Metrodome Memories

July 31, 1987 at the Oakland Coliseum
Twins 5, Athletics 3  (56-48)

Gary Gaetti played a role in four of the Twins five runs in their win in the series opener against the Athletics.  He went two for four with a homerun, a double, three RBIs and two runs.  He was the only Twins with more then one hit and the only one with an extra base hit.

Bert Blyleven threw a nice game and he improved to 10-8.  He gave up three runs on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.  Jeff Reardon got the final five batters out and he picked up his 22nd save of the season.

July 29, 1987 at the Kingdome
Mariners 8, Twins 3  (55-48)

Mike Smithson fell to 4-6 on the season with a rough start in the Twins loss to the Mariners.  He gave up seven runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts in just five innings of work.

Kirby Puckett doubled twice and scored two runs.  Tom Brunansky singled and drove in two runs.

July 28, 1987 at the Kingdome
Mariners 6, Twins 1  (55-47)

The Twins couldn’t get anything going against Mariners starter Mike Morgan and while they weren’t shutout, it was pretty close.  The lone run came in the third inning when Kirby Puckett singled home Dan Gladden.

Joe Niekro took the loss and he fell to 5-8 on the season.  He gave up five runs on eleven hits with two strikeouts in six innings of work.

July 27, 1987 at the Kingdome
Twins 4, Mariners 3  (55-46)

The Twins were shut out for eight innings but they made it all up in the ninth when they turned a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 win.  Steve Lombardozzi belted a huge three run homer to tie the game up and then Gary Gaetti hit a walk off solo homerun to win it.  The lonag ball was Gaetti’s 20th of the season and for Lombardozzi, it was his fourth.

Frank Viola improved to 11-6 with the win.  He gave up three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts in eight innings of work.  Jeff Reardon got into trouble in the ninth but got out of it and he picked up his 21st save of the season.

July 26, 1967 at Exhibition Stadium
Blue Jays 4, Twins 2  (54-46)

Jimmy Key outdueled Bert Blyleven in a Twins loss that saw their hitters rack up just four hits.  Kirby Puckett had half of the Jays four hits and one of them was a solo homerun in the first inning.

Blyleven dropped to 9-8 with the complete game loss.  He gave up the four runs on nine hits and three walks with twelve strikeouts.

July 25, 1987 at Exhibition Stadium
Twins 13, Blue Jays 9  (54-45)

The Twins ran up the scored on the Blue Jays and while their pitching wasn’t all that great, the ofense provided more then enough punch.  Gary Gaetti led the way and he went two for four with a homerun, four RBIs and two runs.  Gene Larkin went two for four with a homerun, three RBIs and two runs.

Les Straker was hit hard but the offense picked him up in this one.  Dan Schatzeder picked up the win and he improved to 2-0 although he was hardly stellar.  He gave up two runs n three innings of work.

July 24, 1987 at Exhibition Stadium
Blue Jays 8, Twins 6 (53-45)

The Twins took a 6-1 lead into the seventh only to see their bullpen fall apart and give up seven runs in the seventh inning.  Three different Twins were tagged for runs in that inning and it was Jeff Reardon who took the loss.  He fell to 5-5 on the season.

Greg Gagne went two for three with a double, two RBIs and a run.  Tom Brunansky doubled, drew a walk and scored two runs.

The Twins face a mammoth uphill battle the rest of the season.  After winning four in a row to kick off the second half, the Twins have now lost five of their last seven and they nine games back of the first place Tigers (ten back in the loss column) and seven games back of the Indians for the Wild Card.  With the trade deadline coming up, the Twins face a critical decision.  Take their shot or play for next year.  And if they lose more then they win the next eight days, the decision may be pretty clear.

Johan Santana has looked particularly mortal and you wonder if he’s running out of gas.  He’s dropped his last two starts and the last time Johan lost two starts in a row in the second half was 2002.  Hopefully nothing wrong, but if there is something there, the Twins have to tread very carefully because Johan is the glue that holds this pitching staff together.

At least Justin Morneau isn’t cooling off because we’ll need his bat as well.  He belted two more homers yesterday to bring his season total up to 28 and he could become the first Twin since Gary Gaetti to rack up back to back 30 homer seasons.  Torii Hunter could do the same thing but that’s assuming he’s still with the Twins in the final two months of the season.

The Twins have the rest of their series with the Jays, then they play the Indians and the Royals as they roll into the trade deadline.  Stay tuned because how that Indians seres goes could drive what the Twins do.

July 23, 1987 at Exhibition Stadium
Blue Jays 4, Twins 3  (53-44)

George Frazier gave up the game winning run in the ninth inning as the Twins lost a tough one to the Blue Jays.  The Twins jumped out to a two run lead in the first inning but that was gone by the third inning.  The Twins then tied it in the sixth only to lose it in the ninth.  Frazier dropped to 5-5 on the season.

Gary Gaetti belted a solo homerun, his eighteenth long ball of the season.  In all, the Twins managed just five hits and two of those came in the first inning. 

July 22, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 3, Yankees 1  (53-43)

For the second straight game, Twins’ pitchers held the opposition to just a single run in a low scoring win.  This time it was Frank Viola who provided the quality pitching on the mound.  He gave up one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts in eight innings of work.  Jeff Reardon threw a shutout ninth and he picked up his 20th save of the season.

All three Twins runs came via the long ball.  Kent Hrbek put the Twins on the board in the first inning with a two run homer and then Kirby Puckett belted a solo homerun in the win.

July 21, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 2, Yankees 1  (52-43)

The Twins outdueled the Yankees and it was Bert Blyleven who got it done on the mound in the Twins win.  He improved to 9-7 on the season and he gave up just one run on seven hits and four walks with eight strikeouts in the complete game win.

Tom Brunansky belted a solo homerun in the fourth inning, his 21st of the season.  Kent Hrbek went two for four with an RBI.

July 20, 1987 at the Metrodome
Yankees 7, Twins 1  (51-43)

Les Straker fell to 5-6 on the season in a tough start in the Twins loss to the Yankees.  He gave up six runs on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts in seven innings of work.

The Twins put together only run in the game.  Dan Gladden, Steve Lombardozzi and Greg Gagne each had two hits and Tim Laudner tripled and scored the only run.

July 19, 1967 at the Metrodome
Twins 7, Blue Jays 6  (51-42)

Tom Brunansky led the way at the plate for the Twins in their win in the series finale against the Blue Jays.  The outfielder went two for four with a homerun and three RBIs.  Kent Hrbek singled, drew two walks and scored a run.

Mike Smithson was shelled for five runs early and he didn’t even last through the third.  Dan Schatzeder picked up the win and he improved to 1-0 on the season with 3 2/3 innings of shutout relief.

July 18, 1987 at the Metrodome
Blue Jays 7, Twins 5  (50-42)

The Blue Jays were too much for Joe Niekro as he fell to 5-7 on the season with a tough start in the Twins loss.  He gave up seven runs on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts in six innings of work.

Tom Brunansky belted a solo homer in the loss.  Gary Gaetti doubled twice and he drove in two while Kirby Puckett went two for four with a run and an RBI.

July 17, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 3, Blue Jays 2  (50-41)

The Twins won their 50th game of the season behind a solid outing by Frank Viola.  The left hander improved to 9-6 on the season and he gave up two runs on eight hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings.  Juan Berenguer and Jeff Reardon each threw a shutout inning to close out the game and Reardon picked up his 18th save of the season.

Gary Gaetti belted a solo homerun in the the second inning to put the Twins on the board.  Al Newman went two for four with a run, an RBI and a stolen base.

July 16, 1987 at the Metrodome
Blue Jays 5, Twins 2  (49-41)

Bert Blyleven fell to 8-7 on the season with a rough start as the Twins lost to open up the second half of the season.  He gave up five runs on ten hits and six walks with five strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.

Steve Lombardozzi doubed, tripled and he drove in both Twins runs.  Kent Hrbek singled twice in the loss.

July 12, 1987 at  Memorial Stadium
Orioles 5, Twins 0  (49-40)

The Twins limped into the All Star Break with a pretty poor performance at the plate.  Two singles aren’t going to cut it and that’s all the Twins managed in this one as they were shutout by Dave Schmidt.

Joe Niekro took the loss with five rough innings.  He gave up five runs on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts in six innings.  Three of the six hits off of Niekro went over the fence.

As a fan, you hate the middle road.  If your team is bad, you can sell the farm and pick up some nice shiny prospects.  If you’re good, then you go out and pick up a free agent to be or two to give you that push you need down the stretch.  Then there’s the teams in the middle who aren’t quite out of it but not exactly in it.   When that happens, you’re not sure what to do which is where the Twins are right now.

At eight games back, and behind some solid teams in the Indians and Tigers, the Twins definitely face an uphill battle.  Then again, they have the reigning Cy Young winner (and Johan is gold in the second half) as well as the reigning MVP along with some other nice parts.  So you have a good team but the Twins just play in a tough division.

Justin Morneau is your team MVP right now.  At 24 homers and 74 RBIs, he’s the primary run producer.  Right behind him is Torii Hunter, who could end up being that trade bait if the Twins falter in the next couple of weeks. 

And then Johan is carrying the pitching staff, which isn’t a big surprise.  Boof Bonser is probably the next best pitcher, but the mediocrity is open to debate.  The pen is solid again with Pat Neshak being even better then last year and Joe Nathan doing his job.

First up in the second half for the Twins are the Athletics at home.  Scott Baker takes on Chad Gaudin in the opener and you’ll have two teams in similar situtation duking it out.  Friday’s matchup of Joe Blanton against Santana should be a good one.

July 11, 1987 at Memorial Stadium
Twins 2, Orioles 1  (49-39)

The Twins got a pair of solo homeruns and some top notch pitching from Frank Viola to take this game.  Viola improved to 8-6 on the season and he gave up one run on eight hits and two walks with five strikeouts in the complete game.

Both of the Twins runs came via the longball.  Randy Bush and Gary Gaetti both hit solo homeruns.

July 10, 1987 at Memorial Stadium
Orioles 13, Twins 12  (48-39)

The Twins lost a crazy one to the Orioles as the pitching went out the window.  Bert Blyleven gave up eight runs in five innings and then the next two relievers gave up runs as well.  George Frazier took the loss and he gave up two runs in 2 2/3 innings.

There were plenty of hitting stars but Tom Brunanasky was a notch above the rest.  He went three for three with two walks, a homerun, four RBIs and two runs.  Kirby Puckett singled twice, scored twice and drove in two runs.

July 9, 1967 at Memorial Stadium
Twins 3, Orioles 1  (48-38)

The Twins took care of the Orioles in their series opener behind a nice start by Les Straker.  He gave up just one run on six hits and two walks with one strikeout in 7 1/3 innings.  Jeff Reardon picked up save number 17 with 1 2/3 shutout innings.

The Twins had just six hits in the game but one of them was a big three run homer by Tim Laudner.  Mark Davidson was the only Twin with two hits.

July 8, 1987 at Yankee Stadium
Yankees 13, Twins 4  (47-38)

The Yankees took the wood to the Twins pitchers in this one and while Mike Smithson was roughed up, it was pretty much a team effort.  Smithson dropped to 4-5 on the season and he gave up five runs in four innings.  Juan Berenguer was also tagged and he gave up five runs in just 1 1/3 innings.  The Yankees took Berenguer deep three times.

Dan Gladden was the hitting star in the loss.  He went three for four with a homerun, three runs and an RBI.

July 7, 1987 at Yankee Stadium
Yankees 12, Twins 7  (47-37)

This game was plaing ugly.  The Twins took a 7-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning only to see the Yankees score seven of their own in the seventh and five more in the eighth to win it.  A costly error by Steve Lombardozzi in the seventh cost the Twins six unearned runs and a pretty solid start by Joe Niekro went to waste.  He gave up one run on five hits and one walk with two strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.  Seth Atherton took the loss and he gave up two runs in 2/3 of an inning.

Dan Gladden went three for five with with two runs and an RBI.  Tim Laudner hit a solo homerun and he scored two runs in the loss.

July 6, 1987 at Yankee Stadium
Twins 2, Yankees 0  (47-36)

It’s not too often that your offense picks up just three hits yet you still win the ball game but that’s what happened because of an outstanding outing by Frank Viola.   He gave up just five hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in the complete game shutout.

Both of the Twins two runs were scored on a solo homeruns.  Tom Brunansky hit his 17th homerun and Kent Hrbek blasted his 23rd.

July 5, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 4, Orioles 3  (46-36)

Kent Hrbek belted a lead off walk off solo homer in the bottom of the ninth to win it for the Twins.  Sal Butera also hit a solo shot and Steve Lombardozzi tripled and drove in two runs in the win.

Bert Blyleven improved to 8-6 with the win.  He gave up three runs on nine hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in the complete game.

July 4, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 4, Orioles 1  (45-36)

The Twins won their second straight game behind a solid start by Les Straker.  The rookie right hander gave up one run on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts in seven innings.  Juan Berenguer picked up his third save with two scoreless innings.

Kent Hrbek provided most of the offense with a two run homer.  Kirby Puckett went three for four with a run and an RBI. 

July 3, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 6, Orioles 5  (44-36)

The Twins gave up a two run lead in the ninth only to win the game in the eleventh inning on Steve Lombardozzi’s RBI single.  Juan Berenguer and Dan Schatzeder each gave up a run in the ninth and it was Jeff Reardon who picked up the win with three shutout innings of relief.

Tim Laudner singled and hit a solo homerun in the win.  Dan Gladden had three hits and a run while Al Newman tripled, drove in a run and scored twice.

July 2, 1987 at Royals Stadium
Royals 10, Twins 3  (43-36)

The Twins dropped another one and this time it got ugly as Joe Niekro and George Frazier each were tagged for five runs in the Twins loss to the Royals.  By the fifth inning, the score was 8-0 and two errors didn’t help things (two of Niekro’s runs were unearned).

Tim Laudner hit a two run homer in the loss.  Dan Gladden doubled twice and he scored once.

July 1, 1987 at Royals Stadium
Royals 4, Twins 3  (43-35)

Seth Atherton gave up an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth and that proved to be the game winner in the Twins loss to the Royals.  The run was unearned because the winning run reached base on an error by Gary Gaetti.  Atherton fell to 4-3 on the season.  Frank Viola struck out ten in his start.

Kirby Puckett singled and he drove in two runs.  Dan Gladden went three for five and he scored a run.