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2023 – The Twins lost to the Tigers at Target Field and in front of T-Pain, by a score of 8-4 although the game was closer than the final score indicates. The Twins led 4-2 until the Tigers put a 3-spot up on the board in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead that they held and then added three more in the ninth to make the final tally 8-4. Sonny Gray was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing two
runs on three hits in 4 innings pitched, with four walks and three strikeouts, exiting after 79 pitches. Being removed by manager Baldelli this early did not sit well with Gray and you can view his post-game interview here. Jovani Moran (0-2) was issued the loss, allowing three runs on three hits in one
inning of relief. The offense recorded just seven hits and walked just once. Willi Castro played his first game against his former team, going 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Box Score
2022 – The Twins shut out the Mariners by a score of 5-0, winning the three-game series. It marked their sixth shutout of the season and first since May 24 vs. Detroit (2-0). Sonny Gray made his return from the Injured List, pitching 5 shutout innings with three hits allowed, no walks and three strikeouts.
Griffin Jax (1.0), Joe Smith (0.2), Caleb Thielbar (0.1), Jhoan Duran (1.0) and Jharel Cotton (1.0) combined for 4.0 scoreless innings of relief. Smith’s appearance was career appearance 858, making him the leader in active pitchers. The offense recorded eight hits, led by Ryan Jeffers, who went 2-for-3 with a double, walk and the go-ahead RBI. Box Score
2021 – The wrong end of a 10-spot. The Twins lost to the Mariners last night by a score of 10-0, dropping game two of the three-game series at T-Mobile Park. J.A. Happ (3-3) was the starter and loser, allowing six runs (5 earned) on nine hits in 4 innings pitched. Happ got off to a bad start when his first pitch of the game was sent over the right field fence by J.P. Crawford. Griffin Jax pitched 4 innings of relief. The offense recorded just four hits, two from Alex Kirilloff. The loss marked the Twins’ third shutout this season and first by double-digits since an 11-0 defeat by the Astros on April 30, 2019 at Target Field. Box Score
MLB announced Tuesday that it has provided guidance to all 30 clubs and to the umpires to serve as “a uniform standard for the consistent application of the rules, including regular checks of all pitchers regardless of whether an opposing club’s manager makes a request.” Under the new guidelines, any pitcher who possesses or applies foreign substances in violation of the rules will be ejected from the game and automatically suspended in accordance with the rules and past precedent. Suspensions under Rule 3.01 are 10 games. Starting pitchers will have more than one mandatory check per game, and relievers must be checked at the end of the inning when they entered the game or when they are taken out of the game, whichever comes first. Typically, the inspections will take place between innings or during pitching changes to give the umpires ample time to perform a thorough check without delaying the game. Players will be paid during suspensions for this violation; repeat offenders will be subject to progressive discipline. Clubs and club personnel will also be subject to discipline for failure to ensure compliance with these rules.
2020 – The Twins are taking a day off and heading for home. In reality nothing has changed, all the games this season have been postponed/cancelled due to COVID-19. 73 games missed so far. We could be just around the corner from seeing baseball once again as the players have turned down the latest proposal from MLB and are waiting for MLB to issue a back to work order. See yesterday’s notes for more info.
2019 – It is official, the Minnesota Twins retired Joe Mauer’s number 7. Joe Mauer had never worn the No. 7 in his life — in any sport — before he found a jersey with the number hanging in a locker in Elizabethton, Tenn., as an 18-year-old playing rookie ball. “To be honest, it wouldn’t have mattered to me what number that was hanging in my locker that day,” Mauer said. “I just couldn’t believe I had a locker in a professional clubhouse with a jersey to hang in it.” Today, Mauer’s number 7 became the ninth number to be retired by the Twins in a nearly hour-long pregame ceremony featuring more than 30 Twins alumni, including 15 members of the Twins’ Hall of Fame, five inductees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and taped messages from the likes of Ron Gardenhire, Ichiro, Buster Posey, Albert Pujols and even hip-hop artist T.I. — who recorded Mauer’s longtime walk-up song, “What You Know.”
Oh, they played a baseball game today too. Just like you would expect, the Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 in front of a sellout crowd of 39,267 fans. The Royals scored first but the Twins scored last and although out hit 8 to 7 and committing three errors along the way the Twins still managed to push across that fifth run when CJ Cron doubled in Eddie Rosario in the sixth inning. Max Kepler (17) and Marwin Gonzalez (9) homered for the Twins. Twins starter Jake Odorizzi was not particularly sharp giving up 7 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs while striking out seven but it was good enough to get his 10th win of the season against 2 losses. Trevor May, Blake Parker, Ryne Harper and Taylor Rogers kept the Royals off the board the rest of the way. Box Score
2018 – The Twins are out-hit again 7-6 but get a “W” when they beat the first place Indians and their ace Corey Kluber at Progressive Field by a 6-3 score. Kyle Gibson who has pitched well most of the season got his first win since March 31 and upped his record to 2-4 in 14 starts. Gibson threw 103 pitches in 7 innings allowing just 3 hits and 1 run. The weak hitting Twins had two hits from Eddie Rosario including a first inning home run and a home run from Brian Dozier (his first in a month of Sunday’s) who had 3 RBI in the game. Box Score
2009 – No Game today, scheduled day off.
2008 – Scott Baker became the first pitcher in Twins’ history to record four strikeouts consecutively in one inning in his start against the Brewers in Milwaukee. Baker struck out Ryan Braun, then struck out Prince Fielder who reached on a wild pitch and went on to strike out Russell Branyan and Mike Cameron. But in the end the Twins and Scott Baker lose 4-2 at Miller Park. Baker struck out 9 in his six innings and gave up three runs. The Twins could only scratch up four hits, one of which was a Jason Kubel home run. Box Score
2006 – David Ortiz of the Red Sox hit a towering fly ball in the top of the sixth inning at the Metrodome. The ball soared toward the upper deck but struck a speaker hanging from the ceiling and fell onto the field. Ortiz was credited with a single but then was erased on a double play. After the game, Boston manager Terry Francona said: “It’s like playing putt-putt golf where you’ve got to go around the windmill. That’s embarrassing. The outcome of the game should never, never hinge on a speaker.” The Twins completed a three-game sweep of the Red Sox 5-3. Jason Kubel hit the games only home run and Carlos Silva pitched six scoreless innings for the win. Box Score
The Twins traded shortstop Juan Castro to Cincinnati for outfielder Brandon Roberts. Roberts never reached the big leagues.
2000 – Six games into a ten game homestand the Twins take on the visiting Seattle Mariners. The mariners send former Twins Paul Abbott to the mound and the Twins go with Mark Redman. Redman (4-2) gets rocked for 6 runs on 8 hits and 5 walks with no strkeouts and is gone after 2.1 innings and get nailed with the loss. Five Twins relievers also see action as the Mariners bats pound out 18 hits and draw 7 walks and score 12 runs for a easy 12-5 blowout win. Mike Cameron has a huge day with a home run (9) on 4 hits and 5 RBI and Alex Rodriguez has a home run (18) and 3 RBI and Ricky Henderson and John Olerud chip in 3 hits each. Robert Ramsay got his first and last big league win in relief for Seattle. The Twins had 8 hits with Cristian Guzman having two while Corey Koskie had one with two RBI and Butch Huskey also had one hit good for an RBI too. Box Score
Mike Cameron powers Mariners as Robert Ramsay wins first game by Steve Friedman
1995 – No game today, scheduled day off. The Twins took one in the shorts while playing an ISEG in Salt Lake City against their AAA team the Buzz when they got beat 4 to 3.
1981 – MLB on strike.
1980 – The Indians jump all over Twins pitchers Darrell Jackson, John Verhoeven, Fernando Arroyo and Mike Kinnunen for 21 hits, four walks and 14 runs. Cleveland’s right fielder Jorge Orta goes 6-for-6 (5 singles and a double) in a 14-5 rout of the Twins at Cleveland Stadium tying the AL record for hits in a 9-inning game. Twins DH Glenn Adams gets three of the Twins 7 hits with 2 doubles, two RBI and scores a run. Box Score
1978 – No game today. Twins versus Cleveland Indians game scheduled at Metropolitan Stadium was postponed due to rain and rescheduled as part of a September 3 DH.
1972 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1969 – The Twins break their three game losing streak and win the final game of the series to avoid a sweep by the Indians when Dave Boswell (8-7) pitches a complete game allowing just five hits and one earned run while striking out seven for the 3-2 win. The Twins themselves only had five hits with no one getting more than one but Harmon Killebrew’s triple with two on in the first inning put the Twins on top 2-0. The winning run scored with two-out in the eighth, runners at the corners and the score knotted at 2-2 when Graig Nettles bunted over the pitcher’s head on the first pitch from Juan Pizzaro scoring Rod Carew from third base. Box Score
1964 – No game today. Cleveland sends pitcher Jim Grant to Minnesota for pitcher Lee Stange and third baseman/outfielder George Banks. The “Mudcat” will go on to star for the Twins in their 1965 World Series season.
1961 – In the rubber game of the series the Twins send Jack Kralick to the mound and the A’s use 32 year-old Joe Nuxhall who had actually pitched his first big league game for the Reds in 1944 at the age of 15. The game is scoreless after two innings before the A’s get on the board with two runs on a Hank Bauer home run after Nuxhall had singled earlier in the inning. In the home half of the third, Kralick singles, Billy Martin pops out, Lenny Green singles and Harmon Killebrew grounds out. Jim Lemon draws a walk to load the bases with two outs and Bob Allison clears the bases but is thrown out at third base for the final out of the inning. The score remains 3-2 Twins until the ninth. Kralick is still on the mound for the Twins and gives up a lead-off double to Deron Johnson and then former Twin Reno Bertoia sacrifices Johnson to third bringing up Jerry Walker who strikes out for out number two. Kralick goes 3 and 1 on Dick Howser who then tried to hold up on the next pitch and hits an excuse-me single through the box to short center that scored Johnson but Howser was thrown out at second trying to catch the Twins napping for the final out. In the bottom of the ninth the A’s bring in ancient 40 year-old knuckleballer Gerry Staley who gives up a single to Earl Battey. Bill Tuttle moves Battey up a base with a sacrifice and then Tuttle goes to third on a passed ball. With Battey on third and one out Jose Valdivielso who is hitting just .116 and playing for the injured Zoilo Versalles steps to the plate and hits a solid single off a Staley knuckleball and the Twins have a 4-3 walk-off win. Kralick (6-4) gets the complete game win allowing 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 4 walks. The win gives the Twins their first series win since they took 2 of 3 from these same A’s in mid-May. With the win the Twins are 23-36 and in ninth place, 14.5 games behind the Yankees, Indians and Tigers who are all tied for first place. The Twins are off to Chicago for a four game series with the White Sox. Box Score
