The Minnesota Twins were a surprise team to some in the first half of the season. One of the reasons the Twins went 49-40 before the All-Star break was their pitching -- in particular, the control of the pitchers.
Minnesota had one of the best walk rates in the first half in team history. Limiting baserunners certainly is one way to help keep the other team off the scoreboard.
FEWEST WALKS PER 9 INNINGS BY TWINS, FIRST HALF
| Year | Walks/9 |
| 2005 | 1.99 |
| 2010 | 2.11 |
| 2006 | 2.25 |
| 2008 | 2.39 |
| 2015 | 2.45 |
That rate of 2.45 walks/9 is also the best in the American League. The league average is 2.8.
The 215 total walks before the All-Star break is the fewest of an AL team since 2010, when the Twins had 184.
And this isn't the work of one pitcher. Only three pitchers have walked 3 or more batters per nine innings for Minnesota this season, and of those only one is currently on the active roster.
TWINS WALKS/9 INNINGS
| Pitcher | BB/9 |
| Phil Hughes | 0.8 |
| Casey Fien | 1.0 |
| Glen Perkins | 1.2 |
| Trevor May | 1.9 |
| J.R. Graham | 2.6 |
| Blaine Boyer | 2.7 |
| Ricky Nolasco | 2.8 |
| Mike Pelfrey | 2.9 |
| Kyle Gibson | 2.9 |
| Tommy Milone | 3.0 |
| Aaron Thompson | 3.1 |
| Ryan Pressly | 3.9 |
Whatever happens in this series against the Oakland A's, you'd be advised to tune in early.
BEST RUN DIFFERENTIAL, INNINGS 1-3
| Team | RS | RA | Dif |
| Athletics | 129 | 95 | +34 |
| Dodgers | 124 | 98 | +26 |
| Twins | 153 | 131 | +22 |
| Cardinals | 114 | 92 | +22 |
| Blue Jays | 168 | 147 | +21 |
More notes:
-- Brian Dozier set a Twins franchise record for extra-base hits before the All-Star break with 48. He also tied for the third-most extra-base hits by a second baseman before the All-Star Game behind just Ian Kinsler (52 with Texas in 2008) and Bret Boone (51 with Seattle in 2003). Brian Roberts of Baltimore also had 48 in 2008.
-- Ervin Santana has the lowest career ERA against the Athletics (min. 150 innings pitched) since 1968 at 2.12. The rest of the top five is Pat Dobson (2.24), Luis Tiant (2.37), Fergie Jenkins (2.54) and Dave Goltz (2.57).
-- Santana is also 14-6 (.700) vs. the A's. He is one of just eight pitchers since 1968 with a .700 winning percentage or better against Oakland (min. 20 decisions).
-- Miguel Sano is the first player in Twins franchise history with at least 14 hits and eight RBI through his first 11 MLB games since Fred Vaughn did it for the Washington Senators in 1944.
Statistics courtesy STATS Inc. and baseball-rerference.com
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