The #MNTwins had Monday off but the Cleveland @Indians did not and they won so, for the first time in months, the @Twins were in 2nd place in the American League Central Division.
MLB Network Radio talked to Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli about how the Twins will react to being in 2nd place.
Before the game, the Twins activated right-handed reliever Sam Dyson off the 10-Day IL (Injured List) and optioned RHP Cody Stashak back to AAA Rochester.
They had LHP Martin Perez on the mound and he’s struggled quite a bit so it’s a big start for him as hit spot in the rotation may not be as secure as it once was so it’ll be good to see how he pitches tonight.
He had to work around a couple singles in the first and a leadoff double and a walk in the 2nd to keep the @Brewers off the board and he never had a clean inning but he pitched 6 innings, allowing just 6 hits & 4 walks with only an unearned run allowed while striking out 3.
Perez was 0-2 with 2 strikeouts at the plate but the rest of the Twins offense showed up in the top of the 3rd when, after a Max Kepler walk, Mitch Garver hit his 22nd HR of the season out to left field to put the Twins up 2-0. After Jorge Polanco grounded out, Eddie Rosario walked and Miguel Sano singled on a grounder up the middle to beat the shift and Luis Arraez came through again with an RBI-fielder’s choice to score Rosario and put the Twins in a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the 4th, Brewers SS Hernan Perez got a 1-out single then the Milwaukee pitcher Chase Anderson grounded back to Martin Perez so he turned to go to 2nd to start the double play and Jorge Polanco missed the catch for an error. That advanced Hernana Perez to 3rd and allowed OF Lorenzo Cain to also get an RBI-fielder’s choice to get the Brewers on the board at 3-1.
In the top of the 7th, Marwin Gonzalez hit a leadoff single to left field then on a pitch in the dirt, he advanced to 2nd base and the very next pitch was a pinch-hit RBI double down the 3rd baseline by Ehire Adrianza. That doesn’t happen if Marwin isn’t looking to advance on the pitch in the dirt.
Rocco brought in RHP Ryne Harper to pitch the 7th for the Twins and 2B Keston Hiura singled to lead off the inning for the Brewers. That brought up reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich and he doubled off the left-center field wall to score Hiura. 4-2 Twins.
Ryan Braun was given 1st base on Catcher’s Interference but it was a questionable call because the replay had an angle that looked like Braun’s bat didn’t hit Mitch Garver’s glove. What can you do, though? It’s not a reviewable play, unfortunately. On the very next pitch, 1B Yasmani Grandal homered to right field to change a 2-run deficit into a 1-run lead at 5-4.
Meanwhile, the Indians were at home playing the Red Sox and they had been losing 6-1 but were mounting a comeback and less than a minute before the Twins lost the lead in Milwaukee, Indians SS Francisco Lindor hit an RBI double to tie the game at 6. How crazy is that?
But, hey, the Twins still had their own game to focus on before worrying about what’s happening in Cleveland.
They began the top of the 8th with an Eddie Rosario hustle double that he maybe should’ve been out on but the throw to 2nd base wasn’t caught by Hiura so he couldn’t attempt a tag of Rosie. Miguel Sano then walked. Luis Arraez flew out to left field for the 1st out then C.J. Cron struck out for the 2nd out. That brought up Marwin Gonzalez again and Brewers manager Craig Counsell made the Pitching Change to LHP Josh Hader, who’s one of the most dominant relievers in the game.
The Red Sox had taken a 7-6 lead in Cleveland on a Jackie Bradley, Jr. solo HR so it would be a good time to do something big….right?
Lately, Hader’s been struggling so, on the very first pitch he saw, Marwin hit his 14th HR of the season on a 96mph fastball out to left-center field to put the Twins back in the lead at 7-5. MARWIN GONE-ZALEZZZZZ!!!
RHP Tyler Duffey had pitched the 7th so Rocco brought in newly activated RHP Sam Dyson to pitch the 8th. He started the inning with 2 balls to Hiura but he came back and struck him out then got Yelich to ground out to first for the 2nd out. Ryan Braun then tried to bunt and was thrown out by Mitch Garver to end the 8th inning.
With no offense in the top of the 9th, it was up to RHP Sergio Romo to finish the game. He’s been great since the Twins acquired him in late July. He got Grandal to line out then Moustakas to ground out. He then hit Manny Pina in the shin to put a runner on the bases and rookie Trent Grisham who hadn’t played much but he had a good at-bat, battling through 9 pitches before flying out to short right field to end the game.
Ok, #TwinsTakers, you tell us. Did that feel like a regular season game to you? It sure didn’t to us. A back & forth affair with multiple lead changes and just listen to the sound of that Marwin HR!!!!!
Tomorrow afternoon, it will be RHP Kyle Gibson (11-5, 4.24 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) facing LHP Gio Gonzalez (2-1, 3.20 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) at 1:10pm.
The game is only available on @YoutubeTV, too. I believe it’s free but I’m not positive.
