The Twins Almanac for July 21, 2025: Tony Oliva Has 5-Hit Game, Steve Lombardozzi Goes to Dan Gladden's House

[Matt Johnson]

First Baseman Has Back-to-Back Multi-HR Games
Don Mincher hit two home runs each in consecutive home games on July 20 and 21, 1963. He was the first of just four players in Twins history to have back-to-back multi-homer games. Mincher was an underrated player who would fit better in this era than in the one in which he actually played; he batted a strong .244/.340/.479 in seven seasons with the Twins. Largely a platoon bat, 83% of his plate appearances for the team came against right-handed hurlers. He was then part of the trade that brought ace starter Dean Chance over from the Angels in December 1966.

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Oliva Has Five-Hit Game
There have been 61 five-hit games in Twins history, and Tony Oliva had two of them just eight days apart in 1965—on this date, and again on the 28th. Three Twins players have five-hit games in the past two seasons. See if you can correctly name all three down in the comments section. 

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Pitcher Strikes Out Seven Straight
Jim Merritt struck out seven straight Senators while pitching a three-hit shutout on this date in 1966. Seven consecutive punchouts established a Twins record, tied by Francisco Liriano on Jun. 11, 2010, and broken by Kenta Maeda when he fanned eight straight on Aug. 18, 2020.

The Twins' only run in the 1-0 win came when Mincher scored on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth.

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Birthdate of Mike Cubbage
Former Twins third baseman Mike Cubbage was born in Virginia on this date in 1950. He hit for the fifth cycle in team history on Jul. 27, 1978.

He had a 17-for-23 (.739) stretch in his first pro season at Low-A Geneva, NY in 1971. His first major-league hit was a grand slam with the Rangers in June 1975, after going 0-for-15 over two big-league stints in 1974. He came to the Twins as part of the June 1976 trade that also brought Roy Smalley to Minnesota and sent Bert Blyleven and Danny Thompson to Texas.

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Repulski Hot Streak
Rookie Rip Repulski (Sauk Rapids class of '46) went on a torrid six-game tear, going 15-for-24 (.625) with three home runs between July 17 and this date in 1953. He hit .447 altogether on the 12-game road trip, with at least one hit in all but one game. (Unfortunately, the Cardinals went 4-8.)

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Also on This Date:

• 1988: Steve Lombardozzi ill-advisedly shows up at the home of Dan "Wrench" Gladden. If you don't know the story, ask someone in the comment section. Baseball history is a rich tapestry.
• 2018: Joe Mauer leads off the game in Kansas City with career double number 415, surpassing Kirby as the Twins' career leader.
• 2018: St. Paul native Jack Morris and former Twin Jim Thome are inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Alan Trammell, Chipper Jones, Trevor Hoffman, and Vladimir Guerrero.

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[Matt Johnson]

Thanks to Matthew Trueblood for adding the information about Don Mincher 🫡

[jjswol]

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