Twins postgame: Return of Eddie edition
Posted on August 26th, 2008 – 1:33 AMBy Joe Christensen
SEATTLE — The Twins fell to 60-6 when leading after seven innings Sunday, but up until Monday, they had not lost this season when leading after the eighth.
They were 64-0 before Adrian Beltre hit his two-run homer off Jesse Crain in the 11th inning, giving Seattle a 4-2 victory at Safeco Field.
Joe Nathan suffered his fourth blown save when Seattle scored a run in the ninth. The Twins came back to win after two of his previous blown saves, and the other was spoiled in the eighth inning — Aug. 5, right here at Safeco Field.
“Get to the ninth, that’s normally a done deal for us,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Leadoff double, but we missed the ground ball to short, and it ends up costing you a ballgame.”
Gardenhire thought Nick Punto hesitated because he saw Adrian Beltre running to third. If Punto gets the out at first, then the Twins could have played the infield in instead of conceding the run to get the double play.
This one can’t be pinned on the bullpen. Matt Guerrier, Eddie Guardado and Jesse Crain all had 1-2-3 innings. Nathan stayed poised and sent the game to extra innings, and Crain got beat in his second inning of work, after pitching Sunday.
Having Guardado in mix should only help.
“For sure,” Nathan said. “The move they made today makes us a lot deeper, gives us confidence. Any time you can get a guy to help you out, especially in close ballgames and in the late innings, it’s nice to have.
“We feel like we have some arms now that — especially from the seventh inning on — we can finish out some games. Unfortunately tonight wasn’t one of those cases. We’ve got a long stretch to go, and it’s nice to have Eddie on board.”
Guardado’s pleasant postgame session with reporters broke the ice in a quiet clubhouse.
“Obviously, it’s a tough loss today,” Guardado said. “August, September, you’re playing for something, and every loss is tough. But I’ve been watching these guys play for a while now, and we’ll bounce back.”


