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).

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 11, MINNESOTA TWINS  6 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, June 11, 2004.

Batting stars:  Joe Mauer was 3-for-3 with a home run (his second), a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Jacque Jones was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Torii Hunter was 2-for-4.  Lew Ford was 2-for-5 with a home run (his second), a double, two runs, and two RBIs.

Pitching stars: None.

Opposition stars:  Mike Lieberthal was 3-for-4.  Ricky Ledee was 3-for-5 with two home runs (his fourth and fifth), three runs, and five RBIs.  Placido Polanco was 3-for-5 with a home run (his second), two runs, and three RBIs.  Jimmy Rollins was 2-for-5 with two runs.  

The game:  The Twins took the early lead in the second.  With one out, Torii Hunter singled, Jacque Jones doubled, and Matthew LeCroy walked, loading the bases.  All the Twins could manage was a sacrifice fly, but they took a 1-0 lead.  

The lead lasted until the fourth.  Jim Thome drew a one-out walk, and with two out Ricky Ledee hit a two-run homer, putting Philadelphia up 2-1.  In the fifth, Mike Lieberthal led off with a single, Jimmy Rollins hit a one-out single, and Placido Polanco hit a three-run homer, making it 5-1 Phillies.  

Joe Mauer homered in the fifth to cut the lead to 5-2, but Philadelphia got the run right back in the sixth on singles by Ricky Ledee and Mike Lieberthal and a two-out RBI double by Marlon Byrd.  

The Twins got back into it after that.  In the sixth, Lew Ford led off with a double and scored on a pair of ground outs.  In the seventh, Joe Mauer led off with a double, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a ground out.  Doug Mientkiewicz then doubled and Lew Ford hit a two-run homer to tie it 6-6.

But then, in the ninth, the Phillies took over.  With one out, Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco singled and Bobby Abreu walked, loading the bases.  Jim Thome brought home two with a ground rule double, and Ricky Ledee hit a two-out three-run homer, giving Philadelphia an 11-6 lead.  The Twins went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Tim Worrell (2-2).

LP:  Terry Mulholland (0-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Joe Mauer was behind the plate.  He was the regular catcher when healthy, but he missed most of the season due to injury, with Henry Blanco doing most of the catching.  Michael Cuddyer was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Matthew LeCroy was at DH.  The Twins didn’t have a regular DH in 2004.  Jose Offerman played the most games there at 39, with LeCroy second at 30.

Joe Mauer was batting .346.  He would finish at .308.  Lew Ford was batting .324.  He would finish at .299.

Jim Thome was at first base for Philadelphia.  He would play for the Twins in 2010-2011.

Mauer batted eighth in this game.  Presumably, the Twins were trying not to put too much pressure on him in his rookie season, especially when he was coming back from injury.  This was his tenth major league game.

Lew Ford hit thirty-five career home runs.  2004 was his career high, with fifteen.

Ricky Ledee hit sixty-three career home runs, two of them in this game.  His career high was thirteen, in 2004 and 2000.

Seth Greisinger was the Twins’ starter.  He pitched 5.2 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits and a walk, striking out three.  This was the last game he would pitch for the Twins, as he would spend the rest of the season in AAA and be released after the season.  He would make just one more major league appearance, for Atlanta in 2005.

Record:  Philadelphia was 31-27, in second place in the NL East, 1.5 games behind Florida.  They would finish 86-76, in second place, ten games behind Atlanta.

The Twins were 33-27, in first place in the AL Central, a half game ahead of Chicago.  They would finish 92-70, in first place, nine games ahead of Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 31-37 (.456).

MINNESOTA TWINS 5, TORONTO BLUE JAYS 4 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, August 16, 1996.

Batting star:  Scott Stahoviak was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Dave Hollins was 2-for-5 with a double.  Marty Cordova hit a two-run homer, his tenth.

Pitching stars:  Brad Radke pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out five.  Jose Parra pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Shawn Green was 3-for-4 with a double.  Alex Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with a home run (his eighth), a triple, and two runs.  Juan Guzman struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.

The game:  Doubles by Joe Carter and Shawn Green put Toronto up 1-0 in the first.  The Twins got a one-out double from Dave Hollins in the second, but he was stranded on second.  In the third, Alex Gonzalez tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 Blue Jays.  The Twins loaded the bases with two out in the third on a hit batsman, a Scott Stahoviak single, and another hit batsman, but a foul popup ended the inning.  In the fourth, Ed Sprague hit a one-out double and went to third on a Shawn Green single, but the score remained 2-0.

The Twins got on the board in the fourth when Roberto Kelly led off with a single, went to second on a ground out, and scored from second on a wild pitch.  Toronto got the run back when Alex Gonzalez led off the fifth with a home run, making the score 3-1.  In the bottom of the fifth, Paul Molitor hit a one-out single, Scott Stahoviak walked, the two pulled off a double steal, and a wild pitch again plated a run, cutting the lead to 3-2.

The Twins took their first lead in the seventh when Rich Becker walked and Marty Cordova hit a two-out two-run homer.  The Blue Jays tied it in the ninth when Shawn Green singled and scored from first on a John Olerud double.  The Twins went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, and we went to extra innings.

Carlos Delgado hit a one-out single in the tenth but was stranded on first.  Scott Stahoviak led off the bottom of the tenth with a double.  With one out, Dave Hollins doubled to bring in the deciding run for a Twins’ 5-4 victory.

WP:  Jose Parra (4-3).

LP:  Paul Quantrill (4-12).

S:  None.

Notes:  Matt Walbeck caught for the Twins.  He shared the position with Greg Myers, with Myers playing in more games, 90 to 61.  Roberto Kelly was in right.  He shared the position with Matt Lawton, with Lawton playing more games, 60 to 54.

Chuck Knoblauch was batting .354.  He would finish at .341.  Paul Molitor was batting .334.  He would finish at .341.  Roberto Kelly was batting .317.  He would finish at .323.  Marty Cordova was batting .311.  He would finish at .309.  Scott Stahoviak was batting .304.  He would finish at .284.

Otis Nixon was in center for Toronto, going 0-for-5.  He would play for the Twins in 1998.

The Twins were second in team batting average at .288, behind only Cleveland (.293).  However, they were eleventh in slugging percentage.  They were eighth in runs scored.  They had four .300 hitters, but the home run leader was Marty Cordova with sixteen.

Everyone knows Paul Molitor was a great hitter, but people may have forgotten what a great old hitter he was.  In 1996, at age thirty-nine, he led the league in hits with 225 and batted .341/.390/.468.  In his three seasons for the Twins, his age 39-41 seasons, he batted .312/.362/.432, for an OPS of .794.

Jose Parra would win only two more games in his major league career.  He would win one four days later, on August 20, and win another eight years later, in 2004 with the Mets.

Juan Guzman had a really good start to his career.  In his first three seasons, he was 40-11, 3.28.  He had another strong year in this season, 1996, when he went 11-8, 2.93, leading the league in ERA.  He was second to Chuck Knoblauch for rookie of the year in 1991, made the all-star team in 1992, and was seventh in Cy Young voting in 1993.  He couldn’t sustain it, and for his career he was 91-79, 4.08.  But for a few years, he was as good as anybody.

Record:  Toronto was 54-68, in fourth place in the AL East, seventeen games behind New York.  They would finish 74-88, in fourth place, eighteen games behind New York.

The Twins were 61-60, in third place in the AL Central, 11.5 games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 78-84, in fourth place, 21.5 games behind Cleveland

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 31-36 (.463).

ATLANTA BRAVES 5, MINNESOTA TWINS 4 IN ATLANTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Batting stars:  Joe Mauer was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Justin Morneau was 2-for-4.  Pedro Florimon was 2-for-4.  Ryan Doumit was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Anthony Swarzak pitched four innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits and striking out three.  Casey Fien struck out two in a perfect inning.  Jared Burton struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Brian McCann was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and two RBIs.  B. J. Upton was 2-for-4.  Freddie Freeman was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Jason Heyward was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Evan Gattis hit a home run, his ninth.  Tim Hudson struck out five in five innings, giving up two runs on five hits.  Anthony Varvaro struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Atlanta took the lead in the first inning.  Jason Heyward singled with one out.  With two out Freddie Freeman hit an RBI double followed by Brian McCann’s RBI single, putting the Braves up 2-0.  

The Twins got one back in the second.  Justin Morneau was hit by a pitch.  Ryan Doumit hit a one-out single, and Pedro Florimon delivered a two-out RBI single to make it 2-1.  The Twins tied it in the third on consecutive one-out singles by Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham, and Justin Morneau.

Atlanta got the lead back when Brian McCann led off the fourth with a home run.  From there, no one got a man past first until the eighth.  Joe Mauer led off the inning with a single and Josh Willingham walked.  With one out, Trevor Plouffe! and Ryan Doumit hit consecutive one-out RBI singles to give the Twins their first lead of the game at 4-3.

It would turn out to be their only lead of the game.  It held until the bottom of the ninth, when with two out Evan Gattis hit a pinch-hit home run to tie the game.  The tenth was similar.  The first two batters went out, but Jason Heyward doubled, Justin Upton was intentionally walked, and Freddie Freeman singled home the deciding run for the Braves.

WP:  Craig Kimbrel (1-1).

LP:  Brian Duensing (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jamey Carroll was at second base in place of Brian Dozier.  Ryan Doumit was in right field.  Chris Parmelee played the most games in right (68), with Doumit following at 32.  Doumit played the most games at DH (49), but there was no DH in this game.

Joe Mauer was batting .337.  He would finish at .324.  Justin Morneau was batting .309.  He would finish at .259.

Jared Burton had an ERA of 2.25.  He would finish at 3.82.

Andrelton Simmons was the Atlanta shortstop, going 0-for-5.  He would play for the Twins in 2021.

The Twins had ten hits, all singles.

The Twins emptied their bench.  Oswaldo Arcia and Chris Parmelee were used as pinch-hitters.  Brian Dozier was a pinch-runner.  Wilkin Ramirez and Eduardo Escobar came in to play defense.

The Twins had eight pitchers who made ten or more starts.  Five of them had ERAs above five:  Mike Pelfrey, who started this game (5.19), Scott Diamond (5.43), Kyle Gibson (6.53), Pedro Hernandez (6.83), and the Vanimal, Vance Worley (7.21).  In addition, Liam Hendriks, who made eight starts, ahd an ERA of 6.85.  In total, the Twins gave 93 starts to pitchers with ERAs over five.  It’s hard to win that way.

Record:  Atlanta was 27-18, in first place in the NL East, 4.5 games ahead of Washington.  They would finish 96-66, in first place, ten games ahead of Washington

The Twins were 18-24, in fifth (last) place in the AL Central, seven games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 66-96, in fourth place, twenty-seven games behind Detroit.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 30-36 (.455).

KANSAS CITY ROYALS 6, MINNESOTA TWINS 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 9, 1971.

Batting star:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Rod Carew was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  None.

Opposition stars:  Freddie Patek hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs.  Paul Schaal was 2-for-4 with a home run (his sixth), a walk, and two RBIs.  Bobby Knoop was 2-for-4.  Mike Hedlund pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks.

The game:  Freddie Patek led off the game with a double and Paul Schaal followed with a single, putting Kansas City up 1-0.  In the second, singles by Bobby Knoop, Patek, and Schaal loaded the bases with two out and Amos Otis delivered a two-run single, making the score 3-0 Royals.

The Twins threatened in the second, getting singles by Rod Carew and Jim Holt, but nothing came of it.  In the third, however, Steve Braun and Cesar Tovar each walked with one out.  Harmon Killebrew singled home one run, a ground out scored another, and a Leo Cardenas triple tied the score 3-3.

Each team threatened in the third but did not score.  Freddie Patek hit a two-out triple for Kansas City, and Jim Perry and Steve Braun hit one-out singles for the Twins, but it remained 3-3.  There were no more threats until the eighth, when Rod Carew and Leo Cardenas hit one-out singles, but again the score remained 3-3.

Then came the ninth.  Bobby Knoop singled with one out.  Starter Jim Perry remained in the game and struck out Lou Piniella, but Freddie Patek then hit a two-run homer and Paul Schaal followed with a solo shot, making the score 6-3.  The Twins did not get a man past first in the ninth, and the game went to the Royals.

WP:  Tom Burgmeier (4-2).

LP:  Jim Perry (12-8).

S:  Ted Abernathy (15).

Notes:  Rich Reese was in left, with Cesar Tovar moving to right and Tony Oliva on the bench.

Tom Burgmeier would pitch for the Twins from 1974-1977.

Jim Perry somehow made the all-star team in 1971.  This was his last start before the all-star break, and he was 12-8, 4.10, 1.37 WHIP.  Not awful, but not numbers that say “all-star”.  He had won the Cy Young award in 1970, and so presumably made the team based on reputation.  He would finish 17-17, 4.23, 1.35 WHIP.  It was his worst ERA since 1961 (when, oddly enough, he also made the all-star team) and would be his worst until his last season since 1975.

The two Royals who homered in the ninth were very unlikely home-run hitters.  Paul Schaal hit 57 career home runs, with a career high of 11 in 1971.  Freddie Patek hit 41 career home runs, with a career high of 6 in 1971.

Jim Kaat was used as a pinch-hitter in the ninth.  As we said recently, Kaat was over-rated as a batter–it was “good hitter for a pitcher”, not “good hitter”.  In 1971, he batted .161/.179/.194.  If he was truly their best pinch-hitting option, it speaks very poorly of the Twins’ bench.

On the other hand, he did get a hit.

Record:  Kansas City was 43-39, in second place in the AL West, eleven games behind Oakland.  They would finish 85-76, in second place, sixteen games behind Oakland.

The Twins were 39-46, in third place, 16.5 games behind Oakland. They would finish 74-86, in fifth place, 26.5 games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 30-35 (.462).

MINNESOTA TWINS 4, TAMPA BAY RAYS 3 IN TAMPA BAY

Date:  Thursday, September 5, 2024.

Batting stars:  Ryan Jeffers was 2-for-4 with a double.  Edouard Julien hit a three-run homer, his eighth.  Matt Wallner hit a home run, his eleventh.

Pitching stars:  Pablo Lopez struck out nine in 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk.  Griffin Jax struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  Jhoan Duran struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars: Jonny DeLuca was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Yandy Diaz was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  Jose Miranda and Carlos Santana led off the second with singles, and Edouard Julien hit a home run, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead.  It went to 4-0 in the third, when Matt Wallner hit a one-out home run.

Tampa Bay got on the board in the bottom of the third.  Jonny DeLuca and Taylor Walls led off with singles.  The next two batters went out, but a walk to Brandon Lowe loaded the bases and Junior Caminero delivered a two-run single, cutting the Twins’ lead in half at 4-2.

The Twins got a man to third in the fifth when Austin Martin walked, stole second, and went to third on a ground out, but he was stranded there.  The Rays tallied again in the seventh when Jonny DeLuca led off with a double and scored on a two-out double from Yandy Diaz.  The tying run was in scoring position, but Griffin Jax came on to retire Brandon Lowe on a grounder to second to end the inning.

Christopher Morel hit a two-out triple in the eighth, but he was stranded on third.  The last for Tampa Bay batters went out, and the victory was preserved.

WP:  Pedro Lopez (14-8).

LP:  Taj Bradley (6-10).

S:  Jhoan Duran (22).

Notes:  One really can’t say what the “regular” lineup was in 2024, because only two players played as many as one hundred games at one position.  Willi Castro was at short in this game, with Carlos Correa out due to injury.  Austin Martin was in center, with Byron Buxton out due to injury.

Michael Helman was batting .500.  He would finish at .300.  Jose Miranda was batting .301.  He would finish at .284.

Griffin Jax had an ERA of 1.89.  He would finish at 2.03.

Ben Rortvedt came in to catch late in the game.  He played for the Twins in 2021.

Michael Helman was a September call-up.  He was mostly used as a pinch-runner, as in this game, or as a defensive replacement.  He appeared in nine games but had just ten at-bats.

There’s not much I can tell you about this game or this team that you don’t know.  In fact, you may even remember this specific game.  I do.

Record:  Tampa Bay was 69-71, in fourth place in the AL East, 11.5 games behind Baltimore.  They would finish 80-82, in fourth place, fourteen games behind New York.

The Twins were 76-64, in second place in the AL Central, four games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 82-80, in fourth place, 10.5 games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 30-34 (.469).

MILWAUKEE BREWERS 3, MINNESOTA TWINS 2 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Thursday, June 21, 1979.

Batting star:  Butch Wynegar was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Gary Serum pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on ten hits, striking out three.  Mike Marshall pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Paul Molitor was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Jim Wohlford was 2-for-3 with a double.  Mike Caldwell pitched a complete game, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks and striking out four.

The game:  Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead in the third on consecutive doubles from Jim Wohlford and Paul Molitor.  The Twins tied it in the fourth.  Roy Smalley reached on an error, stole second, and scored on a Jose Morales single.

The Twins took the lead in the sixth when Ron Jackson singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a single by Butch Wynegar.  The Brewers tied it in the bottom of the sixth on singles by Jim Wohlford, Sal Bando, and Cecil Cooper.

Milwaukee took the lead in the seventh.  Sixto Lezcano led off with a single. Charlie Moore singled with one out, putting men on first and second.  A force out moved the runners to first and third, and Paul Molitor laid down a two-out bunt single to bring in the go-ahead run.  The Twins did not get a baserunner after Butch Wynegar’s RBI single in the sixth, and the game went to the Brewers.

WP:  Mike Caldwell (7-5).

LP:  Gary Serum (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Bobby Randall was on second.  He shared the position with Rob Wilfong, with the latter getting most of the playing time there.  Hosken Powell, normally the right fielder, was in left, one of eight games he played there in 1979.  Bombo Rivera made the most starts there (61), followed by Ken Landreaux (49), Glenn Adams (45), and Dave Edwards (36).  Edwards was in right.  

Hosken Powell was batting .372.  He would finish at .293.  Bobby Randall was batting .316.  He would finish at .246.  Jose Morales was batting .304.  He would finish at .267.

Mike Marshall had an ERA of 2.25.  He would finish at 2.65.

Paul Molitor would play for the Twins from 1996-1998 and would manage the Twins from 2015-2018.

This was the best of five starts Gary Serum made in 1979.  It was his last year in the majors.  He had been fairly good the previous season:  9-9, 4.10, 1.26 WHIP.  In 1979, however, he went 1-3, 6.61, 1.77 WHIP.

Mike Caldwell has been largely forgotten, but he was a pretty good pitcher.  His best season was 1978, when he went 22-9. 2.36, 1.06 WHIP and finished second to Ron Guidry in Cy Young voting.  For his career, he was 137-130, 3.81, 1.32 WHIP.  Not Hall of Famer or anything, but over fourteen seasons a very respectable career.

Record:  Milwaukee was 39-30, in third place in the AL East, 6.5 games behind Baltimore.  They would finish 95-66, in second place, eight games behind Baltimore.

The Twins were 32-32, in fourth place in the AL West, 6.5 games behind California.  They would finish 82-80, in fourth place, six games behind California.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 29-34 (.460).

BALTIMORE ORIOLES 5, MINNESOTA TWINS 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, May 5, 1987.

Batting star:  Kirby Puckett hit a three-run homer, his eighth.

Pitching star:  Juan Berenguer struck out four in 3.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Eddie Murray was 3-for-5 with a home run (his third) and a double.  Alan Wiggins was 2-for-4.  Jim Dwyer was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his first.  Eric Bell pitched 8.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits and a walk and striking out seven.

The game:  Baltimore threatened in the first inning.  Jim Dwyer singled and Cal Ripken walked with one out in the first, but nothing came of it.  In the third, however, Ken Gerhart singled and Dwyer hit a two-run homer, putting the Orioles up 2-0.

The Orioles added to their lead in the sixth.  Eddie Murray led off the inning with a home run.  Larry Sheets then singled, Ray Knight walked, and Terry Kennedy hit an RBI double.  Juan Berenguer replaced Mike Smithson at that point and got out of the inning without further damage, but it was 4-0 Baltimore.

The Orioles got one more in the ninth.  Alan Wiggins led off with a single.  He was still on first with two out, but Eddie Murray doubled and John Shelby hit an RBI single, making it 5-0.

The Twins, meanwhile, had done nothing for the first eight innings, and we mean that literally.  They had no hits and just one walk through eight innings.  In the ninth, however, Greg Gagne reached on an error and Tom Nieto singled for the Twins’ first hit.  Steve Lombardozzi then got another single, driving in the Twins’ first run.  Kirby Puckett hit a three-run homer, to cut the Twins lead to 5-4.  Gary Gaetti and Kent Hrbek hit one-out singles, putting the tying run in scoring position.  A ground out moved the runners to second and third and Randy Bush was intentionally walked.  Pinch-hitter Roy Smalley popped up to third, however, and Baltimore hung on to win 5-4.

WP:  Eric Bell (3-1).

LP:  Mike Smithson (3-2).

S:  Ken Dixon (1).

Notes:  Tom Nieto was behind the plate in place of Tim Laudner.  Mark Davidson was in left in place of Dan Gladden, who moved to DH.

Kirby Puckett was batting .351.  He would finish at .332.

Juan Berenguer had an ERA of 2.61.  He would finish at 3.94.

Jim Dwyer would play for the Twins from 1988-1990.  Mike Kinnunen, who faced one batter in this game, had played for the Twins in 1980.  

Joe Klink got the last out for the Twins.  This was his fifth major league appearance   He would play in seven more games for the Twins before being sent down, not coming back to the majors until 1990 with Oakland.

Ken Dixon had six major league saves, five of them in 1987.  

Record:  Baltimore was 10-15, in fifth place in the AL East, ten games behind Milwaukee.  They would finish 67-95, in sixth place, thirty-one games behind Detroit.

The Twins were 14-11, in first place in the AL West, percentage points ahead of California.  They would finish 85-77, in first place, two games ahead of Kansas City.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 29-33 (.468).

MINNESOTA TWINS 6, CHICAGO WHITE SOX 0 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Sunday, April 11, 1971.

Batting star:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Jim Kaat was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a double.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5.  Jim Holt was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game shutout, giving up eleven hits and one walk and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  tom Egan was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Jay Johnstone was 2-for-4.  Bill Melton was 2-for-4.  Carlos May was 2-for-4.  

The game:  The Twins got a two-out double from Tony Oliva in the first, but he was stranded on second.  In the second, Bill Melton and Carols May led off with singles, but Melton was thrown out trying to go to third.  Rick Reichardt then walked, but the next two batters went out and the inning ended.

The Twins got on the board in the third.  Jim Kaat doubled with one out.  With two down, Rod Carew delivered an RBI single and went to second on the throw home.  That enabled him to score on Tony Oliva’s single, making it 2-0 Twins.  It went to 4-0 in the fourth.  With one out, Jim Holt singled, stole second, and went to third on a wild pitch.  Leo Cardenas and George Mitterwald walked, loading the bases, and Jim Kaat delivered a two-run single.

Chicago got leadoff singles in the fourth from Mike Andrews and Bill Melton, but a double play and a strikeout ended the threat.  The Twins added another run in the sixth when Leo Cardenas led off with a double and scored on a two-out single by Cesar Tovar.

The White Sox continued to threaten and get turned aside.  Singles by Jay Johnstone and Carlos May in the sixth amounted to nothing.  A one-out double by Tom Egan in the seventh was similarly fruitless.  The Twins tallied once more in the eighth when Leo Cardenas walked, stole second, was bunted to third, and scored on a Cesar Tovar double.  Chicago got a two-out double from Tom Egan in the ninth, but Jim Kaat retired the next batter to complete the shutout.

WP:  Jim Kaat (1-0).

LP:  Bart Johnson (1-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rich Reese was at first base.  He shared first base with Harmon Killebrew, with Killebrew moving to third when Reese was at first.  When Killebrew played first, Steve Braun was on third.  

This early in the season, of course, the batting averages are skewed.  Jim Kaat was batting .500.  He would finish at .161.  Cesar Tovar was batting .478.  He would finish at .311.  Tony Oliva was batting .450.  He would finish at a league-leading .337.  Harmon Killebrew was batting .444.  He would finish at .254.

Jim Kaat had an ERA of 1.93.  He would finish at 3.32.

It appears that no Chicago player in this game ever played for the Twins.

This was Jim Kaat’s first start of the season, but not his first game.  He had appeared in relief in the season opener of April 6.  That would be his only relief appearance of the season.

Jim Kaat was known as a good hitter, but it was more “good hitter for a pitcher” than good hitter.  For his career hit batted .185/.227/.267 with 16 home runs in 1251 at-bats.

Bart Johnson had two very good years.  This one, in which he went 12-10, 2.93 and led the league in fewest homers per nine innings, and 10-4, 2.74, 1.13 WHIP.  For his career, however, he was 43-51, 3.94, 1.43 WHIP.  

Danny Thompson came in as a defensive replacement for Harmon Killebrew in the ninth inning.  This was the fourth of five consecutive appearances in which he would come in as a defensive replacement and not bat.  He would finally bat for the first time in his sixth game, on April 16.

Tom Egan was a part-time catcher for ten major league seasons, making his major league debut at age eighteen.  He played in 373 major league games and batted .200/.266/.299.  He was probably considered a very good defensive catcher.

Record:  Chicago was 3-2, tied for second with Minnesota in the AL West, a half game behind Milwaukee.  They would finish 79-83, in third place, 22.5 games behind Oakland.

The Twins were 3-2, tied for second with Chicago in the AL West, a half game behind Milwaukee.  They would finish 74-86, in fifth place, 26.5 games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 29-32 (.475).

MINNESOTA TWINS 5, TEXAS RANGERS 2 IN TEXAS (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Thursday, August 30, 1973.

Batting stars:  Steve Braun was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Steve Brye was 2-for-5 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched ten innings, giving up two runs on twelve hits and two walks and striking out seven.  Bill Campbell pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Larry Biittner was 4-for-5 with a double.  Toby Harrah was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-5 with a double.  Vic Harris was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Jim Bibby struck out fifteen in 10.2 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and six walks.

The game:  As you can see, it was a pitchers’ duel  Texas scored first, in the second inning.  With two out, Larry Biittner doubled and Vic Harris followed with an RBI single, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead.  Neither team then got a man past first base until the sixth, when Toby Harrah singled with one out and Alex Johnson drew a two-out walk.  Bill Sudakis then reached on an error, but Harrah was thrown out trying to score on the play, leaving the score at 1-0.

Each team missed a chance in the eighth.  Steve Braun hit a one-out double, but was stranded at second.  Toby Harrah singled with one out and stole second, but was similarly stranded.  In the ninth, however, Rod Carew walked with one out, stole second, and scored on a Tony Oliva single to tie the score.  Joe Lis singled to put men on first and second, but a line drive double play ended the inning.  Texas missed a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth.  They got one-out singles from Jim Fregosi and Larry Biittner, and Ken Suarez singled with two out, but Fregosi was thrown out trying to score, and it went to extra innings.

Each team missed a chance in the tenth.  Steve Braun walked with one out and Steve Brye singled, but a pair of fly outs ended the inning.  Dave Nelson led off with a double and Toby Harrah walked, but a pair of strikeouts and a fly out ended the inning.

The Twins broke through in the eleventh.  Rod Carew and Mike Adams opened the inning with walks.  Rich Reese bunted and reached base to load the bases, as no one was retired on a fielder’s choice.  Jim Holt then singled to put the Twins ahead, George Mitterwald hit a sacrifice fly, Steve Braun hit a run-scoring ground out, and Steve Brye hit an RBI double, giving the Twins a 5-1 lead.

The Rangers tried to come back.  Jim Fregosi doubled, Larry Biittner singled, and Vic Harris hit an RBI single, making it 5-2 and bringing the tying run to bat with no one out.  But a double play was followed by a ground out, the game was over, and the victory was preserved.

WP:  Bert Blyleven (16-14).

LP:  Jim Bibby (6-10).

S:  Bill Campbell (2).

Notes:  Jerry Terrell was at shortstop.  He shared the position with Danny Thompson, with Thompson playing more games there (95 to 81).  Larry Hisle, who usually played center, was in left, with Steve Brye in center.  Jim Holt, who usually played left, was in right in place of Bobby Darwin.

Rod Carew was batting .351.  He would finish at a league-leading .350.

Bert Blyleven had an ERA of 2.57.  He would finish at 2.52.

There do not appear to be any former or future Twins who played for Texas in this game.

I wonder when the last time is that both team’s starter pitched at least ten innings.  It’s rare now that each team’s starter even pitches seven.

This was not the longest start of the season for Bert Bleleven.  He pitched 10.1 innings against Oakland in the first game of a doubleheader on September 27.  He made forty starts in 1973 and averaged 8.125 innings per start.  He led the league in WAR with 9.7.  These days, if someone makes one start of more than eight innings, he’s treated like Iron Man McGinnity.

Bill Campbell was in his rookie season, having been called up in mid-July.  It was his second career save.  The Twins really didn’t have a closer in 1973.  Ray Corbin led the team with fourteen saves.  Ken Sanders had eight, but he also had a 6.09 ERA and was waived in early August.  Campbell had seven.

This was Vic Harris’ first full season and his only season as a starter.  He was in the majors through 1980, though, playing a utility role for the Cubs, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Milwaukee.

Back then, I had a heck of a time keeping Steve Braun and Steve Brye straight.

Record:  Texas was 46-86, in sixth (last) place in the AL West, thirty-two games behind Oakland.  They would finish 57-105, in sixth place, thirty-seven games behind Oakland.

The Twins were 63-69, in third place in the AL West, fifteen games behind Oakland.  They would finish 81-81, in third place, thirteen games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 28-32 (.467).