Lopez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran popped up to third to start. Rafael Devers grounded out to first but Tyler O'Neill doubled down the left field line. Wilyer Abreu got a base hit to left to score O'Neill to put the Sox on top. Connor Wong got a base hit to center to move Abreu to third but Dominic Smith grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Abreu drives in a run
The Twins responded immediately against Bernardino in the bottom of the first as Ryan Jeffers flied out to center to start. Jose Miranda was hit with a pitch and Willi Castro got a base hit to left. A passed ball moved both runners over and Carlos Correa grounded out to third to score Miranda. Max Kepler took strike three to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Correa ties it up
Garrett Cooper struck out swinging to start the top of the second and David Hamilton grounded out to first. Ceddanne Rafaela popped up to first to end the inning. Greg Weissert came in to pitch the bottom of the second and Carlos Santana grounded out to second. Old pal Christian Vazquez lined out to first and Austin Martin struck out swinging to end the inning.
Duran walked to start the top of the third but Devers grounded into a double play. O'Neill struck out swinging to end the inning. Edouard Julien grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third before Jeffers struck out swinging. Miranda got a base hit in the hole at short but Castro struck out swinging to end the inning.
Abreu struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth before Wong went down hacking. Smith got a base hit to right and Cooper grounded out to third to end the inning. The Twins struck back in the bottom of the fourth with Cam Booser now on the mound. Correa struck out swinging but Kepler hit a home run all the way to Stanford University to give the Twins the lead.
Hamilton singled to center to start the top of the fifth before David swiped second. Rafaela struck out swinging and Hamilton moved to third on a Duran grounder to second. Devers struck out swinging to end the inning. Martin got a base hit to left to start the bottom of the fifth but Julien struck out swinging. That was it for Booser as Justin Slaten came in to pitch. Jeffers popped up to second before Martin stole second. Miranda grounded out to third to end the inning.
O'Neill struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth before Abreu went down hacking. Wong grounded out to short to end the inning. The Twins iced the game in the bottom of the sixth as Castro singled to center to start. Two straight wild pitches moved Castro to third and he scored on the Correa sac fly to center. Kepler got a base hit to left but Santana struck out swinging. Vazquez got a base hit to left and Alex Kirilloff pinch hit for Martin. Kirilloff grounded out to first to end the inning with the Twins up 3-1.
Sac fly for Correa
The Sox blew their best chance in the top of the seventh with Manny Margot in for Kirilloff and Jorge Alcala in to pitch. Smith got a base hit to right but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. That proved costly as Cooper walked, but Hamilton lined out to center. Rafaela got a base hit to right to move to third to chase Alcala. Steven Okert came in to pitch and Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Duran. Refsnyder walked to load the bases but Devers struck out swinging to end the threat. Chase Anderson came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Julien walked to start. Jeffers doubled to left but Miranda was retired on a nubber in front of the plate. Julien was thrown out at home on a grounder to third by Castro but Willi stole second. Correa flied out to center to end the inning.
Jhoan Duran came in to pitch the top of the eighth and O'Neill took strike three to start. Abreu got a base hit to right but Wong went down hacking. Smith flied out to left to end the inning. Kepler grounded out to first to start the bottom of the eighth before Santana grounded out to second. Vazquez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Cole Sands came in to close out the top of the ninth with Kyle Farmer in for Miranda. Cooper grounded out to second and Hamilton struck out swinging, but Reese McGuire pinch hit for Rafaela. McGuire lined out to first to end the game. The Twins had won their 12th straight game by a score of 3-1.
Jackass of The Night is Rafael Devers. He struck out twice with men on base including leaving the bases loaded in the top of the seventh.
The Good:
Rob Refsnyder walked as a pinch hitter.
Wilyer Abreu was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Dominic Smith was 2 for 4.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 1 for 3.
Greg Weissert tossed two scoreless innings.
Chase Anderson tossed two scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Reese McGuire was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Brennan Bernardino allowed a run as the opener.
Cam Booser took the loss by allowing a run in 1 1/3 innings.
Justin Slaten allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 2 but walked.
Tyler O'Neill was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but scored a run.
Connor Wong was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Garrett Cooper was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
David Hamilton was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but stole a base.
Final Thoughts:
What more can be said apart from this team can't score runs? They already had a mediocre offense going into the season and now they're without Trevor Story, Masataka Yoshida and Triston Casas. You can't lose three guns off an already struggling offense and expect to put up 2004 Red Sox numbers. Still, the stars they do have didn't get it done with O'Neill striking out three times and Devers doing it with the bases loaded. The Devers strikeout was the worst because if he got a base hit, they'd at least have been able to play matchups if they were down 3-2 or tied. The bullpen is taking a beating but good news is on the horizon. Brayan Bello and Nick Pivetta are nearing rehab assignments, which is a miracle for Pivetta's case. Whitlock's oblique is still bothering him but that's expected. Still, to get two of their starters back is going to make the team better in the long term.....if nobody else gets hurt. The Twins are white hot right now so the Sox will be lucky to win tomorrow's game to not get swept. The loss drops the Sox to 18-16, 4.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to avoid the sweep tomorrow afternoon when Cooper Criswell takes on Joe Ryan of Minnesota. The game begins at 2:10 PM at Target Field.
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