Twins 6, Tigers 3: The Twins Win in 10, Piranha Style!

[Steven Trefz]

The Twins lulled their fans to sleep throughout most of today's game, but those who stayed awake until the end were rewarded to a throwback comeback with steals and singles and heart-pumping base running galore! Here's how the series victory went down.

Image courtesy of Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (89 pitches, 55 for strikes, 62%)
Home Runs: Donovan Solano (3)
Top 3 WPA: Royce Lewis (.505), Willi Castro (.348), Donovan Solano (.239)

Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

The Twins won't see another team with a losing record for a week, so today's match-up against the Tigers provided a much-needed opportunity to get back above the .500 mark. The impending monsoon headed towards the Detroit metro area caused the game to be moved up 90 minutes, adding to the sense of flux that started when Byron Buxton's back acted up and Jose DeLeon's arm fell apart Saturday night. That flux continued throughout the game, creating a roller coaster of mid-day emotions ranging from unexpected highs to all-too-familiar lows. Ultimately the roller coaster stopped at a Twins victory, and that's all that matters.

The Third Inning's the Charm for Runs
After failing to advance a couple of singles in the first two innings, the Twins finally made some noise in the top of the third inning. Christian Vazquez delivered a doink single to right to start the inning. He then tagged and advanced to second on a deep fly, surprising pretty much everyone on and off the field. Vasquez felt the spirit a movin', and he advanced to third on another fly ball with an impressive slide and a whole lot of luck.

 

The reward for his base running efforts? He got to trot home because Donovan Solano crushed a two-run homerun to left to put the Twins up 2-0.

Unfortunately for Ober and the Twins, the Tigers check raised in the bottom half of the third inning. They went single, double, double, single and just like that the lead was gone. Ober struck out Javier Baez to end the threat, but not before the Tigers were operating with a 3-2 advantage. This would be the only damage that the Tigers offense could cause today, and Ober navigated six innings for yet another quality start.

The Twins' Offense is Still Offensive
The Twins looked to even the game back up in the top of the fifth, when Edouard Julien got a double and Solano followed that up with a single to put runners at the corners with only one out. Carlos Correa stepped up to the plate looking to be the hero, but he ended up grounding out into his second double-play of the day. 

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The Twins continue to strike out at an alarming rate against pitchers who aren't necessarily known for racking them up. Outside of Vazquez, no Twins runners were able to steal or advance beyond their station. Singles led to threats, and threats led to disappointments.

The Tigers Defense is Also Offensive
In the top of the eighth inning, the Twins tried desperately to fail to deliver yet again with runners in scoring position. Royce Lewis walked with two outs, which led Rocco Baldelli to pull the ol' rope-a-dope by pinch-hitting Max Kepler for Kyle Farmer and then pulling him immediately after a lefty was brought in to face Kepler. Ryan Jeffers then came out to be the new "Kepler/Farmer" and immediately laced a single to left to keep the inning going.

Runners at first and second, two out, and Willi Castro strode to the plate with a chance to be the hero against his former team. Instead, he ground out lazily to third base.

Luckily, Nick Maton also felt like being lazy, and he threw the ball toward the stands instead of the first baseman, and Lewis came all the way around to score the tying run. This led to even more drama, as Byron Buxton came off the bench with the chance to have a Kirk Gibson moment. Instead, he hit a ground ball to Baez, and Baez chose to throw it to the first baseman instead of the stands, and the Twins had to settle for a tie at 3-3.

To the Ninth We Go
Tigers closer Alex Lange came in to face the bottom of the Twins lineup, and Vasquez and Michael A. Taylor quickly found their way back to the dugout. With two outs, Julien and Solano both walked, setting the stage for Correa yet again. With the double-play taken out of play (with two outs already recorded), could Correa deliver in the clutch? Correa absolutely crushed the ball to left-center, but Vierling was there to record the out to end yet another Twins threat.

The Twins countered with Griffin Jax and his magical sweeper show in the bottom of the ninth. Jax swept away Maton and Andy Ibanez quickly on a strike out and ground out, and he skipped off the mound thinking he swept away Matt Vierling only to get called back when the pitch was called a ball. Vierling eventually walked, but Jake Rogers weakly grounded out to send the game into extra innings.

Bonus Baseball
With the first nine innings being quite uneventful, it was only fitting that the Twins and Tigers tried to give the fans some extra chances for excitement. Correa started as the ghost runner in the tenth, as the Twins faced RHP Brendan White and his nearly two K's per inning. Lewis aimed a ground ball in the hole at short, and the ball glanced off of Maton's glove into right field. Correa glided into third base only to notice that in a horrendous decision, Tommy Watkins was wheeling him home. Correa went from first to fourth gear, and was about to be tagged out when Rogers dropped the throw and the Twins took the lead at 4-3.

With blood in the water, the piranhas were back in action. Jeffers laid down a bunt, advancing Lewis to third base. Castro stepped up and missed on a safety squeeze play, only to lace a single to right to stretch the score to 5-3. The exciting base running continued as Castro swiped second on a close play. After an Alex Kirilloff flyout, the now first-baseman Vazquez came through with one last single to plate Castro and extend the lead to 6-3.

Jhoan Duran took that three-run lead and proved that gas can actually keep potential fires away. The Tigers' ghost runner didn't even score, and the Twins escaped Detroit with a winning record. 

What’s Next
Sonny Gray (4-1, 2.56 ERA) continues to search for that elusive fifth win Monday night in Atlanta, and he will face off against elite Braves RHP Spencer Strider (8-2, 3.93 ERA). The Twins "on the road" week marches on, and Gray is going to need to cover some innings with the Twins bullpen getting taxed in the last two days. First pitch is scheduled for 6:20pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews

 

 

Bullpen Usage Chart

	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOT
Durán	32	0	19	0	15	66
Stewart	15	0	28	0	14	57
Jax	8	0	12	0	17	37
Morán	17	0	16	0	0	33
Pagán	0	0	0	30	0	30
Balazovic	0	0	0	6	18	24
Headrick	0	0	0	0	6	6
Winder	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[Yawn Gardenhose]

Twins should send a gift basket to Nick Maton and one to Tigers management for not only playing this guy, but hitting him *fifth* in all seven games against the Twins. Might be the single worst player I've seen in MLB, and he singlehandedly gave the Twins the game today with his horrendous defense. That the Tigers won 4 out of the 7 games so far is truly astounding based on the kind of talent they are trotting out there day in and day out. 

This is to say, things aren't great for the Twins, but at least they ain't the Tigers. Woof. 

[jorgenswest]

Great job by the bullpen! Nice series win. It is time for the Twins to start showing they are buyers by winning the Braves series.

[FlyingFinn]

I've criticized Rocco for pinch hitting way too early this year so today I give him credit for a lot of good moves at the right time. Deciding to pinch hit Jeffers and clear the bench with Buxton was the right call and he managed the pitching to get our three best bullpen guys in the game in the 8th, 9th and 10th innings.

And good things can happen if you just put the bat on the ball. Need more of that.

[jkcarew]

22 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Great job by the bullpen! Nice series win. It is time for the Twins to start showing they are buyers by winning the Braves series.

I think most years I would be with you. This year, I say sell, bring on the youth, and take your chances in a horrible division. Win/win. Be in the 2023 “race” AND get better for 2024/2025.

I know that’s probably being overly pessimistic. Or overly optimistic. I’m confused as to which.

[Peter]

The kids held their nerve-aggressive base running in 10th was huge but if C4 would’ve thrown out it could’ve been different. 8th inning was huge as well getting tying run on error-we’ll take it. Also gained game on Cleveland to have 2 game lead in division. This was huge most important win of season. Atlanta will be difficult. 

[rv78]

The big 4 (Correa, Buxton, Gallo, Kepler) didn't get a hit today and the Twins won. I think this means they can win without them, or that they really aren't that important to this team and should be traded/DFA'd, or they aren't worth what they are being paid, or it's better if the other guys get more at bats, or the other team gave the game away, or they got lucky, or.........ALL OF THE ABOVE!

[IaBeanCounter]

6 minutes ago, rv78 said:

The big 4 (Correa, Buxton, Gallo, Kepler) didn't get a hit today and the Twins won. I think this means they can win without them,

Would they have won without them?  Gallo's diving catch was the difference in the game.  It doesn't go into his WPA, but without it the Twins lose.  Kepler may have made that catch, but I doubt Larnach or Wallner would have.  Just my 2 cents.

[Nashvilletwin]

Imagine that - put the ball in play, run the bases aggressively, use the bunt and other “move the runners over” tactics, field the ball well, don’t walk too many opposing batters (especially late in the game), AND WIN.
 

Why didn’t we all think of this before?

Looks like Rocco is either finally waking up or worried about his job.  Either reason is just fine…….

[tarheeltwinsfan]

The Twins must sweep the weak teams  and break even with the good teams.  But then all of us at TD know that.

[Nashvilletwin]

1 hour ago, IaBeanCounter said:

Would they have won without them?  Gallo's diving catch was the difference in the game.  It doesn't go into his WPA, but without it the Twins lose.  Kepler may have made that catch, but I doubt Larnach or Wallner would have.  Just my 2 cents.

Wallner or Larnach may or may not have made that nice catch that Gallo did.  We don’t know.  But, perhaps, maybe Wallner or Larnach would’ve produced at the plate (unlike Gallo).

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Most fans in North Carolina are Braves fans.  I am one of the few Twins fans here in North Carolina.  So this Atlanta series is big for me. If Don Beaver had been able to buy the Twins 20 + years ago and move them to North Carolina, as he attempted unsuccessfully to do, the Atlanta/Charlotte rivalry would have been huge. Go Twins. Beat Hotlanta.

[jorgenswest]

2 hours ago, jkcarew said:

I think most years I would be with you. This year, I say sell, bring on the youth, and take your chances in a horrible division. Win/win. Be in the 2023 “race” AND get better for 2024/2025.

I know that’s probably being overly pessimistic. Or overly optimistic. I’m confused as to which.

I am with you. I need to see four series wins in a row before I am a buyer. Atlanta would be a big step in that direction.

[Shaitan]

2 hours ago, IaBeanCounter said:

Would they have won without them?  Gallo's diving catch was the difference in the game.  It doesn't go into his WPA, but without it the Twins lose.  Kepler may have made that catch, but I doubt Larnach or Wallner would have.  Just my 2 cents.

To answer the question, the I expect the Twins to only field 5 defenders tomorrow.

[Heiny]

Good win for the Twins today, but I still think there is a lack of hustle and Vasquez could have extended the 10th if he would have onlly slid into second base.  Not real impressed with some of the lackluster play.  That said, they did some good things today and came out with a win.  Need the big boys to get going.  Happy with the win.

[D.C Twins]

Royce F-ing Lewis!  

Correa needs to be batting 6th or lower until he proves otherwise.... enough already. 

[wabene]

2 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Imagine that - put the ball in play, run the bases aggressively, use the bunt and other “move the runners over” tactics, field the ball well, don’t walk too many opposing batters (especially late in the game), AND WIN.
 

Why didn’t we all think of this before?

Looks like Rocco is either finally waking up or worried about his job.  Either reason is just fine…….

Yeah because Rocco is just kind of figuring out this baseball thing. It's not like this is all he has done his whole life and decided to forego a college education to pursue. 

[wabene]

2 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Most fans in North Carolina are Braves fans.  I am one of the few Twins fans here in North Carolina.  So this Atlanta series is big for me. If Don Beaver had been able to buy the Twins 20 + years ago and move them to North Carolina, as he attempted unsuccessfully to do, the Atlanta/Charlotte rivalry would have been huge. Go Twins. Beat Hotlanta.

Chin up soldier

[Nashvilletwin]

1 hour ago, wabene said:

Yeah because Rocco is just kind of figuring out this baseball thing. It's not like this is all he has done his whole life and decided to forego a college education to pursue. 

Rocco is clearly a true baseball savant/professional - there is no doubt about that. However, today’s “style” of play (particularly in the later innings) has not been the norm for this team in quite some time.  That was my point (albeit, I admit, sarcastic).  For one reason or another, Rocco seems to be mixing things up a bit more. Who knows why - maybe he’s just matching the style of play more to the true talents his team possesses vs. those he thought he had.  Like I said, any reason is fine as it produced a win and several innings of fun baseball to watch.  

[wabene]

2 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

maybe he’s just matching the style of play more to the true talents his team possesses vs. those he thought he had.

Bingo

[UK Twin]

Great to see Jax back to his dominant best. I think his ERA went above 5 when he had his bad streak so getting it back to 3.18 so quickly shows how good he's been lately and why Rocco went to him in the 9th to keep the game tied. Takes the pressure off Duran as well - don't want him to keep having to pitch 2 innings like he has done in these situations. Having said that, adding a reliever or even two via trade is an absolute must for the Twins. Chapman as a hard throwing lefty would be ideal. 

[bighat]

13 hours ago, jkcarew said:

I think most years I would be with you. This year, I say sell, bring on the youth, and take your chances in a horrible division. Win/win. Be in the 2023 “race” AND get better for 2024/2025.

I know that’s probably being overly pessimistic. Or overly optimistic. I’m confused as to which.

This is a great take, I agree! Maybe the Twins can even sell a guy like Michael A. Taylor, get Buxton in CF and find room for Wallner to play every day. Heck maybe even find a way to get Austin Martin up here, the guy's 24 years old and it's about time for the Twins to figure out if he's a valuable piece or just organizational depth. 

I want the Twins to TRY, I just don't want them to mortgage the future on a run. This team has wayyyyy too many holes to fill and adding one bat and a bullpen arm won't change the trajectory. The Mahle deal is going to haunt this team for years, Twins can't afford to make that mistake 2 years in a row. 

[Doctor Wu]

12 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Most fans in North Carolina are Braves fans.  I am one of the few Twins fans here in North Carolina.  So this Atlanta series is big for me. If Don Beaver had been able to buy the Twins 20 + years ago and move them to North Carolina, as he attempted unsuccessfully to do, the Atlanta/Charlotte rivalry would have been huge. Go Twins. Beat Hotlanta.

I sure hope you are right and we can win some games or at least give the Braves a battle. But that team is darn good, and I'm not feeling very optimistic about this series. 

[Riverbrian]

15 hours ago, jkcarew said:

This year, I say sell, bring on the youth

Release, Release, Call up. Buy.

Easy Peasy 😉

[Karbo]

6 hours ago, wabene said:

Bingo

The FO has built this team based on hitting for power and HR's. They need more speed and better clutch hitters, with some idea of a 2 strike approach.

[terrydactyls]

15 hours ago, Peter said:

"but if C4 would’ve thrown out"

Thrown out who?  Or did you mean "would have been thrown out?  Proofread, proofread, proofread.

[jmlease1]

2 hours ago, bighat said:

This is a great take, I agree! Maybe the Twins can even sell a guy like Michael A. Taylor, get Buxton in CF and find room for Wallner to play every day. Heck maybe even find a way to get Austin Martin up here, the guy's 24 years old and it's about time for the Twins to figure out if he's a valuable piece or just organizational depth. 

I want the Twins to TRY, I just don't want them to mortgage the future on a run. This team has wayyyyy too many holes to fill and adding one bat and a bullpen arm won't change the trajectory. The Mahle deal is going to haunt this team for years, Twins can't afford to make that mistake 2 years in a row. 

Buxton's knee won't let him play CF right now. He's not healthy enough to play there. Austin Martin hasn't played in weeks because of his elbow injury, he's not coming up this year. Injuries are what they are, and you can't start making roster decisions like they can be magically waved away.

[wabene]

4 hours ago, UK Twin said:

Having said that, adding a reliever or even two via trade is an absolute must for the Twins. Chapman as a hard throwing lefty would be ideal. 

I can't tell if I bristle from this suggestion because of a long ago domestic violence incident or his long time as a member of the Evil Empire. The domestic incident was about 8 years ago when he was a much younger man. On the one hand no charges were filed on the other that is common in domestic abuse cases. I think he is still with the mother of his children and now wife, so she apparently has forgiven him. It was also reported that he had begun doing volunteer work with youth in NY before his departure.

Of course what I think carries absolutely zero weight here. A quick look at his Baseball Reference page and his stats look pretty good with his strikeout rate through the roof. He only has .3 WPA compared to Duran's 1.8, but some of that may be due to the less competitive team he is on. He did twice end Yankee post-season runs by giving up homers. While he did carry the Cubs to the brink of a championship with an iron man performance, he gave up the lead in the deciding game, but held on to the tie as his teammates came back giving him the win and a WS championship.

Ok go get him

[David Maro]

When Ober gets the ball he has shown to be the steadfast pitcher on the staff. Castro has brought a fun style running the bases putting pressure on the pitcher and catcher. When was the last time a Twins player stole 40+ bases. And why is Lewis on the bench tonight. We are playing the best team in baseball and need players that make things happen. Maybe play him at SS tonight,giving Double play Correa a rest.

[RpR]

It looks like a good lineup, more similar to those that helped the Twins out do the Yankees.

Jeffers at catcher, well, his bat is the better of the two.