It’s one thing to be blanked by one of the best pitchers in the game, but it’s quite another thing when it’s Edward Cabrera and one of the weakest teams in baseball.
So be it: Two days after whiffing 14 times against the Detroit Tigers, the Twins headed to Miami and did no better, amassing a grand total of two hits for the second game in a row in a 2-0 loss to the Marlins.
Royce Lewis cracked a double in his return to the lineup and Willi Castro had an infield hit and that was it. Meanwhile, tough-luck pitcher Joe Ryan lost, allowing just a run over seven innings. Although he falls to 8-4 on the season, he actually lowered his ERA to 2.75.
The Twins will try again Wednesday. Simeon Woods Richardson gets the ball.
Extra innings…
–The Twins are 40-45. The Tigers are the only team in the AL Central with a winning record. As of this writing, the Guardians are three games under .500, the Twins five games, the Royals seven games and the White Sox are 28 games south of .500. The sad-sack division is back.
–The Twins ran into a buzzsaw on Sunday in the form of Tigers’ hurler Tarik Skubal, who cut through the Twins like a hot knife through butter, to invoke another sports cliche. Skubal allowed one hit across seven innings with one walk and 13 strikeouts.
–Is baseball in Florida really a thing? Yes, it was a Tuesday night game and yes, it was the Twins, but 7,800 fans? Radio voice Kris Atteberry described the atmosphere at Loan Depot Park as “library quiet.”
–The Miami Marlins’ Cabrera pitched well. He scattered two hits across seven innings with a walk and six whiffs to improve to 3-2 with a 3.41 ERA. Former Twins pitcher Ronny Henriquez closed out the ninth for his fourth save of the season.
–In case you hadn’t noticed, this has been a roller coaster of a season for the Twins. To wit:
- March/April record: 13-18
- May: 18-8.
- June: 9-18.
Source: Baseball-Reference.com