EKSTROM: 35 Stats For 35 Games

By Sam Ekstrom

If you possess a one-track sports mind, it’s possible you may have ignored Twins baseball until the Minnesota Wild playoff run was over. After all, it’s tough to navigate between Fox Sports North and the tricky Fox Sports North Plus channel, which the Twins were often relegated to during hockey coverage.

But now it’s almost Memorial Day. Summer is around the corner. Baseball rules the sports landscape, whether you like it or not. Time to get caught up on Twins baseball even if you’ve been resisting with every fiber of your being. Don’t worry, they’ve been tolerable thus far.

Here’s a completely arbitrary numeric countdown – 35 stats for 35 games – that will get you up to speed with the season.

35: Hits for Brian Dozier

Last year’s lone All-Star is second on the team in hits and has his average ticking above .250, an improvement on Dozier’s early-season woes where he sat around .200.

34: Strikeouts for Danny Santana

It’s been an early rollercoaster for the 24 year old. He hit .203 through April 25, which was an exact copy of his on-base percentage – a remarkably terrible stat – because he had zero walks. Then he built the average up to .280 by May 6, only to drop back down to .250 entering play on Friday. Obviously the team-leading 34 strikeouts are unacceptable for a speedy guy who spent time as a leadoff hitter early in the season.

33: Double plays turned entering Thursday

That’s nearly a double play per game for the Twins’ defense, which was bottom-third in double plays turned last season.

32: Strikeouts by Phil Hughes

Last season, Phil Hughes set the record for strikeout-to-walk ratio at 11.63:1. The team ace is now throwing a paltry eight times as many strikeouts as he is walks.

31: Home runs allowed by the pitching staff

Certainly not as bad as interleague border rival Milwaukee’s staff (51 HRs allowed), but not as good as St. Louis’ mark either (18).

30: Innings pitched by Trevor May

Thanks to Ervin Santana’s stanzololol and Ricky Nolasco’s injury-proneness, Twins fans got to see 30 more innings of Trevor May than they expect in the first five weeks of the season. Early returns have been promising but not perfect.

29: Games played by Kurt Suzuki

The catcher has been a warrior once again behind home plate, playing six out of every seven games this season, including every game on the recent road trip.

28: At-bats for Chris Herrmann thus far

And because of Suzuki’s indefatigability, Herrmann has had very little opportunity to play. If there’s any argument for why Josmil Pinto has been kept in Triple-A, it’s because he wouldn’t be given regular at-bats at the big-league level.

27: Number of strikeouts from No. 8 and No. 9 hitters

These are actually the lowest strikeout totals of any place in the Twins’ batting order. Granted, the No. 8 and 9 hitters typically have one fewer at-bat per game, but that low strikeout total generally indicates better at-bats, which the Twins have put great emphasis on this season.

26: Games ago the Twins were 3-6

They are 16-10 since.

25: Home runs hit by the Twins

Good for 23rd in baseball. Not the best. But at least 12 of the 25 homers hit have been with runners on base. Last year, about two-thirds of Minnesota’s longballs were of the solo variety.

24: Hits allowed by Ricky Nolasco

Two dozen hits allowed in 18.1 innings with a 1.80 WHIP, yet Nolasco is 3-1. Baseball is a funny game.

23: Stolen bases by opponents

Not good when you compare that to just 11 stolen bases by the Twins, who are firmly solidified in the anti-piranha era.

22: RBIs from the No. 2 and No. 3 hitters

The Twins have gotten great production from the top of the order, mostly thanks to the guy below.

21: RBIs for Torii Hunter

After a slow start to the year (as it was for every Twin), Hunter now leads the team in average, RBIs and HRs. Not bad for a 39 year old.

20: Hits allowed in Thursday’s 13-1 loss

It wasn’t pretty Thursday in Detroit. The Tigers won their third consecutive series against the Twins and are responsible for nearly half the Twins’ 16 losses. It’s safe to say Minnesota is sick of seeing David Price.

19: Wins entering play Friday

But how about this: The Twins are 17-9 when they’re NOT facing Detroit. And in case you hadn’t heard, it’s the first time they’ve been three or more games above .500 since 2010.

18: Home runs hit at home versus seven on the road

Fans have received plenty of souvenirs at Target Field, but bats have been frigid away from home. The team’s average is a full 55 points lower (.234) on the road that it is within the friendly confines (.289).

17: Base hits for Shane Robinson

The man with the best Twitter handle on the team (@SUGASHANE_21) has been terrific as the team’s fourth outfielder, hitting .315 and delivering a handful of web gems in center.

16: Hits allowed by Tim Stauffer in less than 10 innings

Another cautionary tale: Don’t acquire National League pitchers.

15: Stellar innings pitched by Glen Perkins

Perk is a perfect 11 for 11 in saves and has the best “run-up” music of any closer not named Mariano Rivera.

14: The Twins A.L. ranking in hits allowed

Perhaps a cause for concern, the Twins allow a lot of baserunners, largely due to their league-worst strikeout rate. Only Boston allows more in the American League. Lots of balls being put in play equals lots of balls falling for base hits. Eventually, this may catch up with the squad.

13: Home runs already hit in May

The Twins hit just 12 homers in April, but not even halfway through May they’ve got a baker’s dozen.

12: Home victories

For a team that’s averaged just 33 wins and a whopping 48 losses at home the past four seasons, winning four of their first five home series is a refreshing change.

11: At-bats so far for Aaron Hicks

The enigmatic outfielder is making his third go-round with the team, and true to the baseball adage, he may be down to his third strike. Hicks hit well over .300 at Triple-A, which earned him a call-up. He is 4 for 11 in his first three games.

10: Doubles for Dozier

That’s a team-leading number for the team’s leadoff hitter. Manager Paul Molitor doesn’t want Dozier to become too fixated with hitting home runs, so the increase in line drives to gaps is a welcome sight.

9: Homers allowed by Phil Hughes

Hughes has allowed a team-high nine home runs through seven outings, meaning Ricky Nolasco may have competition for most home runs allowed this year.

8: Times caught stealing

The Twins are barely above 50/50 when it comes to stealing bases. Paging Byron Buxton …

7: Consecutive hits for Hunter against Cleveland

“It went down with honor.” That was Torii Hunter speaking about the bat he broke on an infield single last Saturday. At the time, he had recorded seven straight hits.

6: Series wins

Just for reference, it took Minnesota until mid-June to win six series in 2011 and 2012, so mid-May is a vast improvement.

5: Bombs for Trevor Plouffe

Plouffe is making it very easy to keep Miguel Sano in Double-A.

4: DL stints by pitchers

Nolasco, Stauffer, Brian Duensing and Casey Fien have all missed time. Based on some of their track records, maybe their absence explains why the Twins have been so successful …

3: Triples hit against Detroit on Wednesday

It was practically a track meet as Joe Mauer, Dozier and Plouffe ran out three-baggers at spacious Comerica Park. Minnesota has eight triples on the season.

2: Extra inning wins

Both came in 11 innings: one at home against Cleveland, the other on the road against Seattle.

1: Pitch for Eddie Rosario to homer

Watch and enjoy.