6.26.00
ANAHEIM ANGELS vs MINNESOTA TWINS
This is the kind of thing I find hard to resist: a Monday, an afternoon game, and an AL Central opponent whose roster boasts exactly two names that I recognize. Throw in the fact that I'd worked all weekend and there wasn't much that could've kept me away.
I was a little disappointed to discover upon arrival that my projected attendance figure of five to six hundred had already been exceeded two dozenfold. It was clear that most of crowd couldn't have cared less who was playing—that it was a Monday and a day game just made it that much more attractive to parents looking for something to do with their kids now that school's out. So much for my fantasy of a quiet and wistful businessman's special. Guess I'll have to come back in September.
One of the two names I recognized was of course that of Twins' starter Brad Radke, who might've been making his last appearance in a Minnesota uniform given the number and plausibility of the trade rumors currently circulating. Pitching for the Angels was young Jarrod Washburn, coming off a couple impressive starts against the likes of Kansas City and Tampa Bay. He looked good through the first inning, but after that, maybe it was the hot afternoon sun or all those screaming kids in matching, brightly-colored day camp t-shirts, but the wheels came off in a hurry. Four singles, a double, a walk and a sacrifice fly added up to five runs for the Twins, and back-to-back home runs by Matt Lawton and Ron Coomer to open the third meant that this one was effectively over after about half an hour.
Radke was on top of his game, and watching what went on behind him made his 4.09 ERA look all the more impressive. A misplayed drive to right center allowed Orlando Palmeiro to stretch a long single into a triple to start off the Angels' third—not misplayed badly or obviously enough to be scored an error, but not the kind of thing that would typically happen to a team with a more experienced or talented outfield either. Mo Vaughn then grounded back to the pitcher, a run scoring on what might otherwise have been a double-play, a run that would be charged to Radke even though it wasn't exactly “earned.” That said, the Twins do have some talented young players: shortstop Cristian Guzman, especially, is someone we'll doubtless be hearing more about in the future.
The Angels tried to make a game of it after Radke left, but by that time Vaughn and Darin Erstad had been pulled, and a four-run eighth was the best their teammates could muster.
FINAL SCORE: TWINS 10, ANGELS 6
MEMORABLE HECKLE: Are you kidding?
