Tag Archives: random rewind

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1999, Game One Hundred Seven

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MINNESOTA 9, KANSAS CITY 8 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Friday, August 6.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.  Ron Coomer was 3-for-5 with a home run (his thirteenth), three runs, and three RBIs.  Cristian Guzman was 3-for-5 with a stolen base (his fifth) and two runs.  Chad Allen was 3-for-5.  Todd Walker was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Dan Perkins pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Travis Miller pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Hector Carrasco pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.  Mike Trombley allowed three walks but still pitched a scoreless inning, striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Jeremy Giambi was 3-for-5.  Mike Sweeney was 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, and two runs.  Rey Sanchez was 2-for-4.  Joe Randa was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Johnny Damon was 2-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base, his twenty-second.  Carlos Febles was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer (his ninth) and a stolen base (his eighteenth).  Carlos Beltran was 1-for-6 with a home run, his seventeenth.

The game:  In the top of the first Guzman had a one-out single, went to second on a Walker walk, took third on a sacrifice fly, and scored on Koskie's single to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The Royals came right back in the bottom of the first.  Damon led off with a single and Febles followed with a two-run homer, making it 2-1 Kansas City.

Kansas City added to their lead.  In the second Sanchez reached second on a single-plus-error and scored on Damon's single.  Beltran led off the third with a home run, Sweeney singled, Jermaine Dye walked, and Randa had an RBI double.  The first out followed, but then Giambi had an RBI single and a sacrifice fly plated another run.  The Royals led 7-1 after three innings.

The Twins did not start their comeback until the sixth.  Walker led off with a double and went to third on Coomer's single.  Koskie had a sacrifice fly for the first out, but Chad Allen singled and Matt Lawton walked, loading the bases.  Terry Steinbach had an RBI single and a ground out plated another run, cutting the margin to 7-4.

Kansas City scored a two-out run in the sixth when Sweeney doubled and scored on Dye's single.  The Twins came right back with two in the seventh.  Coomer homered for one run, and consecutive two-out singles by Koskie, Allen, and Lawton made the score 8-6.  They took the lead for the first time since the first inning in the eighth.  Torii Hunter and Guzman had one-out singles.  With two down Coomer hit a two-run single to tie it.  Koskie singled him to second, and Allen had another single, bringing home the go-ahead run.

The Royals did not go away quietly.  In the bottom of the ninth, pinch-hitter Scott Pose walked and stole second.  With two out, Tom Kelly gave an intentional walk to Damon, putting the potential winning run on base.  An accidental walk to Jed Hansen (who?) loaded the bases, but Beltran struck out to end the game.

WP:  Miller (2-0).  LP:  Scott Service (4-4).  S:  Trombley (17).

Notes:  Jacque Jones was in center field, rather than Hunter.  Both had center field as their primary position in 1999, with Hunter playing 107 games then and Jones 82.  Clearly, then, there were games when each of them played in center field at some point, and that was the case in this game.  Jones started, but Hunter pinch-hit for him in the sixth and stayed in the game in center field.

Coomer was the DH rather than Marty Cordova.  This was one of only seven times Coomer was at DH in 1999.  He played 71 games at first base, which he shared with Doug Mientkiewicz, and 57 games at third base, which he shared with Koskie.  He was, of course, the Twins' "all-star" in 1999.

Cordova pinch-hit for Mientkiewicz in the sixth inning, with Denny Hocking then going to first base.  Brent Gates replaced Walker at second base in the eighth.

Terry Steinbach led the team in batting at .309.  He would finish at .284.  Koskie was batting .308.  He would finish at .310, which would lead the team at the end.  The Twins were eighth in team batting average at .264.

Coomer led the team in home runs at 16.  Koskie followed with 14.  Koskie had 11 and Allen 10.  The Twins were dead last in home runs with 105, forty below the thirteenth-place team, Tampa Bay.

Twins starter Eric Milton did not retire a man in the third inning.  In two official innings, he allowed seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and two walks.  He did strike out four.  You couldn't tell it from this game, but he actually pitched pretty well over the last four months of the season, going 5-7, 3.86, 1.10 WHIP.  Other than Milton, Brad Radke, and Joe Mays (6-9, 3.72 as a starter), the Twins' starters were pretty terrible.  LaTroy Hawkins (10-14, 6.66), Mike Lincoln (6-10, 6.84), and Dan Perkins (1-7, 6.54).  The Twins had 66 starts made by pitchers who had ERAs over 6.  It's hard to win very many games that way, and of course in 1999 the Twins didn't.

Trombley became the closer when Rick Aguilera was traded in May.  He did okay, saving 24 games and getting only one blown save.  He wasn't used the way closers are now, or even the way closers usually were then.  He came into a lot of tie games and came into a number of games in the eighth inning.  It was his only shot at being a closer--he signed with Baltimore in 2000.  The Twins didn't really have a closer in 2000, Hawkins was given the job in 2001, and eventually Eddie Guardado took over.

Jed Hansen played in parts of three seasons for the Royals, mostly at second base.  He played in 87 games, had 208 plate appearances, and batted .256/.342/.375.  Most of his positives were in his first season, 1997, when he batted .309/.394/.426 in 111 plate appearances--the rest of the time he was around the Mendoza line.  He was a good hitter in the low minors but basically topped out at AA.  In just over a thousand AAA games he batted .255/.342/.433.  Not embarrassing or anything, but not something that projects as a good batter in the majors, either.  Had he been a really good fielder he might have been able to have a career as a utility infielder, but one gets the impression that he was nothing special as a defender.  He kept playing until 2006, but 1999 was his swan song in the majors.

The was the first game of a three-game series which the Twins would sweep.  They were coming off a four-game losing streak.

Record:  The Twins were 45-62, in third place in the American League Central, 19.5 games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 63-97, in fifth (last) place, 33 games behind Cleveland.

The Royals were 45-63, in fourth place in the American League Central, 20 games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 64-97, 32.5 games behind Cleveland.

Rewind Record:  The Twins are 37-33 in Random Rewind games.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2001, Game One Hundred Twenty-six

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TORONTO 7, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 21.

Batting stars:  Cristian Guzman was 3-for-5.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-3.  Brian Buchanan was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eighth.

Pitching stars:  Eddie Guardado pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Todd Jones pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Carlos Delgado was 3-for-5 with a home run (his thirty-sixth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Raul Mondesi was 2-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-second), a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Alex Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-5 with a home run (his ninth) and a double.  Jose Cruz was 1-for-5 with a home run, his twenty-fourth.  Scott Eyre struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  Brad Radke was pitching and so, as you might guess, the Blue Jays scored in the first inning.  With one out, Gonzalez singled and was balked to second.  Delgado delivered a two-out RBI single and scored from first on Mondesi's double, giving Toronto a 2-0 lead before the Twins came to bat.  The Twins put men on first and second with one out in the bottom of the first, but a double play took them out of the inning.

The Blue Jays wasted a leadoff triple in the third.  It looked like it might cost them, as the Twins tied it up in the bottom of the inning.  Pierzynski led off with a single and scored on Luis Rivas' double-plus-error.  Rivas scored on a Guzman single to make it 2-2.  The Twins then took the lead in the fourth on Buchanan's two-out home run.  Cruz homered in the fifth, evening the score again at three.  The Twins took the lead back again in the bottom of the fifth, as Doug Mientkiewicz hit a two-out double and Corey Koskie circled the bases on a double-plus-error-plus-error, giving the Twins a 5-3 advantage.

Jack Cressend came in to relieve Radke in the sixth.  He gave up a home run to each of the first three batters he faced, Stewart, Delgado, and Mondesi, to put Toronto back in front at 6-5.  They added a run in the seventh when Gonzalez singled, Stewart doubled, Mondesi was intentionally walked with two out, and Brad Fullmer singled, making the score 7-5.

The Twins had their chances after that.  With one out in the seventh, Jacque Jones walked and Guzman singled, with a wild pitch moving them to second and third.  In the ninth, singles by Denny Hocking and Guzman put men on first and second with two out.  In both cases, however, the Twins were turned aside and 7-5 was the final score.

WP:  Brandon Lyon (2-2).  LP:  Cressend (2-2).  S:   Billy Koch (29).

Notes:  Buchanan was in right field.  Matt Lawton had been the regular right fielder, but he was traded to the Mets for Rick Reed at the end of July.  Buchanan was the mostly-regular right fielder the rest of the way.

Hocking pinch-hit for Pierzynski in the ninth.

Mientkiewicz was batting .326.  He would finish at .306.  Guzman was batting .314.  He would finish at .302.  The Twins were fourth in team batting at .272.

Torii Hunter led the team in home runs with 27.  Koskie was right behind at 26.  The Twins had six other players with double-digit home runs:  David Ortiz (18).  Mientkiewicz (15), Jones (14), Guzman (10), Lawton (10), and Buchanan (10).  The Twins were ninth in home runs with 164.

Ortiz is widely considered to have been a bust during his time with the Twins.  He certainly wasn't the "Big Papi" he would become, but in 2001 he hit 18 homers and had an OPS of .799.  In 2002, his age 26 seasons, he batted 272, hit 20 homers, and had an OPS of .839.  I'm not claiming that's Hall-of-Fame worthy or anything, but it's a long way from Scott Stahoviak.

Radke pitched five innings, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five.  Radke had a good year in 2001, going 15-11, 3.94.  The best starter was actually Joe Mays, in his one good year:  he went 17-13, 3.16.  Eric Milton was solid:  15-7, 4.32.  But from there, it went downhill fast:  Kyle Lohse (4-7, 5.68), Rick Reed (4-6, 5.19), J. C. Romero (1-4, 6.23).  Romero, of course, would go on to give the Twins a couple of good years out of the bullpen.  Reed would go on to be an important contributor to the 2002 division champions.

Cressend was actually a solid reliever for the Twins in 2001, although you obviously couldn't tell it by this game.  He went 3-2, 3.67, 1.17 WHIP in 56.1 innings (44 games).  He gave up six home runs on the season, half of them in this game.

This was the last of a streak in which the Twins would win just one game out of twelve.  They lost eight in a row, won one, then lost the next three.

Record:  The Twins were 65-61, in second place in the American League Central, 5.5 games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 85-77, in second place, 6 games behind Cleveland.

The Blue Jays were 60-66, in third place in the American League East, 14 games behind New York.  They would finish 80-82, in third place, 16 games behind New York.

Random record:  The Twins are 36-33 in Random Rewind games.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1988, Game One Hundred Twenty-seven

KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Friday, August 26.

Batting star:  Gene Larkin was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Frank Viola pitched 7.2 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and three walks and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Charlie Liebrandt pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on seven hits and no walks and striking out three.  Danny Tartabull was 3-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Pat Tabler was 2-for-3.  Bo Jackson was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his twenty-first.

The game:  The Royals put a man on second with two out in the second and men on first and third with two out in the third, but could not score either time.  In the fourth, Tom Herr doubled, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a balk to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.

The lead lasted until the next half-inning.  Kansas City started the inning with singles by George Brett, Tabler, and Tartabull to tie the score.  With one out, Jackson hit a three-run homer to put the Royals up 4-1.

The Twins had a two-out rally in the fifth.  John Christensen singled, Greg Gagne doubled, and Al Newman delivered a two-run single, cutting the margin to 4-3.  But that was as good as it got, though, as the Twins could not get a man past first base the rest of the game.

WP:  Liebrandt (9-11).  LP:  Viola (19-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Herr was at second base.  He was, of course, acquired in the controversial trade of Tom Brunansky.  He was the second baseman when he could play, but he only played 73 games at second due to injuries.  Steve Lombardozzi actually played more, playing 90 games at second.

Newman was at third in place of Gary Gaetti, who missed about three weeks.  Christensen was in right field in place of Randy Bush, who was given the day off against the left-handed Liebrandt.

Puckett was batting .352.  He would finish at .356.  Hrbek was batting .300.  He would finish at .312.  Christensen was batting .348 in 23 at-bats.  He would finish at .263 in 38 at-bats.

This was Viola's second attempt at his twentieth win.  He had lost 3-2 to Texas on August 20.  He would have only one more loss, finishing at 24-7 with an ERA of 2.64.  He would win the Cy Young Award that season.  This was also the one really good year Allan Anderson had, going 16-9, 2.45 and winning the ERA title.  Unfortunately, those were their only two reliable starters.  Bert Blyleven went 10-17, 5.43.  Other starters were Charlie Lea (7-7, 4.85), Fred Toliver (7-6, 4.24), and Les Straker (2-5, 3.92 in 14 starts while battling injuries).

The 1988 team was, in many ways, a better team than the 1987 World Championship team.  Unfortunately, the Oakland Athletics were better still.

This was the first game of a three-game series in Kansas City.  The Twins were swept by the Royals in that series.

Record:  The Twins were 72-55, in second place in the American League West, 7 games behind Oakland.  They would finish 91-71, in second place, 13 games behind Oakland.

The Royals were 66-61, in third place in the American League West, 13 games behind Oakland.  They would finish 84-77, in third place, 19.5 games behind Oakland.

Random record:  The Twins are 36-32 in Random Rewind games.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2011, Game One Hundred Nine

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LOS ANGELES 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN LOS ANGELES

Date:  Tuesday, August 2.

Batting stars:  Michael Cuddyer was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jason Kubel was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Alex Burnett pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.  Matt Capps pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Ervin Santana pitched a complete game, giving up one run on eight hits and two walks and striking out seven.  He threw 121 pitches.  Vernon Wells was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Peter Bourjos was 2-for-3 with a double.  Mark Trumbo was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his twentieth.  Torii Hunter was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fourteenth.

The game:  The Angels started the scoring in the third.  Bourjos led off with a double, was bunted to third, and scored on a ground out to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead.  The Twins got the run back in the fourth, as Cuddyer led off with a double and scored on a pair of ground outs, making it 1-1.

The Angels took control in the fourth.  Wells led off with a walk, Howie Kendrick doubled, and Trumbo hit a three-run homer to make it 4-1.  The Twins had a threat in the fifth, as Delmon Young led off with a walk followed by a Tsuyoshi Nishioka single, but Denard Span hit into a double play to take them out of the inning.  Hunter homered in the fifth to make it 5-1.

The Twins had one more threat, in the sixth, when Cuddyer and Kubel had one-out singles, but nothing came of it.  They did not advance a man past first after that.

WP:  Santana (7-8).  LP:  Brian Duensing (8-9).  S:  None.

Notes:  Joe Mauer was behind the plate for this game, one of just 52 times he was able to catch.  Drew Butera was actually the primary catcher, playing 93 games.  Rene Rivera caught 44.

Cuddyer was at first base, as Justin Morneau was out due to injury.  Morneau was able to play just 56 games at first base, with Cuddyer playing 46, Luke Hughes 36, Chris Parmelee 20, and Mauer 18.

Trevor Plouffe was at second base, as Alexi Casilla's season was effectively over due to injury.  Casilla was able to play just 56 games at second base.  Hughes played 37, Matt Tolbert 36, Cuddyer 17, Plouffe 17, and Brian Dinkelman 11.

Span was making his return to center field, having missed nearly two months due to injury.  He was able to play just 67 games in center.  Ben Revere played 89.

With Cuddyer at first base, Kubel was in right field.

Kubel was batting .306.  He would finish at .273.  Cuddyer was batting .300.  He would finish at .284.  Mauer would lead the team in batting at .287 in 333 plate appearances.  The Twins finished eleventh in batting at .247.

Cuddyer led the team in home runs with 20.  Then came Danny Valencia with 15, Jim Thome with 12, and Kubel with 12.  The Twins finished last in home runs with 103.  A Bomba Squad they were not.

Duensing pitched six innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out three.  This would be his only season as a full-time starter.  Scott Baker was the only good starter they had, at 8-6, 3.14, but he was only able to make 21 starts due to injuries.  Carl Pavano made the most starts, 33, and went 9-13, 4.30.  Nick Blackburn was 7-10, 4.49 and Francisco Liriano was 9-10, 5.09.  The only other pitcher to make double-digit starts was Anthony Swarzak, who was 4-7, 4.32.

The 2011 team was really destroyed by injuries.  I didn't even mention the injury to Nishioka or Joe Nathan's struggles trying to come back.  Between guys playing out of position and guys who should have been in Rochester, it's no wonder they had a terrible year.

This was the last of a three-game losing streak.  They would win the next day, then go on a six-game losing streak.  Over the last two months of the season this team went 13-41.

Record:  The Twins were 50-59, in fourth place in the American League Central, 8 games behind Detroit.  They would finish 63-99, in fifth (last) place, 32 games behind Detroit.

The Angels were 60-50, in second place in the American League West, 1 game behind Texas.  They would finish 86-76, in second place, 10 games behind Texas.

Random record:  The Twins are 36-31 in Random Rewind games.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2006, Game Twenty-two

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DETROIT 9, MINNESOTA 0 IN DETROIT

Date:  Friday, April 28.

Batting star:  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Matt Guerrier pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and three walks and striking out one.  Jesse Crain struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Nate Robertson struck out seven in seven shutout innings, giving up five hits and a walk.  Marcus Thames was 3-for-4 with a home run (his third), a double, and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two.  Ivan Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Placido Polanco was 3-for-5 with two runs.  Carlos Guillen was 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs.  Craig Monroe was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Chris Shelton was 1-for-4 with a home run (his tenth) and a walk.

The game:  The Twins put men on first and second with one out in the first, but did not score.  The Tigers loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first on singles by Polanco, Rodriguez, and Magglio Ordonez, but could only get a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead.  The Twins got a two-out double from Michael Cuddyer in the second, but did not score.  Thames hit a home run with one out in the second to make it 2-0 Detroit.  The Twins opened the third with two singles, but did not score.

The Tigers then took control of the game.  Singles by Polanco and Rodriguez and a walk to Ordonez loaded the bases with none out.  Carlos Guillen hit a bases-clearing double.  The bases were literally cleared, because Guillen was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple.  Shelton then hit a home run and Monroe doubled, still all with none out.  The Monroe double finally chased starter Brad Radke from the game, but by then it was 6-0 Detroit.

After all their early scoring threats, the Twins only once got a man past first after that.  Tony Batista hit a one-out double in the seventh, but did not get past second base.  The Tigers scored three more in the seventh.  Doubles by Monroe and Thames plated one run.  Curtis Granderson walked, Polanco had an RBI single, and walks to Rodriguez and Ordonez forced home the ninth run.

WP:  Robertson (3-2).  LP:  Radke (2-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Mike Redmond was behind the plate in place of Joe Mauer, who missed a couple of days.  Cuddyer was at first in place of Justin Morneau, who missed a couple of days.  Juan Castro was the starting shortstop at the beginning of the season, later to be replaced by Jason Bartlett.  Batista was the starting third baseman at the beginning of the season, later to be replaced by Nick Punto.  Stewart was the starting left fielder at the beginning of the season, but injuries would force him out of the lineup.  Lew Ford, who would take Stewart's place in left field, was in right in this game.  Right field, of course, was normally the province of Cuddyer.

Despite the lopsided score, the Twins made only one non-pitcher substitution.  Luis Rodriguez entered the game at first base in the eighth.  Cuddyer went to right, Ford went to center, and Torii Hunter came out of the game.

The Twins had some really good batting averages early in the season.  Redmond was batting .375--he would finish at .341.  Rodriguez was batting .368--he would finish at .235.  Castillo was batting .365--he would finish at .296.  Stewart was batting .356--he would finish at .293.  As alluded to earlier, he would also finish on the DL.  Mauer, who did not play in this game, would bat .321.

There were also a couple of really bad batting averages early in the season.  Rondell White was batting .145--he would finish at .246.  Hunter was batting .190--he would finish at .278.

The Twins would lead the league in batting average at .287.  They were next-to-last in home runs at 143.  Morneau led the team with 34.  Hunter had 31 and Cuddyer 24.  Mauer was the only other player in double digits, with 13.

This was Radke's last season.  He was no longer the ace of the staff, of course, but he was still usually a dependable pitcher.  Not in this game, obviously--this was his lowest game score of the season.  But he finished 12-9, 4.32, which you'll take in the rotation any time.  The ace was Johan Santana (19-6, 2.77).  Francisco Liriano joined the rotation in mid-May and pitched really well through the end of July, but then was able to make only two more starts.  He went 12-3, 2.16.  Boof Bonser joined the rotation in late May and went 7-6, 4.22.  Others who made double-digit starts were Carlos Silva (11-15, 5.94) and Scott Baker (5-8, 6.37).

2006, as you probably remember, was the season the Twins stumbled and bumbled early in the year, then got hot and came back to win the division by one game over Detroit.  It's really pretty amazing how they remade so much of the team on the fly, partly due to injuries and partly due to signing retreads who had to be replaced.

We haven't had a lot of rewind games where the Twins got blown out.  This was the first game of a four-game losing streak.  The Twins would get outscored in those four games 41-3.  Game-by-game, it was 9-0, 18-1, 6-0, and 8-2.  I suspect the game logs were not pretty.

Record:  The Twins were 9-13, in fourth place in the American League Central, six games behind Chicago.  They would finish 96-66, in first place, one game ahead of Detroit.

The Tigers were 14-9, in second place in the American League Central, 1.5 games behind Chicago.  They would finish 95-67, in second place, one game behind Minnesota.

Random rewind:  The Twins are 36-30 in Random Rewind games.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1969, Game One Hundred Fifty-three

MINNESOTA 4, KANSAS CITY 3 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Monday, September 22.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-4 with a stolen base (his thirty-second).  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a home run, his forty-seventh.

Pitching stars:  Bob Miller pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out five.  Al Worthington pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mike Fiore was 2-for-4 with a double.  Buck Martinez was 2-for-4.  Jim Rooker pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out five.

The game:  Fiore hit a one-out double in the first but could not get past third base.  The Twins put two on with two out in the second and did not score.  The Royals got on the board in the third on singles by Pat Kelly and Fiore and an Ed Kirkpatrick sacrifice fly.

The Twins came back to take the lead in the fourth.  Killebrew led off with a home run to tie it 1-1.  Bob Allison then doubled, went to third on a fly out, and scored on George Mitterwald's sacrifice fly, making the score 2-1 Twins.  They added to the lead in the fifth when Cardenas got a leadoff double and scored on Tovar's single.

The Twins got one more run in the ninth when Frank Quilici walked, was bunted to second, and scored on a single by Tovar.  They needed it, as Kansas City came back in the bottom of the ninth.  Kirkpatrick led off with a single and Lou Piniella delivered an RBI double.  With one out, Jerry Adair walked and Martinez singled, cutting the margin to 4-3.  They lost a man on the bases, however, as pinch-runner Scott Northey rounded second too far and was cut down by Oliva.  Paul Schaal grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Miller (5-4).  LP:  Rooker (4-15).  S:  Worthington (3).

Notes:  Quilici started at second base, with Rod Carew on the bench.  Carew entered the game in the seventh for defense, with Quilici moving to third and Rick Renick, who started at third, coming out of the game.  Killebrew played the entire game at first base, with Rich Reese on the bench.  This has to be one of the few times in his career that Carew entered a game as a defensive replacement.

Mitterwald was again behind the plate, with Johnny Roseboro on the bench.  I don't know if Roseboro had a minor injury or ailment or whether, with the pennant race well in hand, Billy Martin just chose to give him a couple of days off.  Roseboro would be in-and-out of the lineup the rest of the season, but would not play a complete game.

This was Miller's first start since August 8.  He had missed about a month due to injury and made three relief appearances in that span.

This was the game that clinched the pennant for the Twins.

This was Scott Northey's only season in the majors.  It was really just the month of September--he got a September call-up after batting .327 in a half-season of AAA.  He batted .262/.337/.410 in 68 plate appearances.  He was only twenty-two, and probably big things were expected.  Instead, he went backward.  He started 1970 in AAA, but went back to AA after batting just .226.  He spent in 1971 and 1972 in AA, didn't do much, and his playing career was over.  He's the son of major league outfielder Ron Northey.

Record:  The Twins were 92-61, in first place in the American League West, 10.5 games ahead of Oakland.  They would finish 95-67, in first place, 9 games ahead of Oakland.

The Royals were 64-89, in fifth place in the American League West, 28 games behind Minnesota.  They would finish 69-93, in fourth place, 28 games behind Minnesota.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1984, Game One Hundred Fourteen

SEATTLE 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN SEATTLE (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, August 11.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his twenty-second and twenty-third), a walk, and three RBIs.  Tim Teufel was 2-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth.  Randy Bush was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Mike Smithson pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and no walks and striking out six.  Ron Davis pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Salome Barojas pitched 7.2 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and four walks and striking out four.  Alvin Davis was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer (his twenty-fourth), a walk, and two runs.  Steve Henderson was 2-for-4 with a double.  Ken Phelps was 2-for-4.  Al Cowens was 2-for-5 with a double.

The game:  The Twins loaded the bases with two out in the first but could not score.  The Mariners put men on first and third with two out in the first but could not score.  In the third, however, Seattle did score--Jack Perconte hit a one-out double and Davis hit a two-out two-run homer to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead.

The Twins got one back in the fourth on Brunansky's homer.  It stayed 2-1 until the eighth.  With two out Bush walked and Brunansky struck again, hitting a two-run homer to give the Twins their first lead at 3-2.

The lead lasted until the bottom of the eighth.  With one out Spike Owen reached on an error.  Davis and Phelps followed with singles, tying the score, and Henderson hit a two-out double that put Seattle back in front 4-3.  The Twins came right back in the ninth, as Teufel hit a leadoff homer to tie it 4-4.

The Twins went down in order in the top of the tenth.  In the bottom half, Owen led off with a single and Davis walked.  Barry Bonnell fouled out, but Cowens delivered an RBI single that gave the Mariners the victory.

WP:  Edwin Nunez (2-1).  LP:  Pete Filson (6-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Tim Laudner was the catcher.  He shared the job with Dave Engle in 1984, with Engle catching slightly more games (86 to 81).  Neither was anything great at the plate--Engle hit for a better average, Laudner had more power, but both posted an OPS below .670.  Neither had a reputation as a great defensive catcher, either.

Darrell Brown was in left in place of Mickey Hatcher, who was out for a few days.

Andre David pinch-hit for Houston Jimenez in the seventh.  Ron Washington came in to play shortstop.

Kent Hrbek was leading the team in batting average at .326.  He would finish at .311.  Kirby Puckett was batting .301.  He would finish at .296.  Hatcher would also finish over .300, at .302.

The Twins had three solid starters in 1984:  Frank Viola (18-12, 3.21), Smithson (15-13, 3.68), and John Butcher (13-11, 3.44).  They couldn't find a fourth or a fifth, though.  Making double-digit starts were Ken Schrom (5-11, 4.47), Ed Hodge (4-3, 4.77), and Al Williams (3-5, 5.77).

If you're like me, when 1984 came up and you saw the Twins had lost in extra innings, you may have suspected that Davis had blown the game.  Well, yes and no.  He came in in the eighth inning with men on first and second, one out, and a tie game.  He retired one man and then gave up the RBI double to Henderson that put Seattle in front 4-3.  The Twins tied it in the ninth and he retired the side in the bottom of the ninth with no trouble.  Filson came in to start the tenth and Mike Walters eventually gave up the deciding hit.

Even though the Twins were in contention most of the way, they were a pretty flawed team.  They had some very good players, but also some very obvious holes.  We discussed catcher and fourth and fifth starter.  Another hole was shortstop.  Jimenez played the most there, but batted .201/.238/.245 in 317 plate appearances.  Washington was a superior batter, batting .294/.307/.447 in 206 plate appearances, but he was not good enough to field the position.  Others tried were Lenny Faedo and Chris Speier (at the end of his career).  Had the Twins been able to find even an average shortstop, they probably would have won the division.

Record:  The Twins were 59-55, in first place in the American League West, 1.5 games ahead of California.  They would finish 81-81, tied for second with California, three games behind Kansas City.

The Mariners were 53-65, in sixth place in the American League West, 8 games behind Minnesota.  They would finish 74-88, tied for fifth with Chicago, 10 games behind Kansas City.

Rewind Record:  The Twins are 35-29 in Random Rewind games.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1971, Game Ninety-two

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WASHINGTON 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Monday, July 19.

Batting star:  Rich Reese was 1-for-1.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Jackie Brown pitched five innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk and striking out one.  Paul Lindblad pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.  Frank Howard was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Don Mincher was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.  Del Unser was 2-for-3 with two runs.  Dick Billings was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his third.

The game:  It was cruising along in a scoreless tie until the third.  Brown and Unser led off with singles and a pickoff error moved the runners to second and third.  Mincher's sacrifice fly brought home the first run, Howard doubled in another, and Billings hit a two-run homer to make it 4-0 Senators.

The Twins were limited to three singles over the first five innings.  In the sixth, however, Reese and Cesar Tovar led off with singles and Rod Carew reached on an error, loading the bases with none out.  Jim Holt struck out, but Harmon Killebrew delivered a two-run single, cutting the deficit in half at 4-2.  With men on first and third the Twins had a chance for more, but Leo Cardenas grounded out and Jim Nettles popped up, ending the threat.

The Twins had only one hit the rest of the game.  Washington added a run in the seventh when Unser walked and scored from first on Mincher's double.

WP:  Brown (3-2).  LP:  Jim Perry (12-9).  S:  Lindblad (6).

Notes:  Nettles started the game in center in place of Holt.  Tony Oliva was either injured or ill, because he came out of the game in the second inning.  The game log does not reveal a play that would appear likely to have caused an injury, but he had missed some time recently, so without going back to check the write-ups of the game it's hard to say.  At any rate, Holt entered the game in left field, with Tovar moving from left to right.

Danny Thompson pinch-hit for Holt in the eighth and stayed in the game at third base, with Steve Braun moving from third to left field.  Reese and George Thomas pinch-hit for pitchers.

Oliva was batting .377.  He would finish at .337.  Nettles was batting  .314.  He would finish at .250.  Carew was at .284, but would finish at .307.  Tovar was at .295 but would finish at .311.

Perry lasted just five innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and no walks and striking out two.  Perry led the team in starts with 39.  Bert Blyleven and Jim Kaat made 38.  After that it was Steve Luebber (12), Ray Corbin (12), and Tom Hall (11).  As we discussed recently, Hall was the best of the three, but it was felt that he was needed in the bullpen.

The Twins had an awful July, going 9-17.  The month included a six-game losing streak and two three-game losing streaks.  This loss was the fifth game of a stretch in which they would lose eight of ten.

Record:  The Twins were 42-50, in fourth place in the American League West, 16 games behind Oakland.  They would finish 74-86, in fifth place, 26.5 games behind Oakland.

The Senators were 37-54, in sixth (last) place in the American League East, 20.5 games behind Baltimore.  They would finish 63-96, in fifth place, 38.5 games behind Baltimore.

Random record:  The Twins are 35-28 in Random Rewind games.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1977, Game One Hundred Eighteen

MINNESOTA 13, BALTIMORE 9 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Monday, August 15.

Batting stars:  Dan Ford was 3-for-5 with a double, a stolen base (his sixth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Larry Hisle was 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, a stolen base (his eighteenth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Craig Kusick was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his ninth and tenth) and five RBIs.  Bob Gorinski was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his second).  Bobby Randall was 2-for-5 with two runs.

Pitching star:  Ron Schueler pitched three innings, giving up one run on two hits and no walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Ken Singleton was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his eighteenth), a walk, and two runs.  Eddie Murray was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.  Lee May was 2-for-4 with a home run, his ninteenth.  Al Bumbry was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Andres Mora was 2-for-5 with two home runs (his eighth and ninth) and three RBIs.

The game:  Roy Smalley led off the game with a walk, was bunted to second, went to third on a ground out, and scored on Hisle's single to put the Twins up 1-0.  The Orioles took the lead in the bottom of the second when Bumbry and Singleton singled, May walked to load the bases, and Murray delivered a two-run single.  The Twins went back in front in the second when Butch Wynegar walked and Gorinski followed with a two-run homer.  It was 3-2 Twins after an inning and a half.

Baltimore took the lead back in the third when Singleton walked and Mora hit a two-run homer.  They added to their lead in the fourth when Dave Skaggs singled and scored on Bumbry's double-plus-error.  But in the fifth, Randall singled, Hisle walked, and Kusick hit a three-run homer to put the Twins ahead 6-5.

The Orioles loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, but did not score.  It cost them, as the Twins scored five times in the sixth.  The first two batters went out, but then Smalley walked, Randall doubled, Ford had a two-run single, Hisle had an RBI double, and Kusick hit a two-run homer, making the score 11-5.

Baltimore tried to get back into it.  Singleton hit a two-run homer in the sixth and Mora a solo shot in the seventh to cut the lead to 11-8.  But the Twins got a run in the eighth when Ford doubled and scored on a Rod Carew single and one more in the ninth Lyman Bostock doubled and scored on a Bud Bulling single.  May homered in the ninth to complete the scoring, but the Orioles did not get the tying run even to the on-deck circle.

WP:  Schueler (5-4).  LP:  Rudy May (13-11).  S:  None.

Notes:  Kusick, normally the DH, was at first base in place of Carew.  Bulling was in the lineup at DH.  Jerry Terrell was at third in place of Mike Cubbage.  Bostock, normally in center, was out of the lineup, with Hisle moving from left to center and Gorinski in left.

Carew pinch-hit for Kusick in the eighth and stayed in the game at first base.  Cubbage pinch-hit for Terrell in the eighth and stayed in the game at third base.  Bostock pinch-hit for Gorinski in the ninth and stayed in the game in left.

Oddly, Bostock played 90 games in center and 60 in left, while Hisle played 71 games in left and 63 in center.  I don't remember, but it appears Gene Mauch couldn't make up his mind which way his defense would be stronger.  On the other hand, knowing Mauch, he may have based it on the field they were playing in, which way the wind was blowing, whether his pitcher was a groundball or a flyball pitcher, or any of a hundred other factors.

Carew was leading the team in batting at .380.  He would finish at .388.  Bostock was batting .334.  He would finish at .336.  Hisle would also finish over .300, at .302.  Unsurprisingly, the Twins led the league in batting average at .282.

Hisle led the team in homers with 28.  Carew and Bostock each hit 14.  Kusick has 12, Ford 11, and Wynegar 10.  The Twins were eleventh in the league in home runs.

Dave Goltz started for the Twins.  He had a good year in 1977, but you couldn't tell it from this game.  He lasted just four innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out three.  By game scores, it was tied for his second-worst game of the season.  For the season, he was their best starting pitcher, and in fact their only reliable starting pitcher, going 20-11, 3.36.  The others were Paul Thormodsgard (11-15, 4.62), Geoff Zahn (12-14, 4.68), and Pete Redfern (6-9, 5.18).  It was pretty much a four-man rotation all year, as no one else made more than seven starts.  Reliever Tom Johnson was second on the team in wins, going 16-7, 3.13.  He also had 15 saves.

This was one of three games Bulling had at DH, and one of fifteen games he played as a Twin.  He was normally a catcher.

This was the only season of Gorinski's major league career.  The home run he hit was one of three in his career.  He had hit 28 home runs at AAA Toledo in 1976, and was one of a long line of "next Killebrews" before the Twins finally realized that you can't just create a "next Killebrew".

The Twins had three regulars out of the lineup, two of who were batting well over .300, and yet scored thirteen runs.  That's baseball.

Record:  The Twins were 68-50, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of Chicago.  They would finish 84-77, in fourth place, 17.5 games behind Kansas City.  The Royals went 38-10 after this date.

The Orioles were 67-49, in second place in the American League East, 3.5 games behind Boston.  They would finish 97-64, tied for second with Boston, 2.5 games behind New York.  The Yankees went 34-12 after this date.

Random Record:  The Twins are 35-27 in Random Rewind games.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1961, Game Six

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MINNESOTA 3, BOSTON 2 IN BOSTON

Date:  Tuesday, April 18.

Batting stars:  Lenny Green was 4-for-4 with a stolen base, his second.  Jim Lemon was 2-for-4 with a home run and a double.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched 7.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks and striking out six.  Bill Pleis pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Dave Hillman pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Pumpsie Green was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

The game:  In the first, Green singled, went to third on a stolen-base-plus-error, and scored on a Bob Allison single to put the Twins up 1-0.  In the third, Zoilo Versalles singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Don Mincher single to make it 2-0 Twins.  It stayed there until the sixth, when Lemon homered to make it 3-0.

The Twins loaded the bases in the seventh but did not score.  Still, the Red Sox had only one hit to this point, and the lead looked secure.  In the eighth, however, Green doubled and Rip Repulski singled, putting men on first and third with none out.  A ground out scored a run, Gary Geiger walked, and Jackie Jensen was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with two out.  Frank Malzone grounded to short, but the ball was booted by Versalles, allowing a run to score and cutting the margin to 3-2 with the bases still loaded and Carl Yastrzemski up to bat.  He flied to center, however, ending the inning.

The Twins again left the bases loaded in the ninth, so the lead remained just one.  Green drew a one-out walk, but Lou Clinton fanned and Chuck Schilling popped to short to end the game.

WP:  Kaat (1-0).  LP:  Billy Muffett (0-1).  S:  Pleis (1).

Notes:  Mincher was at first base in place of Harmon Killebrew, who missed a couple of weeks.  Billy Gardner was the starting second baseman at this point in the season, but would be replaced later by Billy Martin, who the Twins acquired in a trade for Billy Consolo.  Reno Bertoia was the starting third baseman at this point, but would be traded for Bill Tuttle, who would take his place at third.

The only non-pitcher substitute was Dan Dobbek, going in to replace Lemon in left field in the eighth inning.

This early in the season there are always extreme batting averages.  Versalles was batting .429--he would finish at .280.  Allison was batting .375--he would finish at .245.  Green raised his average to .304--he would finish at .285.  Earl Battey, who was batting just .211 at this point, would lead the team with an average of .302.

On the other end, Bertoia was batting .150.  He would leave the Twins with an average of .212.

Killebrew would lead the team in home runs with 46.  Allison was second with 29, followed by Battey (17) and Lemon (14).  The Twins were fourth in home runs in the ten-team league.

The Twins rotation in 1961 was Pedro Ramos (11-20, 3.95), Camilo Pascual (15-16, 3.46), Jack Kralick (13-11, 3.61), and Kaat (9-17, 3.90).  Ray Moore led in saves with 14.  Ramos, who led the team in starts with 34, also had two saves.

Muffett, who started for Boston, pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out none.  He would go on to go 3-11, 5.67.  He played from 1957-1962.  He had good years in 1957 (3-2, 2.25, 1.09 WHIP in 23 relief appearances (44 innings)) and 1960 (6-4, 3.24, 1.22 WHIP in 11 starts and 27 relief appearances (112.2 innings)).  In the other years, though, he was not good at all.  His next lowest season ERA was 4.93 in 1958 and his next lowest WHIP was 1.47 in 1961.  For his career, he was 16-23, 4.33, 1.43 WHIP.  He was in 125 games, 32 of them starts, and pitched 376.1 innings.  He went into coaching after that, and continued to be a major league coach through 1994.

The Twins were off to a fine start in their inaugural season.  I suspect this fueled some high hopes, which were ultimately to be dashed.

Record:  The Twins were 5-1, in first place in the American League, one game ahead of Cleveland.  They would finish 70-90, in seventh place, 38 games behind New York.

The Red Sox were 2-2, in fifth place in the American League, two games behind Minnesota.  They would finish 76-86, in sixth place, 33 games behind New York.

Random Record:  The Twins are 34-27 in Random Rewind games.