Twins 7, White Sox 2: Never Cease bomba-ing (simulated)

Today’s lineups:

MIN: Kepler RF, Polanco SS, Cruz DH, Sano 1B, Rosario LF, Donaldson 3B, Garver C, Cave CF, Adrianza SS, Dobnak P

CHW: Moncada 3B, Abreu 1B, Jimenez LF, Encarnacion DH, Grandal C, Mazara RF, Anderson SS, Mendick 2B, Brugman CF, Cease P

The losing streak came to a merciful end at Guaranteed Rate Field.

I still call it “New Comiskey.” You actually will find a handful of Sox fans that do too. I’ve been to more games in that ballpark than any other. That’s the joy of being a Twins fan in Illinois. Not that I’m there anymore, but Brandon tells me there are a lot of Twins fans in Chicago, and I believe him. Personally, I hate that city. Its full of people, and loud, and smoggy, and it just aint natural.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

The Twins got to Dylan Cease early and often, continuing a trend that began in the sophomore hurler’s rookie season. In 2019, the Twins hit .472/.512/.750 against Cease. This season, they added 11 hits and five runs, in only 18 at bats against him. That’s a batting average of .611, and with no walks, also the OBP. With 18 total bases today, that means the Twins hit .611/.611/1.000 against Cease. Not great, Bob!

The first inning was mild, as both sides traded a single. The second inning is where the fun started. Eddie Rosario led off the inning with a solo Bomba. Josh Donaldson, Mitch Garver, and Ehire Adrianza loaded the bases with a single apiece. Max Kepler scored Donaldson with a sac-fly, before the inning came to an end, with the Twins holding a two-run lead.

Nelson Cruz, showed us the power of napping at the start of the third inning. Napping is very important, well, sleep in general is. Your body literally repairs itself, and fixes all the stupid damage you do throughout the day while you are asleep. There are studies that show every hour of sleep less than eight has a similar cognitive impact to an alcoholic beverage. Be nice to your body, and be nice to your mind. This is literally my day job, when I’m not considered a non-essential worker. I could go on a much longer rant on the topic.

Anyway, back to the program already in progress...

Nelson Cruz led off the third inning just like Eddie Rosario led off the second—with a solo home run. Just like in the second, the Twins loaded the bases on singles. This time the singles came from Miguel Sano, Josh Donaldson, and Mitch Garver. Jake Cave and Ehire Adrianze each picked up an RBI on a single of their own, before Rick Renteria finally had some mercy on Cease, and called in Jace Fry from the bullpen to put out the fire. The Twins exited the inning with a five to nothing lead. The final two runs for the Twins would come against Kelvin Herrera in the ninth, but would be runs the Twins wouldn’t need.

Randy Dobnak gave up one run in the bottom of the third, but otherwise pitched into the seventh without surrendering another run. In the bottom of the eighth, Trevor May gave up the inevitable Jose Abreu home run, a solo shot to account for Chicago’s other run. May ended up getting the save, and Dobnak, the win.

Notes

• I’m not even going to bother telling you how long this game was. It was very long. Mark Buehrle would be ashamed.
• Randy Dobnak is now 3-0 on the season.
• May got credit for a 2.1 inning save

STUDS:

Randy Dobnak: 6.1 IP, 3 hits, 1 run
Josh Donaldson: 2-4, BB, 3 runs scored
Eddie Rosario and Nelson Cruz: BOMBAS

DUDS:

No duds, fake Twins win!

Tomorrow: 1:10 pm first pitch in Chicago (Look for the recap around 5 pm)

Standings: DET 8-5 —
CHI 8-5 —
KCR 7-6 1
MIN 7-7 1 1/2
CLE 7-8 2