Game Recap: Twins 8, Cleveland 5

[David Youngs]

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the Minnesota Twins have won an extra-inning baseball game. Get the scoop on today's monumental victory and more. 

Box Score

J.A. Happ: 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, BB, 10 K
Home Runs: Max Kepler (5), Kyle Garlick (2)

Top 3 WPA: Kyle Garlick (.266), Max Kepler (.206), Taylor Rogers (.147)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

The Twins signed Kyle Garlick as a cheap offseason pick-up in hopes to add some outfield depth and occasional power at the plate. His value was priceless on Sunday afternoon. 

After replacing RF Max Kepler in the seventh, Garlick launched a three run homer in the tenth inning to give the Twins their first series win since April 7 and first extra inning win of the 2021 season. 

Things initially looked like they were headed in a different direction. Cleveland struck first in the first inning thanks to an RBI double by José Ramírez. Old friend Eddie Rosario followed suit with an RBI single that plated Ramirez. Cleveland tacked on a third run in the second inning when Amed Rosario punched an RBI single to right field. 

But just like they did in the series opener, the comeback kids mounted a massive inning that put the Twins in a position to win a baseball game. 

With Luis Arraez and Josh Donaldson on base, Max Kepler started the rally with a homer over the right-field wall. Kepler now has five HR on the year and has been heating up as of late. Newcomer Rob Refsnyder followed that up with an RBI single that scored Alex Kirilloff from third. The inning’s final run came courtesy of an Andrelton Simmons fielder’s choice that scored Mitch Garver. 

With a one-run lead in the ninth, the Twins ran into something that has plagued them all season. Walks. 

Hansel Robles surrounded a full-count leadoff walk to César Hernández. The Cleveland 2B would work his way around the bases and score the game-tying run on a safety squeeze by Jordan Luplow. 

It’s no secret that extra-inning baseball has been an Achilles for the Twins this year. After last night’s 10th inning loss the club moved to 0-8 in extra-inning contests and Cleveland bumped their total to 4-1. 

Déjà vu would not repeat itself. 

Following a leadoff walk from Donaldson, (and Arraez at second), pinch hitter Kyle Garlick destroyed a 3-2 pitch, launching a three-run shot over the right-center field wall to regain the lead for the Twins. 

Needless to say, people were excited.

And while he may not have gotten off to the best start, J.A. Happ was rock-solid on the bump. After giving up three runs in the first two innings, Happ settled down, retiring ten straight at one point and giving the team six innings.

Happ also hit 92 MPH on his fastball, the fastest we've seen from him all year. Things are headed in the right direction!

Bullpen Usage:

	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOT
Robles	0	14	0	27	24	65
Duffey	0	25	0	13	15	53
Rogers	0	22	0	9	14	45
Farrell	0	0	38	0	0	38
Alcala	7	0	10	17	0	34
Thielbar	10	0	0	0	18	28
Stashak	0	19	0	0	0	19
Colomé	15	0	0	2	0	17

Up Next:

The Twins head home for a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles that starts tomorrow night. Matt Shoemaker (2-5, 6.08 ERA) will take the bump for the Twins. First pitch is scheduled at 6:40pm CST.

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[Brock Beauchamp]

Me in the tenth inning:

[blindeke]

Well ya don't see that every day. I had mentally prepared myself for another loss at least three times that game.

[mikelink45]

Lets not make any excuses - Happ was not good, but we won.  Robles was not good, but we won.  Hurray we won, but it is not a cure, just good news. 

[Monticore]

About time. 

[Shaitan]

Quit paying attn in the 9th, but not surprised Robles blew it -- no offense to him; he just threw a lot of pitches yesterday (and they have no other options).

 

Anyway, I just want to say I really like this recap style. Nice write-up.

[h2oface]

Hallelujah! I breathe a fans sigh of relief. The Twins win it in the 10th!

Now I can get pumped up for the series of the two worst teams in MLB facing off, and hopes to leave the MLB cellar, with thee Matt Shoemaker starting. Nowhere to go but up (except down further, but that is not a possiblity to entertain today.)

[denarded]

Fandom. One extra inning win, review of upcoming schedule, and talk yourself into how this can work. I'm doing it

[bighat]

FWIW, Baltimore lost today, the Twins are now tied for the worst record in MLB. 

[GNess]

1 hour ago, denarded said:

Fandom. One extra inning win, review of upcoming schedule, and talk yourself into how this can work. I'm doing it

I am with you.

[Aerodeliria]

Series won! Extra-inning game won! (This is not the minor league report, right?)

[Aerodeliria]

4 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Me in the tenth inning:

I would have been afraid to watch the bottom of the 10th actually. I don't think I could have done it. 

[Eris]

Garlick was a defensive substitution in the bottom of the 7th after Kepler reinjured this hamstring. To describe him as a pinch hitter in the 10th is not the most accurate description. 

[Dodecahedron]

Quote

first series win since April 7

Ouch.

[insagt1]

Winning is always fun. The warts are still there though. A leadoff walk in the 9th of a one run game is not what you want your closer to do. And it came back to bite him, predictably. And the win was produced by....yep, a homerun. Twins still have to figure out how to score runs doing the things that many teams do. A surprise bunt for example, which got the Indians to extra innings is something the Twins will never do. Its not in their DNA to do anything but swing from the heels. But thats a skill that can change games from L to W.

I follow the Orioles as close as the Twins. Fact is my two favorite ex Red Wing parents have identical last place records. Not happy about that. The O's are really in a major slump. Since Mean's no-hitter they are 2-13. They find ways to lose every night and their pitching is terrible. While the Twins are slightly trending up, the O's are definitely trending down....should be an interesting 3 games.

Anyone think Donaldson's .241 BA is a cause for concern? He gets walks, but is this what they want from the 2nd place hitter who is making a zillion dollars per season?

[USNMCPO]

Looking at the bullpen usage for the last couple days and I wonder who the heck will pitch today when the starter is pulled after five innings. Farrell? Stashak? gulp Colome? Maybe Tortuga?

[Trov]

Glad we finally won an extra inning game, not happy it went to extras with another blown save.  We need to figure out who can pitch in the 9th inning and actually get outs.  No matter who we send out they give up runs. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

19 hours ago, David Youngs said:

After replacing RF Max Kepler in the seventh, Garlick launched a three run homer in the tenth inning to give the Twins their first series win since April 7

First *road* series win since April 7. We won 2 out of 3 with the Royals at home in a series which concluded on May 2nd (actually our only home series win of the season so far).

[Cap'n Piranha]

5 hours ago, Dodecahedron said:

Ouch.

The Series Win stat is inaccurate--The Twins took 2 of 3 from KC in the April 30-May 2 series, crushing them 9-1 and 13-4 on Friday and Saturday, while getting crushed 11-3 on Saturday.

[Cap'n Piranha]

4 hours ago, insagt1 said:

Winning is always fun. The warts are still there though. A leadoff walk in the 9th of a one run game is not what you want your closer to do. And it came back to bite him, predictably. And the win was produced by....yep, a homerun. Twins still have to figure out how to score runs doing the things that many teams do. A surprise bunt for example, which got the Indians to extra innings is something the Twins will never do. Its not in their DNA to do anything but swing from the heels. But thats a skill that can change games from L to W.

I follow the Orioles as close as the Twins. Fact is my two favorite ex Red Wing parents have identical last place records. Not happy about that. The O's are really in a major slump. Since Mean's no-hitter they are 2-13. They find ways to lose every night and their pitching is terrible. While the Twins are slightly trending up, the O's are definitely trending down....should be an interesting 3 games.

Anyone think Donaldson's .241 BA is a cause for concern? He gets walks, but is this what they want from the 2nd place hitter who is making a zillion dollars per season?

Donaldson has the 4th highest OBP on the team; the three ahead of him are Buxton, Gordon, and Refsnyder.  I don't think anyone would be excited about moving Donaldson down in the lineup for Gordon or Refsnyder.

[Brock Beauchamp]

54 minutes ago, Cap'n Piranha said:

Donaldson has the 4th highest OBP on the team; the three ahead of him are Buxton, Gordon, and Refsnyder.  I don't think anyone would be excited about moving Donaldson down in the lineup for Gordon or Refsnyder.

Also, things like batting average need to be mentally adjusted this season, as .245 is roughly .010 higher than league average last I checked. 

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Also, things like batting average need to be mentally adjusted this season, as .245 is roughly .010 higher than league average last I checked. 

People are really struggling with context of stats this year for sure....which is understandable, given what is happening. But it makes conversation here less than ideal much of the time.

[jkcarew]

Notice that when Sano starts hitting bombs, the batter in front of Sano (in close games) gets lots of fastballs over the plate. This has been easy to observe for about a week now.

This is a good development, obviously, and is a reminder that the offense COULD possibly catch fire...particularly if Cruz and/or Buxton can get healthy. Don’t know that it can matter for this year given the hole, and given the pitching. But, maybe the club can become more entertaining to watch.

(Still, Monday’s game is a tough matchup, especially without a healthy Cruz.)

[insagt1]

21 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Also, things like batting average need to be mentally adjusted this season, as .245 is roughly .010 higher than league average last I checked. 

OK--is everyone happy with Donaldson's contributions so far? Is he doing what everyone expected him to do when they opened the vaults to sign him? If we signed him to get walks and make end of game killer errors, I guess happiness rules the 100 Acre Woods. So far, for me, I think he is underperforming. Just my opinion based on what I am seeing on the field, not on the computer screen.

[Brock Beauchamp]

24 minutes ago, insagt1 said:

OK--is everyone happy with Donaldson's contributions so far? Is he doing what everyone expected him to do when they opened the vaults to sign him? If we signed him to get walks and make end of game killer errors, I guess happiness rules the 100 Acre Woods. So far, for me, I think he is underperforming. Just my opinion based on what I am seeing on the field, not on the computer screen.

Oh, I think pretty much everyone agrees he is underperforming, the only quibbling seems to be over to what degree he is underperforming. Everyone I know agrees that those errors have been killing the team but they're also wildly uncharacteristic of Donaldson and errors aren't something I really think of as the first thing to decline. In other words, I don't think the blundering stone handed errors we've seen continue going forward, though they sure stung in the moment.

It should also be pointed out that Donaldson only recently stopped hitting. Until a week or so ago, his offensive production was quite good. Is he in a minor slump or something else? Hard to say and time will tell.

Season Totals

Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+	sOPS+
2021 Totals	36	34	143	119	17	28	7	0	5	19	0	0	21	22	.235	.343	.420	.763	.242	100	116
Last 7 days	8	7	32	24	4	2	0	0	0	3	0	0	6	5	.083	.250	.083	.333	.095	-7	-1
Last 14 days	15	14	63	50	6	8	1	0	2	9	0	0	11	11	.160	.302	.300	.602	.154	60	69
Last 28 days	26	24	108	88	13	17	6	0	4	15	0	0	18	18	.193	.324	.398	.722	.191	89	102

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/25/2021.