Twins 9, Dodgers 2

With Joe Mauer at the plate and Francisco Liriano on the mound, the Dodgers had no chance Tuesday night.

By Jeff Shelman, Star Tribune

Last update: June 28, 2006 - 7:05 AM

Nearly 45 minutes had passed since the Twins' 9-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers was complete Tuesday night when Jason Bartlett made his way toward Joe Mauer's corner locker in the Minnesota clubhouse.

"Hey Joe," Bartlett said. "Can you drop me off on the way home?"

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Mauer really does do everything.

All he did on this night was go 5-for-5 for the first time in his career, raise his batting average to a major league-leading .389 and drive the carpool. Over the past two nights, he has gone 9-for-10 with six RBI, all the time acting like it's no big deal.

"I just felt good tonight," said Mauer, who is hitting .469 over the past 32 games. "It was good to get another win. Frankie [Francisco Liriano] did a great job again tonight, and I just saw the ball well again."

Others in the Twins clubhouse, however, know just how impressive Mauer's recent hitting has been. He's the first Twins player to get four or more hits in consecutive games in nearly 18 years. The last to accomplish that feat? A dude named Kirby Puckett.

"I don't even know how to describe it anymore," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who joked that Mauer's uptick is the result of dating former Miss USA Chelsea Cooley. "It's pretty incredible the swings he's putting on the ball.

"He's on everything you throw. It's a pretty good performance."

Dodgers starter and 10-year big league pitcher Derek Lowe was impressed with what he saw from Mauer.

"Whatever we're doing, it isn't working," said Lowe, who is now 1-4 with a 6.43 ERA in 20 career games against the Twins. "For not seeing him in a long time, he's as good a hitter right now as there is in the game."

Mauer singled in the first, second, fourth, sixth and eighth innings. The second-inning single was part of a six-run inning that broke open the game and determined the outcome. The Cretin-Derham Hall graduate received loud and long standing ovations after his fourth and fifth hits.

"After I got the fourth one, I stood on first base and [first base coach Jerry White] said, 'What, is that, your 3,000th?' " Mauer said. "I was just trying to get on base, and it was a good night."

It was a performance that overshadowed another very good start from Liriano. The two youngsters -- neither was born when the Metrodome opened in 1982 -- were so good that Gardenhire taped a sign to his office door for reporters that pointed toward the lockers of Mauer and Liriano and featured the line, "You don't need me."

Liriano has been consistently impressive since moving into the starting rotation last month. On this night he gave up only two runs -- both solo homers -- on five hits.

Mix in Tuesday's performance with Liriano's three previous starts, and he's 4-0 with a 1.86 ERA. He also hasn't allowed a team to score more than two runs against him in that stretch. Since moving into the starting rotation, the lefthander is 7-1 with a 1.76 ERA.

He, like Mauer, makes it look much easier than it really is.

"We all know it's not easy in this league ... for two young men to go out there and do what they're doing, it's pretty incredible," Gardenhire said.