Twins return home and beat San Francisco 9-0 to open series

When Kyle Garlick had last stepped onto the field for the Twins back on Aug. 1, the team was 54-48 and still atop the American League Central.

In the 21 subsequent games the outfielder sat out because of fractured cartilage in his right rib, the Twins proceeded to descend into near despair, with the offense — especially clutch hitting — evaporating right alongside their playoff position. Entering Friday's game against San Francisco, the Twins had fallen to four games behind Cleveland in the American League Central and even further out of the wild-card race.

Yet when Garlick regained his spot atop the lineup against a lefthanded pitcher Friday, the nose-dive pulled up rather dramatically. The Twins rolled 9-0, going 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position to end a six-game losing streak.

Logic seems to point to Garlick, the czar of belting hits off lefties, as the catalyst for this remarkable plot twist. But the 30-year-old — who doesn't always make the lineup card when a righthander is on the mound — is far too rational about his role on the team to take it that far.

"Oh, I wouldn't call myself a savior," Garlick said with a laugh. "It was nice to be able to get on base a few times so that guys can do the hard labor behind me and just keep innings going, keep them alive longer. And we were able to put up some runs."

From the start of the game, in fact. Garlick scored the Twins' first run in the first inning, hit by an Alex Wood pitch and then scoring on Carlos Correa's two-run homer to left.

That wasn't the only scoring the announced crowd of 25,246 saw to start the homestand. The Twins broke the game open, stacking up six runs on five hits in the third inning, which ended up being Wood's last.

After loading the bases off three consecutive singles — including one from Garlick — one run scored on Jose Miranda's sacrifice fly. Wood hit Jorge Polanco with a pitch to load the bases again, and all three came home on Gilberto Celestino's double.

"I knew the team needed that push," Celestino said in Spanish through an interpreter. "… Mostly happiness for me and my teammates. For me, in this case, I know I can come through in moments like that, that I've proved to myself that I can be here and for my team.

"Because we needed it."

Gary Sanchez stepped up to smash a two-run homer before the inning was out to make the lead a commanding 8-0. Garlick — who was 3-for-4 — added his own homer in the eighth inning, albeit off a position player pitching in Giants catcher Austin Wynns.

Twins starter Joe Ryan did his part to keep the scoring margin vast, not giving up a run through his six innings and allowing just two hits, three walks and a hit batter along with eight strikeouts. Emilio Pagan and Michael Fulmer came in to maintain the shutout, each surrendering just one hit.

While this victory was a welcome change, the clubhouse once again filled with loud music and excited chatter, the Twins will need to continue the momentum to revive their postseason hopes. At 63-61, they are still 3 ½ games back of Cleveland in the American League Central — 4 ½ back in the wild-card race — with the White Sox just one game behind them. Two more wins against the 61-63 Giants, who sit in distant third in the National League West, would be a good start on that endeavor.

And even if Garlick isn't in the lineup with a righty scheduled to pitch Saturday, perhaps the spark he ignited Friday will burn on throughout the weekend.

"I've said it numerous times: He's in the middle of it almost every time we face a lefty, and we go out there and have a nice game," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Garlick. "… Even when he's hitting leadoff, he's kind of the man in the middle and a big part of the production. We saw it again. Even coming out with the hit by pitch. I don't care what it is. He's always right there.

"It's good to have him back."