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Junior Derrick Winn, who plays third base when not pitching, came up with a big blow in the seventh inning to allow Marshall to come from behind and defeat unbeaten St. Cloud Tech 8-4 in the state Class A tournament quarterfinals. Photo credit: John Gilbert

The Cleveland Indians looked a lot like the team that won the American League Central last season when they strode into Target Field last weekend for a critical series against the Twins.
We all knew the Twins were the surprise story of Major League baseball by clinging to a 2-game lead by mid-June, and while the “play one game at a time” crowd could say they were just four more games in a long season, we knew better.
This series seemed like it would be worth more, maybe the whole season. The Indians played as though it was, but the Twins couldn’t keep up. Their pitching was shaky at best, and the Indians seemed to take a number to see which player would lead the attack in the four games.
Last Friday, the Indians whipped the Twins 8-1, taking advantage of novice pitcher Nik Turley, who got into the fifth, but gave up 8 earned runs. On Saturday, the teams had a split doubleheader, and the Indians socked the Twins 9-3 and 6-2.
Because they started the series leading by two games, the Twins lead dwindled to one game Friday, then the teams were even after Saturday’s first game, and the Indians seized first place with their second-game romp. Jose Ramirez was the hero in the first game of the twin bill, socking two home runs as Adam Wilk pitched into the fourth but gave up 6 earned runs. In the second game, it was Lonnie Chisenhall’s turn and he whacked two home runs to put the Indians into first place.

That set up Sunday night’s game as somewhat pivotal. If the Twins could bounce back and win that one, the teams would end the series tied for first place. But Edwin Encarnacion, obtained from Toronto for a carload of free agent money, took care of that theory.
It was scoreless in the fourth inning when Encarnacion pounded a line drive that seemed likely to cause structural damage to the second deck in left field. He came up again in the sixth and hit a towering fly ball that got out of there for a 2-run homer and a 3-0 lead. Encarnacion singled home a run in the seventh, making it 4-0, and when the Twins got two back, 4-2 didn’t seem too bad. So Encarnacion hit a long fly to right, driving in another run and the Indians had a series sweep with the 5-2 victory. Encarnacion, who also had homered in the series opener, drove in all five runs in the finale.

It looked, to all the world, as though the Indians had agreed to give the Twins a complete lesson in how to pitch, hit, play defense, and win. When they left town, the Indians were in first place by two full games, and national announcers were saying things like, “...the fading Minnesota Twins.” Another national guy said the Twins are in position to trade valuable assets such as Ervin Santana and Brian Dozier away to get some young pitching.

Now, hold on just a minute there, clowns. The Twins played poorly against one of the premier teams in the Majors, and got swept in four games. The Indians may never look back. On the other hand, if the Twins get out of this funk and win a few, they could be right back in contention. Here is the surprise team of the Majors hitting a road block and faltering, and suddenly all the experts want to see them give up two of their elite players — two guys who have helped their improbable run through the first half.

I’ll be the first to agree the Twins were awful in all four games against Cleveland, but before the season started, if anyone asked any Twins fan if they’d accept being in second place, two games out, on June 18, the answer would have been nothing but quick acceptance.

High School Examples

The worst thing about the Twins bad series is that the high school tournament happened to be going on at the same time, and, as discussed last week, those games are often thrilling and surprising, right to the finish.
Marshall trailed Belle Plaine 4-1 after three innings in Class AA, but got in together for a late surge. The six-sophomore attack worked as Maddux Baggs doubled home two runs in the sixth to cut the deficit to 4-3, then Derrick Winn smacked one to the outfield fence in the seventh and when it was juggled, Winn came all the way around to score for a play that gave the Toppers the tying and go-ahead runs. Baggs came up again and tripled home two more runs for an 8-4 victory.

For their first time in the tournament, the Toppers already established some things. It had to be tough to lose 1-0 to Pierz in the last of the seventh in the semifinals, then Marshall rallied from a 6-2 deficit in the third-place game with two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh, but a throwing error in the last of the seventh gave Maple Lake a 7-6 victory.

Ely lost twice in Class A, but the trip to state was a reward in itself. Hibbing, meanwhile, made it all the way to the AAA final, knocking off undefeated St. Cloud Tech in the quarterfinals, then scored five runs in the last of the seventh to beat Alexandria 8-7 in the semifinals. The string ended at Target Field Monday when Waconia — another undefeated team — beat the Bluejackets for the championship.

Wild Hold Breath

The Minnesota Wild, like all NHL teams, declared its protected list and then waited and wondered about who might get taken by expansion newcomer, the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Among those left unprotected are goaltender Alex Stalock, the former UMD star, plus defensemen Matt Dumba, Marco Scandella, Christian Folin, Nate Prosser adn a few others, plus forward Eric Staal, Erik Haula, and a half-dozen others.
Staal, 32, is a big-ticket guy, but he joined the Wild for this past season and, in my humble opinion, was the team’s most valuable player on an every-night basis. He led the team with 28 goals, emerging as the No. 1 centerman, and wound up with 65 points. As a big, physical, aggressive player, Staal could play against opposing top centers, and he freed up Mikko Koivu from having to be the top offensive and defensive center. Staal’s presence gave the Wild two such dependable players and both thrived.

 The best thing about the expansion draft is that the Golden Knights can take only one player from any team. I think there are enough good players in that stockpile to put together a pretty good representative team. We hope they leave Stalock alone, because with Darcy Kuemper an unrestricted free agent, we’d like to have our ex-Bulldog backing up Devan Dubnyk with the Wild.

However, if Las Vegas chooses him, we can all wish Stalock the best at becoming No. 1 in Vegas.
The first round of the NHL amateur draft will be Friday in Chicago, with rounds 2-7 on Saturday.