Joe Mauer and Trevor Plouffe Carry the Twins to Victory
By Brennen Rupp
The Minnesota Twins defeated the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 last night behind Joe Mauer and Trevor Plouffe’s strong offensive output and a bullpen that pitched five scoreless innings.
Mauer got the Twins on the board early with a two-run home run in the first inning. It was Mauer’s fifth home run of the season. Last season the Twins first baseman hit four home runs in 455 at-bats. This season he’s already got five home runs in 294 at-bats.
Mauer finished the night 4-5 with his home run, a double and two RBIs. It was Mauer’s first four-hit performance since 2013.
Last 4-hit game for Mauer without benefit of extra innings: April 15-16 vs. #Angels. Went 4 for 5 both times.
— Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) July 5, 2015
Mauer is now .272 on the season, but he’s gotten off to a hot start in July. Through four games this month Mauer is hitting .462. During the last 15 games he is hitting .367 with two home runs and five RBIs. The Twins have managed to stay in contention while Mauer hit just .240 during May and June, if he can start hitting .300 they will be a dangerous team during the second-half of the season. The team has managed to stay within striking distance of the Royals for first place in the division with Mauer struggling at the plate. This team will become more dangerous if Mauer hits near his career average.
Plouffe went 3-4 last night with a double and a triple. The Twins third baseman also drove in one of the Twins five runs.
The Twins bullpen pitched five scoreless innings in relief of the struggling Mike Pelfrey. Six Twins relievers worked together to give up just two hits in five innings of work. Twins closer, Glen Perkins picked up his 27th save of the season and is now a perfect 27 for 27 in save opportunities.