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http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160525_170738_zpsyytecp4e.jpg May 26, 2011 Twins Pay Final Respects to Harmon Killebrew On an off day, the Twins and about 4,000 of their fans paid their final respects to Harmon Killebrew, who had passed away on May 17, with a beautiful memorial service on the infield at Target Field. In attendance was Commissioner Bud Selig, Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Rod Carew, Paul Molitor and Bert Blyleven, as well as Tony Oliva and an All-Star lineup of Twins old and new. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160525_170841_zpsxzzdwuop.jpg May 27, 1961 First 5-Hit Game in Twins History Twins leadoff hitter, Zoilo Versalles, went 5-for-5 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. It was the first 5-hit game in Twins history. The Twins jumped out to a 1-0 lead as Harmon Killebrew drove in Versalles in the top of the first. But Twins starting pitcher, Ed Palmquist, was only able to record one out, giving up 4 runs before being relieved by Winona, MN-native, Paul Giel, who gave up one more, giving the Senators a 5-1 lead after the first inning. They went on to win 14-4. May 28, 1986 Five Twins Pitch in Eighth Inning Five Twins pitched in the eighth inning versus the Blue Jays at the Metrodome, establishing a team record for pitchers used in a single inning. Gary Gaetti had tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh. Toronto slugger, George Bell, however, led-off the eighth with a homer off of Twins starter, Bert Blyleven. After Blyleven gave up a single to the next batter, the Twins went to the bullpen. The Blue Jays just kept hitting, however, scoring seven more off of Keith Atherton, Juan Agosto, Ron Davis and Roy Lee Jackson for an 8-run eighth inning. Tom Brunansky hit a 2-run HR in the ninth, but Toronto held on to win 14-8. May 28, 2011 Twins Combine For One-Hit Shutout In his second start and fourth appearance of the season, Anthony Swarzak held the Angels hitless for 7 1/3 innings at Target Field and allowed just one hit and two walks over eight innings before giving way to the bullpen. Meanwhile, the Angels' Jered Weaver pitched a two-hit shutout through nine innings. Matt Capps and Alex Burnett held the Angels hitless in the ninth and tenth. In the bottom of the tenth, Justin Morneau hit a one-hit single off of Angels reliever Hisanori Takahashi. Morneau was replaced by pinch-runner Jason Repko while Takahashi was relieved by Kevin Jepsen, who allowed singles to Michael Cuddyer and Delmon Young, and, after just three pitches, the Twins had the bases loaded for Danny Valencia. Valencia delivered a walk-off single to right, driving in Jason Repko. Both teams had combined for just 3 total hits prior to the Twins' 4-hit bottom of the tenth. Prior to the bottom of the tenth, Denard Span was the only Twins runner to reach second, doing so in the sixth inning. Span was also picked off twice in the inning. He reached on an infield single, and was then picked up off first, but advanced to second on an error. Five pitches later Weaver picked him off of second for the final out of the inning. May 29, 1982 Sal Butera Catches Four Stealing Sal Butera threw out a Twins record four baserunners in a 6-4 loss to the Yankees at home at the Metrodome. Twins starting pitcher Terry Felton, who retired with an 0-16 Major League record, gave up singles to Bobby Murcer and former-Twin, Graig Nettles, to open the second inning. The Yankees’ Roy Smalley struck out with the runners moving. Sal Butera’s throw to Gary Gaetti at third beat Murcer so badly that he retreated back toward second, which was occupied by Nettles who backtracked toward first. Gaetti threw to Kent Hrbek at first who tagged Nettles out. When Murcer decided to try taking third again, Hrbek threw to the pitcher, Felton, who was covering the bag, completing a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out triple play. Butera was credited with having caught both runners stealing. Butera had thrown out Ken Griffey as part of a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play to end the first inning. Then, with Griffey batting in the third, Butera threw out Willie Randolph trying to steal second for the third out of the inning. All three Yankees pitchers that day went on to have brief careers with the Twins. Starting pitcher, Tommy John, worked as a Twins broadcaster from 1994-’96. George Frazier pitched for the 1987 world championship team. And Shane Rawley, who was an ‘86 All-Star with the Phillies, pitched for the Twins in 1989. All three threw to former Twins catcher, Butch Wynegar, who had been traded to the Yankees a little more than two weeks earlier. Twins rookie, Kent Hrbek, went 3-for-4 with a triple. It was already his third triple of the season. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160525_170503_zpsmlozhwhq.jpg May 30, 1980 Landreaux Hits in Twins Record 31 Straight Games Tied 2-2 versus Baltimore in the seventh at home in Bloomington, Ken Landreaux hit a one-out double to extend his hitting streak to 31 games. Landreaux would be stranded on third and the Twins went on to lose in ten innings. Baltimore’s Scott McGregor held Landreaux hitless the following day, snapping his Twins-record hitting streak. McGregor would go on to win 20 games in 1980 and be named to the All-Star team the following season. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160525_170628_zps2lfjvoyq.jpg May 30, 1986 Roy Smalley Homers From Both Sides of Plate Roy Smalley became the first Twin to homer from each side of the plate in the same game in a 13-5 win versus the Red Sox at home in the Dome. He hit a leadoff home run batting left-handed in the bottom of the third, and a 3-run home run batting right-handed in the seventh, driving in Greg Gagne and Kirby Puckett. All nine Twins in the starting lineup plus pinch-hitter Mickey Hatcher had at least one hit in the game. Starting pitcher, Frank Viola, gave up 5 runs on 10 hits in just 3 ⅔ innings, but Keith Atherton, acquired just nine days earlier, pitches 5 ⅓ scoreless innings in relief. Two Twins have homered from each side of the plate in the same game since Smalley did it. Chili Davis did it on 10/2/1992, and Ryan Doumit on 7/22/2012. Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher each homered from both sides of the plate in the same game a Major League record fourteen times. Mickey Mantle did so ten times. The Padres’ Ken Caminiti homered from each side of the plate a record four times during his Most Valuable Player season of 1996. Three players have homered from each side of the plate in the same inning: Cleveland’s Carlos Baerga in 1993, the Cubs’ Mark Bellhorn in 2002, and the Angels’ Kendrys Morales in 2012. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160525_171008_zps5qqttr2m.jpg May 31, 1976 Bert Blyleven Gives Twins Fans the Middle Finger With contract negotiations at a standstill and trade rumors swirling, Bert Blyleven walked off the mound after the top of the ninth trailing the Angels 3-1. There were only 8,379 fans at Metropolitan Stadium that day, some of whom were giving the pitcher grief, singing “bye-bye Bertie.” Before he got to the dugout, Blyleven, visibly angry, looked to the stands and gave the hecklers the middle finger. The next day he was traded with Danny Thompson to the Texas Rangers for four players, including Roy Smalley. Thompson, who had been diagnosed with leukemia prior to the 1973 season, died on December 10, 1976 at age 29. 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And here is The Twins Almanac for the week of April 17th through the 23rd. Two of the 50 Greatest Twins share a birthday this week. This week in 1961 the Twins played their first home opener and celebrated their first walk-off win. Several impressive streaks began and ended. The Twins put together a 6-run inning on just 1 hit. And this week in Twins history, just 14 games removed from the 1987 World Series, Minnesota made a demoralizing trade with St. Louis for a pontificating clubhouse cancer. April 17, 2009 Kubel Completes Cycle with Game-Winning Grand Slam Playing the LA Angels at the Metrodome, the Twins trailed 4-9 going into the bottom of the 8th. They scored 3 runs on RBI hits by Mike Redmond and Denard Span. After Brendan Harris struck out looking for the second out, the Angels, still leading by 2, intentionally walked Justin Morneau to load the bases for Jason Kubel, who had already gone 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored and was a HR shy the cycle. Kubel hit the 0-1 pitch out of the park, completing the Twins’ 7-run 8th inning rally. Joe Nathan retired the Angels in order in the top of the 9th for the save and an 11-9 Twins win. April 17, 2014 The Twins 8-Walk 8th Inning (aka, Minnesota’s 6-Run, 1-Hit Inning) The Twins and the Blue Jays played two cold ones on April 17th after having been snowed out the previous night. The Twins won game 1 by a score of 7-0. The gametime temperature of 31 degrees was a record for a Twins home game. The temperature was up to 42 for the start of game 2. The Twins trailed 3-5 going into the bottom of the 8th when they would score 4 runs before their first hit, and ultimately score 6 runs on just 1 hit. Blue Jays pitcher, Steve Delebar, walked Josmil Pinto and Chris Hermann to start the inning.Eduardo Nunez then dropped down a successful sacrifice bunt. In retrospect the sacrifice was completely unnecessary, as Sergio Santos (replacing Delebar) and J.A. Happ combined to walk the next five Twins batters. Three runs scored on Santos wild pitches, and a fourth run scored when Happ walked Chris Colabello with the bases loaded. Finally, after having already scored 4 runs, the Twins got their first hit of the inning, a 2-run Jason Kubel single to right. Josmil Pinto then walked for the second time in the inning before the Blue Jays finally recorded the final two outs of the inning. Glen Perkins sat down the Jays in order in the 9th, securing a 9-5 Twins victory. April 19th Twin Birthdays 4/19 is the birthday of Frank Viola (born in 1960 in East Meadow, NY) and Joe Mauer (born in 1983 in St. Paul). The Twins drafted Frank Viola in the 2nd round in 1981 out of St. John’s University (Queens, NY). Viola was the MVP of the 1987 World Series, and was an All-Star and Cy Young Award-winner the following season when he won a Major League-leading 24 games. On July 31st, 1989, the Twins traded Viola to the New York Mets for pitchers Rick Aguilera, Kevin Tapani, David West, Tim Drummond, and Jack Savage. As a Met, Viola was an NL All-Star in 1990 and ‘91, finishing 3rd in NL Cy Young balloting in 1990. Viola was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame with Carl Pohlad in 2005. Cretin-Derham Hall alumnus, Joe Mauer, was the #1 overall draft choice in 2001. Mauer made his Major League debut on Opening Day, 2004, at age 20. He went 2-for-3 with a strikeout, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored. Mauer was on second in the bottom of the 11th with 2 out when Shannon Stewart hit a 3-run walk-off homer, giving the Twins a 7-4 win over Cleveland. The Twins went on to win the AL Central in Mauer’s rookie season before losing to the Yankees in the Divisional round. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160416_185555_zpsxnup2udc.jpg Joe Mauer has won three American League batting championships (2006, ‘08 and ‘09). No other American League catcher has ever won a batting title. The last National League catcher to win a batting title was Cincinnati’s Ernie Lombardi in 1942. Lombardi was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986. Mauer was the 2009 American League MVP, hitting a career-high .365, and collecting career-highs in hits (191), home runs (28), and RBI (96). He is a 6x All-Star. April 19, 1961 A crowd of 3,000 fans gathered at the airport to welcome home the 5-1 Twins, two days before their inaugural home opener. April 19, 1988 Niekro Called for 3 Balks After the Yankees’ Rickey Henderson led off the game with a single to center, Joe Niekro was called for back-to-back balks, advancing Henderson to second and to third. Henderson scored on a Don Mattingly double. Henderson came up again in the 2nd inning, this time hitting a 2-RBI single to left. Niekro was promptly called for his 3rd balk of the game, moving Henderson up to second. After giving up a 2-run home run to Mike Pagliarulo to make it 7-0 Yankees in the 2nd, Niekro was replaced by Juan Berenguer. Berenguer, Keith Atherton and Jeff Reardon did not allow a run the rest of the game. Trailing 3-7 in the bottom of the 9th, the Twins scored 3 runs on RBI hits by Kirby Puckett and Tom Brunansky beforeHrbek lined out to first, ending the game with the tying runner, Mark Davidson, stranded on third. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160416_184731_zpsini02nam.jpg April 21, 1961 Inaugural Home Opener The 5-1 Twins played their first ever home game, taking on the expansion Washington Senators at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. The teams were tied 3-3 when the Senators scored 2 off of Ray Moore in the top of the 9th to win 5-3. Only 24,606 fans attended the game, 6,000 short of a sell-out despite a gametime temperature of 63 degrees. April 21, 1985 John Butcher 1hr 55min Complete Game Shutout The Twins had lost 9 in a row, falling to 2-9 on the season, entering the Sunday series finale in Oakland when Twins pitcher John Butcher hurled a remarkable complete game shutout. Butcher allowed 3 hits, but faced just 28 batters, one over the minimum. He threw just 81 pitches and the game was over in 1 hour and 55 minutes. Leadoff hitter Kirby Puckett went 3-for-5, driving in both Twins runs in the 2-0 victory. It was the beginning of a 10-game Twins winning streak. April 21, 2007 Twins Start Season with 19 Consecutive Stolen Bases In the 17th game of the season, Alexi Casilla stole second base for the Twins' 19th consecutive successful steal attempt to start the season. Torii Hunter was caught stealing in the 8th to end the streak. With a 7-5 lead in Kansas City, Joe Nathan pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th, with all three outs coming on called third strikes. April 21, 2012 Willingham Begins Twins Career with 15-Game Hit Streak First-year Twin, Josh Willingham, led off the top of the 9th in Tampa Bay with a line drive single to center, extending his season-opening hit streak to 15 games. Willingham would score on a Ryan Doumit sac fly, but the Twins lost 4-1. Willingham’s streak was the longest to begin a Twins career, and tied Kirby Puckett’s 1994 streak for the longest by a Twin to begin a season. April 22, 1961 Twins 1st Walk-Off Win In game 2 of their first ever home series, the Twins and expansion Senators played to a 4-4 tie through nine. In the bottom of the 10th, with the bases loaded and one away, Zoilo Versalles gave the Twins their first ever walk-off win, driving in Earl Battey with a sacrifice fly to center. The freshly minted Twins improved to 6-2 on the season. April 22, 1980 Geoff Zahn pitched a complete game for an 8-1 Twins win in the 1980 home opener. The gametime temperature was a balmy 89 degrees outside the Metrodome. Hosken Powell, Ron Jackson and Roy Smalley each hit home runs in the game. April 22, 1988 Twins’ Day Goes from Bad to Worse Bert Blyleven gave up 7 runs on 9 hits and 4 hit batters in 4 2/3 innings in an 11-6 loss to Cleveland at the Metrodome. Four of those runs came on a Cory Snyder grand slam. Later in the game, Joe Carter also hit a grand slam off of Keith Atherton. To add insult to injury, after the game the Twins traded Tom Brunanskyto the Cardinals in exchange for clubhouse cancer, Tom Herr. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160416_184502_zpslydldyma.jpg April 23, 1961 In the final game of the Twins' first ever home series, Jack Kralick pitched a complete game, 4-hit shutout in a 1-0 Twins win versus the expansion Senators. Kralick's bat provided the Twins' only run, driving inBilly Gardner with a 5th inning single. The Twins improved to 7-2 on the season. April 23, 1980 Ken Landreaux begins a 31-game hitting streak by breaking up Angel pitcher Bruce Kison's no-hitter with a one out double in the 9th. California holds on to win 17-0. For the history of the Minnesota Twins, told one day at a time, like The Twins Almanac on Facebook, and follow @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter. For the stories of the Major Leaguers who grew up in Minnesota, like Major Minnesotans on Facebook, and follow @MajorMinnesota on Twitter. Click here to view the article