FIVE TWINS OPENERS TO REMEMBER

Twins 6, Yankees 0

April 11, 1961 at Yankee Stadium

In the Twins' first game ever, Pedro Ramos and Yankees ace Whitey Ford were scoreless into the seventh when Bob Allison homered to start a three-run rally. Ramos pitched a three-hit shutout, with one walk and five strikeouts. Reno Bertoia hit a two-run homer off Ralph Terry in the eighth — in Terry's first appearance since giving up a World Series-losing home run to Pittsburgh's Bill Mazeroski the previous October.

Twins 5, Yankees 4 (11)

April 12, 1965 at Met Stadium

The Twin Cities were ravaged by record floods in 1965, causing dead-stopped traffic from Burnsville to Bloomington. Starting pitcher Jim Kaat and teammates Dick Stigman, Rich Rollins and Bill Bethea portaged the Minnesota River by helicopter. Cesar Tovar's single — off now-Yankees reliever Pedro Ramos — won the game in the bottom of the 11th.

Twins 2, Senators 0

April 10, 1968 at D.C. Stadium

There was no festive Presidential first pitch to open the season. Dr. Martin Luther King had been assassinated April 4 in Memphis. The start of the season was delayed. The stadium was a staging area until the night before the game for troops and others responding to riots in D.C. that followed MLK's murder. Dean Chance pitched a four-hit shutout with no walks and eight strikeouts.

Twins 11, RANGERS 4

April 8, 1975 at Arlington Stadium

Tony Oliva, basically hitting and jogging off one leg because of his ravaged right knee, was starting his final season as a full-time designated hitter. The Twins knocked out Fergie Jenkins with six runs in 1â…” innings, the last three coming off Oliva's long home run to left field. The Twins had 17 hits, with three from Larry Hisle that included a three-run homer.

Twins 5, A's 4 (10)

April 7, 1987 at Metrodome

The Twins were down 4-3 in the eighth when Kirby Puckett, Gary Gaetti and Kent Hrbek combined to produce a tying run. In the 10th, Steve Lombardozzi's single, Puckett's double and Hrbek's single off Bill Krueger won the game. The fans that remained after three-plus hours left happy. The crowds got larger and happier by the time 1987 baseball ended in the "Thunderdome'' on Oct. 25.