Silva leads Minnesota to fourth consecutive win; Twins fan needs to be slapped.
For the second night in a row, the Twins' starter went eight innings. Tuesday night Carlos Silva worked through two solo home runs, picked up a couple breaks in the field and was the benefactor of some nice defensive plays. Jason Bartlett made a nice play late in the game, and Mike Redmond is polishing his six-shooter as he gunned down not one, not TWO, but THREE Kansas City would-be base stealers. David DeJesus was nailed once and Mark Grudzielanek twice, making you wonder if the Royals weren't learning their lesson or if some hit-and-run signs were missed.
Torii Hunter was only 1-for-4 which doesn't look as good in the box score as it did in person. Hitting a home run in the bottom of the second to lead off a 4-run frame, he scorched the ball over the left field fence on a line drive. In his second at bat he launched a ball to straight-away center field, and was robbed of his second homer by DeJesus who had scaled the fence to make a fantastic grab. In his final plate appearance Hunter again blasted the ball, lining it sharply toward the right field line. Teahen was playing Hunter perfectly however, and made a sprinting catch to leave Torii with just one hit to show for his efforts.
In the middle of the game, David DeJesus made a play to end the inning. He turned around, pointed to a solitary Royals fan in center field who was around 12 or 13, and threw the ball up to him. A Twins fan got in the way, caught the ball and proceeded to keep it. It was complete bull. Not only for taking a ball from a kid, a ball intended for him personally from a professional baseball player, but dammit it has to be hard to be a Royals fan. Hell, it's easy to be a Yankee fan. "Yeah I live in New York, so sure, I'm a Yankees fan." Nobody brags about cheering for Kansas City. It takes effort, devotion and probably courage in some instances, and this kid was robbed of a souvenir by an inconsiderate dink of a Twins fan. This Twins fan needs to go to his box and feel much shame.
On the other end of the spectrum there was a beautiful moment in the later innings with the Twins in the field. The best part of Tuesday's game was when, in the top of the eighth inning after Torii Hunter had fielded a routine fly ball, the entire outfield began to chant (for the first of two occasions) TO-RII-HUN-TER...TO-RII-HUN-TER.... It was appreciation and love for our long time center fielder and it was all deserved, and I'm glad I was a part of it. It was more than the home runs, more than the acrobatic plays, it was a display of support for a guy who is loved by the fans and whose future is uncertain. On the day that a futuer Hall of Fame athlete was dealt away, joining a throng of highly successful ex-Minnesota athletes in the New England area, it was more than just a cheer. It was a conscious decision to cheer for everything Torii has done and meant to the franchise and to us as fans.
Torii did a one-quarter turn toward the outfield seats and touched the brim of his cap, and kept his eyes on the action. I hope he understood.