The Twins Almanac for April 27: No-No Scott Erickson, A Harmon Killebrew Milestone Homer, Pascual's Slam, and Showboat's Return

[Matt Johnson]

April 27th has been an eventful date in Minnesota baseball history, with memorable achievements by Charles Bender, Harmon Killebrew, Scott Erickson, Joe Ryan, Camilo Pascual, and Showboat Fisher. 

Image courtesy of © Joy R. Absalon-Imagn Images (photo of Scott Erickson), © Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images (photo of Camilo Pascual), © Gregory J. Fisher-Imagn Images (photo of Steve Carlton)

On This Date in 1994: Erickson Pitches No-Hitter
Scott Erickson pitched the first no-hitter in Metrodome history on this date in 1994, as the Twins beat the Brewers 5-0. It was the third of five no-hitters in Twins history, and the first since Dean Chance in 1967.

The Twins scored in each of the first four innings, staking Erickson to an early 5-0 lead.

The ninth inning was a little suspenseful. With two out in the inning, Erickson walked two batters before finally getting the dangerous Greg Vaughn to fly out to Alex Cole in left.

Erickson, who led the American League with 20 wins and finished second in Cy Young balloting in 1991, was coming off a 1993 season in which he led the league with 19 losses and 266 hits allowed. He was 1-3 with a 7.48 ERA on the season prior to pitching his no-hitter.

Francisco Liriano was 1-4 with a 9.13 ERA before pitching his no-hitter on May 3, 2011.

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On This Date in 1969: Killebrew Hits 400th
Harmon Killebrew hit his 400th career home run in the top of the first inning of an afternoon game in Chicago on this date in 1969.

Rod Carew hit a two-run homer in the seventh to give the Twins a 4-3 win.

All told, Killebrew hit 573 home runs, fifth-most in MLB history at the time of his retirement. He hit 84 as a member of the Washington Senators, 14 as a Kansas City Royal in 1975, and 475 in a Twins uniform.

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On This Date in 1903: Bender Pitches Shutout in First MLB Start
18-year-old Minnesota native Charles Albert Bender pitched a four-hit shutout in his first major league start on this date in 1903, a week after earning the win in relief over Boston’s Cy Young in his MLB debut.

The Philadelphia Athletics beat the New York Highlanders and opposing pitcher Clark Griffith 6-0. Griffith went on to own the Washington Senators until his death in 1955 when Calvin Griffith took over. Calvin, of course, moved the Senators to Minnesota in 1961.

Bender became the first Minnesotan inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1953.

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On This Date in 1930: Showboat's Hot Return to "The Show"
Albany (Minnesota) High School alumnus Showboat Fisher went 3-for-4 with a walk and two doubles on this date in 1930, giving him a .523 average and 1.323 OPS through the first 12 games of the season, after being out of the majors the previous five seasons.

The Cardinals went on to win the National League pennant in 1930. Just two years later, Showboat opened Fisher’s Club on Middle Spunk Lake in Avon, MN. It’s still open today.

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On This Date in 1965: Twins Pitcher Hits Grand Slam
Before even climbing the mound, Camilo Pascual hit the only grand slam by a pitcher in Twins history, staking himself to a 7-0 first-inning lead in Cleveland on this date in 1965. He went on to pitch a heckuva game, allowing just two hits and two walks in an 11-1 Twins win.

Pascual had previously hit a grand slam in the Senators’ final season in Washington, on August 14, 1960. Those four RBI were significant, as the Senators won the first game of the doubleheader at Yankee Stadium 5-4. (They won Game 2 in 15 innings.)

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On This Date in 2003: Ortiz Hits First Homer with Red Sox
David Ortiz hit his first home run as a member of the Red Sox on this date in 2003.

One of the Twins’ grievances with Ortiz was his supposed inability (or unwillingness) to hit to the opposite field, so of course his first home run with Boston was to the opposite field in Anaheim, where the Twins lost the ALCS six months earlier. Feels like he was trolling us.

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ALSO ON THIS DATE:

• The Twins released 43-year-old lefty Steve Carlton on this date in 1988, ending his 24-year Hall of Fame career.

• Rookie Joe Ryan pitched a heckuva game on this date in 2022, giving up just one hit over seven scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 1.71 through his first four starts of the season.

 

 

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[jkcarew]

Erickson’s no-hitter didn’t seem terrifically impressive even while it unfolded. 4 K and 5 BB…balls were getting slapped all over the field. Still, it goes in the record books, and something he can tell his grandkids when he’s not busy racing his Porche on the way back from the club.

In that game Puckett had 4 hits and his 21st RBI of the season. 21 by April 27…when the season didn’t start in March. Finished the season (it was the strike season) with 112 in 108 games. A 162–game pace of 168 RBI.

[Linus]

These articles are fun. I had no idea Harmon hit 84 homers for the Senators. I thought it was about a dozen.