Twins lose to Angels 5-4 as California bullpen nightmare continues

ANAHEIM, Calif. — It's been a nightmarish visit to California for the Twins' bullpen and the manager who depends upon them, but Rocco Baldelli made it clear Friday that he's not ready to give up on those who have disappointed him.

The latest example: Griffin Jax, who turned a one-run lead into a 5-4 loss, the third time this week that the Twins' bullpen blew a late lead.

"He's grinding a little bit right now," Baldelli said of Jax, who has surrendered runs in six of his last nine appearances, "but we're going to grind along with him and help him get where he needs to be."

The Twins weren't where they needed to be for much of Friday's loss. Lefthander Reid Detmers didn't allow a hit until throwing his 98th pitch, with two outs in the sixth inning. Trailing 3-0 by then, Byron Buxton followed a Carlos Correa walk by lining a two-out single into left field. Kyle Farmer followed by dropping a looper over shortstop Zach Neto's head, scoring Correa and abruptly ending Detmer's night.

And when Alex Kirilloff whistled reliever Jimmy Herget's third pitch toward the right field foul pole, the Twins had shockingly tied the game. An inning later, Willi Castro hit Tucker Davidson's first pitch far beyond the left-field fence, his second home run of the season, and suddenly the Twins held a 4-3 lead.

"I was pleased with the way we got [Detmers] out of the game and attacked their bullpen and put some runs on the board. We didn't just sit there and mope, and go 'Oh, we're just not going to score today,' " Baldelli said. "No. We actually got some baserunners on, scored some runs and had the lead on a day where we don't have a hit through more than half of the game."

It didn't last long. Jax struck out pinch-hitter Matt Thaiss, but Neto singled. Mickey Moniak then lined an 0-2 pitch to the right-field wall, and Trevor Larnach was slow to retrieve it, allowing Neto to score from first base and Moniak reach third with a triple.

That play changed Baldelli's plans as well. Jhoan Duran, the Twins' best reliever, was warming up, but the manager said it was only in case Shohei Ohtani came to the plate while the Twins still held that one-run lead.

"We weren't going to [use him] in a tie game," Baldelli said. "Once we lost the lead, we're not going to bring Duran in and throw multiple innings."

Jax soldiered on, then, and when Taylor Ward hit a grounder to third base, Farmer threw him out at the plate. Jax walked Ohtani, but then made the night's biggest mistake: Ahead of Hunter Renfroe 0-2, he left a sweeper outside where the cleanup hitter could reach it. Renfroe slapped it into left field, and the Twins trailed for good.

"It didn't work out exactly the way we wanted it to, of course. But he's a key member of our pen, and we're going to lean on him still at times even though he's not throwing the ball as well as he can," Baldelli said of Jax, who has allowed 10 runs in his last 11 innings, an 8.18 ERA. "I stand by that. I know it was not an easy decision, but we're going to let him pitch in that situation."

All that bullpen difficulty overshadowed a strong night by the starters. Detmers induced 24 swing-and-misses, the most against the Twins this season, while Ryan recorded his own season-high with 17. Detmers tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts, while Ryan whiffed nine.

Ryan allowed three runs, but wasn't entirely responsible for them. Two hits and a sacrifice fly by Ward in the third inning gave the Angels a 1-0 lead. And Renfroe opened the fourth inning with a single, then scored from first base on a ball that Brandon Drury hit to the left-field fence. Larnach, then playing left, stumbled as he fielded it, then sailed his throw over Correa's head. Farmer retrieved the throw but, unaware that Renfroe was rounding third, was slow to relay the ball to the plate.

"That's a play we definitely need to get straightened out," Baldelli said. "There were about three things we did wrong on that play, any one of which could have gotten [Renfroe] out or kept him at third."

Drury then scored the Angels' third run when Luis Rengifo, who had walked, stole second base. Catcher Ryan Jeffers' throw skipped into center field, handing the Angels an unearned run.

"We didn't play clean baseball, by any means," the manager said. "But we actually held the lead. That's what's frustrating."