Happy Fourth of July, friends! Hope you’re having a wonderful day and that once this day game is wrapped you’ve got plans for BBQs and fireworks.
Today’s outing saw Bailey Ober on the mound for the Twins and Kenta Maeda get the nod for the Tigers. Unfortunately this was not a great game, so if you missed it, consider yourselves lucky.
Colt Keith got things started by picking up where the Tigers left off last night and hitting a solo home run. It was the only run the Tigers got in the inning, but it was a nice one.
Maeda had a nice start himself, setting the Twins down in order in the home half of the inning.
In the second, what should have been the third out of the inning saw Zach McKinstry reached safely on a passed ball by the catcher. Gio Urshela then singled, and a Jake Rogers double scored both baserunners to put the Tigers up 3-0. Bet the Twins were wishing they had that passed ball back. Ouch. In the bottom half Jose Miranda doubled, then a Ryan Jeffers double scored Miranda to put the Twins on the board. Max Kepler singled, then Brooks Lee hit a sac fly to score Jeffers.
Onto the third and the sole Tigers’ baserunner was Riley Greene with a single. Maeda’s struggles continued in the bottom of the inning. Carlos Correa singled, then Trevor Larnach walked. A Jose Miranda single loaded the bases. With two outs, Max Kepler singled to score two of the baserunners and give the Twins the lead. A Manuel Margot single then extended the lead to 5-3.
Gio Urhsela was the only Tiger to get on base in the top of the fourth with a single. In the bottom half, with two outs, things got really ugly. Correa and Larnach got back-to-back walks, then a Jose Miranda single scored them both. A Ryan Jeffers home run then brought in two more runs and gave the Twins a pretty ugly 9-3 lead. Perhaps you should just go to your BBQ now. Joey Wentz replaced Maeda for the final out of the inning. Maeda’s final line for the game was 3.2 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR on 88 pitches. Brutal.
In the fifth, Colt Keith got a one-out single, and Mark Canha managed a two-out single, but neither runner was able to score. In the bottom half, Brooks Lee got a one-out single, followed by an Austin Martin walk. Both of those runners were also left stranded.
Onto the sixth and the Tigers went 1-2-3. In the home half, Carlos Santana got a leadoff walk, then Jose Miranda singled. Both baserunners advanced a bag thanks to a wild pitch from Wentz. A Ryan Jeffers single then scored them both. Wentz managed to get two outs, then gave up a walk to Brooks Lee before getting the final out of the inning.
Cole Sands came in to replace Ober in the seventh. Matt Vierling reached on an error from Correa, and then advanced to second on a balk, but the Tigers failed to bring him home. Shelby Miller replaced Wentz in the bottom half of the inning. He gave up a one-out double to Kyle Farmer, and a two-out double to an apparently unstoppable Jose Miranda (or should I say he’s scoring “Non-Stop”?), giving the Twins another run. Ryan Jeffers was then hit by a pitch.
At this point the rain delay kicked in, and I can’t be the only one thinking it was nature’s way of applying the mercy rule. The game was, blessedly, called after a short delay, handing the Twins a slightly early but inevitable win, and saving McKinstry from making a relief appearance.
Final: Twins 12, Tigers 3