Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

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Santana Blanks Twins in Return to Minnesota

Minnesota's bats couldn't get anything going against Johan Santana.
By Aaron Ferguson
Minneapolis, MN
It was another beautiful day in the Twin Cities for some baseball. Johan Santana would make a return start against the Twins. He felt at home against the Twins, only allowing three hits all game. Santana threw a three-hit shutout, powering the Mets to a 9-0 win over the Twins.

Throughout the course of the series, it looked like the Minnesota offense was beginning to slow down. Despite winning the first two games of the series, the Twins were outscored 16-12 in the three-game set. A low spot was seeing Duensing pitch poorly out of the bullpen yesterday. He has now started a game and come in as a reliever and has allowed 10 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings pitched.

Minnesota has to move on from this series with the 3-9 Angels coming into town next. Although the bottom of the rotation will pitch for both teams, Jerome Williams of the Angels leads the league in ERA (0.68.) Williams, however has lost his first two starts in 1-0 ball games. Minnesota's offense will need to pick up this series to win the three-game set.

New York Mets at Minnesota Twins
Apr 14, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York (5-6)	0	0	1	3	1	4	0	0	0	9	15	0
Minnesota (10-1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
W: Johan Santana (2-0) L: Mike Pelfrey (2-1)

New York Mets
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
CF Eric Young Jr	5	1	1	0	0	1	.184
SS Ruben Tejada	5	2	2	1	0	0	.289
3B David Wright	4	1	1	3	0	1	.255
1B Ike Davis	4	0	2	1	1	0	.272
2B Daniel Murphy	5	1	4	0	0	0	.457
LF Lucas Duda	5	1	1	0	0	2	.219
DH Jordany Valdespin	4	1	1	2	0	0	.210
RF Marlon Byrd	3	1	1	1	1	0	.219
C Travis D'Arnaud	4	1	2	1	0	1	.205
TOTALS	39	9	15	9	2	5
BATTING 2B: Murphy (5), Wright (3), Davis (3), Valdespin (2) HR: D'Arnaud (1) RBI: Wright (7,8,9), Valdespin (6,7), Davis (4), D'Arnaud (3), Tejada (3) SF: Wright GIDP: Tejada, Valdespin

New York Mets
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Johan Santana (W, 2-0)	9.0	3	0	0	3	8	1.45

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
SS Jamey Carroll	2	0	0	0	2	0	.260
CF Aaron Hicks	4	0	1	0	0	2	.269
C Ryan Doumit	4	0	0	0	0	1	.369
LF Josh Willingham	4	0	1	0	0	1	.357
1B Justin Morneau	3	0	0	0	1	1	.416
3B Trevor Plouffe	4	0	0	0	0	0	.272
RF Darin Mastroianni	3	0	1	0	0	1	.476
2B Brian Dozier	2	0	0	0	0	0	.236
DH Pedro Florimon	3	0	0	0	0	2	.266
TOTALS	29	0	3	0	3	8
BATTING HBP: Dozier
BASERUNNING SB: Hicks (8), Dozier (1) CS: Carroll (1)
FIELDING E: Morneau (1)

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Mike Pelfrey (L, 2-1)	5.0	9	5	5	1	4	4.86
Brian Duensing	1.2	4	4	4	1	1	13.50
Michael Tonkin	2.1	2	0	0	0	0	0.00
TOTALS	9.0	15	9	9	2	5

[beamerball811]

Games 13-15
3-9 vs. 10-2

April 15, 7:10 CT
Game 1

Tommy Hanson 0-1 2.77 ERA | Scott Diamond 2-0 4.05 ERA

April 16, 7:10 CT
Game 2

Jason Vargas 0-0 4.09 ERA | Cole De Vries 1-0 6.75 ERA

April 17, 7:10 CT
Game 3

Jerome Williams 0-2 0.68 ERA | Kevin Correia 1-0 4.38 ERA

Players to Watch

Mark Trumbo .211 AVG 2 HR 7 RBI | Mike Trout .205 AVG 9 H 4 RBI | Albert Pujols .222 AVG 1 HR 7 RBI

Series Notes
-Minnesota is 10-2 and hold a 3-game lead in the Central over the Royals
-Los Angeles is 3-9 and trail the Rangers by 4.5 games in the West
-Justin Morneau leads the league in home runs (8) and runs batted in (21)
-Josh Hamilton is on the DL with a broken collarbone
-Jerome Williams is third in ERA with 0.68, though has lost two games 1-0

[beamerball811]

Iannetta Goes Yard, Twice

Minnesota can't contain the Angels' offense in a 10-3 loss.
By Aaron Ferguson
Minneapolis, MN
It was another rough night for Minnesota pitchers. The Angels had runners on base the entire night and struck for 10 runs. Chris Iannetta played a big part in the outburst by hitting two home runs and driving in four runs. Mike Trout hit his first home run on the season as well. The Twins have now lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Scott Diamond settled down after the fifth inning to retire the side in the sixth. After allowing a walk, Gardenhire decided to pull Diamond and bring in Brian Duensing. Gardenhire wanted to give Duensing a chance to redeem himself, however he couldn't. Brian gave up four runs, though only three were charged to him. The Twins will have to get through the next two games without having to go deep into their bullpen to avoid problems with tiring pitchers.

"It's just unfortunate how things have worked out for us these past two games. Duensing looked good in spring training, but he just doesn't have it anymore," Gardenhire talked about his team's play. "We hit the ball well tonight, but our pitching didn't give us a chance to win the game."

Minnesota will be tasked with facing Jason Vargas in tomorrow's game. Cole De Vries will take the mound for the third time for the Twins this season.

Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins
Apr 15, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles (3-9)	0	3	0	1	1	0	4	0	1	10	16	1
Minnesota (10-2)	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	3	9	0
W: Tommy Hanson (1-1) L: Scott Diamond (2-1)

Los Angeles Angels
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
SS Eric Aybar	6	0	0	0	0	1	.304
3B Alberto Callaspo	5	0	1	0	0	1	.220
1B Albert Pujols	4	1	1	0	1	0	.224
CF Mike Trout	4	3	3	2	0	0	.250
LF Mark Trumbo	4	1	2	1	1	1	.238
2B Howie Kendrick	5	3	3	1	0	0	.265
C Chris Iannetta	5	2	3	4	0	0	.231
RF Colin Cowgill	5	0	2	2	0	0	.129
DH Peter Bourjos	5	0	1	0	0	0	.250
TOTALS	43	10	16	10	2	3
BATTING 2B: Trout (5,6), Cowgill (2) HR: Iannetta (1,2), Trout (1) RBI: Iannetta (1,2,3,4), Trout (5,6), Cowgill (2,3), Trumbo (8), Kendrick (5) HBP: Trout
FIELDING E: Pujols (1)

Los Angeles Angels
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Tommy Hanson (W, 1-1)	8.0	6	2	2	1	5	2.57
Scott Downs	1.0	3	1	1	1	0	3.38
TOTALS	9.0	9	3	3	2	5

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
SS Pedro Florimon	3	0	1	0	0	0	.278
1B Chris Colabello	4	1	1	0	0	1	.200
C Joe Mauer	4	0	1	0	0	0	.388
LF Josh Willingham	4	0	0	0	0	1	.326
DH Ryan Doumit	3	1	1	1	0	1	.367
CF Aaron Hicks	4	1	4	1	0	0	.321
RF Chris Parmelee	2	0	0	0	1	0	.243
3B Jamey Carroll	3	0	0	0	1	2	.245
2B Brian Dozier	3	0	1	1	0	0	.244
TOTALS	30	3	9	3	2	5
BATTING HR: Hicks (4) RBI: Hicks (12), Doumit (9), Dozier (5) HBP: Florimon SF: Doumit SAC: Parmelee GIDP: Mauer
BASERUNNING CS: Hicks (1), Florimon (1)

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Scott Diamond (L, 2-1)	6.1	9	6	6	2	1	5.49
Brian Duensing	0.2	3	3	3	0	0	15.95
Jared Burton	1.0	2	0	0	0	2	3.60
Casey Fien	1.0	2	1	1	0	0	4.91
TOTALS	9.0	16	10	10	2	3

[beamerball811]

Patriots Day Gone Wrong

Not only did the Red Sox lose, Boston lost emotionally on a tough day.
Associated Press
Boston, MA
Patriots Day is a holiday celebrated in Massachusetts across the entire state. It is also known as the day of the Boston Marathon, however things went wrong in today's race. Two bombs exploded during yesterday's event, killing several and injuring hundreds. Boston-area hospitals are treating victims that were injured in the two blasts.

Officials are looking at any evidence they can recover from the bombing sites along with any surveillance video that may show possible suspects. Right now, the media display the only footage of the two explosions that occurred only an hour after the Red Sox game concluded.

Around Major League Baseball tomorrow, the teams will have a moment of silence before the game and will play "God Bless America" in the seventh inning before the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Other teams around the league may add their own events after yesterday's bombings.

[beamerball811]

Whispers About the Twins
10:32 AM: Brian Duensing has been placed on the trading block. The Twins are making calls around the league to see if there are any suitors for the left-hander. Duensing sports a 15.95 ERA in 3 appearances this season.

11:24 AM: Kyle Gibson's fractured hand is on pace to be back in late May or early June still. Gibson was injured in his last start in Spring Training.

11:57 AM: Class-A pitcher Pedro Hernandez has been placed on irrevocable waivers and removed from the Twins 40-man roster.

12:24 PM: Brian Duensing is currently on his way to Rochester to join the Red Wings in AAA.

1:06 PM: Rich Harden has been scratched from his AAA start in Rochester and will join the Twins in Minneapolis for tonight's game.

3:23 PM: Rich Harden will not be joining the Twins and will start in Rochester tonight.

3:24 PM: Right Fielder Clete Thomas has been removed from the 40-man roster and placed on irrevocable waivers.

[beamerball811]

Twins Lose Third Straight

Twins pitching costs them another game, lose 8-3.
By Aaron Ferguson
Minneapolis, MN
The Twins lose for the third straight day. Minnesota scored three runs in last night's game, but it wasn't enough to beat the Angels. Los Angeles scored four runs in the top of the first inning, powered by Eric Aybar's first-pitch home run off of Cole De Vries.

De Vries had a rough first inning, but settled in afterwards. He would allow just three addistional runs in four-plus innings after the lopsided first inning. The Twins offense has scored three runs in each of the past two games after getting shutout on Sunday. A positive sign has to be that the Twins scorched five doubles off of Jason Vargas, who earned his first win on the season.

Ron Gardenhire has officially brought Rich Harden to the bullpen for the time being and may see some rotation time. "We decided to let Duensing move down a level to try and gain some confidence. In the meantime, Harden will serve in his spot," Gardenhire said.

Minnesota is on a three-game skid and hold just a two-and-a-half game lead over the Kansas City Royals in the central division. Jerome Williams will be the next test for the Twins. Williams has just a 0.68 earned run average, but has lost his first two starts. Runs will be hard to come by for the Twins tonight.

Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins
Apr 16, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles (4-9)	4	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	0	8	12	0
Minnesota (10-3)	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	7	0
W: Jason Vargas (1-0) L: Cole de Vries (1-1)

Los Angeles Angels
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
SS Eric Aybar	5	1	1	1	0	1	.295
3B Alberto Callaspo	4	1	0	0	0	1	.200
1B Albert Pujols	5	1	1	0	0	2	.222
CF Mike Trout	5	2	2	2	0	0	.264
LF Mark Trumbo	4	1	3	2	0	1	.283
2B Howie Kendrick	3	1	1	1	0	1	.269
DH Peter Bourjos	4	0	2	1	0	2	.292
RF JB Shuck	4	0	1	0	0	3	.118
C Hank Conger	4	1	1	1	0	1	.125
TOTALS	38	8	12	8	0	12
BATTING 2B: Kendrick (1) HR: Trout (2), Trumbo (3), Aybar (1), Conger (1) RBI: Trout (7,8), Trumbo (9,10), Kendrick (6), Bourjos (4), Aybar (2), Conger (1) HBP: Callaspo SF: Kendrick

Los Angeles Angels
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Jason Vargas (W, 0-1)	8.0	7	3	3	1	6	3.79
Ernesto Frieri	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	7.20
TOTALS	9.0	7	3	3	1	6

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
2B Pedro Florimon	4	0	1	0	0	2	.273
CF Darin Mastroianni	4	0	0	0	0	2	.400
C Joe Mauer	4	1	2	0	0	0	.396
LF Josh Willingham	3	2	1	0	1	0	.327
1B Justin Morneau	4	0	1	0	0	0	.400
3B Trevor Plouffe	4	0	1	1	0	2	.271
DH Chris Parmelee	4	0	1	2	0	0	.244
RF Chris Colabello	3	0	0	0	0	0	.167
SS Jamey Carroll	3	0	0	0	0	0	.231
TOTALS	33	3	7	3	1	6
BATTING 2B: Mauer (1,2), Parmelee (3), Plouffe (3), Willingham (2) RBI: Parmelee (4,5), Plouffe (11)

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Cole De Vries (L, 1-1)	5.0	11	7	7	0	8	8.47
Caleb Thielbar	2,1	1	1	1	0	3	2.35
Jared Burton	1.2	0	0	0	0	1	2.70
TOTALS	9.0	12	8	8	0	12
PITCHING WP: De Vries (1)

[beamerball811]

Correia's Strong Start Powers Twins to Win

Kevin Correia nearly went the distance as the Twins snap a three-game losing streak.
By Aaron Ferguson
Minneapolis, MN
Kevin Correia has pitched well early this season and tonight was no exception. Correia was two outs shy of a shutout against Jerome Williams. Williams falls to sixth in earned run average (ERA.) Correia earns his second win on the season.

Ryan Doumit fired the first shot with a solo home run to right field off of Williams in the second inning. For a good part of the game, it looked as if it would be another 1-0 game against Williams. However, the Twins took advantage of Williams with Willingham's two-run double in the sixth to knock Williams out of the game and the Angels trailing 3-0. Justin Morneau would hit his league-leading ninth home run to extend the lead to 5-0 before Correia went out to pitch the ninth.

Correia needed a little help to get the final two outs as his pitch count exceeded 100. Glen Perkins would eventually get his seventh save on the season, which is tied with Greg Holland for most in the American League.

The Twins improve to 11-4 on the season. They will travel to Chicago for a quick, three-game series with the White Sox. Chicago is currently 8-8 and 3.5 games behind the Twins in the central division. Their 8-8 record is good enough for third in the division, with the Tigers a half game behind them. Minnesota's bats will need to come to life again against a tough pitching staff.

Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins
Apr 17, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles (5-9)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	8	0
Minnesota (10-4)	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	2	X	5	11	0
W: Kevin Correia (2-0) L: Jerome Wiliams (0-3)

Los Angeles Angels
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
SS Eric Aybar	4	0	1	0	0	0	.292
3B Alberto Callaspo	4	0	2	0	0	0	.224
1B Albert Pujols	4	1	1	0	0	0	.224
CF Mike Trout	4	0	1	0	0	2	.263
LF Mark Trumbo	3	0	0	1	0	1	.265
2B Howie Kenrick	3	0	0	0	1	0	.255
C Chris Iannetta	4	0	1	0	0	1	.233
DH Peter Bourjos	4	0	1	0	0	1	.286
RF Colin Cowgill	3	0	1	0	0	0	.147
TOTALS	33	1	8	1	1	5
BATTING 2B: Trout (7), Bourjos (2) RBI: Trumbo (11) SF: Trumbo
BASERUNNING CS: Aybar (1)

Los Angeles Angels
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Jerome Williams (L, 0-3)	5.2	7	3	3	1	1	1.89
Kevin Jepsen	1.2	3	2	2	0	1	2.45
Sean Burnett	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0.00
TOTALS	8.0	11	5	5	1	2

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
RF Darin Mastroianni	4	0	1	0	0	1	.379
CF Aaron Hicks	4	2	2	0	0	0	.333
C Joe Mauer	4	1	1	0	0	0	.386
1B Justin Morneau	4	1	1	2	0	0	.386
LF Josh Willingham	4	0	2	2	0	0	.340
DH Ryan Doumit	4	1	2	1	0	1	.377
3B Trevor Plouffe	3	0	0	0	1	0	.255
2B Brian Dozier	3	0	1	0	0	0	.250
SS Pedro Florimon	3	0	1	0	0	0	.280
TOTALS	33	5	11	5	1	2
BATTING 2B: Doumit (7), Willingham (3) HR: Morneau (9), Doumit (3) RBI: Morneau (22,23), Willingham (8,9), Doumit (10) GIDP: Muaer, Florimon

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Kevin Correia (W, 2-0)	8.1	8	1	1	0	5	3.05
Josh Roenicke	0.0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Glen Perkins (S, 7)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	8.44
TOTALS	9.0	8	1	1	1	5

[beamerball811]

Games 16-18
11-4 vs. 8-8

April 19, 7:10 CT
Game 1

Vance Worley 2-0 2.25 ERA | Hector Santiago 0-0 0.90 ERA

April 20, 2:05 CT
Game 2

Mike Pelfrey 2-1 4.86 ERA | Jake Peavy 0-1 3.12 ERA

April 21, 1:10 CT
Game 3

Scott Diamond 2-1 5.49 ERA | John Danks 2-0 3.00 ERA

Players to Watch

Paul Konerko .246 AVG 4 HR 7 RBI | Adam Dunn .343 AVG 3 HR 6 RBI | Dayan Viciedo .182 AVG 6 HR 11 RBI

Series Notes
-The Twins have the MLB's best record at 11-4 entering the series.
-Chicago is 8-8 which is 3.5 game behind the Twins and third in the Central.
-Justin Morneau leads the league in home runs (9) and runs batted in (23.)
-Glen Perkins is tied for the lead in saves (7) and Aaron Hicks is tied for the lead in stolen bases (8.)
-Chicago's Hector Santiago is second in the league in ERA with 0.90.