MINNESOTA TWINS 5, TEXAS RANGERS 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, May 25, 2024

Batting stars:  Alex Kirilloff was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and two runs.  Jose Miranda was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Chris Paddack pitched five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and striking out three.  Cole Sands struck out two in two perfect innings.  Jhoan Duran pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

Opposition stars: Leody Taveras was 2-for-4 with a double.  Ezequiel Duran hit a home run, his first.  Michael Lorenzen pitched six innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks and striking out four.

The game: The Twins took the lead in the first inning.  With one out, Carlos Correa walked and Miranda singled.  A line out followed, but then Byron Buxton got an infield single to load the bases and Ryan Jeffers walked to bring home the game’s first run.  A ground out ended the inning, but the Twins led 1-0.

The lead held up until the fourth.  Corey Seager led off with a single, went to second on a ground out, and scored on Adolis Garcia’s ground-rule double, tying the score at one.  Ezequiel Duran homered with one out in the fifth to give Texas a 2-1 lead.  In the sixth, Josh Smith walked and stole second and Taveras delivered a two-out double, putting the Rangers ahead 3-1.

The Twins got only one hit in innings two through six.  In the seventh, however, Kirilloff led off with a single and Carlos Santana walked.  Edouard Julien drew a one-out walk and Correa hit a sacrifice fly, cutting the margin to 3-2.  The Twins got the lead back in the eighth.  Max Kepler singled and Buxton walked.  With one out, Kirilloff hit a three-run homer, giving the Twins a 5-3 advantage.  It held up, as Texas did not get a baserunner after the sixth inning.

WP:  Sands (2-0).

LP:  David Robertson (2-2).

S:  Jhoan Duran (6),

Notes:  Willi Castro, who played just about everywhere in 2024, was in left.  Manuel Margot, who played the most games in left field, came in for defense in the ninth, with Castro moving to third and Miranda leaving the game.  Kirilloff was at DH.

Max Kepler was batting .303.  He would finish at .253.

This was one of three home runs Ezequiel Duran hit in 2024.  He had a slugging average of .321.

It’s interesting to look at the “regulars” for 2024.  Jeffers and Christian Vazquez each caught 86 games.  Edouard Julien had the most games at second with 90.  Jose Miranda had the most games at third with 79.  Correa led at short with 84.  Margot had the most in left with 64.  Buxton had 94 games in center.  Trevor Larnach had the most games at DH, 52.  The only players to play a hundred games at the same position were Santana at first (146) and Max Kepler in right (103).  Injuries had something to do with that, but some ot if was a deliberate managerial choice.

Record:  Texas was 24-29, in second place, 3 games behind Seattle in the AL West.  They would finish 78-84, in third place, 10.5 games behind Houston.

The Twins were 28-23, in third place, 6.5 games behind Cleveland in the AL Central.  They would finish 82-80, in fourth place, 10.5 games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 10-6 (.625).