Game Thread Sat. 7/14: Twins vs. Tampa Bay, 1:10 pm CT

[Tom Froemming]

Twins | 43-49 overall, 28-21 at home, 8-2 in their last 10

Jose Berrios | 9-7, 3.41 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 4.69 K:BB

 

Rays | 48-46 overall, 22-29 on the road, 6-4 in their last 10

Chris Archer | 3-4, 4.41 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 2.82 K:BB

 

Lineups:

https://twitter.com/MikeBerardino/status/1018153219325915137?s=19

 

Additional notes:

Archer missed more than a month, then in his first start back gave up three runs on six hits and a pair of walks over 3 1/3 innings. Berrios, on the other hand, has been excellent over his past 11 starts, posting a 2.75 ERA with rate of a 9.8 K/9.

 

Here’s hoping the home/road splits for these two starting pitchers hold up. Archer has been much better in Tampa over his career (3.31 ERA) versus out on the road (4.06 ERA). Berrios’ career splits are even more extreme, as he’s pitched to a 3.94 ERA at Target Field and 5.35 ERA everywhere else.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Keep the bats going. Let’s go, guys, knock out a series win today, set the team up for a sweep.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Hey look. Today's Saturday, the 14th. This must be today's game.

 

I hope we win!

[Tom Froemming]

Seems awfully strange to me that Joe Mauer is DHing while Ehire Adrianza plays first base.

[BoofBonser]

Let's go Twins!!! Keep it rolling!

[ashbury]

Seems awfully strange to me that Ehire Adrianza plays first base.

FTFY.

[Danchat]

 

Seems awfully strange to me that Joe Mauer is DHing while Ehire Adrianza plays first base.

It's pretty clear from how the lineups have worked this season that Joe needs a lot of time off. Just ask Chief, he's probably got a count going of how many times Mauer has DH'd instead of played 1B.

[Cap'n Piranha]

You know, I thought the Rays were supposed to be all sabrmetrical and whatnot, but then I see that they’ve batted a guy hitting .172 with a .257 OBP leadoff three straight games.

[VATwinsFan]

Yesterday I particularly appreciated the part where after blowing a 7 run lead the Twins scored a few more runs to make it less interesting than it had become.

[BoofBonser]

Berrios is going to have a no-hitter today 

[VATwinsFan]

3 outs on 8 pitches.

 

Well OK then.

[Cap'n Piranha]

Berrios is going to have a no-hitter today

I can’t remember, are you the one who called Cave and the offense yesterday? If so, excuse me while I call Vegas.

[BoofBonser]

 

I can’t remember, are you the one who called Cave and the offense yesterday? If so, excuse me while I call Vegas.

You are correct

Hopefully I still have it today!

[tvagle]

Gonna take both Ed's to win today

 

See ball hit ball

[Cap'n Piranha]

Supposedly Archer is on a pitch count of 80 or so today. Gotta make him throw pitches and get to that pen by the fifth.

[Mill1634]

So is Berrios able to pitch in the AS game still?

[Danchat]

 

So is Berrios able to pitch in the AS game still?

He should definitely be able to throw an inning.

[Mill1634]

GERMAN BOMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

WOO HOO!!!!!

[Aggies7]

[PDX Twin]

I just read an interesting piece by George Will in the Washington Post:

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dont-fix-baseball-even-if-its-broken/2018/07/13/31ad33e8-85fe-11e8-8553-a3ce89036c78_story.html?utm_term=.42c54fb1a480

 

He makes an interesting point, and one with which as an economist I must, to some extent, agree. He argues that baseball will "fix itself" from the boredom induced by endless shifts, strikeouts, walks, and homerun swings. Players who can't beat the shift will be less valuable and teams will start looking for players who can (he uses Rod Carew as the archetype). Changing the rules for this purpose (e.g., requiring two players on each side of the infield) is unnecessary. But the adjustment will take some time as players develop different habits and teams invest in different players (and train their young players differently).

 

I tend to agree with this argument, but note that it does not in any way apply to proposed slow-play rule changes. There are no apparent incentives for players to speed up play or for teams to insist on it (unless it is perceived that people stop coming to games because of delays). Bring on the pitch clock!

[BoofBonser]

A Kepler blast(off)

 

 (The Kepler Space Telescope) 

 

http://perfscience.com/sites/default/files/styles/nodeimg/public/field/image/kepler.jpg?itok=_GIAF0ad

[Aggies7]

Man I thought cave did it

[mrmpls]

Max=das große Los ziehen

[Aggies7]

Gomez HBP and some idiot somewhere will think it was retaliation for his walk off homer back in april

[Circus Boy]

Was perusing pitching stats and saw that the best time to hit Archer and Berrios is on the first pitch. BAs are in the high .300s for both. Do hitters act on this knowledge, or is it just nice data?

[VATwinsFan]

31 pitches through 3 inning pitched for JB.

 

That's two batters for Lynn and Odorizzi.

[BoofBonser]

 

Berrios is going to have a no-hitter today 

There it goes

[Cap'n Piranha]

What is going on? Dozier’s strikeout broke both game day and espn.

[Danchat]

 

What is going on? Dozier’s strikeout broke both game day and espn.

Escobar was the one who struck out, but gameday thought it was Dozier, so the program thinks it's still in that inning with 2 outs... it must have recorded the previous play with the error wrong.

[Aggies7]

Well this has gotten ugly