Rekindle
Game 102: July 29, 2005
Twins (54-48), 5
Red Sox (57-45), 8
L: Carlos Silva (7-5)
W: Bronson Arroyo (9-6)
H: Mike Timlin (19)
S: Curt Schilling (4)
Guys with the surname of “Silva” and the Red Sox don’t mix. The Twins pitcher was cruising along with a 2-hit shutout until the 5th inning. Bill Mueller and Tony Graffanino singled consecutively with 2 out. Johnny Damon hit a single to right field, scoring Mueller. Jacque Jones’s throw got past Joe Mauer, scoring Graffanino as well. Silva was backing up home as he was supposed to do, but his throw back to Mauer also wasn’t caught, inspiring Damon to make a go at home plate. Justin Morneau got the ball back to third baseman Luis Rodriguez in time to get the final out, but his throw hit Damon in the back of the head.
Arroyo pitched brilliantly for 7.1 innings despite not getting a single strikeout. His line was 5 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk and 1 home run. He began weakening in the 7th inning, when Mauer hit a leadoff homer and Lew Ford followed with a double. Bolstered by strong infield defense plays, Arroyo got out of the inning unscathed.
Torii Hunter left the game in the 1st inning with a strained left tendon after pursuing the ball into the triangle. It seemed as he was unused to having to work with padding, as his cleat caught on the insulation that wraps around the bullpens. He’ll always have a place in my heart for robbing Barry Bonds and saving Derek Lowe’s pride in the 2002 All-Star Game. Plus he’s named after a sacred symbol in Shintoism.
Mueller hit his 5th home run of the season by deftly lofting the ball past Pesky Pole in the bottom of the 7th with 1 out. The next inning saw John Olerud’s grand slam, scoring runs that were needed since the Twins rallied back to come within 1 run in the 8th. Was that some sort of reverse ingratiation by J.C. Romero? Was giving up a granny his way of saying, “Hey, look, I’m willing to help you guys even before a trade is official!”
Mike Myers came into the game in the 9th and walked Mauer, who was eventually erased by a fielder’s choice with Ford at the plate. Jones then homered to get within 3 runs, but Schilling came in to slam the door.
Matt Clement had a press conference and was sitting in the dugout looking healthy and hale. His physics teacher sent him a formula showing that since the ball deflected far into left field rather than right in front of him, his body didn’t absorb the kinetic energy of the batted ball.
With each at bat, Manny Ramirez was received with mixed reaction. In his postgame interview, David Ortiz had stern words for the fans, “Terrible. They should never boo Manny here.... Manny’s one of the best hitters in the game. How do you replace a guy like that?” The atrocious three-way deal with the Mets and Devil Rays has a deadline of noon today. Let it die.
