Game Recaps
The Bottom Line: Twins Struggle to Hold Leads VS Yankees
by Jesse on Oct 11, 2009 11:04 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
56 comments
Twins 1, Yankees 4
Every game of this series saw the Twins take a lead. In game one it was 2-0. In game two it was 1-0...and then 3-1. Tonight it was 1-0, again. And with the exception of game one, which was all Yankees all the time after the top of the third inning, games two and three could have been won by the Twins if only they could lock it down.
Nick Blackburn pitched very well in game two. And back home, Carl Pavano pitched an absolute gem in game three. Pavano struck out nine Yankee hitters in seven innings, walked nobody and allowed just five hits. Sadly, two of those hits came in the top of the seventh, when Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada each went deep.
Ron Mahay, Jon Rauch and Jose Mijares each walked a batter in the ninth, loading the bases for Joe Nathan with just one out. Nick Punto ignored a stop sign and was thrown out as he tried to dive back to third base. Jason Kubel upped his strikeout total to nine in the series. It's hard not to be a little bitter right now, to not have a sour taste in your mouth, but if you're looking to point a finger for the outcome of this series it can only be pointed at the team we love. And somehow, that makes it even worse.
It was a spectacular season. And that's all I'm going to say for tonight. No analysis, no name-calling, no wallowing in misery. The Minnesota Twins are the AL Central Division champions, and they played their tails off to earn that title. But the fact that I feel like I do only goes to show me how much this team means to me, and I already know that by tomorrow morning I'll be looking forward to the off-season, with the hope that next year...next year...might be the season we finally bring home the World Series trophy.
Congratulations to the New York Yankees, who advance to the ALCS. They made the plays they needed to make, and they took advantage of every single mistake the Twins made in this series. Which is exactly what you expect a championship-caliber team to do, big market or small markeet. Or mid-market, in Minnesota's case.
Thanks for a great season, everybody. I'll see you tomorrow.
Stars of the Game
Joe Mauer: Playing the role of MVP, Joe picked up the Twins' lone RBI of the night.
Denard Span: Two hits for the leadoff guy, along with a stolen base. Solid night.
Michael Cuddyer: A pair of hits for Cuddles, who also had a strong night.
Matt Guerrier: A big scoreless eighth inning.
Carl Pavano: Seven innings of fantastic ball, it was the best I've seen him all year. I definitely would like to see him back next season.
Tears
Nick Punto: After starting a rally with a leadoff double in the eighth, he ran through a stop sign from Scott Ulger on Span's chopper up the middle. It killed a rally the team desperately needed.
Brendan Harris: Hitless in big spots tonight.
Jose Morales: Looked overmatched at times; still looking forward to seeing him as Joe's backup next season.
Jason Kubel: Overmatched at all times. Nine strikeouts in the series with three more tonight. Extremely disappointing, sorry Patches.
Ron Mahay, Jon Rauch, Jose Mijares: Walking the bases loaded, with the team on the ropes. It doesn't get any worse than that, it really doesn't.
Respect
Alex Rodrigez: I hate the fact that you're such a great ballplayer. I liked him before he came to New York. Like a lot of players.
Andy Pettitte: Pitched a great game. One of the all-time great post-season pitchers.
Mariano Rivera: Continues to amaze, even at this point of his career. His buzz-saw of Mauer to end the Minnesota threat in the eighth was sick.
56 comments | 0 recs |
Yankees 4, Twins 3 (11); Yankees Lead ALDS 2-0
by RandBall's Stu on Oct 9, 2009 11:11 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
99 comments
Your buddy, the one who's a Detroit Tigers fan? Yeah, he knows EXACTLY how you feel right now.
The Twins, in a game that will haunt them all winter long, fell to the Yankees 4-3 in 11 innings. The number that stands out:
17 LOB.
Before you go blaming Joe Nathan or Phil Cuzzi or Jose Mijares or cheating cheaterpants A-Rod, peep that number again. 17 runners left on base. Inexcusable, especially against a lineup that will eventually find a way to put runs on the board.
The gory details:
Nick Blackburn made one mistake all game (see below). He stepped up and gave the Twins a chance to win. Meanwhile, AJ Burnett was adequate and wild, hitting a batter here and surrendering a single there without incurring any damage. The Twins finally got to Burnett in the 6th, going up 1-0 in the 6th on a pinch-hit triple by Brendan Harris, who had a hell of a game as an injury replacement for Matt Tolbert (strained oblique). The Yankees answered back in the bottom of the 6th with a single by Alex Rodriguez off of Blackburn, scoring Derek Jeter.
Twins went up 3-1 in the top of the 8th with 2-out hits from Nick Punto and Denard Span. Harris made a beautiful play on a Jeter liner in the bottom of the 8th to help Matty Guerrier to a 1-2-3 inning. The Twins threatened in the top of the 9th but did not score, which would prove costly.
I love Joe Nathan to death, but the Yankees are his kryptonite. Entering the game with a 2-run lead in the 9th, he surrendered a line-drive single to Mark Teixiera and a moonshot from A-Rod, who again forgot that he's not supposed to be clutch, and it was 3-3 before you could say "Ron Davis." You will see it on SportsCenter 1000 times before the weekend is over.
Nathan escaped that inning, but after the Twins bowed out in the 10th, he was knocked out in the 10th and left the game with runners at the corners and one out. HOWEVAH, Jose Mijares entered the game and benefitted from a truly beautiful line drive double play to end the inning.
Then? Well, then is when the game turned from merely awful into a gutpunch, wake-up-screaming affair. Joe Mauer led off the inning with a slicing, opposite field, ground rule double. Unfortunately, left field umpire Phil Cuzzi, who was standing right [redacted] there, missed the ball landing a foot inside the [redacted] line and called it a foul ball. Mauer, being Mauer, followed it up with single up the middle. A single, not being a double, leaves the runner at first, meaning Jason Kubel's single immediately afterwards didn't score Mauer. Nor did Michael Cuddyer's single that immediately followed that.
What you can't blame on Phil Cuzzi is that the Twins turned this bases loaded, no out situation into zero runs. This is not what is considered good, much less advancing-in-the-playoffs good. Delmon Young line out, Carlos Gomez fielder's choice, Harris pop fly. No runs, no lead.
Which would prove costly, as Mark Teixiera ended it in the bottom of the inning with a line drive home run off Mijares to lead off the inning. You will also see it on SportsCenter 1000 times before the weekend is over.
Goddammit, this one hurt.
99 comments | 0 recs
Twins Lose 2-0 Lead, Allow 7 Unanswered Runs for Game 1 Loss
by Jesse on Oct 8, 2009 4:22 AM EDT
in Game Recaps
50 comments
Twins 2, Yankees 7
It started off pretty well. Only Derek Jeter's single to lead off the bottom of the first for the Yankees meant the Bombers had a base runner in the first two innings, as Brian Duensing mixed in all of his pitches early to keep New York off-balance. Indeed, it looked like familiar foe C.C. Sabathia might be the pitcher to struggle in this one, at least early on.
Nick Punto singled after six pitches to lead off the third, with Sabathia feeding him nothing but fastballs low and over the plate before Denard Span forced the Twins ro rally with two outs by grounding into a double play. It did show that, at that time, Sabathia wasn't really comfortable. Orlando Cabrera deliverd on a seven-pitch single, and Joe Mauer took Sabathia's I'm-trying-to-walk-you-without-intentionally-walking-you approach and turned it into a double. Michael Cuddyer finally took pity on C.C. and pushed a line drive into right for a single on the first pitch he saw, scoring Cabrera and giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.
Minnesota took a 2-0 lead on a passed ball, when Jorge Posada inexplicably couldn't catch a Sabathia fastball. Jason Kubel backed away quickly and Mauer did score, but Kubel, for whatever reason, never gave Mauer any signal as to what he should do. Joe was momentarily trapped--he took off as soon as the ball got away and then paused, waiting for Kubel to either wave him in or put up the stop sign, but it never came. Finally Joe caught sight of the ball himself and slid around the tag to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.
Of course it all went downhill from there.
Derek Jeter's two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning knotted the score. Nick Swicher's double scored Robinson Cano in the fourth. In the fifth, Duensing couldn't stem the tide, bouncing back to get two outs after walking Derek Jeter but then succumbing to the biggest Yankee outburth of the evening. Alex Rodriguez singled to extend New York's lead to 4-2, and that was the end of Brian's night.
Enter: Francisco Liriano.
Exit: Liriano's 93-mph fastball. 6-2, Yankees.
A-Rod would single in Jeter in the seventh to add one more, but it would hardly seem to matter. After the sixth the Twins had their opportunities and let them slide away. Span and Cabrera couldn't come through in the seventh with one out and runners on second and third; Mauer's leadoff single in the eighth was wasted; Cabrera stranded Punto and Span on third and second respectively to end the game.
Once again it was Minnesota's failure to capitalize with runners in scoring position that forced this game to turn out the way it did. The face of this one could have been much different; not that the Twins would have won, but they would have at least had a chance in the late innings with a closer score. It's hard to keep the Yankees from scoring less than five runs; they scored an astounding 915 times in the regular season. But if the offense isn't going to take advantage of the base runners they either earn or are gifted, then we're in even more trouble.
This one rests as much with the pitching as it does with the offense. It was an incomplete game on all sides of the ball, and while we could let Tuesday night's contest shoulder the blame for fatigue and let-down, but there's really no excuse now. And even if it were true, it doesn't much matter at the end of the day. The dreaded Yankees hold a one game lead in the 2009 ALDS.
Stars of the Game
#3: Joe Mauer (2-for-4, 2B, R, -.023 WPA)
#2: Michael Cuddyer (1-for-4, RBI, .034 WPA)
#1: Nick Punto (2-for-3, BB, .037 WPA)
Tears for You
Brian Duensing (4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 K 1 BB, -.227 WPA)
Francisco Liriano (2.0 IP, 1 R but a 2-run HR, 1 K, 1 BB, -.111 WPA)
Kubel-Young-Harris-Tolbert (1-for-15)
50 comments | 1 recs |
Twins Hammer and Homer Royals for the Sweep: Bring On the Tigers!
by Jesse on Oct 4, 2009 6:23 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
55 comments
Twins 13, Royals 4
Do you hear that? Can you still hear it? It's the reverb from the cacophony of noise created by fans at the Dome. Why, you may ask?
Because we just forced game 163.
"BOOM!" said Jason Kubel.
"BOOM!" said Delmon Young.
"BOOM!" said Kubel, again.
"Ditto," said Delmon.
As the Detroit Tigers hung on to salvage one game from the Chicago White Sox this afternoon, the Twins were busy putting the hurt on the Kansas City Royals. It was 7-0 at the end of the third inning, with six of those runs crossing the plate stuck in Kubel's beard; a pair of three-run jacks lifted Jason to one of the best days of his career in a crucial game.
Young went deep twice of his own accord, solo shots that, "just enough" or not, certainly did the trick. His second blast put the Twins up 8-1 going into the sixth, and the game looked like it was on ice. But oh yeah, we were facing the Royals, and they have just as much fight as the Twins. Sadly for them they don't have the talent to match, but for one half of an inning, things were interesting.
Carl Pavano started on three days rest this afternoon, and he looked good. Working out of a second and third with one out situation in the second inning, he made a statement about exactly what kind of a pitcher he can be when he bears down. He worked John Buck out-in-out-in-in to induce a shallow fly-out to center that couldn't score a run, and then quickly sent down Alex Gordon as well. It was a microcosm of the game for the Royals: try as they might, it wasn't going to be good enough.
Pavano pitched around a Luis Hernandez leadoff double in the third before allowing a run in the fourth off back-to-back doubles by Alberto Callaspo and Mark Teahen. He looked strong again the fifth before falling off the table in the aforementioned sixth.
Mike Jacobs picked up a leadoff single before Callaspo tripled to bring the score to 8-2. Still Pavano battled back, striking out Teahen and inducing a Buck ground-out for out number two. Another run scored, but with the bases empty and the bullpen spare he attacked Alex Gordon.
"BOOM!", said Gordon. 8-4, hook for Pavano, enter Bobby Keppel.
Quick, ask me which pitcher I don't want to see in a game.
Keppel lasted six pitches, delivering five fastballs down the middle of the plate and a slider in the dirt. The Royals continued to jab with the left, trying to inch closer before coming in with a strong right. With runners on the corners and still just the two outs that Pavano managed, Ron Gardenhire went to Ron Mahay in order to get lefty Mitch Maier.
Mahay hit Maier.
Bases loaded, down by four and with Billy Butler at the dish, this game suddenly didn't look like such a sure shot. Gardenhire power walked to the mound for the third time that inning, stuck two fingers up Mahay's nose, pulled down, said "Get outta here you knucklehead" and then poked Mahay in the eyes. Out came Jon Rauch.
Big, surly Jon Rauch. The Jon Rauch whose tattoo changes color depending on his mood. I think it's like a mood tattoo, and today it was green. Whatever green means, it didn't bode well for the Royals. Rauch dusted in and out with a couple of breaking balls, and then attacked the outer half with two consecutive fastballs, the second of which Butler just stood and watched without flinching. Strike three, good sir.
From there things got considerably easier. In the bottom half of the sixth Denard Span walked, and then scored on an Orlando Cabrera double down the left field line. After Kubel singled in the seventh, Carlos Gomez replaced him on the bases and later scored on a Matt Tolbert (TOL-BEAR!!) double into right. In the bottom half of the eighth Span singled, and then scored on a Cabrera double down the left field line. Yes, again. Oh, and one more thing.
"BOOM!" said Cuddyer. With authori-tah.
Astoundingly the Royals actually out-hit the Twins 12-11, with the difference being that A) the Twins walked seven times and B) the Twins out-homered the Royals 5-1. That kind of thing usually makes it very easy to win.
Brian Duensing, Jesse Crain and Francisco Liriano dusted off the final three innings without allowing a run, and at the end of the afternoon the Twins had done the unbelieveable: they'd swept the Royals, and earned themselves a shot at the division title.
While the White Sox couldn't complete the miracle, it hardly seems to matter. Minnesota was written off for dead, not just by most of the baseball world but by many of their own fans. And you know what? I don't blame anyone. I don't harbor any hard feelings toward anyone for looking at the mathematical probabilities on Friday morning and saying "nope". But it was't over then, and it's not over now.
Tuesday afternoon at four the Tigers come to town to defend a crown that should be theirs. There will be no pressure on the Twins in this game--they're "not supposed" to even be there. For the second year in a row the Twins have to play game 163 to decide whether or not they are the AL Central champions, to decide whether or not they earn the right to play post-season baseball. This time the game is being played where it should be played: in the comforts of Dome.
The season plays on for at least one more glorious afternoon of baseball. And we get once last shot under the teflon sky. Are you excited? Because you sure as hell should be.
Stars of the Game
#3: Delmon Young (2-for-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, .071 WPA)
#2: Carl Pavano (5.2 IP on three days rest, 8 H, 7 K, 1 BB, 4 R, .096 WPA)
#1: Jason Kubel (3-for-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 R, .257 WPA)
55 comments | 0 recs |
Mauer's MVP Beats Greinke's Cy Young, Twins Stave Off Comeback
by Jesse on Oct 3, 2009 8:12 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
45 comments
Twins 5, Royals 4
There are no shortages of heroes in Minnesota tonight. A four-run sixth disappeared, but today the Twins weren't going to be denied.
For five and a half innings, Zack Greinke and Nick Blackburn traded zeros. The game's first hit didn't even come until Orlando Cabrera led off the bottom of the fourth, but for more than half of the contest it was a beautiful pitcher's duel. Stressful? Yes. But beautiful.
The Twins finally drew blood in the bottom of the sixth. Nick Punto drew an eight-pitch walk off Greinke to lead off the frame, before Denard "ideal leadoff guy" Span dropped down a made-to-order bunt on the first pitch he saw. With LNP standing on second base, Greinke's pitches began to sit high in the zone. He managed to get Cabrera to ground out to third base, but he wasn't able to keep Punto from advancing. With two out and the game still knotted at zero, up stepped Joe Mauer.
Greinke tried to bust Mauer up and in twice, with Joe taking atypical chances and taking cuts on them both and fouling them off. A pair of sliders just under the strike zone followed, leading to a 1-2 count before Greinke tried to come up and in with another fastball. This time, Joe did exactly what he meant to. He pulled it through the right side, and Punto finally scored to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.
Then the Royals ace came off the rails, just a little bit. Jason Kubel took an outer-half fastball and shot it down the left field line, for a moment saving Greinke from a run as it hit the turf and then bounced over the fence, keeping Mauer on third base. Then he hit Michael Cuddyer with a 94-mph fastball. For the third time in two days, the Royals loaded the bases for Delmon Young.
Maybe Greinke was feeling confident. Maybe he just didn't locate the ball where he wanted it to go. Maybe he and Miguel Olivo were over-thinking their strategy. For whatever reason, Greinke served Delmon a 95-mph first-pitch fastball somewhere between the letters and the belly button, and as everyone's favorite play-by-play guy likes to say, he didn't miss it. Young went the other way, dropping the ball into right field, clearing the bases to give the Twins a 4-0 lead.
Kansas City stuck with their man, even after Jose Morales singled on the next pitch. Even Matt Tolbert swung at the first pitch he saw, and he hit it hard. But this time the ball was blind, and Minnesota's rally came to and end. So did Greinke's afternoon.
A Mike Jacobs homer in the top of the seventh put Kansas City on the board, but it was the eighth that, if you were watching or listening or at this game, should have put the fear of the baseball gods right into you. Olivo led it off with a double, signaling the end of Blackburn's night. Jose Mijares replaced him, and I'm starting to wonder if he's inside of his own head a bit after throwing at Adam Everett on Thursday. Alex Gordon took the third fastball he saw and deposited it over the right field fence, cutting Minnesota's lead to one. Another single saw Mijares get the hook for Jon Rauch, who did his job one batter too late.
Willie Bloomquist singled, moving something called Tug Hutlett to third with no outs in the inning. Rauch got Mitch Maier to roll into a double play, but it scored the tying run. The Metrodome fell silent, and if you weren't having images of whatever playoff hopes you had crashing down in your subconscious, then I envy you. For a game that looked so well in hand to fall apart so quickly, it didn't look good.
You know who didn't care? You know who said "Get on my back, I have broad shoulders and really big dimples and the bat of a hero"? Michael Cuddyer. The same guy who Greinke nailed two innings prior watched a pair of pitches miss the zone before he decided to take a chance. Dusty Hughes threw a changeup, as straight as it could possibly be, right over the plate at about Cuddyer's knees. Cuddles turned on it, and lauched it into the home run porch in left field. He breathed life back into the season, into the team, and into the fans.
Joe Nathan struck out a pair in a perfect ninth inning to pick up save number 47, and once again the Minnesota Twins have won. It's not over yet, kids. No matter what happens tonight, tomorrow matters. And if by some miracle the Tigers lose tonight, tomorrow matters even more.
Holy crap. Can they do this?
Stars of the Game
#3: Delmon Young (2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI, .154 WPA)
#2: Nick Blackburn (7+ IP, 2 R, 5 K, 0 BB, .305 WPA)
#1: Michael Cuddyer (1-for-3, HR, RBI, 2 R, .245 WPA)
45 comments | 0 recs |
1 GB. No, Really.
by RandBall's Stu on Oct 3, 2009 8:48 AM EDT
in Game Recaps
15 comments
No team in baseball history has come from three games back with four games to play. The Minnesota Twins like those odds.
Thanks to an early beatdown of the Royals' Lenny DiNardo and a serviceable start from Jeff Manship, the Twins tallied a 10-7 victory over Kansas City. Meanwhile, Jake Peavy and our new best friends in Chicago shut the Tigers out again. The lead in the AL Central is one measly game. Cool, huh?
Delmon Young started the festivities in the bottom of the first, pretending a DiNardo fastball was Jose Mijares and launching a grand slam into the left-center seats. In one inning of official work, DiNardo gave up 7 runs, 5 earned. As it turned out, the Twins would need every one of those and a few more.
The blame for that cannot be laid at Jeff Manship's feet. He pitched into the 6th and posted his first major league win, giving up 3 earned on 8 hits. The same cannot be said of Jesse Crain or Mijares, who both had trouble getting batters out, forcing Ron Gardenhire to go deep into the bullpen in a game the Twins led 10-0. Ron Mahay put out Crain's fire, Matt Guerrier did likewise for Mijares (who was shown on SportsCenter attacking the dugout wall with his foot after leaving the game), and Joe Nathan pitched a drama-free 9th to post his Twins-record 46th save.
Beyond that: Jason Kubel hit his 25th home run, Orlando Cabrera committed two errors, Joe Mauer is at .366 after 1-for-4 night, and Jon Rauch was the only reliable bullpen arm that went unused.
Enjoy the pennant race, everybody.
15 comments | 0 recs
Twins Stave Off Elimination, Detroit's Magic Number Remains 2
by Jesse on Oct 1, 2009 8:38 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
28 comments
Which, of course, means any combination of Twins defeats and Tigers wins leading to two equals see ya next year.
I'll keep this short because I'm writing something for tonight, and Adam is more than welcome to add to this if he so chooses later on, but here's the big deal for today's game: TWINS WIN. SEASON NOT OVER. NOT YET.
Already I've been getting flack from friends for not "just admitting it, already", but there's a good reason for that. It's only three games, but stranger things have happened; just go back to 2006 and ask the Tigers, who lost the division crown to a team that had recorded the final out of their own season an hour prior. Like I've said to my friends--I'm just dealing with reality as it comes. I'm not setting myself up for disappointment, because I know exactly how the odds are stacked. But there's no point in saying it's over when it's not, and you know why? Because it's not actually over. It's like asking a Pirates fan to admit they have a zero percent chance of doing jack squat in 2010. Sure, it's probably true, but why take the chance of having to eat your words? [Expletive deleted] happens.
Yes, I put the [expletive deleted] in there. I've already cursed enough for one day. Just check the overflow thread. Which, of course, brings me to my next point.
Jeremy Bonderman needs his clock cleaned. That's my point. Let's go back to the beginning, shall we?
In the bottom of the eighth inning, it looked pretty clear that Jose Mijares was, for some inexplicable reason which may have a history from earlier in the series but that's still no excuse, anyway, that Mijares was trying to bean Adam Everett. Yes, the same Everett who, if hit by a strong wind, will dissipate into nothing more than a cloud of dust. Only his shoes would remain. But yes, Mijares was trying to hit him. And he failed. Home plate apprentice umpire Angel Hernandez warned both benches, something we've seen before.
Out comes Jim Leyland, and good for him because I'd be just as ticked as he was if I was being warned for something that, thanks to Jose's inability to hit the broad side of a barn (or toothpick as the case may be), hadn't even happened. Leyland gets tossed. Top of the next inning, very first pitch, Bonderman throws at Delmon Young. Not just at Delmon, but as his knees.
Delmon? Angry at Mijares for starting it in the first place. Bonderman? Tossed. Laird? Tossed. And for what?
NOTHING.
Listen, I said this in the overflow thread and I'll say it again: I don't blame Bonderman for throwing at Young. That's his action to take and his call to make. But I do take issue with Bonderman throwing at Delmon's knees. You want to defend your players after both teams have been warned? I'm fine with that, I get it. Getting hit is a part of the game, and it’s not like the Tigers were about to come back and win the game. But you throw at somebody’s knees you’re getting serious; you're playing with somebody's career.
It's over now, and that's fine. I hope it's done with. It sounds like Gardy might be a little upset with Mijares as well.
Twins win, 8-3, and pull back within two games of the Tigers. Well done, boys. Too bad we couldn't get those hits on Tuesday night, but that's the way it goes. All you can do is come out and win tomorrow. If you can, try not to make an error every time you touch the ball.
28 comments | 0 recs |
Twins Win Nail-Biter In 10: Delmon Young's Insurance Run the Difference
by Jesse on Sep 29, 2009 4:13 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
44 comments
F10: Twins 3, Tigers 2
To use the words of fischean: One. 1. Uno.
If you wanted intense, hard-fought baseball, you got it. If you wanted big moments, pivotal mistakes and a fantastic pitcher's duel, you got that, too. Did you want a Twins win? Granted.
Nick Blackburn struggled through the first four innings, allowing the leadoff hitter to reach three of the four innings with two of those hits being a double. Yet every time the Tigers pushed, Nick pushed back. Eight base runners through the first four innings garnered the home team just a solitary run, thanks to some nice defense (a diving Orlando Cabrera and a scoop by Justin Morneau Michael Cuddyer) and a great play (Cuddyer to home, Joe Mauer blocking the plate and applying the tag).
Once Nick escaped the fourth, he sent down all nine hitters through his final three innings. Blackburn settled in and turned into the big game pitcher we needed him to be.
Down 0-1 in the top of the fifth the Twins finally managed to even the score, which may have helped to take the pressure off Blackburn a little bit. Matt Tolbert led off the inning with a double, earning him his new monicker: Tol-Bear. It's French. Nick Punto then attempted his first bunt of the game, a beauty, advancing Tol-Bear to third and nearly running out the throw to first himself. Denard Span-crush then allowed Tol-Beart to tag from third to knot the score.
The Twins threatened again in the top of the ninth before managing to momentarily delay the win. Alexi Casilla doubled to lead off the inning before Tol-Bear dropped down a great bunt to move him to third base. Gardy then called up the ol' squeeze play, and with Casilla already in full sprint Punto was forced to attempt a first-pitch bunt on a ball almost over his head. Popped up, Casilla doubled off third, tear off clothes gnash teeth and generally implode all over the television set.
Enter Jon Rauch being awesome, Span getting a base hit to lead off the tenth. Cue Orlando Cabrera not ending an inning but in fact giving the Twins the lead after Span advances on a wild pitch. Twice. Joe Mauer walking, Carlos Gomez putting down another successful Minnesota bunt and Delmon Young, oh yes Delmon Young, launching a ball in a lofty nature designed to score a sacrifice run. 3-1, Twins.
Of course Joe Nathan managed to make in interesting, allowing Curtis Granderson to smash a bomb before recording an out. But he locked it down and recorded save number 45, tying Eddie Guardado for the team record.
It's all down to one, for just a few hours. Next game in just over three hours, so relax now. While you can.
Stars of the Game
#3: Orlando Cabrera (1-for-5, BIG RBI, .118 WPA)
#2: Alexi Casilla (1-for-2, BIG DOUBLE, .149 WPA)
#1: Nick Blackburn (7 IP, 4 K, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 R, .321 WPA)
44 comments | 0 recs |
Showing 1 - 8 of 200 Older
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
