Red Sox 11, Twins 5: Bullpen Implodes After Maeda Injury

[Theodore Tollefson]

The Twins played their final game of their east coast road trip in Boston on Thursday afternoon. They followed their blowout win with a blowout loss and a familiar reliever returned to his usual antics of throwing meatballs as he did in 2022. 

A ninth-inning comeback still wasn't enough to overcome Emilio Pagan's deficit. 

Image courtesy of Eric Canha, USA Today Sports

Box Score
SP: Kenta Maeda 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K (28 pitches, 15 strikes (53.5% strikes))
Home Runs: Willi Castro (1)
Bottom 3 WPA: Emilio Pagan -.299, Jose Miranda -.041, Nick Gordon -.032

Win Probability Chart

Maeda’s Day Shortened 
The day did not go quite as planned for the Twins and Kenta Maeda, who made his first start in 10 days. Unfortunately, Maeda had to exit the game early with an injury concern. 

On the bright side the injury was on his left leg and not anything related to his throwing arm. The reality of the injury though could have him missing another start as he was hit by a line drive that came 111.6 MPH off Jarren Duran’s bat. The line drive caused a left ankle contusion which will require x-rays. 

Pagan Implodes Out of Bullpen 
All good things must come to an end eventually and today’s game saw the end of Emilio Pagan’s strong start to the 2023 season. Pagan was the first reliever out of the Twins bullpen following Maeda, and the Red Sox took full advantage, scoring six runs on seven hits. 

Pagan remained in the game for the fourth inning, retired the first two batters he faced, but was removed after giving up a single off the Green Monster to Justin Turner. His final line for the day showed six earned runs on eight hits. 

A Fan Fair Fifth
The Twins finally got a run in the fifth inning, and they had Red Sox fans to thank for it. Willi Castro hit a double that bounced near the edge of the left field bleachers, which was picked up by a fan and turned into a double. 

Next, Max Kepler hit a double to right field. It was touched by a fan but remained in the field of play. Kepler tried for a triple but the fan interference kept him at second. 

Additional Bullpen Weaknesses Showing Cracks
The two relievers that followed Pagan in this game were Jorge Alcala and Jovani Moran. Alcala worked in the fifth, and Yu Chang hit a two-run home run off him to put the Red Sox up 10-3. He at least finished the afternoon strong in the sixth facing the minimum batters.

Moran had the final two innings of the game and his struggles to start the 2023 continued to show. He failed to face the minimum number of batters in either inning and struggled to make his pitches where Christian Vazquez wanted them. 

Other Notes
Willi Castro hit his first home run in a Twins uniform in the top of the seventh to close the wide gap on the scoreboard. Castro was also the Twins final pitcher of the afternoon as they trailed 11-3 in the bottom of the eighth. Castro was the only Twins pitcher to face the minimum number of hitters on five pitches. 

The Twins made noise in the ninth to get a couple of runs back. Edouard Julien his first chance at a grand slam in the Majors. Julien got an RBI single to bring in a run, but Kepler overran third base trying to score a second run, fled back to third base and was tagged out to end the game. 

What’s Next? 
The Twins return home Friday for a long, 10-game homestand that kicks off against the Washington Nationals. Tyler Mahle (1-2, 4.11 ERA) gets the start for the Twins against the Nationals Trevor Williams (1-1, 3.52 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Postgame Interview 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[Chachi]

Today confirmed that Pagan is in mid-season form.

[William K Johnson]

Hopefully some roster moves will be made on the flight home.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Glad to hear Maeda’s injury wasn’t arm related. I was multitasking during meetings and missed important details.

[garn from vancouver]

who amongst us is at all surprised? show of hands...

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Why do I get the feeling that Pagan could have had 20 good outings, then this one, and people would still be calling for his head.

No apologist here, but one outing does not a season make 

[Chachi]

10 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Why do I get the feeling that Pagan could have had 20 good outings, then this one, and people would still be calling for his head.

No apologist here, but one outing does not a season make 

Understand your point - confirmation bias is for sure involved on some level.  Would be a really good problem to have if we're having the same conversation after 20 good outings!  Happy to root for that.

[Doctor Gast]

I have to say this has been the most disappointing series so far. How Boston had been playing, I was expecting a sweep. Pagan has to climax that disappointment. Hoping that he could handle the low leverage role but when things don't go right for him he completely loses it. He has been given long enough rope to hang himself (figuratively speaking). What good is having the stuff without harnessing himself? Although he has worn out his welcome to maybe most fans, FO will keep him. Moran probably needs more seasoning in AAA, Alcala I don't know what we can do. Hats off to Castro for his 1st Twins HR. 

[USAFChief]

The tone of that road trip sure took a 180 after Friday night.

 

Thankfully it appears no fracture for Maeda.

[killebrewlover]

I'd like to give Pagan the benefit of the doubt.  But it's difficult given his history going back to last year.  I'm afraid that the Twins are behind a rock and a hard spot.  Unless they can get some unexpected help from the minors, we're likely to see a repeat of last years drawn out spiral into bullpen pitching mediocrity.  Unfortunate about Maeda's continued problems with injuries.  But these are the times when the rest of the pitching staff, and in particular the bullpen, have to make a difference.  It's not happening...

[ValleySpringsFan]

Nice feeling to know Bailey Ober can step up if Maeda needs some time on the IL.

[D.C Twins]

I wish Maeda a fast recovery but the one silver lining is that it is.... 

Ober Time! (I'm bullish like many on his potential)

I'm actually ready to end the Moran experiment faster than the Pagan experiment this year.... 

[LiamC]

Also, what a trooper is Maeda! Finishing the play after that liner??? Yikes! Hope he heals quick!

[Greglw3]

1 hour ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Why do I get the feeling that Pagan could have had 20 good outings, then this one, and people would still be calling for his head.

No apologist here, but one outing does not a season make 

That's a far leap in logic. He hasn’t had 20 good outings or even probably 5 since he’s been here. He’s been horrible, probably even worse that Ron Davis. And he was, is and probably will be the reliever with the most HR/9 IP in baseball history.

[Greglw3]

1 hour ago, killebrewlover said:

I'd like to give Pagan the benefit of the doubt.  But it's difficult given his history going back to last year.  I'm afraid that the Twins are behind a rock and a hard spot.  Unless they can get some unexpected help from the minors, we're likely to see a repeat of last years drawn out spiral into bullpen pitching mediocrity.  Unfortunate about Maeda's continued problems with injuries.  But these are the times when the rest of the pitching staff, and in particular the bullpen, have to make a difference.  It's not happening...

The FO consciously chose not to address the bullpen problem. Now they and we are paying for it.

[DocBauer]

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. A single, horrendous outing should never spell doom for anyone. But Pagan has been doing this since the Twins acquired him. He had a couple decent but tightrope appearances to begin 2022 and a couple decent appearances to begin this year. If you just look at the scales of performance, they tip very heavily toward "not good".  I don't know who should replace him, but almost anyone could/should at this point. 

Moran hasn't had a great start to the season. But I'm not sure if he has anything to prove at AAA and might be better served working with the Twins coaches.

Sure hope Maeda is going to be OK. Good news nothing is broke and he was walking around on his own in the clubhouse without any support. But swelling and soreness might still be a lingering issue for a few days. Ober time?

 

[jkcarew]

I don't know if the narrative for this game would be "bullpen implodes".

IMO, Pagan imploded...

then the rest of the game was low leverage guys challenging every hitter by throwing the ball over the plate early and often to speed things up and get the guys off the field, into the showers, and on the plane.

[jkcarew]

16 minutes ago, Greglw3 said:

The FO consciously chose not to address the bullpen problem. Now they and we are paying for it.

Well, the Twins went into the game with the 5th best bullpen ERA in the majors. So, I don't think they're paying for anything quite yet. We'll see how things progress (or regress).

[chinmusic]

1 hour ago, LiamC said:

Also, what a trooper is Maeda!

Yes. That was impressive!

[Nine of twelve]

1 hour ago, ValleySpringsFan said:

Nice feeling to know Bailey Ober can step up if Maeda needs some time on the IL.

Or Varland. He can be recalled before 15 days if Maeda goes on the IL

[Nine of twelve]

2 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Why do I get the feeling that Pagan could have had 20 good outings, then this one, and people would still be calling for his head.

No apologist here, but one outing does not a season make 

If Pagan had had 20 good outings we wouldn't be so upset. But there were only 5.

[Aerodeliria]

They have this rule now if a reliever comes into a game and pitches poorly but manages to finish the inning and his team rallies in the bottom of the inning and takes the lead and holds it that official scorers can opt to give the W to a different pitcher. Why isn't the reverse true? (It seems quite harsh to give Mae-ken the loss after two innings when Pagan imploded.)

[Peter]

Ugly way to end road trip but I’ll take 7-6 against Astros/white sox/Yankees and Red Sox. Could’ve easily be 4-9. We passed difficult part of schedule. 11-8 still in first. That’s all that matters. Kenta took nasty hit to shin. Thankfully nothing is broken. With Washington/Yankees and Kansas City upcoming should be winning home stand. Better days are ahead for twins!! Have faith!!! 

[PatPfund]

Moran has plenty to prove at AAA (he has hardly pitched at that level, and he pitched pretty poorly when he did; 24 IP, 14 BB, 6.00 ERA, 1.6+ WHIP), and he should start on that tomorrow. Call up Ober in his stead if Maeda is not going on the IL, and regardless, start Ober in Maeda's slot next time around.

I also had enough of the Archer dance last year, and would rather the Twins just put Kenta on IL for 10 days then give him rehab starts in St Paul. If after 3 or 4 he is strong enough for a regular turn, great; if not, just leave Ober in there, and let Maeda work out of the 'pen until he feels he is ready for a stretch-out and return to the rotation. (They need to control Maeda's innings anyway, this lets them do it.) Maeda instead of Moran in the bullpen sounds great to me.

Pagán should be gone after this... but let's face it. He has pictures of Falvine and Rocco, or he has them hypnotized, or whatever. But sadly the "magic" probably still holds, and we are stuck with Emilio randomly blowing up on us for eternity.

[Joey Self]

I am FAR from a Pagan apologist, but that third inning turned when Julian couldn't hold the line drive from Verdugo.  Devers doubled him in, and Turner popped out for what would have been the third out.  Yes, all earned runs, yes, you gotta pitch around such, but it was THAT close to being a good inning for him.  

JcS

[jorgenswest]

Maeda should go to IL and then a rehab assignment. Give Ober or Varland the opportunity to get a spot in the rotation and not give it back. Though this wasn’t related to Maeda’s arm it is an opportunity to give him some more time with the arm also. A healthy Maeda will be an asset to this staff.

The myth that somehow they can hide Pagán in a low leverage role was busted today if there was really anyone who believed that role exists. I do believe there is value in a 13th spot flex role with Sands and now Headrick. That role is an opportunity there to impress and move up the ladder as Jax did last year. Someone needs to step up in that role and claim Pagán’s spot.

[Vanimal46]

What would change putting Maeda in the pen? The dude is throwing 88. That’s not going to play anywhere in modern baseball. 

[mikelink45]

3 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Why do I get the feeling that Pagan could have had 20 good outings, then this one, and people would still be calling for his head.

No apologist here, but one outing does not a season make 

For Pagan it does.  

[tony&rodney]

59 minutes ago, Joey Self said:

that third inning turned when Julian couldn't hold the line drive from Verdugo.

Julien is not an accomplished defensive player at all, but he has a quick first step (why he can steal bases) and that ball was smoked. Eddy was lucky to get his glove on that ball. It was a helluva effort. None of the guys who play second base for the Twins would have caught that ball. Poor Pagan has excellent stuff that so many guys barrel up consistently or so it seems.

[Blyleven2011]

What do the 3 relievers that pitched in today's loss have in common  ???

They all are afraid to throw strikes , they nibble off the plate  ...