MLB Capsules - AL: Ellsbury powers Red Sox past Tigers
DETROIT (AP) — Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three-run homer in a five-run second inning, and the hot-hitting Boston Red Sox went on to rout the Detroit Tigers 14-1 in an eight-inning, rain-shortened game Thursday.
The Red Sox, 14-2 winners over Cleveland on Wednesday, scored at least 14 runs in back-to-back games for the first time since 1998. Boston has won 11 of 13.
Carl Crawford's two-run triple gave the Red Sox a seven-run lead and chased Max Scherzer (6-2).
Alfredo Aceves (2-0) allowed a run on five hits and struck out six over six innings. Aceves made his second start with Boston and the seventh of his career.
He has won his last 12 decisions, dating to 2009 when he was a Yankees reliever, for baseball's longest winning streak since Cliff Lee won the same number of consecutive decisions with Cleveland three years ago. Aceves' previous 11 wins were as a reliever.
Orioles 6, Royals 5, 12 innings
BALTIMORE (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero singled in Robert Andino in the 12th inning to give Baltimore its season-high fifth straight victory.
Nolan Reimold had four hits, including two homers, and four RBIs for the Orioles, who squandered a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the 11th before coming through in the 12th.
Andino led off the inning with a single off Louis Coleman (0-2), the sixth Kansas City pitcher. Adam Jones popped out and Nick Markakis was intentionally walked before Guerrero hit a bouncing single up the middle.
Jeremy Accardo (3-1) worked two perfect innings for the victory.
Athletics 4, Angels 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Brett Anderson tossed three-hit ball over eight scoreless innings, and Andy LaRoche drove in three runs in last-place Oakland's victory over Los Angeles.
The A's split the four-game series with the second-place Angels, 4-7 in their past 11 games.
Anderson (3-4) struck out four and walked three to beat the Angels for the first time in six career starts. Grant Balfour gave up a three-run homer to Mark Trumbo with two outs in the ninth.
Joel Pineiro (2-1) allowed up 11 hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings — the same three totals he had in his previous start against Atlanta.
White Sox 3, Blue Jays 1
TORONTO (AP) — Juan Pierre's ninth-inning infield single drove in the tiebreaking run for Chicago in the White Sox's 13th victory in their last 19 games.
Pierre went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Jesse Crain (2-1) pitched a third of an inning for the win and Sergio Santos finished the ninth for his eighth save in nine opportunities. Marc Rzepczynski (2-1) allowed two runs, none earned, in one inning.
Yunel Escobar homered for Toronto. The Blue Jays have lost three straight and six of nine.
Other AL Capsules
Indians' Acta is main Man(ny)
CLEVELAND (AP) — The downtown ballpark, pulsating at times this season like it hasn't in years, suddenly filled with a familiar chant.
Manny Acta swears he didn't hear it. As the Indians' second-year manager walked coolly back to the dugout after being ejected for arguing a close play that didn't go his team's way in the eighth inning against Boston, Acta's eyes stayed fixed on the green grass under his cleats as Cleveland fans serenaded him.
"Man-ny, Man-ny," they sang.
Acta joked that it was for a former Indians star, the Manny with dreadlocks.
"It could have been Manny Ramirez walking into the stadium right then," he quipped. "There are a bunch of Mannys in this game."
But in Cleveland, there's only one Manny — the manager of the best team in baseball.
While others shake and scratch their heads at the Indians' early success, now a nearly two-month run fueled by remarkable starting pitching, solid defense, contributions by the entire lineup and a little luck despite a rash of key injuries, the 42-year-old Acta isn't surprised at all.
He expected the Indians to win, demanded it of them, really, since the first day of training camp. They're right where he figured they'd be.
But don't think for a second that he's satisfied.
"Everyone of these guys knows it's a long season, you can never get satisfied," he said. "There's a long ways to go. We can't be doing any jumping up and down. It's pretty good right now, but I want to be 45-0. I've got a right to have expectations, right? As high and as improbable as that might sound."
The Indians are winning, and a sizable chunk of the credit has to go to Acta.
"He has been doing an incredible job," second baseman Orlando Cabrera said. "I have been really impressed with his attitude, the way he prepares himself. Before every series, he's incredible. Oh my God, the attention to detail is unreal. He gets up early every morning and reads every single research paper and number they (the Indians' front office) give to him.
"Not too many guys prepare themselves like that."
Nothing seems out of reach for these Indians, who recently won 14 straight at home and have made walk-off wins so common at Progressive Field that the team could almost hype them along with their other game-night promotions.
Acta, an interesting blend of smarts (he's an avid reader) and swagger, has his players believing anything is possible as long as they remain patient and work hard.
That's what's gotten him here, and it's where he intends to stay.
He's not going to blow his second — and maybe last — chance as a big-league manager.
Acta spent two tough seasons in Washington, where he did as much babysitting as managing. The Nationals lost 252 games in 2½ seasons under Acta, who didn't have enough talent to overcome numerous injuries that altered his lineup.
It was much the same way during his first season in Cleveland. Injuries forced the Indians to play rookies who weren't ready. But they finished strong, posting the league's third-best record in the second half, a surge that convinced Acta his team was ready to contend in 2011.
With his team sitting atop the AL Central, Acta was asked what the season has meant to him.
"Rewarding," he said. "It reassures me that patience is what it takes. It's being patient and continuing to work, and at the end of the day, good things are going to happen."
Acta has been pushing all the right buttons.
He's done an exceptional job with his pitching staff, knowing exactly when to pull his starter or let him try to get one more out. The Indians have been aggressive on the basepaths, and Acta has shown a knack for calling for a bunt in a tight spot.
Last week, he told rookie Ezequiel Carrera to bunt — if he saw a good pitch — in the eighth inning of a tie game with Cincinnati. Carrera's first at-bat in the majors turned into a one-pitch, game-winning RBI single. How's that for having a 'feel' for the game?
The next day, outfielder Travis Buck, filling in at designated hitter for the injured Travis Hafner, came back to the dugout after a pair of weak at-bats only to have Acta give him an earful. Acta was stern with Buck, but not condescending or abusive.
Acta wanted more, and he didn't waste a single word in telling Buck, who was initially shocked.
"He lit a fire under me," Buck said. "His tone was intense. I didn't really know how to take it. I've never had a manager say something like that to me and want to pull for me as hard as he did. It made sense. It took me a couple minutes for me to figure it out. It made me realize how much confidence I need to have in myself, and how much he had in me."
His next time up, Buck hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning as the Indians beat the Reds, 2-1.
Cleveland's players love Acta's straightforward approach. He's demanding, not demeaning. He's honest, sometimes brutally, with them and makes sure everyone on the 25-man roster knows what's expected of them. But for every kick in the pants, he offers a pat on the back.
Acta also know his place. He respects the sanctity of the clubhouse, and won't interfere with the players' business unless he has to.
"He leaves us alone," Cabrera said. "He's a guy who says, 'You guys handle your stuff and I'll handle mine.' I've told some of the guys, you have no idea how good you have it here. Most managers aren't that way."
The reaction following Acta's ejection — the Indians wound up rallying to beat the Red Sox after he got tossed — caught several players off guard. It's rare to see fans cheering and chanting for a manager, but Acta has become a man(ny) of the people.
One of his first duties each morning, is to connect with his followers on Twitter. He reluctantly joined the social website at the team's urging before the season, but has grown to enjoy it. And, it's not the only thing he's having fun with these days.
"I can't complain with my life right now," he said.
-- Tom Withers
Summer turnaround for Twins will be tough and slow
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins brought Jim Thome back for another season to be a mentor in the clubhouse and a home run hitter. They didn't plan on him having to serve as sort of a team counselor, too.
With the Twins stuck with the worst record in the majors at 16-32, players have acknowledged the increasing difficulty of maintaining an optimistic outlook. After their latest loss on Wednesday, Thome talked about the importance of a one-day-at-a-time approach and keeping a positive attitude that teammates can latch onto.
He said he looks at the standings every day to see how the division-leading Cleveland Indians fare, reminding himself that the 14½-game deficit can't be made up all at once.
"You want to try to do the best you can to gain ground, but you can't do it overnight. It takes a long process," Thome said. "Baseball is a weird thing. I've seen crazy things happen."
The Twins start a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday.
"We've got a lot of talented players and a lot of guys with a lot of pride," general manager Bill Smith said on Thursday. "We put ourselves in this mess. We're going to have to dig ourselves out, from top to bottom in this organization."
The last time the Twins started a season this poorly was 1999, a year during which they used 18 different rookies and won 63 games. They're actually on pace to win even fewer than that, with a .333 winning percentage that has them pointed toward a 54-108 finish.
The eventual return of injured star Joe Mauer, plus starting middle infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, ought to be enough of a lift to help avoid such a fate. With a minus-88 run differential through 48 games, the worst in the majors by nearly 40 runs, it's clear that the absence of the 2009 American League MVP is just one of many flaws that must be fixed.
"The last few games, I don't feel like we've played poorly," starting pitcher Brian Duensing said. "If we had been winning all year and been playing the way we have, we wouldn't think anything about it."
The Twins lost two of three games to the Seattle Mariners earlier this week, but they sounded more upbeat than they had in awhile afterward while pointing to signs of progress despite the defeats.
Moral victories won't keep anyone satisfied, particularly not on a team with the ninth-highest payroll in baseball at more than $112 million that has made the playoffs six times in the past nine years.
This, though, is the situation they're in with summer fast approaching. Their Triple-A team is tapped out, with 11 players already called up at least once who started the season in the International League with Rochester. Big contracts and injury concerns have minimized Minnesota's assets for possible trades.
Mauer was scheduled for a full workout in Fort Myers, Fla., on Thursday as part of the team's extended spring training program. Smith said Mauer's return to catching is "imminent" but said his schedule is "a little bit fluid" as the team's medical staff evaluates his progress. Mauer is recovering from an unusual condition of weakness and soreness in his legs — plus a beat-up shoulder — and has missed the past 38 games.
Manager Ron Gardenhire was asked this week if the team regrets putting Mauer on the roster at the start of the regular season, after a scaled-back spring training that was supposed to keep him fresh as he regained strength following arthroscopic knee surgery during the winter.
"How was he doing at the end of spring training? He was swinging really good, and he was healthy," Gardenhire said. "You want to DL a guy that's killing the ball and healthy? That doesn't make much sense."
The manager continued: "If we'd have known after two weeks he was going to all of a sudden be like he is today, sore and beat up all over, I think anybody would say, 'Wow, maybe we should've done this,' but that's kind of ridiculous, really, when you were doing what he was doing out of spring training."
So the Twins will try to get some momentum going, hoping Mauer is back soon and knowing there are dozens and dozens of games left for them to at least put on a better performance if catching up in the division race is a lost cause.
"We've gone through a very difficult stretch here in the last month," Smith said. "Our players and our staff are as upbeat as you can be. I think Jim Thome said it best: You just have to come to work every day. ... We dug this hole, and we have to get ourselves out of it."
-- Dave Campbell
Mariners rookie Pineda dazzling for first two months
SEATTLE (AP) — Even Felix Hernandez realized the oddity of the word he used to reference Michael Pineda, an anxious, excitable 6-foot-7 Dominican who sometimes makes the radar gun flash with readings higher than what the reigning American League Cy Young winner throws.
"He listens and he learns. He's a good kid," Hernandez said of his Seattle teammate.
After a pause, Hernandez added, "Well, he's 22 and I'm 25."
And it's that last part which could be a scary proposition for the rest of the AL West.
Maybe Seattle's "King" now has a "Prince" in tow.
At least for the first two months of his professional career, Pineda is dominating in a way even Hernandez didn't when he made his major league debut — although Hernandez was 19 at the time.
Through nine starts, Seattle's young righty is 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA. He leads all rookies in wins, ERA and strikeouts (61), but it's not just the rookies he's topping. Pineda is also among the leaders in all baseball in those categories.
In his last two starts, Pineda has thrown 14 scoreless innings, allowed just five hits, struck out 16 and walked one.
And to think, there was a debate during spring training about whether Pineda needed more time in the minors before making his major league debut.
"I don't think anybody can really understand what somebody is going to do when it's their first go around in the big leagues. Everybody can guess and everybody can try and be really smart but the reality is nobody really knows," Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. "We knew he was capable of doing what he is doing right now but you never, ever assume or expect that."
Now Pineda gets one of the biggest stages around for the 10th start of his career: Friday night when the New York Yankees open a three-game series in Seattle. The Yankees are among the best-known teams in the Dominican Republic, where Pineda grew up.
"I'm excited for pitching (against) the Yankees," said Pineda, who is still learning English, but attempts to do most of his interviews with little or no help from an interpreter.
What Pineda is accomplishing is part of an amazing run by Seattle's starting rotation. Led by Hernandez and Pineda, Seattle's pitching staff is 8-2 with a 1.50 ERA over the last 10 games. Seattle had a stretch of nine straight games with its starters going at least seven innings and giving up two earned runs or less snapped earlier this week.
No one stands out quite like Pineda, whose smile and willingness are among his most recognizable traits. But it's impossible to ignore his size, a burly 6-7 and 260 pounds. Seattle bullpen coach Jaime Navarro likes to joke that Pineda "got offended" when Seattle's first spring training roster back in February listed Pineda at only 6-5.
Navarro can joke because he knows Pineda better than anyone in the Mariners organization. Four years ago, Navarro was the pitching coach at Single-A Wisconsin and pleaded with his bosses coming out of minor-league spring training to let him bring along an 18-year-old Pineda to learn the game with the help of another Latin ballplayer who pitched 12 seasons in the majors.
Navarro's persuasion paid off. Pineda was the Mariners minor league pitcher of the year in 2008 after posting a 1.95 ERA and striking out 128 in 138 1-3 innings.
"I told him 'I fight for you to be here, now you've got to show me your side because I see something in you,'" Navarro recalled. "And he did. He became the best pitcher in the league that year."
They rose almost in step with each other through the Mariners organization. Pineda fretted beginning last season at Double-A West Tenn and away from Navarro, who was the pitching coach at Triple-A Tacoma. By late June, they were reunited after Pineda's promotion.
Even now, they can't stay apart. Pineda is living with Navarro for his first season in the majors.
"It's a strong relationship not only because he helps me on the field but he helps off as well," Pineda said through an interpreter.
If Navarro is Pineda's balance off the field, he might not be able to find a better on-field instructor than Hernandez. Whether it's in the clubhouse or dugout, Hernandez is regularly in Pineda's ear, sometimes provoked by a question, other times Hernandez taking the lead.
It helps that one of Pineda's top qualities, Navarro said, is his ability to listen.
"Michael is a listener. He's a lot of different things, he's 22 years old, but he's a listener," Navarro said. "His responsibility on the field he takes very seriously and he likes to listen. Him and Felix, he listens. Sometimes when Felix talks he just listens. He doesn't make a comment and when Felix is done talking then he'll say what he'll have to say, but that is a great relationship."
-- Tim Booth
Blue Jays' Reyes still after elusive win
NEW YORK (AP) — Jo-Jo Reyes trudged off the mound, his day done after just three innings.
The first batter he faced hit a rocket to the outfield wall. So did the next one. Reyes walked a couple of batters, gave up a couple of two-run homers, and found himself in the dugout at Yankee Stadium trailing 5-0 on a sun-splashed Wednesday afternoon.
The Toronto Blue Jays would eventually drop the game 7-3 and — JO-NO, not again! — another L in the box score for one of the major league's most unfortunate pitchers.
Reyes has gone 28 consecutive starts without a victory. One more game without some run support, one more start in which the bullpen blows a save, and the affable 26-year-old pitcher from West Covina, Calif., will have a dubious record all to himself.
"I'm not worried about that streak. When I step on the rubber, all I'm worried about is executing the pitch," Reyes said after his 13th straight loss, standing in front of his locker in the visiting clubhouse. "We have fun with it, but it doesn't get to me."
It probably should. At least a little.
The only other pitcher in the modern era to go 28 games without tasting success was Matt Keough, who didn't win a game for the Athletics from Sept. 6, 1978, to Aug. 8, 1979.
Old-timer Cliff Curtis also went 28 starts without a victory in 1911-12, according to STATS LLC.
Reyes (0-4) hasn't been the winning pitcher since beating the Los Angeles Angels on June 13, 2008, when the left-hander was still a member of the Atlanta Braves.
The former second-round draft pick was traded to the Blue Jays last summer, and he nailed down one of their starting jobs in spring training.
But despite adding a cutter that hasn't been cutting and working on a changeup that, well, doesn't change a whole lot, Reyes is still trying to crack the goose egg in the win column through his first 10 starts.
"I just worry about preparing for the next start. I haven't looked at any video on the Indians, so I don't know about them," Reyes said, pondering next week's home matchup against Cleveland. "I'll just prepare the same way I've been preparing all season."
In Reyes' defense, not all of his outings have been as dire as the one against the Yankees, when just about every pitch he sent to the plate was sent right back at him.
Last Friday night against Houston, Reyes allowed five hits and a walk over seven shutout innings. He struck out seven and left with a 2-0 lead. Then Hunter Pence tied the game with a two-out, two-run double off Jon Rauch in the eighth inning, wiping out the chance for victory.
"Jo-Jo did a hell of a job today and gave us a real good chance to win that ballgame," Rauch said afterward deep inside of Rogers Centre. "We let him down."
Once again.
Reyes has gone at least seven innings four times this season, taking the loss in three of them. Another time he allowed one run over six innings, only to watch Tampa Bay squeeze out a 3-2 win. And yet another time he gave up six runs at Texas, none of which were earned.
So much for getting some help.
"He's dealing with it the best way he can, and he's doing a pretty good job of it, 'cause he's concentrating on going out there every fifth day and doing a good job," Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista said. "He has, for the most part.
"It's just that every time he pitches," Bautista said, "we don't get him enough runs."
Reyes allowed five runs in three innings against New York, his ERA climbing to 4.70 on the year. By comparison, the Baltimore Orioles' Jake Arrieta was tied for second in the majors entering Thursday with six wins — and an ERA of 4.57.
Sure, wins no longer define pitching success. The Mariners' Felix Hernandez won the AL Cy Young last year going 13-12, the fewest wins for a Cy Young starter in a full season — breaking the previous record (15) set by the San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum just one year earlier.
Still, there's a sense of satisfaction with earning the W, a positive vibe that Reyes has experienced just five times in 47 career starts.
"We try not to put pressure on him," Toronto's Rajai Davis said. "We're trying to be supportive and do whatever we can to win every game, when he pitches or when anybody pitches."
In reality, Reyes is a pretty good pitcher. He has to be for manager John Farrell to keep sending him to the mound.
"He'll have his normal work day two days from now and continue to stick to his routine that has worked for him," Farrell said after Wednesday's game, striking down any notion of sending Reyes to the minors or relegating him to the bullpen. "He's giving us what we need."
Reyes plans to keep doing that, insisting every time someone brings up the streak that it isn't bothering him. But if he needs some solace before his next start, he can look back at Keough, and the 28 games he went without earning a victory.
His next start, he went the distance for the win.
-- Dave Skretta
Angels put Kendrick on 15-day DL; sign Branyan
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels placed infielder Howie Kendrick on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday with right hamstring tightness.
The move, announced before the game against Oakland, is retroactive to May 20. Kendrick has missed the past seven games after his hamstring tightened last week in Seattle.
Kendrick ran before the game and manager Mike Scioscia said he was feeling better, but general manager Tony Reagins indicated the team wasn't satisfied with his progress. Kendrick is the Angels' leading hitter with a .322 average.
Also, the team signed 35-year-old infielder Russell Branyan to a contract for the season. He was designated for assignment last week by Arizona and released Wednesday.
Branyan was hitting .210 with one homer and two RBIs for the Diamondbacks, mostly as a pinch hitter. He ended an 0-for-22 skid with a single against Atlanta last Wednesday.
"He's not the big bat that everybody is always mentioning, but he's a quality player with a veteran presence. He's got an outstanding makeup and will help us win ballgames," Reagins said.
"We know he has the ability to change the game with one swing."
Branyan hit 25 home runs last season with Cleveland and Seattle, and his signing returns him to the AL West.
Reagins said Branyan could play at first base, backing up Mark Trumbo against left-handed pitching, and be the designated hitter, allowing Bobby Abreu to play more in left field.
First baseman Kendrys Morales underwent a second surgery in Vail, Colo., on Thursday on his left ankle to clean out scar tissue, degenerative cysts and debris. Reagins didn't have an immediate update on Morales, who won't return this season.
-- Beth Harris
Indians OF Sizemore poised to come off DL
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians have cleared room for Grady Sizemore's return.
On Thursday, the club optioned outfielder Ezequiel Carrera to Triple-A Columbus, a move made so Sizemore can be activated from the disabled list.
Sizemore, who has been on the 15-day DL since last week with a bruised right kneecap, is expected to be activated for the Indians' weekend series in Tampa Bay starting Friday.
"I'm not going to give you the date," Indians manager Manny Acta said after Wednesday's 14-2 loss to Boston. "We haven't made the decision. We're expecting him to join us for the weekend, but the weekend stretches all the way from Friday through Sunday."
Sizemore reported no problems after running the bases, his final test before being permitted to play by Cleveland's medical and training staff. He's been out since May 11, sidelined after hurting his knee while making a hard, late slide into second base.
"Everything went well," Sizemore said.
Sizemore, who missed most of last season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his left knee, was playing at an All-Star level again when he sustained his most recent injury. In 18 games, he batted .282 with six home runs, 10 doubles, 11 RBIs and 15 runs scored.
He's been taking batting practice, and in the past few days he has increased all his on-field activities without any setbacks.
The Indians, who were off on Thursday before traveling to Florida, have built baseball's best record despite having Sizemore for only one-third of their games.
Carrera was recalled on May 20, when Travis Hafner went on the disabled list with a strained side muscle. In his first at-bat in the majors, the speedy Carrera dropped a game-winning, pinch-hit RBI bunt single as the Indians beat the Cincinnati Reds.
In five games, he went 2-for-8 and drove in two runs.
-- Tom Withers
Red Sox put OF McDonald on DL, call up OF Reddick
DETROIT (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have placed outfielder Darnell McDonald on the disabled list with a left quadriceps injury. Boston called up outfielder Josh Reddick from Triple-A Pawtucket and put him in right field against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
McDonald is hitting .143 in 21 at-bats over 19 games this season. Reddick played a total of 56 games with a .182 batting average the previous two seasons for Boston.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona says Bobby Jenks will pitch an inning for Pawtucket on Friday and Sunday. The right-hander has been on the DL since May 5 with strained biceps.
Francona says John Lackey will have a bullpen session Friday before Tuesday's rehab outing for Pawtucket. The right-hander went on the DL May 16 with a strained elbow.
Tatum recalled by Orioles, in lineup vs Royals
BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles have recalled catcher Craig Tatum from Triple-A Norfolk, and placed him in the starting lineup for Thursday afternoon's game against the Kansas City Royals.
The 28-year-old Tatum batted .200 with seven RBIs in 21 games with Norfolk, and recently came of the disabled list because of a right shoulder impingement.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said the arrival of Tatum will give him the flexibility to shift Jake Fox, who had been starting catcher Matt Wieters' primary backup, into a more traditional utility role.
Tatum, a career .236 in two major league seasons, hit .281 with nine RBIs in 43 with the Orioles last season. Baltimore acquired him off waivers from Cincinnati in November 2009.
Twins will recall Hoey from Triple-A
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins will recall right-handed reliever Jim Hoey from Triple-A Rochester, filling the roster spot opened when Kevin Slowey was placed on the disabled list. The Twins announced Thursday that Hoey would join the team for Friday's game.
Hoey is a hard thrower in the middle innings, who reaches the upper 90 mph range with his fastball. In his first stint with the team, he posted a 9.72 ERA in 10 appearances with 15 hits and four walks in 8 1-3 innings. The Twins wanted him to work on his control with Rochester, where he had a 1.54 ERA in 11 2/3 innings.
Slowey went to the DL Wednesday with an abdominal muscle strain. He will report Saturday to the team's extended spring training program in Fort Myers, Fla., to continue his rehabilitation.
Elsewhere
Twins to say one last goodbye to Killebrew
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For 14 seasons, Harmon Killebrew was the cleanup hitter for the Minnesota Twins, the ferocious slugger who used his incredible strength to knock baseballs out of the park.
At a memorial service on Thursday night for the Hall of Famer, who died last week at the age of 74 after a bout with esophageal cancer, Killebrew's shy, quiet wife, Nita, exhibited an entirely different, and perhaps even more impressive, kind of strength.
After heavy hitters like Rod Carew, Paul Molitor and Justin Morneau set the table with touching remarks, Nita took over the cleanup duties, delivering a powerful, tear-jerking thank you to about 4,000 fans, 45 relatives and dozens of former teammates and current Twins at Target Field.
"Thank you for loving my husband," said Nita, who detailed her husband's previous health problems that nearly claimed his life 20 years ago. "Thank you for healing his heart and his soul. Thank you for sharing him with me and giving so much to him so he had so much to give back to all of us.
"His body is at rest at his home in Payette. His soul is at peace in that big ballpark in the sky. But his heart will always be in Minnesota here with you."
Killebrew died on May 17, just a few days after issuing an incredible public statement acknowledging that he had lost his battle with cancer and was entering hospice care. He hit 573 home runs in his career, but was remembered as much for his gentlemanly nature off of the baseball diamond on Thursday night.
"Harmon had I don't know how many home runs," former home run king Hank Aaron said. "In his case, really, in all fairness to him, he was No. 1 really. He hit 1,000 home runs because he did so many great things off the field. That's what counts, it's not how you play the game, it's how you play it afterward."
Commissioner Bud Selig, Jim Kaat and Jim "Mudcat" Grant were among the dignitaries who made the trip to pay tribute to one of the most beloved players in Twins history, with Grant singing a stirring rendition of "What A Wonderful World."
"Harmon was as tough and feared a competitor on the field as the game has ever known. ... He was the dominant slugger of the 1960s," Selig said. "In this region of the country, Harmon Killebrew was the face of baseball and the game could not have been blessed with a better ambassador.
"Yet we all know the irony of his nickname, 'The Killer,' because as a human being he was just the opposite."
Michael Cuddyer and Morneau both spoke of Killebrew the mentor, telling funny stories about being chastised for their sloppy autographs early in their careers.
"Now write it so I can read it," Morneau remembered Killebrew telling him during their first meeting. "After a few hundred tries, he finally gave me the OK."
And Carew spoke of visiting Killebrew, who called Carew "Junior," in his final days. Carew called Killebrew "Charlie."
"No matter how many players pass through the Twins organization, there will only be one face of this organization and that's Harmon Killebrew," Carew said through tears. "Charlie, I know that you've taken a safe voyage. I love you, and I'll see you one day."
About an hour into the evening, emcee Dick Bremer spoke about Killebrew's famous 520-foot home run at the old Metropolitan Stadium in 1967.
The camera then panned up to a seat at the top of the Target Field outfield, 520 feet from home plate, to illustrate just how far Killebrew's ball traveled on that day.
Sitting in the seat, as far as you can possibly get from home plate, was a beaming Jim Thome, who passed Killebrew on the career home runs list last season. Thome waved the famous No. 3 jersey that Killebrew wore that season.
Then Nita stepped to the plate and hit one out of the stadium.
She spoke of Harmon teasing her for always being the one in the back of the room, shying away from the limelight that always followed her husband.
"Standing before a public crowd is certainly not my forte, but I promised Harmon I would do this," she said. "Today, sweetheart, I wanna make you proud and just maybe, just maybe, you will turn to Kirby Puckett and say, 'Hey Puck, what do you know, maybe she is coachable after all."
She finished her address by asking everyone in the ballpark to "Stand Up To Cancer," a show of support for the charitable organization dedicated to raising funds for cancer research.
Everyone did, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
"He was a gentleman to the end," Nita said. "Always composed, never complaining. If only you could have seen what I was blessed to have seen. ... I was truly honored to be his caregiver. He left me inspired, awed, amazed and humbled."
-- Jon Krawczynski
