Twins 2, Tigers 0: Twins Win as Tigers Offense Reverts to Form

[Hans Birkeland]

The Twins continued to struggle offensively, but the bullpen and Brent Headrick kept the Tigers off the board, allowing a two-run fifth inning to stand up. Royce Lewis started two key double plays and Alex Kirilloff drove in a run off a lefty to key the win.

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
Bulk pitcher: Brent Headrick: 2 1/3IP 1H, 0ER, 1BB, 2SO (35 Pitches, 24 Strikes, 68.5%)
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Headrick (0.140), Alex Kirilloff (0.132), Emilio Pagan (0.099)

Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

The Opener works
Jose De Leon and Emilio Pagan gave the Twins 3 2/3 perfect innings to start the game, then gave way to Brent Headrick, who finished off the fourth and ran into the first bit of trouble in the fifth before getting bailed out by a brilliant relay throw from Correa to Jeffers that cut down Zach Short trying to score from first on Miguel Cabrera’s double. He pitched an easy sixth inning to cap off his day. Brock Stewart had a five pitch seventh, Griffin Jax an eight pitch eighth, and Jhoan Duran sealed the win.

Twins make Joey Wentz look great
Featuring a fastball spotted on the outer edges all day, a cutter and curveball he threw for strikes, Wentz was perfect through four innings. The Twins failed to adjust to his arsenal, which baffled them similarly last year when he went four innings and gave up one hit to the Twins on May 31st before leaving with an arm injury that ultimately cost him two months.

Forced to pitch longer this time around, Wentz ran into trouble in the fifth, managing to walk Royce Lewis and allowing two singles and an RBI groundout. His stuff may have been less crisp, or the Twins may have made the adjustment that they just need to put something into play. In any case, that fifth inning resulted in double the amount of runs the Twins had scored in their past 20 innings combined.

Tigers botch challenge, pay for it immediately
After an unsuccessful challenge on the play that retired Short at home, The Twins finally put a rally together, with Royce Lewis’ second career walk, and singles from Willi Castro and Alex Kirilloff bringing in the games first run. Ryan Jeffers then blistered a one-out ground ball (106 MPH) that Short picked off expertly and almost pulled an Isaac Paredes and started an inning-ending double play. However, Kirilloff barreled into the second baseman Nick Maton like it was 1993, taking his legs out and allowing Jeffers to reach first with the second run coming across. A challenge may have resulted in Kirilloff being called out via the “Chase Utley rule,” but there was no challenge to be had.

Buxton continues to struggle
He worked counts a little better but the holes in Buxton’s swing looked enormous as he struck out twice against the lefty Wentz, missing both belt-high fastballs and back-up breaking balls. He flew out to fairly deep right center field in the sixth on an elevated fastball on the outer half of the plate (101.6 MPH) which counts as progress at this point. He then struck out looking at three strikes in the eighth facing Tigers lefty reliever Tyler Alexander. He is now 0-12 with seven strikeouts since returning from the IL on Thursday.

What’s Next:
Louie Varland (3-2, 4.70 ERA) tries to bounce back from consecutive poor outings against the Rays and Blue Jays against the light-hitting Tigers. He will face the Tigers’ bullpen, with Detroit missing a multitude of starters on the IL for extended periods.

Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
De León	24	0	0	0	24	48
Pagán	0	0	24	0	21	45
Headrick	0	0	0	0	35	35
J. López	0	0	32	0	0	32
Durán	0	12	0	0	15	27
Morán	0	0	22	0	0	22
Jax	0	11	0	0	8	19
Stewart	0	14	0	0	5	19

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[terrydactyls]

Buxton and Correa are both hitting barely over Mendoza line.  But at least Correa is contributing on defense.  What an arm.

[Matt Braun]

Yet another well-pitched ballgame with Jeffers behind the dish. I know Vázquez is getting the money, but Jeffers has consistently provided the team with their best chances at winning. 

[jkcarew]

Buxton wasn’t hitting BEFORE he took that pitch to the ribs.

Maybe a short rehab assignment?? Gallo got one during the same time frame. No. Instead, let’s bat him cleanup and leadoff first two games back.

I expect Buxton will eventually have a hot streak or two yet. But head-scratching strategy with him coming back.

[Lasorda_This_Out]

I've no doubt the Minnesota Twins will have a 100-62 season. We deserve it!

But not this Season....

[RickOShea]

I don't know how you talk about the Twins and not make it sound like Baldelli is severely lacking in leading this team.  

[Matt Braun]

6 minutes ago, RickOShea said:

I don't know how you talk about the Twins and not make it sound like Baldelli is severely lacking in leading this team.  

They won

[RickOShea]

Just now, Matt Braun said:

They won

Yes, today.  But how about over the next 3 months? And on a much more consistent basis.  Are you counting on playing at .500 and then winning the last couple of games of the season to win the division title?  Cleveland and Chicago have yet to play to their potential. If they do, we might need a cushion. 

[wornsmooth]

16 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Buxton wasn’t hitting BEFORE he took that pitch to the ribs.

Maybe a short rehab assignment?? Gallo got one during the same time frame. No. Instead, let’s bat him cleanup and leadoff first two games back.

I expect Buxton will eventually have a hot streak or two yet. But head-scratching strategy with him coming back.

Personal opinion ( but no knowledge)

Buxton has struggled since the baserunning collision with the White Sox. Points to an injury that he has yet to recover from.

 

 

[Matt Braun]

22 minutes ago, RickOShea said:

Yes, today.  But how about over the next 3 months? And on a much more consistent basis.  Are you counting on playing at .500 and then winning the last couple of games of the season to win the division title?  Cleveland and Chicago have yet to play to their potential. If they do, we might need a cushion. 

I don’t know. All I know is baseball is best treated by celebrating the victories as they come. 

[FlyingFinn]

Our DH's were very productive and the team was scoring 4+ runs every game at the end of last week and beginning of this week. Now the team can't score much again...............what changed? Just saying.

[ashbury]

Didn't watch the game live and am only seeing the play on the video clip, but that is one fine catch and tag by Jeffers.  He had to keep his eye on a one-hop throw and immediately apply the tag.  He did it all in one motion that had multiple ways for it to go wrong.  Probably really good technique (what do I know), definitely excellent execution IMO.

[stringer bell]

20 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Our DH's were very productive and the team was scoring 4+ runs every game at the end of last week and beginning of this week. Now the team can't score much again...............what changed? Just saying.

The club believes a healthy Buxton is essential if they have any chance in postseason. Watching Buck at this point is painful. If someone wants to be critical of the team and of Buxton, now is a perfect time. 

The more he slumps the more the TD fan base is clamoring for him to play center field. I don't see it happening until at least the All-Star break. I'm confident he'll come out of it and again be a much above-average hitter with plenty of power. We've seen this before and almost certainly will see it again. 

I don't know if the Twins will succeed with Buxton at DH. I have a hard time believing they can be competitive without him and I'm certain that they won't make the playoffs and be competitive with both Correa and Buxton having BAs in the low .200s and OPS in the low .700s. It really doesn't figure that Correa (28) and Buxton (29) would fall of the table offensively. The Twins have put their bets on those two guys and if they fail, there isn't enough talent to be a winning team.

[bird]

1 hour ago, RickOShea said:

Yes, today.  But how about over the next 3 months? And on a much more consistent basis.  Are you counting on playing at .500 and then winning the last couple of games of the season to win the division title?  Cleveland and Chicago have yet to play to their potential. If they do, we might need a cushion. 

Would it not then be more logical to fire Terry Francona and Pedro Grifol?

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, Matt Braun said:

Yet another well-pitched ballgame with Jeffers behind the dish. I know Vázquez is getting the money, but Jeffers has consistently provided the team with their best chances at winning. 

Don't know whether you already looked it up, but if I added correctly the Twins are 19-24 when Vazquez starts behind the plate, and now 17-11 when Jeffers is the starting catcher (1-1 when Jeffers DHs).  Small Sample Size territory still, but perhaps an unexpected trend at season's start.

[stringer bell]

Each of the three games turned on a base running play early in the game. The Tigers not scoring and losing their challenge really changed the game. The Twins played good defense, turned two DPs and gunned a guy down at the plate. That's a winning formula when the offense is slumping.

I haven't been one to advocate coaching changes and still don't think Rocco is a bad manager, but Popkins' seat has to be warm. The whiffs are happening at an epic rate, with no letup in sight and the offense just doesn't put the kind of sustained pressure on pitchers that they should. 

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, RickOShea said:

Yes, today.  But how about over the next 3 months? And on a much more consistent basis.  Are you counting on playing at .500 and then winning the last couple of games of the season to win the division title?  Cleveland and Chicago have yet to play to their potential. If they do, we might need a cushion. 

It's a game thread. After a win. When every pitching move he made in a bullpen game worked. Come on. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Don't know whether you already looked it up, but if I added it up correctly the Twins are 19-24 when Vazquez starts behind the plate, and now 17-11 when Jeffers is the starting catcher (1-1 when Jeffers DHs).  Small Sample Size territory still, but perhaps an unexpected trend at season's start.

This entire board but a few of us wanted Jeffers gone before the year ...

[Squirrel]

2 hours ago, RickOShea said:

Yes, today.  But how about over the next 3 months? And on a much more consistent basis.  Are you counting on playing at .500 and then winning the last couple of games of the season to win the division title?  Cleveland and Chicago have yet to play to their potential. If they do, we might need a cushion. 

I agree with @Matt Braun … let’s celebrate the wins when they come. This team was never projected to win that many. We have always been a .500 to just barely above team. Baldelli isn’t going to have much effect on that, imo. Yeah, I’m in that camp that doesn’t think an average manager really has that much effect on outcome. He’s not Francona, no one is. But then Francona doesn’t have a winning team, either. Hmmm … The difference is going to be the players themselves and/or the FO making decisions and changes to the roster. As for today, the BP came through, and then some. Small miracles do happen. The defense was ON. The offense was enough today, and I’ll take it. Don’t doubt a win when they won’t be plentiful. Hoping the players and the FO do something about tomorrow. Yeah, and that includes those struggling. Find a way.

[stringer bell]

1 minute ago, ashbury said:

Don't know whether you already looked it up, but if I added it up correctly the Twins are 19-24 when Vazquez starts behind the plate, and now 17-11 when Jeffers is the starting catcher (1-1 when Jeffers DHs).  Small Sample Size territory still, but perhaps an unexpected trend at season's start.

For the last couple of weeks they've alternated Jeffers and Vázquez with Jeffers getting the odd extra start. I think Jeffers has been the better player in about every respect. I'm pleasantly surprised that Jeffers' throwing hasn't been a real weakness. That was the one area where I thought Vázquez would be clearly superior.

[Florida Flash]

Thank goodness for good pitching, but 2 runs, 3 hits, 11 K's. Boring.

[ashbury]

3 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

This entire board but a few of us wanted Jeffers gone before the year ...

You can be President of the Ryan Jeffers fan club and I'll be Secretary-Treasurer.  Everybody hop on the bandwagon, send your Venmo payment in care of ashbury.definitely.not.a.scam@gmail.scam and we'll mail your secret decoder ring right away.

[Nine of twelve]

It's interesting about baseball. Pretty much everyone agrees that pitching is the most important of the four aspects of the game, followed by hitting, fielding, and base running in that order. But great pitching is boring video and TBH great hitting is not much better. Great fielding plays usually make the best highlights and the Castro-Correa-Jeffers play is a good example. That was really sweet.

[Squirrel]

15 minutes ago, Florida Flash said:

Thank goodness for good pitching, but 2 runs, 3 hits, 11 K's. Boring.

Yeah, some need more stimulation than a well-pitched game and some good defense including a great play at the plate. Short attention spans don’t make for great baseball fans.

[stringer bell]

14 minutes ago, ashbury said:

You can be President of the Ryan Jeffers fan club and I'll be Secretary-Treasurer.  Everybody hop on the bandwagon, send your Venmo payment in care of ashbury.definitely.not.a.scam@gmail.scam and we'll mail your secret decoder ring right away.

I'll drive the bus!!

[Nine of twelve]

8 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

Great fielding plays usually make the best highlights

Yeah, I know, bad form to quote myself. And getting a bit off-topic. But I never get tired of watching this fielding play.

 

[darwin22]

41 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Each of the three games turned on a base running play early in the game. The Tigers not scoring and losing their challenge really changed the game. The Twins played good defense, turned two DPs and gunned a guy down at the plate. That's a winning formula when the offense is slumping.

I haven't been one to advocate coaching changes and still don't think Rocco is a bad manager, but Popkins' seat has to be warm. The whiffs are happening at an epic rate, with no letup in sight and the offense just doesn't put the kind of sustained pressure on pitchers that they should. 

Yes, the WHIFFS continue at an epic rate.  11 more today solidifies our #1 rank in MLB. Now at 728. Average of 10.25 whiffs per game.  With 91 games left------Twins batters (cant call them hitters) are on pace for 1661, which would shatter the 2021 record of 1596 by the Cubs.

[ashbury]

12 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

Yeah, I know, bad form to quote myself. And getting a bit off-topic. But I never get tired of watching this fielding play.

 

"This guy's just a little bit better than you are used to, sir."

[mikelink45]

59 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

The club believes a healthy Buxton is essential if they have any chance in postseason. Watching Buck at this point is painful. If someone wants to be critical of the team and of Buxton, now is a perfect time. 

The more he slumps the more the TD fan base is clamoring for him to play center field. I don't see it happening until at least the All-Star break. I'm confident he'll come out of it and again be a much above-average hitter with plenty of power. We've seen this before and almost certainly will see it again. 

I don't know if the Twins will succeed with Buxton at DH. I have a hard time believing they can be competitive without him and I'm certain that they won't make the playoffs and be competitive with both Correa and Buxton having BAs in the low .200s and OPS in the low .700s. It really doesn't figure that Correa (28) and Buxton (29) would fall of the table offensively. The Twins have put their bets on those two guys and if they fail, there isn't enough talent to be a winning team.

What is our record with and without Buxton?  I do not know, but I do not think he has been a difference maker (in a positive way).  He is not the player we signed him to be.

[ashbury]

1 minute ago, mikelink45 said:

What is our record with and without Buxton?  I do not know, but I do not think he has been a difference maker (in a positive way).  He is not the player we signed him to be.

This year? Now 28-24 in games he started.  (Among those are 4 he didn't finish the game but the Twins won all 4.)

In years past when he was in CF the W-L record was almost invariably better.