Article: MIN 9, CLE 3: That’s Our Eddie

[Tom Froemming]

Eddie Rosario, what can you say? One moment he’s making you clap in excitement, the next he’s making you throw your cap on the ground in disgust. It can be an adventure sometimes, but the guy is always trying to make something happen. He did just that Saturday, carrying the Twins’ offense once again.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs)

Fernando Romero: 30 Game Score, 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 1 K, 1 BB, 68.3% strikes

Bullpen: 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 K, 0 BB

Lineup: 6-for-14 w/RISP, 7 LOB

Top three per WPA: Rosario .198, Magill .122, Morrison .112

Download attachment: WinEx616.png

Rosario went 4-for-4 with a double, a solo home run and even a stolen base. He drew a six-pitch walk in his first plate appearance, then hit the first pitch in each of his last four PAs. Of the five times he reached base, he scored in four of them. The other one, well it was one of those adventure moments, but we won’t dwell on that just yet.

 

Eduardo Escobar also had yet another strong performance, going 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Unlike so many other games this season, Rosie and Double E got some support from the rest of the lineup.

 

Joe Mauer was 2-for-4 with a walk, Logan Morrison was also 2-for-4 and drove in three runs and Max Kepler, who entered this game with just one RBI in 13 games this month, drove in a pair of runs.

 

All that offense was crucial, since Fernando Romero didn’t put his best foot forward. He gave up three runs and was pulled after just four innings. Over his last 16 2/3 innings, Romero has given up 15 earned runs and has just 11 strikeouts.

 

Lucky for the Twins, an extremely well rested Matt Magill was prepared to pick up the slack. He pitched three perfect innings, lowing his ERA on the season to 1.14.

 

Circling back to Rosario, he made questionable decisions in both halves of the same inning.

 

With one out in the top of the fourth inning, Morrison hit a ball to the outfield. Mauer bluffed a tag from third base. It must have been a really good one, because he definitely faked out Rosie. Eddie was caught way off second base, cause some confusion on the bases that led to Mauer being thrown out to end the inning.

 

Then in the bottom of the fourth, Cleveland had runners at second and third and hit a ball of their own to the outfield. This time, it appeared fairly obvious that it was going to be an easy sac fly. Instead of hitting the cutoff man to hold the runner at second, Rosario threw all the way through to home, and was way off target. Luckily, that runner was stranded at third.

 

Rosario has certainly been Mr. Entertainment so far this season. His aggressiveness has paid off far more often than it’s hurt the Twins. He’s up to a .323 average and .948 OPS(!), so he’s obviously in a good place playing with freedom this season, even freedom that can border on recklessness. Even so, you can't help but appreciate the fact there's not a single play he doesn't think he can make.

 

One thing’s for certain, whether he’s at the plate, on the bases or in the field, Eddie Rosario is a guy who you want to watch. Heck, he’s even pretty entertaining in the dugout sometimes.

 

Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco was forced out of this game in the second inning when Mauer hit a 99.6 mph line drive square off his elbow. That forced them to ultimately turn to the pitcher they originally had scheduled to start tomorrow, Adam Plutko, to eat a couple of innings out of the bullpen.

 

The Twins went from losing a series against Detroit to not only taking the first two games at Cleveland, but also setting themselves up to face an emergency starter who’s going to be filling in for their emergency starter.

 

Baseball’s a hell of a drug.

 

Postgame With Molitor

Bullpen Usage

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

Download attachment: Bullpen616.png

AL Central Standings

CLE 36-33

DET 35-37 (-2.5)

MIN 31-36 (-4)

CHW 24-45 (-12)

KC 22-48 (-14.5)

 

Next Three Games

Sun at CLE, 12:10 pm CT - Odorizzi vs. TBD

Mon OFF

Tue at BOS, 7:10 pm CT - TBD

Wed at BOS, 7:10 pm CT - TBD

 

Last Three Games

MIN 6, CLE 3: Anything is Possible

DET 3, MIN 1: Lynn Overexposed, Offense Overmatched

DET 5, MIN 2: Bulldog Berrios and the Addison Reed Experience

 

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[VATwinsFan]

Are the Twins a better team without Sano?

 

You have to start wondering.

[Don Walcott]

Apparently, we need to play the Indians more. Or, better yet, why don’t we play like we’re playing the Indians when we’re playing against other teams?

 

Got a Rosario shirt for Father’s Day!!

[Danchat]

Holy cow, Rosario is in 5th place for the AL batting title hitting .323. I never thought he'd be a guy who could hit for average, but he's got a knack for hitting lasers all over the field and he's got legitimate power in that bat. Definitely worthy of being an All-Star.

 

It would be pretty nuts to sweep Cleveland... but I still don't buy this team. They can only beat one team this season, and though that team is in first place, I expect Cleveland to improve. I would be making trades for relievers this very moment if I were Cleveland's GM.

 

Also, can we option Rogers and call up Busenitz/Duffey/Moya? We've seen about a full year of mediocre baseball from him and I think we could use a fresh arm in the bullpen after overusing Pressly and having Magill go 3 innings.

[Brandon Brooks]

 

Holy cow, Rosario is in 5th place for the AL batting title hitting .323. I never thought he'd be a guy who could hit for average, but he's got a knack for hitting lasers all over the field and he's got legitimate power in that bat. Definitely worthy of being an All-Star.

 

Definitely hadn't noticed that, but then again, I haven't spent a whole lot of time looking at the league leaderboards this year. When's the last time we had a guy in the race for the batting title? Probably Mauer, right? I remember when he was always in the running and it was a big enough deal for the TV broadcast to track it.

 

EDIT: Mauer finished 7th last year at .305. That was the only top-10 finish for any Twin since, you guessed it, Mauer again in 2nd place in 2013, hitting .324 in 508 PAs.

[bighat]

Great game, Eddie! Honestly, the Twins have put themselves into a position where they really need a win tomorrow as well. A win puts them just 3 games back, and a sweep might bring some much needed swagger back into the clubhouse. Hate to get greedy, but I think in order to really start rolling they need tomorrow's game as well.

 

Regardless, nice to see some fight on the road from this team here. Nice game from Mauer, hope he plays tomorrow as well.

[mikelink45]

 

Are the Twins a better team without Sano?

 

You have to start wondering.

I think the answer is no.  Yes we are better without the current Sano, but when he is connecting we are much better.  Mauer back and the two Eddies continue to hit - nice game.

[DocBauer]

I think the answer is no.  Yes we are better without the current Sano, but when he is connecting we are much better.  Mauer back and the two Eddies continue to hit - nice game.

 

Can't like this post enough!

 

Yes, we are all so totally confounded and frustrated by the Sano we have seen this season! But we have all watched him closely since day ONE! We've watched him through his milb career and his MLB career. If you want to frustrate yourself more, as well as tease and tantalize yourself, go look at what Sano has produced the last 3 season's. Even not yet living up to his full potential and expectation, we are SO MUCH BETTER with him. Weight, dedication, injury and titanium rod and rehab, off season controversy, everything comjng so relatively easy for him at this point...take your pick...he needs the reboot he's getting right now.

 

He can be very, very good. Or he can be a future HOF type player. Its up to him. But RIGHT NOW, yes, your point is taken and they are better off without him in the temporary.

[D. Hocking]

Hopefully if enough of the other players hit, Dozier can relax a bit and get some hits.

 

I feel like I have seen Mauer nail a pitcher hard more than anyone. 

[DocBauer]

Forgive my math as I was distracted, but I did a little research and found the Twins at 16-20 vs teams with an above .500 record. (My math has us with 1 extra loss that shouldn't be there, though I'm not sure if the extra loss is against a winning team or not).

 

What I found frustrating is I almost believe in a curse against the Yankees, 0-4 for the season. But we are 1-6 vs the Mariners. Of the other above .500 teams, we are 15-10.

 

Have we taken care of business? Not at all! There will always be outliers where you just beat up on or suck against certain teams in certain years. Which means, ultimately, we are what we are at this point. Sorry, wish I had better news.

 

I think it still comes back to the 1 run games and what happens going forward.

 

This was a GREAT second win for the weekend! I didn't get to watch the game. Can someone tell why Romero came out of the game so early?

[Brandon Brooks]

 

Can someone tell why Romero came out of the game so early?

 

Just not pitching too great. Couple early homers, getting hit hard, and it was a two-run game when he was pulled.

[Shaitan]

I didn't think Lynn would get his ERA below 5.00 before Morrison would get to .200. Here's hoping both turn it around for real.

[Vanimal46]

Are the Twins a better team without Sano?

 

You have to start wondering.

Nah. I think it's safe to say Cleveland isn't that good though.

[Brandon]

If Sano, Morrison, Dozier, Polanco, and Buxton were hitting like they were supposed to then the Twins would be superior to Cleveland as we have more balanced pitching. Here's to hoping we have all this in the second half of the season.

[TheLeviathan]

 

Nah. I think it's safe to say Cleveland isn't that good though.

 

Cleveland seems to be a sub-par defensive team with some serious bullpen issues.  They can be caught if we ever get our act together.

[jtkoupal]

The Twins are keeping their glimmer of hope alive solely on their ability to beat Cleveland.

 

Cleveland is only a couple of bullpen pieces away from running away with this division, but let's hope I'm wrong

 

Also, I had a great time at the game today. I got a picture with Fernando Rodney and an autograph as well. Always fun to see the boys play on the road!

[Old Twins Cap]

 

Are the Twins a better team without Sano?

 

You have to start wondering.

 

Yes, they are.

 

Evidence:  last year's run to the playoffs, using Escobar at 3B.  Twins were better.

 

This year's best baseball, played when Sano was out with a hamstring pull.

 

They do need a RH bat or two, legitimate.

 

But, do they need Sano? No.

[jun]

Magill is like our secret weapon.

[IndianaTwin]

Fun fact: The 13 guys currently on the staff have a combined 3.66 ERA.

 

Fun fact No. 2: Through 67 games, the entire team is on pace to allow 711 runs. The average over the previous seven years was 797.

 

Fun fact No. 3: In the playoff run from 2002-2010, they averaged 715. With some guy named Johan helping out.

 

(And this year is without the guy who was supposed to be the No. 1.)

Edited June 17, 2018 by IndianaTwin

[AZTwin]

We have to resign Escobar at this point, don't we?

[AZTwin]

Give Escobar a 2 year 16M deal.  Can put him at 3b, ss, or 2b depending on where we need him.

[PATwinsfan]

I'd extend him, but not sure that's enough. Might be more like 2 years, 20 million. But that sets him up where if he keeps playing at this level over the course of that extension, he could get a decent payday.

 

I really hope the FO does everything they can to buy out a couple years of FA on Rosario and Berrios as well. I'd try Buxton again too.

[David HK]

An encouraging last couple of days, after a discouraging last week and a half or so...

 

And we've got reinforcements coming in soon- Polanco is nearing a return, Gordon is on the horizon (hopefully), Joe is back already and who's to say Bux and Sano don't get straightened out somewhat in the next month or so?

 

Which is exactly why you need a manager who isn't giving away winnable games, burning out pitchers, and and keeping the team as close as possible in the pennant chase.

 

O-Z!  O-Z! O-Z!

[Broker]

This is the way I expected the Twins to play.

[Circus Boy]

 

Cleveland seems to be a sub-par defensive team with some serious bullpen issues.  They can be caught if we ever get our act together.

I'm more worried about the Fightin' Gardies.

[Cap'n Piranha]

Don’t look now, but Eddie Rosario in the month of June has more homeruns than strikeouts. Not coincidentally, and perhaps more importantly, he also has more walks than strikeouts in June.

[Cap'n Piranha]

Esco is 23rd in the league in WAR, and 17th in OPS. He’ll be 30 before next year starts. This is his payday, so if you think he’s signing a two year deal for less aav than what Lance Lynn got this year, you’re crazy. I assume the conversation starts at 3/45, and you could probably get him for anywhere from 2/36 to 5/65. I’d go with 3/45, and call it a day with Mr. Dozier.

[rdehring]

E-D-D-I-E!

 

And I agree with all who believe we also need to extend Escobar and Berrios.

 

Isn't today's game huge?  Win it and we are 3 games out vs. 5.  That could be the spark that ignites the team for a run like last year.

 

I am of the opinion that Romero is very talented with a wonderful future.  With his stuff, he could turn into a true ACE.  But he is also very young and inexperienced.  For that reason, I expect when/if Santana gets back in the next 30 days, Romero will be sent back to Rochester.  Start him every 6th game to limit his innings, or even move him to the bullpen in late August.  Then bring him back in September for spot action or limited bullpen duty during the playoff chase.  Obviously, if Santana doesn't return or they trade someone in July, he would need to remain with the Twins.

[bighat]

 

 

 

I feel like I have seen Mauer nail a pitcher hard more than anyone. 

 

He's just one of those type of hitters. Mauer's timing is so good, his fundamentals so sound, that he lines a ton of pitches straight back to the mound. Thank goodness it's players like Mauer that do it, rather than guys like Harper, Encarnacion, Stanton, etc. I'm sure that's small consolation to Cookie Carasco right now.

[Darius]

He won't keep up this kind of production, but Rosario is on pace for something like 112 runs, 39 homers, 122 RBI, and 15 steals in 18 attempts.

 

Just a little perspective on how incredible he's been this year. That would be one of the best Twins' seasons of all time, and probably land him in the top 2-3 for MVP votes.

 

I'd love to see his stats over the previous 162.