Ervin Santana's altered plan goes awry against Sandy Leon

May 8, 2017 at 3:38PM
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Boston jumped on Twins righthander Ervin Santana for two first-inning home runs Sun­day to put the Twins in a 3-0 hole.

Santana then gave up a solo homer to Mookie Betts in the fifth inning. But Santana changed his pitch sequences to keep the Red Sox from doing more damage and appeared to be rewarded in the bottom of the fifth, when the Twins scored four runs off lefthander Chris Sale.

All Santana had to do was to keep the score tied there. But then he faced Sandy Leon with a man on in the sixth.

"I was just trying to put zeros on the board, and me and [Chris] Gimenez were on the same page until that at-bat," Santana said. "I changed my mind and threw the wrong pitch. He hit it good."

Gimenez asked for a slider. Santana shook him off to a changeup. Leon didn't miss it.

"It was my fault," Santana said.

The initial plan, Gimenez said, was to work around Leon for a more favorable matchup against Deven Marrero, the No. 9 hitter. But Santana's first pitch was called a strike, and Gimenez sensed that Santana then decided to go after Leon.

"If [the changeup] is down a little bit more, we're in business," Gimenez said.

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Santana ended up giving up four home runs, tying a career high set two other times, the last on May 23, 2013.
Dozier gets more rest

Ehire Adrianza made his first start with the Twins on Sunday at second base, filling in for Brian Dozier, who missed a second game because of a left ankle sprain. But manager Paul Molitor expressed optimism that Dozier would be ready to play by Tuesday against the White Sox.

Dozier turned his ankle on Friday while fielding a ground ball in the sixth inning against Boston, and he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the ninth.

"Dozier came in walking significantly better than yesterday, which was encouraging," Molitor said. "The amount of swelling and discoloration and discomfort yesterday got our attention.

"With the off day, we decided to be patient with the decision."

Adrianza went 0-for-3, but he hit a sacrifice fly off Sale in the Twins' four-run fifth, after falling behind 0-2 in the count.

Haley returns quickly

Righthander Justin Haley was activated from the 10-day disabled list and rejoined the team Sunday. He pitched only an inning for Class AAA Rochester during his rehabilitation assignment, but the Twins needed an arm after designating Michael Tonkin for assignment Saturday. "We were happy with what Haley has done so far before he went on the DL," Molitor said.

Molitor said this before Sunday's game — before Haley gave up four ninth-inning runs, two on Leon's second home run.

This is a 2017 photo of Nick Tepesch of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. This image reflects the 2017 active roster as of Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017 when this image was taken. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ORG XMIT: FLDG101
Tepesch (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
This is a 2017 photo of Brian Dozier of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. This image reflects the 2017 active roster as of Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017 when this image was taken. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ORG XMIT: FLDG101
Dozier (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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about the writer

La Velle E. Neal III

Columnist

La Velle E. Neal III is a sports columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune who previously covered the Twins for more than 20 years.

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