Mariners 5, Twins 0: Bats Find No Answers to Kirby, M’s Take the Series Finale

[Thiéres Rabelo]

After six consecutive good games from the Twins’ offense, the bats went back to sleep in the series finale against the Mariners. Pablo López was far from brilliant but kept Minnesota in the game – something the bullpen failed to do.

Image courtesy of Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score

Starting Pitcher: Pablo López, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (98 pitches, 60 strikes, 61.2%)
Home Runs: none
Bottom 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (-.105), Alex Kirilloff (-.093), Willi Castro (-.084)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

López escapes a couple of jams to complete five
This has not been an easy season for Pablo López at all. After a hot start, he had a roller-coaster stint between late April and early June. Then, he had a fantastic ten starts leading to the All-Star break, which included a memorable complete-game shutout. It seemed like he was back on track… until he gave up seven runs to the last-placed Oakland Athletics last Saturday in his first start after the break. What version of him would be on the mound this afternoon in Seattle?

At first, things didn’t look good. After Mariners’ starter George Kirby took care of the Twins’ offense on only 15 pitches, Seattle’s offense ambushed López in a hurry. They loaded the bases before López could record an out through some early swings. After a strikeout, Teoscar Hernández lined a single to short past a diving Kyle Farmer to push J.P. Crawford across. Despite two incredibly hard-fought at-bats, López managed to strike out the next two batters to end the threat, having given up only the one run, but not before his pitch count reached 36.

López usually enjoys a considerable amount of run support, with the offense scoring an average of 4.31 runs per nine when he’s on the mound this season. The Twins’ offense looked fantastic since the break, having scored at least five runs in each of the six games since. Sadly, that wasn’t the case this afternoon. Minnesota’s bats couldn’t muster a single hit off Kirby until Matt Wallner singled in the third. And that was all the offense could produce for 4 2/3 innings when Farmer tripled to deep center. Kirby didn’t give up a single walk through six while also striking out nine.

Things were rough for Pablo in the first, but he bounced back and tossed two quick, 1-2-3 innings in the second and third. But in the first at-bat of the fourth, Hernández got the best of him again and smacked a solo home run on an elevated four-seamer to make it 2-0 Seattle. López finished off the inning, but with his pitch count already reaching 82. He came back for the fifth and was once again in trouble against the top of the Mariner lineup. Crawford hit a leadoff single shortly before Eugenio Suárez hit a double, and suddenly Seattle had two men in scoring position with only one out. Pablo was able to retire the next two to end the inning – but also his start, as he was closing in on 100 pitches.

The bullpen keeps the chances alive – but not for long
Pablo was far from brilliant, but he kept the Twins’ chances alive. Oliver Ortega retired all five batters he faced, combining with Jorge López to deliver two scoreless frames of relief. But ultimately, it was up to an uninspired Minnesota offense to change the outcome of this game. For two consecutive innings, the Twins got leadoff singles against Kirby, with Édouard Julien in the sixth and Wallner in the seventh. Unfortunately for Minnesota, the brilliant M’s starter pitched around both of those hits to complete seven shutout innings with ten strikeouts and not a single walk.

Jorge López had taken over in relief of Ortega to get the final out of the seventh on two pitches. Returning for the eighth, the Mariners’ bats successfully ambushed him and basically put the game out of reach – given how bad the Twins' offense had been throughout this game. Suárez jumped on the second pitch he saw for a leadoff single and was followed by a monster home run by Mike Ford, who crushed a slider hung by López at the heart of the plate. López looked completely lost throughout the entirety of the eighth inning: he hit three hitters to load the bases before he could close out the inning.

Cole Sands inherited López’s jam, and with a wild pitch, he allowed Cal Raleigh to score Seattle’s fifth run from third. He did, however, get the final out next. It was up to the offense to try a miracle rally in the ninth, but they couldn’t get anything other than a bloop single by Donovan Solano. Byron Buxton struck out to represent the game’s final out, extending his horrifying slump to 0-for-26 with 16 strikeouts dating back to July 8.

Postgame interview

What’s Next?
After a winning West Coast trip, the Twins head back to the Twin Cities for a six-game homestand. They’ll host the Chicago White Sox at Target Field for a three-game set starting on Friday (7/21). Game one is scheduled to start at 7:10 pm CDT, with Joe Ryan (8-6, 3.77 ERA) toeing the rubber for Minnesota and old friend Lance Lynn (6-8, 6.06 ERA) making the start for Chicago.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	SUN	MON	TUE	WED	THU	TOT
J. López	18	10	0	0	28	56
Ortega	0	27	0	0	18	45
Durán	18	0	0	20	0	38
Pagán	12	0	8	11	0	31
Sands	0	0	17	0	3	20
Jax	0	0	0	15	0	15
Balazovic	0	0	15	0	0	15
Morán	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[USAFChief]

5-2 road trip works.

Get em Friday. 

 

[PDX Twin]

Buxton and Gallo have now combined for 206 strikeouts vs. 93 hits and 68 walks. Both are racing south from the Mendoza line as fast as they can and have OBP < .300. 

[wabene]

Had to work and alas "missed" this game.

[darwin22]

Pretty predictable outcome facing SEA SP Kirby.  

Pablo Lopez sure isn't doing much to limit the constant criticism of trading Arraez away.  He was lucky to escape with only 2 runs allowed.

At what point does management come to Buxton to move him to IL?  0 for last 26.  Just brutal.  

Jorge Lopez has become Pagan.   Ugly.

Any timetable on return of Thielbar?  Brock Stewart?  They are both desperately needed back healthy and effective.

Time to erase this game and get a series win vs. White Sox.

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

I'm not sure if that lineup could score against Chief. There were what, three legit MLB hitters playing and two of those are largely unproven (AK and Wallner)?

[darwin22]

18 minutes ago, PDX Twin said:

Buxton and Gallo have now combined for 206 strikeouts vs. 93 hits and 68 walks. Both are racing south from the Mendoza line as fast as they can and have OBP < .300. 

With 13 more whiffs today---Twins have crested the "1000 mark"----now at (1002) after 98 games, for an average of 10.22 Ks per game.  

Team on pace----with Buxton and Gallo leading the way-------with 64 games remaining to set the MLB record for most team whiffs on the season.  At current rate, Twins will finish with 1656 K's which would shatter the 2021 record of the Cubs who whiffed 1596 times.

[Hubie29]

14 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I'm not sure if that lineup could score against Chief. There were what, three legit MLB hitters playing and two of those are largely unproven (AK and Wallner)?

Who puts the lineup out there? Can't have it both ways with your boy Baldelli. Worst manager the Twins have had in a very long time. Molitor was even better than him. You have to go back to Ray Miller to find someone worse. 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Hubie29
Adding

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, Hubie29 said:

Who puts the lineup out there?

Can only play the guys he's given, and CC needs a day off occasionally. I doubt he's alone in deciding Buck is the DH....They have 2 DFA / Backups starting in the OF, plus Kepler (who is hot right now, but been awful most of the year). That's three positions plus Buxton.....leaving not much room for the other 5 hitters. 

[Nashvilletwin]

54 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

5-2 road trip works.

Get em Friday. 

 

Agree, we took care of the A’s like we should have and a split on the road against a good pitching Mariners club is certainly acceptable.  Mission accomplished on this west coast swing.

[CRF]

Obviously, they're not gonna dump Bux, but Gallo should be DFA'd. Bux should go on the IL. 

[Nashvilletwin]

I have to admit, watching Julien throw to first reminds me how I use to feel when Delmon Young was tracking a fly ball….

But Julien made a nifty play today - a real Web Gem.  Fun to watch, nice  to see.

[mikelink45]

Mariners and Twins both playing like 500 teams.  

Jorge Lopez is just awful, and Pablo is not the ace material we have read about.

But the Ks!  Buxton and Gallo should not be in the same lineup at any point.  Brutal to have these two well paid vets performing so poorly.  

Let's hope the White Sox are not laying an ambush.  They have been playing a lot better.  

[Doctor Gast]

Lopez had the best post All-Star SP performance so far, but overall the offense & BP let him down.

[USAFChief]

33 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Lopez had the best post All-Star SP performance so far

Kenta Maeda says hi.

[MMMordabito]

How's Keoni Cavaco working out?

[curt1965]

I really don’t understand why Gallo is still around.  DFA him now. Say you screwed up when you signed him.

(he obviously has some incriminating pictures of Falvine!)

[DocBauer]

A 5-2 west coast trip after the break is very good. Stinks they couldn't have been 6-1 since I think they really missed out on game 1 in Seattle, but I'll take it. And until today, so far, seeing more complete and level offensive production.

People need to stop piling on P Lopez.  He's been damn good most all games, with some great numbers. Granted he's suffered a bit from what I call "Radke disease", where he has a tough inning, especially early. (As great as Radke was, he had this problem at times). Despite struggling, Lopez went 5IP and only allowed 2 runs. How is that bad?

The offense choked today. That's not on P Lopez. He only allowed 2 runs! And the Twins were shut out. It's NOT on him.

J Lopez is a issue. His additional runs didn't matter. But his future as a Twin, as a professional ballplayer is in question. His family and his mental health and well being are more important than baseball. Did his IL stint and ongoing therapy help him as a father and man? I sure hope so. Was today just a bad day? I sure hope so.

I believe the Twins will stick by J Lopez as a person, as part of the organization. But at some point, a decision will have to be made both professionally and personally if he and the team are better served working things out on the roster, or moving again to the IL, maybe the 60 day, to get his career and life on track for the future. 

Maybe it was just a bad day. Maybe he really needs the structure of being a ML player to get him through everything. But a decision might be forthcoming. 

I'm rooting for him as a Twin and father to find a calm place.

 

[Cozinator]

When I looked at the line up for the game... saw Buxton and Gallo penciled in, with Correa (could have DH'd) and Kepler sitting, I figured we would only score a couple of runs. I was optimistic, obviously.

[D.C Twins]

When Polanco is back, he is at 2nd, Julian is at DH and Buck is on the IL or the bench....

Anything else is organizational malpractice. 

[AceWrigley]

That last Mariner run: HBP, HBP, HBP, wild pitch. I don't think I've ever seen that and I don't think I want to see it again.

[Doctor Evil]

If you remain loyal to the player and ignore the results you are taking away the fight for playing time and create a meh attitude. The decisions that are made by this management team are the opposite of putting winning first.

[Kummel]

Twins found a winning or at least a workable formula in the 2 games they removed Buxton from the lineup.   I'd try sticking with what works.

[Riverbrian]

I have no complaints. 

5-2 out of the the all star break gate is wonderful. 

[Doctor Wu]

13 hours ago, wabene said:

Had to work and alas "missed" this game.

Be very glad that you missed it!

[Doctor Wu]

At least Wallner is starting to get some hits again. 

[wabene]

11 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Kenta Maeda says hi.

Technically that was his translator Daichi Sekizaki

[Peter]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

I have no complaints. 

5-2 out of the the all star break gate is wonderful. 

Totally agree with you-at break .5 out of first place and 1 game under .500 now 2 games over .500 and 2 games ahead in division! 

[MABB1959]

9 hours ago, Kummel said:

Twins found a winning or at least a workable formula in the 2 games they removed Buxton from the lineup.   I'd try sticking with what works.

Never going to happen with a manager that doesn't have any instinct, it i all about what his tablet is telling him which is needed but with a combination of rolling with what was working the last 2 games.  It wasn't even a home game where I can kind of see Buxton in the lineup just for the fans.  VERY PERPLEXING!

[Swing Batter-Batter]

14 hours ago, darwin22 said:

With 13 more whiffs today---Twins have crested the "1000 mark"----now at (1002) after 98 games, for an average of 10.22 Ks per game.  

Team on pace----with Buxton and Gallo leading the way-------with 64 games remaining to set the MLB record for most team whiffs on the season.  At current rate, Twins will finish with 1656 K's which would shatter the 2021 record of the Cubs who whiffed 1596 times.

Management will be very proud of the new record they are about to establish.