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2023 – The Twins schedule a rare 3:10 PM afternoon game to test out a new “happy hour” marketing effort that offers $6 beers, $1 Pop, $2 Hotdogs and free popcorn for two hours prior to the game. Unfortunately it is a cool and rainy day and the game is delayed until 5:07 PM but “happy hour” ends at 3:10 so fans still have to wait for two hours for the game to begin at regular concession prices. You would have thought that the Twins would have extended ‘happy hour” but they didn’t. Attendance was a disappointing 11,754. On the field the Twins jump out to a quick 8-2 lead after five innings but then have to hold on for an 8-6 win when Jorge Lopez is able to strikeout Nick Pratto with the bases loaded and two out in the top of the ninth inning. Pablo López (2-2) was the starter and winner, allowing six runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out seven. The offense recorded eight hits and walked five times. Jose Miranda went 2-for-4 with his third home run of the season and
third in his last three days. Jorge Polanco hit his second home run and Max Kepler hit his third. Kepler’s was his 15th career leadoff homer, third most in Twins history (since 1961). The game lasted 2 hours and 38 minutes. Jordan Lyles (0-5) was Kansas City starter and loser. Box Score
2022 – The Twins stay hot and beat the Tigers at Target Field by a score of 7-1, completing the three-game sweep and recording their seventh consecutive victory. Bailey Ober was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing one run on six hits in 3.2 innings pitched, exiting early with right groin tightness. He ended up on the IL a day later. Griffin Jax earned his first career save, pitching 3 scoreless innings. The offense recorded 11 hits, three apiece from Gio Urshela and Carlos Correa. Correa drove in three runs, marking his first multi-RBI game as a Twin. Trevor Larnach and Gilberto Celestino each added two hits which marked the first time the Twins have had four-or-more hitters with multiple hits in consecutive games since June 20-22, 2021.The Twins completed their six-game, seven-day home stand with a record of 6-0, sweeping the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Box Score
2021 – Twins bats storm out of the gate with six home runs on get-away day at Progressive Field as the Twins beat up on the Cleveland Indians 10-2. The win ends a four game losing streak and ups their record to 8-15. Byron Buxton (league leading 8), Josh Donaldson (2) and Jorge Polanco (1) all hit home runs in the first inning putting the Twin in front 4-0. Mitch Garver added two home runs later in the game and Willians Astudillo also added one. J.A. Happ started for the Twins going seven innings and getting the win on 96 pitches while giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. Randy Dobnak finished up with a scoreless two innings. Buxton was 5 for 5 (first time) on the day and a triple short of the cycle. The six home runs makes the Twins the first visiting team ever to collect that many in a game at Progressive Field. Here is a real shocker for you, the Twins are 19-1 when they hit six home runs. The Twins head for Target Field for a nice seven game home stand starting with the Kansas City Royals who are 15-8 and on top of the American League Central Division. Box Score
2020 – The Twins would have been in LA to play the Dodgers but as we all know the season thus far has been postponed due to COVID-19. Counting today it means we have missed 30 games so far.
2019 – The Twins beat the Orioles 4-1, sweeping the three game series. The sweep is their fourth sweep this season. The Twins are 12-1 vs. the Orioles dating back to last season, their last loss coming on 2018 Opening Day as Adam Jones hit a walk-off homer off Fernando Rodney in the 11th inning. Since that game, their 12-game winning streak is the longest active streak versus any opponent and it’s their longest ever versus the Orioles. The Twins Kyle Gibson (2-0) was the starter and winner, allowing one run on three hits in 7.0 innings pitched with no walks and six strikeouts. The Twins only had six hits with two coming from Max Kepler who homered (7) and doubled. Byron Buxton also hit a home run, his first of the season. The first place Twins up their record to 16-9 and end the day with the second best winning percentage in baseball at .640. Box Score
2018 – The Twins beat the Reds 3-1 at home snapping their eight-game losing streak (longest of the 2018 season), winning for the first time since their 16-inning marathon with Cleveland in Puerto Rico on April 18. Jake Odorizzi was the Twins starter and winner. Fernando Rodney earned the save (3) with a scoreless ninth inning but not before putting two runners on with walks to make it stressful, which snapped his three-game blown-save streak. Catcher Mitch Garver was the man with the stick hitting a solo home run and a double. Box Score
2016 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2014 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2012 – No game today, Twins game at Target Field is rained out against the Kansas City Royals and will be made up as part of a DH on June 30.
2010 – Rookie Luke Hughes hit a home run in his first major league at bat and in the process became the fifth Minnesota Twin to accomplish this feat. Hughes hit his home run to right field off Detroit Tiger starter Max Scherzer in Comerica Park on a 2-2 count as he lead off the third inning. Actually Hughes was batting in the second inning when Delmon Young was caught stealing third base for the final out of the second inning so that at bat did not count. Hughes, who was born in Perth, Australia, is the eighth Aussie to hit a homer in the major leagues and the first to do so in his first at-bat in the bigs. Unfortunately for Hughes and the Twins, they lost the game to the Tigers by an 11-6 score. Box Score
2008 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2003 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1988 – The hapless Baltimore Orioles set an American League record with their 21st consecutive loss, a 4-2 loss to the Twins at the Metrodome breaking the record shared by the 1906 Red Sox and the 1916 and 1943 A’s. The O’s broke their long losing streak the next day by beating the White Sox. Kent Hrbek who was DHing on this day leads the Twins hitters going 3 for 3 with a home run and a double and Twins starter Allan Anderson gets the win. Right fielder Randy Bush had an interesting day at the plate, in his first at bat he was hit with a pitch, next time up he was walked intentionally and stole second base, in his third plate appearance he walked and eventually scored, and in his final plate appearance he was hit by a pitch again and taken out of the game. Box Score
1985 – Mickey Hatcher goes 4-for-5 as the Twins post their 8th consecutive win, 10-1 over Oakland at the Metrodome. Prior to this winning streak the Twins had lost 9 games in a row. Hatcher was 5-for-5 the day before, giving him a club record 9 consecutive hits. Mike Smithson gets the complete game win allowing seven hits. Both Kent Hrbek and Mark Salas had triples for the Twins, that was worth the price of admission right there. Box Score
1980 – Outfielder Bombo Rivera suffers a fractured kneecap. In the second inning at Metropolitan Stadium, he chased a fly ball hit by Seattle Mariners DH Willie Horton and slammed into the right-field foul pole. He had to be carried from the field and wound up missing 2½ months. The Twins rally from a 6-0 deficit and score one in the sixth and three more in the seventh but they can’t score any more and lose 6-4. Ken Landreaux hit a 2-run home run but no Twins batter had more than one hit. Box Score
1975 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1969 – Back home at Met Stadium after a quick road trip to Chicago for the week-end where they took two of three from the White Sox, the Twins take on and shut out the Kansas City Royals 4-0 in a game that lasts just 2 hours and 2 minutes and extend their win streak to three games. It might have had something to due with the fact that when the first pitch was thrown in this day game the temperature was 46 degrees with a wind out of the north at 15 MPH. The crowd was announced at 3,425 but according to reports there was probably only 1,500 fans in attendance. Two hours before game time the Twins scheduled starter Tommy Hall was not back from National Guard duty in North Carolina so Martin decided to go with Jim Perry who has been used both as a starter and reliever. Perry had his own issues having caught a cold in Chicago and pitching on two days rest after having pitched in the four previous games he took the ball anyway. The 32-year Perry pitched his 19th career shutout allowing seven hits and used just 103 pitches in his complete game win. The Royals actually out hit Minnesota 7 to 6 but the big blow for the Twins was a 3-run home run by Rich Reese in the fourth inning. Twins record now 11-7 with a one game lead in the AL West. Box Score
1961 – The Twins and the Angels are tied 4-4 after 9 innings at Wrigley Field. The Twins score an unearned run in the top of the 12th and take a 5-4 lead. Twins skipper Cookie Lavagetto pulls starter Pedro Ramos who has pitched the first 11 innings striking out ten and brings in reliever Shorty Pleis to close out the victory. Pleis gets the first out but then gives up a game tying home run to Ken Hamlin, it was the only home run that Hamlin would hit all year. The next two hitters get singles but Pleis retires Leon Wagner for the second out. The Twins decide to intentionally walk Ted Kluszewski to load the bases. So what happens next? Shorty Pleis hits Ken Hunt and the Angels have a walk-off hit-by-pitcher win. Yikes!! It was the thirteen game the new formed Minnesota Twins had ever played and it turns out to be their first ever walk-off loss. Box Score
