The #MNTwins got back in the win column with an exciting comeback win on Thursday night and tried to back that up by starting a winning streak but the @Athletics have played them tough this season as they are one of the hottest teams in baseball since the middle of June.
The @Twins, on the other hand, have been an average team since the middle of June with a record of 12-13. Their lead in the American League Central was only at 4 games prior to last night’s game as the Cleveland Indians are also one of the hottest teams in the league right now as well.
The Twins had RHP Jake Odorizzi on the mound against Oakland RHP Chris Bassitt and Oakland struck right away in the top of the 1st when Marcus Semien led off the game with a HR to left field. They strung together a single, a walk and a single to score another run before a Mound Visit and then Odo got out of the first. 2-0 Oakland.
The Twins got within 1 when Max Kepler was able to reach on an error to Oakland 1B Matt Olson that allowed Miguel Sano (walk) to score.
The Twins then took the lead when Marwin Gonzalez hit his 11th HR of the season out to center field but after Jake Odorizzi seemed to find some rhythm, Marcus Semien doubled and Matt Olson singled him in to tie the game in the bottom of the 5th.
Twins RHP Ryne Harper replaced Odorizzi to begin the 6th inning even though Jake was at 88 pitches and wanted to keep going. Harper gave up 2 hits to lead off the inning, a double and a single that gave Oakland a 4-3 lead. He then got a groundout and a strikeout before giving up another single and another run to make it 5-3 Oakland.
The Twins offense had chances to make something happen with runners on but did nothing with them. Former Twins RHP Liam Hendriks shut the door in the 8th & 9th.
There are a lot of Twins fans thinking this team is now slumping or choking and maybe want changes to the lineup but last night’s game in that crazy heat isn’t a game to evaluate things on.
They have their ace Jose Berrios on the mound tonight against Athletics LHP Chase Anderson. How will they respond?
This the same Twins team and Twins offense that got them the big lead in the AL Central and one of the best records in the league so we don’t expect them to make any drastic changes to the lineup.
We do expect some pitching to come through trades, though. The Trade Deadline is now just 11 days away. We expect them to add at least 2 relievers and maybe a starter, too. It will be very interesting to see what they have to give up to acquire the help they need. The farm system has a lot of good prospects thanks to trades last season and the draft but some of those prospects might be untouchable and the trades they don’t do might be more interesting because it might show that the front office doesn’t feel this team is ready for them to go all in on.
