Cruz (2 HRs) besting challenges, Father Time

MINNEAPOLIS -- Before Monday’s game, Nelson Cruz discussed, at length, the challenges of being a hitter in the 2020 season -- things like the lack of energy in the empty ballparks and the inability to analyze video between at-bats to aid with in-game adjustments.

Ha.

Challenges. As if those have any bearing on Cruz himself.

There’s no doubt that it has been far more difficult for most of the Twins’ lineup to hit this year, but the 40-year-old Cruz has seemingly proved immune in his continued domination of Father Time and, apparently, COVID-imposed challenges, too. He crushed two more homers on Monday night, providing the punch as the Minnesota bullpen dominated in a 4-1 win over the Royals at Target Field.

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“I think everything starts with the preparation, the way I prepare for every game,” Cruz said. “Trust what you've got, trust what you see, trust the report that they give us and from there, you take off.”

Cruz shattered a scoreless tie in the fourth inning by crushing a fastball from Kansas City starter Kris Bubic off the facing of the second deck in left field for a 416-foot solo blast. He added an important late insurance run in the seventh with an even longer shot that traveled an estimated 428 feet into the bullpens in left-center.

At 40 years and 47 days old, Cruz became the oldest hitter with a multi-homer game since David Ortiz accomplished the feat at 40 years and 172 days old on May 8, 2016. It marked Cruz’s second two-homer game of the season and the 36th of his career, and pushed him into the team lead with eight homers. He also led the Twins with 41 blasts a year ago.

He extended his American League-leading RBI total to 23, the most in history by a player age 40 or older through the first 23 games of a season.

“I think it’s amazing,” Eddie Rosario said. “It's incredible what he does on a daily basis. To be honest with you, at that age, he keeps showing us by example just to work hard as youngsters. We're younger, obviously, than him, and he just comes every day and works really hard. It’s a privilege to work and play right alongside him.”

Cruz keeps showing the Royals by example, too, though they’d probably rather avoid that. After going 3-for-10 with a homer last weekend at Kauffman Stadium, Cruz added six hits, including four homers, in this four-game set at Target Field. He’s now 9-for-22 (.409) against Kansas City with five blasts in seven games this season, continuing his career-long dominance of his division opponents.

Monday’s homers came on a pair of hanging fastballs. One wonders why the Royals even bother with those pitches against Cruz at this point.

"I would probably mix up what I'm doing or just nibble,” Twins opener Matt Wisler said. “You’ve got to nibble way more with that guy. Anything over the zone, he's crushing. So stop throwing strikes."

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli thinks that changing up the approach against Cruz likely wouldn’t work, anyway.

“He has a few different approaches that he uses with different types of pitchers, and you see him very clearly changing what he's doing because there's a few different methods he can use,” Baldelli said. “When he knows guys go up in the zone, he's got a very different swing than when he knows guys are going to pitch him in or try to sink him down in the zone or a breaking-ball-heavy situation.

“He's a very intellectual guy and a guy that understands the game and pitchers and especially himself, very, very well. It's combining incredible ability with wisdom and a great mix, and he brings it out there and does that very well every night.”

Cruz’s pair of homers and RBI singles from Byron Buxton and Max Kepler proved more than enough run support as the Twins’ pitching staff dominated another bullpen game. The Royals finally scored on a ninth-inning homer by Hunter Dozier but were otherwise kept in check by Wisler, Devin Smeltzer, Tyler Clippard, Tyler Duffey, Trevor May and Zack Littell, who held Kansas City to one run on seven hits.

For the second straight game, they also got a hand from left fielder Rosario, who preserved a lead on Sunday with a sliding grab that he turned into a double play. With the Twins nursing a 2-0 lead in the fifth and a runner on first, Whit Merrifield narrowly missed a game-tying home run. Instead, Rosario cleanly fielded the ball off the wall and fired a throw to second at 87.9 mph to easily nab Merrifield, end the inning and prevent the tying run from reaching scoring position.

“That’s just a huge play when the Royals are getting something going, to be able to cut the runner down at second base,” Baldelli said. “He got to that ball quickly, got rid of it quickly and made a great throw to second base, right on the money. It’s a game-changing play, that’s what it is.”