Palms Overpowered Again in Series Finale, Fall 11–7 to Twins

 By Vin Castillo, Miami Sentinel

Sunday, March 29, 2020 | Target Field, Minneapolis

The Miami Palms came to Target Field hoping to avoid a sweep. They left cold, battered, and still searching for answers.

Despite a furious ninth-inning rally, Miami dropped its third straight to open the 2020 season, falling 11–7 to the red-hot Minnesota Twins. 

Starter Dylan Bundy struggled from the jump, surrendering nine hits and six runs over just 4 1/3 innings. He was chased in the fifth after Miguel Sano doubled home a pair. Adam Conley and Braden Shipley couldn't stop the bleeding, with Conley allowing inherited runners to score, while Shipley was tagged for four runs of his own in the sixth inning. Jeremy Jeffress finally restored order with two clean innings, but the damage had long been done.

"We need to find a rhythm on the mound," said manager Scott Hatteberg. "We’ve been chasing every inning, and it’s putting too much pressure on our hitters to play catch-up every night."

Still, there were glimmers of life at the plate. Brett Gardner sparked the offense from the leadoff spot, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and two runs scored. Nick Markakis added a triple and drove in a run, while shortstop Yairo Muñoz continued his early tear, going 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, and an RBI.

Rookie third baseman Chris Korb chipped in two hits and two RBIs, while Frank Sohn and Edwin Encarnación each added run-scoring swings. In total, the Palms pounded out 12 hits, including four for extra bases.

But in the end, Minnesota’s bats were simply louder. Nelson Cruz crushed his second homer of the series, Mitch Garver added a grand slam to cap a four-RBI day, and Max Kepler reached base four times, scoring as many runs.

"This series showed us where we need to grow," Hatteberg added. "We’ll head back home and tighten things up."

The Palms return to Miami for their home opener, still searching for their first win on the season

Minnesota Twins 11, Miami Palms 7  

Sunday, March 29, 2020 | Target Field


Miami Palms (0-3)                 AB  R  H BI  BB SO   AVG

Gardner cf                        4   2  2  1   1  0   .462

Markakis lf                       4   1  1  1   1  1   .125

Grant 1b                          4   1  0  0   1  1   .083

Korb 3b                           5   0  2  1   0  2   .444

Encarnacion dh                    4   0  0  1   1  1   .083

Sohn rf                           3   2  2  1   1  0   .364

Wieters c                         5   0  1  0   0  0   .167

Munoz ss                          5   1  3  1   0  0   .444

Gonzalez 2b                       4   0  1  1   0  0   .375


TOTALS                           38   7 12  7   5  5


Minnesota Twins (3-0)            AB  R  H BI  BB SO   AVG

Buxton cf                         4   0  0  0   1  1   .000

Donaldson 3b                      5   1  1  0   0  0   .308

Kepler rf                         3   4  2  1   2  0   .500

Sano 1b                           5   1  3  2   0  1   .308

Cruz dh                           5   2  2  3   0  2   .643

Polanco ss                        4   2  2  0   0  2   .400

Garver c                          4   1  3  4   0  0   .625

Arraez lf                         4   0  1  1   0  1   .250

Adrianza 2b                       4   0  0  0   0  1   .091


TOTALS                           38  11 14 11   3  8


Score by innings:                1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9   R  H  E

Miami Palms                      0  0  0  0  2  1  0  1  3   7 12  0

Minnesota Twins                  1  1  1  0  4  4  0  0  x  11 14  0


2B – Gardner 2 (2), Sohn (2), Muñoz (1), Donaldson (1), Sano 3 (3), Polanco (2), Arraez (1)  

3B – Muñoz (1), Markakis (1)  

HR – Cruz (2), Garver (2), Kepler (1)  

RBI – Gardner (2), Markakis (1), Encarnacion (1), Sohn (1), Korb (2), Muñoz (1), Gonzalez (1);  

       Cruz (5), Garver (6), Sano (4), Kepler (1), Arraez (1)


LOB – Miami 10, Minnesota 6  

SF – Sohn


Miami Palms Pitching:

Bundy (L, 0-1)     4.1 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO   ERA 12.46  

Conley             0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO   ERA 13.50  

Shipley            1.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO   ERA 36.00  

Jeffress           2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO   ERA 0.00


Minnesota Twins Pitching:

Bailey (W, 1-0)    6.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO   ERA 4.50  

Littell            2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO   ERA 4.50  

Duffey             1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO   ERA 27.00


Weather: 41°F, Cloudy, Wind NE 9 MPH


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