MINNEAPOLIS — Ryan Jeffers spent two innings preparing for one scenario in case it came to fruition. The celebration that resulted from the catcher’s preparation was a bit more spontaneous.
Eyeing a possible pinch hitting appearance against Texas Rangers reliever Will Smith, Jeffers set up the pitching machine in the cage for sliders and went to work. When the moment arrived a few innings later, Jeffers was ready.
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Jeffers’ pinch hit, two-run home run capped a comeback victory Thursday night as the Minnesota Twins blasted five homers in a 7-5 win over Texas at Target Field. Combined with Cleveland losing twice to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Twins increased their lead in the American League Central to six games with 34 to play.
“I walked into the cage and the machine was like super high,” said Twins shortstop Carlos Correa, who doubled in the tying run and scored on Jeffers’ homer. “I was like, ‘How come the machine is so high?’ And (Jeffers) said, ‘I’m going to hit Will Smith’s slider, and he’s got the high release.’ He started hitting sliders in the sixth and seventh innings. And then when he came up to bat, I was like, ‘Will Smith is going to throw him a slider, and he’s been practicing the slider for two innings already.’ First pitch, home run.”
Following an ineffective start by Pablo López, the Twins trailed 5-2 after four innings. But the Twins slowly chipped away at the Texas lead a solo homer at a time, Michael A. Taylor blasting his second one of the game in the fifth inning and Royce Lewis ripping another to start the sixth.
The comeback resumed two innings later when Matt Wallner ripped a 113 mph single off reliever Josh Sborz and scored all the way from first on Correa’s game-tying RBI double to the center-field fence. Lewis followed with a walk, which led to Smith entering the game to face Max Kepler.
While Kepler grounded into a double play, Jeffers delivered. Smith left a first-pitch slider up, and Jeffers hammered it, a no-doubter to put the Twins in front by two runs. As he left the batter’s box, Jeffers expertly flipped his bat over and over and began to jump and yell toward the home dugout.
Jeffers credited bench coach Jayce Tingler for alerting him he’d either face Smith, whom he’d never batted against, or Aroldis Chapman.
“(Smith) has a high release point, so we jacked the machine up high,” Jeffers said. “I was just hitting some sliders. I was hitting them pretty well. I told Joey (Gallo) right before I went out there, ‘Hey, if he hangs me one here, I’m putting it in the seats.’”
Ry is that guy. 😱 pic.twitter.com/1NSevRlOYz
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 25, 2023
The victory was a nice turnaround after the Twins suffered a trying loss in 100-degree heat Wednesday at Milwaukee, blowing a three-run lead and losing in 10 innings despite scoring six runs off former NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes. The Twins bullpen yielded five runs, including two off closer Jhoan Duran after Jeffers provided a big hit with a two-out, RBI infield single in which he tumbled several feet shy of the base and pulled himself to the bag.
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Since they returned from the All-Star break, the Twins are averaging 5.1 runs per game. They entered Thursday’s contest with the eighth-most runs in the majors since July 14. Overall, the team ranks 17th among 30 teams in runs scored, up from 24th at the break.
“It feels like every time we need a big hit, someone steps up,” López said. “It doesn’t have to be the same people, the same guy. Someone goes out there with a purpose, they go with a plan whether the plan is to be aggressive like Ryan Jeffers, just one pitch and he turned and burned. Everyone feeds off that. Wallner started that inning with what should have been a homer everywhere else. Carlos followed with a double. They start feeding off each other. It’s been really great to see because that support makes my job easier.”
Josh Winder’s big lift saves bullpen
Even if the Twins didn’t rally to win, Josh Winder’s performance would have been huge. With Duran down after throwing 33 pitches and the Twins needing to cover four innings after López’s early exit, they desperately needed someone to deliver.
Winder did and afterward received kudos from Correa, who called him the MVP of the game, and from Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, who waited outside the clubhouse for Winder to congratulate him for the performance. Not only did Winder provide the Twins with 46 pitches, but he also held the Rangers scoreless for three innings, striking out three and walking two.
“Phenomenal effort,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Attacking in the zone consistently throughout the outing. Gave us everything he had. Used all of his pitches. He’s got a handful of them. He used them all effectively. He looked incredibly sharp. And it’s not easy to do, go out there and just put up a bunch of zeros against that team. It let us come back and get the job done offensively.”
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Taylor ties career high for homers
The Twins traded for Taylor in January because of his Gold Glove-caliber defense. They hoped there might be some power that came with it.
Taylor’s surpassed the Twins’ expectations and then some. He extended his hitting streak to seven games with a solo homer in the third inning to get the Twins within 4-2. Two innings later, Taylor hit a towering solo blast to center to make it a 5-3 game.
Michael A. Taylor 💣 x2#StraightUpTX pic.twitter.com/XNSSfuuB0O
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) August 25, 2023
Taylor, who also hit 19 homers for Washington in 2017, is 9-for-22 with four home runs and seven RBIs during his hitting streak.
“He’s got some real, real snap in the bat,” Baldelli said. “When he’s looking for a pitch, he gets a hold of it, he hits the ball differently than some guys. The ball he hit to center field, normally a ball that high, the ball is not leaving the yard. But it comes off hard and fast. He can backswing the ball really good. Normally, you’re not counting on too much from your Gold Glove-caliber defender who hits in the nine hole offensively, but there are days when he can also carry a team.”
News, notes and then some
Royce Lewis finished 3-for-3 and established a career high with eight total bases in the victory. It was the seventh three-hit game of the season. … Correa’s RBI double off Sbotz was his fourth game-tying RBI of the season and extended his streak of reaching base safely to 15 games. Correa has a .950 OPS in that span. “I should take every at-bat like the game is on the line,” Correa said. “When I step to the plate, I’m not thinking like, ‘Oh things are so bad.’ I’m thinking what can I do in this at-bat to help my team win. If I just focus on the numbers throughout the entire season, I’m always going to be depressed going into a ballpark. For me, just go out there, figure it out. All this stuff I’ve been going through this year is going to pass. I’m going to go out there and feel more consistent, feel like the player you were again. Just focus on every single at-bat, try to find that feel.” … Utility man Willi Castro (left oblique strain) is headed on a rehab assignment, Baldelli said. He’ll join Triple-A St. Paul on the road and play for the next few days before taking time off to go on the paternity list. … Jordan Balazovic returned after a brief stay at Triple A, replacing injured reliever Oliver Ortega (left lumbar strain). … First baseman Alex Kirilloff said he’s “kicking into gear” in terms of baseball activity. Aside from taking live batting practice, Kirilloff described his work as 100 percent of normal. The Twins will assess him for several more days and if he’s healthy send him on a rehab assignment.
(Photo: Jesse Johnson / USA Today)