The 2018 season ended Wednesday for the Twins after they went quietly in a 2-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe’s Carlos Carrasco dominated Twins hitters and the Indians took two out of three games to win the series.
The season, of course, isn’t over for the Twins, but for all intents and purposes it is now that the team is nine games behind Cleveland.
Something changed for me after those losses to the Tribe. Perhaps it was the recent trades and the new makeup of the team, combined with Wednesday’s punchless effort, that left me feeling resigned to another sub-par season for the Twins. And if they had lost to the Kansas City Royals Friday night, I was really prepared to sing the blues.
But that did not happen. After five hours of baseball — the game was twice delayed by rain — the Twins prevailed, 6-4. The Twins scored six runs on 11 hits, getting two hits apiece from Eddie Rosario, Jorge Polanco and most important, Miguel Sano. Sano continues to hit well since returning to the team.
Starter Jake Odorizzi didn’t figure in the decision. Reliever Gabriel Moya got the win and Fernando Rodney earned his 23rd save of the season.
Jose Berrios gets the ball Saturday.
Extra innings…
-Friday’s win was No. 50 of the season. The Twins are 50-58.
-Longview, Washington native and reliever Trevor May pitched a scoreless inning with one hit and three strikeouts on Friday. It’s good to see him pitch well after such a long journey to recover from Tommy John surgery.
-Do the Twins miss Brian Dozier? Well… he’s certainly made a quick and favorable impression in Los Angeles. Dozier hit two home runs and drove in five runs in games played Wednesday and Thursday.