Twins Hit Unlikely Back-To-Back Homers Off Trevor Hoffman, Win 7th Straight

So there I was, watching the Twins on TV out west in San Diego. I was just getting over the shock of having seen Dennys Reyes get whatever-lefty-Gardy-had-him-face-in-the-eighth (the usual...) out on one pitch when I realized the Twins were probably going to extras, tied 1-1 through 8.

I mean really, the signs were all there. In the game was Trevor Hoffman, who really didn't have anything to save. This was a Hold situation.

Maybe I'm the only one who's noticed this, but every time Joe Nathan comes in in the ninth, he never loses a lead. You'd have to go to June 16, 2005 to find a game that Nathan lost when he entered a tied ballgame. So I figure Hoffman probably operates the same way.

We even had Dick and Bert jinxing it, talking about how the Padres have played an 18-inning and a 22-inning game this year. (San Diego fans, I'm sorry to hear that.) But I was resigned to extra innings, and that was that.

Hoffman rung up the first two guys fairly routinely, and my mind wandered to how Gardy would handle an 18-inning game, particularly with his bullpen. But that's another topic for another day.

Up came Brendan Harris, and I barely had time to realize he was up when Hoffman had pitched him an inside meatball not unlike some of the "gopher-balls" that we saw out of Boof Bonser. Harris hit a dinger as nonchalantly as if the Twins were always a power-hitting team. And then before I could get over that, Brian Buscher made me feel better about us dropping Macri back down by hitting a homer of his own! Alright!

Nathan made quick work and here we are—the first week the Twins have gone without losing since February (See, haha! I gotcha! You didn't think about Spring Training!)

It's the longest winning streak since July 2006 when the Twins had eight. We've kept pace with the ChiSox and are still a game and a half back. Is this all a dream?

There are too many headlines that an excited Twins fan like myself could write. Feel free to springboard!

•Everett? Lamb? Tolbert? Who needs them? Did you see Casilla's slick play at second? And Brendan and Buscher go yard back to back? How about that!

•Twins starters rock a solid 1.35 ERA combined in the last seven games! In the words of Kung Fu Panda: "Ska-doosh!"

•Twins do fine without the HRs (well, not tonight)

•Dennys Reyes back on track

Et cetera!

But for right now, let's enjoy what we got. Back-to-back dingers are hard to come by. Actually, dingers are hard to come by, for the Twinkies.

But maybe if we all got Hoffman-specialty meatballs, times would change. Maybe. And maybe Gomez will learn how to fly, too. Maybe.

But now, cherish hearing the words "Twins Win Seven in a Row."