Minnesota Twins

Twins' Mauer closing in on unique milestone

Published Jun. 16, 2016 4:30 p.m. ET

foxsports

Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer doesn't have many issues when it comes to getting on base.

Mauer has reached base in 27 consecutive games -- a streak that he's been nursing since May 16 -- and odds of that streak ending against the New York Yankees on Thursday night are pretty low.

Mauer has reached base successfully in 49 straight night games at Target Field, a run that dates all the way back to June 9, 2015, and is now tied with Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski for third on the American League's all-time list.

He's just three games shy of Harvey Kuenn's AL record of 52 games.

AL - Most Consecutive Night Games at Home Reaching Base Safely (via Hit, Walk, or HBP)

Player	Team	Games	Streak
Harvey Kuenn	Detroit/Cleveland	52	8/16/57 - 5/24/60
Carlos Beltran	Kansas City	50	5/22/01 - 4/5/02
Joe Mauer	Minnesota	49	6/9/15 - ACTIVE
Carl Yastrzemski	Boston	49	4/29/70 - 5/26/71
Darin Erstad	Anaheim	48	9/29/99 - 7/27/00

It's been a tough season for starter Kyle Gibson, who made his first start since April last week in a 15-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox, but the numbers suggest that if Gibson can settle in he can turn in solid starts for the Twins.

Gibson's ERA drops dramatically after the first inning, while his opponent batting average drops from .391 to .265, and falls even further from .500 to .250 with runners in scoring position.

Kyle Gibson, First Inning vs. Innings 2+

	1st Inning	2nd Inning+
ERA	18	3.80
Runs Allowed	10	11
Opp BA	.391 (9/23)	.265 (22/83)
Opp BA w/RISP	.500 (4/8)	.250 (4/16)
Opp OPS	1.256	.712
HR	2	1
K/BB	1/5	12/8