Twins manager Rocco Baldelli sounds off after 10-4 loss to Red Sox

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli didn’t have many answers after a 10-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox Tuesday night at Target Field.

The Twins’ offense was silent until the eighth inning, when Byron Buxton launched a two-run homer to left center for his second hit of the night. Max Kepler and Royce Lewis added a pair of solo shots in the ninth inning, but it was far too little, too late as the Twins fell to 36-38, lost their third straight game and are now 3-5 with two games left on a 10-game home stand.

Baldelli met with reporters for less than five minutes after the loss, and answered two questions.

"I don’t have too many words to go into the way we’re playing right now, especially that ballgame right there. I’d be lying if I told you I had anything interesting to say about that, it’s not good baseball. We know it’s not good baseball, it’s not the baseball that we’re accustomed to from our team. I honestly don’t have a lot to say about it, we’ve got to muster something up that’s not currently there," Baldelli said. "I’m hoping this is just the worst day that we’re going to see right now in this stretch of games and it’s going to get better. Hope isn’t a good plan in professional sports, but the truth is with the players that we have, the collective at-bats we had before the eighth inning, I don’t think our group is capable of having those at-bats for too much longer. We’re capable of a lot more than we’re showing right now. I’m waiting to see it, it’s going to come. It wasn’t good, there’s going to be better days ahead and we’ve got to keep our heads up and just keep playing."

The Twins now have just a one-game lead in the American League Central Division, and it’s not even July yet. They’ve gotten good starting pitching for a majority of the season, the bullpen has been up and down. But consistently, it’s been the lineup that has had trouble scoring runs.

Earlier in the day, Baldelli was asked about Buxton’s health as he continues to stay at designated hitter, and not play outfield. He has yet to play in the outfield in 74 games this season, and snapped an 0-for-24 skid on Tuesday.

"If he could play in the field, he would be playing in the field. Physically, he cannot play in the field. If we even thought it was possible that he could play in the outfield, he would be out there," Baldelli said. "But he physically can’t."

Entering Monday, the Twins led MLB with 742 strikeouts, and are on pace to shatter the 2021 record set by the Chicago Cubs.

"The baseball has to improve. It’s time to remember just how good these guys are and our team is. We’ve seen periods of time this year where we’ve really shown it. It’s hard to muster something up when you’re playing probably the lowest level of baseball that you can play as a group. It’s hard to sit there and go it’s going to get better, but I promise you this team is going to get better from what we’re watching right now. I expect it from our group," Baldelli said.