A 12-game winning streak has been followed by a six-game losing streak after the Twins were swept by the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians, who won again on Sunday in walk-off fashion, 5-2.
The loss was made even more painful because the Twins had managed to tie the game at 2-2 in the ninth after a misplayed toss at first base allowed Byron Buxton to score from third. If the Cleveland first baseman had thrown home, Buxton would have been tagged out. Instead, he threw to third base and there was no way they were going to get Buck after that.
But in the bottom of the ninth, the normally reliable Jhoan Duran walked a batter, intentionally walked the dangerous Josh Naylor and then served up a three-run bomb to Will Brennan. Ballgame.
All of this means the Twins wasted the effort put forth by starter Chris Paddack, who allowed only two runs on three hits over eight innings with no walks and six strikeouts.
Cleveland’s ace closer Emmanuel Clase blew the save after he couldn’t handle the toss covering first base, but he came right back to get the win. He’s now 3-1 with a 0.39 ERA.
The Twins now head to Washington, D.C., to face the Nationals. Pablo Lopez gets the ball Monday.
Extra innings…
-Perusing social media on Sunday, I came across a Twins fan pointing out that the 1985 season also was a bit of a roller-coaster with 10-game winning and losing streaks.
Their 10th straight win came on May 1, 1985, a 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers, with Frank Viola defeating future Twin Jack Morris.
“The Minnesota Twins have good reason to wonder about how they will be received when they take the field this weekend against Baltimore. A wild and crazy gathering can be presumed in the afterglow of their 10th straight victory, a 7-3 decision Wednesday over the Detroit Tigers,” the Minneapolis Star and Tribune reported.
But by late May, the Twins were losing and losing badly, including a 7-0 defeat to Oil Can Boyd and the Boston Red Sox.
After the loss, the Twins’ Tom Brunansky told The Boston Globe that Boyd wasn’t the problem, they were the problem.
“Is Boyd as good as he looked tonight?” Brunansky said. “No. We’re that bad. Our pitching is terrible. Our hitting is terrible. Our defense is terrible.”
On June 1, the Twins lost their 10th straight game.
“Now, the Minnesota Twins have sole possession of the longest losing streak in the major leagues this season. That distinction was bestowed upon them by dropping a 7-2 game to Milwaukee Saturday night under the Metrodome, their 10th straight defeat,” the Minneapolis Star and Tribune reported.
The year 1985 was a tale of two managers. Billy Gardner was fired in June and replaced by Ray Miller, who went 50-50 the remainder of the season.
Sources: Newspapers.com, Baseball-Reference.com