# 2010 Minnesota Twins season

The 2010 Minnesota Twins season was the 50th season for the franchise in Minnesota, and the 110th overall in the American League.
It was their first season in their new stadium, Target Field, which made its regular-season debut on April 12 as the Twins defeated the Boston Red Sox 5–2. This marked the return of outdoor professional baseball to the state of Minnesota for the first time since the end of the 1981 season, the last played at Metropolitan Stadium. 3,223,640 fans attended Twins games, setting a new franchise record.
The Twins clinched their sixth American League Central championship in nine seasons on September 21 after a win against the Cleveland Indians and a Chicago White Sox loss. They were again swept by the New York Yankees in the ALDS to end the season.

## Offseason
### New uniforms

The Twins altered their uniforms for the 2010 season. Their new home outfits as well as their alternate uniforms feature a redesigned primary wordmark that was shown for the first time as a sign was hoisted into place atop the scoreboard at Target Field in May 2009. The team's colors remained unchanged (Red, navy and white) but the nameplate that had been in use since the 1980s on the uniforms was eliminated. The new road uniforms discards the navy pinstripes for a gray uniform with a script "Minnesota" on the front in navy with red and white trim. The franchise also wore a 1961 throwback uniform as part of the team's 50th season on Opening Day and all Saturday dates. The team donned a special Inaugural Season patch for Target Field on all home uniforms, and a Golden Anniversary season patch on their road outfits.

### Roster moves

Before spring training, the Twins parted ways with 2009 trade deadline acquisition Orlando Cabrera, who would go on to sign a free agent deal with the Cincinnati Reds. Also leaving the team was backup catcher Mike Redmond. With Cabrera leaving, there were questions about the Twins infield. General Manager Bill Smith addressed these questions by trading center fielder Carlos Gómez to the Milwaukee Brewers for shortstop J. J. Hardy, and signing free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson. Smith also added some power to the bench by acquiring free agent and former White Sox and Indians designated hitter Jim Thome. With regular closer Joe Nathan out for the season after elbow surgery, Gardenhire named Jon Rauch the closer to begin the season. Later, the Twins traded catcher Wilson Ramos and Joe Testa to the Washington Nationals to acquire Matt Capps to bolster the bullpen. Other pitching changes included the late additions of Brian Fuentes and Randy Flores.
On March 22, catcher Joe Mauer signed a contract extension for eight years. The $184 million contract, paying him $23 million each year, is the richest ever for the Twins, and the fourth largest in major league history.

## Regular season

Finally, the Twins win a stadium opener at home. They'd lost the Home Openers at Metropolitan Stadium (April 21, 1961) and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (April 6, 1982). At Target Field on April 12 this year, DH Jason Kubel drove in two runs and hit the stadium's first home run in a 5-2 win over Boston.
On April 28, third baseman Luke Hughes hit a home run in his first-ever major league at bat, joining four other Twins who've accomplished the feat: Rick Renick (1968), Dave McKay (1975), Gary Gaetti (1981) and Andre David (1984). They were joined by Eddie Rosario in 2015.
On July 3, new Twin Jim Thome homered in the first inning for his 574th career home run. With that four-bagger, he passed Twins legend Harmon Killebrew's 573 on the all-time career home run list.
July 13: At Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau represented the Twins at the All-Star Game. Mauer was the starting AL catcher and Morneau was not used as a reserve.
Kevin Slowey's win on September 12 was the club's 4,000th win, dating back to win no. 1 on April 11, 1961.
Ron Gardenhire was named American League Manager of the Year; he'd been the runner-up five times. Pitcher Francisco Liriano, who'd missed all of 2007 following Tommy John surgery, saw limited action in 2008 and 2009 due to injuries. In 2010, he threw the second-most innings of any pitcher for the Twins, led the team in ERA, and allowed the fewest home runs per nine innings of any pitcher in the AL (0.4). He was voted the American League's Comeback Player of the Year. (He'll win it a second time, as a 2013 Pittsburgh Pirate He's the first player to win it twice and the only one to win it in both leagues.)
Joe Mauer won his fourth Silver Slugger Award and his third Gold Glove Award.

### Season standings
#### American League Central

vteAL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Minnesota Twins | 94 | 68 | .580 | — | 53‍–‍28 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Chicago White Sox | 88 | 74 | .543 | 6 | 45‍–‍36 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Detroit Tigers | 81 | 81 | .500 | 13 | 52‍–‍29 | 29‍–‍52 |
| Cleveland Indians | 69 | 93 | .426 | 25 | 38‍–‍43 | 31‍–‍50 |
| Kansas City Royals | 67 | 95 | .414 | 27 | 38‍–‍43 | 29‍–‍52 |

#### American League Wild Card

vteDivision Winners :
| Team | W | L | Pct. |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 96 | 66 | .593 |
| Minnesota Twins | 94 | 68 | .580 |
| Texas Rangers | 90 | 72 | .556 |
vteWild Card team (Top team qualifies for postseason) :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| New York Yankees | 95 | 67 | .586 | — |
| Boston Red Sox | 89 | 73 | .549 | 6 |
| Chicago White Sox | 88 | 74 | .543 | 7 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 85 | 77 | .525 | 10 |
| Detroit Tigers | 81 | 81 | .500 | 14 |
| Oakland Athletics | 81 | 81 | .500 | 14 |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 80 | 82 | .494 | 15 |
| Cleveland Indians | 69 | 93 | .426 | 26 |
| Kansas City Royals | 67 | 95 | .414 | 28 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 66 | 96 | .407 | 29 |
| Seattle Mariners | 61 | 101 | .377 | 34 |

#### Record vs. opponents

| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | LAA | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Baltimore | – | 9–9 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 2–4 | 6–0 | 3–5 | 5–13 | 3–7 | 3–6 | 7–11 | 6–4 | 3–15 | 7–11 |
| Boston | 9–9 | – | 1–6 | 4–4 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 9–1 | 3–2 | 9–9 | 4–5 | 7–3 | 7–11 | 4–6 | 12–6 | 13–5 |
| Chicago | 3–4 | 6–1 | – | 9–9 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 7–2 | 5–13 | 2–4 | 4–5 | 9–1 | 3–4 | 4–5 | 3–5 | 15–3 |
| Cleveland | 3–3 | 4–4 | 9–9 | – | 9–9 | 10–8 | 5–4 | 6–12 | 2–6 | 3–6 | 3–4 | 2–7 | 2–4 | 6–4 | 5–13 |
| Detroit | 5–5 | 3–3 | 10–8 | 9–9 | – | 10–8 | 6–4 | 9–9 | 4–4 | 3–3 | 3–5 | 1–6 | 3–6 | 4–4 | 11–7 |
| Kansas City | 4–2 | 3-4 | 9–10 | 8–10 | 8–10 | – | 3-7 | 5–13 | 3–5 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 4–4 | 2–7 | 3–3 | 8–10 |
| Los Angeles | 0–6 | 1–9 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 4–6 | 7–3 | – | 2–5 | 4–4 | 11–8 | 15–4 | 4–5 | 9–10 | 6–3 | 11–7 |
| Minnesota | 5–3 | 2–3 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 5–2 | – | 2–4 | 6–3 | 6-4 | 3–5 | 7–3 | 3–6 | 8–10 |
| New York | 13–5 | 9–9 | 4–2 | 6-2 | 4–4 | 5–3 | 4–4 | 4–2 | – | 9–1 | 6–4 | 8–10 | 4–4 | 8–10 | 11–7 |
| Oakland | 7–3 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 3–3 | 6–3 | 8–11 | 3–6 | 1–9 | – | 13–6 | 4–5 | 9–10 | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Seattle | 6–3 | 3–7 | 1–9 | 4–3 | 5–3 | 4–5 | 4–15 | 4–6 | 4–6 | 6–13 | – | 2–7 | 7–12 | 2–3 | 9–9 |
| Tampa Bay | 11–7 | 11–7 | 4–3 | 7–2 | 6–1 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 5–3 | 10–8 | 5–4 | 7–2 | – | 4–2 | 10–8 | 7–11 |
| Texas | 4–6 | 6–4 | 5–4 | 4–2 | 6–3 | 7–2 | 10-9 | 3-7 | 4-4 | 10-9 | 12–7 | 2–4 | – | 3–7 | 14–4 |
| Toronto | 15–3 | 6–12 | 5–3 | 4–6 | 4–4 | 3–3 | 3–6 | 6–3 | 10–8 | 4–3 | 3–2 | 8–10 | 7–3 | – | 7–11 |
* view
* talk
* Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2010

### Detailed record

| Team | Home | Away | Total |
| AL East ||||
| Baltimore Orioles | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–3 |
| Boston Red Sox | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 |
| New York Yankees | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–5 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 1–3 | 2–3 | 3–6 |
| | 7–10 | 8–10 | 15–21 |
| AL Central ||||
| Chicago White Sox | 6–3 | 7–2 | 13–5 |
| Cleveland Indians | 6–3 | 6–3 | 12–6 |
| Detroit Tigers | 7–2 | 2–7 | 9–9 |
| Kansas City Royals | 7–2 | 6–3 | 13–5 |
| | 26–10 | 21–15 | 47–25 |
| AL West ||||
| Los Angeles Angels | 2–1 | 3–1 | 5–2 |
| Oakland Athletics | 4–2 | 2–1 | 6–3 |
| Seattle Mariners | 3–0 | 3–4 | 6–4 |
| Texas Rangers | 6–0 | 1–3 | 4–3 |
| | 15–3 | 9–9 | 25–12 |
| National League ||||
| Atlanta Braves | 1–2 | N/A | 1–2 |
| Colorado Rockies | 2–1 | N/A | 2–1 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–4 |
| New York Mets | N/A | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | N/A | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| | 5–4 | 3–6 | 8–10 |
| Month | Games | Won | Lost | Pct |
| April | 23 | 15 | 8 | .652 |
| May | 28 | 16 | 12 | .571 |
| June | 27 | 12 | 15 | .444 |
| July | 26 | 15 | 11 | .577 |
| August | 28 | 18 | 10 | .643 |
| September | 27 | 17 | 10 | .630 |
| October | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 |
| | 162 | 94 | 68 | .580 |

### Roster
## Game log

2010 Game Log :
April (15–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 5@ Angels6–3Weaver (1–0)Baker (0–1)Fuentes (1)43,5040–1
2April 6@ Angels5–3Blackburn (1–0)Saunders (0–1)Rauch (1)43,5101–1
3April 7@ Angels4–2Pavano (1–0)Santana (0–1)Rauch (2)41,5332–1
4April 8@ Angels10–1Slowey (1–0)Piñeiro (0–1)39,7093–1
5April 9@ White Sox4–3 (11)Duensing (1–0)Peña (0–1)Rauch (3)21,4164–1
6April 10@ White Sox2–1Baker (1–1)García (0–1)Rauch (4)28,3375–1
7April 11@ White Sox5–4Buehrle (2–0)Blackburn (1–1)Jenks (1)25,5505–2
8April 12Red Sox5–2Pavano (2–0)Lester (0–1)Rauch (5)38,1456–2
9April 14Red Sox6–3Lackey (1–0)Slowey (1–1)Papelbon (3)38,1646–3
10April 15Red Sox8–0Liriano (1–0)Wakefield (0–1)38,3417–3
11April 16Royals10–3Baker (2–1)Greinke (0–2)38,5328–3
12April 17Royals6–5Duensing (2–0)Parrish (1–1)Rauch (6)38,5649–3
13April 18Royals10–5Hochevar (2–0)Pavano (2–1)Soria (3)38,5449–4
14April 20Indians5–1Slowey (2–1)Masterson (0–2)38,98510–4
15April 21Indians6–0Liriano (2–0)Huff (1–2)39,04411–4
16April 22Indians8–1Talbot (2–1)Baker (2–2)38,81011–5
17April 23@ Royals8–3Pavano (3–1)Meche (0–2)16,60512–5
18April 24@ Royals9–7 (12)Rauch (1–0)Tejeda (1–2)26,64913–5
19April 25@ Royals4–3Bannister (1–1)Slowey (2–2)Soria (5)15,60113–6
20April 27@ Tigers2–0Liriano (3–0)Verlander (1–2)Rauch (7)22,00814–6
21April 28@ Tigers11–6Thomas (1–0)Mahay (0–1)19,90014–7
22April 29@ Tigers3–0Willis (1–1)Pavano (3–2)Valverde (7)25,59514–8
23April 30@ Indians9–3Slowey (3–2)Carmona (3–1)14,12415–8 :
May (16–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
24May 1@ Indians5–4 (11)Wright (1–1)Burnett (0–1)13,83215–9
25May 2@ Indians8–3Liriano (4–0)Huff (1–4)12,61916–9
26May 3Tigers10–4Baker (3–2)Scherzer (1–2)38,72817–9
27May 4Tigers4–3Blackburn (2–1)Perry (1–2)39,02018–9
28May 5Tigers5–4Slowey (4–2)Porcello (2–3)Rauch (8)39,03719–9
29May 6Orioles2–0Bergesen (2–2)Pavano (3–3)Simón (3)38,48919–10
May 7OriolesPostponed (rain); rescheduled for May 8
30May 8Orioles7–3Guthrie (1–4)Liriano (4–1)38,60819–11
31May 8Orioles6–1Baker (4–2)Millwood (0–4)38,86320–11
32May 9Orioles6–0Blackburn (3–1)Matusz (2–3)38,64121–11
33May 11White Sox5–2García (2–2)Slowey (4–3)Jenks (6)38,76421–12
34May 12White Sox3–2Pavano (4–3)Danks (3–2)Rauch (9)38,89522–12
35May 14@ Yankees8–4Chamberlain (1–1)Baker (4–3)45,19522–13
36May 15@ Yankees7–1Pettitte (5–0)Liriano (4–2)46,34722–14
37May 16@ Yankees6–3Blackburn (4–1)Chamberlain (1–2)Rauch (10)46,62823–14
38May 17@ Blue Jays8–3Slowey (5–3)Eveland (3–3)13,89224–14
39May 18@ Blue Jays11–2Marcum (3–1)Pavano (4–4)27,98124–15
40May 19@ Red Sox3–2Buchholz (5–3)Baker (4–4)Bard (1)37,42624–16
41May 20@ Red Sox6–2Lester (4–2)Liriano (4–3)38,14424–17
42May 21Brewers15–3Blackburn (5–1)Bush (1–5)38,73725–17
43May 22Brewers8–7 (12)Crain (1–0)Parra (0–3)39,15226–17
44May 23Brewers4–3Parra (1–3)Pavano (4–5)Axford (1)38,95226–18
45May 25Yankees1–0Burnett (5–2)Duensing (2–1)Rivera (9)38,96226–19
46May 26Yankees3–2Pettitte (6–1)Rauch (1–1)Rivera (10)39,35326–20
47May 27Yankees8–2Blackburn (6–1)Vázquez (3–5)39,08727–20
48May 28Rangers2–1Slowey (6–3)Lewis (4–3)Rauch (11)39,58128–20
49May 29Rangers8–3Pavano (5–5)Wilson (3–3)39,65929–20
50May 30Rangers6–3Baker (5–4)Holland (2–1)Rauch (12)39,87330–20
51May 31@ Mariners5–4Liriano (5–3)Fister (3–3)Rauch (13)19,79531–20 :
June (12–15)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
52June 1@ Mariners7–1Vargas (4–2)Blackburn (6–2)18,74031–21
53June 2@ Mariners2–1 (10)League (5–5)Guerrier (0–1)20,41431–22
54June 3@ Mariners4–1Hernández (3–4)Pavano (5–6)Aardsma (12)21,29131–23
55June 4@ Athletics5–4Guerrier (1–1)Bailey (0–2)Rauch (14)21,70332–23
56June 5@ Athletics4–3Burnett (1–1)Ziegler (2–3)Rauch (15)16,42133–23
57June 6@ Athletics5–4Gonzalez (6–3)Blackburn (6–3)Wuertz (1)20,05933–24
58June 8Royals7–3Slowey (7–3)Greinke (1–8)Guerrier (1)38,97034–24
59June 9Royals6–2Pavano (6–6)Davies (4–5)40,32335–24
60June 10Royals9–8Chen (3–0)Baker (5–5)Soria (14)39,02235–25
61June 11Braves2–1Liriano (6–3)Hudson (6–2)Rauch (16)39,42836–25
62June 12Braves3–2Venters (2–0)Guerrier (1–2)Wagner (11)40,00136–26
63June 13Braves7–3Medlen (4–1)Slowey (7–4)39,77236–27
64June 15Rockies9–3Pavano (7–6)Cook (2–4)39,81237–27
65June 16Rockies2–1Baker (6–5)Chacín (3–6)Rauch (17)40,81438–27
66June 17Rockies5–1Jiménez (13–1)Liriano (6–4)40,74138–28
67June 18@ Phillies9–5Blanton (2–5)Blackburn (6–4)45,12038–29
68June 19@ Phillies13–10 (11)Rauch (2–0)Báez (2–3)45,25439–29
69June 20@ Phillies4–1Pavano (8–6)Halladay (8–6)45,20240–29
70June 22@ Brewers7–5Narveson (6–4)Baker (6–6)Axford (5)36,99540–30
71June 23@ Brewers5–3Parra (2–5)Liriano (6–5)Axford (6)33,36240–31
72June 24@ Brewers5–0Gallardo (7–3)Blackburn (6–5)35,89840–32
73June 25@ Mets5–2Pelfrey (10–2)Slowey (7–5)Rodríguez (17)36,24440–33
74June 26@ Mets6–0Pavano (9–6)Santana (5–5)37,51041–33
75June 27@ Mets6–0Niese (5–2)Baker (6–7)37,64441–34
76June 28Tigers7–5Bonderman (4–5)Liriano (6–6)40,68141–35
77June 29Tigers11–4Blackburn (7–5)Galarraga (3–2)40,59342–35
78June 30Tigers5–1Slowey (8–5)Oliver (0–2)40,67143–35 :
July (15–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
79July 1Rays5–4 (10)Cormier (3–1)Guerrier (1–3)Soriano (19)40,66543–36
80July 2Rays2–1Baker (7–7)Price (11–4)Rauch (18)39,26644–36
81July 3Rays8–6Choate (1–2)Guerrier (1–4)Soriano (20)40,85244–37
82July 4Rays7–4Shields (7–8)Blackburn (7–6)Soriano (21)40,32844–38
83July 6@ Blue Jays7–6Mijares (1–0)Frasor (3–2)Rauch (19)15,07245–38
84July 7@ Blue Jays6–5Downs (3–5)Guerrier (1–5)Gregg (19)14,88645–39
85July 8@ Blue Jays8–1Cecil (8–5)Baker (7–8)15,60145–40
86July 9@ Tigers7–3Verlander (11–5)Liriano (6–7)42,54945–41
87July 10@ Tigers7–4Bonderman (5–6)Blackburn (7–7)Valverde (19)41,46145–42
88July 11@ Tigers6–3Pavano (10–6)Oliver (0–3)Rauch (20)39,68946–42
All-Star Break: National League defeats American League 3–1.
89July 15White Sox8–7Danks (9–7)Burnett (1–2)Jenks (20)40,69746–43
90July 16White Sox7–4Liriano (7–7)Floyd (5–8)Crain (1)40,42747–43
91July 17White Sox3–2Pavano (11–6)Buehrle (8–8)40,63748–43
92July 18White Sox7–6Duensing (3–1)Jenks (1–2)40,33649–43
93July 19Indians10–4Laffey (2–3)Baker (7–9)40,85349–44
94July 20Indians4–3R. Perez (3–0)Mijares (1–1)C. Perez (9)40,74549–45
95July 21Indians6–0Liriano (8–7)Westbrook (6–6)40,79950–45
96July 22@ Orioles5–0Pavano (12–6)Millwood (2–9)20,10851-45
97July 23@ Orioles3–2Guthrie (4–10)Slama (0–1)Simón (14)19,01351–46
98July 24@ Orioles7–2Baker (8–9)Matusz (3–11)22,29952–46
99July 25@ Orioles10–4Slowey (9–5)Arrieta (3–3)17,40853–46
100July 26@ Royals19–1Liriano (9–7)Greinke (6–10)19,30654–46
101July 27@ Royals11–2Pavano (13–6)Chen (5–5)16,74955–46
102July 28@ Royals6–4Duensing (4–1)Bannister (7–10)Rauch (21)15,48456–46
103July 30Mariners5–3Baker (9–9)Fister (3–7)Capps (1)40,59657–46
104July 31Mariners4–0Slowey (10–5)Hernández (7–8)40,79958–46 :
August (18–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
105August 1Mariners4–0Liriano (10–7)French (0–2)40,37459–46
106August 2@ Rays4–2Hellickson (1–0)Pavano (13–7)Wheeler (3)17,68959–47
107August 3@ Rays6–4Niemann (10–3)Guerrier (1–6)Soriano (31)18,26159–48
108August 4@ Rays2–1 (13)Guerrier (2–6)Cormier (3–3)19,17260–48
109August 5@ Rays8–6Capps (1–0)Benoit (0–1)29,21061–48
110August 6@ Indians7–6C. Perez (1–2)Guerrier (2–7)25,27561–49
111August 7@ Indians7–2Pavano (14–7)Carmona (11–9)27,63862–49
112August 8@ Indians5–4Duensing (5–1)Huff (2–11)Capps (2)17,42763–49
113August 10@ White Sox12–6Baker (10–9)García (10–5)30,90064–49
114August 11@ White Sox6–1Danks (12–8)Perkins (0–1)32,03364–50
115August 12@ White Sox6–1Liriano (11–7)Floyd (8–9)33,23765–50
116August 13Athletics4–3Pavano (15–7)Gonzalez (10–8)Capps (3)40,62266–50
117August 14Athletics2–0Duensing (6-1)Cahill (12–5)40,83067–50
118August 15Athletics4–2Slowey (11–5)Mazzaro (6–5)Capps (4)40,60268–50
119August 17White Sox7–6 (10)Mahay (1–1)Thornton (3–4)40,71469–50
120August 18White Sox7–6Manship (1–0)Floyd (8–10)Capps (5)40,70270–50
121August 19White Sox11–0Buehrle (12–9)Pavano (15–8)40,72370–51
122August 20Angels7–1Duensing (7–1)Haren (8–12)40,74771–51
123August 21Angels9–3Rodríguez (1–3)Slowey (11–6)40,96671–52
124August 22Angels4–0Baker (11–9)Weaver (11–9)40,38572–52
125August 23@ Rangers4–0Harden (5–4)Blackburn (7–8)22,75772–53
126August 24@ Rangers4–3Oliver (1–1)Pavano (15–9)Feliz (32)20,10772–54
127August 25@ Rangers4–3Wilson (13–5)Duensing (7–2)Harrison (2)29,92672–55
128August 26@ Rangers6–4Liriano (12–7)Lee (10–8)Capps (6)24,73873–55
129August 27@ Mariners6–3Baker (12–9)Vargas (9–7)37,79874–55
130August 28@ Mariners1–0Blackburn (8–8)Fister (4–10)Fuentes (24)29,89275–55
131August 29@ Mariners2–1French (3–4)Pavano (15–10)Aardsma (25)28,92375–56
132August 31Tigers4–3Guerrier (3–7)Coke (7–4)Capps (7)40,18676–56 :
September (17–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
133September 1Tigers2–1 (10)Rauch (3–1)Perry (2–5)39,43877–56
134September 2Tigers10–9 (13)Valverde (2–3)Blackburn (8–9)39,55177–57
135September 3Rangers4–3Burnett (2–2)Holland (2–3)Capps (8)40,13478–57
136September 4Rangers12–4Pavano (16–10)Lewis (9–12)40,49679–57
137September 5Rangers6–5Blackburn (9–9)Wilson (14–6)Capps (9)40,51680–57
138September 6Royals5–4Manship (2–0)O'Sullivan (2–5)Capps (10)40,22881–57
139September 7Royals10–3Liriano (13–7)Bannister (7–12)38,81682–57
140September 8Royals4–3Duensing (8–2)Greinke (8–12)Capps (11)39,37683–57
141September 10@ Indians2–0Carmona (12–14)Pavano (16–11)26,20783–58
142September 11@ Indians1–0 (12)Guerrier (4–7)Germano (0–2)Capps (12)24,97284–58
143September 12@ Indians6–3Slowey (12–6)Talbot (9–12)22,98885–58
144September 14@ White Sox9–3Liriano (14–7)Danks (13–11)29,22386–58
145September 15@ White Sox9–3Duensing (9–2)Floyd (10–13)30,06387–58
146September 16@ White Sox8–5Pavano (17–11)Buehrle (12–11)Capps (13)27,18088–58
147September 17Athletics3–1Anderson (6–6)Blackburn (9–10)Bailey (25)40,68188–59
148September 18Athletics4–2Slowey (13–6)Braden (9–13)Capps (14)40,84789–59
149September 19Athletics6–2Cramer (2–0)Liriano (14–8)40,08889–60
150September 20Indians9–3Duensing (10–2)Gómez (3–5)39,22890–60
151September 21Indians6–4Perkins (1–1)Masterson (6–13)Capps (15)39,58091–60
152September 22Indians5–1Blackburn (10–10)Carrasco (1–1)40,13992–60
153September 24@ Tigers10–1Verlander (18–8)Liriano (14–9)30,08392–61
154September 25@ Tigers11–10 (13)Schlereth (1–0)Neshek (0–1)34,12992–62
155September 26@ Tigers5–1Porcello (10–11)Duensing (10–3)32,02192–63
156September 27@ Royals10–8Humber (2–1)Manship (2–1)Soria (42)19,30792–64
157September 28@ Royals10–1O'Sullivan (4–6)Blackburn (10–11)18,48792–65
158September 29@ Royals4–2Guerrier (5–7)Meche (0–5)Capps (16)18,34093–65
159September 30Blue Jays13–2Janssen (5–2)Liriano (14–10)39,47793–66 :
October (1–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
160October 1Blue Jays6–3Romero (14–9)Crain (1–1)Gregg (37)39,93793–67
161October 2Blue Jays5–4Capps (2–0)Gregg (2–6)40,23594–67
162October 3Blue Jays2–1Rzepczynski (4–4)Blackburn (10–12)Camp (2)40,66494–68 :
American League Divisional Series
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1October 6Yankees6–4Sabathia (1–0)Crain (0–1)Rivera (1)42,0320–1
2October 7Yankees5–2Pettitte (1–0)Pavano (0–1)Rivera (2)42,0350–2
3October 9@ Yankees6–1Hughes (1–0)Duensing (0–1)50,8400–3 :

## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | SB |
| Scott Baker | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Nick Blackburn | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Alex Burnett | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Drew Butera | 49 | 142 | 12 | 28 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 13 | .197 | 0 |
| Alexi Casilla | 69 | 152 | 26 | 42 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 20 | .276 | 6 |
| Jesse Crain | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Michael Cuddyer | 157 | 609 | 93 | 165 | 37 | 5 | 14 | 81 | .271 | 7 |
| Brian Duensing | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Matt Guerrier | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| J.J. Hardy | 101 | 340 | 44 | 91 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 38 | .268 | 1 |
| Brendan Harris | 43 | 108 | 11 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .157 | 0 |
| Orlando Hudson | 126 | 497 | 80 | 133 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 37 | .268 | 10 |
| Luke Hughes | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .286 | 0 |
| Jason Kubel | 143 | 518 | 68 | 129 | 23 | 3 | 21 | 92 | .249 | 0 |
| Francisco Liriano | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Ron Mahay | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Jeff Manship | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Joe Mauer | 137 | 510 | 88 | 167 | 43 | 1 | 9 | 75 | .327 | 1 |
| José Mijares | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| José Morales | 19 | 36 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .194 | 0 |
| Justin Morneau | 81 | 296 | 53 | 102 | 25 | 1 | 18 | 56 | .345 | 0 |
| Carl Pavano | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 0 |
| Trevor Plouffe | 22 | 41 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | .146 | 0 |
| Nick Punto | 88 | 252 | 24 | 60 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 20 | .238 | 6 |
| Wilson Ramos | 7 | 27 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .296 | 0 |
| Jon Rauch | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Jason Repko | 58 | 127 | 19 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 9 | .228 | 3 |
| Ben Revere | 13 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .179 | 0 |
| Kevin Slowey | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Denard Span | 153 | 629 | 85 | 166 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 58 | .264 | 26 |
| Jim Thome | 108 | 276 | 48 | 76 | 16 | 2 | 25 | 59 | .283 | 0 |
| Matt Tolbert | 48 | 87 | 8 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 18 | .230 | 1 |
| Danny Valencia | 85 | 299 | 30 | 93 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 40 | .311 | 2 |
| Delmon Young | 153 | 570 | 77 | 170 | 46 | 1 | 21 | 112 | .298 | 5 |
| Pitcher Totals | 162 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .176 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5568 | 781 | 1521 | 318 | 41 | 142 | 749 | .273 | 68 |

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; HR = Home runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | HR | ER | BB | K |
| Scott Baker | 12 | 9 | 4.49 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 170.1 | 23 | 85 | 43 | 148 |
| Nick Blackburn | 10 | 12 | 5.42 | 28 | 26 | 0 | 161.0 | 25 | 97 | 40 | 68 |
| Alex Burnett | 2 | 2 | 5.29 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 47.2 | 6 | 28 | 23 | 37 |
| Matt Capps | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | 27 | 0 | 16 | 27.0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 21 |
| Jesse Crain | 1 | 1 | 3.04 | 71 | 0 | 1 | 68.0 | 5 | 23 | 27 | 62 |
| Rob Delaney | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Brian Duensing | 10 | 3 | 2.62 | 53 | 13 | 0 | 130.2 | 11 | 38 | 35 | 78 |
| Randy Flores | 0 | 0 | 4.91 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Matt Fox | 0 | 0 | 3.18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Brian Fuentes | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 9.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Matt Guerrier | 5 | 7 | 3.17 | 74 | 0 | 1 | 71.0 | 7 | 25 | 22 | 42 |
| Francisco Liriano | 14 | 10 | 3.62 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 191.2 | 9 | 77 | 58 | 201 |
| Ron Mahay | 1 | 1 | 3.44 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 34.0 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 25 |
| Jeff Manship | 2 | 1 | 5.28 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 29.0 | 3 | 17 | 6 | 21 |
| José Mijares | 1 | 1 | 3.31 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 32.2 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 28 |
| Pat Neshek | 0 | 1 | 5.00 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
| Carl Pavano | 17 | 11 | 3.75 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 221.0 | 24 | 92 | 37 | 117 |
| Glen Perkins | 1 | 1 | 5.82 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 21.2 | 3 | 14 | 5 | 14 |
| Jon Rauch | 3 | 1 | 3.12 | 59 | 0 | 21 | 57.2 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 46 |
| Anthony Slama | 0 | 1 | 7.71 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Kevin Slowey | 13 | 6 | 4.45 | 30 | 28 | 0 | 155.2 | 21 | 77 | 29 | 116 |
| Team Totals | 94 | 68 | 3.95 | 162 | 162 | 40 | 1452.2 | 155 | 638 | 383 | 1048 |
Source:2010 Minnesota Twins at Baseball Reference

## Playoffs

The Twins were swept in three games by the New York Yankees in the Division Series.

### Game 1, October 6

8:30 p.m. (EDT) at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Starting pitchers: NYY: CC Sabathia (0–0) MIN: Francisco Liriano (0–0) --> WP: CC Sabathia (1–0) LP: Jesse Crain (0–1) Sv: Mariano Rivera (1) Home runs: NYY: Mark Teixeira (1) MIN: Michael Cuddyer (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 2, October 7

6:00 p.m. (EDT) at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Starting pitchers: NYY: Andy Pettitte (0–0) MIN: Carl Pavano (0–0) --> WP: Andy Pettitte (1–0) LP: Carl Pavano (0–1) Sv: Mariano Rivera (2) Home runs: NYY: Lance Berkman (1) MIN: Orlando Hudson (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 3, October 9

8:30 p.m. (EDT) at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| New York | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 6 | 12 | 0 |
| Starting pitchers: MIN: Brian Duensing (0–0) NYY: Phil Hughes (0–0) --> WP: Phil Hughes (1–0) LP: Brian Duensing (0–1) Home runs: MIN: None NYY: Marcus Thames (1), Nick Swisher (1) |||||||||||||

## Other post-season awards

* Calvin R. Griffith Award (Most Valuable Twin) – Joe Mauer
* Joseph W. Haynes Award (Twins Pitcher of the Year) – Carl Pavano
* Bill Boni Award (Twins Outstanding Rookie) – Danny Valencia
* Charles O. Johnson Award (Most Improved Twin) – Delmon Young
* Dick Siebert Award (Upper Midwest Player of the Year) – Joe Mauer
* Bob Allison Award (Leadership Award) – Michael Cuddyer
* Mike Augustin Award ("Media Good Guy" Award) – Michael Cuddyer
** The above awards are voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the BBWAA
* Carl R. Pohlad Award (Outstanding Community Service) – Jesse Crain
* Sherry Robertson Award (Twins Outstanding Farm System Position Player) – Joe Benson
* Jim Rantz Award (Twins Outstanding Farm System Pitcher) – Kyle Gibson
* Kirby Puckett Award (Alumni Community Service) – Bert Blyleven
* Herb Carneal Award (Lifetime Achievement Award) – Bert Blyleven

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Rochester Red Wings | International League | Tom Nieto |
| AA | New Britain Rock Cats | Eastern League | Jeff Smith |
| A | Fort Myers Miracle | Florida State League | Jake Mauer |
| A | Beloit Snappers | Midwest League | Nelson Prada |
| Rookie | Elizabethton Twins | Appalachian League | Ray Smith |
| Rookie | GCL Twins | Gulf Coast League | Chris Heintz and Ramon Borrego |