Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 4.10.24
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Frozen Four starts tomorrow at The X.
ANT Scores Career-High 51 as Wolves Fall Behind by 21, Win by Nine
Anthony Edwards went for a career-high 51 points in one of the weirdest Wolves games of the year, a 130-121 home win over the lowly Magic. It’s an epic showdown tonight in Denver as the top two teams in the West meet while tied in the standings with three games left. It’s a shame both teams are playing the second half of a back-to-back. We’ll see what the Wolves have left after tonight.
Another slow start nearly doomed Minnesota, as the Wolves fell down by 21 points in the first quarter. They also lost Naz Reid to a flagrant foul.
But ANT was just brilliant. He hit six 3-pointers, 11 other hoops and was 11-for-11 from the free throw line. His 3-pointer with 2:02 left in the third gave the Wolves the lead. ANT also added seven assists and six rebounds.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker kept the Wolves in it in the first half, scoring 23 points.
And it’s about to get better for Minnesota, as Karl Anthony Towns has been cleared for full contact return to practice. Whether he can get back in the lineup before the playoffs remains to be seen. But you betcha he’ll be back for Game 1.
Twins’ Bats Continue to Fail
The Twins’ streak of hitless at bats with runners in scoring position hit 29 in a 6-3 loss to the Dodgers last night. The 3-6 Twins try to salvage the finale of a three-game series against L.A. in a noon game today - which usually means the Twins’ so-called stars get the day off.
The Twins struck out 15 times for the second time this homestand (four games), including 14 against Tyler Glasnow. Per @jayhaykid on Twitter, Glasnow’s 88 pitches to reach 14 or more strikeouts are the fewest in (at least) the Wild Card era. At one point, the Twins went 30 pitches without putting a ball in play. Austin Martin’s double in the third inning ended a string of 26 straight outs by Twins hitters.
Minnesota fell behind 6-0 as a pair of Dodgers hit three-run homers off Louie Varland, who is probably a candidate for St. Paul but they don’t really have someone to take his place.
Martin was a bright spot for the Twins, hitting a pair of doubles - the first two hits of his MLB career. Ryan Jeffers, Carlos Correa and Alex Kirilloff each hit feel good, but rather meaningless homers in the eighth and ninth.
Wild Eliminated with Loss in Colorado
The Wild was officially eliminated with last night’s 5-2 loss in Colorado, as Avs star and potential MVP Nathan MacKinnon notched his third hat trick of the season.
Why will the Wild miss the playoffs? They’re 0-10-1 against the top three teams in the Central Division.
Minnesota plays at Vegas on Friday. A couple nights off in Sin City when already eliminated? Glad I’m not in charge of keeping that group in line anymore…
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