Category: According to Elias

According to ELIAS – Eddie Rosario

Twins blessed by Rosario

Eddie Rosario

The Twins defeated the Blue Jays 13–7 to salvage a split of a 4-game home series. Eddie Rosario hit two homers, number 25 and 26 of the season. Rosario now has hit 15 home runs in his last 40 games, since August 6. Since they moved to Target Field in 2010, only three other Twins players have hit 15+ homers over 40 games: Trevor Plouffe in 2012, whose best span was 18 homers in 40 games, Josh Willingham in 2012, whose best span was 16 in 40 games, and Brian Dozier last season, whose best span was 22 homers in 40 games. (Dozier also had a span that overlapped the 2016 and 2017 seasons with 15 homers over 40 games.)

According to ELIAS – Byron Buxton

Another day, another walkoff homer

Byron Buxton

Byron Buxton hit a walkoff home run to beat the Blue Jays last night, one night after Eddie Rosario won a game for the Twins with a walkoff homer. That is the first time since 1970 that the Twins won two consecutive games on walkoff homers. George Mitterwald and Jim Holt turned the trick on August 6 and 7 that season.

According to ELIAS – Eddie Rosario

Rosario delivers a walk-off homer for the Twins

 

Eddie Rosario

Eddie Rosario’s home run in the bottom of the tenth inning gave the Twins a 3-1 win over the Padres last night at Target Field. Rosario was just 1-for-18 in extra innings in his career entering the contest. Rosario’s homer was the 46th of his career, but it was the first that gave his team the lead in the eighth inning or later.

According to ELIAS – Twins mash the Padres 16-0

Twins mash Padres

The Twins hit homers in each of the first seven in innings in their 16-0 win over the Padres last night at Target Field. In doing so, they became the first team in major-league history to homer in each of the first seven innings of a game and the second team in MLB history to hit homers in seven consecutive innings in the same game. The Reds hit home runs in innings two through eight at Philadelphia on September 4, 1999.

The Twins beat the Royals, 17-0, on September 2 of this season. Minnesota is the second team in major league history to have two shutout wins by a margin of at least 16 runs twice in one calendar month. The Cardinals had two wins like that in June of 1944: 18-0 at Cincinnati and 16-0 at Pittsburgh.

The Twins’ victory was the 151st by an American League team against a National League team this season, and it clinched the 300-game interleague series for the American League for a 14th consecutive year. With 14 interleague games remaining this season, American League teams own a record of 151 wins and 135 losses, a winning percentage of .528.

According to ELIAS – one-and-done

One-and-done has new meaning for Twins

 

Alan Busenitz

Pitch limits were at an all-time low for Twins relievers in Kansas City last night. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Buddy Boshers relieved Ryan Pressly and threw one pitch to Eric Hosmer; it was hit for a single. Tyler Duffey then replaced Boshers and threw but one pitch, which was grounded down the left-field line by Salvador Perez for an RBI double. After Duffey stuck around for a no-pitch intentional walk, Taylor Rogers took his turn for the Twins, retiring Brandon Moss on one pitch before taking his leave. Alan Busenitz finished off the inning for Minnesota, throwing five pitches (what stamina!) to finish off the frame.

It had been a little more than 10 years since the last time that a major-league team had as many as three pitchers throw exactly one pitch in a game. The circumstances were quite similar on Aug. 21, 2007, with the Royals at bat in the eighth inning. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen used a new pitcher for every batter in the inning. Ehren Wassermann recorded the first out on six pitches, then he gave way to Mike Myers, who was pulled after allowing a first-pitch single. Ryan Bukvich wasn’t much better, allowing a single on his only pitch as well. Matt Thornton cleaned up the damage with his one pitch, coaxing a double-play ground ball from Alex Gordon to end the inning.

According to ELIAS – Jorge Polanco

30 RBIs in 30 games for Polanco

Jorge Polanco

Jorge Polanco’s two-run single in the top of the ninth inning turned a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 lead in the Twins’ win over the Royals. Polanco has driven in 30 runs over his last 30 games dating back to August 7, the most for any Twins player since that date. The only other players with 30 or more RBIs since August 7 are Giancarlo Stanton (33), Anthony Rizzo (32) and Manny Machado (30).

According to ELIAS

Royals take series from Twins despite big loss in Game 2

The Royals defeated the Twins, 5–4, to take the rubber match of their weekend series at Minnesota. Kansas City sandwiched Saturday’s 17–0 loss with a pair of one-run victories to win the series despite being outscored, 27–12. The Royals were the first road team since 1899 to win a series of any length in which they were outscored by that wide a margin.

One hundred eighteen years ago, Washington won two of three games at Louisville despite being outscored by the Colonels, 34–16. After losing the first two games of the series, 7–6 and 5–3, Louisville routed Washington, 25–4, in what would be the final home game ever played by the Colonels. On the day of that big win, fire damaged Eclipse Park. Louisville, which featured Honus Wagner as a young superstar, played its final 38 games of the season on the road, and the National League voted to drop the club following that season.

According to ELIAS – Max Kepler

Kepler trades bruise for win

Max Kepler

The Twins beat the White Sox on yesterday afternoon when Juan Minaya hit Max Kepler with a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was the second time since the Twins franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961 that they won a game on a walk-off hit-by-pitch. The other walk-off hit-by-pitch for the Twins was when their current manager, Paul Molitor, was hit by Jeff Montgomery of the Royals in the bottom of the tenth inning on May 1, 1996.

It was the first walk-off hit-by-pitch in the major leagues this season.

According to ELIAS – Jose Berrios

Berrios was berry good

 

Jose Berrios

Jose Berrios pitched seven scoreless innings in the Twins’ win over the White Sox last night. It was the ninth time this season that a Twins starting pitcher did not allow a run in an outing of seven or more innings, tying them with the Red Sox and Indians for the most such games in the American League.

Kevin Slowey

Berrios is 7-0 with a 2.45 ERA over his last seven home starts. Only one other Twins pitcher over the last 20 seasons won each of seven consecutive home starts within one season. Kevin Slowey did it in 2009.

According to ELIAS – Ervin Santana & Jorge Polanco

Santana and Polanco deliver the goods

Ervin Santana

Ervin Santana earned his 14th win of the season and teammate Jorge Polanco homered from each side of the plate in the Twins’ 6-4 triumph over the White Sox. Santana has a 14-win season with three different teams (three such seasons with the Angels, one with the Braves, and now one with the Twins). Two other active pitchers have had at least one season of 14-or-more wins with three different teams: Bartolo Colon (five different teams) and Zack Greinke (four teams). The last pitcher to win at least 14 games for the Twins was Phil Hughes who won 16 games in 2014.

Jorge Polanco

Polanco is the third player to homer from each side of the plate as a shortstop in a game this season, joining Francisco Lindor (April 5) and Freddy Galvis (June 4). Polanco joins a select group of Minnesota Twins (Roy Smalley, Chili Davis, Ryan Doumit, and Kennys Vargas) to hit a home run from each side of the plate in a single game.