The Twins defeated the Cardinals 3-2 at New Scotland on Friday evening. The Cardinals scored both of their runs in the top of the first . Jeff Friedman started the game with a double off Stefan Koutsakis and was driven in by a Jim Bonaparte single . Bonaparte later scored on a Twins error and it looked like the Cardinals might put the game away early. However, the Twins came back in the bottom of the first to tie it up at 2-2. Koutsakis hit a single and was sent home by a Lee Madsen double. Mike Ruslander drove in Madsen and it stayed tied until Ruslander hit a 2 out single to plate Rick Saidenberg who got on with a single in the bottom of the 6th. Over the final 6 innings, Koutsakis allowed only one hit and it should be noted that over the course of the entire game, Koutsakis only allowed 1 ball out of the infield in the air. Despite 7, yes 7 Twins errors committed mostly by players playing unfamiliar positions, Koutsakis was masterful when it mattered most working his way out of a bases loaded with no outs situation in the 4th and stranding 3 Cardinals to close out the first. The Twins wound up with just 5 hits while the Cardinals managed 3. The Cardinals starter Bill Chichester also pitched very effectively using a knuckleball liberally throughout the game. While the knuckler looked very inviting much of the time, in reality, it caused more than a little consternation for a few of the Twins.

These teams will meet again this Monday at Gruner for what promises to be another challenging game.

-- Edited by crowbait on Saturday 13th of July 2019 01:51:55 PM