Sometimes all it really does take is one bad inning.
A mix of bad luck, sloppy defense and bad pitching by the Minnesota Twins allowed the Tampa Bay Rays to score eight times in the fourth inning, sending the Twins to their second straight loss.
Facing pitcher Louie Varland, who the Twins officially called up before the game and put in after Ronny Henriquez threw a scoreless first, the Rays got their first two batters on in the inning via a single and a walk.
Varland got the next batter to fly out but here’s what followed:
- Wild pickoff attempt that scored a run and put a runner at third (1-0 TB),
- Fielder’s choice, everyone safe (2-0 TB),
- Single,
- RBI single (3-0 TB),
- Grounder to second but low throw home mishandled to score a run (4-0 TB),
- RBI single (6-0 TB),
- Two-run home run (8-0 TB).
That ended Varland’s night after just 2.1 innings, and despite the pair of errors (one on him), all eight runs were earned.
Scott Blewett and Michael Tonkin went the rest of the distance for the Twins, giving up just one more run.