In the past 10 days, the Twins have been swept by the Phillies, swept the Braves, and then were swept by the Padres. It’s all or nothing in the dog days of summer and hopefully the win today puts them back in the “all” category.
The Twins got off to a great start and, unlike some other games in recent weeks, kept on adding throughout the middle innings to put this one out of reach for the opponent. Byron Buxton walked and Ryan Jeffers singled to put two men on for RBI machine Josh Bell. Bell crushed the first pitch he saw to left-center for what he thought was a three-run dong, but instead bounced off the very top of the wall for a double. Buxton scored but the A’s got the ball back in quickly to keep Jeffers at third. Either way, the Twins took yet another early lead.
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Bell also drove in Minnesota’s second run, though this one came in a very different matter. After hitting his first one about 379.9 feet, this one went all of six feet. But with Buxton on third base, that was all the Twins needed to score.
The homeless A’s rallied in the third to bring the game within one. Twins starter Zebby Matthews gave up back to back singles to rookie Henry Bolte and veteran Jeff McNeil to start the inning, but the damage was limited thanks to a Zack Gelof GIDP. Lawrence Butler still drove in Bolte with a two out single, but Matthews did a good job keeping things in check.
Things finally broke open for the Twins the next inning. Local Sacramento kid Ryan Kreidler led off with a solo homer, his first in nearly two months. Buxton and Jeffers reached again ahead of Bell who wasn’t able to drive in a run in three straight ABs, but Kody Clemens delivered a clutch two-out hit off a lefty to put the Twins up 4-1.
The Twins added on again in the sixth, with the first four batters of the inning reaching, highlighted by Luke Keaschall’s two run double with the bases loaded. Josh Bell got one more RBI in the inning, because of course he did, a sac fly to give the Twins a 7-1 lead.
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They weren’t quite done their though. The Twins kept making contact and the the A’s kept on not getting outs. Buxton, Clemens, and Culpepper all singled in the eighth to plate two more for Minnesota. Culpepper’s hit was his fourth of the night and put Minnesota up 9-1.
On the pitching front, it was a delightfully uneventful night from Zebby Matthews. This A’s lineup isn’t that strong anymore with All-Stars Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Brent Rooker, and Shea Langeliers all on the IL along with regulars like Tyler Soderstrom and Denzel Clarke, but Zebby did exactly what he needed to do. He pounded the zone, kept the ball down to induce a couple of key double plays, and delivered seven strong innings to a bullpen that’s been a bit overtaxed this past week.
Things got interesting in the late innings. With a 9-1 lead, the Twins turned to Tommy Nance, who had trouble locating his signature slider and allowed a run across. Derek Shelton then turned to closer Yoendrys Gomez in the ninth inning since he hadn’t pitched in nearly a week and the rust showed. Gomez quickly got two outs, albeit on two line drives hit directly at Kody Clemens, and then came trouble. The next five A’s batters reached with one out to go in the game, bring the Athletics within three and putting the tying run in the on-deck circle. Rookie Andrew Morris came in to clean up the mess and finished the game on one pitch.
This game went about as well as the Twins could have hoped right up until the ninth, but we’ll chalk that up to Gomez being a bit rusty. A win is a win and one that emphasizes the need to add on in the middle innings isn’t necessarily a bad thing for this lineup.
STUDS
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Zebby Matthews: 7 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 7 K
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Kaelen Culpepper: 4-5, R, RBI
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Byron Buxton: 3-5, 4 R, BB, 2B
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Luke Keaschall: two doubles
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Andrew Morris: one pitch, one save
DUDS
PLAYOFFS STANDINGS UPDATE
AL Central:
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Guardians (66-66) — 2.5 GB
AL Wild Card
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Astros (65-66) — 0.5 GB
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Blue Jays (64-68) — 2 GB
The White Sox lost to the Rangers, who moved into the AL West lead and bumped Houston back into the Wild Card mix. The Guardians handled their business with the Angels while the Mariners continued their rollercoaster week, beating the Phillies 9-2. The Tigers are 1-9 in their past 10 and are getting dropped off the updates for the time being. The Twins have an incredibly easy schedule in September, with only the Guardians having an easier path to October among teams they are jockeying with.
It’s going to be a fun final stretch! We’ll see you again tomorrow for some more late night summer baseball.
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