CLEVELAND – Bailey Ober tried everything, and none of it worked against Cleveland Guardians star third baseman José Ramírez.
In the bottom of the first inning Saturday, Ober found himself in a 12-pitch battle. Fastballs at the top of the strike zone were fouled. Inside cutters were pulled foul. A low changeup meant another foul. Ramírez resisted chasing a curveball in the dirt.
“By that point, I’m just hoping that he’ll hit the ball right at someone,” Ober said.
During an at-bat that spanned five minutes — an eternity with a pitch clock — Ober left his 12th pitch, a changeup, over the plate and Ramírez sent it over the right-field fence for a two-run homer. It was that type of day for Ober, and the Twins were trounced in an 11-4 loss at Progressive Field, the club’s fifth consecutive loss.
The Twins, who are winless in their four games against the division-leading Guardians this season, scored four runs in the ninth inning after the Guardians committed two errors.
“We’re all trying to find it right now,” said Ober, who allowed eight hits and five runs. “Obviously, the last few games haven’t been great. A lot of stuff has not gone our way. Almost everything’s going the other team’s way.”
It was less than a week ago when the Twins were the hottest team in the league. After starting the season with a 7-13 record, they won 17 of their next 20 games, buoyed by a 12-game winning streak. Bad for 20 games, great for 20 games, and now they have lost five in a row.
“It’s a funny game that we play,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “There is nothing like it. You can go out there and you’re on fire for two, three weeks straight and you feel like you can do no wrong, and the game will turn it around very quickly on you.”
