Category: According to Elias

Elias says

October 7, 2010 – Twins take the lead, Yankees come back and win – same old script. The Yankees have won seven consecutive postseason games against the Twins, despite the Twins owning a lead in all seven games. That’s the longest such winning streak in postseason history. The next best belongs to the Indians, who won five straight games in that fashion against the Red Sox from 1998 to 1999.

October 9, 2010 – The bad news for Twins fans is that the team extended its postseason losing streak to 11 games on Thursday; the good news is that they cannot, this year, equal the major league record of consecutive postseason losses. The Red Sox lost 13 consecutive postseason games from 1986 to 1995, a streak that started with the Bill Buckner game.

The Twins did match 1 major-league record on Thursday night. The team that won World Series in both 1987 and 1991 by going a combined 8-0 at home has now lost its last 10 postseason home games (a streak that began in 2002); that ties the record set by the Phillies in a streak that lasted from 1915 to 1978 (or from Woodrow Wilson to Jimmy Carter).

Gardy wins game number 800

September 21, 2010 – Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire won his 800th game today in the Twins 6-4 win over Cleveland and now has a career record as a manager of 800-648. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last manager to reach 800 wins in 1,448 decisions or fewer was Davey Johnson. Johnson reached 800 wins in 1996 in his 1389th decision (800-589). The active manager with the fewest decisions to 800 career wins is Mike Scioscia (1452 decisions, 800-652). Congratulation to Gardy on a job well done!

According to Elias

July 23, 2010 – The Twins defeated the Orioles, 5-0 on Thursday, raising their record against Kevin Millwood to 9-0. That’s the most victories without a loss by any team against an active pitcher, breaking a tie with the Dodgers, who are 8-0 against Matt Cain. The Senators/Twins franchise won its first nine or more decisions against only three other pitchers: Sid Monge (their first 10, 1975-1981), Ted Blankenship (1922-1925), and Gordon Rhodes (1929-1933).

According to Elias

June 27, 2010 – Carl Pavano tossed a three-hitter yesterday as the Twins easily defeated the Mets, 6-0, in New York, just six days after he had thrown a four-hitter in a 4-1 victory in Philadelphia. Oh, yes, did we mention that Pavano defeated past Cy Young Award winners in each of those games? Johan Santana took the loss on Saturday, after Pavano had downed Roy Halladay last Sunday.

Pavano is the first major leaguer in more than 20 years to earn consecutive complete-game victories, both on the road, over past Cy Young Award winners. The last pitcher to do it was Houston’s Jim Deshaies, who in 1989 threw consecutive complete-game wins, defeating Dwight Gooden at Shea Stadium and Rick Sutcliffe at Wrigley Field.

By the way, Pavano also had two singles against the Mets, although neither was involved in any run-scoring by the Twins. He became the first American League pitcher in the DH era to throw a complete-game shutout and get at least two hits in the same game. The last A.L. pitcher to do that was Clyde Wright of the Angels against the Rangers on Sept. 14, 1972.

 

Baker on a roll

Scott Baker

Scott Baker pitched five scoreless innings to lead the Twins to a 4-1 victory over the Tigers yesterday afternoon. It marked the third consecutive start that Baker has not allowed an earned run. Over the last 35 seasons, only two other Twins pitchers have had a streak of three consecutive starts without allowing an earned run in a single season. Francisco Liriano had two three-game streaks in 2010 and Johan Santana did it in four straight starts in 2004. Source: Elias

Rangers show Twins no mercy

The Rangers scored three runs in each of the first three innings, then added five runs in the fourth inning and four more in the fifth inning, on their way to a 20-6 win over the Twins yesterday. Only two other teams since 1900 scored three-or-more runs in each of the first five innings of a game: the 1900 Phillies (July 13 vs. Pirates) and 1991 Athletics (September 29 vs. Rangers). The Rangers also became only the third team in American League history to have seven different players with three or more hits in a nine-inning game. The others were the 1939 Yankees and 1955 White Sox, who each coincidentally did so against the Athletics. Source: Elias

Homers fly as temps soar at target Field

Asdrubal Cabrera and Austin Kearns homered in the Indians’ 5-2 win at Minnesota (first game of double-header), where the game-time temperature was 90 degrees. It was only the third time that the Twins hosted a game at Target Field for which the first-pitch temperature was in the 90s, and a total of nine home runs were hit in those three games. The average in the other 123 games at Target Field has been 1.5 home runs. Source – Elias

Some interesting numbers

From Elias, A comparison of this season’s “first-half” statistics with the numbers at the break in past seasons:

In 2011, teams have averaged 8.4 runs per game. In 2010 it was 8.9, 9.2 in 2009, 9.1 in 2008, 9.4 in 2007 and 9.8 in 2006. 2011 is the lowest since 1992.

In 2011, teams have averaged 1.8 home runs per game. In 2010 it was 1.9, 2.1 in 2009, 2.0 in 2008 and 2007 and 2.2 in 2006. 2011 is the lowest since 1993.

In 2011, teams have averaged 1.3 stolen bases per game. In 2010 it was 1.2, 1.3 in 2009, 1.2 in 2008 and 2007 and 1.1 in 2006. 2011 is the highest since 1999.

In 2011, teams have a batting average of .253. In 2010 it was .259, .261 in 2009 and 2008, .264 in 2007 and .269 in 2006. 2011 is the lowest since 1972.*

In 2011, teams have averaged 6.3 walks per game. In 2010 it was 6.6, 7.0 in 2009, 6.8 in 2008 and 6.6 in 2007 and 2006. 2011 is the lowest since 1972.*

In 2011, teams have averaged 13.92 strikeouts per game. In 2010 it was 13.89, 13.6 in 2009, 13.3 in 2008, 13.0 in 2007 and 12.8 in 2006. 2011 is the highest ever.

*the American League adopted the DH the following season (1973)

Twins lose late

Michael Cuddyer’s home run in the bottom of the seventh inning tied the game, 5-5, but Tampa Bay scored four runs in the eighth inning and three more in the ninth to beat Minnesota 12-5. The Twins franchise has had only one larger margin of defeat in the past 75 years in a game it was leading or tied heading into the eighth inning. That was a 12-4 loss to the Royals in August 1995, during which the bullpen allowed nine runs over the final two innings, squandering a 4-3 lead. Source – Elias

Ducks on the Pond

Danny Valencia

Danny Valencia drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning (and a third run crossed the plate on the same play as a result of an error) to lift the Twins to a 9-7 win over the Brewers yesterday. Valencia has eight hits, including two homers, in 13 at-bats (.615) with the bags full during his two seasons in the majors. Over the last two seasons, only Vladimir Guerrero (.631, 12-for-19) has a higher bases-loaded batting average than Valencia (minimum: 8 bases-loaded hits). Source – Elias