Results tagged ‘ win ’
LiveBlog: Double header @ DET
TWINS @ TIGERS
Double-header!
11:05 pm CT
1B: Cuddyer
2B: Punto
3B: Tolbert
SS: Cabrera
RF: Kubel
CF: Span
LF: Young
C: Mauer
PITCHING:
- Blackburn (7 inns), Mijares, Rauch, Nathan
PRE-GAME:
I’ve never seen a double-header involving the Twins before. Kinda excited, kinda scared … these games today are a BIG deal.
Porcello vs. Blackburn, eh?
TOP OF 1st:
I hate that weird little dirt path from home to the mound.
Mauer 20 points ahead of Ichiro … can we say MVP?
1-2-3 inning. BOO.
BOTTOM OF 1st (0-0):
Tigers lead off with a double. Oh, splendid!
Blackie, rockin’ the scruffy beard. Me likey. I’m hoping it can stop him from sucking like he is now … just walked a dude, players on the corners and two out.
Okay, sweet, 3 outs and no score.
TOP OF 2nd (0-0):
Kubel nails the pitcher. TAKE THAT, DETROIT.
Oh look, a double play. I never would’ve thought the TWINS would hit into a double play. I may pass out from shock.
Another 1-2-3-ish inning.
BOTTOM OF 2nd (0-0):
OHHHH, Blackbeard nails Laird! That’s terrible.
Inge. Runners on the corners again. One out. I may vomit.
One run scores after the ball bounces off the glove of Cuddyer.
I have a feeling this game is going to be a dirty little battle, eventually resulting in a huge brawl sometime after the 6th.
Again, runners on the corners. Hope I don’t have to type that anymore this game, BLACKBURN. And the inning ends with the hit bouncing right to him.
TOP OF 3rd (0-1, Tigers):
Someone just posted on Twitter Chuck Knoblauch has been accused of beating his wife. Oh, no bueno.
LITTLE NICKY WITH A HIT??! Holy F, Span and Nicky are keeping the inning alive!
2 outs, Cabrera is up, aaand … pops one up for the last out. But hey, we’re showing proof we’re still alive in this thing.
BOTTOM OF 3rd: (0-1, Tigers):
C’mon, Blackbeard. He’s been shaky today, and I hope he can pull it together before I start to cry tears of blood over this game.
Nope, two on and no outs. If I could reach through the TV and slap Blackie right now, that’d be great.
OH SNAP, good throw to Mauer to get the out at home! MOAR OUTS PLZ!
Blackburn’s first strikeout in the 3rd? Oh, man. It’s gonna be a long game.
BEASTY throw and catch by Cabrera and Cuddyer to end the inning!
TOP OF 4th (0-1, Tigers):
Cuddyer nailed in the right elbow. That brawl seems more and more realistic … but seriously, can you IMAGINE the craziness of a Twins vs. Tigers baseball fight? Oh man.
Agh, we had a chance there with two on base and Morales up, but it didn’t work out. We need some serious hits, and soon.
BOTTOM OF 4th (0-1 Tigers):
Why can we hit into a million double plays but can’t seem to make them when it counts?
Nice – Tolbert gets the foul territory pop-up for the 2nd out. Good job Tolbert, but I wish you were Crede.
Blackie wiggles his way out of trouble again … thanks for the three heart attacks! Strikes out POLANCO, of all people, swinging.
TOP OF 5th (0-1, Tigers):
Beasty double by Tolbert, AKA Baby Morneau.
Denard Span is super adorable. At bat, and he hits a sac fly to bring Baby Morneau in – GAME TIED!
BOTTOM OF 5th (1-All):
Little Nicky snatches a pop-up right in front of Kubel for the first out.
Tolbert grabs a liner, two outs!
Whoa. QUICK 1-2-3 inning.
TOP OF 6th (1-All):
Aw, Mauer! Stop popping up, Dreamyburns!
Cuddy keeps it alive with a base hit and two outs.
And then Delmon gets the third out. Ouch.
BOTTOM OF 6th (1-All):
There is a TERRIBLE heckler in Detroit. Baseball hecklers (except ones for Pierzynski) should have a special place in Hell.
Blackbeard strikes out Guillen. That’s the Blackie I like to see.
ANOTHER 1-2-3 inning, and Blackie is finding his footing. Love it!
TOP OF 7th (1-All):
Polanco misses a roller by Morales … I love the annoying tenacity of the Twins right now!
Whoa, hey, Casilla’s pinch running? Tolbert gets him to 2nd with a sac bunt.
Some obnoxious heckler, again, is chanting “YOU SUCK” at Punto. And then Porcello walks him. Shut you up now, huh? Leyland comes in to make a pitching change.
Padre Orlando up with runners on 1st and 2nd … the crowd is on their feet and … SWINGING STRIKE? Craaaaap.
BOTTOM OF 7th (1-All):
Two outs already, and The Beard has 2-2 on Polanco. Super happy Gardy’s kept him pitching this deep into the game … well, for now.
3-2 … Tolbert nabs his hit and throws him out at 1st. Well done, Blackkkkburn.
TOP OF 8th (1-All):
Hey Mauer – you’re in a really important game. You should, uh, probably start going back to being awesome now. THANKS!
So is Detroit just full of a-holes? The same d-bag was heckling Mauer and then Kubel. Oh, and now Cuddyer.
Two outs, and Delmon’s up … and he pops up. Ew.
BOTTOM OF 8th (1-All):
Mijares is pitching now, Gomez is in center, Kubel is taken out and Span moves to right.
And they take Mijares out for Huge Mr. Rauch. Eh, 1-2-3 inning works for me.
TOP OF 9th (1-All):
I would love to see some hits this inning. Hear that, Twins? I HAVE A FEVER. AND THE ONLY PRECRIPTION – IS MOAR HITZ!
O HAI, Casilla. Cracks a sweet, sweet double off of the fence! AHHHHH!
Sac bunt by Tolbert makes me happyyyyy - Casilla moves to 3rd!
NOOOOO! Failed squeeze by Punto results in a double play! WHAT NOW??
BOTTOM OF 9th (1-All):
Punto, full of fail. Please, please, please Rauch, stop this insanity.
Winning run in scoring position. I might be having a stroke and a heart attack at the same time.
Inge is up. I hate this dude.
TWO OUTS TWO OUT C’MON C’MON C’MON PLEASE TWINS GET THE WIN!!!!
SPAAAAN! GETS THE FINAL OUT! EXTRA INNINGS!!
TOP OF 10th (1-All):
CockerSpaniol leads off with a dribbler up the middle. I pretty much am in love with him. That’s it, I’m buying his jersey tonight. Or proposing.
Ball gets away form the catcher and my future husband scurries to 2nd.
HAPPENS AGAIN and Span hits 3rd!
O-CAB HITS SPAN IN! 2-1! I JUST SEIZURED! WEEE!
C’mon, Dreamyburns, you’re due for a nice hit! And he’s WALKED?
IW Cuddyer, for some reason. Young is up with bases loaded … oh, that’s why.
AND YOUNG SAC FLIES A RUN IN! 3-1, GET SOOOOME!
BOTTOM OF 10th (3-1, TWINS!):
Holy F. J-Nate’s in the game. AND THE LEADOFF BATTER HOMERS.
PLEASE JOE NATHAN, DON’T BLOW T
HIS SAVE!
Oh, Gomez with a sick sick sick catch! One out!
YES! DELMON! Another catch and two outs!
COME ON JOE NATHAN, GET CABRERA OUT! AND HE DOES!!!!!!
FINAL: Twins 3, Tigers 2, Heart-attacks 2, Strokes 5.
VERDICT: Wow. This is gonna be some serious battle the next three games. So excited for tonight. Although I don’t know if m heart can take it …
Thank you, helmet.
Well, I suppose the bright side is that the Twins, 2.5 back from the Tigers, won 7 of their last 8 games, including a 7-0 shutout last night against the White Sox.
The bad? Poor Denard Span. Watch this video and tell me that’s the grossest sound to hear in conjunction with a pitch hitting someone’s head:
http://www.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/_35168/uiconf_id/1002330
As the title of this post indicates, I am a big fan of batting helmets. Although not those creepy new ones.
Luckily Numero 2 has just a mild concussion and is listed as day-to-day. And on a another side-note, it sorta melted my icy little heart to see none other than A.J. Pierzynski rush over to make sure Span was okay. Well, I mean granted the guy was right behind him when the pitch nailed Span, but my usual searing hate for AJP subsides a little when I see that on the video. He’s not ALL bad, folks.
Anyway, hang in there Denard. Hopefully our lead-off hitter can be back in ship-shape soon.
EDIT:
Well THIS is disheartening.
Five words or less.
The 2009 active Twins roster in five words or less:
Scott Baker: Shake ‘n’ bake
Nick Blackburn: Other dreamy sideburned player
Jesse Crain: Ichabod needs improvement
Brian Duensing: Cute new pitcher
Armando Gabino: Who?
Matt Guerrier: That means “warrior” in French
Bob Keppel: Bald can be beautiful
Francisco Liriano: Tommy John didn’t help things
Ron Mahay: Say ma-hey-hey!
Jeff Manship: Sorta looks like Duensing
Jose Mijares: Wife just had a baby
Joe Nathan: Horse mouth twitches into hearts
Carl Pavano: Serious scowler
Jon Rauch: Holy Jesus, tall tattooed man!
Joe Mauer: Pretty ‘burns, hometown hero, MVP
Jose Morales: Cute as an effin’ button
Mike Redmond: Fiercely awesome Reddy
Brian Buscher: Love/hate relationship
Orlando Cabrera: Padre Orlando helps the kiddies
Alexi Casilla: Little Dominican badass
Joe Crede: Knee socks; I’d do him
Brendan Harris: Cute … for a Republican
Justin Huber: Who-ber?
Justin Morneau: Canadian heartthrob and big guns
Nick Punto: Dynamite comes in small packages
Matt Tolbert: Tip: Toll-bert, not Toll-bear
Michael Cuddyer: Surprisingly awesome sometimes
Carlos Gomez: Ese might be loco
Denard Span: Pretty eyes, great catches
Delmon Young: Just may get way better
Jason Kubel: DH JK, FTW!
Also, we finished off a sweep of the Cleveland Indians today, finishing them off 7-3. Moving on, we play the Detroit Tigers this weekend. My only hope is not losing any more ground to them, so hopefully having tomorrow off will give the boys time to think and rest.
Little Nicky.
Reasons why I love Nick Punto:
1. He helped us win the game today, 5-4, with a few doubles and other nice hits.
2. His last name is Punto.
3. He’s like 4 feet tall.
4. He played for Italia in the WBC. Everyone loves Italians!
5. His head-first slides into bases are pretty dangerous. And danger can be fun!
6. He makes crazy-weird airborne catches.
7. I enjoy referring to him as “Little Nicky“
8. He smells good.
9. He’s a family man.
10. He (allegedly) rides unicorns in his dreams:
FLASHING LIGHTS.
YO MICHAEL CUDDYER, I KNOW YOU JUST HIT THE GAME-TYING HOME-RUN AND ALL, AND I’MA LET YOU FINISH RUNNING THE BASES … BUT MAUER’S HOME RUN YESTERDAY WAS THE BEST ONE THIS YEAR!
Come together, right now … with Crede?
** BEATLES REFERENCE, IN HONOR OF THE REMASTERS, FTW!! **
Wow, the happenings of the past week. Last post, we won against the White Sox and were 3 1/2 back from the Tigers. Oh, cruel fate …
Well, we dropped down to 7 back from the Tigers after losing – horribly – the next two games. Our losing streak went as follows: one to the Sox, two to the Indians, and one to the Blue Jays yesterday. Since the 1st, we’ve had four wins and four losses. It looked bleak. And then …
I’m going to say something I never thought I’d say: thank you, Kansas City Royals.
The Royals WON TWO IN A ROW against the Tigers the past two nights, taking us to a more manageable 5 1/2 games back. Now I know we should be playing our best, winning games, blah blah … but: anyone who helps us catch up to Detroit, I am more than okay with.
Points to touch on:
- WTF was with the game on Saturday (the 5th) being called the “Fox Game of the Week” and then NOT EVEN BEING SHOWN?
- Our pitching staff is still making me cry tears of blood. Example: Duensing was doing so well yesterday against the Jays, then suddenly completely loses it, and none of the relievers could remedy the awful situation. We had a 3-0 lead until the 5th. And guess what happened next?
But all of that came to a crashing halt in the sixth inning when the Twins pitching suddenly went awry.
Duensing faced three batters and didn’t retire a single one, loading the bases before being replaced by right-hander Jon Rauch.
Rauch had found early success in Minnesota, having not allowed a run in his first four appearances for the Twins, totaling four innings. But on this night, things would not go so well for the newcomer.
Aww.
- But speaking of pitchingfail: the most upsetting one in the past week lies squarely on the shoulders of Joe Nathan. I hate even typing that, but that was some SERIOUS choke. Our 2-0 lead with J-Nate closing became a tie after two back-to-back homers. Then two walks. Then all hell broke loose. Guerrier came in, and, well … let’s just say the game ended 4-2. FROWN.
- “Big Rauch,” or as I like to call him, CockRauch, has been doing fairly well since he came to Minnesota in late August. That dude has some serious tattoo action going on, no joke. Our 6’11″ beast of a reliever can be a sad sack of terrible sometimes, but I think he’ll be good for the Twins, even if it’s just the intimidation factor to the batter. Also, apparently Rauch makes Gard-Dog say some pretty awesome things:
“He’s big,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Really, really big.”
Hahaha. Right.
- Morneau finally broke his streak of sucking tonight, hitting a homer off of the apparently impossible to beat Halladay. Well, we beat him. It was 51 at-bats since our Canadian Wonder hit a home run, bringing the count up to 30 on the year. I think SOMEONE had a plate of poutine before the game …
- I have to ask: If I make inappropriate, off-color comments to Brendan Harris, does that make it “Sexual Harrisment?”
- My babycakes Joe Crede still is MIA, but word is that he’s doing better. I am seriously going to have a funeral for my Crede shirt if this is how his career with the Twinsies ends. Supposedly, like I said last week, retirement is not in his future. But after reading this article, I need a hug. Or a martini. Such a bummer.
That’s all I got. Our last game in my fave city Toronto is tomorrow, and hopefully we can walk away with a third win and take the series. And by “hopefully we can” I mean “WE BETTER OR I’M BECOMING A FRICKIN’ TIGERS FAN.” And I really don’t want to do that.
Color me excited.
Here’s to another win
today, this time against the Shite Sox. Because of our
awesomeness this evening, we’re 3 ½ games back from the first-place Tigers and 2 ½ ahead of the Sox.
Color me excited:
Okay, the opposite of this.
Another reason to be
excited: JOE CREDE AIN’T
RETIRING. Although he’s been
battling a seemingly endless list of injuries this year with the Twins, and despite his current status on the disabled
list, my dearest Joe isn’t
ditching out of baseball just yet:
Joe Crede heard the rumor speculating that he may retire after the end of
this season. After all, the 31-year-old third baseman has had two back
surgeries and is currently on the disabled list with more back problems.
…
“I read that article the other day. I don’t know
where they based that off of,” Crede said about the original speculation reported Sunday in
the Chicago Tribune.
The Other Joe, No, Not that One, Or That One, the One on Third, says he needs to give his back a bit of time and
rest, hoping to come back soon to help the Twins push their way into the playoffs. It’s a bummer he seems like he’s made
of glass, but it sounds like he’s still eager to get back in the game:
Crede got a second epidural today and said before the game it was
already working. He also shot down a speculative report out of Chicago that he
might retire after this season.
“I
think in baseball years, I’m still fairly young,” the 31-year-old said.
“I know I have more years in me left. I still love the game. I still love
coming to the ballpark everyday. I have no plans of retiring.”
GOOD! We love you, Joe! Even
my dad doesn’t complain about you (which can’t be said about Cuddyer, Gomez,
basically all of our pitchers except Joe Nathan, Young,
some of the batboys, … etc.)
More things that make me
smile: HOMERS! The third inning
tonight was pure gold; what, with Mauer hitting that huuuuuge solo homer into the upper deck, and then Kubel following his lead with a two-run home run:
But with two outs in the third, the Twins were able to strike.
Mauer continued his own hot spell, belting his 26th home run of the
season which also doubled his previous career high of 13 from 2006.
…
Justin
Morneau followed up Mauer’s homer with a single to right field. Kubel then added his second two-run home
run in as many days, blasting a 437-foot shot deep to center field to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead.
That was so glorious. But those hits were definitely not
purely what won the game; Blackburn
had a surprisingly good outing, probably one of his first in at least a
month. He’s obviously been
struggling, but something tonight was definitely going well for him, and I
suspect it was his newly-sprouted facial hair:
Donning a
new beard, one that teammate Kevin Slowey suggested he should keep, Blackburn turned things around by getting back
to what had made him successful earlier this year.
[ I knew it! ]
“I
still wasn’t making good pitches the entire night, but I was able to get away
with it,” Blackburn said. “My stuff was sharper tonight than it had been in a
long time. The stuff [pitching coach Rick Anderson] and I have been working on in the
last couple weeks finally kind of set in and started working for me. “
Hopefully he can keep it
up, because he was absolutely amazing earlier this year. I was at the Dome for one of those games in June when he pitched the
whole thing (might’ve been against the Pirates?).
And here’s my final happy
note: ALEXI CASILLA! Seeing all these great things that he
can do out on the field is making me swoon. I was super bummed earlier this year when he was sent down
not once but twice for just plain sucking. More than anything, I’m pretty sure it was his attitude (I’m
95% sure I read that in an article, so I’m not making that up), but whatever it
really was, he’s changed it.
I also love not having Photoshop …
And the hits Casilla’s been getting have been great, too … I want to
attribute it to a million different things, like being back on the team with Gomez, the fatherly presence of Orlando Carbrera (Padre Orlando!), maturity from learning from his previous
mistakes … whatever. I’m rooting
for that little Dominican dude, because I think the more he plays, the better
he plays, and the better the team is for it. He and Gomez
are going to pose a serious threat in the future – mark my words!
So, here’s hoping we
continue this fierce battle-to-the-death attitude:
“It’s a
completely different feel around our clubhouse, and I think everybody’s pretty
excited about the way it’s going,” Kubel said. “That’s what we’re
focusing on right now, how we go about our own business.”
I want to see us take the
AL Central away from the frickin’ Tigers. They may be admittedly
playing well, but after the BS we’ve made it through this season and are
starting to overcome, we deserve it.
PS. Mike Redmond‘s TRIPLE yesterday?! Hilarious.
One batter
later, catcher Mike Redmond — who earlier in the game hit just his third career triple –
hit a chopper to first base that was fielded by Hank Blalock.
The whole team was
cracking up in the dugout, watching Reddy round those bases. Aww!
RALLY!
Our new pitcher (Rauch) and his neck-tattoo: your thoughts?
Getting Denarded all the way to the bullpen.
Reason #984 I love Denard Span: this catch last night.
Several things.
Several things:
ONE:
Black is white, up is down, Mauer is weak sauce and Cuddyer makes Twins history by hitting TWO homers in ONE inning. TWO … PLUS ONE … MATH!!!!
All I know is that Cuddyer is up there with Kubel, Mauer, and Morneau with the most home-runs this season, and that is FRICKING SHOCKING:
Of course, the Twins got all the power they needed from Cuddyer, who became the first player in Twins history to hit two home runs in the same inning. Cuddyer, doing his best Morneau impersonation, hit his two long balls in the seventh — two deep bookends in an eight-run inning.
The first — a first-pitch solo shot off Royals starter Brian Bannister — gave the Twins a 2-1 lead.
The second — a two-run, 427-foot blast over the fountains in left — came off reliever Kyle Farnsworth and stretched the Twins‘ lead to 9-1.
TWO:
We won again today? 10-3?? Um, excuse me, the first sweep/series win since July? Two more wins and we’ll be back to .500 (pathetic); we are currently still in 3rd in the AL Central and only 4 1/2 games back from the first-place Tigers (less pathetic than recently).
But hey, sweeping the Royals was just what we needed, even though it’s about as admirable and difficult as beating up a toddler. Not that I condone that; they’re quick little guys!
THREE:
Crede, Liriano, and Morneau are all banged up in some way, causing Crede to sit out today’s game and Morneau continuing his break since the 17th due to an inner-ear infection. Gardenhire says he may be back for the upcoming series against the Orioles on Monday. And Liriano, out for a while with a “tired arm,” could be replaced by none other than …
BOOF! BONSER!
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Sunday that injured pitcher Francisco Liriano could be out longer than 15 days, but — and here’s the good news — starter Boof Bonser could possibly return to the Twins‘ staff in September.
Bonser, who had surgery in April to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder, is rehabbing in Florida and progressing rather quickly, Gardenhire said.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOF!
FOUR:
Man, I’m happy we’ve won 5 of our last 7 games. SERIOUSLY. Minnesota Twins cominatcha, Orioles!
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