MINNESOTA TWINS 9, TEXAS RANGERS 6, IN TEXAS

Date:  Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Batting star:  Joe Mauer was 3-for-5 with two home runs (his twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth) and three RBIs.  Michael Cuddyer was 3-for-5 with two doubles.  Brendan Harris was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Denard Span was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Delmon Young was 2-for-5 with a home run (his seventh), a double, and four RBIs.  Orlando Cabrera was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Jesse Crain pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, walking one and striking out one.  Matt Guerrier pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.  Ian Kinsler hit a three-run homer, his twenty-sixth.

Opposition star:  Julio Borbon was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Omar Vizquel was 2-for-4.  Michael Young was 2-for-5.

The game:  Julio Borbon and Michael Young led off the bottom of the first with singles, putting men on first and third, but could only score one on a double play.  In the third, though, they appeared to take control of the game. Borbon led off the inning with a walk.  With one out, Josh Hamilton hit an RBI double.  Marlon Byrd walked.  The next man went out, but Ian Kinsler hit a three-run homer, giving Texas a 5-0 lead.

Joe Mauer led off the fourth with a home run, but it was still 5-1 going to the sixth.  In the sixth, however, Orlando Cabrera led off with a single-plus-error and scored on a Brendan Harris single.  Singles by Michael Cuddyer and Joe Crede produced another run, and Delmon Young followed with a two-run double, tying the score 5-5.

The Rangers got the lead back in the bottom of the sixth on two-out singles by Omar Vizquel, Julio Borbon, and Michael Young.  Undaunted, the Twins went into the lead to stay in the seventh.  Joe Mauer again led off with a home run to tie the game.  Brendan Harris followed with an infield single, and with two out Delmon Young delivered a two-run homer to put the Twins ahead 8-6.  They got an extra insurance run in the eighth on consecutive singles by Denard Span, Orlando Cabrera, and Mauer to make it 9-6.  Texas did not bring the tying run to bat after that, and the Twins came away with a victory.

WP:  Jesse Crain (4-4).

LP:  Jason Jennings (2-4).

S:  Joe Nathan (30).

Notes:  Michael Cuddyer was at first base in place of Justin Morneau.  Nick Punto was at second base.  Alexi Casilla played the most games there with 72, with Punto right behind at 63.  Denard Span was in right field in place of Cuddyer.

Joe Mauer was batting .383.  He would finish at a league-leading .365.  Jason Kubel was batting .311.  He would finish at .300.

Carl Pavano started for the Twins.  This was his third start as a Twin, having been traded from Cleveland for a player to be named later, who turned out to be named Yohan Pino.  He would pitch for the Twins through 2012.  He was really good in 2010, going 17-11, 3.75, 1.20 WHIP and leading the league in complete games and shutouts.  He was still decent in 2011, but that was about it for him.

Philip Humber pitched 1.1 innings of relief for the Twins.  He would appear in only three more games for the Twins.  He would pitch for four more seasons and was pretty good in one of them, 2011 with the White Sox.  He was somehow able to pitch in parts of eight seasons and make 51 starts while compiling a record of 16-23, 5.21, 1.42 WHIP.

Joe Mauer won his third batting title in 2009 and had his best season.  He batted .365/.444/.587, leading the league in each of those categories, and, of course, in OPS and OPS+.  Plus Gold Glove defense.  An amazing season.

Texas catcher Taylor Teagarden played for parts of eight seasons, but this was the only one in which he got more than eighty-five at-bats.  He had 510 at-bats in his career and batted .202/.260./376.  One assumes he was considered good defensively and a good guy in the clubhouse.

Record:  Texas was 67-51, in second place in the AL West, 5.5 games behind Los Angeles.  They would finish 87-75, in second place, ten games behind Los Angeles.

The Twins were 57-62, in third place in the AL Central, 6.5 games behind Detroit.  They would finish 87-76, in first place, one game ahead of Detroit due to winning game 163.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 43-46 (.483).

TEXAS RANGERS 10, MINNESOTA TWINS 7 IN TEXAS

Date:  Thursday, June 1, 1978.

Batting stars:  Rich Chiles was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Glenn Adams was 3-for-5 with a home run (his third), a double, and two RBIs.  Mike Cubbage was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Dan Ford was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Juan Beniquez was 3-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Richie Zisk was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Mike Hargrove was 2-for-5 with a double.  Toby Harrah hit a three-run homer, his second.  Steve Comer pitched three innings, giving up one run on five hits and striking out two.

The game:  Hosken Powell led off the game with a walk, and Roy Smalley reached on an error.  A productive ground out and a sacrifice fly followed, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Jim Mason led off the inning with an error and Bobby Bonds and Mike Hargrove followed with singles to tie it up.  A ground out scored another run, and Texas took a 2-1 lead.

Jim Sundberg led off the fourth with a single, Juan Beniquez doubled, and a ground out made it 3-1.  In the fifth, Mike Hargrove led off with a double.  He was still one second with two out, but then Richie Zisk singled to make it 4-1.  Jim Sundberg walked, Juan Beniquez singled in a run, and a wild pitch brought home another run, giving the Rangers a 6-1 lead.

Meanwhile, the Twins were missing chances all over the place.  Roy Smalley and Dan Ford singled with one out in the third.  Rich Chiles singled and Rob Wilfong doubled with two out in the fourth.  Mike Cubbage hit a two-out triple in the fifth.  But none of it led to anything.

Finally, in the sixth, the Twins broke through.  Glenn Adams led off with a home run.  Craig Kusick walked and Rich Chiles singled.  Jose Morales then singled in a run to make it 6-3.  The next two batters went out, but Dan Ford delivered a three-run homer to tie it 6-6.  In the seventh, Butch Wynegar and Adams led off with consecutive doubles, giving the Twins a 7-6 lead.

It didn’t last long.  In the bottom of the seventh, Bump Wills led off with a walk and stole second.  With one out, Richie Zisk doubled to tie the score.  With two out Juan Beniquez walked and Toby Harrah hit a three-run homer to put Texas back in front 10-7.

And that was it.  The Twins got a single in the eighth and another in the ninth, but never brought the tying run up to bat and the game was gone.

WP:  Steve Comer (1-1).

LP:  Mike Marshall (1-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Craig Kusick was at first base in place of Rod Carew.  Rob Wilfong was at second base.  He shared the position with Bobby Randall, with Randall playing in more games (115 to 80).  Rich Chiles was in left in place of Willie Norwood.

Mike Cubbage was batting .326.  He would finish at .282.  Bombo Rivera was batting .323.  He would finish at .271.  Dan Ford was batting .314.  He would finish at .274.  Jose Morales was batting .314.  He would finish at .314.

The Twins stranded eleven men and were 3-for-14 with men in scoring position.

Mike Cubbage set his career high in triples with seven in 1978.  He hit twenty for his career.

The Twins brought Mike Marshall, their closer, in to start the seventh inning.  They allowed him to finish the game even after he gave up four runs in the seventh.  Marshall was unusual even for his time, but one cannot imagine that happening today.

Juan Beniquez was not as good as I remembered, even though he played for a long time.  In seventeen seasons, he batted .274/.327/.379.  He only had an OPS of over .800 once, in 1984 with California.  He had an OPS of under .700 nine times.  He won one gold glove, but he wasn’t generally considered an awesome defender.  He came to the majors early, at age twenty-one, but he had his best years late in his career.  He batted .300 or better four times, 1983-1986, when he was age thirty-three through thirty-six.  Even in his last year, at age thirty-eight, he batted .293.

We have a restaurant in Pierre called Richie Z’s.  I don’t suppose Richie Zisk has anything to do with it.

Record:  Texas was 24-22, in fourth place in the AL West, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.  They would finish 87-75, tied for second with California, five games behind Kansas City.

The Twins were 19-29, in fifth place in the AL West, 8.5 games behind Kansas City.  They would finish 73-89, in fourth place, nineteen games behind Kansas City.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 42-46 (.477).

MINNESOTA TWINS 1, OAKLAND ATHLETICS 0 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Friday, July 7, 1978 (Game 2).

Batting star:  Glenn Adams was 2-for-3.  Rich Chiles was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Darrell Jackson pitched a complete game shutout, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Rick Langford pitched a complete game, giving up an unearned run on five hits and a walk and striking out four.

The game:  Neither team advanced a man past first base for the first four innings.  In the fifth, Glenn Adams hit a two-out single.  Rob Wilfong then singled to center, and an error allowed Adams to score, with Wilfong taking second.

And that was the extent of the scoring.  The Twins got a man to second in the eighth, when Glenn Adams led off with a single and was bunted to second, but he never advanced farther.  With two out in the ninth Mike Cubbage was hit by a pitch and Rich Chiles followed with a single, but that was the extent of it.  Oakland never did advance a man past first base, as Darrell Jackson was in complete control throughout the game.

WP:  Darrell Jackson (2-1).

LP:  Rick Langford (1-7).

S:  None.

Notes:  Glenn Borgmann was behind the plate in place of Butch Wynegar.  Rob Wilfong shared second base with Bobby Randall, with Randall appearing in more games, 115 to 80.  Obviously, there were games when both played, usually due to platoon switches.  Rich Chiles was in left in place of Willie Norwood.

Rod Carew was batting 343.  He would finish at a league-leading .333.  He also led the league in OBP at .411.  Mike Cubbage was batting .321.  He would finish at .282.

Darrell Jackson had an ERA of 2.73.  He would finish at 4.48.

The lone substitute of the game was Mike Adams, who pinch-hit for Mike Edwards in the ninth.  He had played for the Twins in 1972-1973.

This was the fourth start of Darrell Jackson’s career, and it would be his only shutout.  It was his only complete game of 1978, although he would have one more in 1979 and another in 1980.  Through his first seven starts he had an ERA of 3.28.  The rest of the season, it was 6.11.  He had a pretty good season in 1980, going 9-9, 3.87.  I remember Twins’ broadcaster Joe McConnell calling him “the little left-hander”, and it was true–he’s listed as 5’10”, 150 lbs.

Don’t let Rick Langford’s 1-7 record fool you–he was pitching well.  His ERA after this game was 2.61.  In his seven losses, his team had scored a grand total of eight runs.  They were shut out three times, and two of the losses (including this one) were 1-0.  He would finish the season 7-13, 3.43, 1.28 WHIP.  

Record:  Oakland was 43-42, in fourth place in the AL West, two games behind California.  They would finish 69-93, in sixth place, twenty-three games behind Kansas City.  Oakland had the worst record in baseball after this game, 26-51.

The Twins were 37-42, in fifth place in the AL West, five games behind California.  They would finish 73-89, in fourth place, nineteen games behind California.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 42-45 (.483).

MINNESOTA TWINS 5, ANAHEIM ANGELS 1 IN ANAHEIM

Date:  Friday, May 24, 2002.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 2-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and two runs.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with a home run, his first.  Torii Hunter hit a three-run homer, his thirteenth.

Pitching stars:  Rick Reed pitched a complete game, giving up one run on three hits and striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Brad Fullmer hit a home run, his fourth.

The game:  Jacque Jones led off the game with a home run to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  In the third, Jones and Cristian Guzman led off with singles and Torii Hunter hit a two-out three-run homer to put the Twins up 4-0.  A. J. Pierzynski homered with one out in the fifth to make it 5-0.

The Twins did not get a hit after the fifth inning, but they didn’t need one.  Anaheim had only one hit through the first four innings.  Brad Fullmer hit a home run leading off the fifth, to cut the lead to 5-1, but that was the only threat the Angels had.  They had only one hit after that, a two-out single in the eighth.

WP:  Rick Reed (5-2).

LP:  Ramon Ortiz (4-5).

S:  None.

Notes:  Denny Hocking was at second base.  Luis Rivas played the most games there with 93, followed by Hocking with 56.

Torii Hunter was batting .333.  He would finish at .289.  Dustan Mohr was batting .311.  He would finish at .269.  Corey Koskie was batting .303.  He would finish at .267.  A. J. Pierzynski was batting .300.  He would finish at .300.

Ramon Ortiz would play for the Twins in 2007.

Rick Reed had a fine year for the Twins in 2002.  He went 15-7, 3.78, 1.16 WHIP and led the league in fewest walks per nine innings.  It was the last good year he would have.  In 2003 he went 6-12, 5.07, and that was his last year in the majors.

The AL West was a tough division in 2002.  Anaheim won 99 games, and it wasn’t enough to win, although they were a wild card.  Seattle won 93 games and really wasn’t even in the race at the end.

Record:  Anaheim was 27-18, in second place in the AL West, three games behind Seattle.  They would finish 99-63, in second place, four games behind Oakland.

The Twins were 27-21, tied for first place with Chicago in the AL Central.  They would finish 94-67, in first place, 13.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 41-45 (.477).

MINNESOTA TWINS 6, LOS ANGELES ANGELS 0, IN LOS ANGELES

Date:  Wednesday, July 19, 1961 (Game 1).

Batting star:  Bob Allison was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his eighteenth and nineteenth) and four RBIs.  Earl Battey was 3-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew hit a home run, his twenty-eighth.

Pitching star:  Camilo Pascual struck out fifteen in a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and one walk.

Opposition star:  Tom Morgan pitched two perfect innings, striking out one.

The game:  Bill Tuttle hit a one-out single in the first and Harmon Killebrew followed with a two-run homer.  The Twins then loaded the bases with two out, but a force out ended the inning and it remained 2-0.

Los Angeles got their first two men on in the second on an error and an infield single, but the next three batters also struck out looking.  In the fifth, Harmon Killebrew walked, Jim Lemon doubled, and Bob Allison hit a three-run homer to make it 5-0.  Allison homered again leading off the seventh to make it 6-0.

The Angels had only one other threat, when Earl Averill and Billy Moran singled with two out.  A fly to center ended the inning, and they never got a man past first base after that.

WP:  Camilo Pascual (8-12).

LP:  Eli Grba (5-10).

S:  None.

Notes:  Ted Lepcio was at second base in place of Billy Martin.  Jose Valdivielso was at shortstop in place of Zoilo Versalles.  

Rich Rollins was batting .364.  He would finish at .294.  Harmon Killebrew was batting .329.  He would finish at .288.  Earl Battey was batting .306.  He would finish at .302.

Ron Kline pitched two innings of relief for Los Angeles.  He would pitch for the Twins in 1967.

Camilo Pascual had a stretch from 1958-1964 when he was really, really good.  He went 108-78, 3.05, 1.20 WHIP.  He led the league in WAR twice, in complete games three times, in shutouts three times, in strikeouts three times, and in FIP once.  He made seven all-star teams and received MVP votes three times.  He is a member of both the Twins Hall of Fame and the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame.

This was Rich Rolllins’ rookie year and the eighth game of his career.  He would be sent back to AAA after this day, coming back as a September callup.  The next year he would be the Twins’ starting third baseman and make the all-star team.

Ted Lepcio was in the last year of his major league career.  He played for ten seasons, but only played in 100 or more games once, in 1954 with Boston.  A utility infielder, he played 388 games at second, 224 games at third, and 90 games at short.  He was a better batter than many utility players, batting .245/.318/.398.  He hit 69 home runs, with a career high of 15 in 1956.  

Jose Valdivielso was also in the last year of his major league career.  He playd for just five season, and also played in 100 or more games only once, in 1960.  His entire major league career was with the Washington/Minnesota organization.  He made his debut in 1955, when he somehow got a tenth-place vote for MVP despite batting .221 with an OPS of .594 in just 294 at-bats.  He was part of the only all-Cuban triple play in major league baseball–a line drive to Camilo Pascual, who threw to Julio Becquer to double off one runner, who threw to Valdivielso to triple off another runner.  He was a long-time Spanish-language sports broadcaster in New York after his playing career ended.  

Record:  Los Angeles was 38-54, in ninth place in the American League, twenty-one games behind New York.  They would finish 70-91, in eighth place, 38.5 games behind New York.

The Twins were 38-53, in eighth place in the American League, 20.5 games behind New York.  They would finish 70-90, in seventh place, thirty-eight games behind New York.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 40-45 (.471).

MINNESOTA TWINS 8, CHICAGO WHITE SOX 6 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

Batting stars:  Delmon Young was 3-for-5 with a double.  Brendan Harris was 2-for-3 with two doubles.  Nick Punto was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs, and three RBIs.  Orlando Cabrera was 2-for-5.  Michael Cuddyer was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jermaine Dye was 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs.  Alexei Ramirez was 3-for-5 with a double and three runs.

The game:  The Twins started the scoring in the second inning when Michael Cuddyer got to second on a single-plus-error and scored on a Brendan Harris double.  In the third, Nick Punto led off with a single, was bunted to second, and scored on an Orlando Cabrera single.  Singles by Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer followed, scoring Cabrera and making the score 3-0.  In the fourth, doubles by Harris, Punto, and Carlos Gomez made it 5-0.

Chicago got on the board in the fourth when Alexei Ramirez hit a two-out double followed by singles by Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin to cut the lead to 5-1.  It went to 5-2 in the fifth, as Tyler Flowers led off with a double and scored on a single by Jayson Nix.  It then went to 5-4 in the sixth, when Ramirez reached on an error and Dye followed with a two-run homer.

The Twins re-asserted themselves in the seventh.  Jason Kubel walked and Delmon Young hit a one-out double.  Jose Morales was intentionally walked to load the bases.  It looked like it might work, as a foul popup followed, but then Nick Punto foiled the strategy with a two-run single.  Punto then stole second, and there was an error on the throw that allowed Morales to score, making it 8-4 Twins.

The White Sox didn’t go away.  In the eighth Alexei Ramirez singled and Jermaine Dye hit his second two-run homer, cutting the lead to 8-6.  In the ninth Gordon Beckham was hit by a pitch with one out and Paul Konerko drew a two-out walk, putting the tying run on base.  But Alexei Ramirez popped to first, and the victory was preserved.

WP:  Brian Duensing (5-1).

LP:  Mark Buehrle (12-10).

S:  Joe Nathan (44).

Notes:  Michael Cuddyer, who usually played right field, was at first base in place of Justin Morneau.  Nick Punto was at second base.  Alexi Casilla played the most games there with 72, followed by Punto at 63.  Matt Tolbert was at third base.  Joe Crede played the most games there with 84, followed by Brendan Harris with 44 and Tolbert with 27.  Jason Kubel was in right field in place of Cuddyer.  Harris was the DH, one of just nine games he played there that year.  Kubel had the most games there with 82, followed by Joe Mauer with 28.

Joe Mauer was batting .371.  He would finish at a league-leading .365.  Jose Morales was batting .354.  He would finish at .311.  Jason Kubel was batting .300.  He would finish at .300.

Jose Mijares had an ERA of 2.10.  He would finish at 2.34.  Joe Nathan had an ERA of 2.14.  He would finish at 2.10. 

A. J. Pierzynski was the Chicago catcher.  He had played for the Twins from 1998-2003.  Carlos Quentin was the left fielder.  He would go to spring training with the Twins in 2016.

Jose Morales and Jose Mijares were guys we had such high hopes for.  They both played well in 2009.  Morales would not have another good year.  Mijares pitched well in 2010, but that was it.  They both looked good at first, but it turned out to be no way, Jose.

The Jose Morales who played in this game was the second Jose Morales to play for the Twins.

This was Brian Duensing’s rookie year.  He had played in one game in April, then came up to stay in early July.  2011 was his only year in the starting rotation.  He did make some starts in other years, but was mostly used out of the bullpen.

Bobby Keppel pitched 1.2 innings in this game.  He was with the Twins for the second half of 2009, making 37 appearances.  He had appeared in eight games for Kansas City in 2006 and four for Colorado in 2007.  This was his next-to-last major league game.

Record:  Chicago was 73-80, in third place in the AL Central, nine games behind Detroit.  They would finish 79-83, in third place, 7.5 games behind Minnesota.

The Twins were 79-73, in second place in the AL Central, 2.5 games behind Detroit.  They would finish 87-76, in first place, one game ahead of Detroit by winning game 163.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 39-45 (.464).

MILWAUKEE BREWERS 5, MINNESOTA TWINS 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, July 30, 1992.

Batting star:  Shane Mack was 3-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth) and two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Carl Willis pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Dante Bichette was 3-for-4.  Pat Listach was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Chris Bosio pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on seven hits and striking out one.

The game:  In the third, Pat Listach singled, stole second, and scored on a two-out single by Franklin Stubbs to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead.

It stayed 1-0 until the sixth, when Milwaukee took control of the game.  With one out, Darryl Hamilton doubled and went to third on an infield single by Dante Bichette.  B. J. Surhoff delivered an RBI single and Scott Fletcher followed with a run-scoring double.  Pat Listach then singled, driving home two more, and the Brewers led 5-0.

The Twins didn’t just roll over.  They got on the board in the bottom of the sixth, opening the inning with consecutive singles by Greg Gagne, Chuck Knoblauch, and Shane Mack to cut the lead to 5-1.  Then, however, Kirby Puckett hit into a double play.  It scored a run, making the score 5-2, but it took the Twins out of the inning.

Shane Mack led off the ninth with a home run, cutting the lead to 5-3, but the Twins did not get the tying run up to bat.

WP:  Chris Bosio (8-5).

LP:  Willie Banks (4-4).

S:  None.

Notes:  Mike Pagliarulo was at third base in place of Scott Leius.  

Kirby Puckett was batting .332.  He would finish at .329.  Shane Mack was batting .314.  He would finish at .315.  Brian Harper was batting .311.  He would finish at .307.  Chuck Knoblauch was batting .308.  He would finish at .297.

Paul Molitor played first base for Milwaukee and went 0-for-5 in this game.  He would play for the Twins from 1996-1998 and manage the team from 2015-2018.

Willie Banks’ early career as a starter has always reminded me of Pat Mahomes’ early career as a starter.  If Banks had gone to the bullpen as early in his career as Mahomes did, maybe he could’ve been an effective reliever.  Of course, we’ll never know.

Dante Bichette would hit only five home runs in 1992, and at that point his career high was fifteen.  He would not develop into a power hitter until he went to Colorado in 1993.

For a first baseman who didn’t provide much offense, Franklin Stubbs had a long career.  He batted .232/.303/.404 and averaged just over ten homers a year.  Yet, he had a ten-year career and played over a hundred games in five of those seasons.

Record:  Milwaukee was 55-46, in third place in the AL East, five games behind Toronto.  They would finish 92-70, in second place, four games behind Toronto.

The Twins were 60-42, in second place in the AL West, a half game behind Oakland.  They would finish 90-72, in second place, six games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 38-45 (.458).

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS 3, MINNESOTA TWINS 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, April 6, 2024.

Batting stars:  None.

Pitching stars:  Joe Ryan struck out seven in six innings, giving up three runs on five hits.  Jorge Alcala struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Jay Jackson struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Brayan Rocchio was 2-for-3.  David Fry hit a three-run homer, his first.  Carlos Carrasco struck out six in three innings, giving up one run on one hit and three walks.  Six relievers combined to shutout the Twins for six innings, giving up one hit and four walks and striking out eight.

The game:  The Twins scored in the bottom of the first when Carlos Carrasco drew a one-out walk and Alex Kirilloff followed with a triple.  In the second, Josh Naylor was hit by a pitch, Will Brennan singled with one out, and David Fry hit a two-out three-run homer, making it 3-1 Cleveland.

And that was it for scoring.  The Twins drew a pair of walks in the third, but the other three batters that inning struck out.  In the fifth their first two batters reach on a hit batsman and an error, but the next three couldn’t get the ball out of the infield.  In the sixth they loaded the bases with one out on two hit batsmen and a walk, but the next two batters struck out.  They opened the seventh with two walks, but a double play took them out of the inning.  A frustrating offensive game, to be sure.

WP:  Nick Sandlin (2-0).

LP:  Joe Ryan (0-1).

S:  Emmanuel Clase (4).

Notes:  As we’ve noted before, the 2024 Twins only had a couple of “regulars” and a number of “semi-regulars”.  Alex Kirilloff was at first base in place of Carlos Santana.  Willi Castro was at third.  Jose Miranda played the most games there with 79, followed by Royce Lewis (51) and Kyle Farmer (29).  Matt Wallner was in left.  Manuel Margot played the most games there (65), followed by Trevor Larnach (52), Austin Martin (40), and Willi Castro (34).  Santana was the DH.  Larnach had the most games there (52), followed by Ryan Jeffers (34), Lewis (28), and Miranda (27).

Alex Kirilloff was batting .385.  He would finish at .201.  Carlos Correa was batting .364.  He would finish at .310.

Jorge Alcala had an ERA of 0.00.  He would finish at 3.24.  Jay Jackson had an ERA of 0.00.  He would finish at 7.52.

The Twins had just two hits, but drew seven walks and had three hit batsmen.  They stranded eleven, going 0-for-11 with men in scoring position.  They struck out fourteen times.

Alex Kirilloff hit five triples in his career.  Three of them came in 2024.

Jay Jackson appeared in twenty games for the Twins in 2024, and I have no memory of him at all.  Granted, they were all in the first part of the season, when I was still working and not able to pay close attention, but still.  He gave up runs in twelve of his twenty appearances, adding up to an ERA of 7.52.  The Twins released him in July.

Six of the Twins nine starters had batting averages below .200.  Carlos Santana (.150), Edouard Julien (.130), Willi Castro (.130), Ryan Jeffers (.111), Matt Wallner (.100), and Max Kepler (.050).  Yes, it was very early in the season, and they would do better.  Still, that’s a really rough start.

Record:  Cleveland was 7-2, in first place in the AL Central, a half game ahead of Detroit.  They would finish 92-69, in first place, 6.5 games ahead of Detroit and Kansas City.

The Twins were 3-4, in fourth place in the AL Central, three games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 82-20, in fourth place, 10.5 games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 38-44 (.463).

NEW YORK YANKEES 12, MINNESOTA TWINS 1, IN NEW YORK

Date:  Friday, May 21, 1982.

Batting star:  Tom Brunansky was 3-for-4.

Pitching star:  None.

Opposition stars:  Oscar Gamble was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his third), a walk, and two runs.  Dave Collins was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Bobby Murcer hit a three-run homer, his second.  Mike Patterson hit a home run, his first.  Rudy May pitched seven innings, giving up one run on eight hits and a walk and striking out four.

The game:  In the first, Willie Randolph singled, Dave Collins walked, and Lou Piniella hit a two-run triple to make it 2-0 Yankees.  In the second the Twins first three batters went single, double, single, and they did not lose a runner on the bases, but somehow did not score.  In the bottom of the second, Butch Wynegar walked and Oscar Gamble hit a two-run homer, making it 4-0.

The Twins got their sole run in the fifth when Gary Gaetti walked and scored from first on a Dave Engle double.  The Yankees put it away with six runs in the sixth, three of them on a home run by Bobby Murcer.  Mike Patterson homered in the eighth to round out the scoring.

WP:  Rudy May (1-2).

LP:  Brad Havens (1-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jesus Vega was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Larry Milbourne was at second base in place of John Castino.  Dave Engle was in right field in place of Tom Brunansky.  Brunansky was in center in place of Bobby Mitchell.  Mickey Hatcher was the DH.  Randy Johnson played the most games at DH, with 66, followed by Vega at 39.

Ron Washington was batting .347.  He would finish at .271.  Jesus Vega was batting .307.  He would finish at .266.  Tom Brunansky was batting .300.  He would finish at .272.

Roy Smalley was at short for the Yankees.  He played for the Twins from 1976-1982 and 1985-1987, having been traded to New York about six weeks earlier.  Graig Nettles was at third.  He played for the Twins from 1967-1969.  Butch Wynegar was behind the plate.  He played for the Twins from 1976-1982, having been traded to New York nine days earlier.  Roger Erickson pitched an inning of relief.  He pitched for the Twins from 1978-1982, having been traded to New York with Wynegar.  Shane Rawley pitched an inning of relief.  He would pitch for the Twins in 1989.

This was the only triple Lou Piniella would hit in 1982.  He hit forty-one triples in his career, with a high of six in 1979 and 1986.

This was the only home run Mike Patterson hit in his career.  It was his first at-bat of 1982–he had played in sixteen games in 1981.  He would play in ten more games for the Yankees in 1982, which would bring his major league career to a close.  He would play two more seasons in AAA and spend 1985 in Japan.

Paul Boris, who came to the Twins in the Roy Smalley trade, and John Pacella, who came to the Twins in the Roger Erickson/Butch Wynegar trade, both pitched for the Twins in this game.

Record:  New York was 18-19, in fourth place in the AL East, seven games behind Boston.  They would finish 79-83, in fifth place, sixteen games behind Milwaukee.

The Twins were 12-30, in seventh (last) place in the AL West, 15.5 games behind Chicago.  They would finish 60-102, in seventh place, thirty-three games behind California.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 38-43 (.469).

MINNESOTA TWINS 2, TEXAS RANGERS 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, August 19, 2022.

Batting stars:  Luis Arraez hit a home run, his seventh.  Jose Miranda hit a home run, his thirteenth.

Pitching stars:  Dylan Bundy pitched 5.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits and one walk and striking out two.  Trevor Megill pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Jhoan Duran pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.  Jorge Lopez pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Martin Perez struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and three walks.

The game:  With two out in the first, Luis Arraez and Jose Miranda hit back-to-back homers to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.  That was all the Twins would do on offense, but it was enough.  They did threaten in the second when Max Kepler hit a one-out double, in the fifth, when Byron Buxton and Arraez drew walks, and in the sixth, when Jorge Polanco hit a one-out double, but they did not dent the scoreboard again. 

Texas only had one hit through the first five innings.  In the sixth, Bubba Thompson singled, stole second, and scored on a two-out single by Nathaniel Lowe to cut the lead to 2-1.

That’s where it stayed.  The Rangers threatened in the seventh, when Leody Taveras singled and Brad Miller walked with one out, but a ground out and a long fly ended the inning.  In the ninth, Jonah Heim and Taveras drew one-out walks, but Miller lined into a double play to end the game with the good guys winning.

WP:  Dylan Bundy (7-5).

LP:  Martin Perez (9-4).

S:  Jorge Lopez (22).

Notes:  Sandy Leon was behind the plate.  Gary Sanchez caught the most games with 91, with Ryan Jeffers following at 59.  Luis Arraez was at first base.  Jose Miranda played the most games there with 77, followed by Arraez at 65.  Gilberto Celestino, usually found in center, was in left, with Byron Buxton in center.  Nick Gordon played the most games in left with 62, with Jake Cave following with 45.  Jose Miranda was the DH.  Arraez had the most games at DH with 38, followed by Buxton with 35 and Sanchez with 33.

Luis Arraez was batting .335.  He would finish with a league-leading .316.

Jorge Lopez had an ERA of 1.90.  He would finish at 2,54.  Jhoan Duran had an ERA of 2.01.  He would finish at 1.86.  Trevor Megill had an ERA of 2.90.  He would finish at 4.80.

Martin Perez had pitched for the Twins in 2019.

This was the seventh game as a Twin for Jorge Lopez.  It was his third save against two blown saves.  He would get only one more save as a Twin, going 0-1, 4.37, 1.62 WHIP for Minnesota in 2022.  His 2023 was no better.  Among the players the Twins traded for him were Yennier Cano and Cade Povich.  A little less than a year later, they would trade him to Miami for Dylan Floro.

This was Dylan Bundy’s only year as a Twin and his last in the big leagues.  He went 8-8, 4.89 in 29 starts.  He seems rather emblematic of the kind of stop-gap starter the Twins have tended to acquire in recent years.

I guess solo home runs can hurt you, after all.

Record:  Texas was 53-66, in third place in the AL West, twenty-three games behind Houston.  They would finish 68-94, in fourth place, thirty-eight games behind Houston.

The Twins were 62-55, in second place in the AL Central, one game behind Cleveland.  They would finish 78-84, in third place, fourteen games behind Cleveland.  The Twins would go 16-29 after this game, the second-worst record in the league (just ahead of Texas) in that span.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 38-42 (.475).