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Talkin’ Twins Collecting (Cards, Autographs, Photos, Memorabilia)
Archive for the ‘2000's’ Category
Monday, March 24th, 2008
The Twins had already clinched the American League Central, and were in cruise control mode when they entered the weekend series against the Tigers. Though Detroit had been well out of contention all year, the final four-game series held special meaning for Detroit faithful. Entering the weekend the Tigers stood at 40-118, just three losses shy of a major league record for futility.
The teams split the first two games, leaving the Tigers in a position where they could win out and avoid history. A split in the final two games would mean that the Tigers would tie the 1962 Mets for most losses in a season. If they swept the Twins on Saturday and Sunday, the Tigers could avoid that “honor” all together.
The Twins started most of their regulars on the rainy Saturday night, including veteran Brad Radke at pitcher, but the fact that the playoffs were already clinched for the Twins meant that it would be a short day’s work for most of the starters.
It looked as though it might not matter in the early innings. A Doug Mientkiewicz sacrifice fly scored Shannon Stewart, who had reached on an error earlier in the inning, to give the Twins a 1-0 first inning lead. Radke was able to keep the Tigers off the board for the first four innings, allowing at least a single in each inning but working his way out of trouble.
With one out in the fourth, Corey Koskie, Torii Hunter, and AJ Pierzynski hit consecutive doubles off of Tigers’ starter Gary Knotts. Michael Ryan and Cristian Guzman followed with RBI singles, giving the Twins a 5-0 lead. After Radke worked out of another jam in the fourth, the Twins came back with a pair of home runs in the fifth to extend their lead to 8-0. The first was a lead off home run by Jacque Jones, the second a two-run shot by Michael Ryan.
With an 8-0 lead Ron Gardenhire began to make wholesale substitutions, something that was likely regardless of the score, but was probably easier to do with a comfortable lead in the middle of the fifth inning. Radke came out for his final inning of work. This time he allowed an RBI single off the bat of Craig Monroe, but finished his day without any further damage and with what seemed like a comfortable 8-1 lead.
The score remained 8-1 until the bottom of the seventh. With two men on, partly as a result of a botched double play ball by Denny Hocking at first base, Craig Monroe doubled down the left field line, scoring both men. Carlos Pena followed with an RBI single off of Carlos Pulido, who got out of the inning himself still ahead 8-4.
After the Twins were retired in order in their half of the eighth, the Tigers went back to work, this time against some of the elite members of the Twins’ bullpen. Juan Rincon faced three batters and walked two of them. JC Romero came on the try and work out of the jam, but he walked the first man he faced to load the bases with one out. Romero then issued a walk to Dmitri Young that forced a run home and cut the Twins’ lead to three. Monroe and Pena followed with a pair of singles that scored three and tied the game.
Though Justin Morneau led off the Twins’ ninth with a double, the next three were retired by Fernando Rodney, bringing the Tigers to bat with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth. Jesse Orosco retired Ramon Santiago, but then fell victim to the walk, giving Alex Sanchez a free pass to first to represent the winning run with one out. The Tigers came to the park to win, showing their aggressiveness with a pair of Sanchez stolen bases off of the battery of Orosco and Rob Bowen. With Sanchez at third, Orosco got former Twins Warren Morris to swing at a third strike, but the ball got away from Bowen. Sanchez scored for a Tigers win that came on a walk-off strikeout. The Tigers weren’t picky about how they got their wins.
Instead of a record-tying 120th loss, the Tigers had their fifth victory in six games, including two over the Twins.
“We’re not the worst team in baseball, no matter what,” Tigers first baseman Carlos Pena said. “We’re going to have a better winning percentage than the Mets, and we won’t beat their record. You’ve got to compare apples with apples, not apples with oranges, OK? They played 160 games and we’ll play 162.”
Craig Monroe finished the game 4-for-5 with 3 RBI and a run scored. The Tigers defeated the Twins on the final game of the season to avoid their 120th loss.
Box
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Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
Sunday April 15, 2007
HHH Metrodome
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (4-7) @ Minnesota Twins (7-4)
The Twins ran into a hiccup early in the season that they hoped would provide their fifth division title in six years. After opening with a sweep over the Orioles, the Twins went on to drop three of their next five games to the White Sox and the Yankees. A four-game weekend series with the Devil Rays might have figured to be another opportunity for a sweep, though the Twins were happy to head into the final game with a 2-1 series lead.
The news for the Twins before the game was that Nick Punto would miss his second straight game due to an ankle injury. Though Punto had started the season batting .132/.214/.211, he was thought of as the best option at third base, particularly considering that Jeff Cirillo was also out with an injury. With Luis Castillo also out, the Twins had half of their starting infield on the bench for the series finale.
Still, the Twins scored first. Michael Cuddyer led off the second inning with a single off of Jae Seo. Justin Morneau followed with a double to give the Twins two men in scoring position with no outs. Torii Hunter worked out an 11-pitch at-bat and ended up bringing Cuddyer home with a ground out to third for the first run of the game. Seo retired the next two batters to escape the inning with no further damage.
The Rays tied the game in the fifth inning when Jonny Gomes singled home a run off of Boof Bonser. The Twins responded in the bottom half of the inning when Jason Kubel, at second thanks to a single and a stolen base, scored on Jason Bartlett’s single to right field.
It was in the sixth inning that the future Twins took over. Brendan Harris led off the inning with a solo home run over Michael Cuddyer’s head in right field. After Carl Crawford singled and Ty Wigginton struck out, Delmon Young took the first pitch he saw from Bonser deep to right-center field for a two-run home run to put the Rays up 4-2.
The pitch to Young was Bonser’s last, but the Twins’ bullpen, Denis Reyes and Matt Gurrier, were able to hold the Rays scoreless until the Twins were able to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. Once again it was Kubel and Bartlett who did the damage, each with an RBI hit off of Seo to tie the game at four.
With the score the same, Ron Gardenhire went to his ace in the ninth inning. Nathan had yet to allow a run in five appearances. That streak didn’t last, however, as the first three Devil Rays he faced all reached safely. Akinori Iwamura and Dioner Navarro rapped back-to-back doubles off of Nathan to give Tampa Bay the lead, and Carlos Pena followed with an RBI single to make the score 6-4. Al Reyes retired the Twins in order in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the series split.
Joe Christiansen wrote about the game in the Star Tribune the next day:
The sound in Twins manager Ron Gardenhire’s voice after Sunday’s 6-4 loss was not frustration, as one might have expected after his team split four games with the consistently inconsistent Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Gardenhire didn’t sound bewildered, which would have been understandable, considering the two losses came against usual stalwarts Johan Santana and Joe Nathan.
No, the sound was concern.
“The big thing early in the season is staying healthy, and right now we’re not healthy,” Gardenhire said. “We’ve got too many injuries to be able to show any consistency out there.”
After an extended postgame meeting with his coaches, Gardenhire had come to grips with the surprising ninth-inning events at the Metrodome.
Joe Nathan was quoted in the same story:
“It’s something you learn from today and tomorrow it’s over,” Nathan said, as his team limped into today’s open date, waiting to face the Mariners on Tuesday in Seattle.
Box
Three of the heroes of this April game were involved in an off season trade between the two teams. It may be a coincidence that the two Devil Rays who homered in the sixth inning are now members of the Twins, while 3-for-3 two RBI game didn’t go unnoticed by his future team in Tampa.
Posted in 2000's, Players, Twins History | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
Looking over Hernandez’ splits at baseball-reference.com, I saw that he has only pitched against the Twins once.
Thursday June 17, 2004
Stade Olympique
Montreal, QUE
The Twins were off to a nice start in their attempt for a third straight division title in June of 2004. They particularly welcomed the interleague portion of the schedule. They had taken over first place with a sweep over the Mets at the Metrodome a week prior, and though they temporarily lost that position with a series loss to Philadelphia, a trip to Montreal was just what the doctor ordered to reclaim first place. After taking the first two games, the Twins sent Matt Guerrier to the mound to pitch against Montreal’s ace, Livan Hernandez (3-6, 3.22 ERA).
While Guerrier struggled, allowing a run in each of the first three innings, Hernandez cruised through the Twins lineup at the outset. For the first three innings, it looked as though only Cristian Guzman would have success hitting Hernandez. The extent of the Twins offense through the first three innings was a pair of Guzman singles. Hernandez worked around a Corey Koskie double in the fourth and a Michael Cuddyer single in the fifth to maintain the shut out, and a 3-0 lead.
Hernandez was no stranger to the home run ball in 2004. He had allowed 11 in 103+ innings pitched prior to the game against the Twins. The Twins used the home run to creep back into the game. Doug Mientkiewicz broke the ice with a line drive home run to right in the top of the sixth. Matthew LeCroy tied the score to one with a two-run shot in the top of the seventh inning.
With the score still tied in the eighth inning and one out, Livan Hernandez ran into his last bit of trouble of the afternoon. Lew Ford singled and Hernandez pushed him to second when he hit Koskie with a pitch. Torii Hunter’s double to right put the Twins ahead and represented the last pitch that Hernandez would throw. Reliever Chad Bentz came on to retire the next two Twins, but not before another run scored to give the Twins a 5-3 lead.
Tony Batista’s RBI single in the eighth cut the Twins’ lead to one, but Cristian Guzman countered with an RBI single of his own in the ninth. The highlight of the Twins’ ninth, however, was Joe Nathan’s sacrifice bunt attempt just prior to Guzman’s single. With Luis Rivas at second base and nobody out, Nathan was called on the move the runner over.
“I just wanted to say I don’t get paid to bunt,” the Twins’ closer said, grinning.
Nathan’s attempt ended up being a harmless pop out to the catcher. Despite the fact that he didn’t move Rivas over, Guzman did his job to knock in the insurance run, and Nathan did what he gets paid for by holding the Expos scoreless to close out the game and the sweep.
Box
In his only regular season start against the Twins, Livan Hernandez pitched 7.3 innings and allowed five runs on eight hits. He struck out eight men to only two walks, and threw 113 pitches.
Posted in 2000's, Players, Twins History | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
I asked this question just after the trade was announced, but wanted to add this to the mix. Here is how Santana compares to some Twins pitchers at a similar point in their careers.
Through Age 28 Season:
Santana (2007): 1308.7 IP 93-44 1068 H (7.34/9 IP) 364 BB (2.50/9 IP) 1381 K (9.50/9 IP) 3.22 ERA 6 CG 4 ShO
Kaat (1967) 1778.1 IP 114-96 1719 H (8.70/9 IP) 450 BB (2.28/9 IP) 1168 K (5.91/9 IP) 3.31 ERA 83 CG 14 ShO
Blyleven (1979) 2624.2 IP 148-128 2335 H (8.01/9 IP) 711 BB (2.44/9 IP) 2082 K (7.12/9 IP) 2.88 ERA 145 CG 39 ShO
Viola (1988) 1597 IP 104-81 1604 H (9.04/9 IP) 474 BB (2.67/9 IP) 1076 K (6.06/9 IP) 3.87 ERA 47 CG 9 ShO
Radke (2001) 1537.2 IP 93-95 1637 H (9.58/9 IP) 316 BB (1.85/9 IP) 942 K (5.52/9 IP) 4.27 ERA 28 CG 6 ShO
Santana’s rates put him at or above each of the other “Twins greats” in just about every category. The others, of course, spent a few more years in a Twins uniform after the age of 28.
Through 1300 career innings:
Santana (2007): 1308.7 IP 93-44 1068 H 364 BB 1381 K 3.22 ERA 6 CG 4 ShO
Kaat (1966) 1304.1 IP 80-74 1270 H 370 BB 813 K 3.45 ERA 56 CG 9 ShO
Blyleven (1974) 1304 IP 77-74 1178 H 307 BB 1065 K 2.77 ERA 74 CG 20 ShO
Viola (1987) 1306.2 IP 77-72 1338 H 409 BB 850 K 4.15 ERA 39 CG 7 ShO
Radke (2000) 1300.2 IP 78-83 1383 H 290 BB 799 K 4.29 ERA 22 CG 4 ShO
Using innings as a marker instead of age brings Blyleven back to the pack a bit, but overall it looks about the same, with Santana looking as good or better in just about every category.
Finally, here are the same five through career start # 175:
Santana (2007): 1308.7 IP 93-44 1068 H 364 BB 1381 K 3.22 ERA 6 CG 4 ShO
Kaat (1965) 1193.0 IP 71-70 1161 H 351 BB 730 K 3.55 ERA 50 CG 9 ShO
Blyleven (1974) 1313 IP 78-74 1184 H 311 BB 1070 K 2.76 ERA 75 CG 20 ShO
Viola (1987) 1163.2 IP 66-69 1205 H 379 BB 740 K 4.35 ERA 35 CG 6 ShO
Radke (2000) 1171.1 IP 69-74 1226 H 256 BB 714 K 4.27 ERA 20 CG 3 ShO
I think it’s safe to say that Santana was well on his way to becoming the best pitcher in Twins history.
Posted in 2000's, Players | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
I was fatigued with the Johan Santana trade talks back in November, but after seeing the package that the Twins will reportedly get from the Mets, I kind of wish we could go back to the Red Sox/Yankees talk again.
That said, this is a history blog, so here is the question of the day. Where does Johan Santana stand in Twins history? Assuming he never pitches for the Twins again, where does he rank among Twins pitchers historically?
Meanwhile, here is walk down memory lane.
Posted in 2000's, Players | 5 Comments »
Saturday, January 26th, 2008
On the cusp of Twins Fest, the Twins have locked up two of the franchises most popular and productive players. The team has signed Morneau to a six-year, $80 million dollar deal that will keep Justin in a Twins uniform through 2013. Cuddyer’s deal was for $24 million over three years and a team option for a fourth. I’ll let more qualified bloggers analyze whether this was a fiscally sound move by the Twins, but I don’t think the timing of these moves should be overlooked. Yes, the ultimate goal is to produce championships but fielding a competitive team and showing the fan base that you are committed to that ideal is very much a part of that. With the new stadium on the horizon, locking up guys like Morneau, Cuddyer, Mauer…and Santana will go a long way to ensuring that the fans continue to support the team through championship or no championship. Of course, an argument can be made that these signings almost guarantee the club won’t (or can’t) sign Santana, but I see it as a small sliver of hope that we may be seeing a loosening of the purse strings.
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Friday, November 23rd, 2007
This is the final post in a series detailing the 20 21 22 best pitching performances in Twins history based on Bill James’ game scores. The games are posted in chronological order.
Friday August 31, 2007
HHH Metrodome
Minneapolis, MN
Scott Baker had shown flashes of brilliance in his first few years as a Twin, but for the most part was still showing inconsistency as a starter. Though he and a few other young Twins pitchers had experience coming into the 2007 season, to organization had brought in a few veteran pitchers as insurance policies early in the season. As those veterans became disappointments in the first few months, young pitchers, including Baker, got their chances.
So far in 2007 Baker had been pitching well for the most part, but the beneficiary of bad luck due to poor run support from a team that typically didn’t give its starting pitchers much to work with. Despite inconsistent use and a few poor performances over the course of the season, Baker’s numbers were solid heading into the second game of a Friday double-header against Kansas City.
Through eight innings, Baker was on track to do something nobody has ever done in a Twins uniform. He had faced 24 batters and retired 24 batters. Just three outs stood between Baker and the first perfect game in franchise history.
That he didn’t finish the perfect game was disappointing, but the fact that Baker pitched a complete-game, one hit shutout - even against the Royals - was cause enough for celebration among Twins fans. In his previous three outings, Baker had allowed a total of 29 hits.
The ninth inning started with a walk to John Buck. Baker had fallen behind 3-0 to Buck, and eventually walked him on five pitches. With one out, Mike Sweeney blooped a single into center field to end the no-hit bid.
“I made the right pitch,” Baker said of the sinker Sweeney muscled to center field. “It just wasn’t meant to be tonight.”
Baker retired the next two Royals to end the game, a 5-0 Twins win that put the team back above the .500 mark.
The performance marked the end of a big week for Baker, whose wife gave birth to his second child earlier in the week.
Minnesota Twins IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
S Baker, W (8-6) 9 1 0 0 1 9 0 4.09
BF Pit-Str GB-FB GmSc IR-IS
29 111-81 5-13 93 -
Full Boxscore
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Sunday, November 4th, 2007
This is the 21st post in a series detailing the 20 21 22 best pitching performances in Twins history based on Bill James’ game scores. The games are posted in chronological order.
Sunday August 19, 2007
HHH Metrodome
Minneapolis, MN
The 2007 season was a bit of a downer for the Twins and their fans, but it did produce two pitching performances that are worthy of this list that I started a few months before either of them happened.
The first came on a Sunday afternoon at the Metrodome. It happened to be the weekend of the 1987 reunion, and the game actually fell on a day in which Gary Gaetti was to be inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. Fans waited in line on a rainy day to get the Gaetti bobblehead, and filed in to see what was at the time a .500 baseball team try to make its way back into the AL Central race before it was too late.
The other draw, of course, was Johan Santana, whose starts had become events worth seeing a few years ago when he won his first Cy Young award. Once the ceremony honoring Gaetti was complete, and the final out of the 1987 World Series reenacted, Johan took the mound to the familiar sound of Rob Thomas and Santana’s “Smooth” - the song that still brings the best pitcher in baseball to the mound at the Metrodome.
It was a favorable matchup for Santana from the start. The Rangers had an above average offense, but were a collection of free swingers who were prone to striking out. By season’s end, Texas hitters had compiled 1,224 K’s, second most in the league. Santana, of course a strikeout pitcher, took advantage of the free swinging nature of the lineup early and often.
The Rangers didn’t do themselves any favors, of course, but in the end there really wasn’t much they could have done. Santana’s command was clear as he hit the corners with his fastball, change up, and seemingly whatever pitch he decided to throw. Two K’s recorded in the first inning, three in the second, and two more in the third. The rhythm was clear and it wasn’t looking good for Texas. Santana was perfect until the top of the fifth inning, when a Sammy Sosa soft liner found its way to a safe landing in left field. No matter, Santana retired the next three, including two more strikeouts to run the game total to 11 after five innings.
The Twins got the only run they would need in the second inning, when Michael Cuddyer hit a lead off home run to left center.
After trying something new and retiring the Rangers in order without a strikeout in the sixth, Santana struck out three more in the seventh, leaving Sosa’s two out double stranded at second.
With 14 strikeouts under his belt, Santana came out for the eighth inning even though his pitch count was at the point where he might normally be removed. Prior to Santana’s performance, the most strikeouts recorded in a game by a Twins pitcher was 15, done four times, the last by Bert Blyleven in 1986. Santana equaled that mark when he got Gerald Laird swinging for the third time in the game. He surpassed the mark when he got Nelson Cruz to swing and miss. It took him just four pitches to get number 17, when he got Jarrod Saltalamacchia swinging.
Santana pumped his fist and tipped his cap to the cheering crowd on his way to the dugout, a sign that he was not likely to return to make a run at the major league record of 20 K’s. From the Pioneer Press:
“I really didn’t make a decision. He did a curtain call before I even got down there,” manager Ron Gardenhire said after Santana pitched eight record-breaking innings, then walked into history and allowed Joe Nathan to cement the Twins’ 1-0 victory over Texas. “I said ‘Andy, what does that mean?’ (Pitching coach Rick Anderson) said, ‘I guess he’s done.’ ”
Minnesota Twins IP H R ER BB SO
J Santana, W (13-9) 8 2 0 0 0 17
HR ERA BF Pit-Str GB-FB GmSc IR-IS
0 2.88 26 112-83 2-5 95 -
Box
Posted in 2000's, Best Pitching Performances, Players, Twins History | No Comments »
Thursday, October 18th, 2007
This is the 20th post in a series detailing the 20 21 22 best pitching performances in Twins history based on Bill James’ game scores. The games are posted in chronological order.
Tuesday July 6, 2004
HHH Metrodome
Minneapolis, MN
By 2004 Johan Santana had already established himself as one of the better pitchers in the league. Still, he had his problems, particularly early in 2004. After his start against Tampa Bay on June 3, Santana had a 2-4 record with a 5.50 ERA. That was a turning point in the season for Santana, who rattled off four straight victories before a 2-1 loss to the White Sox on July 1st. Over that span he managed to lower his ERA to a much more respectable 4.22. Still, Santana’s career numbers had one glaring omission. In 57 career games started over the course of four seasons and some change, Santana had yet to pitch a shut out.
In fact, he had yet to achieve a complete game. His longest outing of the season was the previously mentioned loss to the Devil Rays on June 3rd in which he pitched 7 2/3 innings. He had pitched eight innings several times over the course of the previous two seasons, but had yet to finish a game he started.
That all changed when the Kansas City Royals came to town on July 6, 2004. Truth be told, if a pitcher is going to pitch a shut out, the 2004 Royals were likely candidates. They were shut out 13 times over the course of the season, and were at or near the bottom of the league in almost every offensive category.
Though Desi Relaford started the game with a single off of Santana, the Venezuelan was not bothered. He retired the next three batters, the last two by strikeout. Santana went by the same pattern in the second. This time a Ruben Mateo single was stranded by three consecutive outs, the last two by strikeout. The third inning was a small change of pace, with a one out walk surrounded by three strikeouts.
And so it went for Santana. A Torii Hunter solo home run in the second was all he would need, though the Twins would add three in the sixth. There was a span between the fifth and the eighth inning in which Santana retired 10 Royals in a row. After eight full, the number everyone was watching was 103, Santana’s pitch count.
Twins lefthander Johan Santana threw his 103rd pitch of the night to get a groundout to end the eighth inning. While the Twins batted in the bottom of the inning, reliever Juan Rincon began to warm up in the bullpen.
What was manager Ron Gardenhire thinking?
“He was telling me that it was enough, eight innings and I have another start on Sunday,” Santana said. He respects authority, but something had to be said.
“I told him, `Forget about Sunday,’ ” Santana said. “We have to do it tonight. I feel pretty good and whatever happens, happens. I felt pretty good and I didn’t want the opportunity to go away.”
Three outs later, the Twins beat Kansas City 4-0. Santana pitched the first complete-game shutout of his career, a checkpoint in an ascending career. “That was one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had as a baseball player. First complete game and it was a shutout.”
Santana continued, “It’s something I’m going to remember forever.”
-LaVelle E Neal, Star Tribune 6/7/2004
Santana worked around a ninth inning walk by coaxing Ken Harvey to ground into a double play to end the game.
Box
Minnesota Twins IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
J Santana, W (7-5) 9 3 0 0 2 13 0 3.89
BF Pit-Str GB-FB GmSc IR-IS
30 114-81 7-5 92 -
Santana’s performance was part of a pretty nice stretch of pitching for the Twins. The night before, Brad Radke had shut out the Royals; and the next day Kyle Lohse would do the same.
Posted in 2000's, Best Pitching Performances, Players, Twins History | 1 Comment »
Monday, October 8th, 2007
This is the 19th post in a series detailing the 20 21 22 best pitching performances in Twins history based on Bill James’ game scores. The games are posted in chronological order.
Thursday August 1, 2002
HHH Metrodome
Minneapolis, MN
With two months left in the 2002 season, the Twins had a 14-game lead over the next closest competitor in the AL Central. The only drama left for the Twins, it seemed, was playoff positioning. With a 65-47 record, the Twins were only three games behind the team with the best record in the AL, the Yankees.
Still, the White Sox weren’t ready to concede the division title to the Twins just yet, and had split the first two games of a must-win series against the Twins in the Metrodome. The two teams would see each other nine more times after this game, so the Sox still had some hope, but they had to get the job done against the Twins.
Eric Milton took the mound for the Twins on the Thursday afternoon series finale. At 12-7 with a 4.89 ERA, Milton was having a solid season, but had not pitched a shut out. In fact, Milton’s only complete game of the season was in an 8-4 victory at Seattle. Since his no-hitter in 1999, Milton had recorded just one other shut out victory. It may not have been entirely Milton’s fault, however. Since Ron Gardenhire had taken over as manager in 2002, not a single Twins’ pitcher had fired a shut out, and he had allowed a pitcher to go the distance on only three occasions.
After three innings pitched, however, Eric Milton showed that he wanted to go the distance. He faced 10 batters over the first three innings, and struck out six of them. The only blemish was a single allowed to Paul Konerko in the second inning.
The Twins offense removed any doubt as to the ultimate outcome of the game when they put a five-spot on Sox’ pitcher Dan Wright in the bottom of the third. Michael Cuddyer struck the biggest blow with a grand slam off of Wright.
Milton continued to roll through the White Sox lineup. The White Sox had a total of two base runners who reached as far as second base. Royce Clayton hit a two-out double in the fifth inning, and Frank Thomas advanced to second on a wild pitch in the seventh. Milton ended the inning quickly in both cases.
At the end of the day, the Twins had a 15-game lead in the AL Central after a 6-0 win over the second place team. Milton totaled 11 strikeouts and just three scattered hits over nine innings pitched. The most remarkable part of Milton’s performance was his pitch count, which somehow got to 137, even with Ron Gardenhire in the dugout.
Minnesota Twins IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
E Milton, W (13-7) 9 3 0 0 0 11 0 4.60
BF Pit-Str GB-FB GmSc IR-IS
31 137-98 6-11 92 -
Box
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