Twins manager Rocco Baldelli wanted this one.
Baldelli went deep on the Twins bullpen, Mitch Garver hit his ninth home run and Byron Buxton threw out Shohei Ohtani at home plate to preserve the 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday.
The Twins took a 4-0 lead, getting run-scoring hits from Eddie Rosario, Garver and Buxton. Garver hit a two-run home run and Buxton connected for his 18th double of the season. Starter Kyle Gibson pitched well until the top of the sixth inning, but ultimately picked up the win to improve to 4-1 with a 4.26 ERA.
The Twins go for the series win on Wednesday. Jake Odorizzi gets the ball.
Extra innings…
-After Gibson stepped aside, Twins manager Baldelli went to the bullpen five times, calling on Ryne Harper, Tyler Duffey, Mike Morin, Taylor Rogers and closer Blake Parker, who earned his seventh save.
-Catcher Garver suffered a high ankle sprain after tagging Ohtani at the plate, according to MLB.com. Not sure if Garver will land on the injured list, but he could be day-to-day like Nelson Cruz, who is nursing a sore hand.
-Willians Astudillo did something on Tuesday that he rarely does: he struck out. It was only his second strikeout of the season.
It's happened. Willians Astudillo has struck out for the second time this season
— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) May 15, 2019
-The Twins won Tuesday, but lost to the Angels on Monday, 5-4. And the loss fell largely on starter Jose Berrios. Berrios gave up five runs, all earned, on 12 hits in five-plus innings. He also walked three, struck out three and served up two home runs. He’s now 6-2 with a 3.05 ERA.
-The Angels went with an “opener” on Tuesday, in which a reliever starts the game to tee up the primary pitcher — in this case righty Felix Pena — for an effective outing. Except it didn’t go as planned. Cam Bedrosian gave up two hits and a run in an inning of work and took the loss.