Front Page: Twins Game Recap (9/24): Odorizzi's Gem Cuts the Twins Magic Number to 2

[Andrew Thares]

With the Cleveland Indians on a mission down the stretch, the Minnesota Twins have needed to do their own dirty work to try to clinch their first division title since 2010. Luckily, the Twins have taken care of business, so far, against the bottom-feeders of the American League Central, and with tonight's 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers, their magic number is suddenly down to two, with five games to play.Box Score

Odorizzi: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 64.5% strikes (60 of 93 pitches)

Home Runs: None

Multi-Hit Games: Cave (2 for 4), Wade (2 for 3, 2B)

WPA of +0.1: Wade .207, Odorizzi .180, Rosario .160, Astudillo .108

WPA of -0.1: Sano -.179, Polanco -.157

 

Jake Odorizzi did an excellent job keeping the Twins in the ballgame, as the bats struggled to come through in the early innings. After a Detroit double and single led to a run in the first inning, Odorizzi allowed just one more baserunner, on a walk, while striking out six more hitters. He did come back out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, but was pulled during his warmups when Rocco Baldelli noticed something was off. The report was Odorizzi was lifted with hamstring tightness, so hopefully this shouldn’t be much of an issue for him as we move into postseason play.

 

It took a while, but the Twins bats finally woke up in the seventh inning against Spencer Turnbull. Jake Cave led off the inning with a sharply pulled single into right field. LaMonte Wade Jr. followed that up with an excellent at-bat that resulted in a double down the third base line, and suddenly the Twins were in business with runners on second and third, with nobody out. This prompted Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire to go get Turnbull, and bring in David McKay to face Willians Astudillo. This proved favorable for the Twins, as Astudillo came through with a base hit up the middle to give the Twins their first runs of the game.

 

 

After a Jason Castro hit-by-pitch and a Nelson Cruz intentional walk, Eddie Rosario came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, and he came through with a ringing double that made its way to the wall in left, scoring Astudillo and Castro, giving the Twins a 4-1 lead.

 

Following Jake Odorizzi's six innings, Kyle Gibson came into the game to try to protect the Twins three-run lead. Gibson gave up a couple of singles in the inning, but struck out the other three batters he faced, popping as high as 96 MPH on the radar gun. He came back out in the eighth, and after the Tigers cut the lead down to two, thanks to a couple of doubles, things suddenly looked very interesting. However, after a visit to the mound, Gibson settled in to get the final two outs of the inning. Taylor Rogers came on in the bottom of the ninth and pitched an easy 1-2-3 inning, picking up his 29th save of the season.

 

Bullpen Usage

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

 

Next Three Games

Wed at DET, 5:40 pm CT (TBD-Norris)

Thu at DET, 12:10 pm CT (TBD-Zimmermann)

Fri at KC, 7:15 pm CT (TBD-TBD)

 

Last Game

Twins Game Recap (9/22): Twins Offense Erupts for Twelve Runs Over Royals

 

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[blindeke]

Was Gibson good but unlucky, or just plain bad?

[cmoss84]

Gibson was good. Quite good.

[Dantes929]

Does gibson have time to prove he should be on the post season roster?   Indians up by 11.   Good news is its just the 6th innings so they have time for a come back.

[Monticore]

*La Tortuga! The drop-off from Garver to Castro is immense. Sure hope everyone's healthy for the playoffs.

[sloopjont]

As Richard and LaTroy have commented, Kansas City never seems to quit.  When the Twins score to go ahead they almost always respond in their next turn at bat.  That  trait doesn't seem to apply as much to Detroit and Chicago.  Once we get ahead of them I feel pretty safe.

Kudos to the Royals!

[terrydactyls]

Yesterday was Tuesday, September 24.  It was the 157th game of the year putting the Twins 97% of the way through the season.  The Twins hit 0 home runs for a season total of 297 home runs.  The Twins are now 2 home runs behind the Yankees for the new MLB single-season home run record.  The Twins have five games left and the Yankees have four games remaining.  The Twins magic number is now 2.

[Don Walcott]

Wade has really looked good lately -- at the plate, in the field and on the bases. Cave needed to bounce back tonight, and generally to keep Wade from taking his roster spot in the ALDS.

[h2oface]

 

Gibson was good. Quite good.

 

4 hits (and 2 of them doubles and an earned run in the 8th, inheriting a 3 run lead and twice bringing up the tying run to the plate), in 2 innings.... with 4 strikeouts and no walks. 

 

Not my kind of "quite good", and probably not even good, necessarily. But in this case, to see how he might do out of the pen, or to get more used to it....certainly it did the trick and was OK. You gotta love 4Ks. I could do without 4 hits in 2....... but nothing got out of hand.

[Otwins]

There was only one solid hit. The other three were soft contact. His pitches had good movement and more importantly he was hitting the catcher's target. That has been a big problem for him lately. I would give him two more two inning relief appearances and then decide his playoff roster fate. Multi inning relievers are a must in the playoffs.  He might be able to fill that role.

[MNT1996]

 

Wade has really looked good lately -- at the plate, in the field and on the bases. Cave needed to bounce back tonight, and generally to keep Wade from taking his roster spot in the ALDS.

 

I think both Wade and Cave will be on the postseason roster. Miller should not make it.

[howeda7]

Who else took the Lord's name in vain when they brought Gibson in? 

[Rosterman]

I shuddered when Gibson came n. Of course, now, for the final FIVE games the Twins do have to use their post-season bullpen for at least four of the efforts, maybe using one game just to give work to some of the remaining guys (Stewart, Harper, Hildenberger, Romero, and let's get Alcala more than 2/3s of an inning of major league exposure). But gotta put away the division first. And be ncie to get 100 victories.

[Richard Swerdlick]

Wonder how the TBD for tonight's pitching will be set up.

[insagt1]

Nice to see Astudillo contribute with a game changing hit. But these injuries are getting nuts. Seems like most of them revolve around our guys just swinging the bat for some crazy reason.

Anyway we can't have 5 and 6 of our regulars unable to play come playoff time.

 

Could clinch tonite, but Cleveland isn't going away, so I suspect best we can hope for is to reduce the magic number to 1.

 

Anyone think Gibson's 2 innings earned him a roster spot?

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

There was only one solid hit. The other three were soft contact. His pitches had good movement and more importantly he was hitting the catcher's target. That has been a big problem for him lately. I would give him two more two inning relief appearances and then decide his playoff roster fate. Multi inning relievers are a must in the playoffs.  He might be able to fill that role.

If I remember right, one of those hits was opposite the shift too... Unless Gibby missed his spot, that's really not on him. 

[jmlease1]

nice win. Odorizzi looks like he's in good form to start in the playoffs. I was surprised to see Gibson get the call with the game still very much in doubt considering how he's been struggling lately, but maybe he can be a long guy who can give you 2-3 innings in a bullpen game?

 

Looks like Cleveland is going to try and run off a big win streak to end the season, so the twins are just going to have to do it on their own. 2 more wins gets the division and makes them the 2nd winningest team in franchise history. Very good chance at hitting 100 wins. I freely admit, I did not have this team anywhere near that number. I thought they were more likely to hit 85 or so and if a few things broke right they could maybe pop 90 and contend for the division. Thrilled to have been wrong, because this is one of the most fun twins teams I've ever watched.

[mikelink45]

It is interesting to see the Gibson posts, it is the biggest attention grabber of the night even though Astudillo, Rosario, and Odorizzi were the reasons we won.  Gibson's call was a surprise and he did nothing to impress me.  He gave up four hits and a run in two innings against the worst lineup in baseball.  It does not matter if they were soft hits - the Tigers do not hit the ball hard.  It was shaky at best and I do not want him facing the Yankees like this. 

[Bandit34]

Need to keep beating the Tigers. I do NOT want to go into Kansas City needing even one win. For being a hundred loss team, the Royals are a downright scary team. 

[Cap'n Piranha]

Gibson, based only on stats, having not seen any of his pitches, looks like a mixed (but mostly positive) bag to me last night. 18 k/9, 20% swinging strike rate, 2/1 gb/fb ratio, and 50% chase rate are all good.  50% hard hit rate is not so ideal however.

[USNMCPO]

Assuming the Twins win the division and get the Yankees in the playoffs, I could see Cleveland beating the Astros in the other division playoff. I am not sure I would want to face that team. They are on fire.

[Vanimal46]

Bring on the Yankees. I'm ready to get the monkey off our back...

[Halsey Hall]

Odorizzi was given the win, trailing 1-0 when he left the game.  Good for them on that decision. 

[USAFChief]

Odorizzi was given the win, trailing 1-0 when he left the game. Good for them on that decision.

werent they up 4-1 when he left the game?

[insagt1]

 

Bring on the Yankees. I'm ready to get the monkey off our back...

 

Bring on the Yankees. I'm ready to get the monkey off our back...

Yankees or Houston...like choosing between the firing squad and lethel injection! Houston's pitching is matchless. Yankees hitting is scary especially against us. Either team is probably going to be odds on to sweep us.

So who would give us the best shot? Forgetting history, it would be NY. We might be able to outslug them 16-15. Houston has 3 starters that could shut us down quickly and they aren't too shabby on offense either.

Starting on the road for us is a huge advantage, crazy as that seems. Twins have played miserably against the Yankees for a pretty long time, but maybe, if they get healthy, you never know. I'd take my chances with them.

[ashbury]

werent they up 4-1 when he left the game?

 

Forget it. He's rollin'.

[Dantes929]

 

Yankees or Houston...like choosing between the firing squad and lethel injection! Houston's pitching is matchless. Yankees hitting is scary especially against us. Either team is probably going to be odds on to sweep us.

So who would give us the best shot? Forgetting history, it would be NY. We might be able to outslug them 16-15. Houston has 3 starters that could shut us down quickly and they aren't too shabby on offense either.

Starting on the road for us is a huge advantage, crazy as that seems. Twins have played miserably against the Yankees for a pretty long time, but maybe, if they get healthy, you never know. I'd take my chances with them.

I agree with you except for the odds on to sweep.    They may sweep us or we may sweep them but that is going to be the two least likely results.   Vegas odds would never have a near 100 win team be most likely to be swept..  Again, I am pulling this out of thin air but the most likely result would be us losing 3-2.  I am guessing the next two possibilities of us winning 3-2 or losing 3-1 would be very close..   Us winning 3-1 would probably be a small margin over them sweeping us and then lastly us sweeping them.

[insagt1]

 

I agree with you except for the odds on to sweep.    They may sweep us or we may sweep them but that is going to be the two least likely results.   Vegas odds would never have a near 100 win team be most likely to be swept..  Again, I am pulling this out of thin air but the most likely result would be us losing 3-2.  I am guessing the next two possibilities of us winning 3-2 or losing 3-1 would be very close..   Us winning 3-1 would probably be a small margin over them sweeping us and then lastly us sweeping them.

This is why I don't bet on anything! My 'gut' tells me that right now we aren't in the same league as Houston and the Yankees always find ways to break our hearts. Worse...if half our lineup is injured, or barely recovered, that won't help the cause. And then of course, our very tentative pitching staff.. In a short series we could be undone very quickly. So a sweep (against us) is pretty possible, unfortunately.

 

However....upsets do happen. Can the Twins pull one? Always possible, but improbable. As a fan, I want them to be the Cinderella Team in 2019, but I think we have too many holes. Another reason why I really resent what Pineda did. Just no excuse for that. None.

Twins have only lost 3 straight once...4 straight once. And they will be on the road, where somehow they seem to be at their best as their MLB best road record indicates.

Beating the Yankees for me would be like the Bills beating Tom Brady. Improbable but ah so sweet if it happens.

 

Finally I am aware that we did OK against Houston this year...but we haven't played them in quite awhile and it was when our lineup was at pretty much full strength. So those results are kind of meaningless to me. Still, thats why they play the games. First things first...clinch the division!

Edited September 25, 2019 by insagt1

[Dantes929]

 

This is why I don't bet on anything! My 'gut' tells me that right now we aren't in the same league as Houston and the Yankees always find ways to break our hearts. Worse...if half our lineup is injured, or barely recovered, that won't help the cause. And then of course, our very tentative pitching staff.. In a short series we could be undone very quickly. So a sweep (against us) is pretty possible, unfortunately.

 

However....upsets do happen. Can the Twins pull one? Always possible, but improbable. As a fan, I want them to be the Cinderella Team in 2019, but I think we have too many holes. Another reason why I really resent what Pineda did. Just no excuse for that. None.

Twins have only lost 3 straight once...4 straight once. And they will be on the road, where somehow they seem to be at their best as their MLB best road record indicates.

Beating the Yankees for me would be like the Bills beating Tom Brady. Improbable but ah so sweet if it happens.

 

Finally I am aware that we did OK against Houston this year...but we haven't played them in quite awhile and it was when our lineup was at pretty much full strength. So those results are kind of meaningless to me. Still, thats why they play the games. First things first...clinch the division!

Yes, first things first.    I din't watch the Super Bowl to see if Brady can beat Foles and the Eagles.   I know they can.  I watched it to see if Foles and the Eagles could beat the Patriots.     Takes very little imagination on my part to think Odorizzi can pitch well against the Yankees or Astros.   I also kind of like the bullpen strategy.   Might blow up in our faces or it might be the perfect way to beat them.    I think Houston is the best team.   Yankees are the better team but not by a really big margin so odds would favor that matchup.   Yes, we need healthy guys.   We just saw a 4.6 ERA guy us out for 6 innings.   Not the first time its happened either.   We have guys capable of that.

[laloesch]

 

This is why I don't bet on anything! My 'gut' tells me that right now we aren't in the same league as Houston and the Yankees always find ways to break our hearts. Worse...if half our lineup is injured, or barely recovered, that won't help the cause. And then of course, our very tentative pitching staff.. In a short series we could be undone very quickly. So a sweep (against us) is pretty possible, unfortunately.

 

However....upsets do happen. Can the Twins pull one? Always possible, but improbable. As a fan, I want them to be the Cinderella Team in 2019, but I think we have too many holes. Another reason why I really resent what Pineda did. Just no excuse for that. None.

Twins have only lost 3 straight once...4 straight once. And they will be on the road, where somehow they seem to be at their best as their MLB best road record indicates.

Beating the Yankees for me would be like the Bills beating Tom Brady. Improbable but ah so sweet if it happens.

 

Finally I am aware that we did OK against Houston this year...but we haven't played them in quite awhile and it was when our lineup was at pretty much full strength. So those results are kind of meaningless to me. Still, thats why they play the games. First things first...clinch the division!

 

I want to be optimistic but i just don't think our starters match up very well with the Yankees and certainly not the Astros who arguably have 3 aces in Cole, Greinke and Verlander.  Amazing rotation they have.