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The over-expanded scoring summary from Sunday's game

The scoring summary tells you what happened. The over-expanded scoring summary tells you what REALLY happened.

Joe Robbins

The newspaper often prints a scoring summary next to the Twins boxscore on the baseball page of the paper. This is, in general, fairly rudimentary: "TOP 1ST: With two out, Brian Dozier singled. Joe Mauer homered to right, driving in Dozier. Minnesota 2, Cleveland 0."

On the internet, though, space isn't a concern. We have an unlimited amount of electronic ink to use on our electronic newsprint, and no editor is going to get on our case if we exceed our hole in the layout. We, then, can publish the full scoring summary - the one with all the information. Here's Sunday's summary, the one you won't see in the paper, the one that tells you everything, we mean everything, that happened.

Top 1st: With Indians starter Carlos Carrasco on the mound and one out, Joe Mauer doubled to left, and went to third base on a wild pitch. Ryan Doumit walked. Josh Willingham singled to left, scoring Mauer. It was 88 degrees, sunny, and fans were still filtering into the park, including four who were having a ninth birthday, and would later get a chance to go to the team store and pick out a new Indians T-shirt to replace the worn-out one they'd received for their eighth birthday. Twins 1, Cleveland 0.

Bottom 2nd: With Twins starter Pedro Hernandez pitching and none out, Mark Reynolds, Carlos Santana, and Ryan Raburn walked. Hernandez swiped at the mound angrily, thinking only of failure. Part of his brain told him, Pedro, just be calm, you will be fine, you have done this before. He tried to ignore the part that said, Pedro, they're all watching you, they can see what's happening and the doubt that lines your face. They can see you don't belong. Pedro, give up now, there is still time to do that MBA. Yan Gomes hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Reynolds. Twins 1, Cleveland 1.

Bottom 3rd: With Hernandez pitching, Mike Aviles walked. The voices came back, saying, Pedro, they know, Pedro, they can see, Pedro, why don't you admit it? Pedro, the ball, it weighs fifty pounds. Pedro, that hitter is a giant, Pedro. That umpire hates you, his strike zone is tiny, PEDRO, ARE YOU LISTENING? Jason Kipnis doubled to left center, scoring Aviles. Cleveland 2, Twins 1.

Top 5th: With Carrasco pitching and none out, Clete Thomas singled to center. A boy and a girl met, by chance, in the left-field bleachers. Mauer walked. The boy and the girl had been in the same fifth-grade class, but hadn't seen each other since. Doumit lined out to center. They had been inseparable that year; the teachers had tried to sit them on opposite sides of the room, but no matter how hard they tried to keep them apart, he would find her, and they would talk, even then, about anything and everything that came to mind. Willingham flied out to left. When he came back for sixth grade the next year, she wasn't there; someone said her parents moved to a different state because her dad was taking a new job, but he never saw her again. Oswaldo Arcia singled to center, scoring Thomas and sending Mauer to third. Gradually, she slipped out of his memory, but even now, twenty years later, he still sometimes woke up from a dream that had a girl in it, the girl from his fifth-grade class, and though he couldn't remember who she was, he would try to hold on to that dream, hold on to whatever memory he had left of the girl he used to know. Trevor Plouffe singled to left, scoring Mauer. And now she was back, suddenly, and she remembered his name and he remembered her face and, right there in front of a stand that sold ice cream in batting helmets, they were eleven again, and in love without knowing the right name for it, and possibility and intrigue and companionship returned, and the sun gleamed more brightly in the sky, and nothing was impossible. Nick Hagadone relieved Carrasco. Just as his mind began to open up like the gates of a castle, and the doors in his heart that he'd unknowingly shut more than two decades previously were being unlocked for the first time since, that's when her husband came out of the bathroom, looking haggard, trailing the two young boys who ran towards her screaming, "Mom!" Chris Parmelee struck out looking. Twins 3, Cleveland 2.

Top 7th: With Hagadone pitching, Mauer singled to center and went to second on a wild pitch. Stamps, thought Ron Gardenhire; that's what I'll do, collect stamps. There are always new stamps, but they're not so different from the old stamps, nothing like the changes that get sprung on you in baseball. Doumit reached on an infield single, Mauer to third. "Attaway, Doumit!" yelled Gardenhire, but in his mind, he was thinking of stamps, and how simple they were, and just oh God how boring are stamps, I can't handle stamps, they can't take this away from me, I need this. Matt Albers relieved Hagadone. Gardenhire tried to look calm, but inside, he thought please, Josh, please get a hit, please drive Joe in, I need to manage this baseball team, it's all I've ever been good at. It's all I have. Please don't let them take this away from me. Wilingham singled to left, scoring Mauer. Gardenhire clapped, a little too hard; Terry Steinbach looked at him, the briefest of quizzical glances, but enough to make Gardenhire's cheeks redden and the manager turn away, just for a second. Arcia lined to right. Plouffe hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Stamps, thought Gardenhire. Maybe they're not so bad. Twins 4, Cleveland 2.

Bottom 7th: With Casey Fien pitching for Minnesota (PEDRO WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE), Drew Stubbs hit a leadoff home run to left field. In the clubhouse, Hernandez turned away from the TV. The clubhouse guy was there; clubbies know all, see all, Pedro, don't let him see you rage, Pedro, he knows how much you need this, he's waiting for them to blow it and take this win, your chance, away from you, he's laughing, Pedro, can't you see? Twins 4, Cleveland 3.

Top 9th: With one out and Rich Hill pitching for Cleveland, Doumit singled to left. The forgotten love of his life gone, a man stumbled out of the gate of Progressive Field, weaving drunkenly but stone-cold sober, realizing a chapter of his life was over, finally, and whether it was a good thing he might never understand. Cody Allen relieved Hill. Three of the four birthday kids had forgotten all about the game. Willingham flied out to center. Gardenhire stood, stone-faced, at the dugout rail. One more day, he thought, I'll give it one more day; I say that every day, but maybe it's not quite time to let go yet. Arcia doubled to left, scoring Doumit. Something in Arcia's gaze triggered a realization for Hernandez: this is how all of us feel, he thought. This is how it is - doubt, fear, but you have to push through; that's why we signed up for this game. Plouffe grounded out to third. Twins 5, Cleveland 3

FINAL: TWINS 5, CLEVELAND 3