The Twins got back on the field following their All-Star break in Colorado Friday. It didn't start well at all, losing two straight to the lowly Rockies, one of MLB's worst teams at this point in the season - ever.
The Twins were hoping to rebound and at least take the game Sunday and it certainly helped to have their ace, All-Star Joe Ryan on the mound. Ryan was his usual stellar self, and they finally gave their starting pitcher some much-needed run support in a 7-1 victory.
11 Strikeouts in 7-innings of work for Ryan, and manager Rocco Baldelli was very pleased with his performance.
"Yeah, he looked great, he did," Baldelli explained. "He pitched the way he pitched in the All-Star game and he pitched the way he pitched before the All-Star game. This is the way he pitches and never surprised to see it, but he was absolutely on point all day long and gave us a great chance to win the game with an outing like that. Was a heck of an outing."
The most pleasant surprise for the Twins and Baldelli came on the offensive side when third baseman Royce Lewis finally broke out of a long slump and hit a couple of home runs. Lewis says it's a day-by-day process for him, but it felt good to finally knock a couple homers out of the park. Shockingly, it's Lewis' first multi-homer game in his career.
"You know, every day is different," says Lewis. "Feeling great. It's baseball. That's the game I love is, you know, one gig could be great and the next day it could be horrible. So, it's just part of it. You gotta do what you gotta do and, I'm ready for tomorrow already."
Lewis added that despite the slow start coming out of the All-Star break, the team felt good Sunday and is ready to keep it going.
"Very important for our team to keep putting together some competitive bats," Lewis adds. "It was special and, you know, it's just fun to watch. We're putting a good grind on the pitcher and getting him out early. I know he's a normally a starter that goes pretty long into games and we got him out after the 3rd, so it was important for our team."
Twins take on Dodgers next
The Twins continue their swing out west Monday night and the competition gets harder. They open a three game series with the star-studded Dodgers and the Twins will put David Festa on the mound.
Who he's facing might be the story of the game though. Shohei Ohtani is expected to pitch three innings against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star is gradually increasing his workload after elbow surgery. This will be his sixth start of the season, following a three-inning outing on July 12, where he allowed one hit and struck out four. Manager Dave Roberts says Ohtani will continue to have a multi-inning partner for now.
“My assumption is that we get up to four innings and then probably a repeat of four,” Roberts said. “At that point then it’s probably a normal game.”
While the Twins dropped two of three to the Rockies, it was an even worse start for LA who were swept by the Brewers and looking to right the ship. LA still leads the NL West and is certainly a World Series favorite.
Minnesota Twins (48-51, third in the AL Central) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (58-42, first in the NL West)
Los Angeles; Monday, 9:10 p.m. (local time). Pregame 8:30 p.m. on 830 WCCO and the Audacy App (in-market restrictions apply)
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: David Festa (3-3, 5.25 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 48 strikeouts); Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani (0-0, 1.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 10 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Dodgers -204, Twins +168; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Dodgers come into a matchup with the Minnesota Twins after losing three games in a row.
Los Angeles is 33-20 at home and 58-42 overall. Dodgers hitters have a collective .443 slugging percentage to rank third in the NL.
Minnesota has a 20-31 record on the road and a 48-51 record overall. The Twins are 36-15 in games when they record eight or more hits.
The matchup Monday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Will Smith has a .323 batting average to lead the Dodgers, and has 16 doubles, a triple and 12 home runs. Ohtani is 8 for 37 with four home runs and nine RBIs over the past 10 games.
Byron Buxton has 22 home runs, 27 walks and 57 RBIs while hitting .289 for the Twins. Ryan Jeffers is 14 for 35 with four doubles, a home run and five RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Dodgers: 2-8, .201 batting average, 4.24 ERA, outscored by 16 runs
Twins: 5-5, .264 batting average, 3.94 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs
INJURIES: Dodgers: Freddie Freeman: day-to-day (wrist), Michael Kopech: 60-Day IL (knee), Kike Hernandez: 10-Day IL (elbow), Max Muncy: 10-Day IL (knee), Roki Sasaki: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tony Gonsolin: 60-Day IL (elbow), Evan Phillips: 60-Day IL (forearm), Blake Snell: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Blake Treinen: 60-Day IL (forearm), Kyle Hurt: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Grove: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brusdar Graterol: 60-Day IL (shoulder), River Ryan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Gavin Stone: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Twins: Bailey Ober: 15-Day IL (hip), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luke Keaschall: 60-Day IL (forearm)