MINNESOTA SPORTS FAN DAILY: Wednesday, August 30, 2017

By Eric Strack |

Updated: Aug 29, 2017

MSF Daily: 8/30/17

Twins vs White Sox in Game 1 of 3:

This game was in the Twins’ favor very early. Just the way I like it.

Rosario started the scoring with a fielders choice out that should have been a double play. A bad throw by Shields to the 2nd base bag caused the shortstop to jump off and have to tag Joe Mauer, leaving no time to get Rosario. Dozier scored as a result. Then Buxton would make it hurt even more when he drove in Rosario a couple hitters later, scoring the second run of the game.

The Twins were up 2-0 going to the 2nd inning.

It didn’t take long for the streaking Jorge Polanco to jump in and extend the lead in the 3rd inning:

#MLB | ?@Jorge_Polanco1?? ESTÁ QUE ARDE?. HR # 8 del año pero 5º del mes. .254 y 53 CE en 2017, .391 y 21 CE en agosto. ?@hgomez27 pic.twitter.com/s6shY6xCdQ

— Sala Deportiva (@SalaDeportivaRD) August 30, 2017

Twins lead 3-0 after 3 innings.

The Twins would snag another in the 4th inning. This time, Escobar hit an RBI single to score Max Kepler. Escobar is having a very quiet but good year. He is hitting a solid .252 but his totals are pretty incredible for a guy who only plays half the games. He has 12 HR, 48 RBI, and 39 R. He is Nick Punto on steroids.

Twins lead 4-0 after 4 innings.

The White Sox would finally get their first run in the 6th inning off a Garcia double that scored Abreu. Up until this point, Ervin Santana had a shutout and just a handful of hits.

The Twins would answer, however. Escobar would come though again with another RBI. This time it was a SAC Fly that scored Kepler again.

Twins lead 5-1 after 6 innings.

The White Sox got the bats going again in the 7th inning. After one run, Santana was pulled for Trevor Hildenberger. He would give up a double to Abreu, who always seems to be on base, and that would score another run that belonged to Santana. The Sox would get 2 in that inning

Jorge doesn’t like two run leads. He likes three run leads. I couldn’t find a video with just his last HR so you will watch all of his night. WTF is happening with this guy:

Defense, power and speed. Jorge Polanco had himself a night for the #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/FtwuP96QVT

— Twins Highlights (@TwinsHighlights) August 30, 2017

Twins lead 6-3 after 7 innings.

The Sox would get one more in the 9th off Belisle but the Twins would prevail and win 6-4 to take the first game in a series they should sweep.

Wednesday, it will be Berrios on the mound against Derek Holland who has a 6.05 ERA. The game will begin at 7:10 PM.

Joe Nathan to retire as a Minnesota Twin:

Joe Nathan had plenty of good moments with the Minnesota Twins. He pitched for the Twins for 7 seasons and collected 260 saves over that stretch. He pitched in big playoff series’. They didn’t always go well. Nonetheless, Nathan was as reliable as it got for a very long time. He came over along with Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser in a trade that sent A.J. Pierzynski to the Giants.

Here is the write up from the StarTribune’s Lavelle Neal III:

Joe Nathan hangs ’em up https://t.co/u9fTYRndVl pic.twitter.com/LrrFDEpYkv

— Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) August 29, 2017

Michael Russo will still cover the Wild with The Athletic:

After shock and panic ran through the Minnesota hockey community over the last few days, when everyone heard Michael Russo was leaving the StarTribune for a new employer, it looks like everyone can calm down.

Russo came out and told everyone that he will NOT be leaving Minnesota and will still be covering the Wild in his new gig. He talked about it with Dan Barreiro from KFAN. He told us via Twitter DM earlier in the day.

He also confirmed, with us, his new job is writing for The Athletic. They are yet to have a Minnesota Hub but I am guessing that is about to change. See my full write up here including our DM’s with Mr. Russo.

Vikings starters may play more in week 4 of preseason due to poor play (StarTribune):

Today, Mike Zimmer told the StarTribune that he may play the starters during the 4th preseason game, because he is so unhappy with how things have gone so far this preseason. Most teams sit their starters during the last preseason game so the can get rest before the season starts and avoid any unnecessary injuries.

Not so fast according to Mike. (Via Mark Craig of the StarTribune)

Mike Zimmer’s unhappiness could result in more preseason game action for #Vikings starters. @markcraignfl writes: https://t.co/WkYPAgwzBy pic.twitter.com/juDWGLjHEs

— Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) August 29, 2017

MSF Daily by Eric Strack @RealMNSportsFan