Game Thread: Twins @ Royals, 6/21/19, 7:15 CT

[Mill1634]

The Twins are right in the middle of the slump, and that shouldn't be a surprise to anybody. They probably aren't the best hitting team to ever grace the fields of the MLB, and their pitching wasn't going to hold up. Jake Odorizzi isn't, and was never going to be in the conversation for Cy Young for the entire year. Martin Perez was going to get figured out, and the bullpen wasn't built to hold up the entire, and that is okay. We're in June, not October. This roster will look different come August 1st. But for now, lets get back to our winning ways against the Royals.

 

 

The Pitchers:

Martin Perez (7-3, 4.09 ERA, 74 K's) vs Jakob Junis (4-6, 5.33 ERA, 76 K's)

 

Martin Perez has scuffled as of late as opposing hitters have figured out how to fight off his cutter, and began hitting his other pitches. That is how baseball works. Now it is time for Martin Perez to adjust back, and I am confident he will. However, I think he ultimately ends up being a weapon out of the bullpen after the Twins make a trade for another starter. Junis has the ability to miss bats, but he hasn't done much other than that with an ERA above 5, and a FIP that isn't much better. Tonight is a good chance for the bats to get hot again. He is allowing 1.5 homers per nine innings, and I'll take the over on that tonight. He is also walking another full batter per nine innings, at 3.4 per game. 

 

The Lineups:

 

Twins

 

CF Max Kepler L
SS J. Polanco S
DH Nelson Cruz R
LF E. Rosario L
1B C.J. Cron R
C Jason Castro L
3B Miguel Sano R
RF Jake Cave L
2B J. Schoop R

 

Royals

 

RF W. Merrifield R
2B Nicky Lopez L
3B H. Dozier R
DH Jorge Soler R
1B C. Cuthbert R
SS H. Arteaga R
C M. Maldonado R
LF T. Gore R
CF B. Hamilton S

 

The Twins shift Max Kepler back to center field for the second game in a row, and that is perfect. Jake Cave has not graded out as a plus outfielder at any of the three outfield positions, and putting him in center field makes absolutely no sense. If I were making the lineups I would have it be Cave-Kepler-Rosario. Rosario has a fantastic arm, although he has made a few boneheaded plays that he should've made in the past few weeks. Jonathan Schoop has hit a rough patch, and Miguel Sano's struggles have been very well publicized. Max Kepler is hitting .400 off of Junis with a homer, while Miguel Sano has two. No Royal has hit a home run off of Perez.

 

Mill's Moments

1. Fernando Romero to IR

Fernando Romero was placed on the IR at AAA Rochester. I believe that part of the reason we didn't see many bullpen moves from the front office this offseason was because they believed Fernando Romero could develop into a fireman out of that bullpen. However, we have not seen that development at all. Instead, every time we have seen Romero we have seen someone who looks like he isn't close to ready. These warning flags popped up in the spring and have not went away since the season started. A player with his stuff should have better numbers at AAA, and even the MLB. Something makes me wonder if this back issue has been there the entire time. 

2. Sano Won't Succeed in Minny

This isn't to say that Miguel Sano is a poor player, or that I don't want him on my team, because I do. I think Miguel Sano is a fine player when he is given the right expectations, but that isn't going to happen here in Minnesota. Everyone still sees him as that top five prospect from years ago, not the prototypical slugger with a lot of swing and miss in his swing, which is what he is. Now, this isn't to say that Sano doesn't deserve blame. He does. However, he also has a metal rod in his leg. More prospects flame out than not, and Sano seems to be headed down that path. Fans need to change their expectations to view Sano as someone who is going to hit 25-30 home runs, strike out a lot, and play an average third base. The problem is that is a dime a dozen in todays MLB. In order for Miguel he needs to have fair expectations, and that won't happen in Minnesota. 

 

This Day in History: 2009 - Tony La Russa gets his 2,500th victory as a manager when the Cardinals defeat Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium, 12-5. Joining Connie Mack and John McGraw, the Redbird skipper, who also piloted the White Sox and A's, becomes only the third major league manager to reach the milestone.

 

Pick to Click: Jason Castro will hit a ball that lands on the other side of the outfield fence

 

Go Twins!!!

[diehardtwinsfan]

Let's get a win so that we don't have a 3 game losing streak.

[ashbury]

Pick to Click: Jason Castro will hit a ball that lands on the other side of the outfield fence

Fair, or foul? Are you hedging?

 

[yarnivek1972]

I don’t think I’m ready to call Sano an average third baseman. He has a negative career UZR/150. It is positive this year. However, he’s had 64 chances this year. 54 rated routine. Another 3 rated likely. He turned 0 of the others into outs, including 3 rated as even. Plus, 5 errors in fewer than 25 starts at third is a horrendous error rate.

[LVTwinsfan]

The Twins are 5-5 in their last ten, and have lost 4 of their last five. Not a prolonged slump by any means but let’s end it starting tonight anyways

[Han Joelo]

I'm going to make some no-bake cookies here in a bit.  I found some "Sprouted" quick cook oats in the pantry, which I assume, in addition to making them more expensive, also makes them more healthy.

 

Like the Twins, I'd been feeling more confident about leaving the kids alone for a bit while I ran to the grocery store.  As with the Twins, I'm not so certain these days, as the boys are on a bit of a "losing streak" or "in a slump" themselves when it comes to their decision making lately.  

 

Right now there is some exceptionally loud banging and yelling coming from the back yard.  I think they are trying to split geodes with a claw hammer.  Between that and the current obsession with whittling, I think I'd best not put too much faith in the ol' bullpen, and instead keep things in my own hands.  Which is to say more Gardy and less Rocco in my fathering.

 

Today is a day for anyone with a Z or the Z sound in their name to step up.  (I tried that sentence with one comma, two commas, and decided on no commas.)

 

End random post.

[Mr. Brooks]

If this lineup can't beat up on this "pitcher", then it will be time to panic.

This guy reminds me of some of the guys the Twins were running out there during the early to mid 2010's.

[Blake]

I will be taking the lovely Mrs. Blake out this evening for her birthday.

 

Hopefully, she's okay with Little Caesar pizza.

 

[Nine of twelve]

 

The Twins are 5-5 in their last ten, and have lost 4 of their last five. Not a prolonged slump by any means but let’s end it starting tonight anyways

I'm not going to do the checking, but I think this is the first time this season that the Twins have lost more than 3 of any 6 games.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I will be taking the lovely Mrs. Blake out this evening for her birthday.

 

Hopefully, she's okay with Little Caesar pizza.

 

 

whoa, big spender. You are using gas money in CA to go out?

[Nine of twelve]

 

I will be taking the lovely Mrs. Blake out this evening for her birthday.

 

Hopefully, she's okay with Little Caesar pizza.

 

Hey, support the Twins' sponsors. Pizza Ranch for the win!

[ashbury]

I'm going to make some no-bake cookies here in a bit.  I found some "Sprouted" quick cook oats in the pantry, which I assume, in addition to making them more expensive, also makes them more healthy.

That which does not kill you makes you stronger.

 

If those cookies make you weaker, consult a mortician.

[mickeymental]

ok, so the twins won’t go 162-0. but i’m still expecting a much more realistic 136-26.

[VATwinsFan]

I will be taking the lovely Mrs. Blake out this evening for her birthday.

 

Hopefully, she's okay with Little Caesar pizza.

 

Throw in some wings and you should be good to go.

[USAFChief]

 

Throw in some wings and you should be good to go.

I was thinking the cheese bread. 

 

Perhaps all three? It's her birthday after all.

[Riverbrian]

 

I'm going to make some no-bake cookies here in a bit.  I found some "Sprouted" quick cook oats in the pantry, which I assume, in addition to making them more expensive, also makes them more healthy.

 

Like the Twins, I'd been feeling more confident about leaving the kids alone for a bit while I ran to the grocery store.  As with the Twins, I'm not so certain these days, as the boys are on a bit of a "losing streak" or "in a slump" themselves when it comes to their decision making lately.  

 

Right now there is some exceptionally loud banging and yelling coming from the back yard.  I think they are trying to split geodes with a claw hammer.  Between that and the current obsession with whittling, I think I'd best not put too much faith in the ol' bullpen, and instead keep things in my own hands.  Which is to say more Gardy and less Rocco in my fathering.

 

Today is a day for anyone with a Z or the Z sound in their name to step up.  (I tried that sentence with one comma, two commas, and decided on no commas.)

 

End random post.

 

I had no idea what this post means but I think it is one of those posts were it's ok to have no idea and still give it a like because it has a fantastic rhythm to it. 

 

Well done... I think. 

[Mauerpower]

Beautiful throw by Castro!

[USAFChief]

nice throw cas-tro

 

clap, clap, clapclapclap

 

nice throw cas-tro

 

clap, clap, clapclapclap

[Riverbrian]

 

I will be taking the lovely Mrs. Blake out this evening for her birthday.

 

Hopefully, she's okay with Little Caesar pizza.

 

 

I can't condone this... It is indirect support of the Detroit Tigers. 

[twinsbaby]

Perez' velo regress to Texas version.

[USAFChief]

Attack the zone, Martin. Attack the zone. 

[PDX Twin]

How is it that a team in a red state runs on Soler power?

[Mauerpower]

Cave lost that one

[USAFChief]

Not a real strong effort, Jake.

[twinsbaby]

DFA Perez, please. He is just ****ing bad.

[PDX Twin]

 

Not a real strong effort, Jake.

 

Looks like the "Go 100% and get this turned around" pep-talk either (1) didn't happen or (2) didn't work.

[Danchat]

I don't think there's been enough appreciation for how good our catchers have been at throwing out runners. Castro and Garver have been fantastic at that and you rarely see teams running on Twins pitching. I don't miss the days of runners running all over Suzuki's arm.

[USAFChief]

Fugly.

[LVTwinsfan]

The Twinkies are back

[ScrapTheNickname]

If we have the best record in baseball, and we play this badly at times, I wonder how other teams' fans are feeling?