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).

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).