SAN DIEGO — It took the Twins a few innings to break through against Padres starter Matt Waldron. But once they did, it seemed like they didn’t want to wait any longer.
The Twins ambushed Waldron in the fourth inning, collecting seven straight hits that produced just as many runs in their 11-4 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday evening at Petco Park.
Four of those seven hits came on the first pitch of an at-bat. Another two hits came on the second pitch. Only Matt Wallner’s three-run home run — on the fourth pitch of his at-bat — that provided the dagger for the Twins lasted more than two pitches.
The seven-run inning started with an Edouard Julien hit — one of four on the day for him — and also featured hits from Christian Vázquez, Austin Martin (double), Willi Castro (double), Trevor Larnach and Royce Lewis before Wallner cleared the bases by hitting a ball 410 feet out to right field.
It was an encouraging response from the Twins, who suffered a crushing defeat the night before and were on a three-game losing streak.
While the offense hammered out 18 hits, including a career-high four from Larnach, starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson did his part, too.
Woods Richardson slogged through a 29-pitch first inning, allowing a single and a pair of walks to load the bases, but he worked his way out of the jam by getting National League Rookie of the Year candidate Jackson Merrill to fly out and then settled in nicely.
Woods Richardson ended up making it through five innings, throwing a career-high 101 pitches. He gave up just three hits, including a home run to Donovan Solano in his final inning of work, and struck out seven.
Related Articles
Ryan Jeffers becomes just fourth Twins catcher to reach this milestone
Second bullpen blowup in three days sends Twins to loss in San Diego
Saints’ Morris is latest prospect in Twins’ arms race
Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton progressing but no timeline for injured Twins stars
Padres rookie bests Twins’ rookie in loss in San Diego
Leave a Reply