Tag Archives: clutchiness

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Forty-seven

SEATTLE 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Friday, May 23.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Tony Fiore pitched three shutout innings, giving up one walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Mark McLemore was 2-for-3 with a home run (his second), a walk, and two runs.  John Olerud was 2-for-4.  Jamie Moyer pitched five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks and striking out three.  Bert Blyleven's favorite pitcher, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

The game:  The Twins had men on first and second with two out in the first, but did not score.  The Mariners jumped on Brad Radke for three runs in the first inning, although the defense did not help him any.  Ichiro Suzuki reached on an error, Carlos Guillen walked, and Edgar Martinez hit a one-out single, loading the bases.  Olerud then hit a potential double play ball, but Cristian Guzman missed the throw at second base, allowing two runs to score.  Mike Cameron hit an RBI double, making it 3-0 Seattle after one.

The Twins got one back in the second, but missed a chance for more.  Todd Sears led off with a single and Mohr doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  A ground out scored one, but a strikeout and a fly out ended the inning.  The lead went back to three in the bottom of the second, as McLemore led off with a home run to make it 4-1.  It went to 5-1 in the fourth on singles by McLemore and Dan Wilson, a sacrifice bunt, and a sacrifice fly.

The Twins scored in the fifth, but again missed a chance for more.  Luis Rivas and Jones opened the inning with singles, putting men on first and third with none out, but a ground out scored the only run they got, making the score 5-2.  And that was it.  The Twins got a man to second a couple of times, but never got the tying run up to bat.

WP:  Jamie Moyer (7-2).  LP:  Radke (5-4).  S:  Kazuhiro Sasaki (7).

Notes:  Sears was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Bobby Kielty was the DH.

Jones was batting .343.  Mohr was batting .320.

Radke pitched five innings, giving up five runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks and struck out none.  His ERA was 5.43.

The Twins were 0-for-7 with men in scoring position and stranded eight.

This was the only season in which Moyer made the all-star team.  He went 21-7, 3.27, 1.23 WHIP.  He finished fifth in Cy Young voting that year, one of three times he finished in the top six.  He was age forty in 2003, so he would only play eight more seasons.

Record:  The Twins were 27-20, in first place in the American League Central, 1.5 games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

Gigantes Recap: Game One

The Dominican League started play last night.  As with the Mexican League, we've chosen a team at random to follow.  Our team will be the Gigantes del Cibao.

GIGANTES 8, AGUILAS 5 AT AGUILAS (10 INNINGS)

Batting stars:  Juan Francisco was 3-for-6 with three doubles and four RBIs.  Kelvin Gutierrez was 2-for-4 with two walks and two runs.  Carlos Peguero was 2-for-4 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Chris Ellis struck out three in three shutout innings of relief, giving up only a walk.  Rayman Guduan pitched a perfect inning.  Ramon Ramirez pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit.

Opposition stars:  Robel Garcia was 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk.  Rangel Ravelo was 1-for-4 with a home run.

The game:  In the first inning walks to Jose Siri, Ronald Guzman, and Gutierrez loaded the bases with one out.  Francisco then delivered a two-run double to put the Gigantes up 2-0.  Aguilas got on the board in the second on a Garcia homer, making it 2-1.

Each team scored one in the third.  For the Gigantes, Peguero and Wilin Rosario singled and a sacrifice fly scored the run.  For Aguilas, Wilmer Difo walked, went to second on a ground out, and scored on an error, leaving the score 3-2.

There was more scoring in the fourth.  For the Gigantes, singles by Jason Krizan and Guzman put men on first and third.  A force out scored a run.  Francisco doubled, putting men on second and third, and a wild pitch brought home a second run.  For Aguilas, Ravelo homered.  It was 5-3 Gigantes through four.

The bullpens then settled in.  The Gigantes loaded the bases with one out in the eighth but did not score.  It cost them, because Aguilas tied it in the bottom of the inning.  Walks to Difo and Victor Robles put men on first and second with one out.  Melky Cabrera singled home a run and Juan Ligares singled home another, making the score 5-5.

Neither team scored in the ninth, so we went to the tenth.  No "start with a man on second" rule here, at least not in the tenth inning.  The Gigantes didn't need it.  Guzman walked, Gutierrez singled, and Francisco hit a two-run double.  Webster Rivas had an RBI single to make it 8-5 Gigantes.  Aguilas got a two-out single in the bottom of the inning but did not bring the tying run up to bat.

WP:  Guduan (1-0).  LP:  Junior Fernandez (0-1).  S:  Ramirez.

Notes:  Lots of big-leaguers are playing for Aguilas, including Melky Cabrera, Victor Robles, Juan Lagares, Rangel Ravelo, Wilmer Difo, Luis Castillo (not the former Twin), Buddy Boshers, and Neftali Feliz.

The Gigantes stranded 15 men and were 3-for-20 with men in scoring position.  Twenty at-bats with men in scoring position is a ton of at-bats.  Aguilas had only five at-bats with men in scoring position, going 2-for-5.

Richelson Pena started for the Gigantes.  He pitched four innings, allowing three runs on two hits and a walk and striking out one.

Record:  The Gigantes are 1-0, tied for first place with the Tigres del Licey.

Next game:  The Gigantes host Escogido tonight.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Forty-four

OAKLAND 4, MINNESOTA 1 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Tuesday, May 20.

Batting star:  Bobby Kielty was 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch.

Pitching star:  Rick Reed pitched six innings, giving up three runs on eleven hits and two walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Tim Hudson pitched eight innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks and striking out five.  Eric Brynes was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs.  Scott Hatteberg was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Chris Singleton was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.

The game:  The Athletics put two men on in each of the first three innings, but did not score.  Instead, it was the Twins who opened the scoring in the fourth, as Cristian Guzman led off the inning with a double and scored on Torii Hunter's two-out single.

That was as good as it got for the Twins, though.  With two out in the bottom of the fourth, Singleton and Brynes hit back-to-back doubles to tie the score and Hatteberg delivered an RBI single to make it 2-1 Oakland.

They stranded a couple more guys in the fifth, and the Twins stranded two in the sixth.  In the bottom of the sixth, Singleton and Byrnes singled and Eric Chavez walked, loading the bases with one out.  A sacrifice fly made it 3-1.  In the eighth, Brynes and Hatteberg hit back-to-back doubles to give the Athletics a 4-1 advantage.  The Twins had only one hit after the sixth inning.

WP:  Hudson (4-1).  LP:  Reed (2-5).  S:  Keith Foulke (12).

Notes:  Todd Sears was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Kielty was the DH.

Jacque Jones was 1-for-4 and was batting .344.  Sears was 0-for-4 and was batting .302.

Johan Santana gave up a run in two innings to raise his ERA to 2.67.  He had given up at least one run in five of his last six appearances, raising his ERA from 0.95.

Oakland stranded 13 runners, going 3-for-13 with men in scoring position.  The Twins stranded just five, going 1-for-7 with men in scoring position.

Foulke was an excellent relief pitcher for five seasons (2000-2004).  The first three of those were with the White Sox and the last was with Boston; this was the one in-between.  He had an ERA under three in each of those seasons, and it was under 2.40 in three of them.  His WHIP was under one for three of those seasons and just barely over one in the other two.  He had 162 saves in those five seasons, leading the league in 2003.  He only made one all-star team, but twice finished in the top ten in Cy Young voting.  He fell off very quickly after 2004, but for five seasons he was about as good as anybody.

Record:  The Twins were 25-19, in first place in the American League Central, a half game ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Forty-three

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MINNESOTA 3, CHICAGO 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, May 18.

Batting stars:  Denny Hocking was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Todd Sears was 2-for-2 with a walk.  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-3.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and four walks and striking out four.  LaTroy Hawkins pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Eddie Guardado struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Esteban Loaiza pitched six innings, giving up one run on eight hits and three walks and striking out three.  Jose Valentin was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his ninth) and two walks.  D'Angelo Jimenez was 2-for-3.

The game:  The Twins had two on with two out in the first and had a runner on third with one out in the second, but it was the White Sox who scored first.  Joe Crede led off the third with a double and Valentin hit a two-out two-run homer to put the Chicago up 2-0.

The Twins loaded the bases in the third but did not score.  The White Sox loaded the bases in the fifth but did not score.  The Twins finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth.  Hocking led off with a double and Sears delivered a two-out single that cut the lead to 2-1.

Each team got a man to third with one out in the seventh and did not score.  With one out in the eighth, Torii Hunter and Mohr each singled, putting men on first and third.  A wild pitch tied the score and an error put the Twins ahead 3-2.

Chicago put two on with two out in the ninth, but Guardado struck out Tony Graffanino to end the game.

WP:  Hawkins (3-0).  LP:  Tom Gordon (2-3).  S:  Guardado (10).

Notes:  Chris Gomez was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Hocking was in right field.  Sears was the DH.  Tom Prince was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.

Mientkiewicz came out in the third inning after hitting a double in the second.  He apparently was injured, as he would not play again until May 24.  Mohr entered the game and went to right field, with Hocking moving to first base.  Matthew LeCroy pinch-hit for Sears in the eighth.  Bobby Kielty pinch-hit for Gomez in the eighth.  Rivas then pinch-ran for Kielty and stayed in the game at second.  Pierzynski pinch-hit for Prince in the eighth and stayed in the game at catcher.

Jones was 1-for-4 and was batting .347.  Sears raised his average to .333.  LeCroy was 0-for-1 and was batting .310.

Hocking's big day raised his average to .188.

Lohse's ERA was 3.22.  Hawkins lowered his ERA to 1.35.  Guardado lowered his ERA to 1.53.

As you can see from the game summary, both teams missed numerous opportunities.  The White Sox stranded nine and were 1-for-9 with men in scoring position.  The Twins stranded nine and were 1-for-15 with men in scoring position.

The Twins swept the series, outscoring Chicago 24-6.  Eighteen of those runs came in the first game.  The Twins had now won five of six, eleven of fourteen. and fifteen of nineteen.  The hot streak moved them into first place.

Record:  The Twins were 25-18, in first place, a half game ahead of Kansas City.

 

Keeping Track

Mazatlan Recap: Game Eighteen

MAZATLAN 7, GUASAVE 6 IN GUASAVE

Batting stars:  Anthony Giansanti was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Ricardo Valenzuela was 1-for-2 with a three-run homer (his second), two walks, and two runs.  Isaac Paredes was 1-for-2 with two walks.

Pitching star:  Roberto Espinosa pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Emmanuel Avila was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Miguel Guzman was 2-for-4 with a triple and three runs.  Yadir Drake was 2-for-5 with three RBIs.  Yosshel Hurtado pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.  Manuel Chavez pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

The game:  Guasave scored in more innings, but Mazatlan had the big innings.  In the first, Guzman hit a one-out triple and scored on a sacrifice fly.  In the third, Jose Herberto Felix singled, Leo German walked, and Marco Jaime singled, loading the bases with none out.  Guzman then hit into a double play, scoring a run but taking Guasave out of the inning.  It was 2-0 through three.

Mazatlan took the lead in the fourth.  Carlos Munoz singled and Paredes walked.  A double play made it two out with a man on third, but Ramon Rios walked and Valenzuela hit a three-run homer to make it 3-2.

Mazatlan had another big inning in the sixth.  Paredes walked and Ricky Alvarez singled.  A bunt put men on second and third with one out and an intentional walk loaded the bases.  Jose Luna then hit a two-run double, and with two out Giansanti hit a two-run single, making the score 7-2.

Guasave did not give up.  With two out in the bottom of the sixth, Drake and Avila singled and Alejandro Ortiz walked, loading the bases.  Samar Leyva walked to make it 7-3, but that was all Guasave got.  In the seventh, a hit batsman and two walks loaded the bases with one out and Drake delivered a two-run single, cutting the margin to 7-5.  In the ninth Guzman singled and went to third on a Jesse Castillo double.  A ground out made it 7-6.  A wild pitch moved the tying run to third.  A hit batsman put the winning run on base.  But the next two batters struck out, and Mazatlan held on to win.

WP:  Edgar Torres (1-1).  LP:  Thomas Dorminy (1-1).  S:  Ryan Newell (3).

Notes:  Jose Augusto Figueroa was 0-for-1 and is batting .529.  Jose Luna was 1-for-3 and is batting .333.  Giansanti is batting .309.  Munoz was 0-for-3 and is batting .308.

Torres pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out none.  Espinosa lowered his ERA to 1.74.

Guasave pitchers struck out ten.  Mazatlan pitchers struck out only two--the last two batters of the game.

Guasave stranded ten and was 2-for-11 with men in scoring position.

Record:  Mazatlan is 7-11, in seventh place, nine games behind Obregon.

Next game:  Mazatlan is again at Guasave tonight.

Keeping Track

Mazatlan Recap: Games Sixteen and Seventeen

MAZATLAN 4, MEXICALI 3 IN MAZATLAN (11 INNINGS)

Batting stars:  Ramon Rios was 3-for-4 with a double.  Jose Augusto Figueroa was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Francisco Hernandez was 2-for-5.  Ricky Alvarez was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his second.

Pitching stars:  Carlos Morales pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and one walk and striking out three.  Alejandro Soto pitched a scoreless inning, walking one.  Ivan Zavala pitched a scoreless inning, walking one.  Roberto Espinosa pitched two perfect innings and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Javier Solano pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks and striking out five.  Luis Juarez was 2-for-5.  Eric Aguilera was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third) and a walk.  Thomas Malgarejo pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

The game:  In the first inning Rios hit a one-out double and Alvarez hit a two-out two-run homer, putting Mazatlan up 2-0.  Mexicali got on the board in the third when Xorge Carrillo walked, went to third on a Fabricio Macias double, and scored on a ground out.  Aguilera homered leading off the fifth to tie it 2-2.

There was no more scoring until the eleventh.  One-out singles by Daniel Castro and Juarez put men on first and third, and a wild pitch put Mexicali up 3-2.  In the bottom of the inning Carlos Munoz drew a one-out walk.  With two out, Ricardo Valenzuela singled and Chris Roberson walked, loading the bases.  Figueroa then delivered a two-run single to win the game for Mazatlan.

WP:  Ryan Newell (1-1).  LP:  Edgar Gomez (0-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Figueroa is batting .500.  Munoz was 0-for-4 and is batting .310.

Zavala's ERA is 2.25.  Espinosa has an ERA of 1.04.

If we must have the "start with a runner on second" rule, the way the Mexican League does it, starting that rule in the twelfth inning, makes more sense to me.  Give them a couple of extra innings to try to settle it with real baseball before using a gimmick to get the game over.

Mexicali was 0-for-7 with men in scoring position.

MEXICALI 11, MAZATLAN 5 IN MAZATLAN (10 INNINGS)

Batting stars:  Jose Augusto Figueroa was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Carlos Munoz was 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Fernando Burgueno pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and striking out one.  Adolfo Ramirez pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Xorge Carrillo was 4-for-6 with a double and two RBIs.  Javier Salazar was 3-for-6.  Eric Aguilera was 2-for-3 with a double, three walks, four runs, and two RBIs.  Alex Mejia was 2-for-6 with a double and three RBIs.  Greg Mahle pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Roque Gutierrez pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two walks.

The game:  Munoz homered with two out in the first to give Mazatlan a 1-0 lead.  Mexicali responded in the third, scoring three times.  Daniel Castro and Luis Juarez opened the inning with walks, Aguilera delivered a two-run double, and Carrillo had a two-out RBI single, making it 3-1.

Mazatlan came back to tie it in the sixth.  Figueroa had a one-out single.  With two down, Hector Mora singled and Francisco Hernandez walked, loading the bases.  Walks to Ramon Rios and Munoz forced in two runs, making the score 3-3.

Mexicali went back in front in the eighth.  Aguilera singled, went to third on two wild pitches, and scored on a Mejia single to make it 4-3.  They added an insurance run in the ninth when Aguilera walked, Miguel Choice singled, and Carrillo had an RBI single.  But Mazatlan came back to tie it again in the bottom of the ninth.  Munoz singled, Isaac Paredes walked, Ricardo Valenzuela had an RBI single, and a passed ball tied it 5-5.

But Mexicali put it away in the tenth.  A single, an error, and a walk, loaded the bases.  A sacrifice fly brought home the go-ahead run, Jose Manuel Orozco tripled home two, a walk and a sacrifice fly made it 9-5, and back-to-back doubles by Carrillo and Mejia made it 11-5.  Mazatlan loaded the bases in the bottom of the tenth on two walks and a hit batsman, but could not come back.

WP:  Jake Sanchez (1-0).  LP:  Ryan Newell (1-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Figueroa is batting .563.  Jose Luna was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter and is batting .333.  Munoz is batting .323.

Burgueno has an ERA of 2.70.  Roberto Espinosa gave up a run in two-thirds of an inning to make his ERA 1.93.

Mazatlan has been using Newell as a closer, but he's just not getting it done.  In this game he gave up four runs (two-earned) in a third of an inning to raise his ERA to 10.29.

There were eighteen walks and three hit batsmen in the game.  Mazatlan pitchers walked seven and Mexicali pitchers walked eleven.  You'd think eleven walks and nine hits would produce more than five runs, but Mazatlan stranded sixteen and went 1-for-13 with men in scoring position.  Mexicali, on the other hand, went 7-for-15 with men in scoring position.

Record:  Mazatlan is 6-11, tied for seventh, nine games behind Obregon.

Next game:  Mazatlan goes to Guasave (6-11) Tuesday night.

Keeping Track

Mazatlan Recap: Game Fourteen

OBREGON 2, MAZATLAN 1 IN MAZATLAN (11 INNINGS)

Batting stars:  Jose Augusto Figueroa was 3-for-5.  Anthony Giansanti was 2-for-4 with a double.  Edson Garcia was 2-for-5 with a double and a walk.  Ricardo Valenzuela was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Irwin Delgado struck out five in five innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks.  Ivan Zavala retired all four men he faced, striking out one.  Roberto Espinosa pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk and striking out one.  Ryan Newell pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Dallas Martinez pitched six innings, giving up one run on eight hits and a walk and striking out three.  Paulo Orlando was 2-for-4.  Sebastian Valle was 1-for-4 with a home run (his third) and two RBIs.  Fernando Sanchez pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.  Felipe Gonzalez struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up three hits.  Miguel Aguilar pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.

The game:  Alonso Gaitan led off the game with a double, went to third on a ground out, and scored on an error to put Obregon up 1-0.  Mazatlan tied it in the fourth on singles by Valenzuela, Carlos Munoz, and Figueroa.

And that's where it stayed until the eleventh inning.  Valle led off the inning with a home run, and that was that.  Obregon got men to first and second with two out in the bottom of the eleventh, but Garcia struck out to end the game.

WP:  Gonzalez (1-0).  LP:  Adolfo Ramirez (0-1).  S:  Aguilar (6).

Notes:  Figueroa is batting .571.  He also has all the vowels in his last name.  Italo Mota is batting .385.  Despite that, he was pinch-hit for by Jose Luna, who is batting .357.  Munoz is batting .320.  Giansanti is batting .300.

Delgado's ERA is 2.57.  Marco Antonio Rivas pitched two-thirds of an inning without giving up a run and has an ERA of 2.84.  Gabino Avalos hit the only batter he faced, but the man did not score, so his ERA remains zero.  Zavala's ERA is 3.00.  Espinosa has an ERA of 1.35.

Mazatlan stranded thirteen men and was 2-for-14 with men in scoring position.  Obregon stranded ten and was 1-for-13 with men in scoring position.

The plate umpire's name was Socrates Marin.  It seems like Socrates is a good name for an umpire to have.

Obregon has swept the series.

Record:  Mazatlan is 5-9, in seventh place, seven games behind Obregon.

Next game:  Mazatlan hosts tenth-place Mexicali (3-11).

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Twenty-eight

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MINNESOTA 11, BOSTON 7 IN BOSTON

Date:  Friday, May 2.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mohr raised his average to .178.

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

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

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

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

Keeping Track

Mazatlan Recap: Game Nine

CULIACAN 6, MAZATLAN 5 IN CULIACAN (12 INNINGS)

Batting stars:  Edson Garcia was 3-for-5 with a walk.  Anthony Giansanti was 3-for-6.  Ricardo Valenzuela was 2-for-5 with a double, a walk, and three RBIs.  Ramon Rios was 2-for-6.

Pitching stars:  Irwin Delgado pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk and striking out one.  Ivan Zavala pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Alejandro Soto struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.  Ryan Newell pitched a 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Joey Meneses was 3-for-5 with two RBis.  Jose Guadalupe Chavez was 2-for-4.  Efren Navarro was 2-for-6 with a two-run homer (his second) and a double.  Jesus Adrian Castillo struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.  Gonzalo Sanudo pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out one.  Gerardo Sanchez pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out one.  Evan Miller pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one.  Alberto Baldonado pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  Culiacan started the scoring in the first inning.  Johnny Davis singled, Ramiro Pena walked, and they pulled off a double steal to put men on second and third.  A pair of sacrifice flies made it 2-0.  In the second Chavez singled, an error put men on first and third, and another sacrifice fly made it 3-0 Culiacan.

Mazatlan came back in the third.  Diego Madera led off with a single and Garcia hit a one-out single.  Ramon Rios followed with another single to drive in a run and Carlos Munoz walked, loading the bases.  Ricky Alvarez was hit by a pitch to force home a run and Valenzuela walked to bring home another, tying the score 3-3.

It stayed 3-3 until the twelfth inning.  Apparently, in the Mexican League, the twelfth is when the "start with a man at second base" rule kicks in.  For Mazatlan, there was still a man on second with two out, but Randy Romero singled and Valenzuela hit a two-run double, putting Mazatlan up 5-3.  In the bottom of the twelfth, however, Meneses singled home a run and Navarro followed with a walkoff two-run homer, winning the game for Culiacan 6-5.

WP:  David Gutierrez (1-0).  LP:  Marco Antonio Rivas (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Valenzuela is batting .348.  Italo Mota is batting .333.  Carlos Munoz was 0-for-3 is batting .300.

Delgado has an ERA of 3.00.  Roberto Espinoza pitched two-thirds of an inning without giving up a run and also has an ERA of 3.00.  Newell has an ERA of 0.00.

Andres Ivan Meza started for Culiacan.  He pitched 2.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks and striking out one.

Culiacan had three sacrifice flies.  They were 1-for-12 with men in scoring position and stranded 11.  Mazatlan was 3-for-11 with men in scoring position and stranded 12.

The game took five hours and four minutes to play.

Record:  Mazatlan is 4-5, in sixth place, four games behind Obregon.

Next game:  Mazatlan is again at Culiacan tonight.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Twenty

KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Tuesday, April 22.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Luis Rivas was 1-for-3 with a home run, a hit-by-pitch, and two runs.

Pitching star:  Mike Fetters pitched two shutout innings, allowing only a hit batsman.

Opposition stars:  Runelvys Hernandez pitched 6.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and six walks and striking out three.  Angel Berroa was 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch.  Carlos Febles was 2-for-3.  Raul Ibanez was 2-for-4 with a double.  Joe Randa was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his fourth.

The game:  The Twins drew three walks in the second inning but left the bases loaded.  The Royals scored all their runs in the third.  Febles singled with one out, Tucker walked, and Randa hit a three-run homer.  It did not kill the rally, as Mike Sweeney drew a two-out walk and scored from first on a double by Ibanez.  Kansas City led 4-0.

The Twins got on the board in the fifth when Rivas led off with a home run.  They drew a pair of two-out walks in the inning, but could do nothing with them.  The Twins had men on first and second with two out in the seventh, but again failed to score.

The Twins tried to come back in the ninth.  Rivas was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Jacque Jones walked.  A pair of ground outs made the score 4-2 and put a man on third.  Corey Koskie walked and Hunter singled.  That cut the margin to 4-3, put the tying run on third, and put the go-ahead run on first.  The comeback was not to be, however, as Doug Mientkiewicz struck out to end the game.

WP:  Hernandez (4-0).  LP:  Kenny Rogers (2-1).  S:  Mike MacDougal (8).

Notes:  Bobby Kielty was in right field.  There were no substitutions in the lineup.

Kielty was 0-for-2 with three walks and was batting .340.  Jones was 0-for-4 with a walk and was batting .315.

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

Fetters kept his ERA at zero.

Rivas hit thirty-four home runs in his career.  That's not a lot, obviously, but it's more than I would've guessed.  He hit eight in 2003.  His career high was ten, in 2004.

As you can see above, the Twins left a lot of men on base.  They stranded twelve and went just 1-for-12 with men in scoring position.

Runelvys Hernandez was off to an awesome start in 2003.  At this point, after five starts, he had pitched 32.2 innings and had an ERA of 1.10.  For the month of April he was 4-0, 1.36.  His season fell apart after that.  He was 0-3, 5.89 in May; missed the month of June, was 1-1, 5.40 in July, and was 2-1, 10.57 in August.  As it turned out, he needed Tommy John surgery and was never a good pitcher again.  He missed all of 2004, was 8-14, 5.52 in 2005, and was 6-10, 6.48 in 2006.  He spent time in the Boston, Yankee, and Pittsburgh organizations in 2007.  He made four starts for Houston in 2008, going 0-3, 8.38.  He pitched in Korea in 2009, in Mexico in 2010, and played winter ball through 2013.  It's hard to know just how good he might have been if he hadn't been injured. He signed with the Royals in December of 1997, but b-r.com doesn't have minor league stats for him until 2001.  Presumably he was in foreign rookie leagues, like the Dominican Summer League, until then.  By 2001 he was twenty-three.  He pitched well in Class A that season and did well in AA as a twenty-four year old in 2002, but if he's got anything at all to recommend him he should do well at that level at that age.  My guess is that the one hot month he had was just that, a hot month, but we'll never know.  He did at least have the one hot month, though, which is one more than a lot of guys get.

The Twins had now lost five in a row.  There would be a rainout the next day, shortening this to a two-game series, so a loss in the next game would make the seventh consecutive series sweep the Twins had been involved in from the start of the season.

Record:  The Twins were 9-11, in third place in the American League Central, seven games behind Kansas City.