Tag Archives: streaks

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2005, Game Twenty-four

LOS ANGELES 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, May 1.

Batting star:  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second.

PItching stars:  Johan Santana pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks and striking out seven.  Juan Rincon pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Bartolo Colon pitched 7.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and no walks and striking out seven.  Vladimir Guerrero was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.  Jose Molina was 1-for-3 with a home run.

The game:  There were no hits on either side until the fourth, when Guerrero hit a two-out home run to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.  The Twins got their first hit in the fifth when Stewart led off with a single, but nothing came of it.  Molina led off the sixth with a home run to make it 2-0.

The Twins threatened in the eighth.  With one out, Jacque Jones singled, Michael Cuddyer singled, and pinch-hitter Joe Mauer walked, loading the bases.  PInch-hitter Matthew LeCroy hit into a double play, and the inning was over.  The Twins got on the board when Stewart led off the ninth with a home run, but the next three batters went out and the game was over.

WP:  Colon (4-2).  LP:  Santana (4-1).  S:  Francisco Rodriguez (6).

Notes:  Mike Redmond was behind the plate in place of Joe Mauer.

Luis Rivas was at second base.  He was still the regular second baseman at this point, but was about at the end of the run.  By the end of the season, Nick Punto would be the regular second baseman.

Juan Castro was at shortstop.  He did end up playing the most games there, 73, but by the end of the season would be replaced by Jason Bartlett.

Lewwwwww Ford was in right field, with Jones moving to DH.  LeCroy and Ford did most of the DHing in 2005, playing 63 and 44 games there, respectively.

Justin Morneau was batting .400.  He would finish at .239.  This was his first full season.  Jones was batting .352--he would finish at .249.  Mauer was batting .304--he would finish at .294, which led the team.  LeCroy was batting .302--he would finish at .260.  The Twins batted .259, which was next-to-last in the league.  Boston led at .281.

Jones led in home runs with 23, with Morneau right behind at 22.  LeCroy hit 17, Torii Hunter 14, Cuddyer 12, and Stewart 10.  The Twins hit 134 home runs, which was twelfth in the league.  Texas led with 260, well ahead of second-place New York at 229.

Santana was the clear ace of the staff, going 16-7, 2.87.  Carlos Silva was 9-8, 3.44--this was the year he walked an incredible 9 batters in 188.1 innings.  Two of the walks were intentional, so you could say he really only walked 7.  Brad Radke was 9-12, 4.04 and Kyle Lohse was 9-13, 4.18.  The weak link was Joe Mays, who was 6-10, 5.65.  The Twins kept him in the rotation until September, when he finally replaced by rookie Scott Baker.

The Twins had an excellent bullpen.  Joe Nathan was 7-4, 2.70, 43 saves.  The team's only other save went to Jesse Crain, who was 12-5, 2.71.  Juan Rincon was 6-6, 2.45 and J. C. Romero was 4-3, 3.47.  Matt Guerrier also contributed, going 0-3, 3.39.

The Twins were fifth in the league in ERA at 3.71.  Cleveland led at 3.61.  The Twins were second in WHIP at 1.23, just behind Cleveland's 1.22.

I wonder what the record is for most runs in a game where all the runs came by solo home runs.  I don't suppose this is all that close, but it would be interesting to know.

This loss snapped a five-game winning streak.  They would lose two more, then win the next four.

Record:  The Twins were 15-9, in second place in the American League Central, 2.5 games behind Chicago.  They would finish 83-79, in third place, 16 games behind Chicago.

The Angels were 14-11, in first place in the American League West, one game ahead of Oakland.  They would finish 95-67, in first place, seven games ahead of Oakland.

Rewind record:  The Twins are 55-50 in Random Rewind games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Thirty-two

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MINNESOTA 5, MILWAUKEE 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, May 14.

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 3-for-4 with two runs.  Chili Davis was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his eighth) and two runs.  Brian Harper was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5 with a double.

Pitching star:  Jack Morris pitched a complete game, giving up one run on two hits and two walks and striking out seven.

Opposition star:  Jim Gantner was 2-for-4 with two doubles.

The game:  The Twins got a couple of two-out singles in the first, but nothing came of them.  Gantner hit a one-out double in the fourth but did not move past second.  Gladden hit a two-out double in the fifth and was stranded.  So we remained scoreless into the sixth.

And then we were not scoreless any more.  Hrbek singled and Davis followed with a two-run homer.  It did not kill the rally, as Pedro Munoz had a two-out single and scored on a double by Mike Pagliarulo.  

The Brewers got on the board in the seventh when Gantner led off with a double and scored on a pair of ground outs.  The Twins got the run back with interest in the bottom of the seventh.  With two out, Hrbek singled, Davis reached on an error, and Harper hit a two-run double to make the scored 5-1.  That's where it stayed, as Milwaukee did not get a hit after Gantner's seventh-inning double.

WP:  Morris (3-4).  LP:  Jaime Navarro (2-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Munoz was the right fielder.  Other than that, it was the standard Twins lineup.  Randy Bush pinch-hit for Munoz in the seventh, with Shane Mack going to right for defense.  Al Newman went in for defense in the ninth to replace Pagliarulo.

Harper raised his average to .383.  Chuck Knoblauch was 1-for-5 and was batting .331.  Davis raised his average to .324.  Puckett was 1-for-5 and was batting .309.

Bush was 0-for-1 and was batting .195.

Harper was 12-for-20 with three doubles in his last five games.  Davis was 6-for-11 with three home runs in his last three games.

Morris got his ERA down to 5.04.  That was the lowest it had been all season.

The Twins had won four in a row and seven of nine.

Milwaukee starter Navarro pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out three.  1991 was his first full season, although he had been with the Brewers for most of 1990.  He was good in 1991, but his best season was probably 1992, when he went 17-12, 3.33, 1.17 WHIP.  He then struggled for a couple of seasons and became a free agent after 1994, signing with the Cubs.  He had two excellent seasons with the Cubs, going 29-18, 3.62, 1.30 WHIP.  He then signed with the White Sox and had three awful years.  He was 25-43, 6.06, 1.69 WHIP.  Amazingly, he stayed in the rotation all three of those seasons, making 87 starts.  He ended his major league career in 2000, playing for Milwaukee and Cleveland, but continued to play in the minors, in independent ball, in Mexico, and in Italy through 2006.  He has been involved in coaching since then, and is currently the pitching coach of Monclova in the Mexican League.

Record:  The Twins were 17-15, third in the American League West, 1.5 games behind Oakland.  They were one game behind second-place Seattle.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Eighteen

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MINNESOTA 7, SEATTLE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, April 27.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs.  Gene Larkin was 2-for-4 with a double.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-5.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his second) and a walk.  Brian Harper was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his second.

Pitching stars:  Kevin Tapani pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks and striking out four.  Larry Casian pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Ken Griffey, Jr. was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and two runs.  Edgar Martinez was 1-for-2 with two walks.

The game:  Griffey, Jr. homered in the top of the first to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead.  The Twins came back in the bottom of the first, as Gladden led off with a single and Hrbek hit a two-out two-run homer to give the Twins a 2-1 advantage.

It stayed there until the bottom of the fifth.  A couple of Twins threats failed to bear fruit--they loaded the bases in the second and had two on in the third--but in the fifth Chili Davis drew a two-out walk followed by Harper's two-run homer to make the score 4-1.  Seattle got one back in the fifth on consecutive two-out singles by Griffey, Jr., Martinez, and Alvin Davis to make it 4-2.

The Twins put it away in the eighth.  Greg Gagne singled and Larkin reached on an error.  A bunt moved the runners up, Gladden singled one home, and Knoblauch singled home another.  Gladden was then picked off third, but the pitcher threw the ball away and he came in to score the last run of the game.

WP:  Tapani (2-0).  LP:  Brian Holman (2-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Larkin was back in right field, with Kirby Puckett in center and Shane Mack on the bench.  Mack again entered the game for defense and went to center, with Puckett moving to right.  Al Newman started at shortstop in place of Gagne.  Gagne pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the eighth and stayed in the game at short, with Newman moving to third.

Larkin was batting .400.  Harper was batting .349.  Puckett was 1-for-5 and was batting .342.  Knoblauch went up to .338.  Tapani had an ERA of 2.10.

Hrbek raised his average to .172.  Newman was 0-for-3 and was batting .176.  Gladden raised his average to .180.  After hitting a low of .032, he has gone 10-for-30 in the next seven games.

Holman went six innings, giving up four runs on seven his and six walks.  He struck out two.  The low number of strikeouts and the high number of walks in recent games has really been striking.

The Twins had won four in a row and six of seven.  After being swept in a three-game series in Seattle, they were now on the verge of sweeping the Mariners in a four-game series in Minnesota.

This was the period in which Ken Griffey, Sr. and Ken Griffey, Jr. were both in the outfield for Seattle.  Senior has been batting second and playing left, while Junior has batted third and played center.

Sorry I haven't done any player profiles lately.  I just haven't had the time.  I hope I can get back to it in a week or so.  I don't know how much anyone else enjoys them, but they're fun for me to do.

Record:  The Twins were 8-10, tied for sixth in the American League West, 3.5 games behind the White Sox.  They were one game behind California, Kansas City, and Texas, who were all tied for third.

Keeping Track

2019 Recap: Game Eighty-five

MINNESOTA 4, OAKLAND 3 IN OAKLAND (12 INNINGS)

Date:  Wednesday, July 3.

Batting stars:  Luis Arraez was 3-for-5.  Mitch Garver was 2-for-6.  Jorge Polanco was 1-for-5 with a home run, his twelfth.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Gibson pitched six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks and striking out five.  Zack Littell pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Ryne Harper struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Tyler Duffey pitched a perfect inning.  Blake Parker struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and two walks.  Taylor Rogers struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Mike Fiers pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and no walks and striking out four.  Ramon Laureano was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his fourteenth) and a walk.  Robbie Grossman was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Liam Hendriks struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Khris Davis reached on an error to start the bottom of the second.  Mark Canha walked and Laureano hit a three-run homer, and that quickly the Athletics led 3-0.  Oakland had chances to add to their lead, but could not take advantage of them.  Marcus Semien opened the third with a double but did not score.  Laureano and Grossman led off the fourth with singles but a force out and a double play ended the inning.  Still, the Athletics led 3-0 through five.

The Twins then pecked away, as Dazzle likes to say.  Singles by Jonathan Schoop, Max Kepler, and Garver produced a run in the sixth.  Singles by Arraez and Ehire Adrianza were followed by an error to make the score 3-2.  Polanco hit a two-out homer in the eighth to tie it 3-3.

Each team missed chances in the extra frames.  Oakland started the tenth with two walks but did not score.  The Twins had men on first and third with one out in the eleventh and did not score.  The Twins broke through in the twelfth, though.  Byron Buxton and Kepler drew one-out walks and Garver followed with an RBI single to give the Twins their first lead at 4-3.  A double play took them out of the inning.  Would the lead hold up?

Obviously it did, but the Athletics made it interesting.  Matt Chapman reached on an error to start the inning.  With one out, Jurickson Profar singled, sending Chapman to third, but Profar was thrown out trying to make second, so there were two down with the tying run ninety feet away.  He stayed there, as Canha struck out to end the game.

WP:  Parker (1-2).  LP:  Blake Treinen (2-3).  S:  Rogers (11).

Notes:  Arraez is now batting .431 in sixty-five at-bats.  I wonder what the record is for highest batting average in your first sixty-five at-bats.  Polanco is down to .318.  Harper has an ERA of 2.88.  Duffey is at 2.33.  Rogers' ERA is 1.93.

Arraez was in left field, and while I still don't like playing infielders in the outfield I gather he's done okay there.  Of course, you'll put up with less defense from a guy who bats .431.  Adrianza was at shortstop, with Polanco the DH and Nelson Cruz out of the lineup.

In the second inning, I don't think many people would've predicted that Gibson would get through six without giving up any more runs.  He didn't exactly dominate, but he got by.  The Much Maligned Bullpen came through with six shutout innings, although they didn't exactly dominate, either.  The Oaklands went 1-for-15 with men in scoring position.

I am pleased to see Liam Hendriks pitching well.  I still feel like the Twins didn't give him much of a chance, although I have to admit that he didn't do much with the chances they did give him.  When the Twins waived him after the 2013 season, I doubt that anyone in the front office thought he'd still be pitching in 2019, but here he is.  Good for him.

The Twins made two more errors last night.  I don't have time to go back and count, but they've made an awful lot of errors in recent weeks.  I don't know what happened to that excellent defensive team we had the first couple of months of the season, but I sure wish they'd come back.  Injuries have played a part, of course, but that's not a complete excuse.

The Twins still managed to avoid losing three games in a row.  Of course, it's been about three weeks since they won three in a row.  It would sure be nice to see them put together a little winning streak here before the all-star break.

Record:  The Twins are 54-31, first in the American League Central, seven games ahead of Cleveland.

Projected record:  We're still on track for 131-31!