Is this my most strained pun headline yet? Most likely. Also, please don’t crochet your socks. That’s just asking for blisters.
After chasing Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez early last week, tonight they ambushed 2025 AL Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet for 11 runs in the first two innings. To say the lineup has come to life over the past week would be an understatement. The fact they’re doing it off of the best pitchers in baseball and, notably, left-handed ones, has this lineup looking more complete than they have in two years.
Minnesota had a clear game plan against Crochet and executed it to perfection, swinging early and often against a pitcher that likes to pound the strike zone. They swung at 5 of the first 7 pitches of the game, leading to a Buxton pop out and back-to-back hustle doubles down the left field line by Austin Martin and Luke Keaschall to plate the first run. Ryan Jeffers followed with an RBI single to give the Twins a two run lead before Crochet had a chance to get settled.
Crochet was able to retire Josh Bell, but issued a five-pitch walk to Victor Caratini and nailed Matt “cement bones” Wallner with a 95 MPH sinker to load them up for Brooks Lee. Lee didn’t hit it hard, but a perfectly placed infield singled plated two more. 4-0 Twins after the first.
The Twins weren’t done there. The first six Twins of the second inning reached, highlighted by a Caratini three-run dong dong to give Minnesota a 10-0 lead. Not to be outdone, known power hitter Ryan Kreidler delivered the kill shot, a 110 MPH laser over the left field fence and finally put Crochet out of his misery.
On the pitching side, Bailey Ober still didn’t have very good velocity on his pitches, but was clearly fooling the Boston hitters, generating 13 whiffs and racking up 7 strikeouts in his 6 innings of work, all season-best figures. He allowed too many baserunners, but he was also likely attacking the zone more than usual with a generous 11 run lead to work with. Ober doesn’t look like he will recover the velocity he showed earlier in his career, but you can do a lot worse than this version of Ober as your fifth starter, especially given the emergence of Taj Bradley.
The Twins weren’t done there though. Ryan Jeffers and Byron Buxton added homers of the own, the latter putting Buxton alone atop the all-time Target Field home run leaderboard, a well-deserved honor for unquestionably the most exciting Twin since leaving the Metrodome.
Boston didn’t go quietly, tacking on a few more runs against Eric Orze in the 7th, but luckily the Twins had Garret Action Acton warmed and ready to silence the Boston bats over the final two frames.
The win makes Minnesota the first AL team to reach 10 wins, while trailing only the Dodgers who have 11 pending the rest of tonight’s games. They’ve won 7 of their past 8 and have a chance to clinch their third straight series facing old friend Sonny Gray. I don’t know if the Twins can keep this up all season, but for now, let’s enjoy the ride and rack up some W’s.
STUDS
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Ryan Jeffers: 3-4, 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB
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Victor(y) Caratini: 1-2, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB
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Byron Buxton: 2-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, Target Field Home Run KING
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Ryan Kreidler: 110 MPH EV home run off Crochet for a player with a career .376 OPS? You definitely get a shoutout, buddy
DUDS
Comment of the game goes to gintzer for their soothsaying talents and top notch preparedness. As any true Minnesotan knows, the best time to invest in winter gear is over the summer.
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