Bullpen woes and a costly error opened the floodgates as the Mets thumped the Twins 14-4 to finish off a two-game sweep Wednesday afternoon at Target Field.
Minnesota led 3-2 after six solid innings by left-handed starter Martin Perez, but Trevor May served up a three-run, pinch-hit homer to Dominic Smith that put the Mets up 5-3, and the wheels really came off in the eighth and ninth innings.
In the eighth, Matt Magill put a couple of runners on base, and both came around to score when Eddie Rosario dropped a routine fly ball that would’ve been the third out. The 7-3 Mets lead then blossomed into an 11-3 lead, highlighted by a mammoth three-run homer by All-Star rookie Pete Alonso.
The estimated distance on Alonso’s blast was 474 feet, landing halfway up the third deck in left field.
It got so ugly that Minnesota let infielder Ehire Adrianza pitch the ninth. It turns out that a guy whose pitches come in at about 65 mph is likely to get hammered by MLB hitters, as evidenced by Adrianza giving up three runs on five hits, although he did have a strikeout.
It’s the first three-game losing streak of the season for the Twins, whose lead over the Indians in the AL Central is down to 4.5 games pending the outcome of Cleveland’s game against Detroit Wednesday night.
Up next: Minnesota hosts the red-hot Oakland A’s at Target Field Thursday through Sunday.
