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Teagarden hit a home run with two outs in the sixth inning Sunday, ending Scott Baker’s latest bid for a perfect game and spoiling the Twins’ attempt to sweep the Rangers at the Metrodome.
Texas held on for a 1-0 victory, marking the fourth time the Twins have lost by that cruel score this season, the third time with Baker pitching.
“I think if Scott can do that the rest of the year, we’re going to be pretty tough,” Twins catcher Joe Mauer said.
Baker (6-3) retired the first 17 Texas batters, bringing back memories of Aug. 31, when he was perfect into the ninth inning against Kansas City before giving up a walk and a single in a 5-0 victory.
This time, the Twins had no answer for Rangers starter Vicente Padilla (11-5), who allowed three hits and two walks over seven innings, never letting a runner past first base.
Padilla and Baker matched each other zero-for-zero until Teagarden, the Rangers’ No. 9 hitter, stepped up in the sixth.
“We don’t know that much about him,” Baker said. “Obviously, when you have a guy come up (from the minors) like that, he’s going to be real aggressive. That’s about all you know.”
This part gnawed at Baker a bit. He kept throwing Teagarden fastballs, and with a 3-2 count, the righthanded hitter reached down and drilled one into the first row beyond the center-field wall.
“I should have treated the situation as a 0-0 game rather than a (perfect game),” Baker said. “You can’t allow one swing like that to change the whole game. Maybe a breaking ball on a 3-2 count. I threw several fastballs. If you walk him, you walk him. Try to get the next guy out.”
Teagarden was batting .238 with six home runs for Class AAA Oklahoma before getting called up this week because Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia had been ill.
Not like Teagarden is a slouch. One week before Sunday’s big swing, he played in the All-Star Futures Game. On Wednesday he was selected for the U.S. Olympic team, and Friday, he made his major league debut.
But with Saltalamacchia feeling better and a roster spot needed today for pitcher Eric Hurley, the Rangers planned to send Teagarden back to Oklahoma.
Baker also did his share of hopping between Class AAA and the big leagues before finally settling in last season. Now, he’s the steadiest pitcher on a surprising Twins staff, with a 2.89 ERA in his past 10 games.
Against the Rangers, he had one walk and eight strikeouts.
An announced crowd of 36,029 seemed mostly oblivious to Baker’s bid at perfection until the sixth inning, but the Dome was stirring by the time he fanned Chris Davis with a 91-miles per hour fastball for the second out in the sixth.
Up stepped Teagarden, who was hitless in four career at-bats.’
“Baker was throwing so well at that point,” Teagarden said. “I figured he was going to come with his best fastball, and he did.”
