Max Kepler hits several HR against Trevor Bauer

CLEVELAND – Max Kepler collapsed during the recent Twins road trip through Tampa Bay and Cleveland, but broke his mouth on Thursday night and made his way through the history books.
Kepler hit Indian starter Trevor Bauer three times on his way to a 5-4

CLEVELAND – Max Kepler The Twins' road trip to Tampa Bay and Cleveland was disappointing, but he took the opportunity to leave the party on Thursday night and made his way through the history books.

Kepler scored three times in front of Indian player Trevor Bauer en route to a 5-4 Twins win on Thursday, joining Ted Williams as the only player in MLB history with multiple games against the Indians. The only other match in Kepler's career that featured three home games was Aug. 1, 2016 – also at Progressive Field.

• The score of the box

The 26-year-old had a chance for a fourth-round scoring with two outs in the ninth inning, but instead hit a single in the field as he reached the base for the fifth time and finished his third career match four strokes.

"I like singles," insisted Kepler. "I like singles, especially when I have not had singles since one, I do not know, four or five games."

Led by Kepler shots and six fantastic choke heats José Berríos, the Twins won the final of the series against the Indians not to lose three consecutive games for the first time in 2019.

"[Kepler] was on the ball all night, "said director Rocco Baldelli. "That's how guys sometimes come out of things. He's probably going there with a similar approach to what he's done. You do not always get the results you want, but tonight Max got them and really pushed us.

At the beginning of the game, Kepler immediately started a 0-1 change, estimating a distance of 369 feet in the stands of the right field, to allow the Twins to take the advantage. In the third inning, he followed a Willians Astudillo single with another bomb, his 14th of the season, which ran about 375 feet just inside the right field post.

After a ride in the fifth inning, Kepler threw his longest shot of the night over an estimated distance of 402 feet from the center of the field to give the Twins an insurance race before a Cleveland meeting at the bottom of the frame.

"He has the right to smile," said Baldelli about the stoic Kepler after his third explosion. "We should probably remind him from time to time. I think he was very happy with himself, as he should be.

It's not as if Kepler was sitting on one of Bauer's fields: he started the change, the slider and the fastball once each.

"I was not really that difficult," Kepler said. "I was just trying to see the ball and hit it."

"Not all guys have this in their repertoire," Baldelli said. "This is not the kind of hitter that some guys are. Every guy has his strengths and weaknesses. But Max stays on the ball and sees it so well that it gives him somehow the ability to hit different terrains, even if it's not something he's looking for. He has the gift of being on time, to achieve good strikes. "

Kepler's three-game game was only 10th in the Twins' history, and he joined his teammate Eddie Rosario as the only two Twins players to have achieved the feat twice. Bob Allison, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Justin Morneau, Brian Dozier and Byron Buxton were also triaged three times in a game.

He was named the player of the week in the American League from May 20 to 26, but he followed this torrid sequence with a receding equally cold from 0 to 21 by entering Thursday before embarking with the throwing trio.

"When guys like it, good players, when they fight and have a shot, even if it's a [crappy] I'm nervous, "said Indian director Terry Francona. "I mean, you've heard me all the time: good players, as cold as they are, are just as hot … I'm not smart enough to know the formula, but it happens." And that's an example of all of a sudden, man, he was locked up. "

Berrios wins six strong rounds
Berrios was waiting for the Indians to look for his fastball and big brittle ball for a strikeout. That's why he continued to work on his changes, starting with spring training – partly to subvert expectations and adapt.

This work paid off on Thursday, as he only allowed one run on two hits in more than six innings and recorded four of his six strikeouts with one change.

"I had the impression, on my last trip to Tampa, to have made a lot of good changes," Berrios said. "Tonight I was just trying to do the same thing I was trying to close my shoulder and find myself on the balloon.That's why I launched a lot of changes tonight. "

After a double Carlos Santana in the first inning, Berrios only gave up a walk and a solo circuit of Roberto Perez. He completed a 10-lap battle with a flourishing touch to finish the sixth inning, when he lost about 10 mph of his gear shift and beat Jake Bauers to a 72-mile bid. / h who had even confused his own director.

"I almost had to re-check and ask some people in the dugout to know where he was hitting Bauers," Baldelli said. "There was almost so much on the side, in the eye, that you were not even sure what it was exactly."

"He hit a lot of fastballs in this heat," said Berrios. "Quick ball, fast ball, ball shots, quick change, so it's like:" OK. Let me throw this throw. "… I thought before throwing that I just wanted to take a lot of miles and throw it to the ground.