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- Twins at White Sox
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Twins Whabam! All Blog Entries
Date: 7/18/10
Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Home/Away: Home
Starting Pitcher: Blackburn
Final Score: W 7-6
Record: 49-43
Recap: What a wild ride! To go from thinking we would win and take 3 of 4, to thinking we were going to lose again because of Blackburn's struggles, to feeling the first stirring of hope. And then finally the elation of winning after rallying for 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th. But would it kill the Twins to get an actual walk-off hit? I'm just sayin'.
For the first 5 innings, it was looking pretty good for the Twins. Blackburn seemed to be getting past his problems and had stayed away from his typical big innings, allowing just 1 run in the 3rd and 1 run in the 5th. The offense had scored 3 runs to that point; Skinny Delmon hit his 11th homer with Thome on base to give the Twins a 2-run lead. After the White Sox got a run back in the next inning, the Twins added another on with Cuddyer's triple which plated Kubel. And then came the disastrous 6th inning.
Blackburn immediately gave up 2 singles. I think I personally would have pulled him at this point. It's not like he's been a model of consistency, and given his propensity for giving up many runs in very little time, I think it would have been a good idea. But Blackburn and his interesting facial hair were left in the game and gave up a double to Quentin which scored 2 and gave the White Sox their first lead. Then Blackburn was pulled in favor of Duensing. Duensing ended up allowing Blackburn's inherited runner to score and another of his own before the inning ended, giving the Sox a 3-run lead. Duensing pitched the rest of the games for a total of 4.0 innings, which would seem to indicate a possible entry into the rotation in the near future.
While Duensing didn't allow any runs to score, the Twins offense couldn't manage a rally. We had 2 on in both the 6th and 8th and came away empty-handed. Ozzie Guillen went to his closer to end the game. And he sure did end the game, just not quite as expected. Hudson led off the inning with a great at bat, finally drawing a walk on a close pitch that sailed just outside. Then Joe Mauer came to the plate, and Jenks threw nothing even close to the strike zone. Runners were on 1st and 2nd, no outs. After falling behind 0 and 2, Kubel saw a pitch to his liking and smacked a single to center to score Hudson and leave runners at 1st and 2nd with still no outs. Cuddyer also fell behind in the count, and also singled, scoring Mauer and sending Kubel to 3rd.
Up stepped clutch hitter Jason Repko. Or something like that. He was a pinch-runner for Thome in the 8th inning, and he had precisely 3 hits as a Twin. Part of me was hoping that he would get the first walk-off hit at Target Field, just because he's pretty much the most unlikely person to do so. Instead he patiently took some pitches and walked on 5 pitches. With the bases loaded and no outs, Gardy sent Punto to run for Kubel. And then hot-hitting, RISP-loving Skinny Delmon stepped up, ready to do some damage. He dropped a single into center and Punto scored easily. Alex Rios had the ball in center and seemed very confused. I don't know if he thought Cuddyer was going to score and that the game was over, or if he saw that Cuddyer had held up and was just trying to get the ball back to the infield, but after double-clutching the ball, he sailed the ball toward no one and had it end up by the White Sox dugout. Cuddyer watched the flight of the ball and took off toward home, scoring the winning run on an error.
It was a bit of a messy ending, but it was sure exciting. The Twins were frenzied in their celebration. A good number attacked Cuddyer at the plate, including Thome who clobbered him. Another group ran at Skinny Delmon, who did his best to evade everyone, apparently to avoid injury. Sadly he couldn't avoid Pavano, who punched him multiple times in the ass (insert fisting joke here). Even better, we now have a good chance to make up even more ground with the Indians and Orioles up next. The Indians did us a big favor by sweeping the Tigers; now let's hope they do us a favor by sucking.
Best Moment: The 9th inning.
Most Questionable Moment: Leaving Blackburn in after 2 runners reached base without an out in the 6th.
Worst Moment: Giving up 4 runs in the 6th inning.
Quotations of the Day:
- "Three out of four. And hopefully we are back on the right track. I thought the guys didn't give up." - Ron Gardenhire
- "None of the big bodies got me, but the little bodies got me." - Delmon Young
- "We have some beasts on this team like Thome, knocking helmets off, which he did to me. I would run away, too." - Michael Cuddyer
Suck-Ass Performance of the Game: Nick Blackburn (5.0 innings pitched, 9 hits, 1 wild pitch, 5 earned runs)
Date: 7/17/10
Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Home/Away: Home
Starting Pitcher: Pavano
Final Score: W 3-2
Record: 48-43
Recap: Thank God for Carl Pavano. He's really been the rock of our rotation, and we would be in bad shape without him. What a performance though! I'm actually quite surprised Gardy kept him in for the 9th inning, especially after the lead-off double. I suppose the way Rauch struggled on Friday may have factored into the decision. It turned out quite well though.
On the other side, Buehrle was almost as good, and just as efficient. Both starters pitched complete games, neither issued a walk, and both worked very quickly. The entire game clocked in at under 2 hours, and really it couldn't have ended soon enough with a gigantic storm ready to hit at any moment. The White Sox took a 1-run lead in the 1st inning, but the Twins strung 3 consecutive hits together in the 2nd inning to get the lead and all the offense they would need. Cuddyer doubled down the right field line on a ball that was just barely fair and bounced into the stands. Skinny Delmon singled to tie the game at 1 (of course he did; Skinny Delmon is awesome). Kubel then tripled (!) to give the Twins a 1-run lead. We had just been discussing how Cuddyer is faster than he looks, while Thome and Kubel are just as fast as they appear (which is to say, slow). Then of course Kubel would triple to show off his mad speed. Anyway, Valencia doubled to score the third run of the inning. And that was it. Konerko hit a homer in the 4th inning to make it a 1-run game, and that was the last of the scoring.
So the 9th inning was a little scary with the double by Vizquel to lead off the inning. The pinch-runner advanced to 3rd on a ground out, leaving the tying run at 3rd with only 1 out. But Pavano twirled his mustache with maniacal flare and coolly struck out Konerko before getting Quentin to ground out to end the game. Amazing. More and more Twins players are experimenting with mustaches as the Pavstache legend grows. Quite frankly if the Twins get some team chemistry going by growing atrocious facial hair that makes them resemble classic video game characters, then I'm all for it. Anything that helps us win is good in my book. I mean, how ridiculous do they all look? I can only hope for some seriously bushy muttonchops in someone's future (I vote Skinny Delmon, or maybe Duensing).
Best Moment: Pavano's complete game.
Most Questionable Moment: Me getting my friends to lock me in my car trunk. I've decided that I could comfortably live in my car should my life deteriorate to that point. I think it's always good to have back-up plans. We also fit 3 of us in the trunk with it closed should I ever have to dispose of several bodies.
Worst Moment: Pavano getting hit on the wrist by a pitch. That would be just perfect if he were injured. But he quickly waved everyone off and got back to pitching.
Quotations of the Day:
- "It was a huge performance for us. Everything seems to go well when a starting pitcher does things like that." - Ron Gardenhire
- "I think early on I was trying to find it a little bit. Once I got into a groove and we started scoring runs, I started getting the ball where I needed it to go and I started to pick up the pace a little bit." Carl Pavano
- "We were both excited. Complete game, and why not? What better way to show love than a little mustache hug, right?" - Drew Butera, who is also (attempting) to grow a mustache in Pavano's honor. I think what the world needs right now is more mustache hugs. It sounds so heartwarming and '80s. And maybe a little (okay, a lot) like something in a gay porn film. But I'll just stop there.
Suck-Ass Performance of the Game: J.J. Hardy (0 for 3, 1 strikeout, 1 left on base)
Date: 7/16/10
Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Home/Away: Home
Starting Pitcher: Liriano
Final Score: W 7-4
Record: 47-43
Recap: Hey, look! A good outing by a starter! It's always so welcome these days. I'm glad Liriano rebounded from his last start, because we sure needed to win that one. I was at the game, and I probably would have freaked out if we had lost. It certainly looked close for a while there. It concerns me that I actual look forward to seeing Jesse Crain enter a game. Wow.
Nothing much happened until the 4th inning, at which point I proclaimed that we needed to score in that very inning. Then the Twins offense finally got going (and the White Sox defense fell apart). Kubel singled, and after a Cuddyer strikeout, Thome walked. Up came Skinny Delmon, who hit a ground ball that was a possible double play ball. But the 3rd baseman booted it, and everyone reached safely to load the bases. J.J. Hardy singled to score the first run of the game. Punto struck out, and Denard Span had a chance with 2 outs. He hit a dribbler to 2nd, which Beckham couldn't quite get a handle on. He sort of batted it toward 1st base, and Span reached on an infield single. The ball got past Konerko, and both Thome and Young scored. Hudson singled as well to score the fourth run of the inning.
Liriano gave up a couple of runs, one in the 5th and one in the 8th. But the Twins again took advantage of some bad defense to score some runs in the bottom of the 8th. I again announced that we were going to score in the inning (yes, you can thank me for all of our offense; you're welcome). Hardy singled, and Punto tried to bunt him over to 2nd. He ended up reaching when the pitcher threw past his head. Punto went to 2nd and Hardy went to 3rd on the throw. After a Span groundout, Hudson walked to load the bases. Then Mauer hit a single up the middle to score 2, while later in the inning Cuddyer singled to score a third run. Those insurance runs turned out to be a very good thing.
You'd think Jon Rauch would be able to hold a 5-run lead, but he sure did his damnedest to ruin a good game. We had left our seats to watch the end of the game from main concourse, so we were standing their trying to desperately see over all the tall people blocking our view. I was at the game with my sister and a friend, and the tallest of us is 5'5" on a good day. I don't know if the All-Star Break gave Rauch a terrifying fear of the strike zone or what, but he only threw 9 strikes in his 24 pitches. Yikes. He gave up a single, a walk, and then following a strikeout another single to make it a 7 to 3 game. I was getting a little antsy at this point, but I wasn't really concerned until he loaded the bases with a walk and then walked in another run. Now the go-ahead run was at the plate, and Rauch was showing no signs of improvement. Gardy really had no choice but to go to another reliever, and Crain was the best choice. The first pitch he threw was hit well to center, but Span sprinted in to catch it. And then finally he struck out the next batter to get his 3rd Major League save. 4 pitches, 4 strikes, 2 outs. So thank you Crain for saving Rauch's ass.
Anyway, it was a good game, with some great offensive performances and a great starting performance. The only real cloud over the proceedings was Rauch. I had a lot of fun, too, despite the unbelievably obnoxious White Sox fans in our section. I swear 80 percent of the section were Sox fans. There were several birds swooping around the stadium, enjoying the cornucopia of bugs congregating by the lights. At least 2 of them look rather falcon-like, so I'm convinced Kirby now has a girlfriend. Up in the 3rd deck I had the perfect view of one of them pooping on spectators below. I can only pray that it landed on a South Sider. Perhaps now we can get back on track. I still feel like a rotation change is in order. I'm kind of irritated that we haven't done anything yet. I like all of our starters, but the fact that I like them doesn't change the fact that they aren't getting the job done.
Best Moment: The 4 runs in the 4th inning.
Most Questionable Moment: The molester-looking man with the dark suit smoking a cigar and handing out what appeared to be leaflets offering some, ahem, female companionship. I felt like I was in Vegas again.
Worst Moment: Jon Rauch. What the fuck?
Quotations of the Day:
- "Liriano was just super and exactly what we needed, a good dose of medicine, and he gave it to us by pitching like he did." - Ron Gardenhire
- "Let's call it post-All-Star break syndrome, and that's what he had tonight. He just had the syndrome, and he just couldn't throw it over, and he said he couldn't figure it out on the mound. So, we'll give him a rain check and let him come back out there and get the save." - Ron Gardenhire, on Jon Rauch.
- "We need to get going, we need to get on the right track. We've kind of floundered here for about a month of just not playing our baseball and not doing really anything. We need to get going. The crowds are coming out and they're supporting this baseball team, so we need to play a better brand of baseball for them. Hopefully tonight that's a good start." - Ron Gardenhire
Suck-Ass Performance of the Game: Jon Rauch (0.1 innings pitched, 2 hits, 3 walks, 2 earned runs)