Game 39: Blue Jays wreck havoc on Twins
May 18, 2010
Minnesota @ Toronto (Game 2 of 2)
Summary
Carl Pavano has had little help offensively from the Twins. Most of his losses are because the Twins were unable to give him run support. That was the case today as well, but this time Pavano was unable to halt the powerful line up that is the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays showed the Twins why they were 23-17, with 11 runs on 15 hits and 4 home runs.
Batting
Michael Cuddyer was the most successful Twin going 2-for-3 with a run scored.
The Twins were down 0-5 at the top of the 4th inning when Cuddyer was credited with a triple. Jason Kubel singled into right field to score Cuddyer and put the Twins behind 1-5.
The only other score came when Alexi Casilla pinch hit for Justin Morneau and tripled on a fly ball to center field to score Denard Span from 2nd base.
Pitching
Carl Pavano had his first real bad start for the Twins. Pavano only lasted 4.0 innings giving up 6 runs on 10 hits and 2 home runs. The veteran was only able to strike out 2 batters in the game. Although he did not walk a runner, he did hit Jose Bautista with a pitch.
Ron Mahay and Jesse Crain did just as poorly with Mahay iving up 3 runs on 3 hits in 1.2 innings and Crain giving up 2 runs on 2 hits in 0.1 innings pitched.
The only good pitching came from Jose Mijares after the game was out of reach. He pitched 2.0 innings with no hits and 2 strike outs.
Notes
After giving a beating yesterday, the Twins could not match the offense of the Blue Jays as the Toronto team took full advantage of the Twins pitchers.
The Twins moved to 24-15 and stay 2 games ahead of Detroit who lost today versus the White Sox. Minnesota heads to Boston for a two game series with the Red Sox before coming back to Minnesota for some inner-league play against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Twins could hope to take advantage of the loss the Red Sox just took from the Yankees yesterday. Heading into the bottom of the 9th inning with a 2 run lead, the Yankees came back with two 2 run home runs to win the game.
Attendance
27,981 (Rogers Centre)
Game 38: Morneau is successful in Canada
May 17, 2010
Minnesota @ Toronto (Game 1 of 2)
Summary
The Twins were able to sail to an easy win thanks to the efforts of Canadian native Justin Morneau. Morneau was 3-for-4 with 2 home runs, 3 runs scored and 4 RBI’s.
The Twins were trailing 1-2 until the top of the 4th inning when Minnesota scored 4 runs to take the lead back 5-2. The Jays scored again in the bottom of the 5th inning to make cut the lead to 2 runs, but the Twins added one more run at the top of the 6th inning and two more runs in the top of 8th inning to beat the Jays 8-3.
Batting
Justin Morneau was the big bat for the night with two home runs as well as an RBI single in the top of the 4th inning.
Joe Mauer was 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
Pitching
Kevin Slowey threw 98 pitches in 5 complete innings giving up 3 runs on 8 hits and only 1 home run. Slowey struck out 2 and did not walk a batter to get the win. His record is now 5-3.
Alex Burnett came in for two innings and pitched very well. Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain also pitched an inning a piece in the win.
Notes
The Twins were able to keep the always dangerous Toronto hitters off balance. The Twins pitchers kept the Jays to only 3 runs on 11 hits in the game.
Morneau added two home runs to put him in the top 5 and both he and Mauer now lead the American League for batting average. Morneau is at .374 and Mauer is at .360 through May 17.
The win moves the Twins to 24-14 and now 2 full games over Detroit whose game with the White Sox was rained out. The Twins will try for the two game sweep tomorrow with Carl Pavano on the mound.
Attendance
13,892 (Rogers Centre)
Game 37: Kubel grand slam breaks Yankees grip
May 16, 2010
Minnesota @ New York (Game 2 of 3)
Summary
The Twins fell behind the Yankees 1-3 with Blackburn throwing well. The Twins continued to struggle against the Yankee pitching. Minnesota was able to record 9 hits on the Yankees but were unable to score but one run up until the 8th inning.
The Twins were able to get Joba Chamberlain into trouble in the 8th inning with 2 outs. Chamberlain walked Thome and a run so the Yankees skipper brought out Mariano Rivera to get the last 4 batters out.
With Jason Kubel up, Rivera’s second cutter was golfed to short left field for a grand slam home run and a 6-3 lead to go into the bottom of 8.
Batting
Orlando Hudson was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Justin Morneau hit his 9th home run of the season in the top of the 2nd inning to get the Twins on the board first.
The hit of the night though was the grand slam home run by the struggling Kubel. The home run brought a lot of fist pumps in the dugout and a lot of smiles from Twins fans happy to finally beat the Yankees in New York.
Pitching
Nick Blackburn pitched 7.0 strong innings only giving up 3 runs on 9 hits. Blackburn was able to strikeout 4 and walked 1 batter in 104 total pitches.
The win moves Blackburn to 4-1 on the season.
Brian Duensing and Matt Guerrier came in the 8th for the hold and both pitched well.
Jon Rauch came in for the save and quickly gave up 2 hits. Rauch settled down after that and struck out the side to get his 10th save of the year.
Notes
The Twins were finally able to beat the Yankees in New York. The offense is sputtering a little, but the pitching and defense in general has been solid in the Yankee series.
The Twins record is now 23-14 and they are still just 1.5 games up on the Detroit Tigers. The Twins will go to Toronto for two games and then to Boston on Wednesday for another two game series.
Attendance
46,347 (Yankee Stadium)
Game 36: Twins still struggle in Yankee Stadium
May 15, 2010
Minnesota @ New York (Game 2 of 3)
Summary
The Twins struggles in Yankee Stadium continue as the Twins were blanked by the Yankees for 7 innings and take another loss 1-7.
The Yankees picked away at the Twins pitching and accumulated 7 runs in 8 innings.
Batting
Joe Mauer was 1-for-4 with one RBI in the DH roll. Justin Morneau continued his hot streak going 2-for-4 in the game.
The Twins were unable to get the bats going until the 8th and 9th innings when they picked up 4 of their 7 hits.
Pitching
Francisco Liriano was able to keep the powerful Yankees to only three runs in the Babe Ruth sized field of Yankee Stadium. Liriano gave up 3 runs on 9 hits through 6 innings. He was able to strike out 7 and did not walk a batter.
Jesse Crain did not fair as well, giving up 3 runs on 2 hits in just one-third of an inning.
With the loss, Liriano falls to 4-2 on the year.
Notes
The outing was not bad for Liriano, but the Twins were unable to get him run support. The bullpen imploded in the 7th giving up 4 runs.
The Twins move to 22-14 and are now 1.5 games ahead of Detroit.
Attendance
46,347 (Yankee Stadium)
Game 35: Yankee’s finish Twins with grand slam
May 14, 2010
Minnesota @ New York (Game 1 of 3)
Summary
The game was a roller coaster ride with the Twins taking an early lead only to lose it, then take it back and lose it again.
The Twins scored first in the top of the 2nd going up 1-0. The Yankee’s answered the run with two of their own runs in the bottom of the 4th inning. The Twins tied the game in the top of the 5th with a run only to lose the lead when the Yankees scored in the bottom of the 5th.
The Twins would score two runs to go up by one run in at the top of the 7th, but Alex Rodriguez would hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 7th to put the game out of reach for the Twins.
Batting
Nick Punto was walked in the second with bases loaded to score Jason Kubel from 3rd and put the Twins up 1-0.
The Twins managed 9 hits in the game with Joe Mauer going 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI’s. Mauer hit a home run in 5th inning to tie the game 2-2.
Mauer would single in the 7th to score Span and then Justin Morneau followed that up with a double to score Mauer and give the Twins a 4-3 lead.
Pitching
Scott Baker pitched 6 innings (100 pitches) before being removed after 2 batters singled in the 7th. He gave up 5 runs on 10 hits with 9 strike outs and 1 walk. He gave up a solo home run to Brett Gardner in the 4th inning. Baker record dropped to 4-3 with the loss.
The bullpen struggled and after Baker left, Brian Duensing was able to get Gardner to fly out. Gardenhire then had him intentionally walk Mark Teixeira to load the bases for Matt Guerrier.
Hoping to get Alex Rodriguez to ground out to a double play, Guerrier tried to throw a 4-seam fastball down and outside. Rodriguez extended his arms out to hit the ball just past the short left field fence for a grand slam.
Notes
Baker had a good outing. It is questionable why he was let out to pitch the 7th with 97 pitches thrown. Most games they won’t let him finish if he is near the 100 pitch mark. The pitch that Guerrier gave Rodriguez was placed in a good spot, but Rodriguez was able to get enough of it to get the home run.
With the loss the Twins move to 22-13 and 2.5 games on the Tigers. The Twins will face the Yankees again tomorrow with Liriano on the mound for the Twins
Attendance
45,195 (Yankee Stadium)
Game 34: Twins edge out White Sox
May 12, 2010
Chicago White Sox @ Minnesota (Game 2 of 2)
Summary
Minnesota gave up the lead early with Chicago scoring two in the top of the first inning. The Twins would answer in the bottom of the third inning and add the game winner in the bottom of the fourth.
Batting
Delmon Young was 3-for-4 with a run scored. Denard Span and Justin Morneau both were 2-for-3 and both had 1 RBI and 1 BB.
Joe Mauer was 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a fielders choice in the bottom of the third. Morneau followed that up with a single to center field to score Span and tie the game.
Delmon Young doubled to start the 4th inning and a few batters later, Denard Span singled off the glove of Gordon Beckham, who deflected the ball from 2nd base to right field.
Pitching
Carl Pavano continued to eat up innings thowing 96 pitches in 7 full innings. Pavano gave up two runs in the first inning and 6 hits on the day. Pavano also struck out 4 while only walking 1.
Brian Duensing and Matt Guerrier both pitched the 8th for the hold and Jon Rauch finished the 9th to earn his 9th save on the season.
Notes
Carl Pavano was able to get enough run support to win the game. His 4-3 record does not accurately reflect how well he has pitched for the Twins this season.
With the win the Twins move to 22-12 and 3 games ahead of the Tigers. The Twins will have a day off before they start a 10 game stretch. The Twins go on the road for 10 games against New York, Toronto and Boston, before coming back to Minneapolis for some inner-league play against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Attendance
38,895 (Target Field)
Game 33: White Sox spoil Twins
May 12, 2010
Chicago White Sox @ Minnesota (Game 1 of 2)
Summary
The Twins took a 0-1 lead at the bottom of the 4th but gave up a big crooked number at top of the 5th inning and could not recover.
Batting
The Twins managed 11 hits in the game but were unable to convert those to runs. Delmon Young doubled in the bottom of the 4th inning to score Joe Mauer, but Jason Kubel was thrown out at home.
Justin Morneau started the 6th inning with a solo home run (8) to make the score 5-2, but the Twins were just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Pitching
Kevin Slowey went 4 and two-thirds innings giving up 5 runs on 8 hits after throwing 75 pitches. Slowey had 3 SO and 1 BB. The loss gives Slowey and 4-3 record on the year.
Alex Burnett pitched 3.0 innings giving up 2 hits and striking out 3.
The remainder of the game was thrown by Ron Mahay, Jesse Crain and Brian Duensing.
Notes
The Twins continued to lead the league with stranding runners in scoring position.
Other then the one bad stretch in the top of the 5th inning the Twins pitching was solid.
The Twins record drops to 21-12 and the Twins are 2.5 games ahead of the Tigers.
Attendance
38,764 (Target Field)
Game 32: Twins shutout Orioles
May 9, 2010
Baltimore @ Minnesota (Game 4 of 4)
Summary
Joe Mauer returned to the lineup and the pink bats belted out a dozen hits on Mother’s Day as the Twins shutout the Baltimore Orioles by a score of 6-0.
Batting
Denard Span and Brendan Harris both had three hits a piece and Nick Punto had two hits and a sacrifice fly to put on a hitting display with the pink Mother’s Day bats. The scoring started in the third for the Twins with a RBI triple from Span that scored both Harris and Alexi Casilla. Punto made it a 3-0 game with a sac fly to score Span from third.
The Twins followed that inning with a 3-run fourth when Harris and Casilla hit back-to-back two out doubles. Span and Punto would follow with singles to make it a 6-0 ballgame. Span would lead the team with 3 RBI, Punto came out with two and Casilla had one. Joe Mauer, who was the designated hitter, and Michael Cuddyer would also pick up a hit apiece.
Pitching
Not only was the offense effective, but so was the pitching. Nick Blackburn wasn’t as efficient as he was in his last outing, but he still was effective. Blackburn pitched seven complete innings, and while he didn’t strike anyone out, he only allowed four hits and two walks in 100 pitches. Matt Guerrier and Jon Rauch both pitched an inning of relief with Guerrier striking out one.
Notes
Brendan Harris raised his average by 42 points with his 3-for-4 game. Denard Span stole his eighth base of the season and was also picked off of first base by Jason Berken.
Attendance
38,641 (Target Field)
Game 31: Baker shines against Orioles
May 8, 2010
Baltimore @ Minnesota (Game 3 of 4)
Summary
Scott Baker gave up just one run off three hits in eight quality innings against the Orioles as the Twins took the night game of the day/night doubleheader by a score of 6-1.
Pitching
Scott Baker looked brilliant on the mound against the Orioles and held the team to just three hits over eight innings. Baker was able to keep the ball low which led to 11 ground outs and he struck out a season high of eight. Baker did not allow any walks and his lone blemish was a solo home run to Luke Scott in the fifth inning.
Baker could have completed the game, however, a late inning scoring drive by the Twins kept the starter on the bench too long. The Twins decided to send in Brian Duensing to finish out the game in the ninth, who gave up a single before closing out the game.
Batting
The Twins got on the board in the second inning with back-to-back doubles from Delmon Young and Nick Punto. Young would score two runs and knock in two runs with his three hit game. The Twins would open the game in the bottom of the eighth by scoring three runs. One run scored off a ground rule double from Young and Drew Butera would pick up his first career RBI with a bases loaded single that scored two runs.
Notes
Joe Mauer pinch hit in the eighth inning and got a standing ovation from the crowd. Mauer hadn’t played a game in over a week due to a bruised left heel and struck out on three pitches.
Attendance
38,863 (Target Field)
Game 30: O’s take first game of doubleheader
May 8, 2010
Baltimore @ Minnesota (Game 2 of 4)
Summary
Baltimore hit the holes and picked up five runs off 10 hits on Francisco Liriano, giving the lefty his first loss of the season in a 7-3 day game of a doubleheader.
Pitching
Francisco Liriano retired the first seven batters he faced before running into trouble in the third inning. Liriano gave up four singles in the third, allowing the Orioles to tie the game at two. The fourth inning for Liriano was just as bad as he gave up five more hits and allowed three more runs to cross the plate. Liriano would finally settle down in his final two innings of work and was taken out after six complete innings. He faced 29 batters and only struck out three while giving up a single walk.
Alex Burnett came in for relief and gave up an RBI double to Ty Wigginton in the seventh and an RBI single to Adam Jones in the eighth to extend the O’s lead. Ron Mahay came in to finish out the eighth and ninth innings retiring all four batters he faced and picking up one strike out. Altogether the Twins gave up seven runs off of 12 hits with five strike outs and three walks.
Batting
The Twins got off to an early 2-0 lead when Justin Morneau hit a 2-run home run, his first in Target Field, in the bottom of the first inning. Michael Cuddyer would also hit his fifth homer of the season in the fourth inning, a solo shot to left field, which would be the final run the Twins would score in the day part of the doubleheader. Orlando Hudson had three hits on the day with a pair of singles and a triple.
Notes
All nine hits Francisco Liriano gave up were singles, most of which were bloop hits or seeing-eye ground balls. All five of Michael Cuddyer’s home runs this year have been hit at Target Field.
Attendance
38,608 (Target Field)
