MINNEAPOLIS — This was the weekend the Twins needed to respond to AL Central rival Cleveland.
Instead, this is the weekend they returned to .500.
Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie shut out the Twins for seven innings. Chris Archer gave up two runs in the first before leaving an inning later due to injury. Then Cleveland benefitted from an erratic Cole Sands as it pulled away to a 6-4 victory on Saturday. The Guardians have won the first two games of this series and look to sweep with staff ace Shane Bieber starting on Sunday.
With the loss, the Twins dropped to 69-69 on the season, their first time at .500 since they were 8-8 on April 24. It was at that point they began playing their best baseball of the season, going 19-8 over their next 27 games to take a 5 1/2 game lead in the division. But mounting injuries ate away at their depth, and their lack of a deep bullpen was exposed. Yet they managed to do enough to stay on top until August, when a youthful Guardian club overtook them.
The injuries kept coming. No one knows when Byron Buxton will return to the lineup. Tyler Mahle looked to be a strong midseason acquisition but he's out with a shoulder issue. Emilio Pagan's head scratching season continued. Self-inflicting damage from baserunning and fielding aren't helping.
Now, with the season on the line, the Twins are 2-7 in September and 3 1/2 games back of Cleveland. They are 5-9 against the Guardians this season. And, with the White Sox blasting of Oakland on Saturday, the Twins trail Chicago by two games.
The rail-thin McKenzie is listed at 6 feet, 5 inches and 165 pounds, just five pounds more than the Twins' Nick Gordon. McKenzie throws in the low to mid 90s while mixing in a slider and sharp curveball. Mr. Stringbean held the Twins hitless the first time through the order then twice worked out of jams in which there were runners on the corners and one out. Other than that, he cruised through six innings, a strong effort for someone who entered the game 1-5 with a 7.05 ERA in his career against the Twins.
As Cleveland attempts to claim the division title, McKenzie has raised his game. The same can't be written about the Twins, whose lack of pitching depth was once again exposed.
Archer has not pitched more than five innings all season. On Saturday, a right pectoral tightness knocked him out of the game after two innings and 40 pitches. The Twins already trailed 2-0 by then due to a slider that was belted into the stands in left field by Amed Rosario for a two-run home run just five minutes into the game.
Sands took over in the third inning and immediately made a meal out of things. He walked Steven Kwan but got boost from Gio Urshela, who gobbled up Rosario's grounder and executed a jump throw to second to begin a double play. One out away from getting out of the inning, Sands walked Jose Ramirez, hit Josh Naylor, walked Oscar Gonzalez, walked Andres Gimenez — forcing in a run — then hit Will Benson, forcing in a second run to make it 4-0.
The way McKenzie was pitching, the Twins had no chance at a comeback.
The Guardians got an RBI single from Ramirez in the fourth and run scored on a fielder's choice in the seventh as they pushed the lead to 6-0. The Twins scored four runs (three earned) off of Bryan Shaw in the ninth to avoid being shut out for the 14h time this season.
