Rookie Samuel Deduno earned the win for the Twins Saturday night by throwing seven innings and allowing only two hits. That performance came one game after fellow Twins rookie Scott Diamond earned a win by throwing nine innings and allowing only three hits. The last time a major-league team had rookies throw back-to-back games in which they both pitched at least seven innings and allowed no more than three hits was the Pirates in July 2000 (Jimmy Anderson and Bronson Arroyo). The last American League team to do it was the Rangers in a doubleheader on July 26, 1973 (Jim Bibby and David Clyde).
Liriano now a Chicago White Sox
Who would have thunk it? The Twins have traded Francisco Liriano within the AL Central Division to the Chicago White Sox for minor league pitcher Pedro Hernandez and infielder Eduardo Escobar. I have not seen any previous reports of the Mighty Whities interest in Liriano but that is how these trades often happen, all the rumors of interested teams are just that, rumors. At first blush it does not appear like the Twins received much in return but time will tell, we will just have to wait and see. Then again it is not like the Twins traded a superstar, Liriano had to be traded and obviously the Twins don’t think that moving him to Chicago will hurt them long-term.
So what did the Twins get for Liriano? They received 23-year-old lefty Pedro Hernandez. Hernandez is just 5’10” and goes about 200 and was signed by the San Diego Padres as an amateur free agent in 2006 and was traded to the White Sox this past winter in the Carlos Quentin deal. Hernandez has one big league game under his belt when the White Sox called him up for one start just 10 days ago against the Red Sox but it was not a pleasant experience for Hernandez who lasted just 4 innings giving up 12 hits, 3 home runs and 8 earned runs. In his 6 minor league seasons, Hernandez has 33-13 record with a 3.42 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Hernandez is not a strikeout pitcher and has given up 453 hits in 428.1 innings. Not exactly what I was hoping to get in return for Liriano but he is left-handed and is only 23 years old.
The other player that the Twins received for Liriano was 23-year-old switch hitting 2B/SS/3B Eduardo Escobar. Escobar was signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 2006. Escobar appeared in 9 games with the White Sox in 2011 and in 35 games this season. In the minors, Escobar played mainly at SS and 2B but with the White Sox this season he played primarily at 3B although he also played a few games at SS and 2B and even appeared in the outfield for a game. In his 89 big league at bats over two seasons, Escobar hit for a .202 average with no home runs and 2 stolen bases.
Swarzak to the DL and Luis Perdomo called up
The Twins are sending reliever Anthony Swarzak to the DL due to a strained rotor cuff and calling up reliever Luis Perdomo from Rochester. The 28-year-old Perdomo was promoted from New Britain to Rochester earlier this season and since his promotion Perdomo is 2-1 with 7 saves and an ERA 0.92 in 19+ innings. During his stay in Rochester, Perdomo has struck out 18 and walked 2.
Perdomo was the Twins Minor League Player of the week earlier this month. The 28-year old Perdomo was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Cleveland Indians in 2003 but since then has been with the Cardinals, Giants, and Padres before signing as a FA with Minnesota this past November. Luis has been in the minors for 7 seasons posting a 21-30 record with a 3.41 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP and strikes out about 8.6 batters per 9 innings. Perdomo has pitched in the big leagues with the Padres in 2009 appearing in 35 games and in 2010 but that season he pitched in just one game. When Perdomo pitches in a Twins game, he will be the 23rd pitcher Minnesota has used this season (not counting Drew Butera).
Welcome to Minnesota Luis Perdomo.
According to Elias
The Twins bullpen collapsed last night, allowing four runs in the seventh inning and five in the eighth as the White Sox rallied for an 11-4 victory. It was the third time this month that Minnesota’s hard-luck starter, Cole De Vries, left a game in line for a victory only to see his teammates squander the lead. That total ties De Vries for third most in the AL for the entire season.
This Day in Twins History – July 25, 1977
Coming off a double header sweep (with the 2nd game going 12 innings) of the A’s the day before, the Twins are again going up against the boys from Oakland at Met Stadium. The game goes 11 innings before the Twins prevail 2-1 on a bases loaded single by Larry Hisle. But, the real story of the game is Twins starter Dave Goltz who pitches all 11 innings throwing 180 pitches. Goltz improves his record to 12-6 as he faces 41 batters giving up 8 hits and walking 1 while striking out 14 Oakland A’s. In spite of all of this, the game is over in 2 hours and 39 minutes. Goltz goes on to finish the season with a 20-11 record and 303 innings pitched in 39 starts and a 3.36 ERA. The SABR bio for Mr. Goltz can be found here. Box score
Check out the other events that happened on July 25th by going to the Today in Twins History page.
This Day in Twins History – July 23, 1961
Minnesota catcher Earl Battey is beaned in the 7th inning by Cleveland Indians pitcher Bobby Locke at Met Stadium, fracturing his cheek. Battey returns to action less than two weeks later at Yankee Stadium on August 4th wearing a special batting helmet. Back in the day, players were tough. Be sure to check out the SABR Biography piece on Battey here.
Twins Minor League Player of the Week
New Britain outfielder Oswaldo Arcia is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for July 15-21. Arcia appeared in eight games for the Rock Cats hitting .370 (10-for-27) with two doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI while scoring eight runs. The 21-year-old Venezuelan, was signed by the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in 2007, he was ranked by Baseball America as the fifth best prospect in the system prior to the 2012 season.
The left-handed hitting Arcia started the season in Ft. Myers playing in 55 games before being promoted to New Britain where he has played in 29 games. In 2012 Arcia has 356 plate appearances and is hitting .312 with 12 home runs and 63 RBI’s. Arcia who is willing to take a free pass, has walked 31 times and has a .901 OPS.
Arcia was signed by the Twins at the age of 16 and is in his 5th season of pro ball. Arcia played for the “World” team in the 2012 Futures game and went 1 for 2 with a double.
According to Elias
Joe Mauer led off the 11th inning with a double and scored moments later on Josh Willingham’s single and the Twins took a 2-1 decision in Kansas City. In a tight game when the offense has to do something to win, there has been none better in recent years than Mauer, who, over the last three seasons, is now batting .365 (50 for 137) in Late-Inning Pressure Situations-those spots in the seventh inning or later in which the score is tied or the team at bat trails by up to three runs (or four runs if there are at least two runners on base). Mauer’s .365 batting average is the best in the big leagues over that stretch among more than 300 players who have had at least 100 at-bats in those situations.
According to Elias
Francisco Liriano struck out 15 batters against the Athletics on Friday night and had 10 more strikeouts on Wednesday night against the Orioles, but he took the loss in each game. The only other major-league pitcher in the last 13 seasons (2000-2012) to lose back-to-back starts despite registering 25 or more strikeouts over those two games was Randy Johnson with the 2004 Diamondbacks. In August of that year Johnson had 14 strikeouts against the Reds and then 11 versus the Pirates and he was 0-2 in those games.
This Day in Twins History – July 18, 1962
Minnesota is the first AL club to hit 2 grand slams in one inning when Bob Allison (off Barry Latman) and Harmon Killebrew (off Jim Perry) connect in a club-record, 11-run first inning, against Cleveland. The Twins and Dick Stigman coasted home 14-3. I was fishing on the St. Croix River that day listening to the game on my transistor radio and remember it like it happened yesterday. Box score
Don’t forget to bookmark our Today in Twins History page so you can check back day after day to learn more about the Minnesota Twins and their glorious past.