Harrison Bader hit two home runs on Independence Day, including the all-important, game-winning shot in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel the Twins to a 4-3 walk-off win over the pesky Tampa Bay Rays.
I wish I could get more excited about the win because the facts are these: this is not a very good team.
They haven’t won a series in a month, including an embarrassing series loss to the Miami Marlins (c’mon guys!), they are riddled with injuries, including (surprise, surprise) pitcher Bailey Ober, who has landed on the 15-day injured list with a left hip impingement, and the offense has disappeared.
Prior to Friday’s win, the Twins had scored 12 runs over six games or two runs per game, which isn’t going to get you anywhere.
With Ober hurt, the Twins have called up reliever Kody Funderburk, but they also need someone to start Saturday’s game. It appears that will be Travis Adams, according to MLB.com. This season at Triple-A St. Paul he has pitched to a 3.68 ERA across 63-plus innings, with strikeout and walks per nine innings checking in at 8.2 and 2.8, respectively, which is little on the high side if you’re approaching three walks per outing.
Extra innings…
–The Twins are 42-46, good enough to hold second place in the very weak AL Central. They are 12.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers.
–The other underwhelming news here is that it appears the Twins could be sellers at the trade deadline. Willi Castro has been connected to a number of teams and The Athletic speculates that relivers Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran could be on the move, too.
–Bader also hit a solo shot in Friday’s win. Byron Buxton connected on a bloop RBI double (he’s about the only guy in baseball who can do that) and Brooks Lee suffered through the worst kind of RBI — the hit by pitch RBI that scored a runner from third base.
–Starter Chris Paddack did not figure in the decision and neither did Rays starter and Ex-Twin Zack Littell, although Zack made a quality start, allowing just a run over six innings with two walks and five strikeouts. He continues to get it done for the Rays.
–Friday’s pitching win went to the artist formerly known as Louie Varland who worked two scoreless innings with a strikeout on 19 pitches. The dude is all business. He improves to 3-3 with a 2.01 ERA.