Glen Perkins’ nightmare second half took another bad turn Friday night at Target Field.
Ervin Santana gave way to Perkins in the eighth inning after a masterful performance. Santana walked off the mound to a standing ovation with a Kansas City runner at first and no outs and the Twins and Royals tied at 1-1.
The first batter on Perkins’ docket was Ben Zobrist. He doubled off the fence in left-center to score Alcides Escobar, and down came the boos from the Minnesota fans.
“I think he was trying to get in on Zobrist there,” manager Paul Molitor said, “and (he) left it out.”
Two batters later, Mike Moustakas singled to right, Torii Hunter booted the ball and Zobrist came in to score. Perkins stayed in to intentionally walk Alex Gordon, and then his evening was over with the damage done as Kansas City dealt a devastating blow to Minnesota’s wild-card hopes with a 3-1 victory.
“I feel bad for him,” Hunter said of Perkins. “Without him, we probably wouldn’t be where we are.”
Minnesota (83-77) trails Houston (85-75) by two games after the Astros routed the Arizona Diamondbacks 21-5 later Friday night. The Twins also trail the Angels (84-76) by a full game after Los Angeles beat Texas.
The Twins have just two games to play, and there’s a very real chance two wins still might leave them on the outside looking in at the playoff field.
“I don’t like it,” Hunter said of Minnesota’s situation. “But all we can do is keep battling. Best scenario is (the Astros) lose two and we win two. … This one is a hard one to swallow.”
Perkins was one of the best relievers, if not the best, in baseball in the first half of the season. In that time, he allowed just five runs in 37 1/3 innings, an earned-run average of 1.21. But the second half has been an entirely different story. Since the midway point, Perkins — who missed time with back issues — has surrendered 16 runs in 19 2/3 innings, an ERA of 7.32.
“We all are aware that (the ball is) not coming out quite the same,” Molitor said. “I think physically he’s fine; he talks about how his physical issues are behind him. … For whatever reason, we’re not seeing quite the numbers that we’re accustomed to.”
Perkins was not available for comment.
Perkins wasn’t the only problem. The Twins’ bats mustered all of two hits — both in the eighth inning — following a second inning in which Minnesota stranded two runners after Aaron Hicks singled in Eddie Rosario for Minnesota’s only run. The Twins’ offense was stifled by Royals starter Chris Young, who went 6 1/3 innings, giving up just four hits while striking out five.
“He pitched a great game, which I think he always does against us,” Hunter said. “He went out there and did his thing.”
Prior to Friday’s game, third baseman Trevor Plouffe said the 2015 season wasn’t going to be a good one for Minnesota if it missed the postseason. After Friday night’s defeat, that could very well be the case.
“It’s deflating, for sure,” Molitor said. “We know what’s happening in the other games. You’ve got to find a way to rebound. We’ve got to be back out on the field here in 14 hours or so and try to figure out how to post a win. Now we need a lot more help than we did heading into tonight, that’s for sure. But we still have to try to win tomorrow, just to hopefully cause the other teams to have to win, as well.”
