Sausage returns and so does Twins offense in victory over Angels

Minnesota turned 10 hits into 10 runs in a convincing win over Los Angeles.

Minnesota Twins first baseman Carlos Santana (30) hits a single during the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Target Field in Minneapolis on Sept. 10, 2024. / Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

It turns out all the Twins needed was their lucky summer sausage.

The sausage made its return to the dugout, and like clockwork, the Twins offense returned with it in a 10-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night at Target Field in Minneapolis. The Twins had fun, played loose and got a much-needed win that snapped the team's four-game losing streak.

So where had the sausage been all this time?

"I don't want to think about it," said Twins starter Pablo Lopez, who delivered another strong start, allowing eight hits and four runs — none earned — while fanning 10 across seven innings of work.

For those that don't remember, the sausage first made its appearance this season when the Twins (77-68) went on a 12-game winning streak in late April and early May. It stole the show again Tuesday night in the second inning when three straight singles from Trevor Larnach, Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers plated the first run, and Kyle Farmer plated three more with a 396-foot homer for a 4-0 lead.

Suddenly, the months-old sausage made an appearance in Farmer's hands in the dugout.

"You can't smell the sausage," Farmer said. "I think it's double bagged."

The @Twins Rally Sausage has RETURNED thanks to Kyle Farmer 😮 pic.twitter.com/kS8nuVv50F

— MLB (@MLB) September 11, 2024

The good vibes continued as the Twins plated another pair of runs in the third inning behind a 444-foot solo homer from Matt Wallner and a sacrifice fly from Jeffers that made it a 6-0 Twins lead.

The Angels (60-84) did take advantage of an error by Edouard Julien that would have ended the fifth inning, getting a two-out RBI single from Taylor Ward and a three-run homer from Zach Neto.

But that hardly matters when the sausage is on your side. Larnach drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the fifth, and Santana hit a 404-foot homer to push it back to a four-run advantage for the Twins.

The Twins added another pair of runs when Wallner hit a two-run double in the sixth inning. 

The Twins had 10 hits in all, including DaShawn Keirsey Jr.'s first career hit, an eighth-inning single.

The Twins and Angels meet for the finale of their three-game series at 6:10 p.m. on Wednesday.

"I don't know where it came from, I can't identify it as being the rally sausage, it might be the rally sausage, who knows?" Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "But all I know is we played well enough (Tuesday) to go out there and win a nice ballgame, and we got to come back (Wednesday) and do it again, and I wouldn't mind seeing that thing again."

Baldelli later added: "I mean, no one can kill it. It's probably going to be around long after all of us."