By Christopher Gates

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Sep 23, 2011 – There are seven games remaining in the 2011 Major League Baseball season for the Minnesota Twins, and four of them will take place at Progressive Field starting on Friday night. Minnesota is traveling for a four-game set with the Cleveland Indians, a series that will include a double-header on Saturday.

The Twins snapped their 11-game losing streak with a victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday afternoon, and now no longer have a shot to be the worst team in franchise history since moving to Minnesota. With a record of 60-95 and seven games remaining on the slate, the worst the Twins could do is tie the 1982 club for the worst record in Minnesota Twins history. That would require them to lose all seven of their remaining games and drop their record to 60-102.

In order to prevent that from happening, the Twins will dispatch right-hander Carl Pavano (8-13, 4.40 ERA) to the mound to start on Friday night. Pavano has faced the Indians four times this season, including his most recent start this past Sunday. In that start, Pavano worked 6.2 innings, allowing six hits and four runs (only one of which was earned) in what wound up being a 6-5 Minnesota loss. For the year against the Tribe, Pavano has an ERA of 1.93 in 28 innings pitched.

He will be matched up against Cleveland right-hander Justin Masterson (12-10, 3.15 ERA). Masterson has four appearances against the Twins this season, and was also opposite Pavano in the game on Sunday. He wound up getting the victory, allowing three runs (one earned) on seven hits in six innings of work. In 29.1 innings pitched against Minnesota this season, Masterson’s ERA is an impressive 1.53.

First pitch from Cleveland is scheduled for 6:05 PM Central time. Be sure to check out Twinkie Town for their Game Thread when it gets up and running, and come on back here for your recap.

Read More: twins baseball, minnesota twins baseball, indians baseball, cleveland indians baseball, twins at indians, twins vs indians, twins indians preview, Carl Pavano (P – MIN), Justin Masterson (P – CLE), Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians, Sep 23, 2011 6:05 PM CDT

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Read More: twins baseball, minnesota twins baseball, indians baseball, cleveland indians baseball, indians at twins, indians vs twins, twins indians recap, twins indians score, Jim Thome (DH – CLE), Carl Pavano (P – MIN), A.J. Burnett (P – NYY), Kosuke Fukudome (CF – CLE), Chris Perez (P – CLE), Carlos Santana (C – CLE), Luke Hughes (3B – MIN), Danny Valencia (3B – MIN), Chris Parmelee (1B – MIN), Lonnie Chisenhall (3B – CLE), Ben Revere (CF – MIN), Vinnie Pestano (P – CLE), Scott Diamond (P – MIN), Jason Kipnis (2B – CLE), Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins, Sep 18, 2011 1:10 PM CDT

Things just keep getting worse for the Minnesota Twins. Despite putting out a lineup on Sunday afternoon that featured only one Opening Day starter, the Twins had the lead over the Cleveland Indians late into Sunday’s game. However, the Indians eventually got to Carl Pavano, and the bullpen didn’t do the Twins any favors as Minnesota fell 6-5 to the Indians.

The loss was the eighth in a row for the Twins, who got swept for the third consecutive series. Minnesota has not registered a victory since defeating the Chicago White Sox back on September 7.

The Twins scored single runs on three separate occasions in the first six innings. They scored a run in the bottom of the second on Joe Benson’s RBI groundout, in the bottom of the fourth when Cleveland catcher Lou Marson’s attempt to throw Benson out stealing wound up in center field (allowing Luke Hughes to score), and in the bottom of the sixth on Brian Dinkelman’s RBI single to right to give themselves a 3-0 lead.

The top of the seventh, however, would prove disastrous for Minnesota. Shelly Duncan led off the inning with a solo home run off of Twins’ starter Carl Pavano to cut Minnesota’s lead to 3-1. Lonnie Chisenhall then grounded one to Chris Parmelee wide of first base. Parmelee tried to throw the ball to Pavano covering first base, but threw wide, allowing Chisenhall to reach. Pavano then registered the next two outs, and looked to be on his way to getting out of the inning.

However, Marson then singled to center, and Pavano walked Kosuke Fukudome to load the bases. The Twins then lifted Pavano in favor of Jose Mijares. Mijares proceeded to walk Jason Kipnis, forcing in a run to make the score 3-2. Mijares was then lifted in favor of Alex Burnett. Burnett then proceeded to walk Carlos Santana, forcing another run home and tie the score at three.

Burnett was then lifted in favor of Glen Perkins. The first hitter Perkins faced was Jim Thome, who reached on a broken bat single that never got out of the infield, scoring another run and giving Cleveland a 4-3 lead. Then Duncan, who started the entire mess, doubled off of the left field wall to bring home two more runs and put Cleveland ahead 6-3.

Not to be outdone, Cleveland reliever Vinnie Pestano walked in two runs of his own in the bottom of the eighth, as he issued free passes to Danny Valencia and Ben Revere with the bases loaded to make the score 6-5, but the Twins would get no closer. Chris Perez came in for the Indians in the bottom of the ninth, and the Twins were sent to their eighth straight defeat.

The Twins have a bit of a schedule anomaly coming up, as they have to travel to Yankee Stadium tomorrow to take on the Yankees in a make-up game for the rain-out that occurred way back on April 6 before returning home for a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners. The starters for tomorrow’s tilt in New York, which is scheduled to get underway at 12:05 PM Central time, will be A.J. Burnett (10-11, 5.20 ERA) for the Yankees and Scott Diamond (1-4, 3.94 ERA) for Minnesota.

Read More: twins baseball, minnesota twins baseball, athletics baseball, oakland athletics baseball, twins at athletics, twins vs athletics, twins athletics preview, Brandon McCarthy (P – OAK), Carl Pavano (P – MIN), Nick Blackburn (P – MIN), Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics, Jul 31, 2011 3:05 PM CDT

It seems appropriate as of late that the Oakland Athletics play their home games at the Overstock.com Coliseum. . .because, lately, they really have been all about the “O.”

The Athletics, as a team, are hitting .315 since the All-Star break, and have collected at least eight hits in every game in that stretch. That includes the twelve they racked up on Saturday night in the process of thumping Nick Blackburn and the Minnesota Twins by a final score of 8-3.

In an attempt to win this three-game series, the Twins will send right-hander Carl Pavano (6-7, 4.60 ERA) to the mound. Pavano was blistered in his last start on Tuesday, allowing eight runs on nine hits in just five innings of work against the Texas Rangers, but wound up with a no-decision as the Twins’ furious comeback got them a 9-8 victory. He has faced the Athletics twice this season, and has been pretty successful. On April 8, Pavano worked eight solid innings, allowing just one run on four hits at Target Field in Minnesota’s 2-1 win. On May 18 at the Overstock.com Coliseum, Pavano allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits in seven innings, but got a no-decision in a 4-3 Minnesota victory.

He will be opposed by Oakland right-hander Brandon McCarthy (3-5, 3.52 ERA). McCarthy has only made 14 starts this season, having gone on the disabled list on May 20 with a shoulder injury and not returning until July 4. In his last start, he was great against the Tampa Bay Rays, giving up just one run on six hits in eight innings in Oakland’s 6-1 victory. He has started twice against the Twins this season, and has also fared relatively well. On April 10 at Target Field, he pitched 7.1 solid innings, giving up two runs on nine hits in a 5-3 Athletics win. He also started opposite Pavano in the May 18 match-up mentioned earlier, and also got a no-decision, allowing three runs on nine hits in seven innings.

First pitch from Oakland is scheduled for 3:00 PM Central time. Be sure to keep an eye on Twinkie Town for the party that is the Game Thread, and we’ll be here for the recap when the game is finished.

By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) — Ben Revere’s two-out RBI single in the 10th inning off closer Chris Perez gave the coming-to-life Minnesota Twins a 3-2 win Wednesday over the slumping Cleveland Indians, who can’t seem to shake free of their June swoon.

After Drew Butera doubled with two outs off Perez (2-2), Revere flared his base hit into shallow left. Butera scored sliding ahead of outfielder Michael Brantley’s one-hop throw to the plate, helping the last-place Twins take the series and win for the sixth time in seven games.

Matt Capps (2-3) got the win after giving up Jack Hannahan’s tying, two-out homer in the ninth. Phil Dumatrait gave up a two-out double in the 10th before retiring Shin-Soo Choo on a comebacker for his first career save.

Revere had three hits and Justin Morneau had an RBI single for the Twins, who started the month 20 games under .500 and have been ravaged by injuries.

Grady Sizemore homered for Cleveland, which has lost six of seven and is just 2-6 this month. The Indians are 1 for 40 since June 2 with runners in scoring position.

Two strikes away from another tough loss, they found some of the late-inning magic that carried them through the season’s first two months. Hannahan, who hadn’t homered since April 26, connected on a 2-1 pitch from Capps, driving it just over the wall in right-center to tie it 2-2.

Minnesota starter Carl Pavano wound up with a no-decision, and probably deserved better.

The right-hander allowed just one run in seven strong innings. Pavano gave up seven hits and never let an Indians lineup that has been struggling for several weeks get anything going.

Morneau hit an RBI double in the sixth off Cleveland starter Justin Masterson, who hasn’t won since April 26.

Pavano, who pitched his first complete game since 2010 in his previous start, carried a four-hit shutout into the sixth inning, when Sizemore led off with his seventh homer, an opposite-field shot over the wall in left. Sizemore’s homer brought the Indians within 2-1. Continued…

They had Pavano in his only real jam with two outs in the seventh, when Lou Marson snapped an 0-for-23 slump with a single and Michael Brantley singled him to third. But Pavano got Asdrubal Cabrera to hit a routine grounder to first for the final out.

Because of injuries, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has had to juggle things on an everyday basis. He used his 57th different lineup in 61 games as the Twins have had to use 39 players and have eight on the disabled list, including superstar Joe Mauer and designated hitter Jim Thome.

With their offense sputtering and in need of a kickstart, the Indians promoted infielder Cord Phelps from Triple-A Columbus before the game and immediately threw him in the starting lineup.

Playing second and batting seventh, Phelps didn’t provide any spark with his bat during his major league debut, going 0 for 4. But the rookie made a nice diving catch on Luke Hughes’ soft liner in the seventh.

Blanked on just three hits by Carlos Carrasco and Perez on Tuesday night, the Twins took a 1-0 lead in the third on Revere’s RBI single.

Hughes singled leading off, moved up on a groundout and scored when Revere lined his hit past Masterson’s head and into center field.

Notes: Hughes made a diving stab at first to rob Sizemore of a hit in the eighth. … SS Francisco Lindor, the Indians’ first-round draft pick, gave no indication if he’ll sign with the club. Lindor, who batted .528 as a senior at Montverde (Fla.) Academy, has a scholarship offer to Florida State. “That’s in the future,” he said in a teleconference. “I’m not going to predict the future.” … Twins RHP Nick Blackburn, who left his last start against Kansas City on Saturday with a stiff back, will pitch Thursday against Texas. “He says he’s fine but I’m a little worried about him,” Gardenhire said. … Twins OF Denard Span returned to Minnesota to have his sore neck examined. He played Monday after missing two games, but felt light-headed. … Revere has hit safely in 11 straight games.

By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) — Ben Revere’s two-out RBI single in the 10th inning off closer Chris Perez gave the coming-to-life Minnesota Twins a 3-2 win Wednesday over the slumping Cleveland Indians, who can’t seem to shake free of their June swoon.

After Drew Butera doubled with two outs off Perez (2-2), Revere flared his base hit into shallow left. Butera scored sliding ahead of outfielder Michael Brantley’s one-hop throw to the plate, helping the last-place Twins take the series and win for the sixth time in seven games.

Matt Capps (2-3) got the win after giving up Jack Hannahan’s tying, two-out homer in the ninth. Phil Dumatrait gave up a two-out double in the 10th before retiring Shin-Soo Choo on a comebacker for his first career save.

Revere had three hits and Justin Morneau had an RBI single for the Twins, who started the month 20 games under .500 and have been ravaged by injuries.

Grady Sizemore homered for Cleveland, which has lost six of seven and is just 2-6 this month. The Indians are 1 for 40 since June 2 with runners in scoring position.

Two strikes away from another tough loss, they found some of the late-inning magic that carried them through the season’s first two months. Hannahan, who hadn’t homered since April 26, connected on a 2-1 pitch from Capps, driving it just over the wall in right-center to tie it 2-2.

Minnesota starter Carl Pavano wound up with a no-decision, and probably deserved better.

The right-hander allowed just one run in seven strong innings. Pavano gave up seven hits and never let an Indians lineup that has been struggling for several weeks get anything going.

Morneau hit an RBI double in the sixth off Cleveland starter Justin Masterson, who hasn’t won since April 26.

Pavano, who pitched his first complete game since 2010 in his previous start, carried a four-hit shutout into the sixth inning, when Sizemore led off with his seventh homer, an opposite-field shot over the wall in left. Sizemore’s homer brought the Indians within 2-1.

They had Pavano in his only real jam with two outs in the seventh, when Lou Marson snapped an 0-for-23 slump with a single and Michael Brantley singled him to third. But Pavano got Asdrubal Cabrera to hit a routine grounder to first for the final out.

Because of injuries, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has had to juggle things on an everyday basis. He used his 57th different lineup in 61 games as the Twins have had to use 39 players and have eight on the disabled list, including superstar Joe Mauer and designated hitter Jim Thome.

With their offense sputtering and in need of a kickstart, the Indians promoted infielder Cord Phelps from Triple-A Columbus before the game and immediately threw him in the starting lineup.

Playing second and batting seventh, Phelps didn’t provide any spark with his bat during his major league debut, going 0 for 4. But the rookie made a nice diving catch on Luke Hughes’ soft liner in the seventh.

Blanked on just three hits by Carlos Carrasco and Perez on Tuesday night, the Twins took a 1-0 lead in the third on Revere’s RBI single.

Hughes singled leading off, moved up on a groundout and scored when Revere lined his hit past Masterson’s head and into center field.

Notes: Hughes made a diving stab at first to rob Sizemore of a hit in the eighth. … SS Francisco Lindor, the Indians’ first-round draft pick, gave no indication if he’ll sign with the club. Lindor, who batted .528 as a senior at Montverde (Fla.) Academy, has a scholarship offer to Florida State. “That’s in the future,” he said in a teleconference. “I’m not going to predict the future.” … Twins RHP Nick Blackburn, who left his last start against Kansas City on Saturday with a stiff back, will pitch Thursday against Texas. “He says he’s fine but I’m a little worried about him,” Gardenhire said. … Twins OF Denard Span returned to Minnesota to have his sore neck examined. He played Monday after missing two games, but felt light-headed. … Revere has hit safely in 11 straight games.

May 1, 2011

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mike Aviles played his way to the Kansas City bench early in the season by going hitless in 18 consecutive at-bats.

Now it would be difficult to pry Aviles out of the Royals lineup now.

Aviles had three hits, including a homer, and drove in four runs to help the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 10-3 on Sunday.

“I was never worried,” Aviles said of his early skid. “Maybe other people were worried. I wasn’t. I know myself. I know I have confidence in myself. I know what I’m capable of doing at this level. I know I can help the team win.”

“I don’t think I ever was asleep. I just started off slow. Basically if you think about it, you’re going to have slumps during the course of the year. Mine was just at the start of the year and that’s why everybody noticed. I went through the same thing last year, but nobody noticed because it was later in the year.”

Minnesota fell to nine-games below .500 for the first time since finishing the 2000 season 69-93. The Twins fell 10 games behind the division-leading Cleveland Indians, which is the furthest they have out of first since finishing 17-games out in 2007.

Aviles, who matched his career high with four RBIs, hit a three-run homer in the eighth off Twins reliever Dusty Hughes, a former Royal. Aviles’ single in the two-run sixth scored Mitch Maier, who had tripled.

“I love Dusty to death.” Aviles said. “We’re really good friends. We got drafted together (in 2002). We played all the way through the minor leagues. It’s like bitter sweet. I feel bad, but it’s just part of the game.”

Aviles is tied with Jeff Francoeur for the team RBI-lead with 21 and has 11 extra-base hits among his 19 hits.

“Mike is feeling much better at the plate,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He started the year off with a bit of a struggle. He’s definitely zoned himself in, seeing the ball good and taking good swings at it.”

Luke Hochevar (3-3), who gave up 12 runs in 12 1-3 innings in losing his previous two starts, held the Twins to five hits and three runs in 6 1-3 innings. Justin Morneau did homer off Hochevar in the sixth for his first home run since July 6, 2010 at Toronto. Hochevar is tied for the American League-lead in surrendering 10 home runs in 44 1-3 innings.

“I’d trade it for a win,” said Morneau, who shaved his head before the game “We keep believing it’s going to turn around. We’re going to have to make our own luck. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. The Royals probably don’t feel sorry for beating us.”

Francoeur, who has hit safely in 19 of the past 20 games, homered into the Royals’ bullpen in the second inning. It was his sixth home run, which leads the team. The Royals collected 15 hits, including two each by Maier, Matt Treanor and Billy Butler.

Twins right-hander Carl Pavano (2-3) took the loss, permitting seven runs on a dozen hits in 5 1-3 innings. After being removed, Pavano took a bat to trash can in the dugout.

“That’s as frustrated as I can get,” Pavano said. “It actually felt pretty good. I just kept whaling away with it. The (bat) wouldn’t break. I couldn’t break a bat in the dugout and I couldn’t break any out there (on the mound). It was embarrassing.”

He said his outburst “wasn’t pointed towards anyone.”

“I told my manager (Ron Gardenhire) that it wasn’t pointed at him or anyone else,” Pavano said. “It was my frustration. Was it the most mature way to deal with it? No. But it wasn’t pointed at anyone. It actually felt amazing. I’d like to go out and do it again.”

The Royals led 2-1 going into the bottom of the fifth, but scored five runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Butler had a RBI-double in the three-run fifth and scored on Wilson Betemit’s two-out single. Maier’s triple scored Treanor, who led off the inning with a double, in the sixth.

Alexi Casilla had two triples, an RBI and scored a run to lead the Twins’ offense. The Twins rank last in the American League with 85 runs.

Royals centerfielder Jarrod Dyson suffered a left ankle sprain in the first inning on an as awkward slide into second base when he was out, attempting to stretch a single into a double. Dyson, who has seven steals without being caught, was replaced by Maier in the next inning and is listed as day-to-day.

Notes: DH Jim Thome was held of the Twins lineup with what manager Ron Gardenhire called stiffness. Thome started Saturday after missing the previous four games with a mild oblique strain. … Victor Ortiz, who grew up in Garden City, Kan. and won the WBC welterweight title on April 16, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. … Twins pitchers yielded 10 or more runs in a game for the sixth time this season. … Twins 2B Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who is on the disabled list with a fractured left fibula, will report Monday to the Twins complex in Fort Myers, Fla. to continue his rehab. … OF Delmon Young, who is on the DL with a left oblique strain, is taking batting practice in Minneapolis and could join the Twins during this 11-day, three-city trip.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)