Twins' offensive slump continues with one-hit effort against Royals
MINNEAPOLIS -- There had already been one no-hitter completed in Major League Baseball earlier in the night. The Minnesota Twins didn't want to be the second team to make history Tuesday.
More important than avoiding a no-hitter, though, was beating the Kansas City Royals. Unfortunately for the Twins, they couldn't eke out a win despite thwarting Royals starter Chris Young's no-hitter attempt in the seventh inning.
A triple by Trevor Plouffe was the only offense Minnesota had to speak for in Tuesday's 2-0 loss that dropped the Twins to second in the American League Central behind the Royals. The Twins' offense had been cold as of late, but it hit a new level with just the one hit Tuesday.
"Obviously, any time you aren't doing well as an offense and you're losing games, you're going to be frustrated," Plouffe said. "That's the No. 1 thing for us. We want to win series, and we haven't put ourselves in position to do that lately -- mainly because of our offense."
Tuesday marked the fourth time the Twins have been shut out this year, but the first time since a 2-0 loss to Seattle back on April 24. Minnesota sprinted to a 20-win month of May thanks in large part to its offense; the Twins averaged 5.15 runs per game last month.
So far in nine games in June, that output is just 2.56 runs per game. Tuesday's one-hit effort was the latest in a string of games in which Minnesota's offense has cost it a game. The Twins scored just two runs on Saturday in a 4-2 loss to Milwaukee and only one run Monday in the series opener with the Royals, a 3-1 loss.
The frustration of the Twins' hitters showed itself on the field Tuesday as players slammed bats after failing to put together hits.
"It's hard to say how fragile our confidence level could be when you go through a stretch of seven or eight games where we haven't played as well as we had during May, obviously," said Twins manager Paul Molitor. "I think we have a lot of confident guys in there. We still have the guys that can lead. I'm not overly concerned about confidence being something that's an issue right now."
Tuesday's lack of offense spoiled another quality start by Twins right-hander Trevor May. One outing after May struck out a season-high nine batters over seven scoreless innings, he allowed just one run in six innings. The only run May gave up came in the first inning and, although he issued three walks and had three wild pitches, he made it through six with just the one run.
It didn't seem to matter, though, as Young took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. With one out in the seventh, Plouffe lined a triple high off the right field wall. But he was stranded there after Eddie Rosario and Kurt Suzuki both grounded out to Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar to end Minnesota's only threat of the night.
Once the Royals dipped into their bullpen, it was all but over for the Twins' hitters, who were stumped by Young for most of the game. Though he struck out just two batters, Young didn't allow for much hard contact.
"You kind of shake your head," Plouffe said of Young. "He's a good pitcher. He's a smart guy. He changes speeds and locates and makes you get out of your comfort zone. He showed last year that he could do it for a whole year in the starting rotation, and now he's doing it for them in the starting rotation."
The Twins have shown a knack for not letting losses pile up. Since the first week of the season, Minnesota hasn't lost more than two games in a row. Tuesday's loss was the second in as many days as the Royals regained their lead in the division.
Just as Minnesota has been able to put bad games in the past, it now has to put its last week of offensive struggles behind.
"This is a game you have to have a short memory," Plouffe said. "I think maybe in the past we would have let a couple losses snowball into more. We know now that we have the confidence to come in every day and compete. We're not too worried about what's going on right now. We know we'll continue to work hard and improve."
Roster move: After Tuesday's game, the Twins announced that they have recalled shortstop Jorge Polanco from Double-A Chattanooga. Polanco will take the roster spot of outfielder Eddie Rosario, who will be placed on paternity leave. Molitor said Rosario's stint on the paternity list will last just one game as the Twins have Thursday off.
Polanco debuted with the Twins last year but played in just five games and was 2 for 6 with three RBI. In 52 games with Chattanooga this season, the 21-year-old Polanco is batting .312 with four home runs and 26 RBI.
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