Unfortunately for the Cincinnati Reds, Nick Martinez imitated Paddack Thursday afternoon in Great American Ball Park and it wasn’t flattering. It resulted in a 12-5 Twins win.
In only 2 2/3 innings, the Twins savaged and ravaged Martinez for seven runs and seven hits that included three home runs and two doubles.
That ended two streaks — Cincinnati’s four-game winning streak and Minnesota’s six-game losing streak.
And the Twins did it with a vengeance.
They ripped 17 hits, most by a Reds opponent this season, and Reds pitchers issued eight walks.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Byron Buxton finished the series with four home runs in the three games, two off Martinez in the first two innings Thursday.
Reds Manager Tito Francona saw more than enough of Buxton when he managed Cleveland in the American League.
“If he is on your team, you can really admire it,” he said. “When you’re on the other team it is not so fun.”
Martinez has given up six home runs in his last two starts and Francona was asked by reporters at the game if it is time for Martinez to reflect.
“There is no time to reflect,” he said. “If he is gonna reflect he better do it quick because he is pitching again pretty soon.”
As always, Francona wouldn’t blame his pitcher. He just offered an opinion as to why things went haywire and sideways.
“When you’re not throwing 98, your margin for error is a little bit less. He just made some mistakes. I thought his stuff was really good.”
Martinez deserve extra credit for showing up for a post-game press conference.
“My stuff felt good and I was attacking the zone, but I definitely made some mistakes,” he said. “It comes down to execution.”
And the Twins definitely executed him.
“Just giving up the long ball and some hard contact and it comes down to location,” he added. “Buxton? He’s a pretty good player and he’s shown that in the last three games. He puts some pretty good swings on the ball.”
If the Reds had a scouting report on Buxton, he turned it into toilet paper with his light tower power.
For the second straight game, Minnesota’s Buxton led the game with a home run, a 432-foot crusher into the left field upper deck.
And for the second game, the Reds responded with two runs in the bottom of the first on TJ Friedl’s leadoff double and a two-out run-scoring single by Tyler Stephenson and a double by Spencer Steer.
So for the second straight game the Reds led, 2-1 after one innings.
This time, though, the Twins didn’t go quietly the way they did in Wednesday’s 4-2 loss.
This time the Twins responded with three runs in the second, three runs in the third and two runs in the fourth.
The Twins scored three runs in the second after Martinez retired the first two. But he walked Ryan Jeffers and Kody Clemens pulled a long home run down the right field line.
Clemens is a son to former major league pitcher Roger Clemens.
One pitch after the Clemens home run, Buxton did it again, his second home run in back-to-back innings and his fourth home run in the three-game series.
The Twins made it 7-2 in the third with three runs, highlighted by a run-scoring double by Ty France and a two-run double by Jeffers off that ended Martinez’s afternoon.
The Reds hinted at a comeback when Friedl led the third with a single and Gavin Lux drilled a home run, cutting Minnesota’s lead to 7-4.
Once again, though, the Twins responded, and once again, they responded with two outs and nobody on against relief pitcher Lyon Richardson.
With two outs in the fourth he walked Willie Castro on a full count, then gave up a run-scoring double on a full count to Trevor Larnach and a run-scoring single to Carlos Correa and it was back to a five-run lead, 9-4.
The Reds threatened to make a game of it in the seventh with another nobody on and two outs rally.
Matt McLain singled with two outs, extending his hitting streak to seven games, took second on a wild pitch and scored on Friedl’s third hit.
Pinch-hitter Connor Joe walked, putting two on with two out but Elly De La Cruz struck out, leaving it at 9-5.
The Twins put it out of grasp in the eighth against Taylor Rogers via a 448-foot two-run home run over the Reds bullpen in left center and it was 11-5.
Just to make it a total mess, relief pitcher Luis Mey forced in a run in the ninth with a bases loaded walk and it was an even dozez for the Twins and a 12-5 win.
Francona put an abundance of extra steps on his fitness tracker by walking to and from the pitcher’s mound six times to change pitchers.
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