Comeback Wins are the Best

After getting shut down for 8 innings, the Twins came through in the 9th on Thursday, getting Johan Santana off the hook for another home loss.

Johan pitched very well, allowing 2 runs and striking out 9 in 7 innings, but the Twins just could not get to Tim Hudson or Rafael Soriano, who combined for shutout innings. But against old nemesis Bob Wickman in the 9th, the floodgates opened.

Castillo singled, and following a Mauer groundout, he scored on a triple by Michael Cuddyer. After a grounder by Morneau that was misplayed by the first baseman, there were runners on 1st and 3rd for Hunter. His AB wasn't pretty, but ultimately a weak grounder that eventually led to an error on 3B Yunel Escobar tied the game, and then the Twins won on a base hit to left by Mike Redmond.

So it doesn't matter how you do it... it doesn't matter that the Braves pitching staff dominated this game for 8 innings, all that matters is that the Twins have now won 4 straight and remain just 5.5 back of the Indians, and only 4 back of the Tigers.

On Friday Scott Baker gets the call against the Brewers, and you have to think this might be one of Baker's final chances. He has a great track record, but the Twins have a lot of other good pitching prospects and Baker is struggling once again. He's had a couple straight mediocre starts, and I'm not sure how much more the Twins will give him.

A Win AND Sidney Ponson gets DFA!

With 4 straight losses coming into the game, it had been a long weekend for the Twins.

But on Sunday, good things happened on and off the field. On the field, the bats finally exploded. Hampered greatly ever since Mauer went to the DL, the Twins erupted for 16 runs and 4 HR, something sorely lacking for the offense this year.

Torii Hunter led the way, with 2 HR and a career high 7 RBI. He had lots of help, as the Twins eventually had 16 runs and 22 hits. Luis Castillo had 3 hits. Mike Redmond hit a HR. Mike Cuddyer had 3 hits (including a HR) and 4 RBI. Justin Morneau had 3 hits. Jason Kubel had 3 hits. And on and on.

Bottom line, it was a great hitting performance for the Twins, and something that they sorely needed.

Off the field, after another poor start for Sidney Ponson, the Twins finally have seen enough, as they designated him for assignment. Later this week the Twins will recall a pitcher to start on Saturday, leaving Glen Perkins in the pen. They didn't say who, but my guess would be Scott Baker, who has some experience, is pitching great in AAA, and I believe is already on the 40-man roster. That would make the most sense to me.

Either way, I'm at least happy to see the Twins recognized that Ponson just wasn't working out.

Is there anything better than a Walk-Off Homer?

If you ask me, no. Especially when its the Twins hitting it. That's what happened on Thursday, as Justin Morneau stepped up to start the 9th inning and jacked one the opposite way. He didn't even look like he hit it that solidly, he's just really good. Like really good.

But the big story of the night, of course, was the superb effort from Carlos Silva. 6.2 scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 0.77. I never thought I would be typing that... Carlos Silva lowered his ERA to 0.77 on the year. He wasn't able to get the win because Juan Rincon wasn't able to hold the lead, but that doesn't make Silva's start any less encouraging.

I know it's very early, but you gotta love the starters so far. Ramon Ortiz has been excellent, Silva has a 0.77 ERA, and while Sidney Ponson didn't have great numbers, the stuff was there. So that's a lot more than I thought I would be saying about the rotation at this point.

Excellent pitching matchup Friday... Scott Kazmir vs. Johan Santana. Two of the best lefties in the game, which should make for a great matchup.

Ramon Ortiz has been the Twins best starter

Through 2 games, Ramon Ortiz has been everything the Twins hoped he would be and more. If you had bet in an Online Sportsbook before the season that after 2 starts Ramon Ortiz would lead the Twins in IP, ERA, WHIP, and have 2 wins, well, you're braver than I am.

Ortiz pitched 8 innings, giving up only 3 hits and 1 run, against perhaps the best lineup in the MLB in the Yankees. That puts him at 2-0 on the year with a 1.80 ERA. The strikeout rate could definitely stand to be higher, but as long as he can keep throwing with the excellent control he has displayed so far and keep the ball in the ballpark, well, there's a chance this might not be an aberration.

But this all looked like it would result in a no-decision for Ortiz until the bats finally got going in the 8th. The 3-4-5-6 showed why they can be so dangerous, as they each drove in a run. With Luis Castillo on 2nd, Joe Mauer singled and took 2nd base. After a wild pitch, Michael Cuddyer singled him in. Then Justin Morneau doubled down the line, and Hunter ended with another double to push the lead to 5-1.

This was fortunately enough for the Twins to at least win 1 game in the series, putting them at 5-3. Now the Rays come to town for a 4-game set. Game 1 of the series features Casey Fossum against Carlos Silva. In his first start he gave up 1 run in 5 innings... I think the Twins wouldn't mind a repeat of that.

Twins Win Season Opener

W: Johan Santana (1-0)
L: Erik Bedard (0-1)
S: Joe Nathan (1)

Johan Santana wasn't great (which tends to happen in April), but he didn't really need to be, as the hitting more than made up for it with a solid day leading to the 7-4 opening day victory.

It was a familiar script for the Twins... Santana with a win, Mauer with a hit, Morneau with a HR, the bullpen was great, and Nathan finished it off with the save. That's basically the way they won the Division last year, so it's not a bad thing to pick that up right where they left off.

The thing I was most impressed with was the hitting of Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter, each of whom hit a HR.

Last year, the thing that propelled Morneau's game (in my mind) was that he was so much better hitting against lefties, and so much better taking pitches and going with them the opposite way. Well, on the first two ABs for him he went the opposite way and got hits against a solid lefty, including a HR in the 2nd inning. If he can continue to do those things there's no reason why he can't improve upon last year's numbers, in which case, well, look out American League.

Game 2 of the season features Boof Bonser going against Daniel Cabrera... hopefully we can get our first Sabean Special of the season.

Position Preview: First Base

With 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau still here, the Twins seem to be in pretty good shape at 1B.

But while the power of Morneau is evident with his 34 HR and 130 RBI, that's just a piece of what makes him such a dangerous hitter. Last year he finally learned how to go with the ball and take it to the opposite field, and the results were staggering. His average finished at .321, over 80 points higher than his average the year before. He also became a more patient hitter, which led to OBP to finish at .375.

But even just looking at the offense is forgetting that he has developed into a very solid defensive first basemen. His height allows him to reach balls that get away from people up high, and he has become very adept at the scoop.

So put it all together, and Morneau looks like he will be in for another great year, and he has finally become a complete offensive and defensive player, and become the player the Twins have hoped he can be.

If he gets hurt (knock on wood), the majority of the playing time would probably go to Jeff Cirillo or Mike Cuddyer. I'll be writing more about them as we get into their normal positions, but just so you're aware, those are the backup options.

Congratulations Justin Morneau!

Honestly, I didn't really think he deserved to actually win the award... I didn't have in my top 5 for AL MVP, but I'm certainly not going to complain.

He may not have been the most deserving candidate, but he had an unbelievable season, especially power-wise, that the Twins have not seen in many moons. It's very safe to say that without him we wouldn't have even sniffed the playoffs. So congratulations Justin Morneau, and if you can repeat the numbers even without winning the hardware next year, well, you'll get no complaints from me.

Congratulations Justin Morneau!

is it really over?

6 months of Twins baseball. A 25-33 start, falling as many as 12.5 games back of the division lead, only to comeback and dramatically take the lead on the final day of the season. A batting champ, the probably Cy Young, and MVP candidates.

All erased in 3 games over the span of 3 games.

Did that really just happen? Can it really be over so quickly? What the heck happened?

I could talk at length about why the Twins lost this series, but I'll stick to this quick analysis, and stop with the negatives. Heck, there wasn't a whole lot of positives for the series. I don't understand how a team that won 96 games could look so bad. But I digress.

I'll just focus on what a fun and exciting season this was for the Twins. The aforementioned 96 wins and AL Central title. But that's just a small part of what made this the most fun season following the Twins of my life. What did I love about these Twins? Well, since you asked:

- Joe Mauer. What else needs to be said? The first catcher to lead the MLB in batting while playing Gold Glove caliber defense behind the plate. At age 23. It was a pleasure to watch Joe play baseball day in and day out.

- Another fantastic season for Johan Cytana. He got the pitching triple crown which all but locks up his 2nd Cy Young award. This should be his 3rd straight Cy Young, but voters are stupid.

- The electricity of Francisco Liriano. When he was on the mound, there was no one better in the MLB this year. Great fastball, great changeup, and an absolutely devastating slider. If he was healthy, things might have been a lot different. Come back healthy Francisco.

- Justin Morneau becoming the star everyone thought he'd be. Everyone knew the power was always there, but he became a very complete hitter, hitting to all fields. One of the most fun guys to watch hit the ball.

- The effort of Torii Hunter. Sure, he can make mistakes (see: Game 2). And he's lost a step defensively. And he can take some bad swings at the plate. But he gives it all whenever he's out there, and there's not much better about baseball than watching him play baseball. Friday may have been his last game in a Twins uniform... if that's the case, thanks for the memories Torii.

- Brad Radke. You can't say enough about this guy. Pitching with a torn labrum is bad enough, but he was also gutting it out with a stress fracture in his throwing shoulder. He couldn't do anything without pain, yet he was pitching great start after start, and truly left everything he had. Thank you Brad Radke, for a great season and a great career.

- Covering everything on Thank You Brian Sabean. I wrote about the Minnesota Twins almost every day for the last 4 months... which made me appreciate the good times more. I don't know if I'll be back next year with TYBS, but hopefully time permits it, because it was really a great experience.

So while the last 3 games were not exactly the storybook ending everyone was hoping for, it was an unbelievable and unforgettable season, and one I won't soon forget. From the division title to winning 96 games to getting back to the playoffs, it was just about everything I could ask for. And with a young team, we might be back here again next year.

Thanks for reading, thanks for letting me ramble, and see you in a few days. While it was a great year that I'll look back fondly on, it's still a tough pill to swallow being swept. So I'll mope for a few days, and start looking forward to next year, where I can only hope for half the excitement this year brought.

Twins/Athetics Position-by-Position

Looking at the teams position by position probably doesn't give us a great indication of who is actually going to win the series, but it does provide a nice overview and preview for what is to come. So let's do it:

Catcher: Joe Mauer vs. Jason Kendall
Jason Kendall isn't necessarily a bad catcher, but Joe Mauer is the batting champion, the best Catcher in the MLB, and a legitimate MVP candidate. Joe is much better offensively, much better defensively, and that makes this the most lopsided difference between the 2 clubs.

First Base: Justin Morneau vs. Nick Swisher
Nick Swisher is a very solid, patient hitter with a little bit of power. But Justin Morneau he is not. Morneau is the better all-around hitter... he hits for a higher average, and his slugging is a bit higher than Swisher as well. Add in that Morneau is an above-average defensive first basemen, and Morneau gets the clear edge.

Second Base: Luis Castillo vs. Mark Ellis
Luis Castillo is not as good defensively as he once was, and he doesn't hit for much power at all, but I give him a slight edge over Ellis. Castillo is very good at at taking pitches at the top of the lineup, and gets on base at a respectable rate of .358. Even with his declining range, I give the edge to Castillo.

Shortstop: Jason Bartlett vs. Marco Scutaro
Once again, I give the slighest of edges to Bartlett and the Twins. Bartlett has very good range and a good arm at SS. Offensively, both are similar players. They have some patience at the plate, but aren't going to be supplying a lot of power. Bartlett gets on base at a slightly better rate, which is why I give him the edge.

Third Base: Nick Punto vs. Eric Chavez
I like what Punto has brought this year, but Chavez gets the edge this year even though he hasn't been his normal self at the plate. Both are getting on base at a similar rate, but Chavez does hit for more power. Also, while I think Punto has been very good defensively at 3B, Chavez is still the class of the American League when it comes to that category.

Left Field: Rondell White vs. Jay Payton
The Twins have sorta had a mismatch group and you're never really sure who's going to be out there, but I think Rondell is the most likely. As we all know Rondell was just absolutely atrociously awful to start the year, but he hit very well in July and hit very well in September, showing why the Twins went out and got him. Which Rondell White will show up? Good question, and that's I give Jay Payton the edge here.

Center Field: Torii Hunter vs. Mark Kotsay
Both are excellent defensive outfielders, and with Hunter being a step slower because of injury, things may be pretty equal in that department. So it comes down to offense. Kotsay is the more patient hitter, but Hunter hits for a lot more power. After 9 HR in September, Hunter has the edge here.

Right Field: Michael Cuddyer vs. Milton Bradley
They are actually very similar players. Neither guy hits for a great average, but they both hold their own. Both have pretty good plate discipline. Neither has great power, but both can hit it out of the ballpark. In the end, I think that the fact that Cuddyer hits so many doubles, and that he has a great arm in the OF gives him an edge over Bradley.

Designated Hitter: Jason Tyner vs. Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas has the edge here by about a million bazillion miles. Not even worth really talking about.

#1 Starter: Johan Santana vs. Barry Zito
Zito has been solid this year (though don't look now, his ERA is 4.55 since the AS break), but Johan is in another class from all pitchers.

#2 Starter: Boof Bonser vs. Esteban Loaiza
If you'd have told me earlier this year Boof would be starting game 2, I would have laughed. But he's earned it with his pitching over the last 2 months. For Loaiza, he is also pitching well after a horrid first half, and has a 4.01 ERA since the AS break. If he can keep the ball down and get the Twins pitchers swinging early in the count, he can be effective. I call this one about a draw. I think if either guy goes 6 strong innings, their team will be happy.

#3 Starter: Brad Radke vs. Rich Harden
Both pitchers have been effective when healthy, but that has been a problem for both. For Radke, the problems with his shoulder have been well documented and this is his last hurrah, as he will retire at the end of the year. For Harden, he's always had some of the best stuff of anyone in the Majors, but he can't seem to stay healthy. He's made 3 starts since coming off the DL, with 2 of them being solid, but he struggled in his last start. Still, when he's on, he's on, which is why I give Harden the edge. But it wouldn't surprise me at all if Radke gives the Twins a great outing... what he's done this year is unlike anything I have seen in sports.

#4 Starter: Carlos Silva vs. Dan Haren
If Carlos Silva pitches in this series, that will be a good thing, because it means the Twins will be leading in this series 2-1. However, I don't like his odds against Dan Haren, a very solid SP.

Bullpen: Joe Nathan vs. Huston Street
Out of all playoff teams, I'd rank these teams 1 and 2 in this category. But as I've said before, I think the Twins have the best bullpen in the MLB. If they can get the lead after 6, they're in very good shape, especially with Joe Nathan anchoring things down at the backend. Plus, I'm not sure Oakland has anyone that can consistently get lefties out.

So what does this all mean? Well, maybe nothing. But it gives us a little better idea of what we're dealing with.

For the record, I've got the Twins in 5.

NEXT STOP: PLAYOFFS

After starting the year at 25-33, who would have thought the playoffs would be in the cards for the Twins? Admittedly, probably not me. But I'll admit the hearing the words "The Twins are going to the playoffs," is music to my ears.

With the Twins 8-1 win over the Royals and the White Sox 14-1 loss to the Indians (way to go out with a bang!) the Twins are assured of at least the Wildcard. The magic number is 0.

Meanwhile, the race for the division is still on. With 6 games to play, the Twins stand 1 (one) game out from the Tigers. This is a little misleading, however, because the Tigers have the tiebreaker. So in other words, if the Twins want to avoid a first round matchup with the Bronx Bombers, they have to win 2 more games than the Tigers do in the last week. The odds are against them, but then, the odds have been against them all year.

In the clincher, the Twins followed the same formula they followed all year... young pitcher on the mound, "pirahnas" getting on base, and the mashers in the middle driving them in. Boof Bonser was once again excellent, and appears (at least in my eyes) to have a strangleholdon the #2 spot in the rotation. With 6.1 good innings, his record is now at 7-5 with an ERA of 4.15. Thank You Brian Sabean indeed!

Offensively, the Twins were patient, drawing 6 walks. But they also got the power. Justin Morneau cracked his 34th HR of the year, and is now at 129 RBI, 2nd most in the AL. Torii Hunter also hit his 30th HR, meaning that after so many years of not having a HR hitter, the Twins have 2 this year. Funny how that works. Another possible milestone for Hunter is that he is now close to reaching 100 RBI. He needs just 5 in the last 6 games to become the 3rd Twins player (Morneau, Cuddyer) to reach that mark this year. Should we resign Torii? I don't know. But it's been fun watching him play for the last month?

In the race for the batting title, Joe Mauer helped his cause with a 2/3 day, raising the average to .349. His main competitors both had good days as well - Derek Jeter went 2/4 to raise the average to .340, and Robinson Cano went 2/4, leaving his average at .342. With 6 games left, this looks like it will be a very tight race, although it is still Mauer's to lose, obviously.

But with the playoff spot clinched, there's no need to worry about the batting title, awards, or anything else. Just enjoy what a marvelous ride it's been so far, and hope that the good times continue.

One thing is for sure... it's a good time to be a Twins fan!

Don't look back now Detroit

And the lead is 1/2 game! To say the least, this is unbelievable considering the starts that these two clubs had.

But after the Tigers loss to Detroit, and the Twins victory over Boston, the Twins stand 1/2 game behind Detroit for the division and 4.5 games up on Chicago with 11 games left to play.

The story of the game was Justin Morneau, who got his average up to .326 after a 5/5 performance. As Aaron Gleeman writes, Morneau's simply been amazing no matter what date you look from.

Matt Garza was also a bright spot, as he was able to go 5 2/3 solid innings, giving up 3 runs, and picking up the 2nd win of his young career. That was a long enough outing for the rock solid bullpen, who shut the Sox down the rest of the way.

But the game was not all positive. Torii Hunter fouled a ball off his foot, leaving him in pain and forcing him to exit the pain. No one knows yet how long he'll be out, but suffice to say if he's out for any length of time, that's a huge blow. I'm not a huge Hunter guy (as far as a player, he seems like a great guy), but he's been supplying much needed and very solid power in the 6th spot, and it'd be a shame if we lose that now, with 2 weeks left. Let's hope things work out for the best here.

Anyway, in Game 2 of the series, Minnesota will send Boof Bonser to the mound, who's been pretty darn good lately if you haven't noticed. The Sox will send their ace Curt Schilling to the mound, but the way the Twins are playing, it wouldn't surprise me to see them in first place by this time tomorrow.

A heartbreaker

Gah! How great would that Double Play have been? (Answer: Pretty great)

But Bartlett rushed it, the throw was up the line, and the Twins actually lost in a game that Johan Cytana started.

But it was not all bad. Another 9th inning comeback to force extras has to have the Twins thinking that they are never out of any game (even if the comeback came against the Cleveland bullpen). Justin Morneau got a couple more RBI, to push his total to 123. Johan struggled early, but wound up throwing 8 innings, give up 4 runs (3 ER) and stiking out 7. He still have them a chance to win.

But anyway, in other bad Twins news, Joe Mauer is officially #2 in the AL batting race. After going 0/4, the average now sits at .344, behind Derek Jeter's .346.

Also, after being within an arm's reach of the Tigers, the Twins are again 2 back as the Tigers absolutely demolished the Orioles. But thankfully the As were able to defeat the Sox 4-2, keeping the Twins Wildcard lead at 2 games. The pitching matchups for the 3 clubs Saturday:

Twins: Carlos Silva (9-13, 6.08) vs. CC Sabathia (Indians)
White Sox: Javier Vazquez (11-9, 4.71) vs. Barry Zito (Athletics)
Tigers: Nate Robertson (12-12, 3.84) vs. Kris Benson (Orioles)

Things are officially interesting

That sound you hear is Detroit Tigers fans getting nervous for the first time all year. After looking awful in game 1 of this series, the Twins came back with a vengenance to win the last 3 and pull within 2 game of the division leading Tigers.

The charge on Sunday was, of course, led by All-World SP and MVP candidate Johan Santana. He picked up his 18th victory, and 11 of the 19 outs he recorded came via the strikeout, which he also happens to lead the Majors in. Meanwhile, the 6.1 scoreless innings dropped the ERA to 2.75, which also happens to be the best in the Majors. I'm not real good with image stuff, but go to the Stats page on MLB.com for something that looks cool (Johan's picture 3 times because he leads the Majors in the Triple Crown categories)

Offensively, the offense just jumped all over Bonderman and the rest of the pitching staff, scoring 12 runs on 15 hits. Joe Mauer went 2/3 and is now batting .350, just ahead of Jeter at .345. Elsewhere, Nick Punto had 4 hits, Justin Morneau had 2, and Torii Hunter had 3.

Things also went well as far as the Wildcard is concerned, as the Indians beat the White Sox, increasing the Twins Wildcard lead to 1.5 games.

The Twins now stay home and host the Oakland As, who always seem to give the Twins trouble. They play three against Oakland before heading to Cleveland. Detroit has the day off, and Chicago will take on Anaheim. Pitching matchups for Monday:

Minnesota: Carlos Silva (8-13, 6.30) vs. Joe Blanton (Athletics)
Chicago: Jose Conteras 12-7 (4.09) vs. John Lackey (Angels)

It's been so long I almost forgot what it was called...

Oh yeah, offense. That was nice.

9 runs? Where has this offense been lately? Castillo didn't do anything at the top, but Nick Punto (welcome back!) had a couple of hits, Joe Mauer went 3/4 to increase his lead in the chase for the batting title, and Justin Morneau had a couple of big 2-out hits to get him 3 RBI, and move him into 2nd in the AL with 118 RBI on the year,

On the other side of the coin, things weren't as great as Matt Garza struggled once again. At times, he looks dominant, and shows why he was able to dominate in all levels of the Minors this year (hence, 6 strikeouts in 4.1 IP)... other times, well, it's easy to see he's a young guy. He struggled with the control - tight strike zone or otherwise - and walked 4 batters, which led to his undoing. He finished with 4 ER in the 4.1 IP.

In the pen, Pat Neshek responded nicely with 1.1 scoreless innings to get the win. Meanwhile, Jesse Crain and Juan Rincon seem to be going in the opposite directions... Crain has been excellent for a couple of months now, while Rincon has seen his ERA increase almost a run in about a month to 3.05).

With a comeback win by the Sox, the Twins are basically in the exact same position as they were when this series started a couple of days ago... 4 back of the Tigers and 1/2 game ahead of the White Sox. They need to split these final 2 games at the bare minimum, and if they can win both, well, the division race will officially become a big thing, as the Twins would be only 2 back.

But for now, the Twins just need to focus on Saturday. Boof Bonser vs. Nate Robertson. Be there or be square.

Gotta love that pitching staff

There are some days, like Tuesday, when a guy will give up 5 HR and it's easy to get frustrated with the staff. Then are days like yesterday, when a young guy throws a great game, and the bullpen does the rest.

Matt Garza got his first Major-League win by throwing 6 solid innings, giving up just 1 unearned run on 5 hits. (Aaron Gleeman has a great writeup on the start) Then the bullpen came in and did their job, to the tune of 3 perfect innings. Meanwhile, the offense wasn't very efficent but they did score 4 runs, and the formula for success was in full effect again.

I know ERA is not a great stat for relievers, but look at these things:

Pat Neshek - 0.81
Dennys Reyes - 0.96
Juan Rincon - 2.44
Joe Nathan - 1.53

Offensively, the 4-5-6 hitters supplied the power and runs, as Mike Cuddyer got 3 hits, Justin Morneau had his 108th RBI of the year, and Torii Hunter hit his 18th HR of the year. That was enough to overcome 10 men LOB for the Twins, which is not good at all.

The White Sox victory means the Twins are still 0.5 GB of the Wildcard, but only 7 out of the division lead. The Red Sox also remain in the hunt at 4 GB of the Wildcard. The rubber match of the series will feature Boof Bonser against Kris Benson in another big game for the Twins... they just have to keep winning series!

Minnesota Twins: Wildcard Leader

We've got a lot of season to go, so the fact that the Twins have a 1/2 game lead in the Wildcard chase isn't overly significant. However, with the way the first two months of the season went, I never thought I'd be able to write that title (and the fact that I didn't have this blog at the time!)

But either way, after a dramatic 4-3 comeback win on Wednesday, the Twins own a 1/2 game lead on the White Sox and a 1.5 game lead on the Red Sox. For the second straight day, the Royals pulled out a win against Boston, this time using 9th inning dramatics, scoring 2 off of Papelbon in the 9th to win 5-4.

The big story, at least for the Twins, is that we finally have another 30 HR player, for the first time since 1987. Not only was it HR #30 for Morneau, but it also gives him 101 RBI for the year. Perhaps most impressive, since he had a .248 career average coming into the year is that his average currently stands at .322. I'm kinda beating this over the head, but Morneau is definitely an MVP candidate, especially for hitting one of the most memorable Twins HR since that AJ Pierzynski one in the playoffs.

Johan was dominant for 6 innings, but just lef that one pitch up to Inge, which was crushed out of the park. But he still went 7 strong innings, struck out 10, and was rewarded with his 13th win. For the 2nd straight night, Rincon/Nathan shut down the door in the 8th and 9th, although Denys Reyes did come in to get Granderson out. Nathan now has 25 saves on the year.

After all the struggles on the road for the Twins, they finish up this roadtrip at 6-1. Sure, 4 of the games were against Kansas City, but now that we see what Kansas City is doing to Boston, they begin to look more impressive. And taking 2 of 3 from what has been the best team in baseball? Well, that's always nice.

Now the Twins head home for a 4-game set with the Blue Jays. The Jays have been struggling lately, but they're still a dangerous team. Although one piece of good news, Halladay pitched on Wednesday for Toronto, so hopefully that means the Twins will get to avoid him in this series. Although with a couple of rookies starting Friday and Saturday, they won't be able to take anything for granted.

That's more like it

For the second straight night, the Twins got a lot of walks (14) and a lot of hits (12). Unlike last night, however, these baserunners were converted into a lot more runs. 14 of them, to be exact.

The scoring was started off in the 3rd with a 3-run HR from Justin Morneau, his 29th of the year, and giving him 97 RBI for the year, 2nd in the American League behind that one DH guy in Boston. Yes, it should be official... Morneau is an MVP candidate. Not only is he hitting for power with the 29 HR, but he's hitting for a good average and is improving his OBP, such as Friday when he got on base in all 6 PAs. He's batting .323, but his OBP is up at .378 and he's slugging over .600. Here's Morneau's numbers in the 23 games since the AS Break:

.402 ABG/.465 OBP/.667 SLG. 6 HR and 24 RBI.

Mauer also had a nice night, as even though he only had one hit, that hit was a double driving in 2 runs, and he also walked 3 times. His .445 OBP is tops in the MLB, which is just a testament to his great eye at the plate, especially since he doesn't hit for as much power as some of those other guys close by. Oh yeah, and he's a 23 year-old catcher. That's pretty decent.

Anyway, Twins look for the sweep Sunday, sending virtual unknown Mike Smith to the mound to take on Odalis Perez. With the Twins win and Red Sox loss, they are now just 1.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox for the Wildcard lead. Hopefully they can get the job done and finish the sweep!

Twins walk their way to a victory

It was nothing to write home about, but the Twins will take it. By the end of the game, the Twins left lots of men on base, but with back-to-back HR in the 9th, followed by 3 more runs in the 10th, it didn't matter.

And it was especially important to pick up the win, because the teams the Twins are chasing - Detroit, Chicago, Boston, and New York - all won their games.

By the time it was all said and done, the Twins had 12 BB, 11 hits, and 8 runs. Not terribly efficient, but they scored when they had to. Down 5-3 in the 9th, Joe Mauer led off the inning with his 9th HR of the year, and Michael Cuddyer followed that up with his 15th (not in this game, that'd be a record). The 10th inning was kind of symbolic of the Royals franchise:

Jason Bartlett singles.
Luis Castillo sacrifice bunt.
Nick Punto strikes out.
Joe Mauer intentionally walked.
Michael Cuddyer walked.
Wild pitch scores the run.
Justin Morneau intentionally walked.
Torii Hunter single drives in 2 more runs.
Joe Nathan pitches a perfect 10th for his 23rd save.

Lots of Twins players had good offensive games, but perhaps none more efficent than Justin Morneau. After doubling in his first 2 ABs (and picking up 3 RBI in the process), he walked the next 4 times up. That'll sure help the OBP.

Meanwhile, and I don't say this to be a downer, but Johan Santana has not been his usual invincible self. Normally, with a 3-run lead facing Kansas City, the game is pretty much money in the bank. Not so much on Friday, as the 4-run 4th for the Royals was enough for the Royals to hang on to the lead until the 9th. Johan walked 3 batters in his 6 innings of work, though he also struck out 8.

But all of the worrying about Johan or all the men LOB doesn't really matter anymore, because a win makes one forget about all of that. Carlos Silva (7-9, 6.49) will take the mound on Saturday facing Runelvys Hernandez (2-6, 7.88). 2 games in, the Twins have done what they needed to do against KC. Hopefully they can continue, because as the other teams showed tonight, the Twins better keep winning if they hope to keep pace.

The Royals are the cure for any slumps

After getting thrashed the past couple of days against the Rangers, well, it's always good to be able to take a trip to Kansas City.

The Twins went right back to their winning ways with an 8-2 victory in KC last night. Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first, picked up 4 more in the 2nd, and that was all she wrote.

The starting pitchers told the story of this game. Jorge de la Rosa had as many walks as he did outs (4) on his way to 6 runs (5 ER). On the other hand, Brad Radke threw 8 solid innings and gave up just 4 hits and 2 ER, which was especially encouraging because his last start was cut short due to injury/ineffectiveness. If the Twins are going to be a factor coming down the stretch, they need more of this from Radke. The Twins will also need better pitching from the backend of the rotation... maybe from Matt Garza? One Twins fan doesn't think so, at least, not yet.

Offensively, the Twins got a little help from everyone. Justin Morneau had 2 hits and 3 RBI, and for all the talk about Joe Mauer, Morneau might be the best hitter on the team. Meanwhile, Josh Rabe hit another HR, and he's playing like a man that doesn't want to go back to the Minors. Like Jason Tyner when he came up, it's probably not realistic to expect these guys to be good starters for too long, but I'm enjoying this while it lasts.

Tonight is game 2 of this 4-game series, with Johan Santana on the mound against "All-Star" Mark Redman. On paper, the Twins are the favorites, but we all know that these games aren't played on paper, but by little men in our TV sets. Twins stand 2 back of the Wildcard.

15 runs? For the Twins?

The pitchers may not have had the most impressive display of arms on the mound yesterday, but even so, the offensive explosion from the Twins was a rare treat.

They started things off with 5 in the first, 3 in the second, 3 more in the 4th and 5th, and added 1 more in the 6th just for good measure. By the time it was all said and done, a 15-2 win is looking pretty good.

Pretty much everyone on offense contributed, but they were led by the return of Torii Hunter (3/5, 1 HR, 4 RBI), Nick Punto (4/4), and Justin Morneau (3/4, 2 RBI). Morneau's average is now incredibly up to .321, 6th in the American League. Has there been a better hitter in baseball the past couple months?

But we know all about that, so let's focus on the pitching. Carlos Silva had a superb performance against a very good offense, tossing 7 innings and allowing only 1 run. If he can continue to make starts like this, well, it's going to make the decision to keep Matt Garza in AAA a whole lot easier. Now, if Scott Baker can turn in a similar performance today, and all of a sudden the rotation looks to be in solid shape.

The other big news of the day of course was that the Twins were able to finally unload Kyle Lohse to the Reds, getting Zach Ward back in return, a guy that actually looks pretty decent. Once again, Terry Ryan always doesn't make the big moves that catch the headlines, but he does the solid, little things that improves the depth of the organization and should help for the future.

However you look at it, a great day for Minnesota Twins baseball.