Usually, when you mention the number 755 in connection with Major League Baseball, the first thing that springs to mind is the number of career home runs hit by the one, true home run king of the sport, Hammerin' Hank Aaron. Obviously, there's a good reason for that. However, prior to last night, the number 755 had another meaning in the world of Major League Baseball.
↵According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Friday night's loss to the Los Angeles Angels ended a historic winning streak for the Twins. For only the second time since their move to the Twin Cities, and for the first time in nearly forty years, the Minnesota Twins took a lead of five runs or more into the eighth inning of a ball game, only to see it disappear and ultimately lose the game.
↵The last time this happened to the Twins was back on July 30, 1971, when they led the Yankees 9-4 going into the eighth inning at Metropolitan Stadium, only to end up losing the game by a final score of 11-9 when New York scored five runs in the eighth inning and two more runs in the ninth.
↵Between July 31, 1971, and May 26, 2011, the Twins had gone a staggering 755-0 in games where they took a lead of five or more runs into the eighth inning, the longest such streak in Major League Baseball history.
↵Twins' starter Scott Baker became the first pitcher in 13 years. . .since the immortal Hideki Irabu on May 14, 1998. . .to have a scoreless outing of at least seven innings and leave the game with a lead of at least five runs, only to sit back and watch his team lose.
↵So, just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for the 2011 Minnesota Twins, it turns out that they certainly can.
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