A six-game win streak came to an end on Thursday and the losing continued Friday after the Twins mostly lined out, grounded out and flied out to the Kansas City Royals. The final was 3-2, Royals.
The only bright spot in Friday’s game was Byron Buxton, who homered in his second consecutive game and suddenly finds himself hitting close to .200. The Twins scored two runs on five hits, getting contributions from Jorge Polanco, Marwin Gonzalez, Buxton and that was it. There are a lot of bats in that lineup that need to wake up.
Starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi, who has been activated from the injured list, makes his 2020 debut on Saturday.
Extra innings…
-You know who really needs to break out of a slump? Catcher Mitch Garver, who looked at three called strikes in the top of the ninth.
-Third baseman Josh Donaldson is now on the injured list for a strained calf. He joins injured pitchers Rich Hill and Homer Bailey.
-Outfielder Jake Cave also isn’t hitting, but he made a nice play in left field on Friday after he went to the wall and robbed a home run from the Royals.
-The Twins lost in walk-off fashion on Thursday after they gave up two runs in the ninth to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Twins were leading 5-4, but ace closer Taylor Rogers couldn’t close out the game and was tagged with the blown save and loss. Kenta Maeda made a quality start on Thursday after he allowed three runs over six innings.
-The lineup banged out nine hits on Thursday, including home runs from Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and Buxton. Now that’s what I expect from the Twins.
-A wild game broke out in Pittsburgh on Friday. The Bucs held a 4-1 lead over the Detroit Tigers going into the fifth inning, then both teams went on a run-scoring barrage. The Tigers scored 11 runs, the Bucs added eight more and it forced extra-innings after both teams were tied at 12 in the ninth. The Tigers eventually prevailed 17-13 in 11 innings.
Source: MLB.com.