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Small sample sizes are a bit like chaos theory. Over a large enough sample things start to even out when when you're focusing on something specific or a single incident, all rules are thrown out the window. That was the case today, as the Minnesota Twins beat Justin Verlander and a lineup full of, relatively speaking, All-Stars.
Big days from players with names like "Doug Bernier" and "Chris Herrmann" and "Brian Dozier" overcame good games from household names Austin Jackson and Prince Fielder.
Herrmann had two RBI doubles, plating the first and seventh runs of the game. To be fair, the second "double" could just have well been ruled an error since Jackson should have quite easily made the play. I'm assuming the wind pushed it and he just couldn't get a lock on it. Dozier scored from first on the first double, made a fantastic leaping catch on a phaser-like liner from Omar Infante, and then picked up his own RBI double in the sixth.
Lest we forget, the finisher in the big fifth inning was Ryan Doumit. Doumit's 11th homer of the season was a three-run blast that cleared the fence in cavernous right-center field.
For whatever reason, Verlander didn't have his best stuff today. Give credit where it's due - the Twins picked up the big hits when they needed them (even if they were still just 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position), but they were also the benefactors of a little luck. We already mentioned the miscue by Jackson, but Wilkin Ramirez had an "OOPS" swing tied the game at two in the fourth. But I don't think anyone will think the Twins are above a little luck.
Andrew Albers, unfortunately, didn't fare much better. There were a couple of runs in the third, but he worked around some trouble in the fifth and then Detroit put the hammer down in the sixth. All with two outs. Two runs into the inning, Josh Roenicke relieved Albers and promptly gave up a three-run shot. So Albers can thank Roenicke for that later.
Casey Fien, Jared Burton and Glen Perkins were all solid, however. Burton's perfect eighth included a pair of strikeouts, and Perkins shut the door by inducing a 6-4-3 double play. Perk is the first Twins closer to reach the 30 save plateau since Joe Nathan totaled 47 in 2009.
Studs
Duds
WOO!