Tag Archives: hot streak

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-seven

WASHINGTON 3, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, June 17.

Batting star:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat struck out eight in eight innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks.  Bill Zepp pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  George Brunet struck out ten in eight innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks.  Tim Cullen was 2-for-4 with a stolen base.

The game:  Ed Stroud led off the game with a double, went to third on a fly ball, and scored on an error to give the Senators a 1-0 lead.  The Twins tied it in the second when Rick Renick singled, went to third on a Cardenas double, and scored on a ground out.

There was only one base runner in innings three through five, and that was on an error.  In the sixth, Washington went back into the lead.  Frank Howard walked, went to third on Rick Reichardt's single and scored on a ground out to make it 2-1.  They got an insurance run in the seventh.  Paul Casanova and Cullen singled and Brunet reached on an error to load the bases with none out.  All they got out of it was a sacrifice fly, but it made the score 3-1.

The Twins threatened in the eighth.  With one out Cesar Tovar doubled and Rod Carew followed with a bunt single, putting men on first and third with Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva coming up.  It looked good, but they both struck out and the inning ended.  All the Twins could get in the ninth was a two-out single by Cardenas.

WP:  Brunet (4-5).

LP:  Kaat (5-5).

S:  Darold Knowles (13).

Notes:  Renick was again at third base, with Killebrew moving to first.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Brant Alyea in the seventh inning and remained in the game in left field.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for Kaat in the eighth.

Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .364.  Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .329.  Killebrew was 0-for-2 and was batting .316.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.89.

In his last eleven games, Cardenas was 18-for-43 (.419).  He had raised his average from .260 to .292.

Brunet was near the end of a long career, and was not having a particularly good season.  His ERA after this game was 5.17.  This was his second-best start (by game scores) of the season, bested only by a game in mid-July.  He would be traded to Pittsburgh at the August deadline and pitched very well for them out of the bullpen in September.

After all the Senators players with Twins connections in yesterday's game, there were none in today's game.

The Twins would next go on an eleven-game road trip, going to Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Chicago.  Those teams were in fifth, sixth, and fourth place in the AL West, respectively.

Record:  The Twins were 38-19, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Twenty-nine

MINNESOTA 5, BALTIMORE 4 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Wednesday, May 13.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 4-for-5 with two runs.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a walk.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched three perfect innings.  Ron Perranoski pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and walking four.

Opposition stars:  Dou Buford was 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.  Boog Powell was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Paul Blair was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Brooks Robinson was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Frank Robinson was 2-for-5.

The game:  Each team scored two in the first.  For the Orioles, Mark Belanger walked, Frank Robinson singled, and Paul Blair hit a two-out two-run double.  For the Twins, Carew singled and Killebrew hit a two-out two-run homer.

Baltimore had a man on second in the third and again in the fourth but did not score.  They broke through in the fifth, though.  Buford and Belanger opened the inning with singles.  Frank Robinson followed with a single-plus-error, bringing home one run, and Powell had an RBI single to make it 4-2 Orioles.  The Twins came back in the sixth.  Singles by Carew and Killebrew and a walk to Rich Reese loaded the bases with one out.  A force out scored one run and Leo Cardenas had an RBI single to tie it.  The Twins missed a chance to take the lead when Jim Holt was thrown out trying to go from first to third on the hit.

Baltimore opened the eighth with two singles, but a line drive double play ended the threat.  They had a pair of two-out walks in the ninth and did not score.  In the tenth Powell walked, Brooks Robinson hit a one-out double, and Dave Johnson was intentionally walked, loading the bases.  Andy Etchebarren hit into a double play to end the inning.

The Twins had not gotten a man past first base since the sixth.  In the tenth, however, Cesar Tovar walked, Tony Oliva hit a one-out double, and Killebrew was intentionally walked, loading the bases.  Up to then, the Twins' tenth went exactly like the Orioles tenth.  The difference was that instead of hitting into a double play, Reese hit a double, bringing in the deciding run.

WP:  Perranoski (2-1).

LP:  Ed Watt (1-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Paul Ratliff caught in place of George Mitterwald.

Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Zepp in the seventh, with Dave Boswell pinch-running for Manuel.

Carew was batting .368.  Killebrew was batting .333.  Oliva was batting .331.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.08.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.75.

Holt was 0-for-4 and was batting .138.

Jim Kaat started and pitched four innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out two.  Baltimore starter Jim Palmer pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks and striking out four.

Each team turned three double plays.  For each team, one of them was a line drive double play.

Carew was 6-for-10.  Spoiler alert:  he would go on a tear for the next week or so.  We'll keep track of it.

Reese was 7-for-18, raising his average from .182 to .226.

I mentioned this once before, but Zepp was a key pitcher for the 1970 Twins.  He's pretty much forgotten now, because the Twins traded him after the season and because this was the only good year he had, but this was one of several games in which he was instrumental in the victory.

This was Perranoski's thirteenth appearance.  He pitched more than one inning in ten of them; exactly two innings in six of them; and more than two innings in three of them.

Record:  The Twins were 19-10, in second place in the American League West, one game behind California.

 

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Two

MINNESOTA 6, CLEVELAND 5 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Friday, July 25.

Batting stars:  Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.  Shannon Stewart was 3-for-5 with a double.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Eddie Guardado struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Milton Bradley was 3-for-4 with a double.  Ryan Ludwick was 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and two RBIs.  Coco Crisp was 2-for-5.

The game:  It was all Indians early.  In the first Crisp doubled, an error put men on first and third, and Bradley hit a two-run double to put Cleveland up 2-0.  In the second, Ben Broussard walked, went to second on a ground out, and scored on Crisp's single to make it 3-0.  In the third Bradley singled and scored from first on Ludwick's double to increase the lead to 4-0.

The Twins started coming back in the fourth.  Singles by Hunter, A. J. Pierzynski, and Jacque Jones loaded the bases with one out.  All the Twins could do, though, was score on a ground out to cut the lead to 4-1.  They scored again in the fifth, but again missed a chance to do more damage.  Cristian Guzman walked and scored on Stewart's double.  Luis Rivas walked and Mientkiewicz singled to again load the bases, this time with none out.  But again, all the Twins could do was score on a ground out, so they remained behind at 4-3.

Ludwick homered leading off the bottom of the sixth to make it 5-3.  In the seventh the first two Twins struck out, but Rivas walked and scored from first on a Mientkiewicz double and Hunter followed with an RBI single to tie it 5-5.

The Twins took their only lead in the ninth.  Guzman singled and stole second.  With two out Mientkiewicz came through with a double to make it 6-5 Twins.  The Indians went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

WP:  LaTroy Hawkins (8-2).  LP:  Danys Baez (0-7).  S:  Guardado (24).

Notes:  Denny Hocking was at third base in the continued absence of Corey Koskie.  Stewart was again in right and Morneau was again the DH.

Stewart raised his average to .310.  Jones was 1-for-4 and was also batting .310.

Kenny Rogers pitched six innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk and striking out four.  James Baldwin pitched two-thirds of an inning without giving up a run to make his ERA 2.35.  Hawkins retired both men he faced to make his ERA 2.55.

Jake Westbrook started for Cleveland.  He pitched 6.2 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out six.

Stewart was 15-for-27 in his last seven games.  He had three doubles, a home run, and four walks over that stretch.  He had also scored at least one run in each of those games.

This was Ludwick's first home run as an Indian.  He had hit one for Texas the year earlier, when he was up for a month.  He wouldn't get regular playing time in the majors until 2007, when he was St. Louis.  He ended with 154 major league homers, with a high of 37 in 2008.  That was the year he made his only all-star team and also won his only Silver Slugger award.  That year really stands out for him.  He batted .299/.375/.591, compared to career numbers of .260/.330/.451.  His next highest numbers in all those categories came in 2012, when he batted .275/.346/.531 with 26 homers.

Despite the chances they missed, the Twins stranded just seven and went 4-for-14 with men in scoring position.

The win moved the Twins back to .500.  Could they get above it this time?

Record:  The Twins were 51-51, in third place in the American League Central, 5.5 games behind Kansas City.  They were 1.5 games behind second-place Chicago.

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.