ATLANTA BRAVES 5, MINNESOTA TWINS 4 IN ATLANTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Batting stars:  Joe Mauer was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Justin Morneau was 2-for-4.  Pedro Florimon was 2-for-4.  Ryan Doumit was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Anthony Swarzak pitched four innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits and striking out three.  Casey Fien struck out two in a perfect inning.  Jared Burton struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Brian McCann was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and two RBIs.  B. J. Upton was 2-for-4.  Freddie Freeman was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Jason Heyward was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Evan Gattis hit a home run, his ninth.  Tim Hudson struck out five in five innings, giving up two runs on five hits.  Anthony Varvaro struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Atlanta took the lead in the first inning.  Jason Heyward singled with one out.  With two out Freddie Freeman hit an RBI double followed by Brian McCann’s RBI single, putting the Braves up 2-0.  

The Twins got one back in the second.  Justin Morneau was hit by a pitch.  Ryan Doumit hit a one-out single, and Pedro Florimon delivered a two-out RBI single to make it 2-1.  The Twins tied it in the third on consecutive one-out singles by Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham, and Justin Morneau.

Atlanta got the lead back when Brian McCann led off the fourth with a home run.  From there, no one got a man past first until the eighth.  Joe Mauer led off the inning with a single and Josh Willingham walked.  With one out, Trevor Plouffe! and Ryan Doumit hit consecutive one-out RBI singles to give the Twins their first lead of the game at 4-3.

It would turn out to be their only lead of the game.  It held until the bottom of the ninth, when with two out Evan Gattis hit a pinch-hit home run to tie the game.  The tenth was similar.  The first two batters went out, but Jason Heyward doubled, Justin Upton was intentionally walked, and Freddie Freeman singled home the deciding run for the Braves.

WP:  Craig Kimbrel (1-1).

LP:  Brian Duensing (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jamey Carroll was at second base in place of Brian Dozier.  Ryan Doumit was in right field.  Chris Parmelee played the most games in right (68), with Doumit following at 32.  Doumit played the most games at DH (49), but there was no DH in this game.

Joe Mauer was batting .337.  He would finish at .324.  Justin Morneau was batting .309.  He would finish at .259.

Jared Burton had an ERA of 2.25.  He would finish at 3.82.

Andrelton Simmons was the Atlanta shortstop, going 0-for-5.  He would play for the Twins in 2021.

The Twins had ten hits, all singles.

The Twins emptied their bench.  Oswaldo Arcia and Chris Parmelee were used as pinch-hitters.  Brian Dozier was a pinch-runner.  Wilkin Ramirez and Eduardo Escobar came in to play defense.

The Twins had eight pitchers who made ten or more starts.  Five of them had ERAs above five:  Mike Pelfrey, who started this game (5.19), Scott Diamond (5.43), Kyle Gibson (6.53), Pedro Hernandez (6.83), and the Vanimal, Vance Worley (7.21).  In addition, Liam Hendriks, who made eight starts, ahd an ERA of 6.85.  In total, the Twins gave 93 starts to pitchers with ERAs over five.  It’s hard to win that way.

Record:  Atlanta was 27-18, in first place in the NL East, 4.5 games ahead of Washington.  They would finish 96-66, in first place, ten games ahead of Washington

The Twins were 18-24, in fifth (last) place in the AL Central, seven games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 66-96, in fourth place, twenty-seven games behind Detroit.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 30-36 (.455).

KANSAS CITY ROYALS 6, MINNESOTA TWINS 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 9, 1971.

Batting star:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Rod Carew was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  None.

Opposition stars:  Freddie Patek hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs.  Paul Schaal was 2-for-4 with a home run (his sixth), a walk, and two RBIs.  Bobby Knoop was 2-for-4.  Mike Hedlund pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks.

The game:  Freddie Patek led off the game with a double and Paul Schaal followed with a single, putting Kansas City up 1-0.  In the second, singles by Bobby Knoop, Patek, and Schaal loaded the bases with two out and Amos Otis delivered a two-run single, making the score 3-0 Royals.

The Twins threatened in the second, getting singles by Rod Carew and Jim Holt, but nothing came of it.  In the third, however, Steve Braun and Cesar Tovar each walked with one out.  Harmon Killebrew singled home one run, a ground out scored another, and a Leo Cardenas triple tied the score 3-3.

Each team threatened in the third but did not score.  Freddie Patek hit a two-out triple for Kansas City, and Jim Perry and Steve Braun hit one-out singles for the Twins, but it remained 3-3.  There were no more threats until the eighth, when Rod Carew and Leo Cardenas hit one-out singles, but again the score remained 3-3.

Then came the ninth.  Bobby Knoop singled with one out.  Starter Jim Perry remained in the game and struck out Lou Piniella, but Freddie Patek then hit a two-run homer and Paul Schaal followed with a solo shot, making the score 6-3.  The Twins did not get a man past first in the ninth, and the game went to the Royals.

WP:  Tom Burgmeier (4-2).

LP:  Jim Perry (12-8).

S:  Ted Abernathy (15).

Notes:  Rich Reese was in left, with Cesar Tovar moving to right and Tony Oliva on the bench.

Tom Burgmeier would pitch for the Twins from 1974-1977.

Jim Perry somehow made the all-star team in 1971.  This was his last start before the all-star break, and he was 12-8, 4.10, 1.37 WHIP.  Not awful, but not numbers that say “all-star”.  He had won the Cy Young award in 1970, and so presumably made the team based on reputation.  He would finish 17-17, 4.23, 1.35 WHIP.  It was his worst ERA since 1961 (when, oddly enough, he also made the all-star team) and would be his worst until his last season since 1975.

The two Royals who homered in the ninth were very unlikely home-run hitters.  Paul Schaal hit 57 career home runs, with a career high of 11 in 1971.  Freddie Patek hit 41 career home runs, with a career high of 6 in 1971.

Jim Kaat was used as a pinch-hitter in the ninth.  As we said recently, Kaat was over-rated as a batter–it was “good hitter for a pitcher”, not “good hitter”.  In 1971, he batted .161/.179/.194.  If he was truly their best pinch-hitting option, it speaks very poorly of the Twins’ bench.

On the other hand, he did get a hit.

Record:  Kansas City was 43-39, in second place in the AL West, eleven games behind Oakland.  They would finish 85-76, in second place, sixteen games behind Oakland.

The Twins were 39-46, in third place, 16.5 games behind Oakland. They would finish 74-86, in fifth place, 26.5 games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 30-35 (.462).

MINNESOTA TWINS 4, TAMPA BAY RAYS 3 IN TAMPA BAY

Date:  Thursday, September 5, 2024.

Batting stars:  Ryan Jeffers was 2-for-4 with a double.  Edouard Julien hit a three-run homer, his eighth.  Matt Wallner hit a home run, his eleventh.

Pitching stars:  Pablo Lopez struck out nine in 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk.  Griffin Jax struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  Jhoan Duran struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars: Jonny DeLuca was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Yandy Diaz was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  Jose Miranda and Carlos Santana led off the second with singles, and Edouard Julien hit a home run, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead.  It went to 4-0 in the third, when Matt Wallner hit a one-out home run.

Tampa Bay got on the board in the bottom of the third.  Jonny DeLuca and Taylor Walls led off with singles.  The next two batters went out, but a walk to Brandon Lowe loaded the bases and Junior Caminero delivered a two-run single, cutting the Twins’ lead in half at 4-2.

The Twins got a man to third in the fifth when Austin Martin walked, stole second, and went to third on a ground out, but he was stranded there.  The Rays tallied again in the seventh when Jonny DeLuca led off with a double and scored on a two-out double from Yandy Diaz.  The tying run was in scoring position, but Griffin Jax came on to retire Brandon Lowe on a grounder to second to end the inning.

Christopher Morel hit a two-out triple in the eighth, but he was stranded on third.  The last for Tampa Bay batters went out, and the victory was preserved.

WP:  Pedro Lopez (14-8).

LP:  Taj Bradley (6-10).

S:  Jhoan Duran (22).

Notes:  One really can’t say what the “regular” lineup was in 2024, because only two players played as many as one hundred games at one position.  Willi Castro was at short in this game, with Carlos Correa out due to injury.  Austin Martin was in center, with Byron Buxton out due to injury.

Michael Helman was batting .500.  He would finish at .300.  Jose Miranda was batting .301.  He would finish at .284.

Griffin Jax had an ERA of 1.89.  He would finish at 2.03.

Ben Rortvedt came in to catch late in the game.  He played for the Twins in 2021.

Michael Helman was a September call-up.  He was mostly used as a pinch-runner, as in this game, or as a defensive replacement.  He appeared in nine games but had just ten at-bats.

There’s not much I can tell you about this game or this team that you don’t know.  In fact, you may even remember this specific game.  I do.

Record:  Tampa Bay was 69-71, in fourth place in the AL East, 11.5 games behind Baltimore.  They would finish 80-82, in fourth place, fourteen games behind New York.

The Twins were 76-64, in second place in the AL Central, four games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 82-80, in fourth place, 10.5 games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 30-34 (.469).