{"id":281115,"date":"2024-04-04T08:29:25","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T13:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=281115"},"modified":"2024-04-05T08:27:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T13:27:58","slug":"jeffers-1st-hit-of-24-powers-twins-over-brewers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=281115","title":{"rendered":"Jeffers’ 1st Hit Of ’24 Powers Twins Over Brewers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mpls – Twins batters hadn\u2019t hit a home run since Royce Lewis\u2019 first inning blast in the season opener against the Royals in Kansas City. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They entered the finale of a two game series against the Brewers hitting just .188 with 11 runs scored and 24 hits in their first four games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bats would remain silent for most of Wednesday\u2019s game in Milwaukee until a game-changing seventh inning power surge, capped by a three-run homer from catcher Ryan Jeffers<\/a>, who had gone 13 at-bats without a hit to start the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Twins scored five runs in the inning and added another in the ninth for a 7-3 win<\/a>, handing the Brewers their first loss of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeffers said he discovered a small mechanical flaw in his swing while watching video on a recent off-day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, in the box I felt way more competitive,\u201d said Jeffers, who followed up his homer with a single to drive in the game\u2019s final run. \u201cI could take my shots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trailing 3-1 entering the seventh, the Twins got things started with back-to-back doubles by Alex Kirilloff, who recorded the first four-hit game of his career, and Byron Buxton to cut the lead to a single run. With one out, Carlos Correa singled to score Buxton and tie the score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Batting with two on and two outs, Jeffers took Brewers\u2019 reliever Bryse Wilson deep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big win for us,\u201d Jeffers said. \u201cIt\u2019s only game five but I feel like we needed that win going home and to not lose three straight and get the offense clicking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Twins finished with 11 hits, but they could have done more damage, leaving 11 runners on base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those opportunities came in the fourth inning when manager Rocco Baldelli opted to have Manuel Margot pinch-hit for leadoff hitter Edouard Julien with the bases loaded and two outs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margot dropped down a bunt, a decision he made on his own. He was initially called safe at first, but he was ruled out after a review to end the inning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to trust our players\u2019 decisions on the field, but bunting with the bases loaded, generally speaking, is not something we\u2019re going to do very much,\u201d Baldelli said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t really expecting that. He\u2019s up there to hit a double against a left-handed pitcher. He almost pulled it out and drove in a run for us, but we are going to swing with the bases loaded almost all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twins pitcher Chris Paddack made his first start since May 8, 2022, when he suffered a UCL injury in his right elbow and underwent a second Tommy John surgery later that month. The right-hander pitched four innings, giving up six hits and two runs. He was lifted after throwing 82 pitches (47 strikes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a lot to take in,\u201d Paddack said. \u201cI\u2019m very blessed to be given another opportunity to prove myself. I just went out there and enjoyed the moment and enjoyed the game. We came up with a win as a team. The guys started swinging away in the seventh inning. Great team win and a happy flight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paddack, who was activated by the Twins in September and made two regular-season relief appearances before registering two scoreless appearances out of the bullpen in the ALDS against the Astros, credited the Brewers batters for their approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI threw some of the best changeups of my career in the bottom of the zone all day long, and they didn\u2019t even budge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paddack had hoped to take the mound again in the fifth but respected Baldelli\u2019s decision to pull him from the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just one of those things where I\u2019m not going to be able to have much say this year,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen Rocco makes that decision, I respect it. My goal is to be available and be ready for my next start and look up in October and help this team win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Twins bullpen held the Brewers to one run over the final four innings. Daniel Duarte notched the win despite giving up the first career home run for Jackson Chourio, the Brewers\u2019 20-year-old rookie outfielder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brock Stewart, Griffin Jax and Steven Okert combined to pitch three scoreless innings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose guys just all came in and they all did their job really well,\u201d Baldelli said. \u201cThey generally attacked in the zone. We went right at them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Twins (3-2) snapped a four-game losing streak at American Family Field and completed a five-game road trip to start the season. They will play their home opener Thursday afternoon at Target Field against the Guardians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mpls – Twins batters hadn\u2019t hit a home run since Royce Lewis\u2019 first inning blast in the season opener against the Royals in Kansas City. They entered the finale of a two game series against the Brewers hitting just .188 with 11 runs scored and 24 hits in their first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":281116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-281115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=281115"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":281149,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281115\/revisions\/281149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/281116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=281115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=281115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=281115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}