What’s the best way to soothe another frustrating series against the New York Yankees? To hit the road and open up a can of whoop ass on whoever the next opponent might be.
In this case, the Twins took on the Toronto Blue Jays Monday night and went to work quickly. They scored a run in the top of the first inning, followed by two in the second, two in the fourth, one in the fifth, one in the seventh and one in the ninth to beat the Blue Jays 8-0.
Once again the Twins brought the power and hit three home runs — Eddie Rosario connected for No. 12 — plus four doubles. Jorge Polanco and Nelson Cruz each had three hits. In all, the team scored eight runs on 12 hits.
And the pitching was sensational. Martin Perez continues to have a career-best season. He struck out nine over seven innings and combined with two relievers to three-hit the Blue Jays. Perez is now 5-0 with a 2.83 ERA.
“Last year, I was on the [injured list] and I was available to pitch every fifth day, but right now, I’ve added the cutter to my stuff and made a lot of them, so I’m just going to stay there,” Perez told MLB.com. “If they don’t make any adjustment to that pitch, I’m not going to change how I throw it.”
Jose Berrios gets the ball Tuesday.
Extra innings…
-The Twins dropped the series to the Yanks after they lost 4-1 in a rain-shortened game on Sunday. That game also featured a one-hour rain delay. Blah.
-I may live to eat my words. Before the season started, I suggested the Twins trade third baseman Miguel Sano because of his frequent injury problems. Now, MLB.com reports that Sano is crushing the ball during his rehab assignment. Sano is now 5-for-11 with two homers, seven RBIs, two walks and four strikeouts in four rehab games with Double-A Pensacola and Class A Advanced Fort Myers, according to MLB.com.
-I watched highlights of the Twins/Toronto game and noticed that Perez was getting pitches high in the zone called for strikes. Blue Jays players became irritated with home plate umpire, Adam Hamari, and finally Blue Jays manager, Charlie Montoyo, was ejected for arguing balls and strikes.
-Polanco leads the Twins with a .317 batting average.