Where would the Twins be without Eddie Rosario?
Rosario has basically carried the Twins this season, leading the team in batting average (.317), home runs (13) and runs batted in (40). And he did it again Sunday by going all-world against the Cleveland Indians by hitting three home runs, including a walk-off blast in the ninth, to seal it for the Twins, 7-5.
Molitor on Rosario's 3-homer day, including the walk-off winner: "It was Rosie’s day. I’ve seen a lot of good days in the Big Leagues. But I don’t know if I’ve seen one that was more dramatic than that as far as the first inning all the way through the end."
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 3, 2018
The Twins took three of four games from the Tribe to win the series. They are now a game behind Ron Gardenhire’s Detroit Tigers and 3.5 games back of the Indians. If the Twins played in either the AL West or East, they would be well out of contention, but that’s not the case in the AL Central. After Sunday’s win, they improved to 25-30 with the lowly Chicago White Sox about to come to town.
Kyle Gibson pitched well, but again didn’t figure in the decision. Ryan Pressly and Addison Reed each had a blown save in the see-saw game, so it fell to Fernando Rodney who got the win and improved to 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA. He also has 12 saves. Not bad, Rodney. Keep it up.
And the bottom of the order continues to produce. Ryan LaMarre, who made the team out of spring training and is now filling in for injured center fielder Byron Buxton, had three hits Sunday, including two doubles. LaMarre is now hitting .310. If that continues, he soon might have a more consistent role with the team.
Extra innings…
-MLB.com reports that right-hander Zack Littell is expected to make his major league debut for the Twins on Tuesday. Littell came to the Twins after they sent Jaime Garcia to the New York Yankees last season. That same season, Littell pitched for three minor league teams and went a combined 19-1 with a 2.12 ERA.