Wednesday,
August 11, 2010
Round 1: Twins in a Landslide
Last night, the Twins took game one in the current ‘most important series’
in resounding fashion with a 12-6 win. Here are some notes I jotted down during
the game:
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I think it was huge that the Twins were able to get an
early run and an early lead. Back-to-back doubles by Orlando Hudson and Joe Mauer in the first inning gave the Twins a good start.
·
Then came the 2nd inning, which was just kind
of fun to watch. Jim Thome
going opposite field for his 15th home run against his former
teammates doesn’t make up for the Game 163 shot a few years back, but it was
nice! Two batters later, JJ Hardy
connected for his fifth home run. With Denard Span on, Joe Mauer
swung at the first pitch and launched his seventh home run of the season into
the right field bleachers to give the Twins a 5-0 lead.
·
Scott Baker was not good, and yet he
got the win. I know some want to say that he pitched to the scoreboard, but
that is one of the most ridiculous things around. Baker immediately gave up an 0-2, three-run home run to Carlos Quentin to cut the lead to 5-3. No, you don’t want to be
nibbling and walking batters, but you also can’t just throw the ball down the
middle and hope that major league hitters get themselves out. If nothing else
though, he did give the Twins six innings and gave up five runs (4 earned).
Fortunately, the Twins offense did provide plenty of run support.
·
Michael Cuddyer was the Insurance Man in this game. He came up in the 4th
inning with two runners on and drilled an opposite field, two-run double. That turned
a 6-3 lead into an 8-3 lead. Then in the 6th inning, he made it 10-3
with a two-run blast to left-centerfield.
·
Of course, Baker gave those two runs back in the bottom
of the 6th inning, but Jason Kubel drilled his 16th home run, driving in Mauer as well. It was his third homer in his last four
games.
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Remember when Joe Mauer was hitting about .297 and we were discussing how
disappointing his season had been? With another 3 hit game, he is now hitting
.325. His career hitting line is .327/.407/.484. His 2010 line is
.325/.397/.485. He appears to be just
fine. The most impressive thing he did was throw out Alex Rios attempting to steal a base early in the game. His arm is
definitely back, which is great to see!
·
Matt Guerrier was tremendous for two
perfect innings. Jon Rauch gave up a
run in the ninth, but he struck out two.
·
Despite the Twins getting starting Freddy Garcia out of
the game in the third inning, the White Sox did not burn up their bullpen for
the rest of the series. Tony Pena
took one for the team. He threw 70 pitches in 3.2 innings. He gave up four
runs, but definitely helped his team out. Bobby Jenks was only used for one
inning, so he would still be available. Sergio
Santos, JJ Putz,
Matt Thornton and Chris Sale did not have to pitch, so
the White Sox aren’t in too bad of shape.
·
Tonight it will be Glen
Perkins returning to the Twins and making what appears to be a spot start. John Danks
starts for the White Sox.
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I have not done a CoverItLive SethSpeaks.net Live Twins Chat for
quite a long time. Tonight I will open up the chat room at about 6:30 and
answer your questions until the end of the game. (To join the chat, sign up for
an e-mail reminder or read the chat transcript later, click
here).
Any comments, please feel free to leave
your questions and comments here.