MINNEAPOLIS — At long last, the summer sausage went bad.
Following several early missed opportunities on Sunday afternoon, any hope of the Minnesota Twins extending their winning streak was dashed by a late four-run Boston Red Sox rally in a 9-2 loss in front of 29,638 at Target Field. The team’s first defeat since April 21 snapped the Twins’ winning streak at 12 games, the second-longest stretch in team history.
Though the Twins had their chances, a rally summer sausage that helped propel them to the franchise’s longest winning streak since the 1991 club reeled off 15 straight games finally failed them. The Twins finished 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
“(The sausage) might be in the trash by now — honestly, where it belongs,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We can always get a new one. … The guys throwing sausage around will be ready to go. Trust me.”
The Twins always knew the sausage — and their winning streak — eventually would expire.
But it occurred on a day when the opportunities were plentiful.
In the second inning of a scoreless contest, the Twins loaded the bases with no outs on three straight singles only to come up empty. Red Sox starter Cooper Criswell struck out Willi Castro and Carlos Santana before José Miranda hit a comebacker for the final out.
The Twins jumped ahead on Ryan Jeffers’ third-inning solo homer, but Boston rebounded with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead.
As the @Twins go for their 13th STRAIGHT WIN, Ryan Jeffers gives them the early lead. pic.twitter.com/unF3k7Bxiy
— MLB (@MLB) May 5, 2024
Trailing by two, the Twins also stranded runners in scoring position with promising rallies gone bad in the fifth and sixth innings.
“We knew it wasn’t going to last forever,” said shortstop Carlos Correa, who went 1-for-2 with two walks. “We knew at some point, you lose some games here and there. I think we played great. We were very consistent for a long time. Hopefully, we can start a new one (Monday) and just keep on with the approach, keep up with the same discipline, keep up with the same work and same mentality.”
Boston wisely didn’t let the Twins hang around forever.
The Red Sox finally got to Twins reliever Kody Funderburk in his second inning pitched, hitting three doubles off the left-hander as part of the game-clinching rally. One double hit by Dominic Smith was misplayed by Twins left fielder Manny Margot, who appeared to lose the ball in the sun.
Boston added two more runs in the ninth inning on a home run by Rafael Devers.
“I’m very, very pleased with what we’ve been getting,” Baldelli said. “We didn’t play great (Sunday), but we had a chance to win the game still. We weren’t able to do it. You only get so many shots and so many bites at the apple in the course of a game. We gave it a go, we just didn’t have it at the right moments.”
Rafaela rakes 💫 #RedSox pic.twitter.com/PsgW0BAJ8s
— NESN (@NESN) May 5, 2024
Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan was outstanding early and then battled a few difficulties in the middle innings. Ryan set down the first nine batters he faced before Jarren Duran opened the fourth inning with a leadoff double and scored on Rob Refsnyder’s RBI double off Carlos Correa’s glove on a play in which the Twins infield played in.
Reese McGuire then singled with one out in the fifth inning, advanced to second on an error on a pickoff attempt and stole third base on a play that was overturned by an umpire review. Ryan then surrendered a two-run homer to Ceddanne Rafaela that gave Boston a 3-1 lead.
Overall, Ryan allowed three earned runs and four hits with one walk while striking out five in six innings.
“Stuff probably could’ve been a little bit more crisp,” Ryan said. “Could have made some better pitches. … Just frustrating to lose. I’ve been able to appreciate (the winning streak) the whole time going through it. I think it’s just exciting to see where the offense has been and we’ve thrown the ball pretty well. … It’s been exciting and good for us going forward.”
The Twins open a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.
(Photo of Joe Ryan: Matt Krohn / USA Today)
