MLB

Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins

· Major League Baseball
Los Angeles Angels
70-86, 35-46 Away
Final
3 - 9
Minnesota Twins
83-73, 45-33 Home

Jeffers and Ryan lead AL Central champion Twins to 9-3 win over Angels

After a 50-minute rain delay, Jeffers and Max Kepler each hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to help the Twins expand a one-run lead.

Jorge Polanco also went deep, Matt Wallner reached base four times and scored twice, and Trevor Larnach had two RBI as Minnesota posted its first victory since clinching the AL Central title by beating the Angels on Friday night.

“I think just having our offense keep rolling is always fun. It’s nice to have a little bit longer between innings than the last couple,” said Ryan, whose teammates totaled four runs over his previous five starts while he was in the game.

Brandon Drury drove in two runs and Zach Neto had two hits and an RBI for the Angels, who have lost nine of 11.

Los Angeles reliever Carson Fulmer (0-1), making his first major league appearance since 2021, allowed three runs over four innings to take the loss.

Ryan (11-10) tied Pablo López for the team lead in wins. He pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts — one shy of his career high. It was the sixth time Ryan fanned 10 batters this seasons. And he finished his start with a flourish, striking out the side in the sixth.

“I think we saw a little bit of everything with Joe today,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think we saw some good stuff. Actually, at the end of the outing, he looked really good.”

Drury’s two-run double put the Angels on top 2-1 in the third, but Polanco tied it in the bottom half with his 14th homer of the season.

RAIN DELAY

The game was paused due to showers that began at the end of the sixth inning. During the break, the videoboard aired the last five minutes of the Vikings-Chargers NFL game being played on the opposite side of downtown Minneapolis.

BOUNCING BACK

The Twins were back on the field Saturday afternoon, roughly 15 hours after they celebrated clinching their division. Not surprisingly, they managed just five hits in a 1-0 loss. However, Baldelli was happy the recovery period was a short one.

“I think our guys have continued to focus well,” he said. “With some of them, you want to keep an eye on them for a day or two after that clinch celebration. I think we’re on the other side of that now and we got some good performances today.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Angels: LHP Tyler Anderson (left knee) was placed on the 15-day injured list, while 1B C.J. Cron (lower back) went on the 10-day IL. Both moves were retroactive to Sept. 21. They were replaced on the big league roster by Fulmer and infielder Mike Moustakas.

Twins: RHP Chris Paddack was reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Paddack is returning from Tommy John surgery that ended his 2022 season after just five starts. In a corresponding move, RHP Josh Winder was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul.

HURRY UP AND WAIT

Paddack warmed up and was about to enter the game in the seventh when the rain hit. Following the delay, the Twins sent Louie Varland to the mound instead.

“I kind of put it on me a little bit and said, ‘I’m not pitching you. I will not feel good about this being your first outing back under these circumstances,’” Baldelli said. “He was hot and ready to go. ... His body, I think, was telling him (to) pitch, and his heart, probably. But once he was inside sitting on my couch with his jacket still pulled over his arm, I think he understood upstairs that the right thing to do was to reset for a couple of days.”

UP NEXT

Angels: LHP Patrick Sandoval (7-2, 4.19 ERA) takes the mound Monday night as the Angels open a three-game home series against the first-place Rangers.

Twins: RHP Bailey Ober (7-6, 3.66) gets the nod Tuesday night as the Twins begin their final home series of the year, a three-game set against the A’s.

How can I watch Los Angeles Angels vs. Minnesota Twins?
  • TV Channel: Angels at Twins 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Twins: 61.2%
Angels: 38.8%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Drury struck out swinging.
9th Inning Neto hit by pitch, Escobar to second, Stefanic to third.
9th Inning Grichuk flied out to center.
9th Inning Escobar singled to right, Stefanic to second.
9th Inning Escobar hit for Phillips
9th Inning Fletcher struck out swinging.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/laa.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLAA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/min.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMIN
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
1 Hit By Pitch 1
9 Ground Balls 8
16 Strikeouts 4
3 Runs Batted In 9
1 Sacrifice Hit 0
11 Hits 10
0 Stolen Bases 0
1 Walks 4
0 Catcher Interference 0
3 Runs 9
0 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
36 At Bats 34
0 Home Runs 3
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
17 Runners Left On Base 15
0 Triples 1
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
4 Doubles 1
12 Fly Balls 22
1 Caught Stealing 0
150 Pitches 154
0 Games Started 0
1 Pinch At Bats 0
1 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 0
15 Total Bases 22
39 Plate Appearances 39
0.0 Projected Home Runs 486.0
4 Extra Base Hits 5
4.8 Runs Created 8.3
.306 Batting Average .294
1.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.417 Slugging Percentage .647
.111 Secondary Average .471
.342 On Base Percentage .385
.759 OBP Pct + SLG Pct 1.032
0.8 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.4
4.8 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 9.3
31.0 Batter Rating 59.5
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 11.3
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.85 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.95
.111 Isolated Power .353
0.06 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 1.00
.026 Walks Per Plate Appearance .103
-.194 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .176
6.0 Runs Produced 18.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.5 Patience Ratio 0.7
0.6 Balls In Play Average 0.3
81.3 MLB Rating 103.3
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Target Field

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 24,232 | Capacity:

2024 American League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston 88 73 .547 - W2
Seattle 85 77 .525 3.5 W4
Texas 78 84 .481 10.5 W3
Oakland 69 93 .426 19.5 L3
Los Angeles 63 99 .389 25.5 L6

2024 American League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 92 69 .571 - L2
Kansas City 86 76 .531 6.5 W1
Detroit 86 76 .531 6.5 L2
Minnesota 82 80 .506 10.5 L4
Chicago 41 121 .253 51.5 W2
Full Standings