Twins 10, A's 7: Twins Survive Feisty A's for Second Straight Ugly Win

[Hans Birkeland]

The Twins started out hot against the A's, scoring two runs in each of the first three innings en route to a 6-0 lead. The A's fought back against Pablo López, however, and the game was tied at seven until the Twins added a run in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to pull away.

Image courtesy of Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score:
Starting pitcher: Pablo López : 5 ⅔ IP 8 H 7 ER 3 BB 7 SO (106 Pitches, 67 Strikes, 63%)
Home Runs: Michael A. Taylor (11), Kyle Farmer (5)
Top 3 WPA: Farmer (.430), Griffin Jax (.109), Ryan Jeffers (.080)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

Facing fungible opener Austin Pruitt, the Twins wasted no time in repeating their antics from Friday’s first inning, with Carlos Correa singling the other way, Donovan Solano walking and Kyle Farmer doubling to right-center field and scoring both. The inning could have really gotten out of hand if Byron Buxton’s scorching line drive (109 MPH) didn’t settle in third baseman Jace Peterson’s glove for an out.

After being duped by the Giants opener for Sean Manaea in May, starting all their lefties thinking Manaea wouldn’t pitch and then subbing them out once Manaea came in to start the second, the Twins played it right this time, leaving Edouard Julien and Alex Kirilloff on the bench to start the game knowing lefty Hogan Harris would be the bulk pitcher.

They wasted no time in getting to Hogan, starting walk-single-walk and then a Carlos Correa two-run single to make the game 4-0. Michael A. Taylor added a two-run homer in the third.

Feisty A’s get to López
Pablo López appeared to pick up where he left off, an electric four hit shutout against the Royals in his last start, by carving up the depleted A’s lineup early. He probably made it harder on himself than he needed, running into a few too many three ball counts, but put up zeroes for the first two innings. Things started to change in the third, when rookie Zack Gelof squirted a soft liner past the diving Max Kepler for a triple and scored on a Nick Allen grounder. In the fourth, López started losing command of his offspeed pitches, leaving three hittable ones for Oakland’s three best (for them) hitters in Ryan Noda, J.J Bleday and Seth Brown, and before you could blink López had given up four runs.

The A’s took a more Guardians-esque approach in the fifth, leading off with a bloop hit from Jace Peterson, and followed that with a bunt hit from Allen. Tony Kemp, fresh off robbing Max Kepler of a two-RBI double with a leaping catch in left field, then punched an RBI single through the right side and Allen then scored on a wild pitch, making the score 7-6. He was then questionably allowed to pitch the sixth, giving up a check swing single, walk, three steals and a sacrifice fly to bring in the tying run.

López’s stuff has looked worse, but this may have been his worst start of the year results-wise, given the opponent. After López departed with the go-ahead run on third, Jovani Moran gave up a blast (105 MPH) to Brent Rooker, the tie game only preserved by a great robbery from Taylor.

Twins turn to Ortega in Eighth Inning
Clinging to a two-run lead in the eighth, the Twins surprisingly turned to waiver claim Oliver Ortega rather than have Griffin Jax continue his outing after throwing six effective pitches in the seventh. Ortega allowed a leadoff single on a 3-1 count to Tyler Soderstrom and a bunt single to Allen, but retired Gelof, Peterson and Rooker to preserve the lead.

Farmer Powers Offense
After limping into the All-Star break with a sub .650 OPS, Kyle Farmer has been on fire in the first two games of the Oakland series. Following his two-run double in the first, he had a sharp single in the third, and the go-ahead home run in the seventh. With a chance for the cycle in the ninth, Farmer fouled out to first base.

Willi Castro catches the A’s napping
With the A’s suddenly making a game of it in the fourth, cutting the deficit to two, Willi Castro broke out of a mini strikeout slump by getting hit by a pitch with two outs. He advanced to third on a bloop hit by Ryan Jeffers, and with Taylor up Jeffers broke for second on a delayed steal. Castro read it perfectly and scored while Jeffers was in a rundown, adding a crucial seventh run.

Broadcast team jinxes Jeffers
In displaying a rather incredible stat, that Jeffers has blocked every ball in the dirt thus far this year in 37 chances, the Bally Sports North team placed a terrible jinx on the catcher, as Jeffers allowed a wild pitch in the fifth inning on a ball in the dirt that allowed a run to score to bring the A’s within a run. Naturally.

What’s Next: Joe Ryan (8-6, 3.70 ERA) tries to give the Twins a sweep against lefty J.P Sears (1-6, 3.97 ERA). Ryan has struggled lately outside of his shutout against Boston, with the home run ball continuing to bite him. Sears was one of the prizes of the A's Frankie Montas trade with the Yankees last year and is exactly the kind of middling lefty starter that has given the Twins fits this year.

Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Durán	0	0	0	17	12	29
Morán	0	0	0	15	13	28
Pagán	0	0	0	27	0	27
Jax	0	0	0	13	6	19
Ortega	0	0	0	0	19	19
Balazovic	0	0	0	17	0	17
Sands	0	0	0	0	0	0
J. López	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

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[SwainZag]

2 ugly wins. 

 

Bottom line: 2-0 since the new season started.   Keep it up. 

[IndianaTwin]

I know it's Oakland and that the Twins followed up a sweep of KC with the Baltimore debacle, but that's 15 runs in two games out of the break. It's also 9.1 innings with five hits and three walks (0.857 WHIP), one run and nine whiffs out of the bullpen. 

The starters struggled in the two games, obviously, but given that that's the strength of this team, I like the two-for-two start. It's nice to get a couple wins when it's the offense and bullpen picking up the starters. 

 

EDIT to add: We're not the only team struggling with Baltimore right now. They've won seven straight. 

[IndianaTwin]

I also noted that all nine hitters got on base at least once. Farmer with the McBat (Missed Cycle By A Triple). 

[wabene]

Plouffe is a goof, lol. 

[TWTwinsFan]

no more Buxton at three hole, that's terrible

[GKuehl]

Great to see Ortega pitch a nice 8th, but hopefully Brock Stewart comes back soon. 

[2wins87]

20 straight scoreless appearances for Jax now dating back to May 22.

All 1 inning or less and 18 or fewer pitches.

The usage might be helping him to be successful but I've been wondering why Rocco hasn't even asked him to start a second once.

I feel like there have been a couple times when Jax finished an inning in less than 10 pitches only for Rocco to go to Duran for 2 innings or to go to a lesser reliever. I could be conflating it into more occurrences than in reality, but Jun 21 against the Red Sox was one that particularly stood out in my memory.  Jax finished the 7th in 8 pitches and Rocco went immediately to Duran with the clear plan of having him go 2 innings. Duran did go 2 innings but not before giving up the lead in the 8th and using 32 pitches. They did end up winning in extras.

Maybe tonight's game wasn't an ideal situation either after pitching last night and against a team where you can put a little more trust in the lesser relievers.  But after breezing through the 7th on 6 pitches, I would have been very tempted to stick with Jax rather than risk going to Ortegas.

It worked out fine, but I don't really understand why Jax is the one guy who never goes multiple innings when he's been so efficient and so good. And he was a starter two years ago, and a multi-inning guy even more recently than that.

[D.C Twins]

My concern is that Buxton has large pay escalators for number of AB. 

He is unlikely to opt out of the line up as long as he can walk to the plate.

The onus is on the Twins FO to shut him down (or at least drop him low in the order)

What a mess. 

[Danchat]

Great day by the hitters, but you have to be concerned with Maeda and Lopez's starts against this A's offense. Meanwhile, the bullpen has been quite solid even down several arms, barring that bad game against the Orioles.

[Unwinder]

OK, the game overall was ugly, but the play where Willi Castro stole home was really good.

[Cap'n Piranha]

Very interesting that Rocco was fine with Ortega pitching with a 2 run lead in the 8th, but needed Duran to pitch with a 3 run lead in the 9th.  Have to think that the pen tomorrow consists of Pagan, Sands, Balazovic, and Lopez, with Ortega also potentially available.  Leave it to Rocco to blow out his fully rested pen in two days against one of the worst teams of all time.

[stringer bell]

 A solid game for Jeffers, although he didn't block a pitch in the dirt. Two walks, a hit and a safety squeeze bunt, plus he did his part on the double steal. More production in a day than the club has from Vázquez in a month.

[stringer bell]

47 minutes ago, Cap'n Piranha said:

Very interesting that Rocco was fine with Ortega pitching with a 2 run lead in the 8th, but needed Duran to pitch with a 3 run lead in the 9th.  Have to think that the pen tomorrow consists of Pagan, Sands, Balazovic, and Lopez, with Ortega also potentially available.  Leave it to Rocco to blow out his fully rested pen in two days against one of the worst teams of all time.

Right now, the injury bug has really hit the bullpen (Stewart, Thielbar, De León) and it might be a while before Jorge López is in a high leverage situation, so others need to come through. Ortega did the job today and actually everyone has in the Oakland series. Ryan is rested and hopefully can give the Twins seven innings today and get the bullpen in a better spot. \

The team won two games when their starters were off--10 runs in 8.1 innings from Maeda and López--I don't think it is the right time to criticize bullpen management.

[SwainZag]

3 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

My concern is that Buxton has large pay escalators for number of AB. 

He is unlikely to opt out of the line up as long as he can walk to the plate.

The onus is on the Twins FO to shut him down (or at least drop him low in the order)

What a mess. 

The problem is we don't see what goes on behind the scenes. 

If he trainers tell Byron his legs aren't there to play the OF but can still hit, who are you blaming?

If Buck is killing the ball in practice and in the cages and the staff and manager feels he is an asset to the team... then what?

It's really easy for fans to say, "Psssh 0-4!! He's a POS, put him on the IL!  He can't play OF, then he can't hit!"

You really think that Rocco knows he's injured and struggling, but keeps him batting third and risking his job because of Buxton's pay escalators?

[Squirrel]

6 hours ago, 2wins87 said:

20 straight scoreless appearances for Jax now dating back to May 22.

All 1 inning or less and 18 or fewer pitches.

The usage might be helping him to be successful but I've been wondering why Rocco hasn't even asked him to start a second once.

I feel like there have been a couple times when Jax finished an inning in less than 10 pitches only for Rocco to go to Duran for 2 innings or to go to a lesser reliever. I could be conflating it into more occurrences than in reality, but Jun 21 against the Red Sox was one that particularly stood out in my memory.  Jax finished the 7th in 8 pitches and Rocco went immediately to Duran with the clear plan of having him go 2 innings. Duran did go 2 innings but not before giving up the lead in the 8th and using 32 pitches. They did end up winning in extras.

Maybe tonight's game wasn't an ideal situation either after pitching last night and against a team where you can put a little more trust in the lesser relievers.  But after breezing through the 7th on 6 pitches, I would have been very tempted to stick with Jax rather than risk going to Ortegas.

It worked out fine, but I don't really understand why Jax is the one guy who never goes multiple innings when he's been so efficient and so good. And he was a starter two years ago, and a multi-inning guy even more recently than that.

Maybe you answered your own questions? Maybe his usage is what’s helping him be successful? 

[William K Johnson]

4 hours ago, Cap'n Piranha said:

Very interesting that Rocco was fine with Ortega pitching with a 2 run lead in the 8th, but needed Duran to pitch with a 3 run lead in the 9th.  Have to think that the pen tomorrow consists of Pagan, Sands, Balazovic, and Lopez, with Ortega also potentially available.  Leave it to Rocco to blow out his fully rested pen in two days against one of the worst teams of all time.

Not a big Baldelli fan but can't blame him for Maeda's effort on Friday.

[Squirrel]

I’ll take an ugly win over an ugly loss any day of the week and twice on Sundays. So often we complain (warranted with this offense) about how the offense doesn’t score enough runs or the BP fails when the starting pitching has done its job. Nice to see those other entities pick it up and hold it when the SP fails. If that’s ugly, I’ll take it.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

8 hours ago, GKuehl said:

Great to see Ortega pitch a nice 8th in ninth, but hopefully Brock Stewart comes back soon. 

And takes Pagan’s spot in the pen

[AlwaysinModeration]

44 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

I’ll take an ugly win over an ugly loss any day of the week and twice on Sundays. 

Sorry to say they only play once today.

[mikelink45]

We have won two games, but struggling like this against the A's is not satisfying.  Let's hope we just put them away today.  In ERA we are 3rd, they are 30th.   In WHIP we are 1st - they are 30th!  

In OPS we are 21 - they are 30.  BA - we are 24 - they are 30.  HR we are 8 - they are 24.

My celebration of a two game winning streak is muted. 

[mikelink45]

I forgot one stat where the two teams are close - the Twins are first in striking out (as batters) and Oakland is third.  

[Jeff D.]

A win is a win. IMO, I believe the Twins would get more of those if they sat, Gallo, Buxton, Kepler and Vasquez most of the time. Correa is beginning to hit and plays a beautiful Shortstop. Miranda is someone the team should deal. A friend of mine says he's young and needs to be given more time. As I said to him, he has a weak arm, questionable defense and he has the Buxton syndrome, always injured. The Twins don't/won't need the guy. Especially if Polanco ever comes back and Farmer can spend a bit more time playing.

Pitching is good, bullpen fair, managing very weak.

Go Twins! Unload some dead weight, win some games. Cleveland is hiccupping right now.

Twins Geezer............out!

[Karbo]

So many people (including myself) want to get rid of Kepler and Gallo. But comparing a few hitting stats;

Kepler .209 Avg  282 OBP .403 Slg

Gallo  .187 Avg ,307 OBP .473 Slg

Buxton .202 Avg .294OBP .423 Slg

Kepler and Gallo both play in the field, And Buxton bats 3rd at DH?

[Doctor Wu]

Good to have a win of course, but disappointing to see Lopez give up so many runs ... and against a fairly weak Oakland lineup. I hope Pablo returns to form in his next outing. 

[Fatbat]

Wellll. We have went from grotesque losses to winning ugly. Seems like a vast improvement in the hitting/scoring runs strategy. ….and the future stars in the farm system are crushing it. Its finally WINNING baseball season!!

[Peter]

I’ll take ugly wins as it’s still a win. Pablo struggled and bit of concern but bullpen/farmer/Taylor and Castro steal of home was huge-big win even if it’s against Oakland-you can’t look past them-upped lead to 1,5 games/let’s hope Cleveland loses and twins get sweep!!

[Linus]

8 hours ago, 2wins87 said:

20 straight scoreless appearances for Jax now dating back to May 22.

All 1 inning or less and 18 or fewer pitches.

The usage might be helping him to be successful but I've been wondering why Rocco hasn't even asked him to start a second once.

I feel like there have been a couple times when Jax finished an inning in less than 10 pitches only for Rocco to go to Duran for 2 innings or to go to a lesser reliever. I could be conflating it into more occurrences than in reality, but Jun 21 against the Red Sox was one that particularly stood out in my memory.  Jax finished the 7th in 8 pitches and Rocco went immediately to Duran with the clear plan of having him go 2 innings. Duran did go 2 innings but not before giving up the lead in the 8th and using 32 pitches. They did end up winning in extras.

Maybe tonight's game wasn't an ideal situation either after pitching last night and against a team where you can put a little more trust in the lesser relievers.  But after breezing through the 7th on 6 pitches, I would have been very tempted to stick with Jax rather than risk going to Ortegas.

It worked out fine, but I don't really understand why Jax is the one guy who never goes multiple innings when he's been so efficient and so good. And he was a starter two years ago, and a multi-inning guy even more recently than that.

I was wondering the same thing. Was plenty nervous when they pulled Jax for Ortega. 

[Linus]

I want to give a hat tip to Jeffers. The guy must have really worked hard on his game in the off season. His improvement in blocking balls is significant. Although the one he had get by him looked like the old Jeffers. Thought he was trying to trap a mouse. 

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

We have one two games, but struggling like this against the A's is not satisfying.  Let's hope we just put them away today.  In ERA we are 3rd, they are 30th.   In WHIP we are 1st - they are 30th!  

In OPS we are 21 - they are 30.  BA - we are 24 - they are 30.  HR we are 8 - they are 24.

My celebration of a two game winning streak is muted. 

Your celebration of winning is often muted. In a season where we won’t see as many as any of us would like, for a host of reasons, you won’t be celebrating at all, so I’ll take what I can get 🙂