Yesterday was one of the most exciting days in baseball history. As far as the regular season goes, I can't think of a better set of games, but I'm young and that may be why. On the other hand, Tim Kurkjian is much older and a much more respected baseball analyst, and he echoed my sentiments, saying: "This was the greatest day of regular season baseball in the game's glorious history." Regardless of where exactly it ranks on your list, it was without a doubt an amazing day. Here's what happened, in timeline form.
12:00 PM: I am informed by Twin #2 that Adam Dunn is not in the lineup for the White Sox. Alas, that means that his quest for infamy has ceased. More on that in another post, as there were exciting moments galore to come.
9:56 PM: Skipping way ahead. In Atlanta, Craig Kimbrel is on the mound against Chase Utley in the top of the ninth inning. With one out and the bases loaded, the Braves led by the score of 3-2. At the same time, the Cardinals were up 7-0 on the Astros, meaning a loss would likely send Atlanta home for the season. Utley came through with a deep sacrifice fly to left field that brought in the tying run from third.
10:02 PM: Kimbrel walked the next batter, his third free pass of the inning, to load the bases, forcing Fredi Gonzalez to go to his bullpen. Out trots Kris Medlen, a pitcher who had thrown exactly one inning in the Major Leagues in 2011. He does his job, though, getting Michael Martinez to pop out, keeping the game knotted at three.
10:23 PM: While Boston, up 3-2 on Baltimore in the seventh inning, continues to sit through a lengthy rain delay, the Rays start to rally against the Yankees. Down 7-0 in the eighth, Tampa Bay has just scored 3 runs to trim the lead to 4. But, though they have runners on first and second, they potentially have only four outs left in their season. Evan Longoria rises to the occasion with a 3-run homer that brings the Rays within one run.
10:26 PM: As the Braves-Phillies matchup pushes into extra innings, the Cardinals seal up their victory, an 8-0 win over Houston. Chris Carpenter dominated from starting to finish, pitching a complete game shutout in which he allowed just two hits and one walk, and struck out 11 batters. It's official now: Atlanta has to keep their postseason hopes alive.
10:31 PM: Although it has no bearing on the postseason matchups, Trevor Plouffe hits a single to drive in Denard Span to break a scoreless tie, giving Minnesota a walk-off win to end its season and avoid 100 losses. Carl Pavano was the true hero, however, as he went toe-to-toe with Bruce Chen (seriously?), putting up a complete game shutout with only 95 pitches.
10:47 PM: With two outs and nobody on in the ninth, and the Rays still down by a run, Joe Maddon sends Dan Johnson to the plate to pinch hit for Sam Fuld. It's a strange decision, if only because Johnson has not had a Major League hit since April 27. Sure, he was in Triple-A for a while, but he was also hitless in his last 20 at bats and had a .108 average on the season. Of course, down to his last strike, Johnson ropes a line drive just inside the right field foul pole for a game-tying home run.
10:58 PM: Play finally resumes in Baltimore, with the Red Sox emerging from their clubhouse having just watched the epic comeback the Rays had completed.
11:40 PM: In the 14th inning, it all finally comes to a close for Atlanta. Following a broken bat, blooping infield single by Hunter Pence that put Philadelphia in front by a run, the Braves' Freddie Freeman grounds into a double play to end the game and complete a collapse that saw an 8 1/2 game lead in early September go by the wayside. St. Louis is officially headed to the playoffs.
11:51 PM: An hour after the Red Sox learned they might not have the luxury of a play-in game even if they lose, Ryan Lavarnway grounds into a double play with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the ninth inning. Boston enters the bottom half of the frame still clinging to a 3-2 lead.
11:54 PM: Brandon Gomes and Jake McGee have combined to put Yankee runners on the corners with nobody out in the top of the twelfth inning. McGee then induces a grounder from Jorge Posada. After Evan Longoria scoops up the ball, he catches Greg Golson straying too far from third base and tags him out.
11:59 PM: Jonathan Papelbon gets the first two outs of the ninth inning before Chris Davis strokes a ball into right field for a double. Immediately afterward, McGee gets the final out of twelfth inning to squelch the Yankees' scoring opportunity.
12:00 AM: Only 30 seconds later, Papelbon gives up a game-tying ground-rule double to Nolan Reimold. Baltimore now has the winning run at second base.
12:02 AM: The next batter, Robert Andino, loops a soft liner into left field. Carl Crawford attempts to make a sliding catch and gets his glove on it, but can't come up with it. He still has a chance to throw out Reimold at home, but his throw is off-line, allowing Baltimore to end their season with a walk-off victory. And, of course, to potentially end Boston's season. It's the first time all year that Boston has lost a game they led after the eighth inning. Previously they had been 77-0.
B.J. Upton takes a healthy cut and misses as the T.V. announcers for the Yankees-Rays game inform their audiences that Boston has lost.
12:04 AM: The remaining fans at Tropicana Field go crazy as the scoreboard operator puts up the result of the Red Sox game. B.J. Upton has struck out and Evan Longoria is strolling to the plate.
12:05 AM: Longoria knocks a line drive down the left field line, almost a mirror image of Dan Johnson's homer earlier in the game. Again it sneaks inside the foul pole for a home run, giving the Rays a walk-off victory and pushing them into the playoffs. They overcame a 9-game deficit in early September and a 7-run deficit with just 6 outs to go in their final game. It was the first time the Yankees had lost a game they led by 7 or more runs in the eighth inning or later since 1953.
2:08 AM: So you tell me: was this the most exciting day in baseball history?
Showing posts with label royals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label royals. Show all posts
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Twins try to avoid 100 losses
The good news: if the Twins could have chosen anybody in the entire league to pitch against them tonight, they would have picked Sean O'Sullivan.
The bad news: the Twins are a terrible team.
O'Sullivan has thrown 53.1 innings this season, and has a WHIP of 1.78 and an ERA of 6.92. That ERA is the worst in the Majors among anyone who's pitched more than 50 innings, as are his xFIP and FIP. He's also collected just 18 strikeouts in his time on the mound, a rate of 3.04 K/9. Not surprisingly, that ranks last among the same group, as does his K% and his utterly embarrassing 0.69 K:BB ratio. And his career numbers don't paint a much better picture: 6.01 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, and 1.23 K/BB.
Of course, if the Royals could pick any team to play against, it would probably be the Twins. While the Astros have a worse record on the season, Minnesota has won 3 of their last 23 games, 5 of their last 34, and 20 of their 71 games since the All-Star break. Anyone who thinks the Red Sox have been playing badly of late should take a look at the Twins' performance. Sure, Boston has won just fewer than a quarter of their games in September, but Minnesota has won only one-sixth of their games.
On an unrelated note, the Adam Dunn watch has taken a turn for the better. Since my original post, Dunn has played in all 3 games and is in the lineup again tonight. He's gotten 12 more plate appearances, including 8 hitless at bats, which puts him at 493, nine away from history. I'll be intently keeping an eye on the White Sox's matchups with Toronto these next two days.
The bad news: the Twins are a terrible team.
O'Sullivan has thrown 53.1 innings this season, and has a WHIP of 1.78 and an ERA of 6.92. That ERA is the worst in the Majors among anyone who's pitched more than 50 innings, as are his xFIP and FIP. He's also collected just 18 strikeouts in his time on the mound, a rate of 3.04 K/9. Not surprisingly, that ranks last among the same group, as does his K% and his utterly embarrassing 0.69 K:BB ratio. And his career numbers don't paint a much better picture: 6.01 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, and 1.23 K/BB.
Of course, if the Royals could pick any team to play against, it would probably be the Twins. While the Astros have a worse record on the season, Minnesota has won 3 of their last 23 games, 5 of their last 34, and 20 of their 71 games since the All-Star break. Anyone who thinks the Red Sox have been playing badly of late should take a look at the Twins' performance. Sure, Boston has won just fewer than a quarter of their games in September, but Minnesota has won only one-sixth of their games.
On an unrelated note, the Adam Dunn watch has taken a turn for the better. Since my original post, Dunn has played in all 3 games and is in the lineup again tonight. He's gotten 12 more plate appearances, including 8 hitless at bats, which puts him at 493, nine away from history. I'll be intently keeping an eye on the White Sox's matchups with Toronto these next two days.
Monday, July 26, 2010
A Few Quick Notes
1) Joe Mauer finally has some momentum going. He's roped three singles today against Zack Greinke, helping stake the Twins to their current 8-0 league, and making him 15-for-37 with 6 extra base hits and 12 RBIs in 10 games since the break.
2) Danny Valencia hit a grand slam in the Twins' six-run first inning. That marks the second day in a row that the Twins have hit a grand slam, as Jason Kubel hit one yesterday against the Orioles.
3) And lastly, Jose Guillen appears to be the laziest player ever allowed to play defense. Danny Valencia got a double when Guillen casually traipsed after a fly ball and half-heartedly stabbed at it with his glove rather than getting his uniform dirty and diving for it. Later, Delmon Young popped a fly ball down the right field line that Guillen sauntered after in an uninterested manner, watching it land just inches foul. I would not want him in the field if I was a pitcher.
Edit: 10:20 PM: 4) Jason Repko has now forgotten how many outs there are twice. He's made one excellent play and another very good one, but it's weird to see a player make that mistake. The first time he just started to throw towards the infield after he caught the third out, so I can't be sure what he was planning to do, but the second time he threw to first in an attempt to double off a runner after he had caught the third out.
2) Danny Valencia hit a grand slam in the Twins' six-run first inning. That marks the second day in a row that the Twins have hit a grand slam, as Jason Kubel hit one yesterday against the Orioles.
3) And lastly, Jose Guillen appears to be the laziest player ever allowed to play defense. Danny Valencia got a double when Guillen casually traipsed after a fly ball and half-heartedly stabbed at it with his glove rather than getting his uniform dirty and diving for it. Later, Delmon Young popped a fly ball down the right field line that Guillen sauntered after in an uninterested manner, watching it land just inches foul. I would not want him in the field if I was a pitcher.
Edit: 10:20 PM: 4) Jason Repko has now forgotten how many outs there are twice. He's made one excellent play and another very good one, but it's weird to see a player make that mistake. The first time he just started to throw towards the infield after he caught the third out, so I can't be sure what he was planning to do, but the second time he threw to first in an attempt to double off a runner after he had caught the third out.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
What an ending
For the final scheduled game in the Metrodome, they lifted the curtain and filled over 51,000 seats. And it wasn't because it was the last chance to watch a game in the stadium--it was because the Twins had a chance to steal the division title from Detroit on the last day of season again.
The Twins did their job, too, pleasing the largest crowd since 1993 with a 13-4 victory and a series sweep of the lowly Royals. Unfortunately, the Tigers also won, leaving both teams with an 86-76 record after the normal 162 games. Of course, you know what that means: the Twins will play a play-in for the second year in a row, this time at the Metrodome. [Who knew that the rule change caused by the Twins' arguments would have an effect so early, and actually benefit the Twins at that?] Whether that's the last Twins game played at the Dome, yet again, remains to be seen.
Jason Kubel and Delmon Young each hit two homers, Michael Cuddyer added his 32nd, and Orlando Cabrera had 3 hits (2 doubles) in the process of walloping Kansas City. They'll need more of the same when Detroit comes on Tuesday to decide who will be crowned the AL Central division champion.
For the record, my optimism has been rewarded.
The Twins did their job, too, pleasing the largest crowd since 1993 with a 13-4 victory and a series sweep of the lowly Royals. Unfortunately, the Tigers also won, leaving both teams with an 86-76 record after the normal 162 games. Of course, you know what that means: the Twins will play a play-in for the second year in a row, this time at the Metrodome. [Who knew that the rule change caused by the Twins' arguments would have an effect so early, and actually benefit the Twins at that?] Whether that's the last Twins game played at the Dome, yet again, remains to be seen.
Jason Kubel and Delmon Young each hit two homers, Michael Cuddyer added his 32nd, and Orlando Cabrera had 3 hits (2 doubles) in the process of walloping Kansas City. They'll need more of the same when Detroit comes on Tuesday to decide who will be crowned the AL Central division champion.
For the record, my optimism has been rewarded.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Yikes
The Twins just could not put the Royals away yesterday, but they were able to narrowly avoid a defeat. The pitching stiff allowed 14 hits, 3 walks, and 2 hit batters, and gave runs back every single time the offense scored. Somehow the Royals managed to come to the plate 19 times with runners in scoring positions, but got hits on just 3 of those occasions.
Brian Duensing made his second start of the season and picked up his first career win by going the minimum 5 innings and continuously working out of trouble. Bobby Keppel relieved him and continued his attempt to get demoted to AAA (he's convinced me!), before Jesse Crain got a strikeout to end the inning. Crain, however, did just as poorly as Keppel in the next inning, and was removed in favor of Jose Mijares. Thanks to a dropped pop up by Carlos Gomez, Mijares allowed 2 (instead of just 1) of the 3 inherited runners to score. Mijares was subsequently replaced in the middle of the eighth inning by Matt Guerrier. And with Joe Nathan unavailable because of his Twins-high pitch count yesterday, he got the ninth inning and the save, but not before giving up one final run. He now has one save in each of the last four years, and it was the first save by someone other than Nathan in 2009.
Michael Cuddyer homered for the first run of the game, and the Twins took a 3-0 lead on Jason Kubel's double, which tipped off centerfielder Mitch Maier's glove. Duensing gave two runs back, but the Twins responded with three RBI singles in the sixth inning. In the bottom of that inning, the Royals closed the gap to 6-4. Again the Twins responded with a run in the top of the seventh, but Kansas City hit back with two more in their half, making it 7-6 Twins. One more time, the Minnesota bats got a run back, with Cuddyer hitting the ultimate bloop double to right field--the ball was probably within 2 feet of the first baseman, the second baseman, the rightfielder, and the foul line.
Guerrier then, as mentioned, picked up the save after letting the Royals close to within 8-7. The Royals announcers had it right when they said the Twins won this one by the skin of their teeth.
Brian Duensing made his second start of the season and picked up his first career win by going the minimum 5 innings and continuously working out of trouble. Bobby Keppel relieved him and continued his attempt to get demoted to AAA (he's convinced me!), before Jesse Crain got a strikeout to end the inning. Crain, however, did just as poorly as Keppel in the next inning, and was removed in favor of Jose Mijares. Thanks to a dropped pop up by Carlos Gomez, Mijares allowed 2 (instead of just 1) of the 3 inherited runners to score. Mijares was subsequently replaced in the middle of the eighth inning by Matt Guerrier. And with Joe Nathan unavailable because of his Twins-high pitch count yesterday, he got the ninth inning and the save, but not before giving up one final run. He now has one save in each of the last four years, and it was the first save by someone other than Nathan in 2009.
Michael Cuddyer homered for the first run of the game, and the Twins took a 3-0 lead on Jason Kubel's double, which tipped off centerfielder Mitch Maier's glove. Duensing gave two runs back, but the Twins responded with three RBI singles in the sixth inning. In the bottom of that inning, the Royals closed the gap to 6-4. Again the Twins responded with a run in the top of the seventh, but Kansas City hit back with two more in their half, making it 7-6 Twins. One more time, the Minnesota bats got a run back, with Cuddyer hitting the ultimate bloop double to right field--the ball was probably within 2 feet of the first baseman, the second baseman, the rightfielder, and the foul line.
Guerrier then, as mentioned, picked up the save after letting the Royals close to within 8-7. The Royals announcers had it right when they said the Twins won this one by the skin of their teeth.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Royals and Rotation Shuffling
It seemed it would be yet another short night (literally) and long night (figuratively) for Nick Blackburn on Friday. Lo and behold, he did what has been so difficult for Twins starters recently: he recovered and managed to pitch seven strong innings. After serving up two homers and allowing another run on an errant throw by Michael Cuddyer to put the Twins in a 3-0 hole after three innings, Blackburn rebounded with 4 additional scoreless frames.
The Twins took full advantage of the opportunity, scoring three runs in the sixth after previously looking listless at the plate. The final run of that inning came in when Denard Span yanked a ball into the right field corner, which apparently is akin to the Bermuda Triangle in Kansas City. Josh Anderson misplayed it, bobbled it, and then had it fly sideways out of his hand on his throw, giving Span the chance to gallop all the way around the bases.
In the eighth, the Twins broke through against Kyle Farnsworth for the lead, and seemed poised for victory when Joe Nathan trotted out to the mound for the ninth. [As a side note, I'm wondering why Jesse Crain was warming up immediately after Nathan entered the game.] After getting the first two batters out, though, he surrendered a two-strike homer to pinch-hitter Bryan Pena, which forced the teams to play some extra baseball.
It was only a little extra, however, as Orlando Cabrera drove home Alexi Casilla with an RBI triple of his own that Willie Bloomquist, who had taken over in right field, misplayed. Nathan came out to finish the game, and really had us on the edge of our seats in an excruciatingly long half-inning. In the end he sealed the deal (on his second chance), but only after tossing 53 total pitches, a single-game high for his Twins career.
In other news, LaVelle has just tweeted that Armando Gabino has been called up to start on Tuesday, in place of Anthony Swarzak. I don't know what bearing this has on the rest of the season, if any, but it seems as if the Twins are on a mission to bring up every starter from AAA to the big leagues just to say they were there. I'm only half-kidding, as there seems to be little rhyme or reason to who they call up and when they do it. That's not to bash Gabino, as he's pitching very well, but I just don't see a plan behind what they've been doing with their promotions and demotions.
The Twins took full advantage of the opportunity, scoring three runs in the sixth after previously looking listless at the plate. The final run of that inning came in when Denard Span yanked a ball into the right field corner, which apparently is akin to the Bermuda Triangle in Kansas City. Josh Anderson misplayed it, bobbled it, and then had it fly sideways out of his hand on his throw, giving Span the chance to gallop all the way around the bases.
In the eighth, the Twins broke through against Kyle Farnsworth for the lead, and seemed poised for victory when Joe Nathan trotted out to the mound for the ninth. [As a side note, I'm wondering why Jesse Crain was warming up immediately after Nathan entered the game.] After getting the first two batters out, though, he surrendered a two-strike homer to pinch-hitter Bryan Pena, which forced the teams to play some extra baseball.
It was only a little extra, however, as Orlando Cabrera drove home Alexi Casilla with an RBI triple of his own that Willie Bloomquist, who had taken over in right field, misplayed. Nathan came out to finish the game, and really had us on the edge of our seats in an excruciatingly long half-inning. In the end he sealed the deal (on his second chance), but only after tossing 53 total pitches, a single-game high for his Twins career.
In other news, LaVelle has just tweeted that Armando Gabino has been called up to start on Tuesday, in place of Anthony Swarzak. I don't know what bearing this has on the rest of the season, if any, but it seems as if the Twins are on a mission to bring up every starter from AAA to the big leagues just to say they were there. I'm only half-kidding, as there seems to be little rhyme or reason to who they call up and when they do it. That's not to bash Gabino, as he's pitching very well, but I just don't see a plan behind what they've been doing with their promotions and demotions.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Joe Mauer can't do it all
Or perhaps he could have? He doubled in Denard Span in the first inning to even the game. He homered with two outs in the fifth inning to bring in three more runs and put the Twins back within one. And then in the sixth inning, if Orlando Cabrera could have simply watched three pitches go by, he would have been up with the bases loaded.
Obviously I don't advocate Cabrera purposefully striking out; I merely wanted to highlight Joe Mauer's performance. Punto's continued inability to do anything right (in this case getting a bunt down) and Cabrera's inning-ending double play ball made what could have been a huge inning into a very disappointing one. In the end, it meant the Twins lost 5-4 to the worst team in the American League.
Carl Pavano got charged with the defeat, as he gave up all five runs over seven innings. He really didn't pitch badly, though, in his second go with Minnesota. He only allowed 8 baserunners and induced 13 groundballs against 4 fly balls. He control was good, too, though it wavered a little later in the game when his pitch count was mounting. The point is, he didn't get good results, but I thought he showed better stuff than his runs allowed would indicate.
What makes this loss so embarrassing are a few things Joe C. pointed out before the game. With the victory today, the Royals took the series from the Twins, their first series win since June 25th. To make matters worse, it was their first series win against an American League team since May 8th! And at the Metrodome, no less! I wouldn't blame you if this has sapped the final wind from your sails and the rest of this season has turned into an exhibition for 2010 at Target Field to you, but I'm going to keep on hoping that the Twins can turn it around.
Obviously I don't advocate Cabrera purposefully striking out; I merely wanted to highlight Joe Mauer's performance. Punto's continued inability to do anything right (in this case getting a bunt down) and Cabrera's inning-ending double play ball made what could have been a huge inning into a very disappointing one. In the end, it meant the Twins lost 5-4 to the worst team in the American League.
Carl Pavano got charged with the defeat, as he gave up all five runs over seven innings. He really didn't pitch badly, though, in his second go with Minnesota. He only allowed 8 baserunners and induced 13 groundballs against 4 fly balls. He control was good, too, though it wavered a little later in the game when his pitch count was mounting. The point is, he didn't get good results, but I thought he showed better stuff than his runs allowed would indicate.
What makes this loss so embarrassing are a few things Joe C. pointed out before the game. With the victory today, the Royals took the series from the Twins, their first series win since June 25th. To make matters worse, it was their first series win against an American League team since May 8th! And at the Metrodome, no less! I wouldn't blame you if this has sapped the final wind from your sails and the rest of this season has turned into an exhibition for 2010 at Target Field to you, but I'm going to keep on hoping that the Twins can turn it around.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Welcome Back, Joe
That went just about as well as it could have. For a time there, Joe Mauer had an OPS of 5.000. And then he followed up the homer with a double and a walk before grounding into a double play in his last at bat. Justin Morneau also homered and reached base three times as the Twins sent the Beluga Whale (Sidney Ponson) to the showers early. If you have a good memory, you'll know that that didn't happen last time they faced him. In all, the Twins tagged him for seven runs in less than five innings.
On the pitching side of things, Kevin Slowey was not so good, as he surrendered five runs in the same number of innings. However, he did move to 4-0 thanks to the aforementioned offensive support. Following him, the bullpen was fantastic. Matt Guerrier came through with two perfect innings and Jose Mijares continued his dominance by striking out the side yet again (though he did allow a single). Joe Nathan then completed the game for his fourth save.
I wasn't planning on posting today until Mauer's excellent return made it necessary, so that's all I've got. With the victory, the Twins have tied the (previously) division-leading Royals and trail the White Sox by just a half game.
On the pitching side of things, Kevin Slowey was not so good, as he surrendered five runs in the same number of innings. However, he did move to 4-0 thanks to the aforementioned offensive support. Following him, the bullpen was fantastic. Matt Guerrier came through with two perfect innings and Jose Mijares continued his dominance by striking out the side yet again (though he did allow a single). Joe Nathan then completed the game for his fourth save.
I wasn't planning on posting today until Mauer's excellent return made it necessary, so that's all I've got. With the victory, the Twins have tied the (previously) division-leading Royals and trail the White Sox by just a half game.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Get out the brooms
A sweep, even of the lowly Royals who now own an 11-game losing streak, is always very nice. The Twins battled for tough wins in the first two games, with both going into extra innings, but made it much easier on themselves in the third and final game.
Kevin Slowey had a magnificent game, one-upping Nick Blackburn's start from Tuesday. As did Blackburn, Slowey went into the ninth looking for a complete game, shutout, and win. Blackburn ended up with zero of the three, but Slowey was able to bring home both the complete game and the win, after giving up two doubles and one run in the last frame. They were the first extra base hits for the Royals, who were only able to get six hits off of Slowey for the game. Again, like Blackburn, Slowey was very economical, throwing first-pitch strikes to 25 of the 31 batters he faced and throwing only 101 pitches to complete the game, with 74 of them going for strikes. Incredibly, Alex Gordon saw the first (and only) 3-ball count in the ninth inning.
Carlos Gomez went 4-5, although he went 0-2 stealing bases, and Alexi Casilla continued his hot hitting with a 3-4 night. Joe Mauer also had 2 hits, meaning the 1-2-3 hitters combined to go 9-13 with two walks and got on base 11 of 15 times. Somehow, they still only combined to score two runs. Now, obviously, batting average isn't everything, but this means that the first four hitters (Justin Morneau being #4) are all hitting over .290. The last five? No one is hitting better than .260.
With starts like Blackburn's and Slowey's the bullpen is becoming obsolete, but for some reason the Twins still felt like they needed to make a move there. They signed left-hander Craig Breslow, who had been designated for assignment by the Indians. He has very little big league experience and I don't expect big things from him, but he's left-handed which means he could find a team somewhere even if he was laying in a hospital bed. Whether this will relegate Dennys Reyes back to LOOGY duties, or whether that will be Breslow's job, remains to be seen.
All in all, it was a good three days for the Twins. A tougher test awaits them this weekend, as they head back home to take on the New York Yankees. That means I'll actually be able to watch the game on TV (albeit with the dreadful YES announcers)!
Kevin Slowey had a magnificent game, one-upping Nick Blackburn's start from Tuesday. As did Blackburn, Slowey went into the ninth looking for a complete game, shutout, and win. Blackburn ended up with zero of the three, but Slowey was able to bring home both the complete game and the win, after giving up two doubles and one run in the last frame. They were the first extra base hits for the Royals, who were only able to get six hits off of Slowey for the game. Again, like Blackburn, Slowey was very economical, throwing first-pitch strikes to 25 of the 31 batters he faced and throwing only 101 pitches to complete the game, with 74 of them going for strikes. Incredibly, Alex Gordon saw the first (and only) 3-ball count in the ninth inning.
Carlos Gomez went 4-5, although he went 0-2 stealing bases, and Alexi Casilla continued his hot hitting with a 3-4 night. Joe Mauer also had 2 hits, meaning the 1-2-3 hitters combined to go 9-13 with two walks and got on base 11 of 15 times. Somehow, they still only combined to score two runs. Now, obviously, batting average isn't everything, but this means that the first four hitters (Justin Morneau being #4) are all hitting over .290. The last five? No one is hitting better than .260.
With starts like Blackburn's and Slowey's the bullpen is becoming obsolete, but for some reason the Twins still felt like they needed to make a move there. They signed left-hander Craig Breslow, who had been designated for assignment by the Indians. He has very little big league experience and I don't expect big things from him, but he's left-handed which means he could find a team somewhere even if he was laying in a hospital bed. Whether this will relegate Dennys Reyes back to LOOGY duties, or whether that will be Breslow's job, remains to be seen.
All in all, it was a good three days for the Twins. A tougher test awaits them this weekend, as they head back home to take on the New York Yankees. That means I'll actually be able to watch the game on TV (albeit with the dreadful YES announcers)!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
No Free Passes
The Twins fell to the Royals 3-1 in the series finale. Boof Bonser provided a quality start, but the offense struggled to get anything going. From the two double plays to Carlos Gomez's base-running gaffe (trying to stretch a single into a double with no one out), they couldn't muster quite enough to push runs across. Matt Tolbert and Justin Morneau each had two hits, and one of Morneau's was his second home run in as many days. It seems like someone has finally realized that the season was underway! Also of note, Denard Span went 0-2 with a walk in his Major League debut; he barely missed an extra base hit in his first at bat.
Onto the topic of the week, however. Twins' pitchers have now given up only six walks on the season, this being in the first seven games. Just as a comparison, Dontrelle Willis walked seven batters in one five-inning start on Saturday! In four games, including the last three, they have allowed no walks. I was listening to the radio broadcast, and I believe they said that there have only been six games of that sort on the whole season. Whether or not that includes the Twins games isn't important; either way, it is an amazing stat. I'm going to assume it doesn't because that would make the stat just that much more absurd. But still, assuming this, the Twins have accounted for four of the eleven zero-walk performances in the majors this year. That's 44.4% of them. Each team has averaged .37 such games and the Twins already have four!
In total, the Twins lead the majors with only six walks. The Twins also lead the majors in innings pitched, with 63. There is a three-way tie for second place in walks between Tampa Bay, Los Angeles (Dodgers), and Chicago (Cubs) with 11. They have pitched 43, 44, and 55 innings respectively. Sure, it will most likely end up being an early season statistical anomaly, but it is still interesting to look at.
Tomorrow the Twins head on the road for the first time as they play the Chicago White Sox, where Nick Blackburn will make his second start.
Onto the topic of the week, however. Twins' pitchers have now given up only six walks on the season, this being in the first seven games. Just as a comparison, Dontrelle Willis walked seven batters in one five-inning start on Saturday! In four games, including the last three, they have allowed no walks. I was listening to the radio broadcast, and I believe they said that there have only been six games of that sort on the whole season. Whether or not that includes the Twins games isn't important; either way, it is an amazing stat. I'm going to assume it doesn't because that would make the stat just that much more absurd. But still, assuming this, the Twins have accounted for four of the eleven zero-walk performances in the majors this year. That's 44.4% of them. Each team has averaged .37 such games and the Twins already have four!
In total, the Twins lead the majors with only six walks. The Twins also lead the majors in innings pitched, with 63. There is a three-way tie for second place in walks between Tampa Bay, Los Angeles (Dodgers), and Chicago (Cubs) with 11. They have pitched 43, 44, and 55 innings respectively. Sure, it will most likely end up being an early season statistical anomaly, but it is still interesting to look at.
Tomorrow the Twins head on the road for the first time as they play the Chicago White Sox, where Nick Blackburn will make his second start.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Royals No Longer Unbeaten
The lone remaining unbeaten team fell today, at the hands of the Twins, which means that yet again no team will go unbeaten. I'm still waiting.
But seriously, the Twins played well today against the Royals, and Justin Morneau even collected his first hit of the year. Joe Mauer and Carlos Gomez continued to produce, combining to go 5 for 8 with 2 runs and an RBI. Gomez had two more infield hits, one being a bunt single, but also mashed a solid double, and was electrifying again in stealing two bases. I wouldn't want to be behind the plate with him on first!
Scott Baker had a solid performance, settling down after some early troubles. Despite allowing three runs in the first two innings, he had thrown 41 pitches, with 33 of them being strikes. He was unable to miss bats early, exemplified by Billy Butler's at bat in the first inning in which he fouled off eight pitches, which caused him a lot of trouble. Despite this, he still managed to finish with a very respectable line. Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan followed him with another great set-up and close combination.
The second casualty in two days, Michael Cuddyer left the game in the third inning after sliding awkwardly into third base. Jason Kubel pinch ran for him and ended up scoring. Hopefully, Cuddyer will only be day-to-day, but it would most likely ensure regular at bats for Kubel as either the designated hitter or right fielder if he was out longer. Although, it'd be much better if Gardy just wised up and put Kubel in the line-up over Craig Monroe and Cuddyer isn't injured (incidentally, Monroe went 0-4 with three strikeouts against a left-handed starter).
This was also my first game listening on the radio. It did provide a lot of information, but I found it odd that Gameday actually updated faster than the radio announced things. There must be a significant delay on the radio broadcast.
But seriously, the Twins played well today against the Royals, and Justin Morneau even collected his first hit of the year. Joe Mauer and Carlos Gomez continued to produce, combining to go 5 for 8 with 2 runs and an RBI. Gomez had two more infield hits, one being a bunt single, but also mashed a solid double, and was electrifying again in stealing two bases. I wouldn't want to be behind the plate with him on first!
Scott Baker had a solid performance, settling down after some early troubles. Despite allowing three runs in the first two innings, he had thrown 41 pitches, with 33 of them being strikes. He was unable to miss bats early, exemplified by Billy Butler's at bat in the first inning in which he fouled off eight pitches, which caused him a lot of trouble. Despite this, he still managed to finish with a very respectable line. Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan followed him with another great set-up and close combination.
The second casualty in two days, Michael Cuddyer left the game in the third inning after sliding awkwardly into third base. Jason Kubel pinch ran for him and ended up scoring. Hopefully, Cuddyer will only be day-to-day, but it would most likely ensure regular at bats for Kubel as either the designated hitter or right fielder if he was out longer. Although, it'd be much better if Gardy just wised up and put Kubel in the line-up over Craig Monroe and Cuddyer isn't injured (incidentally, Monroe went 0-4 with three strikeouts against a left-handed starter).
This was also my first game listening on the radio. It did provide a lot of information, but I found it odd that Gameday actually updated faster than the radio announced things. There must be a significant delay on the radio broadcast.
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