After Saturday night’s Twins game, I checked the box score to see if manager Paul Molitor had intentionally walked Josh Donaldson during the game. He did not. Instead, Donaldson continued his mastery of the Twins with four hits on Saturday, including two home runs and a stolen base, all of which helped the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Twins, 7-2.
Now, the best the Twins can do is earn a split of the four-game series if they win Sunday. I never thought I would say this, but thank God Kyle Gibson gets the start. Gibson has been the Twins’ best pitcher the past month. A win tomorrow, combined with a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim loss, and the Twins will restore their two-game lead over the Halos for the second wild card spot in the American League. As it stands Saturday night, that lead is only one game after the Angels beat the Rangers, 2-0.
Meanwhile, Donaldson lived up to his ability to hit Twins pitching. In fact, the Associated Press reported Friday that Donaldson’s OPS — on base plus slugging percentage — is the highest by any opposing player in Twins and Washington Senators history at 1.239.
That stat got me thinking: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb regularly faced the Washington Senators during their careers, so you’re telling me, AP, that Donaldson’s OPS is higher against the Twins and Senators than those guys? It turns out to be true. At least for the time being.
Baseball-Reference.com shows the following:
-Ted Williams vs. the Senators: 1.123
-Babe Ruth vs. the Senators: 1.122
-Joe DiMaggio vs. the Senators: 1.028
-Lou Gehrig vs. the Senators: .974
-Ty Cobb vs. the Senators: .966
Extra innings…
-Both Eddie Rosario and Eduardo Escobar hit home runs in Saturday’s loss. For Rosario, it was his 24th; for Escobar it was No. 18.
-The Twins have to win Sunday, or else they will have to keep pace with the Angels by beating the Yankees at the Bronx. Easier said than done.