Seemingly on the verge of a 2-1 win on Sunday, the Twins instead had a what-in-the-hell-just-happened kind of moment after an apparent game-saving play turned into a colossal blunder and a 3-2 win for the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Twins have now lost back-to-back series to the Padres and Cards. The good news is that the Royals lost again to the Phillies, so both K.C. and the Twins remain tied for second place in the division at 72-58, but both teams are now three games back of the Cleveland Guardians because the Guards keep on winning.
In the the top of the ninth inning, Twins closer Jhoan Duran struck out the first batter he faced, served up a single and then a ground ball was hit in the direction of second baseman Eddie Julien. Turn a double play and the Twins are out of the inning and the game with a 2-1 win. Instead, Julien threw the ball into left field, allowing both runners to advance to second and third base. The Cardinals followed that with another hit and both runs scored, handing the Cards a 3-2 win.
“I don’t know what happened,” Julien told MLB.com. “Maybe my feet weren’t turned enough, but I usually do that. I don’t know. It just happened in a bad moment, I guess.”
The loss doesn’t entirely land on his shoulders because the Twins scored only two runs on six hits. They also were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. What this really speaks to is that the Twins need to get some guys healthy, and that means they need Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Brooks Lee back in the lineup soon for the stretch run. Without that extra bat in the lineup, I’m not sure the Twins reach the promised land.
And it doesn’t get any easier because the always-tough Atlanta Braves are in town Monday. Bailey Ober gets the ball.
Extra innings…
-Zebby Matthews got the start on Sunday and he looked good, allowing just a run across five innings with seven strikeouts. Unfortunately, closer Duran got stuck with the loss and blown save, despite allowing no earned runs in the ninth inning because of the error.
-Willi Castro hit a first-inning home run, which appeared to be a sign of things to come. But no, Cardinals hurler Erick Fedde settled down after that and allowed just a run over six innings with seven strikeouts. Fedde, one of the few bright spots on the Chicago White Sox this season, came to the Cards at the trade deadline.
-Speaking of the South Siders, they fell to 31-100 on Sunday after a 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
-It’s time to buckle down, Minnesota. September is almost here.