The Minnesota Twins needed a clean answer on Monday night, and they got one in the form of a 4-2 win over the Atlanta Braves.
After getting swept by the Phillies over the weekend and watching a five-run lead vanish on Sunday, Minnesota walked into the series opener carrying plenty of baggage. The Twins were six games back in the American League Central and five games under .500, with only a one-game cushion in the AL Wild Card picture. Another rough night would have made the road even steeper.
Instead, the Twins came out swinging.
The game itself didn’t begin on time. Minnesota and Atlanta agreed to a preemptive rain delay, and the teams waited an hour before taking the field, only to start without any rain falling.
Once play finally got going, the Twins jumped on Braves starter Martín Pérez, who spent the 2019 season in Minnesota. The matchup looked tricky on paper, especially with the Twins ranked 22nd in baseball in OPS against left-handed pitching. That didn’t matter in the first inning.
Luke Keaschall opened with a double, and Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers followed with walks to load the bases. Josh Bell then came through with a two-run bloop double down the first base line.
Royce Lewis added an RBI single, and Kody Clemens followed with another RBI knock. Before Minnesota had even recorded its first out, the Twins were up 4-0.
Bailey Ober had his own chance to make the lead stand up after a difficult outing against Baltimore last week, when he gave up five earned runs. He looked settled through four innings, but the fifth got away from him.
Austin Riley started the frame with a single, Drake Baldwin doubled, and Ronald Acuña Jr. lined a two-run single to trim the Twins’ lead to 4-2. That was enough for Minnesota to go to the bullpen with one out and Acuña on base.
From there, the relievers finished the job.
Taylor Rogers inherited a tense spot with the heart of Atlanta’s order looming and got through it without allowing another run. Travis Adams then delivered the kind of outing Minnesota badly needed, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out three without allowing a baserunner. Jeff Hoffman handled the eighth, with Kody Clemens helping him with a huge defensive play, and Yoendrys Gómez worked the ninth to lock down the win.
Minnesota’s offense, meanwhile, had chances to put the game out of reach and never did. The biggest came in the eighth, when the Twins loaded the bases with nobody out and came away empty. It didn’t come back to haunt them because the bullpen never let Atlanta make a real push after the fifth-inning damage.
The Twins finished with all four runs in the opening inning and none after that, but it was enough for a much-needed victory. Minnesota improved to 61-65 and, with losses by the Orioles and Rangers plus a day off for the Blue Jays, moved to within a half-game of the AL Wild Card.
The series continues with Zebby Matthews set to start for the Twins against Tyler Mahle. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm.
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