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2023 – TWINS FIND THE END ZONE THREE TIMES IN CLEVELAND: The Twins beat the Guardians at Progressive Field by a score of 20-6, their largest margin of victory since an 18-4 victory at Seattle on May 18, 2019. Pablo López (10-7) was the starter and winner, allowing one run on eight hits in 6 innings pitched. The offense set season-highs in runs, hits (20) and home runs (6). Jorge Polanco, Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner each had three-hit games, as Lewis hit his third grand slam of the season. Polanco (12), Carlos Correa (17), Joey Gallo (21), Kyle Farmer (9) and Wallner (11) also all homered. Eleven different Twins recorded hits, eight drove in at least one run and 12 scored a run. 12 different players scoring tied for most in club history (4/27/80 vs. OAK, 8/1/70 vs. DET). It was the tenth time in club history that the Twins scored 20-plus runs, first since June 4, 2002, when the Twins won 23-2 over Cleveland at the Metrodome. Catcher Christian Vazquez ended up playing a half-inning at second base at the conclusion of the blow-out win but he had asked Baldelli to play shortstop, the only infield position he has not manned in the big leagues. Box Score
2022 – The Twins beat the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field by a score of 5-1. Dylan Bundy (8-6) was the starter and winner, pitching 5 shutout innings with two hits allowed, one walk and four strikeouts, improving his ERA to 1.80 in his last five starts and 3.36 in his last 14 starts. The offense recorded 12 hits. Carlos Correa went 2-for-5 with two RBI, including his 16th home run and 17th double of the season. Jose Miranda also went 2-for-5 and drove in two runs, giving him a team-leading 58 RBI. The Twins avoided a sweep with the win and are now off to New York for four games against the Yankees. The Twins are 2-10 in their last 12 road games. Box Score
2021 – The Twins were pounded by the Rays yesterday at Tropicana Field by a score of 11-4 as the pitching staff tied a season-high by allowing six home runs. Andrew Albers (1-1) was the starter and loser, allowing a career-high nine runs on 10 hits in 3 innings pitched, four of the hits coming via home run tying him for the most by a Twins starter this season (Randy Dobnak, June 9 vs. Yankees). The four runs scored by the Twins was the most they have scored in their last six games. Jorge Polanco, who doubled (29) and homered (26) for the second-consecutive game and had three hits on the day in 4 AB’s. The Twins went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, making them 0-for-11 with RISP this series. Box Score
2020 – The Twins will be playing the visiting Detroit Tigers for the next five games thanks to a make-up game and they start out with a DH today, their third of the season. The Twins will be without Max Kepler who was put on the IL for the first time in his big league career and the team has called up Brent Rooker.
In game one Randy Dobnak (6-2) pitched 5 innings of four-hit, shutout ball to earn the win and Taylor Rogers his 8th save. The Twins led off the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back home runs by Jorge Polanco and Josh Donaldson and as it turned out that was all the scoring that would take place in this game as the Twins beat the Tigers 2-0. Brent Rooker made his major league debut and in his first AB was hit by a pitch by Tigers starter Matthew Boyd. Brian Dinkelman and LaMonte Wade Jr. are the only other Twins to be HBP in their first major league at bats. There were just nine hits in the game and the Tigers had five of them. The seven inning game as are all DH’s in 2020 was over in a quick 1 hour 45 minutes. Box Score
Playing as the designated “road” team in Game 2, the Twins rallied for the tying run in the seventh inning and scored again in the extra-inning eighth for a 3-2 comeback win giving them a DH sweep for the first time this season. Jorge Polanco’s four-hit game and a stolen base, including the game-tying RBI-single in the seventh, paced the Twins 11-hit attack. Brent Rooker who made his major league debut in game one, delivered his first MLB hit and RBI on one swing, while Marwin Gonzalez drove in the extra-inning winner. Matt Wisler started this “bullpen” game for the Twins going two hitless innings. Sergio Romo (1-1) worked a perfect seventh for the win and Trevor May struck out Detroit’s 3-4-5 hitters in a perfect eighth for his second save. It is not often a Twins pitcher gets a save while playing in an extra-inning Twins win at Target Field. This does go down as the only time the Twins have won a game in Minnesota as the road team when they have batted first. Box Score
Twins at home as road team bat first at Target Field
2019 – The Twins were under the spell of Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez (17-5) and lose to the Red Sox by a score of 6-2. José Berríos (11-8) was the Twins starter and loser, allowing six runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings pitched and just another in a string of poor starts for the Twins ace. On the bright side, 559 strikeouts by Berrios in his first career 100 games surpass Bert Blyleven’s team record of 553. The offense recorded eight hits, two each from Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sanó and C.J. Cron. Rosario hit his 28th home run, setting a single-season career-high, passing his previous high of 27, done in 2017. In 18 games since August 16, the Twins bullpen has posted a 2.25 ERA (68.0 IP, 17 ER) with six home runs allowed, 12 walks, 73 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .238. In that span, they rank first in the AL in ERA with a 1.29-run differential between second place Houston (3.54). Outfielder Ian Miller whom the Twins acquired from Seattle in August made his major league debut today as a pinch-runner for Max Kepler in the seventh but did not bat. Box Score
2018 – The Minnesota Twins gave their new opener strategy a second try and pretty much got the same results as they did the first time. This time the opener was Trevor May but he got rocked for four runs in the first inning on five hits and four earned runs. That was the ball game as Justin Verlander and the Astros bullpen held the Twins to five hits and a 5-2 victory at Minute Maid Park. Kohl Stewart who followed May pitched a good five scoreless innings allowing just three hits but it was too little too late. Jorge Polanco hit the Twins only homer and Robbie Grossman had two hits including a double and a RBI. Miguel Sano hurt his surgically repaired left leg sliding into second base and had to leave the game in the second inning but a MRI showed only a bruise making him day-to-day. Box Score
2010 – The Twins jumped all over Texas Rangers starter Colby Lewis when they scored 9 runs in the first four innings for a 9-0 lead. Lewis was charged with 9 “earnies” in 3.2 innings and took the loss. Twins DH Jim Thome hits two homers to pass Mark McGwire and take over 9th place on the all-time list in the Twins’ 12 – 4 drubbing of Texas at Target Field. Thome drives in 4 runs, and third baseman Matt Tolbert adds two triples and 5 RBI to pace Minnesota’s attack. Carl Pavano wins his 16th game of the year by going eight innings. Rob Delaney made his major league debut by pitching the ninth inning and allowing one run by giving up a home run to Ian Kinsler who was the first batter he faced. As it turned out, it was his first and only appearance in a Minnesota Twins big league uniform as he was picked up on waivers by Tampa Bay in January 2011. Box Score
Former Twins shortstop Greg Gagne was installed as the 22nd member of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. Gagne played for the Twins from 1983 to 1992 and was the starting shortstop on the 1987 and 1991 world championship teams.
2009 – The Cleveland Indians score three times in the third inning at Progressive Field and they end up beating Minnesota 5-2 behind Jeremy Sowers as he beats Carl Pavano who allows four runs in his six innings. Four Indians pitchers allowed the Twins just six hits and two of those were by shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Box Score
2003 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1982 – It is Jim Palmer’s second career one-hitter against the Twins and it takes him just 2 hours and 3 minutes to complete the job at Memorial Stadium. The only Twins hit is Gary Gaetti’s two-out single in the 5th inning. The 36-year old Palmer faces just 30 batters as he strikes out seven and walks two. Palmer has not lost since May 30, a span of 17 starts. It turns out that this is his second shutout in a row and the 53rd and final shutout of Palmer’s nineteen year pitching career. Palmer is on a streak of 20 innings in a row without allowing a run but he gets scored on in the first inning of his next start. The victory is number 261 of his career and his 20th career win over the Twins. Palmer now has 20 wins over every AL team but the expansion franchises of Toronto and Seattle. The Orioles score two-runs in the bottom of the first inning on a two-run home run by Eddie Murray off Minnesota starter Bobby Castillo who goes seven innings and allows 3 runs but takes the defeat. Box Score
1980 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1975 – No game today, scheduled day off.
1969 – After wrapping up a long 12-game homestand with a 10-2 record, the first place Twins head out west to take on the second place Oakland A’s. The Twins send 17-5 right-hander Jim Perry as their starter and the Athletics counter with Jim Nash. The Twins get on the board first when a Cesar Tovar double scores Rich Reese who had walked and stolen second base. The A’s get to Perry in the fourth for three runs and send him to an early shower. After seven innings the A’s have a 4-1 lead and appear to have things under control but the Twins have other ideas and score four times punctuated by a 2-run home run by Harmon Killebrew and the Twins take a 5-4 lead. Twins shortstop Leo Cardenas commits his third error of the game in the bottom of the ninth and the A’s push across the tying run. And we have bonus baseball as Tony Oliva leads off the top of the tenth for Minnesota with a double off Ed Sprague, Killebrew gets an IW, Charlie Manuel pinch-hits for Frank Quilici and draws a walk loading the bases with none out and sends Sprague to the showers. Cesar Tovar greets Lew Krausse with a grand slam home run to deep left field and the Twins have 9-5 lead but they add on another to make it 10-5 before the A’s finally retire the side. Perranoski retires the A’s 1-2-3 and earns the win after blowing the save in his three innings of work. The Twins committed four errors and go 3 for 12 with RISP but were still able to get the win. Cesar Tovar (8) had the big bat going 3 for 5 with his grand slam home run and a double and 5 RBI. Tony Oliva was 3 for 4 and Harmon hit his 40th home run. Tovar’s grand slam stands as the Twins first and only extra-innings grand slam home run. Box Score
1961 – The Minnesota Twins played their first ever split day/night doubleheader at Met Stadium and this Labor Day DH turned out to be kind of a 9 to 5 day. Yesterday, the Twins lost 8 to 6 to the Red Sox when the Red Sox scored the first eight runs and the Twins the last six. Today the Twins beat the White Sox 9 to 5 with the Twins scoring the first nine runs and the White Sox scoring the last five runs. Twins starter and winner Al Schroll was sailing along having given up just two harmless singles through five before the White Sox pushed a run across in the sixth on a HBP, a walk and two ground outs. A tough seventh in which Schroll gave up four more runs on three singles and two home runs while retiring just one batter proved to be his undoing and brought in Ray Moore to finish the game. Harmon Killebrew who hit his 39th home run of the season supplied the power and Jim Lemon contributed a 3 for 3 day with a double and 3 runs scored. Three Twins double-plays and two White Sox errors helped the “good guys” cause. Box Score game one
I know, it is hard to believe but the nite-cap turned out to be a 9 to 5 game also but this time the White Sox prevailed thanks to a big five run fourth inning that erased a Twins 5-3 lead and put the White Sox up 8-5. The Whitey’s added another in the ninth inning and won 9 to 5. Rookie Jim Kaat started for Minnesota and got beat up pretty bad allowing 13 hits, 2 walks and 8 runs while striking out just one in 5.2 innings and took the loss, his fourteenth against half as many wins. Earl Battey led the Twins hitting attack going 3 for 3 with a home run, number 14 on the season, two RBI and a run scored. Bob Allison hit his 28th long ball of the season. The White Sox pounded out 14 hits with Al Smith getting four of them, one of them was a home run. Cal McLish started for the Sox but was gone after just three innings allowing 5 runs (3 earned) on six hits and getting a ND for his work. He was relieved by Joel Horlen who was making his big league debut after just being called up from AAA San Diego. He was so new in fact that his uniform didn’t have a name or even a number when he entered the game. Horlen pitched four scoreless innings giving up 2 hits and 4 walks while whiffing 2 and earned his first big league victory. Turk Lown pitched the final two innings for his tenth save of the year. Box Score
