The longest Twins winning streak in 33 years was stopped with a 9-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, ending a two-week stretch in which the Twins had the top-scoring offense in the major leagues and a pitching staff with a 3.08 ERA.
How the Twins reeled off 12 wins in a row. Game-by-game through the streak
From a 7-0 shutout over the White Sox on April 22 through a 3-1 win over the Red Sox on Saturday, the Twins had the top-scoring offense in the league and a pitching staff with a 3.08 ERA.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
May 6, 2024 at 11:58AM
“It was special,” shortstop Carlos Correa said of their 12-game winning streak. Here’s how they did it:
April 22: Twins shut out White Sox 7-0
The offense had its biggest outburst in weeks with Max Kepler, fresh off the injured list, delivering a two-run double in the first inning. Chris Paddack struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings.
“It’s never fun to go back in a locker room after a game and it’s always quiet, no music is playing and the vibes are pretty down,” second baseman Edouard Julien said. “It’s good to be back on the winning side.”
April 23: Twins walk off White Sox 6-5
Down by a run in the ninth inning, Byron Buxton lined a leadoff homer on reliever Steven Wilson’s second pitch. After Carlos Santana drew a one-out walk and Ryan Jeffers hit a pinch-hit double, Alex Kirilloff delivered a walk-off single to right field.
“How about that win? That’s a nice one,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “If you want to be successful, you’ve got to find ways to win games that are really not going your way.”
April 24; Twins beat White Sox 6-3
Willi Castro hit a three-run homer on his 27th birthday in the second inning, and the Twins bullpen allowed only one baserunner after Joe Ryan pitched six innings.
“Playing a team like this at this moment is the best thing that could happen for us,” Jeffers said. “To just play free and play loose.”
April 25: Twins sweep White Sox 6-3
After the Twins were two-hit through the first five innings, hitting coach David Popkins retrieved a summer sausage from the dugout and encouraged hitters to tap it before their at-bats. Julien and Jeffers hit back-to-back homers as part of a five-hit inning.
“There was just a random, giant sausage on the table, and we had some pretty hard outs there,” Popkins said. “We weren’t really getting very lucky. Just something to have fun and flip it around a little bit.”
April 26: Twins top Angels on road 5-3
Bailey Ober, pitching sick, didn’t give up a hit until the sixth inning and pitched into the eighth inning for the second time in his career. Caleb Thielbar retired Mike Trout with two runners on base for the final out.
April 27: Twins crush Angels 16-5
The Twins scored three runs in four separate innings in a 17-hit explosion. Carlos Santana homered for his third consecutive game.
“I think that’s six in a row, but who is counting?” Paddack said. “The biggest thing is coming in with the same attitude as a group. We know what we’re capable of.”
April 28: Twins sweep Angels 11-5
Totaling 17 hits for the second consecutive game, the Twins pulled away during a four-run seventh inning. Kirilloff started the rally with a two-run double.
April 29: Twins win in Chicago 3-2
The Twins produced only four hits. They still rallied in the ninth inning. Buxton led off with a double, and Kepler followed with a go-ahead RBI single.
April 30: Twins rally to beat White Sox 6-5
After Cole Sands surrendered a game-tying homer in the eighth inning, Buxton drew a leadoff walk and scored on Kepler’s sacrifice fly in the ninth. Jhoan Duran recorded his first save.
“When we were struggling at the beginning of the year, you almost felt like we could never come back and win games like that,” Correa said.
May 1: Twins sweep White Sox again 10-5
The Twins completed their first undefeated six-game road trip in club history. A two-run error helped jump-start the Twins offense, and the team scored four runs in the ninth inning.
“We put in a lot of work from the start of spring training to do special stuff like this,” Kirilloff said.
May 3: Twins beat Red Sox 5-2
Paddack pitched six scoreless innings, giving up only two hits, and Jeffers helped break the game open with a bases-loaded, two-run double in the seventh.
“I wasn’t going to be the guy that ended the streak,” Paddack said.
May 4: Twins outpitch Red Sox 3-1
Pablo López gave up one run in six innings, and he didn’t need much run support. Kepler hit a go-ahead homer in the fourth inning.
Twins shortstop Carlos Correa is arguably their best player and easily their most expensive one. He’s frequently injured and a payroll-strapped team is up for sale. It feels like the Twins can’t afford to keep Correa, but the same is true of losing him.
