A lot was made about how hot the Minnesota Twins were, especially the bats, going into the All-Star Break. They had just taken two series from the AL-leading Texas Rangers, putting up cartoonish numbers like 10, 15 and 17 runs, only to come back to earth against the Cleveland Indians.
Minnesota lost Sunday’s game by a score of 6-1, the only run coming off of a Max Kepler bomb to right field in the sixth inning. They lost the first game 5-2, and had to scratch across a few runs, and capitalize on a few errors, to beat Cleveland 5-4 in 11 innings Saturday night.
“I don’t know if disappointment’s right,” said Molitor.
“You’re not sure what to expect coming out of the break. The feel-good of Texas and the way we were swinging the bats and pitching, I think the guys are maintaining energy and they realize that despite the standings, you go out there and play professionally every day and take advantage of your opportunities.
“It didn’t click very well for us in this series. Last night we had to fight to find a way to win, and in the other games we just came up short offensively.”
Kyle Gibson went 6.0 innings on a day when the bullpen needed rest. He gave up 10 hits and four earned runs, but did not get help from his defense at times.
“I thought Gibby was pretty good today, for the most part,” said Molitor.
“He attacked a little bit better early, and we just didn’t have enough offense. We kinda struggled offensively throughout the series. We didn’t come out swinging the way we ended down in Texas, so a little disappointed not to come back and win the series when we had a chance today.”
Neil Ramirez took care of the other three innings, giving up two earned runs of his own. Both were home runs.
“Depending on the score and if we’re able to narrow the gap there in the seventh or eighth, we might have tried to do something a little bit differently,” alluding to the fact that Ramirez entered a 4-0 game in the sixth.
“He hadn’t pitched for a while, with an opportunity potentially, for him to finish off the game. Kurt [Suzuki] helped him out with a couple caught-stealing, did a nice job on the pitch out. The 0-2 home run, the slider got too much of the plate, and then [Jason] Kipnis got a fastball middle-away that he drilled. So other than the two home runs, he did okay.”
Kepler’s solo shot in the sixth inning off of Josh Tomlin, who gave up six hits in 7.2 innings, was the only run Minnesota scored all game.
“It’s just comfortability and confidence,” said Molitor, adding that he’s not expanding the zone and making necessary adjustments to maintain his success at the plate.
“He’s had a nice run, he’s driving in some runs, he’s hitting the ball over the fence. His defense is getting a little bit more consistent,” he added.
“We’re seeing some progress there, which is what you hope to see for young guys when they come up here and get a chance.”
Danny Santana took a bad route to a ball in deep center that led to a ground-rule double in what ended up being a two-run inning.
“I don’t think the ball was directly in the sun,” said Molitor. “I just think the ball had a lot of height, so I don’t think he thought it was hit as well as it was, but we saw balls carry today. It was one of those days where you can’t afford to drift.”
For the Twins to have success in the second half, more players will have to do what Kepler is doing — namely, seizing a job with sublime play. And, as best they can, find the magic they had against Texas.
