DETROIT — Perhaps it would be better if the frustration was more evident, if the mistakes felt more caustic. But the Twins left Comerica Park on Sunday with a 7-0 loss, a sweep at the hands of the Tigers, and a demeanor that felt more funereal than furious.
Twins' mistakes plentiful as Tigers win 7-0 for weekend sweep
J.A. Happ gave up a pair of two-run homers and the Twins offense was shut out by Detroit for the second day in a row.
July 18, 2021 at 8:00PM
"We didn't have much energy today," lefthander J.A. Happ said after giving up a three-run, four-hit inning and a pair of two-run homers, ballooning his ERA to 6.15 this season. "The game was close to kind of turning the other way early on and it didn't quite happen."
The reason? A series of mental mistakes, some obvious, some subtle. Trevor Larnach getting thrown out trying to stretch his first hit in a week into a double, costing a first-inning run. Fellow rookie Alex Kirilloff leaving first base uncovered because he didn't realize a shifted Jorge Polanco could reach Akil Baddoo's ground ball. Manager Rocco Baldelli hinted at missed signs, too.
"Fundamentally, on the mental side of things, it was an unsound day today at the park," Baldelli said. "Executing baseball plays, and also thinking ahead. Mentally being ahead of the game, making good decisions out there on the field — today was not a good day for that for us."
It wasn't a good weekend for that, and especially for an offense that managed only one extra-base hit, a third-inning double by Luis Arraez, but specialized in double plays, killing four innings with them. They hadn't been shut out by the Tigers since June 2016; now they have been blanked by them on back-to-back days.
"We leave a lot out there on a nightly basis, whether it's defensively, offensively, especially lately," said Josh Donaldson, who had a hit and drew two walks. "We're just missing some opportunities and it's been a lot like that for the majority of the year."
It certainly has been for Happ, the veteran who has given up a half-dozen or more runs in a half-dozen starts now. He sounded deflated after the game, mystified by his failure and exhausted by trying to understand it. Both of the Tigers' home runs, by Jonathan Schoop and Jeimer Candelario, were no-doubt blasts. Happ has given up 19 homers this year, fourth-most in the AL.
"A lot of soft contact for hits that find a way, and then the big hit, the home runs and the [Caldelario double] off the wall," Happ said. "Finding a way to avoid that big one has been the issue."
If the Twins' play in three games over two days this weekend was a horror show, the Tigers enjoyed a feature called Revenge of the Ex-Twins, which sounds like a summer action blockbuster.
Baddoo, Jonathan Schoop and Robbie Grossman, each of whom was with the Twins organization over the past few summers, continued their weekend of tormenting their former employer. On Sunday, that trio collected four hits, knocked in three runs and scored four times.
That brings their weekend totals to 10-for-28, a .357 average that included two home runs, a bases-loaded triple, eight RBI and six runs scored.
"There's a reason why they're hitting first, second and third in the Tigers lineup over here. They're good at what they do, they have good at-bats, they hit the ball hard," Baldelli said. "Baddoo's obviously establishing himself at the big-league level right now. I'm not surprised to see it."
No, what surprises him is that the Twins could appear so determined to turn things around a week ago, rallying in the late innings three different times to win games, then look so inept and indifferent to open the second half.
"As much as we want to look at other things as the cause, when you can't get anything going offensively, it's frustrating," Baldelli said. "No matter what game it is, today or any day, when you don't have any runs on the board, no one's hitting the ball hard, it's tough."
Twins shortstop Carlos Correa is arguably their best player and easily their most expensive one. He’s frequently injured and a payroll-strapped team is up for sale. It feels like the Twins can’t afford to keep Correa, but the same is true of losing him.
