Tag Archives: we beat the Yankees

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2014, Game 54

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MINNESOTA TWINS 7, NEW YORK YANKEES 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Sunday, June 1, 2014.

Batting stars:  Trevor Plouffe! was 2-for-4 with a double.  Oswaldo Arcia was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Josh Willingham hit a home run, his third.

Pitching stars:  Phil Hughes pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks and striking out six.  Caleb Thielbar pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Chase Whitley struck out six in five innings, giving up one run on five hits.  Dellin Betances struck out five in two perfect innings.  

The game:  Oswaldo Arcia led off the second with a single and Josh Willingham was hit by a pitch, but the Twins were unable to score.  In the third, however, Aaron Hicks singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Trevor Plouffe! single to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.

The lead lasted until the fourth.  New York got all of their hits for the game in the first three batters of the fourth inning.  Brett Gardner tripled and Derek Jeter singled to tie the score.  Jacoby Ellsbury followed with another single.  Brian McCann walked to load the bases, with still none out.  The next three batters went out, but one of them hit a sacrifice fly, putting the Yankees ahead 2-1.

It looked like it would stay there, as the Twins got only two hits in innings five through eight.  But then came the ninth.  Josh Willingham led off with a home run to tie the game at two.  Jason Kubel struck out, but Kurt Suzuki walked.  Eduardo Escobar struck out, but Aaron Hicks walked.  Brian Dozier then came through with an RBI double, giving the Twins a 3-2 lead.  Joe Mauer was intentionally walked, but Eduardo Nunez hit a two-run double to make it 5-2.  Oswaldo Arcia hit a two-run single, and the Twins had a six-run ninth to take a 7-2 lead.  Caleb Theilbar slammed the door in the bottom of the ninth, the Twins won, and there was great rejoicing.

WP:  Phil Hughes (6-1).

LP:  David Robertson (0-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jason Kubel was in left field.  Josh Willingham played the most games there (53), with Kubel second at 36, followed by Jordan Schafer (34).  Aaron Hicks was in center.  Danny Santana played the most games there (69), with Hicks second at 57, followed by Sam Fuld (40).  Willingham was the DH.  Kennys Vargas played the most games there (40), with Kendrys Morales second at 26, followed by Josmil Pinto (21).

Eduardo Escobar was batting .317.  He would finish at .275.

Yangervis Solarte was the third baseman for the Yankees, going 0-for-3.  He was in the Twins’ farm system from 2006-2011.

2014 was the best season Phil Hughes had.  He went 16-10, 3.52, 1.13 WHIP and led the league in fewest walks per nine and strikeout/walk ratio.  He was decent in 2015, then would battle injuries and would never have a good season again.

This was the last season for Josh Willingham.  He would be traded to Kansas City in mid-August, finishing the season there.

Chase Whitley entered the Yankees rotation in mid-May.  He made seven really good starts and had an ERA of 2.56 in mid-June.  Then the roof fell in.  He was out of the rotation by late July and ended the year with an ERA of 5.23.  He would make just five more major league starts after that.  He would, however, have a decent year in the Tampa Bay bullpen in 2017.

The Yankees had Ichiro Suzuki in right field and the Twins had Kurt Suzuki behind the plate.  This ties the all-time record for most Suzukis in one game.

Record:  New York was 29-26, in second place in the AL East, 3.5 games behind Toronto.  They would finish 84-78, in second place, twelve games behind Baltimore.

The Twins were 26-28, in third place in the AL Central, 5.5 games behind Detroit.  They would finish 70-92, in fifth (last) place, twenty games behind Detroit.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 33-39 (.458).

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1972, Game 71

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MINNESOTA TWINS 5, NEW YORK YANKEES 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 7, 1972.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Bobby Darwin was 3-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his twelfth) and a walk.  George Mitterwald was 2-for-4.  Danny Thompson was 2-for-4.  Steve Brye was 2-for-4.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a double.

Pitching star:  Dick Woodson pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks and striking out one.  Wayne Granger pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Felipe Alou was 2-for-4.  Fritz Peterson pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on twelve hits and a walk and striking out five.

The game:  New York got consecutive singles from Ron Blomberg, Felipe Alou, and Celerino Sanchez to take a 1-0 lead.  In the second, Horace Clarke hit a one-out single, went to second on a pickoff error, and scored on Bobby Murcer’s two-out single to make it 2-0 Yankees.

After wasting a pair of two-out singles in the third, the Twins got on the board in the fourth.  Bobby Darwin led off with a single, went to second on a Steve Brye singles, and scored on a pair of ground outs.  The Twins got two on in the fifth and New York had two on in the sixth, but it was still 2-1 Yankees.

But the Twins took the lead in the seventh.  With two out, Rod Carew singled and Harmon Killebrew hit a two-run homer, going ahead 3-2.  In the eighth, George Mitterwald hit an infield single and Cesar Tovar doubled, putting men on second and third.  With two out, Rod Carew delivered a two-run single to make the score 5-2.  New York got only a one-out single in the ninth, and the Twins got the victory.

WP:  Wayne Granger (3-0).

LP:  Fritz Peterson (7-10).

S:  None.

Notes:  Mitterwald shared catching duties with Glenn Borgmann and Phil Roof, with Mitterwald and Roof each catching 61 games and Borgmann 56.

The Twins had no .300 hitters in this game.  Rod Carew would finish over .300 and a league-leading .318.

Jim Strickland, who pitched two-thirds of an inning, had an ERA of 1.80.  He would finish at 2.50.  Wayne Granger had an ERA of 1.93.  He would finish at 3.01.

No Yankees who played in this game ever played for the Twins.

The Twins had sixteen hits in this game, stranding twelve and going 1-for-11 with men in scoring position.

The Yankees had two runners caught stealing and one picked off.  Apparently, they were running the bases like drunks.

Jim Strickland pitched in 56 games for the Twins from 1971-1973, putting up a WHIP of 2.72.

Record:  New York was 33-36, in fourth place in the AL East, six games behind Baltimore.  They finished 79-76, in fourth place, 6.5 games behind Detroit.

The Twins were 37-34, in third place in the AL West, eight games behind Oakland.  They would finish 77-77, in third place, 15.5 games behind Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 32-38 (.457).

Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of August 10

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS 11, ST. PAUL SAINTS 8 IN ST. PAUL

Columbus had leads of 6-0, 9-1, and 11-3 before St. Paul scored four in the eighth and one in the ninth.

Multi-hit games:  Patrick Winkel was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.  Diego Castillo was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Winkel 3 (33); Wynton Bernard 2 (27).

Stolen bases:  Keirsey, Jr. (27); Payton Eeles (8).

Pitching prowess:  Caleb Baragar pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Diego Castillo pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Loss:  Caleb Boushley (9-5).

Opposition standout:  Estevan Florial was 4-for-4 with three home runs, a double, a walk, and seven RBIs.

Record:  St. Paul is 18-20, tied for sixth with Gwinnett and Memphis, 7.5 games behind Columbus.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 4, CORPUS CHRISTI HOOKS 3 IN CORPUS CHRISTI

Jeferson Morales hit a two-run homer in the eighth to give Wichita a 4-3 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Tanner Schobel was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.

Home runs:  Schobel (9); Morales (8).

Multi-RBI games:  Morales 2 (50); Schobel 2 (47).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Travis Adams struck out five in five innings, giving up one run on one hit and one walk.  Taylor Floyd pitched two perfect innings, striking out one.  Kyle Bischoff struck out two in a perfect inning.

Win:  Floyd (3-2).

Save:  Bischoff (2).

Opposition standout:  Aaron Brown struck out seven in five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk.

Record:  Wichita is 15-23, in fifth (last) place, eight games behind Springfield.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 7, PEORIA CHIEFS 1 IN PEORIA

Leading 2-1, Cedar Rapids scored three in the fifth to take control.

Multi-hit games:  Kevin Maitan was 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, three runs, and three RBIs.  Nate Baez was 2-for-4 with a walk.

Home runs:  Nick Lucky (1).

Multi-RBI games:  Maitan 3 (33); Lucky 2 (3).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Connor Prielipp struck out five in 2.2 innings, giving up one run on three walks.  Ty Langenberg struck out seven in six shutout innings, giving up four hits.

Win:  Langenberg (4-1).

Opposition standout:  Tre Richardson was 3-for-4 with a double.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 20-21, in fourth place, 4.5 games behind Wisconsin.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 6, JUPITER HAMMERHEADS 3 IN JUPITER

Kaelen Culpepper hit a three-run homer in a five-run second.

Multi-hit games:  Daniel Pena was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Billy Amick was 2-for-4.

Home runs:  Culpepper (1).

Multi-RBI games:  Culpepper 3 (3).

Stolen bases:  Jaime Ferrer 2 (2); Jay Thomason (1).

Pitching prowess:  Adrian Bohorquez struck out six in four innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks.  Jack Noble struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Xander Hamilton struck out three in two perfect innings.

Win:  Noble (6-2).

Save:  Hamilton (9).

Opposition standout:  Brandon White pitched four innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk.

Record:  Fort Myers is 24-13, in first place, two games ahead of Lakeland.

DSL TWINS 11, DSL NYY YANKEES 1 AT TWINS (7 INNINGS)

The Twins scored two in each of the first three innings.  They had seven hits, but the NYY Yankees made five errors.

Multi-hit games:  Daiber De Los Santos was 2-for-3.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Ricardo Paez 3 (13); Nestor Urbina 2 (10).

Stolen bases:  Merphy Hernandez 2 (31); Luis Fragoza (19); De Los Santos (13); Eduardo Beltre (5).

Pitching prowess:  Melvin Rodriguez struck out six in five innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk.  Nestor Cafe struck out five and walked four in two shutout innings.

Win:  Rodriguez (3-3).

Opposition standout:  Isael Arias was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Record:  The DSL Twins are 25-23, in fourth place, 8.5 games behind the DSL Rangers Red.

TODAY'S TILTS

11:00  Fort Myers (Ross Dunn, 1-3, 6,13( at Jupiter
2:05  Cedar Rapids (John Klein, 7-2, 4.56) at Peoria
2:07  Columbus at St. Paul (TBD)
5:05  Wichita (Christian MacLeod, 0-1, 3.52) at Corpus Christi

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-nine

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MINNESOTA 3, NEW YORK 1 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Saturday, August 29.

Batting star:  Paul Ratliff was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third) and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched six shutout innings, giving up nine hits and a walk and striking out one.  Tom Hall struck out three in 2.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits and no walks.

Opposition stars:  Frank Baker was 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch.  Jim Lyttle was 2-for-4.  Thurman Munson was 2-for-5.  Roy White was 2-for-5.  Mel Stottlemyre pitched a complete game, giving up three runs (one earned) on seven hits and no walks and striking out seven.

The game:  Cesar Tovar started the game with a single and went to third when Tony Oliva reached on an error with one out.  A sacrifice fly brought home a run and singles by Jim Holt and Ratliff brought home another, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead.

The Yankees got three hits in the bottom of the first, but a double play kept them from taking advantage of them.  They loaded the bases in the second on a single, a hit batsman, and a walk, but a line drive double play took them out of that inning.  Each team had two on with one out in the fourth and did not score.  New York got a pair of singles with two out in the sixth and did not score.  So, it remained 2-0 going to the ninth.

Ratliff homered with two out in the top of the ninth to make it 3-0.  But the Yankees did not just go away quietly.  With one out Ron Woods tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.  Munson then singled to bring the tying run to bat with two out.  White hit a ball to deep right, but it was just a fly out and the game was over.

WP:  Zepp (7-3).

LP:  Stottlemyre (12-11).

S:  Hall (4).

Notes:  Holt was in center, with Tovar in left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Frank Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for Zepp in the seventh.  Danny Thompson went to third base in the ninth, replacing Harmon Killebrew.

Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .317.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.79.  Stan Williams did not give up a run in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.04.  Hall had an ERA of 2.92.

Allison was 0-for-1 and was batting .197.

The was the first time Ratliff had started since August 10 and the first time he had played an entire game since July 10.

The Twins had only two at-bats with men in scoring position, going 1-for-2.  The Yankees had eight at-bats with men in scoring position, but went 0-for-8.  They stranded eleven.

Record:  The Twins were 76-53, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Nineteen

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MINNESOTA 3, NEW YORK 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, August 19.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a double.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game shutout, giving up four hits and a walk and striking out five.

Opposition star:  Fritz Peterson pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out two.

The game:  There was no score in the first three innings.  The Yankees got men on first and third with two out in the fourth but did not score.  It cost them.  In the bottom of the fourth Killebrew hit a one-out single.  The next batter went out, but two-out singles by Brant Alyea, Reese, and Leo Cardenas resulted in two runs.  It stayed 2-0 until the eighth, when Danny Thompson singled with two out and scored on Killebrew's double.

The Yankees had some threats early.  Horace Clarke walked leading off the game and reached second with two out.  Jake Gibbs hit a two-out triple.  Singles by Bobby Murcer and Jim Lyttle put men on first and third with two out in the fourth.  But they got only one hit after that, a two-out single by Clarke in the eighth.

WP:  Perry (18-10).

LP:  Peterson (13-8).

S:  None.

Notes:  Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tom Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Jim Holt replaced Alyea and went to center field, with Cesar Tovar moving to left.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth and went to second base, with Thompson moving to third.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .321.  Perry had an ERA of 2.94.

Tischinski was 0-for-3 and was batting .171.

This was one of four shutouts Perry had in 1970.  He had thirty-two for his career.  It was one of thirteen complete games he had in 1970, the most he had in a season.  He had 109 for his career.

The Twins had followed up their nine game losing streak with a three game winning streak.

Record:  The Twins were 72-47, in first place in the American League West, 5.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Eighteen

MINNESOTA 8, NEW YORK 7 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 18.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Danny Thompson was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-3 with two walks, a stolen base (his twenty-third), and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Pete Hamm retired all four men he faced.  Stan Williams struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  Tom Hall struck out three in three perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  John Ellis was 3-for-4 with a home run (his sixth), a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Horace Clarke was 2-for-4 with a walk and two stolen bases, his fourteenth and fifteenth.  Danny Cater was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixth.  Ron Klimkowski pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

The game:  In the first Tovar singled, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an Oliva single to put the Twins up 1-0.  The Yankees took the lead in the second:  with one out Ellis singled, Ron Woods doubled, and Jake Gibbs hit a two-run single.  The Twins got the lead back in the bottom of the second when, with two out, Tom Tischinski singled, Jim Kaat walked, and Tovar and Thompson hit RBI singles.  New York got the lead back in the third when Gene Michael reached on an error and Cater and Ellis homered.  You could say it was a see-saw game, with the Yankees leading 5-3 after three.

The Twins got the lead back in the fourth:  Tischinski walked with one out, Tovar walked with two out, Thompson had an RBI single, Harmon Killebrew walked to load the bases, and Oliva delivered a two-run single.  But New York took the lead right back in the fifth.  Roy White singled, stole second, and scored on a two-out triple by Bobby Murcer.  Ellis followed with a double, and it was 7-6 Yankees.

Then, suddenly, the scoring stopped.  The Twins managed just two singles in innings five through eight.  In the ninth, Thompson led off with a bunt single.  Killebrew hit into a force out, but Oliva doubled to put men on second and third and Jim Holt delivered a pinch-hit two-run single to win it for the Twins.

WP:  Hall (6-4).

LP:  Lindy McDaniel (8-5).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was at third base, with Killebrew on first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.

Frank Quilici pinch-hit for Hamm in the fourth.  Reese pinch-hit for Williams in the sixth and stayed in the game at first base, with Killebrew moving to third, Renick to left, and Brant Alyea to the bench.  Manuel pinch-hit for Tischinski in the eighth, with Paul Ratliff going in at catcher.  Bob Allison pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth.  Holt pinch-hit for Hall in the ninth.

Oliva was batting .323.  Williams had an ERA of 2.13.  Hall had an ERA of 2.89.

Tischinski was 1-for-2 and was batting .184.  Hamm had an ERA of 5.23.

Neither starting pitcher did well.  Mike Kekich of the Yankees pitched 3.2 innings, allowing five runs on four hits and four walks.  He struck out five.  Kaat pitched just 2.2 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk and struck out two.

There were seven lead-changes in the game.

It was the Twins' second consecutive win after nine straight losses.

Klimkowski had an excellent year for the Yankees, going 6-7, 2.65, 1.15 WHIP in 98.1 innings (45 games).  He was traded to Oakland at the start of the 1971 season and was quite as good, but was still an effective pitcher.  The Athletics released him after the season, though.  He signed back with the Yankees for 1972 but had a poor season, spent 1973 in the minors, and then was done.

Record:  The Twins were 71-47, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty-four

MINNESOTA 7, NEW YORK 6 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, May 31.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with two home runs, his thirteenth and fourteenth.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams pitched five innings of relief, giving up one run on two hits and three walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Danny Cater was 2-for-4.  Pete Ward hit a pinch-hit home run.  Roy White was 1-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Gary Waslewski pitched two perfect innings of relief, striking out one.

The game:  In the second, Cater singled, Thurman Munson reached on an error, and John Ellis walked, loading the bases with one out.  Gene Michael singled home two runs.  Mel Stottlemyre walked, re-loading the bases.  Horace Clarke hit a two-run single to make it 4-0 Yankees.

The Twins came back.  In the bottom of the second, Jim Holt and Leo Cardenas walked and Paul Ratliff singled, cutting the lead to 4-1.  Killebrew homered in the third to make it 4-2.

White homered in the fifth to make it 5-2, but the Twins again came back in the bottom of the inning.  Singles by Jim Kaat, Cesar Tovar, and Carew brought home one run and Tony Oliva doubled in another.  Killebrew walked to load the bases and Rich Reese delivered a two-run single, giving the Twins their first lead at 6-5.  But Ward homered in the seventh to tie it 6-6.

That was the last hit by either team until the tenth, when Cater led off with a single.  A pair of productive outs got him to third, but he was stranded there.  Killebrew led off the tenth with a home run to walk it off for the Twins.

WP:  Williams (5-0).

LP:  Lindy McDaniel (4-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was again in left in place of Brant Alyea and Ratliff was again in place of George Mitterwald.

Carew was batting .394.  Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .330.  Killebrew was batting .329.  Williams had an ERA of 1.59.

Kaat started and pitched five innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits and three walks and striking out two.  Stottlemyre pitched four innings, giving up six runs on eight hits and three walks and striking out none.  They batted better than they pitched, going a combined 2-for-4 with a walk and a run.

This tied for the longest relief appearance for Williams this season--he would again go five innings on July 7.  These days, of course, it's common for the starter not to go five innings.

The Twins took two of three from the Yankees in this series.

Record:  The Twins were 31-13, in first place in the American League West, 2.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: ALDS, Game One

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MINNESOTA 3, NEW YORK 1 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Tuesday, September 30.

Batting stars:  Corey Koskie was 2-for-4 with a double.  Shannon Stewart was 2-for-5 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Johan Santana pitched four shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks and striking out three.  J. C. Romero pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Derek Jeter was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Aaron Boone was 2-for-4 with a double.  Bernie Williams was 2-for-4.  Alfonso Soriano was 2-for-5 with a double and a stolen base.  Mike Mussina pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out six.

The game:  Stewart opened the game with a ground-rule double, but was stranded at third base.  The Twins got on the board in the third, however.  One-out singles by Cristian Guzman and Stewart put men on first and third, and Luis Rivas hit a sacrifice fly, putting the Twins up 1-0.

The Yankees got a pair of two-out walks in the third but stranded them.  The Twins loaded the bases with two out in the fourth but also stranded them.  New York got a two-out double in the fifth but again could score.

The Twins added to their lead in the sixth.  Matthew LeCroy led off with a single.  With one out, Torii Hunter circled the bases on a triple-plus-error, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead.  The Yankees had men on first and second with none out in the seventh and did not score.  The Twins had men on first and second with one out in the eighth but were also turned aside.  It was still 3-0 going to the ninth.

New York did not go away quietly.  Williams led off with a single.  With one out, Boone doubled, putting men on second and third and bringing the tying run up to bat.  Ruben Sierra flied out, but Soirano singled, making it 3-1, putting the tying run on base, and bringing the deciding run up to bat.  But Nick Johnson grounded to third and game one belonged to the Twins.

WP:  Hawkins (1-0).  LP:  Mussina (0-1).  S:  Eddie Guardado (1).

Notes:  No spring training lineup here.  All the regulars played the whole game.  It was Stewart in left, Jacque Jones in right, and LeCroy at DH.

Santana had a hamstring injury which limited him to four innings.  The bullpen stepped up and came through.  Rick Reed was the first man out of the pen, and while the Twins might have hoped he would fill up some innings he pitched to just three batters, retiring the first two before giving up a double to Soriano.  First Romero and then Hawkins picked up the slack.  Closer Eddie Guardado had the worst game of any of the pitchers, but managed to get the job done.

Mussina had gone 2-0, 1.20 against the Twins in two starts (15 innings).  For his career he was 22-6, 3.09.  The Twins didn't exactly knock him all over the park, but they scored enough runs to win.

The Twins stranded 8 and were 1-for-6 with men in scoring position.  The Yankees stranded 10 and were 1-for-10 with men in scoring position.

Ah, those wonderful, innocent days of youth, when we actually thought the Twins had a chance to beat the Yankees in a playoff series.

Record:  The Twins were 1-0 in the best-of-five playoff series.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1993, Game One Hundred Fifty-one

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MINNESOTA 5, NEW YORK 4 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Tuesday, September 21.

Batting stars:  Pedro Munoz was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his eleventh and twelfth) and all five RBIs.  Brian Harper was 3-for-4.  Dave Winfield was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Jeff Reboulet was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Willie Banks struck out six in five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits and five walks.  Carl Willis struck out two in two perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Danny Tartabull was 2-for-3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.  Bobby Munoz pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.

The game:  Dion James hit a one-out double in the first, went to third on a ground ball, and scored on a wild pitch to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  It stayed 1-0 until the fourth.  With one out, Winfield and Harper singled and Munoz hit a three-run homer, putting the Twins in front 3-1.

The Yankees got one back in the bottom of the fourth when Mike Stanley walked, Bernie Williams singled, and Wade Boggs reached on an error.  It stayed 3-2 until the sixth, when Winfield doubled and Munoz delivered a two-out two-run homer to make it 5-2 Minnesota.

It couldn't come easy, of course.  New York cut the margin to 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth when Mike Gallego doubled and scored on a Jim Leyritz single.  It stayed 5-3 until the ninth.  Rick Aguilera retired the first two Yankees, but Tartabull singled, Matt Nokes singled, and Stanley hit an RBI single, cutting the margin to 5-4 with Williams coming up to bat.  But Williams grounded out to first, and the game was over.

WP:  Banks (10-11).  LP:  Jim Abbott (10-13).  S:  Aguilera (31).

Notes:  Terry Jorgensen was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Jorgensen was primarily a third baseman--he played just nine games at first in this season, starting only three.  Jeff Reboulet was at third in place of Mike Pagliarulo.  Pags played 79 games at third, Jorgensen 45, and Reboulet 34.

David McCarty was in right field.  Kirby Puckett played the most games in right, 47 (compared to 95 in center).  Munoz played 41, McCarty 34, and Winfield 31.  Munoz was in left in this game, a place he played 64 games (tied with Shane Mack.  Mack played 67 games in center).

Harper was batting .305--he would finish at .304 and was the only .300 hitter on the team.  Puckett came close--he was at .293 and finished at .296,  The Twins batted .264, ninth in the league.  New York and Toronto led at .279.

Hrbek led the team with 25 home runs.  Puckett was second at 22 and Winfield followed at 21.  Munoz hit 13, Harper 12, and Mack 10.  The Twins hit 121 home runs, twelfth in the league.  Texas led at 181.

It was a hitters' year, but even allowing for that the Twins' rotation wasn't very good.  Kevin Tapani led in starts and went 12-15, 4.43.  Scott Erickson was 8-19, 5.19.  Banks led the starters in ERA, going 11-12, 4.04.  Jim Deshaies was 11-13, 4.41.  They never really found a fifth starter.  Rookie Eddie Guardado started 16 games and went 3-8, 6.18.  Mike Trombley made 10 starts and went 6-6, 4.88, stats which obviously include his relief appearances.  Aguilera was solid in the bullpen, posting 34 saves with an ERA of 3.11.  Willis was 3-0, 3.10 with 5 saves and Larry Casian was 5-3, 3.02.  The Twins were next-to-last in ERA at 4.71.  Chicago led at 3.70.  The Twins were twelfth in WHIP at 1.46.  Boston led with 1.33.

In winning this game, the Twins used probably their best starter (Banks) and their three best relievers (Casian, Willis, and Aguilera).  And they did manage to beat the Yankees, even if just barely.

This was the first game of a stretch in which the Twins would win eight out of nine.

Record:  The Twins were 63-88, in sixth place in the American League West, 22.5 games behind Chicago.  They would finish 71-91, tied for fifth place with California, 23 games behind Chicago.

The Yankees were 83-69, in second place in the American League East, 5 games behind Toronto.  They would finish 88-74, in second place, 7 games behind Toronto.

Random record:  The Twins are 55-49 in Random Rewind games.