The Twins returned home after a long and disappointing road trip to New York & Pittsburgh. Minnesota picked up the finale win in Pittsburgh and now were back at Target Field to open up a 7-game homestand vs Colorado & Oakland. The Twins series opener had it’s good and bad points. The good news being the starting pitching continued to have success as Chris Paddack had a great quality start vs Colorado in Game 1 w/ 6.1IP allowing zero earned runs. It was also good that the Twins and the fans saw the long-awaited return of Royce Lewis.
The downside was the bats continued to struggle for the majority of the first two games. Both games saw the offense not really getting going until the later innings. This contributed to Colorado splitting the first two games.
The contributing Twins who really helped propel Minnesota to a series victory were familiar faces and surprising contributor. Carlos Correa was a thorn in the Rockies side all series. He went 8-13 with a double, 3 runs, & 2 RBIs. Royce Lewis Target Field return was worth the wait as Royce went 5 for 13 with 2HR, a double, 5 runs scored, & 4 RBIs. The emergence of Manny Margot shined in this series as well with a 3 for 6 series hitting 2 doubles, 3 runs scored and an RBI.
The series finale was the breakout game for the offense as the Twins scored five runs in the first frame and seven in the 8th inning to capture the series finale win 17-9.
There is concern on one of Minnesota’s tenured relief pitchers Caleb Thielbar as he continues to struggle in back-to-back appearances giving up 4 hits and 5 earned runs without recording an out. The Twins need him to get back on track to keep pace with the Royals & Guardians in the American League Central Division.
Minnesota continues their homestand as the Oakland Athletics come into town for a 4-game series. In a side note, St Paul native Louie Varland was recalled by the Twins to Pitch Game 2 vs Colorado and gave a quality start of 5.0IP 1H, 1BB, 0ER and 3K in the 5-4 loss.
