Simeon Woods Richardson threw six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-1 in the first game of their four-game series. After their 12-game winning streak ended with a loss to Boston on Sunday, the Twins bounced back swiftly.
Woods Richardson had an impressive performance, striking out a career-high eight batters and walking only one in his fifth start in the majors. He started strong, striking out five of his first six batters and had seven strikeouts by the end of the third inning, outshining Mariners’ All-Star Luis Castillo. The lone hit he allowed was a leadoff single by Mitch Garver in the third inning.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli praised Woods Richardson’s performance, highlighting his ability to maintain composure even when facing one of the best pitchers in the game.
In the seventh inning, Seattle had the bases loaded with no outs but managed to score only one run against Twins reliever Griffin Jax (3-2). Garver’s sacrifice fly brought in Jorge Polanco to tie the game at 1-1 before Luke Raley struck out to end the inning.
Castillo (3-5) pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed three runs while striking out seven. He had not given up a hit until the fifth inning.
“Woods Richardson said, “He is well-known in this league. He is competitive, throws accurate pitches, and gives his team a good chance to win. So, it’s always exciting to face someone like him.”
In the seventh inning, Minnesota’s offense scored two runs to take the lead. Carlos Correa’s second double of the game helped set up the go-ahead run. He later scored on Christian Vázquez’s sacrifice fly off Castillo, giving the Twins a 2-1 lead. Manuel Margot then added an RBI single to make it 3-1.
“Servais commented on Castillo, saying, “He is a top-of-the-rotation starter and had all his pitches working today. They were able to put together a rally against him late in the game, and it came down to who could get the big hit. Correa had two big hits tonight, no doubt about that.”
