Game 162: Twins sweep KC to force tie breaker
October 4, 2009
Kansas City @ Minnesota (Game 3 of 3)
In what was supposed to be the last game of the Metrodome, the Twins easily defeated the Royals by a score of 13-4 to force a 1-game tie breaker between the Detroit Tigers at the Metrodome on Tuesday.
Delmon Young kept his hot bat going during the game and hit two home runs, however, his great hitting display was overshadowed by Jason Kubel, who hit a pair of 3-run home runs during the course of the game.
The first of Kubel’s home runs happened in the bottom of the first with two on and one out to give the Twins a quick 3-0 lead. Delmon Young would follow two batters later with a solo shot and the Twins were up by four.
In the third, Kubel would go at it again, this time with two on and no out, and send it flying over the wall in left field to make it a 7-0 ballgame.
The Royals were able to scrape together a run in the top half of the fourth inning as Alberto Callaspo and Mark Teahen would hit back-to-back doubles to break up the shutout. The Twins would quickly get that run back, though, as Young would hit his second solo homer of the night to make it 8-1 in favor of the Twins.
The Royals finally got to Carl Pavano in the sixth and scored a run off a triple from Callaspo. Pavano would retire the next two batters but give up a 2-run shot to Alex Gordon to cut the Twins lead in half.
Pavano would be taken out of the game after going 5 2/3 innings and giving up four runs off eight hits with seven strike outs and a walk. Bobby Keppel came in for relief and gave up back-to-back singles before Gardenhire pulled him for Ron Mahay.
Mahay pitched to one batter and put him on base by hitting him with a pitch and Gardenhire sent in Jon Rauch as Billy Butler was coming to the plate. With the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate, Rauch got Butler look at a fastball to end the inning.
From there, the Twins would go on a scoring spree and leave the Royals behind. They scored in the bottom half of the sixth on an RBI double from Orlando Cabrera and again in the seventh on an RBI double from Matt Tolbert.
The Twins scored three more times in the eighth, once off another RBI double from Cabrera, who would then score on a home run from Michael Cuddyer. It was Cuddyer’s 32nd home run of the season.
Francisco Liriano came in to close out the game in the ninth and gave up one single and retired three batters in 13 pitches.
The Detroit Tigers, who played an hour earlier than the Twins, also won their game against the Chicago White Sox, which leaves the two teams tied at the top of the AL Central. A tie breaker game will be played at the Metrodome on Tuesday afternoon with Scott Baker and Rick Porcello scheduled to start for both teams.
Attendance: 51,155
Tied for first
October 3, 2009
After the Twins split a four game series with the Detroit Tigers, the Twins had a very small chance of getting into the playoffs as they were down two games in the standings with three to play.
Two days later, things sure have changed.
The Twins have taken two games from perennial September spoilers, the Kansas City Royals, while the Tigers have lost a pair of games to the Chicago White Sox. Due to this, the Twins and the Tigers are tied at the top of the standings.
The final game for both teams are tomorrow afternoon and there are four possible scenarios that could play out. Two of them would put the Twins against the Tigers in a tie breaker game in the Metrodome on Tuesday. This would happen if both teams won or if both teams lost on Sunday.
If the Twins sweep the Royals and the Tigers are swept by the Sox, then the Twins would win the AL Central Division Title. If the Tigers win and the Twins lose their final game at the Metrodome, the Tigers would win their first Division Title in 22 years.
Three of the four possible scenarios would work in the Twins’ favor. If game 163 is needed, it would be at home where the Twins have been great this season. Plus, Tigers ace, Justin Verlander, is on the mound on Sunday which would mean he wouldn’t have be in line to face the Twins on Tuesday.
With the Tigers starting their game an hour earlier, you can bet there will be a lot of scoreboard watching during the game.
Judging by the season the Twins were having this year, who would have thought that it would all come down to the final day of the season before the winner for the AL Central would be decided? This is what makes baseball a great sport.
All I can say now is go Twins!
Game 161: Twins edge Royals to tie for first
October 3, 2009
Kansas City @ Minnesota (Game 2 of 3)
It wasn’t pretty the last time the Twins faced off against Zack Greinke, who gave up just a single run off seven hits with eight strike outs. That was at Kauffman Stadium, though, and this time it was at the Metrodome with the upper deck curtain raised to allow for more fans.
The extra fans must have helped as the Twins scored four runs of Greinke on their way to a 5-4 victory over the Royals. The victory, along with another Tiger loss, pulled the Twins into a tie for first place with one game left to go.
Nick Blackburn was opposite Greinke on the mound and went toe-to-toe with the Cy Young candidate by retiring the first 12 batters he faced. Blackburn then gave up back-to-back singles but pitched out of the inning without giving up any runs.
Greinke, on the other hand, was his stellar self on the mound and gave up two hits and two walks in the first five innings while striking out five. Greinke, though, would fall apart in the sixth and face all nine batters while giving up four runs.
Nick Punto started the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Denard Span. Orlando Cabrera grounded out but got Punto over to third and scored on a line drive single from Joe Mauer.
With two outs, Jason Kubel hit a ground rule double and Michael Cuddyer loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch. Delmon Young continued to hit a hot bat by knocking in three runs with a double to right field. Jose Morales would also single before Greinke got Matt Tolbert to line out to short.
The Royals would claw their way back into the game that was started when Mike Jacobs hit a solo home run to right in the seventh to make it a 4-1 ballgame. In the eighth, Miguel Olivo hit a ground rule double off Blackburn before being replaced by Jose Mijares.
Mijares would give up a home run to Alex Gordon, the first batter he faced, to make it a 4-3 game. Mijares gave up another single before being taken out of the game. Jon Rauch came to the mound and gave up a single before getting Mitch Maier to ground into a double play. A run would score, though, to tie the game at four.
It only took nine pitches in the bottom half of the eighth to break the tie, however, as Michael Cuddyer hit his 31st home run of the season to left field. Joe Nathan came out in the ninth and retired the side with two strike outs and a ground out to extend the Twins team save record to 47.
Attendance: 48,644
Game 160: Young hits grand slam in Twins victory
October 2, 2009
Kansas City @ Minnesota (Game 1 of 3)
It is the last series at the Metrodome and the Twins are bringing out the fireworks early as they put up 10 runs on the Royals, including a grand slam from Delmon Young in the first inning, as they defeated the Royals by a score of 10-7. The Tigers also lost to the White Sox at home to bring the Twins within a game of first place.
The Twins would connect with three singles in a row to make it a 1-0 game and Michael Cuddyer took a free pass to load the bases. Delmon Young then sent a ball over the wall in left center field for his first career grand slam and made it a 5-0 ballgame in the first inning.
The Twins would tack on another pair of runs in the second when Cuddyer would draw another walk, this time with the bases loaded, to make it 6-0. Young hit into a force out but another run would score to make it 7-0.
In the fourth inning, Jason Kubel hit a solo shot to right field to extend the lead to eight. With two on and no out, Brendan Harris hit a double to score Cuddyer and Matt Tolbert followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 10-0 in favor of the Twins.
Jeff Manship, who pitched with the lead for the most part, worked through the Royals line up in the first four innings with relative ease giving up four singles and picking up three strike outs. He started to show signs of trouble in the fifth inning, though.
Manship would give up a pair of runs in the fifth that was started by a one out double from Alex Gordon. Two singles and a passed ball later it was a 10-2 ballgame. The rough inning would carry over to the sixth where he would give up a single and a walk before being taken out of the game.
Jesse Crain relieved Manship and struck out the first batter he faced before giving up a walk and a single to knock in two more runs. Crain would get credit for 1/3 of an inning before being replaced by Ron Mahay, who gave up a single to his former teammate, Josh Anderson, to score a run and cut the Twins lead in half.
Bobby Keppel pitched in the seventh and into the eighth where he gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning. Jose Mijares came in and loaded the bases after hitting Luis Hernandez with a pitch but picked up the first out of the inning by striking out Josh Anderson. Mitch Maier followed with a 2-run single and Matt Guerrier was sent to the mound, who retired the next two batters on seven pitches.
With a 10 run lead cut down to a three run lead, the Twins sent Joe Nathan out to the mound and retired two batters with strike outs while getting Alex Gordon to pop out to Matt Tolbert in foul territory to end the game.
By picking up the save, Joe Nathan set a team record with his 46th save of the season.
Attendance: 40,223
Game 159: Twins split series with Tigers
October 1, 2009
Minnesota @ Detroit (Game 4 of 4)
The Twins made sure that there would be no celebration in Detroit as they beat the Tigers 8-3 to split the series. The Twins fought to battle another day, however, there was no cause for celebration on the behalf either.
The Tiger took an early 1-0 lead in the second after a fielding error by Delmon Young allowed Marcus Thames to get to second base on a base hit to left field. Thames advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a single from Gerald Laird.
The lead for the Tigers wouldn’t last long, though, as the Twins fired back in the top of the third when Joe Mauer hit a single to center that scored Nick Punto. Michael Cuddyer followed with a single that scored Denard Span and Jason Kubel hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 in favor of the Twins.
With the lead in hand, Scott Baker labored on the mound but cut through the Tigers line up in the third and even pitch out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth to retain a 4-1 lead.
Tempers would start to flare, however, after Marcus Thames was hit by a pitch in the fourth and slide hard into Orlando Cabrera on a ground out from Brandon Inge. Baker came up and in to Thames once again in the fifth, which got a glare from Thames, who then proceeded to stare at the next pitch for strike three.
Baker would be taken out of the game after five innings and giving up one run, which was not earned, off five hits with three strike outs and three walks. The bullpen would take over and hold the three run lead before the Twins opened the game up in the top of the eighth.
The Twins loaded the bases with two out in the eighth before Orlando Cabrera hit a base clearing double to left field. Cabrera then scored on a single from Mauer to make it a 8-1 ballgame.
The Tigers also had a two out rally in the bottom half of the inning when Carlos Guillen scored on a fielding error from Matt Tolbert. Jose Mijares would come in to relief Matt Guerrier and apparently did not like the fact that Gerald Laird stole second base on him so he threw at Adam Everett. Laird would eventually score on a single from Curtis Granderson to make it a 8-3 game.
As it is in baseball, Delmon Young was plunked on the first pitch from Jeremy Bonderman in the ninth, which got Bonderman ejected, as a livid Delmon Young pointed and yelled at his own dugout. By that time, though, the game was pretty much over as the Twins held on to the lead to beat the Tigers.
The Twins committed four errors during the game, although they only gave up three runs. The Tigers had three ejections during the game with home plate umpire, Angel Hernandez, ejecting Jim Leyland, Gerald Laird and Jeremy Bonderman throughout the course of the game.
Attendance: 40,533 (Comerica Park)
