Starter Taj Bradley allowed just two hits over seven innings, Trevor Larnach and Ryan Jeffers delivered big hits and the Twins won another series 4-2 on Sunday over the Los Angeles Angels, making it their fifth straight series win.
The Twins are now a game under .500, three games back of the division lead in the AL Central and they are tied for the final spot in the Wild Card race as they arrive at the All-Star break.
“Everybody is doing great,” said Bradley to MLB.com. “I mean, (Ryan) Kreidler is out there showcasing great defense. We’ve got double plays turned, early contact off the bat, putting runs together. It’s just all coming together, and the series wins are always big for us.”
The Twins are off for a few days and then the second half of the season begins with a real test: a seven-game road series that sees them play the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians.
Extra innings…
–Bradley’s line: He allowed two runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts across seven innings on 99 pitches. He is now 9-3 with a 3.59 ERA. Who deserves to be at the All-Star game? Bradley does.
–Big hits: Larnach drove in two runs and hit his seventh home run of the season, while Jeffers doubled in two runs as well.
–Hall of Fame: Former longtime Twins TV broadcaster Dick Bremer was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame on Saturday. Bremer, who was born and raised in Minnesota and a lifelong fan of the team, saw his first live Twins game on Aug. 4, 1964, according to his book: Game Used: My life in Stitches with the Minnesota Twins.
He saw a good one that day as the Twins ran all over the Boston Red Sox, 12-4. The Twins banged out 15 hits including five home runs from all the familiar names: Earl Battey, Rich Rollins, Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison and Tony Oliva. The Killer’s clout was his 37th of the season. The win went to pitcher Mudcat Grant, who improved to 9-7.
The Boston Globe was there:
Harmon Killebrew belted his 37th, a blast that dissipated any chance the Red Sox might have had of pulling out this game.
The killer hit a three-run homer in the seventh off Jack Lamabe while the score was a narrow 5-4 in favor of the Twins. In all, Killebrew made four hits drove in another run with a single. Tony Oliva capped the homer barrage with a three-run, eighth-inning wallop.
Bob Allison, Rich Rollins and Earl Battey also homered as the Twins obviously shook loose from a lethargy which has ensnared the team in recent weeks. Killebrew upped his runs batted-in total to 85 with four Tuesday. He is only one behind the league leader in this department, Dick Stuart.
Source: Newspapers.com