MINNEAPOLIS _ The bonfires lit by the Twins bullpen wound up consuming their entire homestand.
An overstressed unit that coughed up the tying runs in the ninth on Sunday, surrendered 14 runs in two innings on Monday, and turned a winnable game into a rout on Tuesday, finally bottomed out in the Wednesday sunshine. Trailing the Astros by a run after six innings, the Twins turned to their relief corps and were disappointed again: A six-run seventh decided the outcome, a three-run eighth added an extra poke in the eye, and catcher Chris Gimenez gave up a couple of runs in the ninth.
Houston completed its more-than-convincing three-game sweep with a 17-6 rout in Target Field, and the Twins headed for the airport after losing five of six games to drop out of first place in the American League Central.
All eight members of the beleaguered bullpen aren't boarding that plane to California, however, not after the bullpen gave up a collective 26 runs in nine innings against Houston. The Twins' pen, ranked 18th in the majors just three days ago, now owns a 5.33 ERA _ worst in the majors by far _ and a few members figure to pay for that failure with their jobs, at least temporarily.
Ryan Pressly _ optioned to Triple-A Rochester after the game _ faced two batters in the seventh, and Tyler Duffey five, and neither recorded an out. Craig Breslow eventually retired the side, but he too surrendered a hit, a walk and a sacrifice fly during his stint. Jason Wheeler's second game in the majors didn't go any better than his first; he served up a three-run eighth and was designated for assignment after the game.
The Twins will call up two pitchers on Thursday.
The Twins allowed six home runs in the game, the first time that's happened since the Blue Jays did it on Sept. 30, 2010, and 10 in the series. George Springer treated Target Field like his own home, reaching base six times Wednesday by going 4-for-4 with two walks, and he crushed a pair of home runs. His second one, a 467-foot blast against Pressly, is the fourth-longest homer in Target Field history, surpassed only by Jim Thome (twice) and Nelson Cruz.
Hector Santiago wasn't sharp, either, allowing six runs in six innings, all of them scoring on a trio of home runs he gave up.
The Twins also clubbed three homers, with Brian Dozier blasting his eighth of the season, and Eddie Rosario and Jason Castro each connecting in the sixth inning to pull the Twins to within 6-5. But any optimism generated by that rally was quickly doused by the Twins' bullpen.
The Astros, who have a major league-best 38-16 record, scored 40 runs in the series, a team record.
The Twins (26-23) are 12-18 at home and fell a half-game behind Cleveland in the AL Central after beginning the day in first by percentage points.
Neither Miguel Sano (illness) nor Joe Mauer (veteran's day off) played for the Twins, who finished the homestand 1-5.
