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2023 – The Twins lost to the Blue Jays on a Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre by a score of 7-6, failing to record their second sweep of the season. Louie Varland was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing four runs on six hits in 4.2 innings pitched…Emilio Pagán (3-1) was dealt the loss, allowing a three-run homer to Cavan Biggio in the eighth inning, trying to protect a 6-4 lead. The offense recorded 10 hits, three from Royce Lewis, who drove in two runs. Carlos Correa had two hits, both doubles, the 199th and 200th of his career. Donovan Solano went 1-for-2, walked a career-high-tying three times and hit his first home run of the season. Another huge crowd showed up for the game, 41,673. The 33-33 drop back to .500 and head for home where they will have a day off before hosting the Milwaukee Brewers. Box Score
2022 – The Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays again at Target Field, this time by a score of 6-5, scoring five of their runs in the third inning. Chi Chi González who was called up from AAA St. Paul was the Twins starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing three runs on eight hits in 4 innings pitched and was DFA post game and eventually claimed by Milwaukee. Emilio Pagán earned his eighth save in 11 chances with a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts. Twins pitchers gave up zero walks in the game for the eighth time this season. The offense recorded 11 hits, highlighted by Luis Arraez, who went 3-for-5 with a career-high four RBI and his first career grand slam. Ryan Jeffers threw out two baserunners for the first time in his Twins career. Box Score
2021 – The Twins 3-1 lead after four inning evaporated as they lost to the Astros at Target Field by a score of 6-4. Matt Shoemaker made his first relief appearances since 2015 and allowed two runs in the top of the ninth inning which broke a 4-4 tie. Bailey Ober made his third major league start, allowing two runs on seven hits in 5 innings pitched with seven strikeouts. The offense recorded six hits, including two home runs from Josh Donaldson and one apiece from Nelson Cruz and Miguel Sanó. All four homers were solo shots. The Twins have a league leading 92 home runs but find themselves with a 25-38 record with 13 wins and 20 losses at home. Box Score
2020 – The Twins should be in the Charm City playing the O’s….. In reality nothing has changed, all the games this season have been postponed/cancelled due to COVID-19. We have now missed 70 games. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has stated that there will be baseball in 2020 even if MLBPA rejects their latest offer.
2019 – The Twins are home again but fall behind the visiting Mariners 3-0 after three innings but bounce back for a 6-3 win in front of over 23,000 fans at Target Field. Jonathan Schoop (12) and Jason Castro (8) hit back to back “jacks” (seventh back-to-back homers this year) in the fourth inning to tie the game at 3-3. Jorge Polanco who deserves to be the AL All-Star shortstop was 3 for 3 with 2 doubles, scored once and knocked in one. Martin Perez (7-2) started but was not as sharp as normal and lasted just 5 innings allowing 4 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks. Matt Magill (2-0) got the win and Trevor May notched his first save of the season. Twins now 44-21 with a 10.5 game lead. Box Score
Off the field the Twins made news too. The Twins signed their first-rounder Keoni Cavaco who they chose last week with the 13th pick in the first round of the draft, for $4.05 million, which is just slightly under slot. He will head out to Fort Myers, Fla., to begin his professional career with the rookie level Gulf Coast Twins.
2018 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2015 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2012 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2011 – One of only three Cy Young Award winners (1970) in Twins history, right-hander Jim Perry was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame today. Jim, 75, is the older brother of 72-year-old Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry. Between the two of them, the Perry brothers won 529 games and three Cy Young Awards, as Gaylord won the honor in 1972 with the Indians and in ’78 with the Padres. The Perry brothers are the second winningest brother combination in baseball history behind Joe and Phil Niekro, who had 539 victories between them. The Twins pound the Rangers 8-1 at Target Field as Scott Baker pitches a complete game allowing just five hits and one run while striking out seven. Alexi Casilla and Delmon Young each get three hits. Box Score
2010 – Francisco Liriano ties a team record when he strikes out 7 consecutive Atlanta Braves batters in a 2-1 win at Target Field. Liriano used his slider to strike out Martin Prado and Jason Heyward to end the third inning. He struck out Chipper Jones on a slider, Troy Glaus on a change-up and Brian McCann on a slider to get through the fourth. Liriano opened the fifth by striking out Yunel Escobar on a slider and Omar Infante with a change-up. Jim Merritt also accomplished this feat on July 21, 1966 against the Washington Senators. The Twins bunch five of their seven hits in the seventh inning and score two runs and that is all they need for a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves. Francisco Liriano goes 8 strong innings striking out 11 to up his record for the season to 6-3. Tim Hudson pitches a complete game for the Braves but comes up the loser. Box Score
2007 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2005 – After getting walked-off yesterday the Twins score first at Dodger Stadium and take a 4-0 lead against Derek Lowe and hold on for a 5-3 victory. Twins starter Carlos Silva went 6 innings allowing 3 earned runs on 7 hits, three of which were home runs. Joe Nathan locked down the save. Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter homered for the Twins. Little did the Twins know that they would not win in Dodger Stadium again until May 16, 2023. Box Score
1998 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1986 – The Twins lose to the Texas Rangers 6-2 in sixteen innings and 4 hours and 32 minutes of baseball at the Metrodome. The game is tied 2-2 after 9 innings and both starters, Charlie Hough for the Rangers and Allan Anderson for the Twins are still in the game. Anderson, a 22-year old lefty who is making his major league debut ends up going 10 innings and the 38-year old Hough keeps throwing that knuckler of his for 13 innings and 168 pitches despite working with only three days rest. The Rangers score 4 in the top of the 16th inning off Roy Lee Jackson highlighted by a three run Oddibee McDowell home run for the win. Mitch Williams goes the final three innings for the win. Kirby Puckett is 4 for 6 in the game for Minnesota. Box Score
Pat Sajak brought his mini Wheel of Fortune game to the Metrodome and also threw out the first pitch which had been one of his goals.
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1981 – The Twins lost game number 39 when they were beat at home by the visiting Detroit Tigers 7-2. The Twins took a quick 2-0 lead in the first when Hosken Powell and Rob Wilfong singled putting runners at the corners. Mickey Hatcher followed with a RBI single and Butch Wynegar hit a sac fly to score what turned out to be the final run the Twins would score for about two months. The Tigers put the next seven runs on the board and the Twins were 7-2 losers. Pete Redfern (3-7) who allowed 5 runs on 7 hits over 6 innings took the loss while Dan Petry (4-5) took the win. The Twins had only seven hits with Hosken Powell and Pete Mackanin getting two each. MLB went on strike after this game and play did not resume until August 10th. Box Score
1979 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1972 – Brothers Jim (Twins) and Graig (Indians) Nettles each homer in the Twins’ 5 – 3 win over the Indians. Winning pitcher Jim Kaat and Bobby Darwin also hit home runs for the Twins. Jim Kaat’s home run off Cleveland pitcher Vince Colbert now stands as the last home run that has been hit by a Twins pitcher before the DH came into existence. Jim Nettles was 3 for 5 with a home run, 2 runs and one RBI. Jim Kaat went 7 innings for the win and Wayne Granger notched the two-inning save. Box Score
1970 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1969 – The visiting Red Sox scored in six of the nine innings at Met Stadium and put serious 13-5 beating on the Twins. Outfielder Joe Lahoud who was playing in his 34th game of the season and had zero home runs hit three home runs today against the Twins. Four different Red Sox hitters had 3 hits apiece while Rod Carew had 3 hits for the Twins. Red Sox starting pitching was no better than Minnesota’s in this game but the Sox got 5 innings of scoreless relief from Sonny Siebert. Dave Boswell took the loss evening his record at 7-7. Box Score
1965 – The Twins sweep the Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium by a 5-4 score in both games with the first game going 10 innings and the second game going 12 innings. The Twins almost lost game one because of a Zoilo Versalles error that allowed the Tigers three unearned runs in the sixth inning but they came back with an unearned run of their own in the ninth to tie the game at 4-4 on an errant pick-off throw to first by Tiger reliever Terry Fox that allowed Don Mincher to score. The Twins won in the 10th when Sandy Valdespino and Frank Kostro singled, Tony Oliva moved each of the runner’s up a base with a sac bunt and Jimmie Hall delivered the sac fly for the 5-4 lead. Dick Stigman who had pitched the ninth inning then closed out the Tigers in the 10th by striking out the side for the win.
Game two started out as a pitching duel between the Tigers Mickey Lolich and the Twins Mel Nelson but after 9 innings it was tied 2-2. The Twins scored 3 in the top of the 12th inning on 4 hits and a Tigers error off Tigers reliever Terry Fox who had lost game one. The Tigers came back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the 12th on a Jim Northrup two run blast but Jim Perry shut the door for a Twins win and a day to remembers for Tigers reliever Terry Fox who was the losing pitcher in both games. Harmon Killebrew led the Twins attack with a 3 for 5 effort that included his 10th home run, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.
1964 – The Twins split a DH with the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Red Sox win game 1 by a 8-2 score by hitting four home runs, two by Don Buddin and one each by Frank Malzone and Jackie Jensen. Bob Allison hit a home run for Minnesota but three errors, one by Allison and two by second baseman Billy Martin allowed for five unearned run to score and that was the old ball game. Martin also hit into two double plays. The Twins beat the Red Sox in game 2 by a score of 10-5 with a five run third inning and a four run ninth inning. Killebrew was 3 for 4 with a home run and 3 RBI and his buddy Allison was 2 for 3 with a home run and 3 RBI. Billy Martin also hit in to a double play in the second game.
The LA Angels trade outfielder Frank Kostro to the Twins for first baseman Vic Power and outfielder Lenny Green. Certainly not one of the better trades in Twins history.
1962 – No Twins game, scheduled day off.
1961– The Boston Red Sox were happy to see the slumping Twins show up at Fenway Park and they showed off their power with four home runs and three doubles and they had 7 extra base hits in their total of ten hits in game one as they coasted to an easy 8-2 win. Rookie right-hander Don Schwall won his fifth straight game upping his record to 8-2. Schwall left the game in the seventh with a back spasms after allowing just one run (on a Bob Allison home run) 3 hits and 4 walks in 6.1 innings. Mike Fornieles finished the last 2.2 innings allowing one run for his fourth save. The Red Sox beat up Pedro Ramos handing him his sixth straight defeat and eighth of the season. Ramos (3-8) had only given up two hits through the first five innings although one of them was a Don Buddin home run for a 1-0 Boston lead. The happy-go-lucky and sometimes temperamental Ramos who had given up several home runs on 0-2 counts over the last few games decided to throw two pitches over the catchers head in this game and when warned to stop, he threw a ball into the screen. The sixth inning started poorly for Ramos when he gave up a double and a walk but then he settled down and retired the next two batters. Catcher Earl Battey had Jackie Jensen thrown out at second for the third out of the inning on an attempted steal but Billy Martin dropped the ball and the Red Sox had runners on second and third when third baseman Frank Malzone who the Twins had been trying to acquire in a trade for Jim Lemon stepped up to the plate. Malzone worked the visibly upset Ramos to a full count and when Ramos threw a high pitch, Malzone poked it into the left field screen for a 4-0 Sox lead. Ramos promptly decked the next batter Don Buddin, who had homered earlier and home plate umpire Ed Runge wasted no time fining Ramos $50 then and there. Buddin got up, dusted himself off and hit his second home run of the game and bumped the score to 5-0. Ramos gave up another single and a double before Sam Mele had seen enough and brought in Bill Pleis to get out of the inning. The long sixth must have taken its toll on Schwall who gave up a lead-off home run to Allison in the top of the seventh and then after retiring the next batter he left the game with his back spasms. The Twins had seven hits of their own but they were 0 for 6 with RISP and their three errors allowed five unearned Red Sox runs. Ed Palmquist finished the game for the Twins going the final 2 innings in what would turn out to be his final big league pitching appearance. Box Score game one
Game two pitted the Twins Jack Kralick against Galen Cisco for Boston. The Red Sox scored one in the first and another in the second and were up 2-0 when the Twins got to Cisco for five runs on three singles, a double and Bob Allison’s 11th home run sending him to the showers. The five runs was more then they had scored in any nine-inning game since May 30th. The Red Sox kept pecking away at Kralick and he was relieved by Don Lee after 6.1 innings and a 6-4 lead. Lee allowed one of Kralick’s baserunners to score and all of a sudden it was a 6-5 game and stayed that way through the eighth inning. The Twins managed to put together four hits for four runs in the ninth off Billy Muffett and held on for a hard fought 10-5 win that was closer then the score indicated. Kralick got his fifth win against four losses and Lee got the save, his first as a Twin. Each team had 11 hits and Killebrew led the Twins with 3 runs, 3 hits including a home run and a double and 3 RBI. The Killer’s 13th home run was his first since May 28th. The DH split moved the Twins record to 21-34 and good for eighth place, 15.5 games behind the 37-19 league leading Indians. Box Score game two
