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2023 – AS MAUER WOULD SAY WHEN GIVING OUT POST-GAME GAME BALLS, “LOTTA CANDIDATES TONIGHT BOYS! LOTTA CANDIDATES!”: The Twins beat the Diamondbacks at Target Field by a score of 12-1, securing the series win, their 17th of the season. Kenta Maeda (3-6) was the starter and winner, allowing one run on two hits in 6 innings pitched with no walks and seven strikeouts. The offense recorded 17 hits, one short of their season-high (18, 5/14 vs. CHC). 12 runs scored also marked their second-most this season (16, 5/14 vs. CHC). Edouard Julien, Max Kepler, Matt Wallner and Ryan Jeffers each had three hits. Jeffers hit two home runs, his second career multi-homer game, while driving in four on the night. Michael A. Taylor homered for the third-straight game, matching his career-high homer streak. The attendance was 34,044, the third-highest this season, trailing their 38,465 on Opening Day vs. Houston and 34,514 on June 13 vs. Milwaukee. I would like to say all these fans showed up to watch the Twins win but I suspect it was really because today Joe Mauer was inducted into the Twins HOF.
2022 – The Twins beat the visiting Blue Jays last night at Target Field by a score of 6-5 in 10 innings, making them 4-5 in extra-innings and 16-15 in one-run games. It wasn’t easy and the Twins blew a 5-0 lead along the way. With the scored tied at 5-5 after 9 innings, the Twins kept the Blue Jays from scoring in the top of the tenth. Gordon, who had three hits in the game, was the automatic runner to start the bottom of the 10th. Jordan Romano (3-3) struck out Jake Cave on a low slider that got past Jansen, who threw wildly to first, allowing Cave to reach and moving Gordon to third. Tim Beckham hit a grounder to third baseman Matt Chapman, who threw home to get Gordon trying to score. Jansen likely would have had the out but didn’t catch the ball cleanly. “I actually was sliding and watching the catcher, so I was actually seeing the ball fall and I was kind of yelling at the umpire,” Gordon said. Recent acquisition Tyler Mahle made his Twins debut but did not factor into the decision, allowing four runs on five hits in 6 innings pitched, including three home runs allowed. Jorge López blew his fifth save, snapping his consecutive save streak at seven. The offense recorded 11 hits, including three hits from Nick Gordon and two from Carlos Correa. Gordon hit his 15th double, his fifth home run and drove in three of the six runs. The offense went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring
position and left nine men on base. Box Score
2021 – The Twins beat the Astros in Houston’s Minute Maid Park by a score of 5-3, scoring four runs in the top of the second inning. Griffin Jax (2-1) was the starter and
earned his second career win, allowing one run on three hits (1 home run) in 5.1 innings pitched. Rob Refsnyder was 2 for with 2 runs scored. Andrelton Simmons chipped in 2 RBI. Box Score
2020 – Native son and Pirate fan growing up Randy Dobnak started for the Twins and Trevor Williams started for the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in what turned into a real pitchers duel. The Twins scored first when a Marwin Gonzalez single scored Jake Cave who started off the second inning by getting hit by a pitch. After that it was all zeroes for both sides until the ninth when the Twins scored four times with the big blow being a three run home run from Max Kepler (4). The 1-9 Pirates fought back with two of their own off Twins reliever Jorge Alcala when Josh bell hit one out but Alcala struckout the next batter for the games final out. Dobnak (2-1) was the starter and winner, pitching 6 shutout innings with three hits allowed, no walks and one strikeout. Dobnak has not allowed a run in his last 12 innings, dating back to his start on July 25, 2019. Gonzalez had two of the Twins seven hits. Today’s 5-2 Twins win was their sixth straight win. Box Score
2019 – We get to see some inter-league play when the first place Atlanta Braves come to visit Target Field to play the first place Twins. Jake Odorizzi was the starter, allowing one run on five hits in 6 innings pitched and left the game with a 3-1 lead. The Braves tied the game at 3-3 in the seventh. With two out in the ninth inning Luis Arraez singled and Miguel Sano (19) was brought in to pinch-hit for Ehire Adrianza and promptly delivered a walk-off home run for a Twins 5-3. Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was already running towards the dugout before the ball even bounced off the second deck facing in center field. Sano’s blast was the first Twins walk-off home run against the Braves since Kirby Puckett walked them off in game 6 of the 1991 World Series. It was the tenth pinch-hit , walk-off home run in Twins history and first since April 19, 2006 when Michael Cuddyer hit one out at Target Field. Max Kepler (31) also hit a home run in the game. Trevor May earned the win with 2 scoreless innings pitched. Box Score
2018 – On the day that the Minnesota Twins inducted two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana into their Hall of Fame the current Twins beat the struggling Kansas City Royals 6-5. The game didn’t go the way that Twins starter Ervin Santana hoped when the boys from KC jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run home run by Lucas Duda. The Twins came back to take a 4-2 lead in the second inning on a grand slam home run by Jake Cave, the first of his professional career according to the man himself. Santana though was pulled after just 4.1 innings when he allowed 7 hits and three runs after throwing 78 pitches and didn’t qualify for the win in spite of having a 6-3 lead at the time. Gabriel Moya who relieved Ervin Santana got his second win in as many appearances after having no big league wins in his first 18 appearances. Fernando Rodney nailed down his 24th save of the season in typical Rodney fashion, STRESSFUL. Four different Twins had at least two hits in the game. The Twins take the sweep of the Royals and hit the road where they are just 19-34 with only the Tigers and Orioles having worse road records. Prior to the game, Johan Santana became the 31st member of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. Did you know that back in 2003 Johan Ramon Santana changed his name to Ervin Santana in an effort to differentiate himself from then-Twins ace Johan Santana? It’s true. Box Score
2013 – A historic day in baseball but for all the wrong reasons. MLB announced that 13 players were suspended for violating the leagues’ anti-doping protocols. All the players had ties to the Biogenisis clinic in Miami. Alex Rodriguez was suspended for a historic 211 games but has appealed and is playing with the Yankees. The other 12 players including Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta, Antonio Bastarado, Everth Cabrera, Francisco Cervalli, Fautino De Los Santos, Sergio Escalona, Fernando Martinez, Jesus Montero, Jordan Norberto, Cesar Puello and Jordany Valdspin accepted their 50 game suspensions. About two weeks ago, Ryan Braun was suspended for 65 games for the same reasons.
MLB Suspensions 2013: List of 13 MLB Players Suspended For Ties To BioGenesis Clinic, PED Use
Although no Twins were involved in the Biogenisis mess they had a bad day in Kansas City when they got trounced 13-0 and out hit 16-4. Kevin Correia the Twins starter gave up six runs and reliever Ryan Pressly gave up seven more. Things were so bad that the Twins used utility infielder Jamey Carroll to pitch the 8th inning. Carroll needed just 9 pitches, seven for strikes to retire the side without a run scoring. Carroll did not walk a batter nor allow a hit and became the seventh position player in Twins history to take the mound. Box Score
2012 – The 47-61 Twins are taking on the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park and score three times in the top of the ninth but still come out on the short end of a 6-4 game getting out hit 14 to 6. DH Ryan Doumit goes 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI and Josh Willingham also homers but the Twins still fall short of a win. Nick Blackburn started and was the loser for Minnesota. Box Score
The Twins announced today that they have traded third baseman Danny Valencia to the Boston Red Sox for 21-year-old GCL outfielder Jeremias Pineda. Pineda left the Twins system after the 2014 season and has not yet reached the big leagues.
2010 – With two outs and runners on the corners, Jason Kubel launched a high fly ball that bounced off the A-ring catwalk, just the second fair ball to hit the closest catwalk to the Tropicana Field roof in the stadium’s 13-year history and fell to the pitcher’s mound. Tampa Bay shortstop Jason Bartlett was hustling to get under the ball after it took a sharp downward turn upon hitting the walkway, which is suspended approximately 190 feet above the field, but he couldn’t get to it in time, allowing Jason Repko to score the tie-breaking run. The Twins ended up scoring another run and won the game 8-6 and gained an important series split after losing the first two games in Tampa. The Twins heavy hitters today were Jason Repko who had a home run and double and a RBI in the lead-off position and J.J. Hardy who was 3 for 4 with a double and a RBI. Joaquin Benoit was the unlucky loser and Matt Capps had the win fall in his lap. Box Score
2001 – A power outage in the Minneapolis area causes the Dome’s air conditioning to shut down, heating up the inside of the Dome to 91 degrees (some reports had it as high as 98 degrees) and a heat index of 105-109 degrees as the wilted Twins lost to the Royals 10-5. Torii Hunter was 2 for 3 with a home run and 3 RBI and Corey Koskie was 3 for 5 with two doubles and a RBI. Joe Mays was the Twins starter and loser. Box Score
Kirby Puckett, Dave Winfield and Bill Mazeroski were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Also enshrined was the late Hilton Smith, a Negro League pitcher overshadowed by teammate Satchel Paige. Los Angeles Times baseball writer Ross Newhan received the J.G. Taylor Spink award for writers, while Rafel “Felo” Ramirez, who has broadcast games in Spanish since the 1940s, received the Ford C. Frick award for broadcasters.
Puckett Hall of Fame induction video
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1981 – The two sides reached an agreement on July 31 to end the 1981 MLB strike, and play resumed on August 9 with the All-Star Game, with regular season play resuming one day later.
1968 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1961 – Yankee pitcher Jim Coates made an infrequent spot start and pitched his first complete game of the season as he held the Twins to just one run at Yankee Stadium as he scattered just four hits while walking five in a 2-1 Yankee win over the Twins and Jack Kralick (10-7) who also pitched a complete game allowing 2 runs on 9 hits and three walks. There were a total of three strikeouts combined in the game. The winning run scored in the eighth inning on a Roger Maris single followed by a Mickey Mantle hit that was misplayed by Jim Lemon in left field and when all was said and done Mantle was perched on third base with a triple. The Twins tried to battle back in the ninth and had runners at the corners with two out when Coates got Bill Tuttle to pop out to the second baseman for the final out of the game and the Twins fourth consecutive loss dropping their record to 46-60. Box Score
1957 – A harbinger of things to come: Metropolitan Stadium hosts Reds-Tigers exhibition by Joe Rippel
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