TEXAS RANGERS 6, MINNESOTA TWINS 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, August 13, 1992.

Batting star:  Chili Davis was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching star:  Paul Abbott pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up two hits and two walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Kevin Reimer was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer (his fifteenth), a double, and three runs.  Dean Palmer was 2-for-4 with a home run, his twentieth.  Ivan Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.  Ruben Sierra was 2-for-5.  Jose Guzman struck out eleven in a complete game, giving up an unearned run on six hits and a walk.

The game:  With two out in the first inning, Ruben Sierra singled and Kevin Reimer hit a two-run homer, giving Texas a 2-0 lead.  The Twins got on the board in the second when Chili Davis led off with a double, went to third on a fly to right, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

The Rangers scored two more in the third.  Rafael Palmeiro led off with a single and Kevin Reimer singled with one out.  With two down, starter Scott Erickson gave up consecutive walks to Monty Fariss, Ivan Rodriguez, and Jeff Huson.  The last two were with the bases loaded, giving Texas a 4-1 advantage.

The Twins never threatened to get back into the game.  Only twice did they get a man as far as second base, and both times it was with two out.  The Rangers scored one more in the seventh when Dean Palmer led off with a home run.  They got their final run in the ninth when Kevin Reimer led off with a double and scored on an Ivan Rodriguez single.  The final was 6-1 Texas.

WP:  Jose Guzman (10-9).

LP:  Scott Erickson (8-9).

S:  None.

Notes:  Lenny Webster was behind the plate in place of Brian Harper.  Jeff Reboulet was at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne.  Mike Pagliarulo was on third base in place of Scott Leius.

Shane Mack was batting .331.  He would finish at .315.  Kirby Puckett was batting .327.  He would finish at .329.

Paul Abbott had an ERA of 2.00.  He would finish at 3.27.

Al Newman was at second base for Texas, going 1-for-4.  He had played for the Twins from 1987-1991.  Ruben Sierra would play for the Twins in 2006.

The three reserves who the Twins started in this game had batting averages below .200:  Jeff Reboulet (.197), Lenny Webster (.193), and Mike Pagliarulo (.171).  Only Reboulet would finish below .200, with Pagliarulo finishing at exactly .200 and Webster finishing at .280.

Paul Abbott would be sent back to AAA after this game.  He would appear in just one more game for the Twins, in September, and would be released the following March.  He was injured part of the year, but he had made seven excellent starts in AAA and was only twenty-four.  It’s hard to understand why the Twins would just give up on him, and wouldn’t at least be able to get something for him if they didn’t want to give him a chance.  He didn’t go on to a great major league career, but he did go 17-4 for Seattle in 2001.

From 1998-1992, Jose Guzman went 40-31, 3.51.  He missed two seasons in there due to injury, but when healthy he averaged 200 innings in those years.  He didn’t have another year with an ERA less than 4.30, and he was out of baseball after 1994, but for a few years he was a guy you definitely wanted in your starting rotation.

Record:  Texas was 59-59, in fourth place in the AL West, 12.5 games behind Oakland.  They would finish 77-85, in fourth place, nineteen games behind Oakland.

The Twins were 66-49, in second place in the AL West, four games behind Oakland.  They would finish 90-72, in second place, six games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 32-39 (.451).

SEATTLE MARINERS 8, MINNESOTA TWINS 7 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Tuesday, August 5, 2008.

Batting star:  Jason Kubel was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his fifteenth and sixteenth), a double, three runs, and three RBIs.  Brendan Harris was 2-for-3.  Carlos Gomez was 2-for-3.

Pitching star:  Boof Bonser pitched a scoreless inning of relief, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Raul Ibanez was 3-for-5 with a home run (his seventeenth), two runs, and five RBIs.  Jose Lopez was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Jeremy Reed was 3-for-5.  Ichiro Suzuki was 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs.  R. A. Dickey pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out three.

The game:  Jason Kubel and Delmon Young led off the second with singles.  A ground out moved them to second and third, a wild pitch brought home one, and a sacrifice fly brought home another to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.

Seattle came roaring back in the third.  Ichiro Suzuki and Jeremy Reed led off the inning with singles and Raul Ibanez hit a three-run homer.  With one out, Jose Lopez and Jeff Clement singled, putting men on first and third, and a sacrifice fly made it 4-2 Mariners.

The Twins missed a chance in the fifth.  Brendan Harris and Carlos Gomez singled, and a bunt moved them to second and third with one out.  Joe Mauer drew a two-out walk to load the bases, but the runners were stranded.  Jason Kubel hit a home run in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-3, but Seattle got the run back with interest in the bottom of the sixth.  With one out, Bryan LaHair struck out but reached first on a wild pitch.  Yuniesky Betancourt doubled and Inchiro Suzuki was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Raul Ibanez delivered a two-out two-run single to give the Mariners a 6-3 advantage.

The Twins came back in the eighth.  With one out Justin Morneau doubled and Jason Kubel hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to 6-5.  With two out, Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris singled and Mike Lamb hit a two-run double, putting the Twins up 7-6.  But in the bottom of the eighth, Ichiro Suzuki and Raul Ibanez singled, and Jose Lopez hit a two-out two-run double, putting Seattle back on top 8-7.

In the ninth, the first two Twins struck out.  Justin Morneau walked, Jason Kubel doubled, and Delmon Young was intentionally walked to load the bases.  But pinch-hitter Mike Redmond lined to right, and the game went to the Mariners.

WP:  J. J. Putz (4-4).

LP:  Matt Guerrier (6-5).

S:  None.

Notes:  Nick Punto was at second base in place of Alexi Casilla.  Punto was used more at short than anyone else, but Brendan Harris was at short in this game.  

Joe Mauer was batting .317.  He would finish at a league-leading .328.  Justin Morneau was batting .315.  He would finish at .300.  Denard Span was batting .304.  He would finish at .294.

Craig Breslow had an ERA of 2.39.  He would finish at 1.63.  Joe Nathan had an ERA of 1.17.  He would finish at 1.33.

Jeremy Reed was in AAA for the Twins in 2011.  R. A. Dickey was with the Twins in 2009.

Boof Bonser started the year in the rotation, but was moved to the bullpen in early June.  He was no better there.  He missed 2009 due to injury, and was traded to Boston after that season.

J. J. Putz had 189 major league saves, with a career high of 45 in 2011.

Raul Ibanez had a nineteen-year major league career, from 1996-2014, when he was forty-two.  He batted 272/.335/.465 with 305 home runs.  He only made one all-star team (2009 with Philadelphia), and the only thing he ever led the league in was games played in 2005, but he was a consistently good player for a very long time.

Record:  Seattle was 44-69, in fourth (last) place in the AL West, twenty-six games behind Los Angeles.  They would finish 61-101, in fourth place, thirty-nine games behind Los Angeles.  

The Twins were 62-51, in second place in the AL Central, a half game behind Chicago. They would finish 88-75, in second place, losing game 163 to Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 31-38 (.449).

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 11, MINNESOTA TWINS  6 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, June 11, 2004.

Batting stars:  Joe Mauer was 3-for-3 with a home run (his second), a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Jacque Jones was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4.  Lew Ford was 2-for-5 with a home run (his second), a double, two runs, and two RBIs.

Pitching stars: None.

Opposition stars:  Mike Lieberthal was 3-for-4.  Ricky Ledee was 3-for-5 with two home runs (his fourth and fifth), three runs, and five RBIs.  Placido Polanco was 3-for-5 with a home run (his second), two runs, and three RBIs.  Jimmy Rollins was 2-for-5 with two runs.  

The game:  The Twins took the early lead in the second.  With one out, Torii Hunter singled, Jacque Jones doubled, and Matthew LeCroy walked, loading the bases.  All the Twins could manage was a sacrifice fly, but they took a 1-0 lead.  

The lead lasted until the fourth.  Jim Thome drew a one-out walk, and with two out Ricky Ledee hit a two-run homer, putting Philadelphia up 2-1.  In the fifth, Mike Lieberthal led off with a single, Jimmy Rollins hit a one-out single, and Placido Polanco hit a three-run homer, making it 5-1 Phillies.  

Joe Mauer homered in the fifth to cut the lead to 5-2, but Philadelphia got the run right back in the sixth on singles by Ricky Ledee and Mike Lieberthal and a two-out RBI double by Marlon Byrd.  

The Twins got back into it after that.  In the sixth, Lew Ford led off with a double and scored on a pair of ground outs.  In the seventh, Joe Mauer led off with a double, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a ground out.  Doug Mientkiewicz then doubled and Lew Ford hit a two-run homer to tie it 6-6.

But then, in the ninth, the Phillies took over.  With one out, Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco singled and Bobby Abreu walked, loading the bases.  Jim Thome brought home two with a ground rule double, and Ricky Ledee hit a two-out three-run homer, giving Philadelphia an 11-6 lead.  The Twins went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Tim Worrell (2-2).

LP:  Terry Mulholland (0-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Joe Mauer was behind the plate.  He was the regular catcher when healthy, but he missed most of the season due to injury, with Henry Blanco doing most of the catching.  Michael Cuddyer was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Matthew LeCroy was at DH.  The Twins didn’t have a regular DH in 2004.  Jose Offerman played the most games there at 39, with LeCroy second at 30.

Joe Mauer was batting .346.  He would finish at .308.  Lew Ford was batting .324.  He would finish at .299.

Jim Thome was at first base for Philadelphia.  He would play for the Twins in 2010-2011.

Mauer batted eighth in this game.  Presumably, the Twins were trying not to put too much pressure on him in his rookie season, especially when he was coming back from injury.  This was his tenth major league game.

Lew Ford hit thirty-five career home runs.  2004 was his career high, with fifteen.

Ricky Ledee hit sixty-three career home runs, two of them in this game.  His career high was thirteen, in 2004 and 2000.

Seth Greisinger was the Twins’ starter.  He pitched 5.2 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits and a walk, striking out three.  This was the last game he would pitch for the Twins, as he would spend the rest of the season in AAA and be released after the season.  He would make just one more major league appearance, for Atlanta in 2005.

Record:  Philadelphia was 31-27, in second place in the NL East, 1.5 games behind Florida.  They would finish 86-76, in second place, ten games behind Atlanta.

The Twins were 33-27, in first place in the AL Central, a half game ahead of Chicago.  They would finish 92-70, in first place, nine games ahead of Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 31-37 (.456).

MINNESOTA TWINS 5, TORONTO BLUE JAYS 4 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, August 16, 1996.

Batting star:  Scott Stahoviak was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Dave Hollins was 2-for-5 with a double.  Marty Cordova hit a two-run homer, his tenth.

Pitching stars:  Brad Radke pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out five.  Jose Parra pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Shawn Green was 3-for-4 with a double.  Alex Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with a home run (his eighth), a triple, and two runs.  Juan Guzman struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.

The game:  Doubles by Joe Carter and Shawn Green put Toronto up 1-0 in the first.  The Twins got a one-out double from Dave Hollins in the second, but he was stranded on second.  In the third, Alex Gonzalez tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 Blue Jays.  The Twins loaded the bases with two out in the third on a hit batsman, a Scott Stahoviak single, and another hit batsman, but a foul popup ended the inning.  In the fourth, Ed Sprague hit a one-out double and went to third on a Shawn Green single, but the score remained 2-0.

The Twins got on the board in the fourth when Roberto Kelly led off with a single, went to second on a ground out, and scored from second on a wild pitch.  Toronto got the run back when Alex Gonzalez led off the fifth with a home run, making the score 3-1.  In the bottom of the fifth, Paul Molitor hit a one-out single, Scott Stahoviak walked, the two pulled off a double steal, and a wild pitch again plated a run, cutting the lead to 3-2.

The Twins took their first lead in the seventh when Rich Becker walked and Marty Cordova hit a two-out two-run homer.  The Blue Jays tied it in the ninth when Shawn Green singled and scored from first on a John Olerud double.  The Twins went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, and we went to extra innings.

Carlos Delgado hit a one-out single in the tenth but was stranded on first.  Scott Stahoviak led off the bottom of the tenth with a double.  With one out, Dave Hollins doubled to bring in the deciding run for a Twins’ 5-4 victory.

WP:  Jose Parra (4-3).

LP:  Paul Quantrill (4-12).

S:  None.

Notes:  Matt Walbeck caught for the Twins.  He shared the position with Greg Myers, with Myers playing in more games, 90 to 61.  Roberto Kelly was in right.  He shared the position with Matt Lawton, with Lawton playing more games, 60 to 54.

Chuck Knoblauch was batting .354.  He would finish at .341.  Paul Molitor was batting .334.  He would finish at .341.  Roberto Kelly was batting .317.  He would finish at .323.  Marty Cordova was batting .311.  He would finish at .309.  Scott Stahoviak was batting .304.  He would finish at .284.

Otis Nixon was in center for Toronto, going 0-for-5.  He would play for the Twins in 1998.

The Twins were second in team batting average at .288, behind only Cleveland (.293).  However, they were eleventh in slugging percentage.  They were eighth in runs scored.  They had four .300 hitters, but the home run leader was Marty Cordova with sixteen.

Everyone knows Paul Molitor was a great hitter, but people may have forgotten what a great old hitter he was.  In 1996, at age thirty-nine, he led the league in hits with 225 and batted .341/.390/.468.  In his three seasons for the Twins, his age 39-41 seasons, he batted .312/.362/.432, for an OPS of .794.

Jose Parra would win only two more games in his major league career.  He would win one four days later, on August 20, and win another eight years later, in 2004 with the Mets.

Juan Guzman had a really good start to his career.  In his first three seasons, he was 40-11, 3.28.  He had another strong year in this season, 1996, when he went 11-8, 2.93, leading the league in ERA.  He was second to Chuck Knoblauch for rookie of the year in 1991, made the all-star team in 1992, and was seventh in Cy Young voting in 1993.  He couldn’t sustain it, and for his career he was 91-79, 4.08.  But for a few years, he was as good as anybody.

Record:  Toronto was 54-68, in fourth place in the AL East, seventeen games behind New York.  They would finish 74-88, in fourth place, eighteen games behind New York.

The Twins were 61-60, in third place in the AL Central, 11.5 games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 78-84, in fourth place, 21.5 games behind Cleveland

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 31-36 (.463).