MINNEAPOLIS — Twins fans are getting a little less Sho-time than they might have thought this series.
A day after the Angels announced All-Star Shohei Ohtani would not pitch at Target Field in the four-game series between the Twins and Angels, Ohtani was out of the lineup for Friday's lineup altogether. Without him in the lineup, Los Angeles led for most of the night until the Twins chipped away before scoring two eighth-inning runs to beat the Angels, 5-4.
The Twins were also missing their accustomed power jolt in the middle of the lineup as they played their second game after Thursday's trade of All-Star Nelson Cruz to the Rays. Brent Rooker was called up from Class AAA St. Paul to take Cruz's place on the roster.
Miguel Sano drew a leadoff walk in the eighth inning, and one out later Nick Gordon singled to put two runners on. Ryan Jeffers followed with a single to left, and the Twins sent Sano home. He scored, and when Gordon kept running to third, Angels catcher Kurt Suzuki tried to nab him there, but his bad throw enabled Gordon to come home with the go-ahead run.
The Angels wasted little time getting to J.A. Happ for three in the first, which included Suzuki tucking a Happ change-up 405 feet inside the left field foul pole for a two-run homer.
Entering the night, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said there would be increased opportunities for Sano and Rooker with Cruz now in Tampa Bay. With the bases loaded in the first, Sano struck out looking on three pitches and had something to say about those calls to plate umpire Roberto Ortiz on his way back to the dugout.
Rooker hit the ball hard, a line drive with an exit velocity of 106.6 miles per hour to center field, but center fielder Brandon Marsh read the trajectory of the ball and brought it in to end the Twins' threat.
Jack Mayfield, who hit the deciding three-run homer on Thursday night, hit another solo blast to left to make it 4-0 in the second. Mayfield entered this series with three home runs in 69 career games. He now has five in 71. But Happ wouldn't allow another run in six innings of work.
The Twins got on the board in the third after Jorge Polanco picked up his second hit of the night with a hard-hit double to right and came in after Trevor Larnach found a hole in the shift on the right side of the infield with a single to right-center.
Polanco would single in the Twins' next rally in the fifth to advance Max Kepler to third.
Deja vu then struck for Josh Donaldson as he tested Mayfield with another rocket down the third-base line, his third such ball of the night. Mayfield again made a diving stop, this time for a double play, which allowed Kepler to score to make it 4-2, but also effectively ended the threat of more runs for the Twins.
Starting pitcher Alex Cobb went out to take the mound to start the bottom of the sixth but after the Angels staff visited him on the mound, he came out because of a right index finger blister and Steve Cishek replaced him. The Twins got to Cishek as Sano doubled and scored on a seeing-eye single from Gordon through the shift. Gordon would then get picked off at first.
