September 4, 2022

Twins in a jam after 3 straight losses

Thirty-one years ago, Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck, whose memorable call of the 1991 World Series will never be forgotten, was clearly in his element as he described the final moments of the Twins’ Game 7 win.

The Twins’ Gene Larkin was at the plate, Kirby Puckett stood at second base and Dan Gladden was on third. On the mound for the Atlanta Braves? Reliever Alejandro Pena.

“Pena in a jam,” said Buck in the bottom of the 10th inning, right before Larkin connected for the most famous single in team history. It scored Gladden from third base and the Twins went on to win their second World Series title, 1-0.

Now, the 2022 Minnesota Twins also find themselves in a jam. I had visions of a nine-game winning streak before the club has to fly to New York to face Kryptonite. Instead, they dropped their final game at home against the Boston Red Sox and have now lost the first two games on the road against the Chicago White Sox, including Saturday’s 13-0 defeat and near no hitter.

The no-hit bid for the White Sox’s Dylan Cease ended in the ninth after Luis Arraez came through for the Twins’ only hit of the night.

It wasn’t pretty. Twins starter Tyler Mahle left after two innings, still reportedly dealing with a right shoulder-related problem. He was followed by Aaron Sanchez who wasn’t any better. With the Twins losing 7-0, manager Rocco Baldelli finally turned to position players to pitch the remainder of the game to save the bullpen for Sunday’s final game against the Sox, or even to get them ready for the Yankees.

If ever the Twins needed a win, it is Sunday before they have to face Kryptonite in the Bronx. Dylan Bundy gets the ball.

Extra innings…

-Although the Twins have lost three straight games, the Cleveland Guardians have lost four, which means the two top teams in the AL Central are still separated by one game. The problem is that the White Sox are now a game behind the Twins and two games out of first. The pennant race is on, folks.

-And here’s an even bigger problem: While the Twins are in New York, the Guardians will be playing the Kansas City Royals. Again, the Twins need to win Sunday.

-The Twins and their injured list continues to be ridiculous. Jorge Polanco is now on the list with left knee inflammation and pitcher Sonny Gray is day-to-day with right hamstring tightness, according to MLB.com.

-And then there was this…

COMMENTS

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.