Did you see that baseball game between the Twins and the Red Sox on Tuesday night? Did you see Johan Santana strike out 13 batters in a dramatic pitching duel with Curt Schilling? Did you see Jason Kubel’s grand slam in the 12th inning to win the game?

If you didn’t you missed a good one. If you did, wasn’t staying up worth it? It was.

They reminded us how baseball was meant to be played. It should be a pitching game, not a hitting

game. Chicks might dig the long ball, but real fans dig the suspense and strategy. Good pitching makes for better games.

When the big swings come, they are all the more glorious. If long balls fall like rain, it’s not a thrill.

That’s why NCAA basketball is more exciting than the NBA. Every point is valuable in NCAA ball. In the NBA, nothing matters much until the fourth quarter. Scoring comes too easy.

It wouldn’t break our hearts to raise the pitcher’s mound to its original level and to get rid of the designated hitter.

Alas, that won’t happen anytime soon. We do admire that the Twins are still playing hard even though they are 12 games behind.

Our suggestion: Don’t give up on the Twins.

Sure, they more or less are out of contention.

But the team is playing for the sake of playing. This young bunch is giving fans something to watch, perhaps a sign of promise for next year.

The next game is at 7:10 p.m. tonight.