# 2007 Minnesota Twins season

The 2007 Minnesota Twins season was the 47th season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 26th season at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 107th overall in the American League. They were managed by Ron Gardenhire.
The Twins finished the season with a 79–83 record, their first losing record since 2000.
On September 13, Twins general manager Terry Ryan resigned. He was replaced by Assistant General Manager Bill Smith.

## Offseason

* January 11, 2007: Agreed to terms with Ramón Ortiz on a one-year contract.
* February 2, 2007: Re-signed Justin Morneau, Lew Ford and Juan Rincón to one-year contracts and Nick Punto to a two-year contract.
* February 11, 2007: Agreed to terms with Joe Mauer on a four-year contract.

## Regular season

For the third year in a row, an important Twins personality died just before the beginning of the season. In 2005, long-time stadium announcer Bob Casey fell to heart failure. In 2006, Hall of Fame center fielder Kirby Puckett died from a massive bilateral stroke brought on by hypertension. In 2007, Herb Carneal, the team's radio play-by-play announcer for 45 years, died from heart failure on April 1, the day before Opening Day. The Twins announced that they would dedicate the 2007 season to Carneal's memory.
* With a first-inning 'E4' on June 6, the Twins' Luis Castillo's major league record for consecutive errorless games by a second baseman ended at 143. Over 647 chances, he never erred. Detroit's Plácido Polanco had a similar streak running concurrently, and it ended a few months later at 186 games, the new record.
* The Twins' representatives to the All-Star Game were Morneau, Hunter, and Santana. Reliever Pat Neshek was chosen to be one of five players in the final vote for an All-Star player. However, this spot went to Boston Red Sox pitcher Hideki Okajima, despite a campaign by Twins fans and national sports blogs to "Vote For Pat".
* The collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge occurred prior to the August 1, 2007 home game against the Kansas City Royals at the Metrodome. Public safety officials told the team that canceling the game could hamper rescue and recovery efforts, since a cancellation would send up to 25,000 people back into traffic just blocks from the collapsed bridge (I-35W runs behind the Metrodome). Before the game, a moment of silence was held for the victims of the collapse. The team rescheduled their August 2 game against the Royals to the afternoon of August 31. Traditional groundbreaking ceremonies for the team's forthcoming stadium (also located in downtown Minneapolis) had been scheduled to take place after the game, but were postponed to August 30.
* Johan Santana broke the club record for most strikeouts in a game, with 17 against the Texas Rangers on August 19, 2007.
* On September 7, the Twins and the Chicago White Sox entered the ninth inning tied 4-4 and left the inning tied 10-10. It's the first time in the major leagues that both teams each scored six runs each in the ninth to force extra innings. Chicago won 11-10 after thirteen innings.
* With the loss to Boston on September 28, the Twins were assured of a losing season, the first after six straight winners (a record). Before those six, they'd suffered through eight consecutive losing years (also a record).
* Torii Hunter won his seventh straight Gold Glove award, the most for any position player on the Twins, and second in club history only to pitcher Jim Kaat's eleven.

### Offense

While the 2006 team was known for the "piranhas"—gritty hitters lacking power but possessing speed and guile—the 2007 team saw the continued the development of power hitters such as 2006 league MVP Justin Morneau, Torii Hunter, and Jason Kubel. After the Twins swept a July 6 doubleheader with the Chicago White Sox by a combined score of 32-14, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén, the man who coined the term "piranhas" in 2006, stated: "They're not piranhas no more. They're a shark attack now." In the second game of that doubleheader, Morneau became the first Twin to hit three home runs in a game since Tony Oliva against the Kansas City Royals on July 3, 1973. The Twins scored the most runs by one team in a doubleheader since the Boston Red Sox totaled 35 in a sweep of the Philadelphia Athletics on July 4, 1939. Nick Punto, as of August 22, 2007 has the lowest batting average among qualified batters in the American League, at .201.

### Pitching

The Twins entered the season with a problem in the starting rotation after Twins staple Brad Radke retired and Francisco Liriano had Tommy John surgery. The Twins signed Ramón Ortiz and Sidney Ponson to start. Ponson was released in May and was replaced by Scott Baker, Ramón Ortiz was moved to the bullpen shortly after and replaced in the rotation by Kevin Slowey. However, Slowey was sent to the minors in early July, replaced by Matt Garza. Ramón Ortiz was traded in August to the Colorado Rockies. On August 31, Baker took a perfect game into the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals, before giving up a leadoff walk to catcher John Buck. His no-hitter also ended when he gave up a 1-out single to Mike Sweeney in the 9th inning. The game was won by the Twins 5-0.
Starter Johan Santana won a Gold Glove Award, the only one of his career.

### Season standings

vteAL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cleveland Indians | 96 | 66 | .593 | — | 51‍–‍29 | 45‍–‍37 |
| Detroit Tigers | 88 | 74 | .543 | 8 | 45‍–‍36 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Minnesota Twins | 79 | 83 | .488 | 17 | 41‍–‍40 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Chicago White Sox | 72 | 90 | .444 | 24 | 38‍–‍43 | 34‍–‍47 |
| Kansas City Royals | 69 | 93 | .426 | 27 | 35‍–‍46 | 34‍–‍47 |

### Record vs. opponents

2007 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | LAA | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Baltimore | — | 6–12 | 5–3 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 7–0 | 3–7 | 0–7 | 9–9 | 4–4 | 2–7 | 11–7 | 4–6 | 8–10 | 6–12 |
| Boston | 12–6 | — | 7–1 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 6–4 | 4–3 | 8–10 | 4–4 | 4–5 | 13–5 | 6–4 | 9–9 | 12–6 |
| Chicago | 3–5 | 1–7 | — | 7–11 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 5–4 | 9–9 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 1–7 | 6–1 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 4–14 |
| Cleveland | 4–3 | 2–5 | 11–7 | — | 12–6 | 11–7 | 5–5 | 14–4 | 0–6 | 6–4 | 4–3 | 8–2 | 6–3 | 4–2 | 9–9 |
| Detroit | 5–1 | 4–3 | 7–11 | 6–12 | — | 11–7 | 3–5 | 12–6 | 4–4 | 4–6 | 6–4 | 3–4 | 5–4 | 4–3 | 14–4 |
| Kansas City | 0–7 | 3–3 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 7–11 | — | 5–2 | 9–9 | 1–9 | 6–4 | 3–6 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 3–4 | 10–8 |
| Los Angeles | 7–3 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 5–5 | 5–3 | 2–5 | — | 6–3 | 6–3 | 9–10 | 13–6 | 6–2 | 10–9 | 3–4 | 14–4 |
| Minnesota | 7–0 | 3–4 | 9–9 | 4–14 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 3–6 | — | 2–5 | 5–2 | 6–3 | 3–4 | 7–2 | 4–6 | 11–7 |
| New York | 9–9 | 10–8 | 6–4 | 6–0 | 4–4 | 9–1 | 3–6 | 5–2 | — | 2–4 | 5–5 | 10–8 | 5–1 | 10–8 | 10–8 |
| Oakland | 4–4 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 4–6 | 6–4 | 4–6 | 10–9 | 2–5 | 4–2 | — | 5–14 | 4–6 | 9–10 | 5–4 | 10–8 |
| Seattle | 7–2 | 5–4 | 7–1 | 3–4 | 4–6 | 6–3 | 6–13 | 3–6 | 5–5 | 14–5 | — | 4–3 | 11–8 | 4–5 | 9–9 |
| Tampa Bay | 7–11 | 5–13 | 1–6 | 2–8 | 4–3 | 3–4 | 2–6 | 4–3 | 8–10 | 6–4 | 3–4 | — | 5–4 | 9–9 | 7–11 |
| Texas | 6–4 | 4–6 | 4–2 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 9–10 | 2–7 | 1–5 | 10–9 | 8–11 | 4–5 | — | 5–5 | 11–7 |
| Toronto | 10–8 | 9–9 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 4–3 | 6–4 | 8–10 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 9–9 | 5–5 | — | 10–8 |

### Notable transactions

After their great amount of success in 2006, in which they came from behind to win the AL Central, the Twins wanted to be sure to lock up their 3-4-5 hitters (Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer, and Justin Morneau) to multi-year deals. The Twins were able to sign Mauer to a four-year deal worth $33 million, but Morneau and Cuddyer only agreed to sign one-year contracts, worth $4.5 million and $3.575 million respectively.
* April 9 – Placed Jeff Cirillo (medial meniscus tear in left knee) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 9; Placed Rondell White (strained right calf) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 5; Recalled Alexi Casilla from Triple-A Rochester.
* April 12 – Recalled Glen Perkins from Triple-A Rochester; optioned Chris Heintz.
* May 1 – Activated Jeff Cirillo from the 15-day disabled list and optioned Alexi Casilla to Triple-A Rochester.
* May 6 – Placed Joe Mauer on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left quad.
* May 8 – Recalled Chris Heintz from Triple-A Rochester.
* May 13 – Designated Sidney Ponson for assignment.
* May 16 – Placed Jesse Crain on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation and recalled Julio DePaula from Triple-A Rochester.
* May 18 – Recalled Scott Baker from Triple-A Rochester. and optioned Garrett Jones to Rochester.
* May 22 – Placed Glen Perkins on the 15-day disabled list with a mild muscle strain in the back of his left shoulder; Purchased the contract of Carmen Cali from Triple-A Rochester.
* May 24 – Placed Dennys Reyes on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 21, with inflammation in his left shoulder; Purchased the contract of Jason Miller from Triple-A Rochester and transferred Alejandro Machado from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.
* May 30 – Optioned Julio DePaula to Triple-A Rochester; Transferred Jesse Crain to the 60-day disabled list; purchased the contract of Kevin Slowey from Triple-A Rochester.
* June 28–29 – Heintz sent to minors; Matt Garza recalled.
* July 5 – Sent Slowey to minors; recalled Cali.
* July 22 – Activated Rondell White from the disabled list and optioned Garrett Jones to Triple-A Rochester.
* July 30 – Traded Luis Castillo to the New York Mets in exchange for minor leaguers Drew Butera and Dustin Martin. Recalled Alexi Casilla.
* August 3 – Jeff Cirillo claimed by Arizona on waivers.
* August 8 – Called up Tommy Watkins. Brian Buscher put on the 15-day DL.
* August 15 – Traded Ramón Ortiz to the Colorado Rockies for minor league infielder Matt Macri

### Game log

2007 Game Log :
April: 14–11
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 2Orioles7–4Santana (1–0)Bédard (0–1)Nathan (1)48,7111–0
2April 3Orioles3–2Neshek (1–0)Cabrera (0–1)Nathan (2)24,4392–0
3April 4Orioles7–2Ortiz (1–0)Wright (0–1)27,5393–0
--April 6@ White SoxPostponed (cold weather) rescheduled for July 63–0
4April 7@ White Sox3–0Vázquez (1–0)Silva (0–1)Jenks (1)33,2783–1
5April 8@ White Sox3–1Santana (2–0)Danks (0–1)Nathan (3)27,6534–1
6April 9Yankees8–2Pavano (1–0)Ponson (0–1)26,0474–2
7April 10Yankees10–1Pettitte (1–0)Bonser (0–1)24,5524–3
8April 11Yankees5–1Ortiz (2–0)Farnsworth (0–1)30,1315–3
9April 12Devil Rays3–2Nathan (1–0)Stokes (0–2)15,8696–3
10April 13Devil Rays4–2Kazmir (2–0)Santana (2–1)Reyes (3)27,7836–4
11April 14Devil Rays12–5Ponson (1–1)Jackson (0–2)35,2697–4
12April 15Devil Rays6–4Stokes (1–2)Nathan (1–1)Reyes (4)27,0247–5
13April 17@ Mariners11–2Ortiz (3–0)Weaver (0–2)19,0158–5
14April 18@ Mariners5–4Silva (1–1)Hernández (2–1)Nathan (4)20,8719–5
15April 19@ Mariners6–5Santana (3–1)Washburn (0–2)Nathan (5)19,35010–5
16April 20@ Royals11–7Pérez (1–2)Ponson (1–2)Riske (2)31,81310–6
17April 21@ Royals7–5Neshek (2–0)Peralta (0–2)Nathan (6)20,56611–6
18April 22@ Royals3–1de la Rosa (2–1)Ortiz (3–1)Soria (2)14,80111–7
19April 23Indians7–3 (12)Hernández (2–1)Crain (0–1)16,07611–8
20April 24Indians5–3Carmona (1–1)Santana (3–2)Borowski (8)20,84911–9
21April 25Royals4–3Pérez (2–2)Ponson (1–3)Soria (3)21,49611–10
22April 26Royals1–0 (11)Rincón (1–0)Wellemeyer (0–1)18,52012–10
23April 27@ Tigers5–3Crain (1–1)Zumaya (0–1)Nathan (7)31,14713–10
24April 28@ Tigers11–3Silva (2–1)Verlander (1–1)39,54714–10
25April 29@ Tigers4–3Jones (1–1)Crain (1–2)36,48314–11 :
May: 13–14
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
26May 1@ Devil Rays9–1Ponson (2–3)Jackson (0–4)8,77315–11
27May 2@ Devil Rays4–3 (10)Reyes (1–0)Guerrier (0–1)9,10115–12
28May 3@ Devil Rays6–4Shields (3–0)Ortiz (3–2)Reyes (10)8,79315–13
29May 4Red Sox2–0Wakefield (3–3)Silva (2–2)Papelbon (9)34,95115–14
30May 5Red Sox2–1Santana (4–2)Tavárez (1–3)Nathan (8)40,08816–14
31May 6Red Sox4–3Schilling (4–1)Ponson (2–4)Papelbon (10)27,80716–15
32May 8White Sox7–4 (10)Rincón (2–0)Sisco (0–1)21,97917–15
33May 9White Sox6–3Danks (1–4)Ortiz (3–3)24,36717–16
34May 10White Sox3–0Contreras (3–3)Silva (2–3)23,66317–17
35May 11Tigers7–3Maroth (3–0)Santana (4–3)31,45817–18
36May 12Tigers8–2Durbin (3–1)Ponson (2–5)32,17617–19
37May 13Tigers16–4Bonser (1–1)Vasquez (0–1)25,03718–19
38May 15@ Indians15–7Byrd (3–1)Ortiz (3–4)23,32518–20
39May 16@ Indians7–1Sabathia (6–1)Silva (2–4)17,67818–21
40May 17@ Indians2–0Carmona (5–1)Santana (4–4)28,60918–22
41May 18@ Brewers8–1Bonser (2–1)Capuano (5–2)44,75919–22
42May 19@ Brewers5–2Baker (1–0)Bush (3–4)44,42720–22
43May 20@ Brewers6–5Wise (1–1)Reyes (0–1)Cordero (17)39,11920–23
44May 21@ Rangers14–4Padilla (2–6)Silva (2–5)24,81420–24
45May 22@ Rangers7–1Santana (5–4)Loe (1–4)27,01321–24
46May 23@ Rangers5–3Bonser (3–1)Tejeda (4–4)Nathan (9)24,37022–24
47May 25Blue Jays4–3Guerrier (1–1)Downs (1–1)Nathan (10)26,78123–24
48May 26Blue Jays9–8 (13)Tallet (1–1)Guerrier (1–2)31,43423–25
49May 27Blue Jays4–2Silva (3–5)Burnett (5–4)Nathan (11)25,78124–25
50May 28White Sox10–4Santana (6–4)Contreras (4–5)27,09025–25
51May 29White Sox9–2Bonser (4–1)Danks (3–5)23,77126–25
52May 30White Sox7–6Nathan (2–1)MacDougal (1–2)29,04227–25 :
June: 15–12
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
53June 1@ Athletics3–2 (10)Neshek (3–0)Calero (0–4)Nathan (12)20,21928–25
54June 2@ Athletics1–0Blanton (5–3)Silva (3–6)30,57628–26
55June 3@ Athletics4–2Gaudin (6–1)Santana (6–5)Embree (4)25,38828–27
56June 4@ Angels16–3Weaver (5–3)Bonser (4–2)37,38028–28
57June 5@ Angels5–1Escobar (7–3)Baker (1–1)42,00128–29
58June 6@ Angels8–5Slowey (1–0)Lackey (9–4)Nathan (13)36,45329–29
59June 8Nationals8–5Simontacchi (3–4)Silva (3–7)Rivera (2)25,14429–30
60June 9Nationals3–1Speigner (2–2)Santana (6–6)Cordero (8)39,74229–31
61June 10Nationals6–3Bonser (5–2)Bacsik (1–3)Nathan (14)31,03530–31
62June 12Braves7–3Slowey (2–0)Davies (3–5)25,86831–31
63June 13Braves6–0Silva (4–7)James (5–6)27,90332–31
64June 14Braves3–2Reyes (1–1)Wickman (1–2)26,71433–31
65June 15Brewers11–3Vargas (5–1)Baker (1–2)Shouse (1)27,97733–32
66June 16Brewers5–2Bush (4–6)Bonser (5–3)Cordero (25)37,11733–33
67June 17Brewers10–9Nathan (3–1)Spurling (1–1)31,62434–33
68June 18@ Mets8–1Maine (7–4)Silva (4–8)37,31934–34
69June 19@ Mets9–0Santana (7–6)Sosa (6–3)40,93535–34
70June 20@ Mets6–2Baker (2–2)Pérez (7–6)44,51736–34
71June 22@ Marlins5–4Benítez (2–3)Rincón (2–1)Gregg (14)15,27136–35
72June 23@ Marlins11–1Silva (5–8)Johnson (0–2)21,36837–35
73June 24@ Marlins7–4Santana (8–6)Kim (3–4)15,03538–35
74June 25Blue Jays8–5Halladay (9–2)Guerrier (1–3)Accardo (9)24,24038–36
75June 26Blue Jays2–1 (12)Rincón (3–1)Tallet (2–2)27,00039–36
76June 27Blue Jays5–4Towers (3–5)Bonser (5–4)Accardo (10)30,95939–37
77June 28Blue Jays8–5Silva (6–8)Frasor (1–3)Nathan (15)31,03840–37
78June 29@ Tigers11–1Santana (9–6)Verlander (9–3)42,36141–37
79June 30@ Tigers8–5Slowey (3–0)Miller (3–2)Nathan (16)41,58842–37 :
July: 13–15
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
80July 1@ Tigers1–0Bonderman (9–1)Baker (2–3)Jones (20)41,07842–38
81July 2@ Yankees5–1Clemens (2–3)Bonser (5–5)53,03642–39
82July 3@ Yankees8–0Wang (8–4)Silva (6–9)53,86242–40
83July 4@ Yankees6–2Santana (10–6)Mussina (4–6)52,04043–40
84July 5@ Yankees7–6Farnsworth (1–1)Neshek (3–1)Rivera (11)52,47143–41
85July 6@ White Sox20–14Baker (3–3)Garland (6–6)31,54344–41
86July 6@ White Sox12–0Garza (1–0)Floyd (0–1)32,42645–41
87July 7@ White Sox3–1Buehrle (6–4)Bonser (5–6)Jenks (23)36,79145–42
88July 8@ White Sox6–3Vázquez (6–5)Silva (6–10)32,72445–43
89July 12Athletics6–2Baker (4–3)Gaudin (8–4)25,20746–43
90July 13Athletics5–3Santana (11–6)DiNardo (3–6)Nathan (17)36,33847–43
91July 14Athletics4–3Silva (6–10)Blanton (8–6)Nathan (18)36,06648–43
92July 15Athletics4–3Neshek (4–1)Kennedy (2–8)36,73749–43
93July 17Tigers1–0Robertson (6–6)Garza (1–1)Jones (24)30,93949–44
94July 18Tigers3–2Miller (5–3)Santana (10–7)Jones (25)38,07049–45
95July 19Tigers4–3 (10)Miner (1–1)Nathan (3–2)Jones (26)36,55149–46
96July 20Angels7–5Silva (8–10)Lackey (12–6)Nathan (19)35,79450–46
97July 21Angels5–2Neshek (5–1)Shields (2–3)Nathan (20)33,86851–46
98July 22Angels7–2Saunders (4–0)Garza (1–2)33,21751–47
99July 23@ Blue Jays6–4Marcum (6–4)Santana (11–8)Accardo (16)26,09151–48
100July 24@ Blue Jays7–0McGowan (7–5)Baker (4–4)30,66951–49
101July 25@ Blue Jays13–1Litsch (3–4)Silva (8–11)37,34251–50
102July 27@ Indians10–4Byrd (9–4)Bonser (5–7)37–29251–51
103July 28@ Indians3–2Neshek (6–1)Borowski (2–4)Nathan (21)41,20352–51
104July 29@ Indians4–1Reyes (2–1)Sabathia (13–6)Nathan (22)37,10253–51
105July 30Royals3–1Baker (5–4)Meche (7–8)Nathan (23)23,62854–51
106July 31Royals5–3Silva (9–11)de la Rosa (8–11)Nathan (24)22,89055–51 :
August: 13–16
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
107August 1Royals5–3 (10)Greinke (5–5)Rincón (3–2)Soria (11)24,88055–52
--August 2RoyalsPostponed (I-35W bridge collapse) rescheduled for August 3155–52
108August 3Indians5–4Sabathia (14–6)Santana (11–9)Borowski (30)31,66455–53
109August 4Indians3–2Ortiz (4–4)Laffey (0–1)Nathan (25)33,66356–53
110August 5Indians1–0Baker (6–4)Carmona (13–6)Nathan (26)38,33457–53
111August 6Indians4–0Byrd (10–4)Silva (9–12)28,31457–54
112August 7@ Royals5–1Bannister (8–6)Bonser (5–8)15,64857–55
113August 8@ Royals11–4Santana (12–9)Pérez (6–11)21,50358–55
114August 9@ Royals1–0Davies (1–0)Garza (1–3)Soria (12)14,56958–56
115August 10@ Angels10–1Escobar (12–6)Baker (6–5)43,81058–57
116August 11@ Angels4–3Lackey (15–6)Neshek (6–2)Rodríguez (29)44,06458–58
117August 12@ Angels6–2Jer Weaver (8–5)Bonser (5–9)43,91158–59
118August 13@ Mariners4–3Putz (2–1)Guerrier (1–4)37,90258–60
119August 14@ Mariners11–3Garza (2–3)Ramírez (7–4)33,72959–60
120August 15@ Mariners6–1Neshek (7–2)Washburn (8–10)42,92160–60
121August 17Rangers2–1 (10)Guerrier (2–4)Wright (3–5)30,92461–60
122August 18Rangers5–0Loe (6–9)Bonser (5–10)41,03761–61
123August 19Rangers1–0Santana (13–9)Millwood (8–10)Nathan (27)36,35362–61
124August 20Mariners9–4Ramírez (8–4)Garza (2–4)31,75562–62
125August 21Mariners7–2Washburn (9–10)Baker (6–6)42,37362–63
126August 22Mariners8–4Silva (10–12)Batista (13–9)29,88163–63
127August 23@ Orioles5–2Bonser (6–10)Trachsel (6–8)Guerrier (1)19,38964–63
128August 24@ Orioles7–4Santana (14–9)Hoey (1–2)Nathan (28)29,74265–63
129August 25@ Orioles8–1Garza (3–4)Liz (0–1)28,70066–63
130August 26@ Orioles11–3Baker (7–6)Bédard (13–5)30,87667–63
131August 27@ Indians8–3Byrd (13–5)Silva (10–13)23,17867–64
132August 28@ Indians6–5Westbrook (5–7)Bonser (6–11)Borowski (38)24,78467–65
133August 29@ Indians4–3Sabathia (15–7)Santana (14–10)Borowski (39)27,30367–66
134August 31Royals9–4Davies (6–11)Garza (3–5)15,73667–67
135August 31Royals5–0Baker (8–6)Meche (7–12)24,98668–67 :
September: 11–16
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
136September 1Royals6–4Silva (11–13)Duckworth (2–4)Nathan (29)21,73869–67
137September 2Royals8–1Bannister (12–7)Bonser (6–12)26,45469–68
138September 3Indians5–0Sabathia (16–7)Santana (14–11)24,10569–69
139September 4Indians7–5 (11)Betancourt (4–0)DePaula (0–1)Borowski (40)16,21869–70
140September 5Indians6–2Carmona (15–8)Baker (8–7)Pérez (1)13,97769–71
141September 7@ White Sox11–10 (13)Phillips (1–1)Rincón (3–3)34,10469–72
142September 8@ White Sox8–7Myers (4–0)Cali (0–1)Thornton (2)31,74769–73
143September 9@ White Sox5–2Santana (15–11)Garland (9–11)Nathan (30)32,25070–73
144September 10@ Royals4–2Bonser (7–12)Buckner (0–1)Nathan (31)10,52571–73
145September 11@ Royals6–3Baker (9–7)Davies (6–13)Nathan (32)12,89172–73
146September 12@ Royals6–3Meche (8–12)Silva (11–14)10,10272–74
147September 14Tigers4–2Robertson (8–11)Garza (3–6)Jones (35)22,28272–75
148September 15Tigers4–3Zumaya (2–3)Santana (15–12)Jones (36)35,23072–76
149September 16Tigers6–4Jurrjens (3–1)Baker (9–8)Jones (37)21,77172–77
150September 17Rangers5–4Nathan (4–2)Benoit (7–4)14,19773–77
151September 18Rangers4–2Silva (12–14)Millwood (9–13)Nathan (33)18,22674–77
152September 19Rangers4–2Garza (4–6)Padilla (6–10)Nathan (34)17,84275–77
153September 21White Sox6–4Buehrle (10–9)Santana (15–13)Jenks (39)27,92875–78
154September 22White Sox8–3J. Vázquez (14–8)Baker (9–9)31,73775–79
155September 23White Sox7–1Slowey (4–0)Floyd (1–5)29,38276–79
156September 24@ Tigers2–0Silva (13–14)Robertson (8–13)Nathan (35)32,71677–79
157September 25@ Tigers8–0Bazardo (2–1)Garza (4–7)31,39477–80
158September 26@ Tigers9–4 (6)Byrdak (3–0)Blackburn (0–1)35,37577–81
159September 27@ Red Sox5–4Bonser (8–12)Beckett (20–7)Nathan (36)36,74378–81
160September 28@ Red Sox5–2Matsuzaka (15–12)Slowey (4–1)Papelbon (37)36,84378–82
161September 29@ Red Sox6–4Wakefield (17–12)Blackburn (0–2)Okajima (5)36,61978–83
162September 30@ Red Sox3–2Garza (5–7)Tavárez (7–11)Nathan (37)36,36479–83 :

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Joe Mauer | 109 | 406 | 119 | .293 | 7 | 60 |
| 1B | Justin Morneau | 157 | 590 | 160 | .271 | 31 | 111 |
| 2B | Luis Castillo | 85 | 349 | 106 | .304 | 0 | 18 |
| SS | Jason Bartlett | 140 | 510 | 135 | .265 | 5 | 43 |
| 3B | Nick Punto | 150 | 472 | 99 | .210 | 1 | 25 |
| LF | Jason Kubel | 128 | 418 | 114 | .273 | 13 | 65 |
| CF | Torii Hunter | 160 | 600 | 172 | .287 | 28 | 107 |
| RF | Michael Cuddyer | 144 | 547 | 151 | .276 | 16 | 81 |
| DH | Jason Tyner | 114 | 304 | 87 | .286 | 1 | 22 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Mike Redmond | 82 | 272 | 80 | .294 | 1 | 38 |
| Alexi Casilla | 56 | 189 | 42 | .222 | 0 | 9 |
| Luis Rodríguez | 68 | 155 | 34 | .219 | 2 | 12 |
| Jeff Cirillo | 50 | 153 | 40 | .261 | 2 | 21 |
| Lew Ford | 55 | 116 | 27 | .233 | 3 | 14 |
| Rondell White | 38 | 109 | 19 | .174 | 4 | 20 |
| Brian Buscher | 33 | 82 | 20 | .244 | 2 | 10 |
| Garrett Jones | 31 | 77 | 16 | .208 | 2 | 5 |
| Chris Heintz | 24 | 56 | 14 | .250 | 0 | 7 |
| Josh Rabe | 14 | 31 | 6 | .194 | 0 | 2 |
| Tommy Watkins | 9 | 28 | 10 | .357 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt LeCroy | 7 | 20 | 3 | .150 | 0 | 0 |
| Darnell McDonald | 4 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 0 |
| José Morales | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Johan Santana | 33 | 219.0 | 15 | 13 | 3.33 | 235 |
| Carlos Silva | 33 | 202.0 | 13 | 14 | 4.19 | 89 |
| Boof Bonser | 31 | 173.0 | 8 | 12 | 5.10 | 136 |
| Scott Baker | 24 | 143.2 | 9 | 9 | 4.26 | 102 |
| Matt Garza | 16 | 83.0 | 5 | 7 | 3.69 | 67 |
| Kevin Slowey | 13 | 66.2 | 4 | 1 | 4.73 | 47 |
| Sidney Ponson | 7 | 37.2 | 2 | 5 | 6.93 | 23 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Ramón Ortiz | 28 | 91.0 | 4 | 4 | 5.14 | 44 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Joe Nathan | 68 | 4 | 2 | 37 | 1.88 | 77 |
| Pat Neshek | 74 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2.94 | 74 |
| Matt Guerrier | 73 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2.35 | 68 |
| Juan Rincón | 63 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5.13 | 49 |
| Dennys Reyes | 50 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.99 | 21 |
| Carmen Cali | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.71 | 14 |
| Glen Perkins | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.14 | 20 |
| Jesse Crain | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5.51 | 10 |
| Julio DePaula | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8.55 | 8 |
| Nick Blackburn | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7.71 | 8 |
| Jason Miller | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 2 |

## Other post-season awards

* Calvin R. Griffith Award (Most Valuable Twin) – Torii Hunter
* Joseph W. Haynes Award (Twins Pitcher of the Year) – Johan Santana
* Bill Boni Award (Twins Outstanding Rookie) – Matt Garza
* Charles O. Johnson Award (Most Improved Twin) – Carlos Silva
* Dick Siebert Award (Upper Midwest Player of the Year) – Pat Neshek
* Bob Allison Award (Leadership Award) – Mike Redmond
* Mike Augustin Award ("Media Good Guy" Award) – Torii Hunter
** The above awards are voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the BBWAA
* Carl R. Pohlad Award (Outstanding Community Service) – Johan Santana
* Sherry Robertson Award (Twins Outstanding Farm System Position Player) – Brian Buscher
* Jim Rantz Award (Twins Outstanding Farm System Pitcher) – Kevin Slowey
* Kirby Puckett Award (Alumni Community Service) – Tony Oliva
* Herb Carneal Award (Lifetime Achievement Award) – Tom Mee

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Rochester Red Wings | International League | Stan Cliburn |
| AA | New Britain Rock Cats | Eastern League | Riccardo Ingram |
| A | Fort Myers Miracle | Florida State League | Kevin Boles |
| A | Beloit Snappers | Midwest League | Jeff Smith |
| Rookie | Elizabethton Twins | Appalachian League | Ray Smith |
| Rookie | GCL Twins | Gulf Coast League | Nelson Prada |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Elizabethton