Minnesota Twins Recap vs Texas Rangers – August 20th, 2022

Posted on August 21, 2022 by Robb
Minnesota Twins Recap vs the Texas Rangers - August 20th, 2022

The Minnesota Twins won a close game last night where they scored 2 runs in the first inning off back-to-back home runs from 1B Luis Arraez(7) and DH Jose Miranda(13) and the pitching staff allowed just 1 run over 9 innings getting the final out of the game on a bad running play on a flyout to right field and an outfield assist from RF Max Kepler to SS Carlos Correa.

They’ll try to extend the winning streak to 5 tonight as they honor former Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire by inducting him into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

A Gardy Gnome at the Home & the Hall of Fame of the Minnesota Twins - Ron Gardenhire inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame - August 20th, 2022
A Gardy Gnome at the Home & the Hall of Fame of the Minnesota Twins

They’ll induct OF Dan Gladden and OF/UTIL Cesar Tovar on Sunday afternoon

The Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame will grow by 3 this weekend with Ron Gardenhire, Dan Gladden & Cesar Tovar.
The Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame will grow by 3 this weekend with Ron Gardenhire, Dan Gladden & Cesar Tovar.

Twinsactions
(Minnesota Twins Transactions)

Twinsactions - RHP Tyler Mahle placed on 15-Day IL; LHP Devin Smeltzer recalled from Triple-A St. Paul - August 20th, 2022

The Minnesota Twins placed RHP Tyler Mahle on the 15-Day Injured List (IL) with right shoulder inflammation, retroactive to August 18th. Mahle’s velocity was way down in his start on Wednesday night so he was pulled after just 2.1 innings with what was called right shoulder fatigue. It was announced on Thursday an MRI revealed no structural damage but he would likely miss his next start. Now, he’ll miss at least 2 starts and he would be available to come off the IL on the day of his scheduled start on September 3rd at the Chicago White Sox. We’ll see if that happens but for now, the question is who will start on Tuesday in Mahle’s spot in the rotation to start a 3-game series in Houston.

But…that is a question for later. Let’s get to the game…

Here’s how both teams lined up:

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

Minnesota Twins Lineup vs the Texas Rangers - August 20th, 2022

Texas Rangers Lineup:

Texas Rangers Lineup at the Minnesota Twins - August 20th, 2022

Game Recap

The Texas Rangers led off the game with a double that bounced into then fell out of the left field wall off the bat of 2B Marcus Semien. Minnesota Twins starting pitcher RHP Chris Archer got the next 2 batters out on 2 groundouts but RF Adolis García hit an RBI-double to put the Rangers up 1-0 early. A flyout from Brad Miller ended the top of the 1st. The Twins got a 2-out, 4-pitch walk of Byron Buxton but they didn’t get anything out of it as 2B Jorge Polanco popped out to 3rd to end the 1st inning.

1-0 Rangers

Texas went down 1-2-3 in the 2nd while the Twins got a 2-out single from CF Nick Gordon but LF Jake Cave lined out to center to end the 2nd inning.

Same thing in the 3rd just replace Nick Gordon’s single with Carlos Correa and Jake Cave’s lineout with Byron Buxton.

Nathaniel Lowe singled to leadoff the 4th inning but Adolis García grounded out to 3rd to force out Lowe out at 2nd. Brad Miller walked but CF Leody Taveras struck out swinging and 3B Ezequiel Duran grounded out to short but it took a heckuva throw from Correa to get him at first to end the top of the inning. The Twins went down 1-2-3 to end the 4th.

Still 1-0 Rangers

In the 5th, Marcus Semien reached with 2 outs on a high throw from SS Carlos Correa but Chris Archer got SS Corey Seager to fly out to center to end the top of the 5th. For the Twins, LF Jake Cave reached on an error with 1 out then C Gary Sánchez walked which brought up Luis Arraez and he tied the game with an RBI-single on a line drive to left center field. 

Carlos Correa grounded out back to the pitcher and Byron Buxton lined out to center field to end the 5th but it was now a…

1-1 Tie

Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli went to his bullpen to bring in recently called up LHP Devin Smeltzer.

Twins RHP Chris Archer’s Final Line:
5IP 3H 1R/ER 1BB 5K – No Decision
(77 Pitches – 45 Strikes)

Smeltzer allowed a leadoff single to Texas Rangers 1B Nathaniel Lowe but then got Adolis García to pop up to 2B but neither Polanco or Arraez could find the ball in the twilight so it dropped in the infield. Arraez got it off the first bounce and threw the ball to 2nd for the 1st out. Texas pinch-hit Mark Mathias for Brad Miller and he lined out to 2nd on the first pitch he saw. Before he threw a pitch to Leody Taveras, Smeltzer made a throw to first that appeared to have gotten there in time to nab García at 1st to end the inning but he was called safe. The Twins challenged that call and…

The call stood so it wasn’t confirmed. Really sad they can’t confirm these calls. He looks out on this replay.

Taveras then singled to center on the next pitch and Ezequiel Duran hit a wicked RBI-single to short that got past Carlos Correa and deflected to Jake Cave, who was charging the ball to make a throw home and it looks like the throw would’ve beat the runner but Jose Miranda cut it off and you can see C Gary Sánchez jumping as if he thought they’d have gotten the runner at home.

C Meibrys Viloria grounded out to 1st to end the top of the 6th but the Rangers got their 1-run lead right back.

2-1 Rangers

The Twins got a 2-out walk from Miranda but Gordon grounded out to 3rd to end the 6th after a pitching change to LHP Brett Martin.

Rangers RHP Glenn Otto’s Final Line
5.2IP 3H 1R 0ER 3BB 1K – In Line for the W
(86 Pitches – 48 Strikes)

Smeltzer allowed two 2-out singles to Corey Seager and Nathaniel Lowe but got García to line out to right field to send it to the 7th inning stretch.

The Rangers made another pitching change, bringing in LHP Brock Burke to face Jake Cave, Gary Sánchez and Luis Arraez. The Twins pinch-hit Gio Urshela for Cave for the righty matchup with the lefty pitcher and he doubled (19) on a line drive to left field and was pinch-run for with Gilberto Celestino. Sánchez struck out swinging. Arraez grounded out to 2nd. Celestino was able to advance to 3rd but Correa struck out swinging to end the 7th.

Celestino remained in the game as the left field to begin the 8th and Devin Smeltzer set the Rangers down 1-2-3 (strikeout, bunt back to the pitcher, popout). The Twins got a 2-out walk from Max Kepler and that brought rookie sensation 3B Jose Miranda to the plate. The at-bat started with 3 straight balls but somehow this high ball was called a strike…

Pitch 3 was called a strike! Who knows what happens on a 3-0 pitch but nobody will ever know because of this call - Minnesota Twins vs Texas Rangers - August 20th, 2022
Pitch 3 was called a strike! Who knows what happens on a 3-0 pitch but nobody will ever know because of this call.

Miranda fouled off the next pitch then took ball 3 (would’ve been ball 4) then fouled off 2 more pitches to keep the at-bat alive then hit a screaming liner to right-center field and with 2 outs and a full count, Kepler was off with the pitch and he rounded 3rd and was headed home and…

He’s safe because of a bad, hurried throw from center field that Marcus Semien couldn’t handle and

This… Game… Is… Tied AGAIN!!!

Do You Know Miranda? - Do You? Do you know Minnesota Twins rookie 3B/1B Jose Miranda?
Do You Know Miranda?

Aggressive send from 3rd but with 2 outs but it’s a chance to score and you force the Rangers to make a play and they couldn’t complete it.

Nick Gordon ended the inning by grounding out to 3rd.

With a save no longer possible, Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli brought in his closer RPH Jorge López to give his team a chance for a walkoff win in the bottom of the 9th. 

López has been shaky since he was traded to the Twins at the deadline but he got the save last night so maybe he’s coming around now. He got pinch-hitting Jonah Heim to lineout to left field but then he hit Bubba Thompson with a pitch to put a man on base then he allowed a hard-hit ball up the middle but Jorge Polanco was there to field it, get to 2nd for the 2nd out then fire it to 1st for an inning-ending 4-3 double play!

The Rangers brought in RHP Jonathan Hernández and Jonah Heim remained in the game as the catcher. The  Twins got a 1-out single from Gary Sánchez but Luis Arraez grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to send it to Extra Innings.

The Twins brought in LHP Caleb Thielbar to replace López and Marcus Semien began the inning as the runner at 2nd base. Thielbar allowed back-to-back singles (Seager &  Lowe) to allow Texas to take a 3-2 lead but he got Adolis García to strike out before Rocco went to RHP Griffin Jax and he allowed an RBI-single to Mark Mathias to double the lead to 4-2 but he got Taveras to strikeout looking and Duran to ground out to short to send it to the bottom of the 10th.

4-2 Rangers

Luis Arraez began the inning as the runner at 2nd base. Hernández came out to pitch the 10th for Texas and he walked Correa on 4 pitches that weren’t close but he came back to strike out Buxton looking for the 1st out. Bux wasn’t happy about the call but it was definitely in the zone. Polanco grounded out to 2nd for the 2nd out. Arraez advanced to 3rd. Max Kepler then reached on a weak grounder that the pitcher didn’t field and up to the plate came Jose Miranda once again and…

He flew out to left field to end the game. Aww… he can’t be the hero every time!

––––– TT –––––

Final Score
Texas Rangers 4 | 3 Minnesota Twins 
W-Hernández(1-0) L-Thielbar(2-2)

––––– TT –––––

Next Up for the Minnesota Twins:
Game 3 of 4…

RHP Joe Ryan
(9-5, 3.92 ERA, 1.149 WHIP*)

vs

RHP Kohei Arihara
(0-1, 4.96 ERA, 1.941 WHIP)

*ERA=Earned Run Average, WHIP=Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched

––––– TT –––––

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Minnesota Twins Series Notes at Los Angeles Angels-8-14-2022

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Robb
Minnesota Twins Series Notes at the Los Angeles Angels - August 12th - 14th, 2022

The Minnesota Twins lost 4 out of 5 games on their 5-game road trip and now trail the Cleveland Guardians by 2.5 games in the American League Central Division and are 2 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the final Wild Card spot with 48 games to go in the regular season. They are also tied (in winning %) with the Chicago White Sox but they have played 2 fewer games than them.

They play 24 of those games at home including 12 of their next 15 (KC(3), TEX(3), at HOU(3), SF(3) & BOS(3)) before they go on a 7-game road trip for 3 in Chicago & 4 in New York. They also play Cleveland 8 times & Chicago 9 times so there should be plenty of chances to get those 2.5 games back.

––––– TT –––––

Coming off a sweep at the hands of the dominant Los Angeles Dodgers in 10-3 & 8-5 losses and they were eerily similar to Twins games against the New York Yankees where the Twins showed a glimmer of hope by taking a 3-2 lead with a Jorge Polanco 3-run Home Run then added to it with a Gary Sánchez dinger but the Dodgers tied it up right away in the next half inning but another glimmer… Jose Miranda made a great defensive play at 3rd base to end the inning with the game still tied. In the 6th, 7th & 8th innings, the Twins had one base runner when Miranda reached on an error. The Dodgers took the lead back with a Chris Taylor HR on an 0-2 pitch that was left up in the 6th:

Chris Taylor HRs on an 0-2 pitch left up in the zone – 10-3 L at LAD – August 9th, 2022

Then added 3 more runs on a Joey Gallo* HR in the 7th for an 8-4 lead. The Twins had two 2-out hits in the top of the 9th and scored another run on a wild pitch but that was it. On to Anaheim to face the Los Angeles Angels for 3 games.
*The same Joey Gallo who was hitting .159/.282/.339 (Average / On-Base% / Slugging%) in 82 games with those Yankees and the Twins walked Will Smith to get to Gallo.

The Minnesota Twins had not lost 4 games in a row all season long and avoiding long losing streaks is part of having a good season but they have to put a winning streak together at some point, too. This was a good chance to start something against the Los Angeles Angels who have been struggling with injuries and are not having the kind of season they envisioned for 2022. 

The Twins seemed ready to take advantage of it as they had a great game all around in a 4-0 shutout in Game 1:

They looked like they had Game 2 in hand and had it taken away from them despite one of the greatest defensive plays you might ever see from Minnesota Twins CF Byron Buxton in the bottom of the 10th for the very rare 8-3 inning-ending double play:

It probably shouldn’t have gotten to extra innings and should’ve ended as a 3-1 win for the Twins if a strike is called a strike:

Pitch 5 should’ve been strike 3 to end the game but it was called a ball for some reason.

There’s a great Twitter account called UmpScorecards that scores how home plate umpires do calling balls & strikes each game. They even list the 3 most impactful calls and, for some reason, that missed strike wasn’t number 1, 2 or 3 which is amazing since it would’ve ended the game.

Ump Scorecard for August 13th, 2022 – MIN at LAA

But it didn’t so that at-bat turned into a walk and the next batter tripled to tie the game but was thrown out at home to send the game to extra innings… 

… and the Twins lost in the 11th on a 2-run HR. That’s a tough, bad 5-3 loss.

On to Game 3 as the Twins looked to redeem themselves and Byron Buxton gave them a 2-0 lead with his 28th HR of the season. 

The Angels tied it on a 2-run double to left field in the 3rd inning and took a 3-2 lead on a sacrifice fly in the 4th. The Twins had a few chances but just couldn’t get the big hit and they ended up losing 4-2.

The Minnesota Twins were 2-for-24 with Runners In Scoring Position in the series and 6-for-35 on the 5-game road trip as they were 4-for-11 in the 2 games vs the Dodgers. That’s not good enough. They need to be better and the players know it and feel it more than anyone else, even the most passionate of fans.

Series Notes
*
“Passion” & the Minnesota Twins Should Be a Good Thing

There are a lot of passionate Minnesota Twins but it really seems the most passionate fans are also the most negative fans. A bad loss means the season is over or someone should be fired or released or at least benched. I would assume most of the time they don’t really mean the things they say because it’s usually a reaction to a negative outcome for their team and immediately responding when your emotions are high isn’t usually a good way to go.

Usually an immediate response comes with profanity and/or the intelligent phrase, “They suck.” It’s understandable to be upset about your team losing or playing badly but that feeling really shouldn’t last long because it is just a game for fans. 

We all want our teams to win as much as possible but it’s also getting more difficult to win. There are now more playoff spots so it’s easier to get into the playoffs but harder to win* because now a team has to win at least 11 games (3-4-4) and at most 13 games (2-3-4-4) with the top 2 seeds from each league getting byes in the 1st round.
*Easier to get in, harder to win!

2022 MLB Playoff Format - Another Bracket System - No Reseeding.
2022 MLB Playoff Format – Another Bracket System – No Reseeding.

Sports should not get a fan upset for more than a few minutes even if fan is short for fanatic.

Doesn’t every team go through a slump or two during a 162-game season? The New York Yankees are 3-9 in August and 8-15 since the All-Star break. The Twins are 5-7 in August and 8-11 since the All-Star break.

All they can do now is learn from it and quickly move on as they start a 3-game series against Kansas City tonight so there’s no time to feel bad for themselves. They have to get to work to win these games against teams they should beat. 

They still have the talent to win and get in then it’s let’s see what happens in The Dance. Hopefully, they still have all of their fans with them but, hey, every fan has a choice to keep supporting their team. It’s not difficult. We’ve heard fans say it’s difficult to be a fan of “insert team here” but is it? No. It isn’t difficult to be a fan, especially if they are your favorite team. 

It’s really simple. Support your team. Cheer for them in victory and defeat.

I truly believe every employee of every professional organization wants their team to win and are doing what they think is best to get them to the ultimate end goal of winning a championship. Sometimes that means rebuilding or selling instead of buying at the deadline because the team hasn’t shown an ability to get over a hump. It is a process and it takes time for players and teams to learn how to win. 

**
How do you Correct Mistake Pitches?

The bad pitch on an 0-2 count from Michael Fulmer is a mistake pitch and they’ve happened way too often for the Twins this season. Why?

Is it lack of execution? Control? Command? Mechanics? Grip? Pitching has so many variables but we also live in a time where there are a lot of tools to evaluate a pitch and the pitcher.

Is there a stat for mistake pitches? I couldn’t find one but I found probably too many articles on & around the subject of pitching command, pitching control and pitch location so we’ll have to get back to you on this subject.

***
1 and 4 to Won in 4?

Could this be a turning point to the Minnesota Twins 2022 season?

Sooner or later, there comes a time where the players and the team have to figure out what they want to be and just bear down and get to it because there’s not a lot of time to do it anymore. Does it take a players only meeting? Those seem overrated but there’s something to them or else they wouldn’t happen at all. 

The coaches and managers can only do so much. They can’t go out on the field and do it for them. They can only try to put the team and each player in the best position to have success and then let them go do it.

We’ll see what happens next.

––––– TT –––––

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Minnesota Twins Game Notes at Los Angeles Angels – 8-12-2022

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Robb
Minnesota Twins Game Notes at the Los Angeles Angels - August 12th, 2022

The Minnesota Twins snapped their losing streak last night with a 4-0 victory against the Los Angeles Angels. A “report” came out during the game saying Minnesota Twins SS Carlos Correa was “likely” to opt out of his contract after the season. Excellent reporting since we’ve known that since the day he agreed to the contract almost 5 months ago. 

Game Notes
*
SS Carlos Correa “likely” to Opt Out of Contract

In what appears to be a note dump* from the New York Post, writer Jon Heyman says “Carlos Correa, barring injury, will likely opt out of his deal, adding to the free-agent list: Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson and Xander Bogaerts.” & CBS Sports made a whole article out of it because well, that’s what they do, take news then add stats and some narrative to it but…
*What kind of a dump? Digital Dookie!

IT’S NOT NEWS!!!

Ask Aaron Gleeman, Minnesota Twins staff writer for The Athletic:

Minnesota Twins staff writer for The Athletic Aaron Gleeman on CC "likely" opting out - August 13th, 2022
Aaron Gleeman on Carlos Correa “likely” opting out – August 13th, 2022

Carlos Correa agreed to a 3-year contract with opt-outs after the 1st & 2nd years on March 19th and, as you can see by the picture above, we all knew that he would likely opt-out after the 1st year because why wouldn’t he? The only reason he wouldn’t is an injury or the very slim chance that a bad season may have hurt his chances of getting a better, longer, guaranteed deal with any team then he could fall back on that $35.3M 2nd year in Minnesota.

The funniest thing is he probably hasn’t even thought about it at this point because there’s no reason to think about it. He’s shown this season how much he cares about the team atmosphere and culture & being a leader in the clubhouse. He wants to win here right now.

Could that change when the season ends? Yes, obviously. That’s when he’ll have to think hard about what to do with $35.3M on the table here.

**
Minnesota Twins C Sandy León sent home with 2 outs in the 3rd inning

Twins 3B Coach Tommy Watkins sent a 33-year-old, 235-lb catcher on a single to left field and Angels LF Jo Adell threw him out easily.

<iframe src=”https://streamable.com/m/patrick-sandoval-in-play-out-s-to-jose-miranda-fqtybv-x2026″ width=”560″ height=”315″></iframe>

Minnesota Twins C Sandy León sent home 1
Minnesota Twins C Sandy León sent home 1

Left fielder Jo Adell is already making the exchange from glove to hand for the throw as Sandy is touching 3rd base.

Minnesota Twins C Sandy León sent home 2
Minnesota Twins C Sandy León sent home 2

And, here’s Sandy being out by 10 feet.

So, obviously that seems like a weird time to send him or anyone. Would you even send a fast runner there? Was it just to challenge the Angels and Jo Adell to make a perfect throw? That’s really the only thing that makes sense but do you do that in a 2-0 game with Jorge Polanco coming to the plate?

***
A Pitching Line the Twins Envisioned After the Trade Deadline

Tyler Mahle pitched relatively well in his first start as a Minnesota Twin. He allowed 3 HRs for the 1st time this season* and they all happened on hanging sliders. How much did he adjust from that for his 2nd start?

*He allowed 2 HRs in a game just twice in his previous 19 starts in 2022.

According to baseball savant, from his August 5th start to last night’s start, he threw the same amount of pitchers (86) but less fastballs/cutters (74 to 60) and more splitters/sliders (12 to 26) as you can see below:

Comparing Tyler Mahle's 1st 2 starts for the Minnesota Twins with Baseball Savant
Comparing Tyler Mahle’s 1st 2 starts for the Minnesota Twins with Baseball Savant

That helped keep the Angels hitters more off balance at the plate but you probably should keep in mind the Blue Jays and the Angels are on different spectrums of team offense this season with Toronto ranked 2nd in team batting average (.264) and Los Angeles Angels ranked 27th (.227).

This helped Tyler Mahle shutout the Angels over 6 innings and the Minnesota Twins bullpen followed suit with RHPs Michael Fulmer (IP, K), Jhoan Duran (IP, BB, 2K) and Jorge López (IP, H, K) for a team shutout.

Minnesota Twins Pitching Lines from August 12th at the Los Angeles Angels
Minnesota Twins Pitching Lines from August 12th at the Los Angeles Angels

****
How ‘bout some Minnesota Twins Minor-League Game Notes?

Minnesota Twins rookie and Minnesota native RHP Louie Varland was promoted to the Triple-A St. Paul Saints on August 8th but he made his Triple-A Debut last night and he shined.

Minnesota native and Minnesota Twins RHP Louie Varland promoted to Triple-A - August 8th, 2022
Minnesota native and Minnesota Twins RHP Louie Varland promoted to Triple-A – August 8th, 2022

He struck out the first batter he faced. 

In the 1st 3 innings, a player reached after 2 outs with a walk in each of the 1st 2 innings and a player reached on an error in the 3rd. In the 4th, Louie took care of it on his own by striking out the side. He set ‘em down 1-2-3 in the 5th and struckout the 1st batter he faced in the 6th for his 8th strikeout of the game and, if you can’t tell by this short summary, he had not allowed a hit up until this point but the next batter doubled and Toby Gardnhire took out his starting pitcher with 84 pitches thrown.

The bullpen took over and helped the St. Paul Saints to a 5 to 1 win.

––––– TT –––––

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Minnesota Twins Recap vs the Los Angeles Angels – 8-12-2022

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Robb
Minnesota Twins Recap at the Los Angeles Angels - August 12th, 2022

The Minnesota Twins hadn’t lost 4 games in a row all season long so it was important to keep that streak going since they were now 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the lead in the American League Central standings. They were also just a half game back of Baltimore for the final Wild Card spot.

2022 MLB Wild Card Standings on August 12th, 2022
2022 MLB Wild Card Standings on August 12th, 2022

The Minnesota Twins got a boost before the game with the news that Byron Buxton will start in center field for the first time since July 31st or 7 games ago. He missed/sat out 2 of those 7 games but he did pinch hit and finish the August 7th game for 1 inning.

Here’s how both teams lined up:

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

Minnesota Twins Lineup at the Los Angeles Angels - August 12th, 2022

Los Angeles Angels Lineup:

Los Angeles Angels Lineup vs the Minnesota Twins - August 12th, 2022

Game Recap

Alright, let’s see if Minnesota Twins RHP Tyler Mahle got his 1st win as a Twin.

CF Byron Buxton started the game by drawing a walk but SS Carlos Correa lined out to center field and DH Jose Miranda grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the top of the 1st inning. The Angels also got their leadoff hitter on base but they did it with a base hit from SS David Fletcher. Twins RHP Tyler Mahle got DH Shohei Ohtani to ground out to 2nd, Luis Rengifo to line out to left field and  2B Taylor Ward to line out to right field to end the 1st inning.

After a popout and a groundout, the Twins got a 2-out single from 3B Gio Urshela then LF Gilberto Celestino hit his 1st HR of the season to put the Twins up 2-0!

HILBERTOOOO CELESTINOOOO!

Twins 2-0!

RF Max Kepler struck out to end the half inning then Tyler Mahle took care of the bottom of the 2nd by setting ‘em down 1-2-3 with a popup and 2 strikeouts, 1 looking & 1 swinging.

Twins C Sandy León led off the 3rd inning with a walk then Buxton struck out & Carlos Correa grounded out to 3rd but León advanced to 2nd. Jose Miranda then singled to left field and Sandy León was sent home but was thrown out rather easily* by Angels left fielder Jo Addell to end the inning.
*A questionable send from 3B coach Tommy Watkins? Testing the arm of Adell, maybe?

Mahle allowed a 2-out single but also had 2 strikeouts to get through the bottom of the 3rd inning.

Gio Urshela hit a 2-out double and Celestino walked but Max Kepler flew out to left field to end the threat. Mahle kept cruising with another 1-2-3 inning with one more strikeout. 

Sandy León led off the 5th inning by walking again but Buxton struck out for the 2nd time for the 1st out. Correa singled through the left side. Miranda flew out and Polanco struck out to end the top of the 5th. Mahle allowed a 1-out walk but induced a ground ball for the rare 6-5-3 double play to end the 5th inning.

LHP Patrick Sandoval’s Final Pitching Line:
5IP 5H 2R/ER 4BB 4K 1HR

With Sandoval at 95 pitches, the Angels went to their bullpen to bring in RHP Mike Mayers and he got 1B Luis Arraez to line out to left for the first out then Gio Urshela hit his 11th HR of the season to make it 3-0 Twins and he was just a triple away from a cycle. 

Celestino struck out and Kepler flew out to left field to end the top of 6. Tyler Mahle allowed a leadoff walk and a 2-out double which prompted Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli to make a mound visit with Mahle at 83 pitches at that point but Mahle showed Rocco he wanted to stay in so he stayed in the game and 3 pitches later…

Tyler Mahle got Taylor Ward to fly out to right field to end the 6th inning and likely his 2nd start with the Twins.

3-0 Twins!

The Twins got a 1-out single from Buxton but Correa grounded into an inning-ending 4-3 double play.

The Twins brought in RHP Michael Fulmer to pitch the 7th for Minnesota and he needed just 12 pitches to set down the Angels 1-2-3 ending with a swinging strikeout.

RHP Tyler Mahle’s Final Pitching Line:
6IP 3H 0R/ER 2BB 6K

Jose Miranda led off the 8th inning with his 15th double then advanced to 3rd on Polanco’s groundout to 2nd and scored on a Luis Arraez RBI-single to extend the lead to 4-0. Gio Urshela then struck out in his attempt to hit for the cycle. Celestino then flew out to deep left center to end the top of the 8th. RHP Jhoan Duran came in to pitch the 8th and he struck out the first 2 batters he faced but walked David Fletcher before facing Shohei Ohtani but he got him to ground out to 1st to end the 8th inning.

4-0, Twins

The Twins went down 1-2-3 in the 9th. Even though it wasn’t a save situation, Rocco still brought in closer RHP Jorge López to finish the game and he allowed a leadoff to single to Luis Rengifo but got a lineout, a strikeout looking and a groundout to finish the game to snap the losing streak at 3 games and get back in the win column