The Minnesota Twins defeated the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 on Sunday in the final game of the four game series. Miguel Sano and Jason Castro had the firepower in Sunday’s victory as they smashed two home runs to lead the way for the Twins.
“We’re looking forward to continuing the momentum. You can see some of these younger guys have really stepped it up this year and are putting together a pretty good season.” Robbie Grossman told the Pioneer Press.
Sano continued his firepower in the bottom of the sixth inning by helping the Twins get a narrow 3-2 lead off his 14th home run of the season. Pitcher Jose Berrios improved his record to 4-1 this season after a difficult rookie season. He finished the game with four strikeouts, two walks, and allowing six hits.
“It was more for me to catch a second wind. Molitor told me that the hits weren’t hit that hard. The pitches were good but I couldn’t do anything about it, just keep being myself on the mound and do what I do best.” Berrios told the Pioneer Press.
Taylor Rogers and Matt Belisle both pitched in important positions in the bottom of the eighth inning. They knew that Albert Pujols could easily give the Angels the lead after smashing his 600th career home run on Saturday night. Matt Belisle knew he was going to need to be very careful. Belisle helped the Twins get out of the jam as Paul Molitor made the pitching change for the right hander to face Pujols.
“Taylor’s been one of my my more reliable guys. But it was a good opportunity for Matty to come in there in a big situation. You would hope that would bode well for him going forward. Matty’s had really solid games, and he has had games where it’s blown up on him.” Molitor told the Pioneer Press.
The bottom of the ninth inning was a very dramatic inning for the Twins. As they were up 3-2, with the winning run at the plate for the Angels they got the crucial third out as former Twins Ben Revere tried to steal second base. The call was originally ruled safe, but the Twins knew they were going to need to use their challenge. It was later ruled that he was out which clinched the series win for the Twins.
“Players, I don’t always trust players, but with the situation and having a challenge … we probably would have done even if it was borderline just because of the time of the game. We just caught the overslide. Kind of a strange way to end the game, but not complaining.” Molitor told the Star Tribune.
The Twins look to continue their road success as they travel to Seattle for a three game series with the Mariners on Tuesday.
— Scott Jordahl
