Minnesota Twins postgame report: There is no rust for Nelson Cruz
In his second game off the injured list, the Minnesota Twins slugger hit three doubles and drove in four runs as the Twins beat the Chicago White Sox.
If there is one move that the Minnesota Twins made over the offseason that has made the most impact, it has been signing Nelson Cruz. Such moves don’t seem to get people excited when it involves a 38 (now 39)-year old designated hitter, but Cruz is putting together would be a darkhorse MVP campaign if it weren’t for some guy named Mike Trout.
As the Twins got Cruz back on Monday, it was fair to wonder if his ruptured wrist tendon that forced him onto the injured list for the second time this season would affect his production at the plate or if there would be a little rust after a 10-game layoff. After his performance on Tuesday, that answer was a resounding no.
The Twins would get off to a slow start against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, but the bats would get going midway through the game led by the efforts of Cruz. With three doubles and four RBI under his belt, Cruz would lead the way along with a strong pitching performance by Michael Pineda to help the Twins pick up a 14-4 win at Target Field.
The win coupled with the Cleveland Indians’ loss to the New York Mets expanded the Twins lead in the American League Central to three games and with an effort like the one Cruz provided, there’s plenty of optimism that Minnesota could put together a strong stretch against some weak opponents from within the division.
Nelson Cruz continues to terrorize White Sox
In just his second game back after receiving the news of a ruptured wrist tendon, Cruz made it clear that he will still be one of the premier bats in the Twins’ lineup. Cruz went 4-for-5 on the night including his 33rd home run of the season and a career-high three doubles. Mix in four RBI and the 39-year old had another big night which has been the case recently.
Almost any way you frame Cruz’s stats, it’s clear he’s on one of the best stretches of his career. With his home run, which tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth inning, Cruz hit his 12th home run in his past 17 games. Even more impressive has been his ability to terrorize the White Sox with his slash line going up to .528/.564/1.333 in 2019.
While Cruz’s numbers against the White Sox are crazy, so is his run production. In nine games against the White Sox in 2019, Cruz has smashed five doubles, eight home runs and 20 RBI which veers along the territory of “Why do they even pitch to this guy?”
Cruz continues to be an extremely important part of the Twins lineup and even though the White Sox may not be in the race for the AL Central title, the ability to punish teams toward the bottom of the standings is something that his teammates can follow down the stretch.
Michael Pineda goes deep into the game
The one downside to the Twins in recent weeks has been the downturn of their starting pitching. While Minnesota was singing the praises of new pitching coach Wes Johnson’s reclamation projects earlier in the year, the performance of the starting rotation has gone downhill and with starts lasting until the fifth and sixth inning as opposed to the seventh or eighth, the bullpen has been exposed in the later moths.
On Tuesday, the Twins didn’t have that problem as Michael Pineda turned in a big performance that not only shut down the White Sox, but also saved the Twins bullpen.
The right-hander was solid on the night, allowing four runs on six hits with four strikeouts, but his most impressive facet was his ability to go deep into the game. With Pineda putting together seven full innings of work, it was the first time that a Twins starter has gone into the seventh inning since Jose Berrios did it against the Miami Marlins on July 31.
While this start was nice, it was another good outing in a stretch that has made Pineda the best starting pitcher on the Twins roster at the moment. If he can keep this going, he has a chance to be a big part of the Twins rotation down the stretch.
The Twins lineup erupts after an early deficit
With a big night from Nelson Cruz and Michael Pineda in their back pocket, the Twins lineup as a whole got off to a slow start against White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez. As someone who is known as hot and cold, Lopez started off well holding the Twins without a hit in the first three innings, but as he headed into the fourth the floodgates opened up.
Max Kepler would hit his team-leading 34th home run of the season in the fourth inning to cut the lead down to 3-2 and Cruz would tie the game in the fifth inning off Lopez with his 33rd home run of the season.
With the game tied at 3, Cruz would break the tie with his 20th double of the season that drove in Jake Cave and Max Kepler to give Minnesota the lead. Eddie Rosario would extend the lead with a two-RBI single to make it 7-3, but Tim Anderson would hit a home run off Pineda to cut the lead down to 7-4.
Although it would have been easy for Twins fans to start sweating at that point, Minnesota would pour it on with a seven-run eighth inning that was blown open by a double with the bases loaded by C.J. Cron to put the game out of reach.
Up Next
The Twins will go for an important series victory as they wrap up their three-game series with the White Sox on Wednesday afternoon. Jake Odorizzi will start for the Twins as he looks to continue his strong month of August with a 2.08 ERA in three months.
The White Sox will counter with Lucas Giolito who has been up and down against the Twins this season. The right-hander tossed five shutout innings in a Chicago win on June 30, but got blasted for seven earned runs in a loss at Target Field back on July 25.
Next. Twins should take a flier on Billy Hamilton. dark
First pitch for Wednesday’s series finale will take place at 12:10 p.m. before an off day on Thursday. The Twins will open a three-game set with the Detroit Tigers at Target Field on Friday.