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2023 – The Twins lost to the Braves at Truist Park by a score of 6-2, all six Braves runs coming in the first two innings. Joe Ryan (8-5) was the starter and loser, allowing six runs on nine hits in 3 innings pitched, including five home runs allowed (Acuña – 2, Riley, Murphy and Harris II). Fresh off a complete game shutout in his last start, the Twins first in more than five years, Ryan watched his first pitch sail over the wall in center, Ryan then yielded a triple on his sixth pitch, another homer on his ninth pitch, and a third home run on his 20th pitch. Ryan who had allowed just four home runs in his last 11 starts, surrendered five long balls to the Braves first ten batters. It marked the second time in Ryan’s career he allowed five home runs (also 7/29/22 at SD) and he is one of three pitchers to do it, along with Bert Blyleven (9/13/86 vs. TEX) and Carlos Silva (8/22/06 at BAL). Ryan is now the only Twins pitcher to allow five home runs in a game twice in his career. Oliver Ortega pitched a career-high 3 hitless innings with one walk allowed and two strikeouts. The offense recorded seven hits, including two from Joey Gallo, who singled and doubled. In the three game series in Atlanta the Twins went 0 for 23 with RISP. Attendance was 42,635. Box Score
2022 – The Twins won their third straight game when they whipped the Guardians at Progressive Field by a score of 11-1. Sonny Gray (4-1) was the starter and winner, pitching a season-high tying 7 shutout innings with three hits allowed, one walk and three strikeouts. The offense recorded 14 hits as Alex Kirilloff, Gio Urshela and Gary Sánchez each had three hits apiece. Mark Contreras recorded his first major league hit with a ninth-inning single. Sánchez (9), Nick Gordon (3), and Carlos Correa (8) each homered, while Urshela doubled twice. Triston McKenzie (4-6) took the defeat. The win marked the largest margin of victory over Cleveland since a 10-0 win on May 21, 2021 at Progressive Field. Box Score
2021 – The Twins wrapped up their homestand with a win over Cleveland at Target Field by a score of 8-2, scoring seven runs in the first four innings. J.A. Happ (4-3) was the Twins starter and winner, allowing two runs on six hits in 6 innings pitched with no walks and seven strikeouts. The Twins hit three home runs, Josh Donaldson (11), Andrelton Simmons (3) and Nelson Cruz homered for the team-leading 17th time. The Twins finished their homestand with a 3-2 record and are now off to Chicago and Kansas City. Box Score
2020 – The Twins would have been playing the Colorado Rockies at Target Field today but then you remember that nothing has changed, all the games this season have been postponed/cancelled due to COVID-19. 84 games missed so far.
2019 – First there was a 57 minute rain delay at Target Field before the Twins and Rays started playing baseball. Then it took 18 innings and five hours and 42 minutes but the Tampa Rays avoided being swept by the Twins in a three-game series for the first time since July of 2005 in the Metrodome. The Twins scored first in the bottom of the first inning when they pushed across two runs and had no clue they would not score again during the remaining 17 innings. The Rays returned the favor by scoring twice in the top of the second inning and the games was tied at 2-2 and it stayed that way until the top of the 18th when the Rays scored three times off the Twins tenth hurler of the game Ryne Harper. Ryne Harper (3-1) who was pitching for the third day in a row took his first career big league defeat. Neither team scored between the 2nd and 18th innings, the most innings between runs in an AL game since September 1, 1906 in a game between the Philadelphia A’s and the Boston Americans. The ten Twins pitchers tied a team record and the 18 inning game is the longest in Target Field History. Kyle Gibson pitched one inning and it was his first career relief appearance. 233 pitches thrown by Minnesota and 268 by Tampa. Twins batters didn’t even hit a ball out of the infield between the fifth and 12 innings. The Twins struck out 22 times, a team record and also a team record for the Rays pitching staff. Luis Arraez was 3 for 7 and Jorge Polanco was 2 for 7 while Twins lead-off hitter Max Kepler was 0 for 8. Did I mention the final score? It was Rays 5 and the Twins 2. All this just nine days after Minnesota beat Boston in a 17 inning game at Target Field. After the game the Twins left for Chicago where the White Sox are waiting. Twins record is 52-28 and their lead over the Indians is 8 games. Box Score
Star Tribune, Friday, June 28, 2019, pages from 17 to 17
Star Tribune, Friday, June 28, 2019, pages from 21 to 21
2018 – The Twins lose to the White Sox again, their fifth loss in the last six games. This time but a 6-1 score as Jamie Shield ups his record 3-9 with seven scoreless innings while allowing the Twins but 4 hits and striking out 7 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Coach Gene Glynn and manager Paul Molitor were ejected for arguing a non-called balk call and a balk call that was reversed. It wasn’t one of Kyle Gibson’s better games but he went 7 innings and allowed 5 runs on 11 hits. The Twins were out-hit 12-5 in a lifeless game and shortstop Ehire Adrianza had four of them going 4 for 4 with a double while knocking in the Twins only run. Box Score
2016 – No game today, scheduled day off.
2011 – Not a good night to be a Twins fan at Target Field when they lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers 15-0. Just a day earlier the Dodgers had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Every Dodger in the starting line-up had at least 1 hit, 1 run, and 1 RBI. The Dodgers pounded Twins pitchers Nick Blackburn, Anthony Swarzak, Phil Dumatrait, Jose Mijares, and Matt Capps for 25 hits, a new record (old one was 24). The Dodgers scored in 7 out of the 9 innings. The Twins pitchers also walked 3 batters and the team committed two errors. Sure am glad I wasn’t at that game. Shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka was 2 for 3 in this game. Box Score
1988 – The Angels host the Twins in Anaheim Stadium and put up a 4 run, 5 run and a 6 run inning and punish the Twins 16-7. Twins outfielder Dan Gladden takes the mound in the 16-7 defeat. Dan pitched a scoreless 8th inning facing just three batters and throwing 9 pitches. This is the third occurrence of a Twins position player pitching. Randy Bush and Gary Gaetti each get three hits in the game. Twins pitching in this game is not worth mentioning here. Box Score
1981 – MLB on strike.
1980 – The Rangers Gaylord Perry at the age of 41 pitches a 4 hit shutout in 109 degree heat in Arlington Stadium and beats the Twins 5-0. Perry throws only 81 pitches and the game is over in 1 hour and 49 minutes, probably to the relief of the players and the 10,818 fans. Roy Smalley had 3 of the four Twins hits in the ball game and John Castino had the other. Box Score
1974 – A scheduled day off but a rainout from May 14 against the White Sox was played.
1973 – Just twenty days after pitching his high school team to a state championship, David Clyde, a $125,000, 18-year-old bonus baby with the Texas Rangers, pitched five innings, struck out eight, walked seven, and allowed one hit in his first major league start. Texas beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 before 35,698 fans, the Rangers’ first home sellout at Arlington Stadium as Clyde is credited with his first major league victory. The Twins scored their three run on just four hits, one of which was Mike Adams first big league home run. Jim Kaat was the Twins starter and loser. Box Score
1963 – Of all the statistical oddities in baseball, the rarest occurs when a first baseman plays an entire game without recording a put out. Detroit Tigers’ Norm Cash did exactly that. That afternoon, in Met Stadium in front of only 8,876 Twins fans in the stands, the Tigers’ 27 outs in the team’s 10-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins, were recorded as follows: six strike outs, 11 fly balls and 10 line drives. Despite this early summer game against the Twins, Cash, considered an outstanding fielder, led the league the league that year in put-outs for a first baseman. Three Twins get 3 hits and Harmon Killebrew and Jimmie Hall each hit home runs to propel the Twins to victory. Jim Perry allows six runs but pitches a complete game for his eighth win of the season. Box Score
1961 – The ninth place Twins play two against the visiting Boston Red Sox at Met Stadium with the first game being a make-up game from a May 6 game that was rained out. Twins starter Jim Kaat and Red Sox starter Galen Cisco hooked up in a scoreless pitching duel until the bottom of the fifth when the Twins put the first run on the board when Kaat singled Bill Tuttle home for the first run of the game. Apparently the Twins scoring a run woke up the Red Sox who then got to Kaat in the top of the sixth on a walk and three straight singles that scored two runs and that was the end of the line for Kaat. With two on and no one out reliever Don Lee faced Don Buddin who promptly doubled to right field and just like that the RSox had a 4-1 lead. The Twins came back with one of their own in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 4-2 game. In the bottom of the seventh the Twins tied it up at 4-4 when pinch-hitter Julio Becquer hit his second pinch-hit home run of the season (and seventh hit in his last 12 PH appearances) that scored Bill Tuttle and all of a sudden it was anyone’s game once again. The Red Sox retook the lead in the eighth against Danny McDevitt who had relieved Don Lee to start the inning. With runners at the corners and just one out, Sox reliever Mike Fornieles singled in pinch-runner Pete Runnels to put the Reds Sox up 5-4. In the bottom of the inning ace reliever Mike Fornieles quickly disposed of Bob Allison for the first out of the inning. Then the worm turned when Earl Battey drew a walk, Bill Tuttle followed with a double putting runners at second and third. Dan Dobbek pinch-hit for Billy Martin and he too drew a walk loading the bases for Julio Becquer who had stayed in the game after his PH home run earlier. This time Becquer struck out for the second out of the inning. That brought up lead-off hitter Zoilo Versalles who was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts. Versalles swung at Fornieles first pitch, a curve and smacked it into center scoring Battey and Tuttle and all of a sudden the Twins had the lead for the first time since the fifth inning at 6-5. With McDevitt starting his second inning, Yaz reached first on a Killebrew error but then McDevitt buckled down and retired the next two batter before allowing a walk that put two runners on. McDevitt retired Pete Runnels on a fly to left and the Twins had a come from behind 6-5 win that ended a two game losing skid. Mcdevitt got the win and evened his seasons record at 2-2 and Mike Fornieles took the loss putting his record at 5-4. Twins pitchers allowed nine hits in the game and in the process broke an 0 for 17 streak for Fornieles, Chuck Schilling also ended an 0 for 17 and Vic Wertz ended an 0 for 18 slump but all that mattered was that the scoreboard showed Twins 6 and Red Sox 5. Versalled stole his 13th base in 16 attempts in the 7th inning. Box Score game one
Game two saw the Twins Pedro Ramos face-off against the Red Sox right-handed 6’8″ Gene Conley. Conley also played pro basketball for the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. The game was scoreless with each pitcher giving up just 3 hits when in the sixth inning Conley started to tire walking Lenny Green and Harmon Killebrew. Jim Lemon followed and reached first on a bad throw to first base by Conley on a attempted sac bunt loading the bases. On a 0-1 count Bob Allison promptly unloaded one 380 feet deep to left-center field for a grand slam home run, lucky number 13 on the season and a nice 4-0 Twins lead. Ramos had the game under control with a 6-0 lead until the ninth inning when the Red Sox got to Ramos for 3 runs on 3 hits and Don Lee had to be brought in to get the final out of the game ensuring the 6-3 victory and ending six hours of baseball on the day. Allison’s grand salami was his second of the season and the third of his career. The win upped Ramos’s record to 5-9 on the season and the Twins record to 28-43. The two losses dropped the Red Sox from fourth to sixth place. Box Score game two
