MINNESOTA TWINS 2, KANSAS CITY ROYALS 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, May 24, 1973.

Batting stars:  George Mitterwald was 3-for-4.  Jim Holt was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Steve Braun was 2-for-4 with a double.  Bobby Darwin was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game one-hit shutout, walking two and striking out seven.

Opposition star:  Dick Drago pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on eleven hits and two walks and striking out six.

The game:  Neither team got a man to scoring position until the third, when Jim Holt led off with a double, but he only got to third.  In the fourth, Bobby Darwin led off with a double and went to third on a passed ball.  The next two batters went out, but George Mitterwald delivered an infield single to put the Twins ahead 1-0.

Ed Kirkpatrick led off with a bunt single in the sixth, the only hit Kansas City would get.  The Twins got an insurance run in the eighth.  Steve Braun doubled with two out and scored on a Danny Thompson single.  It was more than enough, and the Twins got the victory.

WP:  Bert Blyleven (5-6).

LP:  Dick Drago (4-4).

S:  None.

Notes:  Harmon Killebrew was at first base.  He missed much of the season, playing just 57 games at first.  Joe Lis had the most games there at 96.

Jim Holt was batting .313.  He would finish at .297.  Rod Carew was batting .308.  He would finish at a league-leading .350.  Steve Braun was batting .304.  He would finish at .283.  Larry Hisle was batting .300.  He would finish at .272.

The Twins had eleven hits, four of them doubles, and two walks, but still didn’t have that many scoring threats.  They had a leadoff double in the third and put men on first and third in the seventh, but those were the only times they threatened but did not score.

When I saw the score, my first thought was “Bert must have pitched that game.”  Sure enough.  He had a league-leading nine shutouts in 1973 with twenty-five complete games.  He also led the league in WAR, ERA+, FIP, and strikeout/walk ratio.  It was also the only time he won twenty games.  Somehow, he only finished tied for seventh in Cy Young voting.  

Record:  Kansas City was 23-20, fifth in the AL West, four games behind Chicago.  They would finish 88-74, in second place, six games behind Oakland.

The Twins were 21-17, tied for second with California in the AL West, 3.5 games behind Chicago.  They would finish 81-81, in third place, thirteen games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 52-52 (.500).

COLORADO ROCKIES 6, MINNESOTA TWINS 2 IN COLORADO

Date:  Sunday, May 18, 2008.

Batting stars:  Delmon Young was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double.  Justin Morneau hit a two-run homer, his eighth.

Pitching star:  Bobby Korecky retired all four men he faced, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Todd Helton was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and three RBIs.  Clint Barmes was 2-for-4 with a home run, his third.  Garrett Atlkins was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jeff Francis struck out seven in 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.

The game:  The Twins missed chances to take the lead early.  Brendan Harris led off the game with a double but remained on second.  Michael Cuddyer led off the second with a triple, but remained on third.  Delmon Young tripled with one out in the third, but he also remained on third.  It cost them, because in the fourth Clint Barmes hit a home run, putting Colorado ahead 1-0.

The Twins took the lead in the sixth.  Delmon Young led off with a double, and this time Justin Morneau hit a one-out two-run homer to make it 2-1.  But in the bottom of the sixth, Todd Helton hit a two-out home run.  Garrett Atkins followed with a double, Brad Hawpe walked, and Jeff Baker singled home a run to make it 3-2 Rockies.

The Twins missed another chance in the seventh when Howie Clark led off with a double and was stranded at second.  The Twins then gave the game away in the bottom of the seventh.  Omar Quintanilla walked and Willy Taveras reached on an error.  A bunt moved the runners up and Matt Holliday was intentionally walked.  Todd Helton then delivered a two-run single, the only Colorado hit of the inning.  With two out, Brad Hawpe and pitcher Taylor Buchholz both walked, forcing in a run to make the score 6-2.  The Twins went down in order in the last two innings.

WP:  Jeff Francis (1-4).

LP:  Kevin Slowey (0-4).

S:  None.

Notes:  Mike Redmond was behind the plate in place of Joe Mauer.  Brendan Harris was at second base in place of Alexi Casilla.  Adam Everett was at shortstop.  Nick Punto played the most games there with 61, followed by Harris with 55 and Everett with 44.  Howie Clark was at third base.  Brian Buscher played the most games there with 64, followed by Mike Lamb with 55.  Craig Monroe was in center field in place of Carlos Gomez.  Michael Cuddyer was in right field.  Denard Span played the most games there with 85, followed by Cuddyer with 58.

Justin Morneau was batting .306.  He would finish at .300.

Dennys Reyes had an ERA of 0.73.  He would finish at 2.33.

What a frustrating game for the Twins.  They had three doubles, two triples, and a home run, and yet only scored two runs.  They had zero singles and went 1-for-12 with men in scoring position.

This was Howie Clark’s first game for the Twins.  It was his only game at third base for them, and one of only four he played for them.  Those were the last four games of his major league career.

Michael Cuddyer had forty-two triples in his career, with a high of seven in 2009.  Delmon Young had eleven triples in his career, with a high of four in 2008.

Manny Corpas pitched the ninth inning for Colorado.  He had been brilliant in 2007, 4-2, 2.08, 19 saves, 1.06 WHIP.  It was the only good year of his career.  He only had one other season in which his ERA was below four, and only one in which his WHIP was below 1.35.  But for that one year, he was outstanding.

Record:  Colorado was 17-27, in third place in the NL West, eleven games behind Arizona.  They would finish 74-88, in third place, ten games behind Los Angeles.

The Twins were 21-22, in third place, 1.5 games behind Chicago.  They would finish 88-75, in second place, one game behind Chicago, due to losing game 163.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 51-52 (.495).