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Pablo López hit hard again in Twins’ loss to Rangers

betsy helfand, pioneer press
·3 min read

Fans packed into a right field corner section at Target Field on Sunday, dressed in matching yellow jerseys that bore the name “Pablo,” across the chest and featured the colors of the Venezuela flag, a nod to Pablo López’s home country.

But the Twins’ ace was unable to deliver the type of performance that those fans have grown accustomed to during his time in Minnesota. López gave up six runs and lasted just 4 2/3 innings on Sunday in the Twins’ 6-2 loss to the Texas Rangers.

“It hurts so much more,” López said of losing on Pablo Day.

It was the second straight turbulent start for López, who yielded seven runs in five innings to the Washington Nationals the last time. It was the first time in his career that he has allowed more than six runs in consecutive games.

He has now given up 16 earned runs in his last 16 innings, leaving him with a 5.25 earned-run average through the first two months of the season.

“He’s giving up some homers, and the homers are coming with guys on base. That’s a recipe to have your ERA be about two points above your expected (Fielding Independent Pitching),” pitching coach Pete Maki said. “They’re getting him with the long ball a little bit more than he’s accustomed to, I think. So we’re going to try to figure out how to reduce the ball leaving the park.”

Sunday’s problems began in the third inning when López issued an eight-pitch walk to Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien with two outs.

Then came the homers.

That walk set the stage for Corey Seager’s first of two home runs off of López. The star shortstop’s first blast gave Texas (25-29) a lead it would not relinquish. He added another in the fifth inning, hammering a first-pitch breaking ball to right field, the 11th Lopez has given up this season.

“It’s crazy when you see how he’s on time with everything,” López said of Seager. “You try to blow something by him, he fouls it off, and you’re like, ‘Oh, he’s on time with the fastball, let me spin something.’ So you spin something, and he’s on it. He got the best of me.”

López encountered trouble again in the fourth inning, hitting Adolis García with a pitch before allowing consecutive singles to produce the Rangers’ third run.

They grabbed another one when Jonah Heim lined a ball to Edouard Julien that he could not grab cleanly, putting them up four runs before the Twins (28-24) had even recorded their first hit of the day off rookie Gerson Garabito, who was making his major league debut.

After three hitless innings, Carlos Correa led off the bottom of the fourth with a single before Max Kepler’s double brought him home. Correa would be in the middle of the action an inning later, driving in Willi Castro with a double.

But that was all for the Twins, who finished with just three hits and were unable to overcome López’s rocky outing.

“It’s a matter of making adjustments. I’m not sure what that could be,” López said. “I do know something needs to change, and hopefully it happens quicker rather than later.”

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