The bombas are back, and at just the right time.
After smashing Major League Baseball’s home run record a year ago, Minnesota’s offense sputtered in late August and early September this season.
But now, with just two weeks of remaining in the 60-game regular season, those bats are alive and well, and they just helped the Twins (30-18) earn a critical series sweep over Cleveland (26-21). Minnesota hit four home runs in a span of three middle innings Sunday en route to a 7-5 victory over the Indians at Target Field.
After the Twins fell behind 3-0 through two and a half innings, Marwin Gonzalez trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with a two-run blast in the bottom half of the third. Nelson Cruz tied the score an inning later, and the Twins took control in the fifth, when Ryan Jeffers and Josh Donaldson both went yard to put Minnesota up 6-3. Fourteen of the 15 runs the Twins scored over the last two days came via the long ball.
“It was kind of impressive,” Gonzalez said. “It feels good when everybody is capable of doing that. Everybody in the lineup is capable of doing that and you can change the game with one big swing.”
The impact of that ability was on full display Sunday. Minnesota had just seven hits to Cleveland’s 13, but the Indians left 10 runners on base. Twins pitcher Michael Pineda danced his way out of trouble on a couple of instances Sunday. With Pineda and the Twins trailing 1-0 in the first inning, Cleveland had runners on first and third with just one out. Pineda responded by striking out the next two batters.
“This (Cleveland) lineup today is very aggressive, especially the first two or three hitters. They got a little base hit, a walk, whatever,” he said. “When I see that, I say, ‘OK. I’m trying to execute my pitch and get soft contact or try to get a double play, whatever.’ For me, my case today was trying to grind on the mound and do everything I can.”
Pineda scattered eight hits over 4 2/3 innings to keep the Twins within striking distance, and Minnesota responded with its string of homers. That this Twins offense is coming alive may not be the biggest surprise, but that it did so against the Indians’ starting pitching was impressive.
Cleveland marched out a star-studded threesome of starters in Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac and Triston McKenzie this weekend, and the Twins marched out of Minneapolis with three wins.
“Honestly, that’s an impressive series offensively that we’ve had against as good a pitching staff as I’ve seen in baseball,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “There’s not very many pitching staffs that I’ve seen in all my time in baseball that you would clearly take over the Indians right now. They have dominant starting pitching, they have an excellent bullpen, they have guys that do many different things and can match up at a very high level in many different ways. And we went out there for three straight games and put good swings on them. Nothing more that we could ask for from our guys.”
Cleveland made it interesting late in Sunday’s game, putting two runners on with one out in the ninth before Sergio Romo shut the door. The series sweep gives Minnesota a stranglehold on the No. 4 seed in the American League playoffs, up three games on Toronto for home-field in the opening round.
Looking for more, the Twins now embark on a week-long Chicago road trip, which starts Monday with a four-game series against the American League Central-leading White Sox (30-16), who lead the Twins by one game.
“We look like a complete team, not only with the offense, the pitching is there too, now, so we’re ready to roll,” Cruz said. “We are in really good shape. We’re coming.”
BRIEFLY
Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and Trevor May all left the game Sunday. Rosario was diagnosed with a left elbow contusion. May had mild spasming in his back, and Baldelli said Sano’s neck was bothering him.
“Everything does seem relatively mild,” Baldelli said.
Max Kepler led off and went 0 for 4 in his return to the lineup.
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