Rick gets racked

Twins' normally reliable starter allows four homers

Rick Reed had been the Twins' most consistent starter during the season. AP

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Rick Reed faltered just when the Minnesota Twins needed him most.

Reed, the Twins' most experienced starter, matched his career worst by allowing four home runs Friday as Minnesota lost 6-3 to the Oakland Athletics to fall behind 2-1 in the AL division series.

The underdog Twins were brimming with confidence heading into the game, after earning a split of the opening two games of the best-of-five series in Oakland.

They had the support of a deafening, sold-out Metrodome crowd, and most importantly, a playoff-savvy starter.

Reed was 1-1 with a 3.84 ERA in five career postseason starts with the New York Mets, pitching the only game the Mets won in the 2000 Subway Series against the Yankees.

This year, Reed was Minnesota's most consistent starter in an injury-plagued rotation. And with the Twins' offense facing another tough lefty in Barry Zito, Minnesota was relying on its pitching staff to keep it in the game.

But Ray Durham, who came into the game batting .538 against Reed with three homers, led off the game with a sinking liner that center-fielder Torii Hunter tried to catch on his shoestrings. The ball skidded underneath his glove and rolled to the wall as Durham raced all the way around the diamond.

That would be the only cheap run the A's would manage off Reed.

Scott Hatteberg, the second batter of the game, followed with a solo shot over the right-field wall.

Terrence Long hit a solo homer in the fourth inning, and after the Twins fought back to tie it at 3, Reed allowed a leadoff home run in the sixth to Jermaine Dye to put Minnesota behind for good.

Reed, who finished the regular season 15-7 with a 3.78 ERA, worked five-plus innings, giving up four runs, walking two batters and striking out eight -- tying a Twins postseason record.

The four homers tied the postseason record and set an AL division series record. Reed also allowed four homers to the New York Yankees on May 12.

The usually unshakable Reed, whose 1.3 walks per nine innings were the fewest in the American League this season, struggled to find the strike zone and allowed a runner to reach base in every inning he pitched.

He also routinely fell behind on his counts, getting to three balls on seven batters and throwing 100 pitches.

 

Related information

Stories

Zito leads A's to Game 3 victory at Metrodome Series Breakdown: A's vs. Twins SI's Stephen Cannella: Half empty SI's Michael Silver: A for effort

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video