Twins starter P.J. Walters walked five batters in the first inning last night at Progressive Field against the Cleveland Indians. Walters lasted just 0.2 innings as he also hit a batter and allowed a hit. The Twins ended up losing to the Indians by a score of 8-7. The last time a Twins pitcher walked five batters in an inning was when Paul Abbott walked five on August 10, 1991 at Seattle (bottom of the seventh). The last time the Twins had a starter last just 0.2 innings and walk five batters was June 10, 1975 when Joe Decker did it against the Indians, in fact, that was the only other time it has happened in Twins history. Additionally, Walters also joins Sid Hudson (5/17/1940) as the only starter in franchise history to allow at least five walks and six earned runs in an outing of less than 1.0 inning. Source was Twins Game Notes. Box score.
Here is what Elias had to say about the situation: The Indians drew five first-inning walks against Minnesota’s P.J. Walters, tying the highest total by any team this season. The Athletics had five first-inning walks against the Astros on April 15. The Indians hadn’t had such a first inning since the penultimate game of the 1990 season and the Twins hadn’t either since June 10, 1975, also against Cleveland.
