(click on images once or twice to make them larger)
2023 – The Twins beat the Royals at Target Field by a score of 5-0, recording their eighth shutout of the season and completing the three-game sweep, their third sweep of the season (2nd of 3 games). Pablo López (5-5) pitched his first career complete-game shutout, allowing four hits with no walks and a career-high 12 strikeouts. Catcher Ryan Jeffers had two of the club’s five hits, including his fourth home run of the season. Edouard Julien also hit a home run, his sixth of the season. López and Joe Ryan (June 22 vs. BOS) became the first pair of Twins teammates to both throw a complete-game shutout in the same season since Brian Duensing, Francisco Liriano (no-hitter) and Carl Pavano all did so in 2011. The Twins are one of four teams in baseball with multiple complete games this season, joining Texas (3), New York-AL (2) and Seattle (2). The Twins now have a day off before taking on the visiting Baltimore Orioles for three games prior to the All-Star break. Box Score
2022 – The Twins beat the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field again, this time by a score of 8-2. Josh Winder (4-2) was the starter and winner, allowing two runs on seven hits in 5 innings pitched. Caleb Thielbar (1.0), Tyler Duffey (1.0), Trevor Megill (0.1) and Jharel Cotton (1.2) combined for 4 scoreless innings with no walks allowed and seven strikeouts. The offense recorded 12 hits, five being home runs from Max Kepler (9), Jorge Polanco (10), Alex Kirilloff (2, 3) and Jose Miranda (6). The win secured the series victory, their 14th of the season (14-8-4). The win was the Twins seventh consecutive win over the Whities going back to 2021. Box Score
2021 – The Twins began their seven-day, seven-game homestand with an 8-5 win over the first place Chicago White Sox, opening Target Field to full capacity for the first time since the 2019 season ended. The win marked only the second time that the Twins have beaten the White Sox this season in 10 games. Twins rookie Bailey Ober (1-1) who has made just seven big league starts made his third start of the season against the White Sox and was credited with his first big league win. Ober struck out the side in the first inning, doing so for the first time in his career and matched career highs of 5 innings pitched and seven strikeouts. The big right-hander did not allow any runs on just two hits during his outing throwing a career-high 93 pitches. Hansel Robles notched his eighth save of the season. Max Kepler who has struggled this season hit two home runs today making it three in the last two games. Kepler also had three RBI and three runs scored. The struggling Miguel Sano who is subbing for Nelson Cruz at DH chipped in two doubles. It is only fitting I guess with how this season has gone that Cruz would be on the bench with a sore neck that he got from overly aggressive coughing due to a bad chest cold. Box Score
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. 91 games missed so far. Twins Summer Camp 2020 is underway at Target Field and CHS Field.
2019 – The Twins come flying out of the chute at Target Field against the Texas Rangers with six runs in the second inning in front of a sellout crowd 38,073 and end up winning 15-6. Martín Pérez (8-3) was the starter and winner, allowing four runs on seven hits in 6 innings. The offense recorded 20 hits as each starter in the lineup recorded one hit and at least eight starters had multiple hits. The 20 hits marked a season-high, their most since June 13, 2017 vs. Seattle when they set a club-record with 28, It marked the 57th time in club history for the Twins to reach 20 hits in a game. 13 extra-base hits tied a Twins single-game record set earlier this season in game two of a doubleheader on April 20 at Baltimore. Nine doubles tied for the most in Senators/Twins history (since 1901), tying the Senators’ nine back on June 9, 1934 at Boston. Four Twins hit home runs, Luis Arraez (2), Jorge Polanco (13), Jonathan Schoop (14) and Mitch Garver (13). The Twins reached 165 home runs for the season, marking a new major league baseball Pre-ASG record, surpassing the Yankees mark of 161, done in 2018. 165 home runs are the most in baseball, ahead of Seattle (156), the Twins had 166 home runs all of last season. They now have a plus +59 home run differential, which also leads baseball. Box Score
2018 – The Twins are happy to be home after a horrendous road-trip to Chicago and Milwaukee where they took on the White Sox, Cubs and Brewers and won just one of nine games. Management decided during the six game losing streak that the Twins will be in selling mode over the next few weeks. The Twins again called up the big 6’10” right-hander Aaron Slegers to start a game and Slegers responded with a strong 6 inning start in which he allowed just 3 hits and one run on a Jonathan Schoop home run and earned the win, his first major league victory in his fourth big league start. Logan Morrison who has struggled most of 2018 hit a home run and rookie Jake Cave was 3 for 3 with two doubles, an IW, a run scored and a RBI. Box Score
The Minnesota Twins announced today that it had inked outfielder Trevor Larnach whom the club selected with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 Draft, for a $2.55 million signing bonus. The slot for the pick was valued at $3.12 million. Twins scouting Director Sean Johnson said the club plans to keep the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Larnach in right field. During the 2018 season with the Beavers, he hit .327 (70-for-214) with 13 doubles, 17 home runs and 65 RBI in 58 games. In the College World Series, he batted .417 (15-for-36) with five doubles, one triple, one home run, nine RBI and 10 runs scored in eight games.
2016 – The Twins waited out a 2 hour and 42 minute rain delay and beat the Oakland A’s 11-4 at Target Field in front of an announced crowd of 16,938, the smallest in Target Field history to that point. The actual crowd was much smaller. The 3 hour and 8 minute game ended about 1:00 am CDST. The 9:52 pm first pitch was the latest start for a game in Target Field history. Four Twins had two hits apiece and Miguel Sano, Kennys Vargas and Max Kepler all hit home runs to support starter Tommy Milone who went six innings and won his first game of the season. Box Score
2010 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2006 – The Twins get tripped up in Kauffman Stadium by the Kansas City Royals 6-3. Brad Radke starts and gives up 11 hits in five innings but only three runs and get a ND for his work as the Twins bullpen doesn’t do their job. Box Score
Of the field the field there is news too, the Twins announce that the team has signed a letter of intent with KSTP 1500 for a 4 year deal with to broadcast Minnesota Twins games through 2010. WCCO 830 on the dial had been the Twins broadcast partner since the team moved to Minnesota from Washington in 1961. WCCO paid the team $3 million annually but kept all ad revenue. The contract with KSTP differs dramatically from the deal WCCO had. The Twins will keep all revenue from ads broadcast during games, and KSTP has agreed to pay the team an escalating fee that will eventually reach $1 million a season. In my humble opinion one of the dumbest moves the Minnesota Twins ever made.
2004 – There is an old saying that goes something like this – “no good deed goes unpunished”. As gesture to honor local military personnel, the Twins give away a G.I. Joe action figures to the first 5,000 children attending the Twins versus Royals game at the Dome. The team, in an effort to appease protesting peace groups, who see the promotion as glorifying war, asks Hasbro, the toy’s maker, to remove the customary gun from G.I. Joe’s side, but the hand grenades remain visible. Brad Radke pitches a 4 hit complete game shutout and the Twins “bomb” the Royals 9-0. Lew Ford leads the Twins attack with three hits while Jacque Jones and Nick Punto provide back-up home run support. Box Score
Twins’ G.I. Joe giveaway criticized
2003 – The Indians rout the Minnesota Twins 13-2 at the Metrodome. Former Twin Casey Blake has a monster day going 5 for 5 with 2 doubles and 2 home runs while scoring 3 runs and knocking in 7 more. Indians Matt Lawton and Milton Bradley also hit home runs. The Twins were never in this game and as you might guess it was a bad day for Twins pitchers. Box Score
1992 – With the Twins trailing the Orioles 1-0 in the sixth inning, Twins DH Chili Davis hit a towering fly ball to right field off Orioles pitcher Rick Sutcliffe that everyone in the Metrodome thought was a game tying home run. However; the ball bounced off a speaker in play and was caught by second baseman Mark McLemore for the out to rob Davis of a sure home run. In the bottom of the ninth with starter Rick Sutcliffe still on the mound for the O’s, Twins manager Tom Kelly sent up PH J.T. Bruett to hit for Pedro Munoz but he grounded out to the second baseman for the first out. So then TK sent up PH Randy Bush to hit for Scott Leius and he singled, next TK sent up PH Donnie Hill to hit for Greg Gagne and he doubled and the Twins had runners at second and third. TK then sent up his fourth consecutive PH, Gene Larkin to hit for Shane Mack and he was given a free pass to first to load up the bases for Chuck Knoblauch but the O’s decided to bring in closer Gregg Olson. Knoblauch grounds out for the second out of the inning but Bush scores to tie the game at 1-1. Kirby Puckett draws a walk and Kent Hrbek steps to the plate with the bases juiced and two out and delivers a walk-off single (his third of the game) to score Hill with the winning run and the Twins are 2-1 victors. Twins starter Kevin Tapani went the distance for his ninth win. Box Score
1981 – MLB on strike.
1980 – The Texas Rangers were in town to play the 33-44 Minnesota Twins at Met Stadium. Eleven games under the .500 mark and in sixth place the Twins were struggling. But today the 9,398 fans that showed up to watch some baseball were treated to a pitchers duel between Hall of Famer to be Fergie Jenkins for the Rangers, the winningest active pitcher with 254 wins and Geoff Zahn for the Twins. Both pitchers pitched complete games with Jenkins giving up 5 hits and 2 runs in 8 innings while striking out 9 and Zahn pitched 9 innings and allowed just the one run on 6 hits with 1 strikeout. Zahn got the Rangers to hit into 19 ground outs including three double plays and picked a runner off first. The Rangers scored their lone run on a walk and two singles while the Twins scored their two runs in the fourth inning on a two-run home run off the right field foul pole by Roy Smalley (9). Rick Sofield had two hits and Hosken Powell chipped in a triple. Zahn got the win and Jenkins took the loss. Box Score
Twins’ Geoff Zahn grounds Rangers into submission by Robert Tholkes
1969 – The Twins and Jim Perry take on the Oakland A’s at Met Stadium. After Perry retires the first two A’s batters, Reggie Jackson steps up and blasts a long home run to right-center that nearly clears the Twins big score board and is estimated at about 450 feet. This doesn’t faze Perry, who pitches a 5 hit complete game for a 13-1 victory. The first four hitters in the Twins line-up, Ted Uhlaender, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew went a combined 10 for 17 with 9 runs scored, 9 RBI’s and two home runs, both by Harmon Killebrew. Box Score
1965 – Minnesota takes an AL lead it will not give up as Dave Boswell and Jim Perry pitch the Twins to a 6-2 and 2-0 sweep of the DH at Met Stadium against the Boston Red Sox. In the first game Twins starter Dave Boswell goes 8.1 innings and allows just two runs for the win and contributes two hits while Bob Allison goes 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and a RBI. Jimmie Hall also had 2 doubles and 2 stolen bases.
In the second game the Red Sox out hit Minnesota seven to six but they also commit three errors and Jim Perry tosses a complete game striking out eight in the 2-0 win and moves his record to 5-0. Jimmie Hall and catcher Earl Battey each have two hits and one of Battey’s hits is a triple, I would have paid to see that!
1962 – No Twins game, scheduled day off.
1961 – Twins starter Jim Kaat had a 2-1 lead and everything seemed under control until he allowed the visiting Los Angeles Angels a single and two doubles that led to two runs to lead off the eighth inning and Twins skipper Same Mele quickly pulled Kaat. Mele brought in Danny McDevitt who got the first out of the inning on a sacrifice bunt pushing the Angels runner to third base but then he walked the next batter putting runners on the corners so Mele responded by going to Don Lee who was able to get out of the inning with a double play but the Angels had a 3-2 lead. Ken Hunt added a 3-run homer in the top of the ninth off Lee and all of a sudden the Twins found themselves down 6-2. The Twins loaded the bases in the ninth on three walks with two out but Billy Martin flew out to right field to end the potential rally, the ballgame and the three game winning streak. Kaat (3-8) who took the loss went 7 innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks while fanning two batters and had two of the Twins seven hits. Jim Lemon went 2 for 4 with a HR and two RBI. The big story however; may not have been on the field but instead who was not on the field. After yesterday’s double-header Twins shortstop Zoilo Versalles said he was tired and missed his wife and was heading back to Cuba. Versalles did not show up for the game today and was fined $500 by owner Calvin Griffith. Box Score
Star_Tribune_Thu__Jul_6__1961_
