Twins 3, Brewers 1: Junior Guerra struggles, bullpen falters

MINNEAPOLIS - The Milwaukee Brewers' 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Sunday afternoon had a definite déjà vu quality to it.

Taylor Williams issued a leadoff walk in the eighth inning, then the Twins cashed it in against Boone Logan with Logan Morrison's two-run single off the top of the wall in right-center driving in the decisive runs.

The situation played itself out similarly in Arizona earlier in the road trip, when Williams walked the first batter he saw in the eighth and the Diamondbacks eventually drove him in with a single off Logan. 

Logan followed Williams (0-2) in this one by walking Max Kepler, and Eddie Rosario followed with a check-swing bunt that moved the runners into scoring position.

ANALYSIS:Road trip was successful overall, but difficult for Logan

BOX SCORE:Twins 3, Brewers 1

NOTES:No decisions yet about Freddy Peralta's status with Brewers

MLB:Live scoreboard, box scores, standings, statistics

The Brewers intentionally walked Eduardo Escobar to load the bases and match the left-handed Logan against the left-handed Morrison, but on the second pitch he saw Morrison hammer a fastball to right-center -- a drive that fell about a foot shy of being a grand slam.

It was enough to plate both Dozier and Kepler, however, and tilt the game in Minnesota's favor. The Brewers went down in order against closer Fernando Rodney in the ninth and managed just seven hits on the day.

Milwaukee finished its longest trip of the season -- three cities and 10 games -- with a 7-3 record.

Junior Guerra's 4 1/3-inning start was his shortest of the season as he labored to throw strikes.

Despite the lack of command, he kept Minnesota off the board until the fifth. Byron Buxton singled off Guerra to open, stole second on a strikeout of Dozier and moved to third as Jett Bandy's throw sailed into center field.

Dan Jennings replaced Guerra, and the Twins wasted no time capitalizing as Kepler singled through a drawn-in infield to plate Buxton and give them a 1-0 lead.

Guerra allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four.

Twins starter Jake Odorizzi was in complete control through five innings, having limited Milwaukee to just three singles and a walk. He struck out Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich to open the sixth and give him 10 before he made his first major mistake.

That came on a homer by Jesús Aguilar, who slugged an 0-2 fastball into the second deck in left to knot the score at 1-1. It was the third homer in as many days and fourth in the series for Aguilar.

Odorizzi limited the Brewers to five hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings to go along with his 10 strikeouts.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

WAIT AND SEE: Manager Craig Counsell said after the game that he still had no news regarding who will come off the 25-man roster when right-hander Chase Anderson is reinstated from the disabled before his start Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He also was no closer to naming a starter for Wednesday's game, although he did reiterate that Zach Davies won't be a candidate.

BOTTOM TO THE TOP: Counsell lauded the job Manny Piña and Jonathan Villar have done toward the bottom of the Brewers' lineup on the trip. Piña hit .370 with a homer, five RBI and an OPS of .993 in seven games, while Villar was hitting .400 with a homer, three RBI and an OPS of 1.048 in eight games before going 0 for 4 Sunday.

"I think if you’re going to mention Manny, you’ve got to mention Villar, too," he said. "Those two guys have gotten the bottom of the lineup really going and producing, and putting men on base for when we flip the order around. Those two guys have played a big part in the offense picking up the pace."

EARNING HIS KEEP: Largely because of the way he'd hit on the trip -- .417 with two homers, four RBI and an OPS of 1.417 in six games entering Sunday -- Tyler Saladino made his third start at shortstop in place of the slumping Orlando Arcia. It's been a fast rise for the 28-year-old, whom the Brewers acquired from the Chicago White Sox for cash April 19 and recalled from Class AAA Colorado Springs on May 9.

"If you like Tyler, it’s because he’s an all-around baseball player on both sides of the ball," said Counsell. "Defensively he’s always had a good reputation. The tricky thing about evaluating guys like him is that he’s been a utility guy in the big leagues. I know we thought highly of him in the past as a hitter and believed that there was offense in there."

Saladino went 2 for 4 Sunday.

LOCKING IN: The author of Saturday night's eighth-inning, game-winning homer, Yelich had hit in 16 of his last 18 entering Sunday that left him with a .329 average over that span and at .299 with an .833 OPS for the season.

"Just trying to string quality at-bats together every night, and usually the rest takes care of itself," said Yelich, who was 0 for 4 on Sunday. "I’m starting to get into a little bit of a flow and a rhythm, and hopefully it’s here to stay."

FAMILIAR FACE: The start was the second of Odorizzi's career against Milwaukee, which selected him in the first round of the 2008 draft (32nd overall) and then traded him to Kansas City before the 2011 season as part of the Zack Greinke deal. Odorizzi was tough on the Brewers in his previous outing as well. That came as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays on July 28, 2014, when he limited them to three hits and one run while striking out five and picking up the victory.

RECORD

This year: 28-19

Last year: 25-22

COMING UP

Monday: Brewers vs. Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Chase Anderson (3-3, 3.97) vs. Arizona RHP Zack Greinke (3-2, 3.46). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.