The Twins got just enough from Mike Pelfrey and just enough offense to win on Friday night. They didn't.
The first four innings were over in roughly 45 minutes, as both offenses struggled. Mike Pelfrey struck out seven batters and was aided by another Eddie Rosario outfield assist, while Matt Boyd no-hit the Twins and benefitted from two double plays.
The fifth is when things slowed down.
Two walks and a Castellanos error loaded the bases for the Twins in the top of the fifth, and Eddie Rosario capitalized with the first Twins hit of the evening, a bases-clearing triple to center-right. Rosario then scored on a sac fly to second baseman Ian Kinsler by Eduardo Escobar. You read that right. Kinsler casually threw it to Brian McCann, and the ball skipped past the Tigers catcher, allowing Rosario to score.
Given a lead, Mike Pelfrey proceeded to strugggggggle, as is his wont. Fortunately, he only surrendered one run in the bottom of the frame, and that was it for his night, and he went to the showers in line for the win. He didn't.
Blaine Boyer pitched a 1-2-3 sixth, but then the bullpen blew up good. Casey Fien ran into trouble, laboring to get two outs on 30 pitches, and giving up a run-scoring, ground-rule double to Ian Kinsler. Glen Perkins entered the game, walked Miguel Cabrera to load the bases, and surrendered a game-tying double to Victor Martinez before getting out of the inning.
The meltdown finished in the eighth, when Perkins put a bow on his second-half troubles, allowing a backbreaking 2-run home run to Rajai Davis, giving Detroit a 6-4 lead. The Twins went down 1-2-3 in the ninth, and the team's playoff hopes took a significant hit.
Goddammit.
ROBOT ROLL CALL
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CHARTS & GRAPHS
Source: FanGraphs
Enjoy your weekend, everybody.