Twins Ride Torii's Bat, Bullpen in Series-Opening Win
On paper, the Twins go into every game against the White Sox at a disadvantage. Chicago's starting pitching is supposedly superior. They've certainly got more mashers capable of changing a game with a single swing. And they're the defending World Champions. Besides, the Twins are without ace lefthander Francisco Liriano, replacing him in the rotation with something called Boof Bonser. You'd think that they didn't stand a chance. You'd think wrong.
I've decided that the best way to judge these Twins is to focus on what they have, not on what they don't have. What they have is a ton of heart, starting with the team's unofficial captain Torii Hunter. They also have the best and deepest bullpen in baseball by far. And they've got a 'wraparound foursome' that plays a speed game. Mix these together and you'll understand how the Twins won the opening game of this weekend's series against the Mighty Whities.
First of all, they got a solid, though not spectacular pitching performance from Bonser, who gave up the Mighty Whities' 3 runs on 6 hits in 5.1 innings. They got a big game from Torii Hunter, who seemingly plays well against the White Sox all the time. Tonight, Torii tortured Freddie Garcia, going 2 for 3, scoring twice, including scoring the winning run on his homerun leading off the sixth.
Then there's the bullpen factor. Frankly, if the Twins lead after 7, it's about as close to a done deal as there is in baseball. Tonight's bullpen heroes were, in order of appearance, Pat Neshek, the rookie from Brooklyn Center, Dennys Reyes (Thank you Cleveland), Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier.
My personal highlight from this bunch was watching Jesse Crain strike the ever-dangerous Jermaine Dye with an unhittable slider in the eighth, with Dennys Reyes' coaxing Jim Thome into a feeble grounder to second baseman Luis Castillo to finish off the seventh coming in a close second.
The Twins bullpen gave up a single hit in 3.2 innings of work without giving up a walk. That's pretty impressive work against a lineup as dangerous as there is in baseball. Make no mistake about it: The Mighty Whities can score runs in bunches.
It'd be a shame, though, if we didn't mention the Twins' hitting heroes. Torii triggered the offense with his double and homer but the Twins pounded out 14 hits on the night. Justin Morneau was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI's, giving him 106 on the season. Jason Tyner went 3 for 4 and Nick Punto, returning from a back injury, went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Then there's Joe Mauer, 'quietly' going 2 for 5 to get his major-league leading batting average back up to the .360 mark.
The bad news for the Mighty Whities is that now they face Radke and Santana to finish the series.
Add it all up and you've got a convincing 7-3 Twins win. Not bad against the slugging Mighty Whities.
Posted Saturday, August 19, 2006 10:45 AM
July 2006 Posts
No comments.
I've decided that the best way to judge these Twins is to focus on what they have, not on what they don't have. What they have is a ton of heart, starting with the team's unofficial captain Torii Hunter. They also have the best and deepest bullpen in baseball by far. And they've got a 'wraparound foursome' that plays a speed game. Mix these together and you'll understand how the Twins won the opening game of this weekend's series against the Mighty Whities.
First of all, they got a solid, though not spectacular pitching performance from Bonser, who gave up the Mighty Whities' 3 runs on 6 hits in 5.1 innings. They got a big game from Torii Hunter, who seemingly plays well against the White Sox all the time. Tonight, Torii tortured Freddie Garcia, going 2 for 3, scoring twice, including scoring the winning run on his homerun leading off the sixth.
Then there's the bullpen factor. Frankly, if the Twins lead after 7, it's about as close to a done deal as there is in baseball. Tonight's bullpen heroes were, in order of appearance, Pat Neshek, the rookie from Brooklyn Center, Dennys Reyes (Thank you Cleveland), Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier.
My personal highlight from this bunch was watching Jesse Crain strike the ever-dangerous Jermaine Dye with an unhittable slider in the eighth, with Dennys Reyes' coaxing Jim Thome into a feeble grounder to second baseman Luis Castillo to finish off the seventh coming in a close second.
The Twins bullpen gave up a single hit in 3.2 innings of work without giving up a walk. That's pretty impressive work against a lineup as dangerous as there is in baseball. Make no mistake about it: The Mighty Whities can score runs in bunches.
It'd be a shame, though, if we didn't mention the Twins' hitting heroes. Torii triggered the offense with his double and homer but the Twins pounded out 14 hits on the night. Justin Morneau was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI's, giving him 106 on the season. Jason Tyner went 3 for 4 and Nick Punto, returning from a back injury, went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Then there's Joe Mauer, 'quietly' going 2 for 5 to get his major-league leading batting average back up to the .360 mark.
The bad news for the Mighty Whities is that now they face Radke and Santana to finish the series.
Add it all up and you've got a convincing 7-3 Twins win. Not bad against the slugging Mighty Whities.
Posted Saturday, August 19, 2006 10:45 AM
July 2006 Posts
No comments.
