SAN DIEGO — Derek Shelton isn’t quite sure what has caused the massive discrepancy between the American and National Leagues this year. What he is sure of is that the Twins have faced some of the National League’s best over the course of the last week and a half. That gauntlet — which saw them face the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves before heading out to Southern California — concluded on Sunday with a 8-1 loss to the Padres at Petco Park.
The Twins, who were swept by the Phillies, responded by sweeping the Braves. But they faltered again over the weekend in San Diego, collecting just two hits on Friday, giving up a lead late on Saturday and getting hurt after issuing eight walks on Sunday. The damage primarily came in the sixth inning, after starter Bailey Ober had departed. While Ober allowed three of the walks, none of them came around to bite him. , who bullied Twins pitchers all weekend, collecting nine hits.
After Ober’s departure, things fell apart in the sixth inning. Kody Funderburk allowed a pair of walks — the second one on four pitches — before being replaced Jeff Hoffman, who loaded the bases by walking Xander Bogaerts. The Padres made them pay. Luis Rengifo’s double broke open a tied game, scoring a pair of runs. Tatis then singled, bringing home two more runs. By the time the inning was over, a tied game had turned into a four-run deficit. Tatis would later homer again, his second on the day.
All told, he keyed the Padres’ offensive effort with four hits and four RBIs. The Twins, as a team, had just two more hits than Tatis, finding themselves mostly quieted by starter Walker Buehler, who gave up just a solo home run to Brooks Lee — his 20th on the season — in his six innings of work. Related Articles
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