MINNESOTA TWINS 10, BOSTON RED SOX 4 IN BOSTON

Date:  Saturday, July 23, 1966

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Tony Oliva was 3-for-6 with a double and two runs.  Jerry Zimmerman was 2-for-3 with a double.  Don Mincher was 2-for-5.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-6 with a home run (his second) and two runs.  Harmon Killebrew hit a home run, his twenty-first.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game, giving up four runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Mike Ryan was 2-for-3.  George Thomas hit a home run, his fourth.

The game:  Each team missed scoring chances in the first two innings.  Zolio Versalles led off the game with a walk and Oliva hit a one-out double, putting men on second and third, but nothing came of it.  Carl Yastrzemski’s two-out double in the bottom of the inning similarly produced nothing.  Bob Allison led off the second with a walk and went to second on a ground out, but he was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a Tovar single.  Boston got another two-out double in the second, this time from Mike Ryan, but again the game remained scoreless.

Uhlaender put the Twins on the board in the third with a home run.  They had a chance to lengthen the lead in the fourth, as Allison singled with one out and went to second on Tovar’s two-out single, but a popup ended the inning.  In the fifth, however, the Twins took control.  Singles by Versalles and Uhlaender opened the inning.  A groundout put men on second and third and led to an intentional walk to Killebrew.  Mincher made the Red Sox pay with a two-run single.  Allison walked, re-loading the bases, and Jimmie Hall singled home a run.  Mincher was thrown out trying to score from second, but Tovar was hit by a pitch to load the bases once again.  Kaat came through with an RBI single and Uhlaender was hit by a pitch to force home another run, making the score 6-0.

The Twins added one more in the sixth.  With two out Mincher singled, Allison was hit by a pitch, Zimmerman singled, and Tovar singled home a run.  Boston got on the board in the sixth.  Eddie Kasko led off with a double.  Joe Foy hit a two-out double, but Kasko was only able to get to third.  He scored on a ground out, however, to make the score 7-1.

With two out in the seventh, Tony Oliva singled and Killebrew followed with a two-run homer, making it 9-1.  Ryan hit a two-out double in seventh, but was stranded.  The Twins loaded the bases in the eighth–Zimmerman hit a one-out double, Tovar walked, a wild pitch sent runners to second and third, and Versalles drew a two-out intentional walk–but a liner to third ended the inning.

George Thomas homered in the eighth to make it 9-2.  The Twins got the run back in the ninth.  Oliva led off with a single, and walks to Killebrew and Allison loaded the bases with none out.  Andy Kosco hit a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 10-2.  The Red Sox rounded out the scoring in the bottom of the inning.  Tony Conigliaro doubled and scored on a Don Demeter single.  An error put men on second and third, and Bob Tillman singled home a run.  Kaat then retired the next three men go close out the game.

WP:  Kaat (14-6).

LP:  Rollie Sheldon (5-11).

S:  None.

Notes:  Regular catcher Earl Battey started the game, but Hall pinch-hit for him in the fifth, bringing Zimmerman into the game.  Tovar shared second base with Bernie Allen, with Allen getting a few more starts.  Allison had a down year in 1966 and slipped to part-time status, with Hall seeing most of the action in left.

Oliva was batting .327.  He would finish at .307.  Kaat had an ERA of 2.84.  He would finish at 2.75.  

Zimmerman was your basic good-field, no-hit backup catcher, but 1966 was one of his better years.  He batted .252/.338/.328 in 119 at-bats.  His career numbers were .204./.269/.239.  Still, he played eight major league seasons, the first with Cincinnati, the last seven with the Twins.

Kaat, of course, would never be allowed to pitch a complete game in a game like this today.  He would lead the league in complete games with 19 and in innings with 304.2 in 1966.  He would also lead in starts with 41 and in batters faced with 1227.  For comparison, the leader in innings in 2024 was Logan Gilbert with 208.2 and the leaders in complete games had 2.  It was a different time.

This was Sheldon’s last year.  He’d been a good pitcher for the Yankees and the Kansas City Athletics, but he was 1-6, 4.97 for Boston in 1966.

Ex-Twin Dick Stigman played for Boston, facing two batters and giving up a hit and a walk.  This was his last season, and it was not a good one, as he posted an ERA of 5.44.

Boston pitchers hit three Twins batters.  It does not appear that there was any retaliation.

Record:  Boston was 42-57, in ninth place, 24.5 games behind Baltimore.  They would finish 72-90, in ninth place, 26 games behind Baltimore.

Minnesota was 48-49, in fifth place, 17.5 games behind Baltimore.  They would finish 89-73, in second place, nine games behind Baltimore.  After this game, the Twins would go 41-24, the best record in baseball over that span.  But it wasn’t enough to overcome their slow start.

The Yankees finished last in 1966 with a record of 70-89.  The good old days.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 3-3 (.500).

MINNESOTA TWINS 6, MILWAUKEE BREWERS 5 IN MILWAUKEE (13 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, July 22, 1994.

Batting stars:  Scott Leius was 3-for-5 with a home run (his thirteenth), a double, a walk, three runs and two RBIs.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-5 with a double and a walk.  Kirby Puckett hit a home run, his sixteenth.

Pitching stars:  Kevin Campbell pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.  Erik Schullstrom pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.  Mark Guthrie pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Rick Aguilera pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Rick Wrona was 3-for-4 with three doubles and a walk.  Kevin Seitzer was 3-for-6 with a double.  Dave Nilsson was 2-for-5 with a double.  Jose Mercedes pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up a walk.  Jaime Navarro pitched four innings, of relief, giving up one run on three hits and two walks and striking out two.

The game:  Puckett homered in the first inning to put the Twins up 1-0.  Milwaukee came back in the second.  Greg Vaughn led off with a double and scored on Nilsson’s single-plus error.  Matt Mieske then doubled home Nilsson, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a sacrifice fly, making the score 3-1 Brewers.

Milwaukee missed some chances to expand the lead.  Jeff Cirillo led off the third with a double and went to third on a ground out, but was stranded there.  Wrona walked and went to third on Jose Valentin’s single, but Valentin was thrown out trying to go to second.  Jody Reed then walked and stole second, putting men on second and third with two out.  But Cirillo flied out to end the inning.

Leius homered with one out in the fifth to cut the lead to 3-2.  Milwaukee again responded in the bottom of the inning.  Seitzer led off with a double.  He was on third with two out Mieske walked, Wrona delivered an RBI double, and a wild pitch made the score 5-2.

The Twins got one run back in the sixth.  With one out, Kent Hrbek walked, followed by singles by Shane Mack and Pedro Munoz to load the bases.  Leius drove in one with a single, leaving the bases still loaded, but Matt Walbeck hit into a double play.

The Brewers again missed a chance to expand the lead in the seventh.  Seitzer led off with a single but was picked off first.  Nilsson doubled with two out, but was left on second.  It cost them, as the Twins tied it in the ninth.  Leius walked.  With one out, pinch-hitter Chip Hale singled, with Leius going to third.  Pinch-runner Alex Cole stole second, with Leius coming home on an errant throw.  Knoblauch then singled to score Cole and tie it 5-5.

Wrona led off the eleventh with a double but advanced no farther.  Knoblauch led off the twelfth with a walk and was sacrificed to second.  Puckett was intentionally walked and Hrbek got an infield single to load the bases, but Mack hit into a double play.

The Twins took the lead in the thirteenth.  Leius doubled with one out, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a double by Jeff Reboulet.  In the bottom of the inning, Turner Ward walked and was bunted to second, but Alex Diaz flied out and Valentin grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Aguilera (1-3).

LP:  Navarro (3-7).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rich Becker was in center field in place of Cole, who was the regular center fielder.  Munoz was the DH in place of Dave Winfield.

Milwaukee hit eight doubles, but no home runs.

Eddie Guardado started for the Twins, the last of four starts he would make that season.  He lasted just 2.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and a walk.  He was twenty-three in 1994, and was obviously a long way from being Everyday Eddie at this point.

Mack was batting .320.  He would finish at .333.  Puckett was batting .319.  He would finish at .317.  Munoz was batting .314.  He would finish at .295.  Knoblauch was batting .313.  He would finish at .312.  Cole was batting .307.  He would finish at .296.

This was the second major league game for Erik Schullstrom.  He had not given up a run in 5.1 innings.  He would stretch that to 7.1 innings.  He did a very good job out of the bullpen for the Twins that year, posting a 2.77 ERA with one save before the season was prematurely ended.

Rick Wrona played in just six games for Milwaukee in 1994.  Three of his five hits and three of his four doubles came in this game.

Record:  Milwaukee was 45-51, in fourth place in the AL Central, 13.5 games behind the White Sox.  They would finish 53-62, in fifth place, fifteen games behind the White Sox.

The Twins were 44-51, in fifth place in the AL Central, fourteen games behind the White Sox.  They would finish 53-60, in fourth place, fourteen games behind the White Sox.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 2-3 (.400).

DETROIT TIGERS 5, MINNESOTA TWINS 2 IN DETROIT

Date:  Sunday, October 2, 2022.

Batting star:  Carlos Correa was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Griffin Jax pitched a perfect inning, striking out two.  Jorge Lopez pitched a scoreless inning, walking one.

Opposition stars:  Miguel Cabrera was 2-for-4.  Eric Haase hit a home run, his fourteenth.  Victor Reyes hit a home run, his second.  Joey Wentz pitched 4.2 innings, giving up two unearned runs on two hits and four walks and striking out four.  

The game:  Correa hit a one-out double in the first, but nothing came of it.  In the bottom of the first Akil Baddoo led off with a walk, went to third on a stolen base-plus-error, and scored when Haase reached on an error with one out.  Cabrera singled to put men on first and third and a wild pitch made it 2-0 Tigers.  It went to 3-0 in the third when Haase hit a two-out home run.

The Twins got on the board in the fifth.  Ryan Jeffers reached on a two-base error to start the inning.  One-out walks to Gilberto Celestino and Jose Miranda loaded the bases and Correa walked to force in a run.  Nick Gordon then hit a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 3-2.

That was as good as it would get for the Twins.  Neither team threatened until the eighth, when Reyes led off with a home run.  Baddoo singled and Riley Greene walked, putting men on first and second.  With one out, Cabrera hit an RBI single to make it 5-2, and that’s where it ended.

WP:  Alex Lange (7-4).

LP:  Simeon Woods Richardson (0-1).

S:  Gregory Soto (30).

Notes:  Jeffers was behind the plate in place of Gary Sanchez.  Gordon was at second in place of Jorge Polanco.  Gordon’s primary position that year was left field, but Jake Cave manned that position in this game.  Matt Wallner was in right in place of Max Kepler.

This was the major league debut of Simeon Woods Richardson.  He actually did pretty well, pitching five innings and giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks while striking out three.

The Twins kept talking in 2024 about how many young players they were using, but many of those players were already with the big club at the end of 2022.  Miranda, Jeffers, Wallner, Richardson, and Jax all played in this game.  They may not have been grizzled veterans in 2024, but they weren’t a bunch of kids, either.

A few other random Twins who played in this game were Jermaine Palacios, Mark Contreras, and Caleb Hamilton.

The Twins had been in contention much of the 2022 season, but collapsed down the stretch.  Where have I heard that before?

Record:  Detroit was 65-93, in fourth place in the AL Central, 24.5 games behind Cleveland.  They finished 66-96, in fourth place, twenty-six games behind Cleveland.

Minnesota was 77-82, in third place in the AL Central, thirteen games behind Cleveland.  They finished 78-84, in third place, fourteen games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 1-3 (.250).

Continue reading Random Rewind: 1986, Game 112 →

TEXAS RANGERS 2, MINNESOTA TWINS 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, June 20, 1977.

Batting stars:  Butch Wynegar was 3-for-4.  Roy Smalley was 3-for-4.  Lyman Bostock was 2-for-4 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Paul Thormodsgard pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks and striking out five.

Opposition stars:  Toby Harrah hit a home run, his ninth.  Dock Ellis pitched 6.1 scoreless innings, despite giving up ten hits and three walks.  He struck out two.  Adrian Devine pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

The game:  Claudell Washington hit a two-out double in the first, but did not score.  Wynegar and Smalley hit two-out singles in the second, but Wynegar was thrown out trying to go from first to third on Smalley’s single.  Texas got on the board in the third when Bump Wills singled, was sacrificed to second, and scored on a Juan Beniquez single.

Harrah got a two-out walk and stole second in the fourth, but nothing came of it.  In the bottom of the fourth, Glenn Adams led off with a single.  Two-out singles by Wynegar and Smalley loaded the bases, but Rob Wilfong grounded out to end the threat.  The Twins threatened again in the fifth, when Rod Carew drew a one-out walk and Bostock followed with a single that sent Carew to third, but Smalley grounded into a double play.  In the seventh, Harrah homered to put Texas up 2-0.

Jim Sundberg led off the eighth with a single and was bunted to second, but did not advance beyond there.  The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the eighth.  Bostock led off with a single, took second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Dan Ford single, cutting the deficit to 2-1.  Ford was bunted to second, but Craig Kusick struck out and Wynegar fouled out, ending the inning.  Smalley led off the ninth with a single and was bunted to second.  Carew drew a two-out walk, but Bostock lined to right to end the game.

WP:  Ellis (3-6).

LP:  Thormodsgard (4-4).

S:  Paul Lindblad (3).

Notes:  Bobby Randall is listed as the regular second baseman in 1977, but he was platooned with Wilfong, who started this game.  Adams, who was usually used at DH, was the right fielder in this game.  Regular right fielder Ford pinch-hit for him in the eighth.  Kusick is listed as the regular DH, but Adams and Rich Chiles also saw significant time at the DH spot.  Chiles was the DH in this game.

Carew was batting .381 after this game.  He would finish at .388.  Bostock was batting .349.  He would finish at .336.  Adams was batting .333.  He would finish at .338.

A very frustrating game for the Twins.  They out-hit Texas 12-5, but still lost 2-1.  All the hits were singles.  The Twins were 3-for-10 with men in scoring position, but still could only manage one run.  They stranded eleven runners.

There were five sacrifice bunts in this game, two by Texas and three by the Twins.  It was a different time, for sure.

I had forgotten that Bert Campaneris played for Texas.  He was leading off in this game and actually made the all-star team for them that year at age thirty-five.  He would play six more seasons, ending his career with the Yankees in 1983 at age forty-one.

Record:  Texas was 31-30, tied for third with California in the AL West, three games behind Chicago and Minnesota.  They would finish 94-68, in second place, eight games behind Kansas City.

Minnesota was 36-29, tied for first with Chicago in the AL West, three games ahead of Texas and California.  They would finish 84-77, in fourth place, 17.5 games behind Kansas City.

Random record:  The Random Twins are 0-2.

CLEVELAND INDIANS 5, MINNESOTA TWINS 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  September 28, 2013.

Batting star:  Eric Fryer was 1-for-1 with two walks. 

Pitching stars:  Anthony Swarzak pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Caleb Thielbar retired all four men he faced.  Glen Perkins pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Michael Bourn was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.  Jason Kipnis was 2-for-4.  Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer, his twentieth. Scott Kazmir struck out eleven in six innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks.

The game:  It was scoreless through three, with Twins starter Cole DeVries retiring the first nine men he faced.  He would take the streak to eleven, but with two out in the fourth Kipnis singled and Santana followed with a two-run homer.  The Twins got one back in the fourth, as Ryan Doumit and Josh Willingham opened the inning with singles.  Chris Colabello and Darin Mastroianni struck out, but Fryer delivered an RBI single to make it 2-1.

That was as good as it would get for the Twins.  In the top of the fifth DeVries again retired the first two batters, but Yan Gomes and Mike Aviles singled and Bourn followed with a two-run triple, making the score 4-1.  Nick Swisher walked and Kipnis had an RBI single to bring us to the final score of 5-1.

Neither team did much on offense after that.  The Twins put together a threat in the bottom of the fifth, getting a one-out walk to Brian Dozier followed by a Trevor Plouffe! single, but nothing came of it.  The Twins would not get another hit the rest of the game.  Cleveland had only a single and a walk after the fifth inning.

WP: Kazmir (10-9).   

LP:  DeVries (0-2). 

S:  None.

Notes:  Fryer was replacing Joe Mauer behind the plate.  Colabello was at first in place of Justin Morneau.  Alex Presley was in center rather than Aaron Hicks.  Mastroianni was in right field in place of Chris Parmelee, who pinch-hit for Mastroianni in the ninth.

This was the next-to-last game of the season.  A forgettable game at the end of a forgettable season in middle of several forgettable seasons.  Not would I would have chosen to start this year’s random rewind.  But then, if I was choosing, I guess it wouldn’t be random.

Record:  Cleveland was 91-70, in second place in the AL Central, two games behind Detroit.  They would finish 92-70, one game behind Detroit.  Minnesota was 66-95, in fourth place in the AL Central, twenty-seven games behind Detroit.  The would finish 66-96, twenty-seven games behind Detroit.

Random Record:  The Random Twins start their season 0-1.