Article: MIN 7, CLE 1: Twins Battle Their Way to Another Victory

[Tom Froemming]

The Twins gutted out a 7-1 victory Saturday to ensure a series split at the very least in this massive four-game set with Cleveland. Lance Lynn wasn’t at his best, but he fought through six innings and 113 pitches to help lead the Twins. Eddie Rosario came up big once again, turning on an inside pitch for a two-run home run that put the Twins up for good.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs)

Current record: 24-30

Lance Lynn: 64 Game Score, 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 K, 5 BB, 57.5% strikes

Bullpen: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 K, 0 BB

Lineup: 5-for-13 w/RISP, 5 LOB

Top three per WPA: Lynn .240, Rosario .175, Dozier .136

Download attachment: WinEx62.png

Lynn only gave up one run on two hits, but he was working through trouble all game long. He walked five batters and hit another, but every time he was in a jam, Lynn prevailed.

 

That’s three quality starts in a row for Lynn. He’s only given up three runs over his last 18 2/3 innings pitched, lowering his ERA from 7.47 to 5.46 over that stretch. It’s not always pretty, even when he’s on, but Lynn is a battler.

 

The Twins offense also battled today. Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer entered the game with a 2.61 ERA on the year, and he had some good stuff working. Bauer struck out 11 batters over 5 2/3 innings. The Twins still managed to score seven runs off him (though only three were earned runs).

 

Along with his impressive home run, Rosario also drew a pair of walks. Brian Dozier was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBIs. Logan Morrison also had a multi-hit game. Trevor Hildenberger, Ryen Pressly and Tyler Duffey each pitched a shutout inning out of the bullpen.

 

Here are the highlights:

Bullpen Usage

Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days:Download attachment: Bullpen62.png

AL Central Standings

CLE 30-27

DET 28-30 (-2.5)

MIN 24-30 (-4.5)

KC 21-37 (-9.5)

CHW 17-38 (-12)

 

Next Three Games

Sun vs. CLE, 1:10 pm CT

Mon OFF

Tue vs. CHW, 3:10 pm CT (DH)

 

Last Three Games

MIN 7, CLE 4: Escobar é o Fogo

CLE 9, MIN 8: Twins Fight Back, Fall Short

KC 11, MIN 8: We Can’t Have Nice Things

 

More From Twins Daily

2018 MLB Draft: Minnesota Connections

Joe Mauer's Concussion Symptoms Return

A Solution for the Twins Outfield

 

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[Shaitan]

7 runs is good. 15 strikeouts is horrible.

[Danchat]

Lynn clearly has the stuff to be a good starter, as he only gave up 2 hits in 6 innings, but he just has to figure out his command. If he continues to straighten things out, I think he can be a solid middle of the road starter for us.

 

Also, it's odd how the Twins struck out 15 times but still scored 7 runs. And Sano wasn't even in the lineup. 

[bighat]

Nice job by the Twins cobbling together some runs today and taking what the Indians gave them. Tomorrow's game is a big one. Big Game Gibby on the hill!

[VATwinsFan]

Rosario hitting .369 over his last 30 games with 7 HRs and 24 RBIs.

[Broker]

This is how I was expecting the Twins to look. The game tomorrow should be a fun watch.

[slash129]

Probably time to push "The Anatomy of a Failing Offense" article down several more spots on the board .... The Twins have 39 runs in their last 6 games ... That's 3/4 of a run better than the Yankees average

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Like Annie sang:: "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow, it's only a day away".

[Darius]

As soon as I write the club off, they get themselves in a position to take 3 of 4 from Cleveland.

 

Rosario is unreal. Since Puckett, I can't think of a player I enjoy watching more. It's not only the wild swing, but the passion with which he plays the game. His enthusiasm while rounding the bases after a homer, while still not bat flipping and showing others up like a dunce, is infectious.

 

Another wild comparison that comes to mind: Vlad Guerrero. Has anyone other than he had this much success with that type approach? He's routinely taking pitches a foot out of the zone and driving then over the fence, while simultaneously sustaining a high BA. Pretty incredible.

Edited June 3, 2018 by Darius

[Doomtints]

 

Lynn clearly has the stuff to be a good starter, as he only gave up 2 hits in 6 innings, but he just has to figure out his command. If he continues to straighten things out

 

One of these is Lance Lynn's career.  The other one is Tim Lincecum's career.

 

 

 

If you have followed Lincecum, you know which is which... but appears the issue isn't control so much as it's being outside of the strike zone in the wrong place.

[jtkoupal]

The Twins have knocked out some tough pitchers the last two days. Bauer and Carrasco have both given the Twins fits over the years. Good to see that and also to see continued quality pitching. Lance Lynn worked out of trouble a few times and gave the Twins 6 innings. 

 

A win tomorrow won't come easy against another tough pitcher (Mike Clevinger) so Gibby better have that sinker working against a very elevation-happy Indians ball club. A win tomorrow would be huge against these guys going forward. A series split would be acceptable, but we really need that game tomorrow to keep gaining ground on the guys, who only come to Minnesota one more time.

[Kelly Vance]

 

As soon as I write the club off, they get themselves in a position to take 3 of 4 from Cleveland.

Rosario is unreal. Since Puckett, I can't think of a player I enjoy watching more. He

Yeah, fun as Buck is to watch, Eddie is likely to do ANYTHING. I'm waiting for the ghost of Billy Martin to teach him to steal home.  

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Firing the hitting coach worked! When can we fire the next one?

[jokin]

 

Probably time to push "The Anatomy of a Failing Offense" article down several more spots on the board .... The Twins have 39 runs in their last 6 games ... That's 3/4 of a run better than the Yankees average

 

"Article?" How about a flurry of articles over the last month with the "conventional wisdom" that the Twins' bats are done? It seems like everyone forgot the principle of "regression to the mean.'

[Tom Froemming]

 

Probably time to push "The Anatomy of a Failing Offense" article down several more spots on the board .... The Twins have 39 runs in their last 6 games ... That's 3/4 of a run better than the Yankees average

No way! I'm pushing it to the top. Clearly some next-level reverse jinxing going on there by Jamie.

[VATwinsFan]

Happiness is doing what you absolutely had to do no matter what in a 4 game series and still have one game to go.

[adorduan]

Rosario's OPS is up to .878  

[KirbyDome89]

Lynn needed this outing. 

[ashbury]

Lynn needed this outing. 

The feeling was mutual by the team and fans.

[D.C Twins]

I want to be as excited as the next guy....

 

but I think we can all agree that 7.5BB/9 inngs average will not equate to 1.50 ERA's in many starts going forward. 

 

This is just a blip on the screen unless the control thing is figured out. 

[DocBauer]

The problem most of the year has been the hitting, which has been as odd as it is frustrating. If there was a strength coming in to the season it was clearly the offense and offensive potential. Bad weather, missed batting practicem the team just trying to gel, injuries of just cumulative bad luck/slumps, who knows. But they are suddenly looking much more like the club we expected.

 

Can they keep it up? Let's hope so. Long term this team needs Buxton. His slow start was atrocious. Would he have snapped out of it if healthy? Perhaps, but the injury and coming back too soon was clearly a mistake. Let's get him 100%.

 

Morrison hasn't been great, but much better. Sano playing even close to previous levels is dangerous and deepens the lineup. Mauer being out hurts the top of the lineup some, and I'd sure lime to see Dozier, heating up, back down in the 2 spot. I still wonder about Grossman in #1 spot: .287 AVG and .381 OB his last 30 games. Wouldn't he be a solid fill in for Mauer at this point?

 

Much like last season, this team doesn't seem to want to quit. I just hope they haven't dug too deep a hole, but they are looking so much more like the team we expected.

[DocBauer]

Really liked the guys announcing the game on FS1 today, (Not a knock on our guys). One thing I found interesting was a comment probably discarded by most, where they commented about Garver behind the plate and a feeling he was getting more and more comfortable, and helped Lynn`s last couple of innings by changing up the game calling. Blast him if you want, but I believe this was the 8th game he has caught this season in which the Twins allowed 1 or zero runs.

 

Isn't making a staff feel comfortable and calling a good game still the single most important part of being a catcher?

[rghrbek]

 

The Twins have knocked out some tough pitchers the last two days. Bauer and Carrasco have both given the Twins fits over the years. Good to see that and also to see continued quality pitching. Lance Lynn worked out of trouble a few times and gave the Twins 6 innings. 

 

A win tomorrow won't come easy against another tough pitcher (Mike Clevinger) so Gibby better have that sinker working against a very elevation-happy Indians ball club. A win tomorrow would be huge against these guys going forward. A series split would be acceptable, but we really need that game tomorrow to keep gaining ground on the guys, who only come to Minnesota one more time.

More important for Gibby than his sinker is his breaking ball which is at a historic swing and miss rate, that is why he's been better.  He's no longer a sinker ball pitcher but a strike out guy...which is the key to his success 

[rghrbek]

 

Lynn needed this outing. 

Loved that Molly let him pitch the 6th, pitch count be dammed@

[jorgenswest]

Really liked the guys announcing the game on FS1 today, (Not a knock on our guys). One thing I found interesting was a comment probably discarded by most, where they commented about Garver behind the plate and a feeling he was getting more and more comfortable, and helped Lynn`s last couple of innings by changing up the game calling. Blast him if you want, but I believe this was the 8th game he has caught this season in which the Twins allowed 1 or zero runs.

 

Isn't making a staff feel comfortable and calling a good game still the single most important part of being a catcher?

Hildenberger on WCCO this morning talking about Garver and his comfort in working with him.

[ashbury]

Loved that Molly let him pitch the 6th, pitch count be dammed@

This statement somehow makes me feel very, very old.

[Squirrel]

This statement somehow makes me feel very, very old.

You ARE old. Not in Chief years, but in normal years.