The Minnesota Twins are beating up on the Athletics in ferocious fashion and will look to complete a four-game sweep on Thursday afternoon in West Sacramento, Calif.
Minnesota scored 10 runs in each of the first two games and has outscored the Athletics 26-8. The Twins have five homers among 11 extra-base hits in the series.
Harrison Bader slammed a two-run homer and Ryan Jeffers hit a solo shot on Wednesday in Minnesota’s 6-1 victory.
“All those swings always feel good, obviously,” Bader said. “You just want to have a good at-bat for your team. … I’m happy I found a pitch I could do damage with.”
The Twins scored their six runs on just eight hits. Minnesota hitters also received four walks.
“We did get some big moments and big swings — RJ and Bader got us going with big swings — but we also had guys draw walks and we also had guys hit the ball pretty good,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I’m really pleased with the type of swings we’ve had. It was a good day overall.”
The Twins were productive despite shortstop Carlos Correa being scratched due to back tightness. Correa said he would sit out the Thursday game as well. Baldelli said the injury isn’t of the long-term variety.
Meanwhile, the Athletics have lost nine straight and 20 of their past 21. The club has been outscored 81-30 during the nine-game skid.
Hot-shot rookie Jacob Wilson had two hits — raising his average to .358 — and drove in the team’s lone run on Wednesday.
However, the offense was totally shut down by the Minnesota bullpen. Four relievers combined for 10 strikeouts and allowed just one hit and one walk over four innings.
“I think we struck out 14 times,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said of the overall amount. “When you score one run, it doesn’t matter how many you give up.”
The Wednesday game ended a stretch of six consecutive outings in which the Athletics allowed eight or more runs. They have given up at least eight in 13 of the past 21 contests.
The Twins summoned right-hander David Festa to make the long flight west on Wednesday, and he is expected to start Thursday’s game. He was 2-1 with a 2.83 ERA in six starts at Triple-A Saint Paul.
Festa (0-0, 1.38 ERA) made three starts for Minnesota in April and he didn’t make it through the fifth inning in any of them. He struck out 15 and walked five in 13 innings.
Festa was preparing to start for Saint Paul on Wednesday night and had no idea the Twins were trying to find him early Wednesday morning.
“I woke up to 45 missed calls,” Festa told reporters in West Sacramento. “I didn’t even wake up to a phone call, I woke up to our head of player development banging on my apartment door. I was a little confused. It was about 8 a.m. and he told me the news and that I had a flight at 11. I went back and checked my phone after I heard the knocking and saw a few people were trying to get in touch with me.”
Festa hasn’t faced the Athletics in his previous 17 big-league appearances (16 starts).
Kotsay said that right-hander Mitch Spence (1-1, 4.38 ERA) would be first to get the ball on Thursday. Spence made 24 starts last season, but this will be his first in 2025.
Spence, who has made 22 relief appearances this season, hasn’t pitched since tossing two scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
Spence, 27, started against the Twins last season and gave up four runs and nine hits over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision.
–Field Level Media
