The bats whimpered after a hot start and the bullpen imploded late as the Twins blew a 6-2 lead and lost 9-7 to the Seattle Mariners Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
The Mariners had lost 580 straight road games when trailing by 4+ runs in the 8th inning or later.
They had last won against the White Sox in 1991, the first year of the new Comiskey Park.
That streak ended tonight. pic.twitter.com/K0XoVg8trK
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 26, 2023
The game started with a bang as Carlos Correa doubled, Eddy Julien tripled and then after an Alex Kirilloff strikeout Max Kepler singled and Matt Wallner slugged a two-run homer. Just like that it was 4-0 Twins.
Minnesota’s bats went silent after Willi Castro tripled in a run to make it a 5-2 lead in the third inning, and then the wheels fell off the Twins’ bullpen in the eighth and ninth innings. The Twins had just one hit after the third inning and it was Michael A. Taylor’s solo homer in the ninth inning.
Left-hander Jovani Moran walked the first two batters he faced in the eighth and then gave up a run-scoring double. Emilio Pagan replaced Moran and gave up an RBI groundout before Julio Rodriguez unloaded on him for a two-run homer and all of a sudden Minnesota’s 6-2 lead was gone and the game was tied 6-6.
In the ninth, Oliver Ortega loaded the bases with nobody out and then allowed a two-run double to Eugenio Suarez for an 8-6 lead. A sacrifice fly made it 9-6 and Ortega watch his ERA balloon from 2.77 to 4.61.
The silent bats and disastrous bullpen wasted a terrific start by Pablo Lopez, who allowed just two runs on six hits while striking out eight.
Speaking of strikeouts, Twins batters struck out 18 times. Kirilloff, Wallner and Trevor Larnach each struck out three times while Kepler, Castro and Joey Gallo struck out twice each.
