Twins trying to get through life on the road

ESPN.com

Updated: September 3, 2008

John Rieger/US Presswire

Kevin Slowey heads to the mound Thursday as the Twins finish off their 14-game road trip.

ON THE ROAD

By John Kruk, ESPN

Editor's note: The Minnesota Twins are in the midst of stretch in which they will play 24 of 30 games away from the Metrodome. ESPN.com asked "Baseball Tonight" analyst John Kruk not just how hard it is to play this many games away from home, but to also have to do it while fighting for a division title and playoff spot.

There's no getting around the fact that playing this many games on the road is brutal for a team and even worse for the veteran players on the team who are used to having a routine and seeing their families. In a situation like this, veteran players will start to play games with themselves and have to convince themselves and those around them that it isn't that bad of a situation, even though it clearly is a terrible spot to be in. The best way to do that is to realize that one of the main reasons this is such a tight race in the American League Central is because the Twins played so many home games early to make up for this super-extended road trip. That's going to make this a close race with the White Sox to the end, and this road trip plays into that.

That said, the young guys are probably loving this trip. They are getting the full big league treatment with chartered planes, five-star hotels and big-league amenities. Believe me, traveling on the road for a major league club is a far cry from being in the minors, and they are probably having a ball. It's easier for younger players because they could care less where they play as long as they are playing in the bigs.

SURVIVAL KIT

By Mark Simon, ESPN

The Twins, who trail the White Sox by one game in the American League Central, have been fortunate that their current 14-game road trip hasn't hurt them too much.

The Twins have missed out on multiple opportunities to succeed on this trip, and Wednesday's 5-4, extra-innings loss to the Blue Jays was emblematic of that. The good news for the Twins is that they've only got one more game to go before they return home, where they are 46-23 at home this season. The bad news is, it's only for six games, then it's back on the road for a 10-game trip.

Minnesota Twins, through first 13 games of road trip
W-L 5-8
Runs per game 5.1
Saves blown by Joe Nathan 3
Losses in last at-bat 5

AL Central, since Twins' road trip started Aug. 21
Indians 9-4
White Sox 5-7
Tigers 5-7
Twins 5-8
Royals 3-8

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: Sept. 2 | Sept. 1 | Aug. 31 | Aug. 28 | Aug. 27 | Aug. 26

TOUCH 'EM ALL

Touch 'Em AllWho went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on Baseball Tonight and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.

Click here to find out who hit the longest home run. For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.

Home Run Tracker
NAME HR OPPPITCHER SITUATION
N. Swisher, CWS23CleSowersTop 5: 2-1, 0 Outs. None on.
A. Ramirez, CWS16CleSowersTop 6: 3-2, 1 Outs. 1 on.
H. Ramirez, Fla29AtlCampilloBot 3: 2-1, 2 Outs. None on.
R. Church, NYM11MilBushTop 1: 1-1, 1 Outs. Gr. Slam.
B. Schneider, NYM7MilBushTop 1: 2-0, 2 Outs. None on.
D. Pedroia, Bos17BalWalkerBot 7: 0-1, 1 Outs. None on.
J. Hardy, Mil21NYMPerezBot 7: 1-1, 2 Outs. None on.
T. Glaus, StL23AriDavisTop 3: 0-1, 0 Outs. 1 on.
C. Barmes, Col7SFZitoBot 5: 2-1, 2 Outs. None on.
P. Sandoval, SF2ColRegisterTop 6: 2-1, 2 Outs. 1 on.
S. McClain, SF1ColRegisterTop 6: 2-2, 2 Outs. None on.
R. Howard, Phi38WasPerezTop 1: 2-2, 2 Outs. 1 on.
J. Inglett, Tor3MinBlackburnBot 3: 0-1, 1 Outs. 1 on.
J. Votto, Cin16PitOhlendorfBot 4: 1-1, 2 Outs. None on.
C. Dickerson, Cin6PitOhlendorfBot 5: 1-1, 2 Outs. None on.
G. Gross, TB12NYYPavanoBot 4: 2-2, 2 Outs. 1 on.
R. Howard, Phi39WasEstradaTop 6: 2-2, 0 Outs. 1 on.
M. Teixeira, LAA9DetMinerTop 4: 2-2, 1 Outs. None on.
T. Wigginton, Hou22ChCDempsterTop 5: 0-0, 2 Outs. 1 on.
R. Zimmerman, Was11PhiDurbinBot 7: 1-1, 2 Outs. None on.
A. Rodriguez, NYY31TBPercivalTop 9: 2-2, 2 Outs. 1 on.
M. Hessman, Det1LAASpeierBot 8: 3-2, 1 Outs. 1 on.
K. Kouzmanoff, SD20LADKurodaTop 4: 2-2, 0 Outs. None on.
B. DeWitt, LAD7SDLeBlancBot 4: 3-1, 0 Outs. 1 on.
A. Berroa, LAD1SDLeBlancBot 4: 0-2, 0 Outs. None on.
C. Blake, LAD8SDAdamsBot 7: 0-1, 1 Outs. None on.

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BBTN ON THE AIR: THURSDAY

TIME WHO'S ON?
1:30 a.m. ET
ESPN		 Host: Karl Ravech
Analysts: Tim Kurkjian,
Eduardo Perez

BBTN MINUTE: TWINS FACE LIFE ON THE ROAD

WEDNESDAY'S NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES

GOOD
Randy Wolf• Randy Wolf took advantage of the inward-blowing winds at Wrigley Field, tossing a complete-game shutout against the Cubs in a 4-0 Astros win. Wolf allowed six hits and struck out eight against just two walks.
BAD
Aaron Cook• Aaron Cook could not finish off the sweep of the Giants. The Rockies' starter lasted just three innings, giving up 10 hits and six runs in a 9-2 loss at home.
UGLY
Chad Durbin• Phillies reliever Chad Durbin suffered his second loss in a week, this time giving up five hits and four runs in just 2/3 of an inning in a 9-7 loss against the Nationals. The loss dropped Philadelphia three games back of the Mets in the NL East.

FORWARD THINKING: THURSDAY

Ervin Santana • Angels at Tigers, 1:05 p.m. ET: Ervin Santana (14-5, 3.31 ERA) has done well against the Tigers so far this season, going 2-0 with a 2.93 ERA. One of those starts was a complete-game win on May 27. A day earlier, on May 26, Kenny Rogers (9-12, 5.23 ERA) pitched seven shutout innings against the Angels, but walked away with a no-decision in a 1-0 loss.

Kevin Slowey • Twins at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. ET: Kevin Slowey (11-8, 3.70 ERA) is 4-0 over his past five starts. In two of those outings, he recorded double-digit strikeout totals. He hadn't done that once in his previous 19 starts. Jesse Litsch (9-8, 4.01 ERA) went 4-0 in May. Since then, he is 2-7.

Scott Kazmir • Yankees at Rays, 7:10 p.m. ET: Scott Kazmir (10-6, 3.13 ERA) has given up just two runs in 11 innings against the Yankees this season. Over his career, Kazmir has a 2.76 ERA against the Yankees. Darrell Rasner (5-9, 5.08 ERA) has won just twice since May 21, going 2-9 over that stretch.

• Complete list of pitching probables for Thursday

STAT OF THE DAY

Inside EdgeAccording to Inside Edge's scouting data, Detroit's Justin Verlander (4.74 ERA) and the Nationals' Jason Bergmann (4.83 ERA) have accomplished similar results even though Verlander has allowed the second-lowest well-hit average against (.142), while Bergmann has the third-worst (.301) among pitchers who have thrown at least 100 innings. Both have identical .328 on-base percentages against. However, opponents have produced more than twice as many bases on balls hit softly against Verlander:

Pct. of total bases allowed, by batted ball type
Pitcher Well-hit Not well-hit
Verlander 52.6 47.4
Bergmann 80.8 19.2

FANTASY: PREVIEW OF THURSDAY'S GAMES

Will Harris examines the pitching matchups for the eight games on Thursday's schedule.

Fantasy Harris also looks at injuries and details player reports that could help shape your roster for Thursday's games. Daily Notes

THIS DATE IN MLB HISTORY (SEPT. 4)

• 1985: Following a three-homer game the night before, Gary Carter tied a major league record by hitting two solo homers to become the 11th player in major league history to hit five home runs in two games.

• 1991: Removing an asterisk which really never existed, the Statistical Accuracy Committee decided to put Roger Maris' 61 home-run season ahead of Babe Ruth's 60 mark instead of listing it separately, as it was from 1962 until 1991. The eight-person panel also redefined a no-hit game as one which ends after nine or more innings with one team failing to get a hit, thereby removing 50 games from the list that had previously been considered hitless, including the 1959 performance of Harvey Haddix's 12 perfect innings against the Braves and Jim Maloney's 1965 1-0 loss to the Mets in 11-innings.

• 1993: Yankees pitcher Jim Abbott no-hit the Indians at Yankee Stadium 4-0. Abbott, who was born without a right hand, became the first Yankees pitcher in a decade to throw a no-hitter.

• 1998: The Yankees won their 100th game on the earliest date in major league history, besting the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 1954 Cleveland Indians by five days. The 1906 Cubs set the major league record for fewest contests to reach 100 victories, accomplishing the milestone in 132 games.

• 2002: The A's set an American League record by extending their winning streak to 20 consecutive games. After blowing an 11-run lead against the Royals, Scott Hatteberg's homer in the bottom of the ninth gave Oakland a 12-11 win.