Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Braves Break Tie In Marathon


I'd normally write something, but this was just so long that I can't remember how the first 10 runs were scored. Chris Johnson walked-off of Caleb Thielbar with 2 outs in the 19th inning. After that, words were hard to come by, I'm pretty frustrated at this loss.

Minnesota Twins at Atlanta Braves
May 21, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Extras	R	H	E
Minnesota (25-19)	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	0	0	0	5	13	0
Atlanta (26-19)	0	0	1	1	0	2	0	1	0	1	6	16	0
W: Jonny Venters (1-1) L: Caleb Thielbar (0-1)

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
2B Brian Dozier	8	1	1	1	0	3	.256
RF Darin Mastroianni	8	0	3	0	0	0	.264
C Joe Mauer	8	1	2	1	0	0	.314
1B Justin Morneau	7	0	1	1	1	0	.319
3B Trevor Plouffe	7	0	0	0	1	3	.294
CF Aaron Hicks	7	1	3	0	0	0	.309
LF Chris Parmelee	7	1	2	1	0	1	.256
SS Freddy Sanchez	7	1	1	1	0	0	.203
SP Alex Meyer	1	0	0	0	0	1	.000
PH Chris Colabello	1	0	0	0	0	0	.245
PH Pedro Florimon	1	0	0	0	0	0	.265
PH Josh Willingham	1	0	0	0	0	0	.305
P Kevin Correia	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000
PH Josmil Pinto	1	0	0	0	0	0	.245
TOTALS	65	5	13	5	2	8
BATTING 2B: Matroianni (7), Mauer (11), Morneau (5), Parmelee (10), Sanchez (2) 3B: Hicks (3) RBI: Dozier (15), Mauer (15), Morneau (38), Parmelee (16), Sanchez (6) SAC: Meyer GIDP: Mauer, Sanchez
BASERUNNING SB: Hicks (20)

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Alex Meyer	6.0	6	4	4	1	10	3.29
Jared Burton (H, 7)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	3.85
Michael Tonkin (BS, 1)	1.0	3	1	1	0	0	3.06
Josh Roenicke	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0.87
Casey Fien	2.0	0	0	0	0	2	4.95
Kevin Correia	6.0	5	0	0	1	7	5.91
Caleb Thielbar (L, 0-1)	1.2	2	1	1	0	2	1.65
TOTALS	18.2	16	6	6	3	22

Atlanta Braves
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
SS Andrelton Simmons	9	1	2	0	0	1	.238
3B Chris Johnson	9	1	4	2	0	1	.208
LF Justin Upton	8	0	1	0	0	2	.218
RF Jason Heyward	7	2	1	1	1	3	.254
1B Freddie Freeman	7	1	2	0	1	3	.228
C Brian McCann	3	1	2	3	0	0	.234
PH Gerald Laird	1	0	1	0	0	0	.243
PH Evan Gattis	1	0	0	0	0	1	.222
PH Ernesto Mejia	1	0	0	0	0	1	.307
P Craig Kimbrel	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000
P Jonny Venters	1	0	1	0	0	0	.500
CF BJ Upton	3	0	0	0	0	2	.268
PH/CF Reed Johnson	5	0	2	0	0	0	.272
2B Dan Uggla	7	0	0	0	1	5	.303
SP Kris Medlen	2	0	0	0	0	1	.000
C Christian Bethancourt	5	0	0	0	0	2	.179
TOTALS	70	6	16	6	3	22
BATTING 2B: McCann (3) 3B: Johnson (1) HR: Johnson (5), Heyward (13), McCann (7) RBI: Johnson (10,11), Heyward (40), McCann (12,13) SAC: Bethancourt GIDP: Uggla
BASERUNNING SB: Heyward (5)

Atlanta Braves
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Kris Medlen	5.2	6	4	4	0	3	3.03
Christian Martinez	0.1	2	1	1	0	1	3.04
Cory Gearrin	1.2	2	0	0	1	0	7.26
Eric O'Flaherty	0.1	0	0	0	1	0	3.29
Luis Ayala	3.0	0	0	0	0	0	8.30
Jordan Walden	2.0	0	0	0	0	1	3.85
Craig Kimbrel	4.0	3	0	0	0	1	1.74
Jonny Venters (W, 1-1)	2.0	0	0	0	0	2	2.70
TOTALS	19.0	13	5	5	2	8

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Deflating Game For Twins

By Aaron Ferguson
ATLANTA -- A seven-run inning by the Braves gave them a 7-4 lead and eventual victory, but there was more bad news for Minnesota.

Vance Worley was smooth sailing through the first three innings, allowing just two hits. The fourth inning was different as he just melted down with each hit he gave up. Allowing seven runs in the inning, Worley was frustrated after he found out his day was done.

Worley got in an altercation with pitching coach Rick Anderson after Worley came off the mound. Worley was unhappy with the way Anderson talked to him during the mound visit and his decisions in not bringing in a pitcher earlier.

The Twins released a statement saying that Worley will be suspended for his next two starts. They did not rule who will start in his place.

The Twins will have to turn the page as they're traveling to Detroit for a four-game series with their rivals.

Minnesota Twins at Atlanta Braves
May 22, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota (25-20)	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	4	12	0
Atlanta (27-19)	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	0	X	7	13	0
W: Tim Hudson (5-2) L: Vance Worley (4-3) S: Craig Kimbrel (17)

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
2B Brian Dozier	5	0	0	0	0	0	.246
CF Darin Mastroianni	4	1	1	0	0	0	.264
3B Trevor Plouffe	4	1	2	0	0	0	.300
LF Josh Willingham	4	0	2	1	0	1	.310
C Josmil Pinto	4	0	2	1	0	0	.263
1B Chris Colabello	4	0	0	0	0	0	.230
RF Chris Parmelee	4	1	2	0	0	0	.264
SS Pedro Florimon	4	1	1	1	0	0	.265
SP Vance Worley	1	0	1	1	0	0	1.000
PH Freddy Sanchez	1	0	0	0	0	0	.200
PH Aaron Hicks	1	0	1	0	0	0	.314
TOTALS	36	4	12	4	0	1
BATTING 2B: Plouffe (12) 3B: Florimon (3) RBI: Worley (1), Pinto (8), Florimon (10), Willingham (22) SF: Worley GIDP: Pinto, Colabello
BASERUNNING SB: Hicks (21)

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Vance Worley (L, 4-3)	4.0	11	7	7	0	1	5.46
Sam Deduno	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	1.88
Michael Tonkin	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	2.87
Jared Burton	1.0	1	0	0	0	3	3.60
Josh Roenicke	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0.79
TOTALS	8.0	13	7	7	0	7

Atlanta Braves
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
SS Andrelton Simmons	4	1	2	0	0	0	.244
3B Chris Johnson	4	1	3	2	0	0	.219
LF Justin Upton	4	1	1	0	0	1	.220
RF Jason Heyward	4	0	0	0	0	2	.249
C Brian McCann	4	1	1	1	0	2	.235
CF BJ Upton	4	1	3	0	0	0	.281
1B Ernesto Mejia	4	1	1	0	0	0	.300
2B Dan Uggla	4	1	1	2	0	0	.302
SP Tim Hudson	2	0	2	2	0	0	.389
PH Gerald Laird	1	0	0	0	0	1	.237
PH Reed Johnson	1	0	0	0	0	1	.269
TOTALS	36	7	14	7	0	7
BATTING 2B: Hudson (1), Simmons (7),BJ Upton (10), Uggla (10), C. Johnson (8) HR: C Johnson (6) RBI: Hudson (3,4), Uggla (30,31), C. Johnson (12,13), McCann (14) GIDP: C. Johnson
BASERUNNING SB: J. Upton (3)

Atlanta Braves
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Tim Hudson (W, 5-2)	6.0	11	4	4	0	0	3.86
Christian Martinez (H, 6)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	2.92
Jordan Walden (H, 11)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	3.66
Craig Kimbrel (S, 17)	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	1.66
TOTALS	9.0	12	4	4	0	1

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Games 47-50
25-21 vs.

May 23, 7:10 CT
Game 47

Cole De Vries 2-4 6.24 ERA | Justin Verlander

May 24, 7:10 CT
Game 48

Rich Harden 3-3 5.90 ERA | Anibal Sanchez 2-4 3.90 ERA

May 25, 3:10 CT
Game 49

Mike Pelfrey 6-3 4.53 ERA | Doug Fister 3-3 4.50 ERA

May 26, 1:10 CT
Game 50

Alex Meyer 1-0 3.29 ERA | Max Scherzer 3-0 4.61 ERA

Players to Watch

3B Miguel Cabrera
.354 AVG 21 HR 53 RBI
-Miguel Cabrera is threatening for a triple crown again and will smash his home run mark from last year (44.)


1B Prince Fielder
.347 AVG 18 HR 47 RBI
-Prince Fielder is having an MVP-caliber year so far, but is Miguel Cabrera's side-kick.


SS Jhonny Peralta
.263 AVG 6 HR 23 RBI
-Jhonny Peralta is hitting better this year, near his .266 career clip and utilizing his power.

Series Notes
-Minnesota is 25-21 and is 2.5 games behind the Tigers in the AL Central.
-Detroit is 27-18 and leads the AL Central.
-Miguel Cabrera leads the league in home runs (21) and runs batted in (53.)
-Justin Morneau is fourth in home runs (14) and fifth in runs batted in (38.)
-Minnesota's bullpen is taxed after a 19-inning game Tuesday and an early exit by Vance Worley yesterday in Atlanta.

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Twins Win In Extras

By Aaron Ferguson
DETROIT - Minnesota out-hit the Tigers in a frustrating game, but reserved a 3-2 victory in an extra frame.

Darin Mastroianni lead off in the 10 inning with a triple to right-center field. That would set-up Joe Mauer to hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Mastroianni to give the Twins a 3-2 lead. That would be enough for the Twins to earn their 26 win on the season.

Cole De Vries and Justin Verlander both pitched well, but it was the Minnesota offense that frustrated many. The Twins were hitting the ball well off of Detroit pitching, but they couldn't string them together for many runs. At one point, the Twins had doubled what the Tigers had in hits, but the score was tied at 2.

The bullpen pitched great in the win. Michael Tonkin had a nice bounce-back appearance after allowing a game-tying home run in the series with Atlanta. Casey Fien got some work in and Glen Perkins earned his 16th save of the season.

It was key for the Twins to take the first game from the Tigers in the series. They've hit well of Verlander this season and they need to continues that success in the rest of the series. Expect Ron Gardenhire to get some starters rest throughout this series.

Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers
May 23, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Extras	R	H	E
Minnesota (25-21)	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	13	0
Detroit (27-18)	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	1
W: Michael Tonkin (2-0) L: Al Alburquerque (2-1) S: Glen Perkins (16)

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
SS Pedro Florimon	5	0	2	0	0	2	.273
RF Darin Mastroianni	4	1	1	1	0	0	.264
C Joe Mauer	4	0	1	1	0	0	.313
1B Justin Morneau	5	0	1	0	0	0	.315
CF Aaron Hicks	4	1	2	0	1	1	.318
LF Josh Willingham	5	0	2	1	0	1	.313
DH Chris Colabello	4	0	0	0	0	0	.215
2B Brian Dozier	3	1	1	0	1	0	.248
3B Freddy Sanchez	4	0	3	0	0	0	.234
TOTALS	38	3	13	3	2	4
BATTING 2B: Hicks (5) 3B: Mastroianni (1) RBI: Mauer (16), Willingham (23), Mastroianni (10) SF: Mauer, Mastroianni GIDP: Florimon, Mastroianni
BASERUNNING SB: Hicks (22)

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Cole De Vries	5.2	6	2	2	3	2	5.93
Casey Fien	1.1	0	0	0	0	1	4.58
Michael Tonkin (W, 2-0)	2.0	2	0	0	0	1	2.55
Glen Perkins (S, 16)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	3.52
TOTALS	10.0	8	2	2	3	4

Detroit Tigers
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
CF Austin Jackson	4	1	2	0	1	2	.281
LF Andy Dirks	5	0	2	0	0	0	.276
PR/LF Don Kelly							.253
3B Miguel Cabrera	4	1	1	1	1	0	.349
1B Prince Fielder	4	0	0	0	1	2	.339
DH Victor Martinez	5	0	1	0	0	0	.237
RF Torii Hunter	5	0	1	1	0	0	.209
C Alex Avila	3	0	0	0	0	0	.210
PR/C Bryan Pena							.175
SS Jhonny Peralta	4	0	1	0	0	0	.263
2B Omar Infante	4	0	0	0	0	0	.315
TOTALS	38	2	8	2	3	4
BATTING RBI: Hunter (15), Cabrera (54) HBP: Avila
FIELDING E: Verlander (1)

Detroit Tigers
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Justin Verlander	7.0	9	2	2	1	3	3.31
Brayan Villarreal	1.1	3	0	0	0	1	2.86
Al Alburquerque (L, 2-1)	1.2	1	1	1	1	0	7.94
TOTALS	10.0	11	3	3	2	4

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Twins Get Shutout

By Aaron Ferguson
DETROIT - Minnesota's offense struggled to get any production going and get shutout by Detroit, 3-0.

Minnesota had a chance in the first inning to score with runners on second and third with nobody out. However, Pedro Florimon got thrown out at the plate by Austin Jackson on a Joe Mauer fly out.

The second Twins threat came in the fifth when Florimon tripled with two outs, but Darin Mastroianni would fly out to right to end the inning.

Anibal Sanchez pitched well and had great support from the Tigers bullpen. In a crucial series, it's paying off for the Tigers that their bullpen is rested.

The season series is still in favor of the Twins, 5-3. However, they trail the Tigers in the Central division by two-and-a-half games. Mike Pelfrey goes to the mound for Minnesota tonight, he's 6-3 on the season. Doug Fister will start for the Tigers, he's 3-3 on the year. Both starters have an earned run average around the 4.50 mark.

Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers
May 24, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota (26-21)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Detroit (27-19)	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	X	3	9	1
W: Anibal Sanchez (3-4) L: Rich Harden (3-4) S: Bruce Rondon (14)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			MIN	DET
DET	2	Omar Infante singled to left, Hunter scored	0	1
DET	7	Austin Jackson doubled to left-center, Infante scored	0	2
DET	7	Andy Dirks singled to center, Jackson scored	0	3

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
2B Pedro Florimon	4	0	1	0	0	0	.272
LF Darin Mastroianni	4	0	1	0	0	0	.263
1B Joe Mauer	4	0	0	0	0	1	.305
DH Justin Morneau	4	0	1	0	0	0	.314
3B Trevor Plouffe	4	0	0	0	0	0	.292
CF Aaron Hicks	4	0	2	0	0	0	.322
C Josmil Pinto	3	0	0	0	0	0	.250
RF Chris Parmelee	3	0	1	0	0	0	.265
SS Freddy Sanchez	3	0	0	0	0	0	.224
TOTALS	33	0	6	0	0	1
BATTING 2B: Mastroianni (8) 3B: Florimon (4)

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Rich Harden (L, 3-4)	6.2	7	3	3	2	6	5.63
Jared Burton	1.1	2	0	0	0	2	3.31
TOTALS	8.0	9	3	3	2	8

Detroit Tigers
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
CF Austin Jackson	4	1	2	1	0	0	.287
LF Andy Dirks	3	0	1	1	1	0	.277
3B Miguel Cabrera	3	0	1	0	1	1	.349
1B Prince Fielder	4	0	1	0	0	2	.337
DH Victor Martinez	4	0	0	0	0	1	.231
RF Torii Hunter	4	1	1	0	0	3	.210
C Bryan Pena	4	0	1	0	0	0	.182
SS Jhonny Peralta	3	0	0	0	0	1	.259
2B Omar Infante	3	1	2	1	0	0	.321
TOTALS	32	3	9	3	2	8
BATTING 2B: Jackson (13), Hunter (7) RBI: Jackson (15), Dirks (16), Infante (14) GIDP: Fielder
FIELDING E: Fielder (3)

Detroit Tigers
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Anibal Sanchez (W, 3-4)	6.2	6	0	0	0	0	3.50
Octavio Dotel (H, 4)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	2.03
Joaquin Benoit (H, 10)	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	1.37
Bruce Rondon (S, 14)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	1.93
TOTALS	9.0	6	0	0	0	1

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Willingham Key In Win

By Aaron Ferguson
DETROIT - Pitching was the key factor early in the game, but Josh Willingham changed the complexion of the game with one swing of the bat.

Mike Pelfrey and Doug Fister engaged in a pitcher's duel in last night's game. Both starters were tough to hit, and matched each other pitch-for-pitch. Minnesota grabbed an early lead, but Detroit would fight back to take the lead in the sixth after tying in the fourth.

Pelfrey was sitting in the dugout down 2-1 through six innings. Justin Morneau hit a one-out home run to tie the game and that meant Pelfrey was likely to go out for the bottom of the seventh.

Josh Willingham came up with two outs and hit a two-run home run to score Aaron Hicks and give the Twins a 4-2 lead. Pelfrey's day was cut short because of pitching matchups and bringing Caleb Thielbar in.

Thielbar, Josh Roenicke and Glen Perkins shut down the Tigers lineup and sealed the game off. Pelfrey would earn a league-leading seventh win and Perkins would also earn his 17 save of the season, putting him in the American League lead for saves.

Minnesota holds a 6-3 record against the Tigers this year. Alex Meyer will pitch for the Twins, entering with a 3.29 earned run average in his first two major league starts. He will square off against Max Scherzer, who is 3-0 with a 4.61 earned run average.

Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers
May 25, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota (26-22)	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	4	7	1
Detroit (28-19)	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	5	0
W: Mike Pelfrey (7-3) L: Doug Fister (3-4) S: Glen Perkins (17)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			MIN	DET
MIN	3	Brian Dozier grounds out to second, Pinto scores	1	0
DET	4	Alex Avila homers to Right-Center	1	1
DET	6	Miguel Cabrera singles to Left, Jackson scores	1	2
MIN	7	Justin Morneau homers to Left	2	2
MIN	7	Josh Willingham homers to Left, Hicks scores	4	2

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
2B Brian Dozier	4	0	1	1	0	1	.248
RF Darin Mastroianni	4	0	0	0	0	0	.255
C Joe Mauer	4	0	1	0	0	1	.304
1B Justin Morneau	4	1	1	1	0	1	.312
3B Trevor Plouffe	4	0	0	0	0	1	.285
CF Aaron Hicks	4	1	1	0	0	0	.320
LF Josh Willingham	4	1	1	2	0	1	.311
DH Josmil Pinto	3	1	2	0	0	1	.270
SS Pedro Florimon	3	0	0	0	0	0	.263
TOTALS	34	4	7	4	0	6
BATTING 2B: Hicks (6) HR: Morneau (15), Willingham (10) RBI: Morneau (39), Dozier (16), Willingham (24,25)
FIELDING E: Plouffe (1)

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Mike Pelfrey (W, 7-3)	6.0	4	2	2	0	1	4.37
Caleb Thielbar (H, 2)	1.0	1	0	0	1	0	1.56
Josh Roenicke (H, 4)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0.71
Glen Perkins (S, 17)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	3.31
TOTALS	9.0	5	2	2	1	2

Detroit Tigers
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
2B Omar Infante	4	0	0	0	0	0	.314
CF Austin Jackson	4	1	1	0	0	0	.286
3B Miguel Cabrera	3	0	1	1	0	0	.349
1B Prince Fielder	4	0	0	0	0	0	.330
RF Torii Hunter	4	0	0	0	0	2	.205
C Alex Avila	4	1	2	1	0	0	.227
LF Don Kelly	3	0	0	0	1	0	.244
DH Bryan Pena	3	0	0	0	0	0	.170
SS Ramon Santiago	3	0	1	0	0	0	.252
TOTALS	32	2	5	2	1	2
BATTING 3B: Jackson (1) HR: Avila (3) RBI: Cabrera (55), Avila (8) HBP: Cabrera GIDP: Fielder

Detroit Tigers
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Doug Fister (L, 3-4)	6.2	5	4	4	0	5	4.60
Brayan Villareal	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	2.82
Al Alburquerque	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	7.50
Octavio Dotel	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	1.95
TOTALS	9.0	7	4	4	0	6
PITCHING WP: Fister (1)

[crains13]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Nice comeback in the seventh to get that series win man!

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Nice comeback in the seventh to get that series win man!

Thanks! But I only have a 2-1 lead in the series, it's a four-game series. It'd be huge to take the final game!!

[crains13]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Thanks! But I only have a 2-1 lead in the series, it's a four-game series. It'd be huge to take the final game!!

Haha oops, I over looked that. Even a split would be good, especially on the road. But hopefully you can take the series though!

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Haha oops, I over looked that. Even a split would be good, especially on the road. But hopefully you can take the series though!

A split would be huge! Especially since the Indians are starting lose some games right now.

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Rumors Swirling Around Twins

By Associated Press

Minnesota has a lot of talent in their farm system and sources are distributing information on different players and directions for what direction the Twins will go.

Most recently, there are reports that outfielder, Byron Buxton will be called up this week to help with the outfield platoon. This makes sense for the Twins because they need more speed in their outfield.

The question that this brings up is what will happen to Josh Willingham and Chris Parmelee?

Willingham is a 34-year old veteran who has a lot of power. It is likely that Willingham will move to the designated hitter spot to allow for more speed in the outfield.

Parmelee on the other hand, will be seeing less playing time and will come off the bench. Parmelee has been splitting time with Darin Mastroianni and other outfielders when the starters need rest. Parmelee gives the Twins a left-handed hitter who can hit left handed pitching to come off the bench.

Other rumors are surfacing saying that the Twins plan on trading Willingham to free up money for free agency. Willingham is signed through next season and that move also makes since.

The bottom line is that Twins management is in a power position to be aggressive in free agency because of their loaded farm system. However, they can also promote from within their organization at many of the nine positions. Pitching is the one spot where the Twins need some help at the deadline or in free agency.

Expect the Twins to be very active through June and July as the trade deadline approaches. They will establish a clear direction through these months, but until then many rumors will be swirling around. It's an exciting time for the Twins.

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Twins Win Late, Win Series

By Aaron Ferguson
DETROIT - Minnesota won the four-game series in Detroit with a walk-off home run from Joe Mauer in the 14 inning.

It's fitting that the Twins would win in 14 innings after losing a 19-inning game earlier this week. Not only did they beat the Tigers late in the final game of the series, they also won in extras on Thursday. They came from behind in all three of their wins this weekend.

Beating the Tigers in three of four games, the Twins are now just a half-game behind them in the Central division.

Trevor Plouffe was the hero of the game in the top of the ninth by hitting a one-out solo home run off of Max Scherzer to tie the game at 1. However, the game would have never been that close if it weren't for the phenomenal start of Alex Meyer.

Meyer went eight innings and held the Tigers to just one run on six hits. Meyer made his third start of his career last night and looked fantastic against one of the best lineups in the league.

Minnesota has now won seven of their 10 games against the Tigers this season. They're dominating every aspect of this series, yet still fall a half-game behind them in the standings. There are still four months remaining in the season, so nothing is finalized.

Minnesota will have a two game, home-and-home series with the Brewers to wind down the month of May. It hasn't been determined who will start for Worley, who is suspended from two starts for an incident with pitching coach, Rick Anderson. The rivalry begins this afternoon in Milwaukee.

Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers
May 26, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Extras	R	H	E
Minnesota (27-22)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	01011	4	12	0
Detroit (28-20)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	01010	3	11	1
W: Josh Roenicke (1-0) L: Octavio Dotel (0-3) S: Kevin Correia (1)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			MIN	DET
DET	6	Miguel Cabrera homered to Right	0	1
MIN	9	Trevor Plouffe homered to Left	1	1
MIN	11	Aaron Hicks homered to Right	2	1
DET	11	Prince Fielder singled to Center, Jackson scored	2	2
MIN	13	Trevor Plouffe homers to Left	3	2
DET	13	Victor Martinez grounded out, Santiago scored	3	3
MIN	14	Joe Mauer homers to Right	4	3

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
2B Brian Dozier	6	0	1	0	0	0	.244
RF/1B Chris Parmelee	6	0	0	0	0	0	.253
DH Justin Morneau	6	0	1	0	0	0	.306
3B Trevor Plouffe	6	2	3	2	0	1	.292
CF Aaron Hicks	6	1	3	1	0	0	.326
LF Josh Willingham	6	0	1	0	0	2	.306
C Josmil Pinto	3	0	0	0	0	0	.257
PH/C Joe Mauer	3	1	1	1	0	0	.304
1B Chris Colabello	5	0	2	0	0	0	.228
PR/RF Darin Mastroianni	1	0	0	0	0	0	.253
SS Freddy Sanchez	5	0	0	0	1	0	.208
TOTALS	53	4	12	4	1	3
BATTING HR: Mauer (4), Hicks (7), Plouffe (12,13) RBI: Mauer (17), Hicks (25), Plouffe (33,34) GIDP: Pinto
BASERUNNING CS: Mastroianni (8)

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Alex Meyer	8.0	6	1	1	1	7	2.49
Glen Perkins	2.0	0	0	0	0	1	2.94
Casey Fien (H, 3)	0.2	1	1	1	0	1	4.90
Caleb Thielbar (BS, 2)	1.1	2	0	0	0	0	1.44
Josh Roenicke (W, 1-0)	1.0	2	1	1	2	1	1.35
Kevin Correia (S, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	5.79
TOTALS	14.0	11	3	3	3	11

Detroit Tigers
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
CF Austin Jackson	6	1	0	0	1	2	.275
LF Andy Dirks	6	0	1	0	0	1	.272
3B Miguel Cabrera	5	1	2	1	0	1	.350
PR Avisail Garcia	0	1	0	0	0	0	.300
3B Ramon Santiago	1	0	1	0	0	0	.258
1B Prince Fielder	5	0	1	1	0	1	.326
PR/1B Don Kelly	1	0	1	0	0	0	.253
DH Victor Martinez	6	0	0	1	0	1	.221
RF Torii Hunter	5	0	2	0	1	0	.210
C Alex Avila	5	0	1	0	1	2	.225
SS Jhonny Peralta	6	0	1	0	0	1	.255
2B Omar Infante	6	0	1	0	0	2	.309
TOTALS	52	3	11	3	3	11
BATTING 2B: Cabrera (10) HR: Cabrera (22) RBI: Cabrera (56), Fielder (48), Martinez (22)
BASERUNNING SB: Infante (4)
FIELDING E: Cabrera (7)

Detroit Tigers
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Max Scherzer	8.1	5	1	1	1	2	3.78
Joquin Beniot	0.2	2	0	0	0	0	1.32
Brayan Villareal	1.1	2	1	1	0	0	3.04
Al Alburquerque	2.2	2	1	1	0	1	6.96
Octavio Dotel (L, 0-3)	1.0	1	1	1	0	0	2.19
TOTALS	14.0	12	4	4	1	3

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Games 51-54
28-22 vs. 27-22

May 27, 1:10 CT
Game 51

TBD | Marco Estrada 2-4 7.15 ERA

May 28, 7:10 CT
Game 52

Cole De Vries 2-4 5.93 ERA | Yovanni Gallardo 3-4 3.27 ERA

May 29, 7:10 CT
Game 53

Kyle Lohse 2-3 4.19 ERA | Rich Harden 3-4 5.63 ERA

May 30, 7:10 CT
Game 54

Mark Rogers 4-3 3.49 ERA | Mike Pelfrey 7-3 4.37 ERA

Players to Watch

LF Ryan Braun
.303 AVG 15 HR 44 RBI
-Ryan Braun is building upon a great season last year with similar power numbers. His average is lower than his career .313 average.


1B Corey Hart
.290 AVG 10 HR 32 RBI
-Corey Hart is currently in a slump, but has a season average that exceeds his lifetime .277 clip.


3B Aramis Ramirez
.283 AVG 8 HR 29 RBI
-Aramis Ramirez is hitting consistently with his career numbers, however his average is down from .300 last year.

Series Notes
-Minnesota is 28-22 and is a half-game behind Detroit in the AL Central.
-Milwaukee is 27-22 and leads the NL Central by a game-and-a-half.
-Aaron Hicks is hitting .326 and is eighth in the American League in batting average, first in steals with 22.
-Ryan Braun is tied for second in home runs (15) and is second in runs batted in (44) in the National League.
-Justin Morneau is tied for third in the American League in home runs with 15, Trevor Plouffe is fifth with 13.

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Estrada Shuts Twins Down

By Aaron Ferguson
MILWAUKEE - Minnesota couldn't get the offense to show up until it was too late, as they lost to Milwaukee 6-2 yesterday.

Marco Estrada pitched great for the Brewers and only allowed five baserunners to reach base. His location was the best it has looked all season, which is encouraging for the Brewers.

Aaron Hicks is on a tear. He came off the bench as a pinch-hitter and drove in the Twins first run of the game on a base hit, just the third allowed by Estrada at that point.

Justin Morneau hit a home run in the ninth inning to bring the Twins within four. Morneau is going through a cold spell right now, but hopefully this home run will help him break out of this funk.

Sam Deduno got the start for the suspended Vance Worley. Deduno looked rough early on, but would settle down, only to make two mistake pitches in the fourth inning to Aramis Ramirez and Jonathon LuCroy.

Ramirez and LuCroy hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth and eighth innings of yesterday's game.

Minnesota and Milwaukee will meet for the second and final time in Milwaukee tonight. The two teams will head to the Twin Cities for the final two games of this four-game series.

Minnesota Twins at Milwaukee Brewers
May 27, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota (28-22)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	5	0
Milwaukee (27-22)	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	2	X	6	10	0
W: Marco Estrada (3-4) L: Sam Deduno (0-2)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			MIN	MIL
MIL	1	Corey Hart doubled to left, Aoki scored	0	1
MIL	4	Aramis Ramirez homered to Left	0	2
MIL	4	Jonathon LuCroy homered to Left-Center	0	3
MIL	6	Rickie Weeks doubled to Right-Center, LuCroy scored	0	4
MIN	8	Aaron Hicks singled to Left, Parmelee scored	1	4
MIL	8	Aramis Ramirez homered to Left	1	5
MIL	8	Jonathon LuCroy homered to Center	1	6
MIN	9	Justin Morneau homered to Right	2	6

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
SS Pedro Florimon	4	0	0	0	0	1	.253
CF Darin Mastroianni	4	0	1	0	0	0	.254
1B Justin Morneau	4	1	1	1	0	0	.305
LF Josh Willingham	4	0	1	0	0	2	.305
C Josmil Pinto	4	0	0	0	0	2	.243
RF Chris Parmelee	3	1	1	0	1	0	.256
2B Brian Dozier	3	0	0	0	0	1	.240
3B Freddy Sanchez	3	0	0	0	0	1	.240
SP Sam Deduno	2	0	0	0	0	1	.000
PH Aaron Hicks	1	0	1	1	0	0	.330
TOTALS	32	2	5	2	1	8
BATTING 2B: Willingham (5) HR: Morneau (16) RBI: Hicks (26), Morneau (40)
BASERUNNING SB: Hicks (23), Parmelee (1), Mastroianni (4)

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Sam Deduno (L, 0-2)	7.0	8	4	4	2	2	2.95
Casey Fien	1.0	2	2	2	0	1	5.59
TOTALS	8.0	10	6	6	2	3

Milwaukee Brewers
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
RF Norichoki Aoki	4	1	1	0	0	1	.289
CF Carlos Gomez	4	0	1	0	0	0	.265
LF Ryan Braun	3	0	1	0	1	1	.304
1B Corey Hart	1	0	1	1	0	0	.294
PR/1B Blake Lalli	3	0	0	0	0	0	.206
3B Aramis Ramirez	4	2	2	2	0	0	.287
C Jonathon LuCroy	3	3	2	2	1	0	.329
2B Rickie Weeks	4	0	2	1	0	1	.243
SS Yuniesky Betancourt	4	0	0	0	0	0	.274
SP Marco Estrada	4	0	0	0	0	0	.176
TOTALS	34	6	10	6	2	3
BATTING 2B: Weeks (9), Hart (13) HR: LuCroy (7,8), Ramirez (9,10) RBI: Weeks (21), LuCroy (10,11), Ramirez (30,31), Hart (33)

Milwaukee Brewers
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Marco Estrada (W, 3-4)	8.1	4	2	2	1	8	6.37
Jim Henderson	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	4.18

[beamerball811]

Re: Crossing The Bridge | Minnesota Twins

Brewers Bats Too Much

By Aaron Ferguson
MILWAUKEE - It was all Milwaukee until Minnesota put the pressure on late only to fall 8-6.

Yovanni Gallardo executed his pitches in clutch situations and Cole De Vries did not. That was the difference maker in last night's matchup.

Gallardo got in several jams early, but was able to work around the mistakes that were made. De Vries did all he could to get out of trouble, but he just didn't execute as well.

The Twins scored their first run in the eighth and would put five more on the board in the ninth. With a chance to tie the game, Joe Mauer would ground out to end the game.

Gallardo pitched a great game, despite running out of gas in the ninth inning. He had gotten a no-decision in his previous start after throwing eight, shutout innings.

Both teams will travel to the Twin Cities for the final two games of the four-game series. Kyle Lohse and Rich Harden will pitch tonight in game three of the series.

Minnesota Twins at Milwaukee Brewers
May 28, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota (28-23)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	6	9	0
Milwaukee (28-22)	0	2	0	0	2	4	0	0	X	9	12	2
W: Yovanni Gallardo (4-4) L: Cole De Vries (2-5) S: John Axford (14)

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
2B Pedro Florimon	5	0	0	0	0	0	.240
RF Darin Mastroianni	4	1	1	2	0	0	.253
C Joe Mauer	5	0	0	0	0	0	.296
1B Justin Morneau	4	1	2	0	0	0	.309
3B Trevor Plouffe	4	0	1	0	0	2	.291
CF Aaron Hicks	4	1	1	1	0	0	.328
LF Josh Willingham	3	1	2	1	0	1	.311
SS Freddy Sanchez	3	0	0	0	0	0	.192
PH Chris Parmelee	1	1	1	2	0	0	.261
SP Cole De Vries	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
PH/SS Brian Dozier	1	2	1	0	1	0	.244
TOTALS	34	6	9	6	2	4
BATTING 2B: Hicks (7), Morneau (6), Dozier (7), Willingham (6), Mastroianni (9) HR: Parmelee (4) RBI: Hicks (27), Parmelee (17,18), Willingham (26), Mastroianni (11,12) HBP: Willingham SF: Mastroianni SAC: De Vries

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Cole De Vries (L, 2-5)	5.1	9	6	6	0	3	6.30
Jared Burton	0.2	3	2	2	2	1	4.23
Casey Fien	2.0	0	0	0	0	0	5.06
TOTALS	9.0	12	8	8	2	4

Milwaukee Brewers
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
RF Norichika Aoki	5	0	1	1	0	0	.286
2B Rickie Weeks	4	0	0	0	0	2	.237
LF Ryan Braun	3	0	0	0	1	0	.298
3B Aramis Ramirez	4	1	1	0	0	0	.286
C Jonathon LuCroy	4	2	3	2	0	0	.348
SS Yuniesky Betancourt	4	1	2	0	0	0	.279
CF Khris Davis	3	2	1	0	1	1	.101
1B Blake Lalli	4	2	2	3	0	1	.217
SP Yovanni Gallardo	4	0	2	2	0	0	.320
TOTALS	35	8	12	8	2	4
BATTING HR: Lalli (2), LuCroy (9) RBI: Gallardo (5,6), Aoki (23), Lalli (4,5,6), LuCroy (12,13) GIDP: Betancourt
BASERUNNING SB: Aoki (17)
FIELDING E: Weeks (5), Braun (1)

Milwaukee Brewers
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Yovanni Gallardo (W, 4-4)	8.1	6	3	3	1	4	3.26
Francisco Rodriguez	0.1	2	3	3	1	0	3.64
John Axford (S, 14)	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	4.86
TOTALS	9.0	9	6	6	2	4

MLB Standings - Updated: May 28, 2013
AL CENTRAL	W	L	GB
Detroit Tigers	28	23	-
Minnesota Twins	28	24	0.5
Cleveland Indians	27	25	1.5
Kansas City Royals	24	27	4.0
Chicago White Sox	18	34	10.5