Metrodome Memories

September 30, 1987 at Arlington Stadium
Rangers 2, Twins 1  (85-74)

The Twins were shut down by Rangers starter Bobby Witt as they continued to coast into the playoffs.  Kirby Puckett singled and he drove in the lone run for the Twins while Kent Hrbek reached base four times with a single, a double and two walks.

Les Straker had a pretty good start go to waste.  He gave up two runs on six hits and three walks with six strikeouts in seven solid frames.

As the Twins headed into their final series of the season, they still didn’t know who their ALCS opponents would be.  The Blue Jays had a tough series and they let the Tigers make up some ground and the two teams would square off in a pivotal three game series to determine the AL East winner.

September 29, 1987 at Arlington Stadium
Rangers 7, Twins 5  (85-73)

The Twins were knocked around in what turned out to be a team effort loss as three different pitchers were knocked around by the Rangers.  Keith Atherton was the guy who took the loss because the Twins hitters kept them in the game.  He fell to 7-5 and he gave up two runs in 1 1/3 innings of relief.

Dave Bush homered and drove in two runs in the loss.  Gary Gaetti doubled, drove in a run and scored twice.

September 28,1987 at Arlington Stadium
Twins 5, Rangers 3  (85-72)

The Twins were headed to the playoffs as they finally locked up the division crown with tight win over the Rangers.  Steve Lombardozzi was the hitting star in the win and he played a role in four of the Twins five runs.   He went two for four with four RBIs and one of his two hits was a two run homer.

Joe Niekro gave up three runs in 6 1/3 innings but he didn’t get the decision because the Twins didn’t go ahead until the eighth inning.  Juan Berenguer improved to 8-1 and he threw 1 2/3 shutout innings while Jeff Reardon pitched a shutout ninth to earn his 31st save of the season.

As of now, the Twins still didn’t know who their ALCS opponent would be.  The Tigers and Blue Jays looked like they might go down to the wire and in the meantime, the Twins had a few games to tune up for the opposition.

September 27, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 8, Royals 1  (84-72)

The Twins clinched at least share of the American League West behind a three homer attack and some solid pitching by Bert Blyleven.  The righthander gave up just one run on five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in the complete game win.

Kent Hrbek homered and drove in three runs while Kirby Puckett and Gary Gaetti also went yard.  For Hrbek, it was his team high 34th of the season.

September 26, 1987 at the Metrodome
Royals 7, Twins 4  (83-72)

The Royals are now the new second place team as they passed up the Athletics in the AL West with a win over the Twins.  Steve Carlton was tagged for three runs in 5 1/3 innings while Jeff Reardon was bombed in the top of the ninth for three runs and he fell to 8-8 on the season.

Kirby Puckett singled and drove in two runs in the loss.  Kent Hrbek and Dan Gladden both had two hits while Hrbek drove in a run and Gladden scored one.

September 25, 1987 at the Metrodome
Royals 6, Twins 4  (83-71)

Despite the Twins six game winning streak coming to an end, they still managed to reduce their magic number down to three thanks to a loss to the Athletics.  Les Straker was hit hard and he gave up four runs in 4 1/3 innings.  Dan Schatzeder fell to 3-1 and he gave up two runs without getting a single batter out.

Kirby Puckett went two for four with two RBIs and a run.  Dan Gladden went two for three with two walks, two runs and a stolen base.

September 24, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 4, Rangers 0  (83-70)

Frank Viola struck out ten in eight shutout innings as he improved to 17-9 on the season.  Juan Berenguer struck out the side in the ninth in a non-save situation.

Greg Gagne belted a big two run homer to provide half of the Twins runs.  Gary Gaetti doubled, drove in one and scored.

September 23, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 4, Rangers 2  (82-70)

The Twins continued their hot streak as they won their fifth straight game and pushed the Athletics five games back of first place.  Bert Blyleven gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings but he didn’t get the win.  That went to Juan Berengeur, who improved to 7-1 with 1 1/3 innings of shutout relief.  Jeff Reardon threw a shutout ninth to save his 30th game of the season.

Dan Gladden provided the bulk of the offense in the win.  He went two for three with a walk, a homer, a triple and three RBIs.  Don Baylor singled and he drove in a run.

September 22, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 6, Rangers 4  (81-70)

The Twins belted three homers as they won their fourth straight game.  Kirby Puckett blasted his 27th homerun while Greg Gagne and Tom Brunansky both went yard as well.  Gary Gaetti also had a nice game and he went three for four with a run and an RBI.

Joe Niekro improved to 7-12 on the season.  He gave up four runs (two earned) on six hits with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.  Jeff Reardon threw a shutout ninth and he picked up his 29th save of the season.

September 20, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 3, Indians 2  (80-70)

The Twins finished up a three game sweep over the Indians behind a solid outing by rookie Les Straker.  He gave up two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six frames.  Jeff Reardon pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout and he picked up save number 28.

Kirby Puckett played a hand in all three Twins runs. He went three for four with a homerun, two runs and two RBIs.  The homer was his 26th of the season and he also hit his 30th double of the season.

September 19, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 3, Indians 1  (79-70)

Frank Viola improved to 16-9 on the season with an awesome start as the Twins won their second straight game.  He gave up one unearned run on six hits and a walk with four strikeouts in seven frames.  Jeff Reardon threw two innings of shutout relief and he picked up his 27th save of the season.

Gary Gaetti belted his 30th homer of the season, a solo shot in the fourth inning.  Greg Gagne also went yard and he finished the game with two runs.

September 18, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 9, Indians 4  (78-70)

The Twins cut their magic number down to twelve behind the hot stick of Randy Bush.  He went two for three with a walk, a homerun and five RBIs.  Kirby Puckett and Tom Brunansky both went yard in the game as well.  For Brunansky, it was his 30th and it was number 25 for Puckett.

Bert Blyleven improved to 14-11 with a decent enough start.  He gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in eight frames.

September 16, 1987 at Comiskey Park
White Sox 13, Twins 10  (77-70)

The Twins dropped their third straight game to the White Sox as they were swept at Comiskey Park.  Mike Smithson was shelled for six runs in 4 2/3 innings in his start and he fell to 4-7.  Juan Berenguer and Keith Atherton were also hammered in the loss.

Dan Gladden and Greg Gagne both went yard in the loss.  Gagne finished the game three for five with two RBIs and two runs.  Dan Gladden went two for five with two runs and two RBIs.

September 15, 1987 at Comiskey Park
White Sox 6, Twins 2  (77-69)

Joe Niekro had a rough start and he fell to 6-12 on the season as the Twins lost their second straight game to the White Sox.  He gave up four runs on nine hits with three strikeouts in six innings.

Randy Bush was the hitting star in the loss.  He went two for four and he drove in both Twins runs with his ninth homerun of the season.

This was somewhat of a surprise.  He went from executive of the year to unemployed within less then a year and while the Twins could potentially finish below .500 this year, it’s hard to throw too much blame at Ryan.  He’s done what he can and he’s pulled off some of the most lopsided trades over the past ten year.  Ryan’s assistant, Bill Smith takes over as the team’s GM.

I know I haven’t talked much about the current day Twins much these days but they’ve been effectively out of it for some time.  And it’s hard to get excited about a team when everyone talks about Torii Hunter being gone with Johan Santana not far behind.  You hope with the new stadium that we’ll see an opening of the wallet by Pohlad but I’m not holding my breath.

In the meantime, I’ll spend my evenings watching the Twins wind down their season, knowing they’re set up with with guys like Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer along with a few other guys making their way up.  Having Francisco Liriano in the rotation next year would be a welcome sight as well.

And for a great look at Terry Ryan and what he’s done for the Twins, be sure to stop by Aaron Gleeman’s blog.

September 14, 1987 at Comiskey Park
White Sox 8, Twins 2  (77-68)

The White Sox took it to Frank Viola, who fell to 15-9 with a tough start.   He gave up five runs on eight hits and two walks with five strikeouts in five innings.

Randy Bush singled home both Twins runs in the ninth inning.  Don Baylor went one for two and he drew two walks.

September 13, 1987 at Cleveland Stadium
Twins 7, Indians 3  (77-67)

The Twins extended their AL West division lead to 4 1/2 games with a solid ten inning win over the Indians in their series finale.  More then half of the Twins runs came in the tenth inning alone as they racked four in the frame.  Kirby Puckett singled home the winning run but Gary Gaetti’s two run double provided some much needed insurance.

Bert Blyleven almost saw another nice start go to waste.  He gave up two runs on six hits while Jeff Reardon picked up the win with 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief.  He gave up just one hit and he struck out three.

September 12, 1987 at Cleveland Stadium
Indians 5, Twins 4  (76-67)

The Twins and Indians swapped leads a couple of times in the late innings but it was the Indians who came out on top after Juan Berenguer fell apart in the ninth.  He gave up a pair of hits and both base runners scored in the ninth inning to turn a 4-3 lead into a 5-4 loss.  It’s too bad because a pretty solid start by rookie Les Straker went to waste.  He gave up three runs on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts in seven innings.

Gene Larkin went two for four with two RBIs.  Kirby Puckett went two for four with a double, a run and an RBI.

September 11, 1987 at Cleveland Stadium
Twins 13, Indians 10  (76-66)

The Twins won an eleven inning shootout as they took advantage of an Athletics loss to extend their lead in the AL West to three and a half games.  Kent Hrbek went four for five with a homerun, three RBIs and two runs while Steve Lombardozzi and Dan Gladden both went yard as well for the Twins.

Jeff Reardon picked up the win with two shutout innings of relief.  Juan Berenguer pitched a perfect eleventh and he earned his fourth save of the season.

September 9, 1967 at the Metrodome
Twins 2, White Sox 1  (75-66)

The Twins kept their three game lead over the Athletics with a win over the White Sox.  Frank Viola continued his impressive season and he improved to 15-8.  He gave up  one run on six hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in the complete game win.

The Twins had only two hits in the entire game but they were both solo homers.  Kirby Puckett belted his 24th homer to tie the game up and then Tim Laudner hit his sixteenth in the ninth inning to win it.

September 8, 1987 at the Metrodome
White Sox 4, Twins 3  (74-66)

Bert Blyleven fell to 13=11 on the season with a tough start in the Twins loss to the White Sox.  He gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks with four strikeouts in a complete game loss.

Gary Gaetti homered, doubled, drove in one and scored twice.  The newly acquired Don Baylor had his biggest game to date for the Twins.  He went three for four with a double and an RBI.

September 7, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 8, White Sox 1  (74-65)

The Twins got both solid hitting and good pitching as they got right back to winning.  Tom Brunansky was a perfect two for two with a homerun, two walks, two RBIs and two runs.  Gary Gaetti went three for five with two runs and two RBIs.

Jeff Bittiger made his first start of the season and he picked up the win with seven solid frames.  He gave up one run on six hits with five strikeouts.

September 6, 1987 at the Metrodome
Brewers 6, Twins 0  (73-65)

The Twins four game winning streak came to an end as the hitters were pretty much completely held in check.  Mark Davidson and Kirby Puckett had the only hits of the game for the Twins.

Steve Carlton fell to 6-14 despite a nice start.  He gave up two runs on three hits and six walks with six strikeouts in seven innings.

September 5, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 2, Brewers 1 (73-64)

The Twins won their fourth straight game and their straight by the score of 2-1 with some timely hitting and some nice pitching by both Mike Smithson and Keith Atherton.  Smithson took a shutout into the seventh inning before he finally gave up a run and he left the game with the things tied up 1-1.  Then Keith Atherton held the Brewers scoreless in the ninth to pick up his seventh win of the season.

Kirby Puckett tripled home Al Newman in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game up.  Then Tom Brunansky belted a walk off solo homerun to lead off the ninth.  Brunansky also had a team hit three hits.

September 4, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 2, Brewers 1  (72-64)

The Twins won their third straight game behind some solid pitching by Frank Viola and Juan Berenguer.  Viola didn’t pick up the win but he kept the Twins in the game.  He gave up one run on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts in eight innings.  Juan Berenguer improved to 6-0 with four shutout innings.  He gave up five hits and he struck out one.

Kirby Puckett belted a huge solo homerun in the seventh inning to tie the game up at one run a piece.  The long ball was his 23rd of the season.  Billy Beane (yeah, that Billy Beane, the one who’s in charge in Oakland) drove in the game winner with an RBI single in the bottom of the twelth inning.

September 3, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 2, Red Sox 1  (71-64)

Bert Blyleven didn’t give up a run until the top of the ninth as a scoreless game turned into a one run deficit for the Twins.  Blyleven gave up one run on six hits and four walks with eleven strikeouts in nine innings.

Fortunately, the Twins scored a run in the ninth to send the game into extra frames and then a run in the tenth to win it.  Kirby Puckett belted a solo shot with two outs in the ninth to save the game and then Al Newman drew a bases loaded walk in the tenth to win it.  Newman finished two for four with an RBI.

Keith Atherton picked up the win and he improved to 6-4.  He gave up two hits in a shutout tenth.

September 2, 1987 at the Metrodome
Twins 5, Red Sox 4  (70-64)

The Twins jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead only to see it evaporate to a single run by the eighth inning.  Randy Bush went two for three with a homerun and two RBIs.  Ken Hrbek singled twice, walked twice and scored a run.

Les Straker improved to 7-9 with the win.  He gave up two run on four hits and a walk with one strikeout in six solid frames. Jeff Reardon got the final five batters out and he picked up his 26th save of the season. 

September 1, 1987 at the Metrodome
Red Sox 9, Twins 0  (69-64)

The Twins were shutout on five hits in a blowout loss to the Red Sox.  Kirby Puckett was the only hitter with a pair of hits and he went two for four.

Joe Niekro was shelled and he fell to 6-11.  He gave up five runs on eight hits and two walks with one strikeout in four innings of work.