Twins take game four from Rangers; Liriano terrific
[picappgallerysingle id="9284885"]The Minnesota Twins got it done last night and took game four (and a big series sweep) away from the Texas Rangers, mostly due to fantastic pitching from starter Francisco Liriano. It didn’t hurt that the Twins offense finally came alive last night, either.
How about Francisco Liriano? He was just on fire last night. That’s the Liriano I like to see, and the Liriano I was hoping we’d get. When he’s on, Francisco Liriano is unhittable. But he’s so tricky, because sometimes it’s like Liriano has no confidence on the mound. Glad to see Liriano dominate last night.
And it was nice to see a commanding performance from Twins closer Matt Capps last night, too. Maybe Capps’ performance will finally quiet those who think we should’ve hung onto catcher Wilson Ramos a little longer (why?).
By the way, add Cliff Lee to the list of pitchers I’m glad the Minnesota Twins didn’t bother to trade for. Dan Haren’s on that list, too. I’m sure they’re as good as everybody says and I just haven’t seen it yet. But yikes.
And the Minnesota Twins offense got what it badly needed last night: a couple of guys to step up and get some big hits. After going 1 for 11 at bats, Delmon Young knocked out a three-run homer early on, and Michael Cuddyer followed with a big two-run double.
Jason Kubel and Joe Mauer also had some nice hits on the evening. Very strong showing from the middle of the Twins lineup last night.
And then, my main man Jim Thome cracked a solo shot, hitting his 582nd home run last night at Rangers Ballpark.
Jim Thome is now only one run away from tying Mark McGwire at the ninth spot on the all-time home run list. I bet Thome will be able to tie it up at 583 home runs before the Twins road trip is over.
Have I mentioned recently how glad I am that Jim Thome plays for the Minnesota Twins? I should mention that more often.
The Minnesota Twins are now 4-3 this season against the Texas Rangers, with one series remaining between the two teams – they’ll play three games at Target Field starting September 3rd. This time, it was a decent, serviceable ending to a difficult series for the Minnesota Twins.
Here’s to hoping that Justin Morneau is back and healthy in September.
Scary-lookin’ game ahead: Twins Liriano vs. Rangers Lee
[picappgallerysingle id="8649783"]Pardon me if I’m a little nervous to see Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Francisco Liriano take the mound against Texas Rangers starter Cliff Lee tonight. I wonder which Liriano we’re going to get. Unhittable Liriano, or head case Liriano?
Either way, I’m interested to see what this Cliff Lee guy is like close-up and in-person. What kind of stuff he’s got. The Twins had quite a little romance with Cliff Lee before the trade deadline earlier this season. The Twins lost him to the Rangers, but I didn’t particularly care because Brian Duensing has been so good in the starting rotation.
I wonder if I’ll care after tonight.
As far as our bullpen is concerned, left-handed reliever Randy Flores will be ready to play for the Minnesota Twins tonight. The Twins optioned Anthony Slama back down to Rochester to make room for Flores on the active roster.
Fine. I hope Randy Flores can do the Twins some good.
The Minnesota Twins cannot be swept by the Texas Rangers. The Twins simply cannot let that happen. I understand that we’re without our best player (Justin Morneau). I get that if you lose one of the five top guys in baseball, it’s going to catch up with your team after awhile. I know that we need Morneau back.
The Twins have done an incredible job of hodge-podging both the field and the middle of the lineup together. But there’s only so long that we can be a real contender without Justin Morneau. Joe Mauer is good, but he’s not as good as Morneau.
I mean, where would the Texas Rangers be without Josh Hamilton? Hamilton is batting .356 with 30 home runs and 92 RBI, and he’ll probably be the AL MVP this year. I thought that Justin Morneau had a pretty good shot of landing that title before he got injured.
So, where would the Rangers be without Josh Hamilton? As well off as the Twins are without Justin Morneau? I doubt it. With that disparity, it’s hard to compare the Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers right now, isn’t it?
Anyway, to get back on track with this post, I hope that Liriano can shake off the pressure and deliver tonight. It could go either way – either Liriano will feel no pressure because the Twins have dropped the last three against the Rangers, or Liriano will feel a tremendous amount of pressure to not let the Rangers sweep the Twins.
It’s a tale of two Lirianos for the Twins, and I just hope we get the right one tonight. Because with our offense struggling like it is, we’ll have our hands full with Cliff Lee. We can’t worry about our pitching, too.
Twins drop 3 games to Rangers; acquire lefty reliever Flores
[picappgallerysingle id="4960746"]Not even big Jim Thome could help the Minnesota Twins last night as they dropped their third consecutive game to the Texas Rangers with another 4-3 loss in Arlington at Rangers ballpark. At least the Twins did something useful earlier in the day, when they acquired left-handed reliever Randy Flores.
The Rangers bullpen whizzed 94-98 mph fastballs past the Twins one after another to put the game away. Just like the fastball that intentionally hit Jim Thome’s thigh the night before. Boo.
Translation: this road series has turned the Minnesota Twins into road kill. If the Twins get swept by the Texas Rangers, I will officially be alarmed. At the moment, I’m just on edge.
Although there was almost no chatter beforehand about it, yesterday the Minnesota Twins acquired left-handed reliever Randy Flores from the Rockies. I think the reaction has mostly been relief (get it?) – certainly, there’s been no surprise.
Nice to have another lefty around anyway, so that the Twins don’t have to rely solely on Glen Perkins. That was starting to look pretty scary.
It just seems like the Twins should be performing better at this point in the season, doesn’t it? I know that the Twins swept the Rangers when they played at Target Field earlier this season, but I thought that was because the Twins are better than the Rangers. It seems that I was wrong.
I will say that the Minnesota Twins pitching has been pretty decent. Four runs in a game is not the end of the world – especially when you’re facing a top five hitting team like the Texas Rangers.
Well, it is when you have no offense. How depressing is that? Our guys are just in a slump right now – except for maybe Danny Valencia, but no one can get him home, so what does it matter?
That’s not true, actually; Denard Span scored Valencia last night, after going 0 for his last 13 at bats. I’ve been getting a little cranky about Span. You certainly can’t count his appearance last night as the norm.
The Minnesota Twins need their big guys to step up: Joe Mauer, Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel…what’s going on? Are we saving ourselves for another team? What team? Because I was under the impression that this series with the Texas Rangers was kind of an important one.
Did I miss something?
Twins make disturbing decisions in 4-3 loss to Rangers
[picappgallerysingle id="9441794"]The Minnesota Twins made some very disturbing decisions in their 4-3 loss to the Texas Rangers last night in Arlington.
Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire stated in the post-game press conference that J.J. Hardy is still suffering from soreness in that bothersome wrist. That would explain Matt Tolbert – who has been on the DL himself – pinch hitting in the top of the ninth inning.
After Feliz hit Jim Thome. Let’s not forget that.
Actually, nothing explains Matt Tolbert pinch hitting – not when you could have Jason Repko pinch hit instead. Why would Matt Tolbert, who was just called up from the minors where he was in a rehab assignment, pinch hit? Why, when you have Jason Repko?
Why did Gardenhire have Repko pinch run and Tolbert pinch hit? Riddle me that.
Ugh.
And speaking of Twins DH Jim Thome, who’s hit 17 home runs this season, Thome was on the bench last night because Drew Butera is starting pitcher Carl Pavano’s personal catcher. So, Joe Mauer was the DH while Thome sat out.
What?
Butera instead of Thome? Turns out it’s as bad as it sounds.
This was not some crappy team the Twins were playing. This Twins-Rangers series could impact home field advantage if the Twins get to the playoffs. This was a chance to see how the Twins stack up against other AL division leaders.
Minnesota Twins, are you really going to put Butera in the lineup and sit Thome in these big games? Because that would be a very disturbing decision.
I mean, Butera? Huh? Tell Carl Pavano to deal with it. Pavano’s lost two in a row (despite a strong pitching performance and complete game last night) anyway, so how about trying his luck with Joe Mauer again?
So now, the Minnesota Twins have lost two in a row, and are in danger of being swept by the Texas Rangers. The Twins have little-to-no offense, and when a player does hit the ball, he gets stranded. And then we lose. This is a disturbing trend.
Plus, the Twins are without Justin Morneau, Nick Punto, and two left-handed relievers, and now I’m concerned that J.J. Hardy may hit the DL. That stupid wrist injury of his. Is it going to plague Hardy next season, too? I really don’t like that it’s the same wrist. This is a disturbing injury.
And what is wrong with Twins lead-off hitter Denard Span? Batting .212 on the road this season? What? That is a disturbing batting average.
I am disturbed. As a Minnesota Twins fan, this is all very disturbing.
Twins’ Jim Thome intentionally hit in 9th inning by Rangers?
[picappgallerysingle id="9415708"]Did it seem sleazy to anyone else when Minnesota Twins pinch hitter Jim Thome was hit by the first pitch of his at bat against the Texas Rangers in the ninth inning of last night’s game? After all, the Rangers were only one run ahead of the Twins at 4-3, so a Thome home run would have tied the game and sent it into extra innings.
I mean, the first pitch of Thome’s at bat? Hitting Thome with the first pitch? That just reeks.
You know, crazy old Ozzie Guillen has been sniffing around for intentional hitting for a week now – I hope he was paying attention to the Twins-Rangers game last night. Just imagine the apoplectic response Guillen would have had to Jim Thome’s ninth inning at bat.
Let me break it down: Rangers closer Neftali Feliz, after getting Delmon Young to pop up long for the first out in the ninth, conferred with the Rangers pitching coach as big Jim Thome came to the plate to pinch hit for the Twins.
Then, as Thome prepared to swing, Feliz hit him with the first pitch. And Neftali Feliz throws between 95 and 100 mph, so you know it had to hurt.
But maybe Feliz laid off a little since he knew he was going to hit Jim Thome, not brush him back. I didn’t see the speed on the pitch, but that would be interesting to know. Maybe the Twins will check into it.
Thome was mad. I haven’t really seen Jim Thome get mad since he’s played for the Minnesota Twins, but he looked pretty steamed. I would have been, too.
Because that just stinks.
The Texas Rangers got what they wanted, though – with Jim Thome out of the way, there wasn’t much standing between the Rangers and victory. I mean, there was Matt Tolbert, but….
So, the Texas Rangers came up with the win over the Minnesota Twins 4-3. Boo.
