Oregon State man Trevor Larnach had the first multi-homer game of his young career and Pablo Lopez delivered seven shutout innings to win 6-0 and even the three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.
In Friday’s Game 1 loss, the Twins couldn’t pitch or hit, but that was not the case on Saturday. Lopez struck out nine batters on 96 pitches and Larnach first hit a three-run shot, followed by a solo home run, and Matt Wallner smashed a long-distance dinger as well. Larnach and Wallner had six of the Twins’ nine hits.
The Twins are again tied with the Kansas City Royals at 72-56, two games behind the Cleveland Guardians, as of this writing.
Zebby Matthews gets the ball Sunday in the finale.
Extra innings…
-I had a feeling that reliever Steven Okert wasn’t long for this world after he recorded his sixth blown save the other day. The Twins have designated him for assignment and recalled pitcher Scott Blewett.
-The Twins lost 6-1 to the Cards on Friday. Starter David Festa was gone after three-plus innings and three runs allowed; reliever Jorge Alcala, so sharp earlier this season, coughed up another run; and reliever Trevor Richards, the Twins’ trade deadline acquisition, posted another stinker, allowing two runs on three hits with three walks across two innings. If he’s not careful, the Twins are going to show him the door, too.
-Twins radio play-by-play voice Kris Atteberry reportedly said that Richards has three pitches: fastball, changeup and wild pitch. That sounds about right.
-A little history: On Aug. 27, 1958, Calvin Griffith, president of the Washington Senators, signaled his intention to move the club, which was first formed in 1901, to Minnesota.
The (Washington, D.C.) Evening Star
“The Senators’ depleted board of directors is expected to arm President Cal Griffith with official authority to go shopping again when it holds its monthly meeting tomorrow. With his ball club’s last long home stand nearing completion, Griffith has gotten around to admitting there’s a good possibility he’ll quit the Capital if Minneapolis comes up with a suitable proposition.
“We have reached no conclusion,” Griffith said yesterday. But he added that the club probably would ask to move if Minneapolis comes through with satisfactory terms on stadium facilities, rental, concessions and other items. Griffith later reduced ‘probably’ to ‘possibly.’
“The Senators, who are idle today, will give the club its last big ‘payday’ with the Yankees moving in tomorrow night for a three-day stand. The team took its ninth loss in the last 11 games yesterday bowing to Billy Pierce and the White Sox, 2-1.”
Sources: MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com, Newspapers.com