Before the game it was safe to assume that it would be a high scoring affair with two not so great pitchers, Jeff Weaver and Ramon Ortiz, faced off against each other. Ortiz got through the game without much damage, but Weaver was absolutely terrible. Weaver actually cut his 31.50 ERA in half with the 7 runs in 6 innings, but a 15.75 ERA still sucks.

Since the game was late and it’s likely that many didn’t stick around to watch or listen to the game, I’ll give more detailed inning-by-inning recap of the game.

Full Box	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Twins	2	0	0	0	5	0	0	4	0	11	15	0
Mariners	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	10	1

1^st inning

Jason Tyner got things started with a double. Joe Mauer doubled to score Tyner and Michael Cuddyer followed up with a triple off the left field wall. Unfortunately, Cuddyer was left stranded at third base.

In the bottom half Ramon Ortiz immediately gave up his first home run of the season to leadoff hitter Ichicro Suzuki. When Jose Vidro singled it looked like Ramon’s streak of luck had ended, but then he got the first of three doubles plays when Raul Ibanez sent a grounder to Jason Bartlett

Score: 2-1 Twins

2^nd inning

1-2-3 for the Twins.

Ramon Ortiz faces the minimum thanks to the help of another double play.

3^rd inning

Tyner, still looking for his first career homerun, nearly got one as he hit near the base of the right field wall for a double. He was stranded at third base though after Cuddyer ended the inning with a strikeout.

Three ground-outs for Ortiz.

4^th inning

Torii Hunter got the Twins’ fourth double of the night, but again was stranded at third base.

Three up, three down. Ortiz is getting things done.

5^th inning

All hell breaks loose for Jeff Weaver. Bartlett and Castillo started the inning with singles and then Tyner got his third hit of the night, a single, to drive in Bartlett. Mauer made the first out of the inning with a sacrifice. I hate to see the team’s best hitter bunt, but he does hit into a fair number of doubles plays, so it may have been a wise decision. After Cuddyer struck out for the second out it looked as if the Twins were going to strand more runners in scoring position. The Mariners elected to walk Justin Morneau to load the bases and they paid a severe price. Torii Hunter hit a grand slam to blow the game open.

In the bottom half Richie Sexson led off with a double, but the Mariners couldn’t turn it into any runs.

Score: 7-1 Twins

6^th inning

Twins go down in order with Weaver still in the game.

Jose Lopez goes deep against Ortiz to lead off the inning. Ortiz gave up 2 singles later in the inning, but they didn’t turn into runs. Torii Hunter made a dive on a shallow fly ball and bruises his shoulder. He would stay in the game for his next at bat, but then came out.

Score: 7-2 Twins

7^th Inning

Weaver is out of the game. Mauer leads off with a double and advances to third on an Ibanez error. The Twins manage to strand a runner at third for the third time in the game.

Jose Rabe enters the game in left field as Tyner slides to center to replace the injured Hunter. Two more singles for the M’s, but again, no runs. Ortiz allowed plenty of hits. You can call it luck or skill (I choose luck), but it worked.

8^th inning

The Twins rub salt in the Mariner wounds with four more runs. A Luis Rodriguez single and a Bartlett double put runners at the corners. Castillo walked to load the bases and Mauer hit another double to drive in two runs. Cuddyer then singles to bring in the final 2 runs of the game.

Ortiz is out and Dennys Reyes is in. Reyes has struggled a bit at the start of the season, so it was a good chance for him to get some work in. He gave up a single, but later got a double play to end the inning.

Score: 11-2 Twins

9^th inning

3 up, 3 down for the Twins

Pat Neshek comes onto pitch and promptly gives up a walk to Sexson and a single to Jose Guillen. He then got a strikeout, groundout and a strikeout to end the game.

Final Score: 11-2 Twins

Game Notes

• Jeff Weaver sucks.
• The Twins lineup hit eight doubles in addition to a triple (Cuddyer) and grand slam (Hunter).
• Torii Hunter is day-to-day with a bruised shoulder. The lineup could be interesting tomorrow with Nick Punto possibly still out and Rondell White and Jeff Cirillo on the DL.
• Ramon Ortiz improved to 3-0 on the season. His numbers look great through three starts, but I still have a feeling things are gonna change. It seems like a lot of luck (timely double plays, catches at the wall, etc.) as played a strong role in his success thus far.
• Justin Morneau was the only starter who didn’t get a hit. He did walk twice though (1 intentional)

King Felix

Wednesday night’s game could be the exact opposite of this game with Carlos Silva facing off against Felix Hernandez, who has been unhittable this year.