June 4, 2017

For the Twins, the road is where the heart is

After the Twins were swept at home by the Houston Astros, the club has once again found success on the road by winning consecutive games against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and will now try to capture the series win on Sunday.

The Twins lost on Saturday, but are still a surprising 16-6 on the road after wins Thursday and Friday. Adalberto Mejia pitched well on Thursday, but (again) did not figure in the decision, while the much maligned Kyle Gibson finally pitched a good game Friday. He struck out six over five-plus innings while giving up two runs, both earned.

With Ervin Santana taking the mound Saturday, it appeared the Twins had a good chance to get the series win. Instead, Santana was not sharp, giving up seven runs, all earned, over four innings. He also surrendered three home runs, including a grand slam and No. 600 to slugger Albert Pujols.

Jose Berrios gets the ball Sunday versus old friend Ricky Nolasco.

Extra innings…

-The Twins turned a Miguel Sano to Brian Dozier to Joe Mauer triple play on Thursday, the club’s first since May 2006, according to MLB.com.

-Mauer had another nice game on Friday with four hits, including a home run. He’s now hitting .293.

-The Twins hit three, two-run home runs on Friday.

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.