2009 Minnesota Twins season

2009 Minnesota Twins
American League Central Champions
League	American League
Division	Central
Ballpark	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
City	Minneapolis
Record	87–76 (.534)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Jim Pohlad
General managers	Bill Smith
Managers	Ron Gardenhire
Television	Fox Sports North WFTC (My 29) (Dick Bremer, Bert Blyleven)
Radio	AM 1500 KSTP (John Gordon, Dan Gladden, Jack Morris, Kris Atteberry)
Stats	ESPN.com Baseball Reference
Seasons

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. They were then swept in the ALDS by the New York Yankees. 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.

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.

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.

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).

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).

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

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Minnesota Twins	87	76	.534	—	49‍–‍33	38‍–‍43
Detroit Tigers	86	77	.528	1	51‍–‍30	35‍–‍47
Chicago White Sox	79	83	.488	7½	43‍–‍38	36‍–‍45
Cleveland Indians	65	97	.401	21½	35‍–‍46	30‍–‍51
Kansas City Royals	65	97	.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

• Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2009

Roster

2009 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers 18 Luis Ayala 30 Scott Baker 53 Nick Blackburn 49 Craig Breslow 28 Jesse Crain 39 R. A. Dickey 52 Brian Duensing 63 Armando Gabino 54 Matt Guerrier 60 Sean Henn 38 Philip Humber 44 Bobby Keppel 47 Francisco Liriano 37 Ron Mahay 49 Jeff Manship 50 José Mijares 31 Juan Morillo 61 Kevin Mulvey 36 Joe Nathan 48 Carl Pavano 15 Glen Perkins 60 Jon Rauch 59 Kevin Slowey 51 Anthony Swarzak		Catchers  7 Joe Mauer 58 José Morales 55 Mike Redmond Infielders 32 Brian Buscher 18 Orlando Cabrera 25 Alexi Casilla 24 Joe Crede 23 Brendan Harris 19 Justin Huber 33 Justin Morneau  8 Nick Punto 20 Matt Tolbert Outfielders  5 Michael Cuddyer 22 Carlos Gómez 16 Jason Kubel 11 Jason Pridie  2 Denard Span 21 Delmon Young		Manager 35 Ron Gardenhire Coaches 40 Rick Anderson (pitching)  9 Steve Liddle (bench) 43 Rick Stelmaszek (bullpen) 45 Scott Ullger (third base) 46 Joe Vavra (hitting) 13 Jerry White (first base)

Game log

2009 Game Log
April: 11–11 # 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: 14–16 # 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: 15–12 # 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: 12–12 # 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: 14–14 # 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: 17–11 # 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: 5–0 # 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

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.

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

• Calvin R. Griffith Award (Most Valuable Twin) – Joe Mauer
• Joseph W. Haynes Award (Twins Pitcher of the Year) – Joe Nathan
• Bill Boni Award (Twins Outstanding Rookie) – José Mijares
• Charles O. Johnson Award (Most Improved Twin) – Michael Cuddyer
• Dick Siebert Award (Upper Midwest Player of the Year) – Joe Mauer
• Bob Allison Award (Leadership Award) – Michael Cuddyer
• Mike Augustin Award ("Media Good Guy" Award) – Denard Span
  • The above awards are voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the BBWAA
• Carl R. Pohlad Award (Outstanding Community Service) – Justin Morneau
• Sherry Robertson Award (Twins Outstanding Farm System Position Player) – Ben Revere
• Jim Rantz Award (Twins Outstanding Farm System Pitcher) – David Bromberg
• Kirby Puckett Award (Alumni Community Service) – Rod Carew
• Herb Carneal Award (Lifetime Achievement Award) – Jerry Bell

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

• 2009 Minnesota Twins season at Baseball Reference
• 2009 Minnesota Twins season Official Site (Archived 2009-07-31)