Tag Archives: random rewind

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2010, Game Forty

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BOSTON 3, MINNESOTA 2 IN BOSTON

Date:  Wednesday, May 19.

Batting star:  Denard Span was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Scott Baker pitched six innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and and one walk and striking out four.  Brian Duensing retired all four men he faced, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Clay Buchholz pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out seven.  Adrian Beltre was 2-for-4.  Victor Martinez was 2-for-4.  David Ortiz was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his eighth.

The game:  The Red Sox put two in the first, but other than that there were no threats until the fourth.  Span led off the top of the fourth with a double and scored on Joe Mauer's one-out double.  In the bottom of the inning, however, Martinez singled and Ortiz hit a two-out two-run homer to put Boston up 2-1.

In the sixth, the first two Red Sox were retired.  But then Beltre, Jeremy Hermida, and Bill Hall hit consecutive singles to give Boston a 3-1 lead.

The Twins tried to rally in the ninth.  Span led off with an infield single, went to second on defensive indifference, and scored on a pair of ground outs to cut the lead to 3-2.  Justin Morneau then walked and Michael Cuddyer singled, moving the tying run to second base with Jim Thome up to bat.  The dramatic ending fizzled, though, as Thome grounded to second and the game was over.

WP:  Buchholz (5-3).  LP:  Baker (4-4).  S:  Daniel Bard (1).

Notes:  Brendan Harris was at shortstop in place of the injured J. J. Hardy.  Nick Punto was holding down third base, as Danny Valencia had not yet been called up from AAA.  Jason Kubel was in left and Cuddyer in right, with Delmon Young on the bench.

Morneau was leading the team in batting at .365.  He would finish at .345, but would have his season cut short in early July due to injury.  Mauer was batting .356.  He would finish the season at .327.

Boston's closer was Jonathan Papelbon, but as he had pitched in two consecutive games, Bard was asked to come in and close.  This was one of only three saves he had in 2010 and one of only five he had in his career.  He was a solid reliever from 2009-2011, but then developed injury problems, and despite repeated comeback attempts he was never effective again.  His brother, Luke Bard, was a Twins farmhand.

Record:  The Twins were 24-16, in first place in the American League Central, one game ahead of Detroit.  They would finish 94-68, in first place, six games ahead of Chicago.

The Red Sox were 21-20, in fourth place in the American League East, 8.5 games behind Tampa Bay.  They would finish 89-73, in third place, seven games behind Tampa Bay.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2013, Game Forty-one

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ATLANTA 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN ATLANTA

Date:  Monday, May 20.

Batting stars:  Justin Morneau was 2-for-4.  Josh Willingham was 1-for-3 with a home run, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  Ryan Pressley pitched two shutout innings, giving up a walk and striking out one.  Caleb Thielbar struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Julio Teheran pitched 8.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk and striking out four.  Juan Francisco was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Justin Upton was 2-for-4.  Dan Uggla was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his eighth.

The game:  With one out in the bottom of the first, the Braves got consecutive singles from Jason Heyward, Upton, and Freddie Freeman to go ahead 1-0.  Gerald Laird flied out, but Uggla hit a three-run homer to put Atlanta up 4-0.

The game was basically over at that point, but of course they played it out.  The Twins put two on with one out in the fourth but did not score.  In the fifth, Francisco doubled and Melvin Upton walked.  A bunt moved them to second and third and Andrelton Simmons hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0 Braves.

The Twins got on the board in the ninth when Willingham hit a home run.  They tried to get back into it, getting one-out singles from Trevor Plouffe and Chris Parmelee, but a pair of fly balls ended the game.

WP:  Teheran (3-1).  LP:  Kevin Correia (4-4).  S:  Cody Gearrin.

Notes:  The Twins used pretty much their standard lineup, without a DH because they were in Atlanta.  Wilkin Ramirez pinch-hit for Correia in the fifth.  Eduardo Escobar went into the game at shorstop in the seventh, replacing Pedro Florimon as part of a double switch.  Ryan Doumit pinch-hit for Thielbar in the ninth.  Oswaldo Arcia pinch-hit for Aaron Hicks in the ninth.

Joe Mauer was batting .333.  He would finish at .324.  Justin Morneau was batting .304.  He would finish at .259.  He would also finish in Pittsburgh, as he was traded at the August deadline for Alex Presley and a player to be named later (Duke Welker).  Not one of the Twins' best trades.

Aaron Hicks was batting .144 at this point.  As you probably remember, the Twins had traded Denard Span during the off-season and handed the job to the twenty-three-year-old Hicks on the strength of a good year in AA.  He clearly wasn't ready, although he did improve his average to .192 by the end of the season.

Correia settled down after the first inning, but still allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk in four innings.  He did not strike out anyone.

Parmelee is listed as the starting right fielder in 2013, but he played just sixty-eight games there.  Doumit, Arcia, and Chris Herrmann also saw significant time in right field.

Record:  The Twins were 18-23, in fifth (last) place in the American League Central, seven games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 66-96, in fourth place, twenty-seven games behind Detroit.

The Braves were 26-18, in first place in the National League East, 3.5 games ahead of Washington.  They would finish 96-66, in first place, ten games ahead of Washington.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1976, Game One Hundred Twenty-four

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MINNESOTA 6, DETROIT 4 IN DETROIT (12 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, August 22.

Batting stars:  Mike Cubbage was 3-for-5 with a home run (his second), a walk, and two RBIs.  Lyman Bostock was 3-for-6 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Butch Wynegar was 2-for-6 with a double.  Larry Hisle was 2-for-6.

Pitching stars:  Dave Goltz pitched eight innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits and five walks and striking out one.  Tom Johnson pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Bill Campbell struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Vern Ruhle pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out four.  Rusty Staub was 2-for-5 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base (his third).  Ron LeFlore was 2-for-6 with a double.

The game:  With two out in the first, the Twins got consecutive singles from Carew, Wynegar, and Bostock to take a 1-0 lead.  It stayed that way, with no particular threats, until the bottom of the fifth.  With one out, Mark Wagner singled, Chuck Scrivener reached on an error, LeFlore singled home a run, and Ben Oglivie delivered a two-out two-run single to put the Tigers up 3-1.

The Twins got one back in the sixth on singles by Carew, Bostock, and Hisle.  They tied it in the seventh on singles by Steve Braun and Roy Smalley and Carew's sacrifice fly.  Cubbage homered in the eight to give the Twins a 4-3 advantage, but the Tigers tied it back up in the bottom of the eighth.  Staub led off with a double, Aurelio Rodriguez drew a one-out walk, and Bill Freehan singled to load the bases.  Alex Johnson hit a sacrifice fly, but that was all Detroit could do.

The Twins put men on first and second in both the ninth and tenth.  The Tigers put men on first and second in the tenth and got a one-out double in the eleventh.  Then came the twelfth.  Wynegar and Bostock led off with consecutive doubles and Cubbage contributed an RBI single to give the Twins a 6-4 lead.  The Tigers went down in order on three ground balls and the Twins had the win.

WP:  Campbell (13-3).  LP:  John Hiller (11-7).  S:  None.

Notes:  Braun was the DH and batted leadoff.  I'd forgotten this, but Braun was often used as the leadoff batter that year, batting first sixty-two times.

Tony Oliva pinch-hit for second baseman Bobby Randall in the seventh.  It was his last season and he was used primarily as a pinch-hitter, getting an occasional start at DH.  Jerry Terrell went in to play second base in the bottom of the seventh.

Steve Brye went to right field to replace Dan Ford in the tenth.  Ford had doubled in the top of the inning--perhaps he tweaked something running the bases.  He would not miss any games.

Craig Kusick pinch-hit for Braun in the eleventh.

Carew was batting .322 after this game.  He would end the season at .331.  Bostock was batting .321.  He would end the season at .323.

This was the year Campbell won seventeen games, all out of the bullpen.  He would become a free agent and sign with Boston.  His "closer" role would be filled by Johnson, who would win sixteen games, all out of the bullpen, the next year.

Goltz was the Twins' ace, to the extent they had one, at this point of the season.  Bert Blyleven had started the season with the Twins, but had been traded to Texas by this point.  Goltz had a pretty good year, going 14-14, 3.36, 1.32 WHIP.  He would win twenty games for the only time in his career in the following season.

Record:  The Twins were 62-62, in third place in the American League West, fourteen games behind Kansas City.  They would finish 85-77, still in third place, but just five games behind Kansas City.

Detroit was 58-64, in fourth place in the American League East, fifteen games behind New York.  They would finish 74-87, in fifth place, twenty-four games behind New York.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1988, Game One Hundred Fourteen

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NEW YORK 6, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, August 12.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 3-for-5 with a home run, his seventeenth.  Brian Harper was 3-for-5.  Greg Gagne was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Randy Bush was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer, his twelfth.

Pitching star:  Charlie Lea pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Tommy John pitched 5.1 innings, giving up one run on eight hits and three walks and striking out three.  Rickey Henderson was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and three stolen bases (his sixty-fifth, sixty-sixth, and sixty-seventh).  Rafael Santana was 2-for-4.  Ken Phelps was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his seventeenth.

The game:  Each team missed a chance in the first.  The Yankees put men on first and third with one out and the Twins had men on first and second with two out, but no one scored.  In the third Henderson had a one-out single, Don Mattingly drew a two-out walk, and Phelps hit a three-run homer, putting New York up 3-0.  The Twins opened the fourth with two singles, but a double play took them out of the inning.  They had men on first and third with two out in the fifth, but again could not score.

The Twins finally got on the board in the sixth.  With one out, Kent Hrbek walked, Gene Larkin singled, and John Christensen delivered an RBI double to make it 3-1.  There were still men on second and third with one out, but there they stayed.  Maybe they're still there, I don't know.  Puckett homered in the seventh to cut the lead to 3-2.  With two out in the eighth, Gagne singled and Bush hit a two-run homer, putting the Twins ahead 4-3.

Juan Berenguer, who had come in to start the eighth, remained in to start the ninth.  He retired Mike Pagliarulo on a fly ball, but walked Don Slaught.  That brought in Jeff Reardon.  He gave up consecutive singles to Jack Clark, Santana, Henderson, and Claudell Washington, putting the Yankees back in front 6-4.  The Twins didn't quit.  In the bottom of the ninth, Harper and Puckett singled.  Gary Gaetti was caught looking, but Hrbek walked to load the bases with one out.  But Larkin hit into a double play and the game was over.

WP:  Steve Shields (3-3).  LP;  Reardon (0-4).  S:  Dave Righetti (18).

Notes:  Tim Laudner was still the primary catcher in 1988, with Harper as his backup.  Christensen was in right field, where Bush had become the regular after the trade of Tom Brunansky.  Al Newman was at second base in place of the injured Tom Herr.

Bush pinch-hit for Newman in the sixth.  Steve Lombardozzi went to second base, with Bush going to right field.  Mark Davidson replaced Bush in right field in the ninth.  John Moses pinch-ran for Hrbek in the ninth.

I guess the Tom Kelly Twins were quite capable of blowing leads to the Yankees, too.

There are some names up there that I hadn't thought of for a long time outside of their birthday posts.

This was Lea's only season as a Twin, and the last season of his career.  He did okay in this game, but overall was not very good in this season, going 7-7, 4.85, 1.59 WHIP.  He'd been a fine pitcher for Montreal from 1982-1984, but he missed two seasons with injuries and was never the same pitcher again.

This was Christensen's third game as a Twin.  He went 1-for-3, making him 3-for-7 (.429).  For the season he was 10-for-38 (.263).  This would be his last major league season.

Other than Christensen, the best batting average among players who played in this game was .355 by Puckett.  The best OPS was Harper at .920, with Puckett right behind at .914,  Gary Gaetti at .902, and Hrbek at .892.

The Yankees used three pitchers in the ninth inning.  Shields started the inning and gave up the two singles.  Neil Allen came in and struck out Gaetti.  Righetti then came in to close it out.

Record:  The Twins were 64-50, in second place in the American League West, 8.5 games behind Oakland.  They would finish 91-71, in second place, thirteen games behind Oakland.

New York was 63-49, in third place in the American League East, four games behind Detroit.  They would finish 85-76, in fifth place, 3.5 games behind Boston.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1963, Game One Hundred Thirty-two

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MINNESOTA 10, WASHINGTON 1 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Thursday, August 29.

Batting stars:  Bernie Allen was 3-for-5 with a home run (his seventh) and three RBIs.  Jimmie Hall was 3-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-seventh) and two runs.  Rich Rollins was 3-for-5.  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4 with a home run (his tenth), a triple, a walk, and three runs.  Earl Battey was 2-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his thirty-second.

Pitching star:  Dwight Siebler pitched a complete game, giving up one run on three hits and two walks and striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Don Rudolph struck out three in three shutout innings of relief, giving up two hits and a walk.

The game:  Allen led off the game with a home run to put the Twins up 1-0.  They later put men on second and third with none out, but left them there.  It did not cost them.  In the second Versalles tripled and scored on Allen's single to make it 2-0.

The Twins took control in the third.  Hall opened with a home run.  Don Mincher walked and went to third on two wild pitches.  The next two batters went out, but Battey had an RBI single, Versalles walked, Siebler contributed a two-run single-plus-error, and Allen delivered an RBI single.  It was 7-0 Twins and they were not threatened after that.

It went to 9-0 in the fourth when Killebrew hit a two-run homer and 10-0 in the fifth when Versalles homered.  The lone Senators run came in the sixth.  Don Rudolph walked, went to third on a single by Don Blasingame, and scored on a double play.

WP:  Siebler (1-0).  LP:  Jim Duckworth (4-11).  S:  None.

Notes:  This was the second game of a doubleheader.  The Twins had won the first game 14-2, giving them a 24-3 margin for the day.

Despite the fact that this was the second game of a doubleheader, the only substitution from the first game to the second was that Mincher was at first base rather than Vic Power.  They also didn't make a lot of substitutions during the game, even though it was a blowout.  In the eighth, Jerry Zimmerman replaced Battey behind the plate and Lenny Green went to center field, with Hall moving to left and Killebrew coming out of the game.  I know, but always forget, that Killebrew was the Twins' regular left fielder from 1962-1964.

This was the second game, first start, first complete game, and first win of Siebler's career.  He had pitched two-thirds of an inning of relief three days earlier.  We don't have pitch counts for these games.  It's hard to imagine a guy making his first career start being allowed to pitch a complete game, especially in a blowout like this.  Incidentally, Lee Stange threw a complete game in the first game of the doubleheader.  Men were men in 1963.

Duckworth was the starter for Washington.  He pitched 2.2 innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out three.

The Senators really had a woeful lineup.  They had one batter with an average over .250 (Chuck Hinton, .279) and three guys with an OPS over .720.  (Hinton, Blasingame, and Don Lock).  Yes, it was the 1960s, and yes, they were a third-year expansion team, but that's still pretty bad.  And they weren't using a bunch of scrubs because it was the second game of the doubleheader--this was pretty much their regular lineup.  As they used to say, first in war, first in peace, last in the American League.

This is more like it, random.org.

Record:  The Twins were 74-58, in third place in the American League, 11.5 games behind the Yankees.  They would finish 91-70, in third place, thirteen games behind the Yankees.

Washington was 48-85, in tenth (last) place in the American League, thirty-eight games behind the Yankees.  They would finish 56-106, in tenth (last) place, 48.5 games behind the Yankees.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1993, Game Seventeen

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DETROIT 16, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, April 25.

Batting stars:  Gene Larkin was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fourth) and a hit-by-pitch.

Pitching stars:  Willie Banks pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks and striking out six.  Rick Aguilera struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Alan Trammell was 3-for-5 with a home run, a stolen base (his third), two runs, and two RBIs.  Mickey Tettleton was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fifth), a double, two walks, and three runs.  Kirk Gibson was 2-for-5 with a double, a hit-by-pitch, and two runs.  Chad Kreuter was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer (his second) and a walk.  Tony Phillips was 1-for-4 with a home run (his second), two walks, and two runs.

The game:  It looked good for the Twins for a long time.  Not right away--Tettleton led off the second with a home run to put the Tigers up 1-0.  But it stayed 1-0 until the fourth.  Then Puckett homered to tie it 1-1.  In the fifth, Pedro Munoz and Larkin led off with singles.  A double play followed, but Jeff Reboulet and Chuck Knoblauch walked to load the bases.  Shane Mack then delivered a two-run single to make it 3-1 Twins.

The Twins added two more in the sixth.  Brian Harper led off with a single.  With one out, Larkin walked, Terry Jorgensen had an RBI single, Reboulet walked, and Knoblauch hit a sacrifice fly.  It was 5-1 Twins through six, and things were looking good.

But the roof fell in in the seventh.  Not literally--the Metrodome was still standing at the end of the game.  With one out Scott Livingstone walked, and two wild pitches moved him to third.  Trammell delivered an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-2.  Banks came out and Mark Guthrie came in.  He gave up back-to-back homers to Krueter and Phillips, tying the score.  He retired Lou Whitaker, but Gibson hit a ground-rule double.  That led to Guthrie going out and Brett Merriman coming in.  He gave up an RBI double to Cecil Fielder, intentionally walked Tettleton, Rob Deer hit a two-run double, and Livingstone got an RBI single.  It was 9-5 Tigers.

Detroit scored seven more in the eighth.  No need to go into great detail about it.  Milt Cuyler hit a three-run double, a couple of runs scored on wild pitches, there was a sacrifice fly, and Trammell hit a home run.  Nobody got on base after that.

WP:  Mark Leiter (1-1).  LP:  Guthrie (1-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Larkin was at first-base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Terry Jorgensen was at third base in place of Mike Pagliarulo.

Jeff Reboulet was apparently the starting shortstop at the beginning of 1993.  He was replaced by Pat Meares in early May.

The two pitchers who allowed most of the runs for the Twins were their weakest relief pitchers in 1993.  Guthrie, who'd had an excellent year in 1992, was dealing with an injury in 1993 and would be done for the season in late May.  Merriman would make one more appearance and then go back to the minors, not returning until the end of August.

They spoiled a solid effort by Banks, who had started 1993 really well. This was his third start--he'd given up one run in 13.1 innings in his first two starts.  His ERA would be 2.66 at the end of April.  By the end of May, however, it was 4.14 and he would end the season at 4.04.  It was still his best season as a Twin and the best he ever had as a starter.

The Tigers had Trammell batting eighth in this game.  He was coming off an injury from 1992, but he batted .329 in 1993.  I suspect he did not stay in the eighth spot too long.

Yes, I'm getting tired of random.org giving us Twins losses, too.  But such is randomness.

Record:  The Twins were 8-9, tied for third place in the American League West, 4.5 games behind California.  They would end 71-91, tied for fifth with California, twenty-three games behind Chicago.

Detroit was 12-5, in first place in the American League East, two games ahead of Boston.  They would end 85-77, tied for third with Baltimore, ten games behind Toronto.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2015, Game One Hundred Four

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NEW YORK 8, MINNESOTA 7 IN NEW YORK (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Monday, August 17.

Batting stars:  Trevor Plouffe was 3-for-5 with a home run (his eighteenth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Miguel Sano was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, his eighth.  Brian Dozier was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his tenth.  Eddie Rosario was 2-for-5.  Aaron Hicks was 1-for-6 with a home run, his eighth.

Pitching stars:  Casey Fien struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a walk.  Kevin Jepsen pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Brian McCann was 3-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-first), a double, and five RBIs.  Jacoby Ellsbury was 3-for-5.  Carlos Beltran was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his thirteenth.

The game:  The Yankees jumped on Kyle Gibson for three runs in the first inning.  Ellsbury led off with a single, Alex Rodriguez drew a one-out walk, and McCann hit a three-run homer to give New York a 3-0 lead.

To their credit, the Twins battled back.  With two out in the second, consecutive singles by Rosario, Kurt Suzuki, and Eduardo Nunez got them on the board.  In the third, Dozier led off with a single and Sano hit a one-out two-run homer to tie the game.  Plouffe then singled, went to third on an error, and scored on a Rosario single to put the Twins ahead 4-3.

The lead didn't last long.  In the fourth, Ellsbury led off with a single and Brett Gardner walked.  Rodriguez reached on an error, but Ellsbury was thrown out trying to score, leaving men on first and third.  Rodriguez stole second with two out and McCann delivered a two-run single to put New York back in front 5-4.

Again, the Twins battled back.  Hicks led off the fourth with a home run and Plouffe led off the fifth with a home run, giving the Twins a 6-5 lead.  In the sixth, consecutive two-out singles by Joe Mauer, Sano, and Plouffe made it 7-5 Twins.  In the bottom of the sixth, however, Mark Teixeira walked and Beltran hit a two-run homer to tie the score 7-7.

The Yankees loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh but did not score.  There were no other threats in regulation, so we went to an extra inning.  Greg Bird and McCann led off with back-to-back doubles, but Bird only got to third base on McCann's double, so the game continued.  Beltran was intentionally walked, but Chase Headley hit a weak ground ball to short that scored the deciding run.

WP:  Andrew Miller (1-2).  LP:  Glen Perkins (1-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  The leader in batting average in the starting lineup was Miguel Sano at .292.

In addition to those listed above, Twins relivers used were Brian Duensing and Ryan O'Rourke.

Nunez was at shortstop in this game.  Eduardo Escobar is listed as the starting shortstop in 2015, but he played just seventy-one games there.  Next highest was Danny Santana at sixty-six.  Escobar did come into the game in the tenth after the bases were loaded.  He replaced Torii Hunter and is listed in right field, but I suspect Paul Molitor went with a five-man infield.

Twins starter Kyle Gibson pitched five innings, allowing six runs on four hits and three walks and striking out two.  Yankees starter Bryan Mitchell pitched 1.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks and striking out two.  Mitchell came out after Nunez hit a line drive back to the pitcher, which I assume is why he was removed.  He would not pitch again until August 28.

When I saw the game random.org had given me, I thought seriously about telling it to try again.  I decided against it, but if it gives me very many more like this we may have to change the rules.

In real life, 2015 doesn't seem very long ago to me.  When I look at some of these names, though, it does.

Record:  The Twins were 59-59, in second place in the American League Central, 12.5 games behind Kansas City.  The Twins would end the season 83-79, in second place in the American League Central, twelve games behind Kansas City.

The Yankees were 65-52, in first place in the American League East, one game ahead of Toronto.  The Yankees would finish 87-75, in second place in the American League East, six games behind Toronto.  They did, however, win the wild card.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2002, Game Sixty-two

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MINNESOTA 5, FLORIDA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, June 8.

Batting stars:  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Jacque Jones was 2-for-4 with a walk and a double.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Tony Fiore pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out one.  Mike Jackson pitched a perfect inning while striking out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect inning while striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Cliff Floyd was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourteenth), a double, and a walk.  Mike Lowell was 1-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and a walk.  Andy Fox was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his tenth.

The game:  The Marlins scored in the top of the first, as Luis Castillo led off with a single and scored on Floyd's double.  The Twins tied it in the second when Corey Koskie walked, went to third on a stolen base-plus-error, and scored on a Mohr double.  Hunter's two-run double in the third put the Twins ahead 3-1, but Florida come right back in the top of the fourth, getting back-to-back homers by Floyd and Lowell to tie it 3-3.

Mohr led off the bottom of the fourth with a double and scored on Jones' single to give the Twins a 4-3 advantage.  The Marlins led off the sixth with two walks, but Fiore came in to retire the next three batters to get out of the inning.  In the bottom of the sixth, back-to-back doubles by Luis Rivas and Jones made the score 5-3.

Florida put men on first and third with two out in the seventh, but J. C. Romero came on to retire Cliff Floyd on a ground out and the Marlins did not get a baserunner after that.

WP:  Matt Kinney (2-5).  LP:  Kevin Olsen (0-4).  S:  Guardado (18).

Notes:  Jones raised his average to .316.  Hunter went up to .314.  Mohr was batting .336.  A. J. Pierzynski was 1-for-4 to make his average .331.  Romero's ERA fell to 0.79.  Jackson now had an ERA of 1.07.

This was Luis Rivas' seventh game of the season.  He was batting .400 (10-for-25).  He would end the season at .256.

Koskie had stolen twenty-seven bases in 2001, more than double what he did in any other year.  He would steal ten in 2002 and eleven in 2003, the only years when he reached double digit stolen bases.  He had seventy-one for his career.

Kinney struck out six in five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks.  Florida starter Kevin Olsen pitched 4.1 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out four.

This was one of only ten starts Olsen made in his major league career.  Florida drafted him in the twenty-sixth round in 1998.  He got a September call-up from AA in 2001 and pitched quite well, throwing seven shutout innings against Montreal on October 3.  He appears to have been the fifth starter for Florida at the start of the 2002 season, pitching out of the bullpen when a fifth starter was not needed due to off-days or rainouts.  He did okay in nine relief appearances, but was not very good in eight starts and was sent down in early July.  He was pitching really well in AAA Albuquerque in 2003 and came up to the majors in June.  He made on good appearance and three really bad ones.  In the last one, on June 27, he was hit in the head by a Todd Walker line drive, landing him on the disabled list.  He came back in September and had one really bad outing and two good ones.  He apparently was still dealing with injury in 2004, as he made just ten starts for Albuquerque.  He signed with Pittsburgh for 2005 but never threw a pitch for them all year and was released after the season.  He started 2006 in independent ball and finished it in AA for Oakland, doing very well in thirteen starts.  He made just two bad starts in AAA in 2007, however, before being released.  A quick Google search did not reveal whether the later injuries had to do with concussion symptoms or if they were independent of that.  He might not have done much in the majors anyway, but it's too bad that he couldn't stay healthy so he could find out for sure.

Record:  The Twins were 36-26, in first place in the American League Central, six games ahead of Chicago.  The Twins would end at 94-67 and would win the division by 13.5 games.

Florida was 30-31, in fourth place in the National League East, 5.5 games behind Atlanta.  The Marlins would finish 79-83 and would stay in fourth place. twenty-three games behind the Braves.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2017, Game Sixty-two

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SEATTLE 6, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, June 14.

Batting stars:  Byron Buxton was 3-for-3 with a home run (his fourth), a double, and two stolen bases (his eleventh and twelfth).  Miguel Sano was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixteenth.  Eduardo Escobar was 2-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  Matt Belisle struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Taylor Rogers pitched two perfect innings and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Ben Gamel was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Robinson Cano was 3-for-5.  Danny Valencia was 2-for-5.  Jarrod Dyson was 2-for-5.  Mitch Haniger was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fifth) and a walk.  Mike Zunino was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his sixth.

The game: Gamel led off the game with a single and Haniger followed with a two-run homer, putting the Mariners up 2-0 two batters into the game.  They loaded the bases with two out in the second, but Cano grounded out to end the inning.  With two out in the third Valencia and Dyson singled and Zunino hit a three-run homer, giving Seattle a 5-0 lead.  The Mariners put men on second and third with two out in the fourth, but Kyle Seager flied out to keep the score 5-0.

The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the fifth on solo homers by Escobar and Buxton, cutting the margin to 5-2.  In the sixth, Gamel reached on an error, Cano singled, and Nelson Cruz was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with one out.  Seager flied out, but Valencia singled to drive in a run and make it 6-2 Seattle.

With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Joe Mauer singled and Sano hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to 6-4.  But that was it.  The Twins did get the tying run on in both the eighth and the ninth.  With two out in the eighth Sano singled and Robbie Grossman walked, but Kennys Vargas struck out to end the inning.  In the ninth Jason Castro drew a one-out walk and Byron Buxton singled.  With two out, pinch-runner Ehire Adrianza and Buxton pulled off a double steal, meaning a hit to the outfield would tie the game.  Brian Dozier hit a fly ball to deep center, but it was caught and the game was over.

WP:  Sam Gaviglio (3-1).  LP:  Ervin Santana (8-4).  S:  Edwin Diaz (11).

Notes:  Eduardo Escobar was at shortstop in place of Jorge Polanco, who was apparently just being given a day off.

Neither starter pitched particularly well.  Santana pitched five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and one walk and striking out five.  Gaviglio pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on five hits and no walks and striking out five.

This was Diaz' first full season as a closer.  He had taken over from Steve Cishek in 2016.

Gaviglio joined the Mariners' rotation in mid-May.  He would stay there until mid-July.  He was waived and taken by Kansas City on September 1.

This was Santana's best season as a Twin and among the best of his career, although you can't tell it by this game.  He would end up 16-8, 3.28, 1.13 WHIP.

Three members of the Seattle starting lineup have Twins connections:  Cruz (DH), Valencia (1B), and Taylor Motter (SS).

Of Twins who played in this game, the batting average leader was Sano at .292.

Record:  The Twins were 33-29, first in the American League Central, two games ahead of Cleveland.  They would finish 85-77, second in the American League Central, but winning the wild card.

The Mariners were 33-34, in third place in the American League West, twelve games behind Houston.  They would finish 78-84, third in the American League West, twenty-three games behind Houston.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1968, Game One Hundred Four

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DETROIT 6, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, August 2.

Batting stars:  Ron Clark was 3-for-4 with a home run.  Rod Carew was 3-for-4 with a double.  Ted Uhlaender was 3-for-5 with two doubles.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer (his third) and two runs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Al Worthington pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up only a walk and striking out two.  Ron Perranoski pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Don McMahon pitched four shutout innings of relief, giving up four hits and striking out three.  Bill Freehan was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.  Dick McAuliffe was 2-for-4.

The game:  The Tigers jumped on Twins starter Jim Merritt early.  McAuliffe led off with a single and Mickey Stanley walked.  With one out, Willie Horton walked to load the bases.  Freehan then doubled in two runs, Jim Northrup hit a sacrifice fly, and Don Wert delivered an RBI single.  It was 4-0 Detroit before the Twins even came up to bat.

The Twins tried to battle back.  They threatened in the first, when uhlaender hit a two-out double, and in the second, when Carew hit a one-out double and Frank Quilici walked.  Clark then singled, but apparently Carew rounded third too far and was thrown out, taking them out of the inning.

The Twins finally broke through in the third.  Reese hit a one-out single, Uhlaender doubled, and Bob Allison walked, loading the bases.  John Roseboro hit a sacrifice fly and Carew had an RBI single, cutting the margin to 4-2.  They took the lead in the fourth.  Clark led off with a home run.  With one out, Tovar singled and Reese hit a two-run homer to put the Twins up 5-4.

It wouldn't last.  The first two Tigers went out in the fifth.  Then came consecutive singles by Stanley, Al Kaline, Horton, and Freehan, resulting in two runs and a 6-5 advantage for the Tigers.

The Twins had consecutive singles to open the fifth, but nothing came of it.  They did not get a man past first base after that, and the score remained 6-5.

WP:  McMahon (3-1).  LP:  Bob Miller (0-2).  S:  Daryl Patterson (5).

Notes:  Tovar was in right field in place of Tony Oliva, who was out for about ten days, presumably with an injury.  Reese was at first base in place of Harmon Killebrew, who you may remember was injured in the all-star game.  Frank Quilici was at third base.  Clark was at shortstop.

Merritt was the starter for the Twins, but he lasted just two-thirds of an inning, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks.  He struck out one.  The Detroit starter was Joe Sparma.  He lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks and striking out one.  Mickey Lolich was used in relief, one of seven times he relived for the Tigers in 1968.  The Tigers really didn't have a closer that year--I guess with a rotation of Denny McLain, Earl Wilson, Lolich, and Sparma, they really didn't need one.  Patterson was tied with Pat Dobson for the team lead with seven.

Clark's home run was the only one he would hit in 1968.  He would hit five in his career.

Reese did not have much power early in his career.  He would hit four home runs in 1968, the same amount he had hit in 1967 in about a third as many at-bats.  He would set his career high, 16, the following year of 1969.

Of the players in the starting lineup this day, Uhlaender led the team in batting (at this point of the season) at .299.  Carew was second at .296.

Record:  At this point of the season, the Twins were 49-55, in seventh place in the American League, sixteen games behind first-place Detroit.  The Tigers would go on to win the American League pennant.  The Twins would finish 79-83 and in seventh place.