Louie Varland Gets Crushed in Disastrous Third Inning

Twins Suffer Loss to Tampa Bay Rays

Varland Struggles After Strong Outing Against Royals

After a strong start against the Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins pitcher Louie Varland struggled mightily in his following outing against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Varland gave up five runs, including a grand slam, in a disastrous third inning that ultimately led to the Twins' loss.

The Twins' offense was unable to overcome Varland's struggles and they fell to the Rays by a score of 6-2.

According to The Athletic, Varland's outing was a continuation of a recent trend of poor performance from the Twins' starting pitchers.

The Twins have now lost five of their last six games and are in danger of falling out of contention in the AL Central.

Here is a breakdown of Varland's disastrous third inning:

• Randy Arozarena singled to lead off the inning.
• Wander Franco walked.
• Yandy Díaz grounded into a fielder's choice, advancing Arozarena to second.
• Ji-Man Choi singled, loading the bases.
• Harold Ramírez hit a grand slam.

Varland was pulled from the game after the third inning and replaced by reliever Trevor Megill.

The Twins' offense was unable to provide any support for Varland as they managed only two runs on five hits against Rays starter Drew Rasmussen.

The loss drops the Twins to 46-48 on the season and they now trail the first-place Cleveland Guardians by 3.5 games.