The Twins headed into Tampa Bay with an 8-5 record and the common wisdom was that they'd improve on that during a three-game series against the Rays, who are viewed as being among baseball's bottom-feeders in 2018.
That was before the bullpen started giving away games in the late innings.
In case you were otherwise occupied this weekend, here's a look at the breakdowns from Addison Reed to Zach Duke that turned 8-5 into 8-8 heading into four games in New York against the Yankees..
1) Reed went out for a second inning in Sunday's series finale with the game tied at 6. he gave up a single and then a home run to Carlos Gomez, ending the 8-6 Tampa Bay victory and the three-game sweep.
2) After the twins had pulled into a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning on Sunday, Taylor Rogers gave up three hits in the bottom of the inning. he was yanked with the game tied, and Alan Busenitz followed by yielding a home run to Tampa Bay's No. 9 batter Adeiny Hechavarria, his first of the season and 23rd of his seven-year career.
3) On Saturday, Gabriel Moya reliever starter Kyle Gibson in the seventh with the Rays leading 3-1. Before the inning was over, the Rays led 7-1. Moya gave up three runs on three hits, including the second home run of the game by C.J. Cron. Moya and his 10.80 ERA were sent to the minors after the game.
4) In the eighth, Tyler Kinley gave up three more runs to end the scoring in the 10-1 rout. Kinley is a Rule V pick and has to stay on the major league roster or be offered back to his old team. So far, he's put eight runners on base while getting nine out in three appearances.
5) On Friday, Rogers came into a 3-2 game in the seventh inning to face Denard Span in a lefty vs. lefty matchup. Span, the former Twins outfielder, singled to right to make the score 5-2. Exit Rogers.
6) Closer Fernando Rodney came in with a 7-6 lead in the ninth. After retiring the first two rays, he hit Carlos Gomez, who stole second and scored on a single by Brad Miller, sending the game into extra innings.
7) In the bottom of the 10th, the rays had a runner on second and two outs with Duke pitching. Span hit a grounder that should have been the third out, except that Duke didn't touch first base when he took a throw from Joe Mauer -- and Johnny Field scored from second.
The totals: 10 innings, 15 runs, 20 hits, 3 walks.
We're just presenting the numbers. You can decide whether the series was a one-off or the beginning of a disturbing trend for the Twins.
