Joe Mulvey (1858)
Patsy Dougherty (1867)
Shad Berry (1878)
Clarence Palm (1907)
Ralph Kiner (1922)
Del Rice (1922)
Pumpsie Green (1933)
Lee Stange (1936)
Mike Lum (1945)
Pete Vuckovich (1952)
U. L. Washington (1953)
Barry Bonnell (1953)
Tom Nieto (1960)
Bill Swift (1961)
Bip Roberts (1963)
Brad Radke (1972)
Jason Johnson (1973)
Martin Prado (1983)
Kyle Waldrop (1985)
Jason Wheeler (1990)
Bill Swift was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 1983, but he did not sign.
Joe Mulvey (1858)
Patsy Dougherty (1867)
Shad Berry (1878)
Ralph Kiner (1922)
Del Rice (1922)
Pumpsie Green (1933)
Lee Stange (1936)
Mike Lum (1945)
Pete Vuckovich (1952)
U. L. Washington (1953)
Barry Bonnell (1953)
Tom Nieto (1960)
Bill Swift (1961)
Bip Roberts (1963)
Brad Radke (1972)
Jason Johnson (1973)
Martin Prado (1983)
Kyle Waldrop (1985)
Jason Wheeler (1990)
Bill Swift was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 1983, but he did not sign.
Date: Saturday, September 27.
Batting stars: Michael Ryan was 4-for-4 with a two-run homer (his fifth) and two runs. Cristian Guzman was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Jacque Jones was 1-for-3 with a home run, his sixteenth.
Pitching star: Brad Radke pitched five innings, giving up one run on eight hits and one walk, striking out three.
Opposition stars: Craig Monroe was 4-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. Warren Morris was 2-for-5 with a double and three runs. Carlos Pena was 2-for-5 with four RBIs. Brian Schmack pitched three shutout innings of relief, giving up three hits and no walks and striking out one.
The game: The Twins again treated this like a spring training game and it cost them in the end, although they may not have cared. It looked good early. Shannon Stewart reached on a two-base error, went to third on a passed ball, and scored on a sacrifice fly, giving the Twins a run before they had a hit. The Twins had men on second and third with one out in the third but did not score, so it was 1-0 through three.
The Twins appeared to take control in the fourth. Consecutive doubles by Corey Koskie, Torii Hunter, and A. J. Pierzynski made it 3-0. Singles by Ryan and Guzman plated two more runs to make it 5-0. The Tigers left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, and the Twins added some more runs in the fifth. Jones led off with a home run, Koskie walked, and Ryan hit a two-out two-run homer to give the Twins an 8-0 lead. Detroit got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, when Morris doubled and scored on a Monroe single, but it was still 8-1 and the game appeared to be well in hand.
It didn't work out that way. In the seventh Morris singled, Bobby Higginson reached on an error, Monroe doubled home one, and Pena singled home two to cut the lead to 8-4. In the eighth, four walks brought home a run, Monroe had an RBI single, and Pena brought home two with a single, tying the score 8-8.
The Twins got a leadoff double from Justin Morneau in the ninth but left him on third. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Alex Sanchez walked, stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch. The first Twins run and the last Tigers run scored without a hit, but the last one decided the game in favor of Detroit.
WP: Fernando Rodney (1-3). LP: Jesse Orosco (2-2). S: None.
Notes: It was essentially the regular lineup, with Stewart in left and Ryan in right. As yesterday, however, most of them came out a little over halfway through the game.
Michael Restovich pinch-ran for Stewart in the third inning and stayed in the game in left field. Lew Ford pinch-ran for Hunter in the fourth inning and stayed in the game in center field. Michael Cuddyer pinch-ran for Koskie in the fifth and stayed in the game at third base. Denny Hocking pinch-hit for Luis Rivas in the sixth and stayed in the game at first base. Justin Morneau pinch-hit for DH Jacque Jones in the sixth inning. Alex Prieto replaced Doug Mientkiewicz in the batting order in the sixth inning and went to second base. Rob Bowen replaced Pierzynski behind the plate in the sixth inning. Chris Gomez pinch-hit for Guzman in the seventh and stayed in the game at shortstop.
Ryan was batting .379. Ford was 0-for-3 and was batting .319. Pierzynski was 1-for-3 and was batting .312. Stewart was 1-for-2 and was batting .307. Jones was 1-for-3 and was batting .304.
Bowen was 1-for-2 and was batting .125. Prieto was 0-for-1 and was batting .111.
After Radke was done the Twins went with the B bullpen: Carlos Pulido, Juan Rincon, J. C. Romero, and Orosco. Orosco's ERA went up to 7.68.
Gary Knotts started for Detroit. He pitched 3.2 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits and no walks and striking out two.
This was the only year Brian Schmack would be in the majors, and this was the last game of his career. At least he got to end on a high note. He was 29 and had spent three years in AAA. He had been in AA before the Tigers brought him up in late August. He was 1-0, 3.46, 1.39 WHIP in 11 games (13 innings).
The walk Radke gave up was the only walk he allowed in the month of September (35 innings).
Detroit would not set an expansion era record for worst record. They could still tie the record for most losses with a loss in their last game.
Record: The Twins were 90-71, in first place in the American League Central, five games ahead of Chicago. The White Sox had clinched second place.
Date: Tuesday, September 16.
Batting stars: Torii Hunter was 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his sixth. Michael Ryan was 2-for-4. Jacque Jones was 1-for-2 with two walks.
Pitching star: Brad Radke pitched seven innings, giving up one run on eight hits and no walks and striking out three.
Opposition stars: Carl Everett was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-eighth) and two RBIs. Carlos Lee was 2-for-4. Roberto Alomar was 2-for-4. Scott Schoeneweis struck out five in 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks.
The game: The Twins got on the board in the first inning on three walks and a Corey Koskie sacrifice fly. In the second, two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out. An RBI ground out and a wild pitch followed. The Twins had not scored a run on a hit, but still led 3-0 through two. They made it 4-0 in the third on consecutive singles by Hunter, A. J. Pierzynski, and Ryan.
The White Sox had gotten a pair of singles in the first and again in the third, but did not score either time. They broke through in the sixth, however, on singles by Lee, Frank Thomas, and Everett, cutting the lead to 4-1. The Twins got the run back in the seventh. Jones singled, pinch-runner Lew Ford stole second, and Hunter delivered an RBI single.
Chicago got only one hit after the sixth. It was a home run by Everett with one out in the ninth, but the White Sox did not bring the tying run even to the on-deck circle.
WP: Radke (13-10). LP: Esteban Loaiza (19-8). S: None.
Notes: Denny Hocking was at second base in place of Luis Rivas. Stewart was in left, Ryan in right, and Jones at DH. The only lineup substitution was Ford for Jones as mentioned above.
Ryan raised his average to .389. Stewart was 0-for-3 and was batting .310. Pierzynski was 1-for-4 and was batting .305. Jones raised his average to .304. Doug Mientkiewicz was 0-for-2 and was batting .304.
Radke again came up big for the Twins. He had struggled most of the season, but turned it around when he got to September. In his last three starts he had given up just five earned runs in 23 innings, giving up 22 hits and zero walks.
LaTroy Hawkins gave up one run in two innings, raising his ERA to 1.95.
Loaiza had an excellent year in 2003, but he didn't get it done in this game. Wildness did him in--he walked five in 2.1 innings, giving up four runs on four hits and striking out one. He had made the all-star team in 2003 and finished second in Cy Young voting behind Roy Halladay, but the Twins beat him (or he beat himself) in a very important game.
The Twins had one the first of the three-game series, and assured that they could be no worse than a half-game out of first at the end of it. The Royals won, trying to stay in the race.
Record: The Twins were 82-69, in first place in the American League Central, 1.5 games ahead of Chicago. They were 3.5 games ahead of third-place Kansas City.
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.
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.
MINNESOTA 3, ANAHEIM 0 IN ANAHEIM
Date: Tuesday, August 26.
Batting stars: Jacque Jones was 3-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth) and two runs. Denny Hocking was 2-for-4. Luis Rivas was 2-for-5 with a home run (his eighth) and a double. Shannon Stewart was 2-for-5.
Pitching stars: Brad Radke pitched a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and a walk and striking out four. He threw 98 pitches.
Opposition stars: Scott Spiezio was 2-for-3. Garret Anderson was 2-for-4 with a double. John Lackey pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on ten hits and one walk and striking out five.
The game: The Angels got a two-out double in the first but did not score. In the second, the Twins got consecutive singles from Jones, Torii Hunter, A. J. Pierzynski, and Hocking, but only scored once, as Hunter was thrown out trying to score on Hocking's hit. It was 1-0 Twins after two.
Anaheim again got a man to second in the second inning, this time with one out, but again did not score. They put men on first and second with one out in the fourth, but a double play took them out of the inning. Jones led off the sixth with a home run to make it 2-0. Rivas homered with two out in the seventh to make it 3-0. The Angels got one more threat, putting two on with one out in the ninth. Tim Salmon came up representing the tying run, but he hit into a double play to end the game.
WP: Radke (10-10). LP: Lackey (8-13). S: None.
Notes: Hocking was at third base in place of Corey Koskie. Jones was in left and Stewart in right. Dustan Mohr pinch-ran for DH Matthew LeCroy in the eighth.
Stewart was batting .314. Jones was batting .312.
This was the only shutout of the season for Radke. It was one of ten for his career. He had a high of two in 2001. He got his ERA below five for the first time since opening day, at 4.78. His game score of 80 was easily his best of the season--the next-highest was 69, back in April.
The Twins had put together back-to-back wins. Could they make it three in a row?
Record: The Twins were 68-63, in third place in the American League Central, 1.5 games behind Chicago. They were a half game behind second-place Kansas City.
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.
Date: Sunday, June 15.
Batting stars: Corey Koskie was 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, three runs, and two RBIs. A. J. Pierzynski was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Jacque Jones was 2-for-5 with a double. Cristian Guzman was 2-for-5.
Pitching star: J. C. Romero pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.
Opposition stars: Tony Womack was 4-for-6 with a double, a stolen base (his seventh), and two RBIs. Robby Hammock was 3-for-5 with a home run (his second), a double, two runs, and three RBIs. Alex Cintron was 3-for-5 with two runs. Rod Barajas was 2-for-4. Carlos Baerga was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
The game: Baerga's two-out RBI single gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead in the first. The Twins tied it on the second on Pierzynski's RBI single. In the third, Arizona loaded the bases with two out and then got back-to-back two-run doubles from Lyle Overbay and Hammock to take a 5-1 lead.
The Twins got one back in the third, but they still trailed 5-2 until the fifth. In that inning, the Twins loaded the bases with two out and all three scored on a single-plus-error by Pierzynski to tie it 5-5. The tie lasted until the next half-inning, when Womack's two-run double put the Diamondbacks back in front 7-5.
The Twins again came back, scoring two in the sixth to tie it 7-7. In the eighth, however, Arizona scored four times to put it out of reach. Cintron had an RBI single, Luis Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly, and Baerga had a two-run single-plus-error to give the Diamondbacks an 11-7 lead. The Twins got one back in the bottom of the eighth, but Hammock homered in the ninth to round out the scoring.
WP: Mike Koplove (3-0). LP: LaTroy Hawkins (4-2). S: None.
Notes: Bobby Kielty was in right field. Justin Morneau was again the DH. The Twins did not make any in-game lineup substitutions.
Morneau was 1-for-5 and was batting .350. Jones raised his average to .309. Pierzynski climbed up to .300 with his 3-for-4 day.
Brad Radke's struggles continued. He pitched 5.1 innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits and two walks and striking out two. His ERA climbed to 6.00. Hawkins allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning, but all were unearned, so his ERA went down to 2.23.
There were twenty runs scored in the game but there was just one home run, and that was a solo shot in the ninth inning.
Arizona players with Twins connections were Chad Moeller and Quinton McCracken.
Elmer Dessens started for Arizona. He pitched 4.2 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on ten hits and three walks and struck out three. He is the only major league player named "Elmer" since ex-Twin Elmer Valo retired in 1961.
I hadn't thought about Mike Koplove in a very long time, but he was a fine reliever for three seasons. 2003 was the last and best of those seasons: he went 3-0, 2.15, 1.09 WHIP. But he would be injured just a few days after this game and miss the rest of the season. He had surgery for a frayed labrum and rotator cuff. He came back to appear in 76 games (!) for the Diamondbacks in 2004, but had an ERA of 4.05 and a WHIP of 1.42. He had a worse year in 2005, then made only seven more major league appearances from 2006-2007. He continued to pitch in the minors and in independent ball through 2011, and actually had a really good AAA year in 2009, but he did not get a call back to the majors. We'll never know what might have happened otherwise, but using him in almost every other game when he was coming off surgery doesn't seem like it was a very good idea. At last report, Mike Koplove was a scout for the Phillies.
Record: The Twins were 38-29, in first place in the American League Central, four games ahead of Kansas City.
Date: Tuesday, June 10.
Batting star: Justin Morneau was 2-for-4.
Pitching stars: Tony Fiore pitched a perfect inning. Micheal Nakamura pitched a perfect inning.
Opposition stars: Jason Jennings pitched 7.2 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and four walks and striking out seven. Greg Vaughn was 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. Charles Johnson was 1-for-3 with a home run, his seventh. Preston Wilson was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his fifteenth.
The game: Singles by Juan Uribe and Jay Payton and a three-run homer by Wilson put the Rockies up 3-0 in the first inning. Johnson homered leading off the second to make it 4-0. Vaughn homered with two out in the sixth to make it 5-0.
And that was that. The Twins put runners on first and second with one out in the second, but a strikeout and a ground out stranded them. They put men on first and second with two out in the fifth, but a fly out ended that inning. A pair of walks put runners on first and second with two out in the eighth, but a ground out took care of that threat.
WP: Jennings (5-5). LP: Brad Radke (5-6). S: None.
Notes: Bobby Kielty was in right field. Morneau made his major league debut at DH. The Twins made no in-game lineup substitutions.
Morneau was, of course, batting .500. Jacque Jones was 0-for-4 and was batting .309.
Radke had the first inning trouble we came to expect from him. For the game he struck out eight in seven innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and a walk. His ERA was 5.61. He would have one more bad game, then start the process of gradually bringing his ERA down to a more respectable level.
Nakamura has now appeared in three games in a row. His ERA came down to 6.00. Fiore had an ERA of 5.06.
Jason Jennings was a mainstay in the Rockies rotation for five seasons. He was the Rookie of the Year in 2002, going 16-8, 4.52, 1.46 WHIP. We assume people looked at the won-lost record and attributed the ERA and WHIP to pitching in Denver. It also didn't hurt that in his first game, he pitched a complete game shutout and had three hits, including a home run. He would post ERAs over five each of the next three seasons, but remained in the Rockies' rotation. His best season as a Rockie was actually his last one, 2006, when he went 9-13, 3.78, 1.37 WHIP. He was traded to Houston after that season and was awful for them, going 2-9, 6.45. He became a free agent and signed with Texas. He appeared in just six games for them in an injury-plagued 2008, not pitching well, but had a half-way decent season for them out of the bullpen in 2009. He again dealt with injuries in 2010. He had an excellent season with independent Grand Prairie in 2011, but then decided to call it a career. At last report he was living in Frisco, Texas and operating a baseball training center there.
Record: The Twins were 35-27, in first place in the American League Central, 3.5 games ahead of Kansas City.
