It might not have mattered anyway, but the Twins (20-12) lost to the Yankees 4-1 Sunday with the game being called in the eighth inning because of rain.
Minnesota was trailing 4-1 and the Yankees had a runner on third with nobody out in the bottom of the eighth when the umpire made the decision to halt play, and a steady rain that was expected to fall for hours was enough for game officials to make it a final.
The Twins’ win on Saturday in which they slugged three home runs was bookended by meager hitting days Friday and Sunday, with right-hander Domingo Herman using a buckling curve ball to strike out seven Twins and surrender just four hits and one run over seven innings on Sunday.
Considering New York has one of the most dominant bullpens in baseball and All-Star left-hander Aroldis Chapman had entered the game, the three outs Minnesota lost because of the rain probably wouldn’t have mattered.
Marwin Gonzalez had two of Minnesota’s four hits on the day, with Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario adding the others. Buxton’s double in the third inning was his American League-leading 14th of the season.
Michael Pineda started out strong by striking out seven batters in the first three innings, but a pair of walks coupled with a throwing error by Jorge Polanco gave New York a 2-0 lead in the third inning, and that lead grew to 4-1 on Mark Tauchman’s two-run homer in the fourth.
Up next: The Twins head to Toronto for three games Monday-Wednesday, with each night’s contest starting at 6:07 p.m. The Blue Jays beat the Twins in three of four games at Target Field earlier this season.
