The Minnesota Twins finally got a much-needed win.
Now, the Twins will try to make it two victories in a row and secure a split of their four-game series against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Minnesota ended a five-game losing streak when it held on for a 2-0 victory on Wednesday night in a game that lasted only 2 hours and 14 minutes.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he is feeling good heading into the series finale against the Mariners.
“That’s exactly what you’re looking for,” he said. “It doesn’t get much better. There was a lot to like in (Wednesday’s) game.”
The Mariners outscored the Twins 17-7 in the first two games of the series before Minnesota responded with the shutout.
One part of the Twins’ success — and something they will look to replicate on Thursday — is that they shut down Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh. He went 0-for-4 on Wednesday with three strikeouts after recording two hits in each of his last three games, including his league-leading 32nd homer in the series opener Monday night.
“He is the best hitter in baseball right now,” Twins right-hander Joe Ryan said. “He looks confident at the plate. He looks great. He’s one of the best players in the game for a reason.”
Ryan relied on sinkers to shut down Raleigh on Wednesday. It’s a strategy the Twins could think about trying again.
“I think using that to our advantage there is great,” Ryan said. “It’s just something he is expecting all the time. It doesn’t mean I’m going to do it every outing. I might not do it for five more outings, but you just recognize certain situations where it’s a good time to do something different.”
Mariners manager Dan Wilson said he was confident in his team’s ability to bounce back. Despite Wednesday’s loss, Seattle has won eight of its past 12 games.
“A tough night for us, but back (Thursday),” Wilson said. “Obviously a chance to win the series. We’ll come back at them. … (Wednesday) was just one of those nights. It’s a quick turnaround, which is a good thing for us.”
Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock (3-3, 5.43 ERA) will try to secure the series win. He also will look to bounce back from his worst loss of the season on Saturday, when he allowed nine runs — including four homers — in four innings of a 10-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Hancock, 26, has made one career start against the Twins. He received a no-decision but allowed four runs on four hits in four innings for a 9.00 ERA in May of last season.
Minnesota will counter on Thursday with right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (2-4, 5.06), who also will look to snap out of a funk. He has gone six starts since his last victory and is coming off a 9-0 loss against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.
This will be the second time that Woods Richardson has faced Seattle in his career. In his first matchup, in May of last year, he also came away with a no-decision despite tossing six scoreless innings and allowing only one hit. He walked one and struck out eight.