Minnesota - The Mauer Years

NL comes out on top of All-Star Game Again

The National League won the All-Star Game again. For the second or third year in a row. After losing every game for almost a decade straight.

Ryan Braun was the star of the show, going 2-2 with two runs, a homer, and two RBI. Mat Latos very nearly made himself the goat, as he allowed three runs in just one inning of work to let the AL back into the game.

Hunter Pence was named to the team as one of the starting outfielders and went hitless in four at-bats. Zack Greinke pitched two innings and allowed a run on four hits. Tim Lincecum was the only other Twin named to the team, but did not appear in the game.

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American League American League at National League National League
July 13, 2013

                    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
American League (AL) 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0    4  6  0
National League (NL) 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 x    5 12  0

AMERICAN LEAGUE              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb    avg
Melky Mesa (RF)              4  1  0  1  1  2  1  0    .290
Grant Green (SS)              4  1  0  1  1  1  1  0    .313
Dayan Viciedo (3B)            3  1  1  1  1  1  1  0    .337
Chris Carter (1B)            3  2  1  0  0  0  0  0    .354
Josh Phegley (C)              4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .278
Hunter Pence (CF)            4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .301
Sean Rodriguez (2B)          4  0  0  0  0  0  3  0    .241
Nick Markakis (LF)            3  1  1  1  0  0  0  0    .292
James Shields (P)            0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .200
 Joe Mauer (P)                1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .345
 Michael Pineda (P)          0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .333
 Billy Butler (P)            1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .317
 Zack Greinke (P)            0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .250
 Miguel Cabrera (P)          1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .326
 David Price (P)              0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 Matt LaPorta (P)            1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .299
TOTALS                      33  6  3  4  3  4  8  0

  2B:  Chris Carter, Nick Markakis
  HR:  Dayan Viciedo, Grant Green, Melky Mesa

                          ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
          James Shields  2.0  3  0  0  2  2  0  37  2.56
          Michael Pineda  2.0  2  0  1  1  1  0  30  3.43
            Zack Greinke  2.0  4  1  0  1  1  2  51  2.85
            David Price  2.0  3  0  1  1  1  2  31  2.73
                  TOTALS  8.0 12  1  2  5  5  4 149

NATIONAL LEAGUE              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb    avg
Emmanuel Burriss (2B)        3  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .314
 Hector Gomez (P)            1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .316
Jayson Werth (CF)            4  2  0  2  1  1  1  1    .292
 Starling Marte (P)          1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .328
Wilkin Ramirez (LF)          4  1  0  1  0  1  2  1    .325
 Cameron Maybin (P)          0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .316
Neftali Soto (3B)            4  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .330
Ryan Braun (RF)              2  2  0  2  1  2  0  0    .331
Buster Posey (C)              3  2  1  0  0  0  0  0    .320
Kyle Blanks (1B)              4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .302
Jimmy Rollins (SS)            4  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .289
Stephen Strasburg (P)        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .114
 Brian McCann (P)            1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .271
 Jordan Lyles (P)            0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .162
 Mat Latos (P)                0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .140
 David Wright (P)            1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .294
 Julio Teheran (P)            0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .057
 Aramis Ramirez (P)          1  1  0  0  0  1  0  0    .318
 Jonathan Broxton (P)        1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 James McDonald (P)          0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1.000
TOTALS                      34 12  1  5  2  5  4  2

  HR:  Ryan Braun, Jayson Werth
  HBP:  Ryan Braun

                          ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
      Stephen Strasburg  2.0  0  0  0  0  0  2  16  2.15
            Jordan Lyles  2.0  3  1  1  1  1  2  41  2.72
              Mat Latos  1.0  3  1  2  3  3  1  21  3.27
          Julio Teheran  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  1  9  3.54
        Jonathan Broxton  2.0  0  1  0  0  0  1  25  0.81
          James McDonald  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  1  10  1.44
                  TOTALS  9.0  6  3  3  4  4  8 122

    WP: Jonathan Broxton
    LP: David Price
    SV: James McDonald

    Temperature: 94F
    Wind: 4 MPH (in from center)
    Attendance: 50,000
    Time: 2:41

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July 16, 2013

Twins 7 - Royals 2
WP - J. Peavy (11-6), LP - S. Burnett (1-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN P. Kozma (2)

Kyle Gibson's struggles this season continue. He lasted only 3.2 innings and gave up two runs, causing his ERA to swell to 5.35. Meanwhile Peavy pitches an excellent game en route to his 11th win of the season.

POTG - MIN J. Peavy 7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 5 K

July 17, 2013

Twins 11 - Royals 6
WP - N. Blackburn (10-4), LP - A. Crow (8-8), SV - N. Feliz (2)
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (13), KCR B. Butler (18)

Parmelee's third inning grand slam was the big hit of the game, but if not for some adamant work by Feliz out of the 'pen we would not have won this game.

POTG - MIN N. Feliz 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, ER, K

July 18, 2013

Twins 4 - Royals 0
WP - Z. Greinke (9-6), LP - N. Arguelles (6-6), SV - N/A
HR - MIN O. Salazar (2)

Zack Greinke and shutout have practically become synonymous with each other. Greinke twirled his third shutout of the year, this time giving up just three hits, walking one, and striking out six.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke CG, SHO, 3 H, BB, 6 K

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Minnesota Twins 56-35
7.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

July 19, 2013

Rangers 5 - Twins 11
WP - T. Lincecum (11-3), LP - R. Ross (8-4), SV - J. Mijares (22)
HR - MIN J. Lopez (11), H. Pence (16), TEX E. Andrus (5), T. Teagarden (5)

We scored three runs in the fourth, fifth, and eighth innings to hit our way to the win.

POTG - MIN T. Lincecum 7 IP, 5 H, BB, 2 ER, 11 K

July 20, 2013

Rangers 3 - Twins 4
WP - S. Romo (4-2), LP - F. Rodriguez (1-7), SV - N/A
HR - MIN T. Neal (14)

We entered the 9th inning down 3-2, but were able to rally for two runs to win the game. The game ended on Chris Parmelee's RBI single to plate Hunter Pence.

POTG - MIN C. Parmelee 1-4, walk-off RBI 1B

Month day, year

Rangers 7 - Twins 5
WP - B. Beavan (2-3), LP - S. Romo (4-3), SV - F. Rodriguez (18)
HR - MIN H. Pence 2 (18)

Despite two homers and five RBI off the bat of Hunter Pence, we were unable to complete the sweep.

POTG - MIN H. Pence 2-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI

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Minnesota Twins 58-36
7.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

Plain and simply - I think this is our year.

July 22, 2013

Orioles 7 - Twins 1
WP - C. Tillman (4-6), LP - C. Christopher (3-5), SV - N/A
HR - BAL B. Roberts (6), P. Florimon (8)

CC had a rough start, allowing seven runs (five earned) in 3.2 innings. If not for the bullpen locking it down and keeping us in the game, this would look a lot uglier.

POTG - BAL C. Tillman 7 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 0 ER (R), 3 K

July 23, 2013

Orioles 0 - Twins 7
WP - Z. Greinke (10-6), LP - B. Matusz (7-4), SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Greinke is making a strong push for his third consecutive Cy Young Award. After pitching eight shutout innings here against the Orioles, his record improves to 10-6 with an ERA of 2.51.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke 8 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 6 K

July 24, 2013

Orioles 3 - Twins 7
WP - T. Lincecum (12-3), LP - B. Erbe (7-5), SV - S. Romo (2)
HR - MIN P. Kozma (3), H. Pence (19), BAL F. Pie (11)

That said, Lincecum is giving him a run for his money. Lincecum's seven inning, one-run, 10 strike-out game here improves him to 12-3 with an ERA of 3.14, and gives him 148 K's in 129 innings.

POTG - MIN T. Lincecum 7 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, ER, 10 K

July 25, 2013

Orioles 10 - Twins 9
WP - M. Hobgood (3-6), LP - D. Farquhar (2-3), SV - K. Mickolio (14)
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (14), BAL C. Joseph 2 (13), F. Pie (12), A. Jones (13)

David Cooper doubled three times to bring his season total to 26 in the losing effort. Coop' has really been hitting lately, improving his line over the last ten games to .410/.489/.564.

POTG - BAL C. Joseph 2-4, BB, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI

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Minnesota Twins 60-38
8.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
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July 26, 2013

Twins 4 - Rays 5
WP - D. Wheeler (4-2), LP - A. Burnett (4-2), SV - R. Soriano (26)
HR - TBR E. Longoria (23)

One unearned run cost us dearly in this game, making the difference between extra innings and a chance to win, and a straight-up loss.

POTG - TBR C. Crawford 3-4, R, RBI, 3B, 2 SB

July 27, 2013

Twins 4 - Rays 1
WP - C. Christopher (4-5), LP - M. Moore (10-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN J. Lopez (12)

CC pitched the best game of his brief major league career. He pitched a complete-game two-hitter, striking out nine in the process and allowing only the one run.

POTG - MIN C. Christopher CG, 2 H, BB, ER, 6 K

July 28, 2013

Twins 1 - Rays 0
WP - Z. Greinke (11-6), LP - J. Shields (13-4), SV - J. Mijares (23)
HR - N/A

Ho-hum. Just another eight innings of shutout ball for Greinke. And he only did it against possibly the leading candidate for AL Cy Young. No big deal.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke 8 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 12 K

July 29, 2013

Twins 2 - Rays 4
WP - J. Cruz (8-2), LP - T. Lincecum (12-4), SV - H. Bell (19)
HR - MIN D. Span (5), TBR M. Joyce (13)

We split the our second series in a row. This one, unlike the last one against the Orioles, has massive implications however. The Rays hold the best record in the American League and are our biggest roadblock on our road to the World Series.

POTG - TBR J. Cruz 7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 4 K

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Minnesota Twins 62-40
8.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

We've finally built up a lead where I'm truly and completely comfortable with where we are. Barring a pretty epic negative turn-around we'll be winning our division, leaving the Indians battling with the Red Sox and A's/Rangers for the Wild Card.

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ERA    Z. Greinke  2.38
Wins  T. Lincecum 12
Saves  J. Mijares  23
AVG    D. Span    .313
HR    H. Pence    19
SB    D. Span    14

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Stats

Batting

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Player Name        Team        AB        H        HR        RBI        Avg        OBP        SLG        SB        CS
Pence, Hunter        MIN        420        122        19        76        .290        .336        .481        4        4
Span, Denard        MIN        409        128        5        32        .313        .376        .433        14        13
Kozma, Pete        MIN        406        112        3        40        .276        .352        .342        2        1
Lopez, Jose        MIN        379        89        12        54        .235        .271        .375        4        0
Headley, Chase        MIN        357        109        12        59        .305        .378        .496        1        2
Neal, Thomas        MIN        352        106        14        63        .301        .414        .483        1        0
Cooper, David        MIN        343        89        5        47        .259        .358        .379        0        0
Parmelee, Chris        MIN        239        66        14        41        .276        .362        .494        1        0
Ravina, Ezra        MIN        129        30        2        12        .233        .291        .341        1        0
Salazar, Oscar        MIN        127        26        2        13        .205        .243        .299        0        0
Morales, Jose        MIN        98        26        0        6        .265        .311        .337        0        0
Ross, Cody        MIN        34        10        2        7        .294        .314        .529        0        0
Casilla, Alexi        MIN        29        10        0        4        .345        .400        .448        2        1
De Los Santos, Estarlin        MIN        22        7        0        2        .318        .375        .364        2        0
Lincecum, Tim        MIN        6        2        0        1        .333        .333        .333        0        0
Peavy, Jake        MIN        5        1        0        0        .200        .200        .200        0        0
Greinke, Zack        MIN        4        1        0        0        .250        .250        .250        0        0
Blackburn, Nick        MIN        2        0        0        0        .000        .000        .000        0        0
Feliz, Neftali        MIN        2        0        0        0        .000        .000        .000        0        0
Christopher, Chad        MIN        0        0        0        0        .000        .000        .000        0        0
Mijares, Jose        MIN        0        0        0        0        .000        .000        .000        0        0
Romo, Sergio        MIN        0        0        0        0        .000        .000        .000        0        0
Burnett, Alex        MIN        0        0        0        0        .000        .000        .000        0        0
Gregerson, Luke        MIN        0        0        0        0        .000        .000        .000        0        0
Farquhar, Daniel        MIN        0        0        0        0        .000        .000        .000        0        0

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Pitching

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Player Name        Team        Starts        W        L        ERA        IP        K        SV        CG        OBA
Greinke, Zack        MIN        22        11        6        2.38        151.1        157        0        4        .203
Lincecum, Tim        MIN        21        12        4        3.23        133.2        153        0        1        .206
Blackburn, Nick        MIN        21        10        4        4.37        131.2        59        0        3        .278
Peavy, Jake        MIN        20        11        6        3.90        113.0        84        0        1        .247
Christopher, Chad        MIN        15        4        5        4.38        88.1        55        0        1        .259
Farquhar, Daniel        MIN        2        2        3        4.11        46.0        42        0        0        .258
Feliz, Neftali        MIN        1        1        3        4.59        49.0        40        2        0        .299
Mijares, Jose        MIN        0        2        3        2.73        33.0        33        23        0        .258
Romo, Sergio        MIN        0        4        3        2.48        58.0        68        2        0        .210
Burnett, Alex        MIN        0        4        2        2.68        47.0        32        0        0        .208
Gregerson, Luke        MIN        0        1        0        2.81        25.2        25        1        0        .229

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July 30, 2013

Twins 6 - Blue Jays 5 (in extras)
WP - J. Mijares (3-3), LP - J. Gobble (1-3), SV - L. Gregerson (2)
HR - MIN D. Span (6), TOR E. Dukes (5), B. Crosby (3)

Jose Mijares blew the lead in the ninth inning, and nearly did so again in the 10th inning, but thanks to RBI double's by Cooper and Pence in the top of the 10th we were able to pull it out.

POTG - MIN J. Lopez 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI

July 31, 2013

Twins 16 - Blue Jays 4
WP - N. Blackburn (11-4), LP - K. Drabek (5-8), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (15), J. Lopez (13), C. Headley (13)

Jose Lopez continues to push his batting average to a respectable range with his performance in this rout. His 3-5 day raises his batting average for the season to .242, up from Mendoza-line area only weeks ago.

POTG - MIN T. Neal 3-4, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI

August 1, 2013

Twins 4 - Blue Jays 5 (in extras)
WP - T. May (2-1), LP - J. Mijares (3-4), SV - N/A
HR - MIN P. Kozma (4), TOR W. Aybar (8), T. Snider (14)

The Blue Jays walk-off with the win, thanks to Willy Aybar's 10th inning single with Rich Gadd and Joe Mauer in scoring position.

POTG - TOR W. Aybar 3-3, BB, R, HR, 2 RBI, GW 1B in 10th inning

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 64-41
8.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

August 3, 2013

Indians 2 - Twins 3
WP - Z. Greinke (12-6), LP - K. De la Cruz (10-7), SV - J. Mijares (24)
HR - CLE N. Weglarz (13)

We set the tone early with a three-run first inning. Greinke was his masterful self, shutting the Indians out until Weglarz homered in the top of the ninth to plate two runs.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke 8.2 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 6 K

August 4, 2013


WP - H. Rondon (9-6), LP - T. Lincecum (12-5), SV - C. Perez (21)
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (16), CLE C. Santana (9)

Rondon outdueled Big-Time-Timmy-Jim for his ninth win of the season.

POTG - CLE H. Rondon 7 IP, 4 H, BB, ER, 7 K

August 5, 2013

Indians 9 - Twins 7
WP - T. Sipp (6-4), LP - S. Romo (4-4), SV - C. Perez (22)
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (17), T. Neal (15), CLE J. Hamilton (13)

After battling back to tie the game by putting up four runs between the 7th and 8th innings, we gave the game away, allowing the Indians to score three runs in the top of the ninth.

POTG - CLE L. Chisenhall 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 65-43
7.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

The Indians made a game up on us by taking 2 of 3 from us at home. We still have a solid seven game lead. However we received some very, very bad news. Zack Greinke will miss 18 days (3-5 starts) with a chipped bone in his knee-cap. As of now, I'm not sure whose gonna take his place in the rotation. Daniel Farquhar is slated at the long-man in the bullpen, and I have Luke Hochevar in the minors. However I'm not too keen on either of those guys starting.

Gonna kick this back up. I'm gonna finish this season and how I feel. If I manage to take the World Championship, I plan to end it and start a new dynasty with a re-building team (probably the O's), and I may do that even if I don't manage to win the World Series.

August 6, 2013

A's 7 - Twins 0
WP - T. Cahill (8-6), LP - N. Blackburn (11-5), SV - N/A
HR - OAK R. Sweeney (8), T. Buck (8)

Blackburn gets roughed up, allowing six runs in just 2.1 innings.

POTG - OAK T. Cahill 7.1 IP, 4 H, 5 BB, 0 ER, 7 K

August 7, 2013

A's 6 - Twins 3
WP - F. De Los Santos (8-7), LP - L. Hochevar (0-1), SV - A. Bailey (28)
HR - OAK R. Sweeney (9), MIN P. Kozma (5)

We at least got some runs on this board this time out, but not nearly enough. The loss also extends our losing streak to four games and leaves us at 1-5 in the month of August.

POTG - OAK M. Taylor 3-5, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI

August 8, 2013

A's 1 - Twins 2
WP - J. Mijares (4-4), LP - J. Crain (6-5), SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Luke Gregerson makes the spot start (for some reason), and excels. He went five innings, allowed only three baserunners, no runs, and struck out eight on 86 pitches.

POTG - MIN L. Gregerson 5 IP, H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 8 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 66-45
5.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

I'd prefer to be extending my lead right now, and not see it evaporating. But a five game lead is still a healthy lead, so I'm not worrying yet. We've got the MLB-best Rays next though, so we could have a tough time turning it around right away.