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).

MILWAUKEE BREWERS 3, MINNESOTA TWINS 2 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Thursday, June 21, 1979.

Batting star:  Butch Wynegar was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Gary Serum pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on ten hits, striking out three.  Mike Marshall pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Paul Molitor was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Jim Wohlford was 2-for-3 with a double.  Mike Caldwell pitched a complete game, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks and striking out four.

The game:  Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead in the third on consecutive doubles from Jim Wohlford and Paul Molitor.  The Twins tied it in the fourth.  Roy Smalley reached on an error, stole second, and scored on a Jose Morales single.

The Twins took the lead in the sixth when Ron Jackson singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a single by Butch Wynegar.  The Brewers tied it in the bottom of the sixth on singles by Jim Wohlford, Sal Bando, and Cecil Cooper.

Milwaukee took the lead in the seventh.  Sixto Lezcano led off with a single. Charlie Moore singled with one out, putting men on first and second.  A force out moved the runners to first and third, and Paul Molitor laid down a two-out bunt single to bring in the go-ahead run.  The Twins did not get a baserunner after Butch Wynegar’s RBI single in the sixth, and the game went to the Brewers.

WP:  Mike Caldwell (7-5).

LP:  Gary Serum (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Bobby Randall was on second.  He shared the position with Rob Wilfong, with the latter getting most of the playing time there.  Hosken Powell, normally the right fielder, was in left, one of eight games he played there in 1979.  Bombo Rivera made the most starts there (61), followed by Ken Landreaux (49), Glenn Adams (45), and Dave Edwards (36).  Edwards was in right.  

Hosken Powell was batting .372.  He would finish at .293.  Bobby Randall was batting .316.  He would finish at .246.  Jose Morales was batting .304.  He would finish at .267.

Mike Marshall had an ERA of 2.25.  He would finish at 2.65.

Paul Molitor would play for the Twins from 1996-1998 and would manage the Twins from 2015-2018.

This was the best of five starts Gary Serum made in 1979.  It was his last year in the majors.  He had been fairly good the previous season:  9-9, 4.10, 1.26 WHIP.  In 1979, however, he went 1-3, 6.61, 1.77 WHIP.

Mike Caldwell has been largely forgotten, but he was a pretty good pitcher.  His best season was 1978, when he went 22-9. 2.36, 1.06 WHIP and finished second to Ron Guidry in Cy Young voting.  For his career, he was 137-130, 3.81, 1.32 WHIP.  Not Hall of Famer or anything, but over fourteen seasons a very respectable career.

Record:  Milwaukee was 39-30, in third place in the AL East, 6.5 games behind Baltimore.  They would finish 95-66, in second place, eight games behind Baltimore.

The Twins were 32-32, in fourth place in the AL West, 6.5 games behind California.  They would finish 82-80, in fourth place, six games behind California.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 29-34 (.460).

BALTIMORE ORIOLES 5, MINNESOTA TWINS 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, May 5, 1987.

Batting star:  Kirby Puckett hit a three-run homer, his eighth.

Pitching star:  Juan Berenguer struck out four in 3.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Eddie Murray was 3-for-5 with a home run (his third) and a double.  Alan Wiggins was 2-for-4.  Jim Dwyer was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his first.  Eric Bell pitched 8.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits and a walk and striking out seven.

The game:  Baltimore threatened in the first inning.  Jim Dwyer singled and Cal Ripken walked with one out in the first, but nothing came of it.  In the third, however, Ken Gerhart singled and Dwyer hit a two-run homer, putting the Orioles up 2-0.

The Orioles added to their lead in the sixth.  Eddie Murray led off the inning with a home run.  Larry Sheets then singled, Ray Knight walked, and Terry Kennedy hit an RBI double.  Juan Berenguer replaced Mike Smithson at that point and got out of the inning without further damage, but it was 4-0 Baltimore.

The Orioles got one more in the ninth.  Alan Wiggins led off with a single.  He was still on first with two out, but Eddie Murray doubled and John Shelby hit an RBI single, making it 5-0.

The Twins, meanwhile, had done nothing for the first eight innings, and we mean that literally.  They had no hits and just one walk through eight innings.  In the ninth, however, Greg Gagne reached on an error and Tom Nieto singled for the Twins’ first hit.  Steve Lombardozzi then got another single, driving in the Twins’ first run.  Kirby Puckett hit a three-run homer, to cut the Twins lead to 5-4.  Gary Gaetti and Kent Hrbek hit one-out singles, putting the tying run in scoring position.  A ground out moved the runners to second and third and Randy Bush was intentionally walked.  Pinch-hitter Roy Smalley popped up to third, however, and Baltimore hung on to win 5-4.

WP:  Eric Bell (3-1).

LP:  Mike Smithson (3-2).

S:  Ken Dixon (1).

Notes:  Tom Nieto was behind the plate in place of Tim Laudner.  Mark Davidson was in left in place of Dan Gladden, who moved to DH.

Kirby Puckett was batting .351.  He would finish at .332.

Juan Berenguer had an ERA of 2.61.  He would finish at 3.94.

Jim Dwyer would play for the Twins from 1988-1990.  Mike Kinnunen, who faced one batter in this game, had played for the Twins in 1980.  

Joe Klink got the last out for the Twins.  This was his fifth major league appearance   He would play in seven more games for the Twins before being sent down, not coming back to the majors until 1990 with Oakland.

Ken Dixon had six major league saves, five of them in 1987.  

Record:  Baltimore was 10-15, in fifth place in the AL East, ten games behind Milwaukee.  They would finish 67-95, in sixth place, thirty-one games behind Detroit.

The Twins were 14-11, in first place in the AL West, percentage points ahead of California.  They would finish 85-77, in first place, two games ahead of Kansas City.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 29-33 (.468).

MINNESOTA TWINS 6, CHICAGO WHITE SOX 0 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Sunday, April 11, 1971.

Batting star:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Jim Kaat was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a double.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5.  Jim Holt was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game shutout, giving up eleven hits and one walk and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  tom Egan was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Jay Johnstone was 2-for-4.  Bill Melton was 2-for-4.  Carlos May was 2-for-4.  

The game:  The Twins got a two-out double from Tony Oliva in the first, but he was stranded on second.  In the second, Bill Melton and Carols May led off with singles, but Melton was thrown out trying to go to third.  Rick Reichardt then walked, but the next two batters went out and the inning ended.

The Twins got on the board in the third.  Jim Kaat doubled with one out.  With two down, Rod Carew delivered an RBI single and went to second on the throw home.  That enabled him to score on Tony Oliva’s single, making it 2-0 Twins.  It went to 4-0 in the fourth.  With one out, Jim Holt singled, stole second, and went to third on a wild pitch.  Leo Cardenas and George Mitterwald walked, loading the bases, and Jim Kaat delivered a two-run single.

Chicago got leadoff singles in the fourth from Mike Andrews and Bill Melton, but a double play and a strikeout ended the threat.  The Twins added another run in the sixth when Leo Cardenas led off with a double and scored on a two-out single by Cesar Tovar.

The White Sox continued to threaten and get turned aside.  Singles by Jay Johnstone and Carlos May in the sixth amounted to nothing.  A one-out double by Tom Egan in the seventh was similarly fruitless.  The Twins tallied once more in the eighth when Leo Cardenas walked, stole second, was bunted to third, and scored on a Cesar Tovar double.  Chicago got a two-out double from Tom Egan in the ninth, but Jim Kaat retired the next batter to complete the shutout.

WP:  Jim Kaat (1-0).

LP:  Bart Johnson (1-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rich Reese was at first base.  He shared first base with Harmon Killebrew, with Killebrew moving to third when Reese was at first.  When Killebrew played first, Steve Braun was on third.  

This early in the season, of course, the batting averages are skewed.  Jim Kaat was batting .500.  He would finish at .161.  Cesar Tovar was batting .478.  He would finish at .311.  Tony Oliva was batting .450.  He would finish at a league-leading .337.  Harmon Killebrew was batting .444.  He would finish at .254.

Jim Kaat had an ERA of 1.93.  He would finish at 3.32.

It appears that no Chicago player in this game ever played for the Twins.

This was Jim Kaat’s first start of the season, but not his first game.  He had appeared in relief in the season opener of April 6.  That would be his only relief appearance of the season.

Jim Kaat was known as a good hitter, but it was more “good hitter for a pitcher” than good hitter.  For his career hit batted .185/.227/.267 with 16 home runs in 1251 at-bats.

Bart Johnson had two very good years.  This one, in which he went 12-10, 2.93 and led the league in fewest homers per nine innings, and 10-4, 2.74, 1.13 WHIP.  For his career, however, he was 43-51, 3.94, 1.43 WHIP.  

Danny Thompson came in as a defensive replacement for Harmon Killebrew in the ninth inning.  This was the fourth of five consecutive appearances in which he would come in as a defensive replacement and not bat.  He would finally bat for the first time in his sixth game, on April 16.

Tom Egan was a part-time catcher for ten major league seasons, making his major league debut at age eighteen.  He played in 373 major league games and batted .200/.266/.299.  He was probably considered a very good defensive catcher.

Record:  Chicago was 3-2, tied for second with Minnesota in the AL West, a half game behind Milwaukee.  They would finish 79-83, in third place, 22.5 games behind Oakland.

The Twins were 3-2, tied for second with Chicago in the AL West, a half game behind Milwaukee.  They would finish 74-86, in fifth place, 26.5 games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 29-32 (.475).

MINNESOTA TWINS 5, TEXAS RANGERS 2 IN TEXAS (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Thursday, August 30, 1973.

Batting stars:  Steve Braun was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Steve Brye was 2-for-5 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched ten innings, giving up two runs on twelve hits and two walks and striking out seven.  Bill Campbell pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Larry Biittner was 4-for-5 with a double.  Toby Harrah was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-5 with a double.  Vic Harris was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Jim Bibby struck out fifteen in 10.2 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and six walks.

The game:  As you can see, it was a pitchers’ duel  Texas scored first, in the second inning.  With two out, Larry Biittner doubled and Vic Harris followed with an RBI single, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead.  Neither team then got a man past first base until the sixth, when Toby Harrah singled with one out and Alex Johnson drew a two-out walk.  Bill Sudakis then reached on an error, but Harrah was thrown out trying to score on the play, leaving the score at 1-0.

Each team missed a chance in the eighth.  Steve Braun hit a one-out double, but was stranded at second.  Toby Harrah singled with one out and stole second, but was similarly stranded.  In the ninth, however, Rod Carew walked with one out, stole second, and scored on a Tony Oliva single to tie the score.  Joe Lis singled to put men on first and second, but a line drive double play ended the inning.  Texas missed a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth.  They got one-out singles from Jim Fregosi and Larry Biittner, and Ken Suarez singled with two out, but Fregosi was thrown out trying to score, and it went to extra innings.

Each team missed a chance in the tenth.  Steve Braun walked with one out and Steve Brye singled, but a pair of fly outs ended the inning.  Dave Nelson led off with a double and Toby Harrah walked, but a pair of strikeouts and a fly out ended the inning.

The Twins broke through in the eleventh.  Rod Carew and Mike Adams opened the inning with walks.  Rich Reese bunted and reached base to load the bases, as no one was retired on a fielder’s choice.  Jim Holt then singled to put the Twins ahead, George Mitterwald hit a sacrifice fly, Steve Braun hit a run-scoring ground out, and Steve Brye hit an RBI double, giving the Twins a 5-1 lead.

The Rangers tried to come back.  Jim Fregosi doubled, Larry Biittner singled, and Vic Harris hit an RBI single, making it 5-2 and bringing the tying run to bat with no one out.  But a double play was followed by a ground out, the game was over, and the victory was preserved.

WP:  Bert Blyleven (16-14).

LP:  Jim Bibby (6-10).

S:  Bill Campbell (2).

Notes:  Jerry Terrell was at shortstop.  He shared the position with Danny Thompson, with Thompson playing more games there (95 to 81).  Larry Hisle, who usually played center, was in left, with Steve Brye in center.  Jim Holt, who usually played left, was in right in place of Bobby Darwin.

Rod Carew was batting .351.  He would finish at a league-leading .350.

Bert Blyleven had an ERA of 2.57.  He would finish at 2.52.

There do not appear to be any former or future Twins who played for Texas in this game.

I wonder when the last time is that both team’s starter pitched at least ten innings.  It’s rare now that each team’s starter even pitches seven.

This was not the longest start of the season for Bert Bleleven.  He pitched 10.1 innings against Oakland in the first game of a doubleheader on September 27.  He made forty starts in 1973 and averaged 8.125 innings per start.  He led the league in WAR with 9.7.  These days, if someone makes one start of more than eight innings, he’s treated like Iron Man McGinnity.

Bill Campbell was in his rookie season, having been called up in mid-July.  It was his second career save.  The Twins really didn’t have a closer in 1973.  Ray Corbin led the team with fourteen saves.  Ken Sanders had eight, but he also had a 6.09 ERA and was waived in early August.  Campbell had seven.

This was Vic Harris’ first full season and his only season as a starter.  He was in the majors through 1980, though, playing a utility role for the Cubs, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Milwaukee.

Back then, I had a heck of a time keeping Steve Braun and Steve Brye straight.

Record:  Texas was 46-86, in sixth (last) place in the AL West, thirty-two games behind Oakland.  They would finish 57-105, in sixth place, thirty-seven games behind Oakland.

The Twins were 63-69, in third place in the AL West, fifteen games behind Oakland.  They would finish 81-81, in third place, thirteen games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 28-32 (.467).