In dire need of a win, the Twins instead got Chris Sale. And if the Atlanta Braves’ left-hander wasn’t exactly at his best, it was enough to keep Minnesota spinning.
Sale began Wednesday night’s game as the National League’s best starter and finished it in the exact same place, shutting down the Twins for six innings as the Braves finished a three-game sweep with a 5-1 victory in front of an announced crowd of 19,142 at Target Field.
The Twins have lost 8 of 10 games and fell to 3½ games behind first-place Cleveland in the American League Central Division race, 2½ behind second-place Kansas City and watched their lead over Boston for the third and final AL wild card spot shrink to three games.
Enjoying a career renaissance after four injury-riddled seasons limited him to fewer than 300 total innings from 2019-23, Sale (15-3) started the game with three perfect innings then danced in and out of trouble. He was charged with one earned run on six hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out six.
Twins rookie David Festa matched the veteran ace with the best outing of his young career. He allowed only two hits — including a first-inning home run to Jorge Soler that spotted Sale a 1-0 lead — and struck out seven.
Willi Castro drove in the Twins’ run, tying the game in the sixth with a two-out single through the left side that scored Ryan Jefferson from second. Sale then got Christian Vazquez swinging to end the inning.
After scoring their run, the Twins struck out six times over the final 3⅓ innings. They left the bases loaded in the fourth after Manny Margot and Ryan Jeffers put runners at second and third with no outs, and ran into an out in the sixth when Margot was thrown out at the plate by right fielder Soler.
Festa (2-4) walked only one batter, the last he faced — leadoff hitter Marcell Ozuna in the seventh inning. Manager Rocco Baldelli pulled the right-hander in favor of lefty Caleb Thielbar to face lefty Matt Olson, and Thielbar immediately surrendered a double to the gap in center that scored Ozuna from first to give the Braves a 2-1 lead.
Ramon Laureano followed with a single, scoring Olson from second, and moved to second on the throw from right-fielder Matt Wallner.
Thielbar fanned Michael Harris II for the first out, and Baldelli went to right-hander Jorge Alcala.
Alcala gave up an infield single to Orlando Arcia that sent Laureano to third, then gave up a swinging bunt to Sean Murphy. Alcala fielded it cleanly and threw home to catcher Vazquez, who tagged out a sliding Murphy for the second out.
But No. 9 hitter Luke Williams followed with a hard liner to left that glanced off the glove of Margot, racing back near the warning track, and scored Arcia and Murphy to make it 5-1.
The Twins begin a three-game home series against Toronto on Friday.
Briefly
Michael Tonkin, claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees on Tuesday, pitched a scoreless eighth inning. The veteran right-hander gave up singles to Ozuna and Laureano but struck out three.
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