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Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-eight

MINNESOTA 2, CLEVELAND 0 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Saturday, September 13.

Batting stars:  Cristian Guzman was 1-for-3 with a home run.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twenty-fifth.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse struck out nine in 7.1 scoreless innings, giving up six hits and a walk.  Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Jason Stanford pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk.  Rafael Betancourt struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.  Jody Gerut was 2-for-4.

The game:  Neither team even got a man to third base for five innings.  Doug Mientkiewicz hit a two-out double in the first.  Travis Hafner hit a two-out single in the second and went to second on a wild pitch.  Those were the only players to even reach second base in the first five innings.

Guzman put that all to rest by leading off the sixth with a home run, the first home run he had hit all season.  In the seventh, Hunter homered with one out to make it 2-0 Twins.

That was all the Twins would need.  The Indians put men on first and second with two out in the seventh and with one out in the eighth, but did not score either inning.

WP:  Lohse (13-11).  LP:  Stanford (0-2).  S:  Guardado (35).

Notes:  Shannon Stewart was in left and Jacque Jones in right.  Lew Ford replaced Jones in right in the fifth inning--presumably Jones injured himself in the prior half-inning trying to break up a double play.  He would pinch-hit in the next game and be back in the lineup after that, although he was often removed late in the game.  Dustan Mohr then replaced Ford in the ninth.  Michael Restovich pinch-ran for Matthew LeCroy in the eighth.

Ford was 0-for-1 and was batting .327.  Stewart was 1-for-4 and was batting .312.  Mientkiewicz was 1-for-3 and was batting .306.  Jones was 1-for-2 and was batting .302.  A. J. Pierzynski was 0-for-3 and was batting .301.

Lohse had been mediocre-to-poor since mid-June, but he came up big in this game.  His game score of 74 was his highest since May 8 and his first over 60 since June 11.  In a pennant race where every game counts, he chose the right time to have an excellent game.

LaTroy Hawkins retired both men he faced to drop his ERA to 1.90.  Guardado lowered his ERA to 2.90.

This was the fifth start of Jason Stanford's career.  He did pretty well in a small sample size in 2003:  1-3, 3.60, 1.28 WHIP in 50 innings (13 games, 8 starts).  He started 2004 with Cleveland and In two starts was excellent:  0-1, 0.82 in 11 innings, although with a 1.55 WHIP.  He then was injured and was never the same pitcher.  He had a couple of mediocre years in AAA with the Indians and got 26.1 more major league innings with the in 2007.  He played for a few minor league teams in 2008, then his playing career came to an end.  He came to the majors late and was 27 when he got hurt, so he probably wouldn't have been a superstar or anything.  But he might well have been a useful pitcher if not for the injury.

The White Sox and Royals both won, so the Twins did not gain any ground on their closest rivals.  On the other hand, they didn't lose any ground, either.

Record:  The Twins were 79-69, tied for first with Chicago in the American League Central, 3.5 games ahead of third-place Kansas City.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2009, Game One Hundred Forty-seven

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MINNESOTA 3, DETROIT 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, September 18.

Batting stars:  Jason Kubel was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Delmon Young was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jose Morales was 2-for-4.  Michael Cuddyer was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his twenty-seventh.

PItching stars:  Brian Duensing pitched 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and one walk and striking out one.  Jon Rauch pitched a scoreless inning and struck out one.  Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Rick Porcello pitched six innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out one.  Curtis Granderson was 2-for-4 with a double.  Marcus Thames was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  There were no threats until the bottom of the fourth, when Kubel hit a one-out single and Cuddyer followed with a two-run homer.  The Twins scored again in the sixth when Kubel led off with a double and Young scored him with a one-out double.

That was it for the scoring.  The Tigers got two men on base for the first time in the seventh inning when Thames and Brandon Inge hit consecutive one-out infield singles.  Jose Mijares relieved Duensing and retired the next two batters.  Rauch hit a batter in the eighth but was otherwise not in trouble.

Nathan came on in the ninth and made things interesting--with two out he walked Alex Avila and gave up a double to Granderson, bringing the tying run to the plate.  But Aubrey Huff hit a weak liner back to Nathan and the game belonged to the Twins.

Notes:  Denard Span was in center, with Young in left and Carlos Gomez on the bench.  Gomez was often in center field in 2009, with Span moving to left.  Kubel, often used at DH, was in right, with Cuddyer at first base and Justin Morneau on the bench.  Matt Tolbert was at third base, as Joe Crede's season had ended at this point.  Nick Punto was at second base, a position he shared that year with Alexi Casilla.  Jose Morales was the DH.

Gomez came in to play center in the eighth inning, with Span moving to right.  Casilla pinch-ran for Kubel in the eighth.

The leading batter was Joe Mauer at .373.  He would finish at .365 and win the Most Valuable Player award.  Morales was batting .368.  He would finish at .311, going just 5-for-32 after this game.  Span was batting .307; he would finish at .311.  Kubel was batting .303; he would finish at .300.

The Twins had a really good bullpen.  In addition to Nathan, they had Mijares (2-2, 2.34, 1.18 WHIP), Matt Guerrier (5-1, 2.36, 0.97), and Rauch (5-1, 1.72, 1.21).  Rauch, of course, didn't join the team until late August, acquired from Arizona for Kevin Mulvey.

This was a pretty big game at the time.  The Twins were trying to chase down the Tigers for the division championship.  As you'll recall, they went to a game 163 before finally winning the division.  Our game today was the Twins' fifth consecutive win.  They closed the season winning seventeen of their last twenty-one games.

Record:  The Twins were 75-72, in second place in the American League Central, three games behind Detroit.  They would finish 87-76, in first place, one game ahead of Detroit.

The Tigers were 78-69, in first place in the American League Central, three games ahead of Minnesota.  They would finish 86-77, in second place, one game behind Minnesota.

2019 Twins Game Recaps

2019 Recap: Game Ninety

MINNESOTA 5, CLEVELAND 3 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Friday, July 12.

Batting stars:  Nelson Cruz was 1-for-4 with a home run (his seventeenth) and a walk.  Mitch Garver was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fourteenth.

Pitching stars:  Trevor May retired all four men he faced, striking out two.  Zack Littell pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Ryne Harper pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.  Taylor Rogers struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Mike Clevenger struck out six in five innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks.  Jose Ramirez was 2-for-4.  Carlos Santana was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twentieth.

The game:  Cruz hit a two-out home run in the first inning to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The Indians got a man to second base in each of the first two innings but did not break through until the fourth.  Santana homered to lead off the inning and tie the score.  Jason Kipnis walked and an error put men on first and third.  They were still on second and third with two out, but Roberto Perez singled to drive in two and give Cleveland a 3-1 lead.

It looked for a while like that might hold up.  The Twins put men on second and third with none out in the fifth, but a ground out and two strikeouts ended the inning.  They had men on first and second with one out in the sixth, but a double play ended that inning.

Then came the seventh.  An error and a walk put men on first and third with two out.  Max Kepler came up and hit a ground ball to shortstop.  He was called out at first and it looked like yet another Twins threat had come to nothing.  But the Twins challenged and a replay review determined that Kepler was safe, making the score 3-2.  Jorge Polanco then swatted a two-run double and the Twins had a 4-3 lead.  A Garver home run in the eighth made it 5-3.  The Indians did not get a man past first base after the fourth inning.

WP:  Littell (2-0).  LP:  Oliver Perez (2-2).  S:  Rogers (13).

Notes:  Marwin Gonzalez was in left, replacing Eddie Rosario.  Luis Arraez was at second base in place of Jonathan Schoop.  Ehire Adrianza was at first base, replacing C. J. Cron.

Arraez was 1-for-4 and is batting .386.  Polanco was 1-for-4 and is batting .311.  May has an ERA of 2.94.  Harper has an ERA of 2.84.  Rogers has an ERA of 1.73.

Just looking at the printed play-by-play, it seems like a very quick hook for Kyle Gibson.  They don't appear to have been hitting a lot of balls hard off him, and he certainly wasn't getting much help from his defense.  I'm not second-guessing the decision, because a) there are always things you can't tell from the printed play-by-play and b) it clearly worked.  The Much Maligned Twins Bullpen pitched 5.1 scoreless innings and really never even allowed Cleveland to put together a threat.

The quick hook showed that Rocco was not looking at this as just another game.  He thought it was an important game for the Twins to win, and he was going to give them every chance to win it.  It was a risk, because if the Twins hadn't come back he'd have used four or five relievers in a loss, which of course hurts you for the next game.  He had the advantage of a fully rested bullpen after the all-star break, but it was still a gamble that he won.

I think he was right to not look at it as just another game.  We said going in that by Sunday night the Twins' lead would either be 2.5, 4.5, 6.5, or 8.5 games, and that's obviously a big spread.  We can eliminate the "2.5" now, and that's a very good thing.  We'd all love to have it be one of the bigger numbers, but even if it's 4.5 it's not going to feel like things are falling apart, the way it would have had the Indians gotten a sweep.  With Odorizzi and Berrios pitching the next two games, the Twins should have a good chance to win at least one of them.  Of course, with Bauer and Bieber going, the Indians probably feel the same way.

One thing I like about Rocco is that he doesn't feel a need to make big announcements about what he's doing.  He just does it.  Rogers is clearly the closer now, even if he's not being used in the "traditional" way, but Rocco has never said he's the closer.  Littell is clearly a one-inning guy now (he's pitched one inning in each of his last six appearances), but Rocco has never said he's a one-inning guy.  He just uses him that way.  If you don't make an announcement about it, then you don't feel locked in to doing it that way.  You also don't have to explain to anyone if you do something differently from what you've announced.  Of course, you have to get players to buy in to the fact that they aren't going to know exactly what their role is every day, but Rocco seems to be able to do that, at least so far.

Record:  The Twins are 57-33, in first place in the American League Central, 6.5 games ahead of Cleveland.

Projected record:  We're still on track for 129-33!

2019 Twins Game Recaps

2019 Recap: Game Fifty-six

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MINNESOTA 5, TAMPA BAY 3 IN TAMPA BAY

Date:  Friday, May 31.

Batting stars:  Jonathan Schoop was 2-for-2 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, a stolen base, and two runs.  Jorge Polanco was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and three runs.  Willians Astudillo was 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and two RBIs.  Marwin Gonzalez was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Jose Berrios struck out eight in 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on three hits and three walks.  Taylor Rogers pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Willy Adames was 2-for-4.  Kevin Kiermeier was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixth.  Emilio Pagan struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  The Twins took the lead in the first inning, when with one out Polanco doubled and Astudillo singled him home.  Schoop got to third with two out in the second, but was stranded there.  In the bottom of the second, the Rays went in front when Christian Arroyo drew a one-out walk and Kiermeier followed with a home run.  They increased the lead to 3-1 in the third when Austin Meadows walked, Adames singled him to third, and the two pulled off a double steal of second and home.

The Twins got even in the fifth.  Schoop led off the inning with a walk but was still on first base with two out.  But Polanco delivered an RBI double and Astudillo followed with a run-scoring single to make the score 3-3.  Tampa Bay put men on first and second with two out in the bottom of the fifth and the Twins put men on first and second with two out in the sixth, but the score remained 3-3 until the ninth.

Schoop led off the ninth inning by being hit by a pitch.  Byron Buxton bunted him to second and a ground out moved him to third with two down.  Polanco was intentionally walked and Astudillo was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  Eddie Rosario then delivered a two-run single that gave the Twins a 5-3 lead.  The Rays got a two-out single in the ninth, bringing the tying run up to bat, but a ground out ended the game.

WP:  Rogers (2-1).  LP:  Diego Castillo (1-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Polanco was feeling better, but was still not a hundred percent, so he was the DH with Gonzalez at shortstop.  Polanco raised his average to .338.  Rogers now has an ERA of 2.16.

I find it very hard to pick up any patterns in what Rocco does.  That's not to say the patterns aren't there, and maybe if I had time to study it I'd figure them out, but they're not obvious.  It's also not intended as a criticism--I don't think he's just making moves at random or anything.  But look at his use of Rogers last night.  For the last several games, when it was close late in the game, Rocco was mixing and matching his relievers, using four or five relievers for an inning or less.  Yet last night he used Rogers for 2.1 innings, even leaving him in the game in the ninth when he'd given up a hit to bring the tying run to the plate.  It's working, for the most part, and I'm sure he has reasons for what he does.  In fact, it's really kind of fun to see a manager who doesn't reflexively make the same move every time, who appears to actually evaluate each situation and think about what he wants to do.

This felt like a bigger game than it probably was.  No matter how many times we say this is a good baseball team, and no matter how much we truly believe it, there's still a part of some of us that has a hard time feeling it.  We keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the collapse to come.  We feel like the Twins' record is an illusion, that all they've done is beat up on bad teams.  That's not really true--they've actually done okay against good teams--but it's still the feeling.  Then they play a good team and get blown out, and we think, well, here we go.  A late-inning loss last night would've fed into that even more.  Again, in reality this was just one game, and I suspect the players looked at it exactly that way.  But as a fan, it felt like it was an important one to win.

Really, the criticism that "all the Twins have done is beat up on bad teams" is phony.  For one thing, beating up on bad teams is what a good team is supposed to do.  What, it would be better if the Twins were losing to bad teams?  Second, there just aren't a lot of good teams in the American League.  There are only four teams that are more than a game over .500, and one of them is the Twins themselves.  Every one of those four teams has their record because they beat up on bad teams--that's mostly who they play.

And third, it always seems like a good team has an easier schedule simply because of the way we perceive things.  If you're the Twins, and you go to play the White Sox, you think, "They're not that good.  Those are some games we should win."  If you're the Kansas City Royals, and you go to play the White Sox, you think, "This is a good, young, up-and-coming team.  These are going to be some tough games for us."  When you're a good team, there are a lot of games that seem like easy games.  When you're a bad team, every game seems like a tough game.

Record:  The Twins are 38-18, first in the American League Central, 10.5 games ahead of Chicago and Cleveland.

Projected record:  We're still on track for 144-18!