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I mentioned in the game thread that the Twins faced Jeremy Bonderman in his penultimate start in 2010, and handled him like they always have by scoring seven runs (off three homers) in four innings. That was the story today as well, although Bonderman did manage to collect an extra two outs this time.
It started quietly enough. Bonderman turned away Minnesota 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first. That was as good as it would get, though, because the Mariners starter never again retired three batters in a row. Even if you overlapped innings. Between the bottom of the second and when he was removed with two outs in the fifth, Bonderman faced 21 batters. Eleven reached base. Well, ten really, since one was a fielder's choice play.
The chaos between the bottom of the second and two outs in the fifth was entirely one-sided. Four extra-base hits in the second (including Ryan Doumit's sixth homer), two more extra base hits in the fourth (including Chris Herrmann's first Major League bomb), and one more in the fifth (Josh Willingham's tenth skyjack). It wasn't pretty.
Scott Diamond wasn't pretty, especially in the first inning, but he got through it. After getting hit hard in the first and escaping unscathed, he faced the minimum until the sixth. Ryan Pressly and Josh Roenicke threw scoreless frames to bridge to Glen Perkins in the ninth, who flawlessly completed the ninth in a non-save situation.
With that win the Twins are 6-1 in their last seven games, which is a massive improvement after losing ten in a row through the middle of May.
ROLL CALL!
- DavidRF (39)
- Sportsavenue (34)
- montanatwinsfan (27)
- TwinATL (26)
- twinsgirl197 (25)
- twinsbrewer (24)
- spanspanspan (24)
- jere.johnson.37 (22)
- Kendrys Morales tried to get something going for the Ms in the fourth, singling off the wall in right-center field. But Chris Parmelee played the wall and the bounce perfectly, quickly turning around and throwing him out with ease at second base.
- I like Jeremy Bonderman. Aaron Hicks tripled into the right field corner. Brian Dozier doubled in the second, as did Hicks and Parmelee. I haven't done the math, but I'm pretty sure that the Twins slugged 4.250 today.
- Ryan Pressly, you guys.
- Eduardo Escobar, Joe Mauer, and Willingham were 6-for-14 with four RBI and three runs as the one through three batters; the six through eight hitters (Herrmann, Dozier, Hicks) were 8-for-12 with four RBI and six runs. But really, it was a hit parade.
- TWINS WIN.