Friday pregame: Twins/A’s
Posted on August 29th, 2008 – 5:58 PMBy Joe Christensen
OAKLAND — The A’s have won back-to-back games for the first time since July 10-11, with a win against the Angels on Wednesday and the Twins on Thursday.
That snapped their longest spell without a winning streak in Oakland history.
Tonight, the Twins will try to keep the A’s from their first three-game winning streak since they won four straight from June 13-17.
Another unseasonably warm day in the Bay Area.
Updates to come…
Update (8:15 p.m.): Alexi Casilla is batting .174 (6-for-34) on the road trip, Nick Punto .387 (12-for-31).
“See if we can get Lexi going,” Manager Ron Gardenhire said. “I like Lexi a lot in the second hole, and I’ll eventually get him back there, but he’s just swinging a little nuts right now.”
Lefties are batting .250 against Dan Meyer and righties .231. Gardenhire said he doesn’t like to keep Randy Ruiz out, but he wants to give Jason Kubel a shot tonight. Sitting Carlos Gomez was another option, but Kevin Slowey is a fly ball pitcher, and Gardy wants his best outfield out there.
The Twins never have faced Meyer. He came to the A’s from the Atlanta organization in the 2004 trade for Hudson. Meyer is 27 now and finally getting a chance in a big league rotation.
Twins (75-59)
1. Denard Span, RF
2. Nick Punto, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Jason Kubel, DH
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Brendan Harris, 3B
8. Alexi Casilla, 2B
9. Carlos Gomez, CF
Starting pitcher: RH Kevin Slowey (10-8, 3.74 ERA)
Athletics (62-72)
1. Rajai Davis, CF
2. Bobby Crosby, SS
3. Ryan Sweeney, RF
4. Frank Thomas, DH
5. Jack Cust, LF
6. Kurt Suzuki, C
7. Daric Barton, 1B
8. Jack Hannahan, 3B
9. Eric Patterson, 2B
Starting pitcher: LH Dan Meyer (0-2, 5.95 ERA)
McAfee Coliseum. First pitch: 9:05 p.m.
223 Responses to "Friday pregame: Twins/A’s"
Punto moved to the 2-hole. He’s hit well recently, but this could be the beginning of the end for the Twins offensively.
way to take your best RH hitter out of the lineup Gardy…
Dan Meyer:
Against the WSox: 3 IP, 5 ER, 2BB.
If the Twins offense can’t do a thing against this scrub, the road trip is probably going to get even worse.
[…] Originally published by Around the Majors […]
it’s about time kubel gets in for ruiz
Punto batting .293. I suppose you gotta try something. We obviously can’t depend on the bullpen to win a close game.
Punto?
2 hole?
AGAIN!???!?!?!?
Battle of the Soxes in Boston. Chicago trailing 1-0 in the fifth. Boston thinks they might lose Josh Beckett with an arm injury, after already losing JD Drew. They picked up somebody, but I don’t look for the Red Sox to help out the Twins this weekend.
see ya everyone im gonna go make love to my dog. hes such a sexy beast! oh hes soooo gonna get it!
If the Twins can’t do anything against the scrub, the not only would the roadtrip become longer this blog will also be unreadable.
Wow. This is the nail in the coffin for Gardy. He should be canned immediately. I don’t care if Punto is hitting .600 in the 8-hole, it’s a completely different game hitting in the 2-hole. I actually find humor in checking in every day on this blog just to see where Punto is penciled in. It’s becoming comical and I’m wondering if Gardy is going to take his job seriously again this season.
i want to be penciled in your ass Bill Brasky.
I thought opening my mail the other day and seeing an invoice for $6,000 for playoff tickets was insulting - but seeing Punto starting his 36th straight game AND getting bumped up to the 2-hole takes the cake. I’m speechless…
Hey Brasky…kiss my butt. I battle my tail off and get after it better than anyone. I deserve this opportunity. I can’t help it if Gardy has a crush on me.
your speechless hih? cant take my hole wad in your mouth?
The Minnesota Twins organization frowns upon fraternization amongst it’s employees.
your a sexy beast Nicky Punto #8
“nick punto” is an imposter. I’m the real Nick Punto. I’ll even slide head first into first base to prove it.
Gomez is in the line up again? The twins have obviously given up on trying to make the playoffs.
oh and i will slide my wad in your mouth too Bill Brasky.
I don’t think anyone cares today, but the Red Sox got more runs and lead the White Sox 3-0 in the sixth.
If anyone cares.
oh. and almost forgot i also finished making love to my sexy dog! it was so much fun!
Red Sox 7, CWS 0 after 6. Thanks AJ for the error to start thr 4-run 6th.
its time for a change! kill the imposters!
It does look like a great game in Boston!
i cant believe its nearly september, the Twins are in the midst of a possible division title or wild card berth and nick punto is starting every game and batting No. 2!
Oh wait I can.
Wow, Dice K made it into the eighth. I thought he only did that against the Twins…
twins need this game tonight
That was a great interview by Telly Hughes. Yeah, the same one…
Fuck the imposters…
Well the White Sox got only two hits today. None of them home runs…
“major league level”
Dan “Cy” Meyer
Kubel is hitting .500 against change ups and curve balls from lefties, but .136 against sliders. I wish they would give me the actual statistics instead of just an average.
Kubel is hitting .074 against curves from righties. Talk about an out pitch.
Nice double for Morneau, 150th career double….
Two doubles in a row!
way to bench our best hitter…idiot
What a bad error by the pitcher
Young should have been called out, that was a bad call.
This pitcher is all over the place
The fans are booing the pitcher already, don’t know if I agree with that…
Casilla shattered his bat on that one
“Major League Level” second time
Come on Denard, just don’t hit into a DP
Span using the beard power to coax a walk.
c’mon Nick the Stick
Time for Punto to hit a Grand Slam…
Nick is trying to adjust the strike zone by fouling balls off of the ump’s mask…
At least Punto didn’t hit into a DP…
any more evidence that Punto sucks?
Did Joe really swing at the 1st pitch?
I wonder when Joe’s last GS was?
Has Joe ever hit a Grand Slam?
I am sure he did at Cretin
Joe hit a Grand Slam last year on June 24th down in florida, his only one. One more than Delmon Young though…
Well, it is not as if Casilla was doing any better lately in the 2nd spot. You have to admit that.
Beat me to it Gatty, but I show it as at Detroit off Verlander: 2007-06-29 MIN @DET Justin Verlander ahead 2-0 t 5 123 1 3-2 6 4 Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep LF);
http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=408045
I read it in his biography, but you are right, he did hit a grand slam in that game. Found my mistake, I just misread it, June 24 was his first multi-home run game. He had power back then I guess…
That is an excellent graphic FSN. Starters have been studs since June, although not going as long as we would like. Time for the hitting to start winning some games.
Morneau has some crazy hops…
Nora,
Casilla didn’t do too well at the second spot since he came back…
but
I’d rather see Delmon there (or even Gomez) rather than Punto
Looks like Slowey has been sitting on the bench for about half an hour
How awesome would it be to have son play professional baseball?
I think Slowey has warmed up again.
Slowey’s walk to innings ratio over his last five plus starts is now .0303. Or better yet his innings to walk ratio is 33:1. Wow.
This just in: Anthony Lapanta’s hair piece just won a blue ribbon at the State Fair for Most Creative Use of Taxidermy.
Slowey’s IP/BB ratio is better than his BB/IP ratio?
I would hope so.
Take a picture folks, Slowey walked someone…
Really bad time to walk someone with no outs
“This just in: Anthony Lapanta’s hair piece just won a blue ribbon at the State Fair for Most Creative Use of Taxidermy.”
cmath sitting in for jimmy bee.
this walk is on you gatty. 
and there is the gold glove Punto… gee
Finally found something Punto couldn’t do defensively: Slide on his back while going up hill trying to catch a ball.
E-Town wins the Appy league title.
What was the score?
Slowey is getting outs but really slow. He is not looking sharp.
Duensing pitched relief in Roch, wonder if he will be in the bully in Sept.
I see Seattle cooled off Cleveland.
7-0
At least when Slowey is missing up in the strike zone, the ball is too high to hit.
Seattle has found their new role as spoiler. If they played other teams the way they played the Twins they would be over .500 at the very least.
Dick said “that was a great play by Punto”.
Not a great effort, but a great play, even though he failed to catch the ball.
Little Leaguers have to catch the ball to make a great play.
Am I making too big a deal of this?
Wondering why A’s just don’t start Saarloos instead of starting a pitcher that they even said is not ready to pitch up here? Well for the Twins sake I am glad they didn’t.
Why didn’t the A’s start Saarlos? He is a twin killer.
Saarloos is tough on us, glad we got the 6 run lead.
Slowey looks lost, looks like the bullpen in 6th inning, better get more runs
jinx
fuck mccain
I bet you would pay to see that
“E-Town wins the Appy league title.”
Monday is the last day of play for the Twins minor league teams.
Slowey got the ball down in the strike zone, whoops.
crap
Punto as number two hitter. Can’t bunt, won’t hit behind runners. Great utility infielder, good 8-9 hole hitter.
And why won’t he learn to hit the ball on the ground?
good morning jim
Actually that ball was not in the strike zone, it was about chest level.
Time for a pitching coach visit.
Get Slowey out of there. Geesh.
Why would they even think about taking Slowey out right now?
Slowey has looked completely uncomfortable out there.
Let the kid work out of this…
Can somebody tell me how and why “Faith Night” has infiltrated MLB?
“And why won’t he learn to hit the ball on the ground?”
Punto would rather continue to hit .290, so the ball eventually does hit the ground.
And Slowey Ks the side
Looks like Slowey was squeezed on that 1-2 pitch for sure.
Well, looks like another 6-inning start here. Hold on tight folks, this is far from over.
6 pitches to a .196 ninth place hitter should earn Slowey a few words from Anderson to get his butt in gear.
He’s been squeezed a couple times.
Come on, just because a guy is hitting .196 doesn’t mean he is the worst baseball player to ever live.
Joe Vavra did a nice job on telling his hitters to change their approach.
Nice seeing-eye single for Harris.
Twins are getting to Saarloos. Good to see.
One of these days, Gomez is going to tear up his ACL on a swing…
But when he does make contact with that big swing, man does that ball get out in a hurry…
At least Gomez put a ball in play this time with 2 strikes on him.
Nice to see slowey make the switch to the curve for strike one vs. the fastball in the later innings.
Missed bad on his change, but got the K anyway
5 Ks in a row
Nice crisp inning.
Nice 12-pitch inning. Two more would be mighty nice.
84 pitches in 5 innings. Would be nice to go 7 Slowey.
Nice play by the pitcher
Punto did not swing at that pitch
Morne is 4-4
Jimmy Jam says:
Can somebody tell me how and why “Faith Night” has infiltrated MLB?
Not to worry Jimmy. Pretty sure there won’t be any subliminal messages. You can go watch the game, have a few beers, and be out of there before they even set up for the concert afterwards.
Not sure how you see this infiltrating MLB. But, I think you and MLB should be safe in case you are afraid you will “catch something”.
Don’t know if it has been mentioned but Twin’s menace, Matt Stairs of the Blue Jays, was traded to the Phillies today. Good that we won’t see him next week. Looks like Slowey picked it up in the 5th.
Throw him something DOWN!
Thank you
he doesn’t have it in him… sorry
Hopefully tonight is the start of the middle of the order hitting again.
“Major League Level” third time
Allison are you related to Shawn?
10 strike outs so far
your our boy ‘carlos g’
Another nice inning. Good recovery.
Lucky guess… but you both have the same last name “in Binghamton”
who is it going to be coming out of the pen for KS?
fuck mccain!
10 K’s takes a lot of pitches. another nice game for slowey
fuck mccain!!
fuck mccain!!!
Sorry, carlos g we are not related
we just live as one ‘big’ happy family
fuck mccain!!!!
Nice work by Gomez
obama/biden 08!!!!!!!! FUCK MCCAIN!!!!!!!!!
Wow, Punto was batting .393 going into the game. Not bad, eh?
The only other person I can compare to swinging as hard as Gomez would be Tiger. Tiger has had a little more success with contact.
Young gomez is going to hurt himself with those swings.
Punto is the only twin without a hit. Let the ripping commence.
actually johnny its .293 for punto.. he’s my boy
Four hits for mauer. 5 hits for morne?
and the pummeling is underway. save some runs for tamari.
Mauer surges into the batting race lead…
Right, .293. Just a little wishful thinking.
Ibanez had all three RBI against the indians…
Raul is a beast.
4-5 for morne
Next spring every one of these starters needs to come to camp with the goal of pitching at least seven innings each and every start, and the attitude that not doing so is a failure regardless of how many runs they give up.
Breslow is a good young pitcher that has pitched fairly well for the twins this year. He almost strikes me as a pitcher that can be like a lefty matt guerrier from a couple years ago.
Breslow needs to go to a decent barber and get that uneven mane in back straightened out.
The last time I saw a twins pitcher clamor to get pulled early was Carlos Silva.
Yeah I noticed that in Seattle, I think he did that himself. You have to use a mirror dude!
Breslow was a great pickup IMHO. Twins would be a couple more games out without him. They should get his rights for next year, and Eddie G’s too. Eddie reminds me of John Franco.
I think the Indians were really stupid to put Breslow on waivers just because they already had Raphael Perez…
Kripes, even making the major league minimum, like what, about $450k, you’d think he could afford a decent haircut, or at least a freakin’ Flobie.
Rafael Perez that is
Nice turn.
Its been like that for a least a week, come on man. Maybe someone is playing a practical joke on him.
My guess is Eddie will finish this one up.
32 starts X 7 innings/start = 224 innings/season
Last year Johan led the Twins with 219 innings.
Casilla tried to untied tomorrow’s game with that swing…
Twins need to stop shooting their was and save a little for tomorrow and Sunday. On another note, just checked Breslow’s bio and he is a Yale grad. Looks like he has brains as well as pitching ability, though I am sure there are some Dumas’s at Yale. You know, the legacy enrollees and such.
wad, not was.
Punto will have another chance to get a hit…
Buscher running the ball to 1B is safer than Buscher throwing it to 1B.
What if he has to throw it to the pitcher…
Yes, Breslow is a smart guy. He has a molecular biophysics and biochemistry degree from Yale.
He can tell you what happens to the cover of the ball when you leave one over the plate at a molecular level
Just hopped on here, glad to see some guys are still online while they follow the game……so…..go Twins??
“What if he has to throw it to the pitcher…”
He better hit the cut-off man!
Breslow follows a long line of Yalee’s
Lee Boy from “Shallow Hal”
Mr Burns
etc…
Buscher throwing to the pitcher make me want to duck!
Lots of politics tonight, both crudely overt and semi-subtle. Lots of multiple personalities too, it appears.
“Buscher running the ball to 1B is safer than Buscher throwing it to 1B.”
He’s hurt us a few games defensively but as a rookie call-up this year, can you fault him that much with the offense he’s provided?
Almost interference on that play
an AJ play
Punto couldn’t do it.
Surprised they didn’t call Gomez out
I saw that the MLB apologized for that play…
5-6 for mauer. 5-6 for Morne?
forgot they took out morne.
Thanks Dick, I was just going to tell the blog the same thing. I was at that Dodger game when Joe had those 5 hits. Nice.
Joe “Swing at the first pitch” Mauer gets another hit.
yeah, too bad they can’t help in the standings
“He’s hurt us a few games defensively but as a rookie call-up this year, can you fault him that much with the offense he’s provided?”
Very good hitter.
Very bad thrower.
Next year he will have to either fix his arm angle or win the 1B job from Morneau.
Carlos,
the fiance said hi?
Allison said hi, but she didn’t acknowledge knowing you.
I remember that Dodger series for Mauer, he had like 10 hits or more in a 3-game series.
“Major League Level” fourth time.
Yep, Joe was 9-10 in first two games and 11-13 for the series. I saw the 5-5 game.
Breslow gets the save
Only one more LATE NIGHT game for those of you in Minnesota.
nice! i made her change the name, i didn’t want her to see anything crazy as me.
Yeah! 3 innings out of a reliver, a major accomplishment.
Mauer has about 120 fewer ABs than Pedroia so a hit for Mauer has more positive effect than one for Pedroia. Bradley has only about 360 ABs. How many does it take to qualify for the batting title?
Actually Shawn she did say you were living as one big happy family. So, I guess she did seem to know you.
Goodnight everyone. Thought this game was headed for 1 AM central after the first 3 innings. Need a repeat tomorrow.
I tell you what, this is an interesting move to have Breslow perform a 3-inning save.
From a strategical standpoint, I really don’t like it, because Breslow is out of commission for tomorrow night now.
From a psychological standpoint, I like it. Gardy hasn’t seemed that smart lately, so this could have been an accident by him, but Breslow got the loss last night so I assumed that by being put in tonight it was a confidence builder, and boy did he deliver. Call them a bad team, the ratty A’s, whatever, but right now the Twins can’t take anyone lightly, with or without a 9-run lead, so great job Breslow tonight, he’s been pretty good for the Twins since we got him.
Breslow’s stock has done nothing but rise since he got here, and has been aspecially buoyant the last several weeks.
Look at Bradley’s OBP, .443. Wow.
So what if Breslow can’t pitch tomorrow? The twins have three LHP in the bullpen.
Reyes….Eddie G….who am i missing?
jonnyonspot, to qualify for the batting one must have 3.1 plate appearances per each game the team has played.
i like how as soon as Gardy switches Punto and Casilla Punto goes a nice oh-fer-six and Casilla goes 3-5.
You gotta love Breslow getting the three inning save here, you don’t see that too often.
Breslow
Punto has reacted well to his move to the 2-hole.
O for six.
half a game.
that’s nice
(may i nitpick?)
why the hay didn’t Gardy PH Ruiz instead of Butcher at that spot?
Geez short attention spans on here. While Punto is not usually 2-hole material, the temporary switch did Casilla well. They will probably be switching back soon. But don’t forget that Punto has been hitting well lately, and Casilla hasn’t much since coming of the ol’ DL.
ruiz instead of buscher where?
20 hits and Punto 0-6. Good win against bad team, but we’ll take it.
Great to see Mauer and Morneau being aggressive and swinging well.
You have to love our starting pitcher for years to come. Breslow has been a great pick up. What were the Indians thinking letting this kid go? Liriano tomorrow..can’t wait.
“why the hay didn’t Gardy PH Ruiz instead of Butcher at that spot?”
Because Gardy knows that you hate him and Buscher, and love Ruiz, so he is rubbing your nose in it.
err..starting pitching for years to come. Good night Minnesota.
The late nights are almost over!! 8pm start tomorrow night, afternoon game Sunday, and we’re off the wretched west coast!!
Dan,
sane says:
August 29th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
“Only one more LATE NIGHT game for those of you in Minnesota.”
Dan says:
August 30th, 2008 at 12:14 am
“The late nights are almost over!! 8pm start tomorrow night, afternoon game Sunday, and we’re off the wretched west coast!!”
Is that what you meant by a “short attention spans”?
No I was talking about Punto, he’s played well lately yet goes hitless in the 2-spot and folks are all over him.
Dan,
I think that Punto’s 0 for 6 ln the 2-hole was just being noted (not blasted) tonight, although he has certainly been unfairly ripped ad nauseum in the past.
What’s amazing is for how “horrid” this road trip has been, the Twins haven’t actually lost any ground. In fact it sounds like they’ve GAINED ground since it started.
