The Official Minnesota Twins Thread

[jetrazor74]

Yes!! Back to back homers in the 9th give us 7 straight wins!!!

Twins stun Hoffman for seventh straight
Harris, Buscher go deep in ninth; Slowey hurls six frames
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- Home runs haven't exactly come easy for the Twins this season.
Despite ranking near the top of the American League in runs scored, the Twins entered Tuesday's contest against the Padres ranking last in the Majors in homers with just 46.

But when a team is in the midst of a season-high winning streak, wins seem to come in the most unlikely of ways.

And so on Tuesday night, that meant the Twins belting back-to-back home runs in a ballpark not known for producing them, to capture a 3-1 win over the Padres and extend their winning streak to seven.

[jetrazor74]

Twins leading the Padres 7-3 in the bottom of the 6th, looking for 8 straight!!!

[jetrazor74]

And it's 8 straight!!! We'll be looking for our 3rd straight sweep tomorrow!!

On a side note, KC is now on a roll of their own with 5 straight. Luckily their still in 4th place in the divsion!

Twins surge to eighth straight victory
Harris takes Maddux deep, helps Minnesota top San Diego
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- For Twins shortstop Brendan Harris, the first two contests in San Diego have been, to say the least, memorable.
Harris hit his second home run in as many nights off a future Hall of Famer as the Twins defeated the Padres, 9-3, on Wednesday at PETCO Park. The victory extended Minnesota's season-high winning streak to eight games.

After taking all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman deep in the ninth inning of Tuesday night's game, Harris came up with another big home run to give the Twins a lead in the fourth inning on Wednesday. Harris' two-run shot off Greg Maddux broke up what had been a 3-3 tie. It also was the first time in his career that Harris hit home runs in back-to-back games.

Recap

AL Central Standings

Central W L PCT GB L10 STRK
Chicago 42 35 .545 - 5-5 L1
Minnesota 42 36 .538 0.5 9-1 W8
Detroit 37 40 .481 5.0 7-3 W1
Kansas City 36 43 .456 7.0 9-1 W5
Cleveland 35 43 .449 7.5 3-7 L3

[jetrazor74]

Nine straight games and back to back to back series sweep!!!

Will the brewers be the ones to stop the hottest team in MLB right now? We'll see!!!

Twins find way to win ninth straight
Morneau homers, drives in three; Baker survives shaky start
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- June 2006 was a month that the Twins would eventually look back on as the key to their American League Central Division title that season.
A month in which the ballclub overcame a rough start to the season by pulling off two significant winning streaks -- an eight-game stretch and another 11-game stint -- both in the midst of Interleague Play.

Sound familiar?

It sure seems like a case of déjà vu just two years later, as the out-of-nowhere Twins have put on a similar display of impressive baseball, extending their season-high winning streak to nine games Thursday afternoon in San Diego.

A two-run homer by Justin Morneau, Scott Baker's first career Major League hit and a broken-bat blooper by Brian Buscher all combined to give the Twins a 4-3 win over the Padres, completing their third consecutive series sweep.

Wrap

AL Central Standings:

TEAM W L % GB
Chicago 43 35 .551 -
Minnesota 43 36 .544 0.5
Detroit 38 40 .487 5.0
Cleveland 36 43 .456 7.5
Kansas City 36 43 .456 7.5

Streaks: W9
Last 10: 9-1
Home: 25-16 Road: 18-20
Runs Scored: 381
Runs Against: 374

[jetrazor74]

Well, the Brewer's snapped our win streak at 10 games. And now the stupid whitesox are on a 6 game tear, so we've dropped to 2.5 back!!

Twins' 10-game win streak snapped
Hernandez allows four earned runs early, settles to go seven
By Leslie Parker / Special to MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins' 10-game win streak came to a screeching halt on Saturday night at the Metrodome as they lost, 5-1, to the Brewers.

At least we're still not out of it yet. Even if we don't catch the Sox, we may be able to pick up the wild card slot!

Let's just get the next one against Detroit!

As Monroe goes, so do Twins
Two three-run innings help Minnesota even up pivotal series
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS - Craig Monroe's home run trots always involve a bit of emotion.
But Monroe's sprint around the bases on Tuesday night in the Twins' 6-4 victory over the Tigers -- his former team -- carried a little more spring in his step than normal.

A three-run homer by Monroe off Tigers starter Nate Robertson in the fourth inning helped give the Twins their first lead of the game, 3-1. The deep shot to center field gave Monroe his eighth home run of the season and the designated hitter was so excited, he missed high-fiving the hand of first base coach Jerry White as he rounded the base.

Wrap

[DawgFanatic]

good win

[jetrazor74]

good win

Thanks brother!

We had a huge 3rd inning, batting around the order and scoring 5 runs in a shut out against the Tigers to win the series!!

Punto's dive ignites Twins' offense, win
Minnesota follows shortstop's grab with five-run onslaught
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS -- A big offensive inning is often sparked by a key hit or key mistake.
But on Wednesday afternoon, it was a key defensive play by the Twins in the top half of the third inning that ignited them to a 7-0 victory over the Tigers at the Metrodome.

With two on and two out, shortstop Nick Punto made a jaw-dropping defensive snare: a diving stop behind second base, followed by the ensuing flip -- or, more accurately, roll -- of the ball from his glove to second baseman Alexi Casilla for the final out of the inning.

full recap

Also, here's a look at Punto's AMAZING PLAY to end the inning!!

AL Central Standings

TEAM W L % GB
Chicago 49 35 .583 -
Minnesota 47 38 .553 2.5
Detroit 42 42 .500 7.0
Kansas City 38 47 .447 11.5
Cleveland 37 48 .435 12.5

Streaks: W2
Last 10: 8-2
Home: 29-18 Road: 18-20
Runs Scored: 411
Runs Against: 394

[jetrazor74]

I leave for 6 days and we go 3-3! You would think we could have come away with at least 1 win from the Red Sox!

Anyway, we've got 4 games in Detroit before the All-Star break. Those are some seriously important games as the Tigers have snuck out of the basement of the AL Central and are right behind us. Besides, we have 3.5 games to make up on the Chi Sox, now if only they'd go on a losing streak for us!!

[jetrazor74]

It took extra innings, but we were finally able to take Las Tigressas down! 3 more to go!

Morneau's magic lifts Twins to victory
Slugger hits game-winning home run in 11th inning
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Following an emotionally draining series in Boston where every break seemed to go against Minnesota, it might have been easy for the Twins to feel like the same thing was happening to them again Thursday afternoon.
A five-run inning by their starter put the club in an early hole in the series opener against the Tigers and, from there, the signs almost pointed to things going awry once again.

The team saw a Detroit hitter walk on three pitches. It watched as one of its own baserunners was ruled out while trying to steal -- when replays appeared to show that he had never been tagged.

And, well, even a potential home run by Justin Morneau in the eighth inning was ruled to have bounced off the yellow line for a double in the deepest part of the ballpark.

"You just thought it was going to be one of those nutty days like we had in Boston," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It's like, 'Oh no, not again.'"

But instead of seeing yet another game slip away, Minnesota showed more of that pluckiness that helped it to pull off an unbelievable recent stretch of 18 wins in 21 games.

Wrap


AL Central Standings

Chicago 53 38 .582 -
Minnesota 51 41 .554 2.5
Detroit 46 45 .505 7.0
Kansas City 41 52 .441 13.0
Cleveland 38 53 .418 15.0

Streaks: W1
Last 10: 6-4
Home: 32-18 Road: 19-23
Runs Scored: 453
Runs Against: 437

[jetrazor74]

We held on to a 3-2 lead to win another big game against our division rivals!!

Punto paces Twins in Motown
Perkins tames Tigers, collects sixth win of season
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

DETROIT -- After his bullpen threw 7 1/3 scoreless innings Thursday afternoon, manager Ron Gardenhire was asked prior to Friday's game against the Tigers if any of his relievers were unavailable.
Gardenhire mentioned just one pitcher as probably being a no-go, and that was right-hander Matt Guerrier.

Guerrier had thrown five times in the past seven days, including two innings in the club's 11-inning victory Thursday.

But with the Twins holding onto a one-run lead heading into the eighth inning Friday night, Guerrier once again got the call. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out the first two batters and helping Minnesota hold on for a 3-2 win over Detroit at Comerica Park.

TEAM W L % GB
Chicago 53 39 .576 -
Minnesota 52 41 .559 1.5
Detroit 46 46 .500 7.0
Kansas City 42 52 .447 12.0
Cleveland 39 53 .424 14.0

Streaks: W2
Last 10: 7-3
Home: 32-18 Road: 20-23
Runs Scored: 456
Runs Against: 439

[jetrazor74]

So we took 3 of 4 games to win the series in Detroit. We're still a game and a half behind the Chi Sox, but we're right on their heels!!

TEAM W L % GB
Chicago 54 40 .574 -
Minnesota 53 42 .558 1.5
Detroit 47 47 .500 7.0
Kansas City 43 53 .448 12.0
Cleveland 41 53 .436 13.0

Streaks: L1
Last 10: 6-4
Home: 32-18 Road: 21-24
Runs Scored: 464
Runs Against: 448

[jetrazor74]

Congratulations to Justin Morneau on winning the Home Run Derby!!
And scoring the winning run in the All-Star game!!

And congratulations to Nathan on pitching a scoreless 7th inning!

[jetrazor74]

Way to start the 2nd half, boys!!! Let's sweep those Rangers!!

Break doesn't cool scorching Twins
Bats open up four-run seventh; Perkins shuts down Rangers
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS -- During a stretch in which they won 21 of 28 games heading into the All-Star break, the Twins credited their young starting pitching for much of the success.
Perhaps that's why it's no surprise that it was the pitching that once again sparked Minnesota following its four-day layoff.

Even some time off couldn't stop the surging Twins, who continued their recent hot streak on Friday night by kicking off the second half with a 6-0 victory over the Rangers at the Metrodome.

Check out the recap vid of the Twins shutting out the potent Texas offense!!
http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/media...00807193152692

Chicago 55 40 .579 -
Minnesota 54 42 .563 1.5
Detroit 48 48 .500 7.5
Kansas City 43 54 .443 13.0
Cleveland 41 54 .432 14.0

Streaks: W1
Last 10: 6-4
Home: 33-18 Road: 21-24
Runs Scored: 470
Runs Against: 448

[jetrazor74]

A 14-2 victory over the Rangers yesterday gives us the series win and moves us to 1/2 game out of first place!!!

On a side note, the combined score of the last 2 games puts us at 20-2 over the rangers!!! Looks like our pitching is comming together and our bats are going!! I hope we can keep it up seeing as we have the Yanks this week!

Twins rip Rangers; gain on White Sox
Morneau knocks in five as Minnesota pounds four homers
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Rangers have been one of the most potent offenses in baseball this season. So it came as no surprise that it was Texas' power-hitting sluggers who were touted coming into a three-game series with Minnesota out of the All-Star break.
But in two blowout victories in the first two contests of the series, it's been the Twins -- not the Rangers -- who have put on an offensive show.

Minnesota recorded a season-high 14 runs and had 16 hits in a 14-2 victory over Texas on Saturday night at the Metrodome. The win put the Twins a half-game behind the White Sox in the American League Central.

[jetrazor74]

Well, we really had our butts handed to us by the Yanks.
The good news is that we are in Cleveland and they are now minus Sabathia, so that should help us gain on the Chi Sox. Then we have the hated white sox at home for a 4 game series, where hopefully we will retake the lead in the AL Central!!