After a convincing sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays and another shutout in Game 1 of their series against the Detroit Tigers, it appeared the Twins were well on their way to a sweep, or at the very least, a series win over Motor City.
But that was not to be. After the shutout, the Twins lost Game 1 of their Saturday doubleheader and lost Game 4 on Sunday, 5-3.
To recap: starter Michael Pineda was better, but still hittable; starter Martin Perez finally stumbled after a great start to the season; and reliever Trevor Hildenberger is going to be the odd-man out if he continues to pitch like he has.
And I must admit that I’m in agreement with Strib columnist, Patrick Reusse, who tweeted his displeasure about Eddie Rosario not being in the lineup on Sunday after he went 3-for-5 in Saturday’s 8-3 win over Gardy’s Guys.
Rosario is best Twins hitter when he heats up. Came out of funk w/ 3 hits in 2nd game last night.
“Hey, I have a great idea,” Rocco says. “I won’t play Eddie today.”
There’s managing, and there’s over-managing— Reusse (@Patrick_Reusse) May 12, 2019
The top of the order fell silent without Rosario on Sunday. Just a reminder: Rosie leads the Twins in home runs, runs batted in and runs. Keep him in the lineup, Rocco.
Jose Berrios gets the ball on Monday vs. the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Extra innings…
-Pineda on Saturday gave the Twins a quality start, but he also served up three home runs.
-Perez fell to 5-1 with a 3.11 ERA after he gave up three runs in five innings. He also walked two and struck out seven, but also surrendered two dingers. He left the game early after taking a line drive off his left ankle, according to MLB.com.
-Hildenberger had another rough outing on Sunday. He gave up three hits and two runs in an inning of work. His ERA is now 6.59. In the past week, his ERA has been 10.80.
-Troubling news: Slugger Nelson Cruz may have injured a hand in Sunday’s game.
-Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected for the 79th time in his career on Saturday after arguing balls and strikes with a familiar foe: Umpire Hunter Wendlestedt. That ejection stat includes the playoffs, according to MLB.com.
Ron Gardenhire vs. Hunter Wendelstedt! Oh, the memories. Gardy ejected for the 77th time in his career, but these two go way back. Wendelstedt has tossed Gardy 6 times, many memorable. Take a look at what @Patrick_Reusse wrote about them — back in 2010!https://t.co/ftGrLwSkAu
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) May 11, 2019
-The Twins slashed ticket prices for the team’s remaining home games in May. Did it work? Sort of. More people attended the four-game series against the Tigers, but none of those games sold out. Twins fans are still on the fence, apparently.
-Reliever Tyler Duffey, who I wrote about last week, struck out the side in Saturday’s 8-3 win.