LOS ANGELES — Despite recovering from two deficits and leading in extra innings Monday night, the Twins lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-8 in a 12-inning walk at Dodger Stadium. Here’s what you need to know:
• While several calls were directed against them late in the game (David Peralta’s foul-looking groundball went for an RBI double in the eighth inning and Phil Cuzzi’s field goal during Alex Kirillov’s tenth inning), the Twins still had plenty of chances to win. None were bigger than the tenth inning when Los Angeles assistant Phil Pickford walked Christian Vasquez with the bases full and no lead to make it 8-7. But Pickford, who threw a career-high 48 pitches, hit Donovan Solano and Kirillov (with a big assist from Causey), and got Michael Taylor to fly out. The Twins finished 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position and 15 stranded runners. “Exactly where we want to be,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “We have to find ways in all of these hitters to push through the runs. He (Pickford) was a little bit off-kilter with his attacking shot. It was another place we really want to be. The opportunities are there.”
• The Twins elected to have Trayce Thompson hit them instead of Max Muncy, who pitched two runs and singled, walking a slugger to load the bases in the 12th. Jorge Lopez was electric even then, including a whiff from Will Smith, who has only eight strikeouts in 114 plate appearances. But even after Lopez went 1-2 in the count against Thompson, who hasn’t struck out in 27 batters since April 17, he couldn’t locate him on three straight pitches and walked the win. “I was just trying to be really good with my best, which is my fastball,” Lopez said. I tried to locate it in the area. Bases Loaded Tried a hit here Missing. Two really good shows, go. They got a little lucky. … I was feeling really good. “
• The missed call on Peralta’s double upset Baldelli as it gave Los Angeles a one-run lead heading into ninth. “Peralta’s double is a foul ball. I’m not going to sit here and say that’s the only play that matters in the game but when the play that leads to them running late is just a mistake on basically every point all the way after the first bounce and I mean, a big reason we lose the game Because they got a double on a ball that wasn’t even close to being fair.” From behind the plate, Vázquez had a perfect view of Peralta’s play, which was obviously fouled using the view from the camera on the high home plate. The play is a call to judgment and cannot be reviewed. “It was ugly,” Vasquez said. “It was ugly. Clearly. A stinky way. It’s rough. It’s hard. It’s hard because you can’t challenge it. That’s the hard part. There’s nothing you can do there. That’s a big loss.”
• The Twins bullpen will be short-handed on Tuesday after Juan Duran threw two innings and López threw 1 2/3. Duran had a chance to score the winning run in the 10th inning but J.D. Martinez scored the tying goal. Griffin Jax also surrendered a run on Peralta’s double in the eighth.
• The Twins offense rallied several times after the Dodgers took a 5-1 lead against rookie Pablo Lopez, who allowed three home runs. Jorge Polanco, who went 3-for-5 with a walk, started it up with a solo homer in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 5-2. Then he scored in the seventh inning on a wild pitch, making it 5-3. The Dodgers scored with one out in the bottom of the inning, but in the eighth inning, Trevor Larnach tied the score at 6, smashing a three-run homer to right center.
• After giving the Jax the lead at right back to Los Angeles, Carlos Correa rocked a tough night by tying one run in the ninth against Dodgers shortstop Evan Phillips. Pinch runner Michael Taylor drove home from first base when Byron Buxton lined the tying double into the left center field gap. The ball exited Buxton’s bat at 115.1 mph, the second-most hit ball of his career. Buxton also started a game tying run in the eighth inning with a record 111.5 mph left fielder. “I’m tired,” Vasquez said, laughing. “It was a great game on both sides. I think we came back and it was great to see the guys grinding out those kicks. Larnach, that homer was big for us. … It was a fun game. Big crowd here and electric.”
Royce Lewis headed to the Triple-A St. Louis Cardinals. Paul
No, head coach Nick Paparista isn’t surprised Royce Lewis stole a base in each of the first two games of his rehab assignment at Double-A Wichita. The entire lead program is designed to be unrestricted whenever he or she starts playing.
Nearly 50 weeks after he tore his ACL for the second time, Lewis is back in action, stealing the bases on Thursdays and Saturdays. Lewis, who is slated to join the Triple-A St. Louis Cardinals. Paul on Tuesday, he also hit a pair of hits and scored three runs on Saturday after hitting three runs in his first game.
“When we send him on a rehab assignment, we send him with the understanding that he needs to play baseball and just be who he is,” Paparista said. “I’m not a big fan of sending guys out on rehab assignments with their own limitations and disabilities. I want them to be able to play baseball the way they want.”
For the most part, agent Scott Boras, who represents Louis, agrees with that assessment. But given that Lewis tore his ACL on May 29, 2022 for the second time, all parties involved want Lewis to be himself without any reckless complacency. For his part, Lewis has spoken of taking a more mature approach when he returned this season.
“You know in the game that availability is one of the hardest things you can do,” said Porras. “Availability leads to durability and it leads to the high levels of performance that you want. As a professional athlete, when you are talented and motivated, you have to learn how to play containment and play with a process and you have to do things because you have to respect the idea of how hard it is to be available every day. To do that “You have to stay in moderation. You can’t go to extremes. It’s all part of being a great professional, being available every day. You try to communicate that by saying, ‘This is what we do.'” That’s how we do it.'”
Currently, Lewis, who is on the 60-day injured list, plays only third and third base. When he was injured last season, Lewis was playing center field, hitting 67 runs.
The plan is to keep Lewis playing in familiar places – and to have him run whenever the chance arises.
“It was amazing,” said Paparista.
Rehab ramps up, and Table returns to Dodger Stadium
When he arrives at his booth at the visiting club, Kenta Maeda is greeted with a “Welcome Back” sign and an assortment of Japanese snacks from his former interpreter. Later, the Dodgers play an old funny clip of Maeda on the big screen and the audience gives him a standing ovation.
What made Maeda’s first trip to Dodger stadium since being traded even better is that it comes with the pitcher’s rehabilitation progression. Maeda has been playing catch-up for the past few days hoping he will get rid of Tal soon.
“He’s going to come off the mound and do some dry work and things like that, but throwing the baseball off the mound will probably be towards the end of the week,” Paparista said.
Maeda still maintains a home in Los Angeles, where he played from 2016-19 before being acquired by the Twins as a reliever by Brusdar Graterol. He wore Kobe Bryant’s returned jersey as part of the team’s NBA journey and said his first return brought back so many good memories, especially playing in the World Series.
But he is equally happy about the increase in his baseball activities.
“Timing-wise, everything worked out as rehab progressed and the weather in SoCal is always nice,” Maeda said through a translator. “It would be better if I could play in a match, but given what it is….just a little play now. I think I’ll throw a few long tosses here and there, and once it’s all right I hope to get off the mound soon.”
(Photo of Mookie Bates hitting Christian Vasquez: Kirby Lee/USA Today)
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