Article: Twins 5, Angels 4: Buxton Busts Out as Gibson Glides

[Tom Froemming]

Byron Buxton, the great patriot that he is, was just saving all his hits for the Fourth of July. He had three hits, including a homer, in support of Kyle Gibson, who had a quality start. Things got a little rocky in the ninth inning, but Brandon Kintzler managed to pick up his 22nd save.Win Expectancy & Top 5 Plays (via Fangraphs)

Download attachment: WinEx74.png

Download attachment: TopPlays74.png

Big days at the plate from Buxton have been few and far between, but he provided some Independance Day fireworks. He started things off by making a patented Buxton outstanding catch on the very first play of the game.

 

In the fifth inning, he singled, stole second (his 15th steal) and came around to score on a Robbie Grossman double. He clubbed his fifth homer of the season in his next at bat and added another single in the eighth inning.

 

Gibson has suddenly become, dare I say it, reliable. Gibby now has a 3.91 ERA over his last eight starts. In his longest start of the season, Gibson held the Angels to two runs on five hits over 6.2 innings. He struck out four batters and walked Ben Revere, one of the most difficult hitters to walk in baseball, twice.

Kintzler got the save, but things got a little too interesting in the ninth inning. The inning started with a single and a walk. Kintzler induced a groundball, but Ehire Adrianza threw the ball away on the double play attempt. Luckily Kintzler coaxed another grounder out of the next batter and Miguel Sano, Eduardo Escobar and Joe Mauer combined to complete a game-ending twin killing.

 

Here's Buxton's game-opening catch:

And here’s his homer:

Postgame With Buxton

Bullpen Usage

Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days:

Download attachment: Pen74.png

Wednesday

Twins (Ervin Santana, 3.07 ERA) vs. Angels (Parker Bridwell, 3.95 ERA), 7:10 pm CT

 

Bridwell, a right-hander, will be making his fifth start of the season for Anaheim. His ERA looks solid, but his FIP is 6.44. He’s averaging 10.9 H/9 while only getting 4.6 K/9. The 25-year-old is coming off a start in which he gave up five runs over six innings against Seattle.

 

Santana has looked like anything but an All-Star of late, as he registered a 6.03 ERA in June. His usage of his changeup dropped significantly that month. He deployed that pitch 13.5 percent of the time in April, 15.9 percent of the time in May and just 8.7 percent last month.

 

AL Central Standings

Cleveland 44-38

Twins 43-40 (-1.5)

Kansas City 43-40 (-1.5)

Chicago 37-45 (-7)

Detroit 37-46 (-7.5)

 

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[Dantes929]

A while back Gibson had a really good game where he threw curve balls like 37% of the time.    Doesn't look like he has thrown it much since then.    Looked like a good pitch.     Santana regressing while Meija and Gibson progressing is ok with me.   Jorge for Santiago and the rotation looks ok.

[AlwaysinModeration]

I really want Buxton to turn into the star that he could turn into.

[bighat]

Great to see Bux have a nice game today, he needed that (and so did we all).  Here's hoping for slow, steady progress from him as the year goes on.  Hey, 2 sac flies from Adrianza, love seeing the little things done right. Good game and a happy 4th for all!

[DocBauer]

A really, really good game overall. A couple of thoughts:

 

1] I've said for some time now, echoed by non-Twins announcers and press, that Gibson seems to have all the ability in the world to be at least a solid ML pitcher. But it seems at times as though he nibbles, tries to be perfect...as if he doesn't trust his stuff or his defense...and then gets in to trouble. The numbers and results seem to indicate a change since his demotion. Even in the game, I want to say against Seattle, where he got the win but was rocked, he pitched much better after Molitor visited him on the mound and politely laid in to him on the mound.

 

I've defended Gibson in the past, gave up my case when the season began, but have decided to re-open said case now recently. Is it possible he is starting to "get it" now? He wouldn't be the first good arm to wait until his late 20's or hitting 30 to really figure out his game. If he keeps this new, more aggressive attitude, I'd bring him back next season.

 

2] Can we just get off Buxton's back because he isn't an all star yet? Today is yet another day where we see the potential of this kid. He's STILL very young. He exudes ability. He was moved quickly through the minors, despite missing time, because of his success and ability. Hunter struggled at first. Span struggled a bit at first, if I recall. The Twins have up on Gomez too early. It appears they may have rushed and given up on Hicks too early. Can we just accept the difference he makes defensively, and all his tremendous talent, and accept that it may take a little time for him to put it all together?

 

I know there have been teasers. I know there has been conflict in approach and batting stance. And I know there needs to be production, sooner or later, vs just potential. But can we ease off just a bit on expectation vs the process of development?

[HitInAPinch]

Nice to see Buxton having a nice day at the plate.  Gibson was a big surprise, at least to me.

 

Message to both:  Let's see you do it again.  

[Platoon]

There are a lot of things for Twins fans, and the Twins themselves to worry about. Byron Buxton is not one of them.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Every time Buxton catches a ball in the gap that no one else would catch, we should add a "1 for 1, double" to his batting line.

[jorgenswest]

Nice start by Gibson. At the time he was sent down, someone from the front office spoke about the reason on the Twins Insider Show. It wasn't mechanical but he needed to be more aggressive (may have wrong word). Molitor has referenced nibbling following nearly every start since his return. I sense that this might be harder to fix than a mechanical adjustment. It could be a career long battle for him.

[Old Twins Cap]

With Gibson, the thing that is so unusual is that hitters do not often chase out of the zone, even when the ball crosses through it and down.  And, they also can hit his curve, when it is down and in on lefties.

 

He nibbles, he does not throw strikes when he should, but he also doesn't get the kind of help he needs from the hitters.

 

To me, that means, for whatever reason, his raw stuff is not that good.

[Tom Froemming]

ERA through May vs. ERA since June

 

Gibson: 7.85 vs. 3.98 (down 3.87)

Mejia: 4.64 vs. 4.14 (down 0.50)

Berrios: 2.70 vs. 3.96 (up 1.26)

Ervin: 1.75 vs. 6.03 (up 4.28)

Santiago: 4.76 vs. 12.38 (up 7.62)

 

Small sample sizes, ERA doesn't tell you everything, blah, blah, blah ... I just thought this was interesting and figured I'd share.

[hybridbear]

 

A really, really good game overall. A couple of thoughts:

1] I've said for some time now, echoed by non-Twins announcers and press, that Gibson seems to have all the ability in the world to be at least a solid ML pitcher. But it seems at times as though he nibbles, tries to be perfect...as if he doesn't trust his stuff or his defense...and then gets in to trouble. The numbers and results seem to indicate a change since his demotion.

Haven't the Twins announcers been saying this too? I know I've heard it from Tony Oliva in the Spanish broadcasts.

[EddieMatthews]

AL Central Standings
Cleveland 44-37
Twins 43-40 (-2)
Kansas City 42-40 (-2.5)
Chicago 37-45 (-7.5)
Detroit 37-45 (-7.5)

 

KC won yesterday so now have same record as Twins (43-40).  Cleveland lost so now are at 44-38.

[Tom Froemming]

 

AL Central Standings
Cleveland 44-37
Twins 43-40 (-2)
Kansas City 42-40 (-2.5)
Chicago 37-45 (-7.5)
Detroit 37-45 (-7.5)

 

KC won yesterday so now have same record as Twins (43-40).  Cleveland lost so now are at 44-38.

Thanks, I'm trying to figure out how to paste some code into each recap article that will automatically update the standings. Haven't had much luck, but I'll try taking another look into it today.

[Circus Boy]

 

I really want Buxton to turn into the star that he could turn into.

Hmmm. Sounds immoderate.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Thanks, I'm trying to figure out how to paste some code into each recap article that will automatically update the standings. Haven't had much luck, but I'll try taking another look into it today.

I wouldn't worry about it.  Maybe just an asterisk note if one of those teams had a game in-progress at press time?  Even then, you'd probably only have to note it for teams around the top / around the Twins -- I don't suppose we're too concerned with the day-to-day jockeying of Detroit and Chicago right now!

 

In theory, B-Ref has some nice embedding tools, that can be defined by date --- but they don't update promptly enough to be of any use here.  Not sure of any others.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/?date=2017-07-03

[Tom Froemming]

 

I wouldn't worry about it.  Maybe just an asterisk note if one of those teams had a game in-progress at press time?  Even then, you'd probably only have to note it for teams around the top / around the Twins -- I don't suppose we're too concerned with the day-to-day jockeying of Detroit and Chicago right now!

 

In theory, B-Ref has some nice embedding tools, that can be defined by date --- but they don't update promptly enough to be of any use here.  Not sure of any others.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/?date=2017-07-03

I was hoping to embed the b-ref standings, but you're right, they don't update super quick all the time. Hmmm. Forget elevate and celebrate, I'm trying to automate and celebrate over here! 

[djvang]

We left the game when Kintzler   gave up the leadoff hit in the ninth. I simply can't watch that guy pitch. I used to do the same thing with Guardado. It's maddening to see him put guys on base almost every single outing.

[gunnarthor]

One of the few knocks on Gibson in the minors that I remember reading was that he lacked the "meanness" to be an effective starter. He was too nice.  I assume that meant not throwing inside, too much nibbling etc. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

AL Central Standings

Cleveland 44-37

Twins 43-40 (-2)

Kansas City 42-40 (-2.5)

Chicago 37-45 (-7.5)

Detroit 37-45 (-7.5)

 

KC won yesterday so now have same record as Twins (43-40).  Cleveland lost so now are at 44-38.

Kluber again gets no run support, Cleveland loses 1-0. Sad!

[Squirrel]

Gibson pitched today as I thought (hoped) he would following ST. Yes, my high hopes were dashed, but I'm hoping we're seeing a serviceable change from him.

[EddieMatthews]

I have not been a Gibson fan, more of a doubter.  The big "if" for me when the team ended Spring Training was the performance of Gibson and Hughes.  Both were big question marks and there were no starting pitchers waiting in the wings.  

 

Last night Gibson was good enough to give me hope.  So I hope he holds this trajectory.  We still lack a stopper, but if we can have three solid starters in Santana, Berrios, and Gibson, it will give us the opportunity to compete on most nights.

[yarnivek1972]

Gibson was still pitching to a Trout-less Angels lineup.  It's like pitching to the Twins without Sano. Actually, considerably worse. It's not a lineup that is going to scare you.  Let's see how Kyle fares against Baltimore.  Their season is going down the drain, but they still have dangerous offensive players.  They have 6 guys with 12 or more HR.