So far this season the Twins have had a 12-game winning streak, a seven-game losing streak and here they are again, a game away from sweeping the Texas Rangers after they won 5-3 on Saturday.
I can’t explain it but with just enough hitting and pitching they are getting the job done. They also got a huge hand from the umpires in Saturday’s win.
Down 3-1 in the seventh inning, the Twins’ Eddie Julien appeared to strike out on a foul tip, but after the Twins asked for clarification, the umpire ruled the ball had hit the ground, which was the incorrect call.
The result is that it kept the inning alive for the Twins and sent Rangers manager Bruce Bochy to the showers after he was ejected for arguing. Carlos Correa then stepped up and hit a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 3-2. An inning later, Alex Kirilloff hit a three-run shot and that was the game.
The Twins are now 28-23. Despite the modest winning streak, the Twins have not been able to make up any ground on the Royals and Guardians because both teams are 9-1 over their last 10 games. The Twins are still 6.5 games back of the Guards.
Pablo Lopez gets the ball Sunday.
Extra innings…
-It was the 83rd ejection of Bochy’s career, which is 8th all time, one behind former Twins and Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire, who was ejected 84 times. The all-time leader is Bobby Cox with 162 ejections.
-Starter Chris Paddack allowed two runs over five innings, but did not figure in the decision. The win went to reliever Cole Sands, the save to Jhoan Duran, his sixth, who made a homer-less appearance.
-Ex-Twin Jose Berrios suffered another tough-luck loss, allowing just two runs over seven innings in a 2-1 defeat to the Tigers on Saturday. He’s now 5-4 with a 2.94 ERA. Nine of his 11 starts this season have been quality starts.
-On May 24, 1951, the Washington Senators/Nationals, the forerunner of the Twins, were blasted 16-0 by Bob Feller and the Cleveland Indians.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer on the game:
“The greatest pitching achievement in nearly 50 years — a third no-hitter — barely eluded Bob Feller today.
“The Indians’ dean, now engrossed in a comeback story, surrendered two singles, only one a solid blow, in a whopping 16-to-0 annihilation of the Washington Nationals before 5,442 witnesses.”
Future Twins manager Sam Mele, who played right field in that game, went hitless in three at bats. And Sherry Robertson, who would go on to work for the Twins as their farm system director, made a fruitless pinch-hit appearance.
Sources: Baseball-Reference.com, Newspapers.com