MINNESOTA 5, OAKLAND 4 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Sunday, October 6.

Batting stars:  Cristian Guzman was 3-for-5 with two doubles and a stolen base.  Michael Cuddyer was 2-for-2 with a walk.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-3.

Pitching stars:  Brad Radke pitched 6.2 innings, giving up one run on six hits and no walks and striking out four.  J. C. Romero pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Ray Durham was 3-for-5 with a home run and a stolen base.  Mark Mulder struck out nine in seven innings, giving up two runs on nine hits and a walk.  Mark Ellis was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer.

The game:  The Twins got on the board in the second, but missed a chance for more.  LeCroy opened the inning with a single and Torii Hunter doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  Doug Mientkiewicz lined to short, Cuddyer was intentionally walked, and A. J. PIerzynski popped up.  Denny Hocking singled in one run, but Jacque Jones fanned, leaving the Twins up by just 1-0.  They got another run in the third, as Guzman doubled and scored on a LeCroy single to make it 2-0.  The Athletics scored in the bottom of the third on a Durham homer, making it 2-1.  The Twins had men on second and third with one out in the fourth but did not score.  It stayed 2-1 all the way until the ninth inning.  Dustan Mohr led off the inning with a walk and Pierzynski homered to give the Twins a 4-1 lead.  With two out, Guzman got an infield single, stole second, and scored on David Ortiz' double to push the lead to 5-1.  The Twins needed every run.  Eddie Guardado came in to pitch the ninth.  Eric Chavez led off with a single.  Jermaine Dye popped up, but David Justice doubled and Ellis hit a three-run homer to cut the margin to just 5-4.  Terrence Long flied out, but Randy Velarde singled, bringing up the go-ahead run in Durham.  Durham fouled out to the second baseman to win the game for the Twins.

WP:  Radke.  LP:  Mulder.  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy started the game at DH.  Ortiz batted for him in the fourth inning.  The two combined to go 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.

Cuddyer again was in right field.  Mohr came in for defense in the eighth and, of course, got a key walk in the ninth.

Hocking started at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  He went 2-for-4 with a double.  He also caught Durham's foul popup for the last out of the game.  As you probably remember, he got his finger spiked in the celebratory dogpile after the game and missed the League Championship Series.

On a personal note, I was listening to the end of this game on the radio.  I was on my way to Rapid City, where the next day I would be arguing in front of the state Supreme Court for the first time.  As the bottom of the ninth wore on, and the Athletics came back to within one run and then brought the go-ahead run to the plate, I was prepared for the worst.  John Gordon was on the call.  Durham swung, and Gordo said, "There's a HIIIIIGH..." and I thought, "Oh, no, we've lost."  Then Gordo continued, "...pop up!"  And of course, Hocking caught the ball and the rest is history.

Record:  The Twins won the best-of-five series, three games to two.  They would next face the Anaheim Angels, who defeated the Yankees three games to one.

MINNESOTA 11, OAKLAND 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, September 5.

Batting stars:  Doug Mientkiewicz was 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.  David Ortiz was 2-for-3 with a double.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Eric Milton pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and one walk and striking out three.  Kyle Lohse struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Jermaine Dye was 3-for-3 with a double.  Miguel Tejada was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.  Scott Hatteberg was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

The game:  Tejada hit a two-run homer in the third to open the scoring.  The Twins came back in the bottom of the third.  A. J. Pierzynski led off with a single and Jacque Jones hit a one-out double.  Cristian Guzman grounded out to bring home the first run and Ortiz doubled to tie it 2-2.  The Twins then took control in the fourth with some help from the Athletics.  With men on first and second with one out, Luis Rivas reached on an error to give the Twins a 3-2 lead.  A wild pitch made it 4-2.  A hit batsman and another error increased the lead to 5-2 and Corey Koskie's RBI single made it 6-2.  Another run-scoring wild pitch made the score 7-2, and RBI double by Hunter made it 8-2, and a Mientkiewicz single made the score 9-2 through four innings.  Oakland put two on with one out in the sixth but did not score.  Mientkiewicz hit a two-run homer in the seventh to round out the scoring.  The Athletics had only one hit after the sixth inning.

WP:  Milton.  LP:  Tim Hudson.  S:  None.

Notes:  Cuddyer was again the right fielder, going 0-for-3.

Milton gave the Twins their first well-pitched game of the post-season.

Five of the Twins runs were unearned.

Hudson lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing seven runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks and striking out four.  He threw ninety pitches.

Record:  The best-of-five series was tied 2-2.

OAKLAND 6, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, October 4.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4 with a double.  A. J. Pierzynski was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in a perfect inning.  J. C. Romero pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Scott Hatteberg was 2-for-2 with a home run and a walk.  Terrence Long was 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk.  Ray Durham was 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk.

The game:  The Athletics opened the game with back-to-back home runs, with Durham's being of the inside-the-park variety, to take a 2-0 lead.  The Twins loaded the bases in the second on an error and two walks but did not score.  Long homered in the fourth to put Oakland up 3-0.  Pierzynski put the Twins on the board with an RBI single in the fourth. The Twins tied it in the fifth as Jones walked, Corey Koskie tripled, and Hunter singled.  The Athletics got another home run leading off the sixth, as Jermaine Dye went deep.  In the seventh, Durham walked and scored from first on a Randy Velarde double.  He scored on a sacrifice fly to put Oakland ahead 6-3.  The Twins did not get the tying run up to bat after that.

WP:  Barry Zito.  LP:  Reed.  S:  Billy Koch.

Notes:  Cuddyer was again the right fielder, going 1-for-4.

Rick Reed started and struck out eight in five innings, but gave up four runs (all on solo homers), six hits and two walks.

The Twins stranded nine runners and were 3-for-11 with men in scoring position.  Oakland stranded seven and went just 0-for-2 with men in scoring position.

Record:  Oakland took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

OAKLAND 9, MINNESOTA 1 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Wednesday, October 2.

Batting stars:  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4.  Dustan Mohr was 1-for-1 with a double.  Cristian Guzman was 1-for-3 with a home run.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Mark Mulder pitched six innings, giving up one run on five hits and two walks and striking out three.  Mark Ellis was 3-for-4 with a double.  Eric Chavez was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and a walk.

The game:  In the bottom of the first, Ray Durham walked, Scott Hatteberg doubled, and Chavez hit a three-run homer to give the Athletics a 3-0 lead.  Oakland loaded the bases in the third but did not score.  The Twins were not so lucky in the fourth.  The Athletics had a man on first and two out when Miguel Tejada hit an RBI double to make it 4-0.  An intentional walk and an accidental walk loaded the bases.  David Justice unloaded them with a triple, making it 7-0.  An Ellis double increased the lead to 8-0.  Hatteberg's RBI single in the sixth boosted the lead to 9-0.  Guzman got the Twins on the board with a home run leading off the sixth, but that was as good as it got.  Oakland cruised to the victory and evened the series 1-1.

WP:  Mulder.  LP:  Joe Mays.  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was the DH rather than David Ortiz.

Cuddyer was again in right field, going 0-for-1 with a walk.  He was replaced by pinch-hitter Bobby Kielty in the seventh inning.

Mays lasted 3.2 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits and two walks and striking out one.

I don't remember what people thought at the time, but Mays seems like a really odd choice to start Game Two.  Of the seven pitchers to start more than three games for the Twins in 2002, he had the worst ERA and was only better than Matt Kinney in FIP and WHIP.  He had pitched better in September than he had the rest of the season, but it's not like he was on a roll.  It's obviously easy to criticize a choice after the fact, but still.  You had weeks to get your rotation set up, you have Rick Reed and Johan Santana available, and you go with Joe Mays?  It seems strange.

Record:  The best-of-five series was tied 1-1.

MINNESOTA 7, OAKLAND 5 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Tuesday, October 1.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 4-for-4 with a triple.  Michael Cuddyer was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  J. C. Romero pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Ray Durham was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Eric Chavez was 2-for-5.  David Justice was 2-for-5.

The game:  A walk and an error put men on first and second with one out in the first for the Athletics.  Chavez then hit a single-plus-error that scored two runs, giving Oakland a 2-0 lead.  Justice delivered an RBI single that made it 3-0.  The Twins got on the board in the second on doubles by Torii Hunter and Cuddyer, but the Athletics scored two in the the bottom of the second to make it 5-1.  Their first two batters went out in that inning, but Durham doubled, Hatteberg singled him in, and error put men on first and third, and Chavez singled in a run.  So, through two innings, the Twins had made three errors and allowed four unearned runs.  Koskie hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 5-3.  The Twins opened the fourth with a walk and a single, but did not score.  Doug Mientkiewicz opened the sixth with a home run to cut the lead to 5-4.  With one out, Pierzynski and Luis Rivas singled and Jones doubled to tie it 5-5.  A walk loaded the bases and Koskie's grounder to first put the Twins ahead 6-5.  Oakland put men on first and second with one out in the sixth, but did not score.  With two out in the seventh, Cuddyer singled and scored on a Pierzynski triple to bring home an insurance run at 7-5.  With two out in the ninth, a single and a walk put two Athletics on with two out, but Guardado retired pinch-hitter Adam Piatt on a fly to left to end the game.

WP:  Brad Radke  LP:  Ted Lilly.  S:  Guardado.

Notes:  Ron Gardenhire made kind of a daring move by playing the rookie Cuddyer in right field, rather than Bobby Kielty or Dustan Mohr.  As you can see, it paid off.

It was also kind of a daring move to use Radke as the game one starter.  He'd had an injury plagued season and did not appear to be the best starter on the team that year.  He gave up five runs in five innings, but only one of the runs was earned.  He allowed eight hits and a walk and struck out three.  It's a matter of opinion whether it "paid off" or if they just got away with it, but either way, it worked out.

Oakland starter Tim Hudson did have a fine season, going 15-9, 2.98, 1.26 WHIP.  He was not really the best starter on his staff either, though--Barry Zito went 23-5, 2.75, 1.13.  Mark Mulder was just about as good, too.  The Athletics definitely appeared to have stronger starting pitchers than the Twins.  Still, in this game, Hudson pitched just 5.1 innings and gave up four runs on eight hits and two hits, striking out four.

Ted Lilly was primarily a starting pitcher throughout his career.  He did, however, make six relief appearances in 2002, including one for Oakland after his trade from the Yankees.  He pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk and struck out one.  Coincidentally, he was traded from Oakland to Toronto after the 2003 season for Bobby Kielty,

Record:  The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

MINNESOTA 3, CHICAGO 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, September 29.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 3-for-3 with two doubles.  Todd Sears was 2-for-2 with a double.  Bobby Kielty was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer, his twelfth.

Pitching stars:  Eric Milton struck out six in five shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk.  Rick Reed struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Bob Wells pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Jon Garland pitched seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits and a walk and striking out three.  Aaron Rowand was 2-for-4.  Willie Harris was 1-for-3 with a walk.

The game:  There was no score until the third, when Luis Rivas hit a two-out single and scored from first on Jones' double.  The White Sox nearly tied it in the fifth, but were thwarted when Aaron Rowand was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on an infield single.  They did tie it in the seventh, when Rowand scored on a double by Miguel Olivo.  The Twins started the bottom of the seventh with two singles but did not get the runners past first and second.  The first two Twins in the eighth were retired, but Matthew LeCroy walked and Kielty delivered a two-run homer to put the Twins up 3-1.  Joe Crede opened the ninth with a double, bringing the tying run up to bat.  The next two batters were retired, but a wild pitch and a walk put men on first and third.  Harris then struck out to end the game.

WP:  Bob Wells (2-1).  LP:  Mike Porzio (2-2).  S:  J. C. Romero (1).

Notes:  The Twins again treated this like a spring training game.  The only player to play the entire game was Michael Cuddyer, and he shifted from right field to third base in the fifth inning.

Jones raised his average to .300.

Sears ended the season at .333 (4-for-12).

A. J. Pierzynski was 0-for-2 and closed out his season at .300.

Michael Restovich was 0-for-1 and ended the season at .308 (4-for-13).

Reed made his only relief appearance of the season and his first since 1997.  Presumably he just wanted an inning to help stay sharp for the playoffs.

Eddie Guardado was held out of the game.  As shown above, Romero got his lone save of the season.

Record:  The Twins closed out the season 94-67, in first place, leading Chicago by 13.5 games.  They would take on Oakland in the American League Division Series.

MINNESOTA 3, CHICAGO 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, September 28.

Batting stars:  Michael Cuddyer was 3-for-3 with a double.  Bobby Kielty was 1-for-1 with a two-run homer, his eleventh.  Matthew LeCroy was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse struck out seven in five innings, giving up two unearned runs on three hits and four walks.  Johan Santana struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Mark Buehrle pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on ten hits and a walk and striking out seven.  Frank Thomas was 2-for-4.  D'Angelo Jimenez was 1-for-3 with two walks.

The game:  The White Sox put men on first and second with none out in the first and failed to score.  LeCroy singled home a run in the bottom of the first to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The Twins missed a chance to increase the lead in the second, opening the inning with two singles but not bringing them home.  In the fifth, an error and two walks loaded the bases and Maggilo Ordonez delivered a two-out two-run single to give Chicago a 2-1 lead.  The White Sox had men on first and second with one out in the sixth and did not score.  They had men on second and third in the seventh but again did not score.  The Twins had a similar failure in the bottom of the seventh, putting men on first and third with none out and not scoring.  In the eighth, Kielty came through with a two-out two-run homer to put the Twins up 3-2.  Chicago got a walk leading off the ninth but did not advance the runner past first base.

WP:  LaTroy Hawkins (6-0).  LP:  Mark Buehrle (19-12).  S:  Eddie Guardado (45).

Notes:  LeCroy was the DH in place of David Ortiz.  Ortiz came in to play first base later in the game and went 1-for-2 with a double.

Cuddyer was the right fielder.

A. J. PIerzynski was 1-for-2 to make his average .301.

Denny Hocking was the second baseman in place of Luis Rivas.  He moved to short later in the game, with David Lamb taking over at second.  Hocking was 0-for-2.

The Twins basically treated this like a spring training game.  The only players to play the entire game were Cuddyer, Hocking, and Corey Koskie.  Lohse came out after five innings, throwing 81 pitches.

The Twins won a bunch of games late in 2002, and that's reflected in the won-lost records of some of their relievers.  Tony Fiore was 10-3.  J. C. Romero was 9-2.  As shown above, LaTroy Hawkins was 6-0.

Santana got his ERA below three at 2.99.

Hawkins' ERA was 2.13.

Guardado pitched a scoreless inning to drop his ERA to 2.93.

Chicago stranded eleven runners and went 1-for-10 with men in scoring position.

While it was basically a meaningless game, one suspects the Twins may have taken some pleasure in denying Buehrle his twentieth win.

Record:  The Twins were 93-67, in first place, leading Chicago by 12.5 games.

MINNESOTA 3, CHICAGO 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, September 27.

Batting stars:  Luis Rivas was 2-for-3 with a stolen base, his ninth.  Corey Koskie was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifteenth.

Pitching stars:  Joe Mays pitched six innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk and striking out four.  Tony Fiore pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jon Rauch, who is tall, pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks and striking out four.  Jose Valentin was 2-for-4 with a double.  Aaron Rowand was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

The game:  The White Sox took the lead in the first inning, as Valentin doubled and scored on a Magglio Ordonez single.  Chicago put men on first and third with none out in the second but failed to increase their lead.  The Twins tied it in the sixth on three consecutive singles, the last a bunt single by Cristian Guzman that tied the score 1-1.  In the eighth, Koskie hit a two-out two-run homer to put the Twins up 3-1.  The White Sox had men on first and second with one out in the ninth, but Willie Harris popped up and Miguel Oliva fanned to end the game.

WP:  Fiore (10-3).  LP:  Gary Glover (7-8).  S:  Guardado (44).

Notes:  Jacque Jones returned to the lineup and to the leadoff spot, going 1-for-3.

A. J. Pierzynski was 0-for-2 to lower his average to .300.

The Twins used three different first basemen.  Doug Mientkiewicz started, Matthew LeCroy came in to start the sixth, and Todd Sears started the ninth.  There do not appear to be any injuries involved, and there were no pinch-hitters or pinch-runners.  One surmises that Mientkiewicz was simply being given half the game off, and that Sears was brought in for defense once the Twins got ahead.

Guardado lowered his ERA to 2.97.

This was Rauch's best game of the season, although it didn't have a lot of competition.  For 2002, his rookie year, he was 2-1, 6.59.  He was a starting pitcher until July of 2004, when the White Sox traded him to Montreal.  He made two starts for the Expos and one the next season for the Nationals, but was primarily a reliever after the trade.  For all of that time, however, he remained tall.

Record:  The Twins were 92-67, in first place, leading Chicago by 11.5 games.