As you watch the 2021 MLB Opening Day games tomorrow one of the things that you are unlikely to see is a complete game win by a starting pitcher. Back in the day, it was normal to see starting pitchers throw complete games in their final one or two spring training exhibition starts and complete games on OD were a normal occurrence. Not so in todays baseball.
Last year Chicago Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks pitched a complete game throwing 103 pitches as he shutout the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 on July 24. It was the first complete game on OD (not counting a five inning effort by Gerrit Cole in 2020) since April 1, 2013 when Clayton Kershaw shutout the San Francisco Giants 4-0. The last complete game on OD in the American League goes back even farther, back to April 1, 2011 when Felix Hernandez got a CG 6-2 win against the Oakland A’s. The last pitcher to pitch a complete game against the Twins was Rick Rhoden when he was pitching for the New York Yankees on April 5, 1988 after the Minnesota Twins won the 1987 World Series.
The Minnesota Twins OD complete games are documented below.
April 11, 1961 – Pedro Ramos gets the first complete game with a shutout win for the Minnesota Twins in their first ever Opening Day game when the Twins beat the New York Yankees 6-0 at Yankee Stadium. Attendance was just 14,607.
April 12, 1966 – Mudcat Grant becomes the first and last Twins pitcher to pitch an OD complete game win at home (Met Stadium) when he beats the Kansas City A’s 2-1 in 1 hour and 45 minutes in front of just 21,658 fans. It turns out to be a walk-off win when Zoilo Versalles coaxes a walk from A’s starter Catfish Hunter to lead off the ninth inning and takes second on a wild pitch. Starting left fielder Sandy Valdespino‘s single scores Versalles and the Twins have a walk-off victory.
April 10, 1968 – Dean Chance makes quick work of the Washington Senators as he shuts out them out 2-0 in 2 hours and 2 minutes allowing just four hits at D. C. Stadium. Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison each hit a home run accounting for the Twins runs.
April 7, 1970 – Jim Perry pitches a six hit shutout and strikes out six as the Twins put a serious 12-0 beating on the Chicago White Sox at White Sox Park. Twins outfielder Brant Alyea is the hitting star with a 4 for 4 day with two home runs and seven RBI.
April 6, 1973 – The Twins last complete game victory on OD belongs to Bert Blyleven as he beats Catfish Hunter and the Oakland A’s 8-3 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Bert gives up ten hits and strikes out seven.
The last OD complete game for a Minnesota Twins starter albeit a loss took place on April 5, 1978 at the Kingdome. Dave Goltz went eight innings as the Seattle Mariners beat the Twins 3-2.
There were also three instances where the Twins starter went nine innings but took a ND when the game went into extra-innings.
On April 12, 1965 Jim Kaat went nine innings but the game went into extra-innings and the Twins walked off the New York Yankees 5-4 at Met Stadium in the eleventh inning on a Cesar Tovar walk-off single. Not a well played game as the Yankees had five errors and the Twins had three errors.
On April 5, 1974 Bert Blyleven went nine innings in a eleven inning affair at Royals Stadium. The Twins scored two in the top of the eleventh inning and held on for a 6-4 win.
The last time a Twins starter went nine innings on OD took place on April 9, 1976 at Arlington Stadium and once again it was Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven with the honors. This time however; the Texas Rangers walked off the Twins 2-1 when Toby Harrah singled off Bill Campbell scoring Jim Sundberg in the bottom of the eleventh inning.