Do not adjust your sets - or your box scores. In the bottom of the third inning in Sunday's game, Scott Baker struck out Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder (who reached first as the ball got away from Mike Redmond), Russell Branyan, and Mike Cameron.
And so, did you know...
- Baker is the first Twin to ever strike out four batters in the same inning.
- Going back to the Senators days of the franchise, he's the first Senator/Twin to do it since Walter Johnson, on April 15, 1911.
- He's the first player to do it in the major leagues since Brad Penny did it for the Dodgers, in the 2nd inning on September 22, 2006.
- He's the first American League pitcher to accomplish the feat since Kaz Sasaki, who did it April 4, 2003 in the 9th inning for the Mariners.
- And he is the first pitcher to strike out all four consecutively since Houston's Octavio Dotel did it on June 11, 2003.
Knowledge is power!
(All data from The Baseball Almanac.)