What a difference a series makes.
After the Twins struggled against Cleveland Indians pitching, including striking out as a team 19 times in a 9-3 loss last week, the Twins powered their way to a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They scored only eight runs in three games versus the Tribe, but exploded for 27 runs against Arizona pitching. They hit nine home runs in the series, including six in Game 1 and a grand slam in Game 3.
The sweep, plus a series-salvaging win over the Indians, means the Twins have a four-game winning streak on their hands and have re-taken second place in the American League Central, now five games back of the Tribe. They take that win streak to Chicago to play a five-game set with the last place White Sox, including a doubleheader on Monday. The Twins have a good chance to extend their winning streak.
Pitchers Dillon Gee and Tim Melville are set to start on Monday, according to MLB.com. Gee, a former starting pitcher for the New York Mets, was signed to a minor league contract by the Twins, then was called up to pitch out of the bullpen. This is his first start for the Twins. Melville is a recent callup from Triple-A Rochester.
Extra innings…
-Who hit the six home runs in the Twins’ 10-3 win over the D-backs? Max Kepler, Byron Buxton (inside the park), Miguel Sano (who hit two), Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier. Sano leads the Twins with 28, followed by Dozier with 25, Eddie Rosario with 17 and Kepler, 16.
-Rosario has been on fire of late. He hit a grand slam on Sunday to push his batting average to .303.
-Starter Jose Berrios got back on track after a dominant performance against the D-backs and ace Zack Greinke. Berrios struck out seven over seven innings and limited the Snakes to two hits en route to a 5-0 win. Berrios improved to 11-5 and trimmed his ERA to 3.99.
-Although the White Sox are in last place, the Twins will still have to beat them without Sano, who is headed to the 10-day disabled list with shin pain.
-Our trip to Minnesota to see the Twins came to an end Friday night after we boarded Amtrak’s Empire Builder for the return trip to Seattle. We arrived in Seattle Sunday morning. Here are a few more pictures from our trip:
