Twins 5, White Sox 4: Twins Rally to Stun and Sweep the White Sox

[Steven Trefz]

The Twins entered Sunday's matinee looking for a sweep of (and a knockout blow to) the White Sox. Like previous matchups, the Twins bats struggled early. All was not lost, however, especially the game as the Twins rallied multiple times late to send the Target Field faithful home happy.

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober: 6 IP 5 H 3 ER 0 BB 6 SO (82 Pitches, 54 Strikes, 66%)
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Ryan Jeffers (.439), Kyle Farmer (.301), Joey Gallo (.254)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

 
This game featured strong starting pitching, elite relief pitching, timely offense and missed opportunities galore. When the final run crossed the plate, Twins territory was cheering and the White Sox faithful were crying yet again. A sweep for the Twins and another game gained in the AL Central. It wasn't pretty, but it counts all the same.

Cluttered Bases, Missed Opportunities
The Twins started their offensive attack with a lead off single by Carlos Correa, and a walk by Edouard Julien. A double play and a Donovan Solano strikeout ended the threat quickly, and gave a foreshadowing of the offensive day that would follow. 

Max Kepler laced a lead off double in the bottom of the second, only to get erased at the plate while trying to score on a Matt Wallner single to right. Runners at the corners came to nothing later in the inning following a Michael A. Taylor strikeout. Kepler and Wallner found their way onto the base paths again in the bottom of the fourth, only to be stranded by yet another Taylor strikeout.

The Lucas Giolito time machine generated nine strikeouts in the first five innings, and held the Twins scoreless despite surrendering six hits and three walks.

White Sox Skip the Bases
Bailey Ober tossed a quality start, but he needed perfection today. Eloy Jimenez greeted an Ober fastball with a moon shot to center field to lead off the second inning, putting the White Sox up 1-0. Rookie Zach Remillard thought that approach was worth imitating, and he took the second pitch of the third inning deep for his first career home run, stretching the Chicago lead to 2-0.

Sloppy defense in the top of the fifth led to the third White Sox run, as Ryan Jeffers let it fly on a stolen base attempt by Oscar Colas, and Colas ended up at third base. Remillard struck again, singling home Colas to push the lead to 3-0.

Twins Offense Continues to Hit the Snooze Button
Giolito exited after five innings, and the Chicago bullpen didn't miss a beat. Wallner continued to rake, with a double in the sixth. However, everyone else who tried to bat in the last four innings flailed and failed against the White Sox relief crew. Joe Kelly and Reynaldo Lopez combined to silence the Twins for three innings, collecting another five strikeouts in the process.

The Twins Finally Wake Up in the Ninth
The White Sox brought in their closer Kendall Graveman to seal the deal, and the Twins fans who stuck around to the bitter end were glad they did! Wallner stayed hot, and drew a six-pitch walk to lead off the inning. Jeffers laced a single up up the middle, and all of a sudden the Twins had yet another cluttered base situation. This time, Rocco Baldelli went to the bench and brought in captain pink eye Willi Castro, who took out three days of conjunctivitis frustration on the baseball.

With the score now 3-1 after the Castro double, Correa lined a looper to left, and Andrew Benintendi couldn't say that three times fast, but he did catch it at his shoelaces for the first out. Jeffers was able to tag and score to cut the lead to one run at 3-2, but the tension grew as Castro stayed at second, now with one down. Julien stepped up to the hero's plate, but had one of his weaker swings after working a 3-1 count, flying out to left for the second out. 

Twins fans started collecting their things and post-game recap writers started scrambling to write their "woe is me" headlines, but Alex Kirilloff decided that extra innings were in order, as he dropped an opposite field double down the line to plate Castro, and tie the game 3-3.

To the 10th We Go...
Jhoan Duran got the call for the Twins in the top of the 10th inning, and he got the first two White Sox batters on a strike out and a ground out. Tim Anderson came up with the ghost runner on third, and with two strikes delivered a soul-deflating rocket to the gap in right to put the White Sox back ahead 4-3. Luis Robert struck out to strand Anderson at second, but the damage was done and the deck was stacked against the Twins yet again.

Lefty Tanner Banks took the 10th for Chicago, which led to Kyle Farmer pinch hitting for Kepler to lead things off. Joey Gallo assumed the ghost runner position, and run he did. Gallo ran to third base when Banks bounced a pitch to the backstop. Then when Farmer weakly flied to short right field, Gallo ran home because the right fielder decided to lie down on the job.

Byron Buxton kept the excitement going with a bloop to center. Christian Vazquez pinch-hit for Wallner. Let that sink in for a bit. Vazquez popped out to second base on the first pitch. The comment space below is provided for your reflections on that situation.

Jeffers tried to pop out in foul territory, but Anderson whiffed on it to offer a second chance. Buxton never tried to steal, but Jeffers ended up walking to push Buxton into scoring position anyways. Castro came to the plate for hero moment number two, but popped up weakly to center to send us into yet another bonus frame.

To the 11th We Go...
Griffin Jax got the call for the 11th inning, and Robert started the inning at second base. Jimenez flied out to Castro in center to start the inning, and Yasmani Grandal grounded out to Julien to advance Robert to third with two outs. Jake Burger had gone hitless through the first four innings, and he decided that was pattern worth repeating as Jax struck him out swinging to hold the Sox scoreless.

Banks stayed in for the White Sox, and they intentionally walked Correa to put runners on first and second for Julien. Their plan was affirmed when Julien missed a few fastballs that could have sent everyone home happy, and ended up striking out. Kirilloff was the next lefty vs. lefty matchup, and Castro decided to spice things up by stealing third base! Now, with the winning run 90 feet away, Kirilloff ripped the winning hit down the right field line...only to have Grandal make a leaping snag for out number two.

Lefty vs. lefty matchup number three fell upon Gallo's hefty shoulders. Those hefty shoulders tried to draw a bunt down the first base line in a move that surprised all humans everywhere. It didn't work, and Grandal caught the easy pop up to send us to yet another inning with a grand chance squandered.

Each Extra Inning Shouldn't Get It's Own Headline
Emilio Pagan pitched the 11th for the Twins. He did amazingly well, stranding the ghost runner yet again to set up a potential walk-off moment for the sweep. 

A mostly blind Gallo stood at second base, and Farmer stood in the box against the new righty reliever Jesse Scholtens. Farmer sliced a single to right and Gallo checked up on third base with nobody out. The White Sox intentionally walked Buxton, and Vazquez (remember this was Wallner's spot) found himself up with the bases loaded and nobody out. On a 2-0 count, he hit a weak grounder to short, and after a 6-2-3 double play, the Twins faithful were stretching their comment fingers yet again.

Jeffers said do not fear, I am still here (even after taking a foul ball to the throat an inning earlier in a situation where the Twins had no bench players left), and he poked an opposite field grounder to right to win it all! 

What’s Next:
The Mariners come to town for three games, with the revived Twins RHP Kenta Maeda (2-5, 5.10 ERA) taking the hill to start the series. Seattle sends RHP Luis Castillo (6-7, 3.04 ERA) who took a no-decision against the Twins last week. The Twins look to keep the good vibes rolling against a jet lagged Mariner squad. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm on Monday at Target Field.

Postgame Interviews

 

Bullpen Usage Chart:

Durán	20	0	0	21	16	57
Ortega	0	18	0	0	36	54
Jax	15	0	0	16	8	39
J. López	0	28	0	0	9	37
Pagán	11	0	15	0	11	37
Morán	0	0	22	0	0	22
Balazovic	0	0	0	7	0	7
Sands	0	3	0	0	0	3

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[BH67]

On the bandwagon after this one.

[USAFChief]

GREAT WIN!!

 

I must say, I was originally going to blister Rocco for PHing Vazquez, but upon thinking about it, I give Rocco props for thinking 2 innings ahead. 

"We will have a bases loaded, no out situation in the 12th. We can't do **** with the bases loaded. I need Vazquez to, uh, UNload 'em. 2 on, 2 out? Much better. Jeffers will single, bingo bango bongo, adios Chicago, walk off here we come, off to a nice Sunday night dinner, bring on the Mariners."

Rocco's playing 3d chess, while I'm playing checkers.

 

[cmoss84]

Meet Mr. Mentom...Mo Mentom

[GNess]

Twins kept competing until the game was over. A team win all the way. I am optimistic that those are qualities we will see more often over the final 60 games and into the postseason. Also it's never a bad thing to sweep the Chisox.

[Fatbat]

Please dont let Pagan pitch in a high leverage spot for the next series. Lightning doesn’t strike twice….

[strumdatjag]

1 minute ago, Fatbat said:

Please dont let Pagan pitch in a high leverage spot for the next series. Lightning doesn’t strike twice….

Surprise.  Pagan has looked pretty good lately.    Until Thielbar gets back and proves himself, Emilio is the #3 reliever (behind Duran and Jax and ahead of Jorge Lopez, Moran etc). 

[Fatbat]

As of right now, the Twins are the only team in MLB with 8 wins in the last 10 played. Wait…. What? 

[William K Johnson]

It seems that early on every time we had scoring opportunities, either Solano or Taylor would strike out.   Both had terrible games at the plate.    Vasquez hitting for Wallner is a head scratcher.

[FlyingFinn]

Is Gallo really having trouble seeing? And is that why he bunted? Rough spot to be put in (I know he pinch ran), batting against 90+ mph pitchers if so.

[darwin22]

9 minutes ago, strumdatjag said:

Surprise.  Pagan has looked pretty good lately.    Until Thielbar gets back and proves himself, Emilio is the #3 reliever (behind Duran and Jax and ahead of Jorge Lopez, Moran etc). 

smh, but you're absolutely right.  Lopez is a mess. Moran seldom has any command.  Hopefully, Thielbar (soon) and Stewart (within 2 weeks) can return to solidify our pen, which could move Pagan back into a 6th-7th inning role.

[umterp23]

Good win for the Twins today.  When you put the ball in play, good stuff can happen and eventually we got the good stuff late in the game.  Vazquez swinging on 2-0 fastball below the knees isn't a pitch you can do anything with.  He should know better.  Happy for Jeffers especially after taking one under the chin on foul ball. No days off, boys need to find energy with Mariners coming to town.  Go Twins! 

[Melissa]

We were gifted seats in the Sky Club to take my elderly Army veteran father in law. Dad is struggling with Parkinson’s and related ailments so this was an exceptional opportunity for us.

Kept us out of that baking sun so we had the stamina to hold on to the amazing final innings. Kept hoping Buck or Eddie or Alex would bring the team home, and Alex did his best with his 2-out double to tie it up.
FINALLY, when Ryan brushed off the foul tip to the throat to hit the winning knock, all was good. What a finish!

Bailey Ober looked strong apart from the two solo home runs, and I must say Ortega and Pagán held the *** Sox in check.

What a sweet sweep job this was!!

[Linus]

Happy Jeffers got to be the hero after taking one under chin. Really impressed with Tim Anderson at bat against Duran. Short compact swing that resulted in a bullet to right center. Wish the Twins had more swings like that. 

[IndianaTwin]

I’ll bite on pinch hitting Vazquez for Wallner. 

1. I don’t like to second-guess in general, at least in part because I never have all the pieces of information that go into a decision.

2. But for his career and for the season, Vazquez has an OPS of .730 against lefties, in several hundred at bats.

3. Albeit in a SSS, Wallner is 0-3 on the season vs. lefties and has a career OPS of .293 against lefties. That’s not OBP. That’s not Slugging. That’s OPS. Someone will say, “But how he’s ever going to hit lefties if he doesn’t get a chance?” By getting a chance in lower-leverage situations. Some of us grumble at times, but all in all, the team’s MO with rookies is to bring them along slowly into pressure situations whenever possible. 

4. By already having used Castro, Gallo and Farmer, I suspect Rocco had already committed to taking Wallner out for defensive purposes if it reached another inning. The only way to do that is to go to Vazquez anyway, so he pretty much knew that Vazquez was going to be hitting in that spot if the game went through the lineup another time.

5. People were worried about using the second catcher, in case something happened to Jeffers (and it nearly did). In reality, they had an intermediate option if Jeffers has a minor injury. When Jeffers got hit, for example, an option was to flip him and Vazquez. And there was even another option, to actually use Buxton on defense.

6. See also, Chief’s comment above. 🤣

 

Right decision? Who knows. But to me, it’s much more defensible than he’s given credit for.  

[IndianaTwin]

47 minutes ago, strumdatjag said:

Surprise.  Pagan has looked pretty good lately.    Until Thielbar gets back and proves himself, Emilio is the #3 reliever (behind Duran and Jax and ahead of Jorge Lopez, Moran etc). 

And had it gone another inning, I’d have been inclined to go another inning with Pagan before going to Moran, Sands or Balazovic, who were the three remaining. 

[tony&rodney]

Great win for the Twins. 

Wallner sure messed up on his single to right field. With Kepler running and it looking like a close play from all angles, Wallner has to go to second base and force the cutoff man to make a decision. If the ball is cut, Wallner is out and the run scores. If the throw goes through, Wallner is at second base. These mistakes are crucial to games.

Still a wonderful team victory.

[FlyingFinn]

Odd, Larnach pulled after 1 AB tonight with St. Paul. Would he now be coming up with Gallo going on the IL? Probably not but odd.........  The other bad news is that he has been mostly dreadful with the Saints for a month after posting great early numbers there.

[Fatbat]

1 hour ago, strumdatjag said:

Surprise.  Pagan has looked pretty good lately.    Until Thielbar gets back and proves himself, Emilio is the #3 reliever (behind Duran and Jax and ahead of Jorge Lopez, Moran etc). 

Its been a minute since he gave up a small lead. I trust Balazovic more that Pagan but its nice to see mgmnt using the players to their best abilities.  I’ll tip my hat to Pagan if he doesn’t blow a hold for the rest of 2023. 

[stringer bell]

The Twins stand at 53-48 with a three game lead on Cleveland, with Detroit seven back. Last year, after 101 games, the Twins record was ...............53-48. They were in first place then, as well, but with only a one-game lead. The best the Twins did the rest of the season was to get seven games over .500 and their largest lead from that point in the season was two games. They last were tied for the lead on September 4 and from that point went 10-20 while Cleveland finished 24-6 to run away with the Central. 

[RpR]

I quit listening at the top of the Ninth, surprise, surprise.

[CoastiePilot08]

Rocco PH Vasquez for Wallner was a big brain move. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

I give Rocco props for thinking 2 innings ahead. 

"We will have a bases loaded, no out situation in the 12th. We can't do **** with the bases loaded…

 

Actually, that Vazquez substitution and subsequent double play is covered in his Excel spreadsheet, just like every other possible situation. It just happens to be way down in cells DU4259-4290. 🙂

[stringer bell]

Rocco was again super aggressive trying to win by pinch hitting Vázquez, who came up with two really lousy plate appearances in this game. Yesterday, Vázquez was a key player in the victory. MAT got the game-winner yesterday and today looked pretty helpless. That is the way it goes with players of this caliber. I'll not quote the defense above, but Wallner would not have been removed if he stayed in the game to hit (Kirilloff stays at first, Wallner in (probably) right field and Gallo in left).

I don't know if I would be willing to bet the house on Vázquez getting a big hit, but I don't think Wallner was a high-percentage play to win the game there either. 

I don't know if there are any stats that bear out this observation, but of all the players on the team, I think Farmer takes the best at-bats with the game on the line. Today's single to right in the twelfth was outstanding and he has a couple of walk-off hits. 

[stringer bell]

24 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

Its been a minute since he gave up a small lead. I trust Balazovic more that Pagan but its nice to see mgmnt using the players to their best abilities.  I’ll tip my hat to Pagan if he doesn’t blow a hold for the rest of 2023. 

Easily his best season since 2019. Reliever are so volatile.

[IndianaTwin]

33 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

It’s been a minute since he gave up a small lead. I trust Balazovic more that Pagan but its nice to see mgmnt using the players to their best abilities.  I’ll tip my hat to Pagan if he doesn’t blow a hold for the rest of 2023. 

Today was his 40th game. He’s blown a hold twice. 

[stringer bell]

I also want to say that the most improved player from the conclusion of 2022 to now is Jeffers. The defense has been much improved and the offensive numbers are much better. 

[IndianaTwin]

14 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Rocco was again super aggressive trying to win by pinch hitting Vázquez, who came up with two really lousy plate appearances in this game. Yesterday, Vázquez was a key player in the victory. MAT got the game-winner yesterday and today looked pretty helpless. That is the way it goes with players of this caliber. I'll not quote the defense above, but Wallner would not have been removed if he stayed in the game to hit (Kirilloff stays at first, Wallner in (probably) right field and Gallo in left).

I don't know if I would be willing to bet the house on Vázquez getting a big hit, but I don't think Wallner was a high-percentage play to win the game there either. 

I don't know if there are any stats that bear out this observation, but of all the players on the team, I think Farmer takes the best at-bats with the game on the line. Today's single to right in the twelfth was outstanding and he has a couple of walk-off hits. 

You’re right that he wouldn’t have NEEDED to replace Wallner. My comment was that he could have very well been planning to. I’m not sure which is a better defense — Vazquez at 1B, with AK/Castro/Gallo in the OF vs. AK at 1B with Gallo/Castro/Wallner in the OF. 

I definitely agree on your last paragraph about Farmer. He’s the guy I most trust to have a good at bat in situations like today. 

[IndianaTwin]

WPA question here, for those who know this stat better than me.

On today’s play where Gallo scored on the sac fly by Farmer, does the entire positive WPA contribution go to Farmer? If so, that’s ironic, since Gallo is the one who deserved it with his heads-up base running. 

[stringer bell]

Rocco made a lot of pretty good moves and handled the bullpen expertly. I don't think Baldelli is an expert tactician, but he isn't among the worst at handling his personnel IMHO.