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GAME THREAD: 5/2/21, Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals, 1:10 CDT

Mill1634

By Mill1634
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Mill1634 Minnesota Twins

Mill1634

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The Twins look to bounceback on Sunday after taking a beating in yesterdays game. The Twins started off the homestand with a convincing win over the ALC leaders after 3 weeks, and look to close out the series with a victory today. We know the Twins aren't going to go on a 30+ game win streak like the Indians did a few years ago, so they must take these small victories as they come, and that starts with winning series.

 

The Pitchers

RHP Jose Berrios (2-2, 3.04 ERA, 33 K's, 26.2 IP) vs RHP Brad Keller (2-2, 9.00 ERA, 13 K's, 18 IP)

 

The Twins turn to arguably the best starter we've seen this year in Jose Berrios, while the Royals will send out one of their worse arms in Brad Keller. We've seen Jose appear to be rolling in games this year, only to hit the middle of the game and all of a sudden falter and have to be removed. Last start we saw Rocco unexplainably not know the 1 mound visit per coach per inning rule, and was forced to remove Berrios at just 83 pitches.  Keller last started against the Tigers in which he threw 6 innings, but allowed 8 hits and 2 earned runs. He also only struck out 2 batters. Keller will rely on a sinker and 4 seam combination, throwing the former to right handed batters, while attacking left handed hitters with the 4 seam. Neither pitch has been good this year, as the 4 seam is getting hit at a .318 clip, while the sinker is allowing a .417 batting average. The slider is easily his best pitch, and is getting a whiff rate of 31%. His offspeed pitch, the changeup, has a whiff rate of 25%, but he only throws it 4% of the time.

 

The Lineups

 

Twins

 

2B Luis Arraez L

3B J. Donaldson R
CF Byron Buxton R
DH Nelson Cruz R
1B A. Kirilloff L
C Mitch Garver R
RF Max Kepler L
LF Jake Cave L
SS A. Simmons R

 

Royals

 

2B W. Merrifield R

1B C. Santana S
DH S. Perez R
RF Jorge Soler R
LF A. Benintendi L
3B H. Dozier R
CF M. Taylor R
C C. Gallagher R
SS Nicky Lopez L

 

Luis Arraez slides back into the leadoff spot against a right handed starter, followed by the familiar faces of Donaldson, Buxton, and Cruz that we've seen as of late. They're followed by Alex Kiriloff, who has been crushing the baseball since he was recalled, and has finally been getting rewarded for it this series. Garver gets another start behind the plate, and is followed by corner outfielders Max Kepler and Jake Cave. Andrelton Simmons rounds out the order. Jorge Polanco is not in todays starting lineup, and Miguel Sano is expected to join the team in the middle of this upcoming week.

 

Vegas Odds: Twins -215, Royals +180, O/U 8.5

 

This Day In History - 2001: The game at the Metrodome, which is delayed for 12 minutes when the umps need to pull the opposing players off the field, comes close to being forfeited by the Twins when unruly spectators pummel Chuck Knoblauch with coins, plastic beer bottles, and golf balls in left field. Minnesota skipper Tom Kelly appeals to the crowd, including over 40 ejected fans, to be calm as the home team defeats their former second baseman and the Yankees, 4-2.

 

Pick to Click: Max Kepler finds his stroke and hits his first homer of the year.

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bighat Cedar Rapids Kernels

bighat

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If you can have must-win games in early May, this is one of 'em. Twins absolutely have to win this series if they want to hang on to any respect.

IndianaTwin Wichita Wind Surge

IndianaTwin

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  1. This is the biggest game of the year.
  2. If we don't win today, the season is over. 
  3. If we don't win today, we should immediately:
    1. Fire both Falvey and Levine.
    2. Fire Rocco.
    3. Trade everyone except Buxton, Kirilloff, Arraez, and maybe Berrios, even if it's only for lottery picks.
    4. Move up 22 or 23 people from the Saints and Surge.*

 

*I don't believe these -- I'm just trying to get a head start on the overreactions and save folks a few keystrokes.

 

 

 

bighat Cedar Rapids Kernels

bighat

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Seeing guys like Kep and Sano way down in the lineup this year is not what we had in mind. Max batting 7th against a righty starter isn't a great sign for where he's at. Hope he can come through today.

Mill1634 Minnesota Twins

Mill1634

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JD has been quietly horrid this week...1/17 with a homer. It'll happen over 162 though. I'm surprised that he hasn't gotten a day off in a while, and think he could maybe use one.

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