Game 1
Actual quote from me in the game thread for this game.
(Kansas City starting pitcher Will) Smith has a 5.55 ERA, and his formula for a lack of success compared to (Twins starting pitcher Cole) De Vries has been a couple fewer homers, but more hits and walks allowed. So naturally, we'll have a pitcher's duel for Game 1.
And a pitcher's duel is basically what we got. Starting pitchers Will Smith and Cole De Vries both turned in quality starts, but De Vries was just a little better as the Twins beat the Royals 3-1 in the first game of the doubleheader.
The Twins took an early lead in this game when with 2 outs, Justin Morneau got a hold of a hanging slider from Smith and lined it into the right field corner, which scored Josh Willingham from first base. The slim margin would hold up until the 5th, when the Twins tacked on two more on a sacrifice fly by Morneau, and an RBI bloop single by Ryan Doumit. There could have been more runs driven in during that inning, but right fielder Jeff Francoeur was able to get to Doumit's hit quickly and nailed Willingham, who was attempting to go 1st to 3rd. However, Darin Mastroianni did touch home plate before Willingham was tagged out, so the Twins did succeed in getting their 3rd run.
It's not like they actually needed it though, as De Vries was very sharp in the game. He kept the Royals quiet until the 7th inning, but he did get some help from his defense, although it won't show up in the box score. With one out and runners on 1st and 2nd, Eric Hosmer flew out to Mastroianni in center field. Mike Moustakas, who was on 2nd base, did advance to 3rd, but a smart throw by Mastroianni to the cutoff man, instead of attempting to throw out Moustakas, prevented Brayan Pena from advancing from 1st to 2nd. The next hitter, Johnny Giavotella, did come throw with an RBI single to left, but this time it was Matt Carson who threw to 2nd base rather than 3rd to keep Giavotella from stretching his base hit into a double. Alex Burnett then relieved De Vries and was able to shut the door on the Royals by getting Lorenzo Cain to ground out to end the inning, and the Royals were unable to put together any more rallies for the rest of the game.
Studs
Cole De Vries (6 2/3 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K), Jamey Carroll (3 for 4, SB), Justin Morneau (1 for 2, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K), Chris Parmelee (2 for 4, 2B)
Duds
Josh Willingham (0 for 3, BB, SB), Matt Carson (0 for 4)
Game 2 is after the jump.
Game 2
Where Game 1 featured a low-scoring affair, Game 2 was the virtual opposite. Chris Parmelee hit a 3-run homer and Joe Mauer hit a grand slam as the Twins scored 8 runs in the first two innings, and then the pitching staff narrowly held on as the Twins swept the doubleheader with the Royals with a 8-7 victory in the nightcap.
Those two home runs, which occurred in the 1st and 2nd innings, respectively, provided the Twins with 7 of their 8 runs. The only other run was their first, which came on a Justin Morneau double play grounder with the bases loaded in the 1st inning. The 8 runs contributed to sending Royals starting pitcher Luke Hochevar to the showers after only 1 2/3 innings, with all 8 runs being earned.
However, the Twins were not able to keep the Royals offense quiet either. Twins starter Liam Hendriks allowed the Royals to halve the score to 4-2 after the first inning when Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas had 2-out run scoring singles. The Royals tacked on another run in the 3rd with a 2-out RBI double by Moustakas, and 2 more in the 4th with 2-out RBI singles by Alex Gordon and Billy Butler, which forced Ron Gardenhire to remove Hendriks before he could even qualify for a win.
Notice a theme? All of the Royals runs in this game scored with 2 outs, though to be fair, those two in the 4th shouldn't have scored except for a costly Trevor Plouffe fielding error that would have ended the inning. However, with the exception of two 7th inning runs allowed by Anthony Swarzak, who was first in relief of Hendriks, the bullpen did a fine job keeping the Royals offense silent for the rest of the game. There was a minor threat in the 9th inning when Salvador Perez singled to lead off the inning against Glen Perkins, but Perk was then able to pick off pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson.
Studs
Joe Mauer (1 for 4, BB, HR, 4 RBI), Chris Parmelee (1 for 3, BB, HR, 3 RBI)
Duds
Liam Hendriks (3 2/3 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 5 K), Trevor Plouffe (0 for 4, K, fielding error)
Notes
- Mauer's grand slam in the 2nd inning was the first for the Twins this season. Believe it or not, but there's still one other team that has yet to hit a grand slam, and that's the Detroit Tigers.
- The 3-4-5 hitters for the Royals (Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, and Salvador Perez) combined to go 9 for 14 in the game, with 3 RBI and 4 runs scored.
- Glen Perkins recorded a save in both games, which made him the first Twin since Rick Lysander in 1984 to notch 2 saves in one day.
- The Twins have had 2 doubleheaders this season. Both were against the Royals, and both resulted in Twins sweeps.
With this, All Bryz, All Day (ABAD) is over. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Now, for some MLB: The Show.