Twins 4, Red Sox 5: Bizarre Walk-Off Caps Strange Loss in Boston

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Had to duck out early and just saw some highlights. That was the Christian Vazquez game from hell. Even with the high soft throw from Gordon, I think they had the runner out at home. Griffin Jax made a mental error not covering third, add that to the many other mistakes. 

Luckily there’s always a game tomorrow. 

[Shaitan]

Moran has had a few chances to earn his spot now, and he's not taking advantage.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

also wanted to say anyone on the diamond could have shouted to Solano to go back and touch first. He had time. The batter was dogging it too. That play caught everyone sleeping, except for Enrique Hernandez who went to third. 

[Woof Bronzer]

I know I'll get yelled at, but is there a reason Duran couldn't come out again in the 10th?  19 pitches, after 3 days of rest, against a light hitting lineup?  Wasn't Duran a starter as recently as last season?  Our best reliever throwing around 50 pitches a week - while lesser guys like Jax, Acala, Moran throw more - seems suboptimal.  

[Nine of twelve]

I think Rocco's bullpen management was fine up until the fourth batter of the 10th inning, at which point it was obvious that Moran was not having a good night and probably should have been lifted. In innings 6-9 Rocco matched up his pitchers to the opposing batting order and they did their jobs, allowing only one unearned run. We don't know for certain, but had he used lower-leverage pitchers for innings 6-8 the game could well have been over after the top of the ninth. I'm not sure what I think about whether Duran should have taken the 10th inning. High-velocity pitchers need to be fully warmed up to achieve their best stuff and getting cool between innings can make it risky to go back out, in terms both of performance and of injury potential. On a warm summer night I'd be much more inclined to give it a try. Remember, players are not machines. As is the case for every human being, they have physical limitations and taking that into account needs to be of high importance when making decisions about who plays when, where, and how much.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Another outstanding article Matt. Thanks.