Twins Fall to Angels in Lopsided 12-2 Loss
Byron Buxton stole a base in the first inning of Tuesday’s game, putting him one step closer to potentially becoming the first Twins player to join the 30-30 club. This feat, which requires a player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a single season, is a rare achievement in baseball. Buxton, who has already hit his 30th home run of the season, is now just eight stolen bases away from reaching this milestone.
The Twins’ offense was mostly quieted in Tuesday night’s game, with Buxton being one of the few bright spots. He had two hits, including the one that led to his stolen base, and took off after the first one, swiping his 22nd base of the season. However, the team as a whole struggled to muster anything off soft-tossing starter Kyle Hendricks, who went seven innings in his start and allowed just four hits.
Struggles Against Hendricks
“Hendricks has a very unique way of pitching and there’s almost nobody else in the game that pitches like him,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He threw good changeups today. He got us expanding on that pitch. … We just didn’t have the answer tonight.” Buxton, who reached third base in the first inning, was the only Twins runner to make it that far against Hendricks, who pitched with a lead for much of the night.
The Twins’ pitching staff also struggled, giving up all 12 runs with two outs in the inning. Zebby Matthews ran into trouble immediately, allowing hits to the first two batters he faced. The Angels broke through with two outs in the first inning with Luis Rengifo delivering a two-run single. The third run of the inning came around to score on a double steal with Rengifo drawing a throw to second, allowing Taylor Ward to take home.
Pitching Woes Continue
Opposing hitters were hitting .341 with a .982 OPS off Matthews with two outs in an inning coming into the day, and the starter continued to run into issues in those situations on Tuesday. “I don’t know if it’s the quality of pitches just aren’t the same or what it is,” Matthews said. “It could just be as simple as some bad luck. A lot can go into it, so we’ll try and definitely figure it out.”
Matthews was chased out of the game in the fifth inning after allowing another two-out run. One of his inherited runners came around to score, too, as Matthews gave up five runs in his 4 2/3 innings pitched. Pierson Ohl, who came on in relief, gave up four runs in the sixth inning, three on a Chris Taylor home run, as the Angels broke the game wide open. An inning later, Thomas Hatch served up a three-run home run of his own.
The Twins avoided the shutout when utilityman Ryan Fitzgerald, who pitched the bottom of the eighth inning, hit a two-run home run into the right field corner in the ninth. Despite this small victory, the game was largely a disappointment for the Twins. “Just a challenging game almost from the start,” Baldelli said. “I don’t know if it does a whole lot to dissect that game. That was not one of our good ballgames that we’ve played recently and I’d like to turn the corner from that one.”
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