Derek’s Wacky Fun Series Preview
M’s face the Twins for a three-game series at home here at the House Griffey Built and then Left. The Mariners head into the series with the best record in the AL.
Fri @ 7pm, LHP Moyer v RHP Radke
Sat @ 7pm, RHP Pineiro v RHP Lohse
Sun @ 5pm, RHP Franklin v RHP Reed
Sunday has a chance to be an ugly game, as Franklin’s hittability may set the Twins bats on fire, while Reed has been roughed up and injured this year. Saturday looks to be the best matchup, but it also has a chance to be an ugly game: there’s a bunch of Prospectus folks getting together before the game, and that means there’s a non-zero chance I’ll end up in the pokey by the end of the day.
The Mariners have been hitting much better than the Twins, their rotations are having like years (with Joe Mays playing the role of Garcon Garcia, and Loshe as Meche), but with the recent collapse of the back-end M’s bullpen, the Twins have surpassed them in bullpen strength.
Minor League Highlights for Thursday, May 23
Sacramento 10, Tacoma 1. LHP Craig Anderson had what was probably the worst outing of his career (5 IP, 12 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 3 BB, 2 K), as Sacramento jumped on him for one run in the 1st and four runs each in the 3rd and 5th. Tacoma hitters, meanwhile, were held to just five hits — all singles — and scored their only run when LF Adrian Myers drove in C Julio Mosquera in the 8th. Utilityman Craig Kuzmic made his second pitching appearance of the season (1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR), working the final inning.
San Antonio 2, Round Rock 1. LHP Travis Blackley pitched a gem (8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) for his 5th victory of the season, allowing the Missions to win despite having only three hits, all of which came in their two-run sixth. C Jim Horner singled, LF Jaime Bubela singled, and then CF Mike Curry singled, scoring Horner. A SS Luis Ugueto sacrifice later, Bubela scored the go-ahead run on a flyout by 2B Jose Lopez. LHP Randy Williams worked the 9th (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K) for his first save of the year.
Inland Empire 8, Lake Elsinore 3. Despite facing the Lake Elsinore Storm for his 4th consecutive start, RHP Kevin Olore continues to befuddle Cal League hitters. He pitched 6 strong innings, allowing 2 runs, walking 1, and striking out 8. RHP Emiliano Fruto continued his strong work out of the pen, striking out two of the four batters he faced on the way to 1 1/3 perfect innings of relief. LF Greg Jacobs got two more hits, including a double, to raise his average to .329. The 66’ers get good news with RHP Juan Done returning from the disabled list this evening.
West Michigan 2, Wisconsin 0. The Timber Rattlers were unable to break through against West Michigan pitching, held scoreless on five hits in the game. LHP Cesar Jimenez pitched well (5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) but has nothing to show for it other than lowering his ERA to a stellar 1.19 on the year. RHP Rich Dorman took the loss (1/3 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K), though the two runs he allowed were unearned thanks to a costly error by 2B Tim Merritt. On the basepaths, CF Gary Harris stole two bases and Merritt, who had been 12-for-12 on the year, was caught for the first time. SS Michael Garciaparra also contributed a hit, but committed two more errors, bringing his total to 18 in just 40 games.