Rangers 16, Twins 3: Twins Blasted by Rangers Again, Drop Fourth Series in Five

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober 4.2 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 6 BB, 3 K (98 pitches, 51 strikes (52%))
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Ober (-.439), France (-.065), Castro (-.045)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins looked to build momentum off a big win on Wednesday night, but instead, they were shelled for the second time in three days by the visiting Texas Rangers, falling 16-3 in Thursday's series finale at Target Field.

Bailey Ober took the mound for Minnesota, but continued his recent spiral. From the first batter, it was clear things weren’t going to come easy. Rangers shortstop Josh Smith jumped on Ober and sent it out to right field for a leadoff home run. The Twins briefly answered back in the bottom half with a Carlos Correa RBI single that brought in Byron Buxton to tie things at 1-1, but the good vibes stopped there.

Ober unraveled in the second inning, in what may have been the ugliest outing of his big-league career. He threw 35 pitches in the frame, but only 10 were strikes. Three walks, two home runs, and five earned runs later, the Twins were facing a steep uphill climb. Jake Burger and Wyatt Langford each went deep, and by the time the inning ended, the Rangers were in control 6-1.

Ober gave up a fourth home run in the fifth inning, this one off the bat of Evan Carter. He exited after 4 2/3 innings, having allowed six earned runs on four homers and six walks. For a pitcher known for his command and poise, it was another confounding outing in a stretch that’s quickly becoming a concern—one that is especially worrisome given all of the uncertainty in the Twins rotation, in the wake of the injury to Pablo López and the unreliability of Simeon Woods Richardson.

The bullpen didn’t offer any relief. Cole Sands and newly acquired lefty Joey Wentz each threw one inning and each got tagged hard. Sands allowed four runs on four hits, while Wentz surrendered a three-run homer to Adolis García that officially turned the game into a rout. By the time Jonah Bride jogged in from third base to pitch the final two frames (his third appearance in eight days), the game had long since shifted into damage control mode. Bride gave up a three-run homer of his own, for good measure.

Offensively, the Twins managed eight hits but stranded eight runners and struggled to string together any sort of rally. And when they did, like the bases-loaded, no-out opportunity in the second inning, they came up with absolutely nothing. Willi Castro doubled in a run in the sixth, and Brooks Lee drove in another with a fielder’s choice, but the game was well out of hand by then. It was a quiet finish after Tuesday’s promising victory.

Minnesota drops the series 2-1 and has now lost four of its last five series, after ripping off six straight series wins. The inconsistency in starting pitching, bullpen depth, and offense has started to mount, and Wednesday’s blowout loss only underscored those issues.

What’s Next
The Twins hit the road for a tough weekend series against the first-place Houston Astros, who enter Friday at 37-30. Chris Paddack is scheduled to start the opener for Minnesota against Houston left-hander Colton Gordon.

Postgame Interviews

Coming soon...

Bullpen Usage Chart (Writer's note: with Jonah Bride throwing 3 times in the past 8 days, he's officially getting added to the chart. Embarrassing.)