Wilson Ramos Continues to Shine in Twins Win

BOXSCORE M Wilson Ramos Continues to Shine in Twins Win

Twins Beat Tigers 10-4

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Minnesota43003000X10121
W: Baker (3-2) L: Scherzer

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Joe Mauer Who?!?

Okay, so maybe we’re not quite to that point yet, but in Mauer’s absence, up-and-coming player Wilson Ramos is doing just fine.  After going 4 for 5 in his Major League debut, Ramos gave the fans an encore tonight, going 3 for 4 in his second game in the bigs.  He also managed to score a run and to hit his first RBI.  On the negative side, his hitting performance tonight LOWERED his batting average to .778.

103414 cropped Wilson Ramos Continues to Shine in Twins Win

The Twins were not struggling offensively tonight, scoring 10 runs on Detroit.  Michael Cuddyer hit his fourth home run of the year.  He knocked out a 3 run shot in the first inning to help get the Twins rolling.  He’s up to 21 RBIs after tonight.  Span got a couple RBIs as well, and Thome, Hudson, Hardy, Punto, and of course Ramos each batted one in.

Scott Baker took the mound tonight for the Twins and he pitched a solid game.  He gave the Twins a quality start, going 7 innings and only giving up 3 runs.  He walked 2 guys and struck out 6.  Burnett pitched the 7th and 8th innings.  He gave up 1 run on 2 hits and an error.

The team batted much better with runners in scoring position tonight, going 5-10.  They only stranded 3 guys in scoring position for the game.

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Young and Ramos Have Big Days as Twins Beat Indians (05-02-10)

BOXSCORE Su Young and Ramos Have Big Days as Twins Beat Indians (05 02 10)

Twins Beat Indians 8-3

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Cleveland200010000391
W: Liriano (4-0) L: Huff

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Joe Mauer is nursing a bruised heel, so the Twins brought up one of their hottest minor league prospects to take over the catcher position, and it wasn’t a disappointment.

Wilson Ramos had big shoes to fill, covering for the best player in baseball  Sunday afternoon.  In Mauer’s place, Wilson went 4 for 5 from the plate.  Delmon Young also had a big day at the plate, going 4 for 5 as well.

Francisco Liriano took the mound for the Twins, and although he didn’t have the same dominating performance that he showed the last 3 games, he was still great, giving Minnesota a quality start.  He pitched 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks.  He struck out 9 guys.  After 5 starts Liriano has an ERA of 1.50.  Crain and Mahay shared the 8th inning.  Crain gave up a hit and a walk, but no runs.  Mahay retired the last batter.  Jon Rauch pitched the 9th, but because the Twins scored two runs in the top of the inning, it wasn’t a save opportunity for Rauch.

The Twins hit with some power today as well.  Hudson hit a 2 run shot in the first inning to get things rolling.

In the 5th inning with no men on and 2 outs, Jim Thome hit his 5th home run of the year.  Delmon Young came up immediately after Thome and hit his 3rd homer of the season.  Punto added 3 RBIs during the game as well.

The Twins had 20 hits on the game.  The unfortunate part is that they struggled each time they got the bases loaded.  They left 7 runners in scoring position with  2 outs during the game.

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Twins to put Jeff Manship on the mound tonight, Mauer not behind the plate (05-01-10)

PREVIEW F Twins to put Jeff Manship on the mound tonight, Mauer not behind the plate (05 01 10)

Twins Bring Up Manship For Game Tonight

Last night it was supposed to be Nick Blackburn’s turn on the mound, but he is currently handling a family emergency, so Kevin Slowey pitched instead.  Tonight the Twins will be bringing up Jeff Manship from AAA to take the start.  He’s 2-2 with a 3.48 ERA for Rochester so far this season, which doesn’t exactly scream “Hey guys, I’m ready for the bigs!!”,  and he was less than impressive when he played for Minnesota last year, posting a 5.68 ERA in just under 32 innings, but manager Ron Gardenhire has faith in him.

“He’s just able to pitch backwards,” Gardenhire said. “He can use any of his pitches at any time. He’s got command of three-to-four pitches, so he knows how to pitch. He’s not overpowering or anything, but when he gets going, he’s pretty good, and he is throwing the ball pretty decently down there.”

Fortunately the Twins aren’t facing a monster of a pitcher, either.  They’ll be going against Cleveland pitcher Justin Masterson who is 0-3 with a 5.68 ERA so far this year.  Lifetime he’s 0-3 against the Twins with a 5.17 ERA.

The Twins lineup should have been back at full force tonight.  Mauer, Morneau, and Hardy all played last night after missing (it was just a rest for Mauer), and starting 3rd baseman Nick Punto should be back in the lineup tonight after spending some time on the disabled list.  Now, though, it sounds like Mauer will be out of the lineup tonight because of a bruised heel.  The injury is considered “day-to-day” right now, but the Twins want to be careful because it’s the kind of injury that can end up hanging around if they don’t take care of him.  Gardenhire says that Mauer will be available to pinch hit tonight if needed, but he doesn’t want Joe behind the plate.

After tonight the Twins will send Manship back to Rochester so they can bring Wilson Ramos to the lineup.

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Twins Lose Their First Series Of The Year

BOXSCORE Th Twins Lose Their First Series Of The Year

Tigers Beat Twins 3-0

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W: Willis L: Pavano (3-2) S: Valverde

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For the first time this year, the Minnesota Twins lost a series.  Also for the first time, the Twins were shut out in a game.

Carl Pavano was the starting pitcher, and he certainly wasn’t at fault.  He pitched a complete game for the Twins and only gave up 3 runs, but the Twins could not give him any run support.

Justin Morneau, J.J. Hardy, and Joe Mauer were all sitting out today, although Mauer did take 1 at-bat as a pinch hitter.  Nick Punto is still on the DL as well, so basically the Twins were playing with 4 out of 8 starting position players out of the lineup.

The Twins drew 3 walks and had 4 hits, but they were spread out throughout the game.  They only had one at-bat with a runner in scoring position all day.

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Twins Crush Angels… yes, CRUSHED them.

BOXSCORE Th Twins Crush Angels... yes, CRUSHED them.

The Twins Make It Look Easy

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LA Angels010000000181
W: Slowey L: Pineiro

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The Twins were behind 1 -0 from the bottom of the second inning until the top of the 5th.  Then they decided they should play ball.

The Twins scored 3 runs in the 5th inning, then 3 more in the 8th and 4 in the 9th just to make sure they got their point across.  Harris, Thome, and Young all hit home runs.  It was the first on the year for Harris and Thome.

Jim Thome got the start at DH.  Kubel moved to left field and Delmon Young came off the bench late in the game.  Brendan Harris started at 3rd base.  Nick Punto didn’t play.

Slowey looked good in his start, giving up 1 run off of 7 hits in 5 and 1/3rd inning.  He walked 2 guys and struck out 3.  Neshek, Mijares, Crain, and Burnett all pitched in the game.  None of them gave up any runs, and of those pitchers, Crain was the only one to surrender a hit (giving up 1 hit in the 8th).

Today the Twins are traveling to Chicago where they’ll play tonight against the White Sox.

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Twins Are On Top of the Division with win over Angels

BOXSCORE W Twins Are On Top of the Division with win over Angels

Twins Beat Angels 4-2

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W: Pavano L: Santana S: Rauch

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The Twins are on top of the division!  Okay, so yeah, that’s mainly because they’re the only team to have played 3 games so far, but I’ll take it.

The Twins beat the Angels 4-2 Wednesday night in the 3rd game of a 4 game series.  Carl Pavano started the game and looked great, giving up only 1 run in 7 complete innings, striking out 6 guys in the process.  Rauch came in in the 9th to earn his second straight save.

From the plate, Justin Morneau and J.J. Hardy each hit a homerun for the second straight night.  Morneau’s was a 2 run shot.  Denard Span added an RBI as well.

Hardy and Punto each went 2 for 4.  Mauer went 1 for 3 plus a walk.

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The Twins Finalize Opening Day Roster

TEAM NEWS Th 1 The Twins Finalize Opening Day RosterMinnesota Twins Roster Is In

The Twins have finalized their opening day roster with 3 games left in Spring Training.  Here is the roster:

Starting pitchers (5):

  • Scott Baker
  • Nick Blackburn
  • Carl Pavano
  • Kevin Slowey
  • Francisco Liriano

Relievers (7):

  • Matt Guerrier
  • Jon Rauch
  • Jose Mijares
  • Jesse Crain
  • Pat Neshek
  • Brian Duensing
  • Clay Condrey

Infielders (7):

  • Justin Morneau
  • Orlando Hudson
  • J.J. Hardy
  • Nick Punto
  • Brendan Harris
  • Alexi Casilla
  • Jim Thome

Outfielders (4):

  • Denard Span
  • Delmon Young
  • Michael Cuddyer
  • Jason Kubel

Catchers(2):

  • Joe Mauer
  • Drew Butera

Gardenhire says that Punto will start on Opening Night at 3rd base, and Kubel will start at DH, but Harris may start at 3rd the first time they face a left-handed pitcher.

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 The Twins Finalize Opening Day Roster

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