Twins 3, Mariners 1: Clutch Carlos + SWR = Win
07/05/2024 04:26
Simeon Woods Richardson was fantastic and Carlos Correa came up big
The Minnesota Twins got back in the left-hand column on Monday night behind a strong pitching performance from Simeon Woods Richardson and some clutch hitting, particularly from Carlos Correa.
Both starting pitchers were fantastic to start the game, with no baserunners allowed until a leadoff single in the top of the third from Old Friend Mitch Garver. The early story for Woods Richardson was how much the Mariners struggled to make any kind of contact at all against him; he struck out five of the first six batters he faced and seven of the first ten. The single to Garver was the only hit allowed by the Twins' starter.
Mariners starter Luis Castillo had a perfect game going through four innings that was broken up by an error from first baseman Ty France, allowing Max Kepler to reach. The no-hitter was gone immediately afterward, with Correa driving a 2-2 pitch into the left field corner for the Twins' first hit, scoring Kepler from first and giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.
Woods Richardson set the Mariners down 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth but was still removed in the seventh with the Twins nursing a 1-0 lead. Woods Richardson had thrown 84 pitches with the Mariners' 3-4-5 batters coming up, so Rocco Baldelli's move to put Griffin Jax in the game was certainly defensible, but unfortunately, Jax blew the lead in short order.
Jax gave up a leadoff hit to Old Friend Jorge Polanco and a single to Mitch Haniger, sending Polanco to third. Jax walked Cam Raleigh to load the bases before striking out Ty France. He gave up a medium-deep drive to Garver, however, which allowed Polanco to score from third to tie the game. Old Friend (kind of) Luke Raley struck out to end the threat.
The Twins answered right back. Kepler walked, and Correa once again doubled into left, although this time Kepler had to stop at third base. Willi Castro hit a bouncer to France at first, and Kepler froze off of third base. Thankfully, he stayed in a rundown long enough for Correa to advance to third and Castro to get all the way to second base.
The Mariners intentionally walked Carlos Santana in order to get to the righty Vazquez, but the veteran catcher came through with a sacrifice fly to deep right-center to put the Twins back in the lead. Seattle took out Castillo, and Manuel Margot (finally) came through, poking a single up the middle to give the Twins an insurance run, expanding the lead to 3-1.
Baldelli brought in Duran to face the 9-1-2 batters in the Mariners lineup in the eighth, and he mowed them down: strikeout, groundout, strikeout. That left Caleb Thielbar to face Polanco, Haniger, and Raleigh — and he delivered. Despite struggling so far after returning from the injured list, he coaxed a flyout from Polanco and struck out both Haniger and Raleigh to earn the save.
Notes
- Simeon Woods Richardson was legitimately fantastic. He only allowed one hit across six innings, and seven of his first nine outs were strikeouts. While the Mariners aren't exactly world-beaters offensively, it was the stiffest test he's faced thus far after seeing Detroit and the White Sox twice.
- Max Kepler continues to play extremely well. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored and reached on an error in front of Correa's first double. Both of his hits were doubles, and he looks very comfortable at the plate.
- Carlos Correa doubles keyed both Twins rallies, first driving in Kepler with a double and advancing him to third later in the game with his second double of the night.
- Four of the Twins' five hits came from Kepler and Correa. The Jeffers-less starting lineup was pretty punch-less, as it turned out.
- The Twins bullpen was fine, despite Jax giving up the lead. He did a good job with damage control, and Duran and Thielbar combined to set down six consecutive batters to close out the game.
Studs
- Simeon Woods Richardson: 6 IP, H, 8 K, BB
- Max Kepler: 2-for-3, 2 2B, R, BB
- Carlos Correa: 2-for-4, R, RBI
Duds
- Eddie Julien: 0-for-4, 3 K
Huge for the Twins to grab a win right after their 12-game winning streak was ended in resounding fashion on Sunday. We'll see if they can score enough against the Mariners to win the series.
