royce lewis Twins 7, Rangers 6: The Twins Walk Away With a Series Win in 13 Innings

[Schmoeman5]

11 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

I hate the extra inning strategy but then there's this.  I guess.

 

I saw that too. I thought it was inverted. 6-11. At least it seems that way. Lol

[Blyleven2011]

4 minutes ago, akmanak said:

It was a nerve racking game to watch but given that the Twins have won a series or two against good ball clubs I have hope they will finally break the curse. 

 

Previous years going into the playoffs I never really believed they could go deep but I think this team actually would have a chance to do just that. 

 

We get kiriloff and Stewart back it would help immensely  ...

[RpR]

9 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Again, the biggest hits are from our young guys - Lewis this time. Our baserunning blunders are from the veterans - Solano and Gallo. Go figure.

You are nit-picking

It seems the young guys are also turning into versions of Joey Gallo, Lewis home run was great, just like Joey's dingers are, the other  5 at bats were  outs were also just like Joey.

AT that Solano was 2-4, Polanco 2-6, Kepler 2-2 with Jeffers 0-5, Wallner 0-5 so dissing the vets carries no weight.

[jorgenswest]

The sun and shadows in the last few innings made it incredibly difficult on the batters.

Those are very difficult conditions to bunt in and very difficult conditions to stay in the zone as a hitter. Gallo doesn’t swing out of the zone often and did a good job of making the pitcher throw strikes after the first two batters couldn’t lay off some pitches that weren’t close. Turned around the inning.

Great work from Keuchel.

[insagt1]

2 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

It's not whether you win or lose , it's how you play the game ...

Texas handed this win to us just like we handed Texas the Saturday night win , I thought Chapman was going to implode  and give us the win in the ninth  , he's still good but not lights out like he used to be ... 

The extra innings were nice but not  to entertaining  , base running  blunders cost us a run that possibly could have won the game  earlier than the 13th inning  ... 

I was not impressed with the team in extra innings  but we managed a win and won the series  , when are we ever going to bunt in extra innings  ???

Keuchel  earned  his wings and the game ball should go to Keuchel  for keeping us in the game to tie it up in the bottom of the ninth  ...

I think once you get to September, its NOT how you play the game but whether you win or lose. Wins are all that matter now. Don't really care that much how we get them. No extra points for form or style! Ugly wins still count in the standings!

[NeverSeenATwinsPlayoffWin]

DK made all the difference today. I don't think he bullpen pitches three of four scoreless innings in extras if Keuchel had not pitched five scoreless. The complexion of the extra innings would have looked a lot different if we were not able to use our three best relievers and Dylan Floro.

Hopefully, we can get some runs early tomorrow and avoid having to use one of Duran/Thielbar/Pagan for a third consecutive game.

[BH67]

4 hours ago, GCTF said:

What if they only use the finest baby frogs flown in from Iraq?

It would still be a crunchy raw dead frog, no matter how lovingly they frosted it with glucose.

Edited August 28, 2023 by BH67
Additional Python reference.

[stringer bell]

Audra Martin's clubhouse report noted that Kirilloff may be going on rehab assignment next week and Buxton and Alcalá won't be far behind him. Reinforcements are on the way. Willi Castro probably will be back on or before September 1 and Kirilloff and Buxton by mid-month. I'm guessing that would eliminate Luplow and perhaps Gallo and force the mob to find a new scapegoat. 

[Aerodeliria]

The Twins played ugly baseball but the Rangers were uglier, and the bullpen was stellar. I want to criticize Donovan for the stupid base running in extra innings, but he did rescue the Twins with that basehit in the 9th, so it's a wash.

[glunn]

Keuchel is turning out to be a real contributor. I would give the FO some credit for that.

[darwin22]

Considering that I was busy with my fantasy football draft earlier today, I can't say I was shocked when a buddy of mine, who has Ober, mentioned Twins were trailing 5-0 midway through the game.  Honestly, before the series I would've settled for a split.  Absolutely gave game away yesterday, which was quite disappointing considering the team battled to tie it while getting Scherzer out of the game.

Although I did peek at the score ....seeing Twins facing only a 1-run deficit in the 8th....I decided to enter our draft results instead of being disappointed seeing our hitters fail to tie the game up.  Only after I finished, did I notice that the game had moved to extra innings, although at that point, the Twins trailed 6-5.  

Thought Polanco had an excellent AB fouling off several two strike pitches before MAKING CONTACT to score Taylor.  What I couldn't fathom was how Solano ran into the first out!  My only guess was he "thought" the ball was a single to LF.   Thankfully, I wasn't watching in the latest episode of the "Gallo follies"---has to be a "top 5" in Twins history of WORST baserunning blunders.

Echo comments of a few others as the pitching hero of the game was Keuchel.  What a fabulous performance!  Not ready at this point to support an "Ober reset" at AAA, but his propensity to serve up HRs ( 6 in his last 5 starts) is becoming troublesome

Overstating the obvious, but next three games are crucial.  CLE is getting key (and unexpected) contributions from Laureano & Calhoun.  Time to have a laser focus from our manager all the way though the clubhouse.  Would be great to see some BIG crowds come out and give this maddening team a home field advantage.

[Peter]

Forget about fantasy football or nfl the twins gutted out statement series win and possibly most important win of season!!  Royce with grand slam and kuechel saved twins with 5 innings of shut out pitching!!! Again statement series and statement win!!! Let’s put away Cleveland this coming series!!! Go Twins!! 

[Riverbrian]

10 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Again, the biggest hits are from our young guys - Lewis this time. Our baserunning blunders are from the veterans - Solano and Gallo. Go figure.

IMO... This is accurate. 

All year long. Youth has out performed the vets. 

However... I would like to hat tip to a vet. 

Dallas Keuchel deserves it. 

[jmlease1]

No extra points for style, so count the series win and smile. Texas might be a mess right now, but they still have a lot of great players and have been one of the better teams in the AL this season. Did we catch them at the right time, or did we just beat them? Don't know...don't care. It's a series win against a playoff-caliber team.

The baserunning snafus were definitely frustrating, especially Gallo who is supposed to be a quality baserunner. It gets harder and harder to justify his roster spot every day: he can't hit, the defense has slipped, and now he's making big baserunning errors? ouch, mah dude. Roster expansion may save him briefly, but when Kirilloff, Buxton, and Castro are all healthy...how do you keep Gallo? It's late enough in the season that the salary is basically gone anyways.

Hope Maeda can go deep against Cleveland, the offense piles up some runs, and Winder can throw 3 and finish it off!

[wabene]

I don't think this front office has the stomach to cut Gallo loose. I'm starting to wonder if they might even have Luplow on the playoff roster, lol. 

[Karbo]

13 hours ago, 2wins87 said:

Really glad they pulled it out particularly looking at that bullpen usage chart.

I guess Pagan could be available since he's supposed to have a rubber arm. But it seems like they could be relying on Balazovic, Winder, and Sands for some important innings tomorrow

Jax should be available also.

[Karbo]

IMO Rocco made a big mistake when knowing Tex. would put a lefty in he batted Julian, just to set him down again. Julian is one of the best hitters on the team and he was left on the bench with out even an at bat. I would have PH Gallo instead, so when the leftie was brought in Julian would still be available later.

[saviking]

They pinch his Vasquez for Julien. Seriously. Let's hit an average hitter for a great hitter because of which side of the plate he hits from and then leave us exposed to having a backup father for the rest of the game.

Nice win, however. Now let's take at least two of three from the Guardians. Even one will be acceptable. 0 and 3 would be disastrous. 

[mikelink45]

13 hours ago, SwainZag said:

I still don't know why we aren't bunting in the bottom of extra innings with the game tied.  Leadoff men went 0-3 in that situation, not advancing the runner once. 

 

On a separate note, outside of the ugly 1/3 of an inning from Jax yesterday, the bullpen put up a line of: 

 

18.2 IP. 9H. 3R. 1ER. 7BB. 17K.

Good for an ERA of 0.48.  Who saw that coming?

Unfortunately Jax is an essential part of that BP so it is hard to leave him out of the equation.

 

[RIP BYTO]

8 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Audra Martin's clubhouse report noted that Kirilloff may be going on rehab assignment next week and Buxton and Alcalá won't be far behind him. Reinforcements are on the way. Willi Castro probably will be back on or before September 1 and Kirilloff and Buxton by mid-month. I'm guessing that would eliminate Luplow and perhaps Gallo and force the mob to find a new scapegoat. 

Definition of a scapegoat: A person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.

 

Gallo and Luplow are not scapegoats.  Their faults are 100% self inflicted.

[John Belinski]

1 hour ago, Karbo said:

Jax should be available also.

Hope we do not have to use Jax since he needs a break from pitching. He has been over worked and needs rest for playoffs.

[John Belinski]

Dallas really pitched well and saved the game for the Twins.. Without his pitching shutout innings the Twins lose this game. 

[David Maro]

Maybe Gallo and Solano missed that day in Little League on how to run bases. How on earth do you get picked off on a foul ball. Solano stays at 2nd,game is over with Kepler single. Hopefully the coaches go over base running today. Next 9 games will be important to not make mistakes on the bases. 

[chpettit19]

37 minutes ago, David Maro said:

Maybe Gallo and Solano missed that day in Little League on how to run bases. How on earth do you get picked off on a foul ball. Solano stays at 2nd,game is over with Kepler single. Hopefully the coaches go over base running today. Next 9 games will be important to not make mistakes on the bases. 

While I agree both were atrocious base running blunders, Kepler's ball would've been a lineout with a runner on 2nd. That ball only landed because they were playing no doubles defense. With how close they were playing with guys on 2nd in extras that's not a hit. And definitely not one Solano scores on. No idea what Solano was doing on that play, though. Just a really weird, and awful, decision on his part.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

I was able to attend this game in person. Everything else aside, from a fan's standpoint this was an incredibly enjoyable game to watch.  Intensity every half inning, back and forth battles, mistakes and successes from both teams.  And a Twins walk-off to top it off...

Games like this remind me of why I enjoy baseball... 

[farmerguychris]

What a fun series to watch!!!

[Brandon]

The Twins have 31 games remaining.  I think I read 9 are against winning teams.  Can the Twins go 22-9 to close out the season and win 90 games?  That would atleast be a respectable win total for a team going to the playoffs.  Not that it matters but a 90 win team makes having the 5-7th best record in the league feel better than being an 85 win team. My money is on an 18-13 record though I hope they prove me wrong and get to 90 wins.

[jorgenswest]

Watching the game I was hoping Gallo was ready to tag. You don’t know how the crash into the railing is going to go and you can’t wait to see how it goes. He makes an aggressive move to get to third with one out and slips trying to return. I like the aggressive move. Getting to third with one out is critical.

It is the same aggression with Solano. If  they get that first out at home he needs to be on third. I think he could have got enough of a lead to make it or get back if no throw but you take chances to get to third with less than two outs when one run is needed.

[USAFChief]

2 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

Watching the game I was hoping Gallo was ready to tag. You don’t know how the crash into the railing is going to go and you can’t wait to see how it goes. He makes an aggressive move to get to third with one out and slips trying to return. I like the aggressive move. Getting to third with one out is critical.

It is the same aggression with Solano. If  they get that first out at home he needs to be on third. I think he could have got enough of a lead to make it or get back if no throw but you take chances to get to third with less than two outs when one run is needed.

Agreed on Gallo. Just lost his footing on a correct tag and partial go. Good decision, poor execution. 

Solano running into the third baseman on a ground ball fielded by the third baseman is just plain bone headed. The play is right in front of him. He still makes third if the throw goes home for a tag play. Just plain bad baserunning. 

[RpR]

It was just a few gaves back where Lewis stopped and went down on his knees, then fell flat on his face trying to get back to first and was tagged on the helmet by a kindly First Baseman.

It happens, although this year it seems to be more common, league wide.