Twins 9, Indians 3: The Astudillo game

After being held to just 3 runs in the first two games of the series, the Twins offense was itching to break out of their funk. In the 2nd inning, Twins MVP Willians Astudillo hit a double to left-center, scoring C.J. Cron from first to give them their first run. Two innings later, Astudillo hit another double, setting up Byron Buxton’s two-run double.

Nelson Cruz broke the game open in the 5th inning against Carrasco, blasting a 2-run homerun to left. It sure is nice to see Cruz doing this for the Twins, instead of against them. Later, Jonathan Schoop hit an RBI double, making the score 6-0. Astudillo capped the inning off with a sacrifice fly, scoring 2 runs thanks to an error by Carlos Santana.

As for the pitching, Michael Pineda was about as good as you could’ve asked for. He only threw four innings but struck out 5, giving up just one hit and a walk. His fastball sat in the low 90’s, and had good control of his off-speed pitches. I believe the Twins limited Pineda to 4 innings with his injury history, and also to give Martin Perez some innings.

Innings 5 through 8 were mostly handled by Perez, with the only blemish being a 3-run double by Carlos Santana in the 8th inning. Trevor Hildenberger finished up the 8th inning in relief.

Ryne Harper finished up the 9th inning, sealing the series victory for the Twins.

Studs:

Willians Astudillo: 2-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B

Nelson Cruz: 3-5, HR, 2 RBI

C.J. Cron: 2-3, 2 R

Duds:

No duds Twins win!!

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