Twins 4, Mariners 3: Maeda's Gem and Late-Inning Heroics; Twins Stay Hot

[VivaBomboRivera!]

5 minutes ago, Matt Braun said:

Max Kepler is slashing .341/.378/.585 since the break. Seems good.

Overall still a long way from the 2019 Kepler, but there is still time.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

35 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Out at 3rd was careless. Probably shouldn’t get picked off at 1B either…..2 outs on the bases in same game screams “is this guy very bright?” ……can’t give away outs!

He is just inexperienced. The only way to overcome this flaw is to play baseball. 

[Dman]

Happy to see the Twins putting some distance from the .500 mark.  They were always going to need a run to push forward and now lets hope they have the mojo to sustain a division winning second half.  Its a lot more fun to watch when the team is winning games especially the close ones.

Felt bad for Maeda the pen just loves to sabotage any possible win when he pitches great.  Nice to see him pitch well now the Twins have to find a way to solve Kirby.  Seattle has some good pitching it is surprising they aren't doing a bit better themselves.  

Twins are going to need more wins so hopefully they find a way to take this series and keep things rolling from there.

[JD-TWINS]

34 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

He is just inexperienced. The only way to overcome this flaw is to play baseball. 

Learning experience, I get it, he’s in his mid-20’s playing professionally …..he’s not a Jr. in high school. Making 2 outs on the bases in one game is hard to do……….good news he gets on base at an alarming rate!! Really gone from a fringe guy a month or so ago, with a weak glove, to somebody that’s forced himself into the line-up……he’s exciting in the box.

[Major League Ready]

32 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

He is just inexperienced. The only way to overcome this flaw is to play baseball. 

The premise of not making the 1st or last out at 3B is something I would hope a player understands before they get out of A ball,  The play he was thrown out on was also a hard hit ball virtually straight at the RFer.  Shouldn't any player understand that a ball hit in this manner is going to significantly reduce their chance of making it to 3B safely?   I love Julien but that was a very bad decision.    

[JD-TWINS]

35 minutes ago, Dman said:

Happy to see the Twins putting some distance from the .500 mark.  They were always going to need a run to push forward and now lets hope they have the mojo to sustain a division winning second half.  Its a lot more fun to watch when the team is winning games especially the close ones.

Felt bad for Maeda the pen just loves to sabotage any possible win when he pitches great.  Nice to see him pitch well now the Twins have to find a way to solve Kirby.  Seattle has some good pitching it is surprising they aren't doing a bit better themselves.  

Twins are going to need more wins so hopefully they find a way to take this series and keep things rolling from there.

I agree - Maeda deserved a win in one of the last two outings…….Pen can’t be perfect. Offense needs to come up with a bigger spread than 2-1. Faced a tough opposing pitcher - happy to be fortunate to get past the Jax hanging slider with a win!

Seems to be some momentum building in the dugout…….triple from Larnach, Kirilloff again with a bomb to the wall in LF in 9th, & Kepler 3-4. Fun to watch.

[Vanimal46]

9 hours ago, ashbury said:

Not sure the June '23 Twins win this game.  Maybe the August '23 Twins won't either.  But right now I'm enjoying these July '23 Twins.

Perfectly stated! I don’t know how sustainable this run is, but for now I am enjoying the wins. 

[JDubs]

10 hours ago, BH67 said:

Great win again, and now a four-game lead. But those White Sox uniforms are ewww.

That's crazy talk. Those unis rule.

[stringer bell]

What I suspected is true—right now the Twins are the best extra-innings team in baseball. They owe their winning record to Manfredball. 10-4 record is both the most extra-innings wins and the best percentage. 

[Otaknam]

Finally! A reason to have some optimism. I’ve been waiting for four months for the team to put a streak together where they win 15 of 20 or better. The offense is starting to escape the earlier ineptitude with RISP and finally getting hits when they count. I do appreciate the aggressiveness on the bases, which seemed missing last year. If the offense continues to do it’s job, and with excellent starting pitching, maybe a playoff run past the first round isn’t out of the question. 

Edited July 25, 2023 by Otaknam
Missed something

[Whitey333]

Way to go Twins.  Just win baby!  It's amazing what a nice winner streak does to cover up some real nagging deficiencies on a generally medio re team.  Let's keep winning.  Let's finish off Mariners then go to Royals and sweep them again.

[dex8425]

12 hours ago, Schmoeman5 said:

Just wanted to comment on bad baserunning vs aggressive baserunning. In Juliens case it was a terrible decision. That was a hard hit ball, 1 hopper to the rightfielder. Even if there was a bad throw, he's out. And that was after he got caught snoozing at 1st. Neither play was close. Hopefully he'll be more attentive. Fortunately it didn't t affect the outcome. 

To be fair, Castillo definitely balked picking him off. No way he stepped off the rubber. 

[Jocko87]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

What I suspected is true—right now the Twins are the best extra-innings team in baseball. They owe their winning record to Manfredball. 10-4 record is both the most extra-innings wins and the best percentage. 

I'm very happy to see they seem to be attacking that situation this year. I've been so frustrated with the swing hard just in case plan in Manfred man innings.

[wornsmooth]

11 hours ago, Schmoeman5 said:

Just wanted to comment on bad baserunning vs aggressive baserunning. In Juliens case it was a terrible decision. That was a hard hit ball, 1 hopper to the rightfielder. Even if there was a bad throw, he's out. And that was after he got caught snoozing at 1st. Neither play was close. Hopefully he'll be more attentive. Fortunately it didn't t affect the outcome. 

Love Julien's hitting.

Baseball is a complex game. Baserunning is greatly un derappreciated. One reason I consider runs scored one of the most important stats.

He is a great talent. He needs some coaching on running the bases.

On different notes.1. Again, Larnach gets an RBI. The guy playes runners. He gets it done.

Very happy for J. Lopez. What a job he did in the 10th.

 

 

 

 

[bighat]

3 hours ago, VivaBomboRivera! said:

27 basis point improvement in batting average for the period 30 Jun - 24 Jul over the first 82 games.  Significant improvement in OBP. Almost no change in K rate.  😀😀☹️

K rate is actually higher. Also, if you want to see something very depressing, follow these steps:

1. Go here: https://www.mlb.com/twins

2. Scroll down until you see the "Leaders" column on the right-hand side of the page.

3. Pick any offensive statistic.

4. Sigh deeply and slump in your chair. Yes, it'll evoke a physical reaction because it's THAT bad. 

 

[wabene]

15 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Anybody else notice that the hitting approach with 2-strikes or with RISP is drastically different than in the first half of the year?  Almost all the hitters are taking shorter defensive swings to go opposite field with much success.  The difference to me is night and day.

Yes well if that is the case my only question is why the hell didn't they just start out that way? It isn't like a two strike approach is a new idea. Lots of W's left stranded in the spring. 

[Blyleven2011]

Great to see 2 come from behind walk off wins at home  ...

Maeda continues to surprise me with his consistency since coming back from his injury  , I was clamoring for maeda to be in the bullpen but it looks like the right move as he keeps us in the game ....

Still some work to do if the Twins are to be taken seriously as a contender  , they have played better since the allstar break and I hope they continue to do so ...

As of yesterday  , cleveland and the twins hadn't signed their first round pick in 2023 ...

hope they sign walker Jenkins  ...

 

[Minny505]

2 hours ago, JDubs said:

That's crazy talk. Those unis rule.

[Jeff K]

13 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

At least for July the FO is looking like they made great decisions that most of us have not liked this year - keeping Pagan, keeping Kepler and trading for Jorge Lopez last year (okay, his is only one game and not July).

I have to acknowledge that I sincerely thought Kepler and Maeda were done.  I am so glad to be wrong.  Also, there is no denying how well Pagan has pitched for some time now.  That said, I admit he still makes me nervous.  With Kepler hitting well, the Twins now have options.  They can, of course, keep him.  Or his trade value should be higher and perhaps add a piece to the bullpen.  Either way, his current surge is nice to see.

[joefish]

This resembles how our season began. Playing pretty good ball, winning some close games, good pitching mixed in with some timely hitting.  Steady as she goes now. Maintain some momentum. 

[Schmoeman5]

4 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Learning experience, I get it, he’s in his mid-20’s playing professionally …..he’s not a Jr. in high school. Making 2 outs on the bases in one game is hard to do……….good news he gets on base at an alarming rate!! Really gone from a fringe guy a month or so ago, with a weak glove, to somebody that’s forced himself into the line-up……he’s exciting in the box.

I love Julien at the plate. You can still plug him in on defense knowing what you're going to get. One can live with that. But if he's costing outs on the bases too. That's another matter. And last night wasn't the first time. I'm sure the coaches have his ear. 

[dex8425]

4 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Agreed, I think they just got locked into the pull with a high launch angle strategy and did not want to admit that it didn't work until the first half stats proved that so.  Probably the apathetic feedback from the fans maybe also contributed to the change.

Reminds me of this video, lol. 

 

[Shaitan]

Something about Jax reminds me of Duffey. I know the data says he's better than I think he is, but I view him as a "7th inning" reliever vs the 8th/9th fireman role.  Both were always good, but I just don't see them as elite. Not a knock...more a call for more depth so they don't have to pitch out of place in the postseason. In the regular season, it's just gonna happen sometimes given the schedule.

[Guest]

9 hours ago, VivaBomboRivera! said:

Overall still a long way from the 2019 Kepler, but there is still time.

Two points. One important and one nit-pik.

Important - This is the movie that I fell in love with MT

Nit-pik

[NotAboutWinning]

I will say the win probability graphs have gotten a whole lot more interesting lately 🫣😁