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
Joe Mauer knocked out a first-inning homer off Doug Fister, propelling the Twins to a 3-2 victory in Detroit. Less than 20 hours earlier, Mauer’s one-out, ninth-inning single had broken up a potential no-hitter by Anibal Sanchez. You have to go back 44 years to find the last time that a major-league player broke up a no-hitter in the ninth inning in one game, and then hit a first-inning home run in his next game. And the Tigers were the victims then, too. On May 31, 1969, Detroit’s Joe Sparma took a no-hitter into the ninth inning at Seattle, but the Pilots’ Don Mincher spoiled things with a one-out double; Sparma finished with a one-hitter, winning the game, 3-2. The next day, Mincher’s two-run, first-inning homer off Earl Wilson helped the Pilots win, 8-7.
Joe Mauer‘s single was the only hit for the Twins last night in Detroit off starter Anibal Sanchez, marking the third time in his career that Mauer had one base hit and his teammates had none. That’s tied for the most such “one-hitters” among active players. Jerry Hairston Jr. and Michael Young also have played three games in which they got their team’s lone hit in a one-hitter. Mauer had previously broken up no-hitters in the ninth inning off Neftali Feliz on August 23, 2010 at Texas as he tried to finish off a combined no-hitter started by Rich Harden and again off Gavin Floyd of the White Sox in Chicago on May 6, 2008.
Joe Mauer went 0-for-4 in the Twins’ rain-delayed loss to the Red Sox yesterday. It snapped a unique 15-game hitting streak for Mauer, who struck out at least once in each game during that streak. Mauer is the only player since 1910 (when the major leagues officially began keeping track of strikeouts by batters) to fashion a streak of more than 11 straight games in which he had both hits and strikeouts.
Aaron Hicks, in Monday’s win against the White Sox, became the first Twins’ rookie in 14 years to hit a home run in each of back-to-back plate appearances of one game. Corey Koskie went deep in consecutive trips to the plate at Tiger Stadium on April 15, 1999.
But maybe even more important was his play in the field. Hicks reached over the center field fence in the sixth inning and snatched a potential game-tying home run by Adam Dunn to end the inning.
Oswaldo Arcia celebrated his 22nd birthday with a home run and a triple, helping the Twins defeat the Red Sox in Boston, 5-3. Arcia joined Yogi Berra as the youngest players to homer at Fenway Park on their birthdays. Berra did so at age 22 in 1947, in a game the Yankees lost, 4-3, when Boston scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to overcome a 3-1 deficit. Ted Williams is next on that list; he marked his 23rd birthday with a home run at Fenway against the Philadelphia Athletics in 1941.
The Twins scored four runs in the top of the first inning last night at Fenway Park, the Red Sox countered with a five-run bottom of the first only to see the Twins raise them by scoring seven runs in the top of the second. This was only the second game in major-league history in which a team scored at least four runs in the top of the first, the home team then scored more runs in the bottom of the first, which was then topped by the road team in the top of the second. The only other game with such an odd line score was played on September 9, 1894 between the Brooklyn Grooms and St. Louis Browns in the second game of a doubleheader. Brooklyn scored four runs in the top of the first, St. Louis responded with five runs in the bottom of the first and then Brooklyn came up with six runs in the top of the second inning. The Twins ended up winning the game 15-8.
Detroit Tigers hurler Justin Verlander went seven innings and earned the victory in the Tigers’ 4-1 win over the Twins, marking his eighth win in his last eight starts against Minnesota. Verlander is the first pitcher to be credited with wins in each of eight straight starts against the Twins since David Wells put together a nine-wins-in-nine-starts stretch from 1996 to 2000. Only one other active major-league pitcher has won his last eight starts against one opponent: New York Yankees CC Sabathia against Seattle.
Kevin Correia hurled eight shutout innings and earned the victory in the Twins’ 5-0 win over the Rangers yesterday afternoon. Correia has now pitched at least seven innings and allowed three or fewer runs in each of his five starts this season. Since the Twins moved to Minnesota in 1961, they have had only three other pitchers that have opened a season with five consecutive starts with at least seven innings pitched and three or fewer runs allowed: Jim Perry in 1965 (first five), Scott Erickson in 1991 (first seven) and Brad Radke in 2001 (first seven).
Cedar Rapids Kernels (Single-A) outfielder Adam Walker is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week. In five games, Walker, 21, batted .455 (10-for-22) with one double, one triple, four home runs and 13 RBI’s. In 2013, Walker, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin native who is playing for his first full season team is hitting .310 with 14 runs scored, six home runs and 25 RBI’s in 19 games.
After he was drafted by the Twins in the third round of the 2012 Draft from Jacksonville University, the 6’4″, 225 pound right-handed hitting outfielder shared the Appalachian League lead with 15 homers for Rookie-level Elizabethton. He hit three more in the postseason, none more important than a game-tying three-run blast in the bottom of the ninth inning of the decisive Game 3 of the Championship Series against Burlington, a contest the Twins won on Dalton Hicks‘ walk-off grand slam. Previous winners this season include right-handed pitcher Tyler Duffey in week 1 and infielder Miguel Sano in week 2.
By the way – Each of the Twins four minor league affiliates have won their last three games.
Aaron Hicks
According to Elias – Aaron Hicks finally stroked his first major-league extra-base hit, a two-run double in the eighth inning of the Twins’ 7-2 home win over the Rangers yesterday. Hicks thus ended a streak of 64 straight at-bats without an XBH to start his career, the second-longest by any Twins position-player since the team relocated from Washington in 1961. Catcher Tom Tischinski didn’t record more than a single in any of his first 90 big-league at-bats in 1969 and 1970.
Starting tomorrow, the Twins will begin their longest road trip of 2013, playing 10 games in 11 days with stops in Detroit (April 29-May 1), Cleveland (May 3-5) and Boston (May 6-9). So far in 2013 the Twins are 6-6 at home and 4-4 on the road.
Max Kepler update – Star prospect Max Kepler remains on the shelf in Ft. Myers with a left elbow strain and remains shutdown for another month. Kepler, who has never suffered any serious injuries in his short career is reported to be chomping at the bit to start playing some baseball but the Twins are not going to put a young prospect like Kepler at risk of long-term injury. Having said that, there is discussion about sending Kepler to Cedar Rapids and have him DH even if he can’t play in the field.
Oswaldo Arcia, a 21-year old rookie, hit the first home run of the season by a Twins designated hitter in Minnesota’s afternoon win over Miami yesterday at Target Field in game one of the doubleheader. Monday’s game at Target Field was postponed due to cold weather and expected snow and required the Twins and Marlins to play a doubleheader. It ended up snowing about 3 inches on Monday evening and through out the night. Additional info on the snow removal during the night to prepare the ballpark for play can be found here. That leaves Detroit as the only American League team without a home run by a designated hitter this season. Over the last 10 years, the only other player to hit a home run for the Twins before turning 22 is Joe Mauer (7 times). Source: Elias
