Twins Blog: Homestand Notes
by Dan Cook, WCCO Radio
The Twins finished a brief three-game homestand versus the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. Brief, but successful as they took two of three from Tampa.
Let's take a look at some notes from that series, shall we?
Rare Success...
The series win for the Twins was a rare feat for Minnesota as of late. The Twins matched their 2014 season series win total versus the Rays in the first two games of this series alone. They went 2-4 against Tampa last year.
It was their first ever series victory over the Rays at Target Field.
They also improved their all-time record against Tampa to 65-66.
The pair of wins put them in good position to go at least .500 against the Rays in 2015. The last time they managed that was 2009. The last time they actually won a season series versus Tampa? That would be 2006.
The two clubs meet three more times this season, from Aug. 25-27 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Century Mark For Perk...
Friday night's save by Glen Perkins not only marked his 12th of the season in 12 opportunities, but it was also the 100th of his career.
In typical self-effacing fashion, Perk credited everyone BUT himself after the game.
"Just knowing that we're winning games and I've had a lot of opportunities," Perkins said. "That's got a lot more to do with the team than me."
After notching another save on Saturday, Perkins sits at sixth on the Twins all-time saves list with 101, putting him well within range of fifth which is currently occupied by Jeff Reardon (104), fourth which is occupied by Ron Davis (108) and he might even catch current bullpen coach Eddie Guardado for third at 118 Saves.
Dozier Streaking...
Brian Dozier is riding a nine-game hitting streak after going 1-for-3 with a walk on Sunday, extending the longest hitting streak by any Twins hitter this season.
Over that stretch, Dozier's hitting .353 (12-for-34) with two doubles, one triple, four home runs and five RBI.
RIP Killer...
Sunday marked the fourth anniversary of the passing of Twins legend Harmon Killebrew.
The AL MVP in 1969 was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984 and remains among the most popular Twins of all time.
Minor League Player of the Week...
Two weeks ago, Byron Buxton had Minnesota fans smiling as he earned his first Twins Minor League Player of the Week honor of 2015.
This week, Minnesota's second-best prospect, Miguel Sano earned the award.
In eight games for Double-A Chattanooga, Sano went 11-for-29 (.379) with four doubles, three home runs, eight RBI and a .438 on-base percentage.
Conventional wisdom had Sano closer to the big league club than Buxton. That seemed to reverse in recent weeks as Buxton heated up, and the Twins need in center field became more dire. Now with Sano getting things going, it should be interesting to see the race between the two play itself out.
Next Homestand...
The Twins head out to Pittsburgh for a two-game interleague set starting on Tuesday. After that it's a three-game intra-division series in Chicago against the White Sox.
The Twins return home on Memorial Day to start a six-game home stand against AL East teams – Boston and Toronto.
