The Twins outscored the Kansas City Royals 21-6 over the first two games of their three-game series, but on Wednesday the lumber took the day off as the club scored only one run on seven hits, including just two extra-base hits.
That made a tough-luck loser out of Twins starter Louie Varland, who, despite making a quality start, fell to 0-5 on the season with an ERA still north of 6.00.
The Twins earned the series win, but the loss, combined with a Cleveland Guardians win, has dropped them 4.5 games back of the division leaders while the Royals move a game closer to the second-place Twins. The Guards, who snapped a seven-game losing streak against Minnesota, have now won five straight.
Bailey Ober gets the ball Thursday in Texas. The Twins are on the road for four games in Arlington, then they head to San Diego to face a talent-laden team that has finally caught fire. They are 9-1 in their last 10 games as of this writing. Old friend and ex-Twin Luis Arraez is hitting .307. Of course he is.
Extra innings…
-The Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. had two more hits on Wednesday, including his 24th home run of the season, but he struggled on the base paths. He was caught stealing and picked off at first base.
-A little history: On Aug. 14, 1960, the Washington Senators/Nationals swept a doubleheader from the New York Yankees.
The New York Daily News
“It wasn’t baseball’s finest hour but probably its longest. When it all ended at the Stadium at 10:29 last night, the Yankees had toppled out of the lead and the Senators were in the first division. The nifty Nats took the 5-4 opener on a grand-slam homer by pitcher Camilo Pascual, then busted out with three runs in the 15th inning of the nitecap to complete the sweep, 6-3. The White Sox and Orioles share the top rung, with the Yanks third and Washington fourth, displacing Cleveland.”
Not only did Pascual hit the home run, he also went seven-plus innings, allowing four runs on 11 hits with three walks and eight strikeouts. He improved to 11-6 with a 3.13 ERA.
During the doubleheader, Yankees Manager Casey Stengel pulled Mickey Mantle from Game 2, accusing him of failing to hustle down the first-base line on a double play.
Legendary and controversial reporter Dick Young captured the moment.
“Furious over Mickey Mantle’s failure to hustle down the first-base line on a DP grounder, Casey Stengel removed his longtime star from the midst of a game yesterday, then unleashed about The Mick to newsmen.”
“Who the hell does he think he is?” snapped the angered Yankee manager. “Some superman or something like that? He’s been told about that thing five or six times; if he don’t run the ball out, he can’t play here.”
Sources: MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com, Newspapers.com