Results tagged “twins”

Even a Cubs fan such as myself has to hand it to the White Sox: this "Well, if we can't be in the playoffs so we might as well completely screw up the playoff picture for someone else" attitude is pretty addictive. The White Sox downed Detroit 5-1 last night, forcing the Tigers into a tie with the Minnesota Twins heading into the last day of the season. Adding a little fun to the festivities, if the Twins and Tigers finished tied, the Twins host a playoff which will have to be played Tuesday because of the Vikings-Packers Monday Night Football game at the Metrodome. Anything that messes even the slightest bit with Bud Selig is totally awesome with us. Okay, but there was a game last night, too. Freddy Garcia looked sharp, pitching seven-plus innings, striking out seven, and giving up only a single run. Carlos Quentin had a two-run homer and Alex Rios also had a great night, knocking in three runs. The Sox wrap up 2009 against the Tigers today at 12:05 p.m. (WGN).

Jeff Samardzija hit his first major league homer last night but also allowed two as the Brewers prevented a Cubs sweep with a 3-2 win over Chicago. Samardzija threw five innings, allowing all three runs on that pair of homers. The Cubs couldn't muster much in the way of offense besides his homer and a Bobby Scales RBI. It's now off to the west coast for the Cubs, where they start a four game series with the San Francisco Giants tonight at 9:15 p.m. (CSN).

The White Sox fell once more to the rival Minnesota Twins, this time by a score of 8-6, and fell even further behind as any slim playoff hopes are now fading fast, eight games back of Detroit with only 11 to play. John Danks had a rough outing, responsible for seven of Minnesota's runs over six innings pitched. The Sox did their best to keep pace with the Twins, including homers from Alex Rios, Gordon Beckham, and Paul Konerko, but even six runs wasn't enough to stop Minnesota, who have won 8 of their last 10. Meanwhile, the Sox are 3-7 over their last 10, not the way they wanted to finish the '09 season. The Sox see the last of the Twins for '09 tonight at 7:11 p.m. (CSN+).

The slim playoff hopes for the White Sox just got much slimmer after last night's 7-0 trouncing at the hands of the Minnesota Twins. The Sox are now seven games back of Detroit with only 11 games remaining. After the game, Ozzie acknowledge the uphill climb the Sox face: You do the math, we're still in it. But I don't think physically and mentally we're in. You can put all the math and say, 'If we lose here, if we win here, we have a chance because we're not out.' But we look at the ballclub day-in and day-out. You start to put doubts in your mind [about] if this thing is for real." Daniel Hudson, making his first career big league start, pitched five innings, allowing three runs before the bullpen gave way to four more. Not that it mattered, though: the Sox couldn't muster a single run. It was the 13th time this season the Sox have been shut out, which leads the AL. The Sox give it another go against the Twins tonight at 7:11 p.m. (WCIU).

Given their recent losing streak and struggles, one wouldn't think the White Sox would be able to pull off one of the season's most thrilling rallies. But that's exactly what happened as the Pale Hose - down to their last strike - rallied for four runs in the ninth off Twins closer Joe Nathan to pull off an improbable 4-2 victory. Down 2-0 with two outs and an 0-2 count, Gordon Beckham fought his way back in the at bat and smacked a solo shot that cut the lead to 2-1. Paul Konerko followed and, after also being worked to a two-strike count, also smacked a solo shot to tie the game. Next, Nathan walked Jermaine Dye (replaced on base by Dewayne Wise) and Carlos Quentin before being yanked. Matt Guerrier got the Twins once more a strike away from ending the Sox half of the ninth with an 0-2 count on Alexei Ramirez but Ramirez won that battle with a single that plated Wise and sent Quentin to third. Quentin would score on a wild pitch to the next batter, Alex Rios, putting the Sox up by two runs. In the bottom of the ninth, reliever Bobby Jenks allowed a two-out single but the Twins couldn't replicate the two-out rally as Jenks got the final out to secure the save. Perhaps the most appropriate quote on the ridonkulous win in the most unfriendly setting for the Sox came from ace Mark Buehrle, who said, "Just about the time we played our last game here, I think we figured out how to win."

The Struggles of the Sox continued Tuesday night as the Pale Hose dropped another game to Minnesota, 4-3. John Danks had a decent outing, allowing three runs over seven innings pitched. The offense also managed to produce a few runs to keep the Sox in the game: Alexei Ramirez hit a solo shot in the fifth and Gordon Beckham added a two-run shot in the eighth, but the Twins got the winning run off of the Sox bullpen in the bottom of the ninth. After the game, Beckham voiced the frustration many Sox fans feel: "It's tough because we are losing heartbreakers. It's our third last at-bat or extra-inning loss in a week and a half. But we are still fighting and working as hard as we can to win. We just aren't finding ways to win." The two teams finish up their series today at 12:10 p.m. (WGN).

Rich Harden, fresh off of not being traded, had issues on the mound as Houston topped the Cubs 5-3. Harden struck out nine over five innings but also walked six and gave up five runs, a deficit the Cubs were unable to overcome, in spite of two runs in the fifth and a solo D-Lee homer in the eight. But don't tell Harden the issue was over this weekend's waiver claim. Said Harden after the game, "You can't just ignore [the rumors], but the whole thing was ridiculous and had nothing to do with my performance today. I won't make excuses. I still knew I was starting on Monday and I had to prepare myself, and I got prepared and I just didn't get it done." Houston and the Cubs do it again tonight at 7:05 (WGN).

Mark Buerhle's bid at back-to-back perfection fell a few innings short on Tuesday night as the White Sox were defeated by the Twins 5-3. Buehrle set that Major League record for the most consecutive batters retired with 45, but, unfortunately for the Sox, his transition back to normalcy was not a graceful one, as the Twins tagged Buehrle for five runs by the end of the seventh inning. Chicago, who had scored one earlier on a homer by Jermaine Dye, added two more in a ninth, but could not close the four-run gap. The loss drops the Sox into a second-place tie with the Twins, still two back of the slumping Tigers. The two teams will close out their three-game series tonight at 7:10.

As an encore to last Thursday's perfect game, Mark Buehrle remained unhittable well into Tuesday night's game against the Minnesota Twins. In the process, Buehrle set the MLB record for most consecutive batters retired. By taking another perfect game into the sixth inning, Buehrle ended up retiring 45 consecutive batters without one reaching base, going back to his July 18 start against Baltimore.

   

Cubs & Cards Split Doubleheader

It was a gorgeous day for baseball at Wrigley, but a few ugly plays cost the Cubs a shot at a comeback as the Twins tripped up the Cubs 7-4 in the opening game of their interleague series. Starter Randy Wells had a rough outing, giving up four runs on seven hits in only 3.2 innings pitched. Joe Mauer put the Twins on the board with a two-run homer in the third and the Twins knocked in two more in the fourth. Milton Bradley got the Cubs back in the game with a bases loaded double in the sixth that scored two runs. A fielder's choice on the next batter - Derek Lee - led to another run for the Cubs. But in the top of the seventh, Bradley lost a fly ball in the sun and then misplayed another on a diving catch which led to another run for the Twins. Bradley committed another miscue in the eight when he caught a one-out fly ball in right field and, thinking it was out three, postured in the outfield, and tossed the ball into the right field stands. A run scored on the sacrifice and a runner on first made it all the way to third. Each team tacked on another run, but in the end, the Cubs couldn't take advantage of their opportunities while giving the Twins plenty of their own scoring chances. The series continues at Wrigley tomorrow afternoon at 12:05 p.m.

Wow. There's not much to really say after a game like this. The Minnesota Twins absolutely clobbered the White Sox 20-1. No, that's not a typo. 20-1. Taking a 1-0 lead into the second inning, the Twins broke it open with seven runs in the second, thanks in part to a three-run homer from Michael Cuddyer; ex-Sox Joe Crede also had a solo shot in the inning. After adding a run in the third and fourth, he Twins kept it up with six runs in the sixth, which included a Joe Mauer grand slam. But the Twins weren't done; for good measure, they added four more in the seventh. The White Sox managed a run in the bottom of the eighth on a Carlos Quentin single...but that was it.

The Chicago Blackhawks concluded the regular season with 3-0 shutout victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. 'Hawks goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin was in top form, denying all 37 shot attempts by Detroit. Andrew Ladd and Jonathan Toews both scored in the first period to provide early offense for Chicago, and Dave Bolland added a power-play goal in the third to make the the Blackhawks' lead insurmountable. Chicago finishes the season with 104 points, good for sixth best in the league, and will be hosting the Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs. The Blackhawks won all four contests versus the Flames in the regular season and will look to continue their dominance when the puck drops at 7:30 on Thursday.

Joe Crede, a key part of the White Sox 2005 World Series run, has parted ways with the South Side squad and joined the division rival Minnesota Twins. Crede had spent his entire major league career with the Sox, including his best year of 2006, which saw him bat .283 with 30 HR and 94 RBI, but injuries kept him sideline much of the last two seasons. In only 97 games in 2008, he managed to belt 17 HR and drive in 55 runs.

         

We were fortunate to score tickets to last night's play-in game between the Sox and Twins. John Danks pitched a gem of a game: a two-hit, eight-inning performance that had the "piranhas" stymied. I don't know how the "blackout" looked on television, but in person it was nothing short of mesmerizing. I did see at least four fans who made the unfortunate decision to paint their faces black; no one ever said common sense and sports mix well.

Sox Prep For Game 163

It was bailouts and baseball on the Chicagoist office television today and, thankfully, the baseball brought better news for Chicago.

Needing a win to stay alive in the playoff hunt, the White Sox on Sunday rediscovered the win column after nearly a week of losing. The White Sox might have guessed that luck was on their side Sunday when the Indians scratched likely AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee from his scheduled start in a do-or-die game for the South Siders. By beating the Cleveland Indians 5-1 on the official last day of the regular season, the Sox ensured they'll get to play at least one more day.

The White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 5-1, meaning their season will last another day. The Sox now play Detroit tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 in a make-up game. After that? Well, it all depends on how Minnesota does today. If the Twins lose, the Sox clinch the division with a win tomorrow. With a Twins win, the Sox have to beat the Tigers and then play the Twins on Tuesday. Either way, the Sox still have to win tomorrow. We'll have a full recap of the game tomorrow in the Morning Box Score.

Mets Down Cubs

Cubs Thump Mets