ANAHEIM, Calif. _ The Twins road trip ended on Sunday the same way it began _ with a walk-off loss.
Zack Cozart's single to left field allowed Chris Young to score the winning run as the Angels nipped the Twins, 2-1.
Twins left-hander Zack Duke hit young with a pitch to begin the ninth, and Martin Maldonado bunted him over to second. Cozart jumped on Duke's first pitch and ended the game.
The Twins were close to taking the lead in the eighth when, with Ehire Adrianza on first. Robbie Grossman sent a shot to right center, but Adrianza hesitated near second base before taking off for third. He was still waived home by third base coach Gene Glynn but was thrown out by a hair at home plate, replays confirmed.
It's the sixth walk-off loss for the Twins. The 10-game road trip began with them being walked off in Chicago on a Trayce Thompson home run off of Addison Reed on May 3. But a lot of good things happened between those painful losses, as the Twins head home after a 7-3 trip, that has them back to two games under .500.
Right-hander Fernando Romero held his own in the matchup with fellow young phenom Shohei Ohtani. In five innings, Romero held the Angels to one run on four hits and three walks while striking out six. His scoreless innings streak ended at 15 2/3 when Justin Upton hustled to beat out an fielder's choice that allowed Martin Maldonado to score.
Romero's problem was running into deep counts _ he used up 92 pitches in those five innings _ and allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in three of the five innings.
But the one run was all the Angels could muster against the Twins and their bullpen. And, once Ohtani was out of the game, the Twins scored.
Fans booed when Angels manager Mike Scioscia removed Ohtani following his leadoff walk to Logan Morrison. But Ohtani had thrown a season high 103 pitches by then.
Cam Bedrosian replaced Ohtani and gave up a single to Robbie Grossman that allowed Morrison to advance to third. Joe Mauer then pinch hit for Gregorio Petit and lined an RBI single to right as the Twins tied the game at 1. Fans really let Scioscia have it then. The Angels manager was just being careful with his hottest commodity.
Ohtani's pitching acumen stood out at different times on Sunday.
Brian Dozier led off the game by pulling a 95 miles an hour fastball by third baseman Zack Cozart for a single. When Dozier batted again in the third, Ohtani didn't give him a single fastball, striking him out on three pitches with breaking balls and other off-speed pitches.
He unleashed a 98 mph fastball while striking out Bobby Wilson in the third inning. Wilson was geared up for the heater when he returned in the fifth inning. When Wilson missed badly on a slider, Ohtani stuck with the pitch and watched Wilson drop to a knee while striking out.
Then there was the encounter with Eddie Rosario in the sixth. Ohtani dropped a 1-0 curveball over for a strike that hit 76 mph. The next pitch was 99 mph _ his fastest of the game _ that Rosario barely got a piece off. The next pitch was Ohtani's nasty splitter that Rosario struck out on.
A player can learn so much from scouting reports. The Twins saw live an in color why Ohtani is coveted more as a pitcher than a hitter. He can exploit hitters who are overaggressive. If you wait for a fastball, he'll drop a couple curveballs and a splitter on you. If he finds a weakness, he will exploit it.
"He knows how to pitch," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He doesn't try to blow everybody away."
If he's not trying, it could be scary to watch when he does.
