GAME THREAD 8/24/2020: Minnesota Twins @ Cleveland Indians 6:10 CDT

[Diesel]

After today, the Twins will be halfway through the regular season, with a record of 20-10 or 19-11, and on top of an increasingly competitive AL Central. While the White Sox have powered their way into contention, the Indians have pitching, pitching, and more pitching. Looking at the roster, Cesar Hernandez, Jose Ramirez, and Franmil Reyes are the only above-average hitters. However, the Indians' rotation is preposterous to think about. Even without Clevinger and Plesac, the Indians still have a Cy Young contender in Shane Bieber, future All-Star Aaron Civale, vet and cancer survivor Carlos Carrasco, and rising star Triston McKenzie. 

 

Lineups

 

Minnesota Twins

 

Starting Pitcher: Kenta Maeda ® 3-0, 2.27 ERA

 

1. RF Maximilian Kepler (L)

2. SS Jorge Polanco (S)

3. DH Nelson Cruz ®

4. LF Eddie Rosario (L)

5. 1B Miguel Sano ®

6. CF Jake Cave (L)

7. 3B Marwin Gonzalez (S)

8. 2B Luis Arraez (L)

9. C Alex Avila (L)

 

Cleveland Indians

 

Starting Pitcher: Aaron Civale ® 3-2, 2.91 ERA

 

1. 2B Cesar Hernandez (S)

2. 3B Jose Ramirez (S)

3. SS Francisco Lindor (S)

4. 1B Carlos Santana (S)

5. DH Franmil Reyes ®

6. RF Tyler Naquin (L)

7. LF Mike Freeman (L)

8. C Roberto Perez ®

9. CF Greg Allen (

 

School has started for me, and I can't be anymore happier. I get to be in class, there are projects to work on, I get to work on jobs, I can see some friends, and I also still have a couple more months of baseball to watch. I'm grateful to have all of these, as so many people still won't have these for the foreseeable future. Currently, I am in the planning stages of building a weed-whacker attachment for a riding lawn mower. Even on small tasks, it is incredible how much has to be taken into consideration. Cost, installation, safety, and practicality are just a few of the things that I have to consider for each and every decision I make. Surprising, engineering is very comparable to America's pasttime. Slight adjustments can lead to wildly different results, as seen by Miguel Sano's past few games. Serious thought has to be put into every decision that is made on the diamond and working on an engineering projects

 

One of those decisions for the Twins was to rest Maeda an extra day after an excellent showing. Could he have another great game? I would hope so, at least against the Indians. I expect a low scoring game. 2-1 Twins with a key Sano double? That would be good enough for me!

 

Let's play ball!

[stringer bell]

Eddie not running hard on a pop up.

[Sielk]

Eddie not running hard on a pop up.

Way to make up for it though. If only Miguel had been able to build on it.

[stringer bell]

Hey everyone, there’s a game on!

[snotboogie]

/tap tap tap/

 

Anyone home?

[Danchat]

Whoops, I thought this was a 7:10 game!

[snotboogie]

I’ve been in and out, but it sure seems Maeda is not getting the benefit of close calls like Civale is.

[LVTwinsfan]

I’ve been in and out, but it sure seems Maeda is not getting the benefit of close calls like Civale is.

If the Twins don’t start putting the bat on the ball it’s not gonna make much difference

[Sielk]

I’ve been in and out, but it sure seems Maeda is not getting the benefit of close calls like Civale is.

Good to know that I'm not the only one thinking that. It was particularly noticeable in that Carlos Santana at bat in the first inning. Kenta threw three borderline pitches of whom none was called a strike.

 

And then several Twins hitters got called out on borderline pitches.

 

That said, Civale definitely looks sharp.

[Mill1634]

NELLY BOMB

[LVTwinsfan]

Cruz is ageless

[Sielk]

That said, Civale definitely looks sharp.

But not sharp enough for Nellie. Yes!

[shortround81]

I think this Cruz kid has a career in baseball.

[Diesel]

Woah, Nelly!

[Nine of twelve]

 

If the Twins don’t start putting the bat on the ball it’s not gonna make much difference

You mean like that?

[LVTwinsfan]

I’d like to see sano deposit that bugs bunny curveball in left field bleachers

[LVTwinsfan]

Sanos blazing speed beats out a DP

[snotboogie]

Cruz is ageless

I’m trying to remember what I was doing when I was on the verge of 41........

 

Ugh. Let’s talk about Nelly some more.

[snotboogie]

Sanos blazing speed beats out a DP

I was told he has deceptive speed.

[jun]

Cave just can't buy a hit these days. He should be released. Gonzalez should quit looking at strikes in the middle of the plate!

[stringer bell]

Both Twins hits have gone the opposite way. I know this goes against the current philosophy of hitting, but sometimes going with the pitch is a good strategy.

[stringer bell]

Except for the Santana plate appearance, I think Kulpa has been better than most calling balls and strikes.

[Nine of twelve]

Dick talking about Maeda's franchise record 8 consecutive K's, saying this is a franchise that had Walter Johnson. Meanwhile, his broadcast partner not only surpassed Johnson but retired with the third most K's of all time. C'mon Dick, you're so good at boot-licking you ought to have acknowledged that.

[Tovar12]

As noted, why was Polanco charging that ball?  He has a tendency to do that at times.

[Sielk]

Cave just can't buy a hit these days. He should be released. Gonzalez should quit looking at strikes in the middle of the plate!

Why would you release him straight away, he is valuable as backup outfielder. But it would be nice to give Wade a shot.

[Mill1634]

Wow -- that is the absolute right call to send the runner there. Perfect relay

[LVTwinsfan]

Arraez is slow

[Nine of twelve]

Great play by the opposition.

[LVTwinsfan]

Dick talking about Maeda's franchise record 8 consecutive K's, saying this is a franchise that had Walter Johnson. Meanwhile, his broadcast partner not only surpassed Johnson but retired with the third most K's of all time. C'mon Dick, you're so good at boot-licking you ought to have acknowledged that.

Bert had 60 shutouts. Nobody will ever come close to that again

[snotboogie]

Great slide by Arraez