ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Kyle Garlick has one job — essentially — and that's to hit against lefthanded pitchers.
When Garlick sees a lefty among the probable pitchers for an upcoming series, he begins mentally preparing to face them. He watches video of their recent outings and looks into any lefthanded relievers he might end up pinch-hitting against.
It's a specialized job, for sure, and one that doesn't always come with a lot of glory or even consistent playing time. But it does carry a heightened expectation and the responsibility to deliver when asked.
Garlick did his job Saturday, knocking out two home runs against Tampa Bay's lefthanded starter, Shane McClanahan, to spur the Twins to a 9-1 victory at Tropicana Field. It was the 30-year-old's first career multihomer game, and it helped the Twins to a 12-9 record and to even the series. The Twins have won eight of their past nine games.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli called McClanahan "one of the better starting pitchers in baseball," and that proved true despite Garlick's success. McClanahan struck out 11 in his five innings.
"This is a couple of years now where we know that no matter what lefthander we're facing, we have a guy that we can insert in a lineup," Baldelli said of Garlick. "He doesn't have to play every day to have pretty good at-bats and to potentially do some damage for you. That's not that easy to find in this game."
Garlick, as his job description sort of entails, is pretty humble about his contributions, which include 10 of his 11 career home runs coming against lefties. The Twins had struggled at the plate in the series opener Friday and saw their seven-game winning streak end. But Garlick gave his team an early lead Saturday with his first-inning homer. He then ended McClanahan's outing two batters into the sixth inning with his second homer, good for two runs.
"McClanahan's got really good stuff. You know he's got potential to strike out a lot of guys," Garlick said. "It was nice to be able to put a couple good swings on him, put some runs on the board and then let everybody else kind of take it from there."
Garlick specifically called out Twins starter Chris Archer and the bullpen for keeping the Rays to just one run, a second-inning homer from Taylor Walls. Archer was a visitor on the Tropicana Field mound for the first time after playing the majority of his career with the Rays, and he lasted four innings, giving up two hits and three walks while striking out four.
"I knew I had to be ultra-prepared. I knew I had to come with my best stuff because it's a good lineup," Archer said of facing his former squad. "From pitch one, I had to be ready, all the way to their eight- and nine-hole hitter."
While the Twins had to use only four relievers for pretty quick innings, the Rays had to cycle through five bullpen arms because the rest of the Twins lineup came alive with McClanahan retired.
Trevor Larnach and Max Kepler — who took over for Garlick's third-order spot once McClanahan exited — both had RBIs in the seventh inning. Carlos Correa added another in the ninth, along with Kepler's two-run home run and Ryan Jeffers' RBI single.
The Twins outhit Tampa Bay 14-4. And they did it with one of their mainstays leaving early and another not playing.
Miguel Sano started at first base after missing the past three games with a left knee injury, a bone bruise he endured when jumping up and down in celebration of the Twins' walkoff victory Tuesday. Sano tried to play through the soreness Saturday but had to bow out in the bottom of the seventh inning in favor of Luis Arraez.
Byron Buxton was a late scratch with a right hand contusion after taking a pitch off his lower palm in Friday's game. Both he and Sano are questionable to play in the series finale Sunday.
Baldelli said he's happy with how the team has dealt with some of those injury setbacks and come out of the first month of the season with a winning record, especially after a slower start.
"It shows what type of club we are. A tough stretch can be overcome quickly," Archer said. "… We're a good club. We've known that from the time gates opened on Opening Day."
