Minnesota Twins Revert to Form, Drop Series to Royals
The Minnesota Twins Pitch Poorly and Field Worse, in Series Loss to K.C.
Coming off a six week stretch where the Minnesota Twins were one of the hottest teams in the MLB, Minnesota looked as if the clock struck midnight and Cinderella returned to her previous form.
The Kansas City Royals shooed the April/May version of the Twins out of Target Field, taking two of three.
This after the Astros had taken three of four – ruining a promising homestand (2-5) that sank Minnesota (47-71) back to the depths of the standings.
Kansas City (57-60) kept their slim hopes alive for the second Wild Card spot, trailing the Red Sox by 7.5 games.
In the finale Sunday, the Twins were downright awful on the mound and in the field.
Newly acquired Hector Santiago laid another egg, lasting just four innings, giving up seven runs.
After six straight starts with the Angels where he had allowed three runs or less in all, he’s pitched three times for Minnesota, allowing at least four earned runs in each.
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After winning six straight starts to get to 10-4, Santiago has been credited with three straight losses after being traded for Ricky Nolasco. He had a reputation as a poor control pitcher, walking too many and then caving in to give up home runs.
With Minnesota, he’s only walked three (with eight strikeouts), but has allowed four home runs in just 14 1/3 IP. He’s also been tagged for 21 hits over that span.
His inability to close out the Royals in the fourth inning (six runs scored with two out), proved to be his downfall.
The Minnesota Twins tried to mount a comeback, but four errors (two each by Robbie Grossman and Jorge Polanco) led to four unearned runs against the bullpen.
A poor start by Kyle Gibson on Friday night (5 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 96 P), further taxed a bullpen that suffered through poor starts in the Houston series.
Luckily, Tyler Duffey had two quality starts this week, both ending in Twins wins.
One bright spot for the Minnesota Twins offense this weekend was the continued resurgence of second baseman, Brian Dozier.
For the third time this season, he homered in three straight games – one each in every Royals game. This after losing on a home run because of a rain out earlier in the week.
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C. 23 hits, 5 walks, 25 strikeouts, 6 home runs and 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Dozier had two hits (including a home run) Friday, Grossman had three hits (including a home run) Saturday, and <a href=. . Dozier. OFFENSE
STARTERS . C-. Team totals: 25 hits allowed, 3 walks, 2 home runs and 12 strikeouts. Duffey followed up Monday’s strong start with another, winning his third straight start to even his record at 8-8.. .
Team totals: 10 hits allowed, 2 walks, 1 home run and 12 strikeouts. Dean gets the notice for his work Friday in relief of Gibson. He threw three innings and collected seven strikeouts. Kintzler picked up his 11th save Saturday night. . . . RELIEVERS . B+
DEFENSE . D+. The Minnesota Twins made some spectacular plays in the field on Saturday, but that nice game was sandwiched by two poorly defensed outings.. .
Polanco didn’t play third base in the minors, and it showed. He made three errors in the series, extending the nightmare on Sunday. The absence of Byron Buxton showed through in today’s finale. With two outs in the pivotal fourth inning, Eddie Rosario took a bad route to a ball in deep right center field.
While Buxton would have easily glided over to make the third out, Rosario’s misplay (scored a triple), turned a one-run inning into a six-run stanza, putting the Minnesota Twins into a hole too deep to climb out of.
NOTES: With his appearance in today’s blowout, Minnesota Twins reliever Ryan Pressly is now the AL leader in appearances with 57.
Andrew Albers cleared waivers, and was returned to AAA Rochester. Miguel Sano will undergo an MRI on his throwing elbow tomorrow, the same elbow that a Tommy John procedure was done on in 2014.
Next: Minnesota Twins Grounded by Mother Nature, Astros
MVT: Brian Dozier – Home runs in all three games versus Kansas City
The Minnesota Twins will have tomorrow off while traveling to Atlanta to face the Braves for two inter-league games. Ervin Santana (5-9), denied a win by Mother Nature on Wednesday, will try for his third straight win opposite Joel De La Cruz (0-5). Game time is 6:10 CDT and will be broadcast on FSN.