Twins Blog: Homestand Notes
by Dan Cook, WCCO Radio
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- After an awful 1-5 road trip to start the 2015 campaign, the Twins returned home to the friendly confines of Target Field determined to brush off a bad start and right the ship.
Things began ominously with a 12-3 loss to the Royals in the Home Opener, but by the time they'd finished with Cleveland on Sunday, they'd won two straight series, and improved their record to 5-7.
Here are some notes and musings from the first homestand of the season...
Twins take 2 of 3 from the Royals...
Winning a series from Kansas City isn't just significant because they're the defending AL Champs, but also because it didn't happen much last season.
The Twins won just one of the five series with the Royals in 2014, coincidentally, it was also the first series they played last season – a three game sweep in April at Target Field.
Hopefully 2015 won't be a one-and-done repeat for the Twins versus Kansas City.
...and then made it two series in a row, taking 2 of 3 from Cleveland
Winning consecutive series shouldn't be a large accomplishment, but you have to go back to early July of last season to find the last time the Twins managed it. They took 3 of 4 in Seattle and followed that up by taking 2 of 3 in Colorado.
The Twins had only moderately more success against Cleveland – going 2-4 in series play - than they did against Kansas City last year.
Mauer Ownage...
Twins 1B Joe Mauer has some of his best career numbers versus Kansas City and Cleveland. After the first three match-ups with both clubs this season, Mauer's slash-line versus the Royals now stands at .327/.408/.469. Against Cleveland, he's hitting .337
He's hit 12 HR and 35 doubles off of KC pitching. He also has collected 102 RBI off of the Royals – 15 more than he's notched against any other team.
Against Cleveland, he's collected 28 doubles, 9 home runs and 61 RBI.
Oh, and Sunday just so happened to be Joe's 32nd birthday...
Plouffe walked one off...
It was a dramatic finish to the opener of the Cleveland series, as Trevor Plouffe hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning of Friday night's game to give the Twins a 3-2 win.
It was the first walk-off win for Minnesota this year and the 29th since they moved into Target Field in 2010.
Interestingly, Plouffe now has the last two walkoff hits for Minnesota – both of which came at the expense of Cleveland: Friday night's 11th-inning home run, and a bases loaded 10th-inning single back on September19, 2014.
What got somewhat lost in the dramatic win was 2014 Cy Young winner Corey Kluber beginning the game with five perfect innings. Twins catcher Chris Herrmann admitted post-game that there was a thought that Minnesota might get no-hit that night. That's how dominant Kluber looked in the early going.
That's the beauty of baseball, though. One flare from Oswaldo Arcia in the sixth inning drops for a single, and the entire flow of the game radically changes. Proving once again why it's almost never a good idea to leave a game early!
Minor League Player of the Week...
No, it can't be Byron Buxton or Miguel Sano every week... This week the honor went to Double-A Chattanooga pitcher Tyler Duffey who threw seven shutout innings in his start against Birmingham, allowing just two hits and one walk, while collecting eight strikeouts.
Given the struggles of the Twins pitching staff, they need all the good pitching prospect news they can get their hands on.
Suzuki still hot at Target Field...
Kurt Suzuki has found the confines of Target Field to be more than friendly since his arrival last year. Not only did he put up career numbers last season but he also appeared in his first ever All Star Game, all under the watchful eyes of Minnie and Paul.
He's now hit safely in 13 of his last 17 games played at home, hitting .309 over that span. Since he debuted at Target Field last year he's collected 23 doubles, 29 RBI and 27 runs scored.
Career Numbers...
Glen Perkins recorded the 90th Save of his career on Thursday afternoon placing him sixth on the Twins all-time list. He needs 14 more to catch Jeff Reardon for fifth.
Torii Hunter needs eight more home runs as a Twin to tie Gary Gaetti (201) for 7th on the team's all-time list.
Joe Mauer's next home run will time him with Roy Smalley (110) for 12th all-time with the club. He needs three more doubles to tie Kent Hrbek (312) for 3rd all-time and seven more RBI to get to 700 in his career with Minnesota.
Next Homestand...
The Twins return to Target Field on Monday, April 27th for an 11-game homestand featuring series with the Tigers, White Sox and Athletics.