Starter Bailey Ober struck out nine Arizona Diamondbacks, but the one thing that has dogged him all season — the home run — was the difference as the Twins never recovered after he allowed a three-run dinger, losing the game 6-4 and the series to the Snakes on Sunday.
Ober has now allowed a career high and team-leading 30 home runs this season. After the home run, the Twins fell behind 4-2. They closed the gap to make it 4-3, but then the bullpen, once again up to its old tricks, coughed up two more runs to put the game out of reach.
The Twins are now 19 games under .500 at 65-84, and the Yankees, otherwise known as kryptonite to this team, come to town on Monday. Simeon Woods Richardson gets the ball. I’d like to think the Twins could play spoiler during this series, but not with this bullpen.
Extra innings…
–Matt Wallner and Mickey Gasper homered in the game, the Twins’ only extra-base hits in the game. The Team was otherwise 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 base-runners.
–Ober’s line: four runs allowed on four hits, including the long ball, across six innings with no walks and nine whiffs. He falls to 5-8 on the season with a 5.12 ERA.
–A Target Field pet peeve: The infield grass always looks so evenly green and manicured, so why does the outfield grass look so splotchy? I see I’m not the only person to have asked this question.
Here’s one reasonable response from Reddit:
Just a different type of grass. It’s called poa annua or annual bluegrass. Very very difficult to keep it out. Golf courses have the same issues. Doesn’t affect anything other than just unsightly.
–How about those Cleveland Guardians? Hang around long enough and something good will happen. The Guards are 9-1 in their last 10 games and are now 78-71 on the season, just 2.5 games back in the AL wild card race and 6.5 games back of the division-leading Detroit Tigers.
–The Yankees might be in a salty mood on Monday. They lost 6-4 to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday after the Sox reeled off six, first-inning runs and then held on to win the game. It was over before it ever really began.
–Weird story: During the game, radio voice and ex-Twin Dan Gladden recalled a tale in 1985 when he, Bob Brenly, Tug McGraw and Tug’s son, future country music superstar Tim McGraw, took a trip in a carpeted van to eat Philly cheesesteak sandwiches in an industrial part of Philadelphia. Top that, Kris Atteberry.