Article: MIN 6, BAL 1: Sticking to the Formula

[Tom Froemming]

This is the formula. Score early, hit dingers and keep the pressure off the pitching staff. If the Twins do this on a regular basis it’s going to be a very good summer. Nelson Cruz, Eddie Rosario and C.J. Cron hit consecutive home runs in the first inning and Martin Perez had his cutter working, making for a low-stress evening at Target Field.Box Score

Perez: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 66.7% strikes (64 of 96 pitches)

Home Runs: Cruz 2 (5), Rosario (11), Cron (4), Kepler (4)

Multi-Hit Games: Cruz (3-for-4, 2 HR), Kepler (2-for-4, HR)

WPA of +0.1: Perez .203, Cruz .133

WPA of -0.1: None

Download attachment: Win426.png

(chart via FanGraphs)

 

Mike Petriello of MLB.com wrote about pitchers who’ve added new weapons to their repertoire this season. He noted that Martin Perez’s new cutter has only yielded one hit so far in 110 offerings, a single.

 

Perez really featured that pitch tonight, throwing it nearly half the time. He got eight swinging strikes on that offering, and the nine cutters Baltimore put in play only had an average exit velocity of 78 mph.

 

Much was made of Perez’s increased velocity this spring, and his four-seam fastball did top out at 96 mph tonight, but it’s that 87-88 mph cutter that’s really making the difference for Perez. Here’s a full look at the info from Baseball Savant:

Download attachment: MartinPerezChart.png

After looking shaky in his early work out of the bullpen, Perez has been much better in his three starts. He’s given up six earned runs over 18 innings (3.00 ERA), has 11 strikeouts and, maybe most encouraging, just three walks.

 

Having a lead makes it much easier to pitch, of course. It was good the Twins were launching balls into the seats, because they went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position tonight. Elite firepower can make up for a lot of shortcomings elsewhere.

Cruz went deep twice, Rosario hit his American League-leading 11th homer, Cron hit his fourth homer of the last 11 games and Max Kepler added an epic blast of his own.

 

After Ryne Harper pitched a scoreless seventh, Matt Magill made his 2019 debut after looking really good on his rehab assignment with Rochester. He retired the first batter he faced on a line drive, gave up a double and got a strike out. Magill then walked the next two batters he faced to load the bases.

 

Trevor May had to come in and clean up the mess, inducing a groundout to end the threat. Fernando Romero gave up a single and a walk, but struck out a pair of batters in a scoreless ninth inning.

 

Postgame With Baldelli

Bullpen Usage

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

Download attachment: Bullpen426.png

Next Three Games

Sat vs. BAL, 1:10 pm CT (Berrios-Straily)

Sun vs. BAL, 1:10 pm CT (Gibson-Bundy)

Mon vs. HOU, 6:40 pm CT (TBD)

 

Last Game

HOU 7, MIN 1: Foregone Conclusion

 

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[jimbo92107]

Gotta admit, I really like Rocco Baldelli. Very upbeat attitude, loves to compliment his players, and his compliments are very specific and enlightening. Twins lucked into a very good skipper. 

[USAFChief]

Hope to see about 20 performances from Perez this year similar to tonight.

[TNTwinsFan]

That's a lot of time off for a couple of the top men in the Bull Pen... Hopefully they aren't rusty when they are needed in a tough spot

[jimbo92107]

 

Hope to see about 20 performances from Perez this year similar to tonight.

I had no idea he was relying on a new cutter today. I thought the main improvement was the extra couple mph on his heater that he learned from Wes Johnson. Apparently that extra velo, plus his cutter, makes Perez into almost a new pitcher. 

 

I'm all for that. 

[bighat]

 

Hope to see about 20 performances from Perez this year similar to tonight.

 

Gotta say I've been encouraged with Perez the last couple starts. No walks! I love that. Give up a few hits, fine....but don't give out free passes.

 

Didn't see much of the game, just the first inning. Turned it on later to see La Tortuga get his base rap. Great to see the Twins taking care of business against teams like the O's.

[Riverbrian]

La Tortuga night with La Tortuga not starting?

 

Baldelli is going to hear from the marketing department about reading his emails. 

 

La Tortuga not playing on La Tortuga night doesn't matter that much to me.

 

Marketing schemes don't matter much when you are trying to win victories and the Twins won.

 

Letting fans wearing La Tortuga shirts cheer the guy on the shirt is no way to connect with the fan base!

 

It was clearly some form of surprise that triggered the fans cheering loudly for La Tortuga when he somehow got a pinch hit on La Tortuga night. Kinda like when a pitcher gets a hit in a National League game because you just wouldn't expect a hit from a pitcher.  

 

I strongly feel that La Tortuga needs to earn his playing time. 

 

La Tortuga simply hasn't earned the playing time like Marwin Gonzalez has.

 

As long as Marwin is tearing the cover off the ball like he is... I would certainly keep playing Marwin. And keep hitting him 6th while you are at it. The ball is jumping off his bat so much more than Garver who hit 7th, Schoop who hit 8th and Buxton who hit 9th. Marwin should absolutely be the guy to get that extra AB in the 9th inning with the game on the line.  

 

Everybody knows that if Marwin was moved from the 6th spot to the 7th spot in the order, his timing would be all screwed up, so it's best to leave him in the 6th spot. 

 

Marwin has played 4 games in a row at 3B and we would have certainly been 0-4 over those 4 games without his contributions. La Tortuga has only managed 2 hits over those same 4 games. La Tortuga was pretty disapointing against Verlander that Wednesday. 

 

Speaking of Wednesday... Once Cave was sent down creating the 3 man bench... It makes perfect sense to utilize La Tortuga in RF and the utility role. This way you can leave Marwin locked in at 3rd base.

 

Marwin would probably become uncomfortable if he had to man a different position like RF, you simply can't throw too much at a guy too fast without notice. A guy like Marwin is better served staying at one position, most players simply can't play different positions and Marwin might be one of those guys so it is best to leave him at 3B exclusively. 

 

You certainly don't want to disturb the hot bat of Marwin because moving Marwin to RF would make him think about defense instead of concentrating on hitting while hitting.

 

Only La Tortuga has the correct attitude to handle an abrupt position change to RF to replace Cave as the getaway day outfielder. That's why you give La Tortuga the RF start on getaway day against Verlander. Although, La Tortuga will have to suffer that thinking about defense while you are hitting fate. He has to take the bullet for that and that is why he only has 2 hits in the past 4 games.  

 

La Tortuga makes perfect sense for the guy to play RF over Gonzalez because La Tortuga is much more athletic.

 

Like I said, earlier... La Tortuga needs to earn his playing time like Marwin has.

 

La Tortuga got his start against Verlander this week and only managed 1 hit. Sorry La Tortuga... you gotta rise to the occasion when your name is called. Go sit down. 

 

La Tortuga needs to realize that if he can only manage 2 hits over the past 4 games... his lack of playing time going forward will be his own fault.

 

My advice to La Tortuga is to sit on that bench and watch Marwin do his job out there. Watch the professionalism and learn from the master. If he is lucky... La Tortuga, sometime in the future, maybe in a couple of years... La Tortuga will be in the lineup every day hitting .159 like Marwin is. Everybody needs role models to get where you are going. 

 

It makes perfect sense to sit La Tortuga on La Tortuga Night. 

 

 

[gunnarthor]

Kepler's blast looked like a classic Thome blast. wow.

 

Loved the Cruz signing. He'll be the AL's all-star at DH this year. 

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Ditto on concerns about rust forming on the top tier of the bullpen. I'm hopeful that Berrios goes seven strong today, Rogers pitches a clean 8th, and Parker tidies up with -15 pitch ninth.

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Ditto on concerns about rust forming on the top tier of the bullpen. I'm hopeful that Berrios goes seven strong today, Rogers pitches a clean 8th, and Parker tidies up with -15 pitch ninth.

[TheLeviathan]

 

Kepler's blast looked like a classic Thome blast. wow.

 

Loved the Cruz signing. He'll be the AL's all-star at DH this year. 

 

It's not often you see a HR with that trajectory fly that fast.  Thome is a good comp on that.

 

Kepler seems so close to breaking out.  He's having a nice start to his season but I feel like he's just a little push away from being a true force.

[jmlease1]

 

Kepler's blast looked like a classic Thome blast. wow.

 

Loved the Cruz signing. He'll be the AL's all-star at DH this year. 

 

That certainly what Morneau was comparing it to on the broadcast! Kepler's blast did have that same majestic arc we used to see from Thome, that's for sure.

 

Petrez looked pretty good last night. I tend to be more encouraged by guys who make some specific and consistent adjustments in looking at whether it will be sustainable. Much like with Gibson last year, Perez is doing it differently this year and getting better results.

[Aerodeliria]

Perez has been decent. Better than Pineda, which has surprised me. The mound visits seem to bring back his focus. We need him to be sure. The Indians rotation is tough, especially if Carrasco gets in a groove. I think the Twins have a better offense, but we need all the pitching we can get.

[Han Joelo]

Went to see the Avengers movie and missed this.  Looks like I could have saved some money and watched just about the same thing!

[ChrisKnutson]

If Perez keeps this up he’ll surely be worth that $7 million club option next year.

[Blake]

 

La Tortuga night with La Tortuga not starting?

 

Baldelli is going to hear from the marketing department about reading his emails. 

 

La Tortuga not playing on La Tortuga night doesn't matter that much to me.

 

Marketing schemes don't matter much when you are trying to win victories and the Twins won.

 

Letting fans wearing La Tortuga shirts cheer the guy on the shirt is no way to connect with the fan base!

 

It was clearly some form of surprise that triggered the fans cheering loudly for La Tortuga when he somehow got a pinch hit on La Tortuga night. Kinda like when a pitcher gets a hit in a National League game because you just wouldn't expect a hit from a pitcher.  

 

I strongly feel that La Tortuga needs to earn his playing time. 

 

La Tortuga simply hasn't earned the playing time like Marwin Gonzalez has.

 

As long as Marwin is tearing the cover off the ball like he is... I would certainly keep playing Marwin. And keep hitting him 6th while you are at it. The ball is jumping off his bat so much more than Garver who hit 7th, Schoop who hit 8th and Buxton who hit 9th. Marwin should absolutely be the guy to get that extra AB in the 9th inning with the game on the line.  

 

Everybody knows that if Marwin was moved from the 6th spot to the 7th spot in the order, his timing would be all screwed up, so it's best to leave him in the 6th spot. 

 

Marwin has played 4 games in a row at 3B and we would have certainly been 0-4 over those 4 games without his contributions. La Tortuga has only managed 2 hits over those same 4 games. La Tortuga was pretty disapointing against Verlander that Wednesday. 

 

Speaking of Wednesday... Once Cave was sent down creating the 3 man bench... It makes perfect sense to utilize La Tortuga in RF and the utility role. This way you can leave Marwin locked in at 3rd base.

 

Marwin would probably become uncomfortable if he had to man a different position like RF, you simply can't throw too much at a guy too fast without notice. A guy like Marwin is better served staying at one position, most players simply can't play different positions and Marwin might be one of those guys so it is best to leave him at 3B exclusively. 

 

You certainly don't want to disturb the hot bat of Marwin because moving Marwin to RF would make him think about defense instead of concentrating on hitting while hitting.

 

Only La Tortuga has the correct attitude to handle an abrupt position change to RF to replace Cave as the getaway day outfielder. That's why you give La Tortuga the RF start on getaway day against Verlander. Although, La Tortuga will have to suffer that thinking about defense while you are hitting fate. He has to take the bullet for that and that is why he only has 2 hits in the past 4 games.  

 

La Tortuga makes perfect sense for the guy to play RF over Gonzalez because La Tortuga is much more athletic.

 

Like I said, earlier... La Tortuga needs to earn his playing time like Marwin has.

 

La Tortuga got his start against Verlander this week and only managed 1 hit. Sorry La Tortuga... you gotta rise to the occasion when your name is called. Go sit down. 

 

La Tortuga needs to realize that if he can only manage 2 hits over the past 4 games... his lack of playing time going forward will be his own fault.

 

My advice to La Tortuga is to sit on that bench and watch Marwin do his job out there. Watch the professionalism and learn from the master. If he is lucky... La Tortuga, sometime in the future, maybe in a couple of years... La Tortuga will be in the lineup every day hitting .159 like Marwin is. Everybody needs role models to get where you are going. 

 

It makes perfect sense to sit La Tortuga on La Tortuga Night. 

Psst: Hey Brian: this isn't the start of a game thread, my friend.

[Blake]

 

Ditto on concerns about rust forming on the top tier of the bullpen. I'm hopeful that Berrios goes seven strong today, Rogers pitches a clean 8th, and Parker tidies up with -15 pitch ninth.

I'm the opposite, I think the top guys in the pen have been overworked and need an extra day or two.

 

I was glad to see it wasn't necessary to pull out the "A" guys, especially against Baltimore.

[jimbo92107]

I do feel bad that Torts missed his game day. It wouldn't have hurt Gonzo to get a day off and start El Cherubo at 3rd. Instead, he rides the pine until late, Baldi shamefacedly puts him in, and the little chubby guy of course gets a hit. If he starts at 3rd, does he hit for the cycle? Now, we'll never know. 

 

Submitted with tongue in cheek for our buddy, Riverbrian.

[Riverbrian]

I do feel bad that Torts missed his game day. It wouldn't have hurt Gonzo to get a day off and start El Cherubo at 3rd. Instead, he rides the pine until late, Baldi shamefacedly puts him in, and the little chubby guy of course gets a hit. If he starts at 3rd, does he hit for the cycle? Now, we'll never know.

 

Submitted with tongue in cheek for our buddy, Riverbrian.

I’m pretty sure there is an email from the marketing director to Dave St. Peter with Falvey CC’ed that states that they ordered 5 million shirts and that the marketing director from the Mets doesn’t have to put up with this kind of crap.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Parker tidies up with -15 pitch ninth.

Negative 15 pitches?

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Negative 15 pitches?

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Less than, <15. Better?

[Channing1964]

yes, less than 15 would be better