Dateline: Hook Road I
After a two game winning streak, the Twins rolled onto Hook Road to face the Braves for the first time this season. The coaches knew this would be a tough game as they are not allowed to use the same pitcher on two consecutive days. Hence, the game would test the depth of the Twins staff.
The Twins were shut down in the top of the first and Greg took the mound. He did a great job and struck out three Braves. In the second, the Twins bats came alive. Kyle led off with a smash line drive single to left. Greg walked and Isaac was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Tom walked to score Kyle. Jake walked to score Greg. With two outs, and the bases loaded, Twins fans held their breath. Andy stood in and prepared for the pitch. He drilled a long shot to left which would have scored all three runs as it was a clean standup double. Sadly, the Twins had reached their four run limit for the inning so Andy was only given credit for two RBI’s. The Twins now led 4-0. In the botto of the second, the Braves were able to score a run on a couple of walks, but Greg did a phenomenal job by holding the Braves to a single run. After two it was 4-1 Twins.
The Twins continued to pour on the offense in the third. Jake led off with a single, Kyle singled for his second hit of the day and Greg singled to score Jake. A key two out single by Tom scored Kyle. The lead was now 6-1 Twins. Isaac came on in relief and struck out two. Unfortunately the Braves scored a run on a few walks. After three it was 6-2 Twins. With darkness looming, the coaches agreed the fourth would be the final inning. The Twins picked up another insurance run on a leadoff walk to Paul, a single by Jared and another key RBI single by Andy. The Twins held a commanding 7-2 lead.
The Braves did not give up. Despite several nice pitches by Isaac, they were able to score three runs on a few walks. Isaac settled down and struck out the side and the Twins celebrated their third win in a row and second in two days.
Coach Grossman, again had only the briefest of comments. He immediately began preparations for the Angels, a game scheduled less than 15 hours after the end of today’s game. He said “I am very proud of the depth of our pitching staff. Its wonderful to be able to use so many different pitchers and see great results.” Coach Goldstein, also in a hurry added “Our bats are starting to really make contact and I like what I see out of all of our catchers. I think we’ll be ready for the Angels tomorrow.”
