Twins Almanac: Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew Face Nolan Ryan, Plus Eduardo Escobar Arrives

[Matt Johnson]

Today's Almanac features Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, and minor league baseball's all-time hits leader.

Image courtesy of © Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

July 28, 1925: Duluth Native Hits First MLB Home Run
After connecting for a pinch-hit RBI single off Walter Johnson in the sixth inning, Duluth native Spence Harris hit an inside-the-park grand slam off the Senators' Curly Ogden in the ninth for his first major league homer on this date in 1925.

Harris—who spent his formative years in Seattle—is minor league baseball's all-time hits, doubles, and runs leader.

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July 28, 1965: Oliva Gets Five Hits—Again
There have been 60 five-hit games in Twins history. Tony Oliva had his second in the span of just eight days on this date in 1965.

Can you name the last Twins player to connect for five hits in a game? How about the last TWO players to do so? Leave your answer(s) in the comments section below.

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July 28, 1974: Killer and Carew Hit Pinch-Hit Homers off Reliever Nolan Ryan
Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew both hit pinch-hit home runs off Nolan Ryan in his final career relief appearance on this date in 1974. (Killebrew and Carew pinch-hitting? Ryan relieving? What a strange entry this was for me to write.)

Ryan had pitched a complete game three days earlier, and pitched a 10-inning complete game two days later. Built different. 

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July 28, 1993: Griffey Jr. Homers in Eighth-Straight
On this date in 1993, Ken Griffey Jr. led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run off Willie Banks, giving Junior a homer in eight straight games, tying Dale Long and Don Mattingly's major league record.

Banks may have lost the battle with Griffey, but he won the war, holding the Mariners to just the one run on three hits over seven innings. Dave Winfield homered off Randy Johnson in the 5-1 Twins win. 

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July 28, 1995: Masteller Hits First HR off Cy Young Winner
Twins first baseman Dan Masteller's first career home run was a walk-off off former Cy Young winner Jack McDowell on this date in 1995.

His second homer was a pinch-hit game-tying homer off Hall of Famer Lee Smith in September. And his third and final career home run came off All-Star Kevin Appier. If you're only going to hit three career home runs, those are three pretty good names to do it against. 

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July 24–28, 1998: Walker Connects for Nine Straight Hits
Second baseman Todd Walker collected nine straight hits between July 24 and this date in 1998, which at the time tied Tony Oliva and Mickey Hatcher's team record until José Miranda upped the record to 12 straight earlier this month. 

Walker's streak raised his average to .352, and he finished the season batting a career-high .316.

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July 28, 2002: Hill-Murray Grad Hits for Cycle
1995 Hill-Murray graduate and Golden Gophers all-time great Robb Quinlan hit for the cycle, going 5-for-6 with two home runs for the triple-A Salt Lake Bees on this date in 2002.

(Fun Fact: His brother Tom Quinlan hit three home runs for the Salt Lake Buzz on this same date in 1995.)

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July 28, 2009: Buehrle Makes History
After pitching a perfect game in his previous start, White Sox ace Mark Buehrle retired the first 17 batters faced at the Metrodome on this date in 2009, for a record 45 consecutive batters retired. Despite the slow start, the Twins won the game 5-3.

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July 24–28, 2010: Eighty-Six Hits in Five Games
The Twins connected for an eye-popping 86 hits over a five-game stretch on the road in Baltimore and Kansas City between July 24 and this date in 2010. That's an average of over 17 hits per game!

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July 28, 2012: Twins Trade Liriano for Escobar
The Twins traded Francisco Liriano to the White Sox for all-time fan favorite Eduardo Escobar and pitcher Pedro Hernández on this date in 2012.

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July 28, 2021: Twins Hit Seven Homers and Lose
The Twins outhomered the Tigers seven-to-none at Target Field on this date in 2021, but still lost 17-14. The Twins are the only team in MLB history to outhomer their opponent of seven and lose (and the Tigers are the only team to be outhomered by seven and win). The fourth inning alone saw a lot of offense, with the Tigers scoring eight runs and the Twins six.

 

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[CoachDW]

Fun article. I had never heard of Duluth native Spence Harris. He definitely was a contact hitter, as in 438 major league plate appearances he had 39 walks and  only 33 strikeouts. It certainly was a different era of baseball.