The Twins were swept by the New York Yankees, the losing streak stands at seven games and Thursday’s loss was made all the more painful because Kyle Gibson pitched the game of his life and yet the Twins still lost in heart-breaking fashion.
For six innings, Gibson one-hit the Yankees and struck out 10 batters, then was lifted after 95 pitches for a reliever. Addison Reed allowed a run, Zach Duke pitched a scoreless inning and then Fernando Rodney gave it all away.
It wasn’t completely his fault. After Rodney took the mound, Miguel Sano committed an error, Giancarlo Stanton got an infield hit and then Gary Sanchez came to the plate with two men on. Rodney went inside with his next pitch and Sanchez crushed it for a three-run, walk-off home run.
Social media exploded after the loss:
Unreal. Gary Sanchez his a three-run homer and the #MNTwins lose
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) April 26, 2018
Boy, people are pissed after this one. I'm getting angry calls and text messages from Plymouth to Fort Lauderdale.
— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) April 26, 2018
— Twinkie Town (@TwinkieTown) April 26, 2018
8 pitches. Error. Infield single. Home run.
The Twins will never beat the Yankees.
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) April 26, 2018
Manager Paul Molitor is going to face some second-guessing after this loss, particularly for the defensive switch that moved Sano to third base and Logan Morrison to first base late in the game. Sano’s defensive skills have improved, but he’s far from elite in the field. Typically Sano starts at third base, then is replaced by Eduardo Escobar later in the game. That did not happen this time and it showed.
Extra innings…
-The Twins finally head home after a dreadful 1-8 road trip. Phil Hughes gets the ball Friday in the first game of a three-game set with the Cincinnati Reds. The Twins really need to open up a can of whoop ass on the Reds.