CLEVELAND INDIANS 4, MINNESOTA TWINS 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, July 9, 1994.

Batting stars:  Chip Hale was 2-for-4 with a double.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-5 with a triple, a double, and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Dave Stevens pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Mark Guthrie pitchd 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Alvaro Espinoza was 2-for-4.  Omar Vizquel was 2-for-5.  Eddie Murray hit a home run, his thirteenth.

The game:  Each team scored once in the first.  For Cleveland, Kenny Lofton singled, stole second and third, and scored on a squeeze bunt by Albert Belle, which must have caught everyone by surprise.  For the Twins, Chuck Knoblauch led off with a triple and scored on a ground out.  The Indians took the lead 2-1 in the second when Candy Maldonado doubled and scored on a Vizquel single.

The Twins tied it in the fourth.  Kirby Puckett was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.  Hrbek followed with a single, then came walks to Shane Mack and Scott Leius to force in a run.  The bases were still loaded with none out, but the Twins could do more, and the score was tied 2-2.  The tie did not last long.  In the fifth Carlos Baerga singled with one out and Murray hit a two-out two-run single, making it 4-2 Cleveland.

The Twins got one back in the bottom of the fifth on doubles by Knoblauch and Puckett, but that was as close as they would come.  They got a man to second in the sixth, when Hale hit a one-out double, and in the eighth, when Hrbek singled and went to second on Hale’s two-out single, but they could not score again.  Their last four men went out and the victory went to Cleveland.

WP:  Dennis Martinez (8-4).

LP:  Jim Deshaies (4-9).

S:  Jeff Russell (13).

Notes:  Jeff Reboulet was at shortstop in place of Pat Meares.  Rich Becker was in center in place of Alex Cole.  Hale was at DH in place of Dave Winfield.

Kirby Puckett was batting .321.  He would finish at .317.  Chuck Knoblauch was batting .320.  He would finish at .312.  Shane Mack was batting .314.  He would finish at .333.

Alvaro Espinoza played for the Twins from 1984-1986.  Paul Sorrento pinch-hit and was 0-for-1.  He played for the Twins from 1989-1991.

The Twins pitching was, to put it bluntly, awful in 1994.  They scored 5.26 runs per game, but allowed 6.09.  Granted it was 1994, and scoring was up, but the average was 4.92.  We went through this once before, but the rotation was Kevin Tapani (4.62 ERA), Scott Erickson (5.44), Jim Deshaies (7.39), Pat Mahomes (4.73), and Carlos Pulido (5.98).  I didn’t check the AAA roster, but the Twins must have thought they didn’t have any better options, because those five pitchers made all but six of the team’s starts.  The primary relief pitchers did not provide much relief:  Rick Aguilera (3.63), Carl Willis (5.92), Mark Guthrie (6.14), Mike Trombley (6.33), Larry Casian (7.08), and Dave Stevens (6.80).  Other than Aguilera, Tom Kelly could just as well have pulled names out of a hat when he went to the bullpen.

Albert Belle had four sacrifice bunts in his career.  This was the last one.

I think of Eddie Murray as a Baltimore Oriole, and of course that is where he had his best years.  But he played for nine years after leaving the Orioles:  three with the Dodgers, two with the Mets, two and a half with Cleveland, a half season back with Baltimore, and a final season split between Anaheim and the Dodgers.

The 1994 season would come to a premature end about a month later due to a labor-related work stoppage.

Record:  Cleveland was 50-33, in first place by percentage points over Chicago.  They would finish 66-47, in second place, one game behind Chicago.

The Twins were 42-43, in fourth place, nine games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 53-60., in fourth place, fourteen games behind Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 22-17 (.564).

MINNESOTA TWINS 6, LOS ANGELES ANGELS 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, April 16, 2016.

Batting stars:  Trevor Plouffe! was 3-for-4 with a home run (his second), a double and two RBIs.  Oswaldo Arcia was 2-for-4 with a home run (his first) and two RBIs.  Eduardo Nunez was 2-for-4 with a triple.  ByungHo Park hit a home run, his second.

Pitching stars:  Ryan Pressly pitched a perfect inning.  Kevin Jepsen pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Yunel Escobar was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.  Cory Rasmus retired all eight men he faced, striking out three.

The game:  The Twins took the early lead.  Nunez led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored on a ground out.  Joe Mauer then singled, and two-out singles by Plouffe! and Arcia produced another run, making it 2-0 Twins.

The lead didn’t last long.  Los Angeles had six consecutive batters reach with one out in the second.  Singles by C. J. Cron, Andrelton Simmons, and Geovany Soto loaded the bases, followed by a two-run double by Cliff Pennington and a two-run single by Escobar.  Rafael Ortega walked, but a strikeout ended the inning.

The Twins had men on first and second with one out in the bottom of the second, but a double play ended the inning.  Plouffe! homered in the third to cut the lead to 4-3.  They tied it in the fifth.  Brian Dozier singled and stole second.  Miguel Sano walked with one out and Plouffe! came through again, hitting an RBI double.  The Twins had men on second and third, but could do no more, and it remained tied at 4-4.

The Angels put men on first and second with two out in the seventh but did not score.  In the eighth, Arcia and Park hit back-to-back home runs to put the Twins up 6-4.  Los Angeles got a one-out walk in the ninth, but did not advance the man past first and the Twins came away with the victory.

WP:  Ryan Pressly (1-0).

LP:  Joe Smith (0-1).

S:  Kevin Jepsen (2).

Notes:  John Ryan Murphy was behind the plate.  He was the semi-regular catcher at the beginning of the year, but quickly lost the job and was sent to AAA, with Kurt Suzuki taking over regular catching duties.  ByungHo Park was at first base, with Joe Mauer at DH.  Those roles were reversed more often than not.  Eduardo Nunez was at short.  He would make the all-star team, but be traded to San Francisco later in the season for Adalberto Mejia.  Eduardo Escobar had the most games at shortstop, with 71.  Oswaldo Arcia was in left.  He would be traded to Tampa Bay in June.  Robbie Grossman made the most games in left, with 75.  Eddie Rosario would play 57 games there.  Rosario started in center.  Byron Buxton had the most games in center at 92, with Danny Santana playing there 40 times.  Miguel Sano was in right field, as the Twins made a misbegotten attempt to make him outfielder.  Max Kepler was the regular right fielder.

As you can see, the Twins roster was in a state of flux in 2016, and it showed up in their record below.

Eduardo Nunez was batting .692.  He would finish at .296, then be traded.  Joe Mauer was batting .359.  He would finish at .261.  

Ryan Pressly had an ERA of zero.  He would finish at 3.70

C. J. Cron went 1-for-4 for the Angels.  He would play for the Twins in 2019.  Andrelton Simmons went 1-for-4 for the Angels.  He would play for the Twins in 2021.

It’s a shame that ByungHo Park was never really healthy in his time with the Twins.

Ricky Nolasco started for the Twins and did well except for the second inning.  He did that a lot with the Twins in 2016, where he pitched well “except for” this or that.  But the exceptions made him 4-8, 5.13.  He was traded to the Angels in August.

Kevin Jepsen would lose the closer role to Brandon Kintzler, then be traded to Tampa Bay in early July.

Record:  Los Angeles was 5-6, tied for second with Seattle in the AL West, one game behind Texas.  They would finish 74-88, in fourth place, 21 games behind Texas.

The Twins were 2-9, in fifth (last) place in the AL Central, six games behind Chicago and Kansas City.  They would finish 59-103, in fifth (last) place, 35.5 games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 22-16 (.579).

LOS ANGELES DODGERS 10, MINNESOTA TWINS 3 IN LOS ANGELES

Date:  Tuesday, August 9, 2022.

Batting stars:  Byron Buxton was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his twenty-seventh.  Gilberto Celestino was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  None.

Opposition stars:  Will Smith was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Justin Turner was 2-for-4 with a double.  Max Muncy was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his twelfth.  Trea Turner was 2-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs.  Julio Urias struck out eight in seven innings, giving up one run on five hits.

The game:  With two out in the first, Freddie Freeman walked and scored on Smith’s double.  The Twins tied it in the second when Gio Urshela hit a one-out triple and scored on a Gilberto Celestino single.

That was as good as it would get for the Twins.  In the bottom of the second, Gavin Lux singled with one out in the first, followed by doubles by Joey Gallo and Cody Bellinger.  With two out, Trea Turner hit another double, and it was 4-1 Los Angeles.  Muncy homered in the third to make it 5-1, and in the fourth Mookie Betts singled, went to third on a stolen base–plus-error, and scored on a ground out to make it 6-1.

The Twins finally got the Dodgers out a few times, but they added to their lead again in the seventh.  Freeman and Smith singled, putting runners on the corners.  Muncy doubled home a run and another scored on a ground out, making it 8-1.

The Twins got two back in the eighth when Nick Gordon singled and Buxton hit a two-run homer.  But the Dodgers scored two of their own in the bottom of the eighth on doubles by Trayce Thompson and Trea Turner and a single by Smith, bringing it to the final score of 10-3.  The Twins went down meekly in the ninth, as Caleb Ferguson came in to strike out the side.

WP:  Julio Urias (12-6).

LP:  Joe Ryan (8-5).

S:  None.

Notes:  Sandy Leon was behind the plate for the Twins in this game.  Gary Sanchez had the most appearances at catcher in 2022, with Ryan Jeffers also seeing significant time there.  Byron Buxton was at DH.  The Twins did not have a regular DH.  Among those seeing significant time there were Luis Arraez (38 games), Buxton (35), Sanchez (33), and Jose Miranda (31).

The only .300 hitter the Twins had was Luis Arraez, who won the first of his three (and counting) batting titles at .316.  He did not play in this game.

Joey Gallo was 1-for-4 in this game.  He would go on to play for the Twins in 2023.  It amazes me that he was still in the majors this year when he hasn’t batted over .200 since 2019.

We forget quickly, or at least I do, but Gilberto Celestino was actually pretty much the regular center fielder that year, playing 90 games there.  Byron Buxton had 57 games there, Nick Gordon 38, and Mark Contreras 13.

The legendary Sandy Leon came to the Twins in a trade for Ian Hamilton, who has gone on to have two fine years for the Yankees since the trade.

By game scores, this was the second-worst start Joe Ryan had in 2022.  He pitched five innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits and a walk and struck out four.

Record:  Los Angeles was 76-33, in first place in the NL West, 16 games ahead of San Diego.  The would finish 111-51, in first place, 22 games ahead of San Diego.

The Twins were 57-52, tied for first place with Cleveland in the AL Central.  They would finish 78-84, in third place, 14 games behind Cleveland.  After this game, the Twins would go 21-32 while Cleveland went 35-18.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 21-16 (.568).

ANAHEIM ANGELS 3, MINNESOTA TWINS 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, May 29, 1998.

Batting star:  Marty Cordova was 2-for-3.

Pitching stars:  LaTroy Hawkins pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on ten hits and two walks and striking out one.  Hector Carrasco pitched a scoreless inning, walking two and striking out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Gary Disarcina was 3-for-4.  Jim Edmonds was 2-for-4 with a home run (his tenth), a walk, and two RBIs.  Chuck Finley struck out ten in 8.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk.

The game:  Each team only got one man as far as second base in the first three innings.  In the fourth, however, Edmonds led off with a home run.  With two out, Garret Anderson and Matt Walbeck hit consecutive doubles to make the score 2-0 Anaheim.

Disarcina and Darin Erstad opened the fifth with singles.  They advanced to second and third on a ground out, leading to an intentional walk to Edmonds.  The strategy worked, as a double play ended the inning.  In the seventh, however, Disarcina again led off with a single, and this time he scored on a two-out double by Edmonds, putting the Angels up 3-0.

The Twins were able to do very little off Finley.  Todd Walker hit a two-out double in the third, but he was the only Twin to get past first base until the eighth.  Cordova led off with a single and Terry Steinbach doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  All the Twins were able to do, however, was score one on a ground out, cutting the lead to 3-1.  The Twins went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Finley (5-2).

LP:  Hawkins (3-5).

S:  Troy Percival (13).

Notes:  Ron Coomer was at first base.  He alternated between first and third that year, spending most of his time at third.  David Ortiz had the most games at first base, with Orlando Merced also seeing significant time there.  Jon Shave was at third in this game.  Matt Lawton, who usually played right, was in center, with Alex Ochoa in right and Otis Nixon out due to injury.  Nixon would return to the lineup the next day after a month on the disabled list.

Todd Walker was batting .371.  He would finish at .316.

Eddie Guardado had an ERA of 2.72.  He would finish at 4.52.  Guardado was not the closer yet, as the Twins still had Rick Aguilera.

Matt Walbeck went 1-for-3 with a walk for Anaheim.  He had played for the Twins from 1994-1996.

You may remember that it was years before the Twins could get an earned run off Troy Percival.  He was an excellent closer, of course, but he was seemingly at his best against Minnesota.  For his career, the Twins batted .119/.234/.169 against him in 160 at-bats.

Jon Shave played in 19 games for the Twins in 1998, fifteen of them at third.  He didn’t do badly, batting .250/.302/.400.  He also played briefly for Texas in 1993 and 1999.

Record:  Anaheim was 26-25, in second place in the AL West, 4.5 games behind Texas.  They would finish 85-77, in second place, three games behind Texas.

The Twins were 23-28, in second place in the AL Central, 7.5 games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 70-92, in fourth place, nineteen games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 21-15 (.583).

LOS ANGELES ANGELS 7, MINNESOTA TWINS 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, July 22, 2007.

Batting stars:  None.  Seven players had one hit, and there were no home runs.

Pitching stars:  None.  The only pitcher who did not give up a run was Dennys Reyes, who pitched a third of an inning.

Opposition stars:  Casey Kotchman was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Garret Anderson was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and a walk.  Chone Figgins was 2-for-5.  Orlando Cabrera was 2-for-5.  Joe Saunders pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out five.

The game:  In the first, Cabrera singled with one out.  With two down, Anderson singled followed by walks to Kotchman and Maicer Izturis, putting Los Angeles up 1-0.  In the second, Nathan Haynes reached on a two-base error and scored on Figgins’ single, making it 2-0.  In the third, Anderson hit a home run to make it 3-0.

The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the third.  Singles by Luis Rodriguez, Nick Punto, and Jason Bartlett loaded the bases with none out, and Jeff Cirillo hit a sacrifice fly.  One was all the Twins would get, though, as a double play took them out of the inning.

The Twins finally held the Angels scoreless in the fourth and fifth.  In the sixth, however, singles by Kotchman and Izturis and a walk to Napoli loaded the bases with one out.  A walk to Robb Quinlan forced in a run, the second bases-loaded walk the Twins had issued.  The score was now 4-1.

The Twins scored again in the bottom of the sixth.  Cirillo doubled with one out and Justin Morneau delivered a two-out RBI single, cutting the margin to 4-2.

That was as close as the Twins would come.  Los Angeles scored again in the seventh, as singles to Figgins and Cabrera put men on first and third with none out.  Cabrera stole second with one out, leading to an intentional walk to Anderson.  Kotchman then hit a sacrifice fly.  The Angels added one more in the eighth on consecutive doubles by Mike Napoli and Robb Quinlan.  They finished off the scoring in the ninth when Vladimir Guerrero led off with a double and scored on a double by Kotchman.  The Twins did not get a man past first base in the last three innings.

WP:  Saunders (4-0).

LP:  Matt Garza (1-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Nick Punto was at second in place of Luis Castillo, whom the Twins would trade to the Mets eight days later.  Punto generally played third in 2007, but Luis Rodriguez manned that position in this game.  Darnell McDonald was in right in place of Michael Cuddyer.  It was the third of four games McDonald would play for the Twins.  Jeff Cirillo was at DH.  He played 24 games at DH in 2007, behind Jason Kubel (36) and Jason Tyner (26).

Joe Mauer was batting .305.  He would finish at .293.

Matt Garza had made three appearances for the Twins before this game and had an ERA of zero in 15 innings.  His ERA was 1.33 after this game.  He would finish at 3.69.  Matt Guerrier had an ERA of 1.71.  He would finish at 2.35.

Orlando Cabrera would go on to play for the Twins in the last two months of the 2009 season.

Ramon Ortiz pitched the ninth inning for the Twins.  He would be traded to Colorado a few weeks later.

Nathan Haynes was in center for the Angels.  He appeared in sixty major league games, forty of them in 2007 for the Angels and twenty more in 2008 for Tampa Bay.  He got 89 at-bats and batted .247/.295/.270.  He stole five bases in his major league career and stole 259 bases in the minors.

Record:  Los Angeles was 57-40, in first place in the AL West, two games ahead of Seattle.  They would finish 94-68, in first place, six games ahead of Seattle.

The Twins were 51-47, in third place in the AL Central, eight games behind Detroit.  They would finish 79-83, in third place, seventeen games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 21-14 (.600).