Sept. 11 – The Minnesota Twins hope their good vibe will last longer than a day as they enter the most important week of the season.
Minnesota will face the Los Angeles Angels in Minneapolis on Wednesday night in the deciding game of the three-game series. The Angels won the series opener 6-2 on Monday and the Twins won 10-5 on Tuesday.
The win ended a four-game losing streak for Minnesota (77-68), which remains in playoff position. The Twins are three games ahead of the Detroit Tigers in the race for the third and final American League wild-card spot.
With 17 games left in the regular season, Minnesota is six games behind the Cleveland Browns for first place in the AL Central and 2.5 games behind the second-place Kansas City Royals.
Twins head coach Rocco Baldelli said he was proud of his players for staying positive and ending their losing streak on Tuesday.
“It’s a really good day,” Baldelli said. “There’s a lot of positives for a lot of guys in the lineup and our pitchers who came out and threw good pitches as well. You were able to get a jump start (Wednesday), which was really nice.”
Baldelli said the feeling in the dugout gives him hope that this win is more than just a good game. That’s what he’ll be looking for more of in the series finale.
“The emotions were really good during the game,” Baldelli said. “People are really engaged. I think the support from the dugout and things like that are really important to keep the game going.”
“It starts with the excitement and the energy and the work before the game and then you bring that into the game. Then you see your labour pay off and that gets you excited. I think a lot of guys get really excited to see that. My guys were swinging the bat really well out there.
Angels right-hander Jake Kochanovich (2-4, 4.89 ERA) will try to quiet the Twins’ bats in his eighth start of his rookie season. The 23-year-old from Philadelphia has pitched at least six innings in each of his last five starts.
In his most recent outing, Kochanovich allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings in a 3-1 loss to the Texas Rangers on Thursday. He walked once but did not hit anyone.
This will be Kochanovic’s first time in his career against Minnesota.
The Twins will counter with another rookie, right-hander Zebby Matthews (1-3, 7.36 ERA). It will be his sixth career start and first against the Angels.
Matthews last pitched Friday, when he allowed four runs on nine hits in five innings in a 5-0 loss to the Royals. He walked one and struck out four.
The Angels (60-85) will play the final game of the series and possibly the remainder of the season without several high-profile players. On Tuesday, the team placed rookie reliever Ben Joyce (right shoulder inflammation) on the 15-day injured list and third baseman Anthony Rendon (left oblique strain) on the 10-day injured list.
Joyce, 23, is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA and four saves (one start) in 31 games. He struck out 33 in 34 2/3 innings.
“I’m not worried, it’s just a little swelling right now,” Joyce said. “I’ve been dealing with it for a few days. It’s getting better. I don’t think I’m ready to compete yet.”
The oft-injured Rendon is competing at Illinois for the third time this year.
–Visual-level media
