Twin bill a Twins dud against Nationals

Washington dominated the first game and rallied in the second, as injuries began to sting the Twins.

June 10, 2013 at 3:51PM

WASHINGTON – The idea, you see, was to sink the Royals to the bottom of the standings on this weeklong road trip, then take advantage of the injury-depleted Nationals.

Seven days later, Kansas City has passed the Twins, and it's the Twins who are getting hurt.

Jordan Zimmermann and two relievers shut down the Twins on three hits in the day game Sunday, and Washington rallied from a three-run deficit at night, handing the Twins an aggravating pair of losses, 7-0 and 5-4 at Nationals Park.

The Twins, who departed the Twin Cities a week ago riding a hot streak of six victories in seven games and eyeing second place in the AL Central, stumbled home in fourth, just a half-game ahead of the cellar-dwelling Chicago White Sox.

Sunday's sweep was particularly painful — and the pain could linger. Righthanded reliever Ryan Pressly came down with triceps tightness in the first game, and center fielder Aaron Hicks strained his left hamstring while lunging for first base in the second. The Twins hope neither injury is serious, but they will know more after arriving home.

"My hamstring hurts, but it's just a little strain," Hicks said after leaving the game following a 12-minute rain delay. "I'll get it re-evaluated tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes."

Not much went well Sunday, starting with the offense. The Twins were outhit 24-11 in the two games and went a combined 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Sound familiar? It's the story of this 2-4 road trip: The Twins were 7-for-59 for the week when a hit would have produced a run, and they left 63 runners on base. And the leadoff spot, supposed to be the engine of the offense, completed a perfect week: a combined 0-for-24 on the trip.

"We hit some balls right on the screws" in the second game, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, "but they seemed to go right at them. So [it was a] very frustrating game for us. We felt like we hit the ball better than the runs on the board."

Take the sixth inning, for instance. Eduardo Escobar led off with a triple, then stayed there as Pedro Florimon grounded out, Justin Morneau popped up and Jamey Carroll roped a sure hit that second baseman Anthony Rendon somehow stabbed out of the air 4 feet above him.

Or then there's the seventh inning, when Chris Herrmann, who knocked in two runs with a second-inning double, led off with a single in game tied 4-4. Joe Mauer followed and, in an uncharacteristic reflex, pulled a laser of a line drive toward the right-field corner. It landed, however, in Adam LaRoche's glove, a rally killed with one step.

"We hit some rockets," Gardenhire shrugged, "and they've got people standing there."

And the Twins had nobody standing down the right-field line where Denard Span laced a first-pitch triple to tie the score in the sixth inning, scalding his old team with the sort of big hit they were lacking. "He reached down and hooked it," said Anthony Swarzak (1-2), "like I've seen him do so many times."

The Twins had played sharp baseball in pulling out a 4-3, 11-inning victory on Saturday, but the sharpness was all gone Sunday, and starting pitchers Scott Diamond and Samuel Deduno were the best examples of that D.C. letdown. Each starter had pitched six shutout innings in his previous outing, and while neither was terrible here, neither was dominating, either, certainly not the way Washington's first-game starter, Jordan Zimmermann was: seven innings, two hits, eight strikeouts, his league-leading ninth victory.

Diamond gave up a career-high seven runs, in fact, and didn't survive the fifth inning for the third time in five starts. Deduno gave up three runs over five innings in the nightcap.

"Definitely a frustrating way to have the game turn out. I thought I was executing pretty well," Diamond said. "I'm really frustrated with how it all played out."

Particularly in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Washington loaded the bases with two outs. Diamond induced a hard ground ball to second base, but instead of ending the inning, the ball bounced off Brian Dozier for a run-scoring single, opening the door to a five-run frame.

"That's an error. He just missed the ball. They gave it a hit, but this is the big leagues, boys," Gardenhire said. "It's two steps to his right. We got to catch the ball. Doz just missed it — it happens."

Bad things just kept happening to the Twins all day.


Washington Nationals left fielder Roger Bernadina (33) scores ahead of a tag by Minnesota Twins catcher Chris Herrmann (12) in the first inning of the second game of a day-night doubleheader at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., Sunday, June 9, 2013.
Nationals left fielder Roger Bernadina scored ahead of a tag by Twins catcher Chris Herrmann in the first inning of the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader. The Twins led 4-1 in the second game but couldn’t hold on. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Minnesota's Pedro Florimon hits a 2-run home run in the third inning of Sunday's second game of a day-night doubleheader.
Minnesota's Pedro Florimon hits a 2-run home run in the third inning of Sunday's second game of a day-night doubleheader. (Stan Schmidt — MCT/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Washington Nationals' Jayson Werth, center, is out at the plate by Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Doumit, left, during the fourth inning of the first baseball game of a day-night interleague doubleheader, Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Washington. Also seen is home plate umpire Chris Conroy at right. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
The Washington Nationals’ Jayson Werth, center, was out at the plate by Twins catcher Ryan Doumit during the fourth inning of the first baseball game of a day-night interleague doubleheader, Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Washington. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Minnesota Twins shortstop Pedro Florimon (25) dives away from a tight inside pitch thrown by Washington Nationals relief pitcher Erik Davis (51) in the sixth inning of the second game of a day-night doubleheader at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., Sunday, June 9, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
Twins shortstop Pedro Florimon, who hit a two-run homer in the nightcap, later was was brushed back b a tight delivery. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Washington Nationals' Denard Span (2) gestures after he tripled during the sixth inning of the second baseball game of a day-night interleague doubleheader as he stands next to Minnesota Twins third baseman Jamey Carroll (8), Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Denard Span’s RBI triple capped a frustrating sixth inning for the Twins and third baseman Jamey Carroll in Game 2 on Sunday night. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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about the writer

Phil Miller

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Phil Miller has covered the Twins for the Minnesota Star Tribune since 2013. Previously, he covered the University of Minnesota football team, and from 2007-09, he covered the Twins for the Pioneer Press.

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