After the Twins lost Game 1 of their three-game series with the Kansas City Royals, questions were raised about the effectiveness of the Twins bullpen. Two games later the bullpen had stepped up and quieted the critics, then a new question was asked: Can this Twins team hit at all?
That’s because in those two games the Twins scored a grand total of one run. They were shut out 2-0 on Wednesday, but on Thursday they scored on a Miguel Sano sacrifice fly in the second inning and made it stand, winning 1-0 to salvage the last game in the series.
Although the team’s hitting has vanished off the face of the planet (no extra-base hits in the past two games) the pitching has looked very good.
Starter Chris Paddack and two relievers pitched well in Wednesday’s loss and then Joe Ryan, who appears to be well on his way to ace status, two-hit the Royals over six innings on Thursday to improve to 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA. Closer Emilio Pagan picked up his first save.
Twins pitching benefited from some good defense behind them. Nick Gordon threw out a runner at home to preserve the shutout, the team turned a double play and Ryan picked off Bobby Witt Jr. at first base to help his own cause.
Bailey Ober gets the ball on Friday.
Extra innings…
-The Twins are 5-8.
-The Twins now head home to play the Chicago White Sox, a team that went 13-6 against the Twins in 2021.
-On April 21, 1961, the Twins played their first home game against the expansion Washington Senators and lost 5-3.
The Minneapolis Morning Tribune put the game on the front page and made it the lead story.
The lede for the lead story:
The Washington Senators, a team composed mostly of baseball expendables and castoffs, squashed a ninth inning threat and spoiled the Minnesota Twins’ debut at Metropolitan Stadium, 5-3, Friday.
Source: Newspapers.com