Bullpen struggles, Twins fall 10-6 to Mariners

The Twins' bullpen struggled Tuesday, allowing eight combined runs in relief of Bailey Ober, ultimately resulting in a 10-6 defeat.

Right-hander Bailey Ober made his seventh start of the season and he started slow before settling in and ultimately allowing just two runs while striking out seven in five innings.

It took only three Seattle batters for the Twins to get through the first inning, but a Mitch Haniger home run and RBI double from Dylan Moore give the Mariners a 2-0 lead and Ober needed 24 pitches to get through the second inning.

The Twins' bats began to heat up in the fourth inning. Trevor Larnach got the party started with an RBI single, then Ryan Jeffers added a three-run home run – a 108 mph blast into the second deck in left – and Minnesota regained the lead 4-2.

The Twins held that lead before bullpen chaos erupted in the late innings.

Jay Jackson came in for seventh inning and things began to unravel. The 36-year-old allowed three baserunners and got only one out before Steven Okert came in to replace and he immediately allowed a grand slam to the first batter he faced, Cal Raleigh, for a 6-4 Mariners lead.

Minnesota quickly answered with an RBI double in the bottom of the inning from Kyle Farmer, cutting the deficit to 6-5. Then, Max Kepler doubled to start the eighth and later scored on an infield single by Austin Martin that saw saw Mariners pitcher Tayler Saucedo suffer what appeared to be a serious leg injury on a bang-bang play at first base.

Jorge Alcala replaced Okert in the eighth inning and it took only eight pitches to get through the inning, but it was a different story in the ninth. He allowed four hits, two walks and threw a wild pitch and allowed four runs, giving Seattle a10-6 lead and ultimately the win as he was handed his first loss of the season.

Minnesota falls to 20-15 on the season and they will face Seattle Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. (CT) in game three of a four-game series.