Twins Retire Number 34 (1997)
Culminating a three-day celebration of his career, the Twins retired Kirby Puckett‘s number 34 before a dramatic 7-6, 10-inning victory over the Athletics on this date in 1997.

The Twins took a 6-4 lead into the ninth inning, but Rick Aguilera blew his fourth save of the season. He held the A’s scoreless in the 10th, however, and picked up the win when Rich Becker delivered a two-out walk-off single, driving in Matt Lawton (pinch running for Terry Steinbach).

Record-Setting Shutout Win (1990)
The Twins beat the Red Sox 16-0 at the Dome on this date in 1990. That was the biggest shutout victory in team history until they beat the Royals 17-0 at Target Field on September 2, 2017.

Pitcher Roy Smith authored the four-hit shoutout for Minnesota. 

Remarkably, the Twins scored all 16 runs without a home run. 

Kirby Puckett—the third batter of the game—hit a two-run triple and Hrbek drove him in to make it 4-0 before the Red Sox got their first out. 

Just six days earlier (May 19), the Red Sox had pummeled the Twins 13-1 at Fenway, with Boston’s Tom Brunansky going 5-for-5 with two home runs, seven RBI, and three runs scored.

 

Twins Lose on Record-Setting Pinch Hit (1981)
The Rangers beat the Twins on Bill Stein’s record-breaking seventh consecutive pinch hit on this date in 1981.

The Minnesota connections here are multi-layered: Stein’s seventh-straight pinch hit broke the American League record previously held by 1954 Edina-Morningside graduate Bob “Rocky” Johnson . And in 1991, Randy Bush tied Stein’s new record with his seventh-straight pinch hit. 

cards.jpeg.20ad5ec1da0bee5d362b20f23ab253e8.jpeg

Birthdays
Happy 55th birthday to North Saint Paul High School graduate Brent Killen . 

Killen was a power-hitting first baseman at the University of Florida and then played three seasons in the Tigers farm system, from 1992 to 1994. 

And happy 52nd birthday to former Twins first-round draft choice Todd Walker . 

In July 1998, he connected for a hit in nine-straight at-bats. At the time, that tied Tony Oliva and Mickey Hatcher for the team record. In 2024, though, Jose Miranda blew that record out of the water with a hit in 12-straight at-bats. Miranda was just the fourth player in MLB history to get a hit in 12-straight at-bats, and the first since 1952. 

Are you interested in Twins history? Then check out the Minnesota Twins Players Project, a community-driven project to discover and collect great information on every player to wear a Twins uniform!

View The Players Project