Star of the Game: Aaron Hill. Three hits and five double plays turned, not to mention saving John McDonald from the fun that is the Metrodome ceiling. I'd say that's a good day.
Unsung Hero: Scott Downs. Emergency start, no runs against a pretty good team? I'll take it.
Boxscore: In all its glory.
For The Twins: Pat Neshek. Watching the game at a friend's house, both of us were pretty amused by the looks on the faces of all the batters who swung and missed at his crazy, crazy pitches. Especially Alex Rios, who looked skyward as if to say "What was I even doing up there?" Or something like that.
Speaking Of That Friend: His thoughts on the game consist solely of imagining Reed Johnson saying "I am man" whenever he goes into his tripod stance, bat resting comfortably in a position that would lead to such an "I am man" joke. (Yeah, that's what happens when innings go by so quickly, you lose count of the number of double plays turned.)
So...They Can Pitch Now? Either that, or Minnesota can't hit. That's one run in, what, 27 innings?
On Tap: Marcum vs. Radke, 2:10 ET.
Elsewhere: Toronto's margin of victory was the largest in the AL on the night, as Cleveland (twice), Chicago, Boston and Texas all won by one run. Kelvim Escobar pitched like the Escobar we remember, with a five-run second and scoreless frames in the first and third-through-sixth. The FOX announcer said something like, "Escobar has been quite interesting today -- either he's on or he's not." Familiar words, I would say. Yankees 5, Angels 2.
Red Sox move on from the tough KC Royals (yeah, it shocked me too) and beat the O's 8-7 in 10 when Brandon Fahey fails to pick up a single to left that ends up scoring the winning run. But the news of the day was...
6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 0 K. That's not just any pitching line. That's a relief pitcher's winning line from the Reds' 9-7 win over Philly. But not just any reliever. This pitcher has not been in the majors in four years. So who does that line belong to?
That, my friends, is The Michalak Line.