Make it five losses in the last six game for the Minnesota Twins as they opened a ten-game homestand with a 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals Friday night.
With temps below 40 the entire game, Minnesota’s bats never got going, managing just six hits but it was the bullpen that blew it after Tyler Mahle gave the Twins 6.1 strong innings.
Griffin Jax entered the game in the eighth inning with the Twins ahead 2-1. By the time he walked off the mound the Twins were trailing 3-2. Jax got the first two batters he faced before allowing a single, double and another single.
Joey Gallo got the scoring started with a homer over the right field wall, his first as a Twin at Target Field and his team-leading fifth of the season. It left his bat at 112.6 mph. Max Kepler’s sacrifice fly drove in Ryan Jeffers later in the third for a 2-0 advantage.
Joey Gallo with another big homer! #mntwins pic.twitter.com/6ZzKJydpT6
— Alex Micheletti (@AlexMicheletti) April 22, 2023
Byron Buxton led off the ninth with a single to finish off a 10-pitch at-bat, and Trevor Larnach followed with a walk to put runners at first and second. But Jorge Polanco, making his 2023 debut, lined out to shortstop before Jose Miranda grounded into a game-ending double-play.
Up next: Twins vs. Nationals, Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
