The Twins turned a rough start into a comfortable finish Friday night, rolling past the Rangers 10-2 and making the most of a late-season game that had little bearing on Minnesota’s standings but plenty to say about how this club can still swing the bat.
Texas struck first against Joe Ryan, and it happened fast. Brandon Nimmo doubled, Josh Jung was hit by a pitch, and Corey Seager followed with a hanging curve that he lined into right to bring in a run. Wyatt Langford then chopped a slow roller to first that was just quick enough to let Jung score as well.
That early damage came against Jacob deGrom, making his first appearance on the Target Field mound at age 38. The two-time Cy Young winner and pitcher with more than 2,000 career strikeouts had not yet had the benefit of Minnesota’s groundskeeping, and the Twins wasted no time making him work.
After falling behind in the first, Minnesota answered in the second and never really looked back. Josh Bell walked, then Ryan Jeffers and Walker Jenkins each singled to load the bases. Royce Lewis followed by sending one of deGrom’s trademark sliders back through the middle for two runs and the tie.
The inning kept building. Ryan Kreidler dropped down a bunt that scored a run and still reached safely, then Luke Keaschall ripped a triple into the right-field corner.
Nimmo chased it down and eventually got the ball back in, but not before two more runs crossed. A wild pitch brought Keaschall home for the sixth run of the frame.
The Twins weren’t done. In the fourth, Kreidler walked and Keaschall added his second extra-base hit of the night, a double off the wall in left-center. Kody Clemens then punched a single through and past Nimmo in right to make it 8-2.
By then, Ryan had settled into the kind of outing Twins fans know well. The strikeouts came, both looking and swinging, and so did the little mound theatrics that have become part of the package.
He finished with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing just those two early earned runs. His season ERA now sits at 3.79.
Minnesota put the game away for good in the sixth, when Clemens launched a two-run homer to left-center and pushed the Twins to 10 runs on the night.
From there, the bullpen handled the rest. Kody Funderburk came in after the homer, and his fifth pitch ended with an impressive catch in left by Emmanuel Rodriguez. Tommy Nance and Taylor Rogers followed with scoreless innings, and Rogers closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth, finishing things off with a soft flyout from Danny Jansen.
The two clubs meet again Saturday afternoon, with Bailey Ober set to face TBD. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 PM.
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Twins Fans Got The Jacob deGrom Start They Never Expected
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The damage was mostly done by the second inning, when the Twins broke through for six runs, then added two more in the fourth to chase deGrom through four rough innings. Luke Keaschall kept the pressure on with four hits and three RBIs, while Joe Ryan gave Minnesota exactly the sort of steady outing that made the rest of the night feel even more surprising, working six innings and allowing two runs. [Read more 🡒]