Homers By Twins OF Kyle Garlick Enough To Beat McClanahan, Rays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — There wasn't much on Kyle Garlick's 2022 resume to be too concerned about. The Minnesota Twins' reserve outfielder had just two hits all season long prior to Saturday, and came into the game with the Tampa Bay Rays hitting just .118.
But there he was, hitting third in the Twins' order and creating all sorts of havoc. He hit a towering home run to center field in the first inning off of Rays ace Shane McClanahan, and then got him again with a two-run homer in the sixth, propelling the Twins to a 9-1 win at Tropicana Field.
Kyle Garlick appreciation post. 1-0 Twins#MNTwins
— Twins Talk (@LetsTalk_Twins) April 30, 2022
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Kyle Garlick puts the Twins on top! pic.twitter.com/YfA6qpBgQC
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 30, 2022
The pair of homers spoiled an otherwise exceptional start from McClanahan. He struck out 11 hitters in just five-plus innings and gave up just four hits. But he couldn't figure out Garlick, who only plays against left-handed pitchers. He does this power thing often, though. In 120 plate appearances against lefties, he's hit 10 homers.
"I think that's the frustrating part about baseball, because you're making 99 percent of your pitches out there,'' McClanahan said. "Ultimately, I've got to do a better job of executing pitches. Sometimes, there's just one or two pitches you'd like to have back, but you have to tip your hat to Garlick.''
Garlick's homer in the first came with two outs. He got a first-pitch 97 mile-per-hour fastball up in the zone and drove it to straightaway center field. In the sixth, Carlos Correa opened the inning with an infield single, then Garlick smashed an 88 mph slider over the plate on a 2-0 count to deep left field. Those were his first two homers of the year, and he three RBIs surpassed his total of two coming into the game.
"In the first inning, I was being aggressive and I tried to get ahead,'' McClanahan said. "I thought it was a good pitch, but kudos to him. And the second time, I fell behind 2-0 and didn't want to walk him, and he got that slider.''
McClanahan left after the second homer, having thrown 90 pitches. He took the loss and is now 1-2 on the season. His ERA jumped up from 2.45 to 3.00.
He was replaced by right-hander J.P. Feiereisen, who got two outs before walking Miguel Sano. Feiereisen had retired 24 batters in a row prior to the walk. He got the next out though, and has now pitched 8 1/3 innings without allowing a hit.
The Twins tacked on two more runs in the seventh, taking advantage of a throwing error by Rays third baseman Taylor Walls. Trevor Larnach doubled and Max Kepler, who had replaced Garlick in left, blooped a single over the shift to score Larnach and make it 5-1.
The Twins struck again in the ninth. Jorge Polanco doubled and then scored on a Correa single. Kepler then hit a two-run homer barely over the wall in right to make it 8-1. Catcher Ryan Jeffers singled to drive in the ninth run. Rays reliever Javy Guerra was charged with all four runs.
The No. 3 spot in the Twins order, Garlick and Kepler, finished the day going 4-for-5 with three home runs and six RBIs.
Former Rays pitcher Chris Archer got the start for the Twins and did well. He pitched four innings, and gave up just one run and two hits. The run came on a Taylor Walls homer in the second inning.
The Rays, who had won five of six games coming in, managed just four hits. Walls got his first homer of the season, and second RBI.
"I'm just trying to have good at-bats and take what they give me,'' Walls said. "(Archer) the second time through, he started using his change-up more to lefties. He made the adjustment and we didn't, so props to him. He threw me about four of them the second time up, and the last two were really good.''
Walls was impressed with what McClanahan was giving the Rays, and he felt bad that the offense didn't do more to help him. McClanahan has been unhittable at times, striking out 42 batters in just 27 innings so far.
"It's so fun to watch him pitch, especially when I'm behind him,'' Walls said. "Sometimes I feel like guys don't even have a chance to put the ball in play, like why do I even need my glove out there? He was unbelievable today and it's unfortunate that we couldn't get more runs for him.''
Attendance was 18,846, the best crowd of the week. The two teams meet again on Sunday, with a 1:10 p.m. ET start. Chris Paddack (0-2, 3.68 ERA) will start for the Twins, and Josh Fleming (2-2, 4.50 ERA) is expected to get the call for Tampa Bay.
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Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.