June 30, 2017

Better luck against the Royals, Twins

Perhaps the Twins can get back on track versus the Kansas City Royals, because they were no match for the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox appeared to take three of four games with ease, using left-handed pitching to limit hits and strike out a lot of batters. That was expected against Chris Sale and David Price, but Drew Pomeranz? Really? I expected a split of the four-game series; instead, the Twins had to settle for one win versus right-hander Rick Porcello.

Adalberto Mejia, suddenly showing the poise of a veteran, got the Twins their one win, beating the Red Sox 4-1 on Wednesday. Mejia shut out the Red Sox for five-plus innings with one walk and three strikeouts. He picked up his third win of the season and lowered his ERA to 4.38.

Oh, well. Good riddance. The season series with the Red Sox is over with Boston winning five of seven games. They won’t face them again until next season, unless they meet in the post-season. And if they do, the Twins had better look like a much different team.

Dropping three of four games to the Red Sox means the Twins have fallen out of first place in the American League Central, 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians.

Extra innings…

-The Twins now head to Kansas City for yet another four-game series. By all indications, this is exactly what the doctor ordered. The Twins are 7-1 versus the Royals this season and Ervin Santana, who has 10 wins, gets the ball in Game 1, followed by Jose Berrios in Game 2. If Mejia remains as sharp as he was against the Red Sox, the Twins have a good chance to take the series.

(My bad: Mejia starts Monday against the Angels, not the Royals).

-After the Royals’ series, the Twins come home to play the Angels and Orioles before the All-Star break. The Twins need to rest up because once the season resumes they play the Astros, Yankees, Tigers and Dodgers.

-Meanwhile, Red Sox blogger Surviving Grady had little to say about the Twins this time.

COMMENTS

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.