Edwin Encarnacion goes wild on the Minnesota Twins to get Blue Jays the win (Part 1)
Minnesota Twins have been on a path to destruction since the ball club clinched the American League Central title, in the middle of September. The fact that has eluded many supporters of the ball club has been that the hitters
and ball throwers are losing their footing in the game. On the other hand, the Toronto Blue Jays are riding high on cloud 9 since their manager, Cito Gaston announced his retirement. With the League coming to a close on the 3rd of October,
there is much vigour in the squad. The skipper’s last days have been energetic to say the least, with all squad players pitching in for a sound performance.
However, the stark reality is that with all the positive and negative attributes mixed in the pool, the game between the Twins and Blue Jays is always going to keep most spectators at the edge of their seats. On Friday, that
is exactly what happened. Both clubs met for the 2nd time in their last series of season and brought the supporters to their feet as the game progressed till the very last pitch of the 9th inning.
Minnesota has been on a bad run and that is not a secret to many out there. So what’s there to brag about? Well the battle taking place in the East Division can be surmised as, ‘who will face the weak-form club in the playoffs?’
The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays are bent on getting to the post season on the top position. Many say it is the title that both teams care about but there’s no reason to reject the thought that management has been
reading on the form that Twins are taking into the playoffs. For many analysts, that makes Minnesota a key player in the days to come.
Manager Ron Gardenhire has been on the run to put his squad players off the injury list. Joe Mauer was one player to hit the sick bay after the game against the Oakland Athletics on September, 19th. On the other
hand, pitcher rotation has been a major concern. With Francisco Liriano’s disappointing performance, the need to get the other ace men prepared has been a large goal as well.
That was probably the reason why Carl Pavano made his way to the pitcher’s mound on Friday. The 33 year old experienced knocker was on with 17 wins and 11 losses in 31 games. His Earning Run Average (ERA) was 3.83 and that
was something the team wanted to advertise during the game. The figures favoured the veteran but what transpired in the game was not something he could have managed. He pitched 100 balls and struck out 3 hitters. Apart from that, he allowed 9 hits and 2 runs
in a total of 7 innings. The performance was not lacking any results till the time he was relieved. After he was taken off, the Blue Jays burst into action with 4 runs. So in retrospect, the main problem yesterday, dealt with the Bullpen’s ability to save
the game.
The Blue Jays however, were high in spirits, given their decent run in the game. Their starting fixture saw them score 13 runs against their foes. Many believed Cito was the source of inspiration and the show was expected
to continue in the 2nd game against the Twins. Ricky Romero, who had a record of 13 wins and 9 losses, started the game for the visitors. His ERA at the time was 3.79 and he was considered a wise choice in the Manager’s pick. The maestro
pitched for 8 innings and conceded 2 runs off 6 hits. He threw the ball 110 times and struck out 5 players in the process, lowering his ERA to 3.73.
Tags: