As the Twins teeter on being the little team that could, they finish probably the most important series of the season, sweeping the Chicago White Sox and putting them in first place in the AL Central division. At least for the moment. The Sox play three against Cleveland and the Twins play three against Kansas City to decide who will go to the playoffs.
Thursday nights game was far from a walk in the park. A half game back, the Twins really needed to win this game. However a disasterous 4th inning almost sunk the ship as Span and Gomez collided at the wall, missing a catch, Buscher couldn't get a handle on the ball to make an easy play at first, and Slowey grabbed a hit that he tossed over Morneau's head. (It was only in this morning's paper that I realized that Slowey injured his wrist when the ball hit him, resulting in the wild throw.) Nonetheless, the result was a 6 to 1 lead for the Sox.
The come back was slow and steady, relying not only on the fragile bullpen but a very understated batting. Tying it up in the bottom of the 8th, led to extra innings and the winning run in the 10th as Casilla hits Punto in from third.
The crowd was about as lively as you would expect with equal amounts of cheering and booing and just plain old howling. Chants as people left the dome were infectious. (We tried to get a Barack Obama chant going, but, alas, I guess the baseball game is not the place for that.) 1991 was my first summer here in the Twin Cities and I remember the winning of the World Series well. Not because I cared but just because I happened to be downtown at the time. After 18 years here, I claim the Twins and the Timberwolves as my teams, and I do care. Nobody expected much from the Twins this year, losing Santana and Hunter, but this is what makes being a fan exciting.
1 comment:
Agreed! I only saw the last 4-5 innings last night, but that was enough to catch the best parts. A sweep is still a major challenge this weekend, but there's not reason they shouldn't pull it off...
Post a Comment