I think it’s fair to say that Byron Buxton carried the Twins during the first half of the season, and now I’m ready to say it’s rookie Luke Keaschall’s turn to get this team back on track for a possible run at the final spot in the American League wild card race.
And why not? Kid Keaschall already has a 10-game hitting streak to his name.
The problem? The Twins need to avoid a repeat of what happened on Saturday. The bats went cold, resulting in an 0-for-10 day with runners in scoring position, and the Twins lost to the Royals, 2-0, a day after spanking them, 9-4. The modest three-game winning streak also came to an end.
Despite the loss, Bailey Ober made his best start in more than a month, allowing just a run across six innings. He falls to 4-7 on the season, but his ERA ticked down to 5.16 from 5.38.
“I think we’ve got to be pleased with what we got out of him today,” manager Rocco Baldelli told MLB.com. “All of his pitches look good. Worked through everything he needed to work through, pretty comfortably. Good day for Bailey. I mean, we’ll take that.”
The Twins need a series win on Sunday before they head to New York to play you know who. Jose Urena gets the ball.
Extra innings…
–The Twins are 55-61.
–The Twins scored zero runs on eight hits. Austin Martin and Ryan Jeffers had five of the eight hits.
–Speaking of Jeffers, he has an 11-game hitting streak.
–When’s the last time Ober pitched as well as he did on Saturday? It was May 25 and also against Kansas City. He allowed a run on seven hits across six-plus innings.
–Yes, the Twins face the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Monday. Is there anything working in the Twins’ favor? Well, the Yanks were 1-6 this month prior to Saturday’s win over the Astros. In other words, they aren’t playing so great.
–The Detroit Tigers keep losing and the Cleveland Guardians keep winning. The Guards are now five games back of the top spot in the AL Central and a half-game back of the wild card. The Guards keep finding a way to get it done.