After losing two of three games to the Kansas City Royals, including 5-3 on Sunday, the Twins now head to The Bronx to play a makeup game against the Yankees on Monday.
It sure would be nice to see the Twins win, but that seems unlikely because (a) it’s the New York Yankees and (b) the Yankees probably have that date circled on the calendar as a way to get out of their current funk. The Bombers are 2-8 in their last 10 games and are now looking up in the American League East at Boston and the red-hot Toronto Blue Jays, who suddenly hold the first wild card position in the American League. How is that possible? The Blue Jays are 9-1 in their last 10 games.
I know it’s hard to root for the Twins these days, so how about rooting for Jose Berrios and the boys up north? The Blue Jays clobbered the St. Louis Browns* on Sunday, winning 22-7. They scored 22 runs, including a 10-run third inning, on 19 hits. They also hit five home runs and five doubles, three of them by one player. That’s a team going places.
Extra innings…
-Meanwhile, the Twins played uninspiring baseball on Sunday. About the only thing of interest was that pitching prospect Jovani Moran made his Twins debut in relief of Bailey Ober. It’s clear Moran can change speeds, but he definitely needs to work on his control. He got four outs on Sunday, throwing 37 pitches, but only 21 of them were thrown for strikes. He also walked two batters and struck out two batters. I’m not writing home to mother just yet.
-The Twins had a grand total of six hits in Sunday’s loss. John Gant gets the ball Monday in The Bronx.
*Who are the St. Louis Browns? Only one of the worst teams in baseball history. In 1954, they also became the Baltimore Orioles, who are so bad this season we might as well call them the Browns again. I think I will. The Orioles, as of Sunday, are 51 games under .500 at 46-97. They also are 43 games out of first place in the AL East.