Twins 9, Tigers 3: Twins Break Through Against Left-Handed Pitcher, Seize Early Advantage

[Theodore Tollefson]

The Twins looked the best they have all season against a left-handed starter to begin the four game series in Detroit. Joey Wentz started for Detroit and the Twins knocked him off early, scoring eight runs on him in the first three innings. 

Image courtesy of David Reginek, USA Today Sports

Box Score
SP: Pablo Lopez 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K (96 pitches, 70 strikes (73% strikes))
Home Runs: Ryan Jeffers (9), Carlos Correa (13) 
Top 3 WPA: Ryan Jeffers .190, Carlos Correa .150, Pablo Lopez .080

Win Probability Chart

Early Innings Fireworks
Wentz didn't have control of the strike zone from the first pitch he threw as Donovan Solano snapped the ball to center field for a lead-off double. Following a Jorge Polanco strikeout, one hit followed another. 

Carlos Correa's RBI double to put the Twins up 1-0, then a Max Kepler single, and finally a Ryan Jeffers three-run home run to make it an early 4-0 lead for Minnesota. The offense cooled off from there in the first but still had every Twins hitter get to the plate. 

From there, the Twins continued to do damage. The second time through the lineup in the second inning saw back-to-back singles from Solano and Polanco, then, for the first time since July 17, Carlos Correa hit a home run. The three-run shot made it 7-0, and for once this season, the Twins figured out how to solve a left-handed starter. 

Any further rally threats died, with Wentz retiring the next three batters, one-two-three in the second. In the third, Willi Castro scored on an RBI ground out from Michael A. Taylor, putting the Twins up 8-0.

Lopez Cruises Through Motor City Kitties
Pablo Lopez was as sharp as ever on the pitcher's mound Monday night. Starting his night already up 4-0, Lopez got a groundout and a couple of strikeouts but did give up a two-out single to Matt Vierling. 

Lopez faced the minimum in the fourth inning. Otherwise, the Tigers' hitters found ways to reach base in every inning he threw. 

Fortunately, Lopez's pitch mix still worked to his advantage, getting 17 swings and misses in the game and adding eight strikeouts to his 165 on the season coming into Monday. Lopez's curveball resulted in the most swings and misses, with his breaking balls on Monday having five, while his four-seam fastball got him an additional six. 

Even with five hits surrendered and one batter reaching on an error, Lopez allowed no walks making this his fourth start of the season with zero walks allowed. It's also the first time since September 20 and 27 of 2022 that he had back-to-back starts with no walks surrendered. 

Late Inning Runs for Both Teams
The Twins had insurance runs added on in the late innings unexpectedly. Alex Lange walked three hitters in the top of the eighth and gave up a run without giving up a single hit as he threw a pitch to Kepler that hit him in the foot and gave the Twins a 9-0 lead.

With such a massive lead, the Twins removed Kepler from the game and put Matt Wallner in as a pinch runner. Ryan Jeffers, however, struck out looking to end the inning. 

The insurance run helped the Twins a bit. Reliever Brent Headrick was given a second inning of work in the ninth, and he hit Kerry Carpenter in the hand (which looked like it could have been a lot worse). Zack Short followed with a single and Nick Maton launched a 3-run shot to kill the shutout and make it 9-3. Headrick got the final out after throwing 41 pitches. 

Other Notes
Taylor's walk in the top of the eighth made him the last Twins batter to get on base in Monday night's game. The last game the Twins had every hitter getting on base at least once was on Saturday, July 29, a 7-10 loss against Kansas City on the road. 

What's Next? 
The Twins play the second of a four-game series against the Tigers beginning at 5:40 p.m. CT tomorrow. Sonny Gray will make the start for the Twins against Eduardo Rodriguez for the Tigers. 

Postgame Interview 
Coming soon.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[Dman]

First I have to say Pablo was amazing today.  Nice to just see a good clean start and then mop up by Headrick.

Second Props to Luplow who has already exceeded my expectations as I never thought he would have a 3 for 5 game from now until the end of the season.  He took some good at bats and kind of got jobbed on his strike out at bat.  If his bat can hold up even close to that against lefties he has my vote to stay in the lineup.

After all the crap I have been giving Correa lately he goes out and Doubles and Homers in key situations.  I guess he has me off of his back now.

Donny Barrels got things started and had good at bats for the most part.  He has been as good as advertised.

I hope Kepler didn't hurt his foot with that hit by pitch.  He was just finally having some success it would suck if he broke a bone and or had to out for a while again.  Even if just a bruise given where is landed it seems likely to affect his at bats.  Larnach might get another look yet.  Will have to wait and see.

Hoping we can take this series the way the Tigers took it to the Twins at Target Field.  Would be nice to get several games above .500 and stay there this time.

 

[DougMientkewicz]

we're the 2019 Washington Nationals 

[FlyingFinn]

18 minutes ago, Dman said:

I hope Kepler didn't hurt his foot with that hit by pitch. 

Radio announcers said he stayed in the dugout after being taken out and wasn't getting medical attention.

[Wedman13]

Follow but never post.  It's a 162 game season.  Kepler this, Gallo that, can't hit lefty's, front office (surprised how TD staff has been so critical), Rocco trash,  Arraez trade a disaster.  Not sure how long we've been in 1st but seems like a while.  People need to breathe.  The banter is fun to read but division champs with good pitching have a shot, just watch  (but I do wish the line up would strike out a bit less!).  Lfg twins 

[Vanimal46]

There really is no excuse why the Twins can’t win the division by 10+ games. Also, this team makes way more sense with Buxton on the IL and not clogging up the DH spot. 

[darwin22]

Great to see Jeffers "heater" continue!  His massive 3-run bomb was huge giving Lopez some breathing room to go out and be aggressive.  Correa's night was also not only needed, but hopefully the beginning of a hot streak.  Haven't researched this, but I would bet that Correa's 6 RBI over the last 2 games was the 1st time he'd done that this season.  Victory was also crucial in that it gave our main bullpen arms---Duran, Jax, Thielbar and Pagan---a needed day off.  Rodriguez will offer a tougher challenge tomorrow night, but he has proved to be susceptible to giving up runs since the beginning of July.  1 game at a time boys....get a good nights sleep and bring the bats out ready to thump tomorrow.

[blindeke]

21 minutes ago, DougMientkewicz said:

we're the 2019 Washington Nationals 

Man, but they were good!

[Teflon]

Thanks for the summary, Ted. I appreciate the effort that you and the others put into these recaps. 

[USAFChief]

5 minutes ago, Teflon said:

Thanks for the summary, *Ted. I appreciate the effort that you and the others put into these recaps. 

*Theo

[Vanimal46]

5 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

*Theo

I call him Tio 

[GNess]

It still seems like a jump over the final 1/3 and into the postseason by Correa to something resembling his career norms could be an important X actor. He is one of the few players on this team who has actually delivered big hits in the postseason.

[Aerodeliria]

One thing that has dipped under the radar is that the Twins have been playing much cleaner baseball. I'm happy to keep Castro over at 3rd. He makes the left side solid. The right side is a bit shakier, but not horrifying, same with the OF. The catching has been fine.

[Doctor Wu]

8 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

There really is no excuse why the Twins can’t win the division by 10+ games. Also, this team makes way more sense with Buxton on the IL and not clogging up the DH spot. 

Sadly, I think you are right about Buxton. If he's healthy he's a definite plus in the lineup, even at DH. But something seems to be amiss with him this year. 

[Doctor Wu]

8 hours ago, darwin22 said:

Great to see Jeffers "heater" continue!  His massive 3-run bomb was huge giving Lopez some breathing room to go out and be aggressive.  Correa's night was also not only needed, but hopefully the beginning of a hot streak.  Haven't researched this, but I would bet that Correa's 6 RBI over the last 2 games was the 1st time he'd done that this season.  Victory was also crucial in that it gave our main bullpen arms---Duran, Jax, Thielbar and Pagan---a needed day off.  Rodriguez will offer a tougher challenge tomorrow night, but he has proved to be susceptible to giving up runs since the beginning of July.  1 game at a time boys....get a good nights sleep and bring the bats out ready to thump tomorrow.

Jeffers has been on fire lately, and I sure hope he continues his hot streak for the next 60 days or so!

[jmlease1]

Exactly the kind of game the Twins wanted to see from their team last night. Jump on the starter early, give your pitcher a big lead to work with, and then Lopez took advantage and kept mowing Detroit down, never let them in the game. Mop up the last two innings with one of the lower leverage guys and give everyone else the night off.

Bullpen is nice and rested if we get in a closer game and the Twins are well positioned to keep doing damage this series. A series win here on the road would be really excellent.

[bighat]

Twins must keep making hay in DET. Let's pile on. 

[CRF]

Nice win last night, but there's a little bit better lefty going for the kittys tonight. If we can beat him, then we're really doing something!

[Major League Ready]

10 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

There really is no excuse why the Twins can’t win the division by 10+ games. Also, this team makes way more sense with Buxton on the IL and not clogging up the DH spot. 

Limiting Gallo's ABs has helped as well.  Wallner is getting a lot of those ABs and he has been great.  Can't wait for Lewis to get back.  Hopefully, his rehab goes well and we see him soon.

[Squirrel]

10 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

I call him Tio 

In my head I’m saying ‘Tay’-O’, but don’t know if that’s correct, either.

As for the game liked what I saw and hope they keep it up, especially playing Detroit. Jeffers is being the catcher this year I thought he was going to be last year. He really seems to be coming into his own and I like it, a lot.

[Peter]

Great win last night!!!! Let’s keep it going today!!

[Mortimerkenny21]

60 Wins, not too shabby! Play .500 ball the rest of the season puts us at 84-78. I think the Twins can exceed that in the remaining schedule. Especially if we get back some key players like Lewis and Ryan gets healthy and back into form.

[Mortimerkenny21]

10 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

I call him Tio 

Your uncle??

[jorgenswest]

They need to be willing to use the IL with Kepler even if it appears day to day. He did not finish well last year on a bad foot.

Today is another lefty. They probably planned an off day for him. If he can’t go tomorrow they should put him on the IL and utilize their depth. 

[wabene]

1 minute ago, Mortimerkenny21 said:

60 Wins, not too shabby! Play .500 ball the rest of the season puts us at 84-78. I think the Twins can exceed that in the remaining schedule. Especially if we get back some key players like Lewis and Ryan gets healthy and back into form.

Agreed. This team could easily reach 90 wins. That would exceed preseason projections. 

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

Its much more pleasant on this board with the Twins winning.   Pablo continues to grab a firmer handle on being the Twins Ace of the future.  The bat improvement has been across the board other than Gallo and Buxton and Correa, This game showed a bit of improvement 2 walks by Gallo and 2 hits for Correa including the home run.  Correa has had some improvement then some poor games. Let see if he can string a couple good games together.   If Correa and Buxton begin to heat up this becomes a dangerous team.   

[Theodore Tollefson]

10 hours ago, USAFChief said:

*Theo

Thank you for correcting for me. I believe the honest mistake, but I never go by Ted or Teddy.

[stringer bell]

7 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

They need to be willing to use the IL with Kepler even if it appears day to day. He did not finish well last year on a bad foot.

Today is another lefty. They probably planned an off day for him. If he can’t go tomorrow they should put him on the IL and utilize their depth. 

Well, they do have options for right field. The injury didn't appear serious, but last year a broken toe really messed up his season. 

They could put out an all-righty lineup. Vázquez (c), Solano (1b), Polanco (2b), Correa (ss), Farmer (3b), Castro (lf), Taylor (cf), Luplow (rf) and Jeffers (dh). That would leave a bench of Kepler, Wallner, Julien, and Gallo.

[gunnarthor]

They've done a nice job after that ugly losing streak. Gotta give Rocco some credit for the team not giving up. 

[HarmonK03]

26 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Well, they do have options for right field. The injury didn't appear serious, but last year a broken toe really messed up his season. 

They could put out an all-righty lineup. Vázquez (c), Solano (1b), Polanco (2b), Correa (ss), Farmer (3b), Castro (lf), Taylor (cf), Luplow (rf) and Jeffers (dh). That would leave a bench of Kepler, Wallner, Julien, and Gallo.

Or they could put in their best hitters regardless of how they hit.  Not every LH should be sitting just because a LH is pitching.  You can't have a team of platoon players for season long success.