May 24, 2004: A rather normal-looking game between the Indians and Twins takes place. Before the game, Twins starting pitcher Kyle Lohse comes down with an illness. However, due to Minnesota being on the midst of a twelve day road trip, their pitching staff is drained of energy, Lohse elects to battle not just the Tribe, but also a virus. It starts off pretty rough for him, as Matt Lawton hits a grounder up the middle for a single. However, an Omar Vizquel double play ball quickly ends Lawton’s time on the basepaths. Lohse cruises through the 3rd inning. After retiring Lawton to begin the fourth, then throwing strike one to Vizquel, one of the most bizarre moments of the season happens, which Twins play-by-play man Herb Carneal would describe on WCCO.
“Kyle set here, and he’ll step off the mound. Now he’s bent over, and he’s gotten sick on the mound. Kyle Lohse has left his lunch on the field.”
The umpire would call time to give everyone a moment to process what just happened, and Ron Gardenhire would try to talk Lohse into exiting the game. However, Lohse would say no, and retook the mound. The Twinnies hurler (in both senses of the word) looked dead before, after, and during every pitch, but despite that, the Indians couldn’t touch him, as that first single remained the only base hit for the Cleveland club. However, Cliff Lee was matching his opposite, as he was holding Minnesota scoreless. Going into the 7th, Lohse looked like he had overcame the virus attacking his immune system, but jsut then, it happened again. Lohse turned away from the plate, bent over, and spilt his guts. And, again, he rallied through it, throwing yet another 1-2-3 inning. In the top of the 8th, he got some help. Down 1-2 in the count, Joe Mauer crushes a Lee fastball into the Cleveland sky, before it lands in the Jacobs Field stands. Getting his run support, Lohse strikes out Ben Broussard, Casey Blake, and Travis Hafner in the bottom of the inning. He is now just three outs away from one of the gutsiest performances we’ve seen in a long time, a one-hit, zero-walk shutout while suffering an intense sickness. In the bottom of the ninth, Kyle would induce an easy grounder out of Victor Martinez, before another memorable moment from this game occurs. Ronnie Belliard would take a fastball from Lohse way deep to center, but Torii Hunter would make a spectacular grab to negate the would-be tying homer. So, with one batter left to face, Coco Crisp, Lohse would take a deep breath before firing in strike one on the inside corner. Then, ball one in the dirt. The third pitch to Crisp would be another strike, this time a swing and miss on a curveball. Finally, an incredible outing would reach its climax, which Carneal brought home nicely.
“Here’s the pitch, 1-2 count, Lohse deals, and it’s popped up, towards the first base side, Mientkiewicz under it, and he hails it in! The Twins win an awesome game, led by a gem from Kyle Lohse!”
Immediately after the final out, Lohse collapsed to the Jacobs Field mound, looking like he’d faced a ten-thousand man army, absolutely exhausted. After a brief interview, Lohse would be rushed to the hospital, where it would be discovered he pitched the game with a 102.4 degrees fever.
