Twins 4, Astros 3. 13 innings, 1 recap, 5 beers

Here are some thoughts on Friday night's Twins game:

• Houston's Jarred Cosart looks like the type of young pitcher the Twins desperately need. He threw seven strong innings, allowing just five hits, striking out four and walking one, with a Joe Mauer sac fly accounting for the only run allowed.
• Houston's old-timey unis and caps are sweet. This is the first time I've ever said anything positive about that godforsaken sprawl of a town, and likely the last.
• Samuel Deduno had the archetypal Deduno inning in the third: single, double, strikeout, strikeout, walk, strikeout, no runs scored. I halfway love Sam Deduno, but if the team was any good and these were meaningful games, innings like that would kill me. He ended up going six innings with two runs allowed. Not as good as his last start, but any start that gives this offense a chance to win is a plus.
• The Astros took the lead with a 2-out rally in the 5th, complete with another baffling mental error by the Twins defense. Robbie Grossman (who?) walked, then stole second. Mauer caught the pitch and sprung to his feet in time to make a throw...but there was nobody covering second base. You can guess what happened next, but I'll tell you anyway since you're already here: Jonathan Villar (who?) walked, Jake Elmore (who?) walked, and a Jason Castro bleeder up the middle scored two runs. As local tornado enthusiast Ben Collin would say, "That's Twins baseball" right now.
• Twins set-up guys: still a bright spot. Jared Burton and Meat Raffle each had 1-2-3 innings (Burton's aided by a sweet Joe Mauer assist to nail Brandon Barnes (seriously, who the fuck are the Houston Astros where is Jeff Bagwell) as he attempted to steal second).
• The Twins tied it in the 8th when Justin Morneau drove in Brian Dozier. They still had runners at the corners with just one out, but both Oswaldo Arcia and Trevor Plouffe struck out. Arcia K'd thrice in his return to the Twins lineup.
• Squirrel head.
• In the 9th inning, Glen Perkins IN A NON-SAVE SITUATION gave up a 1-out bloop single to L.J. Hoes (fucking come on), who scored on a double high off the wall from Matt Dominguez (sure, I guess). Clete Thomas bobbled the ball before throwing home, but it looked like it got to Mauer in time for a tag. Mauer instead threw it to third to nail Dominguez. It was close, but I honestly can't say if it was the wrong decision or not. Your mileage may vary.
• In the bottom of the 9th, though, when you're dealing with the likes of Chris Colabello, Doug Bernier and Chris Herrmann, no game is over, not now, not ever. So, yes, Colabello walked, Bernier pinch-ran, Herrmann walked, and a Dozier single tied the game. Just like the 8th, they had two runners on and one out, and just like the 8th, they failed to push another runner across, sending this one to extras. This is the point where I started drinking heavily. So if the rest of this recap gets weird, blame it on that.
• Tenth inning recap: Dickandbert talked about prostate issues in the top half, and tattoos in the bottom half. The Astros tried to give the game away with a throwing error that allowed Trevor Plouffe to reach second, but the Twins were unable to push him across. We also saw Doug Bernier get intentionally walked so Houston could pitch to Clete Thomas. This actually happened. Look at the fucking box score. IT HAPPENED. I SAW IT.
• Eleventh inning recap: I think Josh Roenicke pitched.
• Twelfth inning recap: over to you, Randy Newman.
• Thirteenth inning recap: Clete Thomas walked, Kevin Correia pinch-bunted him to second, Dozier singled him home. Twins win, 4-3. Ryan Pressly is your winning pitcher.
• The Twins called up Andrew Albers from Rochester, and it looks like he will be Tuesday's starting pitcher. Good for him.

Robot Roll Call

Charts and Graphs

Source: FanGraphs