Twins Nine Back

The Pioneer Press put out a chart comparison of the Major League Baseball American League Central standings today vs the standings one year ago and the Twins are almost in the same catch-up boat they were in last year, but this year the competition is more fierce. Detroit is on top, Cleveland in second place and the Chicago White Sox in fourth and definitely not out of the hunt. To win the AL Central the Twins will need to create another last minute miracle like last year and to win a Wild Card will be just as difficult with four teams in the hunt. Come on Twins, pull it together and win a few games. Twins baseball fans will be keeping their eye on scores around the league to see if the Twins can gain any spots on the competition!

Twins vs. Athletics Game Review

The Minnesota Twins definitely looked like baseball superstars this weekend vs. the Oakland Athletics. Thursday night the Twins stomped the A’s winning 6 to 2. Pitcher Scott Baker had a strong outing in winning his fourth game this year and the boys played excellent offense as well. Michael Cuddyer, Jason Barlett, Luis Castillo, and Justin Morneau each had an RBI and Torii Hunter had two. Friday night, ace Twins pitcher Johan Santana took the mound and proved to all of the Metrodome fans why he’s an All-Star. Santana pitched seven shutout innings with a eight big strikeouts and a mere four hits. The Twins bats were armed and ready to support the star pitcher as the Twins pulled off a 5 to 3 victory.

Saturday was a close game and the Athletics were desperately hoping for a win, but Twins pitcher Carlos Silva was solid for over six innings as he held Oakland to three runs on just two hits. The Twins got just enough offensive strength from Michael Cuddyer, Jason Tyner and Joe Mauer who all batted in a total of four runs to win the game. Sunday was a real nail biter as the Athletics didn’t want to end the four game series with a Twins sweep. Mighty Mo’ (momentum) was definitely on the Twins side and they pulled off another 4 to 3 victory putting the Twins at a season-high six games above .500. Starting pitcher Boof Bonser had probably his best outing of the season allowing just three earned runs and struck out six Athletics batters. This Twins fan was a little nervous about Torii Hunter being out of the lineup due to a sore left hamstring, but Luis Castillo with his bum knee and all looked like he could play forever. He hit his second triple in just two days and came around to score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Morneau came through for the Twins ballclub as well when he pummeled his 25th home run of the season 406 feet into the upper deck.

Next up is the dangerous Detroit Tigers. The Detroit series will really show Minnesota what the Twins are made of. Let’s hope the momentum of sweeping the Athletics will allow the Twins to win the Detroit series at the Metrodome. Twins Tickets are hot right now so get out and see a game!

Twins in the All-Star game

The All-Star game was a fine midsummer outlet for our beloved Minnesota Twins baseball stars. Twins Pitcher Johan Santana pitched a perfect 1,2,3 seventh inning when he struck out Carlos Lee swinging, caught Alfonso Soriano looking on a third strike and got Jose Reyes to ground out. Santana threw ten pitches, nine of them for strikes. Johan Santana definitely showed off his dominance as a pitcher and made Minnesota Twins fans proud. Santana felt good about his performance as well and said, "It felt good. It's always good to have an opportunity to come in and perform and help out the team. I knew that I would pitch just the one inning, so I was giving it everything I had."

It was nice to see Twins first baseman Justin Morneau take the field when he entered the game in the bottom of the fourth inning replacing starting first baseman David Ortiz of the Red Sox, but it didn’t feel like Morneau gave it all he had at the plate. Morneau went 0 for 2 in his two at-bats. He flew out to Reds right fielder Ken Griffey Jr. and then he popped out in foul territory to Pirates third baseman Freddy Sanchez.

The Twins other powerhouse hitter didn’t fare any better. Torii Hunter also went 0 for 2 after replacing starter Ichiro Suzuki in center field in the bottom of the fifth inning. Hunter flew out to Soriano in left field and grounded out to Sanchez in the ninth.

Despite the poor offensive representation by the Minnesota Twins, the American League managed to pull off a dramatic 5-4 victory in the 78th All-Star Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco. This Minnesota Twins fan hopes to see even more Twins All-Stars next year and hopes the rest of this Twins season will be filled with All-Star moments.

Twins Players going to All-Star Baseball Game

The Minnesota Twins will not have a starter in this year’s MLB All-Star game in San Francisco. Of course, reigning AL MVP Justin Morneau didn't get voted to start by fans because there are a million more people in Boston to vote in their “first base” candidate, David Ortiz. Ortiz doesn’t even play first base as he is primarily a designated hitter. You have to hand Ortiz some credit though: Many players aren’t comfortable in the designated hitter position as they don’t feel like they are contributing to the team enough by not playing defense. Ortiz has thrived in the position, and that is admirable in itself.

So will the MVP go to this year’s All-Star game? Yes as the reserve chosen by the fans. Other Twins that made the midsummer classic are center fielder Torii Hunter and pitcher Johan Santana who made it based on managers choice. Joe Mauer missed out most likely due to the injury that caused him to miss precious at-bats. Congrats to our Twins players heading to the All-Star Game!

Twins Can’t Find Groove

Every time Roy Halladay pitches to the Minnesota Twins, the results usually aren’t too pleasant for the Twins. But miraculously, on Monday night, the Twins somehow got to Halladay for five runs, but it was more likely Halladay faltering then the Twins solving the Toronto Blue Jays’ ace. Evidence in point includes the fifth inning wild pitch that Halladay threw that helped the Twins tie the game as Luis Castillo scored with Jason Bartlett scoring on a Gregg Zaun error in the same play. Mike Redmond summed it up when he said, “Halladay was really grinding it out.” But yet the Twins were unable to keep the Blue Jays offense down, as Twins starter Kevin Slowey gave up 5 earned runs in his start.

But the poor pitching performances didn’t end there for Monday’s high-scoring affair. Matt Guerrier, who before Monday had a fourteen inning scoreless streak, gave up three runs in the eighth inning in Monday’s contest. The Twins bullpen might be tired right now, but its time to buckle down before the all-star break in hopes that the club can trim a six and a half game deficit in the Central Division. Twins Tickets for the Jays series are well worth it if you haven’t been to the Metrodome to see the Jays explosive offense yet.

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!

Twins Get Timely Win

Thank goodness the Minnesota Twins were able to pull out an 8-5 win over the Anaheim Angels on Wednesday night to salvage an overall dismal West Coast road trip. The Twins enter interleague play this weekend, where they have traditionally dominated National League teams. Wednesday night’s win helped to gather momentum going into the series with the Washington Nationals, one of the National League’s worst. Hopefully the Twins will be inspired to go for a home-stand sweep against them before taking on some tougher National League foes.

It doesn’t feel like it, but the Twins finished 2-4 on the road trip, sandwiching four straight losses versus some uncanny opponent pitching. They would like to play .500 baseball on the road but after how bad the offense performed in the four losses, the Twins should feel lucky. The offense will most likely be bolstered this weekend, as manager Ron Gardenhire plans on activating Joe Mauer from the disabled list. Gardenhire wants to bat Mauer in the No. 2 spot in the order in hopes of getting greater production from the spot. The move also allows Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau to stay in their current batting spots.