Updated Aug 29, 2012 - 2:42 pm
The M's like playing the Twins
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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