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2023 – The Twins beat the Royals in an afternoon game at Target Field by a score of 9-3, securing the series win, their 13th of the season (13-12-3). Kenta Maeda (2-5) was the starter and winner, allowing two runs (1 earned) on three hits in a season-high 7 innings (87 pitches) pitched, his most since July 22, 2021 vs. Los Angeles-AL (also 7.0). He walked just one and tied a season-high with nine strikeouts. The offense recorded 10 hits, three from both Donovan Solano and Byron Buxton. Buxton tied Joey Gallo for team-lead in home runs with his 15th, while Kepler hit his 12th and drove in four runs on the day. The Twins now have gone 25-19 at home and 19-24 on the road. 25,033 fans showed up for the ballgame pushing the Twins attendance over the one million mark for the season. Box Score
2022 – TWINS WIN WITH 10TH INNING 4-SPOT ON THE 4TH: The Twins beat the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field by a score of 6-3 in 10 innings, which included a four-run 10th. Dylan Bundy was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing one run on three hits in 5 innings (58 pitches) pitched, with six strikeouts. Emilio Pagan (3-3) was credited with his second win in 3 days. The offense recorded eight hits, three coming off the bat of Luis Arraez. Byron Buxton drove in two runs and hit his 22nd homer of the season, his third homer in his last six games. In the seventh inning, the Twins turned the first 8-5 triple play in baseball history. With runners on first and second, AJ Pollock flied out to Byron Buxton at the wall, who then threw it to Gio Urshela, who recorded outs on the bases of Yoán Moncada and Adam Engel. It marked the 16th triple play in club history (2nd involving two players) and their fourth in their last four seasons. The 46-37 Twins are now in first place by 3.5 games. Box Score
2021 – The Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2 at Kauffman Stadium winning their first game of their six game road trip going 0-3 in Chicago and 1-2 in KC. Kenta Maeda (4-3) was the starter and winner, pitching six shutout innings with two hits allowed, one walk and a season high 10 strikeouts. The offense recorded nine hits, three from lead off hitter Luis Arraez, who also walked and scored three runs. The Twins power showed up with three home runs, with Jorge Polanco (10), Alex Kirilloff (7) and Max Kepler (7) all connecting. Box Score
DH Nelson Cruz was announced as the Minnesota Twins representative to the 2021 American League All-Star team that will play in Colorado. Cruz is the Twins first ever DH to be named to the AS team.
2020 – The Twins would be taking on the Indians in Cleveland today but all the games this season have been postponed/cancelled due to COVID-19. 90 games missed so far. Twins Summer Camp 2020 is underway at Target Field and CHS Field. Reports are circulating that Miguel Sano has also tested positive for COVID-19 and can’t participate in workouts until he is “negative” for two consecutive days. That would make four Twins now with positive COVID-19 results as Willians Astudillo, Nick Gordon and Edwar Colina had been reported with “positive” tests previously.
2019 – Jose Berrios was not particularly sharp as he threw 92 pitches over five innings allowing six hits, three walks, three runs and striking out just two batters but he kept the Twins in the game. The Twins trailed 3-2 after 7 innings but the A’s got four runs in the 8th on a grand slam home run by Marcus Semien off Mike Morin. It was the second long ball of the day for the A’s shortstop. Former Twins catcher Chris Herrmann had four hits and outfielder Robbie Grossman had 3 hits on the day. DH Nelson Cruz had 3 hits for Minnesota. The Twins record dropped to 54-32 and their lead in the AL Central dropped to 6 games over the Indians. Box Score
2018 – It was the 4th of July but there was not much fireworks at Miller Park when the Twins took on the Brewers as each team got just six hits. Stop me if you heard this before but the Twins lose 3-2 as Jorge Polanco and Eduardo Escobar get two hits each and one of Escobar’s hits was his 13th long ball of the season. Twins starter Jose Berrios wasn’t in top form during his seven innings and he gave up two home runs in the seventh inning that proved to be the difference when the final out was called. The first Brewer run was also a home run. The loss concluded the Twins 1-8 road-trip and the Twins losing streak reaches six as they head back for Target Field to take on the worst team in the AL Baltimore Orioles. Box Score
2010 – A five run seventh inning at Target Field propels the Tampa Bay Rays to a 7-4 victory over the Twins and Nick Blackburn. Justin Morneau, Jim Thome and Delmon Young each have two hits and combine for all four RBI but it is not enough. Box Score
MLB announces that catcher Joe Mauer and first baseman Justin Morneau have been named as starters for the All-Star game in Anaheim. Mauer is this years leading vote getter with 5,372,606 votes, the third highest total all time behind Ken Griffey Jr, with 6,079,688 in 1994 and Albert Pujols 5,397,374 in 2009. Minnesota native Joe Mauer joins Hall of Famer Rod Carew (1975, 1977-78) as the only other Twin ever to lead all of Major League Baseball in votes. A few days later Justin Morneau gets kneed in the head in a game in Toronto and withdraws from the all-star game.
1981 – MLB on strike.
1976 – The Twins and the California Angels split a double-header at Met Stadium with the Angels beating the Twins 5-3 in the opener and the Twins beating the Angels 9-5 in the second game. In game 1, Frank Tanana went the distance for the Angels win and in the process upped his record to 10-5. Craig Kusick had three of the Twins nine hits with a home run, a double, a stolen base and 3 RBI. Dave Goltz took the defeat.
In game 2 the Twins and Pete Redfern had a 5-0 lead after six innings but the Angels tied it with a five run seventh inning. In the Twins eighth inning Larry Hisle and Bob Randall were hit by pitches and Steve Braun walked to load the bases with two outs for first baseman Rod Carew who then drilled a grand slam home run and the Twins held on for a 9 to 5 win. Carew was 4 for 4 in the game. What was very unusual about the second game was that both teams had more runs than they did hits. The Angels had 5 runs on 2 hits and 2 errors while the Twins had 9 runs on 8 hits and 0 errors. This is the only instance in Twins history when this has happened.
1969 – The Twins scored early and often at the Met with home runs from Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Leo Cardenas and beat up on the Oakland A’s 10-4 and out hit the opponents 16 to 8. Bob Miller went the distance for his second win of the season. Catfish Hunter lasted just 3.2 innings and gave up 7 earned runs. Box Score
The Twins and White Sox strike a deal and the Twins send pitcher Jerry Crider packing and pick up first baseman Cotton Nash.
1964 – The fourth place Minnesota Twins had won four games in a row and wanted to celebrate the fourth of July with a DH sweep at Yankee Stadium and move up in the standings. The New York Yankees however; had other ideas and picked the fourth of July to blow up the Twins revived pennant hopes with a DH sweep. In game one it was Gerry Arrigo against Jim Bouton. Arrigo was gone after just 2.1 inning having given up 4 runs. After seven innings it was 4-3 Yankees but the Twins scored 2 in the top of the eighth when Harmon Killebrew (29) hit a two-run homer with Tony oliva on base and the Twins had a 5-4 lead. Things went haywire in the bottom of the eighth when Al Worthington struck out Johnny Blanchard to lead off the inning but it was a wild pitch and Blanchard reached first. Phil Linz reached on a Al Worthington throwing error on an attempted sac bunt and the Yankees had two on and no one out. Bobby Richardson bunted them up but was out on the play. Worthington then struck out Hector Lopez for out number two bringing up Mickey Mantle. Mantle (17) homered deep to right field and the Yankees were suddenly up 7-5. Pete Mikkelsen kept the Twins off the board in the ninth and got the 7-5 save. Bounton (7-7) got the win for NY and Worthington (2-1) took the loss for the Twins. Killebrew, Don Mincher (11) and Tony Oliva (18) homered for Minnesota. Attendance 30,685. Box Score
Radio broadcast of Game one of the DH, about 2 hours & 54 minutes
Game two saw the Twins Camilo Pascual face off against Al Downing in a game that turned out to be a pitching duel. Both pitchers went the distance with Pascual giving up just 4 hits and Downing giving up 9 hits. The Twins drew first blood when Jerry Zimmerman doubled to lead off the third inning, Pascual sacrificed him to third and Zoilo Versalles doubled Zimmerman home for a 1-0 Twins lead. The Yankees scored their two runs in the fifth inning on Elson Howard popped-up for out one, Clete Boyer singled and moved on to second on a Downing sacrifice and Phil Linz doubled him home to knot the game at 1-1. Bobby Richardson grounded to Versalles at short but the ball went up Versalles arm and bounced to the outfield and Linz scored an unearned run putting the Yanks up 2-1. That turned out to be the only scoring in the game. A tough day for Minnesota. Pascual (9-6) was saddled with the loss although he was 2-2 with the bat also and Downing (4-2) took the win. Box Score
1961 – Julio Becquer becomes the first Twin to pinch hit a grand slam home run when he blasts one out in the bottom of the ninth at the Met against the White Sox with the bases loaded and two out and leads the Twins to a 6-4 walk-off win in the first game of a doubleheader. Each of the 4 runs scored as part of the grand slam home run were charged to a different pitcher, a very rare occurrence. Jim Lemon and Bill Tuttle had hit home runs earlier to account for all the Twins scoring. Chuck Stobbs got the win. Box Score game 1.
Julio Becquer’s sudden shot on the Fourth of July wins it for Twins by Gene Gomes
In the second game it was a pitchers duel as Twins starter Jack Kralick kept the White Sox off the board for 8 innings and Sox starter Cal McLish shut out the Twins for seven innings before the Twins broke free for four runs on five hits highlighted by a three-run inside-the-park home run by Harmon Killebrew in the eighth inning, the only ISP home run he would ever hit in the big leagues and the Twins first-ever ISP home run. The Sox scored twice in the top of the ninth off Kralick but then he nailed down the final out for the win.
Harmon Killebrew hits first inside-the-park home run in Twins history by Gene Gomes