MINNEAPOLIS – The twins’ struggles for the 2020 season against left-handed pitchers were one of the most puzzling news for a team that featured Mitch Garver, Nelson Cruz, Josh Donaldson and Miguel Sanó amid a back-to-back lineup more of its core from the “Bomb Squad” of 19, which left its burning ruins of sticks scattered.
Minnesota finally found its mojo against a left-hander again Thursday – and it was a spectacle to watch.
The culprit in question was Seattle pitcher Marco Gonzales, and the Twins hit him twice in a three-run Garver homer and a solo blast from a Byron Buxton, which ended with three hits and fell a timid triple cycle, while Minnesota crossed to beat the Mariners 10-2 in front of a crowd of 9,675 in their first goal at Target Field.
“I thought there were a lot of people in the stands, I’ll be honest with you, and for us going there to play a good ball game makes it so much better,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.
Gonzales was tagged with seven runs won, marking only the second time since the start of the 2020 season that the Twins racked up more than four runs against a left-hander. The Twins had moved from a .872-leading OPS team against left-handers on the 19th, to a .658 OPS team against fists in the ’20s, ranking 27th in MLB.
Although the injured Donaldson (right hamstring strain) was left out of training, the right-handed bats (old and new) had a big impact on the thrashing, much more in line with what Baldelli expects from the far right in his initial alignments against leftists. Kyle Garlick picked up two more hits, including an RBI double, while Buxton scored two runs, Garver got a couple of extra base hits and Andrelton Simmons grabbed three hits.
Buxton’s hot start has more than made up for the temporary loss of Donaldson’s bat. Central is the first player in Twins history with extra base hits in each of his first six games of a season. In fact, his first seven hits of 2021 were for additional bases, including four homers and three doubles, before his sixth single from the first inning broke the streak.
Fans didn’t seem too disappointed when he didn’t triple to complete the cycle, like “MVP! MVP! It rained in Buxton all afternoon.
“I’ve been working a little harder in the cage to work my routine a little harder and I relied on the process of what I’m working on in the cage to translate it into the field,” Buxton said. “It’s a growth process, but things are starting to come together.”
So significant is the production of Garver, whose regression he won the Silver Slugger Award in 2019 to an OPS of 511 on the 20th, as he struggled with an oblique injury, certainly did not help the twins fight the leftists. . He started showing flashes of his old self with hard contact (over 95 mph) at the four balls he put into play in Thursday’s game, including the 106.3-mph homer that ran about 435 feet in the center and 101.3 mph double, plus a couple of flies on the warning track.
These are the types of bat-bats that gave Baldelli faith in making Garver his first favorite battle against many leftists, and the twins will keep him in prominent places for these situations.
“[He] he has this ability to go out there, have good bats, learn from his previous bats, learn from the bats he has had recently, ”said Baldelli. “Once again, a guy we’ll really trust and need against the left-wing pitch, and I think he’s also comfortable in that role, in front of these guys.”
The loss of right-handed bats like Jonathan Schoop and CJ Cron from the 19 roster didn’t help last season, nor did the injuries to Garver and Donaldson. While Donaldson is not active at the moment, the twins hope they now have enough depth for the right hand to not only survive, but thrive when the left-handers are on the mound, as will be done again on Saturday.
“I hope we are able to pull off a group consistently that makes life difficult for left-handed beginners,” Baldelli said. “I think it’s forcing leftists to work to get through training, and I don’t think we have any weaknesses for them.”