twins/mlb
Joe Christensen, the Star Tribune's national baseball reporter, has covered the big leagues since 1998. A Faribault native, he graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1996. Before working for the Star Tribune, he spent three years covering the Orioles for the Baltimore Sun. He also covered the Padres and Dodgers for newspapers in Southern California. He'll share his thoughts here on the Twins and all things baseball.
Posts about Twins game coverage
Twins first spring training game slated for Feb. 23
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: November 20, 2012 - 10:04 AM
Twins pitchers and catchers will report to Fort Myers, Fla., on Feb. 12 with the first exhibition game slated for Feb. 23, the team announced today.
Those dates are earlier than most years, partly because the World Baseball Classic will be played during camp again next spring, and partly because the regular season opener comes April 1 against Detroit at Target Field.
The Twins will play 19 of their 34 spring training games at their home ballpark, Hammond Stadium, starting Feb. 24 against the Rays. Minnesota’s last Grapefruit League game will be played March 30 at Boston’s spring training site.
Here's a link to the Twins spring training schedule.
Postgame: A closer look at Pedro Florimon
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: September 30, 2012 - 7:04 PMRookie shortstop Pedro Florimon continues to get mixed reviews for the Twins.
Before Sunday’s game, Manager Ron Gardenhire said, “It’s really fun to watch Florimon play shortstop. I mean, that’s pretty exciting.”
General Manager Terry Ryan said, “Is he going to hit or not? That’s in question. Can he get a bunt down? Can he get a sac fly? Can he move the runners? Can he take a quality at-bat? Can he coax a walk? So you start looking at on-base percentage [.288].”
“Alright, he’s still young,” Ryan continued. “You can still project out on him. He did a pretty decent job at Triple-A, so there is some signs and hope that maybe he can get it. But we need to see it. He’s played well the last week in the field. Previous to that he wasn’t finishing plays. He’s got to finish plays.”
Florimon had another good day defensively Sunday, and went 1-for-4 from the No. 9 spot. In the fifth inning, after Alexi Casilla got to third base with a single and two stolen bases with one out, Florimon took a big strikeout.
But Florimon came right back in the seventh inning and delivered an RBI single. That scored the game’s only run on a day when Justin Morneau went 0-for-4, stranding seven runners on base, extending his hitless streak to 15 consecutive at-bats.
In the eighth, Florimon came up in another big spot -- runners on second and third, two outs -- and lined out to left field.
“Short swing, took a deep breath,” Gardenhire said. “He really knocked the living fire out of it, and unfortunately the guy made a nice play on it. Those are the things you need to see. You need to see some nice, quality at-bats in some big situations, and he did.”
Hendriks vs. Sanchez; Tigers can clinch a tie for division title
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: September 30, 2012 - 10:36 AMThe Tigers won’t be spraying any champagne today at Target Field, but Detroit can clinch at least a tie for the American League Central title with a win over the Twins -- if the White Sox lose to the Rays. Detroit has a two-game lead over Chicago with four games remaining.
The Twins will send Liam Hendriks to the mound today, hoping to delay Detroit’s party even longer. The Tigers counter with righthander Anibal Sanchez, who showed everyone why Detroit traded for him this July, when he tossed a three-hit shutout Tuesday against the Royals.
The Tigers finish the regular season with a three-game this week in Kansas City, and the White Sox close with three games in Cleveland.
AL BATTING RACE
1. Miguel Cabrera .327
2. Mike Trout .321
3. Joe Mauer .320
TIGERS (85-73)
1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Quintin Berry, LF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
4. Prince Fielder, 1B
5. Delmon Young, DH
6. Andy Dirks, RF
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Alex Avila, C
9. Omar Infante, 2B
Starting pitcher: RH Anibal Sanchez (4-6, 3.05 ERA)
TWINS (66-92)
1. Denard Span, CF
2. Ben Revere, RF
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, DH
5. Ryan Doumit, LF
6. Chris Parmelee, 1B
7. Trevor Plouffe, 3B
8. Alexi Casilla, 2B
9. Pedro Florimon, SS
Starting pitcher: RH Liam Hendriks (1-8, 6.09 ERA)
Target Field. First pitch: 1:10 p.m. TV: FSN. Twins Radio Network
Follow along on Twitter: @JoeCStrib
Postgame: Diamond keeps dealing; Cabrera should have kept running
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: September 28, 2012 - 11:29 PMTwins lefthander Scott Diamond started the season strong. Now he’s finishing strong, too.
Over the past six days, Diamond has held the Tigers to three earned runs in 14 1/3 innings, throwing a wrench into Detroit’s postseason push.
Diamond opened the year with six starts for Class AAA Rochester, going 4-1 with a 2.60 ERA in 34 2/3 innings before the Twins promoted him on May 8. Adding those innings to the 168 he’s pitched for the Twins, he’s up to 202 2/3 for the season.
In 26 starts for the Twins, Diamond is 12-8 with a 3.54 ERA. He’ll get one more start, in Wednesday’s season finale in Toronto. Diamond hails from Guelph, Ontario, which is about 60 miles west of Rogers Centre.
“It’s going to be pretty exciting,” Diamond said. “I’ve never been able to pitch there. I’m definitely going to have some friends and family there, so it’s going to be kind of a homecoming. I’m pretty excited about it.”
RUN, MIGGY, RUN!
Miguel Cabrera went 2-for-4, raising his American League batting average to .327, while Joe Mauer went 0-for-2 with two walks, dropping his average to .322.
Cabrera might have cost the Tigers one run on the bases, however. With two outs in the sixth, he lined a ball high off the right-field wall, just missing his 43rd home run.
Cabrera was slow leaving the batter’s box and was held to a single, as the ball ricocheted quickly off the wall to Ben Revere. Prince Fielder followed with a single to center, and after plodding to second, Cabrera began slamming his helmet on the base in frustration.
Would Cabrera have made it to second base if he had run hard out of the batter’s box?
“You saw the game -- write what you saw,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland told reporters.
Delmon Young singled to right field, and third-base coach Gene Lamont waved Cabrera around third. Revere, who doesn't have a strong arm but leads the Twins with eight outfield assists, bounced his throw and catcher Joe Mauer applied the tag as Cabrera slid home, avoiding a collision between batting title candidates.
Mauer picked Cabrera up gratefully, before heading to the dugout.
"Ben’s throw was huge because it kept the game tied [0-0]," Diamond said. "Defense was just coming up big all game so it made my job a lot easier."
Willingham's season could be over; one less obstacle for Tigers
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: September 28, 2012 - 7:18 PMTwins manager Ron Gardenhire acknowledged that Josh Willingham could be finished for the season with a sprained left shoulder.
"We’re going to be very careful about this," Gardenhire said. "I have to go by what he says, and right now he can’t play. And I don’t plan on putting him out there until he can do it. If he could play, he'd play, I know that."
Willingham injured the shoulder when he jumped into the left-field wall, trying to catch a home run from Eric Chavez on Monday. Willingham is batting .260 with 35 home runs and 110 RBI.
DEDUNO WON'T MAKE NEXT START
Samuel Deduno won't make Tuesday's start in Toronto because of left eye irritation, GM Terry Ryan said.
"He wants to pitch; we all know that, but you can’t have a guy on the mound who can’t see the ball and has blurry vision," Gardenhire said. "So we’ll go day-to-day with him until they tell me everything’s cleared up and OK."
It sounds like the Twins will pick between Brian Duensing and Anthony Swarzak to make Tuesday's start.
TONIGHT'S GAME
The Tigers are 13-3 in their past 16 games at Target Field, including 5-1 this year, and with another big weekend here, Detroit has a chance to put a stranglehold on a second consecutive division title.
Detroit leads the White Sox by two games with six to play. Max Scherzer has a shoulder injury, so lefthander Drew Smyly will start in his place tonight against the Twins, opposite Scott Diamond.
Meanwhile, the Rays will be trying to extend their eight-game winning streak in Chicago, with Jeremy Hellickson opposing White Sox righthander Gavin Floyd.
NISHIOKA RELEASED
Tsuyoshi Nishioka asked for his release, saving the Twins $3.25 million, as La Velle reports here.
AL BATTING RACE
1. Miguel Cabrera .326
2. Joe Mauer .323
3. Mike Trout .320
4. Derek Jeter .318
5. Adrian Beltre .318
TIGERS (84-72)
1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Omar Infante, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
4. Prince Fielder, 1B
5. Delmon Young, LF
6. Jhonny Peralta, SS
7. Andy Dirks, LF
8. Avisail Garcia, RF
9. Gerald Laird, C
Starting pitcher: LH Drew Smyly (4-3, 4.24 ERA)
TWINS (65-91)
1. Denard Span, CF
2. Ben Revere, RF
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Ryan Doumit, DH
6. Trevor Plouffe, 3B
7. Matt Carson, LF
8. Eduardo Escobar, 2B
9. Pedro Florimon, SS
Starting pitcher: LH Scott Diamond (12-8, 3.64 ERA)
Target Field. First pitch: 7:10 p.m. TV: FSN. Twins Radio Network
Follow along on Twitter: @JoeCStrib
Postgame: Mauer tightens batting race and shows he can still throw, too
Posted by: Joe Christensen Updated: September 26, 2012 - 12:05 AMMiguel Cabrera is trying to become baseball’s first Triple Crown winner in 45 years, but Joe Mauer is breathing down his neck in the batting race.
Mauer went 3-for-4 Tuesday, raising his average to .326, while Cabrera went 0-for-3 with a walk, lowering his average to .329.
Cabrera leads the league with 133 RBI and has 42 home runs, trailing Josh Hamilton, who has 43. Cabrera’s Tigers open a three-game series at Target Field on Friday, so the batting race and the Triple Crown possibilities will play out all weekend.
“Mauer just continues on his pace,” Manager Ron Gardenhire said. “This guy, he’s totally incredible. He can flat out hit. It’s amazing to see. He sets such a high standard that when he gets down there close to .300, people think he’s struggling. That’s a way you make a lot of money in this game, just hitting .300. He goes way above that.”
STOP, THIEF!
Mauer also threw out two potential base stealers Tuesday -- Ichiro Suzuki in the third inning and Russell Martin in the fourth. This was notable because Mauer had thrown out just 11 percent (7-of-63) opposing base stealers this year.
Manager Ron Gardenhire says the bulk of the problem has been Twins pitchers being so slow to home plate that they don’t give Mauer a chance. Vasquez showed what a difference the pitcher can make, and Mauer made the kind of strong throws fans were used to seeing when he won his Gold Glove Awards in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
“[Vasquez] did a great job holding the ball, changing his delivery times, his looks over, throwing over on his own,” Mauer said. “He really did a good job tonight.”
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