TORONTO — No, Rocco Baldelli said before the game, the Twins weren’t looking forward to seeing Kevin Gausman, despite their lengthy history of success against the Blue Jays’ ace.

“He’s one of the best pitchers in the league,” the Twins’ manager said. “I don’t think anyone’s excited to see one of the best pitchers in the league.”

One of the best pitchers in the league against everyone else. Not against the Twins. Minnesota has Gausman’s number. This much is clear.

In his four starts before Saturday’s, Gausman had given up just two earned runs in 24 innings. The Twins chased him out of the game after three innings in which he gave up seven runs (six earned).

And yet, they still lost. The Twins’ offense ran hot and cold in Saturday’s 10-8 loss to the Blue Jays, continuing their reign of dominance over Gausman but failing to do much after his exit.

“We had some good at-bats early. We tried to keep Gausman in the zone,” Baldelli said. “But the guys that came in late for them, they attacked in the zone pretty well.”

Gausman wound up taking a no-decision after the Blue Jays rallied against the Twins’ bullpen. But though they lost, that doesn’t make the Twins’ continued dominance against one of the best in the game any less impressive. In 13 starts against them, Gausman has now given up 49 earned runs in 63 2/3 innings (6.93 earned-run average).

The Twins wasted no time Saturday, with the leadoff hitter, Edouard Julien, reaching base with his first hit. Two outs later, Max Kepler broke his bat on an infield single that extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games.

Carlos Correa’s broken-bat single brought home the first run of the day, and a single by Alex Kirilloff that got past left fielder Davis Schneider plated two more runs. With that, the Twins were off to the races.

They tacked on another run in the second, hiking up Gausman’s pitch count in the process. And in the third, after Willi Castro nearly missed a two-run home run, settling for a double instead, Carlos Santana slammed his second home run in as many days, a shot out to straightaway center field.

Santana said he had a good plan for Gausman and executed it perfectly. Whast was the plan?

“Looking middle-up,” Santana said.

That helped send Gausman to the showers early.

“You’re on top of the world for an hour, three or four innings,” Baldelli said. “We probably scored a bunch of our runs with good swings and having a good idea and following with a plan against a pitcher. But the same thing works on their end, too. They couldn’t stop us early in the game, and we couldn’t stop them in the middle of the game and late in the game.”

Briefly

The Twins will send Bailey Ober to the mound in the series finale against the Blue Jays. He will face off against Alek Manoah. After Sunday’s game, the Twins will have an off day before playing host to the New York Yankees. … The Twins will look for their sixth straight series win on Sunday. If they accomplish that, it would be the first time they have done so since 2010. … The loss snapped the Twins’ seven-game road winning streak. Their club record is eight straight road wins, accomplished three separate times.

Macalester College’s new mascot — the Highland Cow — was unveiled during the college’s commencement on Saturday, school officials said.

The cow, also known as Heiland Coo, was selected based on input from thousands of college alumni, students, faculty and staff. Early in the college’s history, a cow was brought to the third floor of Old Main as a prank by students. In addition, one suggestion for the new mascot pointed out that the first herd book for Highland cattle was created in 1885, the same year as the college’s first graduating class.

“I’m excited that our community has helped us to choose the Highland Cow. Like this iconic breed, we stand tall, resilient, and proud,” said Donnie Brooks, Macalester’s director of athletics and associate vice president for student affairs.

The Highland Cow will make its debut this fall, and a complete rebranding for athletics will be rolled out on uniforms and in other variations over time. Macalester’s athletic teams will still be called the Scots.

The Highland Cow replaces Mac the Scot, the college’s mascot since 2005.

“Mac the Scot, our current mascot, will retire to Scotland where, in his final charge, he will watch Macalester’s pipe band perform in the world championships in Glasgow on August 16 and 17,” college officials said in a press release.

Related Articles

Walz names two women to fill vacancies on Ramsey County District Court bench

Myon Burrell is arrested for second time since sentence was commuted in 2008 slaying

St. Paul man charged with carjacking and shooting motorist in Cub Foods parking lot

Legal Marijuana Now loses major party status following Minnesota Supreme Court ruling

TKDA engineering and design firm to leave St. Paul for Bloomington, taking 300 employees

 

 

TORONTO — It looked as if it were going to be a blowout.

The Twins had put up seven runs against Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman through the first three innings, chasing him early. They held a six-run advantage at one point.

Things turned quickly.

Starter Simeon Woods Richardson was tagged for five runs and the Twins’ bullpen was leaky in a 10-8 loss to Toronto on Saturday at Rogers Centre. Twins pitchers did not throw a clean inning all game.

The Twins, who at one point led 7-1, gave up three runs in the fifth inning, and two apiece in the sixth and seventh to snap their three-game winning streak. No pitcher was unscathed.

Woods Richardson allowed a run in the second and two more in the third against the team that traded him away two years ago before being forced out in the fifth.

Cole Sands, who followed, allowed a two-run home run to Danny Jansen, then ran into more trouble an inning later. He was lifted with a pair on for Steven Okert, brought in to face lefty Daulton Varsho.

In one of the game’s most pivotal plate appearances, Okert got two quick strikes on Varsho before issuing a seven-pitch walk, setting up a bases-loaded situation for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The dangerous first baseman, who finished the day with four hits, delivered a key double, tying the game 8-8.

TORONTO, ON – MAY 11: Alex Kirilloff #19 of the Minnesota Twins slides safely into third base after hitting a two-RBI triple in the first inning during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on May 11, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

It was Jay Jackson’s turn next and the former Blue Jay didn’t fare well, either, allowing a pair of hits and recording just one out before he was replaced by Caleb Thielbar.

Similar to Okert an inning earlier, Thielbar walked the first batter he faced, George Springer, to set up a bases-loaded situation. Ernie Clement’s single and Davis Schneider’s sacrifice fly put two more runs on the board, giving the Jays the lead.

Much of the Blue Jays’ production came after the Twins’ own offensive outburst in which they again battered Gausman, one of the best starters in the game.

The Twins scored three runs in the first, tacked on another in the second and used home runs from Carlos Santana (a three-run shot) and Ryan Jeffers in the third and fourth innings respectively.

But their offense was then shut down entirely by a Blue Jays bullpen that has been among the worst in baseball. Sixteen consecutive batters were sent down in order before Max Kepler doubled in the ninth inning.

Bill Musselman, the first Minnesota Timberwolves coach in 1989, built his reputation on defense. He called his defense a “Hyperbolic Paraboloid Transitional Floating Zone,” Kevin Wilson said last week.

Bill Musselman, Head Coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves shouts instructions to Power Forward #42 Sam Mitchell and Shooting Guard #19 Tony Campbell during the NBA Midwest Division basketball game against the Denver Nuggets on 15th November 1990 at the McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado, United States. The Nuggets won the game 121 – 108. (Photo by Tim DeFrisco/Allsport/Getty Images)

Wilson played for Musselman at Ashland College in Ohio, then became an assistant to Bill with the Timberwolves.

“At Ashland in the 1968-69 season, we set the college defense record, holding teams to an average of 33.9 points a game,” Wilson said. “It’s still the record. It never will be broken.”

Musselman was so crazed about defense that before games at Ashland, on a chalkboard in the locker room, he would write the number of points he wanted his team to hold the opponent to. If the opposition scored more than that number, they would be required to practice after the game. Some practices started at 10 p.m.

Before one game against Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Musselman wrote “zero” on the chalkboard. He wasn’t joking.

“We didn’t shut them out, but we led 29-5 at halftime,” Wilson recalled.

“Bill would be proud of the Timberwolves’ defense this season,” Wilson said.

But not for Friday night’s 117-90 West semifinal playoff loss to Denver.

—These days, Wilson, 75, runs the academic study hall for athletes at Texas Christian University. Ashland teammate Jimmy Williams, 76, who became a popular assistant with the Gophers, remains in grave health in Tampa, Fla.

—Bill Musselman died at age 59 this month 24 years ago from heart and kidney failure. Son Eric, the high-energy new University of Southern California coach whose teams also play stifling defense, was a Timberwolves assistant to his father in 1990-91.

Eric, a two-time head NBA coach, has watched from afar the current Timberwolves — except for Friday — play a suffocating defense.

“Dad would have loved the way they’re competing,” Musselman, 59, said. “Every possession matters defensively — they have defensive competence. Everyone always talks about competence on offense, but they have a defensive disposition and competence that’s on another level.”

—Eric hasn’t been to Williams Arena since the glory days when his father coached the Gophers to rousing overflow crowds. He was just a youngster then, 7 or 8 years old. Now that USC has joined the Big Ten, he’ll return as coach of the Trojans.

“The schedule hasn’t come out, so I don’t know if we play there or they come here, but we’ll either be there this year or next year,” he said. “It’ll be surreal, absolutely incredible.”

—That was Gersson Rosas, now a vice president for the New York Knicks, when he was president of the Timberwolves, choosing Anthony Edwards, then 19, with the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft out of Georgia.

“We are excited to add this young talent to our roster and continue his development to make him the best player he can be,” Rosas said at the time.

As a pro, Edwards has improved dramatically. In his one season at Georgia, he shot 40.2 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three-point range while averaging 19.1 points.

For the Timberwolves this season, the 6-4, 225-pound guard averaged 25.9 points while shooting 46.1 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent with three-pointers.

—An Edwards rookie trading card purchased for $900 the other day already has increased 35 percent in value.

—That was Edwards driving up in a stainless steel Tesla Cybertruck at Target Center the other day.

—It will be announced that the Timberwolves will play the Philadelphia 76ers in an exhibition game next Oct. 11 in Des Moines, Iowa.

—That was Hastings grad Pat Fraher officiating in the 106-80 Wolves victory over the Nuggets in Game 2 in Denver.

—The multi-year head coaching contract Jason Kidd signed with Dallas last week is good news for Cretin-Derham grad Sean Sweeney, who is Kidd’s top assistant in charge of defense. Meanwhile, Sweeney, who could end up as an assistant for Slovenia in the Paris Olympics this summer, has also been mentioned for the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching job.

—The richest person in Minnesota this year is Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor at $2.9 billion, per Forbes, which lists the wealthiest billionaires in every state.

—Joe Mauer, who with brothers Billy and Jake will be inducted into the Mancini’s St. Paul Athletic Hall of Fame on Monday evening at a sold-out Char House banquet, and into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 21, the other day at alma mater Cretin-Derham Hall, wearing a purple Raiders cap, was filmed in an interview for a July 1 induction into the National High School Hall of Fame in Boston.

Mauer will be the NHS Hall of Fame’s first inductee. Also, the other day he was inducted into the Catholic Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame dinner at a 500-ticket sellout.

—When he’s not being inducted into a hall of fame, Mauer and pal Tony Leseman are coaching their 10-year-old daughters in fast-pitch softball.

—A room at the Schenectady, N.Y. Marriott Mohawk Harbor hotel, which is 70 miles from Cooperstown, for the Hall of Fame weekend (July 19-21) costs $1,486.99.

—Dave Winfield has been added to the Hall of Fame Legends game with another ex-Twin, Jim Kaat, on May 25 at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown.

—Saturday was the anniversary of the death of one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet, Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, who died at age 74 in 2011. He would have been 87 today.

—The Twins have a guy at Double-A Wichita, 6-foot-8, 250-pound Carson McCusker, 25, who last week against the Arkansas Travelers hit three home runs that traveled 432 feet, 439 feet and 504 feet.

—Paul Molitor, Brian Raabe and Rob Fornasiere will honor retiring Gophers baseball coach John Anderson on Tuesday at a Dunkers breakfast at Interlachen Country Club.

Anderson on this, his 43rd season as the Gophers coach: “It’s time — I’ve done my part here. I’ll be 69 in May (Thursday) — I don’t want to die with my spikes on.”

—Frankie Capan of North Oaks is No. 22 on the Korn Ferry money list with $119,564.

—The Minnesota Lynx have 13 nationally-televised WNBA games this season. The Indiana Fever, with rookie Caitlin Clark, has 40 nationally-televised games.

—The University of Connecticut, winner of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball championship, has won six national titles since 1999, which was the season the school was led by Minneapolis North point guard legend Khalid El-Amin.

El-Amin, now 44 and coach at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, the night before the recent championship game gave a motivational speech to UConn players, who then decimated Purdue 75-60 in Glendale, Ariz. He reminded the players of the UConn legacy.

“I told them they had an opportunity to make history,” El-Amin told the Pioneer Press. “We play this game because we want to be remembered, and you all have a chance to do that. Only two other teams ever have gone back to back (championships). This is an opportunity that you have to take advantage of.’

—El-Amin, who teaches physical education at the East African Elementary Magnet School in St. Paul, said his first choice when choosing a college was Minnesota, not UConn. He committed to Minnesota as a high school sophomore.

Clem Haskins was the Minnesota coach.

“I’m from Minnesota, I love the U, I love Clem Haskins — they went to the Final Four in 1996-97,” El-Amin said. “Unfortunately, the majority of those players were going to leave after that year. I want to win, and I didn’t feel we were going to be able to compete for a national championship.

“That was the reason why UConn came into the picture. When I took my (recruiting) visit, I saw we had what it took to reach the Final Four and win a national championship. As far as winning, I think I made the right decision. But Minnesota definitely was my first choice.”

—If El-Amin were playing in college today, his name, image and likeness (NIL) would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“I can’t say how much I would have made, but I’m confident I would have been very comfortable, and that would have allowed me to stay all four years in college.” he said. “These guys (today) are making good money, and they should — they’re doing a lot for the university. It’s just a sign of the times. It’s the state of college basketball now — you have to pay the players, and whoever can pay the most will have the opportunity to get the best players.”

—Purdue and Illinois are said to have the Big Ten’s largest men’s basketball NIL budgets, about $2.5 million a year. Insiders say the Gophers’ men’s basketball NIL budget is barely one-fourth of that.

—The University of St. Thomas has started a NIL collective, but only for men’s basketball.

Don’t print that

—Under the circumstances, the Vikings did as well as they could with their two first-round picks in the recent draft — quarterback J.J. McCarthy and edge rusher Dallas Turner — but moving up to do it could cost them in next year’s draft. Currently, the Vikings have only three picks in 2025, and two are in the fifth round. The other is their first-round pick, which could be a top-10.

It does appear the Vikings will get a third-round pick as compensation for losing free agent QB Kirk Cousins to Atlanta. But that’s expected to be late in the round, almost tantamount to a high fourth-round pick.

—Most likely, the Vikings next year will end up trading down in the first-round to recoup a second- or third-round pick.

—There’s whispering that the Vikings have strongly appealed a Falcons tampering charge in the signing of Cousins that’s expected to end up in arbitration.

—In an ideal world, McCarthy would play the whole season in a development year, but placeholder Sam Darnold, 26, with a $10 million, one-year contract, will start the season unless something unexpected occurs.

—Former Vikings first-round safety bust Lewis Cine, because he’s guaranteed $4 million over the next two seasons, is untradeable. It’s likely he’ll get waived in training camp. If a team were to claim him, it would be responsible for the $4 million. After clearing waivers, some team might be willing to sign him as a free agent.

A second-round pick, cornerback Andrew Booth, who is guaranteed $900,000 next season, seems close to being done as a Viking.

—McCarthy, who just turned 21, can expect a four-year contract worth nearly $23 million. Joe Alt, the Totino Grace grad drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers, will get a deal worth nearly $35 million over four years.

—The Vikings, who finished 7-10 last season, have a 75 percent chance of NOT making the playoffs next season, per BetOnline.ag.

—If the Vikings add any veterans at this point, they likely will be just one-year veteran minimum deals.

—Dallas Turner, asked via Instagram his plans for his first purchases since the draft: “I have a couple equity deals going on right now, but probably F1. I’m already invested in F1, but probably a lot more.”

—If Timberwolves President Tim Connelly exercises his contract out-clause after the season, word in basketball circles is that his successor could be ex-Timberwolf Calvin Booth, who is general manager of the Nuggets.

—A little birdie says incoming sophomore Cam Christie’s decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal was made two weeks before the basketball portal deadline. The 6-6 guard can expect a NIL deal of about $75,000 a month over 10 months.

—There’s buzz that ex-Gopher Pharrel Payne will get $40,000 a month over two years in NIL money from Texas A&M, plus use of a new Mercedes automobile. Another Gophers transfer, Elijah Hawkins, reportedly is getting $30,000 from Texas Tech.

—Incoming Gophers guard Caleb Williams, the 6-2 transfer who on Saturday was to graduate from Macalester with a double-major in mathematics and physics, is considering a masters program emphasizing mathematics and business for his final season at Minnesota. He had several transfer opportunities out of the NCAA portal.

“When I was on campus, everybody I talked to was really down to earth, and that made it easy to make a decision,” said Williams, 22, who scored 41 points against the Gophers in an exhibition game last season. “You automatically trust the people you’re talking to — it was a sense of comfort. And, wanting to stay home. It’s a great area and great basketball state.”

A NIL deal isn’t expected to be part of Williams’ transfer.

—The Gophers men’s basketball program is seeking a director of player development. Advertised salary: $42,870.

—Rehabbing Twin Royce Lewis is donning sparkling green cleats during workouts. “I like the color,” he said, adding he still doesn’t know when he’ll be able to return after the quad injury he suffered in the season opener.

—An estimated 100,000 Comcast households have been unable to view Twins games due to its contract dispute with Bally Sports.

“I hate it — it’s immensely disappointing,” inimitable play-by-play voice Cory Provus said. “It’s a shame. I feel terrible — the team went on this historic (12-game) win streak and I feel they got short changed a little bit — (viewers) didn’t get a chance to see the end of it. The timing is terrible. It caught me by surprise, and it caught a lot of people by surprise.”

Any guess on a settlement?

“I have no idea,” he said. “I think the bankruptcy hearing in mid-June is a pretty significant date.”

It won’t be surprising if Twins games end up on a streaming platform.

—Cheapest cost for a four-ticket package to a Lynx game this season is $204.60, per a bookies.com survey. The WNBA’s average for four tickets is $182.49. One of the cheapest, surprisingly, is for the Indiana Fever starring rookie Caitlin Clark: $117.80.

Overheard

—Ex-Vikings QB Tommy Kramer on social media X, recently noting that “none of us” wanted the 1989 trade that brought Herschel Walker to Minnesota, “including the coaches.”

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy speaks to the media during the NFL football team’s rookie minicamp in Eagan, Minn, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
New Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly answers questions during a news conference at The Courts at Mayo Clinic Square in downtown Minneapolis on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer, left, with Mike Schepis in Blaine in July 2020. Schepis, of Watertown, N.Y., put together the two Green Bay Packers urinals that have been in the Blaine home where Kramer lives. (Courtesy of Mike Schepis)

Related Articles

Charley Walters: Look for Vikings to trade up to draft J.J. McCarthy

Charley Walters: Time is now for Vikings to get a franchise quarterback

Charley Walters: Futures of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell hinge on picking right quarterback

Charley Walters: If Kirk Cousins wants to win, Falcons provide easier route

Charley Walters: Timberwolves buyers may need another extension