After stunting their own momentum on Tuesday night, the Minnesota Twins came out swinging against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.
The Twins scored five runs in the first inning and eventually added another 12 more to notch the team's first series victory in over a week. Everything went right for Minnesota, from Pablo Lopez turning in a great start to both Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis lighting up the scoreboard.
Even guys who have been struggling, like Christian Vazquez and Manuel Margot, found a way to wake up at the plate. Minnesota hammered Colorado's pitchers for 17 runs, recorded 24 hits, and had 10 players record an RBI. It's just the second time since 1961 that every single player had an RBI in a game -- the other time being in 1997 against the Pirates.
It was total offensive domination by Minnesota, but the overwhelming takeaway was how well those top three players did.
Carlos Correa clapped back at his critics by demolishing the Rockies
It's hard to not feel bad for the Rockies, who were merely a conduit for Correa striking back at his critics who attempted to have a field day with him this week. Correa was voted as a Top 3 overrated player in an annoymous player poll, and LaVelle E. Neal stirred the pot as well with a tweet that everyone keeps digging up.
All of those critics were eating their words on Wednesday, as Correa reached base in five straight at-bats, failing to reach only once while scoring three runs and batting in another. He finished the game with an expected batting average of .520 and has by far the best OPS+ of his career.
He by far had the best day at the plate, but the three-headed monster he formed with Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda is the type of stuff that will get everyone in Twins Territory excited for what's to come. Miranda went 2-for-5 with two RBI while Lewis was responsible for batting in one of those runs Correa scored after he hit yet another home run.
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Lewis also reached base twice more, including a double that sent Correa to third and gave Twins fans a moment they couldn't help but smile at. As Lewis pulled into second, he and Correa pointed at each other while beaming -- the exact sort of energy everyone wants to see them continue to build together.
Pablo Lopez finally had a solid start and bounced back strong
Offense was king on Wednesday, but the explosion of runs shouldn't overshadow what was an excellent start by Pablo Lopez.
After a handful of rough starts, Lopez finally turned in a bounce back performance against the Rockies. He finished the game with five strikeouts while allowing only two runs on two hits, one of which was a home run.
It was exactly the game he needed to have given how things have gone recently. Lopez has gotten lit up recently, postined a 15.75 ERA over the last seven days which includes yet another bad game against the Yankees. His last start before that was a callback to his ALDS performance against the Astros, as he struck out six batters and allowed just a single run on one hit.
He has a Brad Radke-ian problem with giving up home runs, which he did again on Wedensday, but his start against the Rockies was more in line with the ace he's been in the past than the guy who has struggled as of late. With Joe Ryan and Simeon Woods Richardson carrying a ton of weight in the rotation, getting Lopez back to the level we all know he can operate on will be huge.