With the Twins clinging to a 4-3 lead over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, closer Jhoan Duran got the ball for the ninth inning.
The first batter Duran faced singled to get on base, then the flame throwing reliever induced a groundout, struck out the dangerous Rafael Devers and then up came Alex Bregman, Boston’s hottest hitter.
But the Twins quickly took the bat out of Bregman’s hands by intentionally walking him. It was a gutsy move because the Twins put the potential winning run on base to face Wilyer Abreu. It was the right call: Abreu’s batting average is about 60 points lower than Bregman’s and he flied out to left to end the game.
The Twins weren’t terribly productive — they went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base — but they did just enough. Ty France hit an RBI groundout, the light-hitting Kody Clemens cracked a two-run dinger and Trevor Larnach singled home a run, too. Twins pitching took care of the rest.
Starter Bailey Ober improved to 4-1 with a 3.72 ERA, which is down substantially from the 27.00 ERA he had to start the season. Ober allowed a run on seven hits with a walk and six strikeouts. Reliever Brock Stewart coughed up two runs, but Griffin Jax secured two outs with no damage done and Cole Sands tossed a scoreless eighth.
“Overall, it was a very good day,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli in a post-game interview.
The Twins go for the series win on Sunday. Chris Paddack gets the ball.
Extra innings…
–The four-game losing streak is over — three losses to Cleveland, Game 1 of this series to Boston — but the Twins are still just 14-20 on the season.
–Saturday’s game was again delayed by rain. The delay lasted 72 minutes.
–The bullpen got knocked around in Friday’s 6-1 loss to the Red Sox, but starter Joe Ryan pitched well. Grateful Dead fan Ryan struck out eight across six innings with one run allowed.
–Ex-Twin Max Kepler is playing well in Philadelphia. He had two hits, including his fifth home run, scored two runs and drove in two more on Saturday. Kepler is slashing .264/.345/.472.