Date: 10/7/09
Opponent: New York Yankees
Home/Away: Away
Starting Pitcher: Duensing
Final Score: L 7-2
Best Moment: We did have a lead, at least for a brief period of time. But really, it would have been pretty amazing if we had won that game. The Twins arrived late after an exhausting game and celebration, they didn't get much sleep, had to face the Yankees' number 1 starter in a stadium we've never won in, and we threw out maybe our 4th best starter, who's only made a handful of starts. So I don't think it was realistic to expect to win. There's no need to panic yet, people. Save the panicking for after we lose play the second game on Friday. At least the Blackburn-Burnett match-up looks far more favorable to us. I wouldn't say we have an edge, but I have a lot more confidence in Blackburn than Duensing, and I think we have a better chance of getting hits against Burnett than Sabathia.
I didn't actually think Duensing pitched all that poorly. It wasn't a great effort, but I'm not sure we can have that high of expectations for him. We did score first, on a Cuddyer single and a passed ball (now if only we didn't have that costly double play in there). Punto also made a fantastic defensive play. We also didn't really use much of the bullpen, so everyone should be plenty rested for Friday. Mahay pitched especially well with a quick 1-2-3 inning. We did outhit the Yankees as well, 10 to 9, although when they had 3 extra-base hits with 2 home runs and we only had 2 doubles, you can see where the discrepancy in the score came about. But it's not like we weren't having good at bats and getting hits. Span, Cabrera, Mauer and Punto all had 2 hits, and Cuddyer and Harris had 1 each.
Most Questionable Moment: You know which Twins have had the most success against Sabathia in their careers? Casilla and Redmond. Maybe I'm crazy, but could it have hurt to play those two? Gardy said he couldn't find a spot in the lineup for Casilla because he didn't want him to play 3rd. I don't want to see Casilla at 3rd either, but if you're willing to sit Tolbert, then why not play Punto at 3rd and Casilla at 2nd? Crazy idea, I know. Redmond could have been the DH. I just don't get it.
Worst Moment: Liriano giving up the home run to Matsui. I think maybe Duensing should have been left in to finish the inning. Yikes. Being down by 2 runs is one thing; being down by 4 is another. We also had some bad defense that cost us some runs (double plays not being turned, bad relay throws, Cuddyer's error at 1st, the presence of Jason Kubel on the field, etc.). That didn't help any. Nor did our lack of situational hitting. A couple times we had men in scoring position with 1 out and didn't do anything or get productive outs. Please win on Friday, Twins. I may have to kill myself if we can't even beat the Yankees once this year. It's ridiculous. And I'm thinking a win at Yankee Stadium would be a real confidence booster. I don't care what it costs or who you have to kill, but we need a win.
Quotations of the Day:
- "I definitely think adrenaline took us through the first few innings, but then it kind of wore on us, the last four days or so." - Michael Cuddyer
- "That's all it is, we just didn't do our job." - Jason Kubel
- "We can't score two runs and expect to shut them down. It's a great offensive team, and we need to execute. I had some good chances today to bring people home, and I couldn't do it." - Orlando Cabrera
- "We will just keep the same approach that we used to keep men on base and hopefully just knock them in." - Brendan Harris, on the upcoming games.
- "We had a good day yesterday and a good night. But in no way can you be tired this time of the year." - Denard Span, refusing to admit to fatigue.
- "I kind of think it was CC Sabathia stress." - Ron Gardenhire, also refusing to blame tiredness for the loss.
- "We've had our backs against the walls for a couple weeks now. You know, it's a not a position you want to be in, but we've been familiar with it. We are still going to go out there and play the game hard -- the way we always have." - Joe Mauer
- "Seemed like about 12 to 16 hours ago we were popping champagne. Then you turn around, and you're in the box like, wow, there's CC all right." - Brendan Harris
- "I just let the guys down tonight. That's all I can say. I didn't give the team a chance to win, and their lineup did a good job of hitting the ball hard." - Brian Duensing
- "Definitely, it's not his fault. He's being hard on himself. We didn't help him out much. He kept us in the game, and we needed to score more runs for him. He was there for us, and we just didn't back him up." - Jason Kubel, on Duensing.
- "We need to split and get out of here." - Denard Span
Suck-Ass Performance of the Game: Francisco Liriano (1.0 innings pitched, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 home run, 2 runs, 1 earned runs), Jason Kubel (0 for 4, 2 strikeouts, 2 left on base) and Delmon Young (0 for 4, 2 strikeouts, 2 left on base).
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