Metrodome Memories

The Twins’ entire season came down to one game tonight. It was either win or go home. It has been a long and exciting run for the Twins and they were looking to extend it. Unfortunately, the offense was unable to muster anything and the Twins lost to the White Sox 1-0 to end their season.

White Sox starter John Danks shut down the Twins’ offense, giving up only 2 hits over his 8 innings. The Twins’ best chance to score came in the 5th, when Michael Cuddyer doubled, but was later tagged out at home. Otherwise, that was all the team could get. Needing a strong start from Nick Blackburn, the Twins got one, as he went 6 1/3, allowing only 1 run, but that one run being the decisive one.

As much of a letdown as it was losing out on a chance for the AL Central title and the postseason, the Twins must keep things in perspective. This was a season in which many thought the team wouldn’t do well. Predictions abounded of a finish near the cellar of the division. However, the team got strong performances from two of their key players, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. One of the main reasons the Twins were able to enjoy this success was the emergence of their young guys. Carlos Gomez, Alexi Casilla, Denard Span, Brian Buscher, and others played vital roles as they helped put the team in a position to win the division. The youth was also evident in the rotation, as a cast of young starters pitched very well over the course of the season and the bullpen continued to be a strength. With so many breakthroughs from their younger players, it would seem the Twins are set to compete for a long time.

With the White Sox’s 8-2 win over Detroit, they are now tied with the Twins atop the AL Central. That means the two teams will face each other in a one game playoff tomorrow to decide the division winner. For the Twins, everything they’ve done this season comes down to one final game. Nothing else matters as they must win this game or their season is over.

The season came down to today. Although it was possible another loss would still keep in them in the divisional race, the Twins wanted a win to end the regular season. They came through in convincing fashion, shutting out the Royals 6-0.

Unlike like last night, where the Twins scored their runs early, tonight they got most of their offense in the later innings. They got 2 runs in the early innings, but pulled away late. 2 runs came in the 7th on a bases loaded double by Delmon Young and 2 more in the 8th on a triple from Joe Mauer.

The offense did what they had to do, but starter Scott Baker was even better. He was dominant in a high pressure situation, allowing only 4 hits and fanning 9 over 7 shutout innings. It was exactly the kind of start the Twins needed for this game and Baker delivered.

The regular season is over for the Twins and they are still a half game ahead of the White Sox, who also won today. Now comes the interesting part. The White Sox have a makeup game against Detroit tomorrow. If they lose, the Twins win the AL Central. However, if they win, that forces a one game playoff between them and the Twins in Chicago on Tuesday to determine who goes to the postseason. The Twins have done their part, now they can only wait on the outcome of tomorrow’s game.

Looking to put some separation between themselves and the White Sox, the Twins had their eyes set on a win against the Royals. Yet for the 2nd straight game, the offense couldn’t get going and the team lost 4-2.

The Twins were able to strike 1st, getting an RBI double from Brendan Harris in the 2nd and a Joe Mauer sac fly in the 3rd to take a 2-0 lead. However, they had a number of opportunities to score more runs, but just couldn’t finish it off. They grounded into 4 double plays, each coming in a crucial situation. Starter Glen Perkins was able to hold the Royals to just 1 run over 5 innings, but things didn’t go so well for the bullpen, which surrendered 3 runs and allowed the Royals to win the game.

With the White Sox losing as well, the Twins are still a half game ahead of them. There are a myriad of scenarios that could play out tomorrow depending on whether the two teams win or lose, but suffice to say, the Twins want to end the regular season on a high note with a win and that’s what they’ll concentrate on doing.

Hoping to sustain the huge momentum built by their sweep of the White Sox, the Twins were looking to get closer to the postseason in their final series of the season against the Royals. Unfortunately, the Royals had other ideas and the Twins dropped the opener 8-1.

The Twins could not seem to solve the Royals pitchers, with their only run coming in the 6th. On the other side, Francisco Liriano struggled over his 4 2/3 innings. While he did get out of a bases loaded situation in the 2nd, he ran into more trouble in the 3rd, when he gave up 3 runs without getting an out. He would give up 4 runs total in the inning. Liriano was pulled in the 5th after giving up a 2 run homer to Billy Butler.

It was most certainly not the kind of start Liriano, one of Minnesota’s best pitchers lately, wanted to have at this point. The good news is that the White Sox lost as well, so the Twins are still a half game ahead of them. However, they cannot depend on that to happen again as they must try and win the final two games.

The Twins completed a major step towards securing the AL Central earlier tonight by sweeping the Chicago White Sox in dramatic fashion. A big comeback sent the game into extra innings, before the team won it in the 10th for the 7-6 victory.

The Twins trailed by 5 runs for a good portion of the night, but were able to complete the comeback. They got some early offense from Carlos Gomez, who had 2 triples and was driven in both times by Denard Span. However, the biggest hit of the night came from Alexi Casilla as his single in the 10th brought home the winning run.

Kevin Slowey started off great, getting batters out and moving along efficiently, but then came the 4th inning. 6 runs were scored by the White Sox and they came on a solo home run, a few defensive mistakes and Slowey being hit on the wrist by a ball. But the bullpen was able to shut down the White Sox the rest of the way and allow the hitters to mount the comeback.

The Twins are now in 1st place with a half game lead and 3 games left to play. The excitement of being back on top must translate to more wins as every game is a must win and any loss greatly hinders their chances of making it to the postseason.

With the pressure on and their season on the line, the Twins have met the challenge. Yesterday, they got big offensive nights from a few players, but tonight it was a tighter game, as the team jumped out to an early lead and held off the White Sox for a 3-2 victory.

The Twins got started almost immediately as Joe Mauer helped bring in a run on a fielder’s choice in the 1st inning. The White Sox answered by tying it up at 1 in the 2nd. The Twins didn’t even blink as they took the lead in their half of the 2nd by scoring 2 runs. Nick Blackburn recovered from recent struggles with a solid effort, allowing 2 runs and 8 hits over 5 innings and getting out of a few rough spots. Joe Nathan was able to get his 39th save of the season in the 9th.

The Twins are on a roll. If they can beat the White Sox tomorrow for the series sweep, then that would significantly increase their chances to win the AL Central by leading by a half game with 3 left to play. The season’s not over yet however and the team must keep playing like they have if they want to be in the postseason.

With the series against the White Sox more then likely determining who will win the AL Central, the Twins stepped up to the challenge. They rode an offensive outburst to a 9-3 victory over the White Sox.

Jason Kubel got it started early for the Twins with a 2 run shot in the 2nd. He got a triple in the 4th and was then knocked in by Delmon Young. The team would add 2 more runs in the inning on RBI singles from Nick Punto and Carlos Gomez. The night was topped off in the 7th on consecutive solo home runs from Kubel and Young.

Scott Baker helped move the starters farther away from their recent struggles with a very strong outing. He allowed 1 run over 7 innings and while he did get into a bases loaded jam in the 5th, he was able to work out of it.

This win was huge for the Twins. Not only did they shrink the White Sox’s lead over them in the AL Central, but they built a little momentum that they could use to win more in the series. They must make these final 2 games against the White Sox count.

After a stretch of games where the Twins didn’t play to the level they wanted to, the series finale was important as a turning point heading into the final week of the season. The team stepped up and delivered a 4-1 victory over the Rays to keep pace in the AL Central.

Falling behind early, the Twins weren’t disheartened as they charged back in the 4th, scoring all 4 of their runs. They came on an RBI single from Mike Redmond, an RBI bunt single by Carlos Gomez and 2 runs scored on an error by Evan Longoria of the Rays.

Perhaps just as encouraging as the offense was the start put in by Francisco Liriano. His last start was less then stellar but he bounced back tonight, going 7 strong, giving up only 1 run and 5 hits. The starters have been struggling mightily lately and this kind of start by Liriano can only bolster their confidence.

The Twins needed this win not only to keep pace with the White Sox but to restore the confidence they seemed to have lost over the course of their recent slump. Heading into a season-deciding series with the White Sox, the Twins need all their wits about them if they want to capture the AL Central.

The margin of error for the Twins in the AL Central race is slowly dwindling as the number of games left decreases. They need to start winning in order to stay in the race, but couldn’t accomplish that in a 7-2 loss in Tampa Bay earlier today.

The Twins’ offense got going but wasn’t able to put enough runs across. In the 4th, with the bases loaded and no outs, a missed call led to a double play that was followed by a flyout to end the inning. The 2 runs the Twins put up were too little too late to come back against the Rays. Kevin Slowey went 4 1/3 innings, surrendering 5 runs, continuing the struggles of the rotation. The bullpen also gave up 2 solo home runs.

It is obvious the Twins have to improve and improve very soon and one place that can start is with the pitching. Though young, the rotation has generally been a strength throughout the season and if they can get quality innings out of their starters, it improves the team’s chances that much more.

Last night the Twins got off to a good start but fell behind early. They were hoping to get that good start again tonight and stay ahead. However, what happened was the opposite as the Rays jumped out to the lead and dominated the Twins, 11-1.

The Twins offense seemed stalled all night long as they couldn’t really get anything going. Instead, the Rays offense went on the attack. Twins starter Nick Blackburn only lasted 1 1/3 innings, giving up 6 runs, 3 each in the 1st and 2nd. Boof Bonser would give up 3 more in the 4th as the game was busted wide open. The Twins did add a run in the 6th, but the Rays responded in the bottom half of the inning, scoring two runs that were set up by a pair of Alexi Casilla errors.

It was a disastrous night for the Twins, where nothing seemed to go right. As they get closer and closer to the end of the season and also to their critical series against the White Sox, they must do something to shake off this slump or they’ll miss their chance to play in Ocotber.

What looked like a continuation of a recent trend for the Twins was reversed in grand fashion. Trailing late, the team pulled off a 9th inning comeback to capture the opening game of their series against the Rays, 11-8.

The Twins got out of the gate fast, with Jason Kubel blasting a 3 run shot in the 1st, however they would give the lead right back. Adding a run in the 3rd and 2 in the 7th they trailed before the pivotal 9th inning. With the team behind 8-6, Alexi Casilla got the rally started with a 2 run homer to tie it. Adam Everett then got an RBI double to put the Twins on top and they would score more to make it 5 runs total in the inning.

The Twins scored all that offense despite no help from the pitchers. Starter Glen Perkins didn’t even make it out of the 1st inning, giving up 5 runs, though only 2 were earned. Phil Humber threw 5 1/3 innings in relief giving up 2 runs. The pitchers continued to have problems keeping the ball in the park, this time giving up 5 home runs, including 3 to Tampa Bay rookie Evan Longoria.

The Twins really needed this win to set the tone for the rest of the series. A loss would’ve meant a really tough hill to climb. Now they can head into the rest of the series having regained some of the confidence they lost after their recent skid.

The Twins were hoping to get something out of their series with the Indians, having lost the 1st 2 games, and wanted to avoid the sweep. However, they were unable to accomplish that, as more mistakes doomed them to a 6-4 loss to Cleveland.

Tonight’s game already seemed tough considering the Twins were facing Cliff Lee, a contender for the AL Cy Young. Still the team was able to get some runs off of him, scoring twice in the 1st 4 innings. They got through once again off Lee with 2 more runs in the 7th, courtesy of Justin Morneau and Delmon Young. But they couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity to take the lead.

The long ball continued to haunt Twins starters with Scott Baker being the latest victim, giving up 2 solo shots in the 4th and he would also give up 2 more runs in the 5th. With the Twins still in the game, the bullpen was unable to help out, with Matt Geurrier giving up the decisive runs in the 7th.

A disappointing end to a disappointing series has the Twins reeling a bit. This is not the place they wanted to be with so few games left in the season. They must now head to Tampa Bay for a tough series that could very well determine where they finish the season.

The game didn’t exactly start out the way the Twins wanted, with them falling behind big early. However, they were able to battle back and send it into extra innings feeling good. That’s when their luck ran out and they ended up with a 12-9 loss to Cleveland.

The Twins got on board early with a 1st inning run, but then 2 innings later, were down 8-1. However, the team surged back, with 4 runs in the 5th, 2 in the 6th and 2 more in the 8th. There was plenty of offense to go around as every starter had a hit. Carlos Gomez led the production with 3 RBIs, but made a costly error in the field. Justin Morneau had a 2 run double and Matt Tolbert led the hits with 3 and scored twice. Michael Cuddyer is back with the team and chipped in almost immediately with an RBI. However, the Twins could not muster any extra innings offense to win it.

Francisco Liriano had done quite well of late, but it appeared he didn’t have any of that tonight. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings and gave up 8 runs, though only 4 were earned. He continued the recent trend of Twins starters being victimized by the long ball, giving up 2 tonight. The bullpen came in and was able to keep the Twins in it, except for the game-deciding moment. It was closer Joe Nathan giving up a 3 run homer to Victor Martinez to end the game.

Tomorrow’s series finale is pretty much a must win for the Twins. They cannot head into a difficult series with Tampa Bay after having been swept. It would wreck havoc with their confidence. The team has faced this kind of adversity during the season, though not with the added pressure of a divisional race.

Looking to keep the momentum of the beginning of the road trip going, the Twins hit another snag. It was nearly like last night’s game as the team was stopped by the opposing starter. No real offense could be mustered and the Twins lost 3-1 in the series opener against Cleveland.

The Twins were held scoreless by Indians rookie Scott Lewis, who allowed only 3 hits over his 6 innings. The team had opportunities to score runs against Lewis, notably in the 3rd and 5th innings, when they had runners in scoring position with no outs. Alas, they were unable to bring them home. Just like Nick Blackburn the night before, starter Kevin Slowey was victimized by the long ball. The 3 runs he allowed came on 2 home runs. The bullpen was strong the rest of the way, keeping the Twins in the game.

The team lost a chance to gain ground on the White Sox and must start winning soon. The obvious problem was the inability to get runners home once they got on base. Perhaps a return to the small ball that they are known for will give them a boost and put them back in the win column.

After their offensive surge of yesterday’s doubleheader, the Twins were on a roll and looking for the series sweep. But perhaps they got all the offense out of their system yesterday, as they fell short in their bid for the sweep, losing 7-3 to Baltimore.

The Twins were mystified all night long by Orioles starter Radhames Liz, who shut them out for 8 innings. It wasn’t until the 9th that the team was able to score any runs. They came during a short-lived rally against Os closer George Sherill. Starter Nick Blackburn had a start to forget, as not only did he last just 4 innings, but he gave up 4 home runs. Blackburn has really been struggling as of late, getting only 1 win in his last 7 starts.

Though it is a downer after such a productive doubleheader, the Twins need to keep perspective. They are only a half game behind the White Sox in the AL Central and aren’t about to give in just yet. The loss was a brief bump in the road and they must not let it impede their momentum.

Ready to start their road trip, the Twins had to wait because of a rainout on Friday. That necessitated playing a doubleheader today in Baltimore. Perhaps the team should play more of them as they pulled off a pair of 12 run wins, beating the Os 12-2 in the 1st game and then 12-6 in the 2nd.

In the 1st game, the Twins started their run scoring at a trickle with one run in the 1st, then piled on 3 runs each in the 3rd and 7th, then poured on the offense in the 9th with Denard Span’s 3 run homer, his 2nd of the game, and a 2 run double by Carlos Gomez. Justin Morneau and Brian Bushcer also chipped in RBIs for the game. Scott Baker got into trouble in the 1st, but managed to get out of it, having allowed only 1 run. However, in the rest of his 6 innings he was practically lights out. It didn’t hurt that he had a nice run cushion too.

The Twins started the 2nd game of the doubleheader the way they ended the 1st. They scored 6 runs in the 1st and chased Os starter Garrett Olson after only 2/3 of an inning. By the end of the 4th they had tacked on 5 more runs to put the game out of reach. Glen Perkins was handed a 6 run lead before he even threw a pitch, but he struggled, giving up 6 runs over 3 innings as the Os tried their best to come back.

With the end of the season getting ever closer, the Twins are trying their best to extend it. The offensive outburst during today’s doubleheader is something that could set a tone as the team will need to score lots of runs if they hope to stay in the race. With both wins the Twins now move into a tie with the White Sox for the AL Central.

Looking to keep the momentum of the 1st 2 games of the series going, the Twins were playing for the sweep earlier today. Unfortunately, they were not able to get that one hit to put them over the top and lost to the Royals 3-2 in 10 innings.

The Twins’ runs came when Carlos Gomez singled in Mike Redmond, and the other was on a RBI double by Justin Morneau. The team could have scored more but did not take advantage of some opportunities, including ending 2 innings on double plays. The lack of offense hurt Francisco Liriano, who had a solid outing, giving up 2 runs over 8 innings with 6 hits and 6 strikeouts. But it was the bullpen that cost the Twins the game. After Matt Guerrier gave up back-to-back singles in the 10th, Dennys Reyes came in and the 1st pitch he threw ended up being the game winning hit for the Royals.

It was a disappointing end to a disappointing homestand for the Twins. They were hoping to gain some ground and momentum in the AL Central before heading off on another road trip. Now they must regroup and hope they can perform better on the road.

Needing another win to sustain the momentum from last night’s game and keep pace with the White Sox, the Twins took control and ended up with a 7-1 victory over the Royals. The offense was evident, but perhaps most important was Kevin Slowey’s dominant start.

The Twins fell behind early, but were able to storm back. This was thanks to a Carlos Gomez RBI single in the 2nd that tied it at 1. They then pulled ahead in the 3rd when a Jason Kubel ground-rule double scored a run. Delmon Young would bring one home that inning as well with a groundout. The Twins would add two runs later in the game on a throwing error by Royals reliever Leo Nunez.

Slowey gave up a run to the Royals in the 1st inning, but was lights out the rest of the way. In the other 6 innings of his 7 inning start, he only allowed 2 hits. He was on his game the entire start and pitched very effectively.

Slowey continues to be great starter for the Twins and they will need more performances like his to to get into the postseason. The team’s confidence is growing and if they could pull off a sweep tomorrow, then that would do wonders as they enter the final stretch.

After a disappointing Detroit series, the Twins were hoping to rebound against the Royals. They did just that, powering their way to a 7-2 victory. Coupled with the White Sox’s doubleheader loss to Toronto, the Twins are now just 1 game back of the AL Central lead.

The team got all their runs against Royals starter Brian Bannister. Justin Morneau continued to churn out RBIs, singling in a run in the 1st and hitting a 2 run homer in the 4th. However, he wasn’t the only Twin producing tonight. Joe Mauer had a pair of RBIs, and Denard Span, Brian Buscher and Carlos Gomez brought in the other runs. Starter Nick Blackburn picked up his 10th win of the season by throwing 7 innings of 2 run ball. It was a relief for Blackburn as he hasn’t gotten a victory in about a month.

The number of remaining games keeps getting smaller and smaller. The Twins are doing all they can to tighten the race with the White Sox and eventually take over the AL Central. If they can turn in more games like the one today, then they can look forward to the postseason.

With 2 very different game playing out in the 1st 2 games of their series against the Tigers, the Twins were hoping to get another win and keep pace in the AL Central. However, they let a lead disappear and couldn’t mount a comeback, ending up with a 7-5 loss.

Justin Morneau continues to make a push for AL MVP consideration as he was involved in all of the Twins’ runs. He drove in 4 runs, including 2 on a triple and 2 sac flys, and also scored himself once. However, the pitching couldn’t hold the lead. Starter Glen Perkins gave up 2 runs in the 1st 5 innings, but ran into trouble in the 6th. He didn’t make it out of the inning and ended up surrendering 5 runs overall, 3 of which were earned. Boof Bonser would surrender 2 runs himself in the 7th to help the Tigers to their win.

The Twins must figure out a way to right the ship. There are few games remaining in the season and each one becomes increasingly important to the division race. The Twins seem to have no problem scoring runs, but their bullpen especially must get up to speed if the team hopes to reach the postseason.

The Twins were hoping to build momentum after their road trip with another win. Things looked good for most of the game, but the bullpen couldn’t get the job done in the later innings and the Twins lost to the Tigers, 6-4.

The team got things started early, loading the bases in the 1st inning with no outs, but could only get 1 run and that was when Justin Morneau grounded into a double play. Jason Kubel would add another run in the 3rd with an RBI double. The Twins again had the bases loaded with no outs in the 6th and were able to get more. Carlos Gomez doubled in 2 runs that could’ve been 3, but Brian Buscher was tagged out at home. The team would load the bases with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, down by 2, but were not able to sustain the rally.

Starter Scott Baker was very solid, pitching very efficiently, getting the pitches he wanted and working quickly. He left in the 8th with one out and one on. Dennys Reyes then came in and gave up a 2 run home run. Matt Guerrier also gave up a 2 run shot after that. Neither reliever recorded an out. Jesse Crain and Crag Breslow stopped the Tigers offense after that.

It was as disappointing a loss as any for the Twins. It also highlighted what is becoming an alarming trend for the team and that is its shaky bullpen. The bullpen cannot continue to pitch like this if the Twins want to make it to the postseason. The team must have all components working if it hopes to capture the AL Central.

It was an exhasuting and very long road trip for the Twins that didn’t exactly turn out the way they envsioned. However, back at the Metrodome, they got back on the winning track with a 10-2 win over the Tigers.

The Twins got the scoring started with a Jason Kubel sac fly in the 1st. Delmon Young would add a solo shot later, but the game was really busted open in the 5th, when Justin Morneau hit a grand slam to put the game out of reach. The Twins would tack on more runs later to seal the deal. Even with the offense, starter Francisco Liriano held down the Tigers, allowing only 2 runs over 7+ innings. The bullpen was able to shut down the Tigers the rest of the way.

After such a disappointing road trip, the Twins were hoping to come back with a win. They did just that against the Tigers. With the victory in their pockets, they can now look forward and continue on their path to the postseason.

It wasn’t exactly the end to their long road trip that the Twins envisioned. They were hoping to end on a high note after the struggles over the length of the trip. However, the inability to get any offense going helped give the Twins a 9-0 loss against the Blue Jays.

The team was unable to generate anything offensively against Jays starter Jesse Litsch, getting a runner on 2nd only once; that being Nick Punto in the 3rd. Otherwise, Litsch kept a tight lid on the Twins’ offense. Starter Kevin Slowey had a rough start to his outing, loading the bases in the 1st and allowing a run to score. He exited after 5 2/3 innings, having given up 3 runs. The bullpen wasn’t able to keep it close, giving up the remaining 6 runs.

The Twins must be glad to see this road trip over and now look forward to coming back home to the Metrodome. Hopefully, they can shake off the road struggles and string together a few wins at home. Despite everything, they are still right near the White Sox for the AL Central lead.