First game of the series, the Twins leading the Sox by 1/2 game in the Wild Card race. They trail Detroit by 5 games. Kansas City: 47-85. Minnesota: 76-53.
Lineups
Kansas City Royals
Name POS AB AVG HR RBI OBP SLG VORP
DeJesus LF 366 .303 7 43 .379 .445 20.7
Grudzielanek 2B 476 .288 7 45 .326 .405 14.6
Teahen 3B 361 .296 17 64 .368 .535 30.7
Sweeney DH 136 .243 5 20 .348 .412 2.3
Brown RF 430 .288 12 68 .353 .453 15.1
Shealy 1B 102 .304 3 17 .360 .431 3.6
Buck C 316 .234 9 41 .292 .373 -6.1
Blanco SS 49 .286 3 16 .327 .327 0.0
Gathright CF 298 .221 0 28 .319 .272 -4.1
Minnesota Twins
Name POS AB AVG HR RBI OBP SLG VORP
Castillo 2B 486 .294 3 45 .349 .372 17.2
Punto 3B 324 .312 1 36 .390 .414 18.8
Mauer C 424 .356 10 73 .434 .514 57.6
Cuddyer RF 429 .277 18 87 .360 .506 26.8
Morneau 1B 464 .319 32 110 .372 .586 45.1
Hunter CF 425 .273 21 69 .343 .471 20.9
White DH 254 .217 3 27 .243 .299 -21.1
Tyner LF 153 .320 0 11 .350 .353 1.0
Bartlett SS 219 .342 1 22 .410 .447 20.9
Pitchers
Name IP W L ERA WHIP K/9 AVG VORP
Redman 129.1 7 8 5.85 1.62 3.97 .309 -0.4
Garza 13.2 1 2 6.59 1.68 5.27 .316 -1.7
Keys for Victory
The big thing for the Twins is to keep it rolling. I'm glad there was an off day yesterday, because is lessened the liklihood of a fallout after the physically and emotionally draining weekend series against the White Sox. Any team can be decent on any given day, but as long as the Twins aren't looking past the Royals and toward the Yankees, you'd like to think it would be cake to walk away with at least a series victory.
Chicago is taking on the Devil Rays, which is basically a bit of a cookie for them as well. The Twins may have the lead in the Wild Card race, but it evaporated quickly the last time we had it, and there's a long way to go before Chicago, Boston, or any of the other few teams involved go away. I hate to say it, BUT...this is a big series. Not as big as the Chicago series, but big in the sense that Minnesota needs to keep winning. With, or without starting pitchers.
On the Royals side of things, Teahen has turned his season around drastically. Here are his monthly numbers on the year; keep in mind he was sent to the minors in May and recalled one month later.
Month Avg Obp Slg
April .219 .271 .406
May .077 .077 .077
June .305 .352 .463
July .319 .442 .692
August .342 .397 .586
2006 .296 .368 .535
In addition to Teahen's break-out, Mike Sweeney has returned to the lineup.
Frame Avg Obp Slg
Pre-DL .176 .313 .309
Post-DL .309 .385 .515
Those post-DL numbers are MUCH more Sweeney-esque. Just food for thought, and this is probably just the thing that kills Royals fans year-after-year, just like it killed Twins fans in the mid and late 90's, BUT...there's a nice core there. If Sweeney comes back to Kansas City to DH next year and is healthy, he's still a good hitter. David DeJesus, Mark Teahen and Ryan Shealy, along with two studs coming up in Alex Gordon and Billy Butler...this could be a dynamic, young offense by the middle of next summer. Now, about that pitching staff...
Game kicks off in just under an hour. Go Twins.