Twins 9, Astros 6: Twins Top Astros Thanks to 3-Run Homers

[Hans Birkeland]

The Twins got a strong start, and the bullpen came through as the Twins outslugged the defending champions on Saturday afternoon at Target Field. On Sunday, they'll look for the sweep. 

Image courtesy of Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

The bats come alive and the pitching holds it together an impressive win over the Astros.

Box Score:
SP: Joe Ryan: 6 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 10K (81 pitches, 53 strikes, 65.4%)
Home Runs: Kyle Farmer (1), Byron Buxton (1)
Top 3 WPA: Farmer (.222), Christian Vázquez (.176), Griffin Jax (.116)
Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs):

Joe Ryan's new secondary pitches vs. Defending Champs
Coming off of an impressive six-inning, one-run start in Kansas City, Joe Ryan started out where he left off, relying heavily on his fastball the first time through the lineup, sitting 93-94 MPH and in good locations. After the Twins scored four runs in the second, Ryan started to lose a little velocity on his fastball and couldn’t throw his secondary pitches for strikes.

After a long flyout by Jake Meyers to start the third, Ryan appeared to windmill his right arm before giving up sharp singles to Martin Maldonado and Chas McCormick. Alex Bregman spit on several non-competitive offspeed pitches before drawing a walk, and Yordan Alvarez teed off on the first fastball he saw, a 91 MPH fastball in the heart of the plate, leaving the yard at an absurd 116 MPH, tying the game at four.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

The next inning was a struggle, as well, but a struggling Houston lineup bailed him out. Jeremy Pena took five straight offspeed pitches and then struck out looking on an 89 MPH fastball below the zone. David Hensley then struck out on a better-looking 92 MPH fastball at the top of the zone, but Meyers then ripped a 104 MPH lineout to Gordon in left.

Ryan’s velocity and command seemed to return after that, and he was able to throw his offspeed, particularly his split-change, for strike one. He finished with ten strikeouts and besides the home run to Alvarez, didn’t give up an inordinate amount of damage.

Twin lefty mashers come through against right-handed Houston pitchers
With Max Kepler and Joey Gallo unavailable due to injury, that meant starting assignments for Donovan Solano and Kyle Farmer. Both were part of the initial rally against Garcia, with Farmer obliterating a change-up fading right into his swing path for a three-run home run.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

Solano later walked against Garcia, and Farmer started the Twins sixth inning rally with an opposite-field double off of Seth Martinez. With Wallner now in the fold, it will be interesting to note if he sees much action with Solano and Farmer continuing to swing hot bats.

Abreu strikes out on pitch clock violation
The second inning started in odd fashion, with veteran Jose Abreu striking out due to a pitch clock violation. He didn’t argue the call, but the Houston bench did get warned for chirping in the sixth inning. For good measure, Ryan struck out Abreu in legitimate fashion twice more in his outing, saving his best-located fastballs for the long-time White Sox star.

Buxton finally gets his home run
After being stifled by some careful and effective pitching by Houston pitchers in tandem with Martin Maldonado, Buxton got a middle-middle fastball in the eighth and did not miss it, turning a nail-biter into a comfortable win against a tough team.

Garcia struggles in second start with new windup
Luis Garcia, whose elaborate windup was deemed illegal with MLB’s new rules, had an up-and-down outing against the Twins. After an uneventful first inning, he started giving up hard contact to the middle of the Twins lineup in the second. Nick Gordon and Donovan Solano ripped singles on cutters up in the zone, and Kyle Farmer launched a change-up for his big home run. After a Christian Vázquez walk, Michael A. Taylor and Buxton nearly hit home runs, Correa doubled and Larnach drove a cutter up the gut for a four-nothing lead.

The Twins then got the first two men on in the 3rd, leading to the Astros bullpen getting warm, but from then it appeared that Martin Maldonado changed the game plan and focused on fastballs up and in to the Twins righties to pair with cutters and sliders away. Buxton in particular seemed to be looking for pitches out over the plate and struck out on hard stuff up and in. But the damage was done by that point and Garcia was done after four innings.

Christian Vázquez with two big hits against his former team
After looking lost at the plate during Friday’s home opener, Vázquez delivered run-scoring singles to left in the sixth and eighth innings, giving the Twins bullpen a lead they would not relinquish.

Twins bullpen impresses
As the bullpen hierarchy comes into clearer focus, it was Jorge López again getting the seventh inning, with Griffin Jax taking the eighth inning assignment. López was dominant in his frame, dotting the corners with hard stuff and striking out the side. Facing the 9-1-2 portion of Houston’s lineup, Jax took care of business, striking out Maldonado and Bregman on sliders to complete a perfect inning. Jovani Moran had some struggles in the ninth, including giving up a two-run home run for the second straight appearance. However, Jhoan Duran came on and needed just three pitches to end the game with a strikeout. 

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Morán	15	0	0	0	20	35
Jax	0	9	0	13	12	34
Pagán	26	0	0	0	0	26
López	0	0	0	8	14	22
Durán	0	0	0	19	3	22
Thielbar	0	13	0	0	0	13
Sands	0	0	0	0	0	0
Alcalá	0	0	0	0	0	0

What’s Next: 
Tyler Mahle will make his second start of the year, facing the talented Hunter Brown as the series with the Astros wraps up.

Postgame Interviews

 

View full article

[jkcarew]

I think Ryan could have gone out for the 7th. But, honestly, feel like Rocco sending Ryan out for the 6th was a bit of a milestone moment. I feel like that probably doesn’t happen last year. The number of pitches thrown was fine/low…but it was the 6th inning of a tie game and Ryan was up against Alverez (3rd time, already had beaten him, etc) and the meat of their order.

Nice to see Rocco showing the confidence…even nicer, getting rewarded….fly ball, K, K.

[ashbury]

Key play: Vazquez's base hit in the 8th.  Not so much for the insurance run it brought in, but because without it the chance of Buxton coming up to put the game out of reach* was about zero.

* barely, as we found out

[Squirrel]

That game had it all, and I enjoyed it all … well, except for a couple of missed pitches … but over all, it had it all and was tremendously fun to watch. And discovering that mlb.tv now shows the game recap stuff! Yay! No more cut off after the last out

[GKuehl]

Jovani Moran’s rough start to the year makes me wish even more that we hadn’t let Danny Coulombe go for nothing (especially considering Moran still has options). We could use another sole LHP in the bullpen right about now. 

[Doctor Gast]

Great job Hans on you insight of the game. Farmer & Solano were suppose to help us against LHPs but they have stepped up to help us against RHPs as well. Another RH hitter Vasquez, came across with two clutch hits. Buxton created an opportunity for Moran to come in to get some pitches in which Duran could come in to get the save.

We had out hit HOU this time by over 3X at one time but HOU knows how to make their hits count. We are blessed to be facing HOU at this time. Lets go for a sweep, Go Twins!

[stringer bell]

Nice win and the complaints about offense will abate (until tomorrow). Farmer and Solano are showing their worth, I just hope they aren’t full time players until May. Every player has at least one good plate appearance.  
 

Jovani Moran is about halfway to an all-expenses paid visit to Minnesota’s capital city. He certainly isn’t working his way into high-leverage opportunities. 
 

 

[stringer bell]

Another game tomorrow. Jax, JLópez and Duran have all pitched two straight days. If it’s close and late, do others get the ball? 

[darwin22]

27 minutes ago, GKuehl said:

Jovani Moran’s rough start to the year makes me wish even more that we hadn’t let Danny Coulombe go for nothing (especially considering Moran still has options). We could use another sole LHP in the bullpen right about now. 

Agree with your assessment 100%!  Saying that I've been a fan of Moran since I saw him pitch for the Wind Surge in Wichita a couple of years ago.  He has a fantastic changeup, but has struggled with his consistency.  That was evidenced today as he got Alvarez to fly out in the 9th and then whiffed Tucker after Abreu's infield single.  Really disappointed he failed miserably in the match up with Pena, who had been struggling to make contact all day.  Just wondering at this point how many more outings Moran will get should his struggles continue.  IMO we absolutely need another LH in the pen beyond Thielbar.

Should Moran get demoted soon is Megill his replacement?  Cant say I'm excited by that.

[ashbury]

11 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Another game tomorrow. Jax, JLópez and Duran have all pitched two straight days. If it’s close and late, do others get the ball? 

I would.  A division rival is coming to town on Monday.  Better to have a more-rested bullpen when the games potentially count double in the GB column.  And no bullpen survives on just 3 arms anyway.  I'd plan on Alcala for the ninth, Thielbar for the eighth, hope Mahle makes it through six and we only have to close our eyes and pray during the seventh with a tandem of Pagan and Sands.  Actually I'll work Mahle like a rented mule*, close my eyes during the entire bullpen ordeal, and hope an eight-run lead is enough cushion.

* No. Shoulder fatigue concerns will actually override any one game's needs.

 

[jkcarew]

One thing I didn’t anticipate…maybe I hadn’t thought it through…is how little we’ve seen of Jeffers…and apparently, how little we’re going to see of him. He’s looked good swinging it (1 K in 10 PA). But with Vasquez solid on both sides, and only 2 guys that can catch on active roster, Jeffers will see a lot of pine for now…can’t even PH, it looks like. I do expect him tomorrow, though.

[stringer bell]

5 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

Agree with your assessment 100%!  Saying that I've been a fan of Moran since I saw him pitch for the Wind Surge in Wichita a couple of years ago.  He has a fantastic changeup, but has struggled with his consistency.  That was evidenced today as he got Alvarez to fly out in the 9th and then whiffed Tucker after Abreu's infield single.  Really disappointed he failed miserably in the match up with Pena, who had been struggling to make contact all day.  Just wondering at this point how many more outings Moran will get should his struggles continue.  IMO we absolutely need another LH in the pen beyond Thielbar.

Should Moran get demoted soon is Megill his replacement?  Cant say I'm excited by that.

I think the Twins good start and the obvious stuff that Moran has give him a pretty long leash. That said, I doubt we’ll see him in a late-and-close situation for a while. 

[ashbury]

3 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I doubt we’ll see him in a late-and-close situation for a while. 

Pitch him late-until-it's-close, you're saying?

[darwin22]

13 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Another game tomorrow. Jax, JLópez and Duran have all pitched two straight days. If it’s close and late, do others get the ball? 

Hope that is not the case, but with ANOTHER day game on Monday, I doubt Baldelli uses Duran as threw 19 pitches Friday and then had to reload in the pen as Moran was unraveling in the 9th. 

Assuming Mahle can go 5+ (hopefully more) tomorrow, I can envision Baldelli going to Alcala first followed by Thielbar.  If that can get us into the 8th, then a combo of Jax (25 pitches) and Lopez (22 pitches last two games, but only 8 today) to finish what is hopefully another W.

[mikelink45]

Great game, but the BP did not come through, we just had too much offense for Houston to get back in it.  I am sorry that Moran had a struggle, but I am not willing to give up on him.  Right now Farmer and Solano look better than Gallo and Kepler.  (I know Gallo had one good game). 

[darwin22]

10 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I think the Twins good start and the obvious stuff that Moran has give him a pretty long leash. That said, I doubt we’ll see him in a late-and-close situation for a while. 

I hope your correct as Moran has "the stuff" to be a key component in our pen.  His issue (as with most younger pitchers) is command and consistency.  None of the potential bullpen arms in SP right now---Dobnak, Winder (hurt), DeLeon, Rodriguez or Headrick (only LH)---are that appealing.

[jkcarew]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

Key play: Vazquez's base hit in the 8th.  Not so much for the insurance run it brought in, but because without it the chance of Buxton coming up to put the game out of reach* was about zero.

* barely, as we found out

Well…without that sequence, Duran starts the 9th, so…😀

But, YES, it was clutch…and runs are always, er, almost always, a good thing.

[ashbury]

12 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Well…without that sequence, Duran starts the 9th, so…😀

Yes but, as it was, Duran made only 3 pitches to register his out, so unless he woulda gotten 3 outs on 1 pitch each, we can thank Byron and Jovani for collectively saving our bullpen ace a little wear and tear!  Who knows which game in the near future that this will pay off?

[jmlease1]

Nice to see the bats bust out! Would love to see the Twins sweep the series, but any series win is a good series.

Ryan fought through it, which is good to see. Alvarez is going to do for a lot of pitchers this season, so no shame in that, but it was too bad Ryan's control juiced up the bases ahead of him. That's always going to be the key for Ryan: making sure he doesn't put too many ducks on the pond when he gives up a dinger. Normally, you're going to feel very good about a start where he gives up only 3 hits and a walk over 6.

Nice job by the offense today. Plenty of hits, plenty of walks, and the power showed out. 

Moran is really the only pitcher that's looking particularly wobbly so far. I'm still a big believer in his talent and his changeup, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up spending a little time back in AAA to get things sorted.

[Alex Wilde]

I would have liked to have seen Alcala instead of Moran there in the ninth, but that is a seemingly minuscule critique of an otherwise outstanding performance all around!

[2wins87]

1 hour ago, jkcarew said:

One thing I didn’t anticipate…maybe I hadn’t thought it through…is how little we’ve seen of Jeffers…and apparently, how little we’re going to see of him. He’s looked good swinging it (1 K in 10 PA). But with Vasquez solid on both sides, and only 2 guys that can catch on active roster, Jeffers will see a lot of pine for now…can’t even PH, it looks like. I do expect him tomorrow, though.

Jeffers is definitely the guy losing out most from Buxton being DH only for the start of the season. I think he would have started at DH at least twice by now if Buxton were playing the field.

Understandable, but tough for Jeffers who had a good spring and has looked good when he's managed to get into the lineup.

[Shaitan]

HOU sure strikes out a lot.

[Shaitan]

Moran and some others are questionable contributors at this time, but if they keep getting "quality starts" the bullpen sorts itself out and you can use relievers in their best roles.

It's short starts and blowouts that throw it all off-cycle.

[chinmusic]

12 minutes ago, Shaitan said:

HOU sure strikes out a lot

Quite remarkable!

I just checked. The Twins pitching staff ranks 4th out of all 30 teams in strikeouts (not including today's game). So add on, what was it, another 17. 

I mean, Sonny Gray's line yesterday reminded me of Randy Johnson. Amazing.

Confident that Mahle will keep the ball rolling, and bats whiffing, tomorrow.

 

[Rosterman]

Well, Moran is being put in a position to throw strikes. 

Ryan still has to deal with getting his routine busted up when he gets runners on base. He works well with his own rhythm. I am hoping the pitch clock is one thing that will work well with his style of throwing. You are going to give up home runs. You are going to put batters on base. 

[jorgenswest]

4 hours ago, jkcarew said:

I think Ryan could have gone out for the 7th. But, honestly, feel like Rocco sending Ryan out for the 6th was a bit of a milestone moment. I feel like that probably doesn’t happen last year. The number of pitches thrown was fine/low…but it was the 6th inning of a tie game and Ryan was up against Alverez (3rd time, already had beaten him, etc) and the meat of their order.

Nice to see Rocco showing the confidence…even nicer, getting rewarded….fly ball, K, K.

It happened multiple times last year. He faced the number 3 hitter a third time in most starts and some he gave up more than 4 runs.

There was a Yankee game he only made it 19 batters but he had thrown 90 pitches. His first start of the season after the shortened spring was 19 batters and lower pitch count. The same for his first start following his absence for COVID. there was an Angel game in his second to last start where he threw only 69 pitches in 4 innings of three run ball. That might be your best example but at this point the Twins were out of contention and had a bigger pen.

This persistent narrative about Baldelli and third time through isn’t supported by his use of Ryan last year. It isn’t supported by Gray either when you look at his shorts starts clustered around his three IL trips and the start of the season. You could argue that he should have had more confidence in Smeltzer, Archer and Bundy.

[h2oface]

7 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Nice win and the complaints about offense will abate (until tomorrow). Farmer and Solano are showing their worth, I just hope they aren’t full time players until May. Every player has at least one good plate appearance.  
 

Jovani Moran is about halfway to an all-expenses paid visit to Minnesota’s capital city. He certainly isn’t working his way into high-leverage opportunities. 
 

 

 I noticed that Vazquez was calling just about all off speed stuff for Pena all day. 

In the 4th "Jeremy Pena took five straight offspeed pitches (from Ryan) and then struck out looking on an 89 MPH fastball below the zone."  5 off speed for a swinging K in the 7th from Lopez, and in the 9th against Moran, the first change just missed, and Vazquez called the same pitch, gave Moran the target, right down the middle, and he hit it. So did Pena. After seeing 11 out of 12 of the last pitches to him off speed, Pena might have been sitting on it.

 

[FlyingFinn]

4 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Another game tomorrow. Jax, JLópez and Duran have all pitched two straight days. If it’s close and late, do others get the ball? 

Mahle for 7 with Thielbar and Alcala to close it out would be ideal. Thielbar gets the Alvarez/Tucker inning. Even though Duran only threw 3 pitches, he had to warm up twice to do it and teams track that (along with him pitching on Friday).  If you don't get 7 from Mahle, you're looking at.....................Pagan.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

5 hours ago, Squirrel said:

And discovering that mlb.tv now shows the game recap stuff! Yay! No more cut off after the last out

Yes, but this is not available in the archive videos.

[Dave Borton]

Vazquez worked over that Astro lineup, his former teammates.