DETROIT 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN DETROIT

Date:  Saturday, April 27.

Batting stars:  Matthew LeCory was 2-for-4 with a double.  Brian Buchanan was 2-for-4.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-3 with a home run (his eighth) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Tony Fiore pitched four innings of relief, giving up one run on four hits and no walks with one strikeout.  Jack Cressend pitched a perfect inning of relief.

Opposition stars:  Nate Cornejo pitched a complete game, giving up one run on nine hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.  Bobby Higginson was 3-for-4 with a triple.  Randall Simon was 2-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.

The game:  In the first inning, Higginson had an RBI triple and scored on Simon's single to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.  Hunter hit a one-out homer in the second to cut the lead to 2-1, but Detroit scored two more in the third on Simon's two-run homer to make it 4-1.  The Twins left the bases loaded in the second and left two on in the third and fourth.  They stranded ten for the game and went 1-for-10 with men in scoring position.

WP:  Cornejo (1-2).  LP:  Matt Kinney (1-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was again at DH...Buchanan was in right field, replacing Dustan Mohr...Jay Canizaro got the start at second base and was 1-for-1 with a hit-by-pitch...Jacque Jones was 1-for-5 and was batting .330...Hunter dropped his average to .366...LeCroy raised his average to .348...Buchanan raised his average to .333...A. J. Pierzynski was 0-for-4 to make his average .319...Matt Kinney started and pitched just three innings, allowing four runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts...Fiore gave up his first run of the season in ten innings...This was the only complete game and the only win of the season for Cornejo.  He did pitch two complete games the next season, 2003.  In 2002 he would stay in the Tigers rotation through May 20, then was sent to AAA, coming back as a September call-up.  He would be in the rotation for all of 2003, but went 6-17, 4.67.  For his career, he was 12-29, 5.41 in 56 starts.  He wasn't all that good at AAA, either, going 13-8 but with a 4.24 ERA and a WHIP of 1.44.  But the Tigers had terrible teams then, and he'd been a first-round draft choice, so he got his shot.  He stayed in the Tigers organization through 2005, was in AAA with the White Sox in 2006, and then was done.

DETROIT 3, MINNESOTA 2 IN DETROIT (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, April 26.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 3-for-5 with a double.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4 with a double.  Denny Hocking was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Rick Reed pitched seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits and no walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Bobby Higginson was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.  Robert Fick was 2-for-5 with a home run, his second.  Jose Macias was 3-for-4.

The game:  RBI singles by Jones and LeCroy put the Twins up 2-0 in the third.  Higginson led off the fourth with a home run to cut the lead to 2-1.  The Twins opened the fifth with a double and a single but could not score.  The Tigers started the eighth with three singles, two of them bunt singles.  A double play brought home the tying run.  In the tenth, Jones got a one-out single, took second on a passed ball, and advanced to third on a ground out, but a pop fly ended the inning.  Fick led off the tenth with a home run to end the game.

WP:  Matt Anderson (2-1).  LP:  Bob Wells (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Cristian Guzman got a day off, with Hocking playing shortstop...LeCroy was again the DH...Jay Canizaro got the start at second base, going 1-for-4 with a double...Wells had come in to start the ninth with the score tied.  He had a 6.94 ERA.  Eddie Guardado did not pitch in this game...Future Twin Seth Greisinger started for Detroit and pitched five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts...Juan Acevedo perhaps should have been listed as an opposition star as well.  He struck out three in three shutout innings of relief, giving up just one hit and no walks...Robert Fick actually made the all-star team in 2002.  It's a selection that probably says more about the 2002 Tigers than it says about him--he hit .270/.331/.433 that season, respectable numbers but hardly numbers that scream all-star.  He did have a pretty good first half--.290/.352/.479 at the break--but again, not numbers that were astounding or anything.  One suspects Fick was the Tigers version of 1999 Ron Coomer.

Record:  The Twins were 14-9, in second place, a game behind Chicago.

MINNESOTA 6, TAMPA BAY 2 IN TAMPA BAY

Date:  Thursday, April 25.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 3-for-4 with a double.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-5.  Jacque Jones was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his fifth.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts.  J. C. Romero and Eddie Guardado each pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Tanyon Sturtze pitched eight innings, giving up one run on eight hits and a walk with five strikeouts.  Chris Gomez was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Russ Johnson was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his third.

The game:  Johnson delivered a two-out RBI single in the second to give the Devil Rays a 1-0 lead.  The Twins tied it in the fourth with two singles and a sacrifice fly by Matthew LeCroy.  Johnson came through again in the seventh, delivering another two-out RBI single to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead.  In the eighth, the Devil Rays got a leadoff single and a pair of two-out hit batsmen to load the bases, but Gomez popped up to end the inning.  Sturtze had silenced the Twins for eight innings, but he had thrown 114 pitches, so closer Esteban Yan came in to pitch the ninth.  He walked LeCroy, but pinch-runner Cristian Guzman was caught stealing.  It didn't hurt the Twins, however.  A walk and a single were followed by Pierzynski's single to tie the game.  Doug Mientkiewicz hit a pinch-hit two-run double to give the Twins the lead and Jones hit a two-run homer to provide some insurance.  Guardado came on in the ninth to close out the game.

WP:  Mike Jackson (1-0).  LP:  Yan (1-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Denny Hocking started at short, replacing Guzman.  He went 1-for-4 with a walk...LeCroy started at first base, replacing Mientkiewicz.  He was 0-for-2 with a walk...Bobby Kielty was the DH, going 1-for-3 with a walk...Jay Canizaro got the start at second base, going 1-for-3...After starting the year with two very bad starts, this was the second consecutive solid start for Lohse...Romero remained unscored upon in thirteen games (14 innings)...Jones' average dropped to .322...Hunter was batting .384...Dustan Mohr was 1-for-4 to make his average .355...Pierzynski raised his average to .359...Guardado's ERA fell to 1.64...Jackson pitched a third of an inning to make his ERA 1.08...2002 was the only year Tanyon Sturtze led the league in anything.  Unfortunately for him, what he led the league in was losses (18), hits allowed (271), earned runs allowed (129), and walks (89).  He also led the league in batters faced (2008).  Sturtze was in the majors for at least part of twelve seasons despite never having an ERA lower than 4.40, at least not in a season where he pitched more than six innings.  His career numbers are 40-44, 5.19, 1.53 WHIP.

Record:  The Twins were 14-8, in second place, a game behind Chicago.

TAMPA BAY 9, MINNESOTA 1 IN TAMPA BAY

Date:  Wednesday, April 24.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 1-for-3 with a home run, his seventh.  Matthew LeCroy was 1-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Jack Cressend and Mike Jackson each pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Ryan Rupe pitched seven shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk with five strikeouts.  Russ Johnson was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Jason Tyner was 2-for-4 with a walk.

The game:  There was no score until the third.  The Devil Rays loaded the bases with none out on a double and two walks.  Steve Cox then had an RBI single followed by a sacrifice fly to give Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead.  In the fifth, the Devil Rays put the game out of reach with seven runs.  Three singles opened the inning to produce two runs.  An error and a walk loaded the bases, and three more singles produced five more runs.  The Twins had only one hit through the first seven innings and three for the game.  They scored their lone run when Hunter led off the eighth with a home run.

WP:  Rupe (3-1).  LP:  Eric Milton (3-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  LeCroy was the DH in the continued absence of David Ortiz...Jay Canizaro got the call at second base, going 0-for-3 to drop his average to .138...Milton pitched 4.1 innings, allowing eight runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks with one strikeout.  His ERA went to 5.90...Jackson dropped his ERA to 1.13...Jacque Jones was 0-for-4 to make his average .329...LeCroy had his average drop to .308...Hunter's average went to .383...Dustan Mohr was 1-for-3 and was batting .362...A. J. Pierzynski was 0-for-3 to make his average .333...Tyner was batting .225...Chris Gomez was 1-for-4 to make his average .288...Brent Abernathy was 1-for-3 with a walk to raise his average to .265...Despite his excellent performance in this game, Rupe was, to put it bluntly, not a good pitcher.  In five seasons in the majors he had only one ERA below five, posting a 4.55 ERA in his rookie year of 1999.  In three of his five years his ERA was above six.  Even so, he made 89 appearances in the majors, 84 of them starts.  Part of the reason for that is that, of course, is that the Devil Rays weren't very good in those years.  Another part of it, though, is that every once in a while he'd put together a performance like this, giving Tampa Bay hope that perhaps he could do it consistently.  In his fifteen starts in 2002, he had two complete games and four game scores of 77 or higher.  Unfortunately, he also had three games in which he couldn't get past the fourth inning and six game scores of 36 or lower.  He appears to have been a pitcher who, in Bill James' phrase, pitched well just often enough to fool you into pitching him some more.  He left the Devil Rays after this season, made four appearances with Boston in 2003, and then his big league career was over.

Record:  The Twins were 13-8, in second place, a game behind Chicago.

TAMPA BAY 6, MINNESOTA 4 IN TAMPA BAY

Date:  Tuesday, April 23.

Batting stars:  A. J. Pierzynski was 3-for-4 with a triple and a double.  Dustan Mohr was 3-for-4 with a double.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 1-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Tony Fiore pitched 2.1 scoreless innings.  Jack Cressend and Bob Wells each pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Brent Abernathy was 2-for-4.  Randy Winn was 2-for-4.  Steve Cox was 1-for-4 with a home run.

The game:  Twins starter Brad Radke pitched a perfect first inning only to run into trouble in the second.  Pierzynski delivered an RBI triple in the top of the inning.  In the bottom half, with a man on first and two out, the Devil Rays (as they were then known) came up with four consecutive singles to score three runs.  Minnesota tied it in the third on a Mientkiewicz two-run double.  The tie didn't last long, as Cox opened the bottom of the third with a homer to put Tampa Bay up 4-3.  Winn delivered a two-out two-run single in the fourth to make it 6-3.  The Twins made it 6-4 in the seventh on Pierzynski's run-scoring single.  They threatened to tie in the ninth, as with two out Mohr singled and Pierzynski doubled, putting men on second and third.  That brought up Denny Hocking.  Without knowing what the bench options were at the time it's hard to second-guess the decision to allow him to bat, but Hocking was never a great batter and was off to a very slow start in 2002.  In any event, he grounded out to second to end the game.

WP:  Joe Kennedy (1-1).  LP:  Radke (2-2).  S:  Esteban Yan (4).

Notes:  Brian Buchanan was again the DH, going 0-for-3.  Hocking was the second baseman and was 0-for-4...Jacque Jones was 1-for-4 with a double and was batting .346...Torii Hunter was 0-for-4 to drop his average to .385...Mohr raised his average to .364...Pierzynski brought his average up to .351...Radke lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts...Fiore remained unscored upon in three appearances (6 innings).  This was the one good season he had, going 10-3, 3.18.  He even finished eighth in Rookie of the Year voting.  Unfortunately, he would only spend one more year in the big leagues...Three players in the Tampa Bay lineup would have Twins connections.  Jason Tyner (who oddly was not used as the DH) was 1-for-5.  Chris Gomez was 1-for-3 with a walk.  The other, of course, was Abernathy...Devil Rays starter Joe Kennedy pitched five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits and no walks with three strikeouts...My recollection was that Ben Grieve, who was 0-for-2 with two walks in this game, had flopped in Tampa Bay, but he really didn't.  He wasn't as good as he'd been in Oakland, but he was still a decent player in his first two seasons there (2001-02).

Record:  The Twins were 13-7, tied for first place with Chicago.

MINNESOTA 4, CLEVELAND 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, April 21.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, his fourth and fifth.  Tom Prince was 2-for-3 with a double.  Denny Hocking was 2-for-3 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Rick Reed pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  J. C. Romero pitched 1.2 scoreless innings.  Eddie Guardado pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Russell Branyan was 2-for-3.  Jim Thome was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.  Travis Fryman was 2-for-2 with two walks.

The game:  It was scoreless until the fourth, when an error preceded Thome's two-run homer.  The Twins got the run back and then some in the bottom of the fourth.  A walk, a single, and a bunt put men on second and third with one out.  Hocking delivered a two-run double to tie it and Jacque Jones followed with an RBI double to put Minnesota ahead 3-2.  Brian Buchanan hit a two-out homer in the fifth (his second) to give the Twins a 4-2 lead.  The Indians threatened in the ninth, getting a pair of singles to put men on first and second with two out, but Eddie Perez flied to right to end the game.

WP:  Reed (2-1).  LP:  Chuck Finley (1-2).  S:  Guardado (8).

Notes:  Buchanan was the DH for this game, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run...Prince was again used in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  It again paid off, and he was now batting .375 on the season...Hocking got the start at second base and raised his average to .172...Romero remained unscored upon in twelve appearances (13 innings)...Guardado made his tenth appearance in nineteen team games.  Everyday Eddie, indeed...Jones was 2-for-5 with a double and was batting .351...Doug Mientkiewicz was 0-for-3 with a walk and was batting .300...Hunter raised his average to .405...Buchanan was 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk and was batting .357...Dustan Mohr was 1-for-4 and was batting .333...Ex-Twin Matt Lawton was 0-for-3 with a walk and was batting .265...Thome was only batting .183...Finley started for Cleveland and struck out seven in six innings, but allowed four runs on ten hits and two walks.  A five-time all-star, he was in the last year of his career.  He didn't do a lot for the Indians in 2002, but he was traded to St. Louis in mid-July and pitched quite well in fourteen starts that helped the Cardinals reach the league championship series to give a nice ending to his playing career.

Record:  The Twins were 13-6, in first place, a half game ahead of Chicago.

MINNESOTA 6, CLEVELAND 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, April 20.

Batting stars:  Torii Hunter was 2-for-3 with a home run (his sixth), a walk, and a stolen base (his third).  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Matt Kinney pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  J. C. Romero and Eddie Guardado each pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Ricky Gutierrez was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Milton Bradley was 1-for-4 with a home run, his second.  Ricardo Rincon pitched two perfect innings.

The game:  Jay Canizaro delivered an RBI double in the second and Jacque Jones followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.  Hunter led off the fourth with a home run and Dustan Mohr doubled and scored later in the inning to make it 4-0.  Mientkiewicz homered in the fifth to push the lead to 5-0.  Bradley got the Indians on the board in the seventh with a home run and they got another run in the eighth on Gutierrez' run-scoring single.  Cleveland had the tying run up to bat with none out at that point, but Romero got a strikeout and two ground outs to end the inning.  Pierzynski singled home a run in the eighth and Guardado closed it out with a perfect ninth.

WP:  Kinney (1-0).  LP:  Ryan Drese (2-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Bobby Kielty was again the DH in place of David Ortiz, who was apparently injured.  He would not play again until May 13...Canizaro was 1-for-3 to raise his average to .154...This was Kinney's first start of the season.  He would be in the rotation until the end of June, then miss the rest of the season due to injury.  Three of his first four starts were quite good, but he struggled after that, ending the year with an ERA of 4.64 and a WHIP of 1.68...Drese started for Cleveland and pitched 5.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  Drese had done well in nine appearances for the Indians in 2001, but he would have only one good season in the majors (with Texas in 2004) and even that one wasn't that great...Mark Wohlers finished the game for Cleveland, giving up a run in a third of an inning.  Wohlers had been a fine relief pitcher for Atlanta from 1995-97, but this was his last year in the majors.  His strikeouts per nine innings, which had been as high as 12.5 in his heyday, were down to 5.8.  He wasn't terrible in 2002, but he certainly wasn't anywhere close to what he had been...The Indians had some interesting names in their bullpen, but they could've used more good pitchers.  In addition to Nagy, who we talked about yesterday, and Wohlers, they also had Dave Burba and Bob Wickman.  They appear to have been really just trying to piece things together.

Record:  The Twins were 12-6, in first place, a half game ahead of Chicago and Cleveland.

MINNESOTA 12, CLEVELAND 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, April 19.

Batting stars:  Tom Prince was 2-for-3 with two home runs and four RBIs.  Brian Buchanan was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.  Bobby Kielty was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits and no walks with six strikeouts.  Bob Wells pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Ellis Burks was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his third.  Matt Lawton was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Milton Bradley was 2-for-4.

The game:  Jacque Jones led off the first with a triple and scored on a ground out to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  It stayed 1-0 until the fourth, when Minnesota led off the inning with two singles and a walk, loading the bases.  Buchanan then delivered a three-run double and scored on Kielty's double to make it 5-0.  In the fifth the Twins really put it away, scoring six times.  Torii Hunter delivered an RBI double, Kielty had a two-run single-plus error, and Prince hit a three-run homer to make it 11-0.  The Indians got on the board in the seventh on Burks' two-run homer.  Prince homered again in the seventh to make it 12-2 and Wil Cordero had an RBI single in the ninth to round out the scoring.

WP:  Lohse (1-1).  LP:  C. C. Sabathia (2-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Buchanan was the DH in this game, with David Ortiz on the bench.  That decision worked out well...Tom Prince gave A. J. Pierzynski a day off behind the plate.  That worked out well, too...Jay Canizaro at second base did not work out so well.  He went 0-for-4 to drop his average to .130...Seven of the Twins' fourteen hits were for extra bases:  four doubles, a triple, and two home runs...It was the first good game for Lohse in three starts, dropping his ERA to 7.36...Charles Nagy pitched an inning of relief, giving up the second homer to Prince.  He was a pretty good pitcher at one time, making three all-star teams and twice finishing in the top six in Cy Young voting.  By this point, however, injuries had pretty much robbed him of his effectiveness.  This would be his last season with the Indians--he would make five appearances for San Diego in 2003 and then his career would be over...Sabathia lasted just 4.1 innings, giving up eight runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  This was Sabathia's second year, and while he wasn't yet what he would become he was still a pretty good pitcher.  He had finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2001 and finished 13-11, 4.37 in 2002.

Record:  The Twins were 11-6, in second place, a half game behind Cleveland.

MINNESOTA 4, KANSAS CITY 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, April 18.

Batting stars:  David Ortiz was 2-for-3.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-3 with a double.  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4 with a triple.

Pitching stars:  Eric Milton pitched 7.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Eddie Guardado struck out all three men he faced.

Opposition stars:  Brandon Berger was 2-for-3 with a double.  David McCarty was 1-for-3 with a home run.

The game:  There was no score until the fourth, when Koskie led off with a triple, scored on an Ortiz sacrifice fly, and Torii Hunter followed with a home run to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.  Milton held the Royals scoreless until the eighth, when McCarty hit a two-out solo homer to cut the Twins' lead to 2-1.  That drove Milton from the game at 109 pitches.  J. C. Romero got the last out of the eighth.  In the bottom of the eighth, Koskie had an RBI single, took second on the throw home, and scored on Ortiz' single to give Minnesota a 4-1 lead.  Guardado struck out the side in the ninth to end the game.

WP:  Milton (3-1).  LP:  Jeff Suppan (1-2).  S:  Guardado (7).

Notes:  Jay Canizaro was at second base and went 0-for-3.  His average fell to .158...Ortiz was at first base in this game, with Bobby Kielty at DH and Doug Mientkiewicz given the day off.  Mientkiewicz came in to play defense in the ninth...Suppan pitched 7.1 innings for Kansas City, giving up four runs on seven his and a walk with four strikeouts...Ex-Twin McCarty went 1-for-3...Hunter's home run was his fifth.

Record:  The Twins were 10-6, in third place, a game and a half behind Cleveland and a half game behind Chicago.