The Cubs and Twins got together for a make-up game last Friday night at New Scotland. It was a warm and muggy night, that brought back many memories of Friday night's spent at New Scotland over the past 35 years.
Both teams went all out (100%) for 7 innings, with the final score Cubs 10 - Twins 5, and afterward both teams engaged in the time honored tradition of competing cooler sessions. The Cubs won that cooler session as well, but like the game, the final result was a little skewed from the overall contest.
The Twins got 3 singles from Frank Owens, Stefan Koustakis, and Mark Wight along with a walk to Steve Rychik to plate a run and load the bases with two outs, in the top of the 1st, but Mike Girard got a key ground out to escape the inning without any further damage. The Cubs came right back in the bottom of the 1st with 4 runs. Carlos Espada walked and was tripled home by 55+ rookie, Bryce Cutler. Chris Dunn followed with a RBI single and stole second. Jerry Rosen then worked a walk. Dunn and Rosen worked a double steal to put 2 runners in scoring position. Ron Lochner and Mike Reutter followed with RBI groundouts and the Cubs' offense had turned a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead, in the blink of an eye.
Girard settled down in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings and kept a potent Twins line-up off the board for their second time through the order. His teammates backed him with 5 more runs in the bottom of the second. PJ Martone started the rally with a line drive single to right, Jim (Ron Hunt) Bonaparte was hit by a pitch for the "umteenth" time in his CDMSBL career, followed by a Sherwin So RBI single. After one out Mark Meyers singled, and raced all of the way around to 3rd on an error, plating Bonaparte and So. Espada and Cutler then drove home a run each with singles. Before the smoke had cleared the Cubs had a 9-1 lead entering the 5th inning.
The Cubs felt at ease with an 8 run-lead and Girard on the hill, entering the 5th inning, but relaxing when facing this group was a big mistake. The Twins got two walks to lead off the 5th, and RBI singles from Craig Tynan and Jeff Whitehead. One out later, Koustakis drilled a 2-RBI double and the score was suddenly 9-5. Girard was able to bear down and got 2 routine groundouts to end the rally, but the damage was done. Instead of worrying about ending the game early, the Cubs now had to hang on for dear life.
The Cubs' offense again answered the bell, with an important insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Rosen singled and stole second. With two outs and Rosen still on second, Mike Reutter drilled a RBI single and the Cubs' lead grew to 5. Girard did allow two one-out singles to Owens and Tynan, in the top of the 7th, but got a pop out to the mound and a routine grounder to second out with the Twins 3 and 4 hitters at the plate, to finish the game and start the cooler session.
The Cubs remain atop the standings at 9-0, with the win. The Twins remain in 4th, at 4-3-1, with the loss. Mark my words, this Twins team will upset one of the top 3 teams, in the 55+ division., in the second half of the season. Their hitting, defense, and team speed are all top notch, and they have two pitchers that can beat any team on any given night. If they get it all put together in any one game -- Watch Out! I know that the Cubs won't be taking them lightly.
The Cubs resume the defense of their 2024 title next Tuesday night at 6:00 pm, at Watervliet High School, against the Dodgers.
