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Pablo Lopez shuts out the Cardinals, striking out 9 in 6 innings. Photos by John Gilbert.

As the temperature headed for 91 degrees at the Gilbert Compound in Lakewood, and as UMD headed off to Marquette, Mich., to open our corner of the college football season, it was time to take a break. 
There was still a chance to hit “pause” and take advantage of the fact the Twins are still playing, and in fact are in a heated battle to overtake Cleveland for the division lead.

The Twins spent last weekend facing the St. Louis Cardinals at Target Field in Minneapolis, and the timing was perfect because Pablo Lopez was scheduled to pitch for the Twins against Sonny Gray, the pitcher the Twins traded to the Cardinals when the two were dueling to see which one most deserved the title of Twins ace. 

There were 35,183 others who felt the same way my wife, Joan, and I did about the magnitude of the game, enhanced by the pitching duel.

We always try to make it to at least one Twins game every year, and this was the one for this season. 
We carefully picked our seats, for the first time choosing two seats together way out in right-centerfield, bought them online, and hit the road — early enough to stop at the big sale at REI and to park somewhere in close proximity to the Loon Cafe. 

Ever since Mike Andrews opened the Loon, it has been our tradition to go there, each getting a bowl of the best chicken wild rice soup in captivity, while splitting their trademark grilled-cheese sandwich. 
Why change that plan?

We got a place in the 5th Avenue parking ramp, right across the avenue from the centerfield wall, but when we got to ground level, we decided we didn’t have enough time for a leisurely sit-down meal, so we put off the Loon until after the game, and made our way inside. 

I had forgotten it was Carlos Correa Day, but we happily accepted the hand-out Twins jerseys with Correa’s name and No. 4 on the back as we entered at the centerfield corner of the big ballpark.
It was hot, with the sun baking us in our centerfield seats. We were in Row 12, and while that looks simple, let me tell you the climb is so nearly vertical that we felt that by reaching Row 12, the peak of Mt. Everest should be visible nearby. 

Joan ventured back down to visit a concession stand, and returned with a large hot dog, a handful of chips and a cold drink for each of us. Total: $32.44. It was a very good hot dog, but that’s a premium price.

I had hoped Correa might play, but no such luck. 

The story of the Twins this season is that they are still in the running for the pennant, despite a lineup that is missing almost a whole platoon of regulars — such as Correa, Byron Buxton, Alex Kirilloff, Carlos Santana, Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee. 

The fill-ins are doing a fantastic job to keep the Twins in contention, even though many of them seemed likely to fill out a spring training alternative lineup.

On this day, manager Rocco Baldelli’s juggling worked well. With Correa out, Willi Castro played shortstop, Jose Miranda replaced Santana at first, Austin Martin continued his outstanding play in center, replacing Buxton, Eduardo Julian played second and Lewis returned to play third, showing the adjustments required with Correa, Brooks Lee and Kirilloff out. 

Trevor Larnache 3-run homer in third was his first of two.

Trevor Larnache played left field and batted second, and rose up to set the offensive tempo, with a 3-run home run pulled to right-center for a 3-0 lead in the third, and a solo blast in the fifth for a 5-0 lead in a 3-for-4 afternoon. 

Matt Wallner, homegrown and ready for big things, homered in the eighth to seal a 6-0 final score, after Gray had departed for the Cardinal bullpen. Wallner earned several ovations from the big crowd with a 3-hit day.

Lopez went seven full innings, giving up only four hits and one walk, and striking out nine, making it a big day for any Cardinal who even grounded out.

After the game, we descended the same stairs where we came in and hustled over to our ramp. Our plan was to go around the block, dodge between the numerous barrels and cones of First Ave construction, and get to the Loon, which serves until 11 pm. 

Matt Wallner reaches home after hometown-hero home run.

But we were funneled out of our exit onto the West Interstate-394 traffic, and had no choice but to head west until we cleared the downtown post-game congestion.

We doubled back, and finally got onto First Avenue, where we were stymied by a construction blockade right at the Loon’s entrance. 

We gave up hoping to find a place to park, and headed for the Shoreview Panino’s restaurant, where we were lucky enough to get a sandwich at 10:45 pm. Then it was onto I-35E for our return venture to Duluth, arriving at 2 am. 

We hit the pillow immediately, because, after all, we had to awaken in time to watch the 8 am start to the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

It was, by the way, a very interesting race, as Lando Norris, who had won the pole in qualifying, was zapped by No. 2 qualifier Max Verstappen on the start. 

It looked like Max might run away with the race, but he radioed in that his tires seemed to have lost their grip. 

Instead of talling Verstappen to pit immediately for new Pirellis, he was left to slither around out there while Norris closed in and passed him for the lead in a rare sight. 

Norris won the race, with Verstappen second, and Charles LeClare in a Ferrari third. 

It’s the second time Verstappen has failed to win in recent races, and both times his Red Bull crew seemed to avoid treating him like the champion he is.

We had calculated well in our choice of Twins games, by the way, because they lost Friday’s game with an uncompetitive performance, and they blew Sunday’s game after Santana’s home run had broken a 1-1 tie in the last of the eighth, only to have relief ace Joan Duran and his 104-mph fastballs victimized by a leniently ruled “hit” by Nolan Arenado up the middle with one out in the ninth. 

Julien botched a fairly routine fielding play, and then compounded the problem with two out and two on, when Brendan Donovan hit a sharp grounder right to Julien, who fielded it, pivoted and threw it about 10 feet wide to the right of Castro, coming across the bag and anticipating a game-ending double play. 

The throw sailed into left field, sending the runners to second and third, and Lars Nootbar sliced an opposite-field single to left to drive in both runners for the 3-2 victory.

We were lucky to see the Twins at their best on Saturday, rather than stumbling the way they did on Friday and Sunday. 

In an ideal world, we might see Santana at first, Farmer or Lee or Lewis or Castro juggled at second or third, but only if Correa played short. He didn’t, but I’ll still take his commemorative jersey.