Game Thread: Giants @ Twins, 8/26/22, 7:10PM CDT (5:10PM PDT)

[PDX Twin]

Greetings to all from Portland, where (at this time of year) the skies are not cloudy all day. Tonight, the Twins take on the San Francisco Giants, a team for which I used to cheer until Barry Bonds’s biceps grew to grotesque proportions. The two teams have similar records this season, but the Twins are actually within sight of the top of their weak division (4 games back), while the Giants stand 25 games behind the Dodgers.

The Giants come into this one well-rested after a day off. The Twins come in well-bested after six straight losses, few of them even close.

Injuries!

The Twins have been fielding a depleted lineup lately. I was curious what sort of lineup one could assemble with only Twins players who are currently injured. Here’s what I've got:

C Ryan Jeffers
1B Alex Kirilloff
2B No obvious candidate, but Polanco has not been fully fit
SS Royce Lewis
3B Miguel Sano
LF Trevor Larnach
CF Byron Buxton
RF Kyle Garlick (activated today and in the lineup, but I did the research yesterday...)
SP Kenta Maeda, Tyler Mahle, Bailey Ober, Josh Winder, Randy Dobnak, Chris Paddack
RP Jorge Alcala, Danny Coulombe, Jhon Romero, Cole Sands, Cody Stashak

Would that be a better lineup than the one in blue below?  

I realize that all teams have injury issues at this time of year, but this situation seems extreme. Most of these unavailable players would surely be part of the Twins’ lineup rotation if they were healthy and a few others, though ideally backups, would rank ahead of some who are currently being used. Perhaps someone with better knowledge of the leagues can tell us whether there are any teams that have been successful this year with a comparable list of casualties.

Is it bad luck? Injury-prone players? Or something to do with how the players are trained and used? How many of the players on the list above will be back near 100% fitness next season?

Tonight's Game

Joe Ryan (9-6, 3.86), who is not yet on the IL, starts for the Twins against lefty Alex Wood (8-10, 4.54). Ryan will be looking to achieve double figures in wins against an opponent who has already reached double figures in losses.

Note that our old friend LaMonte Wade, Jr., starts in rightfield for the Giants. Wade has struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness this year after breaking out with an .808 OPS in his first season with the Giants. The Twins traded him to the Giants before the 2021 season for a pitcher named Shaun Anderson, who appeared for the Twins in 4 games out of the bullpen in 2021 (with a 9.35 ERA) before being waived, waived again, waived again, and waived again---Anderson was claimed off waivers by an amazing 4 different teams in 2021 after the Twins gave up Wade to get him. Not the finest hour for the Twins' front office as things turned out.

Starting lineups are below.

Can the Twins win for the first time in a week? Will the Twins win for the first time in a week?

?

[CRF]

Nice game thread intro. I sure hope they can stop the slide, but unfortunately...when I look at that lineup, I have serious doubts that they will. Things are looking mighty bleak to me. Something has to light a fire under these guys, and get them going again. Time is running out. 

[MMMordabito]

Wow, that All-IL lineup says a lot.

Twins are currently the coldest team in baseball along with the Angels, and they're one loss away from getting back to .500 in the wrong direction.

Please win, Twins.

[BH67]

The Giants, 25 games back, are more likely to win their division than the Twins are the AL Central.

And "bad luck" with injuries to this degree isn't statistically defensible.

[AussieG]

Rocco's big " Zero F***s " given speech has to start with him. Let Joe Ryan go 7+ today 

[RpR]

Start Pagan as it will reverse the OK start to a OMG nasty finish.

[AussieG]

4 minutes ago, RpR said:

Start Pagan as it will reverse the OK start to a OMG nasty finish.

Seriously, that might not be as bad as it sounds. 

[SanoMustGo]

Don’t think this team, as constructed has a turnaround in them

[AussieG]

1 minute ago, SanoMustGo said:

Don’t think this team, as constructed has a turnaround in them

We still have a few guys coming back from the IL. If they can contribute immediately, things could improve. 

[RickOShea]

5 minutes ago, SanoMustGo said:

Don’t think this team, as constructed has a turnaround in them

Too many injuries, lackluster attitude, and mediocre talent are just too much to overcome.  The only advantage is that the American League Central is pretty weak.

[PDX Twin]

The Giants lineup on MLB.TV is different than the one that I posted from earlier. Here's what they now show (without LaMonte Wade).

[AussieG]

Garlick leading off? OK, sure, why not

[RickOShea]

6 minutes ago, PDX Twin said:

The Giants lineup on MLB.TV is different than the one that I posted from earlier. Here's what they now show (without LaMonte Wade).

Thankx PDX

[RickOShea]

Wow!  Nice, no, great snag!

[USAFChief]

We'll take it, but that was lucky. Polanco had his head pointed at the sky.

[RickOShea]

Yeah, I think he was expecting to get a faceful of ball, Chief.

[mnfireman]

Ryan looked like he thought that one was over the fence....

[AussieG]

5 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

Ryan looked like he thought that one was over the fence....

He looks stressed out, a lot going on in his head. Just needs to use some of Rocco's good vibes and relax ?

[USAFChief]

I entered a "invent a new word" contest and I think I might have a winner: plagiarism. 

[USAFChief]

CORREA!!1!

 

'Bout time...

[AussieG]

C4!

[RickOShea]

See, all you have to do is play a team with 20 wins less than your previous opponent.

[RickOShea]

And thus, the Miranda slump has been activated.

[ashbury]

Welp, looks like we're already losing 2-0... wait, what?

[mnfireman]

3 minutes ago, RickOShea said:

And thus, the Miranda slump has been activated.

Has been activated?? More like still going. Since the KC series he's slashing .179/.207/.286 for an OPS of .493.

[AussieG]

1 minute ago, mnfireman said:

Has been activated?? More like still going. Since the KC series he's slashing .179/.207/.286 for an OPS of .493.

Unfortunately that is probably on the high side of the team average

[AussieG]

Last 7 days team stats .178./244/.269 OPS .513 

[PDX Twin]

I hope that the Twins can bring this one home. I'm heading off to one of my favorite places on Earth, Merlo Field, to watch some college futbol. Good luck!

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I hope we win!

[USAFChief]

2 minutes ago, PDX Twin said:

I hope that the Twins can bring this one home. I'm heading off to one of my favorite places on Earth, Merlo Field, to watch some college futbol. Good luck!

U of Portland, soccer.

 

I had to Google it.