Then the Twins got back to business
Radke angles for 8-3 victory
MINNEAPOLIS -- With baseball postponed for eight days, Brad Radke turned to his other passion.
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"I've been fishing the last five days," Radke said. "Doing a lot of casting. It might sound funny, but it might have helped.",
Radke carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning and got 18 hits of support Tuesday night as the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3.
The teams returned to the field after a weeklong break following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The resumption of games helped players and fans take their minds off the tragedy for a short time, at least.
Manager Tom Kelly consoled pitcher Brad Radke after he gave up back-to-back home runs to the Detroit Tigers in the eighth inning to break up his no-hitter. Radke tipped his cap to the crowd as he left the field.
"Everybody was excited to get back to their jobs," Minnesota's Denny Hocking said. "It was nice to be able to stretch again at 4:30, and to be able to know what batting practice group you're in."
For the Twins, it was a chance to get their ace on the mound.
"On probably one of the most difficult nights to focus or concentrate, you couldn't have seen a better effort," Hocking said.
That covers both Radke and the Twins.
Radke (13-9) gave up two runs and two hits in 7 2-3 innings, walking none and striking out eight. He lost his no-hit bid when Shane Halter led off the eighth with a home run.
The Twins played like the AL Central division leaders they were for more than four months -- before a second-half swoon pushed them six games behind the Cleveland Indians.
"It was a fun night," Minnesota manager Tom Kelly said. "The people who were here had a good time, and that was important. I got mixed emotions before the game, but once it started, I got into it. Of course, when the guy's pitching a no-hitter, if you can't get into that ..."
Radke struck out Eric Munson and Wendell Magee after Halter's homer. With two outs in the eighth, Chris Wakeland followed with his first major league homer, chasing the right-hander, who tipped his cap to the 10,878 fans after being replaced by Bob Wells.
In his first start since Sept. 6, Radke threw 104 pitches, 75 for strikes. The Twins, who are 22-36 since the All-Star break, were tied for first place on Aug. 11.
Radke was working on a perfect game with one out in the seventh, but third baseman Corey Koskie threw wildly for an error after fielding Damion Easley's grounder.