Thoughts after the Twins loss to Houston:
THIS IS NOT GOOD: The Twins were blasted by the Rockets, er, Astros 16-4 on Wednesday, easily their worst loss of the season and their biggest loss since Cleveland beat them 17-4 last Aug. 8. Phil Hughes lasted just two innings before Paul Molitor took him out - reasoning that throwing that many pitches (58) that early in a game could do long-term damage. It was Hughes' shortest outing since signing with the Twins.
Other nuggets:
The Twins are 2-12 on the road.
They have not won a series on the road.
Their starters' ERA rose from 4.60 to 4.90.
The last time they had back-to-back starts that lasted less than three innings was Sept. 21-22, 2013 when Pedro Hernandez and Cole De Vries did it, or couldn't do it.
It was their worst loss ever to the Astros.
THE EJECTIONS: Was totally caught off guard by how things transpired. Apparently, Ryan Pressly's 3-2 pitch to Luis Valbuena should have been called strike three instead of ball four. Jason Castro followed with a two-run double. Home plate umpire Scott Berry was taking heat from Pressly so he tossed Pressly. Molitor then came out of the dugout to engage Berry and also was tossed. ``I went out and had a conversation," Molitor said, ``and followed Ryan up to the clubhouse." Molitor was ejected for the first time this season and fourth of his career. It was Pressly's first ejection.
WHO MADE THE RIGHT PICK?: While Byron Buxton is at Class AAA Rochester figuring out his talents, Carlos Correa, the player selected one spot ahead of him in the 2012 draft, went 3 for 5 with a home run on Wednesday. The Twins would have had a discussion, but there were officials ready to take Correa if Houston had taken Buxton that year.
WHAT NOW?: I'll try to get into this in Friday's paper, but everything has to be on the table at this point. Molitor shouldn't have to worry about hurting feelings now because they have have TWO stretches of bad baseball. They started the season 0-9 and now are in a 4-11 freefall. If he wants to shake up the lineup any way he wants, go for it. If he wants to try someone else in the No. 2 hole (with acknowledgement that Brian Dozier hit a three-run homer on Wednesday) he should go for it. Eduardo Nunez should shuffle around second, third and short until his bat cools off (although dropping the pop fly in the seventh wasn't his proudest moment). If they aren't happy with the bullpen mix right now, try J.T. Chargois, or Nick Burdi when he's ready. The Twins pretty much are at nothing-to-lose mode right now, a team that is making mistakes every night. THE TWINS ARE ONE-HALF GAME FROM HAVING THE WORST RECORD IN BASEBALL.
