2007 Twins Report (April 16-22)
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by user False Prophet
| Follow the Bandwagon |
| Twins Preview: Offense |
| Twins Preview: Pitching |
| Week 1 (April 2-8) |
| Week 2 (April 9-15) |
| Weel 3 (April 16-22) |
The bandwagon continues into week 3 of the Baseball Season. Mauer looks amazing, Santana is collecting K's like they ain't no thing, and Ramon Ortiz continues to prove he was worth the signing (while Some other(s) coughsydneyponsoncough don't...). Let's take a look at what happened in week 3 of the season.
Game 13:Road Trip (April 17 vs. SEA)
The twins began their 6 game road trip on Monday with a 11-2 win over the Mariners on Monday, and what a game that was. It seemed like there was nothing that could stop the Twins. If you go back to my Pitching preview (it's in the template above), I said that Neshek would take the rolls as Set-up man, and that he did. He went in to pitch the 9th, and gave up only 1 hit and a walk in his scoreless injury. Mauer was friggen amazing tonight, he went 3-4; 3 RBI, 2 Runs and 3 2B. Can you say MVP? I sure think so.
On top of the great game, great news came out. The Twins most valuable reliever, Jessie Crain is back and able to pitch after some sort of injury during week two. He is so valuable because he can go way over his pitch count, or go 2-3 innings in a day game after pitching an inning in a night game the night before, and then be ready to go again the next day. His arm never gives out, and he is a huge asset to the Twins. Hunter left the game in the 7th with a bruised shoulder, but will not miss time.
Stats:
Hitting: Minnesota AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Castillo, 2B 4 2 1 0 1 1 0 .255 Tyner, LF-CF 5 2 3 1 0 0 3 .360 Mauer, C 4 2 3 3 0 0 1 .364 Cuddyer, RF 5 0 2 3 0 2 4 .360 Morneau, 1B 3 1 0 0 2 0 2 .271 Hunter, CF 4 1 2 4 0 0 2 .292 Rabe, LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .100 Kubel, DH 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 .281 Rodriguez, 3B 5 1 1 0 0 0 2 .238 Bartlett, SS 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 .242 Totals 41 11 15 11 3 3 17 Pitching: Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Ortiz (W, 3-0) 7.0 8 2 2 0 0 2 2.05 Reyes 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9.00 Neshek 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0.00
Boxscore:
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Minnesota 2 0 0 0 5 0 0 4 0 11 15 0 Seattle 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 10 1
Game 14:Felix Who? (April 18 vs. SEA)
So this guy was supposed to be the shit. He was supposed to contend for the Cy Young this year, this was supposed to be his breakout year. Well, if you ask me, Cy Young award winners don't go .1 IP and give up 3 runs in doing so. I don't care about injury. You don't give up 3 runs without getting the first out of the game and expect to win the Cy Young. It's that simple. On another note, the twins controled Seatle untill the 9th, but I'll get to that later. Mauer went 2 for 2, and was walked twice. I'm thinking we might see a .400 season from him this year. If we don't, he'll at least give it a good run.
The 9th inning was not good. While the biggest inning was the 6th, Nathan gave us all a scare. He gives up a run, and if it wasn't for an amazing defensive play by Michael Cuddyer, he would have blown the save.
Stats:
Hitting: Minnesota AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Castillo, 2B 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 .269 Tyner, CF 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .357 Mauer, DH 2 2 0 0 2 1 0 .348 Cuddyer, RF 4 1 1 1 0 0 3 .352 Morneau, 1B 3 0 1 2 1 0 1 .275 Redmond, C 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .118 Kubel, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .250 Rodriguez, 3B 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .208 Bartlett, SS 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .216 Totals 32 5 6 4 4 2 13 Pitching: Silva (W, 1-1) 6.1 8 3 3 1 4 1 2.00 Reyes 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9.00 Guerrier (H, 1) 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Rincon (H, 4) 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.38 Nathan (S, 4) 1.0 3 1 1 0 0 0 3.86
Boxscore:
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Minnesota 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 0 Seattle 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 4 12 0
== Game 15:Get out the Brooms, it's sweep time (April 19 vs. SEA)
It was Santana's turn on the mound, and before I begin the recap for this game,I'd like to point out how smart Gardy really is. Mauer has a knee problem from a bad injury he had his rookie year, and can't catch a day game after catching a night game the day before. So, Gardy decides to keep Santana on the same page as Mauer, and to make sure that it is always Santana/Mauer if both are healthy, Gardy will give Mauer the night game off if Santana is pitching the day game the next day. That's good Managing.
Well, the Twins swept SEA tonight, and in the process became the First AL team to 10 wins. Take that haters. Santana went 7 innings and gave up 2 runs, and only 1 earned. He improves to 3-1,with a 3.00 ERA and 32 K's on the season. I think he;s back to normal.
Beyond the 2 runs during the first 7 innings, unfortunately, Neshek got rocked, and gave up 3 runs in 2/3's of an inning, and was immediately pulled so Nathan could close the game and get the Save. This is why the Twins are winning games. Things happen, and guys get rocked, but there's always someone in the bulpen to help bail them out and hang on to the lead. It's amazing, and for some reason, I never feel nervous about the bulpen's capability.
Mauers was walked twice again, and went 1-2 in the process. I'm still on the .400 bandwagon for Mauer this season. call me crazy, but I think it'll happen. Castillo was hurt in the 5th, and didn't return at any point in the Royals series.
Stas:
Hitting: Minnesota AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Castillo, 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .273 1-Casilla, PR-2B 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 .250 Punto, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .143 Mauer, C 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 .354 Cuddyer, RF 5 1 1 2 0 1 6 .339 Morneau, 1B 4 2 2 0 1 1 4 .291 Redmond, DH 5 0 2 2 0 1 2 .182 Rabe, LF 5 0 1 1 0 2 2 .133 Tyner, CF 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .344 Bartlett, SS 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 .220 Totals 38 6 13 6 3 6 21 Pitching: Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Santana (W, 3-1) 7.0 4 2 1 1 7 1 3.00 Crain 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.93 Neshek 0.2 2 3 3 1 0 1 4.50 Nathan (S, 5) 0.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.68
Boxscore:
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Minnesota 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 6 13 1 Seattle 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 7 1
Game 16:The strangest thing...1st edition (April 20 vs. KC)
I have no idea why, but for some reason KC always gives the Twins hell. It's never made sense to me, but it's true this year, and was true last year. The twins just struggle against the God Awful Royals. The Rays I understand. They have a lot of speed, and the twins are not the most adept to their style of play. But the Royals, I just don't understnad.
Maybe it was Ponson, or maybe it was something else. But something was wrong tonight. Ponson went 4 1/3 innings and gave up 6 runs. I don't know what's wrong with him, but I'd expect to hear something about it from Rick Anderson when the twins come back home on monday. If he says Ponson looks fine in the Bulpen sessions, I'll trust him that this is just a fluke. If not, then I think it's time to start thinking about the options with him.
Mauer watch: 3-5 with an RBI
Stats:
Hitting: Minnesota AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Casilla, 2B 5 0 1 0 0 0 4 .235 Punto, 3B 4 2 2 2 1 0 1 .174 Mauer, C 5 0 3 2 0 2 2 .377 Cuddyer, RF 4 1 1 1 1 0 3 .333 Morneau, 1B 5 1 2 0 0 0 2 .300 Hunter, CF 5 0 1 0 0 2 4 .283 Redmond, DH 4 2 1 1 0 0 2 .192 Tyner, LF 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .343 Bartlett, SS 3 0 1 1 1 0 1 .227 Totals 38 7 13 7 4 4 20 Pitching: Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Ponson (L, 1-2) 4.1 10 6 6 1 2 2 9.39 Perkins 1.2 3 1 1 1 0 0 8.31 Guerrier 1.0 2 3 3 1 0 1 2.61 Reyes 0.0 0 1 1 0 0 0 10.80 Rincon 1.0 0 0 0 2 1 0 2.84
Boxscore:
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Minnesota 0 2 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 7 13 0 Royals 0 1 1 0 5 0 1 3 X 11 15 0
Game 17:Bonser gets it done (April 21 vs KC)
Bonser went 5 innings giving up 5 (3 earned), and the Offense picked it up tonight. I don't mind thes 7-5 wins, but I'd like to see a few more 3-1, 3-2, 5-3 wins to show me that they'll be able to win with pitching. I'm glad we were able to pick up a win here, it was a big boost to know we wouldn't get swept, and that Ortiz was going out the next day for the rubber match.
Stats:
Batting: Minnesota AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Casilla, SS-2B 5 2 2 0 0 1 2 .273 Punto, 3B 4 1 2 1 1 0 1 .200 Mauer, DH 4 0 2 2 0 0 2 .386 Cuddyer, RF 5 1 1 0 0 1 3 .324 Morneau, 1B 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 .312 Hunter, CF 4 2 2 1 0 1 3 .298 Kubel, LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .250 Redmond, C 4 0 3 3 0 0 0 .267 Rodriguez, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 4 .214 1-Bartlett, PR-SS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .227 Totals 38 7 16 7 2 4 19 Pitching: Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bonser 5.0 7 5 3 1 7 2 6.53 Neshek (W, 2-0) 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.86 Reyes (H, 4) 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 0 9.53 Crain (H, 4) 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.50 Nathan (S, 6) 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.24
Boxscore:
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Minnesota 0 1 0 2 1 1 2 0 0 7 16 1 Kansas City 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 5 7 2
Game 17:We just lost a series to the Royals (April 22 vs. KC)
Ortiz reminded me of Radke today. He would go out, give up a run, and a two run home run and only allow 3 runs in 7 innings, yet the twins just couldn't score to save their lives today. On the subject of Radke, I still am amazed by the single most frusterating game I've ever seen. Last year, Radke had a complete game giving up only 3 runs, and guess what? The Twins lost. That's what I felt happend today. Beyond that, not a lot happened. I'm just glad the Twins are back home for a week.
Stats:
Batting: Minnesota AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Casilla, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .231 Punto, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .204 Mauer, C 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .393 Cuddyer, RF 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 .324 Morneau, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 4 .294 Hunter, CF 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .295 Redmond, DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .265 Rabe, LF 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .111 Bartlett, SS 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .213 Totals 33 1 6 1 1 6 10 Pitching: Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Ortiz (L, 3-1) 7.0 7 3 3 0 4 1 2.48 Reyes 0.2 2 0 0 0 1 0 8.53 Guerrier 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.53
Boxscore:
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 6 1 Royals 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 X 3 9 0
Twins are 11-5, first in AL Central by 1.5 Games.
