The Moment: The Twins were in a 4-2 hole in the 8th inning, and it was looking dire, but they were able fill up the bases. There was hope, especially with Miguel Sano coming to the plate. There was that moment of doubt, though. The Twins don’t hit in the clutch, do they? It turns out they do. Sano hit a ball that was a hair’s breadth from being a home run, but was instead a 2 run, game tying double. Joe Mauer, who never* hits when it’s important, followed up with a 2 run double of his own.
* Very sarcastic
The Hero: Sano’s well timed hit gave the Twins a boost in the run department as well as the confidence department. The Twins CAN come back late in games. It’s possible. It’s allowed. I don’t want to overstate the hit too much, but it’s possible that Sano gave the entire season a kick in the pants. Also, Sano provided the first 2 Twins runs with a 4th inning dinger.
The Goat: It truly does not get much worse than it did for Joakim Soria tonight. Not only did he allow Sano’s near dinger, he also gave up the subsequent double to Mauer. While the former Twins killer was on the hill, just for 2/3rds of an inning, the WPA swung 71.3% in the Twins favor. Thanks Joakim!
The Soundtrack: Listen to the Music – The Doobie Brothers. I AM Doobies. I am listening to the music.
The Story – The Twins took a day off on Thursday and returned on Friday a little bit sluggishly. There was the shoddy outing from Kyle Gibson, who was able to survive until the 6th inning, allowing 5 hits and 3 walks, but only striking out 1 batter. In fact, the whole Twins team struck out just two Royals, which matched Sano, Robbie Grossman and Jason Castro on their own. Hmm. You know what, I think this defense might be above average.
Don’t feel bad about Miguel Sano not getting the grand slam. His stat line will still read as having a home run with 4RBI for the game. It wasn’t a terribly effective game at the plate for the rest of the team, however, as Eddie Rosario was the only player with more than one hit. Still, Miguel did more than enough for the rest of the Twins.
The Twins are doing a really good job, not straying too far from .500. The continued emergence (dominance?) of Miguel Sano is going to be a key to the rest of the season, especially as the rest of the offense is just now getting around to emerging as well. As we head into May, and Minnesota has to start facing teams from divisions that aren’t the AL Central, we will really be confronted with whether or not they are going to be any good this year. For now, being better than the Royals is pretty good for the winning percentage.
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