Twins go for Halos......

[Durango53]

GAME: Los Angeles Angels (13-9) at Minnesota Twins (13-8).

TIME: Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT.

Coming off three straight series wins, the Los Angeles Angels hope to keep their momentum going as they open up a three-game set with the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome.

Los Angeles improved to 6-3 over its last nine games by taking two of three from the Yankees in New York.

John Lackey combined with four relievers to shut down the Yankees Thursday as RBI singles from Vladimir Guerrero and Darin Erstad sparked Los Angeles to a 3-1 victory.

Lackey lasted only 5 1-3 innings, throwing 111 pitches, but he was effective. He gave up only Hideki Matsui's RBI double, then turned it over to Los Angeles' outstanding bullpen.

"A lot of guys in this room have rings and we think we can play with anybody," Lackey said.

Jake Woods, Brendan Donnelly and Scot Shields combined for 2 2-3 scoreless innings before Francisco Rodriguez got three outs for his fifth save in six chances.

The Angels' bullpen has allowed only four earned run in its last 39 2-3 innings.

"You can't ever argue going to our bullpen. Those guys are great," Lackey said.

Rodriguez has performed well in his first year as the team's closer. The hard-throwing right-hander has 16 strikeouts with no walks in 10 1-3 innings.

Rodriguez and the Angels are hoping to cool off the Twins, who are coming off a three-game sweep of the major league-worst Kansas City Royals.

Lew Ford singled home the tiebreaking run off Mike Wood in the 11th inning Thursday, lifting Minnesota to a 6-5 victory.

Justin Morneau had a career-high four hits and two RBIs for the Twins.

Minnesota closer Joe Nathan gave up the tying run in the ninth inning for his first blown save of the season. Nathan had converted 19 consecutive save opportunities since last Aug. 19, including six in a row this year.

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The Twins are ready to settle in for a six-game homestand beginning Friday night, and they'll ask right-hander Carlos Silva to help set the tone for what they hope will be a productive stay at the Metrodome.

"It seems like we've been on the road all year," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It sure will be nice to get home."

Silva will be facing an Angels club which many prognosticators have picked to repeat as American League West champions.

Silva will be opposed by right-hander Paul Byrd. Many of the Twins know Byrd well from his two-year tenure in the AL Central as a member of the Kansas City Royals in 2001 and 2002.

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STANDINGS: Angels - 1st place, AL West. Twins - 2nd place, 2½ GB, AL Central.

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ANGELS PROBABLE STARTER: Paul Byrd (1-2, 5.61 ERA). Byrd did not receive a decision after getting roughed up for five runs and six hits in 4 2-3 innings of Los Angeles' 9-5 victory over Oakland on Saturday. The veteran right-hander has yielded five runs or more in three of his four starts. He's 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA in five career starts against Minnesota.

LAA: RHP Paul Byrdhttp://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/111838.jpg
• 1-2, 5.61 ERA
• 0-0, 0.00 ERA in 2005 vs. Twins

MIN: RHP Carlos Silvahttp://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/400067.jpg
• 1-0, 1.93 ERA
• 0-0, 0-0 ERA in 2005 vs. Angels

TWINS PROBABLE STARTER: Carlos Silva (1-0, 1.93 ERA). Silva has allowed four runs - three earned - and 16 hits in 14 innings this season. The right-hander failed to qualify for a decision in Minnesota's 5-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers last Friday. He gave up two earned runs and seven hits in seven innings, striking out five without a walk.

[Durango53]

Quotable
"This is the worst road trip I've ever been on. Snowy, cold, raining. Kansas City is never this cold." -- Twins outfielder Torii Hunter, talking about the bad weather Minnesota endured on the recent road trip to Detroit and Kansas City

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OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Angels - Guerrero, .360 avg., 5 HRs, 18 RBIs and 16 runs; Chone Figgins, 8 SBs. Twins - Jacque Jones, .365 avg.; Torii Hunter, 4 HRs, 17 RBIs, 15 runs and 10 SBs.

[Durango53]

2004 SEASON SERIES: Twins, 4-3.

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STREAKS AND NOTES: Angels - OF Guerrero is batting .353 (6-for-17) career against Silva. ... Los Angeles has been successful on 16 of its last 17 steal attempts. ... Opponents are hitting just .194 (6-for-31) against RHP Rodriguez this season. Twins - OF Shannon Stewart is 1-for-10 with a home run career against Byrd. ... 1B Morneau is batting .429 (9-for-21) with seven RBIs in five games since being activated from the 15-day DL. ... OF Jones, who went 0-for-4 Thursday, ranks fourth in the AL with a .365 batting average.

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ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Angels - 5-4 on the road; Twins - 6-2 at home.

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Quick hits
Right-hander Joe Nathan's blown save on Thursday was his first in 19 appearances dating back to last year. ... The Twins are now 9-0 when leading after seven innings. ... Outfielder Lew Ford lifted his average to .282 by going 2-for-5 on Thursday.

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On television
• MIN: FSNN
• LAA: FSN West

On radio
• MIN: WCCO
• LAA: ESPN 710, KTNQ, 1020 Spanish

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Cuddyer had two doubles and three RBIs, and Carlos Silva survived a rough first three innings to lead the Minnesota Twins over the Los Angeles Angels 7-4.

After falling behind 4-1 early, the Twins rallied for their fourth straight win. Lew Ford singled home the tying run in the sixth before Cuddyer's RBI-double gave the Twins a 5-4 lead. Cuddyer's two-run double in the eighth completed the scoring.

Silva (2-0) gave up four runs and 11 hits in seven innings, but was able to get out of a couple of jams to win his sixth straight decision. Silva has not lost since Aug. 13, 2004, at Cleveland, a span of 12 starts.


:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:
Way to go MIKE!!!!!!

[Timberwolf]

What a game and what a win! I am glad the Twins battled back and found a way to tie it and win as they beat the Angels 5-4 this evening in Minneapolis. It's good to see that resillency again.

I thought this game was over in the fourth inning and in the fifth inning, but fortunately for the Twins, the Angels grounded themselves into a DP with runners in the corners in the fourth and the bases loaded in the fifth. That was the turning point of the game because had they got the big hit in either of those innings, this game was over. I never thought the Angels offense would do that and I never thought Steve Finley, who is such a tough out, would ground into a DP. That Finley DP really was the key as it set the table for the Twins comeback.

I am glad the Twins were able to get some hits off Byrd throughout the game even when the Angels were leading. Nick Punto made it happen by running his way to first as he beat the infielder's throw and then he stole second and ran to third and scored on Shannon's groundout to cut it to 4-3. Then the damage came in the sixth with Justin's double and he advanced to third after Torii's flyout. Then Lew came through with a big hit to tie the game. I tell ya. Lew has been fantastic this month and it's good to see him coming up with big with runners in scoring position. He has been very consistent in driving runners home. I am glad Angels manager Mike Scioscia decided to walk Jacque to go to Lew. I would have my take my chances with Jacques since he is a hit or miss. He can strike out or ground into DP easily despite his hot hitting. Then, Michael Cuddyer delievered with a huge double to give the good guys the lead.

How about Michael BTW? After struggling in first two at-bats in which I started to express frustration, he comes through to break the tie and then got a huge double to give the Twins an additional couple of runs. Michael has had a rough month and a rough start to the year. I hope this last two at-bats can get him going.

Justin was very good. Man I am glad to see him back. 3 hits tonight. He is unreal. You know an example of mark of a good player in which you expect a player to do something. Well Justin is that guy. That guy can flat-out swing and get a hit. He is going to be tough out for any pitcher. It's so good to see him playing.

It was really good to see the offense break out against Angels pitching. Our hitters has made Angels pitching look like Cy Youngs going back to the 2002 ALCS. It was good to see them beat Byrd out there and then their reliever, Esteban Yan.

Carlos struggled in the first few innings of that game. In fact, I did not think he had it and had Finley got that big base hit, he was going to be relieved by Terry Mullholland. Fortunately, Carlos got the DP and then he found a way to pitch well in the sixth and seventh. Carlos was okay overall. I am just glad he settled down and gave the Twins innings. It was good to see him come up big in the sixth and seventh.

I was very flabbergasted when Gardy had J.C. pitching in the eighth. First off, I get very cranky when that knucklehead is on the mound. I am not a big fan of J.C.'s to begin with. Second, isn't Juan supposed to pitch in the eighth. That was interesting. Fortuantely, J.C. got it done. I swear watching J.C. pitch is an adventure.

Nathanator made a quick work of the Halos.

Some great webgems tonight. How about that catch by Torii? How about that catch by Nick Punto? Yeah he did not get that runner out thanks to a low throw, but still he made a great catch to rob a extra-base hit.

With CWS losing to Detroit tonight as they have lost three in a row, Twins are 1 game back. Never thought that would happen this quickly, but I am glad it's happening.