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Game Thread: Twins @ Tigers, 8/31 @ 5:10 CT

Mill1634

By Mill1634
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Mill1634 Minnesota Twins

Mill1634

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The Twins are now up 4.5 games on the Cleveland Indians with a month to go in the season, and will have reinforcements from AAA Rochester coming up either tomorrow, or Tuesday after their season has concluded. I predicted the Twins would be up six games at the end of the month, and with a win tonight, and an Indians loss, my prediction can be within half a game. I'll gladly take that. 

 

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The Pitchers:

 

Martin Perez (9-5, 4.53 ERA, 116 K's) vs Matt Boyd (6-10, 4.47 ERA, 208 K's)

 

The Minnesota Twins send lefty Martin Perez to the mound against the Tiger's best pitcher in Matt Boyd. However, Boyd has not been real good since the all-star break, and I am real surprised he is even on the Tiger's roster at this point. I was certain he would be traded, but here he is. Boyd was rocked last Sunday by the Twins, and I expect something similar to happen this time around. The lefty is basically a two pitch pitcher, and that doesn't stand well for someone facing the same team in less than a week. On the other hand, Perez was really solid his last time out against Detroit, limiting them to two runs in 6 innings pitched. It will be interesting to see where Perez velo sits tonight, as he has been throwing harder his last few starts. 

 

The Lineups

 

Twins

 

C Mitch Garver R
SS J. Polanco S
DH Nelson Cruz R
LF E. Rosario L
1B C.J. Cron R
3B Miguel Sano R
RF E. Adrianza S
CF Max Kepler L
2B J. Schoop R

 

Tigers 

 

CF Victor Reyes S

SS Willi Castro S
DH M. Cabrera R
1B R. Rodriguez R
3B Dawel Lugo R
LF B. Dixon R
RF T. Demeritte R
C John Hicks R
2B G. Beckham R

 

The Twins are rolling with their prototypical left handed lineup with Garver in the leadoff spot, followed by Polanco and Cruz. It is interesting that Kepler has dropped a few spots in the order vs a lefty, but I think that is basically splitting hairs at this point in the season. It is good to see Ehire get a start, but I find it interesting that we haven't seen him start at shortstop in a long time. It is widely accepted that he is our best glove in the infield, but looks very average in the outfield. Schoop looks to stay hot, which will be key against left handers that the Twins will certainly see in the playoffs. Ehire is hitting .308 off of Boyd, while CJ Cron has two homers off of the southpaw. Garver is 4-10 with a homer, and Polanco, Rosario, Sano, and Schoop have all had homers in their career vs Boyd. Kepler is hitting .063 in 16 AB's. I wonder what the Tigers lineup will look like in September, because it is already freaking horrible. 

 

Mill's Moments

1. Brusdar Minnesota Bound

The Twins most hyped prospect of possibly all time is being called up, and is reportedly joining the team on Tuesday in Boston when the Triple-A season comes to a close. The 21 year old flamethrow has been recorded throwing 103 MPH on the stadium gun, and could become the hardest throwing pitcher the league has ever seen someday. His secondary pitches are still developing, but 100+ MPH plays no matter what level you are at. If Brusdar shows the front office that he has what it takes to get MLB hitters out in September he will certainly make the postseason roster, but it will take a few loopholes to get him there. I will be keeping a very close eye on how Rocco uses Graterol out of the pen, especially with the recent emergence from Trevor May and Tyler Duffey. I wouldn't elevate him above the two previously mentioned, but you have to give him some medium leverage situations to prove his worth, but you also have to win these games in September.

2. Last Nights Bullpen Usage

I find it very interesting that the Minnesota Twins did not make a roster move following Thursday's game in which Randy Dobnak threw 53 pitches. This guaranteed that he would not be used yesterday (Friday) and likely in todays game. All year long we have seen a rotating door at the end of the bullpen, other than now which I find very odd. I'm sure it has to do with not wanting to keep Dobnak down for the needed 10 days, but at this point what does it matter? In September you are going to have a handful of options to be long relievers, and it doesn't really matter if Dobnak is in the pen on September 1st, or has to wait until the 8th. He isn't going to be used in any high or medium leverage situations anyway. Instead we used four of the top five arms in our bullpen, instead of being able to throw Lewis Thorpe, Kohl Stewart, or Devin Smeltzer out on the hill to finish off the last three or four innings. 

 

 

This Day in History: 2007 - After walking the leadoff hitter John Buck in the ninth to spoil his perfect game, Scott Baker gets an out, then yields a single to pinch-hitter Mike Sweeney two outs shy of a no-hitter. The Twins' 25 year-old right-hander from Shreveport settles for a one-hitter, blanking the Royals at the Metrodome, 5-0.

 

Transaction Tracker:

Miller has been very good at stealing bases in the minor leagues, and will have a very limited roll with the club in September. I would be surprised if he made any starts for the club, but he will appear in a lot of games as a pinch runner. I am curious whether or not they create space for him on the playoff roster.

 

Pick to Click: Mitch Garver leads off tonights game with a bomba

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PDX Twin Ft Myers Mighty Mussels

PDX Twin

Verified Member
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So if Miller and Graterol are both added to the 40, someone must come off. Any word on how they will manage this?

ScrapTheNickname FCL Twins

ScrapTheNickname

Provisional Member
Posted
Posted

As the Twins approach the MLB record for home runs I wonder how many people are aware that 10 -- count them TEN -- MLB teams this year are on pace to break the record set last year by the Yankees?

 

 

 

sampleSizeOfOne Cooperstown

sampleSizeOfOne

Verified Member
Posted
Posted

As the Twins approach the MLB record for home runs I wonder how many people are aware that 10 -- count them TEN -- MLB teams this year are on pace to break the record set last year by the Yankees?

I'll start (because i'm lazy and the first is easiest)

 

1. The Twins!

2. ...?

notoriousgod71 Ft Myers Mighty Mussels

notoriousgod71

Verified Member
Posted
Posted

Dick and Bert showing a remarkable lack of knowledge on the 1997 Mariners. Bert thinks it was the team that won 116 games and Dick declares that was the season that saved baseball in Seattle.

 

 

Hosken Bombo Disco All-Star

Hosken Bombo Disco

Community Moderator
Posted
Posted

As the Twins approach the MLB record for home runs I wonder how many people are aware that 10 -- count them TEN -- MLB teams this year are on pace to break the record set last year by the Yankees?

I was not aware. I gave it a Like, but it calls more for a “Shakes Head” button.

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