Matt Johnson

Thank You!

May 7, 1965 Twins Commit Seven Errors The Twins committed 7 errors in a 13-5 loss to the White Sox at home. Shortstop Zoilo Versalles and third baseman Rich Rollins each committed two errors, while Harmon Killebrew, Earl Battey and St. Paul-native, Jerry Kindall, added one each. Every infielder plus the catcher committed an error. Despite the 7 errors, Twins pitching still gave up 10 earned runs. Nimrod, MN-native, Dick Stigman, started the game for the Twins and lasted just 3 ⅔ innings, allowing 4 runs (all earned) on 5 hits. May 7, 1978 Roy Smalley Walks Team-Record 5 Times Roy Smalley set a team single game record when he walked 5 times in a 15-9 Twins win in Baltimore. Smalley also hit a double in his sixth at-bat, driving in left fielder, Willie Norwood. Smalley walked in each of the first three innings, the first two vs. 1990 Hall of Fame inductee, Jim Palmer, who only lasted 1 ⅔ innings, allowing 6 runs on 3 hits and 5 walks. Willie Norwood stole second during each of Smalley’s first three at-bats, which eventually ended in walks anyway. The Twins scored 9 of their 15 runs in the first three innings. Starting for the Twins was Alexandria (MN) High School alumnus, Gary Serum, who only lasted 4 ⅓ innings, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits, but did not walk a batter. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_104832_zpsefqvhtjl.jpg May 7, 1989 Dan Gladden Makes Second Pitching Appearance Dan Gladden made his second big league pitching appearance in a 12-1 loss in Cleveland. Gladden allowed only 1 run on 2 hits and a walk. Not bad considering that Cleveland had scored 11 runs over seven innings against Minnesota’s full-time professional pitchers. May 7, 2000 Tom Kelly Wins 1,000th Game Tom Kelly became the 46th manager in Major League history to win 1,000 games as Minnesota beat Detroit 4-0 at the Metrodome. Joe Mays, who entered the game with an 0-4 record, pitched a complete game, 5-hit shutout for the Twins. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_103740_zpsnc7c6kkk.jpg May 7, 2008 Carlos Gomez Hits for the Cycle Leadoff hitter Carlos Gomez hit for the “natural cycle” in reverse in a 13-1 Twins win versus the White Sox in Chicago. Gomez led off the game with a home run, and then hit a triple, double and single, in that order. Gomez had 3 RBI, 2 runs scored and also struck out twice. Nick Punto hit the first of his two home runs of the season. Livan Hernandez pitched the complete game for the Twins, improving to 5-1 Keep in touch by like the Twins Almanac on Facebook, and by following @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter.

Why are there all these views as soon as I post the Twins Almanac? I live on the west coast. What's everyone else's excuse? Go to bed!

http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_104657_zpswsn6rbqy.jpg May 5th It’s the Birthday of Larry Hisle It’s the birthday of Larry Hisle, born on this day in 1942 in Portsmouth, OH. The 14-year Major Leaguer played five seasons for the Twins, from 1973 to ‘77 when he hit .302 with 28 home runs and an American League-leading 119 RBI. In 2010, Fox Sports North included Hisle among their “50 Greatest Twins.” Hisle was the hitting coach for the back-to-back World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and ‘93. In ‘93 the Blue Jays’ John Olerud, Paul Molitor and Roberto Alomar had the first, second and third best batting averages in the American League. Hisle is currently the Milwaukee Brewers’ Manager of Youth Outreach. May 5, 2001 LaTroy Hawkins Blows First Save After Record Streak On a Saturday night in Kansas City, the first place (20-8) Twins handed LaTroy Hawkins a 10-8 lead in the bottom of the ninth. Hawkins had converted the first 23 save opportunities of his career, an MLB record. After pulling within a run on a sacrifice fly, however, former Twin David McCarty tied the game with a two-out, line drive single to center, scoring Jermaine Dye. With McCarty aboard in the twelfth, Royals outfielder Dee Brown hit a walk-off home run off of Travis Miller. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_103847_zpsqmjepuuy.jpg May 6, 2011 Twins Score Two Runs on Balks The Twins scored two runs on balks en route to a 9-2 win over the Red Sox at Fenway. In the second inning, Denard Span scored on a Tim Wakefield balk, after which manager Terry Francona was ejected. Up 8-2 in the sixth, Trevor Plouffe scored the Twins' second run on a balk, this time by Alfredo Aceves. May 6, 2015 Eddie Rosario Homers on First MLB Pitch Leading off the bottom of the third against Oakland’s Scott Kazmir at Target Field, Eddie Rosario hit the first pitch he saw in the Major Leagues for an opposite field home run. He was hitless in three subsequent at-bats. The Twins went on to beat Oakland 13-0. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/Rosario.2015Topps_zpsn20jsyqv.jpg Six Twins have homered in their first Major League at-bat: Rick Renick, Dave McKay, Gary Gaetti, Andre David, Luke Hughes and Rosario. Fifteen players in the history of Major League Baseball have homered on their first big league pitch. In 2010, Boston’s Daniel Nava hit a grand slam on his first Major League pitch. In 1981, in the span of less than a month, Kent Hrbek, Tim Laudner and Gary Gaetti each homered in their first Major League game. Keep in touch with the Twins Almanac on Facebook, and by following @Twins Almanac on Twitter.

May 3, 1986 Puckett Leads-Off Consecutive Games with First-Pitch Home Runs Facing Walt Terrell on the road in Detroit, leadoff hitter Kirby Puckett homered on the first pitch of the game for the second game in a row. It was already his 11th home run of the young season. The previous night Kirby hammered St. Paul-native Jack Morris’s first pitch for a home run. Morris struggled mightily as the Twins collected 4 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks in just 1 ⅓ innings. Even Steve Lombardozzi got in on the act, leading off the second inning with a home run. Kirby was 3-for-6 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored in the Twins 10-1 win. 23 games into the ‘86 season, Kirby was hitting .396. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_100940_zpslshvx98b.jpg Tigers pitching fared better on May 3rd, however. In addition to Kirby’s first-pitch home run, Gary Gaetti also homered in the first, driving in Tom Brunansky. Walt Terrell recovered, though, and kept the Twins off the board until, leading 7-3 with two out in the ninth, he gave up a solo home run to Gaetti. He then struck out pinch-hitter Billy Beane to complete the 7-4 Tigers victory. May 3, 2011 Francisco Liriano Pitches a No-Hitter Francisco Liriano pitched the fifth no-hitter in Twins history on a chilly, 42 degree night in Chicago, beating the White Sox 1-0. Liriano entered the game with a 1-4 record and 9.13 ERA. The Twins’ only run came on a Jason Kubel home run in the fourth. Liriano was far from perfect, giving up six walks, although he did induce three ground ball double plays. Despite averaging 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings on the season, and 9.3 per nine over the course of his career, Liriano only struck out two batters in his no-hit performance. He threw 123 pitches, only 66 of which were strikes. Liriano would finish the season with a 9-10 record and 5.09 ERA. The no-hitter was Liriano’s only complete game as a Twin. He pitched 2 complete games for the Pirates in 2013. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_103944%201_zps2v0sbu73.jpg This was the second Twins no-hitter in which six runners reached base. The first was the Twins’ first no-hitter, thrown by Dean Chance on August 25, 1967 in the second game of a doubleheader in Cleveland. Chance completed the no-hitter despite giving up an earned run. He walked the first two batters of the game and then the bases were loaded on an error by third baseman, Cesar Tovar. Chance then threw a wild pitch, giving Cleveland an early 1-0 lead. The Twins would go on to win 2-1 as Chance walked 5 and struck out 8. Cleveland hit into two double plays. May 4, 1975 The Twins Retire Their First Number Harmon Killebrew signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals in January, 1975. The Twins retired his number in a ceremony before the Sunday series finale against Kansas City. Killebrew’s #3 was the first number retired by the Twins. The Killer went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI and a run scored that day but the Twins won 6-3, completing the series sweep. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_100247_zpsgrrwfdxn.jpg Minnesota natives Dave Goltz and Tom Burgmeier picked up the win and the save in the first game of the series as the Twins won 4-1. Killebrew sat out game 2 in which Bert Blyleven pitched the complete 14-5 Twins win. Keep in touch with the Twins Almanac on Facebook, and by following @Twins Almanac on Twitter.

May 2, 1963 Twins Trade Jack Kralick for Jim Perry The Twins traded pitcher Jack Kralick, who had come with the team from Washington, to the Cleveland Indians for Jim Perry. Kralick pitched the Twins’ first no-hitter the previous season, on August 26, 1962, as the Twins beat the Kansas City Athletics at home 1-0. Kralick lost the perfect game by giving up a walk with one out in the ninth. The final two outs were recorded on foul pop flies. Though the Twins’ first season in Minnesota, 1961, was probably Kralick’ best, he did garner his lone all-star selection with Cleveland in 1964. Perry’s career got off to a hot start in Cleveland. In 1959 he was runner-up to the Senators’ Bob Allison for American League Rookie of the Year. He tied with Baltimore’s Chuck Estrada for the American League lead with 18 wins in 1960, and made his first all-star team in 1961. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_194048_zpsqon7m9qi.jpg During Perry’s first five seasons with the Twins he was used both as a starter and relief pitcher, including the ninth inning of game 7 of the 1965 World Series. In 1969 he started 36 of the 46 games he appeared in, winning 20 as the Twins won the American League West pennant. Perry won the Cy Young award in 1970, his first season in Minnesota in which he was used exclusively as a starter, and tied for the league lead with 24 wins as the Twins again won the West. Perry played ten seasons in Minnesota. He is fifth in Twins history in both wins (128) and innings pitched. In 2011, Perry became the sixteenth player inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. May 2, 1964 Twins Hit Four Consecutive Home Runs Tony Oliva gave the Twins a 2-0 lead vs. the Athletics in Kansas City with a third inning home run. The teams were tied 2-2 entering the top of the ninth when Harmon Killebrew hit a solo home run to put the Twins in front. Rocky Colavito, however, tied it up in the bottom of the inning, singling in Ed Charles. The A’s came perilously close to the walk-off win. After Colavito advanced to second on a passed ball, the Twins filled first with an intentional walk. Both runners moved up on a ground out to the pitcher, the second out of the inning. The Twins then issued a second intentional walk, loading the bases. Manager Sam Mele then brought Bill Pleis in from the bullpen. With zero margin for error, Pleis struck out his man, forcing extra innings. Neither team threatened to score in the tenth. Then Tony Oliva led off the top of the eleventh with a home run, followed by Bob Allison and Jimmie Hall. Kansas City then went to the bullpen, but to no avail, as Harmon Killebrew made in four in a row and the Twins beat Kansas City 7-3. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_104505_zpslpeqgcvm.jpg Seven teams in the history of Major League baseball have hit four consecutive home runs, most recently the Diamondbacks in 2010. The last American League team to do so was the White Sox in 2008 when Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez and Juan Uribe went back-to-back-to-back-to-back. This wasn’t the only time the Twins made home run history against the Kansas City Athletics. The Twins set an American League record by hitting five home runs in a single inning on June 9, 1966 against KC at the Met in Bloomington. The Athletics erupted for four runs in the first off Camilo Pascual, who only lasted ⅔ of an inning. Facing 1987 Hall of Fame inductee, Catfish Hunter, the Twins pulled within 4-3 on a Bob Allison RBI double in the fifth and a two-run Killebrew homer in the sixth. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Rich Rollins and Zoilo Versalles connected for back-to-back home runs off of Hunter to take the lead. Reliever Paul Lindblad retired Sandy Valdespino before allowing back-to-back homers to Tony Oliva and Don Mincher. The Athletics then turned to John Wyatt who allowed the Twins’ third consecutive home run, and the fifth of the inning, to Harmon Killebrew, his second of the game. Four National League teams have hit five home runs in an inning. The first time was in 1939 and the most recent in 2006. All four were against the Cincinnati Reds. May 2, 2010 Wilson Ramos Debuts with 4-Hit Game 22-year-old Venezuelan catcher, Wilson Ramos, made his Major League debut going 4-for-5 with a double and run scored in Cleveland. The following night, at home versus Detroit, Ramos went 3-for-4 with a double, becoming the third player in Major League history with 7 hits in his first two games, and the first since the Chicago Cubs’ Coaker Triplett in 1938. Ramos played 7 games for the Twins before being traded to the Washington Nationals for closer, Matt Capps. The Twins would go on to win the American League Central with a 94-68 record. They were swept out of the playoffs by the New York Yankees. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160501_110914_zpsrrdo52fb.jpg Ramos was the second Twin to debut with a 4-hit game. 24-year-old Kirby Puckett went 4-for-5 with a run scored in his Major League debut on May 8, 1984 in Anaheim as the Twins won 5-0. Hitting leadoff, Kirby grounded out in his first at-bat before collecting four straight singles. Kirby would finish third in American League Rookie of the Year balloting behind Seattle’s Alvin Davis and Mark Langston. The Twins’ Tim Teufel finished right behind Kirby in fourth place. Roger Clemens came in sixth. In the National League, future-World Series Hero Dan Gladden finished fourth behind Doc Gooden, Juan Samuel, and Orel Hershiser. Keep in touch by following @Twins Almanac on Twitter. And, in case you missed it, here is the Twins Almanac for May 1: May 1, 1996 Twins Win on Paul Molitor Walk-Off Hit-By-Pitch The Twins held a 5-3 lead vs. Kansas City heading into the top of the ninth when 1994 AL Rookie of the Year, Bob Hamelin, hit a two-run home run off of Dave Stevens with Jose Offerman aboard to tie the game. Hamelin had also homered with Offerman aboard in the second. Royals all-time saves leader, Jeff Montgomery, set the Twins down in order in the bottom of the ninth. His second inning of relief did not go so smoothly. After popping Pat Meares up for the first out, Montgomery walked Rich Becker and Chuck Knoblauch. A single by Chip Hale loaded the bases for the future-Hall of Famer, Paul Molitor, who Montgomery beaned, forcing in the winning run. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160423_080543_zpsyfgsqcho.jpg May 1, 2005 Johan Santana Loses for First Time in 20 Starts Johan Santana pitched 8 strong innings versus the Angels at the Metrodome, allowing only 2 runs on 2 hits, solo home runs by Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Molina. Bartolo Colon, however, held the Twins scoreless, allowing only 2 hits through 7 ⅓ innings. Shannon Stewart drove in the Twins only run with a solo home run off Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth. Santana had gone 17-0 in his last 20 starts going back to his 2004 Cy Young-winning season. He would go 16-7 in 2005 and finish 3rd in Cy Young balloting. He won the award again in 2006 when he and the Yankees’ Chien-Ming Wang tied for the Major League lead with 19 wins. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_104141_zpsogidtzul.jpg May 1, 2009 Joe Mauer Homers in First At-Bat Back from Disabled List After missing the first 22 games of the season with a lower back injury, Joe Mauer homered in his first at-bat back from the disabled list. Playing Kansas City at the Metrodome, Mauer came up with two down in the first. After taking Sidney Ponson’s first two pitches, Mauer deposited his 2-0 pitch in the left-center field seats. Mauer led-off the fourth inning with an opposite field double and scored on a Justin Morneau single up the middle. Mauer walked in the fifth and scored on Morneau’s sixth home run of the season. Mauer finished the day 2-for-3 with a walk and 3 runs scored as the Twins beat the Royals 7-5. Mauer went on to hit 11 home runs and drive in 32 runs in the month of May en route to his third batting title and being named the 2009 American League MVP. The Twins won the Central Division in ‘09 with a dramatic 12th inning walk-off win in Game 163 vs. Detroit, but were swept by the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_100755_zpspkq3dnwz.jpg Keep in touch by liking Facebook.com/TwinsAlmanac.

The latest installment of my Twins Almanac, for instance: http://twinsdaily.com/blog/930/entry-8333-the-twins-almanac-for-may-1st/ Unfortunately I won't be able to attend, as I live in the Pacific Northwest.

I would love if my posts on Twins Daily could link to players' Baseball Reference pages like Puckett's Pond pieces do. I tried using the player linker with my Word Press blog but couldn't get it to work. Haven't tried it with my Twins Daily blog...

Will Joe Mauer ever have another 11 home run season, much less month? Does it matter? The 11 home runs he hit in May, 2009 would tie for his third best SEASON total...

May 1, 1996 Twins Win on Paul Molitor Walk-Off Hit-By-Pitch The Twins held a 5-3 lead vs. Kansas City heading into the top of the ninth when 1994 AL Rookie of the Year, Bob Hamelin, hit a two-run home run off of Dave Stevens with Jose Offerman aboard to tie the game. Hamelin had also homered with Offerman aboard in the second. Royals all-time saves leader, Jeff Montgomery, set the Twins down in order in the bottom of the ninth. His second inning of relief did not go so smoothly. After popping Pat Meares up for the first out, Montgomery walked Rich Becker and Chuck Knoblauch. A single by Chip Hale loaded the bases for the future-Hall of Famer, Paul Molitor, who Montgomery beaned, forcing in the winning run. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_104141_zpsogidtzul.jpg May 1, 2005 Johan Santana Loses for First Time in 20 Starts Johan Santana pitched 8 strong innings versus the Angels at the Metrodome, allowing only 2 runs on 2 hits, solo home runs by Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Molina. Bartolo Colon, however, held the Twins scoreless, allowing only 2 hits through 7 ⅓ innings. Shannon Stewart drove in the Twins only run with a solo home run off Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth. Santana had gone 17-0 in his last 20 starts going back to his 2004 Cy Young-winning season. He would go 16-7 in 2005 and finish 3rd in Cy Young balloting. He won the award again in 2006 when he and the Yankees’ Chien-Ming Wang tied for the Major League lead with 19 wins. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160430_100755_zpspkq3dnwz.jpg May 1, 2009 Joe Mauer Homers in First At-Bat Back from Disabled List After missing the first 22 games of the season with a lower back injury, Joe Mauer homered in his first at-bat back from the disabled list. Playing Kansas City at the Metrodome, Mauer came up with two down in the first. After taking Sidney Ponson’s first two pitches, Mauer deposited his 2-0 pitch in the left-center field seats. Mauer led-off the fourth inning with an opposite field double and scored on a Justin Morneau single up the middle. Mauer walked in the fifth and scored on Morneau’s sixth home run of the season. Mauer finished the day 2-for-3 with a walk and 3 runs scored as the Twins beat the Royals 7-5. Mauer went on to hit 11 home runs and drive in 32 runs in the month of May en route to his third batting title and being named the 2009 American League MVP. The Twins won the Central Division in ‘09 with a dramatic 12th inning walk-off win in Game 163 vs. Detroit, but were swept by the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. Look for the next Twins Almanac on Monday. It's the anniversary of a significant trade, a record-setting barrage of Twins home runs, and a historic Major League debut. Keep in touch with the Twins Almanac on Facebook, and by following @Twins Almanac on Twitter.

Ron Davis was such a fragile flower. I was watching news coverage from that night on YouTube yesterday. Certainly looked scary. Kind of surprising that the delay was only 9 minutes considering fans actually sought refuge on the field down the right field line.

Besides, I think stale pastiche falls under fair use.

Finally! He's a hard guy to make notice you. Back in the old days of computer viruses, my Hotmail account even sent his assistant some kind of dick pill spam and still nothing.

And here is the Twins Almanac for the week of April 24th through April 30th. This week in Twins history Paul Molitor and Greg Myers each collected 5 RBI as the Twins scored a team record 24 runs. Scott Erickson pitched the third no-hitter in Twins history. Camilo Pascual hit his 2nd career grand slam. Harmon Killebrew hit both his first home run as a Twin and his 400th career home run this week in history. Mickey Hatcher tied Tony Oliva’s club record for consecutive hits. And Luke Hughes became the fifth Twin to homer in his first career at-bat. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160423_083303_zps6wofircu.jpg April 24, 1996 5 RBI Game for Both Molitor and Myers Paul Molitor was responsible for 10 of the record 24 runs the Twins scored in a 24-11 win at Tiger Stadium. Molitor went 2-for-5 with a walk, 5 RBI and 5 runs scored (he reached on two fielder’s choices). Catcher Greg Myers went 5-for-6 with 5 RBI and 3 runs scored. The Twins jumped out to a 6-1 lead after two innings, but had used three pitchers by the end of the third and trailed 10-7 at the end of four innings. But the Twins kept adding on, outscoring the Tigers 17-1 over the final five innings. They scored in every inning but the fourth, never scoring more than 5 runs in an inning, which they did in the eighth. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160423_080543_zpsyfgsqcho.jpg April 25, 1961 Fred Bruckbauer Has Career ERA of Infinity With the Twins already trailing 7-2 in Kansas City after three innings, Fred Bruckbauer, a 22 year old New Ulm-native and alumnus of St. Mary’s High School (Sleepy Eye, MN) and the U of M, made his Major League debut coming in to pitch to the Athletics in the bottom of the fourth. Bruckbauer gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and a walk before being pulled without recording an out. Unfortunately, this was Bruckbauer’s one and only big league appearance. Since he never recorded an out, his ERA is infinity. The Twins went on to lose the game 20-2. April 26, 1986 Dome Roof Deflates, Twins Lead Collapses The Twins led the California Angels 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth on a stormy night in Minneapolis when a tear caused the Metrodome roof to deflate. The L.A. Times described the scene, with “80-m.p.h. winds tearing holes in the fiberglass dome and whipping through the stadium, sending speakers and light standards swaying on their cables like yo-yos in a wind tunnel… Above the third base line, a geyser of water shot through a drainage hole in the roof, dousing a handful of spectators.” The roof was re-inflated and, remarkably, the game was only delayed nine minutes. The Twins went on to score once more in the eighth, with Mickey Hatcher driving in Steve Lombardozzi with a sacrifice fly. With a 6-1 lead in the ninth, starting pitcher Frank Viola gave up a leadoff double to Brian Downing and a two-run home run to George Hendrick before being relieved by closer Ron Davis with the Twins still up 6-3. Davis gave up a single and two-run home run to the first two men he faced. With one out he walked pinch-hitter Reggie Jackson, representing the tying run. After striking out Bobby Grich for the second out, Ron Davis gave up a go-ahead, two-run homer to Wally Joyner, who had made his Major League debut less than three weeks earlier. Tom Brunansky, Roy Smalley and Gary Gaetti went down in order in the bottom of the ninth and the Twins lost 7-6. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160423_082732_zpsxvhqgjiz.jpg April 27, 1965 Camilo Pascual Hits Second Career Grand Slam Camilo Pascual allowed just 1 run on 2 hits in an 11-1 Twins win on the road in Cleveland. With the Twins already leading 3-0 with two out in the first inning, Pascual hit his second career grand slam, and the only grand slam by a pitcher in Twins history. Pascual hit his first grand slam in the Senators’ final season in Washington, on August 14, 1960 in a 5-4 win in the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. The Senators won the second game 6-3 in 15 innings. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160423_081710_zpshkyemg6k.jpg April 27, 1969 Killebrew’s 400th Home Run Harmon Killebrew hit his 400th career home run with two out in the top of the first inning of an afternoon game in Chicago. Down a run in the seventh, Rod Carew hit a two-run homer and pitcher Dave Boswell and the Twins went on to win 4-3. The top of the Twins lineup that day went Tovar, Carew, Killebrew, Oliva, Alison. All told, Killebrew hit 573 home runs, 5th most in baseball history at the time he retired, and still 11th all-time in 2016. He hit 84 home runs as a member of the Washington Senators, 14 as a Kansas City Royal in 1975, and 475 in a Twins uniform. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160423_082301_zpsolrsofse.jpg April 27, 1994 Scott Erickson No-Hitter Scott Erickson pitched the first no-hitter at the Metrodome, the third no-hitter in Twins history, and the first since Dean Chance threw one in the second game of a doubleheader in Cleveland in 1967. Erickson, who had led the American League with 20 wins and finished second in Cy Young voting in 1991, was coming off of a ‘93 season in which he led the league with 19 losses and 266 hits allowed. The Twins scored in each of the first four innings to lead the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0. Milwaukee’s first baserunner, John Jaha, reached on a hit-by-pitch leading off the 6th. With two out in the ninth, Erickson walked two batters before getting the dangerous Greg Vaughn to fly out to Alex Cole in left. Erickson struck out five Brewers, including the DH Greg Vaughn twice and former Twins catcher, Brian Harper. Kirby Puckett went 4-for-5 with an RBI. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160423_081915_zpsfqfpv7mp.jpg April 28, 1985 Mickey Hatcher Ties Tony O.’s Consecutive Hit Record Mickey Hatcher went 4-for-5 in a 10-1 Twins win over Oakland at the Metrodome. Having gone 5-for-5 the previous day, Hatcher’s 4 hits tied Tony Oliva’s 1967 team record of 9 consecutive hits. Todd Walker matched the feat in 1998. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160423_082146_zpsd7b72pmf.jpg April 28, 2010 Hughes Homers in First MLB At-Bat Leading off the top of the 3rd with the Twins already up 2-1 on a Thome home run, Luke Hughes lifted Max Scherzer’s 2-2 pitch to right for an opposite field home run in his first Major League at-bat. Hughes originally came up to bat in the second when Delmon Young was thrown out trying to steal third for the third out of the inning. The Tigers would come back and win the game 11-6. Six Twins have homered in their first Major League at-bat: Rick Renick, Dave McKay, Gary Gaetti, Andre David, Hughes and Eddie Rosario. Between August 26th and September 20th, 1981, Kent Hrbek, Tim Laudner and Gary Gaetti each homered in their first Major League game. April 29, 1962 Twins Hit Six Solo Home Runs In the 2nd game of a doubleheader in Cleveland, the Twins hit six solo home runs, one each by Lenny Green, Don Mincher, Zoilo Versalles and Bill Tuttle, and two by Johnny Goryl. The Twins scored in each inning but the third and ninth and won the game 7-3. The Twins did not hit a home run in game one, winning 8-4. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160423_082822_zpsjbtlx94n.jpg April 30, 1961 Killebrew’s First HR as a Twin Trailing the White Sox 5-2 in the bottom of the 11th in Bloomington, Harmon Killebrew hit his first home run in a Twins uniform after having hit 84 as a Washington Senator. The White Sox held on to win 5-3 with Bob Shaw pitching all eleven innings. For the history of the Minnesota Twins, told one day at a time, follow @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter, and like The Twins Almanac on Facebook. For the stories of the Major Leaguers who grew up in Minnesota, follow @MajorMinnesota.

Well, at least the Twinkies didn't establish a new club record for strikeouts in a game today... Just tied it.

April 21, 1961 Inaugural Home Opener The 5-1 Twins played their first ever home game, taking on the expansion Washington Senators at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. The teams were tied 3-3 when the Senators scored 2 off of Ray Moore in the top of the 9th to win 5-3. Only 24,606 fans attended the game, 6,000 short of a sell-out despite a gametime temperature of 63 degrees. April 21, 1985 John Butcher 1hr 55min Complete Game Shutout The Twins had lost 9 in a row, falling to 2-9 on the season, entering the Sunday series finale in Oakland when Twins pitcher John Butcher hurled a remarkable complete game shutout. Butcher allowed 3 hits, but faced just 28 batters, one over the minimum. He threw just 81 pitches and the game was over in 1 hour and 55 minutes. Leadoff hitter Kirby Puckett went 3-for-5, driving in both Twins runs in the 2-0 victory. It was the beginning of a 10-game Twins winning streak. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160417_192941%201_zpsqyt6tfrd.jpg April 21, 2007 Twins Start Season with 19 Consecutive Stolen Bases In the 17th game of the season, Alexi Casilla stole second base for the Twins' 19th consecutive successful steal attempt to start the season. Torii Hunter was caught stealing in the 8th to end the streak. With a 7-5 lead in Kansas City, Joe Nathan pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th, with all three outs coming on called third strikes. April 21, 2012 Willingham Begins Twins Career with 15-Game Hit Streak First-year Twin, Josh Willingham, led off the top of the 9th in Tampa Bay with a line drive single to center, extending his season-opening hit streak to 15 games. Willingham would score on a Ryan Doumit sac fly, but the Twins lost 4-1. Willingham’s streak was the longest to begin a Twins career, and tied Kirby Puckett’s 1994 streak for the longest by a Twin to begin a season. For more Minnesota Twins history, like the Twins Almanac on Facebook, and follow @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter.

The 1980 home opener, of course, was at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, not the lame Metrodome. Someone pointed out that brain fart on Twitter.

Come to think of it I've had more than one Little Leaguer thrown out from RF. A hot shot can get out there pretty fast on some of these stupid artificial turf fields in Seattle.

I had a Little Leaguer thrown out 9-3 last summer. Andre Dawson got someone when he was a Cub. Don't remember who, though.

Shout out to Minnesota's poet laureate, Joyce Sutphen! http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160417_095340_zpsfsu5kxrw.jpg

And by it's, of course I mean its, just in case any of my former Gustavaus English profs are reading.

I was living in Seattle so I just got to watch the highlights :/ I had forgotten about the Blue Jays giving up 8 walks in an inning on this date in '14. What a meltdown. They had a two run lead in the 8th and just totally pooped the bed. Fingers crossed that MLB.tv has it's act together today... Go Twins!

I really enjoy researching them. Thanks for reading. I'd hate to think I was just talking to myself in the dark. Analogous to another solo activity...

April 17, 2014 The Twins 8-Walk 8th Inning (aka, Minnesota’s 6-Run, 1-Hit Inning) The Twins and the Blue Jays played two cold ones on April 17th after having been snowed out the previous night. The Twins won game 1 by a score of 7-0. The game time temperature of 31 degrees was a record for a Twins home game. The temperature was up to 42 for the start of game 2. The Twins trailed 3-5 going into the bottom of the 8th when they would score 4 runs before their first hit, and ultimately score 6 runs on just 1 hit. Blue Jays pitcher, Steve Delebar, walked Josmil Pinto and Chris Hermann to start the inning. Eduardo Nunez then dropped down a successful sacrifice bunt. In retrospect the sacrifice was completely unnecessary, as Sergio Santos (replacing Delebar) and J.A. Happ combined to walk the next five Twins batters. Three runs scored on Santos wild pitches, and a fourth run scored when Happ walked Chris Colabello with the bases loaded. Finally, after having already scored 4 runs, the Twins got their first hit of the inning, a 2-run Jason Kubel single to right. Josmil Pinto then walked for the second time in the inning before the Blue Jays finally recorded the final two outs of the inning. Glen Perkins sat down the Jays in order in the 9th, securing a 9-5 Twins victory.