(click on images once or twice to make them larger)
2023 – The Twins lost to the Tigers at Comerica Park by a score of 9-5. Bailey Ober (6-6) was the starter and loser, allowing five runs (4 earned) on 11 hits (tied career high) in 5 innings pitched, with one walk and a season high nine strikeouts. The offense recorded seven hits and walked five times. Joey Gallo hit his 18th home run, tying Max Kepler for team lead, while Carlos Correa hit his 14th home run. The Tigers had 17 hits against Ober and Jordan Balazovic and six Tigers batters had multiple hits and four of them had three-hits each. Box Score
2022 – The Twins lost to the Dodgers last night in Los Angeles by a score of 10-3. Joe Ryan (8-5) was the starter and was issued the loss, allowing six runs (5 earned) on nine hits in 5 innings pitched. The Dodgers scored in each of the first four innings, jumping out to a 6-1 lead. The Dodgers scored in six of the eight innings they batted. The offense recorded seven hits, two apiece from both Byron Buxton and Gilberto Celestino. Buxton hit his 27th home run and drove in two runs, making him two RBI short of his career-high of 51, done in 2017. With the loss the Twins dropped into a tie with the Cleveland Guardians. Box Score
2021 – The start to the Twins longest home-stand of the season at Target Field did not go well. The Twins and Rocco Baldelli went with an “Opener” strategy using Beau Burrows and the White Sox beat him like a grade school kid beats a drum in band practice. Burrows lasted two innings giving up seven runs on five hits, three of which went out of the park and 3 walks. A Miguel Sano dropped popup for an error that would have ended the first inning didn’t help and cost Burrows 11 more pitches. Burrows threw 64 pitches over his two innings, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for him as Rocco left him in there to take a beating. Lucas Giolito had the Twins under control and didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning when Luis Arraez hit one back through the mound that hit Giolito. The only other hit the Twins had was a Sano eighth inning home run and when the smoke cleared the final score was White Sox 11 and the Twins 1. Not exactly how you want to start a long homestand after a winning roadtrip. Edgar Garcia whom the Twins recently picked up on waivers made his Twins debut and it was pretty impressive as he gave up one run in 2.1 innings of relief of Burrows. Box Score
2020 – After a short 25 minute rain delay that cleared up shortly before the first pitch, the Twins lost to the Royals yesterday afternoon by a score of 4-2, suffering their
first sweep of the season. The Royals jumped out to a 2-0 lead off Twins starter Jose Berrios in the first inning and were pretty much in control the rest of the way. The Twins actually tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the third but the Royals bounced back with one of their own in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good. The Twins had just seven hits with just one going for extra bases and that was a Max Kepler double. Nelson Cruz had two of the seven hits. José Berríos (1-2) was the starter and loser, allowing four runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings pitched. Berrios did earn his 600th career strikeout in the game. Baseball in 2020 is a funny game as the Twins find themselves with a 28-man roster and a whopping 16 man pitching staff and still burn through their pitching staff. When Baldelli brought in right-handed relief pitcher Cory Gearrin, who had just been added to the active roster a few hours earlier, to pitch the seventh inning he handed the ball to the 20th pitcher and 35th player to play for the Twins in just 16 games. After the game he was taken off the active roster and would not appear in another game in 2020. What did Gearrin do to deserve this? He pitched two innings facing seven batters and threw 30 pitches striking out one, walking two and allowing no hits and no runs. At the end of the season he became a free agent. Baseball was a crazy game in 2020. After starting 10-2 the Twins now find themselves at 10-6 and off to Milwaukee to try their luck against the Brewers. Box Score
2019 – The Twins lost to the Indians last night by a score of 6-2 giving them four losses in a row for the first time this season. Devin Smeltzer (1-2) was the starter and loser, allowing six runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings pitched, holding the Indians to one run through his first four. Randy Dobnak made his major league debut with 4 scoreless innings of relief, six hits, no walks and three strikeouts. The bats produced just eight hits, two from both Jorge Polanco and Jake Cave. Jason Castro (12) and Eddie Rosario hit home runs (25) giving the team 226 for the season. The Twins 226 home runs are the most in baseball, 18 more than second-place New York-AL (208), they need 41 home runs to match the MLB all-time record of 267 set last season by the NYY. The attendance was 36,641. With the loss the Twins and Indians are tied with 70-46 records. Box Score
2018 – The Twins were hoping for a win and a series split in Cleveland but instead got a poor start from Jose Berrios and ended up with their second straight walk-off loss, a major league-leading 12th of the season. The team record is 15 going back to 1964. Berrios who has struggled in day games this season, walked a career high six batters and lasted just 4 innings and 97 pitches. Tribe outfielder Michael Brantley singled in the winning run off Twins reliever Addison Reed. The Twins only had seven hits and one of those was the first home run of the season for Jorge Polanco. Box Score
After the game the Twins announced that they had traded their 41-year-old closer Fernando Rodney to the Oakland A’s for minor league pitcher Dakota Chalmers a 2015 A’s third round selection that received a $1.2 million signing bonus. Chalmers has serious control issues and underwent TJ surgery early this season after appearing in just two low A ball games. Rodney had 25 saves for Minnesota this season but rarely had an easy clean one.
2017 – Bartolo Colon is proving there is still something left in his 44-year-old tank. The veteran right-hander followed last week’s complete-game victory over the Rangers with seven scoreless innings against the Brewers today, leading the Twins to a 4-0 win at Miller Park. Brian Dozier supported the cause by going 3 for 4 with a home run and 2 runs scored and Jorge Polanco was 2 for 4 with a double, stolen base and an RBI, these two had 5 of the Twins 6 hits. Box Score
2014 – Welcome to the big leagues Trevor May! Twins starter Trevor May walked seven batters without recording a strikeout in his major-league debut, a 9-4 Twins loss at Oakland. May also gave up 3 hits and was charged with four earned runs, two of which were walked in. May threw 63 pitches, 28 for strikes. The Twins hit six doubles including two each by Eduardo Escobar and Jordan Schafer but it was far from enough. The only other pitcher in Twins franchise history with such an inauspicious debut was the Washington Senators’ Joe Krakauskas, against the Philadelphia Athletics on September 9, 1937 (7 BB and 1 hit). Box Score
2012 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2010 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1981 – The 52nd MLB All-Star game was played on Sunday, August 9, 1981, at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, the home of the Cleveland Indians of the American League. As of 2020, it is the only MLB All-Star Game that was played on a Sunday. This was one of only two All-Star Games to be played outside the month of July (the other being the second 1959 game). The game was originally to be played on Tuesday, July 14, but was cancelled due to the players’ strike lasting from June 12 to July 31. It was then brought back as a prelude to the second half of the season, which began the following day. At 72,086 people in attendance, it broke the stadium’s own record of 69,751 set in 1954, setting the still-standing record for the highest attendance in an All Star Game. Closer Doug Corbett was the Twins lone representative in the game but did not see any action. Box Score
1979 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1976 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1971 – No game today, scheduled day off. No regular season game but there was an ISEG between the Twins and the San Francisco Giants with the visiting Giants beating the Twins 5-2 in a special game at the Met. It was a unforgettable day where fans got to watch a home run hitting contest between Willie Mays and Harmon Killebrew with former teammate Paul Giel pitching to both sluggers and they got to see future HOFer Willie Mays play center field and all four infield positions. The paper below has some cool articles.
Willie Mays and Harmon Killebrew delight Twins fans in exhibition by Thomas E. Merrick
Star_Tribune_Tue__Aug_10__1971_
1967 – The Twins lose 9-7 to the Washington Senators after playing for 20 innings and 5 hours and 40 minutes at Met Stadium. The Twins had a 7-0 lead after 6 but the Senators scored 7 in the top of the 7th to tie the score. After that there was a scoring drought until the Senators Ken McMullen hit a home run in the top of the 20th inning to win the game. Cesar Tovar, Tony Oliva and Ted Uhlaender each had three hits while Zoilo Versalles took a 0 for 7 collar. Al Worthington the Twins fourth pitcher threw 8.2 innings of 2 hit relief with 8 strikeouts but Jim Roland who pitched the last 4 innings took the loss. Darold Knowles, the 5th pitcher used by Washington threw 10 innings of 3 hit relief while striking out 10 Twins, but Dave Baldwin who pitched the last 3 innings got the victory. I guess this was back in the days when relief pitchers were tough! The game ended at 1:44 AM on August 10th. Box Score
Star_Tribune_Thu__Aug_10__1967_ (2)
Star_Tribune_Thu__Aug_10__1967_ (3)
August 9, 1967: Reliever’s 10 shutout innings help Senators outlast Twins
1965 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1961 – After a 6-5 win yesterday over the Boston Red Sox the Twins are back to their losing ways with yet another loss at Fenway Park and guess what? Yep, the score is 5-4 again, the Twins third 5-4 loss to Boston this series. Twins starter Jack Kralick locked horns with Gene Conley and neither starter lasted pasted the sixth inning. Red Sox pitchers gave up 10 hits and seven walks but the Twins only pushed 4 runs across home plate and left an amazing 14 runners stranded. Jim Lemon had two hits including a double and home run, Lenny Green had two doubles and Bob Allison and Zoilo Versalles also each had two hits. Box Score
