MIN 9, TOR 7: Twins Ride Rookies, Willi Castro to Big Win Over Blue Jays

[Hans Birkeland]

Ed Julien had three extra-base hits, including an opposite field home run, Matt Wallner collected four hits including a home run, and Willi Castro hit two home runs to dead center field. That backed a decent effort from Pablo López in a much-needed victory for the Twins.

Jorge Lopez continued his struggles and made it interesting in the ninth, but Brock Stewart was nails in getting the final three outs of the game against the top of the powerful Blue Jays lineup.

Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
SP: Pablo López: 5.2 IP 5 H 4 ER 3 BB 6 K 2 HR (88 Pitches, 54 Strikes, 61.4 %)
Home Runs: Willi Castro 2 (4), Matt Wallner (1), Edouard Julien (4)
Top 3 WPA: Wallner (0.272), Castro (0.231), Julien (0.182)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

Bo Bichette is unconsciously good, beats Pablo López twice
Coming off a solid start against the Angels in which his bullpen cost him a loss, Pablo López struggled a little with his command. He gave up a first inning home run to Bichette, who looked unstoppable in driving a pitch off his knuckles into the second deck in left field.

Bichette got López again in the third, but the groundwork was laid by nine-hole hitter and catcher Tyler Heineman drawing a walk and George Springer lacing a fat changeup into center field to set up Bichette’s two-run triple. López got out of trouble, but not of his own merit, striking out a struggling Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a fastball down the middle, walking Brandon Belt and getting Matt Chapman to line out (106.3 MPH) to a leaping Matt Wallner, ending the threat.

López was okay after that outside of a hanging breaking ball that Cavan Biggio deposited over the scoreboard in right center to tie the game in the fourth, exiting after allowing a walk with two outs in the sixth.

Twins beat a hot pitcher
Chris Bassitt was cruising coming into this start, pitching to a sub- 1.00 ERA so far in May and relying, somewhat like Sonny Gray, on throwing a multitude of quality pitches all around the strike zone despite lacking high-end velocity. It was the Twins’ most inexperienced hitters that got to him, with Alex Kirilloff, Wallner and Julien all collecting multiple hits off the righty, before Willi Castro gave the Twins the lead with his two-run home run in the sixth.

Kirilloff breaks his slump
A poor stretch from Kirilloff, including plenty of strikeouts and ground outs, prompted some speculation that his wrist was bothering him again, a beyond-ominous thought given the overall struggles of the Twins offense. He put those fears to rest (for now) by grounding out sharply for an RBI in the first and lining singles to left and then right in his next two at-bats. He scored in both those instances. 

Twins ruin Dalton Varsho’s day on back-to-back pitches
After Kirilloff’s leadoff single in the fifth, Willi Castro rocked a low cutter off the top of Varsho’s glove for a go-ahead two-run home run. Not to be outdone, Matt Wallner contributed his third hit of the day, blasting a middle-middle fastball off of Varsho’s glove in left-center, giving López some much-needed breathing room and knocking Chris Bassitt from the game. Varsho was only in center because platinum glove center fielder Kevin Kiermaier had exited early with a back issue.

Wallner shows off bat, arm, and defensive deficiencies
Wallner had a huge hit in the first inning, driving in two by waiting on a Bassitt off-speed pitch. He then reached first on a soft infield pop-up and homered in the fifth to the deepest part of the park. He later added a single in the seventh raising his batting average from .077 to .294 in the process. He mis-played Bichette’s triple to right center in the third as well as a potential double from Belt in the sixth, but recovered in the latter instance to gun down Belt from the warning track, an incredible throw that showed the ridiculous arm Wallner possesses.

What’s Next: 
Bailey Ober (3-1, 2.55 ERA) goes against old friend José Berríos (4-4, 4.22 ERA) in the rubber game. Berríos has recovered some since looking like a payroll-busting albatross in the first year of his six year deal with the Jays, pitching to a 3.77 ERA in May, though he has allowed six home runs. Ober is coming off of his worst start of the season against the Giants where he allowed the first four hitters he faced to score before settling down and pitching four scoreless after that.

Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Morán	10	24	0	0	9	43
Stewart	10	20	0	0	13	43
De León	0	21	0	19	0	40
J. López	18	0	0	0	22	40
Pagán	9	0	0	21	0	30
Durán	0	13	0	0	12	25
Jax	18	0	0	0	0	18
Sands	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

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[jkcarew]

Tip of the hat to Rocco who tried something different with the bullpen. I wouldn’t say that it necessarily ‘worked’…but IMO he needed to try something different. At the end of the day, his best reliever pitched a scoreless inning in a game the club won by two runs. Also, he got Stewart out there before it was too late.

[ashbury]

11 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

At the end of the day, his best reliever pitched a scoreless inning

.... against the meat of the Toronto lineup.  The fact that this part of the lineup came up again in the 9th inning is the fault of the pitcher who succeeded* him by not taking care of business against the bottom of the order, not the fault of the bullpen strategy.

* I use the term "succeed" loosely

[jmlease1]

Wild day for Wallner, who looked excellent at the plate and a bit lost in the field. The throw to get the runner at second was fantastic, but it was also on a ball he should have caught. 

Jorge Lopez is definitely in a bit of a bad patch right now, which is too bad; this team needs him to be his shutdown self, especially with Jax scrabbling. We're definitely in a bit of a pinch with both of those guys out of sorts, and I'm not sure we want to be too reliant on Brock Stewart (who has done the job, though).

Nice to see Julien looking comfortable at the plate. His bat is a nice boon. Props to Willi Castro for doing the job wherever he's been asked to go and whatever he's been asked to do. I wasn't thrilled about his signing, but he's turning out to be a useful utility guy and the flexibility is a real asset.

[Squirrel]

I think there will be some tough decisions ahead as players come off the IL. I’m willing to give up some on defense to have the much needed offense. Wallner should have caught that, but, he did get the out with his arm, and provided much needed offense. Not sure I’d swap him for Kepler right now, depending on which Kepler we get back. And I think Castro has earned his spot as the super utility/26th man on the roster. And we need Julian’s bat. Hope they all keep hitting.

[UK Twin]

What a great job by Stewart pitching out of the mess Lopez created. Need Lopez and Jax to figure things out though. Nice to see the hitting help the pitching out for once. 

[cHawk]

Willi Castro, Matt Wallner, Alex Kirilloff, and Eduardo Julien combined for 11 hits and 9 RBI’s in one game.

Wow.

[karcherd]

I loved seeing the young guys carrying the team today.  The AB by Taylor in the third was awful and that is what we have seen too much of this year.  After Farmer was walked on four pitches he swings at the first pitch which was inside.  Rocco needs to sit him tomorrow to send a message that the team needs better at bats.  The veterans should be leading the way for the kids not the other way around.

 

[D.C Twins]

Big win to get out of the cellar in the Eastern Division!

[SwainZag]

Wallner has an absolute cannon, good lord.  Live seeing the bats get going.   Toronto made things interesting, but they have a stacked lineup, despite the results so far.

[jimbo92107]

Don't look now, but Willie Castro is fixing to take Nick Gordon's job, and Matt Wallner is fixing to take Max Kepler's job. 

[LA VIkes Fan]

2 hours ago, karcherd said:

I loved seeing the young guys carrying the team today.  The AB by Taylor in the third was awful and that is what we have seen too much of this year.  After Farmer was walked on four pitches he swings at the first pitch which was inside.  Rocco needs to sit him tomorrow to send a message that the team needs better at bats.  The veterans should be leading the way for the kids not the other way around.

 

You're right on. Buxton in CF tomorrow? How about Willi Castro if they want to keep Buxton DH'ing?

[mnfireman]

32 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

You're right on. Buxton in CF tomorrow? How about Willi Castro if they want to keep Buxton DH'ing?

Sunday getaway/giveaway day, probably Castro...

[DocBauer]

 I had to work so didn't get to see the game, though I intend to watch the abridged replay version on the MLB app later. So at this point, comments are based on a couple hilights seen, the box score, and the OP. But here goes:

1] I'm not worried about P Lopez at this point. Even the best SP have some bad days. Witness Bassit today. He was better his last turn and didn't get the win, but did today without having his best stuff. I think he's going to be just fine.

2] I don't want to come across as a misguided optimist, but we've seen how good and J Lopez can be, including times this season. When a RP has a bad game or bad stretch, those moments/times have greater magnification than anyone else on the roster. Neither is some 34yo pen arm hanging on by a thread. They have the stuff. It's up to the Twins to get them back on track and help them regain their confidence ASAP. 

They accomplish that, Thielbar back in a couple of weeks, Duran being Duran, Moran looking better and better, and Stewart looking like the real deal, this pen suddenly looks very different. 

3] Tremendous day at the plate for Wallner and Julien. These two have that kind of ability, though ultimately, Julien will probably be the much more consistent hitter, wile Wallner might always be more Gallo-ike, which isn't a bad thing. Remember, despite being buried on the early season depth chart, Wallner had a monster of a 2022 while earning the Twins milb hitter of the year. Many seasons previously, he would have broke camp with the Twins. There will be some bad days/stretches for both of them, and Lewis when he comes up, but they don't get better, develop and improve, without the opportunity to play.

I know there are questions about Wallner's defense. And I don't want to make excuses for some bad plays. But he's actually pretty athletic, and runs well for a big guy. And his arm is special. From various things I've read before, RF in Target Field isn't always easy to play based on its configuration. So some of his issues, beyond just being a young player, might involve learning the intricacies of that spot. Not saying he's ever going to be above average defensively, but work and experience CAN provide polish. He's got the tools. Not saying I'm ready to dump Kepler for him at this point...especially if the improved bat Max has been showing this season maintains...but at a certain point, you not only need to provide opportunity for a top young prospect, but potentially better offense wins out over defense.

4] What has gotten in to Willi Castro? Some of us really liked his signing, even though we didn't trust his ST numbers. He seems to be a sort of handyman who doesn't excel in any area, but can do a little bit of all things. He was promoted too quickly by Detroit and never fully developed. And he just recently turned only 26yo. So far, he's played pretty solid defense wherever he's been placed, and hasn't completely embarrassed himself with a few innings in CF. He's stolen some bases, and has even shown the ability to bunt well, which is a lost art these days.

Now, it's very possible he could turn back in to a pumpkin at the midnight stroke any day now. But just looking at his MLB reference page today, he's posted the following quad slash numbers as of late:

LAST 30 GAMES: .284/ .346/ .514/ .860

LAST 15 GAMES: .320/ .346/ .580/ .926

LAST  7 GAMES: .360/ .407/ .680/ 1.087

Now, we're only talking 74 AB. And we are certainly talking about unprecedented numbers based on his career thus far. But we are also looking at a 30 game stretch, not just a week or two. So unless MLB has made a HUGE error in their postings, Castro has very quietly been very good the last 30 games. 

I am absolutely not saying the Twins "found" a young-ish late blooming surprise gem. Regression is going to hit. But so far, he's done everything asked of him as the 13th man that was ever supposed to make the roster, contributing offensively and defensively in a limited role. Remember when he was the "easy" roster removal to make room for someone else? Especially with Gordon out for some time, he might not be so easy to just dismiss. 

 

[DocBauer]

50 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

Sunday getaway/giveaway day, probably Castro...

Buxton has been giving is all at the plate, and on the basepaths.  But he's not ready for CF. And honestly, despite creeping age and a sore back, Taylor has done the same, and even surprised me at times. But with Gordon out, I can see Castro in CF for Sunday with Taylor in reserve. He sure isn't my first choice, but things being as they are on the roster currently, let's see him out there.

[mikelink45]

I love the game and I love the energy of the new guys on the team. I will continue to dislike gallo like I have since the trade. It's going to take an awful lot for him to meet me a fan. I'm also concerned about Jorge Lopez. He's looking a lot like the guy we had the second half of last year.  So I am hoping a lot of things change, but also a lot of things continue as they have with the young guys continually put out in a position to contribute

[karcherd]

19 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Buxton has been giving is all at the plate, and on the basepaths.  But he's not ready for CF. And honestly, despite creeping age and a sore back, Taylor has done the same, and even surprised me at times. But with Gordon out, I can see Castro in CF for Sunday with Taylor in reserve. He sure isn't my first choice, but things being as they are on the roster currently, let's see him out there.

Why is Buxton not ready for CF, we are being told nothing as to his status or why he is not out there.  We were told the surgery he had at the end of last season was minor.  So is he healed or is there something else, I think the FO owes some explanation.  This team was built on position flexibility and rotating the DH, having a full time DH does not allow this.  And we have to see Taylor hit every game instead of a Larnach or Julien.  Buxton needs to be in the OF at least three or four days a week to make this a better team. 

[Dman]

Incredibly impressed by Brock Stewart.  He trusted his stuff got ahead in counts and got the job done.  Lopez feels like a bit of head case to me.  Why he was throwing straight down the middle on the Home Run ball I do not know. He needs to be better than that.  Both teams seemed to hit balls that were good pitches and managed to do damage.

Pedro pitched pretty well but Bichette was really on today and managed to beat the plan the Twins had for him.  

Happy to see Castro hitting better lately.  He was a real difference maker today.  Kirilloff another two hit game.  Jullien continues do what he does at whatever level and Wallner with the 4 for 4 day was outstanding at the plate.  If these young guys continue to perform this team is going to be OK.

We need a series win so hoping they can win tomorrow but will have to wait and see.

[jimbo92107]

Did you see Brock Stewart's final pitch? 100 mph, low inside corner. Strike three, waiter, I'll have the chicken, thank you.

[Aerodeliria]

4 hours ago, karcherd said:

I loved seeing the young guys carrying the team today.  The AB by Taylor in the third was awful and that is what we have seen too much of this year.  After Farmer was walked on four pitches he swings at the first pitch which was inside.  Rocco needs to sit him tomorrow to send a message that the team needs better at bats.  The veterans should be leading the way for the kids not the other way around.

 

I agree, but that's not Baldelli's modus operandi. Even if he does sit, it will be because he deserves a day off...

[DocBauer]

44 minutes ago, karcherd said:

Why is Buxton not ready for CF, we are being told nothing as to his status or why he is not out there.  We were told the surgery he had at the end of last season was minor.  So is he healed or is there something else, I think the FO owes some explanation.  This team was built on position flexibility and rotating the DH, having a full time DH does not allow this.  And we have to see Taylor hit every game instead of a Larnach or Julien.  Buxton needs to be in the OF at least three or four days a week to make this a better team. 

I agree there is mystery surrounding Buxton and his health. And it has been discussed and debated previously in other articles as to how forthcoming the FO should be about a player's health, and I won't get in to that debate.

But there are a couple rather obvious factors that come in to play. 

1] Buck is one of the best CF I think most of us have ever seen. And he loves to be in CF and would like to there. The Twins know how great he is out there. Wouldn't they put him out there if they thought he was ready?

2] From various opinions and even personal observations, if you watch Byron on the basepaths, legging out XB hits or stealing bases, you can see the tremdous speed he still has, but you can also see him "galloping" once in a while instead of streaking. You can see him needing a moment to collect himself. At least for now, he's OK for short sprints. It's the wear and tear of chasing balls on the fly that is the concern. The general pounding on the knees that come with doing so. Right now, as a DH, he's on pace to play the most games he ever has, and probably have his best ever offensive season.

MY OPINION is he WILL play CF again at some point. Whether that is in the playoffs, or next season, or whenever, I just don't know for sure.

As to how transparent the FO has been, or should be, again, is a different argument. 

[Danchat]

Good win, glad to see the offense finally erupt against a pretty good starter. 

Gotta be concerned about the Lopez's, though. Pablo not as much, but he hasn't looked quite as good as he did the first few weeks.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

5 hours ago, karcherd said:

Why is Buxton not ready for CF, we are being told nothing as to his status or why he is not out there.

The answer is obvious if you watch him decelerate after sprinting to first base, or try to get up after a slide.  His knees and his hips would not be able to take the grind of constant movement that is required from the CF every time a ball is in play.  If/when he is ever healthy enough, he will certainly be back in center again, but right now, DH is the way he gets to play almost every day, and that is what is best for him and for the ball club at this time.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Ed Julien had three extra-base hits, including an opposite field home run

He slices, he dices, he makes julienne fries in seconds!

[UK Twin]

Willi Castro is enormous fun to watch. He makes things happen on the bases, he's versatile and plays his heart out when on the field. I wasn't sure about him when he made the roster but he's been crucial with all the injuries. 

Very encouraging to see Julien going oppo so much. Reminds me a lot of Mauer. 

[UK Twin]

7 hours ago, karcherd said:

Why is Buxton not ready for CF, we are being told nothing as to his status or why he is not out there.  We were told the surgery he had at the end of last season was minor.  So is he healed or is there something else, I think the FO owes some explanation.  This team was built on position flexibility and rotating the DH, having a full time DH does not allow this.  And we have to see Taylor hit every game instead of a Larnach or Julien.  Buxton needs to be in the OF at least three or four days a week to make this a better team. 

Several reasons - the strain of playing the outfield, particularly CF, should not be underestimated. The amount of ground you have to cover in CF is huge, plus Buck isn't going to hold himself back - that isn't who he is. Correa had to tell him why he was going to be DH! If/when he returns to the outfield it will be once or twice a week, probably for the rest of this season. 3 or 4 times is simply unrealistic and too risky. 

[davidborton]

11 hours ago, Squirrel said:

... Not sure I’d swap him for Kepler right now, depending on which Kepler we get back...

I think there is only one Kepler.

[Squirrel]

2 hours ago, davidborton said:

I think there is only one Kepler.

Before his recent injury he was hitting pretty well. A well-hitting Kepler is a better defender, so … don’t know 

[Peter]

This was huge much needed win!!! Bullpen almost cost us yesterday but the hrs were huge!!! Castro has been a godsend!! Let’s win this series!!!

[umterp23]

One game doesn't make a season, but it does initiate confidence for Julien, Castro & Wallner.  So let's say we need bullpen help at the deadline and these guys are continuing really good play, do we dangle Miranda, Larnach, Pagan and Jorge Lopez to see what we can grab?  Not opposed to it but Twins have to be in win-now playoff mode.  Just me enjoying a Sunday morning thinking out loud