Twins History: Kenta Maeda's Near-No-No Turned Into a Strange Win On This Day

On Aug. 18, 2020, Kenta Maeda was in the midst of a dominant outing against the Milwaukee Brewers. He struck out 12, walked two and did not allow a hit through eight innings, entering the ninth with Minnesota leading 3–0 at an empty Target Field.

However, Eric Sogard decided he would not be a footnote in history. He opened the ninth with a 66.8 mph bloop that dropped just beyond Jorge Polanco and into center field, ending Maeda's bid on his 115th and final pitch. It was the only hit Maeda allowed.

What happened after Maeda hit the showers made the night even stranger. Taylor Rogers came in to finish what Maeda started, and things quickly snowballed.

Maeda Had The Last Laugh

Twins starting pitcher Kenta Maeda delivers a pitch in the first inning Thursday afternoon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

After Avisaíl García doubled and Christian Yelich walked, Keston Hiura singled home Milwaukee's first run to load the bases with nobody out. Jedd Gyorko then hit what looked like a potential double-play ball, but Ildemaro Vargas threw the relay wide of first, allowing two more runs to score and tying the game at 3–3.

Maeda's no-hitter was gone, and his chance at earning the win disappeared with it. Minnesota still found a way to salvage the night. The game stretched to the 12th inning, where Byron Buxton ran home on a Polanco ground ball against a five-man Milwaukee infield to give the Twins a 4–3 walk-off victory.

The blown lead was only part of the night's chaos. Milwaukee lost its designated hitter, Mitch Garver had to move to first base after Minnesota depleted its bench, and the Twins somehow sent only two batters to the plate in the 11th inning.

Despite the ridiculousness of the night, Maeda still left with something to celebrate besides the win. From the third through fifth innings, he struck out eight consecutive hitters, setting a Twins franchise record that had previously stood at seven. The streak fell one short of the American League record and two shy of Tom Seaver's MLB record of 10 straight punchouts.

The outing was hardly an aberration for Maeda that season. He finished 6–1 with a 2.70 ERA and an MLB-best 0.75 WHIP, eventually placing second behind Shane Bieber in American League Cy Young Award voting. He never recaptured that form, however, posting a 5.08 ERA across 331 Major League innings from 2021 through 2025 while missing the entire 2022 season following Tommy John surgery.

That night remains one of the finest performances of Maeda's career, highlighted by a Twins strikeout record that has yet to be broken. Records rarely last forever, though. Whether the pitcher who eventually surpasses Maeda is already in the organization or has not even been born yet is impossible to know.

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