Yesterday's win guaranteed the Twins a .500 record for the month. They sit at 14-13 so far with a single game left to keep the month above .500. The Guardians continued their good August with another win to stay 1.5 games ahead of the Twins. The White Sox meanwhile, are not, and have fallen 4.5 games behind the Twins. It's going to be a tight race to the ~86 wins necessary to win the division.
Due to personal time constraints, this is a reprint from last year which has not been updated.
Dad Clarkson (1866)
Duke Farrell (1866)
Red Ehret (1868)
Monte Cross (1869) Eddie Plank (1875) Sarge Connally (1898)
Ray Berres (1907) Ray Dandridge (1913) Danny Litwhiler (1916) Frank Robinson (1935) Boots Day (1947)
Claudell Washington (1954)
Tom Candiotti (1957)
Von Hayes (1958) Mike Hartley (1961)
Pat Howell (1968) Hideo Nomo (1968) Tim Raines (1979) Ramon Santiago (1979) Armando Gabino (1983) Juan Nicasio (1986)
Matt Adams (1988)
John Hicks (1989)
Ray Dandridge is considered by some to be the greatest Negro League third baseman.
We would also like to wish a happy birthday to brianS’ son.
Four wins in a row, six loses in a row, back to four wins in a row. Talk about a roller coaster. Twins up against the reeling Red Sox and looking to keep that roller coaster on the upward. Hopefully the plunge isn't against the upcoming series against the Whities.
Red Sox have been bad this year, which given their resources, really speaks to the disorganization in the dugout and front office. I'm not even sure what the plan is with that team. Pitching for the Red Sox is Kutter Crawford who frankly would struggle to even make it on the Twins starting rotation. Chris Archer for the Twins and he's alternated between 4 and 5 innings his last few outings. So he's on tap for a 5 inning stint tonight.
Looks like glorious weather for a game with a first pitch slated at 6:40p.
Cal McVey (1849)
Pol Perritt (1891)
Bing Miller (1894) Kiki Cuyler (1896) Johnny Lindell (1916) Ted Williams (1918)
Frank Funk (1935)
Tug McGraw (1944) Roger Erickson (1956) Randy O’Neal (1960)
Marlon Byrd (1977)
Cliff Lee (1978) Luis Rivas (1979) Roberto Hernandez (1980)
Adam Wainwright (1981)
Taylor Hearn (1994)
Frank Funk served as a pitching coach for five major league teams (not all at the same time).
Randy O’Neal was drafted by Minnesota in 1979, but did not sign.
Taylor Hearn was drafted by Minnesota in 2014 but did not sign.
We would also like to wish a happy birthday to cheaptoy's trinket.
As mentioned, the Twins have a grueling, crucial stretch in front of them. While a sweep of the Giants is nice, these next few series could well decide the course of the rest of the season.
Aaaaand one reason I said that is I guess I haven't been playing close attention because I thought the Red Sox were doing better than this. They're currently in last place in the AL East (though that designation naturally comes with some caveats) at 62-66. Still, I'm sure they could easily be in contention for the Central, so this won't be an easy series. Especially if the assbats are abound as has been a common feature lately.
We start off with some Bello on Bundy action tonight. Dylan allowed 2 runs in 5 innings against the Astros last time, but he didn't record a strikeout. Hopefully another Twins starter can hit six innings tonight.