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Minnesota Twins post game recap: Twins bullpen falters late in loss

By Tyler Kruse

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 01: Adalberto Mejia #49 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Indians during the first inning of the game on August 1, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 01: Adalberto Mejia #49 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Indians during the first inning of the game on August 1, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Twins lost the series finale to the Texas Rangers in 11 innings by a score of 4-1 as the bullpen faltered late.

The Minnesota Twins would move to 4 and 3 in extra-inning games as they would lose to the Texas Rangers by a score of 4-1. It was a game of missed opportunities for both teams with the Rangers able to take advantage of a struggling pitcher late in the game. The game would be tied 1-1 until Rougned Odor cranked a 3-run blast in the top of the 11th to secure the game for Texas.

Byron Buxton drove in the lone Minnesota Twins run with an RBI triple in the bottom of the 2nd inning that scored Miguel Sano from 1st. Sano and Mitch Garver led the way at the plate for the Twins today with two hits apiece.

Twin Takeaway – The good

Devin Smeltzer was the bright spot in this game for me though he did give up the run that would tie the game in the top of the 4th. Smeltzer would secure 4 strikeouts while allowing only 1 earned run on 5 hits in 4 1/3 innings. Another impressive game for the young rookie pitcher would bring his ERA to 3.24 on the season in just 3 outings.

Twin Takeaway – The bad

There’s not much that went right in this game for the Minnesota Twins as they blew numerous opportunities to put this one away. It was tough to watch Adalberto Mejia struggle in another opportunity this year for the Twins bullpen. Though you’d love to see the young pitcher succeed, his chances with the organization have to be dwindling.

After walking 2 batters in the top of the 11th, Mejia surrendered the 3-run shot to Odor and followed that up by allowing a double to former Twin Danny Santana. In15.1 innings pitched this year, Mejia has surrendered 15 total earned runs which puts his ERA at 8.80.

dark. Next. LaMonte Wade Jr. heads to the injured list

The Twins will head into the All-Star break with only a 5.5 game lead on the second-place Cleveland Indians. An incredible number considering what the lead was just a couple of weeks ago. The Twins first series after the break is a 3-game set in Cleveland which could very well be the biggest series of the year.

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