There were some nice moments in today's game. Jason Repko scored Danny Valencia in the second to put the Twins up 1-0. Carl Pavano escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third. Prince Fielder struck out in the fourth to mark strikeout number 1000 in Pavano's career. Michael Cuddyer got another hit, a double this time.
But by and large this game belonged to the Brewers, and rightly so. Milwaukee had been scuffling a bit coming into the series, having lost seven of their last ten, but a three-game sweep will put you right back on track.
In the fifth, Jonathan Lucroy showed why he would be a thorn in Minnesota's side all afternoon by tripling into left field. Jason Repko would misplay the ball, but Lucroy was still credited with a triple. Pavano would bounce back to record two outs, stranding Lucroy at third, but a Nyjer Morgan single finally scored the tying run. Ryan Braun then took advantage of a Pavano mistake, leaving a sinker right over the heart of the plate, and depositing the ball in left field. Milwaukee wouldn't look back.
Back-to-back two-out doubles in the next inning (one by Lucroy) would add two more runs, and the sixth ended Pavano's afternoon having allowed five runs, all on two-out hits.
Jim Thome would come through with a pinch-hit single in the seventh that closed the game to 5-2, but Alexi Casilla would strike out on a ball in the dirt to leave the bases loaded and end the one true threat the Twins had all afternoon.
Notes
- Joe Mauer pinch hit for Drew Butera in the seventh, smashing a line drive right to Braun in left field. Obviously the Brewers had the shift on.
- Mauer hit again in the ninth, and went the other way again with better results: a solid single.
- Butera took a stray breaking ball in the nuts after he couldn't smother it. Well, he smothered it, just not the way he'd have liked.
- Casilla's fielding error in the seventh made that sixth run pretty easy on the Brewers.
- Tsuyoshi Nishioka picked up a pair of hits. One was an infield single, but the other was on a nice liner up the middle. It was great to see him hit something solidly.
- Alex Burnett struck out the two batters he faced. In his last five appearances he's totaled 3.2 innings, striking out striking out four and allowing nothing else. No hits, no walks, and obviously no runs.
- Glen Perkins scuffled a bit in the bottom of the eighth but got through the inning without allowing a run.
- Earlier I mentioned back-to-back doubles by the Brewers, one by Lucroy. Well, the other was by the Milwaukee starter, Chris Narveson, who slashed it down the left field line. Yeah. It was that kind of day.
Studs
Alex Burnett, Michael Cuddyer, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Jim Thome
Duds
Carl Pavano, Alexi Casilla