Article: MIN 4, BOS 3: Twins Win in 17th Inning, Get First Walk-Off

[Aerodeliria]

Twenty four hour moratorium on making fun of the bullpen, folks.

Reliever trust ranking:

 

Trust

Rogers

 

Basically Trust

Harper

 

Somewhat Trust

Duffey, May

 

Don’t Trust, Has Been Good So Far

Morin

 

Don’t Trust, Has Been Iffy

Parker

 

Don’t Trust, Has Been Bad

Hildenberger, Magill, Mejia

 

Want To Trust, But Too New

Littell, Eades

 

Never Want To See Pitch Ever Again

De Jong, Vasquez

Thanks. I really did laugh out loud. My wife said,"What????" I said, 'I just read something funny." Edited June 19, 2019 by Aerodeliria

[MMMordabito]

 

Apparently Eddie didn't actually break any rules on that bunt. Cora says he's sorry for whining

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/red-sox/heres-rule-had-alex-cora-hopping-mad-until-he-realized-umpires-hadnt-gotten-it-wrong-after

 

Cora's a punk ... Even if you don't agree with a call, you don't attempt to assault the umpires after the game .... He should be suspended .... Apology is a cop out ... Learn the rules .... I can guarantee Baldelli would never behave that way

[Dantes929]

 

What a great win. Kepler. Wow. Regarding Garver, I am sure he isn't giving himself a break for being a bonehead, and in the 6th, or whatever inning it was, there was no 17 innings in the picture. No need to baby him. He knows, and so does everybody that watched it. That cannot happen. By not pretending it is ok, he will get better for it. Garver is a stud, but no reason to diminish what happened because he played the whole game that he loves. He is a big boy. He can own it, and so can we. One could say it is his own fault the game couldn't be decided in 9.

Would be nice to see the bats wake up tomorrow.

First of all huge props to Magill and Littell along with the entire pen since the entire pen pitched.    Regardless of all the criticism this is a pen that often bends but rarely breaks so far (knock on wood)..   In further review I give Garver a bit of a break on this one.   The release was really quick, and the throw was a rocket right where it needed to be.   Garver was too close to dive back and wasn't very far off the bag at all which made the element of surprise more effective.    I think that throw picks off a lot of major leaguers and that contention is supported by the audio on mlb.    The Boston announcers said the Sox are making it a thing this year to pick guys off third which makes me think they have done it several times already.   Kind of reminds me of a Jazz play that worked for a while.   Stockton would cut through the lane and his defender was all over him.   Since he was completely blanketed there was no reason to think the wing would pass to him but the defenders back was to the ball so the pass only needed to miss the defender to get through.  It was a set play because Stockton was expecting it and would get the layup.    This like the pickoff can only work so long before players get wise to it but I have revised my opinion and give Boston more credit and Garver a little less blame.

[Blake]

 

I'm not gonna get down on Garver at all for this game. Not one iota. 17 innings behind the plate, and our pitchers did what? Garver deserves praise, even if he did get picked off third.

I still want to know why the 3rd base coach didn't notice the 3rd base getting in behind Garver.

[Dantes929]

 

I didn't notice the Red Sox broadcasters taking quite that POV. We're still the upstarts and are excited by being in contention.

 

Yeah, but as insecure as we are with a 10 game lead and the best record in baseball this game was way bigger for the Red Sox who are in 3rd place and 6.5 games back.   As long as this game was, whenever the camera panned the Boston dugout you could tell the players and coaches were really into this game and wanted the win badly.

[jorgenswest]

From Boston

 

Vazquez -.474

Martinez -.423

 

I don’t know if Vazquez or the pitcher get credit for the pick of Garver. It should be Vazquez but I wonder if it is the pitcher.

 

I know that Sano does not get WPA credit for his game saving play at 3B in the 10th inning. I don’t think Gonzalez makes that play.

[HrbieFan]

Has been a long time since I went to bed with the Twins playing a power team in extras, only to wake up and fully expect a win. Where was this pen against the bad teams the past few weeks? A little more focus because of the opponent?

[terrydactyls]

Yesterday was Tuesday, June 18 and it was the 72nd game of the year.  The Twins are now 44%  of the way through the season.  Out of 59 years, the current team ranks 28th on the all-time list of Twins' home runs in one season and are on a pace to hit 311 home runs this season.

 

On a side note, I live in Maine so I have to watch the game with the Red Sox announcers.  Cruel punishment.  Lots of bitching about the "out of the batter's box" non-call in the 17th.  But here is my note:  I set my DVR to record six hours last night and I finished watching this morning.  The game ended at 5 hours and 56 minutes.  Thank you Max.

[Aerodeliria]

Any video on Cora's "out-of-character" tirade after the game?

I saw it on MLB.com but at the time I didn't know what happened to cause him to go ballistic. I also saw Eddie's bunt attempt. He wasn't even close to stepping out of the box, and as play had occurred earlier, I couldn't figure out why he was running around screaming. I thought he was claiming Kepler's hit was foul or something, but he was still harping on Rosie's bunt.

[Alex Schieferdecker]

 

Thanks. I really did laugh out loud. My wife said,"What????" I said, 'I just read something funny."

I'll take it.

[SpicyGarvSauce]

Put Parker on the DL, and call up Smeltzer.

[MMMordabito]

 

Nice job by the 'pen - but they did give up 12 hits in 10 innings of work. Out of 8 relievers, only Rogers didn't give up a hit. They were tightroping it - Red Sox are a great hitting team though. Glad they got it done!

 

Also 12 Ks to 1 BB .... I still want some moves to shore it up, but there are some promising options .... Duffey and Littell definitely need longer looks

[Doomtints]

When Baldelli sees a shift where the entire infield is on one side and playing deep, why isn't he calling for a bunt?

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

When Baldelli sees a shift where the entire infield is on one side and playing deep, why isn't he calling for a bunt?

I've been screaming for this to happen for years now. A standup double. From a bunt. I knew it would happen but MLB players are irrationally resistant to trying it.

 

It's kind of infuriating, really. This is perhaps the easiest bunt in the world to attempt. All you need to do is keep the ball fair and bunt as hard as you frickin' can. No soft hands needed; in fact, you want the opposite. Doesn't matter if it's on the ground or in the air, just get the damned ball 100+ feet and you're standing on second base.

 

https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1140797879390527488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1140797879390527488&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadspin.com%2Fajax%2Finset%2Fiframe%3Fid%3Dtwitter-1140797879390527488%26autosize%3D1

[stringer bell]

 

My assumption was that they would need to call up someone, but as I look at it, I’m not sure they need to. Everyone pitched, but no one more than 30 innings. Parker is the only guy who pitched on the last two days, and that was only a total of 34 pitches. There’s really not anyone who isn’t available for at least a couple batters. Now if several guys get used for a good number of pitches tonight...

They do have an off day tomorrow. Perhaps they can slide by today, especially if Gibson gives them more than 6 innings. The fact is that Duffey and Littell both pitched well and shouldn't be sent out on merit, but sometimes merit doesn't have anything to do with transactions.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

They do have an off day tomorrow. Perhaps they can slide by today, especially if Gibson gives them more than 6 innings. The fact is that Duffey and Littell both pitched well and shouldn't be sent out on merit, but sometimes merit doesn't have anything to do with transactions.

They head to KC tomorrow, actually.

 

...

 

No, you're right. While they technically play the Royals tomorrow, that can and should be considered a day off.

[Loops]

Sano is the one to worry about.  0 for 7 with 5 strikeouts!!

He left 5 guys on base??

Not a good showing when you don't even put the ball in play.  At least

he didn't make an error this game.

 

[stringer bell]

Maybe the Red Sox were guilty of trying to hit a six-run homer in extras, but outside of Parker, I was pretty impressed with the whole bullpen. Magill allowed a couple of hits (at least one soft contact), but worked out of it. His stuff looks too good to give up on (high velo fastball and good slider). Duffey pitched out of a two-on none-out jam in his first inning and fanned the side in his second and I thought Littell looked very good, too. 

 

Rogers needs another quality lefty. It would be great to have a lefty be able to come in in the sixth or seventh to get a key out or two and still have another lefty "in the hole" for a save or key outs in the eighth. 

[stringer bell]

 

They head to KC tomorrow, actually.

 

...

 

No, you're right. While they technically play the Royals tomorrow, that can and should be considered a day off.

Dang, you're right. The off day doesn't come until Monday. 

[SpicyGarvSauce]

 

Sano is the one to worry about.  0 for 7 with 5 strikeouts!!

He left 5 guys on base??

Not a good showing when you don't even put the ball in play.  At least

he didn't make an error this game.

 

He, like a lot of Twins hitters last night, chased a ton of balls outside of the K zone last night.

 

Granted, that strike zone last night was brutal according to the FSN K zone.

[jorgenswest]

They do have an off day tomorrow. Perhaps they can slide by today, especially if Gibson gives them more than 6 innings. The fact is that Duffey and Littell both pitched well and shouldn't be sent out on merit, but sometimes merit doesn't have anything to do with transactions.

No off day. They travel to Kansas City to play 4 games. They need someone who can give them length.

 

I would think Parker, Duffey, Littell and Magill won’t be used today. They need to give the team the best chance to win and maintain the health of the staff. Merit should not be a factor but removing Littell or Duffey from the roster for 10 days might hurt their chances of winning some of those games. It is a tough call.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Dang, you're right. The off day doesn't come until Monday.

So what you’re saying is that the Twins actually get five days off.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

WPA of -0.1: Sano -.433

 

By the way, it should be noted that this is really hard to do as a position player. That's starting pitcher disaster start kind of WPA.

Christian Vasquez beat that for the Red Sox last night / this morning (-.474), albeit while catching 15 innings. And I'd say J.D. Martinez virtually matched it (-.423).

[Brock Beauchamp]

Christian Vasquez beat that for the Red Sox last night / this morning (-.474), albeit while catching 15 innings. And I'd say J.D. Martinez virtually matched it (-.423).

Good point. I guess it’s not unreasonable to post a WPA that bad over 17 innings if you have an awful game (because it’s essentially two -.200 WPA games rolled into one).

[Dman]

Kepler with Eddie Rosario numbers except with much better plate discipline.  18 HR, OPS .900, BA around .280.  Those are very nice numbers.  Have to say I was still worried about Max early this year but he is making a believer out of me.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Nice job by the 'pen - but they did give up 12 hits in 10 innings of work. Out of 8 relievers, only Rogers didn't give up a hit. They were tightroping it - Red Sox are a great hitting team though. Glad they got it done!

I wonder if they were aided a bit by some poor Red Sox batter approaches as the game went to extras. Of course, the Red Sox relievers got similar benefits from a few Twins batters (but not Kepler, thankfully!).

 

Boston's a good team and we've matched up perfectly well with them the past two nights/mornings, so that is encouraging!

[jokin]

 

Do the Twins get more arms for tomorrow? If so, who do they send down and who do they call up? Candidates to be sent down would be Littell and Duffey (both have had their option used this year and both pitched two innings in Tuesday's game). Who would be called up? Well, not Eades or Romero, since both were optioned less than 10 days ago.

 

Who's up and ready in AA????

[joefish]

Atta Twins.

[SockNet]

With both teams bull pens spent I think the managers should agree to a 'position players pitching game' where each position player pitches one inning and the utility player fields the natural position of said 'position player pitching'. Can Marwin catch?

 

Umps might have to expand the zone a little bit though.

[jokin]

 

Can't be.   I have been assured that the Twins cannot compete in the playoffs with that bullpen.

 

Uhhh.... last night the pen somehow inexplicably and miraculously survived more Perils than Pauline ever did. * Gutty, gutty performances, but not likely replicable too often. Pen still needs a lot of help.

 

But... a truly amazing game that purists can appreciate. Proves there's no need to change the extra innings rules!

 

* (Including the reruns)