Astros 5, Twins 3: Late Rally Falls Short Again, Twins Drop 5th Consecutive

[Thiéres Rabelo]

Facing the Astros’ juggernaut pitching staff, the Twins’ offense was once again dominated, despite a late rally bringing the tying run to the plate. Dylan Bundy was solid through five, but a rough sixth inning cost Minnesota the game.

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Dylan Bundy, 5 IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 0K (66 pitches, 44 strikes, 66.6%)
Home Runs: none
Bottom 3 WPA: Max Kepler (-.301), Michael Fulmer (-.200), José Miranda (-.088)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Bundy tosses five solid innings, gives Twins a chance
Right out of the gate, this game seemed doomed for the Twins. Houston starter Framber Valdez had a 1-2-3 first inning that took him only 14 pitches. Then, when Dylan Bundy took the mound for the bottom half, José Altuve took him deep on his very first pitch, putting the Astros on the board right away. Fortunately, Bundy settled in and retired six of the next seven batters faced, only giving up a walk.

Meanwhile, the offense attempted to put something together and managed to get two men on base during the second inning after a walk by Luis Arráez followed by a Gilberto Celestino single. They kept pushing until they manufactured the tying run in the next inning. Sandy León led off the third with a walk, and, suddenly, Minnesota had two men in scoring position after a Jorge Polanco double. Former Astro Carlos Correa hit a liner to left, and León tagged and scored.

Martín Maldonado broke Bundy’s hot streak with a leadoff double to start the bottom of the third. He was eventually brought home by an Altuve single and a Yuli Gurriel sac fly, regaining the lead for Houston. Once again, Bundy didn’t lose control: by retiring Alex Bregman on a lineout to conclude the third, he began a streak of seven consecutive batters retired, keeping this a one-run game into the sixth. With tonight’s start, Bundy has completed five consecutive starts in which he gives up three earned runs or less.

 

Houston breaks it open against Fulmer
Bundy departed the game after two trips through the order, despite having thrown only 66 total pitches. Should he have been kept in the game, given his pitch count? His 8.53 season ERA in the third time through the order sure isn’t very encouraging, so Rocco Baldelli decided to activate the bullpen, bringing Michael Fulmer to pitch the sixth.

Houston added a run after Yordan Álvarez stretched a single into a double after a defensive miscue by the Twins’ outfield. He also moved up to third on a wild pitch, which allowed him to score on a Bregman sac fly. Fulmer couldn’t stop the bleeding, giving up another double, this time to Kyle Tucker with two outs. Then, Trey Mancini blasted a two-run shot to right field, making it 5-1 Astros.

With Valdez completing seven innings, the Twins’ struggling offense was once again severely uninspired to spark a rally. Devin Smeltzer came in to eat up the final two innings and did a fine job at it, tossing two scoreless frames. After reliever Bryan Abreu pitched a scoreless eighth, Rafael Montero came in to try to close out the game,

Montero failed to retire the first four batters he faced, and the Twins scored a couple of runs: Arráez doubled Gio Urshela home after he had hit a leadoff single; then, Arráez himself was brought home from second on a Jake Cave fielder’s choice (a ball that was bobbled by Altuve). But when Max Kepler grounded into a double play, Montero had no trouble retiring Gary Sanchez for the game’s final out.

 

Postgame interview

What’s Next?
On Thursday, these two teams play the final game of the series, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm CDT. To try and avoid the sweep, the Twins turn to Chris Archer (4.02 ERA), who will be facing Luis Garcia (4.09 ERA). After the game, the Twins head back to Minnesota for a six-game homestand.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	WED	TOT
Smeltzer	45	0	0	0	27	72
Pagán	0	39	0	14	0	53
Fulmer	0	0	12	0	23	35
Jax	11	0	14	0	0	25
Megill	0	15	0	8	0	23
Thielbar	11	0	12	0	0	23
López	9	0	0	0	0	9
Duran	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

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[Vanimal46]

Framber Valdez has 21 straight quality starts. Tying old friend Johan Santana and Eddie Cicotte for the American League record. 

[mikelink45]

Another disappointment. Scoring at the end of a game and falling short is getting boring. Tomorrow Houston gives us a chance. Can we take it?

Thanks to Smeltzer for giving us some innings.  

[Aggies7]

Has the team quit? Sure seems that way.

[D.C Twins]

Arraez batting fifth..... the run of Beckham, Kepler, and Leon striking fear into the opposing pitchers with Cave and Sanchez lurking to strike as pinch hitters..... 

Well, it looks like we've almost reached terminal velocity and the parachute hasn't opened yet!!!!

[D.C Twins]

"....our guys absolutely do things exactly the way I would want to see it done."

This just speaks for itself.... I just wanted everyone to appreciate it a second time (Spoiler alert, you may see it again from time to time over the next month)

[bean5302]

Bundy's ERA is 8.53 TTO? Well, since he's only pitched 12.2 innings during TTO it's a pretty small sample. More interestingly, his FIP is 2.49 and xFIP is 2.96 on TTO this year. Tough to say what would have happened, all I know is Rocco pulled him early again and the bullpen, again, immediately gave up runs.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

SSDD

[bean5302]

Not sure if it's good or bad the White Sox beat Baltimore tonight. At least it keeps the Orioles from expanding their lead over the Twins in the Wildcard hunt, but the White Sox are now tied with the Twins in the standings. 4 games back in both the division and wildcard.

At least it seems like my concerns the White Sox would put it together this year are fading fast and the Guardians have a pretty tough schedule the next couple of weeks.

Of course, the Twins have 1 more game against the Astros before taking on the Giants and Red Sox, two teams with similar records to the Twins who play in much, much, much tougher divisions. I don't have much faith in Minnesota putting it together at this point.

[rv78]

To all you Rocco lovers out there... Can you tell me why he plays Beckham in the outfield or why he plays Beckham anywhere? The Alvarez single or double or whatever the official scorer wants to call it in the 6th inning was not a hit. It was a misplay (ERROR) by Beckham who misjudged the ball. Rocco has to be one of the worst Managers this team has ever had. Just because a guy hits right-handed doesn't mean he is your best option to play against a left-handed pitcher. Yet that is the only reason I can come up with why Rocco puts a guy who can't hit and can't play in the outfield, in the outfield. If your choice is Beckham or Cave, two guys who can't hit, at the very least play the guy who can play defense at the position your filling. 

[TwinsDr2021]

5 hours ago, bean5302 said:

At least it seems like my concerns the White Sox would put it together this year are fading fast and the Guardians have a pretty tough schedule the next couple of weeks.

The problem with this statement is the Guardians seem to have starting pitching that doesn't care much who their opponents are and go out and pitch deep into games.

Where am I at now? telling somebody to turn off the lights on the way out, this party looks to be over, but I am just going around the corner for some food, in case the party starts back up, but not really expecting it to.

[Aerodeliria]

I know the Twins have been worse than dreadful in clutch hitting, but does anyone know if someone has been keeping track of the whiffs in those situations? It must also be a dreadful statistic (I'd really like to know...) I rather have the double play ground ball to be honest. At least the batter made contact. The whiff is so demoralizing.

[Whitey333]

Not much to say.  Twins are lifeless, and beaten up.  Rocco is clueless and has been for a couple of years now.  R.I.P. Twins 2022!

[Jeff D.]

UGGGGGHHHHHH! 

Twins Geezer out!

[HokieRif]

Twins' bats innings 1-8

When the 9th inning rolls around after its too late

[LastOnePicked]

Rocco wants the team to give "zero f-cks" - how inspiring. The main problem with this is that's exactly how the team has been playing for two months already. Now that attitude is spreading to the fans.

Rocco is so clearly in over his head. I've doubted him before, but this season has revealed all of the qualities that make him unfit to manage a playoff-caliber MLB team. He cannot be allowed to manage the Twins in 2023. If I were Falvey/Levine, I would fire him this morning and make it clear that the organization cares more about winning than "playing hard" (that's to be expected from professionals, period).

[RJA]

I hope this is the last year we have to watch Kepler's ineptitude at the plate.  His defense does not make up for his lack of offense.  For the past few years, I keep expecting he will adjust his approach, but outside of brief stretches, he continues to hit ground balls for outs and double plays.  Rocco is Rocco.  He is not going to change his approach.  Going forward, if Rocco stays which I assume he will, the Twins better have a deep and quality bullpen because he is going to use it a lot.  I would like to think the Twins could bounce back and make a run, but with Buxton out and with the lineup they put out there, I just don't see that happening.  

[Blyleven2011]

In 2021 , in first half it seemed the twins didn't have any luck with the way the ball bounced ...

2022 it seemed like the twins were having luck with the way the ball bounced  .

, second half is alittle different  , new York overturns a call at the plate in Toronto  , Rocco's head and the coaches are not on the game as he sends pitching coach to talk to Sanchez  and it ends up being the second visit and pitcher removed  ( these are just a couple of recent  examples of what seems like our luck has run out ) there has been more in the second half than the first half ( first half we got the ball to bounce in our favor  ) ...

[mikelink45]

I don't care if Rocco was manager of the year, I don't care if the front office loves him and I don't even care if he is actually a good manager. In the history of baseball managers get changed to infuse energy into the team and change the pathway that the players are on. No matter whether you like Rocco or not, we need something to change. And we also need our front office to wake up and provide us with a better set of players to work with. I would rather have a struggling young player than see Beckham and cave struggling and taking up roster's space. 

[Otaknam]

I’m so frustrated with Rocco’s mishandling of his starting rotation. Bundy is solid for five innings with a low pitch count and the computer algorithm tells Rocco to take him out. Giving the starters a longer leash with the still leaky BP makes sense to any baseball fan except Baldelli. How can that be worse than what they are doing? Rocco has no intuition for baseball. 

[DJL44]

3 minutes ago, Otaknam said:

I’m so frustrated with Rocco’s mishandling of his starting rotation. Bundy is solid for five innings with a low pitch count and the computer algorithm tells Rocco to take him out. Giving the starters a longer leash with the still leaky BP makes sense to any baseball fan except Baldelli. How can that be worse than what they are doing? Rocco has no intuition for baseball. 

Please, for the love of baseball, don't try to rely more heavily on the guy with the 88 MPH fastball.

[Otaknam]

2 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I don't care if Rocco was manager of the year, I don't care if the front office loves him and I don't even care if he is actually a good manager. In the history of baseball managers get changed to infuse energy into the team and change the pathway that the players are on. No matter whether you like Rocco or not, we need something to change. And we also need our front office to wake up and provide us with a better set of players to work with. I would rather have a struggling young player than see Beckham and cave struggling and taking up roster's space. 

Good point! Having to convert infielders to outfielders on the fly is an indictment of the FO. And having half your lineup be minor leaguers who can’t hit is a prescription for disaster. That’s on the FO. Then mix in Baldelli’s poor handling of the starters and the injury problems….

[insagt1]

Says a lot when Twins pinch hit for a guy hitting .080 with a guy hitting around .140 (and who had just fanned 4 times in 4 AB's the night before) Twins cupboard is sure bare. Neither catcher can hit a lick. They got Sanchez for his bat. Where is it?

The usual cast of suspects failed again. budding rally snuffed quickly with a killer DP and then the final out. You are not going to beat Houston in the 9th trailing by 4 every night.  Even Arraez (.154 last 7 games) and Miranda (.214 last 7 games) are slumping again. Guardians meanwhile are building up a lead the Twins won't be able to catch anymore.

Its over.

[Karbo]

I have been critical of Rocco's way of managing for the last 2 years. Now where is the FO? Putting Beckham on the roster has to be one of the worst moves any of the FO has made. And Cave? Well at least he hustles and can play defense. Now tonight we won't have a long reliever available to pitch 4-5 innings after short start Archer. Instead we have a bunch of guys that go 1 inning at a time. FO needs to pull their heads out of their butts and get a new manager and fix some of these issues in the pen before the start of next year!

[MABB1959]

8 hours ago, RJA said:

I hope this is the last year we have to watch Kepler's ineptitude at the plate.  His defense does not make up for his lack of offense.  For the past few years, I keep expecting he will adjust his approach, but outside of brief stretches, he continues to hit ground balls for outs and double plays.  Rocco is Rocco.  He is not going to change his approach.  Going forward, if Rocco stays which I assume he will, the Twins better have a deep and quality bullpen because he is going to use it a lot.  I would like to think the Twins could bounce back and make a run, but with Buxton out and with the lineup they put out there, I just don't see that happening.  

Besides Kepler having IMO another bad year.  He is non-existent to the fans.  He doesn't seem to do interviews where he admits he is disappointed in his play.   He could be a clubhouse leader but it doesn't seem like it.  Hard to say what they should do.  I would say bench him for the rest of the year and let some of the kids in the minors get a chance.  Can he be dropped from the 40 man?  How was Tim Beckham a #1 draft pick? How terribly sad!   I saw a line-up this week with him DH'ing and batting 8th.  To me that was a sign we are at the bottom of barrel.  Is there anyone in AAA that should get a chance in place of Kepler or Beckham?

[Johnny Ringo]

The Vikings give a reward to the person responsible for selling the most game tickets. This month's winner? Max Kepler.

[Sean.h]

wow I'm lucky that I have not been able to watch the last 5 games due to blackout restrictions (I live in Texas). Can this team put it together for the stretch run? We've been waiting for a while now...

[jun]

I just can't understand why Pagan, Cave and Beckham are on the Twins roster.

[David Maro]

How about a wake up call DFA Sanchez or Kepler. I know this sounds crazy but sometimes you need to make a statement. I said years ago Rocco is not manager material and everyone said I didn't know what I was talking about. He won Manager of the Year with Paul Molitor's team. He has been a bust since then. This team is now unwatchable and as a fan of the Twins and baseball this is hard to say.

 

[RpR]

31 minutes ago, David Maro said:

How about a wake up call DFA Sanchez or Kepler. I know this sounds crazy but sometimes you need to make a statement. I said years ago Rocco is not manager material and everyone said I didn't know what I was talking about. He won Manager of the Year with Paul Molitor's team. He has been a bust since then. This team is now unwatchable and as a fan of the Twins and baseball this is hard to say.

 

A statement like returning to 100 losses level, brilliant.