Twins win two of three over Brewers, fans show support

The Minnesota Twins continue to amaze me. The Twins Milwaukee Brewers series was a real gem and I have a few miscellaneous facts that I want to share with my loyal Minnesota Twins blog readers (even though it’s a little late.) I will compile facts on the Twins Detroit Tigers series next week (better late than never, right?) Here are the facts that I just can't keep to myself:

--> Joe Mauer hit his third home run of the season on June 27th vs. Milwaukee Brewers. All three homers were in the month of June...does that still make him an All-Star? You betcha!

--> The Twins lost to the Milwaukee Brewers on June 28th in front of 38,963 fans. It was their largest attendance since opening day, March 31 vs. Los Angeles when the Twins (and Torii Hunter) drew 49,596 fans. Perhaps the pressure of all those prying eyes was just too much. Livan Hernandez walked four batters, a season-high.

--> Kevin Slowey pitched his second complete game of the season on June 30th, tossing the first shutout of his career. Woohoo!


--> The Twins were only 278 fans short of drawing 100,000 fans into the Metrodome for the Twins Brewers three game series. Those 278 people were out on their boats enjoying the beautiful weather. They said they would have come out if the game would have been played outside.

--> The Twins finished off Interleague Play with a record of 14-4. Way to go boys in blue!

Milwaukee Brewers at Metrodome Minneapolis

I am guessing that after the Minnesota Twins last 6-0 homestand, the demand for Minnesota Twins tickets will be higher than ever. Couple the winning momentum and the border battle rivalry of the Milwaukee Brewers and you have a recipe for a tight ticket. I just checked Ticket King and I see they have Minnesota Twins vs Milwaukee Brewers tickets for around $40 each on a $30 face ticket. I figured it would be more than that – I guess not as many people are planning on heading to the Dome as I thought. I hope the Twins put on a great show . . .so far the National League games have been good ones. Go Twins!

Gardenhire Gets Thrown out of Brewers Game

The out come of Sunday's Twins Brewers game shocked many game viewers including head manager Ron Gardenhire. Gardenhire was so shocked, his feelings threw him out of the game by the 8th inning. I am sure most Twins fans saw this clip on the local news (I was surprised I didn't see it on SportsCenter) when Brendan Harris was up to bat and the Twins were down by one run. Harris batted two outs and felt as if he was given no time to prepare. Harris asked the umpire for more time, but no answer was given. To make a long story short Guillermo Mota, the Brewers pitcher, pitches to Harris while he wasn't looking and Harris strikes out. It was crazy. Like many Minnesota Twins fans, Ron Gardenhire wonders if the Twins could have won the game if the umpire would have granted Harris more time. Gardenhire is probably right and the Twins could have won. I am guessing that ump won't be making the Gardy Christmas Card list. Better luck next time Twinkies.

Twin Tickets make great Gifts

I think the Twins and really the MLB announce the 2008 baseball schedule so early so they can get as many sales as possible, well it worked on me. I decided I would buy my dad some Twins Tickets for Christmas. I was looking at the Twins Schedule and I see the Twins are in Milwaukee over Fathers Day weekend, so that’s out – weren’t they at Miller Park last year for Fathers Day too? So I opted for the Twins vs. Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday June 22. Tickets between the bases were affordable and I know my dad will enjoy the game.

Corey Koskie back in a Twins Uniform?

Former Minnesota Twins third baseman Corey Koskie, whose $6.5 million option was declined by the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, hasn't played since July 2006 because of post concussion syndrome suffered while chasing a fly ball. Koskie, 34, who lives in Medina, said that he has made so much progress the past six weeks, he can see himself trying to play again next year. Koskie, who played for the Twins from 1998 to 2004, gets a $500,000 buyout from the Brewers and can file for free agency after the World Series. The Twins need a third baseman, and Koskie might be looking for a job.

Twins Offense Inconsistent

The Minnesota Twins offense continues to be extraordinarily inconsistent as they put up 10 runs in Sunday’s win over the Milwaukee Brewers but only one run against the New York Mets on Monday night. John Maine had another stellar outing for the Mets as he pitched against the hapless Twins hitters. The only runner who came around to score was Jason Tyner, who slapped a lead-off single and was driven in by a bloop Michael Cuddyer double. I can’t resist picking up Mets pitcher Jorge Sosa in my fantasy league to pitch against the Twins on Tuesday night. My current smack talk: “Well my shutout for the week is virtually secured with Jorge Sosa pitching against the Twins.” Sorry but come on piranhas.

Juan Rincon gave up another four earned runs or so Monday for the second straight game, and many feel like his trade value is plummeting. The Twins should have dumped him for something before these two disasters. Hopefully, "Roidcon" can come back to pitch a few solid innings before pulling a Dennys Reyes and complaining about shoulder stiffness. Amazingly, the Twins .500 play still has them only 6 ½ games back of the Cleveland Indians, who aren’t helping themselves pull away at the moment. The Detroit Tigers have been lukewarm as of late too, making it look as if the AL Wildcard might be hard pressed to come out of the Central after all. Why not pick up some Twins tickets and to see if they are able to gain ground during their next home stand?

Twins vs Nationals Series Overview

The Minnesota Twins vs. the Washington Nationals series at the Minneapolis Metrodome was definitely an odd weekend baseball series. The Twins have a better record than the Nationals and at the “Homerdome,” it should have been an easy series sweep for the Twins. Starting pitcher Carlos Silva couldn’t get his act together Friday night as the Twins lost 5-8. The righty allowed seven runs on nine hits in three-plus innings. Joe Mauer returned to the line-up after his release from the injured list and hit a triple in his third at-bat, but it wasn’t enough to get the Twins a victory.

Saturday was a rare loss for Twins star pitcher Johan Santana as the Twins fell 1-3. Santana gave up a three-run homer to Ryan Zimmerman in the third inning that proved costly in the Twins' loss to the Nationals. Justin Morneau hit a solo shot to center field in the second inning for the Twins' only run.

Sunday was a definite must win situation and the Twins pulled it off 6-3. Boof Bonser was on the mound and threw more pitches in the first few innings than a major league starter ever should. Bonser spent so much time on the mound that manager Ron Gardenhire thought it was actually detrimental to the offense. "Today, honestly, I felt that our offense was clicking and he took us out of our offense by having too many long innings out there," Gardenhire said. "We really had to battle through it." And battle, they did. In fact, five of the six runs the Twins earned were driven in by singles!

Next up for the Twins is a week long home stand. The Atlanta Braves come to town for 3 games starting on Tuesday and then the border battle between the Minnesota Twins and the first place NL Central Milwaukee Brewers really heats up over Fathers Day weekend. Get your dad and head to the Metrodome for a weekend of excellent baseball. There are still great Twins vs. Brewers tickets available! Go Twins!