List of Minnesota Twins Opening Day starting pitchers

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Bert Blyleven made six Opening Day starts for the Minnesota Twins Bert Blyleven.jpg
Bert Blyleven made six Opening Day starts for the Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the American League Central division. They formerly played in Washington, D.C. as the Washington Senators before moving to Minnesota after the 1960 season. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, [1] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. [2] The Twins have used 26 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 51 seasons in Minnesota. Starters have a combined Opening Day record of 14  wins, 25  losses and 12  no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Brad Radke holds the Minnesota Twins record for most Opening Day starts with nine. He has a record in Opening Day starts for the Twins of four wins and two losses (42) with three no decisions. Bert Blyleven had six Opening Day starts for the Twins and Frank Viola had four. [3] Radke has the record for most wins in Minnesota Twins Opening Day starts with four. Liván Hernández, Mudcat Grant, and Dean Chance share the best winning percentage in Opening Day starts with one win and no losses (10) each. Kevin Tapani has the worst winning percentage, losing both Opening Day starts he made for the Twins (02). [3]

Overall, Minnesota Twins Opening Day starting pitchers have a record of 47 with three no decisions at Metropolitan Stadium and a 14 record with one no decision at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Their first home opener in their current ballpark of Target Field was in 2013. This gives their Opening Day starting pitchers' combined home record 511 with four no no decisions. Their away record is 914 with eight no decisions. The Twins went on to play in the World Series in 1965, 1987, and 1991, winning in 1987 and 1991. The Twins lost both Opening Day games in the years in which they won the World Series. [3]

Key

SeasonEach year is linked to an article about that particular Twins season.
WWin
LLoss
ND (W) No decision by starting pitcher; Twins won game
ND (L)No decision by starting pitcher; Twins lost game
Final
Score
Game score with Twins runs listed first
LocationStadium in bold for home game
Pitcher (#)Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Twins
*Advanced to the post-season
**Won American League Championship Series
Won World Series

Pitchers

Scott Baker was the Twins' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2010 0923 028c Scott Baker.jpg
Scott Baker was the Twins' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2010
SeasonPitcherDecisionFinal
score
OpponentLocationRef(s)
1961 Pedro Ramos W60 New York Yankees Yankee Stadium (I) [6]
1962 Jack Kralick L24 Kansas City Athletics Municipal Stadium [7]
1963 Camilo Pascual L45 Cleveland Indians Metropolitan Stadium [8]
1964 Camilo Pascual (2)ND (W)76 Cleveland Indians Cleveland Stadium [9]
1965** Jim Kaat ND (W)54 New York Yankees Metropolitan Stadium [10]
1966 Mudcat Grant W21 Kansas City Athletics Metropolitan Stadium [11]
1967 Jim Kaat (2)L36 Baltimore Orioles Memorial Stadium [12]
1968 Dean Chance W20 Washington Senators Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium [13]
1969* Tom Hall ND (L)34 Kansas City Royals Municipal Stadium [14]
1970* Jim Perry W120 Chicago White Sox Comiskey Park [15]
1971 Jim Perry (2)L27 Milwaukee Brewers Metropolitan Stadium [16]
1972 Bert Blyleven ND (L)34 Oakland Athletics Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum [17]
1973 Bert Blyleven (2)W83 Oakland Athletics Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum [18]
1974 Bert Blyleven (3)ND (W)64 Kansas City Royals Royals Stadium [19]
1975 Bert Blyleven (4)W114 Texas Rangers Arlington Stadium [20]
1976 Bert Blyleven (5)ND (L)21 Texas Rangers Arlington Stadium [21]
1977 Dave Goltz L47 Oakland Athletics Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum [22]
1978 Dave Goltz (2)L23 Seattle Mariners Kingdome [23]
1979 Dave Goltz (3)W53 Oakland Athletics Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum [24]
1980 Jerry Koosman ND (W)97 Oakland Athletics Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum [25]
1981 Jerry Koosman (2)L15 Oakland Athletics Metropolitan Stadium [26]
1982* Pete Redfern L711 Seattle Mariners Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [27]
1983 Brad Havens L311 Detroit Tigers Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [28]
1984 Albert Williams L18 Detroit Tigers Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [29]
1985 Frank Viola W62 California Angels Anaheim Stadium [30]
1986 Frank Viola (2)W32 Oakland Athletics Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum [31]
1987 Bert Blyleven (6)ND (W)54 Oakland Athletics Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [32]
1988 Frank Viola (3)L08 New York Yankees Yankee Stadium (I) [33]
1989 Frank Viola (4)L24 New York Yankees Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [34]
1990 Allan Anderson L38 Oakland Athletics Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum [35]
1991 Jack Morris L27 Oakland Athletics Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum [36]
1992 Scott Erickson ND (W)42 Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee County Stadium [37]
1993 Kevin Tapani L510 Chicago White Sox Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [38]
1994 Kevin Tapani (2)L28 California Angels Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [39]
1995 Scott Erickson (2)L09 Boston Red Sox Fenway Park [40]
1996 Brad Radke W86 Detroit Tigers Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [41]
1997 Brad Radke (2)ND (W)75 Detroit Tigers Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [42]
1998 Bob Tewksbury L23 Toronto Blue Jays SkyDome [43]
1999 Brad Radke (3)W61 Toronto Blue Jays Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [44]
2000 Brad Radke (4)L07 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [45]
2001 Brad Radke (5)W32 Detroit Tigers Comerica Park [46]
2002* Brad Radke (6)ND (W)86 Kansas City Royals Kauffman Stadium [47]
2003* Brad Radke (7)W31 Detroit Tigers Comerica Park [48]
2004* Brad Radke (8)ND (W)74 Cleveland Indians Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [49]
2005 Brad Radke (9)L15 Seattle Mariners Safeco Field [50]
2006* Johan Santana L36 Toronto Blue Jays Rogers Centre [51]
2007 Johan Santana (2)W74 Baltimore Orioles Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [52]
2008 Livan Hernandez W32 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [53]
2009* Francisco Liriano L16 Seattle Mariners Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [4]
2010* Scott Baker L36 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Angel Stadium of Anaheim [5]
2011 Carl Pavano L311 Toronto Blue Jays Rogers Centre [54]
2012 Carl Pavano (2)L24 Baltimore Orioles Oriole Park at Camden Yards [55]
2013 Vance Worley L24 Detroit Tigers Target Field [56]
2014 Ricky Nolasco L35 Chicago White Sox U.S. Cellular Field [57]
2015 Phil Hughes L04 Detroit Tigers Comerica Park [58]
2016 Ervin Santana ND (L)23 Baltimore Orioles Camden Yards [58]
2017* Ervin Santana (2)W71 Kansas City Royals Target Field [58]
2018 Jake Odorizzi ND (L)23 Baltimore Orioles Camden Yards [58]
2019* José Berríos W20 Cleveland Indians Target Field [58]
2020* José Berríos (2)ND (W)105 Chicago White Sox Guaranteed Rate Field [58]
2021 Kenta Maeda ND (L)56 Milwaukee Brewers American Family Field [58]
2022 Joe Ryan L12 Seattle Mariners Target Field [58]
2023* Pablo López W20 Kansas City Royals Kauffman Stadium [58]
2024 Pablo López (2)W41 Kansas City Royals Kauffman Stadium [58]

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