Once again Eddie Rosario stepped up to the plate in a key situation for the Twins, and once again he was first-pitch swinging. The result? He grounded into a double play and the Twins lost 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. The Twins are now 1-4 to start September and have fallen into a tie with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the second wild card position at 71-67. The Twins will try to avoid being swept on Wednesday. A win would be very welcome because after the Tampa series, they head to Kansas City.
(Addendum: The wild card standings I looked at Tuesday night must not have updated, because the Angels actually took a half-game lead over the Twins. That has since changed).
Jake Odorizzi no-hit the Twins for six-plus innings before Joe Mauer banged a single through the infield. Robbie Grossman, who is finally off the disabled list, homered late in the game to get a run on the board, then the Twins put men on first and third in the top of the ninth with Rosario coming to the dish.
If not a winnable game in that moment, at least Rosario could have worked the count to get the tying run home. Instead, he swung at the first pitch and the game ended.
Meanwhile, Bartolo Colon took the tough-luck loss and fell to 6-11, even though he allowed only two runs and struck out five in six plus innings.
Six-foot-10 Aaron Slegers gets the ball for the Twins on Wednesday.
Extra innings…
-A little more offense would be nice. The Twins managed only four hits Tuesday: Three singles and a home run.