MINNEAPOLIS — Even with Royce Lewis out and looking for answers to stay healthy, the Minnesota Twins’ offense continues to fire.
Jose Miranda hit three doubles as part of his career-high five hits, Ryan Jeffers homered and drove in four runs and the Twins upset former teammate Kenta Maeda and the Detroit Tigers 12-3 in a rain-shortened game Thursday afternoon at Target Field.
Miranda raised his average to .312 for the Twins, who finished with 14 hits and scored eight runs with two outs in support of a fourth straight solid effort from starting pitcher Bailey Ober.
The win gave the Twins another series win and improved their record to 49-38.
“Two-out hits are the difference,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s the difference between being in the game and having to fight a team for nine innings or getting separated. You don’t know when those two-out hits are going to come. Our guys found a way to put the ball in play. Some of them used the whole field. Some of them just hit the ball with players on base, and sometimes that’s all you have to do.”
Have a nice day, José Miranda!! #MNTwins #MLB pic.twitter.com/LnJzCnF3O7
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) July 4, 2024
Dealing with another soft tissue injury after a rigorous offseason leg program, Lewis is thinking about what more he can do to stay healthy. A day after being placed on injured reserve, Lewis acknowledged his frustration with his injuries despite a diligent offseason workout and a daily routine that he said involves six hours of pregame preparation.
Lewis, who missed 58 games earlier this season with a severe right quadriceps strain, will be out at least until the All-Star break. He said doctors believe his right adductor strain is due to overcompensating for some of the strength deficits caused by his quadriceps injury.
Lewis began feeling discomfort in his adductor during the team’s game in Oakland (June 21-23), but said the tightness never got too bad. But Lewis felt his leg immediately during Tuesday night’s two-run double.
The young hitter believes he already does a good job of not pushing himself to the limit unless the situation warrants it and said he was nowhere near his top speed during Tuesday’s incident.
Despite his frustrations, Lewis is optimistic about his return, although he won’t give a timetable.
“I think we’ve done everything we need to do,” Lewis said. “I figure I’ll have to be there eight or nine hours before the game. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it. I’m sure people will say, ‘He’s not eating right. He’s not doing this.’ I’ve made some major changes. I’ve spent a lot of money on my body. I’ve done everything I can. If I could think of something, I’d do it. If somebody said, ‘Hey, if you smoke cigarettes like Babe Ruth, it’ll work,’ then I’d do it. I’ll do anything I can. I’m open to anything.”
Lewis may be sidelined, but the Twins’ offense still looks to be in high gear. On Thursday, the group helped the team rally from a three-run deficit against Maeda, who left for Detroit this summer after spending four seasons with the Twins.
Miranda kicked off his comeback by extending his career-long hitting streak to eight games with a double in the top of the second inning. Jeffers, whose passed ball on a two-out third strike in the second inning set up a two-run Tigers comeback, doubled to score Miranda to make it 3-1. Rookie Brooks Lee’s sacrifice fly later in the second inning brought the Twins within one run.
The Twins didn’t give up.
They loaded the bases in the third inning, and Max Kepler’s 12-hopper through a wide-open infield was enough to score two runs and give the Twins a lead they never relinquished. Manny Margot’s two-out infield single made it 5-3.
In the fourth, Miranda’s two-out, two-run double opened the game and Jeffers followed with a two-run home run off Maeda, who allowed nine earned runs in 3 2/3 innings.
“As a team, we’re in sync,” Miranda said. “Everybody’s putting in good at-bats. There’s not a single hitter that’s easy for our team to beat. It’s a good thing to have that.”
It will work ! #MNTwins #MLB pic.twitter.com/AqniCvcIyJ
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) July 4, 2024
The tough at-bats came thick and fast, with Jeffers singled in the sixth and another run scored on a Detroit throwing error. Miranda then hit a double in the seventh to score Kyle Farmer.
During his hitting streak, Miranda had 15 hits on 30 at-bats and had 10 RBIs.
“He gave us great at-bats, hitting balls on the screws, using the middle of the field, doing everything you want to see, shortening with two strikes and always finding a way to find the barrel,” Baldelli said. “He was exactly where we wanted him to be.”
Despite some dismay Thursday morning, Ober found his groove. The right-hander overreached the plate with an 0-2 slider in the first inning and Detroit’s Colt Keith hit a solo home run to make it 1-0. Ober also gave up a two-run, two-out double in the second inning to Jake Rogers, a rally that was rekindled when Jeffers grounded out on strike 3, allowing pinch-hitter Zack McKinstry to reach first base as the ball was headed to the backstop.
Relying heavily on a combination of fastballs and changeups, Ober continued to attack the Tigers’ hitters. He singled in the third and fourth innings and stranded two runners in the fifth. Ober followed with a perfect sixth inning, striking out two. In total, he generated 22 swings-and-misses on 103 pitches and finished with eight strikeouts and just one earned run allowed.
In his last four starts, Ober is 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings.
“I feel really good,” Ober said. “Right now, I feel like I’m able to execute all four pitches really well and mix up the types of speeds, the types of pitches, keep guys off balance and I’ve been able to do that pretty well the last three outings compared to the beginning of the year or maybe the middle period that I went through. Right now, I’m just getting to two strikes, trying to put them away and get weak contact.”
Pot pourri
Rookie pitcher David Festa packed his bags after Thursday’s win. Multiple team sources confirmed Festa was returning to Triple-A St. Paul, though no corresponding move has been announced. Festa struggled in the middle innings of his start Wednesday, giving up three home runs, including a grand slam. The Twins can use Festa’s roster spot to call up a relief pitcher and possibly activate Chris Paddack to fill the rotation spot Monday. Paddack was placed on the injured list retroactive to June 22 and is eligible to pitch Monday in Chicago. … With Twins radio announcer Kris Atteberry on vacation, Triple-A announcer Sean Arronson will fill in for the team’s final six games of the first half of its Chicago-San Francisco road trip. … Marney Gellner will join the Twins in Chicago as she fills in for three games on the television side while Cory Provus takes a series off. … The parents of newcomer Brooks Lee finally arrived midway through Thursday’s game and met their son in the hallway outside the locker room. After hitting a sacrifice fly earlier, Lee singled and walked with his parents into the stands. The couple was delayed on their flight from San Luis Obispo, Calif., to Los Angeles on Wednesday night and then faced additional delays along the way. Lee didn’t learn of his promotion to the major leagues until 2 p.m. Wednesday.
(Photo by Jose Miranda: Matt Blewett/USA Today)