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2023 – The Twins lost to the Rays at Target Field by a score of 7-4. Sonny Gray was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing two runs (1 earned) on six hits in 4.0 innings pitched, throwing 89 pitches. Twins hitters had but six hits, two from Max Kepler, who singled and homered. For Kepler it was his 22nd of the season, breaking a tie with Joey Gallo (21) for team lead. Royce Lewis also homered, hitting a three-run shot in the sixth inning, his 12th of the season. With a Guardians loss today the Twins magic number is 11. Box Score
2022 – The Twins fall under the .500 mark for the first time since April when they lose to the Guardians at Target Field by a score of 4-1, suffering their sixth sweep of the season. Josh Winder (4-4) made his return to the Twins and was the starter, allowing two runs on four hits in 4 innings pitched and was stuck with the loss. Shane Bieber (10-8) was the winner for the Guardians.The anemic offense recorded five hits, two from Nick Gordon, who hit his 24th double of the season. The Twins only run came on a Gary Sánchez fifth-inning pinch-hit single. The is the first time that the Twins have been swept at home since mid-May when the Astros had their brooms out. The lowly Kansas City Royals are coming to town next so maybe the Twins will have better luck there. Box Score
2021 – The Twins beat the Royals at Target Field by a score of 9-2. Twins bats recorded 12 hits, including five home runs. Jorge Polanco hit his 28th and 29th, Max Kepler hit his 17th, Byron Buxton hit his 13th and Nick Gordon who played shortstop for the first time as a Twin hit his second. Polanco’s 29th home run ties him with Chili Davis for most home runs by a switch-hitter in a single season. Kansas City starter Brady singer gave up all five home runs making him just the second pitcher other than Gary Bell with Cleveland in April of 1962 to do so. Michael Pineda (6-8) was the Twins starter and winner, allowing one run on five hits in 5 innings pitched, with no walks and three strikeouts. Rocco Baldelli earned his 200th career managerial victory. Box Score
2020 – The Minnesota versus Cleveland game at Target Field was delayed by 42 minutes at due to rain and the first few innings were played in a 55 degree mist. Nevertheless the 4-1 Kenta Maeda took the mound to face off again the 7-0 Shane Bieber. The Twins got on the board first on a two-run home run by Byron Buxton following a one-out double from Jake Cave in the second and then the Twins made it 3-0 when Ryan Jeffers added some insurance hitting a solo shot off Bieber in the bottom of the seventh. The Twins lifted Maeda at that point and brought in Sergio Romo who pitched a clean eighth and then went with Taylor Rogers to close it out. Rogers however gave up a solo blast to Jose Ramirez to make it 3-1 but that was it and the Twins won the game 3-1. Maeda got his fifth win with seven shutout innings striking out seven and allowing just four hits and two walks. Maeda not only pitched well but made a nice fielding play and picked Francisco Lindor off first base. Bieber took his first loss of the season and saw his record fall to 7-1. Box Score
2019 – The Nats jump out to a 5-0 lead over the injury depleted Twins and coast to a 6-2 win behind a Stephen Strasburg (17-6) start. Starter Martín Pérez (10-7) took the loss allowing five runs on six hits in 5 innings pitched. Luis Arraez led the Twins hitting attack with three hits and Jorge Polanco hit his 21st home run. The Twins number of full 2019 Postseason ticket strips for home games, as allotted by MLB, have sold out. Box Score
2018 – The Twins tried the opener strategy again, this time with Tyler Duffey and after two innings found themselves down 1-0 to the Yankees at Target Field. The Twins scored the next 10 runs powered by Joe Mauer’s fifth career grand slam home run before the Yankees Didi Gregorius hit a grand slam of his own but the Twins held on for a 10-5 win and broke their eight game Yankee losing streak. Primary pitcher Kohl Stewart who relieved Duffey picked up his first major league victory with 3.1 innings allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and 5 walks. Jorge Polanco went 3 for 5 with a double, run scored and a RBI. Box Score
2013 – Tough day to be a Twins fan. Each of the nine players in the Oakland A’s starting lineup had at least one RBI and one run scored in the team’s 18-3 pounding of the Twins. The 18 runs that Oakland put on the board are the second most scored by a team at Target Field since the Twins began playing their home games there in 2010, behind the 19 run outburst Minnesota had against the Orioles on July 16, 2012. The A’s scored ten times in the fourth inning on 10 hits (6 singles, 3 doubles and a home run) off Twins pitchers Mike Pelfrey, Josh Roenicke and rookie Rule 5 pick-up Ryan Pressly. Eric Fryer, a back-up catcher who entered the game in the fifth inning hit his first and only home run of the season. Box Score
But there is always hope, Baseball America announced today that they have named outfielder Byron Buxton as the 2013 Minor League Player of the Year making him the second Twins farm-hand to win this prestigious award. Catcher Joe Mauer also won this award in 2003.
2010 – The Indians and Twins failed to score a run in the first 11 innings and that makes it the longest scoreless game in the history of Jacobs Field/Progressive Field. But when the final score is posted, the Twins beat the Indians 1-0 in 12 innings on a Jim Thome home run off Justin Germano. Ironic to be sure since Thome spent the first 12 years of his HOF career as an Indian. Both teams had 8 hits. Twins starter Nick Blackburn pitched eight scoreless innings but got a ND. The Twins fourth pitcher, Matt Guerrier got the win and Matt Capps earned the save. The game lasted 3 hours and 14 minutes. Box Score
2001 – No MLB games today. After the tragic terrorist attacks in New York carried out by the militant Islamist extremist network al-Qaeda against the World Trade Center killing 3,000 people, commissioner Bud Selig cancels all the MLB games for that day. The Twins were in Detroit. With all air traffic grounded the Twins bussed it home. The postponed games were made up by extending the season one week. The normal schedule of games did not resume until September 18th.
2000 – No Game Today
1999 – Eric Milton pitches a no-hitter against the Anaheim Angels at the Metrodome and wins the game 7-0. Milton uses 122 pitches as he strikes out 13 Angels and walks two batters. Denny Hocking is 2 for 4 with a home run, 3 RBI and a run scored. Terry Steinbach was 2 for 4 with a run scored, and a RBI with a double and triple and caught the no-hitter. This is the fourth no-hitter thrown by a Twins pitcher in team history. There are just 11,222 fans to see the game, the third smallest crowd to witness a no-hitter in the majors since 1986. The 11:05 a.m. start time is to accommodate a University of Minnesota football game at the Metrodome and the Twins offer free admission to anyone attending the game in their pajamas. Box Score
Drafted by the Twins in the 52nd round in 1989 and debuted in the big leagues in 1993.
1980 – Twins game against the Brewers at Met Stadium was rained out and will be played as part of a DH in Milwaukee’s County Stadium on September 18th.
1975 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1974 – Harmon Killebrew’s final home run as a Minnesota Twin is a walk-off 2 run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning off Darrell Knowles as the Twins beat the Oakland Athletics 5-3 at Met Stadium in front of only 3,982 fans. Killebrew had entered the game in the bottom of the 8th inning as a pinch hitter for DH Tony Oliva. Harmon hit a total of 475 home runs while wearing the Minnesota Twins colors. Bill Campbell got the win with two scoreless innings of relief. Box Score
1972 – The Twins take two from the AL West Division leading Oakland A’s by 2-1 and 3-2 scores in front of only 8,506 fans at the Met and pin two defeats on future Hall of Fame relief star Rollie Fingers. The first game turns out to be a pitchers duel between the A’s Vida Blue and Jim Perry of the Twins. Blue gives up a run right off the bat in the first inning by walking Cesar Tovar. Tovar advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Danny Thompson and scores on a Harmon Killebrew single to left . The score remains that way until the top of the ninth when Dave LaRoche retired the first two A’s batters in the ninth by striking them out but then Twins manager Quilici walked to the mound and pulled LaRoche so that he could bring in Wayne Granger to face Sal Bando to go with the percentages he later said. The crown booed Quilici as he made the move and booed even louder when Bando hit the 3-2 pitch from Granger into the left-center field pavilion for a home run to tie the score at 1-1. The fans however cheered in the bottom of the ninth when Danny Thompson singled off Rollie Fingers and first baseman Rich Reese who just entered the game in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement for Harmon Killebrew doubled in Thompson to walk off the A’s 2-1 and turn goat Wayne Granger into a winner. Box Score game one.
In game two Twins starter Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game striking out 10 and allowing just two runs on six hits for his 13th win of the season. The Twins scored the lead run in the bottom of the eighth on a walk, single, walk and a walk to Rich Reese that forced in the lead run. Cesar Tovar was 2 for 3 and scored all three Twins runs while Steve Braun was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI. Fingers who got stuck with his second loss of the day wasn’t even in the game at the end but he had walked Tovar after retiring the first two batters in the ninth and was pulled from the game but Tovar scored the Twins winning run and that ladies and gentlemen is how Rollie Fingers lost twice in the same day to the Twins. Box Score game two
1961 – After a short four game road trip to Kansas City the Twins returned home to the Met to take on the Los Angeles Angels, the team they are trying to over-take in the standings. Camilo Pascual started for the Twins against Dean Chance who was making his big league debut. Chance was originally signed as a “bonus baby” by the Baltimore Orioles prior to the 1959 season but was taken from the Orioles by the Washington Senators in the 1960 expansion draft. The Senators then flipped him to the expansion Los Angeles Angeles for Joe Hicks that same day. The Twins put the first score on the board when Zoilo Versalles led off the second inning with a double and Camilo Pascual followed with another double scoring Versalles. The score remained 1-0 in Minnesota’s favor until the Angels pushed across two runs in the seventh on a Lee Thomas home run and a Buck Rodgers single that scored Ken Hunt who had just doubled. Trailing 2-1 Billy Martin led off the eighth inning by getting on base on an error, Killebrew struck out, Bob Allison singled and the Twins had runners on the corners with one out. Earl Battey then singled in Martin tying the game at 2-2 and sent Chance to the showers. Joe Altobelli was brought in to pinch-hit for Jose Valdivielso and on a 2-0 pitch he greeted Angels reliever Tom Morgan with a blast deep to right for a three-run home run putting the Twins out in front 5-2. It was Altobelli’s first home run as a Twin. Pascual retired the Angels 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth for a complete game win in which he allowed just five hits while striking out 13 to up his record to 13-15 and pinning Chance with his first big league defeat. Not only did Pascual pitch a great game, he was also 3 for 3 at the plate with a double and an RBI. Box Score
