Here is the Twins Almanac for April 7th, featuring:

• Harmon Killebrew
• Brant Alyea
• Jack Morris
• Dwight Evans
• Kent Hrbek
• David Ortiz
• Tsuyoshi Nishioka

April 7, 1970
Alyea Ties Team Record in Twins Debut

In his first game as a Twin, outfielder Brant Alyea tied the team record with seven RBI, powering Jim Perry to a 12-0 shutout on Opening Day in Chicago. Alyea went on to drive in 20 runs in the Twins’ first 12 games of the season. But here’s the crazy thing: 19 of those 20 RBI came in Jim Perry’s first four starts. Incidentally, Perry won the AL Cy Young Award in 1970, perhaps thanks in part to Alyea’s run support.

Heckuva start to Alyea’s Twins career. His major league career got off to a hot start, too, homering on the first MLB pitch he saw with the Senators on September 12, 1965. (Worth noting that the manager he was playing for at the time was none other than the Splendid Splinter himself, Ted Williams.)

Alyea equaled the team single-game RBI record again on September 7, 1970, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and driving in all seven Twins runs in a 7-6 win over the Brewers at Met Stadium. It was the beginning of a team record nine-game RBI streak for Alyea.

Glenn Adams established a new team record with eight RBI on June 26, 1977. 

Randy Bush tied Adams’ team record with eight RBI on May 20, 1989.

April 7, 1984
Morris Pitches No-Hitter

St. Paul native Jack Morris pitched a no-hitter for the Tigers in Chicago on NBC’s nationally televised Game of the Week on this date in 1984.

Some members of the Minnesota sports media, including Jeff Passolt, were actually at the game, being in town for the North Stars versus Blackhawks playoff series. “I remember it being colder than you know what,” Passolt said in 2018. “Hitters didn’t have a chance against Jack’s fireball!”

Morris did get into a jam in the fourth, walking the first three batters before inducing a P-C-1B double play from DH Greg Luzinski, playing in his final major league season. Morris then struck out Ron Kittle to end the inning. He walked six White Sox batters altogether in the 4-0 Tigers win.

In addition to the no-hitter, Morris also pitched three one-hitters in his career, including against the Twins on August 21, 1980.

Perhaps even more impressive than Morris’s no-hitter was a one-hitter he threw against the Royals at Tiger Stadium on July 6, 1990, when he did not issue a walk and faced the minimum. (After surrendering a single to Kurt Stillwell in the top of the first, he promptly induced a 4-6-3 double play from George Brett and was perfect the rest of the way.)

April 7, 1986
Morris Gives Up HR on First Pitch of Season

Dwight Evans hit Jack Morris’s first pitch of the season 400 feet on Opening Day 1986.

Morris’s 14 consecutive Opening Day starts (including with the 1991 World Series Champion Minnesota Twins) are the most by a pitcher in MLB history.

April 7, 1987
Hrbek Hits Walk-Off in Opener

After tying the game with his second RBI groundout in the eighth, Kent Hrbek hit a walk-off single in the tenth to give the Twins a 5-4 Opening Day win over Oakland at home in the Dome.

Kirby Puckett homered and doubled, and in the top of the 10th, he robbed Mickey Tettleton of a go-ahead home run.

April 7, 2002
Ortiz Season-Starting RBI Streak

David Ortiz homered in a 10-6 win in Toronto on this date in 2002, giving him an RBI in each of the Twins’ first six games of the season—the second-longest RBI streak to start a season in Twins history.

Tony Oliva had an RBI in each of the Twins’ first eight games to start the 1970 season.

April 7, 2011
Nishioka Breaks Leg

Twins second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka broke his leg attempting to turn a double play on this date in 2011.

On the Twins telecast (below), Blyleven immediately rejected any notion of Nick Swisher’s slide being dirty. “That’s the way you play the game,” Blyleven said, “That’s one thing that Nishioka should have known . . . he’s gotta try to get out of the way.”

“He was just breaking up the double play; no issues there,” Ron Gardenhire said after the game. “[Nishioka] just got caught a little flat-footed. Swisher’s a clean player. That’s just a good baseball slide, trying to break up a double play. There’s no intent there.”