Baldelli furious after Twins swept by Royals: 'An unprofessional series'
Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was left almost without words after the Kansas City Royals completed a sweep of his team on Sunday.
"That was an unprofessional series of baseball we played and that's my only comment," Baldelli told reporters following the Twins' 2-0 loss, according to Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune. He then left the podium without taking any questions.
Baldelli also held a team meeting following the game, according to Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Catcher Ryan Jeffers told Dan Hayes of The Athletic that the skipper was irate while addressing the team and added it was the angriest he'd ever seen Baldelli.
"He's tried the rah-rah (speech) and the pump-up," Jeffers said, per Hayes. "It was time for that. Maybe now is the time for the kick in the ass."
It was certainly a weekend to forget for the Twins, who were outscored 11-2 over the three-game set at Kauffman Stadium. Sunday's loss marked the second time they were shut out in three days following a 5-0 defeat in the series opener. All told, the Twins recorded just 14 hits in the three-game set and scored in just one of 27 innings.
Minnesota managed a mere five hits against Royals starter Michael Wacha and two relievers on Sunday, with three of those coming from catcher Christian Vázquez. The team only had two runners reach second base, with both doing so in the first inning. Trevor Larnach ripped a double off Wacha that looked like it might start a rally, but Jose Miranda was thrown out at the plate by right fielder Hunter Renfroe.
The Twins have lost 10 of 14 games since Aug. 25 and five of their last six contests. After coming into the weekend series holding a half-game lead on the Royals for second in the AL Central, they now trail Kansas City by 2 1/2 games in both the division and AL wild-card standings.
Minnesota does continue to hold down the final AL playoff spot, but its lead on the Tigers and Mariners shrunk to just 3 1/2 games with Sunday's results.