Granted, Ron Gardenhire had just seen his Minnesota Twins score one run for the third straight game, the worst three-game stretch of offense this season for the Twinkies.
But instead of bemoaning his own team’s inability to score — What’s to bemoan when you have Joe Mauer, Justsin Morneau, Jim Thome and Jason Kubel in the middle of your batting order? — the Twins’ manager reflected on something else that made him take notice in this four-game series.
The Mariners.
The M’s won three of four from the first-place team in the American League Central and threw some pitching at the Twins to do it. Minnesota came into the game ranked fifth in the league in scoring. Jason Vargas, Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez, along with some strong relief, shut down the Twins the past three days. They certainly made a fan of Gardenhire.
“This team was one of the favorites coming out of spring training,” he said of the Mariners. “If you look at the history of the Minnesota Twins, we’ve gotten off to slow starts, too. They’re a good baseball team. They play the game the right way. They play very hard. They’ve got good pitching and that will give them a chance. (M’s manager Don Wakamatsu) over there does a super job with his staff and they’re coming to play.”
It’s still going to be a slow climb if the Mariners can make something of their quest in the AL West. A series like this one, when they won three of four from a solid Twins club, can provide a good confidence boost.
But so far, even with plenty of soft underbelly to the offense (five hitters are batting .230 or less, with Casey Kotchman at .191 and Rob Johnson at .167) and baserunning blunders still occurring, the Mariners have overcome themselves with quality pitching and defense.
“There’s a lot of things we’re doing right right now,” Wakamatsu said. “After some of the things we experienced early in the year, these guys have never lost faith in each other.”
A nice series against the Twins, especially amid the final twist of the Ken Griffey Jr. saga, gives the appearance that the Marners just might be approaching what we expected of them. The next three games against the Angels, beginning Friday, could be an indicator of just how competitive the M’s can be in this division.
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