HIGH HEAT

The M’s like playing the Twins

Aug 29, 2012, 2:42 PM | Updated: 2:42 pm

By Gary Hill

The Seattle Mariners have thoroughly dominated the Minnesota Twins this season. After losing the first meeting between the two teams on May 4th, the M’s have ripped off 7 wins in a row. The M’s pitching staff is 7-1 with a 1.13 ERA and 0.96 WHIP on the season versus Minnesota. The starters have been even more dominant (6-0 0.81 ERA). Jason Vargas has only given up 3 runs in 13 innings against the Twins this year which is good enough for a tidy 2.08 ERA. However, the rest of the starters combined have only yielded 2 runs in 6 starts. Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma have held Minnesota scoreless in 30 innings. The M’s have outscored the Twins 33-13 in 8 games this year.

-Did you know that the Mariners have more wins against the Minnesota Twins (210) than any other team in baseball outside of the current AL West?

– The Mariners have a .519 winning % vs Minnesota which is the second highest among AL teams behind Tampa Bay (.541).

– The M’s beat the Twins 9 straight times from May 23, 2001 to July 4, 2002.

– On June 11, 1996 the M’s clobbered the Twins 18-8 at the Metrodome. Dan Wilson went 5-6 with 3 RBIs. Joey Cora and Alex Rodriguez combined to go 8-13 with 6 runs scored at the top of the order. Edwin Hurtado picked up his second save of the season. Rick Aguilera started the game and was torched for 10 runs in 3 innings.

– On May 4, 2004 Seattle beat the Twins 4-3 in 16 innings. Ron Villone pitched 3 scoreless innings for the win.

– Brendan Ryan is hitting .409 against the Twins this year.

– Eric Thames is hitting .400 vs the Twins this year with a 1.171 OPS.

– The Twins have won the World Series twice in Minnesota (1991, 1987). They beat the M’s in the season series 9-4 each time. This has nothing the do with the M’s enjoying playing the Twins, but there you go.

– Felix owns a career 2.17 ERA against the Twins which is second to Tampa Bay (2.04).

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The M’s like playing the Twins