When it rains it pours, Twins fans.
After the Twins lost both games of a doubleheader on Saturday, they returned to the field on Sunday and lost again, swept by the not-so-terrible Detroit Tigers for the first time since 2016. And once again the culprit was the offense, mustering only two runs on five hits: one extra-base hit and four singles. They were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. The final was 3-2, Tigers.
Tigers 3, #MNTwins 2.
The record: 20-15 (3rd, -2.0)
The Twins have been swept by the Tigers in a three-game series for the first time since 2016. They were held to 2 runs on 5 hits today, and 13 hits in the series.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) August 30, 2020
Meanwhile, the pitching was pretty good on Sunday. Although he lost, Kenta Maeda still made a quality start, allowing only three earned runs over six innings with no walks and eight strikeouts. He was replaced by Minnesota native Caleb Thielbar who pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
Rich Hill gets the ball on Monday against White Sox pitcher, Lucas Giolito, who is coming off a no-hitter. At least the Twins are back home where they are 12-3.
Extra innings…
-After the three-game sweep, the losing streak is now five games.
-Jorge Polanco had the only extra-base hit in Sunday’s game, a home run, his third of the season, in the third inning.
-Old friend Jonathan Schoop, who played for the Twins last season, hit the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning. The knee jerk reaction here is to bemoan his absence from the Twins; however, Luis Arraez clearly represents the future at second base for the team. Still, it was tough to see Schoop hit his eighth home run of the season while also hitting better than .300.
-Some good news: MLB.com reports that pitcher Michael Pineda, who was suspended late last season for using a banned substance, is set to make his debut on Tuesday. The Twins need all the help they can get.
-The next home stand looks like this: Three games against the White Sox, followed by five more against the Tigers.
-Old friend Ron Gardenhire, current manager of the Tigers, had this to say about his club on Sunday, according to MLB.com.
“Our goal is to try to get to the playoffs,” Gardenhire said. “I said that and people laughed at me. And now all of a sudden, we’re back to .500 and now everybody wants to talk about it. Anything can happen in this season, and there’s a lot of openings. As long as we keep playing like this, we’ll have a shot at the end. We just have to stay away from any more of those long, bad streaks. And I think we should be able to. Our pitching is coming around. We can hang in there with these guys.”
I’m glad Gardy is still part of this game.