Twins Blog: Homestand Notes
by Dan Cook, WCCO Radio
The second homestand of the Twins 2015 campaign is in the books. And with 11 games versus the Tigers, White Sox and Athletics, it was the longest one they'll have all year.
It saw some fabulous weather, saw the Twins finally reach and surpass .500 for the first time this season, and plenty of other notable moments.
So here are some notes and musings from the homestand that was ...
Biggest Blown Lead Of The Season
Can we get the lousy stuff out of the way first? The Twins dropped two out of three against the defending division champion Tigers.
They split the first two games, nearly digging out of a five-run hole against David Price, and picking up a win over Anibal Sanchez behind a strong effort by Mike Pelfrey.
And then came the Wednesday matinee against Shane Greene with Phil Hughes still in search of his first win of the season.
It started out well enough with the Twins building a 7-3 lead by the end of the 5th inning. But Phil Hughes left the game early with a mild hip flexor strain and the bullpen wasn't able to hold the four-run advantage.
Tim Stauffer gave up three runs in his two-thirds of an inning. Aaron Thompson surrendered one and Casey Fien gave up three more as the bullpen surrendered 10 hits and seven runs in just four innings of work for the largest lead blown by the Twins this season. Detroit took the finale 10-7.
Mauer Milestone
One bright spot from the Wednesday debacle: Joe Mauer registered the 700th RBI of his big league career.
Only eight Minnesota Twins had accomplished that feat prior to Joe: Rod Carew, Gary Gaetti, Kent Hrbek, Torii Hunter, Harmon Killebrew, Justin Morneau, and of course, Kirby Puckett
Joe drove in three more runs over the course of the homestand and now stands at 703 for his career.
Lucky Number 7
The Twins reward for that disappointing loss to Detroit? Getting to face Chris Sale in the opener of a four-game set with the White Sox.
Sale finished third in last year's Cy Young balloting and came into the game with a 2-0 record and 2.37 ERA.
So what did the Twins do? They hung a seven-spot on him in the third inning on the way to touching him for nine runs and beating Chicago by a final of 12-2.
The six hits and seven runs were career highs for Chris Sale in a single inning.
The 12 runs WERE the most the Twins have scored in a single game this season, until ...
Twins Plate 13 In The Finale
The Twins posted another seven-run inning against the White Sox, this time in the series finale off of John Danks.
Included in the barrage this time was Trevor Plouffe's first ever Grand Slam, a 408-foot blast into the Home Run Porch in left.
Those two seven-run frames marked the fourth and fifth times the Twins have scored at least seven in a single inning in 422 games at Target Field.
The Twins managed to tack on six more runs on their way to ...
Getting The Brooms Out
With their 13-3 victory over the White Sox on Sunday, the Twins completed their first sweep of the 2015 season. They recorded just three sweeps in 2014.
Four-game series against Chicago seem to agree with Minnesota. The Twins last four-game sweep came June 19-22, 2014 ... at Target Field ... versus the White Sox.
Go figure.
Torii Likes The Sox
By the end of the game on Sunday, Torii Hunter had hit in 16 of his last 17 games against the White Sox, hitting .400 (26-for-65) over that span.
Among active players against Chicago, Torii ranks first in hits (212), first in home runs (33), first in RBI (113), first in runs scored (119) and second in doubles (41).
Torii and the Twins have 12 more chances to feast on White Sox pitching this season with the next series coming Memorial Day weekend in Chicago.
And The Offense Didn't Stop
The Twins offense kept rolling against the A's, scoring eight in the series opener and 13 more in Game 3.
The 13-0 win on Wednesday night not only tied Sunday's 13 as the most runs the Twins have scored in a game this season, but also represented their largest margin of victory in 2015.
By the end of the Oakland series, the Twins had tallied a gaudy total of 73 runs over the 11-game homestand.
But it was one particular run that had everybody talking ...
Rosario Makes History
There's nothing like a kid making his Major League debut. And there have been very few debuts like Eddie Rosario's.
He came to the plate for the first time as big leaguer to lead off the third inning on Wednesday night, and deposited the first pitch Scott Kazmir delivered to him into the Home Run Porch in left field.
Rosario was the 118th player in MLB history to homer in his first at-bat. He was just the 29th to do it on the very first pitch he saw.
Just six Minnesota Twins have now homered in their first big-league at bat. He joins Rick Renick, Dave McKay, Gary Gaetti, Andre David and Luke Hughes in that group.
Rosario, however, is the only player in Twins history to do it on the first pitch.
Home Cookin'
After their 3-1 series win over the Athletics, the Twins are now 12-5 at Target Field in 2015. Those are the most home wins in the AL this season and fourth-most in baseball.
What's the old adage? "Win your home games and go .500 on the road and you'll make the playoffs."
The Twins still have work to do on the road. They're 4-8 (.333) away from Target Field. But if they keep winning at even close to a .705-clip at home, they'll give themselves a chance.
Perk Goes Streaking
Glen Perkins completed his 10th consecutive save opportunity on Thursday afternoon as the Twins beat the A's 6-5, matching the fourth-longest streak of his career.
Perkins had two 10-game streaks in 2014, April 30-May 11 & June 21-August 5.
The inimitable Dark Star once said, "Having a closer like that (he was referring to Joe Nathan at the time, but it fits with Glen) on a team like this is like having a crystal chandelier in a pup tent."
"Pup tent" may be a bit of a harsh description for a club that's looking to improve on four-straight 90-loss seasons, but there's no question that Perkins is a luxury.
Minor League Player Of The Week
Sunday fell near the middle of the homestand and with it brought news that put a smile on many Twins fans faces.
Number-one prospect Byron Buxton was named the Minor League Player of the week.
In seven games that week, Buxton hit .423 with a double, a home run, six RBI, nine runs scored, six walks and four stolen bases.
Buxton has raised his slash-line to .274/.340/.505 with three home runs, three doubles and five triples and has more than a few folks in Twins Territory salivating at the idea of him roaming center at Target Field in the not-too-distant future.
Next Homestand
The Twins return home a week from Friday for a brief, three-game homestand against the Tampa Bay Rays. First pitch Friday night is 7:10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday are 1:10 p.m. starts.