Game Thread: Twins vs. Royals 8/3 @ 5:10 PM PT (7:10 PM CT)

[Blake]

I look back at this baseball season and the way things have gone and a sort of melancholy set in:

 

 

*Let's hear it for one hit wonders!

 

But, never fear, another day of baseball is upon us! Kansas City is in town and I'm sure the Twins will right the ship against the lowly Royals!

 

 

*It never ceases to amaze me what a search of youtube will turn up. Hard to believe there were cameras all over this, "course" recording the event.

 

 

*Not sure I get the point of this video, but, then again, I'm not sure there's a point to this post.

 

 

Random thoughts:

 

 

*Yes, I recycled the image. Seemed appropriate.

 

 

Some observations about yesterday's game:

 

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

 

*That was easy. No game, no observations!

 

Play ball!

 

 

Pitching for the Twins:

 

Jake Odorizzi

 

Pitching for the Royals:

 

Heath Fillmyer.

 

 

[Blake]

I'm very busy at work these days and probably will not have time to post lineups.

 

Catch you all on the flip side!

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Moderator type might wish to fix the opposing team in the subject and delete this post after of course pinning the game thread if that is still the usual practice...

 

But what do i know...

 

It is not the critic who counts.

Except of course those who keep stats. They might even count too much or too many things.

[Halsey Hall]

Had me worried, I thought we had the Indians again.

[Tom Froemming]

Some more info on today's matchup:

 

Twins | 49-58 overall, 30-24 at home, 5-5 last 10

Jake Odorizzi, RHP | 4-7, 4.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 2.51 K:BB in 112 IP

 

Royals | 34-74 overall, 19-37 on the road, 4-6 last 10

Heath Fillmyer, RHP | 0-1, 3.29 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 1.25 K:BB in 27.1 IP

 

Additional notes:

The Royals are the second-worst team in baseball, behind only the Orioles, but they’ve managed to go 6-3 against the Twins. The last time these teams met, the Royals swept a three-game series that opened the second half.

 

Odorizzi has really struggled against left-handed hitters this season, yielding a .267/.344/.540 line. That’s an OPS 204 points higher than his career mark against southpaws. Eddie Rosario has been sluggish since the break, hitting .200/.254/.236 in 59 plate appearances. He’s due!

 

Fillmyer, 24, is making his eighth MLB appearance, fourth start. The Royals are 0-7 in games in which he’s appeared … but they’re most definitely not due. Fillymyer is a former fifth-round pick Kansas City acquired from Oakland over the winter. He had a 5.75 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in 67 1/3 innings in Triple A. The Royals lost to the White Sox 6-4 yesterday afternoon in Chicago.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I hope we win.

 

But i expect they'll keep it close either way, just so we appreciate it. And to highlight things we coulda done better, because they matter.

[Han Joelo]

I wonder what the future Landfill Archaeologists with make of the pile of broken plastic mini-cars they come across when excavating the garbage dumps of the American Southeast.  Will they assume they had been broken by children?  Will they think that people of yore were just smaller?  Or will they correctly deduce that people just had way too much time and cheap Chinese plastic on their hands?

 

Oh.  A baseball game.  Win Twins.  Or lose, I guess, if that is part of the plan for winning at a later date.

[Squirrel]

I wonder what the future Landfill Archaeologists with make of the pile of broken plastic mini-cars they come across when excavating the garbage dumps of the American Southeast.  Will they assume they had been broken by children?  Will they think that people of yore were just smaller?  Or will they correctly deduce that people just had way too much time and cheap Chinese plastic on their hands?

 

Oh.  A baseball game.  Win Twins.  Or lose, I guess, if that is part of the plan for winning at a later date.

My Mini is NOT made of plastic, I’ll have you know. Solid steel frame. And it has a big car horn, not one of those memeep Japanese car horns. Mine has a solid BMW horn.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

My Mini is NOT made of plastic, I’ll have you know. Solid steel frame. And it has a big car horn, not one of those memeep Japanese car horns. Mine has a solid BMW horn.

I have a sneaking suspision he meant barbie jeeps contained in the video linked in the intro.

 

I confess i watched a few minutes of it. 16 minutes of highlights seemed a little excessive. I did like how people would pick them up and carry them after wiping out rather than try get back in or on them. It fondly reminded of the one time i was allowed to ride a 4 wheeler and flipped it going down a hill.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Not taking a lack of line ups lyin' down...

 

Royals

Heath Fillmyer ( R)

 

1. Whit Merrifield (R ) 2B

2. Alex Gordon (L) LF

3. Salvador Perez (R ) C

4. Lucas Duda (L) 1B

5. Rosell Herrera (S) RF

6. Brett Phillips (L) CF

7. Hunter Dozier (R ) 3B

8. Ryan O'Hearn (L) DH

9. Adalberto Mondesi (S) SS

 

Twins

Jake Odorizzi ( R)

 

1. Joe Mauer (L) 1B

2. Eddie Rosario (L) LF

3. Jorge Polanco (S) SS

4. Logan Morrison (L) DH

5. Logan Forsythe ( R) 2B

6. Max Kepler (L) RF

7. Miguel Sano ( R) 3B

8. Jake Cave (L) CF

9. Mitch Garver ( R) C

 

Gametime Forecast: 86°F • Mostly Cloudy • 3% PoP

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Had me worried, I thought we had the Indians again.

Oh, we're still playing Cleveland in a sense. This is the "who can do better against the Royals" phase of the competition.

 

It is weirdly asynchronous, so it is hard to tell if we are beating them. Best we can do is make use of our chances when we get 'em.

[VATwinsFan]

Holy Moly, it's LoMo and LoFo in 4 and 5?

 

[Mike Sixel]

I don't understand why LoMo is on the roster at this point. 

 

But man, that KC lineup looks bad (I wonder if their fans are saying the same about MN's).

[Han Joelo]

 

Not taking a lack of line ups lyin' down...

Royals
Heath Fillmyer ( R)

1. Whit Merrifield (R ) 2B
2. Alex Gordon (L) LF
3. Salvador Perez (R ) C
4. Lucas Duda (L) 1B
5. Rosell Herrera (S) RF
6. Brett Phillips (L) CF
7. Hunter Dozier (R ) 3B
8. Ryan O'Hearn (L) DH
9. Adalberto Mondesi (S) SS

Twins
Jake Odorizzi ( R)

1. Joe Mauer (L) 1B
2. Eddie Rosario (L) LF
3. Jorge Polanco (S) SS
4. Logan Morrison (L) DH
5. Logan Forsythe ( R) 2B
6. Max Kepler (L) RF
7. Miguel Sano ( R) 3B
8. Jake Cave (L) CF
9. Mitch Garver ( R) C

Gametime Forecast: 86°F • Mostly Cloudy • 3% PoP

Paul had a chance to do something here with the first letters of the first names.  J's, M's, and L's.  And of course only one E now...

[Circus Boy]

 

"The Royals are the second-worst team in baseball, behind only the Orioles, but they’ve managed to go 6-3 against the Twins."

Wouldn't being the second-worst team mean the Royals are ahead of only the Orioles? Just checking.

[Squirrel]

 And of course only one E now...

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Paul had a chance to do something here with the first letters of the first names. J's, M's, and L's. And of course only one E now...

Lineup Scrabble eh?

 

Do we start off the game with 50 runs for a bingo?

[Blake]

 

Moderator type might wish to fix the opposing team in the subject and delete this post after of course pinning the game thread if that is still the usual practice...

But what do i know...

It is not the critic who counts.
Except of course those who keep stats. They might even count too much or too many things.

I caught it shortly after I hit "post" and emailed Chief. 

 

Anyway, thanks for whoever whomever? fixed things.

 

If only our favorite 9 could be fixed as easily.

[Blake]

 

My Mini is NOT made of plastic, I’ll have you know. Solid steel frame. And it has a big car horn, not one of those memeep Japanese car horns. Mine has a solid BMW horn.

Considering the whole car is a rolling memeep seems kind of odd to put a real horn in it.

[Nine of twelve]

Roy doing pre- and post-game tonight, apparently. I've decided that the best broadcast team is Dick (because he can't be deleted) with Justin and Roy. I've been pleasantly surprised by Justin in the booth. His delivery is very bland but he provides great insight and I hope FSN continues to give him air time. I certainly can understand how some feel Roy gets hard to take but personally I think he's good.

[ashbury]

WILLIANS!!!!

[jimbo92107]

I'll Like just about anything with a Beatles song in it. Loved their harmonies. 

[ashbury]

Oops, I'm in the wrong thread. At Pawtucket, watching our Red Wings. Astudillo went yard with two on.

[jimbo92107]

 

WILLIANS!!!!

Glad they didn't trade that guy. Future HOF, for sure!

[Nine of twelve]

Looks like they have decided to get some of the game in before the rain delay. There's no denying the radar. It is coming.

[ashbury]

Gonsalves on the mound throwing sub-90 junk. One off speed pitch registered at 69 mph. I dunno what to think about him.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Gonsalves on the mound throwing sub-90 junk. One off speed pitch registered at 69 mph. I dunno what to think about him.

IMG_20180803_201214840.jpg

Cool!

 

But the 69mph questi... i mean the $64 question, are they hitting him?

 

It might be that the radar gun is improperly calibrated.

[VATwinsFan]

Forsyth for the force out.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Escaped the 1st inning without allowing a run.

 

That's something.

[Nine of twelve]

Runner on first with nobody out. Get him in.