Twins starter Pablo Lopez made a triumphant return to Miami on Wednesday, allowing just a run over seven innings with eight strikeouts.
Trevor Larnach hit an RBI single to tie the contest at 1-1 late in the game, and then Lopez was gone and the ball was in the hands of the bullpen. It did not go well.
Reliever Griffin Jax, who was lights out during spring training, coughed up two runs and then Caleb Thielbar served up two more and the Twins lost 5-2. It is the first losing streak of the season after the Twins were shut out 1-0 on Tuesday.
All eyes in this series seemed to be on Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara, but perhaps the Twins should have been more focused on Wednesday’s starter Jesus Luzardo.
Luzardo also allowed a run over seven innings, but he fanned 10 to Lopez’s eight whiffs.
The Twins are off Thursday, then face the Houston Astros at home Friday. Sonny Gray gets the ball.
Extra innings …
-On April 5, 2014, the Twins knocked off the Cleveland Indians 7-3 and handed manager Ron Gardenhire his 1,000th victory as skipper of the club, according to Baseball-Reference.com. It was also his last season as manager of the Twins after they went 70-92 and finished dead last in the AL Central.
It was not a good season. They had one winning month (a 12-11 record in April) and were 0-13 against the Angels, Dodgers and Giants.
The only bright spots: Pitcher Phil Hughes won 16 games and closer Glen Perkins, who is now an on-the-field reporter for Bally Sports North, notched 34 saves.