September 18, 2016

Another game, another loss for the Twins

It was another ho-hum affair for the Twins versus the New York Mets. They were shut out on Friday (3-0) and didn’t do much better on Saturday, losing 3-2 in 12 innings. They got solo home runs from Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton, but the Mets’ Curtis Granderson hit two home runs, including one in the bottom of the 12th to win the game.

Kyle Gibson gets the ball on Sunday.

Extra innings…

-Once again starter Ervin Santana pitched well enough to win, and once again he walked away with a no-decision. Santana struck out nine over seven innings and didn’t allow a run, yet his record remains at 7-10 with a 3.38 ERA. It was Santana’s 16th quality start of the season.

-While all of us have been busy watching second baseman Brian Dozier hit home runs, he has quietly put together a 21-game hitting streak.

-The Twins are 6-9 in extra-inning games this season and 8-11 in interleague games. Let’s face it: No matter how you slice and dice the numbers, the Twins just aren’t very good.

-Sept. 18, 1980: On this day, the Twins’ Gary Ward hits for the cycle, yet the club still loses to the Milwaukee Brewers, 9-8. Perhaps more amazing, Ward played in only 13 games that season. It was also the first game of a doubleheader against the Brewers. The Twins lost the second game as well, 5-0. A check of the 1980 season shows the Twins played three doubleheaders in four days, Sept. 17-21.

 

 

COMMENTS

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.