GAME THREAD: AL: MINNESOTA (72-73) at KANSAS CITY (62-82)

AL: MINNESOTA (72-73) at KANSAS CITY (62-82)

<h3>Twins try to sweep Royals in series finale</h3>



Minnesota (72-73) at Kansas City (62-82) 2:10 pm EDT

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- The Minnesota Twins will tryto complete the sweep of the three-game series when they playthe Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.


The Royals committed two costly errors in Tuesday's game as theTwins stole a 6-3 victory.


First baseman Billy Butler made a fielding error, allowing theTwins to jump ahead 1-0 in the first inning before left fielderJoey Gathright misplayed Torii Hunter's line drive in theseventh as Minnesota tied the game, 3-3.


Hunter, who ended up on third as a result of the error, scoredthe go-ahead run on a Justin Morneau's sacrifice fly.

Hunter has had a tremendous season, batting .291 with 28 homeruns and 100 RBI. The 32-year-old center fielder is on pace tobreak career highs in all three categories.


Hunter hit 31 home runs last season, had 102 RBI in 2003 and hasnever hit above .289 since doing so during the 2002 season.

Carlos Silva (11-13, 4.34 ERA) will look for his third win inhis last five starts when he takes the mound for the Twins.

Silva took a no-decision in his last start despite allowing onlythree runs over six innings. The righthander struck out two asthe Twins were downed by the Chicago White Sox, 11-10, onFriday.


For the season, Silva is a perfect 2-0 with a 3.21 ERA in twostarts against the Royals this season.


Gil Meche (7-12, 3.82) will try to earn his first win since July20 when he toes the rubber for the Royals on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Meche has been decent despite losing his lastsix decisions, suffering from some of the worst run support inthe majors. Meche has allowed two runs in six of his last eightoutings but has received a major league-worst 3.85 runs ofsupport through his last start.


During his last start, Meche allowed two runs over six inningsbut received only two runs of support as the Royals suffered a3-2 setback against the New York Yankees.

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">MINNESOTA AT KANSAS CITY -- LINEUPS

MINNESOTA KANSAS CITY
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Jason Tyner CF .294 1 21 David Dejesus CF .267 6 54
Jason Bartlett SS .275 5 41 Mark Grudzielanek 2B .301 5 46
Jason Kubel LF .268 11 60 Mark Teahen RF .285 6 55
Torii Hunter DH .291 28 100 Billy Butler DH .296 6 45
Justin Morneau 1B .282 29 105 Ross Gload 1B .296 7 47
Michael Cuddyer RF .275 13 73 Alex Gordon 3B .258 14 57
Chris Heintz C .220 0 6 Emil Brown LF .247 6 57
Nick Punto 3B .199 1 22 Jason Smith SS .200 5 15
Alexi Casilla 2B .250 0 9 John Buck C .234 18 47

Carlos Silva RHP (11-13, 4.34) Gil Meche RHP (7-12, 3.82)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY
WARMUPS: MIN - CARLOS SILVA (11-13, 4.34)
KAN - GIL MECHE (7-12, 3.82)

UMPIRES: HP - BRIAN KNIGHT
1B - JERRY MEALS
2B - GARY DARLING
3B - LARRY PONCINO

WEATHER: 70 Degrees, sunny
WIND: 7 mph, right to left</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY
STARTING BATS: MIN - CARLOS SILVA AND CHRIS HEINTZ
KAN - GIL MECHE AND JOHN BUCK

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: J TYNER (.294, 1 HR, 21 RBI)
J BARTLETT (.275, 5 HR, 41 RBI)
J KUBEL (.268, 11 HR, 60 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0
KANSAS CITY 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: MIN - CARLOS SILVA
KAN - GIL MECHE

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: D DEJESUS (.267, 6 HR, 54 RBI)
M GRUDZIELANEK (.301, 5 HR, 46 RBI)
M TEAHEN (.285, 6 HR, 55 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">MINNESOTA (0) VS KANSAS CITY (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Tyner cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293
J Bartlett ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275
J Kubel lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .268
T Hunter dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
J Morneau 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
M Cuddyer rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275
C Heintz c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .220
N Punto 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .199
A Casilla 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 1 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
M Grudzielanek 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .301
M Teahen rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .285
B Butler dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
R Gload 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
A Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .258
E Brown lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .247
J Smith ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
J Buck c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .234

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA - 0 -- 0
KANSAS CITY - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
C Silva 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.34

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
G Meche 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.80

Pitches-strikes: G Meche 13-9. Ground balls-fly balls: G Meche 1-1. Batters
faced: G Meche 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Knight. 1B--Jerry Meals. 2B--Gary Darling. 3B--Larry
Poncino.

Weather: 73 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY
CONFIRMED STARTERS: MIN - CARLOS SILVA
KAN - GIL MECHE</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY ROSS GLOAD SCORED MARK TEAHEN.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, B BUTLER ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 0
KANSAS CITY 2 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: A GORDON (.258, 14 HR, 57 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY BILLY BUTLER SCORED MARK GRUDZIELANEK.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B BUTLER ON SECOND, M TEAHEN ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 0
KANSAS CITY 1 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: R GLOAD (.296, 7 HR, 47 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 1
KANSAS CITY 2 2 3 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: MIN - CARLOS SILVA
KAN - GIL MECHE

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: T HUNTER (.291, 28 HR, 100 RBI)
J MORNEAU (.282, 29 HR, 105 RBI)
M CUDDYER (.275, 13 HR, 73 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">MINNESOTA (0) VS KANSAS CITY (2) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Tyner cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293
J Bartlett ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275
J Kubel lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .268
T Hunter dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
J Morneau 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
M Cuddyer rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275
C Heintz c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .220
N Punto 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .199
A Casilla 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 1 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: E - J Kubel (2, throw).


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266
M Grudzielanek 2b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .303
M Teahen rf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .287
B Butler dh 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .298
R Gload 1b 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .296
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .258
E Brown lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .247
J Smith ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
J Buck c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .234

Totals 5 2 3 2 0 1 1

BATTING: 2B - M Teahen (27, C Silva). SF - R Gload. RBI - B Butler (46), R
Gload (48). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Gordon 1. Team LOB - 1.



----------------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA - 0 -- 0
KANSAS CITY - 2 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
C Silva 1 3 2 2 0 1 0 4.42

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
G Meche 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.80

Pitches-strikes: C Silva 19-13; G Meche 13-9. Ground balls-fly balls: C Silva
1-1; G Meche 1-1. Batters faced: C Silva 6; G Meche 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Knight. 1B--Jerry Meals. 2B--Gary Darling. 3B--Larry
Poncino.

Weather: 73 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0 1
KANSAS CITY 2 2 3 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: MIN - CARLOS SILVA
KAN - GIL MECHE

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: E BROWN (.247, 6 HR, 57 RBI)
J SMITH (.200, 5 HR, 15 RBI)
J BUCK (.234, 18 HR, 47 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">MINNESOTA (0) VS KANSAS CITY (2) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Tyner cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293
J Bartlett ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275
J Kubel lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .268
T Hunter dh 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .291
J Morneau 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
M Cuddyer rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274
C Heintz c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .220
N Punto 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .199
A Casilla 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250

Totals 6 0 0 0 0 2 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: E - J Kubel (2, throw).


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266
M Grudzielanek 2b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .303
M Teahen rf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .287
B Butler dh 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .298
R Gload 1b 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .296
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .258
E Brown lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .247
J Smith ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
J Buck c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .234

Totals 5 2 3 2 0 1 1

BATTING: 2B - M Teahen (27, C Silva). SF - R Gload. RBI - B Butler (46), R
Gload (48). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Gordon 1. Team LOB - 1.



----------------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA - 00 -- 0
KANSAS CITY - 2 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
C Silva 1 3 2 2 0 1 0 4.42

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
G Meche 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.78

Pitches-strikes: C Silva 19-13; G Meche 21-15. Ground balls-fly balls: C
Silva 1-1; G Meche 2-2. Batters faced: C Silva 6; G Meche 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Knight. 1B--Jerry Meals. 2B--Gary Darling. 3B--Larry
Poncino.

Weather: 73 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
TRIPLE BY DAVID DEJESUS SCORED EMIL BROWN.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, D DEJESUS ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 0
KANSAS CITY 3 BOTTOM, 2ND

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: M GRUDZIELANEK (.303, 1-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0 1
KANSAS CITY 2 1 3 5 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: MIN - CARLOS SILVA
KAN - GIL MECHE

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: C HEINTZ (.220, 0 HR, 6 RBI)
N PUNTO (.199, 1 HR, 22 RBI)
A CASILLA (.250, 0 HR, 9 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">MINNESOTA (0) VS KANSAS CITY (3) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Tyner cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293
J Bartlett ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275
J Kubel lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .268
T Hunter dh 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .291
J Morneau 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
M Cuddyer rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274
C Heintz c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .220
N Punto 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .199
A Casilla 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250

Totals 6 0 0 0 0 2 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: E - J Kubel (2, throw).


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .268
M Grudzielanek 2b 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .302
M Teahen rf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .287
B Butler dh 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .298
R Gload 1b 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .296
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .258
E Brown lf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .249
J Smith ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .198
J Buck c 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .233

Totals 10 3 5 3 0 2 4

BATTING: 2B - M Teahen (27, C Silva). 3B - D DeJesus (7, C Silva). SF - R
Gload. RBI - B Butler (46), R Gload (48), D DeJesus (55). 2-out RBI - D
DeJesus. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Grudzielanek 1, A Gordon
1. Team LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA - 00 -- 0
KANSAS CITY - 21 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
C Silva 2 5 3 3 0 2 0 4.44

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
G Meche 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.78

Pitches-strikes: C Silva 45-30; G Meche 21-15. Ground balls-fly balls: C
Silva 2-2; G Meche 2-2. Batters faced: C Silva 11; G Meche 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Knight. 1B--Jerry Meals. 2B--Gary Darling. 3B--Larry
Poncino.

Weather: 73 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0 0 1
KANSAS CITY 2 1 3 5 0 (BOT 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: MIN - CARLOS SILVA
KAN - GIL MECHE

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: M TEAHEN (.287, 1-FOR-1)
B BUTLER (.298, 1-FOR-1, RBI)
R GLOAD (.296, 0-FOR-0, SF, RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">MINNESOTA (0) VS KANSAS CITY (3) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS

MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Tyner cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293
J Bartlett ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275
J Kubel lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .268
T Hunter dh 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .291
J Morneau 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
M Cuddyer rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274
C Heintz c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .214
N Punto 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .199
A Casilla 2b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .248

Totals 9 0 0 0 0 4 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: E - J Kubel (2, throw).


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .268
M Grudzielanek 2b 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .302
M Teahen rf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .287
B Butler dh 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .298
R Gload 1b 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .296
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .258
E Brown lf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .249
J Smith ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .198
J Buck c 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .233

Totals 10 3 5 3 0 2 4

BATTING: 2B - M Teahen (27, C Silva). 3B - D DeJesus (7, C Silva). SF - R
Gload. RBI - B Butler (46), R Gload (48), D DeJesus (55). 2-out RBI - D
DeJesus. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Grudzielanek 1, A Gordon
1. Team LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA - 000 -- 0
KANSAS CITY - 21 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
C Silva 2 5 3 3 0 2 0 4.44

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
G Meche 3 0 0 0 0 4 0 3.76

Pitches-strikes: C Silva 45-30; G Meche 40-31. Ground balls-fly balls: C
Silva 2-2; G Meche 2-3. Batters faced: C Silva 11; G Meche 9.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Knight. 1B--Jerry Meals. 2B--Gary Darling. 3B--Larry
Poncino.

Weather: 73 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - PITCHING CHANGE
MIN: KEVIN SLOWEY (3-0, 5.24) STARTING THE 3RD
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 3

DUE UP FOR KANSASCITY: M TEAHEN (.287, 1-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: K Slowey relieved C Silva.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 0
KANSAS CITY 3 BOTTOM, 3RD

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: M Teahen (.287, 1-FOR-1)</div>