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).