LOS ANGELES DODGERS 10, MINNESOTA TWINS 3 IN LOS ANGELES

Date:  Tuesday, August 9, 2022.

Batting stars:  Byron Buxton was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his twenty-seventh.  Gilberto Celestino was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  None.

Opposition stars:  Will Smith was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Justin Turner was 2-for-4 with a double.  Max Muncy was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his twelfth.  Trea Turner was 2-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs.  Julio Urias struck out eight in seven innings, giving up one run on five hits.

The game:  With two out in the first, Freddie Freeman walked and scored on Smith’s double.  The Twins tied it in the second when Gio Urshela hit a one-out triple and scored on a Gilberto Celestino single.

That was as good as it would get for the Twins.  In the bottom of the second, Gavin Lux singled with one out in the first, followed by doubles by Joey Gallo and Cody Bellinger.  With two out, Trea Turner hit another double, and it was 4-1 Los Angeles.  Muncy homered in the third to make it 5-1, and in the fourth Mookie Betts singled, went to third on a stolen base–plus-error, and scored on a ground out to make it 6-1.

The Twins finally got the Dodgers out a few times, but they added to their lead again in the seventh.  Freeman and Smith singled, putting runners on the corners.  Muncy doubled home a run and another scored on a ground out, making it 8-1.

The Twins got two back in the eighth when Nick Gordon singled and Buxton hit a two-run homer.  But the Dodgers scored two of their own in the bottom of the eighth on doubles by Trayce Thompson and Trea Turner and a single by Smith, bringing it to the final score of 10-3.  The Twins went down meekly in the ninth, as Caleb Ferguson came in to strike out the side.

WP:  Julio Urias (12-6).

LP:  Joe Ryan (8-5).

S:  None.

Notes:  Sandy Leon was behind the plate for the Twins in this game.  Gary Sanchez had the most appearances at catcher in 2022, with Ryan Jeffers also seeing significant time there.  Byron Buxton was at DH.  The Twins did not have a regular DH.  Among those seeing significant time there were Luis Arraez (38 games), Buxton (35), Sanchez (33), and Jose Miranda (31).

The only .300 hitter the Twins had was Luis Arraez, who won the first of his three (and counting) batting titles at .316.  He did not play in this game.

Joey Gallo was 1-for-4 in this game.  He would go on to play for the Twins in 2023.  It amazes me that he was still in the majors this year when he hasn’t batted over .200 since 2019.

We forget quickly, or at least I do, but Gilberto Celestino was actually pretty much the regular center fielder that year, playing 90 games there.  Byron Buxton had 57 games there, Nick Gordon 38, and Mark Contreras 13.

The legendary Sandy Leon came to the Twins in a trade for Ian Hamilton, who has gone on to have two fine years for the Yankees since the trade.

By game scores, this was the second-worst start Joe Ryan had in 2022.  He pitched five innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits and a walk and struck out four.

Record:  Los Angeles was 76-33, in first place in the NL West, 16 games ahead of San Diego.  The would finish 111-51, in first place, 22 games ahead of San Diego.

The Twins were 57-52, tied for first place with Cleveland in the AL Central.  They would finish 78-84, in third place, 14 games behind Cleveland.  After this game, the Twins would go 21-32 while Cleveland went 35-18.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 21-16 (.568).

ANAHEIM ANGELS 3, MINNESOTA TWINS 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, May 29, 1998.

Batting star:  Marty Cordova was 2-for-3.

Pitching stars:  LaTroy Hawkins pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on ten hits and two walks and striking out one.  Hector Carrasco pitched a scoreless inning, walking two and striking out one.  Eddie Guardado pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Gary Disarcina was 3-for-4.  Jim Edmonds was 2-for-4 with a home run (his tenth), a walk, and two RBIs.  Chuck Finley struck out ten in 8.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk.

The game:  Each team only got one man as far as second base in the first three innings.  In the fourth, however, Edmonds led off with a home run.  With two out, Garret Anderson and Matt Walbeck hit consecutive doubles to make the score 2-0 Anaheim.

Disarcina and Darin Erstad opened the fifth with singles.  They advanced to second and third on a ground out, leading to an intentional walk to Edmonds.  The strategy worked, as a double play ended the inning.  In the seventh, however, Disarcina again led off with a single, and this time he scored on a two-out double by Edmonds, putting the Angels up 3-0.

The Twins were able to do very little off Finley.  Todd Walker hit a two-out double in the third, but he was the only Twin to get past first base until the eighth.  Cordova led off with a single and Terry Steinbach doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  All the Twins were able to do, however, was score one on a ground out, cutting the lead to 3-1.  The Twins went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Finley (5-2).

LP:  Hawkins (3-5).

S:  Troy Percival (13).

Notes:  Ron Coomer was at first base.  He alternated between first and third that year, spending most of his time at third.  David Ortiz had the most games at first base, with Orlando Merced also seeing significant time there.  Jon Shave was at third in this game.  Matt Lawton, who usually played right, was in center, with Alex Ochoa in right and Otis Nixon out due to injury.  Nixon would return to the lineup the next day after a month on the disabled list.

Todd Walker was batting .371.  He would finish at .316.

Eddie Guardado had an ERA of 2.72.  He would finish at 4.52.  Guardado was not the closer yet, as the Twins still had Rick Aguilera.

Matt Walbeck went 1-for-3 with a walk for Anaheim.  He had played for the Twins from 1994-1996.

You may remember that it was years before the Twins could get an earned run off Troy Percival.  He was an excellent closer, of course, but he was seemingly at his best against Minnesota.  For his career, the Twins batted .119/.234/.169 against him in 160 at-bats.

Jon Shave played in 19 games for the Twins in 1998, fifteen of them at third.  He didn’t do badly, batting .250/.302/.400.  He also played briefly for Texas in 1993 and 1999.

Record:  Anaheim was 26-25, in second place in the AL West, 4.5 games behind Texas.  They would finish 85-77, in second place, three games behind Texas.

The Twins were 23-28, in second place in the AL Central, 7.5 games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 70-92, in fourth place, nineteen games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 21-15 (.583).

LOS ANGELES ANGELS 7, MINNESOTA TWINS 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, July 22, 2007.

Batting stars:  None.  Seven players had one hit, and there were no home runs.

Pitching stars:  None.  The only pitcher who did not give up a run was Dennys Reyes, who pitched a third of an inning.

Opposition stars:  Casey Kotchman was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Garret Anderson was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and a walk.  Chone Figgins was 2-for-5.  Orlando Cabrera was 2-for-5.  Joe Saunders pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out five.

The game:  In the first, Cabrera singled with one out.  With two down, Anderson singled followed by walks to Kotchman and Maicer Izturis, putting Los Angeles up 1-0.  In the second, Nathan Haynes reached on a two-base error and scored on Figgins’ single, making it 2-0.  In the third, Anderson hit a home run to make it 3-0.

The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the third.  Singles by Luis Rodriguez, Nick Punto, and Jason Bartlett loaded the bases with none out, and Jeff Cirillo hit a sacrifice fly.  One was all the Twins would get, though, as a double play took them out of the inning.

The Twins finally held the Angels scoreless in the fourth and fifth.  In the sixth, however, singles by Kotchman and Izturis and a walk to Napoli loaded the bases with one out.  A walk to Robb Quinlan forced in a run, the second bases-loaded walk the Twins had issued.  The score was now 4-1.

The Twins scored again in the bottom of the sixth.  Cirillo doubled with one out and Justin Morneau delivered a two-out RBI single, cutting the margin to 4-2.

That was as close as the Twins would come.  Los Angeles scored again in the seventh, as singles to Figgins and Cabrera put men on first and third with none out.  Cabrera stole second with one out, leading to an intentional walk to Anderson.  Kotchman then hit a sacrifice fly.  The Angels added one more in the eighth on consecutive doubles by Mike Napoli and Robb Quinlan.  They finished off the scoring in the ninth when Vladimir Guerrero led off with a double and scored on a double by Kotchman.  The Twins did not get a man past first base in the last three innings.

WP:  Saunders (4-0).

LP:  Matt Garza (1-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Nick Punto was at second in place of Luis Castillo, whom the Twins would trade to the Mets eight days later.  Punto generally played third in 2007, but Luis Rodriguez manned that position in this game.  Darnell McDonald was in right in place of Michael Cuddyer.  It was the third of four games McDonald would play for the Twins.  Jeff Cirillo was at DH.  He played 24 games at DH in 2007, behind Jason Kubel (36) and Jason Tyner (26).

Joe Mauer was batting .305.  He would finish at .293.

Matt Garza had made three appearances for the Twins before this game and had an ERA of zero in 15 innings.  His ERA was 1.33 after this game.  He would finish at 3.69.  Matt Guerrier had an ERA of 1.71.  He would finish at 2.35.

Orlando Cabrera would go on to play for the Twins in the last two months of the 2009 season.

Ramon Ortiz pitched the ninth inning for the Twins.  He would be traded to Colorado a few weeks later.

Nathan Haynes was in center for the Angels.  He appeared in sixty major league games, forty of them in 2007 for the Angels and twenty more in 2008 for Tampa Bay.  He got 89 at-bats and batted .247/.295/.270.  He stole five bases in his major league career and stole 259 bases in the minors.

Record:  Los Angeles was 57-40, in first place in the AL West, two games ahead of Seattle.  They would finish 94-68, in first place, six games ahead of Seattle.

The Twins were 51-47, in third place in the AL Central, eight games behind Detroit.  They would finish 79-83, in third place, seventeen games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 21-14 (.600).

MINNESOTA TWINS 7, BOSTON RED SOX 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 2, 1966.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-5 with a grand slam (his eleventh homer) and two runs.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched 8.2 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Mike Ryan was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Don Demeter was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his tenth.  Rico Petrocelli hit a home run, his eighteenth.  Jim Lonborg struck out four and walked one in 4.1 scoreless innings of relief.

The game: George Scott led off the second with a single and Demeter followed with a two-run homer, putting Boston up 2-0.  The Twins put men on first and second with one out in the bottom of the second, but a fly out and a ground out ended the inning.  In the third, however, walks to Perry and Zoilo Versalles were followed by Hall’s single, loading the bases with none out.  Oliva delivered a two-run single to tie it, and a run scored on a double play to give the Twins a 3-2 lead.

The two teams combined for one hit in innings four through seven.  In the eighth, though, Petrocelli hit a one-out homer to tie it 3-3.

It was still tied going to the bottom of the ninth.  Earl Battey led off with a walk.  Cesar Tovar bunted and reached on an error, putting men on second and third.  Ted Uhlaender was intentionally walked to load the bases with none out.  The next two batters went out, and it looked like the game might go to extra innings.  But Hall launched a grand slam home run to walk it off for the Twins, as they took the 7-3 victory.

WP:  Al Worthington (3-1).

LP:  Don McMahon (8-7).

S:  None.

Notes:  Tovar was at second in this game.  He shared second base duties with Bernie Allen and also played a number of games at third.

Oliva was batting .328.  He would finish at .307.

Perry had an ERA of 2.90.  He would finish at 2.54.  Worthington, who came in to get the last out of the ninth, had an ERA of 2.20.  He would finish at 2.46.

The starting pitcher for the Red Sox was Darrell Brandon, who would appear in three games for the Twins in 1969.  baseball-reference.com says his nickname was “Bucky”, which I don’t recall, but then, he wasn’t around the Twins for very long.

Lenny Green pinch-hit for Boston and went 0-for-1.  He was an original Twin and stayed with the club until 1964, when he was traded to the Angels.

Don McMahon pitched the eighth and ninth, giving up the walkoff grand slam.  He would be the Twins’ pitching coach under Gene Mauch from 1976-78.

Jim Lonborg started the season in the bullpen, was in the rotation for a little over a month, went back to the bullpen, then finished the season back in the starting rotation.  The next year he would be in the starting rotation all year and win the Cy Young award, leading Boston to the American League pennant.

Record:  Boston was 45-63, in tenth (last) place, 26.5 games behind Baltimore.  They would finish 72-90, in ninth place, 26 games behind Baltimore.

The Twins were 53-52, in fifth place, 17 games behind Baltimore.  They would finish 89-73, in second place, 9 games behind Baltimore.  They would go 36-21 after this game, the best record in the American League.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 21-13 (.618).

MINNESOTA TWINS 3, HOUSTON ASTROS IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, April 7, 2023.

Batting stars:  Jose Miranda was 3-for-5.  Michael Taylor was 2-for-4 with a double.  Donovan Solano was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Byron Buxton was 2-for-5.  Kyle Farmer was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Sonny Gray struck out thirteen in seven innings, giving up one run on four hits and one walk.  Griffin Jax pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.  Jhoan Duran struck out two and walked one in a scoreless inning.

Opposition stars:  Mauricio Dubon was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jose Urquidy struck out six in 5.1 innings, giving up one run on seven hits and a walk.

The game:  Houston opened the scoring in the third inning, as Dubon opened the inning with a double and scored on a two-out single by Alex Bregman.  The Twins missed several opportunities to tie it or even take the lead.  In the third, two-out singles by Taylor and Buxton did not produce a run.  In the fourth, Miranda and Solano hit one-out singles and Joey Gallo walked with two out to load the bases, but a popup ended the inning.  In the fifth, Taylor’s leadoff double led nowhere.

The Twins finally tied it in the sixth.  With one out, Solano and Farmer singled.  A force out put runners on the corners with two down, and a wild pitch made the score 1-1.  Neither team moved a man past first base in innings seven through nine, so we went to an extra inning.

David Hensley was the Manfred Man for the Astros, and he scored on a one-out single by Dubon to put Houston ahead 2-1.  In the bottom of the inning, though, Buxton began the inning on second.  A one-out wild pitch advanced him to third.  Trevor Larnach walked and Miranda singled to tie the score.  Another wild pitch put men on second and third and led to an intentional walk to Solano.  Farmer then singled to bring home the deciding run.

WP:  Jorge Lopez (1-0).

LP:  Ryne Stanek (1-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Kyle Farmer was at second base.  Edouard Julien had the most appearances at second, and then came Jorge Polanco.  Jose Miranda was at third base.  Royce Lewis had the most games at third, followed by Farmer and Willi Castro.  Trevor Larnach was in left.  Castro had the most games in left, followed by Joey Gallo.  Gallo was in right in place of Max Kepler, who is one of the few people who could be considered a “regular” in 2023.

Byron Buxton was batting .360.  He would finish at .207.  Trevor Larnach was batting .333.  He would finish at .213.  Donovan Solano was batting .308.  He would finish at .282.  Royce Lewis would be the Twins’ lone .300 hitter at .309.

Sonny Gray had an ERA of 0.75.  He would finish at 2.79.  Jhoan Duran and Jorge Lopez each had an ERA of 0.00.  They would finish at 2.45 and 5.09, respectively.

Ryan Pressly came in to strike out the side in the ninth.  He had pitched for the Twins from 2013-2018 before being traded for Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino.

As you may have guessed the Twins stranded a lot of runners, although it did not hurt them in the end.  They stranded twelve men and went 2-for-11 with men in scoring position.  They out-hit Houston 11-5.

The notes section is pretty light today, but there’s not a lot to say about these teams that you don’t know.

Record:  Houston was 3-5, tied for third with Seattle in the AL West, 1.5 games behind Los Angeles and Texas.  They would finish 90-72, tied for first with Texas.

Minnesota was 5-2, in first place in the AL Central, a half game ahead of Cleveland.  They would finish 87-75, in first place, nine games ahead of Detroit.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 20-13 (.606).

KANSAS CITY ROYALS 5, MINNESOTA TWINS 4 IN KANSAS CITY (12 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, August 10, 2008.

Batting stars:  Adam Everett was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Brian Buscher was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Scott Baker struck out seven in seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk.  Jesse Crain retired all four batters he faced, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Mark Teahen was 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, and three runs.  Tony Pena was 2-for-2.  Jason Smith was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Mitch Maier was 2-for-6.  Joakim Soria struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game: The Twins took the lead in the third inning.  Mike Lamb walked and singles by Buscher and Everett produced a run.  A bunt moved the runners up, Joe Mauer drew a two-out walk to load the bases, and Justin Morneau was walked to force in a run and put the Twins ahead 2-0.

The lead held until the sixth.  With one out, Maier singled and scored on a single-plus-error by Teahen, who in turn scored on a Jose Guillen single.  Alex Gordon singled, moving Guillen to third, but he was stranded there and the score was tied.  The Twins untied it in the seventh.  Buscher doubled and scored on Everett’s single.  Walks to Denard Span and Nick Punto loaded the bases with one out a ground out by Mauer brought home a run, giving the Twins a 4-2 lead.

The Twins couldn’t hold it.  Matt Guerrier came in to start the eighth but lasted only a third of an inning, giving up singles to Teahen and Billy Butler.  Dennys Reyes came in and threw a wild pitch, cutting the lead to 4-3.  The next batter grounded out, but Ross Gload reached on an error that brought home the tying run.

There was no Manfred Man back then, so they simply played on.  Each team missed a chance in extra innings.  Kansas City had men on second and third with one out in the tenth, but a strikeout and a ground out ended the threat.  The Twins had a man on second with one out in the eleventh, but a ground out and a popup ended the inning.

The Royals put it away in the twelfth.  Craig Breslow, working his third inning of relief, allowed a one-out double to Teahen.  Guillen was intentionally walked, and Pena singled home the deciding run.

WP:  Rob Tejeda (1-2).

LP:  Breslow (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Mike Lamb was at first base in place of Justin Morneau, who was the DH.  Jason Kubel was the closest to a regular DH that year, manning the spot 85 times.  Kubel was in right in this game, with Denard Span, normally in right, shifting to center and Carlos Gomez moving to the bench.  Nick Punto was at second in place of Alexi Casilla.  Punto played most of his games at short that year, but Adam Everett was the shortstop in this game.

Denard Span was batting .316.  He would finish at .294.  Joe Mauer was batting .315.  He would finish at .328.  Brian Buscher was batting .313.  He would finish at .294.  Justin Morneau was batting .308.  He would finish at .300.  Craig Breslow had an ERA of 2.48.  He would finish at 1.63.  Dennys Reyes had an ERA of 2.51.  He would finish at 2.33.

The Twins had seven hits and nine walks but stranded ten.  They went 2-for-10 with men in scoring position.  Kansas City stranded eleven and went 2-for-11 with men in scoring position.

Brian Buscher was another player we thought would be something.  He batted .294 with a .730 OPS in 218 at-bats this year.  However, he was already twenty-seven, so this was as good as he would ever get.  He hit really well in Rochester in both 2007 and 2008, too.  But in 2009, he batted .235 with an OPS of .676 in the majors, and just .180 with an OPS of .499 in AAA.  He would play one more season of AAA ball for Cleveland, and then he was done.

Rob Tejeda was really good for Kansas City in 2008.  Acquired in late June from Texas, he went 2-2, 3.20, 1.04 WHIP in 25 games (39.1 innings).  He continued to pitch well in middle relief/setup in 2009 and 2010.  In 2011, though, he got off to a poor start, and though he pitched well when sent to AAA he never got another chance.  He pitched in the Mexican League for a year, then he was done.

Record:  Kansas City was 54-64, in fourth place in the AL Central, 11.5 games behind Chicago and Minnesota.  They would finish 75-87, in fourth place, 13.5 games behind Chicago.

The Twins were 65-52, tied for first place with Chicago in the AL Central.  They would finish 88-75, in second place, one game behind Chicago due to losing game 163.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 19-13 (.594).

MINNESOTA TWINS 4, NEW YORK YANKEES 1 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Thursday, May 17, 1990.

Batting stars:  Brian Harper was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and a double.  Greg Gagne was 2-for-4 with a double.  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-4.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Kent Hrbek hit a home run, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  Kevin Tapani pitched 7.1 innings, giving up one run on seven hits and striking out five.  Rick Aguilera retired all four men he faced, striking out two.

Opposition star:  Roberto Kelly was 2-for-4.  

The game:  Gladden led off the game with a double and scored on a Gaetti single.  Harper homered in the second to make it 2-0.  Meanwhile, Tapani faced the minimum through four innings, with the only baserunner getting erased by a double play.

That changed in the fifth, as Mel Hall led off with a double and Claudell Washington singled him home.  New York threatened in the sixth, getting two-out singles by Steve Sax and Kelly, but a popup took them out of the inning.

Hrbek homered in the seventh to make it 3-1 Twins.  In the eighth, Gladden singled and was bunted to second.  Kirby Puckett was intentionally walked, Gaetti singled to load the bases, and a Gene Larkin sacrifice fly put the Twins up 4-1.

And that’s where it stayed.  The Yankees got one-out singles from Mike Blowers and Alvaro Espinoza, chasing Tapani from the game, but Terry Leach got a force out and Aguilera retired the last four New York batters.

WP:  Tapani (5-2).

LP:  Dave LaPoint (2-3).

S:  Aguilera (10).

Notes:  Fred Manrique was at second base.  Al Newman was the closest thing the Twins had to a regular second baseman, but of course, he also saw substantial time at third and short.  Nelson Liriano was the other player who was sometimes at second base.

Shane Mack was batting .366.  He would finish at .326.  Dan Gladden was batting .339.  He would finish at .275.  Gene Larkin was batting .308.  He would finish at .269.  Kirby Puckett was batting .302.  He would finish at .298.

Kevin Tapani had an ERA of 2.79.  He would finish at 4.07.  Terry Leach had an ERA of 2.33.  He would finish at 3.20.  Rick Aguilera had an ERA of 1.80.  He would finish at 2.76.

Roberto Kelly would play for the Twins from 1996-1997.  Alvaro Espinoza had played for the Twins from 1984-1986.

The Twins could not find a second baseman in 1990.  Al Newman played 89 games there and posted an OPS of .582.  Manrique was there for 67 games and had an OPS of .601.  Nelson Liriano played second for 50 games and had the best batting numbers, batting .254 with an OPS of .688.  During this time, Manrique was asked what the Twins needed to improve.  His response was “a second baseman”.  The next year, of course, Chuck Knoblauch would come along and solve that problem for several years.

This was the era in which George Steinbrenner seemed to think that if you paid a superstar salary to an average player, he would become a superstar.  Thus, players like Claudell Washington and Mel Hall got big paydays while remaining pretty much the same players they’d always been–good, but not great.  Eventually, of course, Steinbrenner would realize the error of his ways and build championship teams.

Record:  The Yankees were 13-18 in fifth place in the AL East, 6 games behind Milwaukee.  They would finish 67-95, in seventh (last) place, 21 games behind Boston.

The Twins were 18-15, in third place in the AL West, 5 games behind Oakland.  They would finish 74-88, in seventh (last) place, 29 games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins have won five in a row and are 19-12 (.613).

MINNESOTA TWINS 12, TORONTO BLUE JAYS 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, May 12, 1997.

Batting stars:  Greg Myers was 4-for-5 with two doubles, four runs, and two RBIs.  Greg Colbrunn was 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs.  Roberto Kelly was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Matt Lawton was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Denny Hocking was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Brad Radke struck out seven in seven innings, giving up two runs on nine hits.  Todd Ritchie pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.  Rick Aguilera pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Joe Carter was 3-for-4 with a home run (his third), a double, and two runs.  Ed Sprague was 2-for-4 with a double.  Otis Nixon was 2-for-5.

The game: The Twins jumped out to a first-inning lead.  Knoblauch led off the game with a single and Rich Becker walked.  With one out Myers drove in a run with a double and Kelly followed with a two-run single, putting the Twins up 3-0.  Toronto got one back in the second when Carter hit a ground-rule double and scored on Sprague’s single, but the Twins countered with three more in the second.  Knoblauch again started the rally with a single.  With two out Paul Molitor hit an RBI double and scored on a Myers single.  Kelly then singled, followed by an RBI single by Lawton, giving the Twins a 6-1 lead.

The Twins added one more in the fourth when Colbrunn singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on an error.  Carter homered in the fifth to cut the lead to 7-2, but that was as close as the Blue Jays would get.

The Twins put it away in the bottom of the fourth.  Consecutive singles by Myers, Kelly, Lawton, and Colbrunn opened the inning to score a run.  Todd Walker scored one more on a sacrifice fly.  Hocking and Becker had RBI singles, making the score 11-2.  The Twins added one more in the fifth when Myers doubled and scored on a two-out single by Colbrunn.

WP:  Radke (3-2).

LP:  Chris Carpenter (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Myers was behind the plate in place of Terry Steinbach.  Colbrunn shared first base with Scott Stahoviak, who actually played more games there that year.  Hocking was at short in place of Pat Meares.  Walker was at third in place of Ron Coomer.  Lawton, who played all around the outfield that year, was in left in place of Marty Cordova.  Kelly was in right.

Kelly was batting .309.  He would finish at .287.  Molitor was batting .268.  He would finish at .305.

Otis Nixon, of course, would be the Twins’ regular center fielder the next season.  Orlando Merced, who went 0-for-3 in this game, would also be with the Twins in 1998.

Rick Aguilera had an awful April in 1997, posting an ERA of 7.15 with a WHIP of 2.21.  He would spend the rest of the season trying to get those numbers down to a respectable level.  He finished this game with an ERA of 6.46.  At the end of the season his ERA was 3.82 and his WHIP was 1.27.

This was Chris Carpenter’s rookie season and he was, to put it mildly, not very good.  He went 3-7, 5.09, 1.78 WHIP.  He was only twenty-two, however, and went on to have a fine career.  He made three all-star teams, won a Cy Young Award and finished in the top three two other times, and led the league in ERA in 2009.

The last five innings of the game were pitched by Huck Flener.  This was his last major league season, and he would appear in only three more major league games.  He is one of four major leagues called “Huck” and the only major league with the last name of “Flener”.

Record:  Toronto was 19-16, in third place in the AL East, 5 games behind Baltimore.  They would finish 76-86, in fifth (last) place, 22 games behind Baltimore.

Minnesota was 15-23, in fifth (last) place in the AL Central, 6.5 games behind Milwaukee.  They would finish 68-94, in fourth place, 18.5 games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins have won four in a row and are 18-12 (.600).

MINNESOTA TWINS 9, KANSAS CITY ROYALS 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, September 23, 1986.

Batting stars:  Gary Gaetti was 3-for-5 with two home runs (his thirty-second and thirty-third) and six RBIs.  Jeff Reed was 2-for-4.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Randy Bush was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Mike Smithson pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on twelve hits and one walk and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Mike Kingery was 4-for-5.  Willie Wilson was 2-for-4.

The game:  Kansas City got singles from Wilson and Kingery in the first, but stranded them on first and second, which would be one of the themes of the game.  The Twins then jumped to an early lead in the bottom of the first.  Mark Davidson led off with a single and stole second.  Kirby Puckett delivered an RBI single with one out, and with two down Gaetti hit a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 3-0.

In the second, Kevin Seitzer hit a one-out single and Buddy Biancalana hit a two-out double, putting men on second and third, but again the Royals could not score.  The Twins added on a run in the second when Greg Gagne singled, Steve Lombardozzi walked, and Bush drove in a run with a single.  They got another in the third when a Hrbek double, a Gaetti single, and a walk to Roy Smalley loaded the bases and Reed hit an RBI single.  They scored one more time in the fourth on a Bush single, a walk to Puckett, and a pair of ground outs, making the score 6-0 Twins.

Kansas City threatened again in the fifth, getting one-out singles from Wilson and Rudy Law, and in the sixth when Jaime Quirk led off with a double, but still could not get on the scoreboard.  The Twins got three more in the sixth on a two-out rally.  Puckett reached on an error, Hrbek singled, and Gaetti hit a three-run homer, putting the Twins in front 9-0.  

The Royals finally got on the board late in the game, but it was too little, too late.  In the seventh Bo Jackson walked, went to second on a ground out, and scored on Kingery’s single.  With two out in the ninth, Greg Pryor reached on an error, followed by consecutive singles by Lynn Jones, Kingery, and Jorge Orta to make the score 9-2.  Quirk was then caught looking to end the game.

WP:  Smithson (11-14).

LP:  Dennis Leonard (8-13).

S:  None.

Notes:  Reed, Mark Salas, and Tim Laudner split catching duties pretty evenly in 1986.  Bush usually played left, but he was in right this game, with Davidson in left and Tom Brunansky, the regular right fielder, on the bench.

Puckett was batting .332.  He would finish at .328.

Kansas City stranded twelve runners, going 3-for-12 with men in scoring position.  

Again, in the “this would never happen today” file, Smithson pitched a complete game despite giving up twelve hits.  He gave up three hits in a row in the ninth, but was still allowed to complete the game.  No pitch count is given, but it would have to have been substantial.

Buddy Biancalana, of course, achieved some fame due to his appearance in the 1985 World Series and mentions on the David Letterman show.

Mark Davidson was a reserve outfielder for the Twins from 1986-1988 and for Houston from 1989-1991.

Jeff Reed had a long career as a backup catcher, playing for six teams.  His last year was 2000, when he was a backup for the Cubs at age thirty-seven.

This was the last major league season for Dennis Leonard.  He would make only one more start in his career.  It was a good career, though.  He won twenty games three times and finished in the top seven in Cy Young voting twice.

The Royals’ second baseman was Rondin Johnson.  He got a September call-up in 1986, his only time in the majors.  He’d batted .289 in Omaha that year.  However, he had no power, and did not draw a lot of walks, so his batting average was pretty much the substance of his offensive contribution.  He batted .258/.258/.323 in 31 major league at-bats.  He played at the University of Washington at the same time as former Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson.

Tom Kelly was managing the Twins at this point, having taken over for Ray Miller less than two weeks earlier.

Record:  Kansas City was 69-82, in fourth place in the AL West, 19 games behind California.  They would finish 76-86, tied for third with Oakland, 16 games behind California.

Minnesota was 65-85, in seventh (last) place in the AL West, 22.5 games behind California.  They would finish 71-91, in fifth place, 21 games behind California.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 17-12 (.586).

MINNESOTA TWINS 9, BALTIMORE ORIOLES 6 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 7, 2017.

Batting stars:  Kennys Vargas was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Eddie Rosario was 3-for-4 with a double.  Max Kepler was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Brian Dozier was 2-for-5 with a triple.

Pitching stars:  Trevor Hildenberger struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.  Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.  Matt Belisle pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.  Taylor Rogers pitched a perfect inning.  Brandon Kintzler pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Manny Machado was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his seventeenth and eighteenth) and four RBIs.  Trey Mancini was 2-for-4.  Seth Smith was 2-for-5 with a home run and two runs.  

The game: Smith and Machado opened the game with back-to-back home runs off Twins starter Felix Jorge, giving Baltimore a 2-0 lead.  In the third, Ruben Tejada walked, Smith singled, and Machado hit another home run, making it 5-0.  The Orioles weren’t done, though.  With two out, Mark Trumbo doubled and Mancini singled him home to put Baltimore up 6-0.

The Twins started their comeback in the fourth.  With one out, consecutive singles by Miguel Sano, Kepler, and Vargas loaded the bases.  Rosario singled home one and Chris Gimenez was hit by a pitch to bring in another.  The next two batters fanned, but the Twins were at least on the board at 6-2.

They followed that with a big inning in the fifth.  Dozier led off with a triple and scored on a Robbie Grossman double.  Sano reached on an error, putting runners at the corners.  Kepler singled home one and Vargas delivered a two-run double, tying the score.  Gimenez then came through with a two-out single, and improbably, the Twins were ahead 7-6.

The Orioles threatened in the sixth, putting men on second and third with one out, but nothing came of it.  Neither team did anything after that until the eighth, when the Twins got a couple of insurance runs.  Rosario doubled and was bunted to third, but when Jorge Polanco grounded to short he was thrown out trying to score.  But Polanco stole second and scored on a Byron Buxton single.  Dozier then singled and Buxton scored from first, putting the Twins up 9-6.  Baltimore got a man on in the ninth but did not bring the tying run up to bat.

WP:  Hildenberger (1-0).

LP:  Miguel Castro (1-1).

S:  Kintzler (24).

Notes:  Gimenez was behind the plate in place of Jason Castro.  Vargas was at first in place of Joe Mauer.  

Mauer, who did not play in this game, was the Twins’ lone .300 hitter, batting .305.

Hildenberger had an ERA of 0.00.  He would finish at 3.21.  Rogers had an ERA of 2.14.  He would finish at 3.07.  Kintzler had an ERA of 2.29.  He would finish at 2.78.

Jonathan Schoop was at second base for the Orioles, going 0-for-4.  He would play for the Twins in 2019.

Baltimore pitchers allowed fourteen hits, but did not give up a walk and struck out ten.  Twins pitchers walked only one.

Manny Machado played in Baltimore for six and a half years, making four all-star teams, winning two Gold Gloves, and finishing in the top ten in MVP voting three times.  He was traded in July of 2018 for five players who, while they all played in the majors, were nowhere near as good as Manny Machado even if you added them together.

Brian Dozier fell apart rather quickly.  He went from an OPS of .871 with 76 homers in 2016-2017 to an OPS of .696 in 2018.  He bounced back to have a decent year for Washington in 2019, but got only fifteen major league at-bats in 2020 and then was out of baseball entirely.

I still think Kennys Vargas could have been a good player if he’d been given regular playing time for an extended period.  I can’t prove it, of course, and we’ll never know.

This was the second and last major league appearance for Felix Jorge.

This was the fourth major league appearance for Trevor Hildenberger.  As you can see, he had not yet given up a run in the major leagues.  That would change in his next appearance, but he still was pretty good for the Twins in 2017.

Record:  Baltimore was 40-46, in fourth place in the AL East, 9.5 games behind Boston.  They would finish 75-87, in fifth place, 18 games behind Boston.

The Twins were 45-41, in second place in the AL Central, 1.5 games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 85-77, in second place, 17 games behind Cleveland, but good enough for a wild card spot.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 16-12 (.571).