Minnesota Twins Offense Shutout Against Rays
The Minnesota Twins’ offense had no answers against Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen. Rasmussen went six shutout innings, only allowing one hit and one walk with five strikeouts. Also, the Twins put a runner in scoring position once in his time on the mound. He was dominant and could have pitched longer, but was pulled after just 74 pitches thrown. He faced tough competition against the streaking Twins and their ace, Pablo López, but stood up to the challenge.
The afternoon began with all the signs of a pitcher's duel. Each pitcher allowed a lead-off single to start their day, but scoring chances were few and far between. The two teams combined for one baserunner in scoring position over the opening three innings. Both pitchers entered the fourth inning with efficient pitch counts, but Pablo López was the first to blink. The trouble started instantly with a lead-off home run by Brandon Lowe. Quickly followed by a single to center field by Jonathan Aranda, who was promptly sent around the bases by Junior Caminero's 406-foot hit over the left field wall. The Rays weren’t finished putting pressure on López either. Chandler Simpson singled to center after the homerun and then stole second to put himself in scoring position. López passed the trial and popped out Danny Jansen to end the threat.
Kody Clemens gave the Twins a chance for a quick response in the top of the fifth with a lead-off walk, but Royce Lewis grounded into a double play on the first pitch he saw, and the Twins’ half of the inning ended quickly again. On the other hand, Tampa Bay’s offense seemed to find a rhythm. Josh Lowe sent a lead-off single to right field and scampered to second on a wild pitch. Brandon Lowe then sent him to third on a groundout to the second baseman. The Twins forced Yandy Díaz into a ground ball, which they converted into a run down out of Josh Lowe, but allowed Díaz to get to second base. Jonathan Aranda took advantage of the runner in scoring position,n popping a single to right and scoring Díaz for the 4-0 lead.
The Twins’ bats did wake up once Rasmussen left the game. Minnesota put up two hits against both Edwin Uceta and Mason Montgomery in the one inning of work they each put in. Carlos Correa and Brooks Lee singled to start the seventh inning and put Uceta on his back foot. Yet, three straight flyouts later, the danger was over with the Twins still scoreless. Montgomery faced similar treacherous waters in the eighth. This time, Christian Vázquez and Carson McCusker put Twins runners on first and second with no outs. The Twins simply couldn’t find clutch hits. A strikeout, a lineout, and a groundout later, the Twins’ inning was over. Even worse, Tampa tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Minnesota didn’t make any noise in the final inning and fell to the Rays 5-0.
