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Today’s lineups:
MIN: Mitch Garver C, Jorge Polanco SS, Luis Arraez 2B, Miguel Sano 3B, Eddie Rosario LF, Nelson Cruz DH, Willians Astudillo 1B, Marwin Gonzalez RF, Byron Buxton CF, Jake Odorizzi P
LAA: Tommy Pham LF, Anthony Rendon 3B, Shohei Ohtani RF, Mike Trout CF, Jared Walsh 1B, Justin Upton DH, Jason Castro C, Andrelton Simmons SS, David Fletcher 2B, Dillon Peters P
Jake Odorizzi had a frankly terrible outing, continuing the run of uninspired pitching that has taxed the bullpen lately. Still, a gassed pen did just enough to hang on, as the Bomba Squad bailed out their pitchers.
Odorizzi had to one-up yesterday’s crapshow from Devin Smeltzer, and gave up FIVE runs in the first inning. At least this time, only one was on a longball. Anthony Rendon hit that one, to start the scoring. A walk, a double, a single, and two more doubles (one of them hit by old friend Jason Castro) adds up to a five run first inning for Odorizzi. His second inning was scoreless, but he did not pitch past the first batter of his third.
For his part, Mitch Garver hit a solo bomba in the first that put the Twins on the board.
In the third inning, Odorizzi walked Trout, and then made an early walk to the showers. Sean Poppen watched Trout steal second, then score on two ground-ball outs. The bottom of the third was where the Twins started to close the gap. Byron Buxton started the inning with a double, and legged his way home on a single by Garver. Polanco and Arraez both singled, which loaded the bases for Miguel Sano. Sano hit the ball big, but not deep enough, and only one runner scored on the fly-out to right. Nelson Cruz hit one more single in the inning, and added one more RBI.
Another walk to Mike Trout in the fifth, and he came in to score again. Jared Walsh brought him in with a double, and advance to third on the play at the plate. Jorge Polanco misplayed a grounder from the next batter, and the E6 let Walsh score. This actually concludes the Angels part of the scoring for the day.
The bottom of the fifth brought more good things for the Twins. Arreaz and Sano led it off with back-to-back walks. Eddie Rosario’s double scored the lead runner, and put two men in scoring position. Nelson Cruz brought Sano home with a sac fly. Then the most Willians Astudillo series of events happened. The round little ballplayer fouled off two pitches, and then was granted first on an interference call against Jason Castro. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and then Marwin Gonzalez drew a base-loading walk. Byron Buxton was hit by the first pitch he saw, which brought in a run. In a big situation, down one run, with the bases juiced, Mitch Garver came to the plate, and bounced into a 5-4-3 double play.
Garver ended up with a bit of redemption in the eighth though. He took first on an error by the shortstop, representing the tying run. Jorge Polanco took advantage of a fat 1-0 pitch, and took the lead for the Twins with a swing, hitting a 417-foot bomba. Taylor Rogers locked it down in the ninth, and the Twins finally won one.
Notes
- Sergio Romo faced two batters, got one out, and earned the win. Nice work if you can get it.
- Polanco joins the double-digit HR club, with this one his tenth of the season.
- After a day in second, we’re back to that three-way split of first place.
- Given the bullpen usage, we need a fresh arm again. Sean Poppen was sent back to Triple-A, and Cody Stashak took his place in the big league bullpen after the game.
STUDS:
Jorge Polanco: 3-5, HR, 2 RBI
Mitch Garver: 2-5. HR, 2 RBI
Sean Poppen: 2.2 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks 3 K
DUDS:
No Duds Twins finally friggin win!
Tomorrow: Off day. Double header in Baltimore on Tuesday. First game starts at 12:05 pm.