SEATTLE MARINERS 8, MINNESOTA TWINS 7 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

Batting star:  Christian Vasquez was 3-for-4 with a home run (his third) and two RBIs.  Matt Wallner was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his third and fourth).  Trevor Larnach was 2-for-4 with a double.  Kyle Farmer was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Josh Winder struck out four in four innings of relief, giving up one run on two hits.

Opposition stars:  Dylan Moore was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his third and fourth) and four RBIs.  Julio Rodriguez was 3-for-5 with a home run (his seventeenth), two doubles and three runs.

The game:  Julio Rodriguez led off the game with a double and scored on a one-out single by Teoscar Hernandez, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead.  It went to 2-0 in the second when Dylan Moore hit a home run.  It went to 3-0 in the third when Julio Rodriguez hit a home run.

The Twins got on the board with solo home runs by Christian Vasquez and Edouard Julien in the third.  The Mariners got one back in the fourth.  Tom Murphy led off with a double and Cade Marlowe walked.  A Dylan Moore single loaded the bases and Kolten Wong singled home a run.  It was 4-2 and Seattle had the bases loaded with none out, but a pair of strikeouts and a fly ball ended the inning.  The Twins got a home run by Matt Wallner in the fourth to cut the lead to 4-3.

Solo home runs may not hurt you, but three-run homers do.  In the fifth, walks to Ty France and Cade Marlowe put two on with two out, and Dylan Moore hit a three-run homer to give the Mariners a 7-3 lead.  It went to 8-3 in the sixth when Julio Rodriguez doubled and Eugenio Suarez singled.

The Twins got back into it in the bottom of the sixth.  With one out, Matt Wallner hit another solo homer, cutting the lead to 8-4.  With two out, Trevor Larnach doubled and scored on a Kyle Farmer single.  Joey Gallo drove him in with a double and Christian Vasquez followed with an RBI single, cutting the lead to 8-7.

But that was it.  The Twins got a man to second in the eighth and again in the ninth, but could not score again, and the score remained 8-7 Seattle.

WP:  Bryce Miller (7-3).

LP:  Joe Ryan (9-7).

S:  Andres Munoz (2).

Notes:  Joey Gallo was at first base in this game.  Donovan Solano played the most games at first base (85), followed by Alex Kirilloff (75).  Kyle Farmer was at third base.  Royce Lewis played the most games at third base (49), followed by Farmer (45), Willi Castro (41), and Jose Miranda (38).  Trevor Larnach was in left field.  Castro played the most games there (54), followed by Gallo (51), Larnach (44), and Matt Wallner (43).  Castro was in center field in place of Michael Taylor.  Wallner was in right field in place of Max Kepler.  Kepler was at DH.  Byron Buxton had the most games at DH with 80.

Edouard Julien was batting .302.  He would finish at .263.

Jordan Balazovic had an ERA of 2.93.  He would finish at 4.44.

Justin Topa pitched a scoreless inning for Seattle, giving up one hit.  He would pitch for the Twins in 2024.

The 2023 Twins had just three players who played 100 games at one position:  Carlos Correa at short, Michael Taylor in center, and Max Kepler in right.  Some of that was due to injuries, but much of it was due to managerial choices.

The Twins hit four home runs in this game, all solo shots.  Seattle hit three home runs, two of them solo shots, but one a three-run homer.

By game scores, this was the third-worst start of 2023 for Joe Ryan.  

I will never understand why the Twins spent eleven million dollars on Joey Gallo.

Record:  Seattle was 52-50, in fourth place in the AL West, 7.5 games behind Texas.  They would finish 88-74, in third place, two games behind Houston and Texas.

The Twins were 54-50, in first place, two games ahead of Cleveland.  They would finish 87-75, in first place, nine games ahead of Detroit.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 26-27 (.491).

CHICAGO WHITE SOX 9, MINNESOTA TWINS 7 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Sunday, June 26, 1993.

Batting stars:  John Castino was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Randy Bush was 2-for-4 with a home run (his sixth) and three RBIs.  Gary Ward was 2-for-5.  Tom Brunansky hit a three-run homer, his eleventh.

Pitching star:  Ron Davis struck out the side in a perfect inning..

Opposition stars:  Scott Fletcher was 3-for-4 with a home run (his first), a triple, and three RBIs.  Rudy Law was 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, and three runs.  Greg Walker was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Tom Paciorek was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Greg Luzinski hit a two-run homer, his tenth.

The game:  The Twins jumped out to the early lead.  Rusty Kuntz and John Castino led off with singles, putting men on first and third.  With one out, Kent Hrbek hit a sacrifice fly and Randy Bush followed with a two-run homer, putting the Twins ahead 3-0.  Chicago got one back in the second, when Ron Kittle singled and scored on a Scott Fletcher triple, but the Twins regained a three-run lead in the third on singles by Castino, Gary Ward, and Bush.

The White Sox moved ahead to stay in the third.  Rudy Law led off with a triple and Tom Paciorek singled him home.  With one out Greg Luzinski hit a two-run homer to tie it 4-4.  Chicago wasn’t done, as with two out Vance Law walked and singles by Marc Hill and Scott Fletcher followed, giving the White Sox a 5-4 lead.  It went to 6-4 in the fourth on doubles by Rudy Law and Greg Walker.

The Twins got a one-out double in the fifth by John Castino, but he was stranded at second.  In the bottom of the fifth the first two men went out, but Jerry Dybzinski reached on an error and stole second, leading to an intentional walk to Rudy Law.  RBI singles by Tom Paciorek and Greg Walker followed, making the score 8-4.  Scott Fletcher homered in the seventh to make it 9-4.

The Twins got back into it in the eighth.  Gary Ward led off with a single and Kent Hrbek walked.  With one out, Tom Brunansky hit a three-run homer to cut the lead to 9-7.  The Twins got the tying run to bat with one out in the ninth, but Salmoe Barojas came in to retire the next two batters and secure the win for Chicago.

WP:  Richard Dotson (7-5).

LP:  Bryan Oelkers (0-5).

S:  Salome Barojas (6).

Notes:  Ray Smith was behind the plate.  He made 59 appearances at catcher, behind Dave Engle (72) and just ahead of Tim Laudner (57).  Randy Bush was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek, who was at DH.  Bush was the regular DH–this was one of just three games Bush played at first base in 1983.  The usual replacement first baseman was Scott Ullger.  Rusty Kuntz was in center field.  Darrell Brown saw the most action there (76 games), followed by Bobby Mitchell (44) and Tom Brunansky (38).

Kent Hrbek was batting .313.  He would finish at .297.  Randy Bush was batting .305.  He would finish at .249.

Len Whitehouse, who pitched the seventh, had an ERA of 2.82.  He would finish at 4.15.

I don’t believe any White Sox players in this game had any connection to the Twins

Rusty Kuntz had come to the Twins from the White Sox just five days earlier for Mike Sodders.

The Twins really had no backup plan in centerfield once Jim Eisenreich couldn’t play.  That would be solved when Kirby Puckett came along.

1983 was the only season Ray Smith saw any decent amount of playing time.  He batted .224/.274/.257 in 167 at-bats.  He would, of course, go on to a long career managing the Elizabethton Twins.

This was the last start Bryan Oelkers would make as a Twin.  He lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and a walk.  He would make two relief appearances, then would not show up in the majors again until 1986, when he appeared in 35 games for Cleveland.  That would be his only other major league season.

I don’t know, but I would not be surprised if this was the only time a team had two players on it named “Law”.  In this case, the Twins fought the Laws, and the Laws won.

Record:  Chicago was 36-34, in fourth place in the AL West, three games behind Texas.  They would finish 99-63, in first place, twenty games ahead of Kansas City.  They were an MLB best 63-29 after this game.

The Twins were 30-44, in sixth place in the AL West, eleven games behind Texas.  They would finish 70-92, tied for fourth with California, twenty-nine games behind Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 25-27 (.481).

MINNESOTA TWINS 10, MILWAUKEE BREWERS 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, April 20, 1993.

Batting stars:  Mike Pagliarulo was 2-for-2 with a triple and a walk.  Dave Winfield was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his third) and three runs.  Brian Harper was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Willie Banks struck out seven in 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up six hits and two walks.  Pat Mahomes pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Brett Merriman pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Bill Spiers was 2-for-3.

The game:  The Twins scored early and often in this one.  With two out in the first, Kirby Puckett singled, Kent Hrbek walked, and Dave Winfield hit a three-run homer.  With one out in the second, Scott Leius singled in-between walks to Mike Pagliarulo and Chuck Knoblauch, loading the bases.  Gene Larkin hit a sacrifice fly and Puckett delivered an RBI single to make it 5-0. In the third, Pedro Munoz singled and scored on a Pagliarulo triple to make it 6-0.

Milwaukee got a one-out double by Robin Yount in the second and a pair of two-out walks in the fifth, but did not move a man past second base.  The Twins added to their lead in the fifth.  Kent Hrbek led off with a walk, and singles by Dave Winfield and Brian Harper produced a run.  With one out, Mike Pagliarulo singled to load the bases, Scott Leius hit a sacrifice fly, and Chuck Knoblauch hit an RBI double to make it 9-0.

The Brewers loaded the bases in the sixth with one out on singles by Bill Speirs, Greg Vaughn, and Kevin Reimer, but a pair of short fly balls ended the inning.  The Twins got one more in the bottom of the sixth when Dave Winfield reached second on an error and scored on a Brian Harper single.  Milwaukee got two more one-out singles in the seventh, by Dave Nilsson and Dickie Thon, but again nothing came of it.  That was their last threat, and the game ended 10-0.

WP:  Willie Banks (2-0).

LP:  Jaime Navarro (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Scott Leius was at shortstop in place of Pat Meares.  Pedro Munoz was in left–he and Shane Mack each played 64 games there.  Gene Larkin was in right.  The Twins didn’t have a regular right fielder–it was Kirby Puckett (47), Munoz (41), David McCarty (34), Dave Winfield (31), and Larkin (25).

Kirby Puckett was batting .317.  He would finish at .296.

Willie Banks had an ERA of 0.68.  He would finish at 4.04.

Tom Brunansky was 0-for-1.  I had forgotten he had played for Milwaukee.  Of course, he was with the Twins from 1982-1988.  Mike Fetters pitched the ninth inning, striking out two in a perfect inning.  He pitched in five games for the Twins in 2003.

Scott Leius was injured most of 1993, playing in only ten games.

Most of the Twins’ runs were scored off Jaime Navarro, who allowed nine runs on eight hits and four walks in four innings.

Record:  Milwaukee was 4-6, in fifth place in the AL East, five games behind Boston.  They would finish 69-93, in seventh place, twenty-six games behind Toronto.

The Twins were 7-5, in third place in the AL West, one game behind Texas.  They would finish 71-91, tied for fifth place with California, twenty-three games behind Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins have lost six in a row and are 25-26 (.490).

NEW YORK YANKEES 4, MINNESOTA TWINS 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, May 11, 2002.

Batting star:  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Lohse pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks and striking out five.  J. C. Romero pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Bernie Williams was 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, and two runs.  Robin Ventura was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.  Ted Lilly pitched 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks and striking out one.  Mike Stanton pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  The only man to get as far as second base in the first three innings was Dustan Mohr, who led off the game with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch.  Each team scored once in the fourth.  For New York, Derek Jeter singled and Jason Giambi walked.  Jeter went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a double play.  For the Twins, Matthew LeCroy hit a two-out double and scored on a Bobby Kielty single.

The Twins took the lead in the sixth, as Torii Hunter hit a one-out double and scored on a two-out single by Brian Buchanan.  The Yankees tied it right back up in the seventh when Bernie Williams tripled with one out and scored on a Robin Ventura single.

New York threatened in the eighth.  John Vander Wal singled and went to third on a one-out double by Alfonso Soriano.  Nick Johnson then grounded to second, and pinch-runner Gerald Williams was thrown out at the plate.  In the ninth, however, Bernie Williams doubled with one out and Robin Ventura followed with a two-run homer, making the score 4-2.  The Twins got a man on first with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but could do no more.

WP:  Mike Stanton (2-0).

LP:  Eddie Guardado (0-1).

S:  Mariano Rivera (12).

Notes:  Tom Prince was behind the plate in place of A. J. Pierzynski.  Matthew LeCroy was at first base in place of Doug Mientkiewicz.  Denny Hocking was at second in place of Luis Rivas.  Casey Blake was at third in place of Corey Koskie.  Dustan Mohr was in left in place of Jacque Jones.  Mohr made most of his appearances in right, but Bobby Kielty was in right.  Brian Buchanan was the DH in place of David Ortiz.  

Torii Hunter was batting .345.  He would finish at .289.  Tom Prince was batting .323.  He would finish at .224.  Matthew LeCroy was batting .329.  He would finish at .260.  Dustan Mohr was batting .329.  He would finish at .269.  Jacque Jones was batting .308.  He would finish at .300.

J. C. Romero had an ERA of 0.45.  He would finish at 1.89.  Mike Jackson had an ERA of 1.32.  He would finish at 3.27.  Eddie Guardado had an ERA of 2.12.  He would finish at 2.93.

I don’t know why Ron Gardenhire went with what we used to call the “B” lineup in this game.  I had thought perhaps it was a day game after a night game, but b-r.com indicates this was a night game, too.

Bernie Williams had fifty-five triples in his career, but this was his first since 2000.  He would have one more in 2002 and just four more for his career.

Record:  New York was 23-14, in second place in the AL East, three games behind Boston.  They would finish 103-58, in first place, 10.5 games ahead of Boston.

The Twins were 22-15, in first place in the AL Central, one game ahead of Chicago.  They would finish 94-67, in first place, 13.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 24-26 (.480).

NEW YORK YANKEES 11, MINNESOTA TWINS 1 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Sunday, April 29, 1973.

Batting star:  Dan Monzon was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching star:  None.

Opposition stars:  Ron Blomberg was 4-for-4 with a double, a walk and three RBIs.  Graig Nettles was 2-for-4.  Thurman Munson was 2-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs.  Matty Alou was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Fritz Peterson pitched 7.1 innings, giving up an unearned run on six hits and three walks and striking out four.

The game:  New York took a 1-0 lead in the first, as Roy White walked, Thurman Munson singled, and a pair of productive ground outs followed.  The Twins tied it in the second.  Joe Lis reached on an error with one out, Danny Thompson doubled, Dan Monzon walked to load the bases, and Phil Roof delivered an RBI single.

It stayed tied until the fourth.  With two out, Ron Blomberg singled and scored on a Johnny Callison double to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.  New York increased its lead in the sixth.  Matty Alou, Bobby Mercer, and Graig Nettles all singled to bring home a run, and Blomberg followed with an RBI double to put the Yankees up 4-1.

The Twins put two on with two out in the seventh and with one out in the eighth, but failed to score.  Then, in the bottom of the eighth, New York put it out of reach, scoring seven times.  The Twins put one man on in the ninth, but fell 11-1.

WP:  Fritz Peterson (2-3).

LP:  Bill Hands (2-2).

S:  Lindy McDaniel (3).

Notes:  Phil Roof was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Dan Monzon was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jerry Terrell was at third base in place of Steve Braun.  Mike Adams was in left.  There really wasn’t a regular left fielder, with Jim Holt getting the most appearances there with 80 and Larry Hisle following with 50.  Hisle was in center, which was his primary position in 1973.  Danny Walton was in right field, with Bobby Darwin, the regular right fielder, at DH and Tony Oliva out of the lineup.

This was the second game of a doubleheader, which explains the number of regulars out of the lineup.

This was the first game in which Dan Monzon batted in 1973, so he was batting .667.  He would finish at .224.  Jerry Terrell was batting .364.  He would finish at .265.  Larry Hisle was batting .304.  He would finish at .272.  Rod Carew, who did not play in this game, would win the batting title at .350.

Ray Corbin had an ERA of 2.92.  He would finish at 3.03.

Graig Nettles played for the Twins from 1967-1969.  Bernie Allen, who was 0-for-2 with two walks, played for the Twins from 1962-1966.

Lindy McDaniel started pitching in the top of the eighth, with the score 4-1, which is why he was able to get a save.

What a team the 1973 Twins were.  They had a few good players, but their regulars included George Mitterwald, Joe Lis, Danny Thompson, Jim Holt, and Bobby Darwin.  The rotation was not bad, with Bert Blyleven (2.52 ERA), Jim Kaat (4.41), Joe Decker (4.17), and Dick Woodson (3.95).  Also making double-digit starts were Bill Hands (3.49) and Dave Goltz (5.25).

Kaat was in his age thirty-four season.  He would be placed on waivers in August and claimed by the White Sox, but would only play another ten years after that.

The 1973 Yankees had a lot of players who, if you remember them at all, you don’t remember as Yankees.  Matty Alou, Johnny Callison, Hal Lanier, Bernie Allen, all had substantial careers in other places.

Record:  New York was 9-10, in fourth place in the AL East, one game behind Baltimore.  They would finish 80-82, in fourth place, seventeen games behind Baltimore.

The Twins were 9-8, tied for third with California in the AL West, two games behind Chicago.  They would finish 81-81, in third place, thirteen games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 24-25 (.490).