Joe Mauer‘s two-run homer in the first inning set the tone yesterday and the visiting Twins topped the Royals, 5-3. Mauer went 4-for-5, the 23rd game of his career with four-or-more hits and his fifth such game against Kansas City, his highest total against any opponent. But it was also his first such game since Aug. 14, 2013, and the first that he has produced as a first baseman. It was the longest stretch between games of four-or-more hits in Mauer’s big-league career. Source:ELIAS
Tag: Kansas City Royals
Historically bad starts by Twins pitchers
With the Twins on a roll and their starting pitchers pitching well this might not be a good time to bring back bad memories but I couldn’t help myself after seeing that the New York Yankees were not good hosts to the Kansas City Royals and Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie yesterday when they pounded the Royals 14-1 and sent Guthrie to the showers after he had retired just 3 batters and allowed 9 hits, 3 walks and 11 earned runs. A tough day for Guthrie and for those fantasy players that had Guthrie in their line-up yesterday.
So of course that got me wondering what Twins pitchers over the years had rough outings like this. Turns out that the most earned runs given up by a Twins pitcher is 10, here are the pitchers that made the list. Note that some of the pitchers on this list pitched in relief.
| Rk | Player | Date | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | Pit | BF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick Reed | 2003-04-21 | NYY | L 1-15 | GS-5, L | 4.1 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 95 | 26 | 20.77 |
| 2 | Pat Mahomes | 1993-04-24 | DET | L 1-17 | GS-3, L | 2.2 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 70 | 20 | 33.75 |
| 3 | Willie Banks | 1992-08-04 | CHW | L 11-19 | 3-4 | 1.2 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 56 | 17 | 54.00 |
| 4 | Geoff Zahn | 1980-07-21 (2) | BAL | L 5-12 | GS-6, L | 5.2 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 32 | 15.88 | |
| 5 | Joe Decker | 1976-05-12 | KCR | L 5-17 | GS-2, L | 1.0 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 90.00 | |
| 6 | Vic Albury | 1974-08-06 | KCR | L 3-17 | 3-7 | 5.0 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 33 | 18.00 |
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The worst Twins start probably belongs to Joe Decker who lasted just one inning and allowed 10 earnies to the Kansas City Royals back on May 12, 1976 at Royals Stadium. I should note however; that the most runs that a Twins hurler has ever given up in a game is 11 by Rick Reed in that April 21, 2003 loss to the Yankees by a 15-1 score at the Metrodome. Two Twins starters, Frank Viola on May 20, 1986 and Ray Corbin June 30, 1975 allowed 6 earned runs without retiring a single out before they were asked to hand over the baseball and leave the pitching mound.
So what Twins starter gave up the most earned runs and still won the game? That would be Jim Kaat who pitched a complete nine inning game on July 2, 1964 and beat the Red Sox 15-9 at Fenway Park while giving up nine earned runs.
According to ELIAS
All the scoring in the top of the first
The Twins scored three runs in the first inning at Kauffman Stadium and that was the extent of the scoring in their 3-0 victory over the Royals. It was the first major-league game this season in which neither team scored after the top of the first inning–there were five last year–and it was the Twins’ first win in a game of that kind since July 1994, when an RBI-groundout by Kirby Puckett in the opening frame held up in a 1-0 decision over the Rangers in Arlington.
According to ELIAS
Twins are first team to beat the Royals in 2015
The Twins defeated the Royals on last night and handed Kansas City (now 7-1) its first loss of the season. Since the franchise moved to Minnesota for the 1961 season, the Twins had never before defeated an opponent that was undefeated at least five games into its season. They recorded wins over that span against three teams that were 4-0: the 1992 Rangers, 1996 Orioles and 2004 Tigers.
Historical look at how Twins measure up to the rest of the league
I have followed baseball for a long time and it seems like the New York Yankees are always beating the Minnesota Twins. Truth or myth? I decided to check it out with an assist from baseball-reference.com .
It turns that the Yankees are indeed the toughest team to beat for our home town nine. Since 1961 they have played the Yankees 600 times and won just 252 of those match-ups for a .421 winning percentage. Actually I am surprised that the winning percentage is as high as it is because it seems like the Twins always lose to the Yankees.
Who do the Twins beat up on most frequently? That would be the Senators/Rangers franchise whom the Twins have played 696 times and whipped them on 366 occasions for a .527 winning percentage. I have left the Houston Astros off the list since their time in the American League just started last season and I have included the Brewers/Pilots franchise since the Twins play them every year even though they have been in the National League for many of these years.
Here is how the Minnesota Twins stack up against the rest of the American League since 1961.
| FRANCHISE | TEAMS | GAMES | WON | LOST | WIN % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RANGERS | SENATORS,RANGERS | 696 | 366 | 329 | .527 |
| TIGERS | 779 | 409 | 369 | .526 | |
| WHITE SOX | 844 | 441 | 400 | .524 | |
| ROYALS | 714 | 373 | 341 | .522 | |
| BREWERS | PILOTS,BREWERS | 449 | 232 | 217 | .517 |
| A’S | KC,OAKLAND | 707 | 360 | 347 | .509 |
| RED SOX | 596 | 298 | 298 | .500 | |
| RAYS | 129 | 63 | 66 | .488 | |
| MARINERS | 422 | 205 | 216 | .487 | |
| INDIANS | 777 | 375 | 401 | .483 | |
| ANGELS | 692 | 331 | 361 | .478 | |
| ORIOLES | 600 | 276 | 324 | .460 | |
| BLUE JAYS | 362 | 158 | 204 | .436 | |
| YANKEES | 600 | 252 | 347 | .421 |
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Keeping up with the latest Twins news and notes
On one hand the Minnesota Twins front office keep saying that they have no idea on how long the process will take to hire a new Twins manager but they have to make sure that they pick the right person for the job. Apparently GM Terry Ryan isn’t keeping the organization appraised of progress because in today’s edition of the Star Tribune Phil Miller has a quote from Ryan where he states ” I wouldn’t pretend to tell you that we’re done” with the search for the new manager, said Terry Ryan. “We still have a ways to go yet before we get there. But I would say we’re right on schedule.” According to various reports the Twins have interviewed internal candidates Paul Molitor, Doug Mientkiewicz, Gene Glynn, and Terry Steinbach. They have also reportedly talked with Torey Lovullo, Sandy Alomar Jr., Joe McEwing, Chip Hale (who just took the Arizona managers job), and maybe looking to talk with DeMarlo Hale.
The Twins payroll for 2015 has been getting some play in various Twins blogs and news reports. According to Twins prez Dave St. Peter “We haven’t finalized a 2015 budget, but I can assure you, we don’t see it going down significantly.” Going down? Why should it go down? The Twins have stated numerous times that they try to keep player payroll at about 50% of revenue. With the Twins having terrible seasons on the field from 2011-2014, fan attendance at Target Field has fallen each season so everyone assumes that revenue is down. Why is everyone making that assumption and playing right into the Twins hands? According to Forbes Magazine who publishes annual MLB team valuations the Twins revenue in 2010 was $162 million, in 2011 and 2012 it was $213 million, in 2013 it was $214 million, in 2014 it was $221 million. Why doesn’t anyone call the Twins on this? What am I missing here?
Twins pitching prospect Jake Reed who was drafted out of Oregon in round five this past summer is making the pick look really good. Reed pitched for Elizabethton and Cedar Rapids this summer and the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Reed was 3-0 with a 0.29 ERA in a combined 20 games, had eight saves and 39 strikeouts and only three walks in 31 innings. Now in his first week of Arizona Fall League play he has earned AFL Pitcher of the Week honors.
Curious how your favorite Twins and Twins minor leaguers are doing as they play in off-season leagues? You can see their stats here.
The Perth Heat of the Australian Baseball League have announced that former Minnesota Twins infielder Luke Hughes will be their new player/coach during the 2014/2014 season.
Last but certainly not least we have the following announcement. What is the world coming to? YIKES! Starting with the 2015 season, the American Association (the league that St. Paul Saints play in) has announced the adoption of extra-inning tiebreaker rules to be used in all regular-season games, based upon existing International Baseball Federation and Can-Am League rules.
Beginning in the 11th inning, the player in the batting order immediately preceding that inning’s leadoff hitter will be placed on second base. The inning will otherwise proceed as usual, with each team getting a turn at bat.
Should the player starting the inning on second base eventually score, it will count in statistics as a run for the player and an RBI for the batter who drove him in (if applicable), but it will not count towards the pitcher’s earned-run average.
American Association commissioner Miles Wolff commented, “This rule was very well-received in the Can-Am League last year, and we’re looking forward to using this innovation in the American Association.” Similar rules are also in effect for most international competitions, including during the World Baseball Classic and the IBAF World Championships.
I am looking forward to a good World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants. Go Blue!
Twins score 20
The Twins beat up on the Detroit Tigers 20-6 last night at Target Field in front of 29,394 fans that had to watch 3 hours and 59 minutes of baseball if they wanted to see the games final pitch. The Twins are the first AL team this season to score 20 runs in a game and this is the most runs ever scored by the Twins in a game at Target Field.
This is the 13th time in franchise history and the eighth time in Twins team history that the team has scored 20 or more runs in a game. The Detroit Tigers have been the unlucky victims of the Twins/Senators 20 or more runs parade on five occasions, four times by the Twins and once by the Washington Senators.
The Twins previous high for runs scored in a game at Target field occurred on July 16, 2012 when they out-scored the Baltimore Orioles 19-7. The Twins have had 20 runs scored against them just three times and always on the road. The Twins lost to the Kansas City A’s 20-2 on April 25, 1961, they lost 23-6 to the Kansas City Royals on April 6, 1974 and they lost a 20-6 game to the Texas Rangers on July 25, 2011.
| Rk | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | HR | BB | LOB | Attendance | GmLen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996-04-24 | MIN | DET | W 24-11 | 60 | 46 | 24 | 19 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 12,189 | 223 |
| 2 | 2002-06-04 | MIN | CLE | W 23-2 | 57 | 50 | 23 | 25 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 14,029 | 194 |
| 3 | 1994-06-04 | MIN | DET | W 21-7 | 57 | 49 | 21 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 23,780 | 194 |
| 4 | 1994-05-20 | MIN | BOS | W 21-2 | 54 | 44 | 21 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 20,766 | 188 |
| 5 | 1929-08-05 | WSH | DET | W 21-5 | 51 | 41 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 132 | |
| 6 | 2014-08-22 | MIN | DET | W 20-6 | 55 | 46 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 29,394 | 239 |
| 7 | 2009-05-21 | MIN | CHW | W 20-1 | 54 | 46 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 23,048 | 178 |
| 8 | 2007-07-06 (1) | MIN | CHW | W 20-14 | 57 | 47 | 20 | 21 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 31,543 | 222 |
| 9 | 1980-04-27 | MIN | OAK | W 20-11 | 52 | 41 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 19,859 | 197 |
| 10 | 1943-08-01 (2) | WSH | SLB | W 20-6 | 56 | 41 | 20 | 19 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 15,579 | 136 |
| 11 | 1925-08-22 | WSH | DET | W 20-5 | 55 | 44 | 20 | 19 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 162 | |
| 12 | 1923-08-24 | WSH | CLE | W 20-8 | 59 | 42 | 20 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 12 | 150 | |
| 13 | 1915-09-29 (2) | WSH | PHA | W 20-5 | 52 | 43 | 20 | 23 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 110 |
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Here is what ELIAS had to say about the game: Eduardo Escobar led the Twins’ 20-hit attack, going 5-for-6 from the eighth slot in the lineup, in their 20-6 victory over the Tigers. He was the first major-league player to collect five hits, including a home run, in a game from either the eighth or ninth slot in the lineup since Detroit’s Carlos Pena generated six hits, including a pair of homers, at Kansas City back in 2004.
Escobar’s night began with a second-inning homer off Robbie Ray, and he followed with a single off Blaine Hardy, a triple off Jim Johnson, a single off Joba Chamberlain and another single off pitcher-for-a-day infielder Andrew Romine. Escobar became the second Twins player this month to get hits off five different pitchers in the same game – Danny Santana did it against the White Sox on August 3 – something no other big-leaguer has done this season.
And just to complete the story, we note that Escobar also made a pair of errors at shortstop on Friday night. The last major-leaguer with at least five hits and at least two errors in the same game was Kansas City’s Angel Berroa, who did it in a game at Cleveland in September 2003.
For the Twins, their 20-run, 20-hit performance marked just the eighth time in modern major-league history that a team had posted those exact numbers – and three of those eight games have been produced by the Twins. Minnesota went 20/20 against the Athletics in 1980 and against the White Sox in 2009.
According to Elias
Josh Willingham knocked in three runs in his first game against his former team in the Royals’ win over the Twins last night. Willingham is the fifth former Twins player to drive in at least three runs in his first game against his former team and that game was played in Minnesota. The others to do that were Russ Nixon in 1968, Don Baylor in 1988, Darrin Jackson in 1997 and Carlos Gomez in 2010.
Twins hodgepodge
Seems to be some validity to the complaining that the Twins best paid player Joe Mauer isn’t hitting with runners on base. Joe Mauer had the go-ahead single in the ninth inning for Minnesota on Monday, after he entered the game hitting .171 (7 for 41) in Late Inning Pressure Situations. Over the past six seasons (2008-2013), Mauer hit .339 in LIPS, the highest in the major leagues among players with at least 100 plate appearances.
The Ft. Myers Miracle the Twins High-A team is now calling JetBlue Park their new home for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs as Hammond Stadium undergoes the second phase of their two-year remodeling effort. It will be interesting to see what Hammond Stadium will look like next spring.
The Cedar Rapids Kernels the Twins Low-A club and the Minnesota Twins extended their player-development contract (PDC) through the 2020 season. Another nail in the coffin for those that had hopes of St. Paul landing a Twins minor league affiliation in their new ballpark that is being built.
Minneapolis provided MLB with free rent and discounted services for the All-Star FanFest at the Minneapolis Convention Center when the Twins hosted the 2014 All-Star game.
Twenty eight years ago today the Twins traded closer Ron Davis along with minor league pitcher Dewayne Coleman to the Chicago Cubs for relievers George Frazier and Ray Fontenot and shortstop Julius McDougal. Davis was the Twins closer from 1982 until he was traded in 1986. Davis saved 108 games for the Twins but it was the games that he didn’t save that made Davis one of the biggest villans in Twins history. Here is a piece about Davis in the LA Times. The Twinstrivia interview with Ron Davis can be found here.
In the last three weeks Terry Ryan and Rob Antony have been busy house-cleaning and they have cut about $8 million from the Twins payroll. First the Twins traded DH/1B Kendrys Morales to the Seattle Mariners for RHP Stephen Pryor. Then they traded outfielder Sam Fuld to the Oakland A’s for LHP Tommy Milone. Then RHP Kevin Correia was sent out to La La land where he will pitch for the Dodgers and the Twins will receive a PTBNL or cash. Their latest trade has outfielder/DH Josh Willingham headed south to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league RHP Jason Adam. Here is what a KC blog site called Cover the Bases had to say about the deal. Are there still more trades on the horizon? You never know but if I was Jared Burton I might not be too quick to send out my clothes to the dry cleaners. Joe Mauer is now the oldest position player on the team, Wow!
A lot is being made of King Felix Hernandez and his run of history making starts this season where he has pitched seven innings or more and allowed two runs or fewer. There is even talk of him as a serious MVP candidate. Have any Twins pitchers had a nice run like that? Turns out that Jim Merritt had 11 games in a row back in 1967. This is actually a pretty amazing run by Hernandez, since 1961 there have only been 10 pitchers that have had a streak of 10 games or more that fit this criteria. Check out the list, there are some pretty good pitchers here.
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Streaks of seven innings pitched and two or fewer runs allowed since 1961
| Rk | Name | Strk Start | End | Games | W | L | GS | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | BB | SO | HR | Tm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felix Hernandez | 2014-05-18 | 2014-08-11 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 121.0 | 69 | 20 | 20 | 134 | 4 | 1.41 | SEA |
| 2 | Tom Seaver | 1971-07-17 | 1971-09-16 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 114.1 | 72 | 15 | 25 | 114 | 5 | 0.94 | NYM |
| 3 | Mike Scott | 1986-05-17 | 1986-07-07 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 96.1 | 58 | 16 | 19 | 99 | 4 | 1.40 | HOU |
| 4 | Dwight Gooden | 1985-09-06 | 1986-05-06 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 105.0 | 63 | 10 | 21 | 88 | 2 | 0.69 | NYM |
| 5 | Gaylord Perry | 1974-04-23 | 1974-06-12 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 98.1 | 56 | 14 | 35 | 61 | 3 | 0.92 | CLE |
| 6 | Larry Dierker | 1969-08-03 | 1969-09-17 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 94.2 | 50 | 14 | 16 | 79 | 5 | 1.33 | HOU |
| 7 | Bob Gibson | 1968-06-06 | 1968-07-30 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 99.0 | 56 | 3 | 13 | 83 | 0 | 0.27 | STL |
| 8 | Jim Merritt | 1967-06-25 | 1967-08-13 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 94.0 | 70 | 16 | 6 | 59 | 4 | 1.53 | MIN |
| 9 | Johnny Cueto | 2013-09-23 | 2014-05-15 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 79.0 | 36 | 12 | 21 | 81 | 8 | 1.25 | CIN |
| 10 | Don Sutton | 1976-08-10 | 1976-09-27 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 90.2 | 53 | 9 | 18 | 54 | 5 | 0.89 | LAD |
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Take a moment to check out Bob Gibson‘s numbers in the table above, they are absolutely incredible. His streak was 11 games long, his record was 11-0 and he had 11 complete games with 8 shutouts and a total of three runs allowed. No wonder Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver said that Gibson was the luckiest pitcher ever, he only pitched when the other team was not hitting.
The Minnesota Twins are still on track to have over 2.3 million fans at Target Field this summer. I think as the cooler weather approaches, the state fair gets in full swing and school begins, the attendance will fall off and the Twins will be around the 2 million mark but that is still an amazing mark for a team that has played as badly as the Twins have for the last four years.
So what about Ron Gardenhire and his staff? I think they are history within a week of the season ending. Who will be the Twins new skipper, it won’t be anyone currently associated with the Minnesota Twins today. Who would I like it to be? I think the Twins should swing a deal with the Marlins and bring Mike Redmond in as the Twins manager in 2015. The man had done well with the players he has been given. Will it happen? Nooooooo
This Day In Twins History – August 8
8/8/1962 – With the score tied at 3 apiece at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, A’s rookie third baseman Ed Charles steals home with two out in the ninth to score the winning run in a A’s 4-3 win over the Twins. Ray Moore and Jerry Zimmerman were the Twins battery at the time.
8/8/1974 – The Royals – Twins game at Royals Stadium is briefly interrupted by President Nixon’s resignation speech. The speech is broadcast after it begins and the next inning is delayed until the conclusion of the speech. The Twins prevail over the host Royals‚ 3 – 2 in 14 innings when Tony Oliva‘s sacrifice fly drives home Rod Carew. Bill Campbell pitches 7 innings of relief for the win.
8/8/1976 – This has nothing to do with the Minnesota Twins but still it deserves to be remembered for its “strangeness”. Thirty-seven years ago, on Aug. 8, 1976, the Chicago White Sox made sartorial history by wearing shorts in a win over the Royals. The Bermudas were the idea of—who else?—owner Bill Veeck. The shorts were worn in a total of three games.
8/8/1987 – The Twins beat the Oakland A’s 9-2 at the Metrodome as Twins pitcher Steve Carlton wins the 329th and final game of his Hall of Fame career. Carlton pitches 8 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs while striking out two batters.
8/8/1988 – The Indians and the Twins were scoreless after 3 innings at the Metrodome with Allan Anderson on the mound for the local nine. In the top of the fourth inning with no one out, the Indians Ron Washington and Willie Upshaw singled to put runners on first and second and then Joe Carter smashed a long drive to the left field corner where Twins outfielder Dan Gladden snagged it for an out and wheeled and fired a strike to Steve Lombardozzi at 2B to nail Washington and then Lombo relayed the ball to Gene Larkin at first to get the runner there by at least 5 feet and completed the unusual 7-4-3 triple play. The Twins went on to win the game by a 7-2 score with Galdden going 3 for 5 with a run scored, a stolen base, and a RBI. Catcher Brian Harper was 4 for 4 but played second fiddle to Gladden on this day.
8/8/1998 – Paul Molitor stole his 500th base in Minnesota’s 6-3 loss to Baltimore to become only the fifth player ever with 3,000 hits and 500 steals. Molitor joined Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins and Lou Brock.
8/8/2004 – The A’s beat the Twins 6 – 5 in 18 innings. It is the second-longest game in the 23-year history of the Metrodome. With the score tied 3 to 3, the A’s score 3 in the top of the 18th off Terry Mulholland to take a 6-3 lead. The Twins come back with 2 in the bottom of the 18th with a Morneau home run but leave Matthew LeCroy stranded on first when Koskie and Cuddyer flyout to end the rally and the Twins hope of a huge comeback victory. The game lasts 4 hours and 57 minutes.
8/8/2005 – One time Minnesota Twins manger (1976-1980) Gene Mauch passes away at the age of 79. Mauch was the seventh manager in Twins history. I think one of my favorite Gene Mauch quotes was “I’m not the manager because I am always right, but I am always right because I am the manager”.
8/8/2009 – The Twins third manager, Cal Ermer passed away at the age of 85 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Ermer replaced the fired Sam Mele in June 1967 with the Twins in sixth place with a 25-25 record. The Twins went 66-46 the rest of the season but lost the American League pennant on the final day of the season. Ermer was fired after the Twins finished in seventh place in 1968 with a 79-83 record.