Is this the same Minnesota Twins team that was swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates and suffered series losses to the Royals and Tigers?
None of that was evident this week as the Twins had their way with the Texas Rangers, outscoring the Arlington-based club 25-7, including a 12-2 win on Tuesday and a 9-3 pasting on Thursday.
The Twins banged out a lot of hits and scored a lot of runs, but no players were more impressive than Oregon State man Trevor Larnach and Mr. 3-iron Josh Bell. Their respective numbers over the three-game series.
- Larnach: 7-for-11 with four runs scored, four RBI and two home runs.
- Bell: 6-for-12 with three runs scored, six RBI and a home run.
“Our offense did a good job,” manager Derek Shelton told MLB.com. “They came in, and they put pressure on, from sometimes the first hitter of the game, but throughout, and then they continued that. … Overall, just a really good team offensive effort throughout the series. Everybody contributed.”
On the mound, ace Joe Ryan won for the first time since a victory over the Chicago White Sox on June 1.
It wasn’t his most efficient outing, but he still improved to 5-3 with a 2.99 ERA after he allowed just three hits across five innings with two walks and seven strikeouts on 97 pitches. Ryan leads the team in innings pitched (87-plus) and strikeouts (99).
Connor Prielipp gets the ball Friday in Arizona.
Extra innings…
–The Twins’ previous sweep was at Boston, May 22-24.
–The Twins have won four straight and are 6-4 in their last 10 games. That has raised their record to 36-40 and keeps them in third place in the AL Central.
–The Twins now head to Arizona to play a weekend series against the Diamondbacks. It would be great to get another sweep or series win because right after the series in the desert, they head home to play the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers.
–However, if the Dodgers series goes badly it’s not the end of the world because some relief arrives in the form of the Colorado Rockies. They have allowed a major league-worst 434 runs.
–One thing to note, though: The Twins have really struggled against the National League this season with a 7-14 record.
–Looking ahead: June ends with a road series versus the Houston Astros, and then things ramp up in July with games against the Yankees, Guardians and Cubs.