Category: According to Elias

According to Elias

Carl Pavano

“Carl Pavano overcame a rough start to pitch the Twins to a 7-3 victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Monday night. Pavano allowed a home run to each of the first two batters he faced – Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson – but bounced back to pitch seven strong innings and earn the victory. Over the last 40 years, only three other pitchers have pitched at least seven innings and earned a victory after allowing a home run to the first two batters they faced: Houston’s Joe Niekro on July 5, 1982, Atlanta’s Doyle Alexander on June 20, 1987, and the Mets’ Pete Smith on June 22, 1994.” Source: Elias

According to Elias

The Twins, who lost their home opener on Monday to the Angels, 5-1, became only the third major-league team in the past 40 years to begin a season with four consecutive losses while scoring two or fewer runs in each game. The other teams to do that over the last four decades were the 1988 Orioles (who started the season with 21 consecutive losses on the way to a 54-107 record) and the 2003 Tigers (who finished 43-119, the worst record for any major-league team since the 1962 Mets).

With the Atlanta Braves beating the Houston Astros 6-4 on Tuesday night, the Twins are now the only team in major league baseball without a win.

Pavano’s Walkoff Shutout

Carl Pavano

September 29, 2011 – The Twins beat the Royals, 1-0, when Trevor Plouffe singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning. That earned a shutout victory for Carl Pavano, who allowed only five hits and did not walk a batter. Pavano is the first Minnesota pitcher to get a shutout in a walk-off win since August 26, 1992, when John Smiley beat the Tigers 1-0 courtesy of a walk-off home run in the ninth inning by Brian Harper. Over the last six seasons the only other major-league pitchers with “walk-off shutouts” were Jamie Shields (May 9, 2008) and Yovani Gallardo (May 28, 2010). Source – Elias

Tosoni delivers

Rene Tosoni

September 23, 2011 – Rookie outfielder Rene Tosoni doubled home the winning run from first base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to earn the Twins a 3-2 victory over the Mariners which ended Minnesota’s 11-game losing streak. He was the first major-league player to end a losing streak of 11 games or more with a walk-off RBI since Aug. 22, 2006, when Adrian Beltre hit a walk-off homer to end an 11-game losing streak by the Mariners. Tosoni was the first rookie to end a losing streak of at least 11 games with a walk-off RBI since July 14, 1998, when Miguel Cairo hit a game-ending single to snap an 11-game losing streak by the Devil Rays in their inaugural season. Source: Elias

Buehrle tough on Twins

Mark Buehrle

August 30, 2011 – Mark Buehrle allowed four hits in seven and two-thirds innings in the White Sox 3-0 victory over the Twins. That lowered Buehrle’s ERA against Minnesota to 0.29 this season. No pitcher has ever finished a season with an ERA that low against the Twins or their predecessor, the Washington Senators (minimum: 3 starts). Buehrle could face Minnesota once more this season, during a four-game series at Target Field next week. Source Elias

That is bad!

August 25, 2011 – The Twins were shut out by the Yankees in Target Field on Sunday and then lost three straight games to the Orioles at Target Field, by scores of 4-1, 8-1 and 6-1. According to Elias it’s the first time in more than a century that the Twins franchise lost four straight games, all at home, while scoring no more than one run in each game. That had last happened in September 1909, when the Washington Senators dropped five straight games of that type. The 1909 Senators finished 42-110, hopefully the 2011 Twins can beat that mark.

Blackburn’s 127 pitches

Nick Blackburn

May 26, 2011 – Nick Blackburn threw 127 pitches in a complete-game win against the Mariners on Tuesday, May 24. That’s the third-most pitches thrown in one game for Minnesota since Ron Gardenhire became their manager in 2002. Eric Milton threw 131 in 2002 and Kenny Rogers matched that total a year later. Source: Elias

Congratulations to Francisco Liriano on his No-Hitter

May 3, 2011 – Francisco Liriano no-hits the Chicago White Sox 1-0 at on a chilly night at U.S. Cellular Field. Liriano entered the game with a 1-4 record and a 9.13 ERA. Liriano faced 30 batters, walking six and threw 123 pitches, 66 for strikes. Liriano only struck out two White Sox batters. According to Francisco, he has never pitched a complete game, not even in the minors where some games are 7 only innings.

Update – More on No-Hitter – from ELIAS

His 9.13 ERA entering the game was the highest for any pitcher coming into a start in which he threw a no-hitter (minimum of five starts). The previous high was St. Louis’ Jose Jimenez’ 6.69 ERA when he threw his no-hitter, June 25, 1999 against Arizona.

His mound opponent, Edwin Jackson, threw a no-hitter last season. Liriano became the first pitcher in Major League history to throw a no-hitter against an opposing starter who had thrown a no-hitter the season before.

Liriano became just the second left-handed pitcher to throw a no-hitter against the White Sox in Chicago, the other being Jesse Tannehill for Boston in 1904.

Liriano walked six and struck out two, becoming the second pitcher since 1900 with four more walks than strikeouts.

Liriano’s two strikeouts were the fewest for a pitcher in a no-hitter since the Dodgers’ Jerry Reuss struck out two San Francisco Giants in his no-hitter in 1980.

Liriano became the fifth pitcher born in the Dominican Republic to throw a no-hitter, the others being Juan Marichal (1963), Ramon Martinez (1995), Jose Jimenez (1999) and Ubaldo Jimenez (2010).

Ben Zobrist: a day (and night) to Remember

Ben Zobrist

April 29, 2011 – Tampa second baseman Ben Zobrist entered play on Thursday having driven in eight runs over his last three games and he matched that total, going 4-for-6 with eight RBI in the Rays’ 15-3 victory in the first game of a day/night doubleheader at Minnesota. Zobrist’s eight RBI on Thursday afternoon matched the highest single-game total by a second baseman in the last 60 years. The other keystoners to do that since 1951 were the Angels’ Adam Kennedy on April 18, 2000 and the Rockies’ Ronnie Belliard on Sept. 23, 2003.

Zobrist then went 3-for-4 with two RBI in the night game, finishing with seven hits and ten RBIs in the Rays’ day/night two-game sweep of the Twins. Since baseball began officially recording RBI in 1920, only three other major-league players amassed at least seven hits and ten RBI in one day: the Cardinals’ Jim Bottomley (July 6, 1929: 7 hits, 11 RBI), the Tigers’ Pete Fox (June 30, 1935: 8 hits, 10 RBI) and the Padres’ Nate Colbert (Aug. 1, 1972: 7 hits, 13 RBI).

Zobrist now has recorded 18 runs batted in over his last five games. Over the last 40 years, the only other major-league players to drive in that many runs over a five-game span were Sammy Sosa in August 2002 (a high of 20 RBI, and two sets of 18 in three overlapping five-game stretches) and Steve Finley in May/June 1999 (18) . Source: ELIAS

Did you know?

October 11, 2010 – Don’t tell anybody but Minnesota’s home town hero Twins catcher Joe Mauer has lost each of the nine postseason games he’s played in his major-league career. Three other men have played on the losing team in at least nine postseason games without ever playing in a postseason win: Jody Reed (0-11), Don McMahon (0-10) and Leo Cardenas (0-9). Source: Elias