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
Hector Santiago improved to 4-1 with a 2.76 earned-run average after another solid outing in the Twins’ win over the White Sox. Teammate Ervin Santana is 5-1 with a 1.72 ERA in seven starts this season. The last pair of Twins teammates to both start 4-1 or better with an ERA under 3.00 in their first seven start of a season were Jim Kaat (6-1, 1.11 ERA) and Bert Blyleven (4-1, 2.63) in 1972.
Holy Cow! How sad is that? That is 45 years ago!
Chris Sale struck out 10 batters in 6 innings yesterday, improving to 3–2 in the Red Sox’ 17–6 win at Minnesota. Sale’s MLB-leading total of 73 strikeouts this season is the highest in a pitcher’s first seven appearances of a season since 2002, when Curt Schilling, pitching for the Diamondbacks, struck out 75 batters in his first seven starts.
Impressive as Sale’s achievement is, we don’t want to overlook the rarity of Boston’s 10-run ninth inning. It was the latest double-digit inning by the Red Sox or against the Twins in the history of either franchise. That includes 60 seasons by the Washington Senators before they moved to Minnesota.
The Twins walked off with a victory against the Red Sox last night thanks to a game-ending home run by Joe Mauer, the first walk-off bomb of his major-league career. Mauer had three walk-off RBIs with the Twins prior to Friday, but he has generally struggled in potential walk-off situations. Before his homer, Mauer had batted .176 in at-bats with the potential to record a game-ending RBI, with no extra-base hits in 68 at-bats of that kind prior to Friday.
Designated hitter lives up to his title
Kennys Vargas drove in five runs in the Twins’ win over the Athletics on Wednesday. The only other DHs to have a five-RBI game this season were Shin-Soo Choo (April 16) and Nelson Cruz (April 23).
Santana remains nearly untouchable
Ervin Santana threw six shutout innings in the Twins’ 9–1 home win over the Athletics. In six starts this season, Santana has held the opposition scoreless three times and allowed exactly one run in each of the other three. Santana is the second pitcher in franchise history to allow no more than one run in each of his first six starts of a season. Walter Johnson started 1913 with a streak of seven straight such starts for the Washington Senators (4 complete-game shutouts and three starts with one run.)
Sano makes the most of a quick trip to KC
Miguel Sano, who drove in four runs in the series opener on Friday, went 3-for-5 with five RBIs in the second and final game of the series, as the Twins extended the Royals’ losing streak to nine games with a 7–5 win on Sunday. Admittedly, two-game series aren’t common. (Saturday’s scheduled game at Kansas City was rained out.) But even on a day when Anthony Rendon drove in 10 runs in one game, Sano’s nine RBIs over in the Twins-Royals series merits mention. It was the highest total in a two-game set since Scott Rolen drove in nine runs for the Cardinals against the Giants in September 2006.
Twins’ duo helps team climb back
Miguel Sano and Joe Mauer each hit two-run doubles in the eighth inning to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 Twins’ lead, and they went on to win by that same score in Kansas City on Friday. The last time the Twins won a road game in which they trailed by two-or-more runs in the eighth inning or later was on August 21, 2015 at Baltimore. They came back from two runs down in the eighth to win, 4-3.
Santana off to a stellar start for the Twins
Ervin Santana allowed one run in seven innings of work leading the Twins to an 8-1 win over the Rangers on Tuesday. Santana is 4-0 with a 0.77 ERA in five starts for Minnesota this season. No other Twins pitcher had an ERA below 1.00 through five starts of a season since the club began playing in Minnesota in 1961. Prior to this season, the lowest ERA produced by a Twins pitcher through five starts during their time in Minnesota was 1.07 by Jim Perry in 1965.
Brian Dozier’s three-run double provided all the runs the Twins would need in their 3–2 win over the Rangers on Monday. Dozier entered the game with a .122 batting average (5 for 41) with the bases loaded, with only one extra-base hit. The only active player with a lower bases-full batting average (minimum: 40 plate appearances) was Tyler Flowers (.111), although Dozier has now jumped ahead of Justin Smoak (.123).
By the way, lots of interesting things happened on this day in Twins history, stop by Today in Twins History page to learn more.
You’d think the Tigers were in safe territory with Justin Verlander taking a 3–0 lead to the bottom of the sixth at Minnesota. But the Minnesota Twins rallied for six runs, four were charged to Verlander and held on for a 6–3 victory last night at Target Field. Coming into the game, Verlander had a 129–5 record when staked to a lead of three or more runs (11 no-decisions).