PHOENIX — Dylan Bundy had to wait a long time between starts before getting the ball on Saturday. Maybe it prepared for all the time he had to wait between innings, too.
The Minnesota Twins sent 22 batters to the plate in innings 3 through 5 at Chase Field, with 13 of them reaching base and nine of them scoring. In between, Bundy limited the Arizona Diamondbacks to just four hits over eight innings, and Minnesota tied its most lopsided victory of the season with an 11-1 drubbing of Arizona.
Bundy became the first Twins starter to record an out in the eighth inning, and snapped a streak of starting seven consecutive losses, the longest such streak by a Twin since Jose Berrios started eight straight losses in 2016. It's the first time that Bundy pitched eight innings and allowed fewer than two runs since a complete-game 6-1 victory for the Angels in Seattle on Aug. 6, 2020.
Maybe the Twins should make nine days between starts their new standard.
"We decided to get Dylan a few extra days (of rest) on top of what the other guys were getting," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Bundy, whose last start came on June 9, when he gave up four runs in four innings against the New York Yankees. Adding Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray from the injured list allowed the Twins to skip Bundy's start, and he made use of the time, the manager said.
"He's been working on some things. He's been working on his pitch mix, a little bit on his execution and what to do when he's ahead" in the count, Baldelli said. "Putting hitters away, knowing what to do once he's gotten to that point, is something he's spent some time on."
The Twins spent time Saturday blasting Diamondbacks righthander Luke Weaver and lefty Caleb Smith, racking up 14 hits, five for extra bases. Six hits in the third inning were capped by Gary Sanchez's blast into the tables overlooking center field 456 feet away, and three more hits the following inning including Gio Urshela's two-run double. Ryan Jeffers contributed a two-run shot in the seventh inning, flipping his bat away as he watched it sail into the seats in left-center.
All nine Twins starters contributed at least one hit, and six of them drove in runs as the Twins reached double-digits for the fifth time this season.
