Twins 1, Orioles 0: Ober Shines, Gallo Delivers as Offense Goes Back to Sleep

[Hans Birkeland]

The Twins meeting-fueled offense sputtered in game two of the "new season," but Bailey Ober pitched his best game of the year, Max Kepler made an incredible game-saving catch in the ninth and Joey Gallo homered for the second straight day en route to a tense victory in Baltimore.

Image courtesy of © Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score:
Starting pitcher: Bailey Ober: 7 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 8 SO (85 pitches, 58 for strikes, 68.2%)
Home Runs: Joey Gallo (15)
Top 3 WPA: Ober (.371), Griffin Jax (.138) Gallo (.133)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

Coming off of a game that could not have gone any better against a competitive Orioles team on the road, the Twins came out swinging against Orioles starter Kyle Bradish, who has been quite good lately, pitching to a 3.14 ERA since May began. He seemed to have some spotty command early, giving up two singles and a walk to Joey Gallo his first time through the lineup. The Twins put together some good at-bats and made Bradish work, but were held scoreless until Gallo’s home run in the fourth. He made good pitches in key spots, including a gorgeous full count curveball to freeze Max Kepler in the sixth with a man on second.
Although the runs did not come easy, the at-bats were competitive and the Twins put traffic on the bases, with only one 1-2-3 inning in the first seven. Unfortunately, they hit into a double-play, were caught stealing and had an unusual situation in the sixth when Kyle Farmer, trying to advance to third on a Christian Vázquez dribbler, interfered with the third baseman Jordan Westburg and was called out to end the inning, and Bradish’s outing.

Ober brings it
Bailey Ober has pitched well recently but has fallen into the Pablo López trap of having one off inning that inflates his ERA and puts the team behind the eight-ball offensively. Today the Orioles were aggressive early in counts but couldn’t get the barrel on the ball outside of Gunnar Henderson’s two-out single in the second. Ober entered the fourth inning having thrown only 28 pitches. He had command of all three pitches, even mixing in a couple curveballs, and took advantage of the swing-happy Orioles lineup.

He didn’t encounter a three ball count until going 3-1 to Cedric Mullins in the sixth. He ended up striking out Mullins looking on a changeup that started as a ball inside and faded to the inside edge of the strike zone. His performance brought to mind his gem against the White Sox last September in which he pitched into the eighth inning, striking out ten and allowing just two hits.

 

Royce Lewis exits with injury
Running out a ground ball in the 3rd inning, Lewis appeared to pull something in his oblique area and exited the game. Losing Lewis for any length of time will represent a call for rain on any contact-oriented parade the Twins’ lineup had planned to put on. However, it may allow for the return of Jose Miranda, who has hit better recently in the minors but looked increasingly blocked with his main positions manned by Lewis, Alex Kirilloff and Donovan Solano, arguably the Twins’ best hitters this year.

Max Kepler shows off his defensive chops
After a challenge overturned Jorge Mateo being thrown out at second with one out in the ninth, Anthony Santander roped a line drive to the right field corner that had game-tying hit written all over it. Max Kepler got to the ball quickly and made a sprawling catch to preserve the lead. No offense to Matt Wallner, but there is only one corner outfielder on the 40-man who can make that play.

 

 

Buxton makes hard contact, gets robbed
After lining a 103 MPH single in the first, Buxton crushed a line drive headed for the left field corner at 106 MPH (.770 expected batting-average) in the third. Orioles left-fielder Austin Hays came out of nowhere and made an incredible catch, saving what may have been the game’s first run. Not to be outdone, Buxton lined out sharply to shortstop Henderson in the fifth with an identical .770 xBA.

 

Joey Gallo lives
Perhaps annoyed with fans calling for his ouster with increasing vitriol lately, Gallo has now homered in four of his last seven games, crushing a breaking ball from Bradish 439 feet for the game’s first run in the fourth inning and making a diving catch on a blooper from Adley Rutschman in the first. All of a sudden, Gallo’s OPS is back above .800 and he looks positively playable.

 

What’s Next: Sonny Gray (4-2, 2.67) tries to build off his success against the Braves in Atlanta, facing the Orioles’ Cole Irvin (1-3, 7.18 ERA) who has been a disappointment after they acquired him thinking he could stabilize their young rotation.

Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Morán	0	36	0	8	0	44
Headrick	35	0	0	0	0	35
Ortega	32	0	0	0	0	32
Balazovic	0	18	0	9	0	27
Pagán	0	0	0	19	0	27
Jax	0	0	0	0	11	11
Durán	0	0	0	0	8	8
Winder	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

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[2wins87]

Gallo and Kepler, winning ball games, just like we've all been saying all year.

[stringer bell]

Not a depressing win outside of the injury to Lewis. Ober, López, Gray, Ryan and Maeda really do give the club a chance every time out. 

[Craig Arko]

 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

1 minute ago, Craig Arko said:

 

Best of luck to Royce, hopefully he recovers in the minimum and Miranda makes the most out of his opportunity 

[jmlease1]

Ober was fantastic today. He really had the O's flailing and had command of all of his pitches. Great work. Wondered if he might go out for the 8th, he was going so well, but with a rested bullpen hard to complain about Jax getting the call (and Jax did a nice job as well). Really good pitching today.

I'm glad to see Kepler showing the glove again; his defense had definitely slipped and we need him to be quality out there with runs at a premium. Gallo's moonshot was big; looks like he's locked in again right now. He's still going to drive some people crazy with the low BA and plethora of Ks, but the overall OPS is good.

Hope Royce isn't out for long, he's been a great addition, and if there's anyone who deserves to get a run of good health it's him. At least it's not his knees?

Good win. Hope they can get the sweep!

[pierre75275]

So glad they won today. Ober was fantastic.

Unfortunately, the offense did nothing to convince it turned corner, however, Hays catch if Buxtons drive saved the Os 2 runs at least. 

Only 8 pitches by Duran and 11 by Jax, so I would think all hands on deck if a sweep becomes possible.

[stringer bell]

So, Miranda for Lewis. Time to give the young man another chance, I suppose. Matt Wallner probably is saying "what do I have to do?" but it would be hard to get him at-bats.

[mikelink45]

Losing Lewis is a major loss.  He has been fantastic.  Big shoes for Miranda to fill.

What is our rotation ranking now from 1 - 5?

Is Gray still one?  Where does Ryan compare with Ober?  Is Lopez 5 or is Maeda?  Fun to speculate.  But with the Twins bats we need all five to be great. 

[Linus]

Don’t think Ober has to worry about going to St Paul anymore. Man it’s fun to watch pitchers who pound the strike zone. 

[Mark G]

We may have to just accept the fact that Royce is another Buck; an extremely talented player who may never be able to stay healthy.  Getting hurt enough to require the IL simply by running out a ground ball is Buck esq if anything ever was.  No crashing into walls, sliding into bases, running into another player going for a ball, or any other type of contact.  Running the bases.  Let's hope this is a one and done, and he can stay on the field.  

[Markdumont25]

I think Kep and Gallo read TD and would like to offer a rebuttal...

Although one run is certainly not encouraging, they didn't look as helpless at the plate as previous low scoring games. Realistically, it's probably not going to happen overnight, but there's been some encouraging signs that the approach is changing.

[Unwinder]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Is Gray still one?  Where does Ryan compare with Ober?  Is Lopez 5 or is Maeda?  Fun to speculate.  But with the Twins bats we need all five to be great. 

Ober seems to be constantly underrated, I trust him on the mound as much as I trust Gray and Ryan.

[Nine of twelve]

Bummer about Lewis. Big time. But this is a golden opportunity for Miranda to try to capture some of what he had going on last year. Let's hope for good times!

[PDX Twin]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

So, Miranda for Lewis. Time to give the young man another chance, I suppose. Matt Wallner probably is saying "what do I have to do?" but it would be hard to get him at-bats.

Well, Wallner does throw right-handed, but has he ever played 3B?

[wabene]

I can't believe people are talking about Ober going out for the 8th. Pay attention. Look at his career. What is the gain? What could you lose? 

That was the right move all day long and twice on Sundays

 

BTW how's about Jax n Duran? Pretty sweet eh? 

[D.C Twins]

Nice to win... but suggests that yesterday's offense was an outlier until proven otherwise over an extended period. 

Correa leadoff?!?!.... I would love to have the Rocco/Twins FO doubling down on lost wagers at my casino anytime! 

[darwin22]

Great W today and hoping to personally see another victory tomorrow as the tour group I'm currently traveling with will be in Baltimore for the series finale.

Tomorrow will be Day #3 (of 11) on Jay Buckley tour.  Started at Wrigley yesterday and witnessed the Brewers win a slugfest today at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. For those not aware, Jay Buckley Tours are in their 41st year.  They are based out of LaCrosse, WI and offer around 25 different trips this season.

Major bummer to hear of Lewis' injury/IL placement.  Hopefully Miranda will use this opportunity to prove he belongs on the active roster.    

 

 

[DocBauer]

Wasn't able to watch the game due to work today. Only got to follow the box/GameDay. Maybe that's a good thing as I don't know if I would have been excited watching Ober, Jax, and Duran...OR...had heartburn and cussed a bunch watch the offense after the explosion of yesterday.

Really bummed out by both Ober and Rocco though. A shutout through 7 with only 2 hits, no BB, 8 K's, and only 85 pitches. What a bum and lousy call by the manager! Rocco should be gone!

[SERIOUS SARCASM ALERT!! LOL)

On a serious note, I have always been so impressed by how the team handled Ober in 2021,  nurturing him along, developing him, building him up, and not over extending him. ALSO, HUGE CREDIT for helping him refine his delivery. His length offered up issues of staying healthy and feeling "beat up" after starts previously in his career. I think it's safe now to look back at his abdominal/hernia/whatever injury in 2022 and realize it was just a SOMETHING that happened and not a return of past injuries he suffered in his milb career. He was good in 2021. He was good early in 2022 pre-injury, probably even better on his return, and keeps being good to great here in 2023.

I agree with a previous poster that I'm not sure he and Ryan aren't our top 2, with no disrespect to the great Gray, who has admitted frustration that despite his great numbers, he still hasn't been as good as he thinks he should be. And Lopez has been good to great most every time out, to be fair. All of his underlying numbers indicate as much. He...and Gray to a degree...are suffering from what I refer to loosely as "Radke disease". It's rather tongue in cheek as Radke is an All Time Great Twins pitcher. But there were times when he had that ONE INNING issue...usually early in games...where he just wasn't settled. This excellent rotation is even better if Lopez and Gray can work through that "hump" they seem to encounter some games. 

I want to diverge from the game thread to make a couple comments:

1] Despite being a single voice amongst the cacophony of many who have spoken out about necessary changes in the OF corners, I've never said Gallo and Kepler were bad people or lousy ballplayers. I want to make that clear. Kepler made a great defensive play today that saved the game. He's always been a great defensive OF. Would Wallner have made that play? We don't know. He actually has the athleticism, speed/range to do so. But he's lacking some of the tracking skills, or so it seems at this point, that Kepler has. But the physical skills are there to be better and MAYBE make that same play as he'd probably beat Kepler in a sprint. But then again, if the offense was better, even if he didn't make that same play, would it have lost this game if the offense produced more than a single run?

Pretty much ditto for Gallo. I fully accept Gallo as a streaky hitter who will almost always hit around .200, but with a decent OB%, and tremendous power that can change a game. And he was the #1 hero today, despite the great pitching. But let's be honest, while celebrating today's win, up until this past week, he's been aweful for a good month since coming off the IL. Being a streaky hitter is one thing. Stinking for a month is a different story.

2] I NEVER root against Kepler or Gallo. They are part of my favorite team and I root for them to be productive each and every game and each and every AB. And both of them have had moments the past week or so that we haven't seen recently. But a couple good plays, a couple big hits, shouldn't be allowed to downplay past production, or the lack of. When we step back and look at reality, a few big hits, or HR, or a good play doesn't erase downward trends. Isn't it very possible Wallner, or maybe Larnach, wouldn't have made a good play? Or maybe crushed the same HR today? Or had a key hit, double, or HR in previous games recently?

I AM NOT BEING A DOWNER. I LOVE what Ober, Jax, and Duran did today. I LOVE that Gallo brought the win today, and that Kepler has been "hotter" recently. I CELEBRATE a great win today! I HOPE that the players only meeting will lead to changes and greater win totals for a team that is, frankly, vastly underperforming based on talent and potential. Scoring 3 or fewer runs in almost exactly half the games played so far is not only unacceptable, but very unlike a traditional Twins team where pitching has always been the issue for a decade now.

GREAT WIN! I'm happy! I'm just concerned the FO will sit back on their haunches and look at a FEW plays and a FEW AB and applaud themselves and think staying status quo is just fine and dandy. And that's just unacceptable. With ANY kind of average offense with the mix of veteran and prospect talent on this team, they should be at least average in run production. If they were, they'd be running away with the ALC and be at least 10 games above .500. 

Generally, I like our FO for many reasons. I don't like their stubbornness! I get we have most of a month to make decisions before the trade deadline. But I'm not sure anyone should bet on a players only meeting to see an increased offensive production from Kepler, maybe Gallo, vs giving a prospect like Wallner a real shot. Maybe Larnach again, despite Gallo suddenly coming alive again. 

The WORST THING the FO can do at this point is remain "in love" with players who don't produce but have a few good games. 

Great win! Ober is very good. Go Twins!

 

[Hans Birkeland]

4 hours ago, Mark G said:

We may have to just accept the fact that Royce is another Buck; an extremely talented player who may never be able to stay healthy.  Getting hurt enough to require the IL simply by running out a ground ball is Buck esq if anything ever was.  No crashing into walls, sliding into bases, running into another player going for a ball, or any other type of contact.  Running the bases.  Let's hope this is a one and done, and he can stay on the field.  

Let's not go crazy, we're in year nine of Buck getting hurt. Lewis is in year two.

[RpR]

52 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

2] . Isn't it very possible Wallner, or maybe Larnach, wouldn't have made a good play?

 

 

NO. not even a slight chance.

[gunnarthor]

I'm really impressed that they won this game. Nice to see them fight back to .500 and first place.

[Jocko87]

25 minutes ago, gunnarthor said:

I'm really impressed that they won this game. Nice to see them fight back to .500 and first place.

Also, the Braves are a really good team on a heck of a heater. Compare the number below to what they did against the Twins. Maybe we shouldn’t be commenting hourly about a game of weeks and months. This team has fight and plays with the big boys, without their best stuff. 

Had 3-3 or 2-4 been on the table prior to these two series I probably would have taken it. It’s holding serve, gotta get the bats going but so much laughable overreaction gets old.

 

[UK Twin]

I think it's a bit harsh to say the offence went back to sleep. If Hays hadn't made that astonishing catch off Buxton's line drive that inning was set up for 2 or more runs to score. We had plenty of good at bats in the first 5 innings, just didn't get any breaks. 

Ober was incredible. And Kepler's catch was amazing, particularly in the circumstances. Not entirely sure if that ball would have landed fair or foul but he may well have saved the game there. 

Baltimore are a very good team so any series win against them is a very good one. A sweep would be amazing, particularly after a tough series in Atlanta. 

[bighat]

1 run. Not going to win many games like this. Pitcher was hittable, really no excuses. Going against a soft-tossing lefty today with a 7.84 ERA. Anyone think the Twins score more than 3 runs off him? 

Another great outing by the pitching staff yesterday. Starters have been incredible this season. Ober's who we all hoped Randy Dobnak would be. 

[Peter]

Ober was on fire!!! Gallo with hr and Kepler with one of best catches ever to save game for twins!!! Huge pair of wins after Atlanta disaster-you have to think what Rocco said after that and players only meeting has major effect! I think it’s season changing as it’s paid off big time!!! Huge win! Especially winning intense game like this. Let’s get the sweep!!!

[Doctor Wu]

4 hours ago, UK Twin said:

I think it's a bit harsh to say the offence went back to sleep. If Hays hadn't made that astonishing catch off Buxton's line drive that inning was set up for 2 or more runs to score. We had plenty of good at bats in the first 5 innings, just didn't get any breaks. 

Ober was incredible. And Kepler's catch was amazing, particularly in the circumstances. Not entirely sure if that ball would have landed fair or foul but he may well have saved the game there. 

Baltimore are a very good team so any series win against them is a very good one. A sweep would be amazing, particularly after a tough series in Atlanta. 

Yes indeed, that catch by Hays was amazing, and certainly prevented another run or two from scoring. Good to see Buxton at least making contact with the ball again!

[rv78]

Amazing! Gallo hits a HR and Kepler makes a great catch. Ummm.... isn't that what they are getting paid for? Let's celebrate what has been expected of them all season. On the other hand, an even better job by Ober who started the season in AAA and wasn't expected to be but a fill-in pitcher. Who do we thank for that? Mahle or the FO who went out and got damaged goods in the first place?

[stringer bell]

30 minutes ago, rv78 said:

Amazing! Gallo hits a HR and Kepler makes a great catch. Ummm.... isn't that what they are getting paid for? Let's celebrate what has been expected of them all season. On the other hand, an even better job by Ober who started the season in AAA and wasn't expected to be but a fill-in pitcher. Who do we thank for that? Mahle or the FO who went out and got damaged goods in the first place?

Pretty harsh take on Ober and the front office. Every pitching staff suffers injuries in the course of the year. Having seven acceptable starting options is the bare minimum and has been proven by the Twins with the injuries to Maeda and Mahle. Ober was known to be a quality starter but there wasn't room at the very beginning of the season and he could be optioned, so he was.

[jmlease1]

11 hours ago, wabene said:

I can't believe people are talking about Ober going out for the 8th. Pay attention. Look at his career. What is the gain? What could you lose? 

That was the right move all day long and twice on Sundays

 

BTW how's about Jax n Duran? Pretty sweet eh? 

I think it's a fair question considering how well he was pitching and how low his pitch count was. Not saying it was the wrong decision (reasonable to not push Ober who has had injury issues, bullpen was rested and ready, and sometimes it's good for a starter to make sure they leave with a lead and a chance for the win) but he was really dealing yesterday. For me, this is one of those fun "would you let him go for another inning?" questions rather than anything too contentious.