It was only fitting that after twenty-two years of no cycle for the Minnesota Twins, their new centerfielder, number twenty-two, Carlos Gomez be the next to do it.

Gomez led off the game with a solo homerun, his second of the season. In the third inning, he struck out. He then hit a triple into the gap that just missed going over the fence, falling right in front of the warning track. The very next inning, Gomez lined a ball to left for a double, and reached third on an error. Then, on the first pitch of the ninth inning, magic struck.

Gomez hit the ball back up the middle off of left-handed pitcher Ehren Wassermann’s glove. Shortstop Alexei Ramirez barehanded the ball and threw to first, but Go-Go was there, smile and all.

I thought Gomez might bunt for the single, and he apparently thought about it, but wanted to ‘hack away’.

"When I go to hit, I think I hit bunt and I say, 'No, no, no, no. You can do it. You can hit a base hit off this guy. I say go swinging, go hacking, and when I hit the ground ball, I close my eyes and I run and when I see the pitcher drop the ball, I say, 'You got it! You got it!' "

It was clear that Go-Go knew it was quite an accomplishment. Because when he reached first, he not only pumped his fists, but he also had the biggest smile you’ll ever see.

The cycle is the first for a Twin since Kirby Puckett on August 1, 1986.

Hernandez’s final line was nine innings, nine hits, one run and three strikeouts. Had he not allowed a solo homerun to Jermaine Dye in the ninth inning, it would have been Livan’s first shutout in his Twin career.

Nonetheless, it was an impressive outing for Livan, who is now 5-1 on the season with a 3.83 ERA.

It was a weekend of sadness, fear, excitement and joy for the Minnesota Twins, and it included every type of baseball game imaginable. First it was a blowout for the Twins in game one and then it was the old fashioned pitcher’s battle in game two. To wrap it all up, the Twins did what they’ve done best over the past few seasons, they collected a comeback victory.

The Twins have won five straight games with their perfect homestand, and the month of May couldn’t have gotten off to a better start than with two sweeps over the White Sox and Tigers respectively.

It was a busy weekend, and one we won’t soon forget.

The Twins took an early lead in the opening game of the series, and Livan Hernandez looked brilliant after a poor outing last week. The Twins cruised to a 3-1 lead when fear struck in the fifth inning.

Carlos Gomez was having a great game. He had reached base in both of his first two plate appearances after being hit by a pitch and walking. Gomez went to the plate and singled to reach base for the third straight time. Later in Brendan Harris’ at-bat, Gomez took second base for the second time in the game. Many fans smiled and cheered as Go-Go collected his thirteenth steal of the season, but when Gomez didn’t move, those smiles turned to fear.

Gomez didn’t move for what seemed like forever, and interim manager Scott Ullger along with the team’s trainer ran onto the field. Minutes later, two team doctors wearing suits also rushed to the field. Gomez did eventually move, rise to his feet and then walk to the cart. In the lockeroom, he was deemed good to go, and what could have been a big blow to the team turned out to be just a big scare.

After Gomez exited, the team kept going. They added a run that inning, and then added four in the seventh and three in the eighth to win in dramatic fashion. The final score was 11-1, with Hernandez picking up his fourth win of the season.

Brian Bass would take over however and continue the duel. The Twins scattered runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings to give Bass support, and he took over from there. Bass went four innings after Baker’s exit and allowed no runs and just three hits to collect his first major league victory.

The game almost became close in the eighth inning with Neshek on the mound. After retiring two batters quickly, Neshek surrendered a solo homerun to Curtis Granderson and then a walk and a single to put the tying run at the plate. Fortunately, Jesse Crain relieved Neshek and quickly ended the inning. Joe Nathan then collected save number ten on the season.

The game looked out of reach after the first, not because the Twins didn’t have any offense, but because it looked as if the Tigers had taken all of the momentum. Bonser and the Twins however, never gave up and slowly fought back.

The Twins cut into the lead in the fourth inning with one run, and then narrowed the lead to just a three- run deficit with two more runs in the fifth. The big inning, and the game-winning inning came in the seventh when the Twins scored four runs after a critical Tiger error to take the lead and eventually the game.

Matt Tolbert doubled, and then third basemen Carlos Guillen made an error to allow Punto to reach. Gomez chopped a ball off the plate to reach, and then Brendan Harris reached with a hit after that. The fourth run of the inning went to Joe Mauer when he hit one right back through the middle for the Twins’ lead, 7-6.

Matt Guerrier was solid in the seventh and eighth innings to earn the win and keep the Tigers off the board. Joe Nathan finished up the perfect homestand and series sweep with his fourth save in five games and his eleventh overall on the season.

Let’s hope the great pitching can continue and the bats can keep heating up going into the summer.

It was a scary moment tonight for Twins’ fans in the fifth inning when they likely cheered as Carlos Gomez stole base number two on the game and thirteen on the season. But seconds later, when Gomez didn’t move, those smiles changed to fear.

Gomez was having a pretty good game, he was 1-1 with a single, a hit by pitch, a walk, two runs and two steals. It was all going well for the young speedster. But as he dove head-first into second, Gomez took the Ivan Rodriguez throw off the ear flap and didn’t move.

The team’s trainer rushed to the field along with temporary manager Scott Ullger. Moments later, something that is hardly ever seen happened, two team doctors ran onto the field, wearing suits.

Gomez did finally move after what seemed like forever, and then rose to his feet, and slowly walked to the cart where he was wheeled off the field. Gomez never left the Metrodome, and according to reports, was checked by doctors and is said to be doing okay with no problems.

It is unknown if Go-Go will play tomorrow, but the injury looks much better than it first appeared.

In his last outing, Blackburn was solid other than one poor inning in which he allowed five runs. In the series finale, Blackburn lasted seven innings and allowed eight hits and three runs while also striking out four hitters. The win was Blackburn’s second on the season and he is now 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA.

The Twins used the same pitchers out of the 'pen as they did in the series opener -- Reyes, Neshek and Nathan. This time Reyes was the one to get one out, and was then relieved by Neshek who got the final two outs of the eighth. Joe Nathan was then on for the second straight day, and while he walked one and allowed a hit, Nathan was able to hold the one-run lead for his ninth save of the season.

For the offense, they scored four runs on just seven hits to give the team the win. The Twins trailed multiple times, and scored the winning run in the bottom half of the seventh inning. Carlos Gomez went 3-4 on the day with a double, an RBI, a steal, two runs scored and an outfield assist. Justin Morneau collected another one of the team’s RBI hits, and went 2-4 overall. The other two RBI hits came from Brendan Harris and Michael Cuddyer.

Box Score