After earning a victory for the first time in 12 starts in his last outing Steelers Game Jerseys ,
Minnesota Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson will try to make it two in a
row Thursday afternoon as the Twins look to finish off a three-game
sweep of the Boston Red Sox at Target Field in Minneapolis.
Gibson
(2-4, 3.27 ERA) threw six shutout innings to earn the win against
Baltimore in his season debut but was 0-4 over his next 12 starts
despite posting a 3.75 ERA during that stretch as the Twins’ offense
struggled to generate run support.
He finally snapped the
drought last week, outdueling Cleveland ace Corey Kluber by holding the
Indians to a run over seven innings.
“There’s no
complaints around here about how Gibby’s been throwing the ball,” Twins
manager Paul Molitor said. “Can’t explain some things that happen. For
him to go whatever it was, 10 or 11 weeks, as well as he’s been
pitching. But we backed him up a little bit, got to a tough pitcher.”
Gibson is 1-2 with a 3.08 ERA in four career starts against Boston.
How Molitor plans to protect any lead Gibson and the lineup can generate remains to be seen.
Molitor
has been rotating relievers through late-inning roles after Addison
Reed was removed from the setup role to get the right-hander back on
track.
Reed has pitched just once since June 10, with
right-handers Trevor Hildenberger and Ryan Pressly and left-handers Zach
Duke and Taylor Rogers expected to get a chance to bridge the gap to
closer Fernando Rodney.
“There’s no question that while we
get Reed back to where we want Reed to be, I think he’s getting a
little antsy to pitch,” Molitor said. “I’m looking for a chance to get
him in there.”
Second baseman Eduardo Nunez will likely be
back in Boston manager Alex Cora’s lineup Thursday as the Red Sox look
to avoid being swept for the first time this season.
Nunez
has seen the bulk of the action at second base with Dustin Pedroia on
the disabled list, but Nunez has not produced at the plate or in the
field. He is batting .247 with a .625 OPS this season and is last among
American League second baseman with minus-10 defensive runs saved.
He took early work at second base ahead of Boston’s game Monday with Pedroia and infield coach Carlos Febles looking on.
“We need this guy to get going 49ers Game Jerseys ,” Cora said. “I saw what he did last year. We know there’s more there.”
Obtained
from the San Francisco Giants last July, Nunez batted .321 with an .892
OPS in 38 games after the trade, and the Red Sox signed him to a
one-year deal as they prepared to open the season without Pedroia.
“Eduardo
is not known for his defense,” Cora admitted. “He’s an offensive
player. He’s doing his best. He’s making the routine plays.”
Rick Porcello (8-3, 3.70) gets the start for Boston in the series finale.
The
right-hander is 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA over his last four starts, and he
had his string of three straight outings allowing two earned runs halted
when the Mariners tagged him for four over six innings in a loss at
Seattle on Friday.
Porcello is 10-10 with a 3.90 ERA in 29 career starts against Minnesota, but he has yet to face the Twins this season.
The Nationals broke out of their offensive funk in a big way.
Juan
Soto hit two of Washington’s seven home runs, finishing with four hits
and five RBIs, and the Nationals routed the Philadelphia Phillies 17-7
on Friday night.
Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper Seahawks Game Jerseys ,
Brian Goodwin and Mark Reynolds also homered for the Nationals, who set
a season high for homers. Washington hadn’t homered while losing its
last three, getting outscored 16-3 in those defeats.
”We’re back,” Soto said.
Rendon
added two doubles and three RBIs, and Harper also contributed three
hits and three RBIs. With his drive, Harper became the first NL batter
to reach 20 homers.
”We needed that,” manager Dave Martinez said. ”Bats came alive and they came alive big.”
Rhys Hoskins, Scott Kingery and Carlos Santana homered for Philadelphia. Kingery was a triple shy of the cycle.
The
teams combined for 28 hits, including 16 for extra bases, on a steamy
night in Philadelphia with the game-time temperature 90 degrees.
Erick
Fedde (1-3) earned his first major league win in his eighth career
start, allowing five runs on eight hits in five innings with three
strikeouts and three walks.
Nick Pivetta (4-7) continued
to struggle against the organization that drafted him. The right-hander
was shelled for seven runs on seven hits Buccaneers Game Jerseys ,
including three homers, in 1 2/3 innings to fall to 0-3 with an 11.94
ERA in five career starts against Washington. Pivetta, a fourth-round
pick in 2013, finished June 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA in six starts.
Already
leading 12-7, Washington sandwiched solo homers from Goodwin and
Reynolds around Soto’s second of the night, a three-run shot off Hector
Neris in the ninth.
Washington jumped on Pivetta for four
runs in the first. Adam Eaton led off with a single and Turner quickly
made it 2-0 by sending a 94-mph fastball into the seats in left.
”That sparked everyone,” Martinez said.
It was 4-0 three batters later when Soto also cleared the wall in left with a two-run shot.
Soto said he didn’t put a home run swing on either of his drives.
”I just try to make a good swing,” he said.
Rendon blew the game open in the second with an opposite-field, three-run drive to right that made it 7-0.
Two
innings later, Harper’s three-run homer to left off Yacksel Rios put
the Nationals ahead 10-0. And it was 11-0 later in the frame after
Wilmer Difo’s two-out RBI double to left.
”Everybody had fun,” Soto said. ”I hope we can do the same thing tomorrow. Same plans.”
RHYS’ RESILIENCE
The
biggest Phillies highlight came in the fifth when Hoskins culminated a
14-pitch at-bat with a line-drive homer to left-center. The Philadelphia
slugger fouled off eight pitches Titans Game Jerseys ,
including seven in a row with a 3-2 count. It gave him eight homers and
22 RBIs since returning from the DL (broken jaw) on June 9. Hoskins has
gone deep in three straight games.
”It was one of the better at-bats I’ve seen,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. ”Really special.”
WALK THIS WAY
Santana
had a walk to give him a free pass in six straight games and up his
total this month to 27, which is the most for the Phillies in June since
Greg Luzinski walked 28 times in 1980.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Nationals:
3B Ryan Zimmerman (oblique) took batting practice on Friday and could
begin a rehab assignment as early as Monday. Zimmerman has been out
since May 12.
Phillies: Right-handed reliever Pat Neshek,
out all season with a right shoulder strain, allowed a run on two hits
while striking out the side in one inning during a rehab outing at
Double-A Reading on Friday night.
UP NEXT
