The Twins are a win away from tying their longest winning streak of the season at four games. How did they get here? A Game 3 win over the Seattle Mariners and two wins so far against the Texas Rangers in Arlington. They go for the sweep on Sunday.
It’s refreshing to see another team’s pitching staff struggle, especially after the Twins lost 10-0 earlier in the week.
On Friday, the Twins beat the Rangers 7-5, courtesy of three walks in the 10th inning and an RBI triple from Luis Arraez. On Saturday, Rangers pitching did it again: Two wild pitches allowed Max Kepler to advance to third and eventually score to give the Twins the 3-2 win.
Kenta Maeda gets the ball on Sunday.
Extra innings…
-More than 34,000 people watched the Twins and Rangers on Saturday, two last place teams in their respective divisions. It’s good to see that, win or lose, fans will still show up to support their team.
-Nelson Cruz, the ageless one, hit his 15th home run of the season on Saturday.
-Max Kepler and Byron Buxton were back in the lineup, which was great to see. However, to make room for Buxton meant that fan favorite, Willians Astudillo, was sent to Triple-A St. Paul, and he apparently didn’t take the news very well, according to Phil Miller of the Strib.
-Jose Berrios didn’t figure in the decision on Friday, but he still made a quality start, allowing only three runs over six innings with six strikeouts.
-After Sunday’s game, the Twins head home to play the Cincinnati Reds.
-On June 19, 1988, Bert Blyleven won the 250th game of his career, a 3-1 victory over Seattle, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
