Reid Detmers and Angels’ defense have a tough night in loss at Minnesota
Gary Sanchez drove in four runs, including a three-run homer in the fifth inning, and the Minnesota Twins ended a five-game losing streak with an 8-4 win over the Angels on Saturday night.
Jose Miranda and Gio Urshela each had three hits for the Twins, who won for only the second time in 10 games. Minnesota was eliminated from contention in the American League Central on Friday night.
Sanchez hit his 15th homer of the year, and just his second in his last 23 games, on a 3-0 count against reliever Mike Mayers.
“We went out there and scored a bunch of runs. We had a lot of good at-bats,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think the approach was good. We found ways to get on top of some fastballs in a good way today.”
Taylor Ward hit a pair of home runs and Shohei Ohtani became the first MLB player with 200 strikeouts and eight homers in a season in the Angels’ 4-2 win.
Griffin Jax (7-3) earned the win with a scoreless inning in relief of Twins starter Joe Ryan.
“Offense was outstanding, so that was a bright spot,” Ryan said. “Always good to see that, and to get the win is huge. But, personally, it’s definitely frustrating. But as a team, good energy back in the clubhouse feels great.”
Reid Detmers (6-6) surrendered five runs — four earned — in four-plus innings for the Angels, who committed three errors, including one by Detmers.
“There has been a lot of good and a lot of bad,” Detmers said of his season, which includes a no-hitter. “There are a lot of good things I can take from, but there’s also some stuff I can learn from. I’m probably going to take the bad stuff with me into the offseason.”
The Angels’ first three runs came in the third inning. Mike Trout hit an RBI double and Shohei Ohtani had a two-run single, but the Angels lost for the third time in four games. Trout added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
Minnesota jumped on Detmers in the first inning. Miranda and Luis Arraez singled before Urshela hit a two-run double.
“Every one of these is a learning experience for somebody who is really in his first year from wire to wire,” Angels interim manager Phil Nevin said of Detmers. “He’s done some really good things, and these experiences are only going to benefit him next year.“
St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 700th home run, joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth as the only players to reach the milestone.
Joe Ryan’s rookie season
Ryan is wrapping up his first full season in the majors and has already eclipsed his professional high with 144 innings. He has 143 strikeouts with Minnesota this season, one off the team’s rookie record set by Francisco Liriano in 2006.
Ryan, who had given up just three hits over his last two starts spanning 14 2/3 scoreless innings, yielded three runs, four hits and three walks in four innings.
“Frustrating,” Ryan said. “Anytime I’m not going past six, it’s kind of annoying. Definitely frustrating to put that one on the bullpen. They’ve been throwing a lot this year. That’s always going to be tough.”
Not this time
Saturday marked the first time this season that Ohtani and Trout each recorded multiple RBIs in a game and the Angels lost.
Trainer’s room
Angels: Infielder David Fletcher (bruised right hand) is taking swings. He has been out since Sept. 17 after he was hit on the hand a second time in recent weeks.
Twins: A day after shutting down All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton for the season and announcing he will have knee surgery, Baldelli shed a bit more light on the knee trouble, saying Buxton was dealing with the injury since early April. “He was in a state pretty early in the season where reasonable arguments or just reasonable people would say he’s not able to play,” Baldelli said. “And he refused to hear any of that.”
Up next
Former Angel Dylan Bundy (8-7, 4.78 ERA) will start for Minnesota in the series finale Sunday afternoon. The Angels will go with left-hander José Suarez (6-8, 4.11).
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