Date: 9/9/09

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays

Home/Away: Away

Starting Pitcher: Pavano

Final Score: W 4-1

Record: 70-69

Best Moment: Roy Halladay has a new nemesis, and his name is...Brian Buscher? Incredibly, Buscher went 3 for 4 in this game versus Halladay and is 5 for 7 lifetime. Well knock me over with a feather. That strikes me as being absolutely hilarious. This did not look like a very favorable match-up coming in, especially with the Twins having never beat Halladay, so of course we won. Pavano may not have gone the complete game, but he only gave up the 1 run as opposed to Halladay's 4. Morneau finally hit his 30th home run and reached 100 RBIs in one fell swoop. Cabrera also homered (I actually rewound and watched his homer multiple times because I was convinced I was hallucinating). Mr. Anti-Clutch pinch hit for Punto and had a big double to drive in 2 runs.

Also cool? Span played all 3 outfield positions in the game. He started in center, with Kubel in right and Young in left. Then late in the game Gomez was brought in as a defensive replacement for Kubel, and Gomez went to center and Span played right. Finally in the 9th inning, Young was taken out for a pinch runner in the top of the inning, and Cuddyer played right for the final half inning with Span moving to left.

Most Questionable Moment: Punto did one of his patented sliding catches into foul territory. At least, he tried to do so. Morneau and Punto were chasing the ball, and Morneau had a pretty good chance to catch the ball. But Punto called him off and went into his slide, only to get tripped up and tumble awkwardly several feet short of the ball. It was actually kind of hilarious. And the look Morneau gave Punto was priceless.

Worst Moment: Probably once the Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead. I was very afraid we were going to get shutout and waste another good pitching performance.

Quotations of the Day:

• "All the numbers didn't match up. It's huge for us to go out and beat him and keep our hopes alive. We're a pretty far ways back. We haven't been eliminated yet, so we're just going to keep fighting. If we want to do it, then we have to beat guys like that." - Justin Morneau
• "It's been awhile. I've been struggling for awhile. Hopefully it's something that gets me going and gets us going. We're still in this race. We still have a chance. Maybe one big hit can get us going in the right direction." - Justin Morneau
• "That is what was needed when you are pitching against Halladay. I think he rose to the occasion. He knew what we needed and that was not to give up anything." - Ron Gardenhire, on Carl Pavano

Suck-Ass Performance of the Game: Denard Span (0 for 5, 2 strikeouts, 5 left on base). Nice job playing in the outfield, but Halladay had Span figured out.