As much as I want to see Twins pitcher Louie Varland succeed in the big leagues, I’m just not sure he is suited to the role of starting pitcher after he lost again Monday night to the Baltimore Orioles, 7-4.
Although he didn’t walk a single batter and struck out six, he still served up six runs on 11 hits across five innings. To be fair, only four of those runs were earned because of an Eddie Julien error at second base. Varland is now 0-3 on the young season with an ERA of 8.36.
The Twins’ defense, which was great last season, has been on shaky footing of late. Kyle Farmer misplayed a ball at third base, which cost the Twins the game on Sunday, followed by the Julien error Monday night. Watching highlights of the game, I also noticed that Byron Buxton and Austin Martin nearly collided twice in that game. I think Buck needs to have a chat with the rookie.
Chris Paddack gets the ball Tuesday.
Extra innings…
-The ball that either Farmer could not get to or misplayed on Sunday was not ruled an error, according to the box score.
-The Twins are now 6-9, which has me on the verge of demanding that the team call up Trevor Larnach and Brooks Lee from Triple-A St. Paul and get them into the lineup. Except here’s the problem: Both of them are hurt, according to an MLB.com story. Oregon State man Larnach is dealing with turf toe and Lee has low back pain.
-However, the Twins did bang out 11 hits in the loss. Ryan Jeffers and Jose Miranda accounted for six of the team’s 11 hits.
-Ex-Twins watch: How about that Jose Berrios? Berrios made his fourth straight quality start to blank the Rockies, 5-0, on Sunday. He two-hit the Rocks across seven innings with two walks and seven whiffs. He is now 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA.
-Speaking of decent pitching performances, Bailey Ober scattered three hits over six innings with no walks and three strikeouts and emerged with no decision in the Twins’ 4-3 loss to the Tigers on Sunday.
Minnesota split the four-game series with Detroit.