6/12/13
After the Phillies dropped three of four games to the
Milwaukee Brewers, they got to travel to the Land of 10,000 Lakes (That’s
Minnesota for all of you geography nerds). The Twins are a bad team this year,
and this is a three game series that the Phillies have to take advantage of.
The Twins are one of the worst offensive teams in the American League, and are
in the bottom five in the American League in pitching. Most of that crappy
pitching the Twins have is from the starting pitchers because they have a top
bullpen in the American League. The Twins thought they had a diamond in the
rough when Aaron Hicks dazzled them in spring training with his ability to hit
and his ability to flash the leather in the outfield. So far he gets the label
of being a “Spring Training Hero” because he has had such a rough start to the
season hitting under .200, and he has not shown his ability to get on base. He
was making some great plays in the field, but an unfortunate turn for the worst
happened. Hicks got placed on the 15-Day disabled list with a bad hamstring. The
Twins will always be known by the core of Joe Mauer, and Justin Morneau. They
have been the heart and soul of the Twins since 2005. Mauer has been a
consistent hitter ever since he stepped foot in the big leagues. Morneau is
also a good hitter, but has dealt with concussion symptoms for the past few
years. This year he’s hitting his stride as he has found his stroke at the
plate. The Phillies will be without Erik Kratz for awhile since he tore his
meniscus on Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers. He was placed on the 15-Day
disabled list, and Steven Lerud took Kratz’s spot on the roster. Cole Hamels
started for the Phillies as he’s looking to build off on that win he achieved
in his last start against the Miami Marlins. P.J. Walters took the mound for
the Twins. He has been successful since getting the call up to the big leagues
in late May. Will this be a low scoring game or will one of the teams dominate
on offense?
This was a low scoring game that took until the bottom of
the eighth inning for a winner to be determined. The Phillies started the
scoring in the third inning with an RBI single by Michael Young that scored
John Mayberry Jr. Unfortunately, Young gambled by trying to take second base
and was thrown out to end the inning after Mayberry Jr. crossed the plate. In
the fourth inning, the Twins got a pair of runs to take the lead. Both Morneau
and Oswaldo Arcia blasted RBI doubles off the wall in centerfield. In the top
of the eighth inning, Ryan Howard hit what was then called a clutch RBI single
into right field that scored Kevin Frandsen to tie the game at two. However, in
the bottom half of the eighth, Morneau was the clutch one and laced an RBI
single into centerfield to make the game, and what was ultimately the final
score of 3-2.
Hamels didn’t have his best stuff last night. He pitched six
innings, but his pitch count was high in the early innings. The Twins kept
hitting a lot of foul balls to keep Hamels’ pitch count high. Then again,
that’s what a typical American League can do to a pitcher. The bullpen was a
problem, especially in the eighth inning. Mike Adams didn’t look too
comfortable on the mound as he allowed two guys on base. Antonio Bastardo didn’t
do his job to get the final out in the eighth inning.
Walters kept up with the success he has been having since
getting called up to the big club. He pitched 7 solid innings until he ran into
trouble into the eighth inning. Coming into this game, Walters struck only nine
batters all season. He is not a strikeout pitcher yet he struck out five
Phillies batters in this game. He doesn’t have dominating stuff either. He
throws slow junk to the batters. Brian Duensing almost blew the game for the
Twins in the eighth as he allowed the tying run to score, but he got away with
it since the Phillies have the inability to have a solid bullpen. Glen Perkins
finished the game in the ninth and recorded his 14th save of the
season.
Overall, the Phillies blew away another chance to win a game
against a bad team. The Phillies went back to their old hitting ways and were
impatient at the plate. The umpire at home plate wasn’t giving Hamels much to
work with as he had a tight strike zone. I thought Charlie Manuel made one of
his famous bad managing decisions and let Bastardo pitch to Morneau when he had
runners on the corners with the go-ahead run 90 feet away. As I’ve stated
before, Morneau is a very good hitter. Why would you pitch to a very good hitter
with the go-ahead run at third base? Instead, Bastardo should have
intentionally walked Morneau to face Arcia. Arcia is an unproven hitter in the
majors and if he beats you, you can tip your hat to him.
Is this season a lost
cause? Sound off and stay tuned until next time...
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