Twins-Yanks most memorable games: 21st century edition

[alexlegge]

I live in New York and was on hand for the carnage we unloaded at Yankee Stadium today. Where did that team come from?

 

In honor of this historically lopsided yet emotional matchup, here are, in my opinion, the most memorable Twins-Yankees games of the 21st century (joy or heartbreak):

The joyous:

 

3. 6/26/16
Twins 7-1 over Yankees
Highlights: The game of 6s (game of the beast?): 6/26/16. Duffey's perfect game into the 6th. Twins hit 6 homers from 6 different players.

 

2. 5/16/10
Twins 6-3 over Yankees
Highlights: Not long after the 2009 playoff misery, the Yanks were on the verge of sweeping us in our first series with them. Mariano Rivera came into a 3-1 game in the 8th and Kubel responded with a grand slam off the greatest reliever of all time.

 

1. 2004 ALDS Game 1, 10/5/04
Twins 2-0 over Yankees
Highlights: Sadly, our most recent playoff victory. Yanks were no matchup for Santana/Rincon/Nathan. Jacque Jones insurance homer.

 

 

The heartbreaking:

 

3. 2004 ALDS Game 2, 10/6/04
Yankees 7-6 over Twins
Highlights: Twins tied the game off Rivera in the 8th and scored a go-ahead run in the 12th. Yanks scored 2 off Nathan in the bottom of the 12th, capped by Matsui's walk-off sac fly.

 

2. 5/17/02
Yankees 13-12 over Twins
Highlights: Twins got off to a 3-1 lead, before the Yanks stormed back with 7 unanswered runs. Twins scored 6 in the 6th inning to take a 9-8 lead. Bernie Williams hit a game-tying homer off Guardado in the 9th. Jack Crescent danced in and out of trouble for several extra innings. Twins threw Giambi out at the plate after trying to score from first on a deep double. John Gordon prematurely pronounced the game over on that play. The Twins scored 3 in the top of the 14th. Giambi walk off grand-slam off Mike Trembley (shocker) in the bottom of the 14th.

 

1. 2009 ALDS Game 2, 10/9/09
Yankees 4-3 over Twins
Highlights: Tex's walk-off homer feels like a footnote to me. 2 other plays were microcosms of Minnesota sports misery: Phil Cuzzi's horrible call on Mauer kept us off the board in extras (this play actually played a big role in prompting replay to expand to fair/foul calls). And then...A-Rod's game-tying homer off Nathan; that ball squeaked out - no way it goes without steroids. Ugh.

 

 

 

What are yours?

[notoriousgod71]

Game 1 of 2003?

[Longdistancetwins]

Good for you! I went to the wrong game--yesterday's.

 

In the miseable category: Yankee fans still talk about the so-called "walk-off" Series. When was that? The spring of 2011? They beat us three or four games in a row in walk-off fashion. Fortunately I was away from New York on vacation and so didn't attend any of those.

[Blake]

Regular season 2014: The Yankees were on cruise control and ambushed by the Twins in the top of the 9th inning. Josh Willingham homered to tie the game and the rout was on. 

[theBOMisthebomb]

A-Rod's 2015 grand slam was tough to take.

[Dantes929]

 

Good for you! I went to the wrong game--yesterday's.

In the miseable category: Yankee fans still talk about the so-called "walk-off" Series. When was that? The spring of 2011? They beat us three or four games in a row in walk-off fashion. Fortunately I was away from New York on vacation and so didn't attend any of those.

2009.   I was already thinking it.   Nathan in the first game of the series had a 2 run lead in the bottom of the 9th and gave up 3 runs.   Nathan was great for us but it seemed like half his blown saves were against the Yankees.    The 2009 game and at least two blown saves in the playoffs against the Yankees.    If Nathan had saved those games instead of blowing them who knows what might have happened.      I had bet on the Twins in the 2009 game and with a 3-1 lead I saw Nathan warming up.   I had a really bad feeling and offered my ticket for just my original bet back.   Statistically everyone should have been jumping at the chance but everyone else had the same feeling.   

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

The game Mauer was catching and lunged to tag out Gardner trying to sneak home with the winning run in the 9th on an infield hit. Still gives me chills!

[Otto von Ballpark]

2009. I was already thinking it. Nathan in the first game of the series had a 2 run lead in the bottom of the 9th and gave up 3 runs. Nathan was great for us but it seemed like half his blown saves were against the Yankees. The 2009 game and at least two blown saves in the playoffs against the Yankees. If Nathan had saved those games instead of blowing them who knows what might have happened. I had bet on the Twins in the 2009 game and with a 3-1 lead I saw Nathan warming up. I had a really bad feeling and offered my ticket for just my original bet back. Statistically everyone should have been jumping at the chance but everyone else had the same feeling.

2009 game 2 was Nathan's only blown save for us in the playoffs. He was actually quite effective against them in 2004 game 2 -- it's not his fault he was stretched to 3 innings -- and he helped us survive a bit longer in game 4 of 2004 too after Rincon blew the lead.

 

As much as people try to point to Nathan, he was not the magic bullet that doomed the Twins against the Yankees. In fact, the frustrating thing is that there is no magic bullet -- our failure against the Yankees has been very much collective.

[Otto von Ballpark]

A-Rod's 2015 grand slam was tough to take.

Yes, although his earlier game tying HR in July followed by John Ryan Murphy's HR off Perkins was probably worse. That started a home series loss and 5 game season losing streak vs the Yankees.

[Dantes929]

 

2009 game 2 was Nathan's only blown save for us in the playoffs. He was actually quite effective against them in 2004 game 2 -- it's not his fault he was stretched to 3 innings -- and he helped us survive a bit longer in game 4 of 2004 too after Rincon blew the lead.

As much as people try to point to Nathan, he was not the magic bullet that doomed the Twins against the Yankees. In fact, the frustrating thing is that there is no magic bullet -- our failure against the Yankees has been very much collective.

I agree with you somewhat and concede you might be entirely right but its not what I feel in my gut.    Three innings is a lot to ask but the bottom line is he had the lead and lost it.    If we beat them in New York in 2004 there is always the chance that the Twins could have come out on top in the series.    Nathan actually pitched quite well in that opening game in New York in the regular season in 2009 and it was more to the Yankees credit that they came back on Nathan but if he shuts them down its possible it changes the next two games and certainly affects both the Yankees and Nathan in the  playoffs later.  Yankees were 17-17 that season and had three walk off wins in a row and credit that series with righting their season.   Hard to argue since they went 86-42 from that point.    The feeling on the Yankees that they can always come back and beat the Twins combined with the feeling on the Twins that they cannot beat the Yankees is a pretty powerful force.    Nathan had a couple chances to nip that in the bud but did not.    If you don't think one or two games can make a difference look at the Royals first playoff game in 2014.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Nathan had a couple chances to nip that in the bud but did not.

Nathan had literally two chances, even counting 2004's game 2.  So did Crain (lost game 1 in 2010, gave up costly insurance run in game 1 in 2006 to Oakland).  So did others.

 

The offense collectively had many more chances, here are the Twins total runs scored in various playoff series:

 

2010: 7 runs in 3 games

2009: 6 runs in 3 games

2006: 7 runs in 3 games

2003: 6 runs in 4 games

 

They did score 17 runs in 4 games in 2004, but Nathan also had a save in game 1 that year, and pitched 5 high-leverage scoreless innings that series sandwiched around the 2 runs charged to him as he was pushed past 50 pitches in game 2...

[notoriousgod71]

 

Yes, although his earlier game tying HR in July followed by John Ryan Murphy's HR off Perkins was probably worse. That started a home series loss and 5 game season losing streak vs the Yankees.

 

Yes, the JR Murphy HR was heart breaking because it convinced Terry that he was a quality player.

[TwinsCD]

I was at the Giambi game in 2002.  Fortunately, I was underneath the overhang so I didn't have the added depression of getting rained on.  After the Twins put 3 up in the top of the 14th, the Stadium jumbotron played the John Belushi 'was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor' bit and I remember saying, 'it's over'.  14 years after the fact, I look back at that game as maybe the best baseball game I've been to, despite the result.

 

I was also at the A-Fraud Hat Trick/JDM rogue HR game last season and as the game went to the top of the 9th and Perkins was coming in, I texted a friend and said that A-Fraud was gonna get his hat trick and tie the game leading off the inning.  

 

Against probably any other AL team, I wouldn't care as much about having all of these bad moments but since I hate the Yankees so much, it just gets more and more frustrating with every gut-punching loss to them, especially in the playoffs.

[spinowner]

The 2002 play where Giambi was thrown out at home was textbook. Hunter got to the ball at the base of the centerfield wall very quickly and fired a strike to Denny Hocking. Hocking's relay was the key to the play because: A, he positioned himself perfectly, exactly halfway between the wall and home plate, B, he made a perfect throw home, which was possible because, C, in spite of being a utility player he had the arm of an outfielder. It is not possible to execute that play any better.

The play where Mauer made the diving tag of Gardner took place partly because Mauer planned it. It was a huge fluke that he got the ball where he did but he purposely faked the throw to first to get Gardner to break for home. What he didn't realize is that Gardner never hesitated running from second to home and Mauer barely beat him to the plate. A play like that is an example of why baseball is my favorite sport to watch. There are so many more variations in the play of the game compared to other sports that you can see something truly unique at almost any time.

 

[diehardtwinsfan]

I'm still POd at Gardy for 2004 game 2 ALDS.