Perhaps this season the Twins will be known for their bullpen and not “bombas.”
Reliever Tyler Clippard pitched two scoreless innings, five more relievers limited batters to one run on two hits, and the Twins quieted the Cleveland Indians again for a 3-1 win on Sunday. The Twins took three of four games from the Tribe and are now 7-2 in the AL Central. It’s the best nine-game start for the club since 2001.
The bullpen allowed two runs over four games in the series. The win on Sunday went to Devin Smeltzer, who allowed the Indians only run of the day, but Clippard, Matt Wisler, Tyler Duffey, Trevor May and Sergio Romo pitched scoreless ball. May struck out the side in the eighth inning and Romo worked the ninth for his second save.
RBI singles from Nelson Cruz and Jorge Polanco, plus a home run from the slumping Mitch Garver, was all the scoring the Twins would need.
Lewis Thorpe, the Australian lefty, gets the ball Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Extra innings…
-Monday’s game marks the return of Derek Shelton, the Twins’ former bench coach who is now managing the Bucs. The Pirates are 2-7. The way the Twins are playing, it might be a long series for the Bucs.
-Max Kepler hit two doubles on Sunday.
-Eddie Rosario is sometimes criticized for his free-swinging ways and low on-base percentage, but it also seems that he always finds a way to give the Twins a little spark. He expertly played a carom off the left field wall on Sunday, then whirled and threw out Francisco Lindor trying to get to second base. And Lindor wasn’t close.
The "I'm tired of Eddie Rosario" crowd on social media has received a warm glass of shut the hell up this week. #MNTwins
— danhayesmlb (@DanHayesMLB) August 2, 2020
-Twins pitcher Homer Bailey is headed to the injured list for biceps tendinitis. He will be replaced on the roster by pitcher and Harvard man, Sean Poppen.
-The Twins also were 7-2 in 2001. In fact, they were red-hot in April that year, finishing the month at 18-6.
-And then there was this:
Sid Hartman just called me to fact check a few #MNTwins notes. At 100 years old, he still appears to be very locked into the local sports scene.
— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) August 2, 2020
Sources: MLB.com, ESPN, Baseball-Reference.com.