2009 Minnesota Twins
American League Central Champions
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionCentral
BallparkHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
CityMinneapolis
Record87–76 (.534)
Divisional place1st
OwnersJim Pohlad
General managersBill Smith
ManagersRon Gardenhire
TelevisionFox Sports North
WFTC (My 29)
(Dick Bremer, Bert Blyleven)
RadioAM 1500 KSTP
(John Gordon, Dan Gladden, Jack Morris, Kris Atteberry)
StatsESPN.com
BB-reference
← 2008 Seasons 2010 →

The 2009 Minnesota Twins season was the 49th season for the franchise in Minnesota, and the 109th overall in the American League. It was their final season at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome with their new stadium, Target Field, opening in 2010. They ended the regular season as American League Central champions after defeating the Detroit Tigers in a one game tie-breaker.[1] They were then swept in the ALDS by the New York Yankees.[2] The team's star catcher and Minnesota native Joe Mauer won the American League Most Valuable Player Award.

Regular season

On April 17, Jason Kubel hit for the cycle, becoming the ninth Twin to accomplish the feat. Kubel joins just six other American League cycle-hitters that filled the 'HR' slot with a grand slam home run.[3]

On May 22, Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle, becoming the tenth Twin to accomplish the feat. When he homered twice in the seventh inning on August 23, Cuddy became the only man ever in baseball to accomplish both feats in the same season. Prior to Kubel last month, the eight previous Twins' cycle hitters were Rod Carew, 1970; César Tovar, 1972; Larry Hisle, 1976; Lyman Bostock, 1976; Mike Cubbage, 1978; Gary Ward, 1980; Kirby Puckett, 1986 and Carlos Gómez, 2008.

After 319 consecutive games, Justin Morneau sat out June 21. He hadn't missed a game since June 27, 2007, until manager Ron Gardenhire held him out that day. His consecutive-games streak remains the longest for the Twins club.[4]

At the All-Star Game at Busch Stadium, Joe Mauer was the American League's starting catcher, and doubled in three at-bats. Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan entered as reserves. Nathan pitched an inning, walked one, struck out one and gave up one hit, earning a hold.[5]

Joe Mauer won his third American League batting title, with a .365 average. In the forty-nine seasons the Minnesota Twins have existed, a Twin has won the AL batting title fourteen times -- Rod Carew (7), Tony Oliva (3), Joe Mauer (3) and Kirby Puckett (1).[6]

Closer Joe Nathan saved 47 games to top Eddie Guardado's previous club record of 45. He was a co-winner of the Rolaids Relief Man Award (with Mariano Rivera), only the second Twin (after Bill Campbell, in 1976) to do so. Nathan now leads in Twins career saves with 260.

For the first time ever, four Twins topped 90 RBI: Jason Kubel (103), Justin Morneau (100), Joe Mauer (96) and Michael Cuddyer (94).[7]

Along with winning the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, Joe Mauer was named American League MVP, the fifth Twin in history to be so honored. Mauer is the first AL catcher to lead the league in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

Season standings

AL Central 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Minnesota Twins 87 76 0.534 — 49–33 38–43
Detroit Tigers 86 77 0.528 1 51–30 35–47
Chicago White Sox 79 83 0.488 7½ 43–38 36–45
Cleveland Indians 65 97 0.401 21½ 35–46 30–51
Kansas City Royals 65 97 0.401 21½ 33–48 32–49


Record vs. opponents

Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL
Baltimore – 2–16 5–4 2–5 3–5 4–4 2–8 3–2 5–13 1–5 4–5 8–10 5–5 9–9 11–7
Boston 16–2 – 4–4 7–2 6–1 5–3 4–5 4–2 9–9 5–5 2–4 9–9 2–7 11–7 11–7
Chicago 4–5 4−4 – 10–8 9–9 9–9 5–4 6−12 3–4 4–5 4–5 6–2 2–4 1–6 12–6
Cleveland 5–2 2–7 8–10 – 4–14 10–8 2–4 8–10 3–5 2–5 6–4 5–3 1–8 4–4 5–13
Detroit 5–3 1–6 9–9 14–4 – 9–9 5–4 7–12 1–5 5–4 5–4 5–2 7–2 3–5 10–8
Kansas City 4–4 3–5 9–9 8–10 9–9 – 1–9 6–12 2–4 2–6 5–4 1–9 3–3 4–3 8–10
Los Angeles 8–2 5–4 4–5 4–2 4–5 9–1 – 6–4 5–5 12–7 10–9 4–2 8–11 4–4 14–4
Minnesota 2–3 2–4 12–6 10–8 12–7 12–6 4–6 – 0–7 4–6 5–5 3–3 6–4 3–5 12–6
New York 13–5 9–9 4–3 5–3 5–1 4–2 5–5 7–0 – 7–2 6–4 11–7 5–4 12–6 10–8
Oakland 5–1 5–5 5–4 5–2 4–5 6–2 7–12 6–4 2–7 – 5–14 6–4 11–8 3–6 5–13
Seattle 5–4 4–2 5–4 4–6 4–5 4–5 9–10 5–5 4–6 14–5 – 5–3 8–11 3–4 11–7
Tampa Bay 10–8 9–9 2–6 3–5 2–5 9–1 2–4 3–3 7–11 4–6 3–5 – 3–6 14–4 13–5
Texas 5–5 7–2 4–2 8–1 2–7 3–3 11–8 4–6 4–5 8–11 11–8 6–3 – 5–5 9–9
Toronto 9–9 7–11 6–1 4–4 5–3 3–4 4–4 5–3 6–12 6–3 4–3 4–14 5–5 – 7–11
This box:

Roster

2009 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

Game log

2009 Game Log
April
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
1 April 6 Mariners 6–1 Hernández (1–0) Liriano (0–1) 48,514 0–1
2 April 7 Mariners 6–5 Ayala (1–0) Morrow (0–1) 23,755 1–1
3 April 8 Mariners 6–5 Slowey (1–0) Silva (0–1) Nathan (1) 22,270 2–1
4 April 9 Mariners 2–0 Washburn (1–0) Perkins (0–1) Morrow (1) 20,105 2–2
5 April 10 @ White Sox 12–5 Dickey (1–0) Contreras (0–1) 25,422 3–2
6 April 11 @ White Sox 8–0 Colón (1–0) Liriano (0–2) 33,935 3–3
7 April 12 @ White Sox 6–1 Buehrle (1–0) Blackburn (0–1) Jenks (2) 25,571 3–4
8 April 13 Blue Jays 8–6 Frasor (1–0) Ayala (1–1) Ryan (1) 16,410 3–5
9 April 14 Blue Jays 3 – 2 (11) Crain (1–0) Carlson (0–1) 15,375 4–5
10 April 15 Blue Jays 12–2 Richmond (1–0) Baker (0–1) 19,471 4–6
11 April 16 Blue Jays 9–2 Halladay (3–0) Liriano (0–3) 15,169 4–7
12 April 17 Angels 11–9 Guerrier (1–0) Bulger (0–1) Nathan (2) 24,168 5–7
13 April 18 Angels 9–2 Slowey (2–0) Jepsen (0–2) 34,286 6–7
14 April 19 Angels 3–1 Perkins (1–1) Loux (0–1) Nathan (3) 28,302 7–7
April 21 @ Red Sox Postponed (rain); rescheduled for April 22
15 April 22 @ Red Sox 10 – 1 (7) Wakefield (2–1) Baker (0–2) 37,608 7–8
16 April 22 @ Red Sox 7–3 Penny (2–0) Liriano (0–4) 37,494 7–9
17 April 24 @ Indians 5–1 Blackburn (1–1) Carmona (1–3) 20,215 8–9
18 April 25 @ Indians 7–1 Slowey (3–0) Pavano (0–3) 23,186 9–9
19 April 26 @ Indians 4–2 Laffey (2–0) Perkins (1–2) Wood (4) 20,153 9–10
20 April 27 Rays 7–1 Niemann (2–2) Baker (0–3) 17,988 9–11
21 April 28 Rays 4–3 Nathan (1–0) Howell (0–2) 18,974 10–11
22 April 29 Rays 8–3 Blackburn (2–1) Kazmir (3–2) 21,715 11–11
May
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
23 May 1 Royals 7–5 Slowey (4–0) Ponson (0–4) Nathan (4) 24,727 12–11
24 May 2 Royals 10 – 7 (11) Soria (1–0) Breslow (0–1) 29,061 12–12
25 May 3 Royals 7–5 Meche (2–2) Baker (0–4) Soria (6) 31,845 12–13
26 May 4 @ Tigers 7–2 Liriano (1–4) Jackson (1–2) 21,298 13–13
27 May 5 @ Tigers 9–0 Porcello (2–3) Blackburn (2–2) 23,754 13–14
28 May 6 @ Orioles 4 – 1 (6) Bass (1–1) Slowey (4–1) 10,566 13–15
29 May 7 @ Orioles 5–4 Johnson (2–0) Mijares (0–1) Sherrill (5) 11,399 13–16
30 May 8 Mariners 11–0 Baker (1–4) Jakubauskas (1–4) 29,714 14–16
31 May 9 Mariners 9–6 Liriano (2–4) Hernández (4–2) Nathan (5) 29,552 15–16
32 May 10 Mariners 5–3 Batista (2–0) Crain (1–1) Morrow (6) 25,555 15–17
33 May 12 Tigers 6–2 Slowey (5–1) Galarraga (3–3) 24,807 16–17
34 May 13 Tigers 14 – 10 (13) Crain (2–1) Lyon (1–3) 22,178 17–17
35 May 14 Tigers 6–5 Breslow (1–1) Seay (0–1) Nathan (6) 26,046 18–17
36 May 15 @ Yankees 5–4 Veras (2–1) Nathan (1–1) 43,856 18–18
37 May 16 @ Yankees 6 – 4 (11) Aceves (1–0) Breslow (1–2) 45,455 18–19
38 May 17 @ Yankees 3 – 2 (10) Aceves (2–0) Crain (2–2) 44,804 18–20
39 May 18 @ Yankees 7–6 Pettitte (4–1) Perkins (1–3) Coke (1) 43,244 18–21
40 May 19 @ White Sox 6–2 Buehrle (6–1) Baker (1–5) 26,696 18–22
41 May 20 @ White Sox 7–4 Danks (3–3) Liriano (2–5) Jenks (9) 29,044 18–23
42 May 21 @ White Sox 20–1 Blackburn (3–2) Colón (2–4) 23,048 19–23
43 May 22 Brewers 11–3 Slowey (6–1) Parra (3–5) 30,297 20–23
44 May 23 Brewers 6–2 Swarzak (1–0) Looper (4–3) 40,547 21–23
45 May 24 Brewers 6–3 Baker (2–5) Bush (3–1) 38,959 22–23
46 May 25 Red Sox 6–5 Penny (5–1) Liriano (2–6) Papelbon (12) 27,636 22–24
47 May 26 Red Sox 5–2 Blackburn (4–2) Lester (3–5) Nathan (7) 20,019 23–24
48 May 27 Red Sox 4–2 Slowey (7–1) Matsuzaka (0–3) Nathan (8) 28,221 24–24
49 May 28 Red Sox 3–1 Beckett (5–2) Swarzak (1–1) Papelbon (13) 23,958 24–25
50 May 29 @ Rays 5–3 Shields (4–4) Baker (2–6) Choate (1) 19,358 24–26
51 May 30 @ Rays 5–2 Price (1–0) Liriano (2–7) Choate (2) 36,052 24–27
52 May 31 @ Rays 3–2 Blackburn (5–2) Garza (4–4) Nathan (9) 26,579 25–27
June
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
53 June 2 Indians 4–3 Slowey (8–1) Huff (0–2) Nathan (10) 26,530 26–27
54 June 3 Indians 10–1 Lee (3–6) Swarzak (1–2) 29,336 26–28
55 June 4 Indians 11–3 Baker (3–6) Carmona (2–6) 20,897 27–28
56 June 5 @ Mariners 2 – 1 (10) Guerrier (2–0) Lowe (0–3) Nathan (11) 35,808 28–28
57 June 6 @ Mariners 2–1 Jakubauskas (4–5) Henn (0–1) Aardsma (9) 30,600 28–29
58 June 7 @ Mariners 4–2 Bédard (5–2) Slowey (8–2) White (1) 37,714 28–30
59 June 8 @ Athletics 4–3 Outman (4–0) Ayala (1–2) Bailey (5) 10,181 28–31
60 June 9 @ Athletics 10–5 Baker (4–6) Anderson (3–6) Nathan (12) 10,127 29–31
61 June 10 @ Athletics 6–3 Guerrier (3–0) Bailey (4–1) Nathan (13) 18,074 30–31
62 June 11 @ Athletics 4–3 Ziegler (1–1) Henn (0–2) 13,383 30–32
63 June 12 @ Cubs 7–4 Slowey (9–2) Wells (0–3) Nathan (14) 41,509 31–32
64 June 13 @ Cubs 2–0 Swarzak (2–2) Harden (4–3) Nathan (15) 40,899 32–32
65 June 14 @ Cubs 3–2 Mármol (2–1) Crain (2–3) 40,814 32–33
66 June 16 Pirates 8–2 Perkins (2–3) Maholm (4–3) 25,351 33–33
67 June 17 Pirates 8–2 Snell (2–7) Liriano (2–8) 30,057 33–34
68 June 18 Pirates 5–1 Blackburn (6–2) Duke (7–5) 30,670 34–34
69 June 19 Astros 5–2 Slowey (10–2) Oswalt (3–4) Nathan (16) 32,218 35–34
70 June 20 Astros 6–5 Moehler (4–4) Henn (0–3) Valverde (4) 34,710 35–35
71 June 21 Astros 5–1 Rodríguez (6–6) Perkins (2–4) Valverde (5) 39,659 35–36
72 June 23 @ Brewers 7–3 Liriano (3–8) Suppan (5–5) 42,008 36–36
73 June 24 @ Brewers 4–3 Coffey (3–1) Blackburn (6–3) Hoffman (17) 34,480 36–37
74 June 25 @ Brewers 6–4 Baker (5–6) Burns (0–1) Nathan (17) 40,524 37–37
75 June 26 @ Cardinals 3–1 Perkins (3–4) Wainwright (8–5) Nathan (18) 44,159 38–37
76 June 27 @ Cardinals 5–3 Kinney (1–0) Slowey (10–3) Franklin (18) 42,986 38–38
77 June 28 @ Cardinals 6–2 Liriano (4–8) Piñeiro (6–9) Nathan (19) 42,705 39–38
78 June 29 @ Royals 4–2 Hochevar (3–3) Blackburn (6–4) Soria (10) 22,066 39–39
79 June 30 @ Royals 2–1 Baker (6–6) Bannister (5–6) Nathan (20) 19,310 40–39
July
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
80 July 1 @ Royals 5–1 Perkins (4–4) Meche (4–8) Nathan (21) 18,906 41–39
81 July 3 Tigers 11 – 9 (16) Dolsi (1–0) Dickey (1–1) 33,368 41–40
82 July 4 Tigers 4–3 Guerrier (4–0) Lyon (3–4) Nathan (22) 27,238 42–40
83 July 5 Tigers 6–2 Blackburn (7–4) Porcello (8–6) 33,274 43–40
84 July 7 Yankees 10–2 Sabathia (8–5) Baker (6–7) 29,540 43–41
85 July 8 Yankees 4–3 Burnett (8–4) Swarzak (2–3) Rivera (22) 38,115 43–42
86 July 9 Yankees 6–4 Albaladejo (4–1) Liriano (4–9) Rivera (23) 29,628 43–43
87 July 10 White Sox 6–4 Blackburn (8–4) Dotel (1–3) Nathan (23) 29,628 44–43
88 July 11 White Sox 8–7 Floyd (7–6) Perkins (4–5) Jenks (20) 41,146 44–44
89 July 12 White Sox 13–7 Baker (7–7) Buehrle (9–3) 36,254 45–44
90 July 17 @ Rangers 5–3 Perkins (5–5) Padilla (7–5) Nathan (24) 34,662 46–44
91 July 18 @ Rangers 4–1 Baker (8–7) Feldman (8–3) Nathan (25) 31,041 47–44
92 July 19 @ Rangers 5 – 3 (12) Nippert (1–0) Duensing (0–1) 27,204 47–45
93 July 20 @ Athletics 14–13 Breslow (3–4) Mijares (0–2) Wuertz (3) 10,283 47–46
94 July 21 @ Athletics 3 – 2 (10) Guerrier (5–0) Bailey (4–3) Nathan (26) 12,027 48–46
95 July 22 @ Athletics 16–1 Cahill (6–8) Perkins (5–6) 22,031 48–47
96 July 23 @ Angels 6 – 5 (10) Fuentes (1–2) Crain (2–4) 38,145 48–48
97 July 24 @ Angels 6–3 Lackey (6–4) Liriano (4–10) 39,272 48–49
98 July 25 @ Angels 11–5 Palmer (8–1) Blackburn (8–5) 35,922 48–50
99 July 26 @ Angels 10–1 Swarzak (3–3) Santana (3–6) 36,386 49–50
100 July 27 White Sox 4–3 Perkins (6–6) Danks (8–7) Nathan (27) 32,354 50–50
101 July 28 White Sox 5–3 Mijares (1–2) Beuhrle (11–4) Nathan (28) 34,642 51–50
102 July 29 White Sox 3–2 Crain (3–4) Contreras (4–10) Nathan (29) 39,002 52–50
103 July 31 Angels 11 – 5 (11) Jepsen (3–2) Keppel (0–1) 31,767 52–51
August
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
104 August 1 Angels 11–6 Saunders (9–6) Swarzak (3–4) 40,828 52–52
105 August 2 Angels 13–4 Weaver (11–3) Perkins (6–7) 41,079 52–53
106 August 4 @ Indians 10–1 Baker (9–7) Huff (5–6) 17,518 53–53
107 August 5 @ Indians 8–1 Laffey (5–3) Liriano (4–11) 17,683 53–54
108 August 6 @ Indians 2–1 Sipp (2–0) Blackburn (8–6) Wood (15) 21,657 53–55
109 August 7 @ Tigers 10–8 Galarraga (6–10) Swarzak (3–5) 36,444 53–56
110 August 8 @ Tigers 11–0 Pavano (10–8) Verlander (12–6) 39,685 54–56
111 August 9 @ Tigers 8–7 Lyon (5–4) Guerrier (5–1) Rodney (23) 35,423 54–57
112 August 11 Royals 14–6 Davies (4–8) Blackburn (8–7) 32,121 54–58
113 August 12 Royals 7–1 Liriano (5–11) Bannister (7–9) 30,105 55–58
114 August 13 Royals 5–4 Meche (5–9) Pavano (10–9) Soria (19) 32,373 55–59
115 August 14 Indians 11–0 Baker (10–7) Masterson (3–4) 34,845 56–59
116 August 15 Indians 7–3 Huff (7–6) Swarzak (3–6) 33,931 56–60
117 August 16 Indians 7–4 Laffey (7–3) Blackburn (8–8) 30,260 56–61
118 August 17 @ Rangers 8–5 Hunter (6–2) Liriano (5–12) Francisco (18) 17,940 56–62
119 August 18 @ Rangers 9–6 Crain (4–4) Jennings (2–4) Nathan (30) 20,931 57–62
120 August 19 @ Rangers 5–4 Baker (11–7) Millwood (9–8) Nathan (31) 33,479 58–62
121 August 20 @ Rangers 11–1 Holland (7–7) Swarzak (3–7) 21,870 58–63
122 August 21 @ Royals 5–4 Nathan (2–1) Soria (3–1) 22,283 59–63
123 August 22 @ Royals 8–7 Duensing (1–1) Davies (4–9) Guerrier (1) 33,811 60–63
124 August 23 @ Royals 10–3 Pavano (11–9) Bannister (7–10) 18,680 61–63
125 August 24 Orioles 2–1 Baker (12–7) Tillman (1–2) Nathan (32) 20,271 62–63
126 August 25 Orioles 7–6 Mijares (2–2) Mickolio (0–1) 23,696 63–63
127 August 26 Orioles 5–1 Guthrie (9–12) Blackburn (8–9) 28,446 63–64
128 August 28 Rangers 3–2 Duensing (2–1) Hunter (6–3) Nathan (33) 21,641 64–64
129 August 29 Rangers 3–0 Feldman (14–4) Pavano (11–10) Francisco (19) 28,516 64–65
130 August 30 Rangers 5–3 Rauch (1–0) Wilson (4–6) Nathan (34) 29,282 65–65
131 August 31 White Sox 4–1 Blackburn (9–9) Floyd (10–9) Nathan (35) 19,426 66–65
September
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
132 September 1 White Sox 4–3 Rauch (2–0) Thornton (6–3) 22,599 67–65
133 September 2 White Sox 4–2 Carrasco (5–1) Nathan (2–2) Jenks (28) 21,007 67–66
134 September 4 @ Indians 5–2 Sowers (6–9) Pavano (10–11) Wood (18) 24,402 67–67
135 September 5 @ Indians 4–1 Baker (13–7) Masterson (4–7) Nathan (36) 19,455 68–67
136 September 6 @ Indians 3–1 Huff (9–7) Blackburn (9–10) Wood (19) 17,911 68–68
137 September 7 @ Blue Jays 6–3 Crain (5–4) Richmond (6–9) Nathan (37) 13,153 69–68
138 September 8 @ Blue Jays 6–3 Romero (12–7) Rauch (2–1) Frasor (7) 13,488 69–69
139 September 9 @ Blue Jays 4–1 Pavano (12–11) Halladay (13–9) Nathan (38) 11,159 70–69
140 September 10 @ Blue Jays 3–2 Cecil (7–4) Baker (13–8) Frasor (8) 11,461 70–70
141 September 11 Athletics 12–5 Mortensen (1–2) Blackburn (9–11) 21,084 70–71
142 September 12 Athletics 4–2 Anderson (9–10) Manship (0–1) Bailey (24) 24,283 70–72
143 September 13 Athletics 8–0 Duensing (3–1) Gonzalez (5–6) 21,850 71–72
144 September 14 Indians 6–3 Mahay (2–1) C. Perez (0–1) Nathan (39) 20,640 72–72
145 September 15 Indians 5–4 Rauch (3–1) Carmona (3–11) Nathan (40) 19,035 73–72
146 September 16 Indians 7–3 Blackburn (10–11) Laffey (7–6) Nathan (41) 16,921 74–72
147 September 18 Tigers 3–0 Duensing (4–1) Porcello (13–9) Nathan (42) 32,693 75–72
148 September 19 Tigers 6–2 Crain (6–4) Verlander (16–9) 43,338 76–72
149 September 20 Tigers 6–2 Robertson (2–2) Baker (13–9) 36,335 76–73
150 September 21 @ White Sox 7–0 Blackburn (11–11) Hudson (0–1) 26,541 77–73
151 September 22 @ White Sox 8–6 Crain (7–4) Danks (12–10) Nathan (43) 25,290 78–73
152 September 23 @ White Sox 8–6 Duensing (5–1) Buehrle (12–10) Nathan (44) 26,097 79–73
153 September 25 @ Royals 9–4 Pavano (13–11) Tejeda (4–2) 23,307 80–73
154 September 26 @ Royals 11–6 Baker (14–9) DiNardo (0–2) 30,690 81–73
155 September 27 @ Royals 4–1 Greinke (16–8) Liriano (5–13) Soria (29) 28,721 81–74
September 28 @ Tigers Postponed (rain); rescheduled for September 29
156 September 29 @ Tigers 3–2 Rauch (4–1) Lyon (6–5) Nathan (45) 35,243 82–74
157 September 29 @ Tigers 6–5 Verlander (18–9) Duensing (5–2) Rodney (36) 30,240 82–75
158 September 30 @ Tigers 7–2 Bonine (1–1) Pavano (13–12) 34,775 82–76
October
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
159 October 1 @ Tigers 8–3 Baker (15–9) Robertson (2–3) 40,533 83–76
160 October 2 Royals 10–7 Manship (1–1) DiNardo (0–3) Nathan (46) 40,223 84–76
161 October 3 Royals 5–4 Rauch (5–1) Hughes (0–2) Nathan (47) 48,644 85–76
162 October 4 Royals 13–4 Pavano (14–12) Hochevar (7–13) 51,155 86–76
163 October 6 Tigers* 6 – 5 (12) Keppel (1–1) Rodney (2–5) 54,088 87–76
*AL Central tiebreaker.
American League Division Series
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
1 October 7 @ Yankees 7–2 Sabathia (1–0) Duensing (0–1) 49,484 0–1
2 October 9 @ Yankees 4 – 3 (12) Robertson (1–0) Mijares (0–1) 50,006 0–2
3 October 11 Yankees 4–1 Pettitte (1–0) Pavano (0–1) Rivera (1) 54,735 0–3

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Tie-Breaker & Post Season

Minnesota Twins celebrate division tiebreaker victory over the Detroit Tigers.

The Twins ended the 162-game regular season tied with the Detroit Tigers, necessitating a one-game playoff. This made the Twins the first major league team ever to play in a tie-breaker two years in a row (they lost one to the Chicago White Sox in 2008). The game took place on Tuesday, October 6 at the Metrodome. The Twins won the game, 6-5, in 12 innings on Alexi Casilla's game-winning hit scoring Carlos Gómez.[8]

The Twins went on to face the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, which they lost in three consecutive games.

Player stats

Batting

Regular season

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
Luis Ayala 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scott Baker 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Nick Blackburn 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Brian Buscher 61 136 14 32 3 1 2 12 .235 0
Orlando Cabrera 59 242 42 70 13 3 5 36 .289 2
Alexi Casilla 80 228 25 46 7 3 0 17 .202 11
Jesse Crain 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Joe Crede 90 333 42 75 16 1 15 48 .225 0
Michael Cuddyer 153 588 93 162 34 7 32 94 .276 6
R. A. Dickey 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Carlos Gómez 137 315 51 72 15 5 3 28 .229 14
Matt Guerrier 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Brendan Harris 123 414 44 108 22 1 6 37 .261 0
Sean Henn 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Justin Huber 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .500 0
Bob Keppel 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Jason Kubel 146 514 73 154 35 2 28 103 .300 1
Francisco Liriano 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Joe Mauer 138 523 94 191 30 1 28 96 .365 4
José Mijares 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Jose Morales 54 119 14 37 6 0 0 7 .311 0
Justin Morneau 135 508 85 139 31 1 30 100 .274 0
Joe Nathan 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Glen Perkins 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Jason Pridie 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Nick Punto 125 359 56 82 15 1 1 38 .228 16
Mike Redmond 45 135 9 32 5 1 0 7 .237 0
Kevin Slowey 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Denard Span 145 578 97 180 16 10 8 68 .311 23
Anthony Swarzak 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Matt Tolbert 71 198 28 46 7 1 2 19 .232 6
Delmon Young 108 395 50 112 16 2 12 60 .284 2
Pitcher totals 163 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Team Totals 163 5608 817 1539 271 40 172 770 .274 85

Postseason

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
Orlando Cabrera 3 13 1 2 0 0 0 0 .154 1
Michael Cuddyer 3 14 0 6 0 0 0 1 .429 0
Carlos Gómez 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Brendan Harris 3 12 1 3 0 1 0 1 .250 0
Jason Kubel 3 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 .071 0
Joe Mauer 3 12 1 5 1 0 0 1 .417 0
Jose Morales 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Nick Punto 3 9 0 4 1 0 0 1 .444 0
Denard Span 3 15 1 6 1 0 0 1 .400 1
Matt Tolbert 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 .200 0
Delmon Young 3 12 1 1 1 0 0 0 .083 1
Totals 3 113 6 29 4 1 0 5 .257 3

Pitching

Regular season

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player W L ERA G GS SV IP R ER BB K
Luis Ayala 1 2 4.18 28 0 0 32.1 18 15 8 21
Scott Baker 15 9 4.37 33 33 0 200.0 99 97 48 162
Nick Blackburn 11 11 4.03 33 33 0 205.2 103 92 41 98
Craig Breslow 1 2 6.28 17 0 0 14.1 11 10 11 11
Jesse Crain 7 4 4.70 56 0 0 51.2 28 27 27 43
R. A. Dickey 1 1 4.62 35 1 0 64.1 34 33 30 42
Brian Duensing 5 2 3.64 24 9 0 84.0 37 34 31 53
Armando Gabino 0 0 17.18 2 1 0 3.2 7 7 5 2
Matt Guerrier 5 1 2.36 79 0 1 76.1 23 20 16 47
Sean Henn 0 3 7.15 14 0 0 11.1 9 9 8 9
Philip Humber 0 0 8.00 8 0 0 9.0 8 8 9 9
Bob Keppel 1 1 4.83 37 0 0 54.0 30 29 21 32
Francisco Liriano 5 13 5.80 29 24 0 136.2 93 88 65 122
Ron Mahay 1 0 2.00 16 0 0 9.0 3 2 3 8
Jeff Manship 1 1 5.68 11 5 0 31.2 21 20 15 21
José Mijares 2 2 2.34 71 0 0 61.2 17 16 23 55
Juan Morillo 0 0 22.50 3 0 0 2.0 5 5 3 1
Kevin Mulvey 0 0 27.00 2 0 0 1.1 4 4 0 0
Joe Nathan 2 2 2.10 70 0 47 68.2 16 16 22 89
Carl Pavano 5 4 4.64 12 12 0 73.2 39 38 16 59
Glen Perkins 6 7 5.89 18 17 0 96.1 64 63 23 45
Jon Rauch 5 1 1.72 17 0 0 15.2 3 3 6 14
Kevin Slowey 10 3 4.86 16 16 0 90.2 50 49 15 75
Anthony Swarzak 3 7 6.25 12 12 0 59.0 43 41 20 34
Team Totals 87 76 4.50 163 163 48 1453.0 765 726 466 1052

Postseason

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player W L ERA G GS SV IP R ER BB K
Nick Blackburn 0 0 1.59 1 1 0 5.2 1 1 2 3
Brian Duensing 0 1 9.64 1 1 0 4.2 5 5 1 3
Matt Guerrier 0 0 0.00 2 0 0 2.0 0 0 0 2
Francisco Liriano 0 0 4.50 1 0 0 2.0 2 1 1 1
Ron Mahay 0 0 5.40 3 0 0 1.2 1 1 1 2
José Mijares 0 1 13.50 2 0 0 0.2 1 1 1 0
Joe Nathan 0 0 9.00 2 0 0 2.0 2 2 1 2
Carl Pavano 0 1 2.57 1 1 0 7.0 2 2 0 9
Jon Rauch 0 0 6.75 3 0 0 1.1 1 1 2 0
Totals 0 3 4.67 3 3 0 27.0 15 14 9 22

Other post-season awards

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Rochester Red Wings International League Stan Cliburn
AA New Britain Rock Cats Eastern League Tom Nieto
A Fort Myers Miracle Florida State League Jeff Smith
A Beloit Snappers Midwest League Nelson Prada
Rookie Elizabethton Twins Appalachian League Ray Smith
Rookie GCL Twins Gulf Coast League Jake Mauer

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2009 Minnesota Twins season.
  1. ^ Zinser, Lynn (October 6, 2009). "Twins Celebrate While They Can". New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
  2. ^ Kepner, Tyler (October 11, 2009). "Yankees Sweep Twins to Advance to A.L.C.S." New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
  3. ^ "Hitting For The Cycle Records". Baseball-Almanac.com. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  4. ^ "Minnesota Twins". TwinCities.com. June 20, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  5. ^ "2009 All-Star Game box score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  6. ^ "League Batting Average Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  7. ^ "Minnesota Twins 2009". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  8. ^ McIntyre, Nick. "October 6, 2009: Twins defeat Tigers in Game 163 to win AL Central tiebreaker". SABR. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
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