Saturday, May 5, 2012

Late night: Twins 3, Mariners 2

Ichiro Suzuki spins around after flailing at strike three
from Matt Capps in the ninth inning.
Game story here

Box score here

It has been said that more baseball games are lost than won -- meaning that it was mistakes by the losing team that decided the game. Such would be the case in Friday's game, when Seattle coughed up a 2-0 lead by walking consecutive batters and screwing up a perfect double play opportunity.

The Twins scored three runs in the seventh inning, and only one ball -- Chris Parmelee's double -- was hit out of the infield.

And once they had the lead, the bullpen -- Brian Duesning, Glen Perkins and Matt Capps -- was stellar. Each worked a perfect inning. Capps struck out of the three men he faced, including Ichiro Suzuki.

Seattle does not have a strong lineup, so I'll avoid lavishing praise on the pitchers. They got out hitters they should get out. Carl Pavano used just 69 pitches to work six innings, an efficiency that speaks to the lack of polished, professional hitters in the Mariners lineup. (Pavano was pulled after the long top of the seventh; it was a chilly evening in Seattle.)

The Twins broke a 25-inning scoreless streak and a 13-inning hitless streak. The Twins had been 0-for-47 before Jamie Carroll singled in the first inning. Parmelee's double was the Twins first extra-base hit since Monday.


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