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2024 – The Twins lost to the Baltimore Orioles in their first visit to Camden Yards this year by a score of 7-4. Louie Varland (0-3) was the Twins starter and loser, allowing four runs on a career-high 11 hits in 5 innings pitched, with no walks and six strikeouts. Matt Bowman made his Twins debut in relief, allowing one run on one hit in 3 innings pitched. The offense recorded 11 hits, tying their season high. But their 2 for 9 with RISP left them on the short end of the score. Ryan Jeffers and Jose Miranda each had three hits and both drove in two runs apiece. Miranda hit his first home run of the season and had six total bases. Dillon Tate (1-0) got the win in relief for the O’s. Box Score
2023 – The Twins lost to the Yankees by a score of 6-1 in game three of four at Yankee Stadium and saw their winning streak end at four games. Tyler Mahle (1-2) was the starter and loser, allowing four runs (2 earned) on four hits in 4.1 innings pitched, with three walks and five strikeouts, including home runs by Kyle Higashioka and Anthony Rizzo. The Twins offense had just five hits, two going for extra bases as the Twins got back-to-back doubles from Trevor Larnach and Jose Miranda in the seventh, proving to be the only run for the Twins. Domingo German (1-1) was the winning pitcher for NYY. Box Score
2022 – The Twins beat the Red Sox 8-4 at Fenway Park. Joe Ryan (1-1) was the Twins starter and winner, allowing one run on five hits in 6 innings pitched, with no walks and seven strikeouts. Emilio Pagán pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts on 11 pitches. The offense recorded eight hits, including a Miguel Sanó two-run homer in the second inning, his first hit of the season, snapping an 0-for-19 stretch. Byron Buxton was playing in his 500th career game until exiting in the first inning
with right knee soreness after a leadoff double. Box Score
2021 – The Twins break their five game losing streak with a 4-3 walk-off victory over the Boston Red Sox and in turn end the Red Sox nine-game winning streak on Jackie Robinson Day. Twins starter Michael Pineda pitched seven scoreless innings (88 pitches) allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out six and left the game with a 3-0 lead. Twins reliever Hansel Robles then enters the game in the eighth inning and runs into trouble when he hits a batter and walks a batter before retiring the next two but then another walk loads the bases and his day is done. Taylor Rogers replaces Robles and gives up a bases-clearing double to Alex Verdugo and all of a sudden the 3-0 lead vanishes and the game is knotted at 3-3. Rogers escapes any further damage. Alex Colome pitches a scoreless top of the ninth and the Twins come to the plate in the bottom of the ninth knowing that they have not scored a single run after the eighth inning all season (12 games). Luis Arraez leads off the ninth with a single, his fourth hit of the game. Red Sox pitcher Adam Ottavino hits Jorge Polanco with a pitch and the Twins have runners at first and second for Nelson Cruz but he goes down swinging. Max Kepler hits a flare to left that drops in and scores Luis Arraez with the winning walk-off run in a 4-3 win that the Twins needed desperately. The Twins walk-off win was their first of the season and their first against the Red Sox since June 18, 2019, when Max Kepler singled in Luis Arraez in the bottom of the 17th inning. Twins pitchers have combined for 130 strikeouts so far this season, the most team strikeouts through the first 13 games of the season in Twins/Senators franchise history. The Twins ended their first home stand of the season with a 2-5 record and now head out for the west coast. Box Score
2020 – The Twins would have been in Toronto again today but instead the season thus far has been postponed due to COVID-19. That makes 19 games missed so far.
2019 – The Twins start the day 8-4 with a 1.5 game lead in the AL Central but their lead drops to just half a game when the visiting Toronto Blue Jays score four runs in the eighth inning and beat Minnesota 5-3 in front of a new record low Twins announced crowd of 11,727. The game was the Twins first home night game of the year and it started at 6:40 PM versus the normal 7:10 PM start time as the Twins experiment with an earlier start time for home night games in April, May, and September. Matt Shoemaker held the Twins to 3 runs during his six innings on the mound and the Toronto bullpen did the rest. Martin Perez started for Minnesota and allowed just one run in six innings while striking out five but Adalberto Mejia pitching in relief of Perez gave up four runs in the eighth with most of the damage being caused by a 3 run homer by Teoscar Hernandez. The Twins offense was limited to just five hits, three from Jorge Polanco and one of the remaining two was a 3 run home run by C. J. Cron. Catcher Mitch Garver hit lead-off for the Twins and went 0 for 4 as MLB celebrated Jackie Robinson Day. Box Score
2018 – No Game Today, the make-up game was scheduled for August 20. The third consecutive home game for the Minnesota Twins was postponed due to inclement weather as a massive blizzard continues to dump snow on the Twins Cities. The storm ended up being the biggest April snow storm in Twin Cities history beating out the April 14, 1983 storm. The area got a lot of snow with about 22″ in Maple Grove and about 15-16 inches in Plymouth where I live. The Twins are off too Puerto Rico where they have two games scheduled against the Cleveland Indians on April 17-18. The Twins and White Sox were scheduled to take part in 2018 Jackie Robinson festivities today.
2009 – Every player in the Twins versus Blue Jays game today wore the number 42, as a matter of fact, all major league players, coaches, managers, and umpires wore the number 42 for the first time ever today in all games played today as a tribute to Jackie Robinson. It was kind of strange watching the game in the Metrodome when every player had the same number. The Twins could only scrounge up four hits and came out on the short-end of a 12-2 ball game. Starters Scott Richmond got the win for the Jays and Scott Baker took the loss for the Twins. Box Score
2001 – Eric Milton went seven innings for the win and struck out eight of the first 10 batters he faced at the Dome as Minnesota beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3 for their sixth straight win and best start ever at 9-2. Corey Koskie had the big bat for Minnesota going 4 for 4 with a double, two runs scored and a RBI. The Big Hurt hit one out in a losing cause for he White Sox. Box Score
2000 – Cal “Iron Man” Ripken became the 24th player to reach 3,000 hits when he lined a clean single to center off Minnesota reliever Hector Carrasco at the Metrodome. He reached the milestone with his third hit in a 6-4 victory over the Twins and became just the seventh player in major league history to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs. Reliever Travis Miller took the defeat for Minnesota. Box Score
1998 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1989 – No game today. Game against the Yankees was rained out and rescheduled as part of a double-header on August 2.
1988 – No game today. Game called on account of cold against the Blue Jays and will be made up on August 4 in Toronto.
1985 – The Minnesota Twins lost their 1985 Home Opener at the Metrodome to the California Angels when junk baller Geoff Zahn (1-0) shut out the Twins 5-0 on just six hits. Mike Smithson (1-1) started for Minnesota and was charged with all five Angels runs allowing nine hits in 7 innings and took the loss. No Twin had more than one hit. After starting with two victories, the Twins have now lost five in a row. The attendance for the game was 51,190. Box Score
1977 – It was a beautiful 78 degree day, fitting for a Home Opener but the fans apparently thought otherwise and only 14,788 were on hand at Metropolitan Stadium as the Twins opened the home season with a 3-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics. The Twins expected at least 5,000 more and were disappointed. Governor Rudy Perpich’s wife Lois threw out the first ball. The Twins sent rookie right-hander Paul Thormodsgard to the mound to make his second big league start, he had beaten the A’s in Oakland just five days earlier in his major league debut. The A’s countered with Mike Torrez who had beaten the Twins in the season opener in Oakland less than a week earlier. The Twins put the first run, albeit unearned, on the board in the third inning when Roy Smalley singled to score Bob Randall. Thor hit a bump in the road in the fifth when he gave up a solo home run to Rob Picciolo, his first in the big leagues. The home run must have unhinged Thormodsgard a bit as he then allowed a triple, a walk and a stolen base and Mitchell Page then singled them both home. Thor then got Dick Allen to hit into a double play but the horses had already left the barn. The Twins had a chance to do some damage in the seventh when Torrez walked Rich Chiles, retired the next two batters and then walked Glenn Borgmann to put runners on first and second with Roy Smalley coming to the plate. Smalley smashed a sure single between first and second but the ball hit Borgmann in the right heal and the A’s were out off the inning. Rod Carew led off the eighth inning with a solo home run off Torrez ending his day on the mound making the score 3-2 A’s and that is how the game ended. Torrez ended up with the win and Dave Giusti got his second save. Thormodsgard (1-1) took the loss for Minnesota. Carew, Smalley and Larry Hisle each had two hits. It was not a stellar day for Borgmann who got hit on the bases as a baserunner, was 0 for 3 and hit into a double play and was behind the plate during four Oakland steals but to be fair most of those could be blamed on the pitchers. Box Score
1976 – After the 1973 season, Yankee Stadium underwent a $100 million renovation, forcing the Yankees to share Shea Stadium with the New York Mets in 1974 and 1975. New York opened the refurbished Yankee Stadium with an 11-4 rout of the Minnesota Twins in front of 52,613 (largest opening day crowd at Yankee Stadium since 1946) cheering fans. Rudy May started for home town Yankees and the Twins started Dave Goltz. The Twins took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the third inning but the New Yorker’s scored the next 11 runs. The Yankees had 14 hits, but the only home run was hit by Minnesota’s Dan Ford. Each of the four Twins pitchers gave up at least one run. Yankee reliever Dick Tidrow (1-0) pitched five scoreless inning of relief for the hometown Yankees to pick up the win. Vic Albury (0-1) picked up the loss, his only loss of the season and as it turned out, his last loss in the big leagues. Box Score
After two years, the Yankees return to the Bronx by Rich D’Ambrosio
1975 – It wasn’t an ideal day for baseball as the Twins prepared to play their 1975 Home Opener at Met Stadium against the California Angels. Temperature at game time was 48 degrees and paths were cut through 7-foot high snow piles in the parking lot. In spite of all that, Governor Wendell Anderson through out the first ball and the umpire yelled Play Ball! The 2-4 Twins sent Dave Goltz out to the mound and the Angels responded with Nolan Ryan. The Angels scored single runs in the second and fourth innings and led 2-0 after five but in the bottom of the sixth, Twins catcher Glenn Borgmann who was hitting ninth cleared the bases with a double putting the Twins out in front 3-2. The lead however; was short-lived as the Angels got two runs in the seventh to retake the lead at 4-3 and then added on three in the ninth for the 7-3 win. Both starters went 8 innings and Ryan got his third win of the season even though he gave up 8 hits, 9 walks and 3 runs while striking out 7. Goltz gave up 9 hits, 4 walks and 6 runs (5 earned) while striking out 4 and took his second loss of the season. Rod Carew and Eric Soderholm each had two hits. Box Score
1973 – No game today. Twins versus Oakland A’s rained out at Met Stadium and rescheduled for September 20 as part of a DH.
1972 – After a 13 day strike that was called by the Major League Baseball Players Association and its leader, Executive Director Marvin Miller from April 1-13, the first in baseball history, baseball was again being played. The Twins were originally scheduled to open the season at Met Stadium on April 6 against the California Angels and then play the Chicago White Sox but all seven of these games were wiped from the schedule and would not be played. The Twins were also scheduled to play in Oakland yesterday but that game too bit the dust.
Instead the Twins opened the season on the road at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum against the AL West defending champion Oakland Athletics. The A’s won 101 games last season but like the Twins before them in 1969 and 1970 the A’s were swept by the Baltimore Orioles 3 games to zip in the 1971 ALCS. In spite of having a strong team, only 9,912 fans show up for the home opener against the Minnesota Twins. Bert Blyleven and Ken Holtzman square off for their respective teams and in the first inning Holtzman retires Cesar Tovar on a fly to left but shortstop Danny Thompson takes Holtzman deep with his first big league home run in his 145 career game and the Twins have their first run, their first home run of the season and a 1-0 lead. In the fifth inning Dave Duncan homered with the Sal Bando on board and the A’s took a 2-1 lead. Harmon Killebrew, playing in his 2,000 game started the Twins seventh inning with a long ball off Holtzman and it was a tie ballgame. Twins skipper Bill Rigney pulled Blyleven after six and brought in Wayne Granger to pitch. A walk, a stolen base and two singles scored the A’s third run and they were up 3-2. In the ninth with two out and Rollie Fingers just one out away from a two-inning save, center fielder Bobby Darwin playing in his first game as a Minnesota Twin hit a home run deep to left field and it was a tie game after nine innings. Dave LaRoche who relieved Granger starting the eighth inning kept the A’s off the board in the eighth, ninth and tenth innings allowed a double to Joe Rudi to lead off the 11th inning. Reggie Jackson sacrificed Rudi to third and Rigney ordered an IW to Sal Bando putting runners at the corners with one out. Gene Tenace was brought in as a pinch-hitter and he hit a ground ball to third baseman Eric Soderholm who bobbled the ball (for an error) and then threw home. Twins catcher George Mitterwald wasn’t able to hold on to the ball when Rudi crashed into him and the A’s had a walk-off 4-3 win to start their season. Reggie Jackson played the game sporting a mustache. Jackson is the first major league player with facial hair since Frenchy Bordagaray in 1936. Jackson starts a trend with Oakland, as owner Charlie Finley eventually encourages all of his players to grow mustaches. By the end of the season, the Athletics will become known as the “Mustache Gang”. LaRoche who was starting his fourth inning of relief and had pitched well was given the loss in the first appearance as a Minnesota Twin after being acquired from the Angels in a trade for Leo Cardenas during the past off-season. Box Score
April 15, 1972: Fingers blows late lead, but A’s rally to beat Twins on Opening Day
1970 – After getting snowed out at home for three consecutive days the 3-0 Twins flew out to Anaheim to take on the Angels. The Twins started Jim Perry and the Angels went with Andy Messersmith. The Angels took a 1-0 lead that held up for five innings but the Twins jumped on Messersmith in the sixth inning for 6 runs on two home runs, one by Cesar Tovar his first and the other Brant Alyea’s third of the season, a grand slam sent Messersmith to the showers. The Twins scored two more off Mel Queen on a Leo Cardenas home run, his first of the season. The Angels tallied another run but it was too little and too late and the Twins remained victorious in 1970 with a 4-0 record. Jim Perry (2-0) notched the win with a complete game win allowing 5 hits and Messersmith (2-1) took the loss. Attendance 8,770. Box Score
1969 – The Twins stop off in Oakland for one game against the A’s at Oakland-Alameda Stadium and they make it a quick one when they beat the Athletics 5-4 in just two hours and 17 minutes as Jim Kaat comes within one out of a complete game win. Kaat strikes out 9 and allows 6 hits and 4 runs. The Twins commit the only two errors in the game but get 11 hits including three hits off the bat of Tony Oliva including a home run and they also get long balls from Killebrew and Rich Reese. Catfish Hunter gets the loss for the A’s. Box Score
1965 – The Twins Camilo Pascual and the Detroit Tigers Dave Wickersham face off at Met Stadium with the temperature at 46 degrees with only 2,392 fans at the ballpark.. The visitors score first in the top of the third for a 1-0 lead but the Twins come right back with four of their own in the bottom of the inning. The Tigers Norm Cash hits a three run blast off Pascual in the fifth to tie the game at 4-4. When Pascual walks the Tigers leadoff hitter in the sixth manager Sam Mele says he has seen enough and brings in Jerry Fosnow. The game remains deadlocked at 4-4 until when with two out and one on Fosnow gives up a home run to Al Kaline and the Tigers take a 6-4 lead that they will not relinquish. Wickersham (1-0) pitches a complete game for the win giving up the 4 run on 9 hits while striking out 4. Fosnow (1-1) takes the loss with 4 innings of relief allowing one hit and 2 earned run while stroking out 5. It was an errorless game with Minnesota outhitting Detroit 9 to 7 but the Tigers two home runs were too much. Bob Allison had two hits and two RBI and Zoilo Versalles had two hits including a double. Box Score
1962 – Jim Manning became the youngest Twins player to appear in a MLB game when he came in to pitch in relief at the tender age of 18 years, 8 months and 25 days at Met Stadium against the Los Angeles Angels. Manning pitched 3 scoreless innings allowing just 3 hits, one walk and struck out two Angel batters. Manning had been signed as a free agent prior to the 1961 season and pitched just 45 innings in 12 class D ball games in 1961 before making his major league debut on this date. Jim made four more appearances for the Twins before being sent down to the minors and he never made another big league appearance again. George Banks also made his major league debut in this game as a PH and popped up to the second baseman. The Twins scored all their runs on a three-run home run by Rich Rollins in the bottom of the ninth. Earl Battey chipped in three hits in four at bats. Box Score
1961 – After starting the season with two wins, the Minnesota Twins lose to the Baltimore Orioles and Steve Barber 8-0 at Memorial Stadium and get a “L” on their record for the first time ever. The Twins however; lost more than just a game when their star power-hitter Harmon Killebrew had to be helped off the field in the ninth inning after pulling his left hamstring running out a grounder in the ninth inning. Killebrew is expected to be out at least three weeks with Don Mincher expected to fill in. In the 5th inning catcher Ron Henry pinch-hits for Ted Sadowski in the 5th inning and grounds into a double play but in the process becomes the first player to make his major league debut as a Minnesota Twin. In the 8th inning pitcher Lee Stange becomes the second player to have his major league debut as a Minnesota Twins player. Barber kept the Twins in check even though he gave up 5 hits and 6 walks in his complete game shutout. Orioles left fielder Dick Williams hit the games only home run. Twins starter Chuck Stobbs took the defeat. Box Score
In off the field action the Minnesota Twins were in search of “twin” bat boys and ball boys and 74 sets of twins showed up to offer their services.
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