The game was tied 2-2 in the sixth inning, but Minnesota Twins starter Ervin Santana gave up a single to 42-year-old Ichiro Suzuki and the rout was on.
““He makes it look easy,” Santana told the Pioneer Press. “So he’s just waiting for one pitch (a fastball), and he don’t miss.”
Santana gave up three of his five earned runs that inning. Reliever Trevor May gave up three without recording an out. Taylor Rodgers got Minnesota out of the inning, but also gave up a hit.
Blink and the Twins were suddenly down 9-2 en route to a 10-3 loss, and the Marlins avoid the sweep.
“Ervin battled and hung in there. But we didn’t do much early off their guy,” Twins manager Paul Molitor told the Star Tribune, referring to Miami starter Tom Koehler. “We couldn’t contain, they put up a big number, and that was pretty much the ballgame.”
Erstwhile starter Phil Hughes entered the game in relief in the ninth and was hit in the left knee by a 106 mph ball off of J.T. Realmuto’s bat. An X-ray after the game was negative, and he will have an MRI on Friday.
“We’re optimistic, as far as no breakage at least to this point,” Molitor told the Pioneer Press. “I think we will do an MRI tomorrow to make sure.”
Oswaldo Arcia also left the game with a bruised foot in the blowout loss.
“I thought Ervin was pitching well enough to get us off the field. [The mound conference] was more about how to get Ichiro out,” Molitor told the Star Tribune. “Unfortunately, [Santana] got behind and had to throw a fastball to him, which we didn’t want to do.”
[Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, Associated Press]
