TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
Mauer clears the bases
Joe Mauer‘s three-run triple last night highlighted the Twins’ 6-2 win over the Tigers. It was Mauer’s first triple in 88 career at-bats with the bases loaded, but the seventh time he drove in all three runners on base in that situation (three grand slams and a trio of three-run doubles). Source:ELIAS
Salazar stingy after allowing a homer to lead off the game
Danny Salazar retired every one of the 21 batters he faced (including 11 strikeouts) after he allowed a first-inning leadoff home run to Brian Dozier in the Indians’ 8-2 win over the Twins in Cleveland yesterday. Salazar became the first major-leaguer to win a game in which he pitched at least seven innings with the only hit against him being a home run to lead off the first inning since Jack McDowell tossed a complete game in the White Sox’ 15-1 victory at Milwaukee on July 14, 1991. The Brewers’ only hit in that game was a home run by Paul Molitor to lead off the bottom of the first inning.
Twins wrap up a very successful homestand
The Twins finished their 11-game home stand with an 8-3 record by coming from behind to record a 6-5 win over the Athletics on Thursday afternoon. Minnesota won only one of three games versus the Tigers to begin the homestand, but swept a four-game series against the White Sox and then beat Oakland in three of four games. This is the third time since Target Field opened in 2010 that the Twins have won eight games on one homestand. They posted 8-1 records on nine-game homestands in both 2010 (Aug. 31-Sept. 8) and 2011 (June 9-19). Source: ELIAS
Torii’s career vs. White Sox: 200 games, 33 homers
Torii Hunter, playing against the White Sox yesterday for the 200th time in his big-league career, smashed a two-run, game-tying homer in the third inning and the Twins went on to earn a 5-3 victory. The home run was the 333rd of the 39-year-old outfielder’s major-league career: 300 against other teams and 33 against the White Sox. Since 1999, when Hunter first played against the Sox, he has both the most games played and the most home runs against the Pale Hose. Source: ELIAS
Twins don’t need an RBI to win
The Twins defeated the White Sox last night, 1-0, with the only run scoring on a wild pitch. Over the last 40 years, Minnesota has won only one other 1-0 game with the only run scoring on a wild pitch or passed ball. That was in Boston in 1985; Bruce Hurst‘s wild pitch allowed Dave Engle to score and Mike Smithson threw a shutout.
Tigers McCann hits his first career homer….and it doesn’t leave the park
James McCann‘s two-run inside the park home run, the first home run of his career, tied the game in the seventh innings in a contest the Tigers won, 10-7, over the Twins yesterday afternoon. McCann became just the third catcher in the last 36 years whose first career home run was an inside the parker, joining Minnesota’s Chad Moeller (July 29, 2000) and Pittsburgh’s Angelo Encarnacion (August 19, 1995).
McCann was the first Tigers player whose first career home run was an inside the park homer in over 59 years, since pitcher Frank Lary accounted for Detroit’s only run with a homer that didn’t leave the park in a season-opening loss to the Kansas City Athletics on April 17, 1956. Source: ELIAS
All the scoring in the top of the first
The Twins scored three runs in the first inning at Kauffman Stadium and that was the extent of the scoring in their 3-0 victory over the Royals. It was the first major-league game this season in which neither team scored after the top of the first inning–there were five last year–and it was the Twins’ first win in a game of that kind since July 1994, when an RBI-groundout by Kirby Puckett in the opening frame held up in a 1-0 decision over the Rangers in Arlington.
Hunter hits first homer of second tenure with Twins
Torii Hunter‘s first home run of his second stint with the Twins highlighted Minnesota’s victory over the Indians yesterday. Hunter made his major-league debut with the Twins in 1997 and he hit a total of 192 home runs for them before leaving as a free agent after the 2007 season. Hunter slugged 139 home runs for the Angels and Tigers during his six seasons away from Minnesota. No other player has homered more than 75 times for other major-league teams between hitting home runs for the Twins. Source – ELIAS
Another extra-inning walkoff for Plouffe versus Cleveland
Trevor Plouffe sent Twins fans home happy last night after launching a walkoff homer in the 11th inning against the Indians. Plouffe’s game-winning hit marked the second time he recorded a game-ending RBI versus Cleveland in extra-innings, the third-baseman had a walkoff single in the 10th inning against the Indians on September 19, 2014. Two other active players have recorded multiple walkoff RBIs in extra-innings versus Cleveland – Justin Morneau and Jeff Mathis (each player has two such RBIs). Source – ELIAS
Twins are first team to beat the Royals in 2015
The Twins defeated the Royals on last night and handed Kansas City (now 7-1) its first loss of the season. Since the franchise moved to Minnesota for the 1961 season, the Twins had never before defeated an opponent that was undefeated at least five games into its season. They recorded wins over that span against three teams that were 4-0: the 1992 Rangers, 1996 Orioles and 2004 Tigers.