Article: MIN 12, DET 2: No Motown Blues for the Minnesota Twins

[Andrew Gebo]

Today’s contest was the last of a long 10-game road trip and Minnesota was looking to finish strong, with a 6-4 record. They had the right guy on the mound in Jake Odorizzi, who has been nothing short of dominant all season, but even more so as of late. Over his last seven starts prior to today, Jake was 6-0 with a 0.65 ERA and 16 1/3 scoreless innings.Box Score

Odorizzi: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 70.7% strikes (70 of 99 pitches)

Bullpen: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

 

Home Runs: Cruz (11), Sano (6), Buxton (8), Rosario (19)

Multi-Hit Games: Cruz (3-for-6, HR), Rosario (3-for-6, HR), Cron (2-for-5, 2B), Sano (2-for-5, HR), Adrianza (2-for-3, 2B, BB), Buxton (2-for-5, HR)

 

WPA of +0.1: Cruz .125, Garver .111

WPA of -0.1: None

Download attachment: Win69.png

(chart via FanGraphs)

 

Scoring Comes Early

Early run support was one of the FSN broadcast keys to victory and Minnesota did exactly that. Jorge Polanco and Mitch Garver jumped on Detroit pitcher Ryan Carpenter before most fans had time to find their seats. A single from Polanco and a double from Garver scored the Twins first run on only the fourth pitch of the game. The first inning scoring did not stop there.

 

With Garver standing on second and nobody out, Nelson Cruz stepped into the box and quickly found himself in an 0-2 hole. He battled back to even the count at 2-2 before blasting a high fastball over the left field wall, giving Minnesota a 3-0 lead and marking the fourth consecutive game in which Nelson Cruz has homered.

 

Next Game

Tue vs. SEA, 7:10 pm CT (Perez-Leake)

 

Last Game

DET 9, MIN 3: Third Out Eludes Gibson, Eades Debuts

 

More from Twins Daily

Twins Minor League Report (6/8): I Wander Who Hit That Grand Slam

A Golden Bear Changing Cities: Q&A with Louie Varland

Craig Kimbrel and Risk Tolerance

 

Click here to view the article

[RaymondLuxuryYacht]

Now enjoy the home stand

[twinsfanstreif]

 

Bold prediction: The 2019 Minnesota Twins will set a new franchise record for team home runs before the All Star break. You can quote me on that.

I would love to share your optimism on this but with 25 games left before the break they would have to hit 4 a game for 25 straight games to tie the franchise record. These guys are crazy good but not that good, I can't see this happening. Sorry

[twinsfanstreif]

 

I would love to share your optimism on this but with 25 games left before the break they would have to hit 4 a game for 25 straight games to tie the franchise record. These guys are crazy good but not that good, I can't see this happening. Sorry

I just re read your comment and I now get what you're saying, you sir are correct

[twinsfanstreif]

I'm floored at the home runs these guys can hit! We are looking at shattering the record for home runs in a season with a current pace of 316 HRs on the season, that's absolutely mental!

[james2334]

Currently in the American League Central Division there are 15 players with 10 or more home runs. The Twins have 7 of those players.

[lukeduke1980]

Odorizzi continues to astonish me. This is a Scott Erickson type run.

[PDX Twin]

FWIW, I think I could strike out Stevie Wonder (assuming I could find the strike zone).

[ashbury]

Not even Stevie Wonder could stop Jake Odorizzi and the Minnesota Twins.

FWIW, I think I could strike out Stevie Wonder (assuming I could find the strike zone).

Louisville Slugger did make him a braille baseball bat. That could make the difference.

 

Stevie would probably tell you himself that he could also do some damage as an umpire.

[terrydactyls]

Today is Sunday, June 9 and it was the 64th game of the year. The Twins are now 40% of the way through the season. Out of 59 years, the current team ranks 33rd on the all-time list of Twins' home runs in one season and are on a pace to hit 316 home runs this season.

[Andrew Gebo]

I just re read your comment and I now get what you're saying, you sir are correct

 

Yeah I was making a joke because it’s not a bold prediction at all. It’s more so a matter of fact at this point haha. Thank you for reading!

[h2oface]

Adrianza is playing like it is Spring Training again. Impressive.

[Aerodeliria]

As I sat in my bed rubbing my eyes, I said to myself, "I think the Twins won today's (yesterday's) game 8-2." I was happy to get it wrong.

[Han Joelo]

 

I just re read your comment and I now get what you're saying, you sir are correct

It is kind of crazy, though, in that 4 per game for 25 games is not beyond the realm of possibility with this team.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Buxton was feeling the pressure after Sano homered—has to keep his lead. Those two guys will join the double-digit HR parade soon enough.

[jimbo92107]

Tyler Duffey needs to refine his command of his amped-up heater. He's a power pitcher now, with a great curve for finishing off hitters, if he can make them respect the heat. He needs those low corners to go with his high heat. 

 

The other thing Duffey should do is work on a straight change to go with his fast ball. If he can throw a change-up for strikes, then his 93- to 95 mph heat will have a chance to miss more bats. Doesn't even need to be a plus pitch, just something in the zone with 10 mph knocked off. Throw it once per at-bat, so they can't guess between just fast ball and curve. 

[Aerodeliria]

I think it was great that Cruz could take that much rest to heal his sore wrist. He is looking as fresh as he did in those first couple of weeks at the start of the season.

[Han Joelo]

"If you are annoyed with someone, you should first walk a mile in their shoes.  That way, you're a mile away from them.  And, you have their shoes."  --Jack Handey.

 

This kick-butt recap of a butt-kicking needed a bump!  And I'm here to bump.

 

After reading MadBum's comments about his little spat with Muncy and the homer trot, I'm not sure he'd fit in with this fun-loving crew.  He's got Cardinals or Yankees written all over him, should he get traded.  Still, I love the guy anyway.  

 

The whole thing reminded me of a Seinfeld, where George thought he had the ultimate comeback, so he flew to Cleveland or wherever just so he could zinged with the classic line:  "The ocean called, and they're all out of you."  

 

To which George furiously stammered, "I slept with your wife last night."

 

To which someone said, "George, his wife is in a coma."

 

What does any of this have to do with yesterday's game?  (Not a rhetorical question--I really don't know where I was going with any of this.  Just trying to bump a more relevant game thread to the top of my queue.)

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Adrianza is playing like it is Spring Training again. Impressive.

He's been doing it for about a month now. He hit his low water mark on May 12th with a .433 OPS. It has been climbing steadily since.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I think it was great that Cruz could take that much rest to heal his sore wrist. He is looking as fresh as he did in those first couple of weeks at the start of the season.

It has been almost impossible to complain about player management this season. Baldelli is doing an outstanding job of making sure these players are in a position to succeed with the rest needed to get through a long season.

[Number3]

Almost impossible to envision this team not playing in October. So it is very tempting to start considering what will need to be done to win series against Yankees, Red Sox and Astros and maybe a couple of other teams. Already done with Houston for the year and only 3 against Yankees at home and all 6 against Red Sox left including 3 this month. No one thinks they have enough pitching so grabbing an arm or two for the pen won't be easy but other than that if it ain't broke don't fix it. Dog days are approaching and Twins are in enviable position of being able to continue to juggle lineups and keep players fresh. Main thing...don't think ahead too far and just beat Seattle tomorrow.

Edited June 10, 2019 by Number3

[KFEY93]

 

Tyler Duffey needs to refine his command of his amped-up heater. He's a power pitcher now, with a great curve for finishing off hitters, if he can make them respect the heat. He needs those low corners to go with his high heat. 

 

The other thing Duffey should do is work on a straight change to go with his fast ball. If he can throw a change-up for strikes, then his 93- to 95 mph heat will have a chance to miss more bats. Doesn't even need to be a plus pitch, just something in the zone with 10 mph knocked off. Throw it once per at-bat, so they can't guess between just fast ball and curve. 

That 95mph heat will also look like 97-98 if he can throw a good change consistently. They compliment each other. 

[Blake]

I'm starting to think Odorizzi has gone into "until opposing players prove they can hit his fastball, he's going to keep throwing it" mode.

 

 

[Linus]

The launch angle phenomenon has been a huge blessing for Odorizzi a fastball

[JW24]

 

Tyler Duffey needs to refine his command of his amped-up heater. He's a power pitcher now, with a great curve for finishing off hitters, if he can make them respect the heat. He needs those low corners to go with his high heat. 

 

One of the things Odorizzi has done so well this year is pitch effectively up in the zone with his fastball. Elevating his fastball makes his curveball more effective because of the hump a curveball has prior to breaking; the fastball up helps disguise the curveball a little better. Watching Duffey pitch, and the shape of his curveball, I actually think he should look to elevate his fastball more to help his curveball look more similar to his fastball. At 96+ MPH, it is tough to catch up to an elevated fastball. 

[jmlease1]

Odorizzi just keeps on rolling. Except for one sequence where he kept gunning the fastball about a foot above the strike zone (except same spot in 5 pitches out of 7 or so) they made me go "what the hell happened to you?!?" he looked great. again.

 

Duffey looked pretty good, i thought. Maybe he's going to be that additional late-inning piece to go with Rogers, May, Harper, and Parker? (yes, I know Parker blew up the other night. No, I'm not terribly worried about him)

 

Of course, this is a win the Twin absolutely should have. Every spot in the lineup, we had a better hitter going: our worst hitter (Adrianza, a utility infielder) has a higher OPS than 2/3 of the Tigers lineup from yesterday. Detroit did have a single player with an OPS over .800 player yesterday, the Twins had EIGHT. And the bats spoke. Nearly half our hits were for extra bases, and I don't think anyone was surprised.

 

I was a little amused at how much Dick & Bert kept talking about the twins "going the other way" yesterday, though. It was like they missed getting to use that phrase from the Gardy days and were using it sorta like a tribute to Gardy since he was there and all. That said, it does say something about the Twins hitting approach this year, which seems to be based around some simple principles: 1. make hard contact with the ball. 2. be aggressive in swinging at a pitch you like. 3. lay off the pitches you can't make hard contact on.

[Alex Schieferdecker]

I'm still not sure that I trust Duffey, but he's moving into the "Sometimes Trust" category where I've got Parker and May. His curve is ridiculous, it's just his fastball that still seems to lack a little something, whether it's speed or movement. But it's far from a liability. There's a reason why he's got the best K/9 of the team's regular pitchers.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I'm still not sure that I trust Duffey, but he's moving into the "Sometimes Trust" category where I've got Parker and May. His curve is ridiculous, it's just his fastball that still seems to lack a little something, whether it's speed or movement. But it's far from a liability. There's a reason why he's got the best K/9 of the team's regular pitchers.

It will be quite some time before I truly trust Tyler Duffey.

[jorgenswest]

I was intrigued by Brandon Warne’s article in April about Duffey and tunneling.

 

https://zonecoverage.com/2019/featured/funneling-to-tunneling-the-rebuilding-of-tyler-duffey/

 

The mix of his curve ball with a fastball up in the zone may be the recipe for success.

[yarnivek1972]

Odorizzi continues to astonish me. This is a Scott Erickson type run.

Let’s hope not.