Category: According to Elias

According to ELIAS – Kennys Vargas

Orioles lose first home series of the season

Kennys Vargas

The Twins scored three first-inning runs, including a two-run single from Kennys Vargas, and never looked back to complete a three-game sweep of the Orioles at Camden Yards yesterday. Entering their series with Minnesota, the Orioles had won each of their first seven home series this season. Over the last 10 seasons (since 2008), only one other team won their first seven home series to start a season: the 2014 Rockies (also a streak of seven). The Orioles had never had such a home streak of this length to start a season in franchise history before the 2017 campaign.

According to ELIAS – Ervin Santana

Two-hit shutout for Santana

Ervin Santana

Ervin Santana threw a two-hit shutout for the Twins against the Orioles last night, improving to 7-2 with a 1.80 ERA in ten starts this season. Since the franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961, only two Twins pitchers had an ERA that low through their first ten starts of a season: Francisco Liriano was 9-1 with a 1.36 ERA in his first ten starts in 2006 and Scott Erickson was 7-2 with a 1.63 ERA in his first ten starts in 1991.

Santana also improved to 4-0 in four road starts this season. His teammate Phil Hughes has also won his first four road starts this year. It’s just the third time in Twins franchise history that two pitchers each won their first four road starts of a season. It happened in 1913 with Walter Johnson (won first five road starts) and Joe Boehling (four), and in 1979 with Jerry Koosman (five) and Geoff Zahn (five).

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Anthony Swarzak

Only one major league debut as a Minnesota Twins player on May 23 and that is our old buddy Anthony Swarzak who is currently pitching for the Mighty Whities and having a career year.

Anthony Swarzak

Anthony Swarzak (P) – May 23, 2009 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 2004 MLB June Amateur Draft. Swarzak became the first Twins pitcher to start a game and pitch 7 scoreless innings in his major league debut earning him his first big league win in a Twins 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at the Metrodome.

To see other Major League Debut’s as Minnesota Twins

According to ELIAS – Miguel Sano and a great come-back win

Twins storm back against Orioles

The Twins spotted the Orioles a 5–0 lead last night but came roaring back to win in Baltimore, 14–7. It’s the first time the Twins won a game by at least five runs after trailing by five or more runs in over 18 years, since a 13–8 win in Cleveland on April 17, 1999, in which they trailed by six runs at one point.

Sano is a bona fide slugger (you think?)

Miguel Sano

Miguel Sano slammed his 11th home run of the season and drove in three runs, bringing his season total to 37 RBIs in 40 games. The only other players in Twins history, including their days as the Washington Senators, to have as many homers and RBIs as Sano in their first 40 games of a season were Larry Hisle in 1977 (11 HR, 42 RBIs) and Joe Mauer in 2009 (13 HR, 40 RBIs).

According to ELIAS

Perez thriving at Target Field

Salvador Perez’s two-run home run in the second inning got the Royals off and running in the team’s 6-4 victory in the first game of a doubleheader in Minnesota on Sunday. Perez also went deep twice in Kansas City’s defeat in the second game of the double dip. Perez has now hit 14 home runs in 200 at bats at Target Field in his career, the second-best home run ratio (one HR every 14.3 AB) among players with at least 150 at bats in Minnesota’s current home, behind Jim Thome (one HR every 11.8 AB). Perez has averaged one home run for every 29.8 at bats in all other stadiums in his career.

Kennedy allows two homers in the first

Robbie Grossman
Max Kepler

Robbie Grossman and Max Kepler each hit two-run home runs off of Ian Kennedy in the first inning in the Twins’ 8-4 win over the Royals in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday. It’s the first time Kennedy allowed multiple home runs in the first inning in the 244 starts he has made in his career.

According to ELIAS – Kennys Vargas & Jorge Polano

Twins come back late against Royals

Kennys Vargas

The Twins improved to 6–0 against the Royals this season after walking off with a victory over Kansas City last night. Jorge Polanco’s sacrifice fly drove in the winning run for the Twins in the 10th inning after Kennys Vargas hit a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to force extras. Entering Friday, the Twins had lost their last 138 games in which they trailed in the ninth inning or later, which was by far the longest such active losing streak in the majors. The Braves now own the longest active losing streak of that kind, having lost their last 58 games in which they trailed in the ninth inning or later.

According to ELIAS – Jose Berrios

Berrios pitches deep into another victory

Jose Berrios

Jose Berrios allowed two hits over 7.2 innings to earn his second win is as many starts this season as the Twins defeated the Rockies, 2–0, to gain a split of their doubleheader yesterday. Berrios, who allowed only one run in 7.2 innings in his season debut against the Indians last weekend, is only the third Twins pitcher in the last 30 seasons to pitch into the eighth inning and win each of his first two appearances of a season. The others were Brad Radke (2001) and Andrew Albers (2013).

According to ELIAS – Jose Berrios

It’s a new year and a new Berrios

Jose Berrios

Jose Berrios, making his 2017 major-league debut, allowed one run on two hits over 7.2 innings to earn the victory in the Twins’ 4–1 win at Cleveland yesterday afternoon. Last season, Berrios’ total of 14 starts was the highest by any AL pitcher who did not face a batter in the seventh inning or later as a starting pitcher.

According to ELIAS – Sano & Santana

Sano and Santana combine for first-of-a-kind Twins win

Ervin Santana

The Twins’ two best players this season, Miguel Sano and Ervin Santana, were the stars of a 1-0 victory for Paul Molitor’s squad in Cleveland last night. Sano’s first-inning home run, his 10th homer of the season, provided the game’s only run while Santana went seven innings to lower his ERA to 1.50. That’s the lowest ERA for a Minnesota pitcher through his first eight starts of a season since Scott Erickson began the 1991 season at 1.44 through eight starts. Erickson went on to win 20 games that season and the Twins went on to win the World Series.

Miguel Sano

How often do you see a 1-0 game in which the only run comes on a first-inning homer? Well, there were no such games in the major leagues all of last season and only one in 2015 (Albert Pujols supplied the home run against the A’s on June 13 of that year, and C.J. Wilson earned the victory). Moreover, it was the first 1-0 victory featuring a first-inning home run in the history of the franchise, dating back to its beginnings in Washington in 1901.

According to ELIAS – Miguel Sano

Sano homers on his birthday in consecutive years

Miguel Sano

Miguel Sano hit a home run on his birthday last year and did it again last night against the White Sox. Six other active players homered on their birthday in consecutive seasons: Dustin Pedroia (2007–08), Mark Reynolds (2009–10), Mike Trout (2012–13), Trevor Plouffe (2012–13), Brandon Phillips (2014–15) and Nelson Cruz (2014–15).