Game 69: Pavano gives Twins a full game
June 20, 2010
Minnesota @ Philadelphia (Game 3 of 3)
Summary
With two poor starts from Minnesota’s starting pitching and a bullpen stretched, Carl Pavano delivered just what the doctor ordered. A full game.
Matched up against Philadelphia ace Roy Halladay, Pavano bested the six time all star in a great pitching duel.
Batting
Denard Span and Justin Morneau both were 2-for-4 on the day. Span hit a home run (2) in the 5th inning and had an RBI and a run scored. Morneau hit a home run (15) in the 8th inning and scored 2 runs with and an RBI.
Jason Kubel was another notable that was 2-for-4 and an RBI.
Pitching
Carl Pavano was outstanding this outing. The right hander went 9 innings with 105 pitches. He gave up 1 run on 4 hits and 2 K’s. The win improves his record to 8-6 and brings his ERA down to 3.64.
The nine innings was a blessing for the bullpen who has put in some extra work with the last two starts only pitching 3.1 innings in the 2 games.
Notes
Minnesota moves to Milwaukee for three games against the Brewers starting Tuesday.
The Twins improve to 40-29 while the Phillies fall to 35-32.
Attendance
45,202 (Citizens Bank Park)
Game 68: Twins overcome huge deficit to get win
June 19, 2010
Minnesota @ Philadelphia (Game 2 of 3)
Summary
If you stuck around for this game, you were in for a gem. The game got out of hand for the Twins right after the first inning. Kevin Slowey came out after only 1.2 innings and Minnesota was behind 3-8 to start the 4th inning.
Minnesota was able to cut the lead to 4-8 in the top of the 6th off of a Jim Thome solo home run, but the team gave up another run in the bottom of 7th to drop them back by 5 runs again at 4-9.
If you still had not turned off your television set, radio or internet connection, you were in for a great treat. Top of the 9th down by 5 runs, the Twins do the impossible and tie the game.
Things looked even better when Drew Butera came in to pinch hit for Matt Guerrier at the top of the 10th inning and on a 1-1 count, hits a 90 MPH 2-seam fastball for his first major league home run and put the Twins up 10-9.
Jon Rauch came in and takes care of the next two batters with 3 pitches, but falls behind Ross Gload with 3 balls. Looking for a fast ball Gload crushes the 5th pitch for a line drive home run to right field. Philadelphia has tied the game and Rauch has blown his 3rd save of the year.
Enter the 11th inning and the Twins take over. With 1 out, Joe Mauer walks. With Rauch following Justin Morneau, Philadelphia decides to walk Morneau to get to Rauch. Rauch lays down a sacrifice bunt to move Morneau and Mauer to 2nd and 3rd base respectively.
With 2 outs, Philadelphia elects to pitch to Delmon Young instead of walking him to get to Matt Tolbert. The decision is costly as Delmon Young singles on a ground ball to short, scoring Mauer and moving Morneau to 3rd.
Matt Tolbert follows that up with a double to score Morneau from 3rd and Young from 1st. Tolbert is thown out trying to take third.
Rauch gets the first two batters before giving up a double to Chase Utley. Rauch has to deal with the very hot Ryan Howard and able to strike him out for the win 13-10.
Batting
The Twins were able to get 15 hits off of the Philies. Delmon Young had the biggest hits of the night, going 3-for-6 with 2 RBI’s, 2 runs.
Joe Mauer had his moment as well. The MVP stuggled at the plate until the 9th inning when with 2 out and a runner on, he hit his 3rd home run of the season and tied the game. He finished the game 1-for-5 with 2 RBI’s and 2 runs scored.
Denard Span was 2-for-5 with an RBI and 2 runs, Justin Morneau was 2-5 with 3 RBI’s, 3 runs, and 1 HR (14), and Nick Punto was 2-for 3 with a run scored.
Drew Butera was 1-for-1 with what should have been the game winning home run in the 10th.
Pitching
Kevin Slowey was just awful in his 1.2 innings pitched. It marked the 2nd straight game in which the Minnesota starting pitching was unable to even go 2 innings.
Slowey gave up 7 runs on 7 hits including 2 home runs. He did get 2 K’s but also gave up 1 HR. He pushed his ERA to 4.58.
The combination of Jeff Manship, Brian Duensing and Matt Guerrier was exactly what the Twins needed in an already worn bullpen. They gave up 2 runs on 5 hits with 6 K’s and 1 BB.
Jon Rauch on the other hand came in and blew his 3rd save of the season. He made quick work of the first two batters, but fell behind the pinch hitter and ended up paying for it, giving up the tying run.
Rauch gave up 1 run on 2 hits and had 1 K. With the win, Rauch is now 2-1 on the season.
Notes
Drew Butera surprised many with a solo shot in the 10th inning for his first home run. The celebration was short lived though as Rauch was unable to secure the save.
Twins starting pitching has struggled, so it is important for Carl Pavano to continue to eat up innings as he has done all season to give the bullpen a break.
The Twins move to 39-29 while the Phillies falls to 35-31.
Attendance
45,254 (Citizens Bank Park)
Game 67: Twins fall behind early to Phillies
June 18, 2010
Minnesota @ Philadelphia (Game 1 of 3)
Summary
Minnesota fell behind Philadelphia early in the first two innings 0-8 and were unable to get much going until they reached the bullpen. By then it was too late and they ended up falling 5-9 to the Phillies in the series opener.
Batting
Delmon Young continued to swing a hot bat, going 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored. Young average went over 300 and he is sitting at .302
Nick Punto also had a strong game, going 2-for-3 with 2 RBI’s, 2 runs off a home run (1) in the 7th inning.
Pitching
To say that Nick Blackburn struggled would be an understatement. This season has proved to be a difficult one for the young right hander as he has went from low to high and now back to low again. Blackburn lasted only 1.2 innings, giving up 8 runs on 6 hits with 2 K’s and 3 BB. The loss moves him back to 6-4 on the season and shoots his ERA up to 5.80.
The bullpen was good with the exception of Ron Mahay who struggled as well in his 1.0 inning of work. The bullpen gave up 1 run on 5 hits with 2 K’s and 2 BB. The run came from Mahay who gave up 3 hits with one of them being a home run.
Notes
Blackburns poor performance out of the gate set the Twins back a bit. Unable to score against Blanton until the late innings, the Twins did not have enough time to get back into the game.
Tomorrows match up will be Kevin Slowey versus Phillies one time ace Cole Hamels.
The Twins fall to 38-29 while the Phillies improve to 35-30.
Attendance
45,120 (Citizens Bank Park)
Game 66: Rockies spoil Twins sweep
June 17, 2010
Colorado @ Minnesota (Game 3 of 3)
Summary
It was a duel of two of the leagues best pitchers, with Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez (12-1) against Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano (6-3). Most fans were optimistic with Liriano having a strong performance in his last outing and with the home field.
Jimenez won the war, with his bend but don’t break outing, as the Rockies beat the Twins 5-1.
Batting
Minnesota was able to equal the Rockies for hits, but were unable to convert those hits to runs.
Matt Tolbert was 2-for-3 on the day when most Twins struggled to get a on the base path.
Denard Span, Jason Kubel, Delmon Young, Danny Valencia, Jim Thome and Drew Butera all had hits on the night.
Pitching
Francisco Liriano did not have his “stuff”, but still pitched fairly well giving up just 3 runs on 5 hits in 7.0 innings. Liriano had 6 K’s in his 97 pitch outing, but the telling stat was his 3 BB which is usually an indicator that he is struggling.
Liriano ended up with the loss and drops to 6-4 on the season.
Alex Burnett came in to relieve Liriano and ended up giving up 2 runs on 2 hits with a HR in the 8th.
Notes
The Twins fail to sweep again and fall to 38-28 while the Rockies fell again to 34-32.
Attendance
40,741 (Target Field)
Game 65: Twins top Rockies by one
June 16, 2010
Colorado @ Minnesota (Game 2 of 3)
Summary
Minnesota scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning, but it was good enough to get the win as Scott Baker and the Twins topped the Rockes 1-2 on Wednesday night.
Batting
Danny Valencia and Nick Punto were both 2-for-3 on the night and each had an RBI.
Denard Span, Matt Tolbert, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel each chipped in a hit on the night, but for th emost part the Colorado pitching held the Minnesota offense in check.
Pitching
Scott Baker contributed his best performance of the year, allowing no runs and only 2 hits. He had a career high 12 K’s and gave up 1 BB in his shutout of the Rockies. The win moved him to 6-5 on the season and brought his ERA down to 4.41.
Matt Guerrier and Jose Mijares came in the 8th to record the hold and Jon Rauch came in the 9th inning for his 17th save of the season.
Notes
The Twins move to 38-27 while the Rockies fell again to 33-32.
Attendance
40,814 (Target Field)
Game 64: Twins hammer Rockies
June 15, 2010
Colorado @ Minnesota (Game 1 of 3)
Summary
Minnesota had a big 4th and 5th inning in a 3-9 routing of the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.
Down 2-0 in the bottom of the 4th, the Twins scored 5 runs to take the lead and then added another 3 runs in the 5th to take a 3-8 lead.
Batting
Only Justin Morneau was without a hit on a night when the Twins had 14 hits.
Delmon Young was 3-for-4 with and RBI and 2 runs scored.
Jason Kubel was 1-for-4 with 2 RBI’s and 2 runs scored after a 2 run HR (9) in the 5th inning.
Michael Cuddyer, Denard Span and Danny Valencia each banged out 2 hits with Span recording 2 RBI’s, Cuddyer an RBI and 2 runs and Valencia a run.
Matt Tolbert was 1-for-3 and hit his 1st HR in the 8th inning off of Rafael Bentancourt.
Pitching
Carl Pavano had another strong outing, going 7.0 innings and giving up 3 runs on 5 hits in 92 pitches. Pavano had 5K’s, 1 BB and gave up 2 HR for the win and moves to 7-6 on the season with a 3.92 ERA.
Brian Duensing and Alex Burnett came in for an inning a piece and combined for 3 K’s and hit.
Notes
The Twins get back in the the win column at 37-27 while the Rockies fall to 33-31.
Attendance
39,812 (Target Field)
Game 63: Atlanta proves to be to much at home
June 13, 2010
Atlanta @ Minnesota (Game 3 of 3)
Summary
Minnesota fell behind 4 runs in the top of the 4th and were unable get the bats going for more then one inning of play as they dropped the last game against Atlanta 7-3.
Batting
The Twins managed only 4 hits on the night, with the biggest one coming from Delmon Young with a 3 run home run in the bottom of the 7th. It was Young’s 8th home run of the season.
Joe Mauer was 1-for-3 with a run scored, Michael Cuddyer was 1-for-4 with a run scored and Jason Kubel got the only other hit when he doubled in the 5th inning.
Pitching
Kevin Slowey went 4.2 innings in the loss giving up 6 runs (5 ER) on 9 hits on 89 pitches. Slowey was able to get 6 K’s and gave up 1 BB and 2 HR. Slowey dropped to 7-4 on the season and his ERA rose to 3.84.
The bullpen of Ron Mahay, Jose Mijares, Jesse Crain, Brian Duensing and Alex Burnett came in to relieve Slowey and accounted for 1 run on 7 hits with a combined 2 K’s, 2 BB and 1 HR.
Notes
The Twins fall to 36-27 while the Braves move up to 37-27.
Attendance
39,772 (Target Field)
Game 62: Braves beat Twins with late run
June 12, 2010
Atlanta @ Minnesota (Game 2 of 3)
Summary
Minnesota took the lead in the 2nd, gave up the lead in the 5th and then tied the game again in the bottom of the 6th inning.
Atlanta was able to drive in a run in the top of the 9th that the Twins could not answer and Minnesota falls 3-2 to Atlanta.
Batting
Denard Span was 2-for-5 on the night with a run scored.
Delmon Young and Joe Mauer were both 1-for-3 on the night and both had home runs.
Pitching
Nick Blackburn had 7.0 good innings, but couldn’t drum up enough run support to get the win. Blackburn gave up 2 runs on 6 hits, while getting 5 K’s and giving 2 BB.
Matt Guerrier gave up 1 run on 2 hits and was slapped with the loss.
Notes
The Twins fall to 36-26 while the Braves move to 36-27.
Attendance
39,428 (Target Field)
Game 61: Twins one better the Braves
June 11, 2010
Atlanta @ Minnesota (Game 1 of 3)
Summary
Minnesota was able to overcome a 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the 7th to give the Twins the series opener 1-2.
Batting
Jason Kubel was 2-for-3 with and RBI while Delmon Young came in as a pinch hitter to go 1-for-1 and score the game winner with his RBI.
Pitching
Francisco Liriano was outstanding on the mound, going 8 innings while giving up only 1 run on 5 hits. Liriano recorded a career tying high of 11 K’s while also tying MLB record for most K’s in a row with 7 straight. Liriano picks improves to 6-3 on the year with a 2.90 ERA.
Jon Rauch came in for the save and struck out the side for an impressive 16th save.
Notes
The Twins move to 36-25 while the Braves fall to 35-27.
Attendance
39,428 (Target Field)
Hardy to DL, Plouffe recalled
June 11, 2010
Shortstop JJ Hardy has been put on the 15-day disabled list once again due to soreness in his left wrist. This is the same injury that caused him to go on the DL earlier in May. Hardy returned to the lineup on May 25th but his wrist is starting to bother him again.
Hardy’s injury is being listed as a deep bone bruise and the irritation is being caused when the bruised bone rubs up against another bone during his batting swings. Doctors are unsure of how long it will take Hardy’s wrist to fully heal and estimated that it can take a couple of weeks or up to a month. Hardy will wear a brace to help the process along.
In Hardy’s absence, the Twins have opted to recall shortstop Trevor Plouffe from Triple-A. Plouffe spent a short time with the Twins earlier this season playing three games in an interleague series against Hardy’s former team, the Milwaukee Brewers.
Plouffe went 3-for-13 during the series for a .231 batting average and picked up a double and three RBI. Five of the 13 at bats, however, ended with a strike out, including the final at bat with the bases loaded in a 4-3 loss.
Hardy’s move to the disabled list is retroactive to June 7th.
