The Twins have scored 21 runs over their last nine games, which works out to 2.3 runs per game during that stretch.
Another way to look at this is that the Twins aren’t going to win many games with that kind of production, and they didn’t again on Friday, collecting four insignificant hits in a 5-0 defeat to the Kansas City Royals.
The Twins need to add a little pop to their lineup and the obvious candidates are Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa. Buck made headlines by being ejected from a recent minor league baseball game, but what we missed is that he is still experiencing some hip discomfort which will delay his return.
Correa has been sidelined for more than a month with foot pain (plantar fasciitis) and yet according to MLB.com, he had a great day running on Aug. 23. So what gives? When is this guy coming back? If this all happened before the July 30 trade deadline, I would suspect the Twins of trying to trade him.
Also injured: Max Kepler, Manuel Margot, Kody Funderburk, Chris Paddack, Joe Ryan, Alex Kirilloff, Brock Stewart, Justin Topa and Anthony DeSclafani. Remember him?
The Twins will try again on Saturday. Bailey Ober gets the ball. For Ober, he returns to the scene of the crime after he was lit up by the Royals for eight runs to start the 2024 season. Has he figured them out or do they still have his number? We find out soon enough.
Extra innings…
-The Twins are now 7-4 against the Royals this season. After Friday’s game, they change places in the division. K.C. moves into second place while the Twins fall back to third place at 76-65.
-Starter Zebby Matthews made a much better appearance on Friday after the Twins were crushed 15-0 by the Blue Jays. Still, he lost. Matthews allowed four runs on nine hits, including a home run, across five innings with a walk and four whiffs. Not great.
-The Twins on Thursday edged the Rays again 4-3 to earn a split of the four-game series. Pablo Lopez made a quality start with nine strikeouts to improve to 14-8 with a 4.05 ERA. That’s how it’s done, folks.