Twins pile on runs, snap skid in 'really good day'

MINNEAPOLIS -- As the Twins sought answers for why their offense was underperforming so much across this recent six-game losing streak and beyond, manager Rocco Baldelli joked that he thought about taking a page out of the book of Joe Maddon, his old skipper, who was known for his, well, unorthodox methods of keeping his clubhouse loose.

“I've thought about bringing in the petting zoo -- literally bringing in the petting zoo,” Baldelli said before Friday’s game. “I do always think about [head groundskeeper Larry DiVito] and what the groundskeepers would have to say about that. But, you know, bring in the magician. All of those things are -- we're here every day. They're just here to simply take your mind off of playing baseball.”

There were no penguins, snakes or illusionists inside the Twins’ clubhouse on Friday at Target Field, but there was one Kyle Garlick -- and apparently, that did the trick. Fueled by a three-hit game from the Twins’ lefty masher, the Minnesota offense finally exploded to life in a six-run third inning that fueled a 9-0 rout of the Giants, snapping a season-worst six-game losing streak.

One game isn’t a sign that the scuffling bats have finally stirred from their slumber, but it’s been a week and a half since the Twins had this sort of victory, one with timely hits and a comfortable margin of victory -- and after the week they’ve had, they’ll gladly take any step in the right direction.

“It felt good,” Baldelli said. “When you’re playing good baseball, you’re normally feeling more confidence. No one knows what comes first. No one knows how that plays out. But today was one of those really good days and we want to have another really good day tomorrow.”

Whether it was Carlos Correa’s first-inning homer that followed a Garlick hit-by-pitch, a two-out, bases-clearing double from Gilberto Celestino in the third inning or Gary Sanchez’s subsequent two-run blast to really blow the game open off Giants starter Alex Wood, these are the kinds of hits the Twins simply haven’t had in the last several weeks, much less against southpaws, which have been the club’s nemesis this month.

“I knew that if I connected with the ball hard, we were going to get some runs in,” Celestino said through team interpreter Elvis Martinez. “I knew the team needed that push, you know?”

And right in the middle of it was Garlick, a roleplaying platoon outfielder on this roster for the purpose of bludgeoning left-handed pitching, whose absence was felt far more than the Twins could have expected due to the depletion of their right-handed lineup options.

In Garlick’s return to the lineup following a 21-game absence with a cartilage fracture in his rib cage, the 30-year-old went 3-for-4 with a homer, two singles and the hit-by-pitch, reaching base four times in a game for the first time in his career as he played prominent roles in both of Minnesota’s rallies.

“Oh, I wouldn't call myself a savior,” Garlick said, when asked in jest. “It was nice to be able to get on base a few times so that guys can do the hard labor behind me. And just keep innings going, keep them alive longer. And we were able to put up some runs.”

It was a particularly encouraging performance against a tricky lefty like Wood because the Twins entered the game with the third-worst wRC+ against southpaws in the American League in August -- 82, putting them 18 percent below league average. And after loading the bases with three consecutive singles to open the third inning, they shrugged off their situational woes by plating five runs with two outs.

“I think it was good for everyone to be able to go out there early, get the job done early, and not have to be there for nine innings kind of almost on the edge,” Baldelli said. “You could almost enjoy it for a second. Still stay intense and still execute, but not have a one-run, two-run-type ballgame.”

The Twins haven’t had too much enjoyment on the field of late, and Baldelli talked to his team about the importance of playing loose and having fun during the club’s recent three-game sweep at the hands of the Astros. As he noted, the games haven’t necessarily been conducive to that, with this marking only the Twins’ second blowout win (with a margin of more than four runs) of August.

Perhaps this experience will finally give them something to build on.