April 3, 2022
Twins top Rays, look very, very good as new season approaches
Nick Gordon homered and tripled, lefty Devin Smeltzer pitched four scoreless innings to earn his second win of spring and the Twins rolled the Tampa Bay Rays 8-2 on Saturday to improve to 7-9 in Grapefruit League action. The Twins continue to hit and pitch well, and if that continues… well, that’s the name of... Continue Reading »
March 28, 2022
Carlos Correa fine in debut, Twins bench even better
A real-deal Twins lineup took the field on Sunday against the Boston Red Sox, including shortstop Carlos Correa, who made a fine spring debut with a nice play at short and a single at the plate. The other starters were just as good: Miguel Sano singled, Gary Sanchez earned two free passes and Gio Urshela... Continue Reading »
March 24, 2022
Finally, signs of life from the Twins’ ‘A Team’
So far I’ve been more impressed with the Twins’ “B team” than the “A team” during exhibition play. The B squad, of course, features a lineup of youngsters and unfamiliar names that likely won’t start the season with the Twins. Still, they rapped out eight hits and scored eight runs in a 10-8 loss to... Continue Reading »
October 2, 2021
Twins pitching allows 21 runs in 2 games
The Twins’ disappointing 2021 season is winding down to a disappointing close after team pitching served up 10 runs on Thursday and 11 more on Friday. The Twins lost 10-7 to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, a game that was tit-for-tat for most of it until Motown pulled away late. As for Friday’s loss to... Continue Reading »
September 27, 2021
Twins split series with Toronto after clutch hitting disappears
The Twins had to settle with a four-game split in their series against the Toronto Blue Jays. After wins Thursday and Friday, the Twins lost 6-1 on Saturday and 5-2 on Sunday. Contributing to the two losses was a serious lack of situational hitting. Over the weekend, the Twins went 1-for-16 with runners in scoring... Continue Reading »
September 24, 2021
Twins play spoiler, beat Blue Jays in Game 1 of weekend series
Advantage: Minnesota. Not only because the Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 on Thursday, knocking the Jays a game back in the AL wild card race, but also because the Twins appear to have clearly come out ahead in their deal to get pitcher Joe Ryan in exchange for slugger Nelson Cuz. Yes, there’s... Continue Reading »
September 22, 2021
Twins finally score some runs in win over Chicago
For only the second time this month, the Twins scored nine or more runs against their opponent. They beat the Kansas City Royals, 9-2, on Sept. 11 and on Tuesday they banged out 16 hits, including three extra-base hits, to knock off the Chicago Cubs 9-5. The Twins scored first, then fell behind and then... Continue Reading »
September 15, 2021
Tuesday was almost worse than Monday for the Twins
After the Twins lost again to the New York Yankees on Monday, the team flew home to play a doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians at Target Field. On the mound for Minnesota? The talk of the state, Joe Ryan, the big-time pitching prospect acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays, who pitched well in his Twins... Continue Reading »
September 12, 2021
Familiar win-loss pattern continues for Twins (but at least the pitching future looks bright)
A four-game losing streak was followed by a four-game winning streak, followed by a loss and then a win on Saturday over the Kansas City Royals, 9-2. What does it all mean? Not much. The Twins finished a game over .500 in August and so far are playing .500 ball in September, which isn’t nearly... Continue Reading »