Twins 8, Tigers 4: Arraezumption of the season

The Twins got it rolling again early, scoring in the first and never relinquishing the lead, as they knocked off the Detroit Tigers by a 8-4 final to initiate their second half.

All-Star first baseman Luis Arraez picked up right where he left off, leading off the ballgame with a single into right. He’d work his way around the bases on a pair of singles from each of the next two batters, before Max Kepler sac fly’d him in on a loft to left field.

While the Twins would strand the other two runners, they’d double the lead in the third, watching Carlos Correa go deep (12) to make it a 2-0 ballgame.

Tiger starter Pineda would ultimately leave the game after three innings, with the Tigers citing tricep tightness, and with Pineda having delivered 55 pitches through nine oft-laborious outs.

Meanwhile, it was a 5.2-inning line for Joe Ryan, who gave up just one earned run, alongside to four hits and a walk against seven strikeouts. That earned run came in the sixth; Riley Greene led off with a triple to right-center, and came home with Javier Baez slammed a single up the first-base line. Ryan would record the next two outs before giving way to the bullpen.

After Emilio Pagan cleaned up the final out of the sixth and left Baez at first, the Twins would take their 2-1 lead into the final third of the game.

Known varmint Andrew Chafin arrived for the seventh inning, promptly giving up two straight singles and watching Jeimer Candelario take a grounder off his shins for a bases-loading E5. Once again, the Twins would plate a run off a bags-packed, no-out sac fly; this time it was Gio Urshela driving in the score to make it a 3-1 Minnesota lead.

Moments after Akil Baddoo muffed a foul fly that would have ended the inning, Luis Arraez lined a single (his third hit of the afternoon, of course, and after going down 0-2) that scored both remaining baserunners and pushed it to 5-1 Twins.

(Baddoo made up for himself a bit, robbing Correa of his second homer of the game to close out the top of the seventh.)

Not staying back on their heels, the Twins would load the bases with nobody out once again in the eighth inning. Having avoided baseball’s wisest of big cats this far, Gilberto Celestino grounded into what would have been a 4-2 fielder’s choice, but became a run-scoring error when Jonathan Schoop’s throw home crept out of the glove of backstop Tucker Barnhart.

Gio Urshela flared a single into deep shortstop to make it a 7-1 game; Gary Sanchez grounded into a more authentic fielder’s choice to make it 8-1.

The Twins utilized Tyler Duffey to rock out a scoreless seventh, and Jovani Moran to make the same effort in the eighth; a couple of walks and a Miguel Cabrera single would spoil the runs column again, adding a second run for the Tigers. It was Cabrera’s 3,070th career hit. Shortly thereafter, Harold Castro would add another hit to his lifetime tally, driving in the third Detroit run.

This would be enough for Moran, with the Twins turning to Trevor Megill. Well, a wild pitch scored another run to make it 8-4, and on the same play, saw Castro advance first-to-third. A walk by Megill would bring the tying run into the on-deck circle, but a nice play by Correa on a slow grounder would finally get Minnesota off the field.

After failing to generate any more insurance in the top of the ninth, Rocco’s Magical Arm Barn would produce Jhoan Duran to close things out in the home half. He retired the bottom two hitters in the Tiger lineup, before getting leadoff man Riley Greene out to end the ballgame.

Once again, it’s a short series — the Twins guarantee themselves a split in the two-game weekend set, and they’ll have the chance for a little mini-sweep tomorrow. Hope you’re able to join us!

STUDS:

1B Luis Arraez (3-for-5, R, 2 RBI)

SS Carlos Correa (2-for-5, R, RBI, HR)

LF Alex Kirilloff (2-for-4, 2 R)

SP Joe Ryan (5.2 IP, 4 H, R, BB, 7 K)

DUDS:

I won’t even dignify that with a response.

ROBOT ROLL CALL:

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