Series Preview (MIL 6/13 & 6/14): Border Battle Part 1 at Target Field

[Steven Trefz]

The Brew Crew comes to town for a Tuesday night cap and some Wednesday day drinking. The Twins come home following a 2-4 road trip that exposed them to the core, yet also offered glimpses of hope. The Brewers come to Target Field reeling from being swept by the Oakland A's...at home. Who will be celebrating after this two game series?

Image courtesy of Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins road trip to Tampa Bay and Toronto left a lot to be desired, but it wasn't a complete waste of time. The Rays continued to rip through any opponent placed in front of them, and of the losses in Tampa, Pablo Lopez showed impressive signs for growing into the pitcher that the Twins traded a potential .400 hitter for. They salvaged two of three in Toronto, and could have easily left Canada with a sweep if not for a mess of a game on Sunday.

Minnesota still comes into Tuesday's game with a game and a half lead over Cleveland, and holding steady at 33-33. Milwaukee sits a game behind Pittsburgh in the NL Central, after a nasty sweep at the hands of the A's, trending towards sub-.500 baseball now at 34-32. Can the Twins help them on that journey downward? Or will the Brewers be out to get some revenge on baseball in general after their embarrassment over the weekend?

Interesting Fact: The Twins lost the season series in 2022, going 1-3 against the Brewers. They had won the rivalry series in 2021 and 2020 each by a 4-2 margin. The lone win last season came off the bat of rookie Jose Miranda, who launched a mammoth 9th inning walk-off home run against the previously immortal Josh Hader. Neither player will take part in any potential heroics this week since Miranda is at Triple-A, and Hader is now a Padre.

Weather Factor: Target Field couldn't receive more beautiful summer weather for this series, with high 70's for Tuesday night, and upper 80's for Wednesday afternoon. Will it be Brewers or Twins fans packing the stands? 

Pitching Probables
Game 1 - Tuesday, June 13, 2023 – 6:40pm CDT – It's Pablo Day yet again to open a series at Target Field! Seriously, this happens a lot. Pablo Lopez (3-3, 4.25 ERA) will match up against Brewers ace RHP Corbin Burnes (5-4, 3.36 ERA). Both pitchers' records don't scream "number 1 starter" material, but Tuesday should be a low-scoring affair regardless.

Michael A. Taylor is the only Twin to have a home run off of Burnes, and needless to say we could see another Twins strikeout record, even though Burnes' legendary strikeout rate per nine innings has decreased from 12.6 in 2021, to 10.8 in 2022, to 8.7 this season.

Game 2 – Wednesday, June 14, 2023 – 12:10pm CDT – The Twins will send RHP Bailey Ober (3-3, 2.61) to the mound for the afternoon tilt, and the Brewers (as of Monday night) have yet to announce their intentions for a starter. RHP Colin Rea (3-3, 4.87 ERA) is next in line theoretically, and he has pitched well of late, winning three of his last four outings and giving up zero runs over five innings in a no-decision against the Orioles most recently.

Prediction Time!
What's your prediction for this series?  Can the Twins maintain their lead in the AL Central throughout this series? Who do you see being the biggest impact player during this border battle? Let us know in the comments! Go, Twins!

AL Central Standings (through June 12)
Minnesota 33-33  
Cleveland  31-34   1.5 GB
Chicago     29-38  4.5 GB
Detroit       27-37   5.0 GB
KC              18-47   14.5 GB

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[mikelink45]

I would like to know more about their lineup - who is hitting or are they like the Twins there too?  

It seems like Christian Yelich should teach teams a lesson - don't give out big contracts based on one great year.  He is down to earth and over paid, but still important to the team.  

Adames and Tellez are their HR threats and Winker is another one year wonder that everyone hopes will find himself. 

Now what would their fans write to describe us?

[Steven Trefz]

42 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I would like to know more about their lineup - who is hitting or are they like the Twins there too?  

It seems like Christian Yelich should teach teams a lesson - don't give out big contracts based on one great year.  He is down to earth and over paid, but still important to the team.  

Adames and Tellez are their HR threats and Winker is another one year wonder that everyone hopes will find himself. 

Now what would their fans write to describe us?

I think their fans would say "nothing to see here." The trends in their lineup seem to mirror the Twins: 2 runs, 1 run, 2 runs, explode for a game, back to the mean.

Interesting note, the Brewers haven't been able to come back from a multi-run deficit since mid-May...so let's hope that we don't help them break that streak!

Interesting tie to Yelich and that "it" factor that resides in a clubhouse. When do you think spreadsheets will start to note this data point?

Thanks for the ideas, will definitely try to incorporate that more into the previews. 

[ashbury]

Milwaukee got swept by the Oakland juggernaut.  Riding a six-game winning streak now, will the A's ever lose another game?

[chpettit19]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I would like to know more about their lineup - who is hitting or are they like the Twins there too?  

It seems like Christian Yelich should teach teams a lesson - don't give out big contracts based on one great year.  He is down to earth and over paid, but still important to the team.  

Adames and Tellez are their HR threats and Winker is another one year wonder that everyone hopes will find himself. 

Now what would their fans write to describe us?

To be fair to Yelich, he had 2 otherworldly years after having been very good for years. That contract is not looking great, but if you have a guy win an MVP, then come in 2nd the next year, you don't really expect them to be a .750 OPS guy moving forward. 112, 115, 118, 135, 120 OPS+ in his Miami years followed by going to a better power park and going off for 164 and 179 OPS+ marks definitely didn't suggest he'd go 110, 101, 110, 109 in his prime. If you give me back to back years of 1.000+ OPS I'll absolutely sign you to a deal through your age 36 season that never tops 26 mil a year.

[MABB1959]

Is Buxton back?  No updates on MLb.  I think today is his expected day to be back???????

[David Maro]

I hear game strike outs are going up!! Joey Strike Out is back.

[Blyleven2011]

10 minutes ago, MABB1959 said:

Is Buxton back?  No updates on MLb.  I think today is his expected day to be back???????

You would think they would have announced that he was going to be available when his IL  expired and not 1 hour prior to the Milwaukee series  ...

drawing fans to the game Is the Name of the game  and if he is activated than our professional  public relations  person is not doing their job ...

Sound familiar on not doing their job ...

It's the twins way , keep the fans guessing ...

[Steven Trefz]

If I had to guess based on the time of year, and the situation...Buxton stays down and rehabs in center field at whatever minor league outpost they select until he's ready for that back in the majors.  Levine mentioned that it would require a ramp up of some sort, Buxton wouldn't just one day play center field after DH'ing all season.

This seems like the opportune moment for a "go or no go" attempt at CF.

Thoughts?

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

Milwaukee got swept by the Oakland juggernaut.  Riding a six-game winning streak now, will the A's ever lose another game?

I wonder if they can beat their record of 20 in a row back in 2002 ....

I like winning streaks  , wish the twins would  have a big one  ...

Go twins  ...

[rick kayser]

As a Twins fan living in western Wisconsin, Eau Ciaire tp be specific, this is my favorite baseball event.. I miss the days when it was a division game, even during the times of Brewer's  " Harvey's Wallbangers" and "Bambi's Bombers". where with Willie Norwood and Danny Graham! were our hopes! I follow the Brewers in orderto conver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my friends

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, Steven Trefz said:

If I had to guess based on the time of year, and the situation...Buxton stays down and rehabs in center field at whatever minor league outpost they select until he's ready for that back in the majors.  Levine mentioned that it would require a ramp up of some sort, Buxton wouldn't just one day play center field after DH'ing all season.

This seems like the opportune moment for a "go or no go" attempt at CF.

Thoughts?

Interesting thought there. Are there any reports that he's even been shagging balls or anything during pregame activities? My guess would be that this IL stint is every bit as much about his knee as it is his ribs. Would make some sense to get him off that knee for a little extra time, and then see how he's feeling and maybe look at him as a CF option here and there when he's back. Would certainly make all of us feel a little better about things.