Twins 5, St. Louis 3: Twins Secure Series Win as Sonny Gray Snaps Three-Month Victory Dry Spell

[Sherry Cerny]

The Twins finish out the series against the Cardinals Thursday night taking the series. After the shellacking on Wednesday, the change of pace was very welcome, and the guys played like a well-oiled machine. 

Image courtesy of USA Today Jeff Curry 3 AUG 2023

 

Box Score
SP: Sonny Gray 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K (77 pitches, 55 strikes (71%)
Home Runs:  Ryan Jeffers (6), Michael A. Taylor (13) 
Top 3 WPA: Sonny Gray .201, Ryan Jeffers .161, Michael A. Taylor .141
Bottom 3 WPA: Edouard Julien -.043, Carlos Correa -.042, Kyle Farmer -.038

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

 

The first inning of the game moved rather quickly for both sides. The Twins led off with Carlos Correa back in the lineup, but Matthew Liberatore didn't mess around and promptly shut down the offense. Sonny Gray started his appearance against Lars Nootbaar, striking him out with a 1-2-3 and getting the next two hitters retiring with pop-out flies. 

Jorge Polanco started off the second inning with a walk which came in handy as Ryan Jeffers got his sixth home run off Liberatore's curveball. Jeffers has not performed well against lefties (.649 OPS vs. LHP coming into tonight's contest), so a two-run home run was a great start and provided Gray with immediate run support (something he doesn't get much of from this team). 

Willi Castro, who has been keeping the Twins' offense alive lately, got a double when Libertore deflected the ball to left fielder Nootbaar. During Michael A. Taylor's at-bat, Castro saw an opportunity and stole his 27th base of the season. With Castro on third, Taylor launched his 13th home run deep into left field. The Twins ended the second inning with four runs of padding for Gray. 

The second inning looked like the Twins may have a battle on their hands as Gray's pitches turned into singles, leaving the Cardinals in constant scoring position. With one out and Tommy Edman on first base, Dylan Carlson hit a line drive into left field, past Castro for a double, scoring Edman from first base, closing the Cardinals' 4-1 gap. Sonny and the defense got out of the inning without any further damage. 

Both pitchers slowed the lineups through the fifth inning, but things started to get away from Liberatore in the sixth inning with a couple of singles from Donovan Solano and Edouard Julien. 

With one out and Jeffers up to bat, they took a mound break to determine the best move. Knowing what a threat Jeffers was, Liberatore adjusted, throwing low, getting him to chase, and mitigating Jeffers' potential damage, but then walking Castro to load the bases. With bases loaded, the Cardinals brought in Drew VerHagen. 

VerHagen walked Taylor, pushing across a run to put the Twins back up by four runs. 

The Cardinals returned within three in the sixth inning with a solo home run from Alec Burleson to get the Cardinals up 5-2. Still, again, Gray got out of the inning with no other issues and was back for the seventh with complete domination to close out his appearance. Gray indeed appeared a lot more confident and in control of this game, and it showed. The run support from the Twins also allowed him to lessen his stress and keep things tight. 

Griffin Jax threw just an exceptional inning. Even though a few players threatened, the defense came in strong when needed. Jax threw two pitches to Paul Goldschmidt that were absolute heat and got out of the inning, securing the Twins lead for at least another inning.  

Jhoan Duran put the Cardinals to rest but struggled to do so quickly and without damage. Duran has had a weird road series and the past few games with the Twins, and tonight the oddity continued as he threw a wild pitch that prompted a towel wipe down to control his sweat and inability to grip the ball. 

After a complete wipedown of the arms, delivery of a fresh rosin bag, and mound visit, Duran fired off a fastball that was shot directly to Correa on a hop, who fired an absolute canon to Solano, who masterfully picked it perfectly to retire Dylan Carlson. Burleson scored on the play, making it a 5-3 game.

The ninth inning was a little too close for comfort, but Duran got out of the game with only 15 pitches thrown. 

A win not only for the Twins but it was also Sonny Gray's first win since April. 

What's Next? 
Tomorrow the Twins start a series back home against the Diamondbacks, who just loaded up their lineup in hopes of a postseason run. Arizona will be a good team, and the Twins need to continue to dig deep and find that fire, especially against their pitching. 

Friday 7:10 pm: RHP Bailey Ober (6-5, 3.19 ERA) vs. RHP Merrill Kelly (9-5, 3.23 ERA)
Saturday 6:10 pm: RHP Kenta Maeda (2-6, 4.53 ERA) vs. RHP Ryne Nelson (6-5, 4.84 ERA)
Sunday 1:10 pm: RHP Jorge Lopez (6-6, 4.01 ERA) vs. RHP Zac Gallen (11-5, 3.41 ERA)

 

Postgame Interviews

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

View full article

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

A win makes for a better flight home 

[stringer bell]

Congratulations to Sonny Gray. Three months without winning a decision is a long time. He had a lot of good outings mixed in, but finally got a "W".

[Blyleven2011]

It should be Pedro Lopez pitching on Sunday  , I believe we traded Jorge Lopez  ....

Nice series win , Sonny got run support for the W ...

[Sean.h]

1 hour ago, Blyleven2011 said:

It should be Pedro Lopez pitching on Sunday  , I believe we traded Jorge Lopez  ....

Nice series win , Sonny got run support for the W ...

You mean Pablo Lopez :)

[CRF]

We finally got him a few runs, and it was enough to hang on. Nice to see him get the win. 

[Peter]

This was huge series win!!! Especially after KC fiasco. Sonny was fantastic!!! Finally a win. Hopefully he can go on long winning streak. The 2 home runs in 2nd inning were huge. 8th/9th inning were too close for comfort but jax/Duran came through. Division lead is 2.5 and another huge difficult series with Arizona is next. Go Twins!!

[Doctor Wu]

Another timely hit from Michael A. Taylor. He's been another one of those steady but underappreciated players on the team this year. Seems like he was signed as "insurance" in case Buxton wasn't ready to start the season in the field, and we all know how that's worked out. No, Taylor is not a .300 hitter, but he's come alive at the right times this year, and I'm happy we have him on the team. 

[Doctor Wu]

4 minutes ago, Peter said:

This was huge series win!!! Especially after KC fiasco. Sonny was fantastic!!! Finally a win. Hopefully he can go on long winning streak. The 2 home runs in 2nd inning were huge. 8th/9th inning were too close for comfort but jax/Duran came through. Division lead is 2.5 and another huge difficult series with Arizona is next. Go Twins!!

Jax came through indeed, but Duran coughed up another run in his inning, something he's been doing more and more lately. Right now I'm wondering if he's the guy we want pitching with the game on the line or not?

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, Blyleven2011 said:

It should be Pedro Lopez pitching on Sunday  , I believe we traded Jorge Lopez  ....

Nice series win , Sonny got run support for the W ...

Actually if we are nitpicking, who is Pedro Lopez?

[mikelink45]

14 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

Jax came through indeed, but Duran coughed up another run in his inning, something he's been doing more and more lately. Right now I'm wondering if he's the guy we want pitching with the game on the line or not?

I share your concern.  I like to look at BR - last five games to see a little of the trend.  Is he tired, In the heat I can understand that and the sweat he had to wipe off.  We need him if we are going to do anything in the playoffs. 

 

[Doctor Wu]

4 minutes ago, Patzky said:

Actually if we are nitpicking, who is Pedro Lopez?

maybe the long-lost cousin? Actually, there WAS a Pedro Lopez that pitched briefly for Washington about 12 years ago. 

[Patzky]

Washington? Vote for Pedro.

[rv78]

Is it coincidence or what............ No Buxton, Gallo, Kepler in the starting lineup and the Twins win. Now if they could get the other veteran who can't hit, Correa, on the bench they could maybe get a winning streak going. Or at least move him to the bottom of the order.

[Karbo]

I would have let Gray try to get thru the 8th to save Jax. We will probably (hopefully) need him this weekend. Glad to see Julian and Wallner get some AB's against a lefty!

[jorgenswest]

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

Jax came through indeed, but Duran coughed up another run in his inning, something he's been doing more and more lately. Right now I'm wondering if he's the guy we want pitching with the game on the line or not?

The run was scored as a result of…

• a 10 hopper just out of the reach of the second baseman
• a ground ball out and choice by Correa to get the sure out at first though it looked like he could have got the lead runner if that mattered
• a wild pitch advancing the runner to third 
• another ground ball out
• an infield hit deflected off Duran
• a strike out with tying run at the plate 

He kept the ball on the ground. He didn’t walk anyone. Last night’s outing did not leave me with any wonderings.

[AceWrigley]

2 hours ago, Sean.h said:

You mean Pablo Lopez :)

Yeah, we are such good Twins fans aren't we? Sometimes we don't even know who we are talking about. 😀

[JDubs]

2 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Jax came through indeed, but Duran coughed up another run in his inning, something he's been doing more and more lately. Right now I'm wondering if he's the guy we want pitching with the game on the line or not?

Individual players have ups and downs. In '99 Rivera won the relief pitcher of the year award in a season when he has a 1.89  ERA. That same season he blew three consecutive saves and had a 7.84 ERA in July. Even the best closer of all time has some hiccups. You can't start messing with the guy who is unquestionably your best reliever because he has a few clunkers in a row.

[madtowntwin]

Sonny had location of his fastball all night long - Particularly up in the zone. That was the major source of his struggles in previous efforts...Interestingly, that seemed to be the area of difficulty for Jax as well during his earlier "rough patch."  Recently - Both Ryan and Duran seem to be battling themselves in this same regard. Joe has less latitude for error in this capacity due to less mph. Jhoan CAN "Misplace" a fastball at 102 mph with greater room for error most of the time...Major league hitters CAN get to such a pitch with an idea it's coming. Perfectly placed at the top of the zone said pitch is virtually un-hittable. Ryan"s (as Griffin and Sonny have also experienced) fastball is even more susceptible to being hit hard without "Surgical" location. Arm fatigue could certainly be contributory. Pete Maki must be keenly aware of this and working toward correction. Obviously - And as very direct parallel to hitting - These things must be easier seen and said than done. 

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, madtowntwin said:

Sonny had location of his fastball all night long - Particularly up in the zone. That was the major source of his struggles in previous efforts...Interestingly, that seemed to be the area of difficulty for Jax as well during his earlier "rough patch."  Recently - Both Ryan and Duran seem to be battling themselves in this same regard. Joe has less latitude for error in this capacity due to less mph. Jhoan CAN "Misplace" a fastball at 102 mph with greater room for error most of the time...Major league hitters CAN get to such a pitch with an idea it's coming. Perfectly placed at the top of the zone said pitch is virtually un-hittable. Ryan"s (as Griffin and Sonny have also experienced) fastball is even more susceptible to being hit hard without "Surgical" location. Arm fatigue could certainly be contributory. Pete Maki must be keenly aware of this and working toward correction. Obviously - And as very direct parallel to hitting - These things must be easier seen and said than done. 

The strike zone seems like it has a big role in the success of a pitcher who throws up in the zone. Especially a pitcher who is prone to big innings and the accompanying frustration. The high strokes were being called Thursday.

[John Belinski]

Jeffers is really having a good year and should be playing more.

Duran pitching  is certainly a concern. All good teams need a good closer and Duran has been having problems, but Twins do not really have another good choice.

[jmlease1]

Gray really looked good, nice and efficient. Great time to get a good 7 innings and early run support. Jax looked filthy and had a good inning. Duran had a bit of a weird one, and I'd be happier if he had a couple of clean sheets again, but I'm not exactly worried about him. 

A nice series win on the road. 

I haven't gone and dug for stats on this one, but it sure seemed like the Twins had a LOT of deep fly ball outs this series. I'm guessing there were some frustrated hitters who felt like they just missed one (or two, or three...) against St. L. Am I crazy about this?

[JD-TWINS]

8 hours ago, Patzky said:

Actually if we are nitpicking, who is Pedro Lopez?

I think he ran for Class President in Napoleon Dynamite!!??

[JD-TWINS]

7 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

The run was scored as a result of…

• a 10 hopper just out of the reach of the second baseman
• a ground ball out and choice by Correa to get the sure out at first though it looked like he could have got the lead runner if that mattered
• a wild pitch advancing the runner to third 
• another ground ball out
• an infield hit deflected off Duran
• a strike out with tying run at the plate 

He kept the ball on the ground. He didn’t walk anyone. Last night’s outing did not leave me with any wonderings.

Agree - they certainly didn’t play to stop that 3rd run from scoring! Not a big deal last night.

He does seem to be giving up a lot more contact than he used to………….seems like he’s picking 2 of his 3 pitches to throw per outing. Not sure why? Even if he just wastes his curveball to show a third pitch it seems to make him more competitive. He had a mediocre outing a couple weeks ago where he didn’t throw a fastball. Odd.