For the first time since 1991, the Twins finished up the month of May with 20 wins. Sunday’s 6-5 comeback victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field put the Twins into the 20-win club, and they now lead the division.
And that's number 20 in the month of May, ladies and gentlemen. #MNTwins beat the Blue Jays 6-5! pic.twitter.com/Dw24jteiqc
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 31, 2015
That's 20 wins in May = Twins first 20+-win month since 1991.
30-19 = most wins thru 49 games since 2001.
— Chris Long (@ChrisLongKSTP) May 31, 2015
The Twins earned the first run of the game with a Brian Dozier RBI. But the Blue Jays put the next four runs on the board, bringing the score to 4-1, MLB.com reports.
The Twins came out of the three-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI by Joe Mauer.
Trevor Plouffe hit a two-run homer to tie the game at 4-4.
The Plouffe, the Plouffe, the Plouffe is on fire. http://t.co/UM2eoNjYKs #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/VHTmXx1tKK
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 31, 2015
The Twins’ sideline poet, former Mayor R.T. Rybak, tweeted a mention of the Plouffe home run in his latest sonnet, which apparently made his mother’s day.
I was lucky to have a mom/
Who taught baseball to her son/
Glad she saw @Twins win today/
She thanks Plouffe for that home run— R.T. Rybak (He/Him) (@R_T_Rybak) May 31, 2015
The Blue Jays earned one more run with a Josh Donaldson homer in the top of the seventh, but Torii Hunter responded with a two-run RBI to seal the 6-5 win.
Minnesota starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco left the game in the second inning with an injury.
According to the Star Tribune, it’s a sore right ankle. Nolasco reportedly had an MRI on the ankle Sunday afternoon, and results are expected in coming days.
Nolasco earned six wins this month for the Twins and didn’t pitch a single losing game in May.
Rookie J.R. Graham and Tim Stauffer came on in relief to preserve the win.
The Twins are now 30-19 and are leaders in the AL Central Division as the Royals lost to the Cubs 2-1.
Only two other MLB teams have more than 30 wins this season. The Cardinals are 33-17, and the Astros are 31-20. The Twins do have a better win percentage than the Astros at .612, compared to the Astro’s .608.
The Twins hit the road Monday to take on the Boston Red Sox. Game time is 6:10 p.m. with Mike Pelfrey starting for Minnesota.
