After the Chicago White Sox ran up the score on Friday, the Twins got some offensive production to do the same on Saturday and beat the Sox 11-3.
I’d like to write that this victory was meaningful for the Twins, but that’s hard to do when the team is 34 games under .500 and 28 games out of first place in the American League Central. In other words, the occasional win means very little. In fact, at this point, there’s probably more drama to be found in a 13-game losing streak.
So be it: the Twins won the game. They banged out 12 hits, including four home runs, and made the most of the third inning when they scored eight runs.
They got home runs from Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Brian Dozier (who hit No. 34) and Trevor Plouffe. They also got four doubles out of Buxton and Max Kepler.
And the winning pitcher? Hector Santiago, of all people, who finally won his first game since coming to the Twins from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Santiago “improved” to 11-8 with a 4.91 ERA.
So it’s a win. Wanna impress me the remainder of the season? Win 10 straight, or avoid 100 losses, or hit 50 home runs (I’m talking to you, Brian Dozier), or throw a no-hitter, or a perfect game, or hire Billy Beane to be the next general manager. But the occasional win at this point of the season? Who cares?
Extra innings…
-Sano hit his 21st home run on Saturday, his first in 67 at-bats, according to MLB.com.
-Catcher John Ryan Murphy, who came to the Twins from the New York Yankees in exchange for former Twins outfielder Aaron Hicks, has been recalled to the team from Triple-A Rochester. Murph got demoted earlier in the season after he hit a paltry .075. He later hit .236 with three home runs for Rochester, according to MLB.com.
Twins Manager Paul Molitor on Murph’s return to the team:
“It’s good to have him back,” Twins manager Paul Molitor told MLB.com. “His year was trying, I think, in terms of coming out of spring and having trouble getting going here offensively. It continued down there for a while. He had a fairly good finish to his Triple-A season, and I’m hoping some of that confidence emerges up here.”
He had a fairly good finish to his Triple-A season?
Whatever you say, Molitor.
Andrew Albers gets the ball on Sunday.