Twins 4, White Sox 3: Lopez Dominates in another Wild Walk-Off Win!

[tarheeltwinsfan]

The test of a man is, when he falls down, does he give up, or get up! Both P. Lopez and J. Duran fell down immediately in their appearances last night. Then Lopez retired 23 in a row and Duran struck out the side. I give them both A +'s. 

[Blyleven2011]

Lopez was on his game after the first inning ...

In his 3 starts he has only surrendered runs in the first inning , 0 in his first start against  KC , 1 in his 2nd start against miami , 2 in his 3rd start against Chicago  ...

23 batters retired in a row was awesome and he just dazzled  and pitched into the eighth  ....

Sure miss major leaguer  ( arreaz  ) as it took a real major leaguer to hit for the first cycle in marlins history  ...

Arreaz is a very exciting player to watch and I'm sure he is a fan favorite by now ...

Lopez so far looks like a polished pitcher and I hope he continues  and stays healthy  ...

[DJL44]

3 hours ago, Jeff D. said:

Wow.............I cannot remember the last time a Twins starter got nailed in the first and was so dominant during the rest of the outing

Sounds like every Brad Radke start.

[Tibs]

I think before saying anything about the offense we need to acknowledge that 5/9 preseason expected starters aren't even playing right now. Polanco and Kirilloff starting on the IL already put the lineup behind, then 3 additional starters having to sit out/be placed on the IL this early in the season has really had the lineup counting on depth players more often than we would like.

Hopefully Julien provides a spark until guys can get healthy.

[mikelink45]

17 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Lopez was on his game after the first inning ...

In his 3 starts he has only surrendered runs in the first inning , 0 in his first start against  KC , 1 in his 2nd start against miami , 2 in his 3rd start against Chicago  ...

23 batters retired in a row was awesome and he just dazzled  and pitched into the eighth  ....

Sure miss major leaguer  ( arreaz  ) as it took a real major leaguer to hit for the first cycle in marlins history  ...

Arreaz is a very exciting player to watch and I'm sure he is a fan favorite by now ...

Lopez so far looks like a polished pitcher and I hope he continues  and stays healthy  ...

https://www.mlb.com/news/luis-arraez-hits-for-marlins-first-cycle  Yes they are very happy with Luis - this is a must watch video, but happily we are also very pleased with Lopez. 

[cheeseheadgophfan]

4 hours ago, h2oface said:

Thanks  @Steven Trefz for all the inserted videos. 8 of them I really appreciate it. Classy. 

As good as Lopez pitched, it still didn't bring the win in the end, because of the offense. We will miss Luis Arraez everyday, not just every 5th day. Winning? People love to say win-win, I guess. Lopez pitching this way certainly helps. Yes, we needed better pitching. Too bad the method was by trade instead of free agency or the farm. 

Lopez's pitching "didn't bring the win in the end"?????  Uh, yes it did.  Without going 7 2/3 and giving up only 2 runs, do you think they win?  So the only way pitching "brings the win" is if they throw a shut-out?  What do you think the score is if Bundy or Archer are starting like last year???

Losing Arraez sucks....I get it.  But hitting for the cycle maybe contributes 2 runs of offense....right?  Maybe 3?  Archer or Bundy would've given that up within 4 innings.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

"Daddy, why can't we have both Arraez and Lopez?"

"Jimmy, you're old enough to know that we Minnesotans have to do without some nice things in order to enjoy our quality of life. No winning presidential candidates, no Super Bowls, no lineups loaded top-to-bottom with talent for us, no Sir.  So snap on your bobber, bait your hook and be quiet, or the fish won't bite." 

[dex8425]

12 hours ago, Althebum82 said:

Generically as a modern-day MLB strategy with no pitchers batting and a runner already in "scoring position", it is still a surprise to see a bunt attempted, much less successful.  But, it is also true that Taylor is the starter most likely to try it, even though he has never had more than two sacrifices per season over a fairly long career.

Analytics don't favor giving away outs. Bunting reduces overall run expectancy. However, in that situation last night, you only need one run, not multiple. Taylor isn't a great hitter and is supposedly a good bunter. And you've got Solano, a contact guy, coming up next. So you could win the game without a base hit. It's a defensible strategy even from an analytical standpoint to bunt there. 

If I'm the away team, I wouldn't bunt the guy over to third. 

[Steven Trefz]

In running some numbers on away team stats, I discovered the new extra inning rules seem to favor the away team, but again who a team has left in the bullpen or who is playing positions in the field that aren’t “optimal” due to end of game batting substitutions are tough to quantify.

I was holding my breath with Thielbar’s entry in the 8th, having been there in person for the last Marlins 8th inning where he gave up the HR…but he’s resilient!

[DJL44]

48 minutes ago, Tibs said:

I think before saying anything about the offense we need to acknowledge that 5/9 preseason expected starters aren't even playing right now. Polanco and Kirilloff starting on the IL already put the lineup behind, then 3 additional starters having to sit out/be placed on the IL this early in the season has really had the lineup counting on depth players more often than we would like.

Hopefully Julien provides a spark until guys can get healthy.

They're winning with half of their offensive starters on the injured list, Correa and Miranda struggling and Buxton limited to full-time DH. 

Vazquez has nearly earned his salary for the year and we're halfway through April. That was one of the best free agent signings by any team this offseason.

The Farmer trade has also paid off very well so far.

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Lopez and Arraez trying to match one another is a great trade story.

Pablo - 1 - 0 (should be more) 1.35 era, 0.650 whip 0.9 WAR

Arraez - 537/596/732 - OPS 1.327 1.3 WAR.

One of those might even be sustainable.

[Jocko87]

31 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Vazquez has nearly earned his salary for the year and we're halfway through April. That was one of the best free agent signings by any team this offseason.

Fangraphs has him at $2.3m value already, he might actually make it by mid May!  Pretty good. 

[ashbury]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Lopez and Arraez trying to match one another is a great trade story.

Pablo - 1 - 0 (should be more) 1.35 era, 0.650 whip 0.9 WAR

Arraez - 537/596/732 - OPS 1.327 1.3 WAR.

 

41 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

One of those might even be sustainable.

Which, the 1.35 ERA or the .537 BA?

[h2oface]

6 hours ago, cheeseheadgophfan said:

Lopez's pitching "didn't bring the win in the end"?????  Uh, yes it did.  Without going 7 2/3 and giving up only 2 runs, do you think they win?  So the only way pitching "brings the win" is if they throw a shut-out?  What do you think the score is if Bundy or Archer are starting like last year???

Losing Arraez sucks....I get it.  But hitting for the cycle maybe contributes 2 runs of offense....right?  Maybe 3?  Archer or Bundy would've given that up within 4 innings.

I hear you. Lopez performance certainly deserved to bring the win. But as baseball rules go, once the score is tied again, and you are not in the game anymore, the win is not yours. 
 

No game has ever been won, no matter how good your pitching is, without your bats scoring, and scoring more than the other guys. Not one. 

[Jocko87]

47 minutes ago, ashbury said:

 

Which, the 1.35 ERA or the .537 BA?

Yes?

[PuckettProtector]

They had the coolest intro for Duran when he came in to pitch the 9th. I wish I could find video of it. 

[mikelink45]

5 hours ago, ashbury said:

 

Which, the 1.35 ERA or the .537 BA?

I go with the 537