I was at the game that night, so maybe that’s why this sticks with me, but the offense almost could not have looked worse. On July 24th, Patrick Sandoval took a no-hitter into the ninth against the Twins that was broken up by a Brent Rooker double with two outs left to get. Pathetic.Īlmost Getting No-Hit at Home Against Angels Then Luis Arraez fielded a bouncer to third, but missed first base by a good six feet on his throw, and just like that, the Twins blew their fourth and fifth chances to win the game and Oakland was dogpiling. Travis Blankenhorn basically farted on a grounder to second that scored one run. Alex Colome, who had already blown a save, had loaded the bases, but there were two outs and the Twins still led by two, so any ball in the infield would surely end the game, right? Byron Buxton bent the universe to his will (as he does) with a two-run homer in the top of the tenth, but it only set the stage for a meltdown in the bottom of the inning.
As season-defining as it was, the bottom of the tenth of that game was equally embarrassing.Īfter a tough start, the Twins battled back to take a 10-7 lead in the game, and then promptly blew about three different chances to win the game and it went to (the dreaded) tenth inning. In fact, it was such an important inflection point in the season that Nick Nelson chose it as the most important moment of April. Blankenhorn and Arraez Make Back-to-Back Errors to Lose to OaklandĮveryone remembers this game in Oakland.