Advertisement

Twins beat defending champion Rangers for third straight win

betsy helfand, pioneer press
·3 min read

It’s been a month to forget at the plate for Twins catcher Christian Vázquez, who snapped an 0-for-27 skid just a few days ago. The same goes for Alex Kirilloff, who entered the day hitting under .100 in May.

But on Friday, that duo — along with a pitching staff that held Texas scoreless for the final eight innings of the game — helped the Twins to a 3-2 win over the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers in the series opener at Target Field.

“Those guys have a history of hitting, performing and we have a lot of belief in those guys,” bench coach Jayce Tingler said. “ … They’re working. They’re grinding. They care.”

Kirilloff, who showed off his pretty swing when he hit a long blast to right field in the fourth inning, is finally starting to see the fruits of his hard work.

That home run was the difference in Friday night’s win.

“Any time you’re driving the ball to any part of the field, I think, is a good thing,” Kirilloff said. “There’s obviously some good stuff there to grab and learn from and we try to keep repeating.”

That home run came two innings after Twins (27-23) hitters had rallied to tie the game up with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. Vázquez’s double brought home the Twins’ first run of the night, and the next batter, Edouard Julien, grounded out to second, bringing home another run.

Vázquez went 2 for 4, marking his first multi-hit game of the month, though his trip around the bases in the fourth resulted in him easily getting thrown out at home after he blew past third base coach Tommy Watkins’ late stop sign.

“He had a big night,” Tingler said. “Especially the first two times coming up and getting big hits.”

That put an end to a good scoring chance, but because of a stout effort from Twins pitchers, they were able to hold strong with their slim advantage.

The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Twins: Starter Bailey Ober walked Rangers (24-28) leadoff hitter Marcus Semien and allowed a home run to Corey Seager, but he worked through turbulent first and second innings and then settled down.

“As soon as that happens, it’s like, ‘All right, that’s it, no more. They don’t get any more,’” Ober said. “It’s kind of like this positive self-talk that you try to do in the moment.”

Though his 30-pitch first inning ratcheted up his pitch count quickly, Ober threw five innings. The final hit he gave up, a single to Josh Smith in the fifth inning, was the only hit Twins pitchers surrendered from the third inning onward.

Steven Okert, Caleb Thielbar and Griffin Jax each threw clean innings before Jhoan Duran, who surrendered three home runs on the latest road trip, rebounded by working over a walk in a scoreless frame of his own to send the Twins to their third straight win.

“It wasn’t looking good through two innings … and then for (Ober) to be able to battle through, put up zeroes and get us through five, and then the bullpen of Okert, Thielbar, Jax and Duran did a great job of just shutting the door,” Tingler said.

Related Articles