(click on images once or twice to make them larger)
2023 – The Twins beat the Detroit Tigers at Target Field by a score of 5-3. Bailey Ober was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing two runs on four hits in 5 innings pitched, with three walks and six strikeouts. Dylan Floro (4-5) got the win. Jhoan Duran earned his 22nd save of the season and his 10th in his last 11 opportunities. All five of the Twins runs were scored in the sixth inning, highlighted by a Matt Wallner grand slam. For Wallner, it was the first grand slam of his career and his ninth home run of the season. It marked the second grand slam of the season for Minnesota, the other coming from Carlos Correa on June 10 at Toronto. The 450-foot homer from Wallner was the fourth-longest for a Twin this season. Tiger Miguel Cabrera hit a rare home run (number 2) in his final season as he prepares for retirement and the call to the hall. Box Score
2022 – After completing their five-game, seven-day southern California roadtrip with a record of 1-4, the Twins began their seven-game, eight-day homestand with a win over the Kansas City Royals at Target Field by a score of 4-2. Royals starter Kris Bubic (2-7) took the loss. Joe Ryan (9-5) was the starter and winner, allowing two runs on six hits in 5.1 innings pitched, with two walks and six strikeouts. Caleb Thielbar (0.2), Griffin Jax (1.0), Jhoan Duran (1.0) and Jorge López (1.0) combined for 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. The offense recorded 11 hits, three from Max Kepler, who snapped his 0-for-29 slide, his first multi-hit game since getting two hits on July 14. With runners on the corners and one out Tim Beckham who came in to play first base in the ninth inning started a snazzy 3-6-3 double play that ended the game. KC appealed the outs at second and third but lost their appeal. Box Score
2021 – The Twins walked-off the Tampa Bay Rays on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Target Field by a score of 5-4, winning the three-game series. Charlie Barnes made his third major league start but did not factor into the decision, allowing one run on three hits in five innings pitched. The Twins had a 4-0 lead after four innings but the White Sox came back with four of their own in innings 5-7. Jorge Polanco drove in the game-winner with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth, marking his third walk-off plate appearance this season and fifth of his career. The offense recorded just four hits, two from both Max Kepler and Josh Donaldson. Alex Colome (3-4) got the win. Box Score
2020 – The Twins have played 9,448 regular-season games since moving to Minnesota but today’s games were the first to be scheduled for fewer than nine innings. Welcome to COVID-19 double-header baseball in 2020 where DH games only go seven innings. In another first with MLB teams starved for revenue MLB has allowed advertising on the field itself. Todays DH was played with a logo of a sports apparel company (Fanatics) painted alongside the coaches boxes in foul territory, the first time a commercial advertisement has been painted on the Target Field turf. No word yet if this will be a one-year exception or a new policy. In addition, today’s first game is the debut of the Twins’ “fan faces” big head cutouts. More than 2,200, two-and-a-half-foot high likenesses of fan faces are in the lower level of the Target Field seating bowl. Fans can purchase their own likeness through end-of-day tomorrow at twinsbaseball.com/fanface (a portion of proceeds benefit the Minnesota Twins Community Fund) and will be installed before the next homestand. Kind of strange day of baseball but each team won a game in the DH by a score of 4-2 with the winning team getting 8 hits in each game plus the winning pitcher in each game was named Duffey or Duffy. When the DH ended today the Twins had played 21 games, over one third of their 60 game schedule.
In game one with Jake Odorizzi starting the Twins scored first when Nelson Cruz hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third to give the Twins a 2-0 lead. Odorizzi gave up his first hit with two out in the fourth inning but then with 3-0 lead allowed a double and home run to lead off the fifth inning and he was done for the day after 79 pitches in which he allowed 2 runs, 3 hits while striking out 6. Tyler Duffey (1-0) pitched a clean fifth inning getting the win and Sergio Romo and Taylor Rogers followed with scoreless innings to wrap up the (13-7) Twins 4-2 victory over the (8-12) Kansas City Royals. The Twins had eight hits with Jorge Polanco, Luis Arraez and Cruz getting two each. Box Score game one
Game two saw the Twins Jose Berrios face-off against the Royals Danny Duffy. With the game tied at 1-1 Berrios ran into trouble in the fourth inning when he put two runners on the bases via walks then with two outs throw up a gopher ball to Whit Merrifield who ended the game a triple short of the cycle. Berrios struck out the next batter to end the inning but his work for the day ended with 84 pitches over four inning pitched and allowing four runs on five hits, four walks while striking out seven taking the loss and dropping his record to 1-3. The Twins who could only muster two hits, one was a bases empty home run by Nelson Cruz and the other a Polanco single. The Twins second run scored on a Marwin Gonzalez sac fly. Danny Duffy went five innings for KC to earn his first win of the season. Box Score game two
2019 – The Twins take on the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington in what will probably be the last series that the Twins play there since the Rangers are building a new ball park. The Twins beat the Rangers by a score of 13-6, their highest run total since July 5 versus Texas (15). Michael Pineda (8-5), just off the IL was the starter and winner, allowing three runs on six hits in 5 innings pitched. Devin Smeltzer earned his first career save with 4 innings of relief which earned him a trip to Rochester since he would not be available to pitch for several days. The offense recorded 14 hits (4 off the bat of Marwin Gonzalez), six being extra-base hits, including home runs from Miguel Sanó (22), Eddie Rosario (27) and Luis Arraez (3). The Twins 236 home runs are the most in club history and most in baseball, 14 more than second-place New York Yankees (222). Box Score
2018 – The Twins beat the Pirates at home 6 to 4 and sweep the Pirates in Minnesota for the first time although it was only a two-game series. Jose Berrios started and got a ND for his 3.2 innings in which he gave up 7 hits and 4 runs raising even more chatter about Berrios poor results when pitching in day games. Gabriel Moya added his third big league win to his resume. Catcher Bobby Wilson was 2 for 3 with a home run and 2 RBI while Logan Forsythe was 2 for 3 with 3 RBI. Forsythe has hit well since coming over from the Dodgers in the Brian Dozier trade last month as a throw-in to help LA lower their payroll and he is a free agent after the season but it will be interesting to see if the Twins try to resign him or trade him in the next week or two to stockpile more prospects. Box Score
2017 – The Twins lose to the Cleveland Indians by a score of 8-1 at Target Field. Indians starter Danny Salazar held the Twins in check for seven innings striking out 10. Bartolo Colón (2-2) was the starter and loser, allowing three runs (all on solo homers) on seven hits in 5.0 innings pitched, including a season-high four walks. The offense recorded
just three hits, drew zero walks and struck out 12 times. Box Score
2016 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2012 – The Detroit Tigers and starter Max Scherzer beat up on Cole DeVries and the Twins at Target Field 5-1. Scherzer struck out 10 in 7 innings and kept the Twins off the board. The Twins could only come up with six hits and Ben Revere and Joe Mauer each had two hits. Box Score
The Minnesota Twins, in conjunction with Northern Lights Broadcasting, today announced that FM 96.3 K-TWIN will be the team’s new Twin Cities metropolitan area radio affiliate beginning in 2013. The move to FM marks the first time in franchise history that Twins games will be broadcast on the FM spectrum in the metro area. The Twins-Northern Lights Broadcasting agreement calls for FM 96.3 K-TWIN to broadcast all regular and post-season games and at least 25 Spring Training games. Thankfully the Twins moved back to WCCO on the AM dial after the 2017 season. One of the Minnesota Twins dumbest moves ever.
Minnesota Twins return to WCCO Radio
2011 – What a day! The Twins who were in Detroit to face the Tigers, trade outfielder Delmon Young to the Tigers for minor league pitcher Cole Nelson from Edina, Minnesota and a PTBNL who is announced the next day and turns out to be minor league pitcher Lester Oliveros. The Twins then take on the Tigers and in the first inning Delmon Young hits a home run in his first at-bat as a Tiger off Twins starter Francisco Liriano. In the sixth inning Twins Jim Thome hits home run number 599 off of Tiger starter Rick Porcello. Then in the seventh inning, Thome hits home run number 600 off of Tiger reliever Dan Schlereth and becomes only the eighth major leaguer player to hit 600 or more career home runs. Earlier in the game Twins outfielder Ben Revere hits a shot to right-center in Comerica Park and tries for an inside the park home run but is thrown out at home plate after a big collision with Detroit catcher Alex Avila. The Twins scored three runs in three different innings. In the end, the Twins prevailed 9-6. After the game the Twins announced that on their final day to do so, the Twins signed their 2011 first round pick (30th over all) shortstop Levi Micheal and their two sandwich picks, third baseman Travis Harrison and pitcher Hudson Boyd. An exciting day indeed! Box Score
SABR Game Project write-up – August 15, 2011: Jim Thome collects career home runs 599 and 600 in Twins’ win by Joseph Wancho
2010 – In a game we attended at Target Field, Twins pitcher Kevin Slowey had a no-hitter for 7 innings against the Oakland A’s. The Twins were leading 1-0 going into the bottom of the 7th inning and Jim Thome hit a 3-run home (his 580th) to right field and the Twins had a 4-0 lead. At that point, manger Ron Gardenhire made a gutsy move and pulled Slowey from the game and killed Slowey’s chance at pitching immortality. To that point Slowey had walked 3 batters, hit one, and had a runner reach first on a throwing error by shortstop Alexi Casilla. Reliever Jon Rauch came in to the game and retired the first batter in the 8th but then allowed back-to-back doubles and the no-hitter and the shutout both went by the wayside. The Twins ended up winning the game 4-2. Gardy’s reasoning for pulling Slowey while he still had a no-hitter going was that Slowey had been skipped in the pitching rotation a few days earlier due to a twinge in his elbow and the fact that he had thrown 106 pitches. The win for Slowey upped his record to 11-5. Danny Valencia went 3 for 4 with a double. Box Score
2007 – The Twins broke a 1-1 tie against the Mariners at Safeco Field with a run in the eighth inning on a single by Torii Hunter that scored Alexi Casilla. Hunter followed that up with a grand slam home run in the ninth to put the Twins out in front by a commanding 6-1 score. Hunter was 2 for 5 with a home run and 5 RBI. Rondell White also hit a home run Scott Baker pitched 6.2 innings striking out 7 and allowing just the one run but Pat Neshek got the win in relief. Box Score
Colorado sends third baseman Matt Macri to Minnesota for pitcher Ramon Ortiz.
1994 – No Game Today – On Strike
Minnesota Twins pitcher Pat Mahomes was knocked unconscious and trapped in his Jeep after it rolled over on a bridge in downtown Minneapolis, the police said. Mahomes sustained head injuries and his condition was upgraded from serious to satisfactory by mid-afternoon, according to the Hennepin County Medical Center. Mahomes, who was alone, was traveling at “a fairly high rate of speed” when his vehicle crossed the center line, hit a guard rail and rolled over, a police spokesperson said. He was not wearing a seat belt and was trapped until police were able to get him out. Mahomes may be charged with a DUI. Mahomes, 24, of Lindale, Texas was drafted by the Twins in the sixth round of the 1988 free-agent draft.
Star_Tribune_Tue__Aug_16__1994_
Star_Tribune_Tue__Aug_16__1994_ (2)
1993 – The Twins tromp all over Oakland at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 12-5 behind six home runs, two by Kirby Puckett, two by Bernardo Brito, and one each by Brian Harper and Jeff Reboulet. Puckett was 5 for 5 with two runs scored and 4 RBI. Scott Erickson went seven innings and was credited with the win making his record 7-14. Box Score
The Twins trade third baseman Mike Pagliarulo to the Orioles and receive a player to be named later that turns out to be pitcher Erik Schullstrom.
1981 – Since play resumed after a 50 day strike the Twins have a 3-3 record and are ready to take on the Seattle Mariners in the fourth game of a five game series at Met Stadium. But once again the Mariners prevail outhitting the Twins 11-4 and shut out Billy Gardner’s boys 6-0. Gardner said the team played horse-crap baseball and Mickey Hatcher said he played like he had his head up his butt. No one argued the point. Havens, already down 2-0 left after giving up two singles to start the sixth, finished his day with 5 innings pitched and 3 runs allowed on 7 hits. Abbott (2-4) left after 5.1 scoreless innings allowing just 3 hits and eventually earning the win. No Twins player had more than one hit while three Mariners each had 3 hits. The Mariners won 6-0 and yet went just 2 for 13 with RISP so that should tell you something about the game that lasted just 2 hours and 17 minutes. A crowd of 17,381 showed up for the game but it was more to watch the Twins old-timers game that preceeded this game then it was to watch this Twins team play ball. By the ninth inning Twins fans were clamoring for Harmon Killebrew. Box Score
Twins overshadowed by the past by Robert Tholkes
Star_Tribune_Sun__Aug_16__1981.pdf
1967 – Twins winning streak reaches 6 games as Jim Perry pitches a complete game at Anaheim Stadium shutting out the Angels 4-0 on 6 hits while striking out 10. The top four batters in the Twins line-up get 7 of the Twins 9 hits, score all four runs and plate two of them. Box Score
1961 – It wasn’t Jack Kralick’s best start of the season but he fought through it to pitch a complete game against the Kansas City Athletics and get his 11th win of the season against 8 setbacks as the Twins beat the A’s 9-4 and won their third straight game. Kralick allowed four runs on 9 hits and 3 walks. A’s starter Jim Archer (8-8) took the loss. Bob Allison (25), Billy Martin (4), and Harmon Killebrew (35) all hit circuit swats. Martin’s home run was his second 3-run homer in two days as it clanked off the fair pole just 330 feet down the left field line in the fourth inning. Box Score
