![]() ![]() “I’ve just got to do a better job of controlling the running game, and then just the free passes - those were the two things, I think, that came back to hurt me today,” said Sands, who turns 25 next month. Leadoff hitter Manuel Margot started with a double and scored on a two-out double by Arozarena, who then stole third and scored on Kiermaier’s single to left to make it 5-0. The Rays added two runs off Sands in the fifth. Wisler, Jalen Beeks, Calvin Faucher and Colin Poche cleaned up, combining to allow only three hits. He fanned five and allowed only two hits while facing 18 batters in five innings before he issued a one-out walk to Correa and was replaced by right-hander Matt Wisler. They would have needed to score to win, however, and Springs (3-2) was mowing down Twins’ batters. “If we get through that a little cleaner we’re definitely in the ballgame.” “We probably had five outs that we should have had that inning,” Baldelli said. 9 hitter Vidal Brujan to make it 3-0 in the fourth. Walls later scored on a two-out single to left by No. But his throw was high and catcher Ryan Jeffers couldn’t tag Arozarena. Next batter Taylor Walls grounded to first against a drawn-in infield, and Jose Miranda threw home to stop the run. Instead, his throw sailed into center field and Arozarena advanced, and Kiermaier reached on a fielder’s choice. The Rays left fielder then stole second and moved to third after Sands fielded a grounder by Kevin Kiermaier and tried to get Arozarena at second. Tampa Bay added two runs in the fourth inning after Sands hit leadoff batter Randy Arozarena in the back. Choi reached first easily and Brett Phillips, who started the inning with a walk, scored to make it 1-0 in the third inning. The Rays scored their first run on a grounder up the middle by Ji-Man Choi, which Sands got a glove on but only enough to slow it down so that shortstop Carlos Correa - shifted to the right of second - couldn’t make a play. Overall, though, Baldelli felt good about the past week: The Twins went 5-4 against the top three teams in the American League East, losing two of three to first-place New York but winning series in Toronto and against Tampa Bay. Sands (0-3) certainly didn’t get any help from the offense, which was handcuffed by Tampa Bay left-hander Jeffrey Springs for 5⅓ innings, then by four relievers. ![]() Probably a play or two away from us being in the game, deep into the game.” “I thought he threw the ball really well. For me, it wasn’t close,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Cole Sands (77) throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, June 12, 2022, in Minneapolis. ![]() Only two of the Rays’ runs were scored by baserunners who reached on hits, and Sands made a costly throwing error in Tampa Bay’s two-run fourth inning as the Twins fell short of their fifth series sweep of the season. But it wasn’t always his pitching that got him into trouble, and his biggest pitching issues were self-inflicted: walks and hit batsmen. Making his third major league start, the Twins right-hander was tagged for five runs on five hits and a walk in 4⅔ innings in a 6-0 defeat in front of 25,350 at sunny Target Field. Cole Sands was his own worst enemy on Sunday, which made his loss to the Tampa Bay Rays a little easier to take.
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