September 11, 2016

Twins-related news: Hiroshima Carp win first Central League title in 25 years

In Twins-related news, the Hiroshima Carp, a team that hadn’t won a Central League title since 1991, ended that title drought on Saturday by beating the Tokyo Giants, 6-4.

How is this Twins related? Kris Johnson, who pitched briefly for the Twins in 2014, pitches for the Carp and so far has won 14 games. He is 14-6 with a 2.22 ERA. He also won 14 games in 2015. I bet the Twins would kill for a 14-game winner.

Meanwhile, the Twins played more baseball on Saturday against the Cleveland Indians and actually won the game, 2-1, in 12 innings. Joe Mauer delivered the game-winning, walk-off hit. Miguel Sano hit his 23rd home run. What does it all mean? It means the Twins stave off another day of not losing 90 games.

Extra innings…

-With the win, the Twins “improved” to 53-89.

-After spending 10 years in the minors, James Beresford, recently called up by the Twins, made his major league debut on Saturday and got his first hit. He also played at third base.

“It’s been quite a ride,” Beresford told MLB.com. “Tonight makes the last 10 years all worth it.”

-Sept. 11, 1999: On this day, Twins pitcher Eric Milton no-hit the Anaheim Angels, 7-0, before 11,000 fans at the Metrodome. Those who bothered to attend, saw Milton strike out 13 over nine innings. The game had an unusual start time of 11 a.m. to accommodate a Golden Gophers football game, according to Baseball-Reference.com. Another oddity: The Twins game was free to anyone who attended in their pajamas. No wonder nobody showed.

Jose Berrios gets the ball on Sunday. Good luck, Jose.

 

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.