Game 1 of 3: Twins 3 @ Indians 2 FINAL
Game Time: 2:47 Attendance: 15,360
WP: Santana (3-0); LP: Westbrook (0-3)
PROPS TO:
* Twins offense in the 2nd & 3rd innings - Timely hitting, and taking walks helped them score 3 runs early in the game. Mauer, LeCroy, and Tiffee had the only hits in the game for the Twins. And, they are taking more walks, tacking on 4 more in the game.
* Tribe offense in the 2nd - V-Mart & Ryan Ludwick connected after the Twins took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 2nd, giving the Tribe fans something to cheer about, and just like that, the game is tied 2-2.
* Johan Santana - Another good outing, going 6 innings, 6 hits, 2 earned runs, and striking out 10. This is his 2nd game of the season in which he has struck out 10 or more. He improves to 3-0 with tonights win.
* Jacque Jones - Despite going 0-3, he did walk once, and thats what I like to see out of him. Hes still hitting .367 on the young season. Can you believe hes walked 4 times, while only striking out twice? Not typical Jacque Jones stats, but its a good thing to see!
* Twins bullpen - Coming through as usual, pitching the final three innings, only allowing 2 hits, and no runs. Nathan would get his 3rd save in as many opportunities.
* Juan Castro - Got the defensive gem of the game on a ground ball off the bat of Jhonny Peralta in the 9th. Came in the game as a defensive replacement for Terry Tiffee.
FLOPS TO:
* Jake Westbrook - Didnt pitch too bad of a game tonight, going 8 innings, only giving up 3 runs on 3 hits. But his leadoff walks haunted him, especially in the 3rd, when he walked Shannon Stewart to lead off the inning, and Stewart would score the go-ahead run on a single by LeCroy. His errant throw in the 2nd inning also didnt help his game either. Despite losing and going 0-3, other than the walks, he actually pitched a decent game. His offense couldn't pick him up after the 2nd inning though.
* Twins offense - Despite winning the game, they only got 3 hits. That doesnt help the teams batting average. They were 3-29 tonight, which is an average of .103. Anybody know the probability of winning a game when your team hits .103?
* Tribe defense - Made yet another error in the game (Westbrook), and they have yet to play a game this season without making an error. They are last in the American League in fielding.