MINNEAPOLIS – The Twins’ season-long battle against left-handed pitchers in 2020 was among the more confusing developments of a team boasting Mitch Garver, Nelson Cruz, Josh Donaldson and Miguel Sanó at the center of a lineup that returned the most of its core of the “Bomba Squad” of ’19, which left the smoldering ruins of left-handers in its wake.
Minnesota finally found its mojo again against a left-handed on Thursday – and it was a sight to behold.
The lefthanded in question was Seattle-pitcher Marco Gonzales, and the Twins dealt him two big hits on a three-run homer by Garver and a solo explosion by a red-hot Byron Buxton, which ended with three hits and a triple shy of the cycle, as Minnesota cruised to a 10-2 win over the Mariners in front of a sold-out crowd of 9,675 in their home opener at Target Field.
“It felt like there were a lot of people in the stands, I’ll be honest with you, and if we go out and play a nice ball game for them, it gets all the better,” said manager Rocco Baldelli.
Gonzales was tagged for seven earned points and was only the second time since the start of the 2020 season that the Twins have scored more than four points against a leftist. The Twins had gone from an MLB-leading .872 team OPS against lefties in ’19 to a .658 team OPS against lefties in ’20, finishing 27th in MLB.
Even when the injured Donaldson (right hamstring tension) stayed out of the lineup, right-handed bats – old and new – made a big impact in the rout, much more in line with what Baldelli expects from the extreme right-handed skew. in his starting positions against leftists. Kyle Garlick had two more basehits, including an RBI double, while Buxton scored two runs, Garver conjured a few extra-base hits, and Andrelton Simmons bunted three times.
Buxton’s hot start more than made up for the temporary loss of Donaldson’s bat. The midfielder is the first player in Twins history to have extra basehits in each of his first six games of a season. In fact, his first seven hits in 2021 went for extra bases – including four homers and three doubles – before his sixth inning single broke the streak.
Fans didn’t seem too disappointed when he didn’t triple to complete the cycle, as chants of “MVP! MVP! “it rained all afternoon on Buxton.
“I’ve worked a little bit harder in the cage to work on my routine a little bit more, and I am confident that the process of what I’m working on in the cage will translate to the field,” Buxton said. “It’s a growth process, but things are starting to come together.”
Equally important is the production of Garver, whose decline from the Silver Slugger Award winner in 2019 to a .511 OPS in ’20 as he struggled with an oblique injury, certainly did not help the Twins battle leftists. He began showing flashes of his old self with hard-hit contact (over 95 mph) on all four balls he put into play in Thursday’s game, including the 106.3 mph homer who reached an estimated 130 feet. the middle traveled, and a 101.3 mph. double, next to a few flies to the warning trail.
Those are the kinds of at-bats that gave Baldelli the confidence to make Garver his favorite lead-off hitter against many leftists – and the Twins will continue to put him in prominent places in those situations.
[He] has that ability to go out, have good bats, learn from his previous at-bats, learn from at-bats that he’s had recently, ”said Baldelli. “Again, a man that we are really going to rely on and who we need against left-handed pitching, and I think he feels comfortable in that role too when he faces those guys.”
The loss of big right-handed bats like Jonathan Schoop and CJ Cron from the ’19 squad didn’t help last season, as did Garver and Donaldson’s injuries. While Donaldson isn’t active for now, the Twins hope they now have enough right-handed depth to not only survive but thrive when leftists are on the mound – as will be the case again on Saturday.
“I expect we will be able to consistently release a group that makes life difficult for left-handed starters,” said Baldelli. “Forcing those lefties to get through the lineup is important to me, and I don’t think we have any weaknesses for them.”