Bumbling Twins blanked and blown out by Brewers, lose for 12th time in 15 games

The last time the Twins played a series against the Brewers, they were at the end of their 13-game winning streak, rarely giving up runs, rallying from early deficits and playing clean defense virtually every day.

One month later, and it’s the opposite.

The Twins were humiliated for the second consecutive game in a 9-0 loss to Milwaukee at Target Field. They were charged with two errors, leading to three unearned runs, and even a few more defensive misplays. Their lineup totaled four hits against lefthander Jose Quintana and two relievers.

Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby struck out Brooks Lee for the final out with a slider in the dirt. Catcher William Contreras chased after the ball that rolled about 25 feet away, giving Lee a chance to run to first on a dropped third strike. After an awkward nine-second pause, Lee declined and simply walked back to the dugout.

“You want to sum it up in one word, it’s embarrassing,” Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “We’re big league ballplayers and we’re not playing like a big league ballclub. We can’t expect to win baseball games and play like that.”

The Twins have lost 12 of their past 15 games, and they gave up at least nine runs in six of those games. The pitching staff owns a league-worst 7.53 ERA during this stretch. It’s been a challenge for the offense to score more than four runs.

After posting an 18-8 record in May, which revitalized their season, they have a 6-13 record in June.

“I wish there was an easy way to say it, like, we’ll be better tomorrow,” Jeffers said. “We’re going to try. We’re not going out there trying to play embarrassing baseball, but that is what is happening right now.”

Quintana, who hadn’t pitched more than 5⅓ innings in any of his previous six starts, gave up three hits and walked four over six scoreless frames. He pitched around two walks in the first inning, and he stranded two more runners in the second.

The Twins, shut out for the fifth time this year, had only one baserunner reach second base after the second inning — a one-out double from Carlos Correa in the sixth.

“We should probably call it how we’re seeing it,” manager Rocco Baldelli said after his team dropped to 2-7 in its past nine home games. “Of course, we’re in a bit of a rut right now. We’re seeing it in a few different ways. You can’t hide from it. You have to acknowledge it and move forward.”

BOXSCORE: Milwaukee 9, Twins 0

MLB standings

Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson, who gave up one hit across five shutout innings at Houston last weekend, gave up two ground ball singles to his first three batters Saturday. The first run scored when Christian Yelich stole second base and Jeffers airmailed his throw into center field, enabling Sal Frelick to score from third.

After Yelich advanced to third on Jeffers’ throwing error, he scored two batters later through a sacrifice fly to left field.

The Brewers loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning, benefiting after a potential double-play grounder to third baseman Jonah Bride turned into nothing after Caleb Durbin slid ahead of Bride’s throw to second base. Jackson Chourio drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, a scorched lineout to right field, and another run scored when Yelich hit a two-out slow dribbler for an RBI single on a half swing.

Woods Richardson threw 52 pitches over the first two innings, yielding four hits and two walks. He pitched efficiently the rest of his outing, retiring 13 of his final 14 batters, and his pitching line would’ve looked a lot cleaner with better defense behind him.

“We can’t live on what-ifs, we have to make it happen ourselves,” Baldelli said. “We’ve got to make plays. We have to want the ball hit to us. We have to want to be up there with a guy on base to get the job done. Sometimes, it takes one inning or one game to get everyone turned around and things moving in the right direction, but we’re looking for it right now.”

The Brewers turned the game into a rout with a three-run eighth inning. After Brice Turang hit a leadoff double and advanced to third on a groundout, he scored when Twins left fielder Harrison Bader dropped a line drive as he tried to prepare himself for a throw to the plate.

In the ninth inning, Milwaukee scored two runs after shortstop Correa and Bader appeared to lose a fly ball in the sun, allowing it to drop between them for a double. The announced crowd of 28,321 responded with loud boos.