hafner was hit by a pitch to bring in a run, Peralta singled home two, and a ground out brought home the fifth run.  The Twins got a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourteenth, but that was all.

WP:  Mulholland (2-2).  LP:  Rincon (3-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Stewart was again in left, with Dustan Mohr in right and Jones at DH.  Ryan pinch-hit for Mohr in the eighth, with MIchael Restovich going to right field.  Denny Hocking pinch-ran for Jones in the ninth.

Ryan had his second consecutive pinch-hit hit and was batting 1.000.  Stewart was 1-for-6 and was batting .317.  Jones was batting .307.  Koskie was 1-for-5 and was batting .301.

Santana lowered his ERA to 2.96.  His game score of 81 was his best of the season.  He now had back-to-back eight-inning starts without giving up an earned run.  It's almost like they should've put him in the rotation sooner or something.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 2.25.

By games scores, this was tied for Jason Davis' best game of the season.  He equaled his score of 72 of June 18, when he allowed one run in a complete game against Detroit.  For the season, he would go 8-11, 4.68, 1.33 WHIP.  It was the best season of his career, although he did have a decent year pitching out of the bullpen for the Indians in 2006.  For his career, he was 22-26, 4.82, 1.52 WHIP in 461 innings.  He appeared in 144 games, 56 of them starts.

After winning four in a row, the Twins had now dropped two straight and were falling back toward .500.

Record:  The Twins were 61-59, in third place in the American League Central, 3.5 games behind Kansas City.  They were two games behind second-place Chicago.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Nineteen

CLEVELAND 9, MINNESOTA 6 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 12.

Batting stars:  Shannon Stewart was 3-for-5 with a double.  Matthew LeCroy was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his eleventh.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Travis Hafner was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.  Ryan Ludwick was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his eighth and ninth), a walk, three runs, and three RBIs.  Jody Gerut was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Jhonny Peralta was 2-for-4.  Casey Blake was 2-for-5 with a home run, his thirteenth.  Ben Broussard was 2-for-5 with a double.  Angel Santos was 1-for-4 with a home run, his third.  Rafael Betancourt struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Hafner hit a two-run double in the second to put the Indians up 2-0.  The Twins tied it in the third on a two-run strikeout.  With men on second and third, Doug Mientkiewicz struck out.  The ball was not held, and on the throw to first Cristian Guzman scored from third.  The throw from the first baseman was wild, allowing Stewart to score from second and tie it up 2-2.

Cleveland got the lead back in the fourth on Peralta's RBI single.  The Twins took their first and only lead of the game in the fifth when LeCroy hit a two-out two-run homer to put MInnesota up 4-3.

The Indians tied it in the sixth when Ludwick homered.  They went into the lead to stay in the seventh.  Santos led off with a homer, Blake hit a one-out homer, and Ludwick hit a two-out, two-run homer to make it 8-4 Cleveland.

That was pretty much it.  Each team scored in the ninth.  The Indians got an RBI single by Broussard and the Twins got a two-run single by Mientkiewicz.  The Twins had the tying run up to bat with one out, but Corey Koskie fouled out and A. J. Pierzynski fanned to end the game.

WP:  Betancourt (2-1).  LP:  James Baldwin (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was behind the plate in place of Pierzynski.  Pierzynski pinch-hit for him in the ninth.  Stewart was in left, Dustan Mohr in right, and Michael Restovich at DH.

Michael Ryan pinch-hit for Guzman in the ninth.  Jacque Jones pinch-hit for Luis Rivas in the ninth.  Chris Gomez pinch-ran for Jones in the ninth.

This was Ryan's first game with the Twins in 2003.  He had played seven games in the majors in 2002.

Ryan was 1-for-1 and was batting 1.000.  Stewart was batting .320.  Restovich was 1-for-3 and was batting .314.  Jones did not have an official at-bat and was batting .305.  Koskie was 1-for-4 and was batting .302.  Pierzynski was 0-for-1 and was batting .300.

Joe Mays started.  He pitched five innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out three.  His ERA went down to 6.38.

Billy Traber started for Cleveland.  He pitched three innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out three.  This was his rookie season, and the only season in which he pitched more than fifty innings.  He threw 111.2 innings and went 6-9, 5.24, 1.54 WHIP.  He was in 33 games, 18 of them starts.  He had started the season in the bullpen but went into the rotation in early June.  He did substantially better as a reliever:  2-1, 3.52 versus 4-8, 5.68 as a starter.  He then was injured and didn't make it back to the majors until 2006, with Washington.  For his career he was 12-14, 5.65, 1.59 WHIP.

Record:  The Twins were 61-58, in third place in the American League Central, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.  They were two games behind second-place Chicago.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Eighteen

1 Comment

MINNESOTA 5, CLEVELAND 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, August 11.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a stolen base, his fourth.  Luis Rivas was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fourth.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out four.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jody Gerut was 3-for-4 with a double.  Terry Mulholland struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

The game:  The Twins opened the scoring in the third inning.  Mohr led off with a double and Cristian Guzman followed with an RBI single.  Rivas then hit a one-out two-run homer to make it 3-0 Twins.  The Indians got one back in the fourth on two singles and a doubleplay grounder, cutting the lead to 3-1.

It stayed 3-1 until the sixth.  Torii Hunter was hit by a pitch with two out and scored on A. J. Pierzynski's double.  Mohr followed with a run-scoring single to make it 5-1 Minnesota.

There was no more scoring until the ninth.  Gerut and Ben Broussard opened the inning with back-to-back doubles.  Ryan Ludwick singled, bringing the tying run to the plate in the dangerous Travis Hafner.  But Hawkins got him to hit into a double play, bringing home a run but emptying the bases.  Josh Bard then struck out to end the game.

WP:  Lohse (9-9).  LP:  Jake Westbrook (5-7).  S:  Hawkins (1).

Notes:  Stewart was in left, Mohr in right, and Jones at DH.  Michael Restovich pinch-ran for Jones in the eighth.

Stewart was 0-for-3 and was batting .316.  Jones was 1-for-3 and was batting .305.  Corey Koskie was 1-for-4 and was batting .303.  Pierzynski was 1-for-4 and was batting .301.

Lohse got his ERA back below five at 4.97.

Hawkins lowered his ERA to 2.33.  I don't know why Ron Gardenhire went with Hawkins rather than Eddie Guardado.  Guardado had pitched the day before, but had thrown just fifteen pitches.  He had not pitched the day before that, and after all, he was "Everyday Eddie".  This was one of two saves Hawkins had for the season.

Westbrook pitched six innings, but allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk and struck out three.  His ERA was 4.77.

The Twins had won four games in a row and were in striking distance of second place.

Record:  The Twins were 61-57, in third place in the American League Central, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.  They were one game behind second-place Chicago.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Seventeen

MINNESOTA 4, DETROIT 3 IN DETROIT

Date:  Sunday, August 10.

Batting stars:  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his third.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Kenny Rogers struck out seven in seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk.  J. C. Romero pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit.

Opposition stars:  Craig Monroe was 2-for-4 with a home run, his thirteenth.  Matt Walbeck was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer.  Nate Cornejo pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on nine hits and three walks and striking out three.  He threw 124 pitches.

The game:  The Twins got all of their runs in the first inning, and it was (barely) enough.  Stewart led off the game with a single, Denny Hocking walked, and Mientkiewicz had a bunt single, loading the bases with none out.  Corey Koskie then hit a two-run double.  The next two batters went out, but Dustan Mohr hit a two-run single to make it 4-0 Minnesota.

Rogers was in control for the first four innings, giving up just a few harmless singles.  But in the fifth Eric Munson singled and Walbeck hit a two-run homer, cutting the lead to 4-2.  Monroe homered in the sixth, making it 4-3.

But that was it.  The Tigers did not get a man past first after that, and the Twins held on for the victory.

WP:  Rogers (9-6).  LP:  Cornejo (5-11).  S:  Guardado (27).

Notes:  Chris Gomez was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Hocking was at short in place of Cristian Guzman.  Stewart was in left, Mohr in right, and Jacque Jones at DH.

Stewart was batting .319.  Jones was 0-for-4 and dropped to .305.  Koskie was 1-for-3 and was at .303.  A. J. Pierzynski was 0-for-3 and was batting .301.  Mientkiewicz raised his average back up to .300.

Rogers got his ERA back below five at 4.97.

I'd forgotten that the Twins had Jones at DH that much after trading for Stewart.

I wonder what the record is for most runs scored in the first inning in a game where you didn't score after the first inning.  I'm pretty sure it's more than four, but I wonder what it is.

This was one of two complete games Cornejo pitched in 2003.  Both were losses.  This was the only season he was a rotation starter for the full season.  He went 6-17, 4.67, 1.51 WHIP.  Both the ERA and the WHIP were the best he ever had in the major leagues.  For his career he was 12-29, 5.41, 1.66 WHIP in 313 innings.  He appeard in 56 games, all starts.

The Twins had won three in a row, giving hope that they had left the .500 mark behind for good.  Now, could they make up ground on the division leaders?

Record:  The Twins were 60-57, in third place in the American League Central, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.  They were two games behind second-place Chicago.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Sixteen

MINNESOTA 8, DETROIT 4 IN DETROIT (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, August 9.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs, and three RBIs.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-first), a stolen base (his fifth), and four RBIs.

Pitching star:  Juan Rincon pitched two shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Alex Sanchez was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his thirty-fourth.  Warren Morris was 2-for-3.  Brandon Inge was 2-for-4.  Bobby Higginson was 1-for-5 with a home run (his ninth) and three RBIs.  Matt Roney pitched five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks and striking out one.

The game:  It was all Tigers early.  In the first Sanchez singled, stole second, was bunted to third, and scored on a ground out.  In the third Inge singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Sanchez single.  Later in the inning Higginson hit a two-run homer to make it 4-0 Detroit.

The Twins started their comeback in the fourth.  Doug Mientkiewicz doubled and Koskie walked.  RBI singles by Jones and Pierzynski cut the lead to 4-2.  In the sixth Koskie singled, Jones doubled, and Hunter delivered a two-run single to tie it 4-4.

The Tigers had two singles and a walk in the seventh, had men on first and third in the eighth, and got two singles in the ninth, but could not bring a run across.  In the tenth Mientkiewicz and Koskie walked, Jones hit a two-run double, and Hunter hit a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 8-4.  Detroit got a single in the tenth, but that's all.

WP:  Rincon (3-4).  LP:  Chris Mears (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Stewart was in left, Michael Restovich in right, and Jones at DH.  Dustan Mohr pinch-ran for Jones in the tenth.

Stewart was 1-for-6 and was batting .318.  Restovich was 0-for-2 with three walks and was batting .313.  Jones was batting .309.  Pierzynski was batting .304.  Koskie was batting .303.

Brad Radke started for the Twins and pitched 7.1 innings.  He gave up four runs on eight hits and a walk and struck out three.  His ERA was 5.01.

LaTroy Hawkins retired the only man he faced to drop his ERA to 2.37.

The Twins finally got two games above .500.  Tom Kelly used to say that you can't talk about the pennant race until you get above .500.  We'll see if the Twins could stay above .500 and get into the pennant race.  Although really, given that no one in the division was playing all that well, they were already in the pennant race.

Record:  The Twins were 59-57, in third place in the American League Central, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.  They were two games behind third-place Chicago.