Twins 10, Angels 1: Minnesota Offense Pounds LA Bullpen
by Jesse on Apr 9, 2010 8:20 AM EDT
in Game Recaps
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PrintNew stat: HORT (Homers Over Replacement Team...or HOR for short)
The Angels took a 1-0 lead off Kevin Slowey in the bottom of the second on Thursday night, as Maicer Izturis drove in Juan Rivera. Los Angeles would threaten again, but wouldn't scrape across another run. The Twins took the lead for good in the top of the fifth, with Jim Thome's double and Jason Kubel's run-scoring single leading off the frame. Joel Pineiro's biggest mistake was leaving a high breaking ball hanging for Brendan Harris, who pulled the first homer of the evening into right field and made it 3-1.
Slowey's night wasn't sexy but it was more than good enough, thanks in no small part to Pat Neshek who thew four pitches to get two outs and end the Angel threat in the sixth to hold Minnesota's 3-1 lead. Slowey had thrown 92 pitches on the night, 60 for strikes, but with a pair of singles and just one out in the inning Gardy had seen enough.
The game remained in limbo as both teams went late into the game without scoring again. Jose Mijares and Kevin Jepsen traded scoreless seventh innings. But a couple of poor pitches by Angels relievers, and the Twins would be an exclamation point on the series.
Brian Stokes didn't have a chance to find his pace, walking Justin Morneau and giving up a single to Michael Cuddyer to start the inning. The massive bulk of one Jim Thome lumbered into the box, and proceeded to demolish a first-pitch fastball into the left-center field seats. Paul Bunyan cowers at the feet of Jimmer. Thome took a nice, easy swing, and proceeded to hobble around the bases for his first bomb as a Twin. It was beautiful. And it's still a little bizarre to see him in a Twins uniform.
[NOTE TO WHOEVER THREW THE BALL BACK ONTO THE FIELD: What's wrong with you? You caught a home run ball from a future Hall of Famer, and you throw the ball back? Are you insane? Or are you just not a baseball fan? I can't believe it when a home run ball gets thrown back after being hit by a guy just getting a cup of coffee, and you throw back a ball that was tater'd by Jim Thome. I'm stunned. Still.]
The finishing touches were applied in the top of the ninth, as Orlando Hudson doubled to start the inning. It was a bit hairy for a minute--Hudson slid into second base and ended up bashing his head against a rock the knees of Erick Aybar. Hudson's fine, but Alexi Casilla replaced him on the bases and promtly scored when Joe Mauer singled on the first pitch he saw. Obvious comment of the day: Joe's good at going the other way.
Delmon Young struck the final blow, launching his second homer of the season (a three-run shot) after taking over for Jason Kubel. It was a breaking ball, by the way.
The most important thing is that the Twins won. Taking the season opening series is a great start to the year, with three wins already in the bank. But what was fun to watch this series? The offense. Minnesota smacked nine homers of Angels pitching, and that's no small feat. Young, Justin Morneau, J.J. Hardy each have a pair, while Thome, Mauer and Harris each have one.
Get your calculators out, Bert! There'll be lots of California math to do this year!
For the best Angels coverage on the net, check out Halos Heaven.
For complete game coverage, SB Nation has you covered.
Studs
Honorable Mention: Our awesome community members who post overflow threads!
#3: Kevin Slowey (5.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 3 K, 2 BB, .116 WPA)
#2: Brendan Harris (1-for-3, HR, BB, 2 RBI, R, .220 WPA)
#1: Jim Thome (2-for-4, 2B, HR, BB, 3 RBI, 2 R, .180 WPA)
Duds
#1: Brian Stokes (1 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 R, -.125 WPA)
#2: Fernando Rodney (1 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 4 R, -.008 WPA)
#3: Denard Span (0-for-4)
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Obviously, the home runs were a big part of this story of this series
But I thought just as big a story was the bullpen. 11+ innings, 3 runs. 10Ks, 0 walks. Excellent performances from everyone. Especially nice to see Crain so involved, Neshek back, and Mijares bounce back from opening night.
Interesting that they won 3 of 4, and the offense was not exactly what I expected to see. A little stop and start the first 3 games. Able to score enough without much from the top of the order and not much in the way of hits and OBP. The power throughout was fantastic. Great to see Young off to a nice start (though he still managed to have a lower OBP than BA), and Hardy too. Nice to not be worried about slow starts; Span and Hudson will start doing their thing.
We Are the Washington Generals
Kudos to Gardy for pulling Slowey at the right time.
Not necessarily obvious to pull a starter who’d only given up 1 run, but no need to wait until he was touched up for more. Slowey argued a bit, but Gardy did him a favor.
Agreed that the bullpen was really nice this series, and really the pitching and defense in general. Held the Angels to 12 runs in 4 games in Anaheim. That’s nice.
+1
I’m not sure I’d give Slowey a gold-star for this one. He kept them from scoring, but that is an outcome, and isn’t likely to be repeated when allowing 9 baserunners in 5 innings, while getting 3K’s. I’d also expect more than 5.1 innings out of a start.
Great time to pull him though, recognizing that he wasn’t on his game.
he wasn't sharp
When he’s on, he hits the glove. He wasn’t hitting the glove last night, but he was getting away with it. I’m sure he’d say he was disappointed by the way he pitched but happy with the outcome.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Love the bullpen this series
Obviously replacing Nathan as closer is a concern, but I am just as concerned about the second order effects of having to move Rauch to the 9th inning and the effect it has in the 6-7-8 innings. So far, so good.
by Adam Peterson on Apr 9, 2010 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions
Twins look awesome
They’re certainly living up to the hype. Hope they can keep the momentum going. The lineup is just unstoppable.
The beard abides.
by Jason Kubel's Beard on Apr 9, 2010 9:36 AM EDT reply actions
Joe’s good at going the other way.
That’s what she said!
:cough:
This series was hawt.
http://www.realityfish.com
I don't even know what that means
There’s only one way, isn’t there? It’s the name of that burger place in Anaheim.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Mad props to the starters in this series too...
Great work from Pavano, Blackburn, and Slowey. Baker had a bit of a rough start, but he’ll be fine. When we’re frustrating the likes of Abreu, Morales, et al in that darn good Angels lineup… that’s such a nice sign. Isn’t hitting usually supposed to be ahead of pitching at this point in the year? Well, our boys seem to have missed the memo.
Also, who’s excited/nervous to see Liriano work tonight?
well
the Twins pitchers missed the memo, but our hitters certainly did not!!! I am very excited to see Liriano work…first game in Chicago, out of the Sox uniform, for Thome tonight. He will probably be playing and I hope he does exactly what Crede did last year to the Sox i.e. HR on first pitch of AB.
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any of us." - Kirby Puckett
Tonight v. Danks, I'd do
Span
Harris
Morneau
Cuddyer
Thome
Delmon
Hardy
Punto
Butera
Give Mauer, Kubes, and the Talker a rest. If you want Kubes in there, let him play right, Cuddy at 1st, and give Morneau a break. (Mauer + Morneau on the bench would show the Sox just how confident we really are this season.)
OR, put Kubes in and sit Span.
Go with the mega-slow, slugging outfield. Skinny Delmon would play center. Why not?
Basically what I was thinking
Other than that I’d maybe have left Kubel in over Thome (not that it matters much).
I am pleased with how nice a lineup the Twins can put together even sans the usual 2-3-6 hitters.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
I think he's just been beaten up a bit lately
That thing at 2nd yesterday, lots of balls bouncing off his body. Nothing serious. It’s just my own observation also, nothing I’ve heard from the club or media.
My Lineup
1. Span CF
2. Cuddyer RF
3. Mauer or Kubel DH
4. Morneau 1B
5. Thome 3B
6. Harris 2B
7. Butera C
8. Hardy SS
9. Delmon Young LF
Just a hunch but Thome will play some third base this season and what better way to have that take place then in Chicago. We need the firepower against the White Sox pitchers.
I'm not sure Thome at 3b is even possible
I don’t know that he’s even picked up a glove in a while. Give him a bat at 3rd and maybe he could swat it to 1st.
Oh, it's possible
And it would be wonderfully hilarious. I propose that they do it for laughs sometime in September, after they win their 117th game to clinch the single-season record. Maybe that can also be the game in which they finally play Nick Punto at all nine positions as well (by the way, I remain pissed that the Twins never let Denny Hocking do that, even in a season when he played double-digit games everywhere but pitcher and catcher and the team never contended).
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
I doubt Thome plays more than 30 innings at first base this season.
I’d put money on him not playing anywhere else.
I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility
for him to play 0 innings in the field this year.
if I'm reading his numbers right
he hasn’t played in the field since 2007.
1 game at 1B in 2007 and 3 games in 2006
That sounds right
It’s not that he’s a bad fielder, he’s just not a fielder period.
At least he hsn't had a negative UZR since 2007
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Ok
Here is my updated lineup:
1. Span CF
2. Cuddyer RF
3. Morneau 1B
4. Thome DH
5. Kubel 3B
6. Harris 2B
7. Butera C
8. Hardy SS
9. Delmon Young LF
Ouch, batting Delmon 9th?
You obviously don’t believe in The Breakout.
Yeah, I don't understand why the worst hitter in the AL bats 7th
while Delmon bats 9th.
"Pinch-bunters don't have a ton of value, even with the Twins"
by Steven Ellingson on Apr 9, 2010 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Okay, we're onto you now
I am concluding that these lineup suggestions are an elaborate (well, not all that elaborate, I guess) joke.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
Why would you put an automatic out between Harris and Hardy again?
With Hudson day to day, This is your likely line-up:
1. Span CF
2. Harris 3B
3. Kubel DH
4. Morneau 1B
5. Cuddy RF
6. Hardy SS
7. Delmon LF
8. Butera C
9 Casilla 2B
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
I tend to agree
But I’d really like to see Thome get the start in the first game against the Sox. Either just swap him into the DH spot or move Kubel to left and sit Delmon. Maybe I’m just convinced that all former White Sox players hit homeruns in their first enemy at bat in the Cell…
Lineups posted...
No game thread yet so I’ll post here.
Gardy’s answer was
Span
Hudson
Hardy
Morneau
Cuddyer
Kubel
Young
Harris
Butera
I guess Hudson is OK. Kinda bold putting Hardy up at 3rd because he’s not an OBP guy but there’s not a huge difference between 3-7 here so its hard to quibble
Excited and nervous
Not only to see Liriano tonight, but also the first game against Chicago. Hopefully we won’t be too jet lagged from the west coast trip tonight.
by Adam Peterson on Apr 9, 2010 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Very excited to see Liriano
Especially since the White Sox might be a perfect team for him to face to get his confidence up. That thing they call the Cleveland Indians pitching staff Ked 12 White Sox last night. They don’t stand a chance against Franchise.
Good wrapup
I was doubting when I turned it off after 6 innings to get some sleep. Good to see the bullpen come through and I’m glad Burnett got his feet wet.
+1 on throwing a home run ball back on the field. Just one more way Cubs fans are ruining baseball.
Maybe the tater
that fan threw back was a ball he picked up at Family Dollar on the way in to the game for just such an occasion.
Not gonna lie.
I always bring a worthless baseball with me when I sit in home-run seats just for such an occasion.
So maybe they bring Jimmers his first Twins home run ball
… and its still wrapped in plastic with a 7-11 sticker on it.
Just don't give in
It’s a stupid thing to do, don’t encourage it.
Ever been to Twins game when someone keeps it?
They get booed pretty loudly! It’s better to have a decoy ball to throw back out there.
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Apr 9, 2010 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Offensive performance
I love to see the home runs, hopefully we keep it up and hit around 200 for the season. However, it’s going to be key to see whether we can generate offense when the balls stop leaving the yard. Can we still manufacture runs, or will we rely on the long ball a la White Sox of a few years ago?
No reason not to expect strong OBPs from the top 3 in the lineup, which should
generate runs. Obviously not going to average 2+ homers a game for the season, but should balance out OK. Span and Hudson will start getting on base.
We Are the Washington Generals
by Eric in Madison on Apr 9, 2010 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions
The Drew Butera Era begins tonight
So sayeth the AP game recap, at least.
Assuming that moves Mauer to DH, that leaves both big DH bats out of the lineup. On the plus side, that’s an impressive pair of potential pinch hitters against righthanded relievers.
With a lefty on the mound and Harris fresh off a game with a homer, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get his second start in a row (and for Orlando to get a day off, since he’s banged up and Punto didn’t play yesterday).
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
yeah, Mauer's not playing imo
he’s not going to be DH’ing as much this year (if Thome is going good)
Thanks, I was unaware of that.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
Way to represent boys
Classy, classy. a girl’s gotta love it. The Twins offense is gonna be off the hook all year. We beat down a really good team in baseball for this series. I would take note that this hasn’t happend since 2002. You can expect more of that. I’m in love with this team. Man, that was only the first series. Now, down with the WSox.
On five consecutive HRs!
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Way to step up Kev, Nice Job Mo. 23
TWINS 10, L.A. ANGELS 1
Oh my gosh, how did that happen? I lasted as long as I could last night. I even left work a little early in the hopes of catching a quick nap before game time. Yeah, didn’t happen. And, then there is all the other distractions us single 30-somethings have to deal with. Can’t a girl just watch the game?
Anyways, 10-1 was NOT the score when I closed my eyes. Holy Hell. Nice job handling your biznass boys.
Mucho kudos to my favorite in the bullpen this year, Kevin Slowey. I like the way you handle yourself Kev. You will be my ace. I was like a kid in the candy store when No. 23 hit that 2-run homerun! Brendan! He should not be counted out. I don’t care if Punto sounds dirty.
I’m in agreement with Christensen on one thing: If the first series was a sign of what’s ahead for the Twins, this should be a fun year." Fo Sho.
Now, let’s sweep the White Sux.
Three issues...
1) Throwing the ball back on the field is another bit of shit-brainery we can thank Cubs fans for.
2) Does anybody want to start a pool on how long it takes for Jim Thome’s spine to fall right out of his ass?
3) A picture is worth 1,000 words…
by Jonathan Werner on Apr 9, 2010 11:56 AM EDT reply actions
Just what we need.
If a White Sox fan comes in here and sees this photo, Expect the Twins to be Public Enemy Number One in Ozzie’s Eyes.
What will he call us this year?
Bigger than piranhas. Sharks?
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Sardines!
“They’re going to go from piranhas to sardines,” Guillen joked about the Twins’ new image after they settle in at Target Field. “A prediction is a prediction.”
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Apr 9, 2010 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions
GREAT start to the season
I love that Delmon is off to a hot start. Hopefully this is the year it all clicks again, man does he look thin. I am glad JJ is looking decent too. The 1/2 spots in the lineup have given us NOTHING which is a little concerning, but imagine how things look if those two get their bats going!?!?
Keiunta 1/16 hitting .063 in the leadoff spot
I’ve been informed that Span is an established awesome superstar and that we shouldn’t be remotely concerned
Your sarcasm is hardly noticeable.
I still have faith in Span. I know he’s not ‘established’, but I don’t think last year was a fluke, either. He’ll be fine.
Bingo bango.
i have confidence in span
last year was a good year.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he hit .249 this year. I’m not expecting it or hoping for it, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all
kittens hugging?
is that sarcasm?
That kind of regression is highly improbable—something like 1 in 20. It’s an extremely pessimistic view if you wouldn’t be surprised at all.
Pessimists don’t hug.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
That kind of regression for an established player is highly improbable
fyp
anyway……butterflies and rainbows and orange sherbert, happy thoughts happy thoughts.
He's established
He’s had two years within a small range of performance values. It’s not only one year.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
it's 1.5 years
Here is what I am saying:
Of all the everyday position players, Denard is the most likely Twin to not live up to his career line up to this point.
I get what you're saying, and I kind of agree with you.
But it’s not like he’s doing anything crazy. Good walk rates, good contact rates, he’s not getting a disproportional number of line drives, his BABIP isn’t out of line…it’s not like Denard’s been “lucky” in his time here. And we’ve all seen flukes before.
I can see a slump season, sure. .280/.350/.380. But it’s more likely he hits for his career line than it’s likely he completely falls off the table.
I could see that
Just not the .249/.330/.360 line, which follows from your prediction of a .249 average for him, given his other splits.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
four games--sheesh
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
My predicted lineup:
1. Span – CF
2. Hudson – 2B
3. Cuddyer – RF
4. Morneau – 1B
5. Thome – DH
6. Young – LF
7. Hardy – SS
8. Harris – 3B
9. Butera – C
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any of us." - Kirby Puckett
Was just watching the last few innings of last nights replay on FSN
Delmon was soooooooo happy after his 3 run HR. The guys were genuinely happy for him too. It would be huge if he had a breakout season for us. Huge, HUGE I tell you.
It seems like
Based on his history, he is a player who can get into his own head and get in his own way. (Also he’s not so good at pitch recognition…) So hopefully having less pressure on him this season and getting off to a good start will lead to long term success. Goooo (formerly) big D!
Last year Young hit his second HR on June 20th
Slow starts can weigh down a whole season. At they can for me as a fan watching them because every time I look at their season stats, I’m reminded of it. :-) So, I’m hoping the three guys who struggled in the Angels series get their averages up over .200 fairly soon.
This series was like watching a professional rugby team play a soccer mom's scrap booking club.
The Twins have the tools to go all the way this season. I know it is early but still…
The 2009 Pregame Picks Winner and Iron Man of Halos Heaven.com
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