The Minnesota Twins kicked off a 3-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays with a convincing 9-4 victory lead by Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario.
Kyle Gibson got the start for the Minnesota Twins as he would face off against reigning AL Cy Young award winner Blake Snell. The Twins forced Snell to the clubhouse early after pitching only 3 1/3 innings while allowing 11 hits and 7 earned runs. Gibson would cruise through 6 innings before running into some trouble in the 7th. With a 4-run cushion, Gibson would be able complete 7 innings while allowing 7 hits and 4 earned runs.
Twin Takeaway – The good
The offense would dominate the game from start to finish scoring in 5 innings with back to back 3-run innings in the 3rd and 4th. Eddie Rosario would lead the way for the dangerous Minnesota Twins offense scoring a run and driving in 2 in a 4-5 effort at the plate. Willians Astudillo would stay on track in this one notching 3 hits of his own while getting the start in right field.
Mitch Garver and Jonathan Schoop would each provide a solo blast tonight to keep the power-surge rolling after Rosario cranked one in the loss on Sunday. Miguel Sano would struggle again at the plate going 0-3 with a walk and 3 strikeouts.
Twin Takeaway – The not-so-good
Though Gibson ran into some trouble in the 6th and 7th innings, he tossed a great game overall. The one troublesome takeaway from this game would occur in the bottom of the 5th when Max Kepler was hit by a 95 MPH fastball from Hunter Wood. It’s currently being called a right elbow contusion which should be something to keep an eye on moving forward. With Byron Buxton still missing time, losing another outfielder could spell trouble for this Minnesota Twins club.
Overall it was a great start to the series for your Minnesota Twins. The short 3-game home stand will continue tomorrow at 7:10 when Jake Odorizzi faces off against Charlie Morton. Both starting pitchers are currently having phenomenal years which should make for an exciting pitchers duel.