The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 29 – Twins losing streak finally over

According to manager Cal Ermer about 1/3 of the Twins roster was a bit lighter in the wallet after Ermer fined them for curfew violations. The Twins who took on  the Yankees in a scheduled doubleheader today were on a 8 game winless streak which included yesterdays tie game.

In game one,Twins left fielder Bob Allison batting lead-off, hit a home run off Yankee starter Steve Barber but it turned out to be the only run the Twins would score, it was the fifth consecutive game, all losses, that the Twins would score just the one run. The Yankees won the game 6-1 with Joe Pepitone hitting two home runs and Steve Whitaker contributing another. Twins starter Jim Perry took the defeat.

Game two however; had a happier ending but the Twins had to play 18 innings before they could finally say their eight game losing streak was over with a 3-2 win over the Bronx bombers.

The Yankees scored 2 runs in the bottom of the fifth inning off Twins starter Jim Merritt and the Twins scored one in the second and one in the sixth of Yankee starter Fred Talbot and no one crossed home plate after that until the top of the 18th inning when Rich Rollins singled off Yankee reliever Thad Tillotson to score Rod Carew with an unearned run on the Yankees third error of the game.

Twins starter Jim Merritt pitched the first 13 innings for the Twins and came away with a ND. Al Worthington was credited with the win and Jim Roland notched his first save of the season.

The 18 inning game was the longest the Twins had ever played to that point in their history. In terms of time the game only lasted 4 hours and 24 minutes.

The 8 game winless streak which included a tie game would be the longest the Twins would encounter in 1967.

The Yankees second pitcher of the game Bill Monbouquette pitched 9 innings of scoreless relief allowing just 3 hits and a walk.

Cesar Tovar and Yankee Roy White who both went 0 for 8 would just as soon forget this game was ever played.

Star_Tribune_Thu__Jul_27__1967_

Star_Tribune_Thu__Jul_27__1967_ (1)

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Mark Guthrie

Just one MLB debut as a Minnesota Twin on July 25.

Mark Guthrie

Mark Guthrie (P) – July 25, 1989 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 7th round of the 1987 amateur draft. Guthrie threw 36 pitches in his big league debut pitching 1.2 innings and giving up 2 hits but he also struck out three Orioles in the Dome and held Baltimore off the scoreboard in a 9-3 Twins victory over the visiting birds from Baltimore.

To see other Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins

According to ELIAS – Taylor Rogers

Bellinger hits a homer unlike any in MLB this season

Taylor Rogers

Cody Bellinger reached Taylor Rogers for a three-run homer on an 0-2 pitch in the eighth inning, turning a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 lead, the same score by which the Dodgers went on to dispatch the Twins. It was the major leagues’ first lefty-on-lefty, 0-2-pitch, go-ahead homer in the sixth inning or later this season. The blow was Bellinger’s 28th home run of the season, and of his big-league career, and it came in his 80th game. He tied Jose Abreu for the second-highest homer total over a player’s first 80 big-league games (Abreu did it three years ago); Rudy York set the record with 30 homers over his first 80 games with the Tigers back in the 1930s.

Twins longest 9 inning games

The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers are used to playing long 9 inning games. The Twins have played 11 nine inning games of 239 minutes or longer and the Tigers have been the opponent on five occasions and to make matters worse the Twins have won just one of those games and they had to score 20 runs to win that one.

Paul Molitor spent more time on the pitchers mound than any of his seven pitchers did in the Twins 9-6 loss at Target Field that lasted a Twins record four hours and 19 minutes.

Sunday afternoon’s 9-6 loss to the Tigers now stands as the Twins longest 9 inning game, fortunately the weather was great at Target Field. Paul Molitor and the Twins burned through seven pitchers, certainly not the kind of game anyone wants on getaway day when you are heading out to face the best team in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

 

Results
Rk Date Tm Opp Rslt IP H R Pit BF # Attendance GmLen
?
1 2017-07-23 MIN DET L 6-9 9.0 16 9 192 47 7 28,373 259
2 2016-07-23 MIN BOS W 11-9 9.0 15 9 196 48 7 37,600 251
3 2014-08-24 MIN DET L 4-13 9.0 18 13 196 53 5 23,983 250
4 1987-07-25 MIN TOR W 13-9 9.0 16 9   47 5 36,395 245
5 2014-08-03 MIN CHW W 16-3 9.0 8 3 134 37 2 23,471 241
6 2017-04-22 MIN DET L 4-5 9.0 11 5 189 47 7 25,719 240
7 1993-05-26 MIN OAK W 12-11 9.0 14 11 205 48 6 18,276 240
8 1992-06-04 MIN TEX W 15-12 9.0 16 12 171 46 6 31,848 240
9 2000-10-01 MIN DET L 11-12 8.0 19 12 178 46 7 28,293 239
10 2014-08-22 MIN DET W 20-6 9.0 15 6 172 44 6 29,394 239
11 2008-07-09 MIN BOS L 5-18 8.0 23 18 159 49 5 37,470 239
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/24/2017.

 

 

According to ELIAS

7-8-9 hitters contribute to Tigers’ victory

The Tigers received great production from the bottom of their batting order, with James McCann, Alex Presley and Jose Iglesias each producing three hits and scoring twice in the team’s 9-5 victory over the Twins on Sunday. It marked the first time in nearly six years that a team’s starters in the bottom three slots in the batting order each registered at least three hits and two runs scored in the same game, since Texas did it against Minnesota on July 25, 2011. The Rangers’ 7-8-9 hitters in that game were Mike Napoli, Mitch Moreland and Endy Chavez.

The Tigers had not had their bottom three hitters produce in that fashion in over 30 years, since Pat Sheridan (three hits, two runs), Chet Lemon (three hits, three runs) and Tom Brookens (three hits, two runs) each had three or more hits and multiple runs scored in a win over the Indians on June 3, 1987.

It just goes to show that Twins pitchers can make any opposing hitter better.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 28 – Twins play to a crowd of 51,144

Milwaukee baseball fans fill the stands, and send a message to Major League Baseball, when the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins played an exhibition game at County Stadium on July 24, 1967. This photo was published on the front page of the July 25, 1967, Milwaukee Sentinel.

The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1 in Milwaukee’s County Stadium but the game did not count in the standings, it was just an exhibition game. There were 51,144 baseball fans in the stands, about 3,000 more watched from the outfield where they were roped in and an estimated 5,000 more were turned away.

The White and Twins were scheduled to play the game at County Stadium in Milwaukee in a game sponsored by the Milwaukee Brewers, the organization trying to get another team for Milwaukee after the Braves moved to Atlanta after the 1965 season. A name Twins fans may recognize Allan (Bud) Selig was the president of that organization.

When Milwaukee auditioned to return to the big leagues — in 1967 (Some great pictures in this story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Twins_amp_White_Sox_to_play_an_exhibition_game_in_Milwaukee_on_7_24_1967

Twins_WSox_exib_p1

Twins_WSox_exib_p2   (Includes box score)

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

Twins Minor League Player of the Week – Jonathan Rodriguez

Jonathan Rodriguez

Chattanooga Lookouts (AA) infielder Jonathan Rodriguez was named the Twins Player of the Week. In six games for the Lookouts, Rodriguez hit .429 (9-for-21) with two doubles, three home runs, six RBI, five walks and seven runs scored. Rodriguez, a right-handed hitter has played 1B in 69 of his 85 games for the Lookouts this season and is hitting .315 (97-for-308) with 21 doubles, 14 home runs and 52 RBI. Rodriguez has also played 3B and some outfield while with the Cards but not with Minnesota.

The 27-year-old was signed by the Twins as a minor league free agent in January, spending the previous eight seasons in the Cardinals minor league system. Rodriguez was originally drafted by the Cardinals in 2009 in round 17.

All previous winners can be found in the Twins minor league player of the week category.

Twins Minor League Report 07232017

According to ELIAS

Twins hold on to beat Tigers

Kyle Gibson took a 6-0 lead over the Tigers into the eighth inning when Detroit exploded for five runs, but All-Star reliever Brandon Kintzler and left fielder Eddie Rosario closed the door in the ninth inning and the Twins won, 6-5 last night. Kintzler pitched an inning and one-third to earn his 27th save of the season, but only the third in which he induced four-or-more outs. The first out of the ninth inning came when Rosario threw out Jose Iglesias trying to stretch his down-the-line leadoff single; it was the first assist for Rosario since May 11.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 27 – Jose Cardenal and the Angels steal a 2-1 win

The Twins lose to the California Angels on the road again and it is the same old story, they lose 2-1 for the third day in a row and they have lost all five game on this current road trip and six in a row. Ermer’s boys find themselves in fifth place 3 1/2 games behind the leaders and 4-7 since the All-Star break.

The Twins could only muster three hits off Angels spitballer Jack Hamilton who is 5-1 since being acquired from the Mets and Minnie Rojas who earned the save with 3 innings of scoreless relief while allowing just 1 hit. Dean Chance pitched well enough to win for Minnesota but allowed 2 unearned runs in the third. Bobby Knoop reached on a Rod Carew error, Hamilton sacrificed Knoop to second. Jose Cardenal singled scoring Knoop from second. Cardenal then stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. Chance then struck out Roger Repoz for the second out and that brought Woodie Held to the plate who was batting when Cardenal stole home and Chance then struck out Held but it was too late, the run would turn out to be the winner.

With their tails between their legs the Twins now have to fly from California to New York to play the New York Yankees but first they need to make a detour to Milwaukee to play the Chicago White Sox in a meaningless exhibition game before continuing their road trip and pennant race. No way the players union would allow something like that now days but that is the way it was back then.

Twins__amp__White_Sox_to_play_an_exhibition_game_in_Milwaukee_on_7_24_1967

 

 

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

Twins pick-off artist’s

It is obviously important for pitchers to keep base runners as close to the base as possible to prevent them from getting a good jump and stealing a base. What Twins pitchers were the best at this seemingly lost art? Jon Lester (Cubs) doesn’t even throw the ball to first any more for fear of throwing the ball away. As you might guess most of the pitchers on this list are lefties but a few right-handed pitchers are sprinkled in.

Most pick-offs in a single season by Twins pitchers

Results
Rk Player PO Year G W L W-L% SV IP SO ERA SB CS
1 Jerry Koosman 14 1979 37 20 13 .606 0 263.2 157 3.38 7 16
2 Mark Guthrie 11 1990 24 7 9 .438 0 144.2 101 3.79 17 12
3 Roger Erickson 10 1978 37 14 13 .519 0 265.2 121 3.96 5 15
4 Allan Anderson 8 1990 31 7 18 .280 0 188.2 82 4.53 10 11
5 Jerry Koosman 7 1980 38 16 13 .552 2 243.1 149 4.03 7 10
6 Mark Guthrie 6 1989 13 2 4 .333 0 57.1 38 4.55 5 6
7 Frank Viola 6 1988 35 24 7 .774 0 255.1 193 2.64 7 8
8 Dave Goltz 6 1977 39 20 11 .645 0 303.0 186 3.36 18 16
9 Vic Albury 6 1974 32 8 9 .471 0 164.0 85 4.12 12 13
10 Eddie Bane 6 1973 23 0 5 .000 2 60.1 42 4.92 3 8
11 Jim Merritt 6 1968 38 12 16 .429 1 238.1 181 3.25 8 2

 

Most career pick-offs as a Twins pitcher

Frank Viola
Results
Rk Player PO From To G W L W-L% SV IP SO ERA SB CS
1 Frank Viola 27 1982 1989 260 112 93 .546 0 1772.2 1214 3.86 70 69
2 Jerry Koosman 24 1979 1981 94 39 35 .527 7 601.1 361 3.77 15 33
3 Mark Guthrie 20 1989 1995 240 29 27 .518 8 489.2 388 4.19 50 30
4 Francisco Liriano 17 2005 2012 156 50 52 .490 1 783.1 788 4.33 67 23
5 Roger Erickson 17 1978 1982 114 31 47 .397 0 712.0 321 4.10 23 32
6 Allan Anderson 15 1986 1991 148 49 54 .476 0 818.2 339 4.11 54 38
7 Dave Goltz 15 1972 1979 247 96 79 .549 3 1638.0 887 3.48 111 76
8 Johan Santana 14 2000 2007 251 93 44 .679 1 1308.2 1381 3.22 28 29
9 Geoff Zahn 14 1977 1980 133 53 53 .500 0 852.0 348 3.90 30 42
10 Jim Kaat 14 1961 1973 468 189 152 .554 5 2959.1 1824 3.28 115 47
11 Bert Blyleven 11 1970 1988 348 149 138 .519 0 2566.2 2035 3.28 221 111
12 Vic Albury 11 1973 1976 101 18 17 .514 1 372.2 193 4.11 24 27
13 Jim Merritt 11 1965 1968 122 37 41 .474 6 686.2 527 3.03 14 13
14 Jim Perry 10 1963 1972 376 128 90 .587 5 1883.1 1025 3.15 43 66
15 Kyle Gibson 9 2013 2017 110 36 43 .456 0 632.2 428 4.78 33 11

Note that current Twin pitcher Kyle Gibson made the career list.