Target Field

Target Field's reputation as a tough place for power hitters hasn't vanished. The Twins, A's and Royals combined to hit only three homers in five games there last week, with Jason Kubel hitting one ball to the warning track in right that teammate Danny Valencia thought was "going to be in the upper deck. " … Keys to the Indians' fast start — shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who has four homers and 14 RBIs and won a game with a squeeze bunt; 3-4-5 starters Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and Mitch Talbot; the bullpen trio of closer Chris Perez and lefties Rafael Perez and Tony Sipp, who allowed four hits in their first 17 innings; and greatly improved fielding, which manager Manny Acta is most happy about.

The Angels' game against the Minnesota Twins scheduled for Wednesday night in Minneapolis has been postponed because of rain at Target Field. Although both teams are off Thursday, the forecast calls for six inches of snow. So that probably won't work out. The best available makeup date could be Sept. 9, when both teams are off again and the Angels will be headed to Toronto for a series the following day. The Twins also had to postpone a game against the New York Mets on Sunday.

Reporting from Minneapolis Torii Hunter got to Target Field at about 1 p.m. CDT Friday, six hours before the Angels' first game in Minnesota's new $522-million open-air stadium, and after taking a tour of the facility the Angels right fielder declared, "This place is awesome!" Hunter, who played nine years for the Twins in the dingy and sparsely appointed Metrodome, loved the limestone exterior and interior accents, the playing surface, the seating configurations and the giant video board.

MINNEAPOLIS - Angels outfielder Mike Trout headed out for batting practice at Target Field on Monday wearing a red ski-mask-like pullover on his head and face that made him look like Spiderman. Several teammates wore hats with ear flaps and heavy hooded sweatshirts. There are still snow drifts around the city, and the forecast for Monday night's game against the Minnesota Twins calls for a temperature of 39 degrees. But a bigger problem than the cold might be wind gusts of up to 25 mph, which will make it feel like 28 degrees.

Reporting from Boston — Target Field, the new 39,504-seat, open-air home of the Minnesota Twins, is not The House That Torii Hunter Built, but the outfielder will definitely feel a sense of proprietorship when he and the Angels play their first game there Friday night. Hunter played nine seasons (1999-2007) for the Twins in the Metrodome, a dungeon-like facility in which players routinely lost track of fly balls in the dingy roof and took a constant pounding from the artificial surface.

The Angels' game against the Minnesota Twins scheduled for Wednesday night in Minneapolis has been postponed because of rain at Target Field. Although both teams are off Thursday, the forecast calls for six inches of snow. So that probably won't work out. The best available makeup date could be Sept. 9, when both teams are off again and the Angels will be headed to Toronto for a series the following day. The Twins also had to postpone a game against the New York Mets on Sunday.

Tuesday through Thursday: at Boston Friday through Sunday: at Minnesota No American League team has been hotter than the Twins in the second half, and it's not hard to see why. Baseball's best-hitting team entered Friday batting .314 and averaging more than six runs a game since the break. Don't blame the Twins' new ballpark, though. Target Field is only slightly smaller than the dreary Metrodome, and although Minnesota has a much better record and a much higher batting average at home, the team has hit more than twice as many home runs on the road.

Minnesota right-hander Kevin Slowey pitched no-hit ball for seven innings Sunday but was removed by Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire because of concern about his health. Slowey, who had missed his previous start because of elbow tendinitis, had made 106 pitches when Gardenhire replaced him with Jon Rauch , who gave up a double to the first batter he faced. Gardenhire was booed by fans at Target Field and acknowledged after the Twins' 4-2 victory, "I would boo me too. I took a pitcher out with a no-hitter going.

MINNEAPOLIS - Angels outfielder Mike Trout headed out for batting practice at Target Field on Monday wearing a red ski-mask-like pullover on his head and face that made him look like Spiderman. Several teammates wore hats with ear flaps and heavy hooded sweatshirts. There are still snow drifts around the city, and the forecast for Monday night's game against the Minnesota Twins calls for a temperature of 39 degrees. But a bigger problem than the cold might be wind gusts of up to 25 mph, which will make it feel like 28 degrees.

Minneapolis ? Indoors or outdoors, the New York Yankees still own the Minnesota Twins in the playoffs. Mark Teixeira hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning and the Yankees rallied to a 6-4 victory Wednesday night in Game 1 of the AL division series, the Twins' 10th consecutive postseason loss. "Game-winning homers," Teixeira said with a wide smile on his face, "there's nothing better. " Yankees ace CC Sabathia labored, but reliever David Robertson fanned Jim Thome in a key spot and Mariano Rivera got the final four outs to close another win for the defending World Series champions.

MINNEAPOLIS — It was the third inning, and it was only one run, but Ervin Santana reacted in the dugout as if it was the turning point of a playoff game, thrusting both fists sharply into the air after Mike Trout's run-scoring double clanged off the left-center field wall in Target Field. The Angels right-hander, for the first time in seven starts this season, had a lead. "I was very excited," Santana said after throwing 71/3 strong innings to lead the Angels to a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.

- Jered Weaver left Monday night's game against the Minnesota Twins after six innings with a new appreciation for Johnny Vander Meer, the Cincinnati Reds left-hander who in 1938 became the only pitcher in major league history to throw two consecutive no-hitters. Weaver gave up one run and three hits in an 8-3 victory that gave the Angels their sixth win in eight games, but after throwing a no-hitter against the Twins in Anaheim on Wednesday night, the right-hander had only enough in his tank to throw 89 pitches in Target Field on Monday night.

MINNEAPOLIS - The Angels failed to hold a six-run, fifth-inning lead and a one-run, eighth-inning lead  Thursday as the Minnesota Twins roared back for three runs in the seventh and four in the eighth for a 10-9  victory in Target Field. The last time the Angels surrendered a six-run lead and lost was on May 14, 1994, when they had a 7-0 lead against the Seattle Mariners and lost, 10-7. After blowing the six-run lead and losing one of their top relievers to injury, the Angels took a 7-6 lead in the top of the eighth when Vernon Wells singled, took second on a wild pitch and scored on Peter Bourjos' two-out single to left field.

The season's finish line, just a month in the distance, is in sight. Some teams are starting their finishing kick; others are simply playing out the string. Times staff writer Kevin Baxter takes a look from top to bottom (records and stats though Friday's games.) 1. PHILADELPHIA (83-46): On pace for 105 wins, equaling the most by an NL team in 13 seasons. 2. BOSTON (80-51): A baseball-best 42-26 on the road. 3. N.Y. YANKEES (78-51): Rookie Ivan Nova (13-4) has won last nine decisions 4. MILWAUKEE (79-54)

Reporting from Minneapolis — At least they're not playing Thursday. Don Mattingly looked and sounded as if he could use a day off after the Dodgers' latest defeat, a 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday at Target Field that dropped his team to a season-worst 10 games under .500 and into last place in the National League West. The rookie manager acknowledged that the constant losing has taken an emotional toll. "It wears you down, obviously," Mattingly said. The Dodgers' traveling tragicomedy will take a one-day intermission and resume Friday with a three-game series in Anaheim against the Angels.

For the first month of the season, the Angels' Jered Weaver was the best pitcher in the major leagues. On Saturday, wasn't even the best pitcher at Target Field, which is really saying something when you consider Weaver gave up only two cheap singles and two walks in nine scoreless innings. Minnesota's Anthony Swarzak was even better, though, coming within five outs of a no-hitter in a game the Twins won, 1-0, in 10 innings and in which the Angels managed only one hit. Danny Valencia's one-out, bases-loaded single over right fielder Torii Hunter's head decided the contest, earning Valencia a celebratory whipped-cream pie in the face.

Reporting from Minneapolis — At least they're not playing Thursday. Don Mattingly looked and sounded as if he could use a day off after the Dodgers' latest defeat, a 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday at Target Field that dropped his team to a season-worst 10 games under .500 and into last place in the National League West. The rookie manager acknowledged that the constant losing has taken an emotional toll. "It wears you down, obviously," Mattingly said. The Dodgers' traveling tragicomedy will take a one-day intermission and resume Friday with a three-game series in Anaheim against the Angels.

Fitting Tribute More than 4,000 fans filed into Target Field in Minneapolis on Thursday for a moving 2½-hour memorial to Twins Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew , who died this month of esophageal cancer at 74. Flags flew at half-staff. Huge floral displays — two of them featuring red flowers that formed Killebrew's uniform number, 3 — stood on the field behind the pitcher's mound. And high on a building across the street, a water tower was draped with Killebrew's number as well Twins players were not required to attend the event, and only a handful showed up. But among them was Jim Thome , a man many have compared favorably to Killebrew.

Fitting Tribute More than 4,000 fans filed into Target Field in Minneapolis on Thursday for a moving 2½-hour memorial to Twins Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew , who died this month of esophageal cancer at 74. Flags flew at half-staff. Huge floral displays — two of them featuring red flowers that formed Killebrew's uniform number, 3 — stood on the field behind the pitcher's mound. And high on a building across the street, a water tower was draped with Killebrew's number as well Twins players were not required to attend the event, and only a handful showed up. But among them was Jim Thome , a man many have compared favorably to Killebrew.

Target Field's reputation as a tough place for power hitters hasn't vanished. The Twins, A's and Royals combined to hit only three homers in five games there last week, with Jason Kubel hitting one ball to the warning track in right that teammate Danny Valencia thought was "going to be in the upper deck. " … Keys to the Indians' fast start — shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who has four homers and 14 RBIs and won a game with a squeeze bunt; 3-4-5 starters Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and Mitch Talbot; the bullpen trio of closer Chris Perez and lefties Rafael Perez and Tony Sipp, who allowed four hits in their first 17 innings; and greatly improved fielding, which manager Manny Acta is most happy about.