MINNEAPOLIS — Before Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Angels, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli jokingly filled out a lineup card that had Kenta Maeda hitting second so he could attempt to match the two-way prowess of his fellow Japanese star Shohei Ohtani.
Hitting third in that fake lineup was Nelson Cruz.
Baldelli didn't know it at the time, but Maeda's spot in the order wasn't the only one he'd have to replace as the Twins faced the Angels and their superstar Ohtani, the frontrunner for AL MVP.
Cruz's trade to the Rays stole some of the drama out of the prospective matchup between Maeda and Ohtani.
Ohtani, who entered the night with 34 home runs, got a nice hand as he stepped to the plate in the first before striking out as catcher Ryan Jeffers held on to a foul tip. He grounded out to a shifted Jorge Polanco, who was playing short right field, in his second at bat before striking out swinging again in the fifth and again in the eighth against Danny Coulombe.
Before the game, the Angels announced Ohtani would not pitch again until Monday, meaning he won't take the mound at Target Field this weekend.
The Twins missed a chance to score in the second as Trevor Larnach was thrown out at home attempting to score on Gilberto Celestino's double. As Larnach slid around the tag of Angels catcher Max Stassi, he and Stassi banged heads.
Larnach missed the plate, Stassi dropped the ball and both appeared momentarily hurt. Stassi picked up the ball and tagged Larnach before he could hit the plate.
The Twins got two in the fourth as Miguel Sano doubled and stole third, Larnach walked and Sano scored on a line-drive double to right from Willians Astudillo. Larnach then scored on an RBI groundout from Celestino. But Angels starter Andrew Heaney retired nine straight after that.
The Angels responded with three in the fifth as third baseman Jack Mayfield put a 3-2 hanging slider from Maeda into the first few rows in left for a 3-2 Angels lead. Those were the only runs Maeda allowed in seven innings, but he left trailing Heaney's strong night.
