White's big night sparks Twins
07/19/2006
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins didn't quite know what to expect from Rondell White when he made his return from a rehab assignment with Triple-A this past week.
And frankly, neither did White.
With his callup coming a bit earlier than expected due to the rash of injuries the Twins had in the outfield, White wasn't sure if his swing and his shoulder were ready to come back to the big leagues.
An impressive night on Wednesday, when he belted two home runs and a double in the Twins' 7-2 victory over the Devil Rays, officially signaled the rebirth of the power hitter the club had expected when it signed him in the offseason.
"It ranks No. 1," White said of how much this game meant to him. "With all the things I've been going through this year and how I've been struggling, it felt really good to come out and help the team and swing the bat well."
White's timing couldn't have been better. Having lost three of their outfielders to the DL, the Twins needed a veteran to fill a hole. And having that veteran help carry the team to its sixth straight victory was a big boost.
"[Twins general manager] Terry Ryan has been telling me that this guy is going to be a big lift for us in the second half, and this is a good start," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "And right now, because of the injuries, we need it."
White's first homer came in the second inning, when the Twins trailed, 1-0. The 395-foot blast to left field off Devil Rays starter Jae Seo knotted the game at 1.
The game remained tied until White's next at-bat in the fifth. Leading off the inning, White delivered another shot to left -- this one carrying 410 feet to put the Twins up, 2-1. It was the first multihomer game for White since Aug. 22, 2000, when he played for the Expos.
The best part of White's night may have come when he came to the plate for his final at-bat. White was greeted by the fans with a standing ovation, to which White tipped his helmet.
"It felt great, man," White said. "I've been struggling all season and those fans have been behind me."
White's homer in the fifth sparked a four-run inning courtesy of a two-run triple by Nick Punto and an RBI sacrifice fly by Michael Cuddyer. The hit by Punto extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
More runs were added to the team's lead in the sixth, as the Twins drove home two on a Jason Bartlett RBI triple and an RBI single by Luis Castillo.
Every Twins batter recorded at least one hit, and Brad Radke continued his hot streak with another quality start.
Radke (8-7) allowed just two runs, both coming on homers, on four hits. Besides the two mistakes, Radke was able to show good command, issuing no walks and throwing just 87 pitches over seven innings. Radke has not lost since June 3.
"I felt I had good command of my fastball and had a pretty good breaking ball," Radke said. "I just kept them off-balance, and for a team that is going to come out swinging, they did that quite a few times tonight and I got quite a few quick outs.
"I'm just so happy for Rondell," Radke said. "It's just great to see him have a night like that. ... Everybody felt bad for him [during his struggles], but he stayed professional about it and didn't get down on himself. He just kept trying and didn't give up."
Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins didn't quite know what to expect from Rondell White when he made his return from a rehab assignment with Triple-A this past week.
And frankly, neither did White.
With his callup coming a bit earlier than expected due to the rash of injuries the Twins had in the outfield, White wasn't sure if his swing and his shoulder were ready to come back to the big leagues.
An impressive night on Wednesday, when he belted two home runs and a double in the Twins' 7-2 victory over the Devil Rays, officially signaled the rebirth of the power hitter the club had expected when it signed him in the offseason.
"It ranks No. 1," White said of how much this game meant to him. "With all the things I've been going through this year and how I've been struggling, it felt really good to come out and help the team and swing the bat well."
White's timing couldn't have been better. Having lost three of their outfielders to the DL, the Twins needed a veteran to fill a hole. And having that veteran help carry the team to its sixth straight victory was a big boost.
"[Twins general manager] Terry Ryan has been telling me that this guy is going to be a big lift for us in the second half, and this is a good start," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "And right now, because of the injuries, we need it."
White's first homer came in the second inning, when the Twins trailed, 1-0. The 395-foot blast to left field off Devil Rays starter Jae Seo knotted the game at 1.
The game remained tied until White's next at-bat in the fifth. Leading off the inning, White delivered another shot to left -- this one carrying 410 feet to put the Twins up, 2-1. It was the first multihomer game for White since Aug. 22, 2000, when he played for the Expos.
The best part of White's night may have come when he came to the plate for his final at-bat. White was greeted by the fans with a standing ovation, to which White tipped his helmet.
"It felt great, man," White said. "I've been struggling all season and those fans have been behind me."
White's homer in the fifth sparked a four-run inning courtesy of a two-run triple by Nick Punto and an RBI sacrifice fly by Michael Cuddyer. The hit by Punto extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
More runs were added to the team's lead in the sixth, as the Twins drove home two on a Jason Bartlett RBI triple and an RBI single by Luis Castillo.
Every Twins batter recorded at least one hit, and Brad Radke continued his hot streak with another quality start.
Radke (8-7) allowed just two runs, both coming on homers, on four hits. Besides the two mistakes, Radke was able to show good command, issuing no walks and throwing just 87 pitches over seven innings. Radke has not lost since June 3.
"I felt I had good command of my fastball and had a pretty good breaking ball," Radke said. "I just kept them off-balance, and for a team that is going to come out swinging, they did that quite a few times tonight and I got quite a few quick outs.
"I'm just so happy for Rondell," Radke said. "It's just great to see him have a night like that. ... Everybody felt bad for him [during his struggles], but he stayed professional about it and didn't get down on himself. He just kept trying and didn't give up."
Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home