Twins 11, Cubs 1: Twins Power Past Cubs

[Hans Birkeland]

After losing a late inning lead the night before, the Twins needed to get a lead early against second year starter Hayden Wesneski, a “quirky” pitcher with a lot of east-west in his game. They accomplished that and then some, hanging seven runs on Wesneski, including four home runs. Joe Ryan went six scoreless for the win.

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan 6 IP 4 H 0 ER 1 BB 10 K (102 Pitches, 76 Strikes, 74.5%)
Home Runs: Kirilloff, 2 (2), Gallo (8), Polanco (3), Correa (6)
Top 3 WPA: Ryan (0.203), Kirilloff (0.149), Gallo (0.124) 

Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

Joe Ryan navigates pesky Cubs lineup
Coming off of two straight non-wins, Joe Ryan was in decent form, establishing his fastball early and showing his usual excellent command. He allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in the second, third and fourth, but pitched around trouble with some key strikeouts, most of them on the fastball. Ryan finished strong, including striking out Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki consecutively in his final inning. Maybe he’s really good?

Toward the middle of Ryan’s outing, Cubs’ hitters were able to get on top of his fastball on a few occasions, with Eric Hosmer demolishing a high fastball for a foul ball in the second, Bellinger just missing a home run in the third and Christopher Morel flying out to deep left in the fourth. It may have seemed that a stiff breeze at Target Field was suppressing fly balls, but a couple of Twins surely disproved that theory.

An atypical 1-2 punch
With Max Kepler hitting the injured list, and Byron Buxton taking a much-needed day off, the Twins were left with an interesting decision on who would lead off the game. Joey Gallo ended up being the choice, with the resurgent Alex Kirilloff behind him. Gallo absolutely demolished a high fastball 110 MPH to lead off the game, but hit it way too high in the air, eventually settling in right fielder Suzuki’s glove.

Kirilloff continued his run of quality at-bats while looking at his most vintage in the first inning, lacing an outside fastball to the opposite field for a 102 MPH home run to start the scoring. That would count for his first extra base hit of the year. Not to be outdone, Gallo made up for his near miss by crushing a three-run bomb in the third that apparently broke statcast, because no exit velocity was provided on Baseball Savant.

Kirilloff made sure to get the last word by depositing a Wesneski slider over the center field wall for his second home run, this one at 101 MPH. He added a fifth-inning double for good measure to raise his slugging percentage to .875. He may not be 100% with his wrist, but he sure looks like a lineup savior at this point.

Trevor Larnach makes his return
You could have blinked and missed Trevor Larnach’s demotion to Triple-A St. Paul. Returning to the lineup, Larnach resumed his struggles identifying pitches. In the first, Hayden Wesneski went sweeper, slider, cutter, cutter to strike Larnach out. In the third, he fisted a Wesneski fastball over a drawn-in shortstop for a broken bat single. In the fifth he battled a tiring Wesneski for seven pitches and ended up striking out on a well-located cutter.

Willi Castro starts rally by not being aggressive
The Twins four run third inning was almost snuffed out before it started, as Willi Castro golfed a line drive down the right field line and was smelling a triple. With Suzuki picking the ball up quickly, his throw was almost to second base as Castro was rounding it. He smartly picked up Tommy Watkins' stop sign and retreated back for a leadoff double. Ryan Jeffers (now hitting .292 after going 2-2 with a walk and hit-by-pitch) then walked before Gallo broke the game open with his three-run bomb to right-center.

What’s Next
Louie Varland (0-0, 4.32 ERA) tries to get the Twins a series win facing veteran Marcus Stroman (2-3, 2.28 ERA). Varland is coming off his best outing of the year, holding the talented Padres lineup to one run over six innings on Tuesday.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Jax	18	17	0	26	0	61
Alcala	23	0	0	33	0	56
Sands	0	0	0	0	54	54
Pagán	24	0	12	0	0	36
Stewart	0	9	25	0	0	34
Morán	0	0	0	9	24	33
Lopez	0	17	15	0	0	32
Durán	0	17	0	0	0	17

View full article

[jkcarew]

Didn’t see the game…but the Kirilloff power sure is encouraging in regards to his confidence with the wrist. Fingers crossed.

Now I expect Rocco to give him the start next time we see a lefty starter. If not, he’ll have some ‘slainin to do!

[jimbo92107]

I think Ryan could get some cheap strike one's by starting with his sweeper, 80 percent out of the zone, then hooking into the zone the last 20 percent. Betcha he could do it. Batters would just stand there, like, "I ain't swinging at that." 

[stringer bell]

18 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Didn’t see the game…but the Kirilloff power sure is encouraging in regards to his confidence with the wrist. Fingers crossed.

Now I expect Rocco to give him the start next time we see a lefty starter. If not, he’ll have some ‘slainin to do!

I agree that Kirilloff should be considered for everyday play. I think his approach would be good against same-side pitchers. As long as the wrist is feeling good, he should be in there. just about every day. 

[BsuNemo]

Need to keep this up now! Keep AK up near the top lineup, get buck back into cf and don't believe a damn thing out of Rocco's mouth when it comes to injuries. Really hoping Larnach and Miranda will find it in triple a and still add some value to the offense before the end of the year. Need to be consistent now. 

[IndianaTwin]

@USAFChief, it’s a receding hare line. 

[USAFChief]

15 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

@USAFChief, it’s a receding hare line. 

 

[h2oface]

Kinda wish they could save some of those runs for tomorrow and the next day. They sure looked good today. First in the Central, last in the East. Good thing we are in the Central. I hope they don't get the getaway blues and play to win all game tomorrow. Keep it up and the fans will come.

[USAFChief]

Ryan really impressive.

[D.C Twins]

Nice work... Now release Bubble-Wrapped Buck to run free in his natural CF habitat!

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, stringer bell said:

I agree that Kirilloff should be considered for everyday play. I think his approach would be good against same-side pitchers. As long as the wrist is feeling good, he should be in there. just about every day. 

75% or more of the guys we face are RH. There’s no reason to force a pretty decent Platoon bat out of the line-up just to see if Kiriloff will succeed. He needs days off just like everybody else. No reason to abuse the wrist.

[stringer bell]

15 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

75% or more of the guys we face are RH. There’s no reason to force a pretty decent Platoon bat out of the line-up just to see if Kiriloff will succeed. He needs days off just like everybody else. No reason to abuse the wrist.

If he’s the talent that I believe he is, he should be playing every day. Nobody knows for sure if he needs time for his wrist, but if he doesn’t I’d like to see him out there much more than on a platoon basis. 
 

Donovan Solano has below-average hitting numbers and is 35. AK is a decade younger and might still be a special hitter. 

[Wedman13]

2 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Didn’t see the game…but the Kirilloff power sure is encouraging in regards to his confidence with the wrist. Fingers crossed.

Now I expect Rocco to give him the start next time we see a lefty starter. If not, he’ll have some ‘slainin to do!

 

2 hours ago, jimbo92107 said:

I think Ryan could get some cheap strike one's by starting with his sweeper, 80 percent out of the zone, then hooking into the zone the last 20 percent. Betcha he could do it. Batters would just stand there, like, "I ain't swinging at that." 

Just threw 6 shut out innings, his year has been incredible.  Not sure I'd change it up?

[Wedman13]

Can Statcast please release the length of Gallo's bomb?  Hilarious it 'broke' Statcast yet it worked a minute later for AK's

[FlyingFinn]

Sands was terrible. He was so good in Wichita two years ago. Probably in St. Paul tomorrow. About time to see Balazovic. The Twins 40 man roster has some flexibility right now with 2 DFA candidates - Derek Rodriguez and Sands.

[Nashvilletwin]

Nice win today - great to see some bats back.  Bullpen, although only giving up one run, was again uninspiring. It’s a big issue going forward.

Let’s take the series tomorrow!

[PopRiveter]

45 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

75% or more of the guys we face are RH. There’s no reason to force a pretty decent Platoon bat out of the line-up just to see if Kiriloff will succeed. He needs days off just like everybody else. No reason to abuse the wrist.

Ok, but the offense is 5th worst in the AL in both runs-per-game and OPS. It would be a shame to waste this run of pitching. 
If he’s swinging well and there are not indications that the wrist is a problem, let him bat a lot.

Alex is 25.5 years old. His prime starts now. He’s nearing make-or-break time. 

I want him to play. Hoping his wrist agrees.

[jkcarew]

48 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

75% or more of the guys we face are RH. There’s no reason to force a pretty decent Platoon bat out of the line-up just to see if Kiriloff will succeed. He needs days off just like everybody else. No reason to abuse the wrist.

Who are these ‘pretty decent’ platoon bats of which you speak?
Solano with his career OPS against lefties of 707 (worse this year)?

Or Castro and his 699 (also worse this year)?

But, yes…if the plan is to have Kirilloff play 75% of games (or whatever) because the wrist can’t handle more…that’s different. Then, might as well try to line those days up with lefty starters as much as possible.

 

[rv78]

With Max Kepler hitting the injured list, and Byron Buxton taking a much-needed day off, 

 

Please explain to me why someone who is playing DH needs a day off? Does he get tired walking from the bench to the batters box 4 times a game? He only gets on base about once per game so it isn't from running the bases. There's never been a more babied player in baseball than the ever precious Buxton this year.

[MplsFan]

9 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Sands was terrible. He was so good in Wichita two years ago. Probably in St. Paul tomorrow. About time to see Balazovic. The Twins 40 man roster has some flexibility right now with 2 DFA candidates - Derek Rodriguez and Sands.

Cole Sands who struck out 2 in 2 innings of no hit ball last night and whose ERA is 1.50 was “terrible”?

Interesting definition of “terrible”

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I absolutely hate walks allowed by relievers whether there is a big lead by the Twins or a little lead, or no lead. Hate them. No walks by relievers. Just throw the ball over the plate. They are demoralizing.

[mikelink45]

Kiriloff has looked great and might be a major part of the offensive puzzle, but for the team this guy threw batting practice.  I need to see some more 4 and 5 run games.  We have had 25 of the 40 games with 4 or less runs - 4 shutouts, 3 one run, 7 2 run, 5 3run and 8 four runs.

I have to join the chorus on Buxton - rest a DH?  My real question is - does he take batting practice before sitting down for the game?

[jmlease1]

An excellent win. Ryan is off to a fantastic start this season and the new pitch mix sure seems to have him in a groove. It'll be interesting to see if he can improve a little on finishing off hitters faster; it's basically the only thing he needs to get better on right now.

Nice to see the offense break out, lot of guys had been scrabbling, so it's good to see several guys get it going at once. Correa looks like he might be heating up, which we need. Gallo is going to be a boom or bust player and that's going to be frustrating, but the highs have been higher than the lows and his defense makes it much more palatable to get through the slumps.

Kirilloff is rolling, which is wonderful to see. His bat has always had the potential to be special, and it's really only the injuries that have ever held him back. The power production is the best sign right now: every time his wrist has been barking at him, his power has fallen down through the floor. 

Sands really can't give up 5 walks when the team is up big like that. He got through it, but next time he's going to get killed. Happy he finished off the game, but he's got to do better. He may be riding a 1.50 ERA, but his FIP and WHIP are dreadful; he's been more lucky than good.

[John Belinski]

It sure looks like AK will help the Twins with some much needed hitting.  

[FlyingFinn]

48 minutes ago, MplsFan said:

Cole Sands who struck out 2 in 2 innings of no hit ball last night and whose ERA is 1.50 was “terrible”?

Interesting definition of “terrible”

5 walks in 2 IP when you are ahead by 7 or more runs and Duran has to start warming up in the pen and you get the umpire call on a borderline 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded in which the batter and manager for the other team get thrown out. That qualifies as terrible in my book.

[Squirrel]

11 hours ago, h2oface said:

Kinda wish they could save some of those runs for tomorrow and the next day. They sure looked good today. First in the Central, last in the East. Good thing we are in the Central. I hope they don't get the getaway blues and play to win all game tomorrow. Keep it up and the fans will come.

They’d be tied for first in the NL Central and 2nd everywhere else. And every division leader so far would be 3rd in the AL East the East is that good. But like you, I had the same thought … save some runs for today. We’ll see.

[Whitey333]

Sands is proving again he is not a major league pitcher.  Kiriloff I. Hope his wrist holds up.  Kind of curious that Rocco pinch hit for him after he got three hits including 2 Homer's.  I hope we don't have to wrap him in  bubble wrap like they do Buxton

Let's not get too excited after one very good offensive showing.  Buxton is in a 0-25 slump.  Correa does NOT look like he's coming out of a slump yet but I hope so.  Gallo hits a mammoth homerun and people forget he is hitting around 190 which is near his 199 CAREER.  I sure hope the offense can be more consistently good than bad.  Go Twins

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

Correa does NOT look like he's coming out of a slump yet but I hope so

Oh, I don’t know. He’s had a hit in three games in a row now and yesterday he was 2 for 5 with a homerun, a single and 2 rbi. Thursday night his hit was as clutch as it gets and why we won that game. I’m not going to proclaim ‘He’s back’ quite yet, but I do think that looks hopeful.

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

Gallo hits a mammoth homerun and people forget he is hitting around 190 which is near his 199 CAREER

He is above .200 now, which is nothing more than a nit. I hope he, too, continues to hit, but I’m not holding my breath, either. I don’t think anyone is forgetting who Gallo is but he had a good game. Acknowledging that doesn’t mean we think anything more than that.  But, omg, that home run was MAMMOTH. It was so mammoth it is worthy of forgetting, just for a minute. Even Wesneski’s (Cubs pitcher) expression tells it all. It broke statcast.

[JDubs]

2 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Gallo hits a mammoth homerun and people forget he is hitting around 190 which is near his 199 CAREER.

He currently has a .906 OPS, good for a 146 OPS+. One of the many reasons batting average is not a good stat to rely on is that it drastically undervalues power relative to contact. If you only get one hit every 5 at bats but that hit goes 500 feet, that's a lot more valuable than 2 singles in those 5 at bats.

[Hans Birkeland]

3 hours ago, rv78 said:

With Max Kepler hitting the injured list, and Byron Buxton taking a much-needed day off, 

 

Please explain to me why someone who is playing DH needs a day off? Does he get tired walking from the bench to the batters box 4 times a game? He only gets on base about once per game so it isn't from running the bases. There's never been a more babied player in baseball than the ever precious Buxton this year.

I think anyone who has played 14 straight and gone 0 for 25 deserves a day off.