Despite a late-in-the-game rally, the Twins got exactly what they needed on Monday, a convincing 9-6 win over the Oakland/West Sacramento/Las Vegas A’s to snap a three-game losing streak.
And every player got into the act with at least one hit. Leading the way were Byron Buxton and rookie Kaelen Culpepper. Buck had a 3-for-5 day at the plate with four runs scored and a walk, while Culpepper had four hits in five trips to the plate with a run scored and an RBI.
In all, the Twins banged out 16 hits in the win. That was plenty of support for starter Zebby Matthews who allowed just a run over seven innings. He improves to 8-8 and slashed his ERA to 4.86 from 5.12.
The Twins took a 9-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning and that’s where closer Yoendrys Gomez got into trouble. He got two quick outs and then labored to get that final out. In the process, he allowed four runs on four hits with a walk.
He never did get that final out because Twins manager Derek Shelton finally had seen enough and lifted Gomez in favor of Andrew Morris. Morris got the final out on one pitch to earn his fourth save of the season.
They need to sweep the A’s. Taj Bradley gets the ball Tuesday.
Extra innings…
–Your updated standings: The Twins are 64-68, now 4.5 games back of the top spot in the division and two games back of the final wild card position.
–The Twins need to keep winning to keep pace with the Cleveland Guardians who have now won five straight games. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers are headed in the opposite direction fast, having lost six games. They also are 1-9 in their last 10 games.
–Zebby’s line: One run allowed on six hits with one walk and seven whiffs across seven innings.
–The A’s are ripe for the picking: Not only are they the worst team in the American League, the team’s biggest stars — Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker — are all on the injured list. A loss to this team will really sting.
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