Things Could Be Worse: Reviewing the 2016 Twins Terrible Start

Expectations were high for the Twins entering the 2024 season, with most projections making them the clear favorite in the AL Central. Minnesota’s bats have gotten off to a slow start, which makes it challenging to evaluate the team’s overall performance. But they are in a much better place than some recent teams over the last decade. In 2016, Minnesota stumbled out of the gate and never fully recovered on the way to losing over 100 games. 

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Opening Series @ Baltimore Orioles
Game 1: Loss 2-3 (walk off)
Minnesota’s Ervin Santana and Baltimore’s Chris Tillman squared off on Opening Day, but both only pitched two innings as rain delays interrupted the game. Adam Jones broke the game open with a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning off of Casey Fien. Minnesota answered back in the top of the seventh inning when Eduardo Escobar doubled to drive in Eddie Rosario before Kurt Suzuki used a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Unfortunately, Kevin Jepsen walked Chris Davis in the ninth with two outs. Mark Trumbo singled to move Davis to third, and then Matt Wieters singled for an Opening Day walk-off.  

Game 2: Loss 2-4

Kyle Gibson started Game 2 for the Twins and pitched five innings but the Orioles scored a run on him in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings. Byron Buxton was the lone Twins hitter with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored out of the ninth spot in the lineup. In the sixth inning, Trevor Plouffe hit the team’s first home run, a solo shot. Minnesota struck out 13 times and left nine runners on base while going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.  

Game 3: Loss 2-4
Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Joe Mauer home run in the first and a Buxton ground out in the second, but the Twins offense was shut out the rest of the way. Phil Hughes started and held a 2-1 lead when he came out to start the seventh, before allowing the first two batters to reach base. Trevor May relieved him and was charged with a blown save after giving up the go-ahead run. 

Series 2 @ Kansas City Royals
Game 4: Loss 3-4

Extra off days allowed the Twins to bring Santana, their Opening Day starter, for the team’s fourth game. He had a quality start, tossing six innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits. Suzuki drove in the game’s first run in the second inning with a double off Yordano Ventura. Escobar drove in Mauer with a single in the sixth to tie the game at 2-2. ByungHo Park hit a solo home run in the eighth inning, putting the Twins in position for their first win. However, things fell apart in the bottom of the eighth as Jepsen surrendered the lead. 

Game 5: Loss 0-7
After some heartbreaking losses, the Twins were blown out in their fifth game of the season. Escobar was the lone hitter with multiple hits, but he also made two fielding errors and was thrown out on the bases. Tommy Milone and Casey Fien combined to allow five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. Minnesota had seven hits but couldn’t score a run. 

Game 6: Loss 3-4 (walk off)
For the second time in six games, the Twins lost on a walk-off hit. Ricky Nolasco made his season debut and was outstanding, allowing one run on three hits over seven innings. But Glen Perkins surrendered the lead in the ninth inning, allowing two runs on three hits. Terrance Gore scored the winning run on Trevor May's wild pitch in the 10th inning. 

Series 3 vs. Chicago White Sox
Game 7: Loss 1-4
Minnesota’s 2016 home opener failed to turn out in the team’s favor. Chicago jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, and the Twins offense never recovered. Gibson allowed one run in the second inning on a Brett Lawrie RBI single. In the fourth, an Escobar error at shortstop allowed two unearned runs to cross the plate. Ryan Pressly continued his strong start to the season out of the bullpen with 2 1/3 scoreless frames. 

Game 8: Loss 0-3

The Twins were shut out for the second time in the season in their second home game. Mauer went 2-for-4, with his double being Minnesota’s lone extra-base hit. Hughes made his second quality start of the year and limited Chicago to three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. The Twins bullpen (Pressly, Fernando Abad, and Michael Tonkin) pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings to end the game. 

Game 9: Loss 1-3
Santana's third start was a quality start, limiting the White Sox to three runs on seven hits while compiling a six-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio. But the Twins lineup only had four hits, including a lead-off triple by Mauer in the bottom of the fourth inning, after which he was driven in on a Plouffe groundout. Park added his first double of the year. Chicago left town with a 7-2 record after dropping Minnesota to 0-9. 

The losing streak ended with a 5-4 win over the Angels, and the Twins went on to win four straight games over the Angels and Brewers, but it would be a long season in Twins Territory. Minnesota finished with a 59-103 record and fired Terry Ryan in the middle of July. Dozier ended the year with 42 home runs, and Santana posted a 3.38 ERA in 30 starts.

What do you remember about the 2016 squad? Are you worried about the 2024 team? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

Are you interested in Twins history? Then check out the Minnesota Twins Players Project, a community-driven project to discover and collect great information on every player to wear a Twins uniform!