Blue Jays 3, Twins 0: Time to Do Something Else

[Steven Trefz]

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the Blue Jays and some of the Twins players got together to play a baseball game. Three hours later it was time for the game to be done. Catch more of the excitement in this amazing recap.

Image courtesy of Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober-  5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 HR (95 Pitches, 61 Strikes, 64%)
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Kyle Farmer (-0.162), Matt Wallner (-0.159), Byron Buxton (-0.115)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

Eduoard Julien's Growing Pains
The game started off promising for the Twins offense, as Joey Gallo led off with a single, Julien worked a walk after being in the hole 0-2, and Carlos Correa delivered a single to the opposite field. In his best effort to help the Twins avoid a bases-loaded opportunity, Julien found a way to miss seeing the largest man on the field (Gallo) still standing at third base after being held up. The Jays easily threw out Julien, who was stuck in no-mans-land between second and third. No runs, plenty of "what might have been."

In the top of the second, Julien made an excellent stop on a ground ball in the hole between first and second. When he popped up to make the throw, however, the ball did not come with him. While not ruled an error, it was an out that needed to be completed as it extended the inning for Alejandro Kirk. The light-hitting catcher (Editor's Note: ... who won a Silver Slugger in 2022) hit a weak fly ball to left-center, and no Twins could get there in time to catch it. By the time the dust settled, two Blue Jay runs had scored, and Julien's gaffes became an unfortunate focus of the early innings.

Pitch Count and Pitches that Count
Bailey Ober fell behind in the game due to a mixture of bad luck and bad counts. He reached 60 pitches before he obtained his seventh out. Time after time Ober found himself ahead in the count at 0-2 or 1-2, only find the count evened out at 2-2 or 3-2. Non-competitive pitches didn't entice the Blue Jays to swing, and the patience of the Toronto hitters led to Ober only going five innings.

Jose Berrios Can Still Pitch
The rumors of Berrios' demise have been much exaggerated. Berrios commanded his change-up when it mattered most, and the Twins were unable to deliver clutch hits yet again. He scattered four hits and five walks, in 5 2/3 innings. Was the goose egg on the scoreboard the result of Twins hitting or Berrios' pitching? That's a question that has no right answer for Twins fans.

Heartless Baseball
During the game, I received several texts from lifelong Twins fans who had either turned the game off, or were bemoaning the fact that the games are terrible to watch and devoid of emotion and heart. All I can say Twins fans, is that Royce Lewis will meet us in Houston. To be continued...

What’s Next: The Twins travel south to Minute Maid Park to face the defending champion Astros for a three-game series. Monday's matchup will feature Twins' RHP Sonny Gray (4-0, 1.82 ERA) and Astros RHP J.P. France (1-1, 3.43 ERA). The Memorial Day first pitch is slated earlier than usual, at 3:10pm CDT. 

Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOT
De Leon	21	0	19	0	27	67
Moran	24	0	0	9	0	33
Stewart	20	0	0	13	0	33
Pagan	0	0	21	0	7	28
Duran	13	0	0	12	0	25
Lopez	0	0	0	22	0	22
Sands	0	0	0	0	16	16
Jax	0	0	0	0	12	12

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[Galen]

I noticed the Bluejays have a strange batting approach.....they hit the ball.

[PDX Twin]

Is Rocco gone yet?

[darwin22]

Another 14 K's today...just pathetic!

Twins will remain #1 in MLB in whiffs---now with 533 on the season.  With 53 games played---our "misfit men with a bat" (I refuse to call them hitters) crested the "10" average per game (yippee!)--now averaging 10.05 whiffs per game.

On pace to break the 2021 Cubs MLB record of team strikeouts (1596) by more than 30.  On pace for 1628.

Embarrassing and disgusting.

All of this while our pitching staff (minus certain BP arms--Lopez, Jax, Pagan) continues to shine--with the following ranks PRIOR to today's game.

K's:  516/ 1st

Opponents batting avg:  .226/ 1st

ERA:  3.46/ 2nd

WHIP: 1.19/ 3rd

Quality Starts:  25/ Tied 4th with CLE

Fewest HRs allowed:  50/ Tied 4th with TX & Cubs

Even without having to face Astros top 2 SP's (Javier & Valdez), I'd set the over/under on runs scored for the entire series at 7.5.  That might be high, I know.

 

 

[UK Twin]

What a real sloppy game from the Twins. From Julien's base running blunder in the bottom of the first, it was just poor from then on. Julien should have made a play that would have ended the top of the 2nd and kept it scoreless. And then Kirilloff decided he should risk going from 1st to 3rd on a shallow fly ball with 2 out - I mean, why? And then Castro made an error which cost us the third run. 

On the plus side, Kepler and Lewis being activated for tomorrow. Great news about Lewis.

[UK Twin]

9 minutes ago, PDX Twin said:

Is Rocco gone yet?

Personally, I think it should be Popkins who has questions to answer. I mean, what on earth is he coaching these hitters?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Looks like Ober’s velocity went from 92-93 in the first inning down to 90 by the time he left after the fifth. Hopefully nothing to be worried about. 

[D.C Twins]

Which scenario has better odds?

1. The Twins win the WS this year

2. MLB gets rid of the divisions during the offseason and just has the top teams from the entire American League go to the playoffs given the historic ineptitude of the Central Division this year and questionable performance previously (especially now with balanced schedules)

I think #2, though unlikely, has a better chance than #1

[TwinkieFan4life]

I can't believe my mind is going here already, and I realize it is unreasonable, but if we continue this way through June do we consider being sellers?

We would be maybe 4 or more games below 500.  We could shop Gallo, Gray, Polanco, Kepler, even Buck if someone is willing to dream on him and give us an offer.  If Maeda and Thielbar prove their health they could be added to the list.  We could let the younger players play (Lee) and add talent around them.

I know this is a depressing thought, but for me less depressing than continuing to invest resources in this lifeless team.

[TwinkieFan4life]

One more thought, why in the hell would we send Wallner down?  Put Gallo on the IL with the hamstring and let him regain the ability to run, then play Kirillof at 1st.  The guy has reached base in 8 straight ab!!  And we have a roster that has been an embarrassment at the plate!  Ride this hot streak while you can.

[D.C Twins]

25 minutes ago, PDX Twin said:

Is Rocco gone yet?

And for all of those who argue how little the manager matters, I ask...

Why have one then? Why not just have a phone in the dugout for the players to communicate directly with the FO or their AI bot? 

There is a manager, because leadership indeed DOES matter. Attitude, expectation, environment, attention to detail, competitive fire etc DOES matter. 

I'm sure Rocco would be fantastic in our FO, but he is NOT a good leader.

As I've said for 2 years now.... if Rocco were to be fired, it is HIGHLY unlikely that he would be hired by another MLB team to manage. So, we extended him.... because we were worried that another team was clamoring to compete for his services if his contract expired? (just writing that made me giggle)

 

[Mark G]

2 minutes ago, TwinkieFan4life said:

I can't believe my mind is going here already, and I realize it is unreasonable, but if we continue this way through June do we consider being sellers?

We would be maybe 4 or more games below 500.  We could shop Gallo, Gray, Polanco, Kepler, even Buck if someone is willing to dream on him and give us an offer.  If Maeda and Thielbar prove their health they could be added to the list.  We could let the younger players play (Lee) and add talent around them.

I know this is a depressing thought, but for me less depressing than continuing to invest resources in this lifeless team.

You may be right, but at the end of the day it all goes back to the article about this front office being willing to admit their mistakes.  For them to become sellers to the degree you are talking about, they would have to admit they did not succeed these last few years and are willing to start over.  Isn't that what they did in '17 and '18?  Sell to rebuild?  They would have to admit their whole last 5 years has been wrong; what are the odds of that?  

I think we are going to win the division, just because of the competition, so they will play out the string, even adding at the trade deadline.  But if it fails again, another FO should be allowed to start over, and we do have the pieces to start over with.  

And unreasonable is in the eye of the beholder, as we have seen here for years.  😉

[dberthia]

"Devoid of emotion and heart" is as good of a description as any. Nobody looks like they even want to be on the field. Buxton is completely lost and seems like he just wants to get back to his spot on the bench with as little effort as possible. Today was the first game I've watched in a while, and I won't be putting myself through this again unless they can find some kind of spark. Life is too short to devote any mental or emotional energy to this team. If they don't care, why on earth should we?

[Peter]

Ugly results last 12 games-can’t lose series. Need to get back to winning them. Lewis back hopefully will be spark along with Kepler. Need to start winning series again. Team is in bad slump right now and yes it’s not enjoyable baseball. 

[PDX Twin]

Just now, dberthia said:

"Devoid of emotion and heart" is as good of a description as any. Nobody looks like they even want to be on the field. Buxton is completely lost and seems like he just wants to get back to his spot on the bench with as little effort as possible. Today was the first game I've watched in a while, and I won't be putting myself through this again unless they can find some kind of spark. Life is too short to devote any mental or emotional energy to this team. If they don't care, why on earth should we?

Exactly this! 

Give me a reason to watch! Give me a reason to care, other than having been born in Minnesota!

[LastOnePicked]

23 minutes ago, TwinkieFan4life said:

I can't believe my mind is going here already, and I realize it is unreasonable, but if we continue this way through June do we consider being sellers?

It's not unreasonable. It's logical. It's preferable even. Why have them lose even more prospects, only to come up again short in September?

But that will be a distant worry by July. Cleveland will rise. Twins will continue to s(t)ink.

[MABB1959]

Sadly, I don’t think there are any top of the line players want to come here and if they did we don’t have much to trade for.  I don’t even think we could get anyone to take on Buxton or Correa.

[LastOnePicked]

Heartless, gutless baseball. Things won't change for this team until large-scale changes are made in the dugout and/or the Front Office. The longer we wait, the worse this will get.

[LeatherAntenna]

This vaunted offense is  truly to be admired!

[mikelink45]

Yesterday we actually scored runs - of course we didn't today and what is wrong with Ober, doesn't he know he has to throw a shut out if he doesn't want to lose?  And Wallner goes down because Kepler comes back?  Wallner 369/520 -   1.099 OPS,  Kepler 212/298 - 742.  Makes sense.

Well we won 1 of 3 - is that a victory?  

[Mark G]

7 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Yesterday we actually scored runs - of course we didn't today and what is wrong with Ober, doesn't he know he has to throw a shut out if he doesn't want to lose?  And Wallner goes down because Kepler comes back?  Wallner 369/520 -   1.099 OPS,  Kepler 212/298 - 742.  Makes sense.

Well we won 1 of 3 - is that a victory?  

Unfortunately, as we are all to familiar with, it is only who has options left; not who is playing/pitching the best at the time.  😒

[Whitey333]

Yes very boring, listless baseball going on three years now.  Players look like they don't care.  Why should they?  They have a manager that appears to not care as long as the plan is followed.  It'd one thing to lose but fir crying out loud do theyveven care how bad they look.  And Juluen made a terrible play for sure. BUT where was Buxton and Kiriloff the next two batters up?  They did nothing.  They had chance to pick up a couple of runs after Julien gaffe but did nothing.  And what are we telling our young players?  Waller reaches base 8 straight tired.  His reward for.actually performing?  Send him back to St. PAUL.  LETS NOT TALK about options he had left.  Let's talk about common sense.  That's where it's point.  The FO and manager don't have much common sense.  What a boring and undisciplined team.  At least we know they can blame it all on bad umpiring and injuries.  They wonder why people are upset.  Do they ever watch their own product?  If our prospects are so good why do they appear to make such little influence on the team?  Enough ranting and raving on my part.  A lot of pent up frustration over the past two and half years.  I continue to hope things get better.  Been waiting for a long time.  When will they ever consistently show any life in them?

[Eris]

I think, unfortunately, with the Bomba Squad in 2019, the Twins emphasized home runs and power and have put together a team that as a result are among the leaders in % of runs scored via HR. With that comes more SO and a collection of players who seem incapable of playing small ball. 
 

Spencer Steer had 2 hits and 2 RBIs today.  His K% is 21.3  There are 14 players for the Twins this year that have a greater K%.  Kepler, Wallner, Miranda, and Gordon are lowerer.

 

[big dog]

1.  Keep Wallner. That's an order.

2. We might as well play Buxton in the outfield. Yeah, he might get hurt. But right now we have an extremely mediocre DH, a hurt CF, and a utility player in CF. If he gets hurt we can at least put a hitter at DH.

3. Do they do warranty repairs at the Dior store?

 

 

[rv78]

Another season of uninspired Rocco baseball. This team must be performing at an expected or better than expected level if they give him an extension. Gee, what were we thinking? That this team was going to be terrible and Rocco is keeping them at the top of their game? It looks like the FO has lower expectations than the fans if they are going to reward a Manager that can't get his team to play much better than .500 ball. Maybe someday they can bring in some hitters that will actually do more than hit an occasional HR and strikeout the rest of the time. The all or nothing approach has inspired fans to start skipping the games. I can hear St. Peter already wondering why Twins fans didn't come out and support this team. Maybe it's time they look in the mirror and admit what they have isn't even close to what they are trying to sell to us.

[TWTwinsFan]

Buxton failed to deliver in the first inning three games in a row, he has been horrible last 30 games.

[ashbury]

Rocco's comments rarely are pointed.  Today, while he threw no individual under the bus, his remarks were pointed.  He's not a fire and brimstone manager, so one can smirk over his use of the word "disjointed," but there was depth to his meaning.  How that translates to better performance, I can't say; this roster has its limitations.

[rv78]

43 minutes ago, Mark G said:

Unfortunately, as we are all to familiar with, it is only who has options left; not who is playing/pitching the best at the time.  😒

And this is why this team will continue to lose ballgames that matter. Performance means little. If it did mean something Kepler would have got his walking papers before the season even started. As for Wallner, I said when they acquired Gallo that Wallner would have been a better option and they could have used the $11M they spent on Mr .199 and the $4.5M they spent on Taylor, tied that money together at $15.5M for 1 player that could actually hit.

[Kummel]

I don't get this team.  They have a good game, then disappear.  The inconsistency is painful. Correa's struggles were well publicized, but Buxton has been a notable dud with runners in scoring position.  Here and there someone shows a spark offensively, but then they conk out.  Wallner does hit, but is sent back down.  With such superlative starting pitching, you'd think the offense would be fired up.  Instead, they seem deflated and depressed.

[ashbury]

41 minutes ago, big dog said:

That's an order.