# 2015 Minnesota Twins season

The 2015 Minnesota Twins season was the 55th season for the franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their sixth season at Target Field and the 115th overall in the American League. The team finished second in the American League Central with an 83–79 record, their best overall result since the 2010 season, which was the last year they made the playoffs. The team remained in the running for a wild card berth in the American League playoffs until losing Game 161 (their second to last). They would eventually win a wild card berth two years later, in 2017. In between, however, the team lost 103 games.
After seven years away, outfielder Torii Hunter returned for his twelfth year as a Twin. Lauded rookies Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton arrived from the minors; each tallied their first big-league hit, home run and run batted in. In Rosario's case, he did all three on May 6 on the first big-league pitch he saw, just the twenty-ninth player in history to do so. In May, the Twins had a month record of 20-7, which was the best month for the franchise since June 1991, the last year they won the World Series.

## Offseason

* October 30: Jared Burton becomes a free agent.
* Week of November 11: Signed 4 players to a minor league contract and invited 3 of them to spring training.
* November 20: Signed 3 players to a minor league contract (2 with a spring training invite) and promoted 4 players from the minors.
* November 25: Sent Anthony Swarzak to the minors.
* December 3: Signed Torii Hunter to a one-year, $10.5 million contract.
* December 5: Signed Shane Robinson to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
* December 11: Drafted J. R. Graham.
* December 13: Signed Ervin Santana and Carlos Paulino (minor league contract) while sending Chris Parmelee to the minors.
* Week of December 15: Signed 5 players to a minor league contract (1 with an invite to Spring training) and invited 11 others to spring training.
* December 23: Signed Tim Stauffer.
* December 31: Signed Blaine Boyer to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
* Week of January 7: Signed 3 players to a minor league contract.

## Season standings
### American League Central

vteAL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Kansas City Royals | 95 | 67 | .586 | — | 51‍–‍30 | 44‍–‍37 |
| Minnesota Twins | 83 | 79 | .512 | 12 | 46‍–‍35 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 80 | .503 | 13½ | 39‍–‍41 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Chicago White Sox | 76 | 86 | .469 | 19 | 40‍–‍41 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Detroit Tigers | 74 | 87 | .460 | 20½ | 38‍–‍43 | 36‍–‍44 |

### American League Wild Card

vteDivision Leaders :
| Team | W | L | Pct. |
| Kansas City Royals | 95 | 67 | .586 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 93 | 69 | .574 |
| Texas Rangers | 88 | 74 | .543 |
vteWild Card teams (Top 2 teams qualify for postseason) :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| New York Yankees | 87 | 75 | .537 | +1 |
| Houston Astros | 86 | 76 | .531 | — |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 85 | 77 | .525 | 1 |
| Minnesota Twins | 83 | 79 | .512 | 3 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 80 | .503 | 4½ |
| Baltimore Orioles | 81 | 81 | .500 | 5 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 80 | 82 | .494 | 6 |
| Boston Red Sox | 78 | 84 | .481 | 8 |
| Chicago White Sox | 76 | 86 | .469 | 10 |
| Seattle Mariners | 76 | 86 | .469 | 10 |
| Detroit Tigers | 74 | 87 | .460 | 11½ |
| Oakland Athletics | 68 | 94 | .420 | 18 |

### Record against opponents

2015 American League recordvte Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2015 :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Baltimore | — | 11–8 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 0–7 | 10–9 | 6–1 | 3–3 | 10–9 | 1–6 | 8–11 | 12–8 |
| Boston | 8–11 | — | 3–4 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 2–5 | 2–5 | 8–11 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 10–9 | 13–7 |
| Chicago | 3–3 | 4–3 | — | 10–9 | 9–10 | 5–1 | 7–12 | 4–3 | 6–13 | 2–5 | 5–2 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 9–11 |
| Cleveland | 1–5 | 4–2 | 9–10 | — | 7–11 | 5–2 | 9–10 | 4–2 | 7–12 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 5–2 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 12–8 |
| Detroit | 3–4 | 2–4 | 10–9 | 11–7 | — | 3–4 | 9–10 | 1–6 | 11–8 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 9–11 |
| Houston | 4–3 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 2–5 | 4–3 | — | 4–2 | 10–9 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 10–9 | 12–7 | 2–5 | 6–13 | 4–3 | 16–4 |
| Kansas City | 4–3 | 3–4 | 12–7 | 10–9 | 10–9 | 2–4 | — | 6–1 | 12–7 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 6–1 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 13–7 |
| Los Angeles | 4–2 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 6–1 | 9–10 | 1–6 | — | 5–2 | 2–4 | 11–8 | 12–7 | 3–3 | 12–7 | 2–5 | 8–12 |
| Minnesota | 7–0 | 5–2 | 13–6 | 12–7 | 8–11 | 3–3 | 7–12 | 2–5 | — | 1–5 | 4–3 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 8–12 |
| New York | 9–10 | 11–8 | 5–2 | 2–5 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 5–1 | — | 3–4 | 5–1 | 12–7 | 2–5 | 6–13 | 11–9 |
| Oakland | 1–6 | 1–5 | 2–5 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 9–10 | 1–5 | 8–11 | 3–4 | 4–3 | — | 6–13 | 3–4 | 10–9 | 1–5 | 11–9 |
| Seattle | 3–3 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 7–12 | 2–4 | 7–12 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 13–6 | — | 4–3 | 12–7 | 4–2 | 8–12 |
| Tampa Bay | 9–10 | 10–9 | 5–1 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 5–2 | 1–6 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 7–12 | 4–3 | 3–4 | — | 2–5 | 10–9 | 14–6 |
| Texas | 6–1 | 5–2 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 5–2 | 13–6 | 4–3 | 7–12 | 3–3 | 5–2 | 9–10 | 7–12 | 5–2 | — | 2–4 | 11–9 |
| Toronto | 11–8 | 9–10 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 5–2 | 5–2 | 13–6 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 9–10 | 4–2 | — | 12–8 |

## Season summary

New manager Paul Molitor oversaw a winning season (83-79) for his Minnesota club, following four consecutive seasons of 90 or more losses under previous manager Ron Gardenhire.
2.22 million fans attended Twins games at Target Field, the ninth highest total in the American League.
The season brought some "Twins' firsts" and broke or matched several longstanding club records:
* Facing Detroit, the Twins began the season with 24.1 scoreless innings, a club record in futility. Paul Molitor didn't get his first win until the fourth game. Among Twins managers, only Billy Martin in 1969 waited longer for his first victory.
* On May 6, rookie outfielder Eddie Rosario hit a Target Field home run on the first major league pitch he saw, something no other Twin has done.
* On June 14, three Twins hit triples in the sixth inning, a Twins first. Oddly, the Twins only scored one run in the inning. With another triple two innings earlier, the power burst added up to the club's first four-triple game since 1964. All four three-baggers were hit off Texas Rangers' starter Nick Martinez.
* In the week prior to All-Star Game, second baseman Brian Dozier belted two walk-off home runs, the first time a Twin has done that within one week. Dozier was a late addition to the American League All-Star roster as an injury replacement.
* Relief pitcher Glen Perkins set club records with 28 consecutive saves to start the season.
* Rookie Miguel Sano was called up, and blasted ten home runs in his first 41 games—the fastest start for any Twins or Washington Senators rookie.
* Eddie Rosario set a Twins rookie record by tallying fifteen triples (which led the major leagues) and tied the late Kirby Puckett's 1984 rookie club record with sixteen outfield assists.
* On September 24, first baseman Joe Mauer reached base safely in his 43rd straight game, setting a Minnesota record. The record had been held by Harmon Killebrew at 40 in 1970.
* Two days later, third baseman Trevor Plouffe grounded into his major-league-leading 28th double play. The tally tied Harmon Killebrew, in the 1970 season, for the Minnesota record.
* On Oct. 1, Brian Dozier struck out for the 146th time this season. His season finished with 148 strikeouts, topping the previous club record of 145, set by Bobby Darwin in 1972.
Two Twins made the All-Star Game: relief pitcher Glen Perkins and second baseman Brian Dozier. In the eighth inning, Dozier pinch hit and homered off Mark Melancon in his only at-bat in Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park. Perkins pitched the ninth inning in the AL's 6-3 win.
Pitchers Phil Hughes and Kyle Gibson each finished with eleven wins for tops in the Win column. No pitcher lost more than eleven games. Eight Twins finished with ten or more homers.

## Game log

2015 Game Log (83−76) :
April: 10–12 (Home: 6–4; Away: 4–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 6@ Tigers0−4Price (1−0)Hughes (0−1)Nathan (1)45,0300–1
2April 8@ Tigers0−11Sánchez (1−0)Nolasco (0−1)—28,2800−2
3April 9@ Tigers1–7Greene (1−0)Gibson (0−1)—26,7820–3
4April 10@ White Sox6–0Milone (1−0)Noesí (0−1)Duensing (1)38,5331–3
5April 11@ White Sox4–5Duke (1−0)Boyer (0−1)Robertson (1)22,3171–4
6April 12@ White Sox2–6Sale (1−0)Hughes (0−2)—23,0571–5
7April 13Royals3–12Duffy (1−0)May (0−1)—40,1231–6
8April 15Royals3–1Gibson (1−1)Vólquez (1−1)Perkins (1)21,3622–6
9April 16Royals8–5Milone (2−0)Vargas (1−1)Perkins (2)17,4493–6
10April 17Indians3–2 (11)Boyer (1−1)Shaw (0−1)—21,3074–6
11April 18Indians2–4Salazar (1−0)Hughes (0−3)Allen (3)23,9494–7
12April 19Indians7–2May (1−1)House (0−2)—17,9235–7
13April 20@ Royals1–7Vólquez (2−1)Gibson (1−2)—20,3935–8
14April 21@ Royals5–6Young (1–0)Fien (0–1)Davis (3)20,9905–9
15April 22@ Royals3–0Pelfrey (1–0)Guthrie (1–1)Perkins (3)24,7216–9
16April 24@ Mariners0–2Hernández (3–0)Hughes (0–4)—25,2156–10
17April 25@ Mariners8–5Stauffer (1–0)Paxton (0–2)Perkins (4)33,5667–10
18April 26@ Mariners4–2 (11)Fien (1–1)Olson (1–1)Perkins (5)35,2428–10
19April 27Tigers4–5Price (2–1)Milone (2–1)Soria (8)18,0548–11
20April 28Tigers3–2Pelfrey (2–0)Sánchez (1–3)Perkins (6)18,1699–11
21April 29Tigers7–10Gorzelanny (1–1)Fien (1–2)Soria (9)19,4479–12
22April 30White Sox12–2May (2–1)Sale (2–1)—20,73610–12 :
May: 20–7 (Home: 13–3; Away: 7–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
23May 1White Sox1–0Gibson (2–2)Quintana (1–2)Perkins (7)22,79411–12
24May 2White Sox5–3Nolasco (1–1)Noesí (0–3)Perkins (8)30,55112–12
25May 3White Sox13–3Pressly (1–0)Danks (1–3)—22,42313–12
26May 4Athletics8–7Hughes (1–4)Hahn (1–2)Perkins (9)20,60514–12
27May 5Athletics1–2Chavez (1–2)May (2–2)Clippard (3)18,13514–13
28May 6Athletics13–0Gibson (3–2)Kazmir (2–1)—18,86615–13
29May 7Athletics6–5Nolasco (2–1)Pomeranz (1–3)Perkins (10)22,37916–13
30May 8@ Indians9–3Pelfrey (3–0)Bauer (3–3)—19,10217–13
31May 9@ Indians7–4Hughes (2–4)Chen (0–1)Perkins (11)16,19918–13
32May 10@ Indians2–8Salazar (4–1)May (2–3)—13,76918–14
33May 12@ Tigers1–2 (10)Nesbitt (1–1)Pressly (1–1)—26,17718–15
34May 13@ Tigers6–2Nolasco (3–1)Kyle Lobstein (3–3)—27,16319–15
35May 14@ Tigers1–13Sánchez (3–4)Pelfrey (3–1)—31,78519–16
36May 15Rays3–2Hughes (3–4)Odorizzi (3–3)Perkins (12)24,01820–16
37May 16Rays6–4Duensing (1–0)Jepsen (1–3)Perkins (13)27,12821–16
38May 17Rays3–11Archer (4–4)Gibson (3–3)—23,70821–17
39May 19@ Pirates8–5Nolasco (4–1)Liriano (1–4)Perkins (14)22,35722–17
40May 20@ Pirates4–3 (13)Duensing (2–0)Bastardo (0–1)Perkins (15)21,71823–17
41May 22@ White Sox2–3Samardzija (4–2)Thompson (0–1)Robertson (9)21,06723–18
42May 23@ White Sox4–3May (3–3)Sale (3–2)Perkins (16)38,71424–18
43May 24@ White Sox8–1Gibson (4–3)Quintana (2–5)—30,18025–18
44May 25Red Sox7–2Nolasco (5–1)Kelly (1–4)—29,47226–18
45May 26Red Sox2–1Pelfrey (4–1)Buchholz (2–6)Perkins (17)23,26827–18
46May 27Red Sox6–4Hughes (4–4)Porcello (4–4)Perkins (18)30,02728–18
47May 29Blue Jays4–6Buehrle (6–4)Perkins (0–1)—24,50928–19
48May 30Blue Jays3–2Pressly (2–1)Loup (1–3)Boyer (1)32,07629–19
49May 31Blue Jays6–5Pressly (3–1)Osuna (1–2)Perkins (19)33,82930–19 :
June: 11–17 (Home: 6–8; Away: 5–9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
–June 1@ Red SoxPostponed (rain) (Makeup date: June 3)
50June 2@ Red Sox0–1Buchholz (3–6)Pelfrey (4–2)Uehara (11)32,62230–20
51June 3@ Red Sox3–6Rodríguez (2–0)Hughes (4–5)—31,70430–21
52June 3@ Red Sox2–0May (4–3)Porcello (4–5)Perkins (20)33,29131–21
53June 4@ Red Sox8–4Thompson (1–1)Uehara (2–3)—33,61532–21
54June 5Brewers5–10Jeffress (2–0)Boyer (1–2)—29,39832–22
55June 6Brewers2–4Garza (4–7)Pressly (3–2)Rodríguez (10)38,70732–23
56June 7Brewers2–0Pelfrey (5–2)Fiers (2–6)Perkins (21)31,91133–23
57June 8Royals1–3Vargas (5–2)Hughes (4–6)Holland (10)22,79633–24
58June 9Royals0–2Young (5–2)May (4–4)Holland (11)22,49733–25
59June 10Royals2–7Vólquez (5–4)Gibson (4–4)—28,43433–26
60June 12@ Rangers1–2Scheppers (3–0)Thompson (1–2)—41,76533–27
61June 13@ Rangers7–11Lewis (6–3)Pelfrey (5–3)—28,66133–28
62June 14@ Rangers4–3Fien (2–2)Tolleson (1–1)Perkins (22)33,97034–28
63June 15@ Cardinals2–3Lackey (5–4)May (4–5)Siegrist (2)43,17434–29
64June 16@ Cardinals2–3Wacha (9–2)Gibson (4–5)Siegrist (3)41,20334–30
65June 17Cardinals3–1Milone (3–1)Martínez (7–3)Perkins (23)34,38135–30
66June 18Cardinals2–1Boyer (2–2)Villanueva (3–2)—34,64836–30
67June 19Cubs7–2Hughes (5–6)Hendricks (2–3)—36,81737–30
68June 20Cubs1–4Motte (4–1)Boyer (2–3)Rondon (12)40,06637–31
69June 21Cubs0–8Arrieta (7–5)Gibson (4–6)—40,27337–32
70June 22White Sox13–2Milone (4–1)Danks (3–8)—24,09438–32
71June 23White Sox2–6Samardzija (5–4)Pelfrey (5–4)Petricka (2)27,34938–33
72June 24White Sox6–1Hughes (6–6)Sale (6–4)—28,85439–33
73June 26@ Brewers4–10Lohse (4–9)May (4–6)—33,29639–34
74June 27@ Brewers5–2Gibson (5–6)Garza (4–10)Perkins (24)39,97740–34
75June 28@ Brewers3–5Smith (4–0)Fien (2–3)—38,95840–35
76June 29@ Reds7–11Adcock (1–1)Pelfrey (5–5)—28,90440–36
77June 30@ Reds8–5Hughes (7–6)DeSclafani (5–6)Perkins (25)28,55641–36 :
July: 12–13 (Home: 8–6; Away: 4–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
78July 1@ Reds1–2Cueto (5–5)May (4–7)Chapman (16)26,45941–37
79July 2@ Royals2–0Gibson (6–6)Young (7–4)Perkins (26)37,19642–37
80July 3@ Royals2–3Davis (4–1)Thompson (1–3)—38,86842–38
81July 4@ Royals5–3Duensing (3–0)Blanton (2–2)Perkins (27)37,91743–38
82July 5@ Royals2–3Holland (2–0)Boyer (2–4)—29,42743–39
83July 6Orioles4–2May (5–7)Hunter (2–2)—23,21344–39
84July 7Orioles8–3Gibson (7–6)Gausman (1–1)—25,09145–39
85July 8Orioles5–3Milone (5–1)Norris (2–9)Perkins (28)29,28946–39
86July 9Tigers2–4Price (9–2)Pelfrey (5–6)Soria (20)29,72446–40
87July 10Tigers8–6May (6–7)Soria (3–1)—31,54547–40
88July 11Tigers9–5Hughes (8–6)Simón (8–6)—32,36548–40
89July 12Tigers7–1Gibson (8–6)Greene (4–7)—27,93649–40
–July 1486th All-Star GameNational League vs. American League (Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati)
90July 17@ Athletics5–0Santana (1–0)Gray (10–4)—23,46250–40
91July 18@ Athletics2–3 (10)Pomeranz (4–3)Fien (2–4)—30,77850–41
92July 19@ Athletics1–14Chavez (5–9)Milone (5–2)—20,28650–42
93July 21@ Angels0–7Shoemaker (5–7)Gibson (8–7)—38,93750–43
94July 22@ Angels2–5Wilson (8–7)Pelfrey (5–7)Street (25)40,23950–44
95July 23@ Angels3–0Santana (2–0)Richards (10–7)Perkins (29)36,13451–44
96July 24Yankees10–1Hughes (9–6)Pineda (9–7)—34,33452–44
97July 25Yankees5–8Warren (6–5)Perkins (0–2)Miller (23)40,66052–45
98July 26Yankees2–7Eovaldi (10–2)Gibson (8–8)—37,39152–46
99July 28Pirates7–8Melancon (2–1)Perkins (0–3)—30,79552–47
100July 29Pirates4–10Liriano (7–6)Santana (2–1)—37,27352–48
101July 30Mariners9–5Hughes (10–6)Happ (4–6)—30,53453–48
102July 31Mariners1–6Walker (8–7)Milone (5–3)—27,64353–49 :
August: 14–14 (Home: 7–4; Away: 7–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
103August 1Mariners3–2May (7–7)Smith (1–5)—36,90154–49
104August 2Mariners1–4 (11)Rodney (4–4)Jepsen (2–6)Wilhelmsen (2)30,32554–50
105August 3@ Blue Jays1–5Price (10–4)Santana (2–2)—45,76654–51
106August 4@ Blue Jays1–3Estrada (9–6)Hughes (10–7)Osuna (8)26,50454–52
107August 5@ Blue Jays7–9Hutchison (10–2)Duffey (0–1)Hawkins (3)27,72554–53
108August 6@ Blue Jays3–9Buehrle (12–5)Gibson (8–9)—34,84754–54
109August 7@ Indians10–9May (8–7)Shaw (1–2)Perkins (30)30,36555–54
110August 8@ Indians4–17Bauer (9–8)Santana (2–3)—31,66655–55
111August 9@ Indians1–8Kluber (7–12)Hughes (10–8)—31,66655–56
112August 11Rangers3–2Perkins (1–3)Patton (1–1)—26,66356–56
113August 12Rangers11–1Pelfrey (6–7)Martinez (7–7)—30,68357–56
114August 13Rangers5–6Kela (6–5)Fien (2–5)Tolleson (21)30,35757–57
115August 14Indians1–6Kluber (8–12)May (8–8)—26,91057–58
116August 15Indians4–1Duffey (1–1)Tomlin (0–1)—30,60158–58
117August 16Indians4–1Milone (6–3)Carrasco (11–9)Perkins (31)27,24459–58
118August 17@ Yankees7–8 (10)Miller (1–2)Perkins (1–4)—38,94359–59
119August 18@ Yankees4–8Rumbelow (1–0)Graham (0–1)Miller (27)38,00759–60
120August 19@ Yankees3–4Eovaldi (13–2)Santana (2–4)Betances (8)38,08659–61
121August 20@ Orioles15–2Duffey (2–1)González (9–9)—20,10960–61
122August 21@ Orioles4–3Fien (3–5)O'Day (5–2)Jepsen (6)32,02561–61
123August 22@ Orioles3–2Fien (4–5)Tillman (9–8)Jepsen (7)35,30162–61
124August 23@ Orioles4–3 (12)Perkins (2–4)Matusz (1–3)Milone (1)35,14463–61
125August 25@ Rays11–7Graham (1–1)Andriese (3–4)—9,63264–61
126August 26@ Rays5–3Duensing (4–0)Archer (11–10)Jepsen (8)9,20565–61
127August 27@ Rays4–5Gomes (2–4)Milone (6–4)Boxberger (31)9,37565–62
128August 28Astros3–0Gibson (9–9)Kazmir (7–9)Jepsen (9)28,63666–62
129August 29Astros1–4Fiers (2–0)Pelfrey (6–8)Gregerson (25)38,87666–63
130August 30Astros7–5Santana (3–4)McCullers (5–5)—28,87767–63 :
September: 15–13 (Home: 6–7; Away: 9–6 )
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
131September 1White Sox8–6Jepsen (3-6)Duke (3-5)Perkins (32)25,80368–63
132September 2White Sox3–0Milone (7-4)Rodón (6-6)Jepsen (10)22,16269–63
133September 3White Sox4–6Samardzija (9-11)Fien (4–6)Robertson (28)25,33969–64
134September 4@ Astros0–8McHugh (15-7)Pelfrey (6–9)—27,80769–65
135September 5@ Astros3–2Santana (4–4)Gregerson (7-3)Jepsen (11)27,64370–65
136September 6@ Astros5–8Keuchel (17-6)May (8-9)Gregerson (26)37,64870–66
137September 7@ Royals6–2Milone (8-4)Ventura (10-8)—36,82571–66
138September 8@ Royals2–4Vólquez (13-7)Gibson (9-10)Holland (30)31,83471–67
139September 9@ Royals3–2 (12)Boyer (3-4)Morales (3-2)Jepsen (12)32,28672–67
140September 11@ White Sox6–2Santana (5–4)Jones (1-2)—15,64173–67
141September 12@ White Sox2–8Quintana (9-10)Milone (8-5)—26.06573–68
142September 13@ White Sox7–0Gibson (10-10)Sale (12-9)—23,15974–68
143September 14Tigers7–1Duffey (3-1)Lobstein (3-8)—17,83375–68
144September 15Tigers4–5Simón (13-9)Hughes (10-9)Rondón (5)22,96375–69
145September 16Tigers4–7 (12)Krol (2-3)Duensing (4-1)—22,50975–70
146September 17Angels8–11Morin (2-1)Achter (0-1)Street (36)18,69775–71
–September 18AngelsPostponed (rain) (Makeup date: September 19)
147September 19Angels3–4 (12)Morin (3-1)Boyer (3-5)Street (37)22,87875–72
148September 19Angels2–5Richards (14-11)Pelfrey (6–10)Street (38)33,30075–73
149September 20Angels8–1Duffey (4-1)Shoemaker (7-10)—25,30276–73
150September 22Indians3–1Santana (6–4)Salazar (13−9)Jepsen (13)77–73
151September 23Indians4–2Hughes (11-9)Kluber (8-15)—17,83178–73
152September 24Indians3–6Anderson (6-3)Gibson (10−11)Allen (32)21,36678–74
153September 25@ Tigers4–6Wilson (3-3)Perkins (2-5)Feliz (9)31,15378–75
154September 26@ Tigers6–2Duffey (5-1)Simón (13–11)—32,75379–75
155September 27@ Tigers7–1Santana (7–4)Wolf (0-5)—33,51780–75
156September 28@ Indians4–2Milone (9-5)Kluber (8-16)Jepsen (14)10,00781–75
–September 29@ IndiansPostponed (rain) (Makeup date: September 30)
157September 30@ Indians7–1Gibson (11-11)Carrasco (14-12)—082–75
158September 30@ Indians2–10Anderson (7-3)Pelfrey (6–11)—10,22882–76 :
October: 1–3 (Home: 0–3; Away: 1–0 )
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
159October 1@ Indians4–2Perkins (3-5)Allen (2-5)Jepsen (14)22,64483–76
160October 2Royals1–3Coleman (1-0)Santana (7–5)Davis (16)31,53483–77
161October 3Royals1–5Ventura (13-8)Boyer (3-6)Davis (17)30,18183–78
162October 4Royals1–6Cueto (11-13)Nolasco (5-2)—24,10883–79 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Twins team member :

## Statistics
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | SB |
| Oswaldo Arcia, OF | 19 | 58 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 15 | .276 | 0 |
| Doug Bernier, 3B,2B | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | .200 | 0 |
| Byron Buxton, CF | 46 | 129 | 16 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 44 | .209 | 2 |
| Brian Dozier, 2B | 157 | 628 | 101 | 148 | 39 | 4 | 28 | 77 | 61 | 148 | .236 | 12 |
| Brian Duensing, P | 55 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Eduardo Escobar, LF, SS, DH, 3B, 2B | 127 | 409 | 48 | 107 | 31 | 4 | 12 | 58 | 28 | 86 | .262 | 2 |
| Eric Fryer, C | 15 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | .227 | 0 |
| Kyle Gibson, P | 32 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .200 | 0 |
| Chris Herrmann, C | 45 | 103 | 13 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 37 | .146 | 0 |
| Aaron Hicks, CF | 97 | 352 | 48 | 90 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 33 | 34 | 66 | .256 | 13 |
| Phil Hughes, P | 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Torii Hunter, RF | 139 | 521 | 67 | 125 | 22 | 0 | 22 | 81 | 35 | 105 | .240 | 2 |
| Max Kepler, RF | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .143 | 0 |
| Joe Mauer, 1B, DH | 158 | 592 | 69 | 157 | 34 | 2 | 10 | 66 | 67 | 112 | .265 | 2 |
| Trevor May, P | 48 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 |
| Tommy Milone, P | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Ricky Nolasco, P | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 |
| Eduardo Núñez, SS, DH, 3B | 72 | 188 | 23 | 53 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 12 | 29 | .282 | 8 |
| Mike Pelfrey, P | 30 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .667 | 0 |
| Trevor Plouffe, 3B | 152 | 573 | 74 | 140 | 35 | 4 | 22 | 86 | 50 | 124 | .244 | 2 |
| Jorge Polanco, SS | 4 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .300 | 1 |
| Shane Robinson, OF | 83 | 180 | 28 | 45 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 12 | 29 | .250 | 6 |
| Eddie Rosario, LF | 122 | 453 | 60 | 121 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 50 | 15 | 118 | .267 | 11 |
| Miguel Sanó, DH | 80 | 279 | 46 | 75 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 52 | 53 | 119 | .269 | 1 |
| Danny Santana, SS | 91 | 261 | 30 | 56 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 6 | 68 | .215 | 8 |
| Jordan Schafer, CF | 27 | 69 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 23 | .217 | 0 |
| Kurt Suzuki, C | 131 | 433 | 36 | 104 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 50 | 29 | 59 | .240 | 0 |
| Kennys Vargas, DH, 1B | 58 | 175 | 18 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 9 | 54 | .240 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5467 | 696 | 1349 | 277 | 44 | 156 | 661 | 439 | 1264 | .247 | 70 |

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K |
| A. J. Achter | 0 | 1 | 6.75 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 13.1 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 14 |
| Blaine Boyer | 3 | 6 | 2.49 | 68 | 0 | 1 | 65.0 | 62 | 24 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 33 |
| Neal Cotts | 0 | 0 | 3.95 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| Brian Duensing | 4 | 1 | 4.25 | 55 | 0 | 1 | 48.2 | 46 | 24 | 23 | 5 | 21 | 24 |
| Tyler Duffey | 5 | 1 | 3.10 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 58.0 | 56 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 20 | 53 |
| Casey Fien | 4 | 6 | 3.55 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 63.1 | 61 | 26 | 25 | 6 | 8 | 41 |
| Kyle Gibson | 11 | 11 | 3.84 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 194.2 | 186 | 88 | 83 | 18 | 65 | 145 |
| J. R. Graham | 1 | 1 | 4.95 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 63.2 | 73 | 41 | 35 | 10 | 21 | 53 |
| Phil Hughes | 11 | 9 | 4.40 | 27 | 25 | 0 | 155.1 | 184 | 76 | 76 | 29 | 16 | 94 |
| Kevin Jepsen | 1 | 1 | 1.61 | 29 | 0 | 10 | 28.0 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 25 |
| Trevor May | 8 | 9 | 4.00 | 48 | 16 | 0 | 114.2 | 127 | 53 | 51 | 11 | 26 | 110 |
| Alex Meyer | 0 | 0 | 16.88 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Tommy Milone | 9 | 5 | 3.92 | 24 | 23 | 1 | 128.2 | 128 | 64 | 56 | 17 | 36 | 91 |
| Ricky Nolasco | 5 | 2 | 6.75 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 37.1 | 50 | 31 | 28 | 3 | 14 | 35 |
| Ryan O'Rourke | 0 | 0 | 6.14 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 15 | 24 |
| Mike Pelfrey | 6 | 11 | 4.26 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 164.2 | 198 | 86 | 78 | 11 | 45 | 86 |
| Glen Perkins | 3 | 5 | 3.32 | 60 | 0 | 32 | 57.0 | 58 | 21 | 21 | 9 | 10 | 54 |
| Ryan Pressly | 3 | 2 | 2.93 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 27.2 | 27 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 22 |
| Shane Robinson | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ervin Santana | 7 | 5 | 4.00 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 108.0 | 104 | 50 | 48 | 12 | 36 | 82 |
| Tim Stauffer | 1 | 0 | 6.60 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
| Caleb Thielbar | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Aaron Thompson | 1 | 3 | 5.01 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 32.1 | 32 | 19 | 18 | 2 | 11 | 17 |
| Michael Tonkin | 0 | 0 | 3.47 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 23.1 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 19 |
| Team Totals | 83 | 79 | 4.07 | 162 | 162 | 45 | 1443.0 | 1506 | 700 | 653 | 163 | 413 | 1046 |

## Awards

* Team MVP and Twins Most Outstanding Rookie: Miguel Sanó, at 22 the youngest player to be named Twins MVP and just the second to win the award as a rookie, joining Tony Oliva in 1964.

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Rochester Red Wings | International League | Mike Quade |
| AA | Chattanooga Lookouts | Southern League | Doug Mientkiewicz |
| A-Advanced | Fort Myers Miracle | Florida State League | Jeff Smith |
| A | Cedar Rapids Kernels | Midwest League | Jake Mauer |
| Rookie | Elizabethton Twins | Appalachian League | Ray Smith |
| Rookie | GCL Twins | Arizona League | Ramón Borrego |
| Rookie | DSL Twins | Dominican Summer League | Jimmy Alvarez |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Chattanooga