Twins 1, Guardians 0: Bailey Ober Crushes Cleveland on Apple TV... Again

[bighat]

The good news is that there won't be any Twins games on Apple TV next year, I think they've learned their lesson. 

[tony&rodney]

Forgot one big point. Ryan Jeffers has been great lately and I thought he had his best game yet as a catcher last night. Jeffers was impressive at the plate but particularly behind it.

[jorgenswest]

Moran has been valuable this year. He has inherited mitre runners than any other reliever on the team and closed the door. There are three relievers who tend to come in with runners on base. Moran leads the way allowing only 1 in 15 to score.

Moran 1/15

Stewart 4/12

Pagán 4/10

No one else has seen more than 4 inherited runners. The team as a whole is 16/55 for 29%. I don’t know if this is meaningful moving forward but the number of fires Moran has put out this year should be noticed.

[DJL44]

7 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

This was one where I will quibble with Rocco a bit on pulling Ober. He didn't seem to be struggling, low pitch count and the bottom of the order coming up it seems that starting the 7th would be reasonable. The outcome would likely have been the same using one less reliever.  If he does the same thing Moran did, pull him then.

No, he was leaving pitches middle-middle and the last ball was hit really hard. It was time.

[DJL44]

4 hours ago, SwainZag said:

That's a lead of 5.5 over Cleveland....(who IMO is miles better than Detroit).  Tomorrow is Gray day!

These wins count double. I expect Detroit to sell at the deadline.

[TL]

22 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

 I signed up for AppleTV to watch Ted Lasso. Watched the first season and half of the second when I got bored.  Too lazy to cancel it, so I get to watch the odd Twins games now.

My two big observations from last night:

1. Royce was flashing the leather at 3rd base. He looked comfortable and capable.  Lee to 2nd base in ‘24?

2. It took a couple of injuries to get the FO to get Ober and Varland into the rotation.  Had Mahle and Maeda not been hurt, we’d still be seeing each of them every five games no matter how they were pitching. Ober and Varland are now not only performing at a high level, but are also building confidence and experience that will be useful later this season and beyond (and they will be super cheap for years). But it took a couple of “accidents” to get our FO to put our best pitching starter lineup on the field.  Credit to Rocco to be giving Jeffers more time over the more expensive Vasquez right now as Jeffers builds his confidence. Meanwhile, our hottest hitting MLB capable player toils away in AAA.

Two great one run wins in a row. Now is the time to make a statement to the Guardians. Let’s bury those guys this weekend behind Gray and Ryan!

Accidents happen during a 162 game schedule. I know this has been re-hashed countless times but going into the season with 8 MLB ready starters is not only prudent but also the smart thing to do. Maeda in bullpen to start the season may have been better in hindsight, and I hope that's what he comes back as, but we should not be anything except thrilled with starting pitching results so far.

[Riverbrian]

4 hours ago, SwainZag said:

A win is a win.  Twins win a 7-6 game and more than half the posters want to talk about how Buck and Correa going out with injuries helped the lineup.  

1-0 win and there's no talk about how maybe they needed some more bats to get some more runs across.

It's a long ass season.  I know 7 and 10 game streaks are great to rave about.   May 16th, Castro was hitting .190 and was the number one DFA candidate.  Fast forward, now he's the MVP.    

1 comment out of 20  even mentioned Jorge.  He had a pretty damn large game winning hi...with 2 outs BTW.  I know Polanco isn't a sexy name like Kiriloff, Lewis or Wallner.....but a "grizzled" 29 year old vet can get it done sometimes too.

That's 3 in a row.  That's 4 out of 5.  That's a lead of 5.5 over Cleveland....(who IMO is miles better than Detroit).  Tomorrow is Gray day!

You are correct. It is a long ass season.

I was part of that half the posters that you are referencing. 

Speaking for myself. I wasnt reacting to a single game then and I wont react to a single game now. 

I am capable of breaking out the stats that show its June 3 on the calender and therefore already a long ass season for some of our players. 

Ill stand by my comments!!!

[DJL44]

Imagine how good Duran would be if he could actually control his pitches. His stuff is just nasty but he was all over the place last night. Luckily he was able to locate the fastball up. Kudos to Jeffers for keeping the ball in front of him on the breaking stuff.

[Blyleven2011]

8 hours ago, DocBauer said:

After reading this OP, and reflecting on past performance,  I have decided that Duran will no longer be referred to by that name, only for simple reporting stake. 

Henceforth, his name will be Drago. For he is a fire spitting dragon of an arm that deserves a special moniker all to his own.

All hail Drago!

I like it  , ( im on board with hail drago  ) , after 4 months in the league I knew arreaz was a major leaguer so I nicknamed him major leaguer , usually i take three years to evaluate a player tobknow exactly what that player will be  , but in arraez's case I knew he was special  ,,, he bat's like Gwynn and hits like Carew  ...

[DJL44]

34 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Had Mahle and Maeda not been hurt, we’d still be seeing each of them every five games

If Mahle hadn't been injured I expect he would have done at least as well as Varland. This is based on his long track record in MLB as well as how he pitched in the 5 games we got from him this season.

[DJL44]

Great hit by Polanco off of Sandlin. That guy throws some unusual, effective breaking stuff. Polanco got his pitch and did not miss.

[JD-TWINS]

9 hours ago, darwin22 said:

Call me an old f*rt---I am-------but NOT being able to watch Ober's excellent performance, Moran and Stewart pitching well and Duran SLAMMING the door on the Guardians was disappointing.  

Paying a fair amount of $$ for MLB baseball package thr DirecTV, in my OLD MAN world should've allowed me the chance to watch the game.

Anyway, a GREAT W with our big bats (insert laugh track here) missing--Correa, Buxton and Gallo, it was satisfying to see the Twins record their 4th shutout (2nd over CLE) victory this year.

Did anyone notice that with the "big 3" out tonight that our hitters whiffed only 7 times?  Correa & Gallo accounted for 5 K's last night.

Time for Sonny Gray to build on his last start (1st stat of 6 IP since April 30th) tomorrow by harnessing his command and getting through 7 quality innings.  With Duran (26 pitches) and Stewart (15) likely being unavailable tomorrow, who will Baldelli turn to in likely another low scoring game? re

 

 

 

 

 

Agreed - in Cincinnati so I have MLB package ………………..my kids have Apple TV & found the game.

No choice but to use Sands tonight if there are more than 3 innings left. Jax & potentially Pagan. I’d think with last year’s history with Lopez/Pagan v. Cleveland they would be well down the list of options.

Where’s Thielbar?? How is Maeda progressing??

[Linus]

Hat tip to Polanco. Everyone wants to move on from him even though he is one of their best players when healthy. 

[Jocko87]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

No, he was leaving pitches middle-middle and the last ball was hit really hard. It was time.

Fair, I don’t mind the change in a one run game but as we saw a bad day from a reliever can be trouble too.  I do trust they know better than I though. Prime example where the lineup can cause the bullpen extra stress.  Good win though. 

[Squirrel]

31 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Agreed - in Cincinnati so I have MLB package ………………..my kids have Apple TV & found the game.

No choice but to use Sands tonight if there are more than 3 innings left. Jax & potentially Pagan. I’d think with last year’s history with Lopez/Pagan v. Cleveland they would be well down the list of options.

Where’s Thielbar?? How is Maeda progressing??

Thielbar could be activated this weekend, last I read. I think Maeda might be a week or so yet?

[JDubs]

You know, for all people (somewhat fairly) dump on Sano, it's pretty crazy that he hasn't played for this team for a year and half or so and is still ahead of both Polanco and Kepler on the team RBI chart.

[DJL44]

48 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Where’s Thielbar?? 

Return is imminent

[jmlease1]

27 minutes ago, Linus said:

Hat tip to Polanco. Everyone wants to move on from him even though he is one of their best players when healthy. 

Not me! Maybe they look to move on from him in the off-season, depending on how various other players have developed this season, but he's a key player for this team and an important offensive cog. Happy to see Polanco in the lineup.

Really good win for the Twins on a night when the offense was light. Ober pitched well, but dodged several bullets (a better offense might have hung several on him). Great to see the bullpen hold it down again: Duran is a monster and a real weapon in the 'pen. Getting Thielbar back will help steady things back there, I think, and make us a little less reliant on wild boys like Moran/Stewart/Pagan in tighter games.

Cleveland has bigger problems than we do on offense; outside of Ramirez and Maylor there's a massive power outage over there, and with their luck in 1-run games from last year flipping back they're in real trouble if they don't start hitting soon. Hopefully it doesn't happen this weekend at all!

[tarheeltwinsfan]

11 hours ago, darwin22 said:

Call me an old f*rt---I am-------but NOT being able to watch Ober's excellent performance, Moran and Stewart pitching well and Duran SLAMMING the door on the Guardians was disappointing.  

Paying a fair amount of $$ for MLB baseball package thr DirecTV, in my OLD MAN world should've allowed me the chance to watch the game.

Anyway, a GREAT W with our big bats (insert laugh track here) missing--Correa, Buxton and Gallo, it was satisfying to see the Twins record their 4th shutout (2nd over CLE) victory this year.

Did anyone notice that with the "big 3" out tonight that our hitters whiffed only 7 times?  Correa & Gallo accounted for 5 K's last night.

Time for Sonny Gray to build on his last start (1st stat of 6 IP since April 30th) tomorrow by harnessing his command and getting through 7 quality innings.  With Duran (26 pitches) and Stewart (15) likely being unavailable tomorrow, who will Baldelli turn to in likely another low scoring game? re

 

 

 

 

 

Darwin, Everyone of  your points were my thoughts too. This is a little scary.

[stringer bell]

32 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Thielbar could be activated this weekend, last I read. I think Maeda might be a week or so yet?

Thielbar today maybe? They could use another left hander against the Guards, for sure. I would expect the Twins to use most, if not all, of the 30 rehab days in Maeda's case, particularly since there is no easy move to get him back on the active roster.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Another outstanding piece of writing. Thank you Matt.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

2 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

 

 

Two great one run wins in a row. Now is the time to make a statement to the Guardians. Let’s bury those guys this weekend behind Gray and Ryan!

Hell yeah !

[chinmusic]

1 hour ago, Linus said:

Hat tip to Polanco. Everyone wants to move on from him even though he is one of their best players when healthy. 

Agreed. The lineup always feels more solid with Polanco in it.  More depth.

[DJL44]

Today's game is on Fox. Are we going to post a guide so all the old-timers can figure out how to change the channel?

[Guest]

Couldn't you use a proofreader?

[Teflon]

Quote

The giver of perhaps the greatest speech this side of Lincoln

Winston Churchill coughs. Franklin Roosevelt pats his arm.

 

[LA Vikes Fan]

12 hours ago, CoastiePilot08 said:

Why is Kepler on the team?

I'm not a big Kepler fan at all - guy can't hit well enough for a corner OF - but I do think he would have a very valuable role on the Twins if used differently. He shouldn't be an every day player. He should be the classic 4th OF playing 2-4 times a week, INCLUDING in CF. I'd love to see him right now in a CF platoon with MAT. He should never hit higher than 7th in the order when he does play. The real problem is that Rocco likes to play him every day, won't play him in CF, and hits him too high in the order. That magnifies his weaknesses - hitting, particularly against LH pitching - and minimizes his real strength - Defense.

Bottom line is the reason I think Kepler probably should be traded is that Rocco won't use him properly. It's a tough choice but I think that it's better that Kepler would be gone and those innings and ABs go to a combination of Wallner, Larnach, and Castro, rather than using Kepler as an every day OF hitting in the top 6 spots in the order.  

[Squirrel]

40 minutes ago, Minderbinder said:

Couldn't you use a proofreader?

?

[LA Vikes Fan]

9 hours ago, Boswell said:

Yep, hard to understand why you need to pull the starter after 6 IP and 78 pitches.  

I think I understand the logic although not sure I agree with pulling Ober. Ober pitched 108 innings last season after pitching only 72 innings in 2022 and 108 in 2021 (both include MLB and MiLB). The general thinking to avoid catastrophic injury is to manage innings such that you only ramp up 20% a year. That would get Ober to 125-130 innings. We should be thrilled to get 140-150 innings from him this year. Saving a few bullets (innings) here and there may translate into 2-3 more starts in those 140-150 innings. Still, I would like to have seen him start the 7th last night. Let's find those saved innings in games where we're 2-3 runs ahead or behind, not a scoreless game with our primary divisional rival.  I agree with the theory, disagree with last night's application of that theory. 

[mnfireman]

Hope Correa and a few others took notice of how Polanco RAN hard out of the box on his double instead of standing there admiring it hit the wall...