Giolito fires back at Donaldson, White Sox beat Twins 7-6
Lucas Giolito lobbed an expletive-laced response in Josh Donaldson’s direction after the slugger appeared to yell “Not sticky anymore,” after a first-inning homer, overshadowing Gavin Sheets’ successful debut for the White Sox in a 7-6 victory over the Twins.
Scherzer faces deGrom in spring game, rematch on opening day
Scherzer will make his Nationals-record sixth opening day start April 1, facing the New York Mets in Washington. The original lineup released by Washington before the game featured a designated hitter; that was revised to include Scherzer batting for himself. DeGrom struck him out, part of his 4 2/3 scoreless innings with three hits and five Ks. YANKEES 8, BLUE JAYS 3Gerritt Cole struck out eight in five innings, allowing one run in his fourth spring start for New York. BRAVES 11, RAYS 1Atlanta starter Max Fried gave up three hits and struck out five over six innings.
AP source: Twins reach 1-year, $13M deal with DH Nelson Cruz
FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2020, file photo, Minnesota Twins' Nelson Cruz, center, smiles in the dugout after the Twins clinched the AL Central championship with the Chicago White Sox's loss during the tenth inning of a baseball game in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Twins are bringing back designated hitter Nelson Cruz on a one-year, $13 million contract, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig, File)MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Twins are bringing back designated hitter Nelson Cruz on a one-year, $13 million contract, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations. The six-time All-Star won Silver Slugger awards in 2019 and 2020, when the Twins won the AL Central both seasons. Cruz was about the only constant, despite being at least 10 years older than most of the regulars.
Astros win 4-1 in Game 1; Twins' record losing streak at 17
Houston Astros' Carlos Correa, left, and George Springer, center, jump in celebration of the Astros 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins 4-1 in Game 1 of an American League wild-card baseball series, Tuesday Sept. 29, 2020, in Minneapolis. They know what it’s like," said manager Dusty Baker, after the Astros became the first team in major league history to win a game after reaching the postseason with a losing record. It didn’t go my way,” said Romo, who has three World Series rings with San Francisco and pitched in his 30th career postseason game. Minnesota’s previous win in the playoffs was notched in New York on Oct. 5, 2004, in Game 1 of the AL division series. UP NEXTThe Astros were waiting until after the game to announce their starter for Game 2, though Valdez's appearance took him out of the mix.
Twins clinch 2nd straight playoff spot, beat Mills, Cubs 8-1
Minnesota Twins' Jake Cave (60) runs to score on a single hit by Eddie Rosario against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)CHICAGO – Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sanó and Josh Donaldson homered as the Minnesota Twins clinched a second straight postseason berth with an 8-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night. The Twins, who won the division last year, will make back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2009-10. After Mills struck out the first two batters of the game, Rosario homered on the first pitch he saw for a 1-0 lead. In the sixth, Rosario hit an RBI single for a 2-1 lead.
Tigers finish sweep of Twins, pull back to .500 with 3-2 win
DETROIT Jonathan Schoop hit a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning, and the Detroit Tigers finished off a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 3-2 victory Sunday. Detroit has won five straight to pull back to .500 on the season. Anything can happen in this short season, and there's a lot of openings.Jeimer Candelario also homered for the Tigers, and Jorge Polanco went deep for the Twins. He also hit three batters and threw a wild pitch that brought home a run in the second. Rich Hill (1-1) takes the mound for the Twins against Lucas Giolito (3-2), who threw a no-hitter in his previous start Tuesday.
Cabrera's homer lifts Tigers to doubleheader sweep of Twins
Boyd pitched Detroit to an 8-2 victory in the opener, and Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer that put the Tigers ahead to stay in the second game. Nelson Cruz hit a solo homer in each game for the Twins. Jeimer Candelario went deep in the second game for the Tigers. The Twins were going with a bullpen game in the second game after Randy Dobnak (5-2) had a rough go of it in the opener. HOLDING THEIR OWNThe Tigers secured their third straight series victory, and they've been against some well-regarded teams the Indians, Cubs and Twins.
Maeda's no-hitter ends in 9th; Twins top Brewers 4-3 in 12
Minnesota Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda of Japan throws against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)MINNEAPOLIS Kenta Maeda lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning for the Minnesota Twins, who blew a three-run lead but came back to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings. Maeda's no-hit bid was ended by Eric Sogard's soft single that soared just over the glove of a leaping Polanco at shortstop. Maeda retired 21 straight batters in a stretch from the first to the eighth innings and finished with 12 strikeouts. Opponents are 0 for 22 against Hader this season, with four walks and one hit by pitch 12 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.
Homer-happy Twins win without a long ball, beat Tigers 8-3
DETROIT - Jake Cave and Nelson Cruz each drove in two runs and the homer-happy Minnesota Twins won without clearing the fences, beating the Detroit Tigers 8-3 on Sunday. Michael Pineda (11-5) got the win, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk in six innings. Twins reliever Brusdar Graterol struck out two in a scoreless ninth in his major league debut. He is tied with Brad Keller and Aaron Sanchez for the major league lead in losses. Tigers: CF JaCoby Jones (wrist) was moved to the 60-day IL to make room for RHP Bryan Garcia on the 40-man roster.
Cron, Schoop power Twins to 7-4 win over Tigers
Victor Reyes #22 of the Detroit Tigers steals second base against Jorge Polanco #11 of the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Cron and Jonathan Schoop homered, Martn Prez pitched six solid innings and the Minnesota Twins beat the last-place Detroit Tigers 7-4 on Sunday to win two of three in the weekend series. It was the second time in his last three starts that Prez went six innings and yielded two or fewer runs. Tigers lefty Matthew Boyd (6-10) permitted just four hits but was tagged for seven runs in six innings. Twins: RHP Michael Pineda (9-5, 4.26 ERA) takes the mound Tuesday as Minnesota begins a 10-game road trip against the Chicago White Sox.