Despite a quality start from the long-absent Pablo Lopez, the offense fell flat and the Twins extended their losing streak to five games after a 2-1 loss to the Royals on Friday.
In his return to the mound, Lopez made a very Lopez-like outing. He got into a little trouble early, then settled down to give the Twins six innings. He allowed two runs on six hits with a walk and four whiffs. He falls to 5-4 with a 2.84 ERA on the season.
“He (Lopez) came out and reminded us all of all the great things that he does,” said manager Rocco Baldelli to MLB.com.
I know a lot has been said about the 10 players dealt around the trade deadline, and the negative impact that has had on the Twins’ bullpen, but injuries, again, have also played a huge role in the trajectory of this team. Losing Lopez for three months did this team no favors. He last pitched on June 3.
Joe Ryan gets the ball Saturday.
Extra innings…
–The Twins are 62-79.
–After playing a game that was more than three hours on Thursday, the Twins and Royals hooked up for a tidy tilt played in two hours and 23 minutes on Friday.
–The Chicago White Sox keep winning to extend their current streak to six games. They knocked off the Detroit Tigers 7-5 on Friday.
–The San Diego Padres keep losing, and Friday’s loss must have been incredibly hard to stomach because they were blanked 3-0 by the 40-101 Colorado Rockies.
Rockies starter Kyle Freeland, who has pitched to a 5.10 ERA this season and has 14 losses, twirled a two-hitter in the thin air of Coors Field across eight innings with 10 strikeouts. James Bond villain Victor Vodnik picked up his seventh save. The Padres have lost five straight.
–Announced attendance at Coors Field was more than 30,000. What exactly is in the water in Denver?
–Ex-Twins Max Kepler and Harrison Bader both connected for their 15th home runs of the season in a 9-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday.