The rally sausage, a tangy summer sausage that became a talisman of sorts for the Twins during an earlier and more successful part of the season, returned with a vengeance Tuesday night and powered the club to a 10-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels and snapped a four-game losing streak.
Twins infielder Kyle Farmer was the Big Man on Campus after he cranked a three-run blast into the left field seats, and as soon as he entered the dugout, he was handed the sausage, now enclosed in some kind of plastic bag. I can’t imagine what it looks like, smells like, or god forbid, tastes like, but if that’s what the Twins need to get them out of their funk, then bring on that funky junk, I say.
It was contagious: Carlos Santana hit his team-leading 21st dinger, a two-run shot, and Matt Wallner absolutely unloaded on a ball that traveled 440 feet and almost exited Target Field via the plaza.
Farmer and Wallner drove in three runs apiece and Santana and Ryan Jeffers chipped in with two more apiece. Trevor Larnach produced one of the more interesting stats of the night. He scored three runs on one hit with one at bat. How did he do that? He walked three times. Walks kill, people.
And they got a huge lift from starter Pablo Lopez. Lopez allowed four unearned runs on eight hits, but he still struck out 10 Angels across seven innings on 105 pitches. He stepped up and delivered again. The Twins need him more than ever down the stretch.
The Twins go for the series win Wednesday. Zebby Matthews gets the ball. Keep the good times rolling, Zebby.
Extra innings…
-Here’s how it looks for Minnesota: The Twins improved to 77-68. They are still six games back of the Cleveland Guardians and 2.5 games back of the Royals in the division, but they have a three-game lead on the Tigers and a four-game spread over the Red Sox and M’s for the final wild card spot in the AL.
-Lopez is now 15-8 with a 3.88 ERA.
-Where would the Twins be without Santana? He hits, he plays incredible defense — how many times has he bailed out those young infielders and their off-target throws? — and he is durable as hell. The Twins always have THAT guy. Last year it was Donovan Solano.
-How amazing would it be if Farmer is the ultimate hero for this team? He has had a completely forgettable season and now he has back-to-back games with home runs. Sausage power.
-Louie Varland was used out of the bullpen on Tuesday and he was just OK. He struck out three batters over two innings, but he also allowed a run on two hits with a walk and needed 35 pitches.
-Did you watch the game on TV or see highlights of it? If you did, you probably heard the full-throated blowout call of Matt Wallner’s dinger by TV play-by-play man Cory Provus. And after he singled out the 440 foot distance, he made some kind of grunting sound. Did you hear it? Cory was pumped up! Not sure how to describe it, but it sounded like some kind of rally sausage animal growl.
Get some!