Tag Archives: go for it

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-six

MINNESOTA 7, CALIFORNIA 5 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Tuesday, September 15.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-4 with a grand slam, his eleventh homer.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.  George Mitterwald was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Stan Williams struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk.  Ron Perranoski pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his twenty-first), a walk, and two runs.  Ken McMullen was 2-for-4.  Jay Johnstone was 2-for-4.  Greg Garrett struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Sandy Alomar led off the game with a walk and Fregosi hit a two-run homer, giving the Angels a quick 2-0 lead.  The Twins came back with one in the bottom of the first when Tovar singled and scored from first on a Tony Oliva double.  In the second, Mitterwald drew a one-out walk.  With two down Bill Zepp and Tovar walked and Cardenas hit a grand slam to give the Twins a 5-2 lead.

California came back.  In the third Tony Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, and with two out Johnstone and McMullen singled, bringing Gonzalez home and making the score 5-3.  In the fourth Doug Griffin singled, Roger Repoz reached on an error, Alomar singled to load the bases, and Gonzalez delivered a two-run single to tie it 5-5.  A double steal put men on second and third with still no one out, but Fregosi and Alex Johnson struck out and Johnstone lined to third to end the inning.

It stayed tied until the sixth.  With one out Brant Alyea walked, Mitterwald singled, and Charlie Manuel was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  Jim Holt then delivered a pinch-hit two-run single to put the Twins ahead 7-5.

The Angels managed just two singles after that, and each time the next batter grounded into a double play, giving the Twins a 7-5 win.

WP:  Williams (10-1).

LP:  Mel Queen (3-5).

S:  Perranoski (30).

Notes:  Frank Quilici was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Herman Hill pinch-ran for Alyea in the sixth, with Holt going in to play center and Tovar moving to left.  Manuel pinch-hit for Quilici in the sixth, with Danny Thompson pinch-running and then going to second base.

Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .319.  Williams had an ERA of 2.07.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.02.

Neither starting pitcher did well.  Zepp, who had pitched a complete game shutout last time out, lasted just three innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits and one walk and striking out two.  California starter Tom Bradley (probably not the one who became mayor of Los Angeles) also lasted three innings and also gave up five runs, allowing three hits and four walks and striking out one.

The Mel Queen who pitched in this game was the son of the Mel Queen who pitched in the 1940s and early '50s.  He is the brother-in-law of Jim Lonborg.  He also managed the Toronto Blue Jays briefly in 1997, something I had completely forgotten about.

It's interesting that, in the first game of a doubleheader, Bill Rigney used his two best relievers for three innings each.  He apparently really wanted to win this game and put the Angels in the rearview mirror.  It put them in a more difficult spot for game two, obviously, but they did win game one, and with a solid divisional lead, Rigney clearly considered that to be most important.

Record:  The Twins were 87-59, in first place in the American League West, nine games ahead of Oakland, which lost the first game of a doubleheader with Milwaukee 1-0.  The Twins' magic number was seven.

Keeping Track

2019 Recap: Game Thirty-five

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MINNESOTA 9, TORONTO 1 IN TORONTO

Date:  Wednesday, May 8.

Batting stars:  Jorge Polanco was 5-for-5 with a two-run homer (his seventh) and a double, scoring twice.  C. J. Cron was 4-for-5 with a two-run homer, his seventh.  Eddie Rosario was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirteenth), two runs, and three RBIs.  Jonathan Schoop was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his sixth.  Max Kepler was 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Gibson struck out eleven in six shutout innings, giving up two hits and one walk.  Ryne Harper pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.  Mike Morin pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.  Blake Parker pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Billy McKinney was 1-for-3 with a home run, his second.  Derek Law struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  The Twins threatened to take a big lead in the first inning.  Singles by Kepler and Polanco put men on first and third with none out.  A popup and an Eddie Rosario sacrifice fly put them up 1-0.  Cron singled and Marwin Gonzalez walked to load the bases, but Mitch Garver popped up, leaving the score 1-0.

It didn't matter.  In the second, Kepler walked and Polanco homered, making the score 3-0.  In the third, Rosario singled and Cron homered, and later in the inning Gonzalez singled and Schoop homered, making the score 7-0.  McKinney got the Blue Jays on the board with a home run in the fifth, but in the sixth Polanco doubled and Rosario homered to put the Twins ahead 9-1.

Other than the home run, the only time the Blue Jays got a man as far as second was the ninth, on a walk and a fielder's choice.  It was total dominance by Gibson and three relief pitchers.

WP:  Gibson (3-1).  LP:  Trent Thornton (0-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Garver was 1-for-5 and is batting .354.  Polanco is batting .344.  Harper has an ERA of 1.84.  Parker has an ERA of 1.54.  Morin's ERA is 3.00.

As you probably heard, Polanco is the first Twin to have more than one five-hit game in a season since Joe Mauer in 2010.

Four two-run homers in one game is probably not the record, but it would seem like it has to be at least within shouting distance of it.

Going into the Houston series a week and a half ago, I said that after the next ten games we'd have a better idea of how good the Twins are.  Well, they went 7-3 in those ten games.  Two of the losses were games started by Michael Pineda, and at that only one of them was a blowout--in the other, the Twins just ran into a really good pitcher they couldn't do much with, which happens to everybody sometimes.  It seems to me that we have to say this is a good baseball team.

That's not to say they're going to win the World Series.  I do think they're now the favorites to win the division, though.  They might not do it--it's a long season, and lots of things can happen (injuries, slumps, etc.).  But it's looking good now.  That's why I hope the front office is not willing to settle for just winning the division, and is looking for ways to improve the team so it can actually go somewhere in the playoffs.  Again, I say that not knowing what deals may be available to them.  I'm not advocating a move of the Ramos-for-Capps variety.  But I think they have a real chance this year, and you never know for sure how many of them you're going to get.  When you get one, I think you need to go for it.

Record:  The Twins are 23-12, first in the American League Central, four games ahead of Cleveland.

Projected record:  We're still on track for 150-12!

Keeping Track

2019 Recap: Game Twenty-eight

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MINNESOTA 6, HOUSTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, May 1.

Batting stars:  Nelson Cruz was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Jorge Polanco was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jonathan Schoop was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, his fifth.

Pitching star:  Martin Perez pitched eight shutout innings, giving up four hits and two walks and striking out seven.

Opposition star:  Jose Altuve was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  The Astros opened the game with a walk and a single, but a fly out and a double play ended the threat.  The Twins broke through in the third.  Mitch Garver was hit by a pitch and Schoop followed with a two-run homer.  It did not kill the rally, as Byron Buxton singled, stole second, went to third on a ground out, and scored on an infield hit by Polanco.  The Twins led 3-0 through three.

It went to 4-0 in the fifth.  Max Kepler hit a one-out double and scored when Cruz delivered a two-out single.  Meanwhile, Houston never got more than one man on base in innings two through eight.  Jake Marisnick singled and got as far as second base in the third.  Altuve doubled and got as far as third base in the sixth.

The Twins added two more in the eighth.  Doubles by Polanco and Cruz made it 5-0.  A fly ball moved Cruz to third and a sacrifice fly made it 6-0.  The Astros spoiled the shutout in the ninth, as Carlos Correa hit a one-out double and scored on a two-out single by Aledmys Diaz.  Diaz took second on defensive indifference and scored on a Tyler White single.  It was 6-2, and that was where it ended.

WP:  Perez (4-0).  LP:  Collin McHugh (3-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Garver was 0-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch and is batting .333.  Polanco is batting .327.  Cruz is batting. 305.

Perez obviously pitched an excellent game.  I'll be honest, I was not particularly thrilled when the Twins acquired him.  I saw a guy who had been mediocre to below since 2014, plus had injury problems, and I didn't see how he could help.  The Twins said they saw flaws they could fix.  I was very skeptical, because we've all heard that line or something similar many times.

It's only May, of course, and he's only made four starts.  But in those four starts, Perez has been everything you could hope for, if not more.  He's 3-0, 2.08, 1.08 WHIP.  He has 18 strikeouts and just 5 walks in 26 innings.  I don't expect him to do that all season, of course--he'd win the Cy Young Award easily if he did.  But if he can be a solid rotation starter all season, that's a big plus, and it looks like he can be.

With the Twins having the best record in the league, with a 2.5 game lead over Cleveland, with Corey Kluber fracturing his arm, with no one else in the division looking very good, I really think the Twins could be considered the favorite to win the division.  So the question becomes--is this a year the Twins should go for it?  Not make stupid moves that cripple the franchise for years, obviously.  But should they be aggressive?  Should they go out and try to acquire some players, even at the expense of giving up some possible minor league stars, in an attempt to win this year?

My answer is a qualified yes.  It's qualified by the fact that I have no idea what moves may be available to them and what the cost might actually be.  Yes, Keuchel and Kimbrel are still out there, but I have no idea what it would take to actually sign them.  I also have no idea who's available in trades and what the cost would be.  It's easy to say "Go trade for this guy and that guy", but as fans we really don't know whether this guy and that guy are even available, and if they are we don't know how much teams are demanding in order to get them.  I'm not advocating that we do a Ramos-for-Capps trade.  But I do think the Twins have a real chance, and you never know how many of them you're going to get.  I'd like to see them go for it.

Record:  The Twins are 18-10, first in the American League Central, 2.5 games ahead of Cleveland.

Projected record:  We're still on track for 152-10!