Rookie Rod Carew became the first Twin to collect 5 hit in a single game in a 7-4 Twins loss to the Senators at home in Bloomington. Rodney was 5-for-5 on the day with a double, an RBI and run scored. The Twins had 11 hits in total, but no other Twin had more than one.

Kirby Puckett set a new Twins record for hits in a game when he went 6-for-6 with 2 home runs and 2 doubles in a 10-6 Twins win in Milwaukee on August 30th, 1987. Puckett had gone 4-for-5 with 2 home runs the day before, making him 10-for-11 with 6 RBI and 7 runs on the weekend. He had gone 0-for-4 on Friday in the first game of the series, a 1-0 Twins loss.

http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160507_104617_zpsrhgchzsa.jpg

22-year-old Catfish Hunter pitched a perfect game against the Twins in Oakland, striking out 11 in the 4-0 win which was only attended by 6,298 fans despite it being the Athletics’ first season in Oakland. Harmon Killebrew struck out in each of his three plate appearances. In addition to pitching the perfect game, Hunter went 3-for-4 at the plate, driving in 3 of the Athletics’ 4 runs. Reggie Jackson was 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts.

The Twins set a team record when 12 of their 19 hits went for extra bases in a 16-6 shellacking of the Blue Jays at home in Bloomington. Roy Smalley and Craig Kusick each hit 2 home runs. Ken Landreaux hit a home run and a double. Bombo Rivera hit 2 doubles, while Willie Norwood, Glenn Borgmann and Bob Randall hit one each. John Castino hit a triple. Roy Smalley had the best day of anybody, going 4-for-5 with the 2 home runs, a walk, 4 RBI and 4 runs scored.

http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160501_110914_zpsrrdo52fb.jpg

Kirby Puckett went 4-for-5 with a run scored in his Major League debut as the Twins beat the first place Angels 5-0 in Anaheim. Puckett, hitting leadoff, grounded out to short to start the game. He collected singles in his next four at-bats, becoming the sixth player in American League history to debut with 4-hit performance. Frank Viola pitched a complete game, 4-hit shutout.

Kirby collected 16 hits in his first 7 Major League games, hitting .485. He would finish the season with 165 hit in 128 games, batting .296 and finishing 3rd to Seattle’s Alvin Davis and Mark Langston in American League Rookie of the Year balloting. Minnesota’s Tim Teufel came in 4th.

22-year-old Twins catcher, Wilson Ramos, also went 4-for-5 in his Major League debut on May 2nd, 2010. The following night, he went 3-for-4 with a double, becoming the third player in Major League history with 7 hits in his first two games, and the first since the Chicago Cubs’ Coaker Triplett in 1938.

Nothing happened today, unless you count the birth of Oswaldo Arcia in Venezuela in 1991.

http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/Arcia.2015Topps_zps8pe4y60u.jpg

Lenny Green and Vic Power hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the game versus Cleveland pitcher and future-Twin, Jim Perry. Cleveland came back to win the game 9-4. Back-to-back home runs to begin a game tied the Major League record at the time. Has a team since started with three? Anybody? Let’s get collaborative here.

Frank Quilici was born on this day in 1939 in Chicago. He played for the Twins in 1965 and 1967-’70, including the ‘65 World Series and 1970 American League Championship Series. He spent the ‘66 season at Triple A, Denver. He retired as a player after the 1970 season but was brought back as a coach in 1971. In July of ‘72 he replaced Bill Rigney as manager, a position which he held through the end of the 1975 season. He was succeeded by Gene Mauch. Quilici, who turns 77 today, makes his home in Burnsville, MN.

http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160507_110427_zpsfve038ml.jpg

Dean Chance pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout versus the Kansas City Athletics at home in Bloomington. Chance struck out 8 and walked 6 as the Twins won 8-0. Chance would get his no-hitter on August 25th of that season.

21-year-old Catfish Hunter, already in his third season, started for the Athletics, allowing all 8 Twins runs on 7 hits and 6 walks in just 5 innings. He would pitch a perfect game against the Twins 363 days later.

The Twins traded Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong to the California Angels for Tom Brunansky, pitcher Mike Walters, and $400,000 cash. Brunansky, a southern California-native, was drafted in the first round in 1978 out of high school by the Angels. He had played 11 games with the Angels in 1981, and was at Triple A Spokane at the time of the trade. Brunansky was, of course, an integral part of the Twins’ 1987 championship season when he hit 32 home runs, drove in 85 and scored 83 runs. He played for the Twins until an ill-advised April ‘88 trade to St. Louis for clubhouse cancer, Tommy Herr. Brunansky’s 163 home runs in a Twins uniform are ninth most in team history. He hit a total of 271 home runs over his fourteen year Major League career. Bruno has served as the Twins’ hitting coach since 2013.

Pitcher, Eli Grba, homered in the top of the fifth to give the Angels a 3-2 lead. Twins pitcher, Pedro Ramos, led off the bottom of the inning with a home run of his own, tying the game. Ramos added a 2-run single the following inning and the Twins held on to win 5-4, with Ramos driving in the Twins’ final 3 runs.

Just one day after trading two bonafide big leaguers for a minor league pitcher and the unproven Tom Brunansky, the Twins traded pitcher Roger Erickson and standout catcher, Butch Wynegar, to the Yankees for not a whole lot. Wynegar was an all-star in his first two seasons and finished second to Detroit’s Mark Fidrych in 1976 American League Rookie of the Year balloting. Despite the Brunansky deal working out very well in retrospect, both trades were seen at the time as cheap cost-cutting measures by Twins ownership.

http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160507_110827_zpsrm91abas.jpg

Kirby Puckett hit a team record 4 doubles as the Twins beat the Blue Jays 10-8 at the Metrodome. Kirby, who was 4-for-5 with 3 RBI and a run scored, hit two doubles each off of Dave Stieb and Tom Henke.

Nothing happened today, except the birth of Hosken Powell in 1955 in Selma, Alabama. The '75 Minnesota draft choice played for the Twins from 1978-'81 before playing his final two big league seasons in Toronto. Powell hit his first Major League home run off of Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer, in May of his rookie season. His third home run was off of Hall of Famer, Fegie Jenkins. Powell hit the final home run of his career off of Hall of Famer, Don Sutton.

Keep in touch with the Twins Almanac on Facebook, and by following @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter.