The Moment: The Twins actually had a lead until the 7th inning after scoring a couple of early runs. With the Twins in front 2-1 in the 7th, Carlos Santana doubled with two men aboard in order to drive in the game tying run and put two runners in scoring position.
The Hero: Not only did Carlos Santana (there was an Ervin Santana on the mound for the Twins, I need to keep saying Carlos) drive in the tying run, he also drove in the first run for the Indians with another double. The Indians come back was fueled entirely by Carlos Santana. The Indians pulling out in front was fueled by bad Twins pitchers.
The Goat: Taylor Rogers came in, got nobody out but allowed a hit (Carlos Santana’s double), two walks and a run. That’s not a great outing!
The Soundtrack: Feeling This – Blink-182. This is a song about the depression of losing something, in their case, a love. I don’t know if those thematics are really applicable here.
The Story: It seems to me like the success of the Twins has been closely tied to the weather so far. When it was sunny and nice, the Twins were winning and building their record beyond our wildest dreams. It’s gotten rainy, dismal and gray, and the Twins have started losing. Another theory might be that they started the season with the Royals, and they aren’t very good. Same with the White Sox. The Indians are good. Just spitballing here.
Ervin Santana had another good outing, but he was hindered by a very high pitch count, The bullpen stepped in and made a mess of everything. It’s like we finally found our comfort zone again. Craig Breslow and Matt Belisle got through it unscathed, but the three pitchers used who have grown accustomed to the losing, Rogers, Tyler Duffey and Ryan Pressly simply fell into their old groove.
For a second time, Miguel Sano struck out more than Byron Buxton, If course, Sano had twice as many plate appearances as Buxton, who was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 7th. They put Eduardo Escobar in left field! Maybe it’s time to bring up another position player. The Twins only managed 4 hits, but they did draw 5 walks. Like I said, they have cooled off ever since the temperatures did the same. Still, it is reassuring that they have the 5 walks. At least they are still working counts.
Early in the game, when they were getting runners on base and the Indians weren’t doing nefarious things like having an effective bullpen, they scored a run with a Trevor Bauer balk.Walk or hit, they need to keep getting baserunners on in order to stay competitive. The offense will come around, perhaps as soon as it gets warm again. And they will stop playing the AL Champions soon enough.
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