Guardians 5, Twins 2 (F/10): Gray's Gem Goes to Waste in Extras

[Thiéres Rabelo]

Sonny Gray looked like a Cy Young Award frontrunner, and the Twins were one out away from winning the game and taking one of the most important series of the season. But it’s 2023, after all, and the Guardians rallied to steal the game in extras.

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Sonny Gray, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (81 pitches, 56 strikes, 69.1%)
Home Runs: none
Bottom 3 WPA: Kody Funderburk (-.459), Jhoan Duran (-.207), Carlos Correa  (-.147)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Gray and Bibee dominate their opposing lineups early
Neither offense was able to accomplish much during the first portion of this game, with both lineups combining for only two hits during the three opening innings. Both Sonny Gray and rookie right-hander Tanner Bibee looked dialed in right out of the gate, and this game seemed destined to be a low-scoring affair.

Gray, in fact, surrendered a leadoff double to Steven Kwan on the game’s second pitch, but not only did he retire the side to finish the inning, he also actually retired 13 consecutive batters. He needed only 43 pitches to complete four innings of scoreless ball while striking out four. Not only was Gray brilliant to start this game, but he also had some stellar defense behind him, with Carlos Correa making a pair of great stops at short and Max Kepler making a beautiful sliding catch in the third:

Bibee was just as brilliant, no-hitting the Twins for two innings and piling up five strikeouts through three. But his second time through the Twins lineup was anything but pleasant. Jorge Polanco jumped on the very first pitch of the fourth for a leadoff double, and Correa, Kepler, and Royce Lewis, despite not reaching or moving up Polanco, managed to drive Bibee’s pitch count up. It took the Cleveland righty 21 pitches to retire the trio.

Twins take advantage of their first big opportunity
The quality of the at-bats didn’t change for Minnesota in the fifth, and the Twins created their first big offensive moment of the game. Matt Wallner drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning, and after Ryan Jeffers struck out on a seven-pitch at-bat, Donovan Solano singled to left on the first pitch he saw.

Bibee struck out Jordan Luplow next, but not before throwing six pitches. Then, with Édouard Julien at the plate, he struggled with his command once more, giving up a bases-loading walk to the Twins rookie. That brought Polanco to the plate, and he lined a short single to center to drive in Wallner and Solano.

Gray departs earlier than expected
After throwing only seven pitches to get through the sixth, Gray’s pitch count was merely at 62. He looked poised to go deeper in this game than he’s gone in any other start this season, perhaps even shooting for his first complete game since 2015. But oddly enough, he struggled a bit during the seventh, and that ended up being his final inning of the game.

His command seemed a little off to begin the seventh, causing him to give up a leadoff walk to Kole Calhoun – his first and only walk of the afternoon. He took some time to apparently remove one of his cleats, and when Ramón Laureano stepped up to the plate next, Gray's command looked even worse. He nearly plunked Laureano in the helmet and threw a wild (I mean wild!) pitch, allowing Calhoun to steal second.

Fortunately, Gray was able to settle in and retire the next three batters to finish the seventh, but he was promptly removed from the game after that, even though his pitch count was still at only 81. Gray was able to deliver another excellent start, even though it was apparently cut short. This is the first time he has thrown seven innings or more in back-to-back starts since July 12, 2019, and his season ERA is now down to 2.94. It is shocking that ESPN currently doesn’t include him on their “Cy Young Predictor” top 10 rankings.

Bullpen gives up the lead, game goes to extras
Things did not look promising when the bullpen took over in the eighth. Griffin Jax gave up a leadoff double to Gabriel Arias, and despite retiring the next two batters, he was replaced by Caleb Thielbar before he could get the final out. With an inherited runner on third, Thielbar gave up a single to Kwan, and Cleveland got on the board. Then, when José Ramírez drew a walk, things got really scary, but Caleb managed to induce the forceout to end the threat.

Jhoan Durán came in to get the save, but things didn’t go smoothly for him either. After a quick first out, the Twins’ star closer gave up a walk and a single. Both runners moved up on a groundout by Arias, but Durán was still one out away from ending the game. With Bo Naylor at the plate, Durán struggled mightly and needing only one strike to finish Naylor off, he threw a wild pitch that went behind him, allowing Andrés Giménez to score the tying run.

Cleveland rally is complete in the 10th
With the game on the line, Emilio Pagan and his 10.50 ERA in high leverage took the mound to pitch the top of the 10th. But despite his poor recent performances in high leverage, he had no trouble getting two outs on seven pitches. Before he could record the final out, though, an intentional walk was given to Ramírez, and Pagán was pulled, with Kody Funderburk being brought in to try to end the inning.

But the plan went horribly wrong. The rookie was all over the place, throwing three balls nowhere near the strike zone. The only pitch he threw for a strike was obliterated by Calhoun for a soul-crushing three-run home run. The offense went down in order in the bottom of the 10th, and the Guardians’ season survives.

Postgame interview

What’s Next?
The Twins have a day off on Thursday before they kick off a three-game set against the Rangers in Arlington over the weekend. Game one of the series is scheduled for Friday at 7:05 pm CDT, and Joe Ryan (9-8, 4.33 ERA) takes the mound for Minnesota, making his second start since returning from the Injured List. Max Scherzer (12-5, 3.71 ERA) is expected to start the game for Texas.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	WED	TOT
Durán	12	9	0	0	20	41
Pagán	14	11	0	14	0	39
Thielbar	10	11	0	0	16	37
Jax	28	0	0	0	8	36
Funderburk	0	0	28	0	8	36
Floro	12	19	0	0	0	31
Sands	0	0	0	24	0	24
Winder	0	0	24	0	0	24

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[Aggies7]

Duran used to be must see television. A bright spot in a sea of nothingness. And by used to I mean a couple months ago. Now he’s just as unreliable as all the others.

[mikelink45]

How sad - Gray did so well.  I think we can put "star reliever" to bed for a while.  Duran has not been himself this half of the season and we really need him with Jax still in a funk and Pagan not set for high leverage. 

To bad the bats went to sleep too.  Tough loss. 

[UK Twin]

TBH the title of this could be "Rocco Baldelli beats the Twins, 5-2" because he pretty much single handedly handed this game to Cleveland with some of the most inept game management I've ever seen. Sonny Gray should have pitched the 8th inning but I could at least see why he went to the bullpen. But Jax shouldn't have been taken out for Thielbar - Kwan hits righties and lefties pretty much equally well. But Thielbar managed to limit the damage to one run and OK, we're still in front. 

The 9th inning is the only reason why Baldelli doesn't get ALL the blame - Duran deserves some with a simply wretched wild pitch with 2 strikes on the batter with 2 out. I think Naylor reaches even if the swinging strike had been spotted so the run would have scored anyway.

 

And so to extras. Pagan comes in and does a solid job getting 2 outs without the ghost runner scoring. Naturally Ramirez is walked with first base open - no issue with that, obvious move. But what happened next had me shaking my head in disbelief. Not learning his lesson from the 8th inning, Baldelli is determined to have a lefty v lefty matchup. So much so he calls for Funderburk, a lefty who has only thrown a handful of pitches at MLB level. What happened next was inevitable. You cannot call for such an inexperienced rookie for a situation like that in any situation. You've got to trust your veteran to get the job done, even if it is Pagan. Pagan was actually in a nice groove, his fastball had good life on it. Trust him to do the job. Very unfair to expect Funderburk to do the job in that situation. This is Rocco's biggest flaw - trying so desperately hard to get, statistically, the ideal match up. He was so blinded by that today it cost us the game and gives Cleveland a huge boost. Let's just hope the 5 game lead doesn't get eroded over the next month. 

[Dantes929]

I have seen three innings in the last 8 days.   One inning a week ago, Taylor just looks pathetic attempting bunting and then strikes out, the next guy hits a deep fly that would have scored a runner on third with a successful bunt.   In the bottom of the inning there is a single up the middle and he overruns the ball for no reason, which allows the batter to get to 2nd and then scores because of it.   Game lost because of those two plays.   Today, Jax comes in and gives up a loopy line drive to lead off the 8th in a 2-0 game.   Taylor, who just entered for defensive purposes, jogs over to the ball, casually fields it, takes a few extra steps for no reason and the guy takes 2nd and eventually scores because of it.    Game lost.   I watched the 9th and yeah, if Duran fields that ball, turns double play and the game is over but that play wasn't for lack of trying.    Maybe I should just stop watching Taylor when he plays but it has just looked like low effort sloppy play on his part that has cost us two games. 

[Dantes929]

11 minutes ago, UK Twin said:

TBH the title of this could be "Rocco Baldelli beats the Twins, 5-2" because he pretty much single handedly handed this game to Cleveland with some of the most inept game management I've ever seen. Sonny Gray should have pitched the 8th inning but I could at least see why he went to the bullpen. But Jax shouldn't have been taken out for Thielbar - Kwan hits righties and lefties pretty much equally well. But Thielbar managed to limit the damage to one run and OK, we're still in front. 

The 9th inning is the only reason why Baldelli doesn't get ALL the blame - Duran deserves some with a simply wretched wild pitch with 2 strikes on the batter with 2 out. I think Naylor reaches even if the swinging strike had been spotted so the run would have scored anyway.

 

And so to extras. Pagan comes in and does a solid job getting 2 outs without the ghost runner scoring. Naturally Ramirez is walked with first base open - no issue with that, obvious move. But what happened next had me shaking my head in disbelief. Not learning his lesson from the 8th inning, Baldelli is determined to have a lefty v lefty matchup. So much so he calls for Funderburk, a lefty who has only thrown a handful of pitches at MLB level. What happened next was inevitable. You cannot call for such an inexperienced rookie for a situation like that in any situation. You've got to trust your veteran to get the job done, even if it is Pagan. Pagan was actually in a nice groove, his fastball had good life on it. Trust him to do the job. Very unfair to expect Funderburk to do the job in that situation. This is Rocco's biggest flaw - trying so desperately hard to get, statistically, the ideal match up. He was so blinded by that today it cost us the game and gives Cleveland a huge boost. Let's just hope the 5 game lead doesn't get eroded over the next month. 

Not buying it.    Pretty much every manager in the last decade would have made the same moves Rocco made today, especially Thielbar    Maybe they don't all put Funderburk in there, but maybe they do.   He got his feet wet a couple days ago and looked great.    Every manager does the righty/lefty thing.   I don't love it but they do.   Players lost this one.   If Pagan gave up a hit then there would be fans complaining about Rocco not playing odds and putting a left in.

[LastOnePicked]

This team has turned the regular season hope-to-despair cycles into an artform. I mean, it's just masterful at this point. Wow.

No, not time to panic with a 5 game lead. But this team is doing all it can to ensure that panic stays on the menu.

[USAFChief]

Plenty of blame to go around, but IMO putting Funderbunk into that situation was just plain bad managing. 

Worse than bad. Please don't try to tell me "managers don't matter."

Worst loss of the year. 

[LastOnePicked]

The other frustration is that, for all the talk of Cleveland being weak competition ...well, head-to-head games indicate that they're still the better team in 2023. We'll see if that can change next week.

[Hubie29]

To all the baseball doctors out there.  What is wrong with me? 62 y/o male. Grew up with Halsey Hall, and of course the best of all time Herb Carneal. I was ecstatic when the Twins won and it took me hours to get over a loss.  It was like this up until about 3 years ago. Slowly but surely, I am losing interest and affection for my partner, the Twins. I don't get excited with a win anymore, and don't really care if they lose.  Playoffs were the ultimate reward, couldn't get any better than that.  We have almost clinched the division by default this year, and I am not even excited about it.  Lost today, by typical means, and it doesn't bother me at all. Any other old timers have this disease? Have you gotten treated for it? Is there a cure? 

[shabbos1]

The obvious silver lining here is the Twins will not be facing any of these flummoxing AL Central juggernauts in October.

[SoDakTwinsFan4]

Rocco "Too cute" Baldelli? Read your players not your spreadsheet! The momentum! The man could be 1/4 of a mile from finishing the Boston Marathon and then suddenly stop and try to reanalyze his strategy, then somehow stumble so badly he can't finish. 

 

Duran, 1) Learn to field your position. 2) Don't throw a splinker when there's a tying run 90 feet away!

[darwin22]

As thoroughly disgusted as I am with the result of today's game I know I know I need to keep it in perspective as the Twins still have a 5-game lead over CLE.

Saying that, can we cease and desist with the belief that its inevitable that this team is winning the AL Central?

Don't get me wrong, as much as today's loss is still stinging, I believe this team CAN win the division.  Will it? Who knows.

What can't continue to happen includes:

1.  Scoring 3 runs or less and expecting to win.     4 runs combined the last two games.  Thats even worse as CLE RP's had to cover 8 IP last night and another 4 today, but gave up only 2 runs.

The warts of this team offensively, namely failing to produce with RISP was proven by the fact of going 1-18 over the last two games and FAILING to make productive outs (14 more whiffs today) is a big concern.

2.  Continuing to see late inning RPs fail in key spots.   My confidence in Jax is diminishing.  Same with Thielbar.  Duran is also showing a regression.  If he cleanly fields the groundball back to him in the 9th--its a DP and the Twins head off to TX with a 7-game lead.  His 2-out/2 strike wild pitch was a scissor kick to the groin.

I'm sure I'm in then minority here, but I wasn't upset that Pagan was hooked for Funderburk.  Easy to second guess Baldelli now, but how many people would be posting ripping him if he'd left Pagan in and Calhoun had gotten the go ahead hit?  I'm sure more than a few.  When the count got to 3-0, I honestly thought walking Calhoun was the best move.  Rough result for Funderburk, which I hope he'll learn from.

Not intending to continue on a pessimistic note, but with our next 6 games on the road against TX (winners of last two) and CLE, how many games do realistic fans seeing the Twins winning?  I'm hoping for two.  Need some help from Tampa Bay this weekend against the Guardians.  

If the Twins can keep their division lead over CLE at +3 games at the conclusion of their series next week, then the remaining 22 games for each team turns the Twins way.

Over the final 22 games the Twins face only two teams with a winning record (TB- 3 at home and CIN- 3 away). The other 16 games are against sub .500 teams---Mets, Angels and A's ( 9 at home)/ White Sox & Rockies 7 on road).

Over that same 22 game stretch (after September 4) the Guardians have 12 games against FOUR teams with a +.500 record-- TX, BAL, CIN and SF. Their other 10 games are all on the road against the Angels, Royals and Tigers.

 

 

 

 

[Dave Borton]

I don't mourn the loss of one game.

I begin to mourn when I realize that after Nov 4, we have no baseball for nearly 4 months. Now there is something to mourn,

[rickyriolo]

Cleveland may well win the division as the Twins continue to give away ball games. We need a closer now as Duran has lost it

[Boswell]

Fabulous loss for the Lollygaggin’ Twins today!   Nice showcase game for Sonny, followed by a marvelous bullpen collapse.  
 

Now just need some cojones to actually DFA a few folks and hit the waiver wire with mucho gusto!

[Peter]

23 minutes ago, Hubie29 said:

To all the baseball doctors out there.  What is wrong with me? 62 y/o male. Grew up with Halsey Hall, and of course the best of all time Herb Carneal. I was ecstatic when the Twins won and it took me hours to get over a loss.  It was like this up until about 3 years ago. Slowly but surely, I am losing interest and affection for my partner, the Twins. I don't get excited with a win anymore, and don't really care if they lose.  Playoffs were the ultimate reward, couldn't get any better than that.  We have almost clinched the division by default this year, and I am not even excited about it.  Lost today, by typical means, and it doesn't bother me at all. Any other old timers have this disease? Have you gotten treated for it? Is there a cure? 

Not me!!! I’m huge die hard fan!!! To financially and emotionally invested to stop watching now and forever/twins fan for life!!! This loss was horrible worst of season. It’s going to take as long time or Texas/Cleveland sweep. Pagan needs to be our closer as league has figured out Duran-Jax and thielbar have gone to ****-all 3 need to get it figured out cone playoff time!! Let’s hope this loss doesn’t cost us division. 

[Peter]

3 minutes ago, rickyriolo said:

Cleveland may well win the division as the Twins continue to give away ball games. We need a closer now as Duran has lost it

Not a chance!!!! Not a chance!!! Not a chance!!! 

[Strombomb]

29 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

failing to produce with RISP was proven by the fact of going 1-18 over the last two games and FAILING to make productive outs (14 more whiffs today) is a big concern.

I think this is the theme this year. The team philosophy is that statistics say small ball is not a winning strategy. We've got to swing for the fences. (Except for GIDP C4)

Because we've held the division lead for most of the season, they think it's working. Let's just hope they're right in October..

[BillyBallLives]

You know how you leave the room when somebody lets out a huge fart?

When the Twins go to the bullpen, I leave the room. I just stop watching.

 

[GNess]

Bullpen issues continue. If the Twins can secure a RP on waivers and if Stewart returns to the form of pre-injury perhaps the pen can still be solid enough for the postseason?

[BillyBallLives]

If the Twins end up choking again, just like last year..... hopefully this signals the end of the ride for the Falvey/Lavine/Baldelli era.   

[Hubie29]

31 minutes ago, BillyBallLives said:

You know how you leave the room when somebody lets out a huge fart?

When the Twins go to the bullpen, I leave the room. I just stop watching.

 

I didn't do it!!

[Nashvilletwin]

To quote Wayne Campbell: “Game on!”   Or Sherlock Holmes: “The game’s afoot”.

Obviously, it’s good we have a five game lead, but by no means is that a safe lead with this team.  We had a chance to bury the Guardians and we let them off the hook.

It will be devastating if we lose the division this year.  I’m certainly not expecting that we will. But make no mistake, if we do, Rocco,  Falvey, and probably Levine will likely be shown the door.  Those guys are probably battling for their jobs as right now.

[Mortimerkenny21]

1 minute ago, Nashvilletwin said:

We had a chance to bury the Guardians and we let them off the hook.

They were who we thought they were!

[Aggies7]

15-12 month of august. And they piddled away AT LEAST 5 games.

[Oldtimer]

2 hours ago, Hubie29 said:

To all the baseball doctors out there.  What is wrong with me? 62 y/o male. Grew up with Halsey Hall, and of course the best of all time Herb Carneal. I was ecstatic when the Twins won and it took me hours to get over a loss.  It was like this up until about 3 years ago. Slowly but surely, I am losing interest and affection for my partner, the Twins. I don't get excited with a win anymore, and don't really care if they lose.  Playoffs were the ultimate reward, couldn't get any better than that.  We have almost clinched the division by default this year, and I am not even excited about it.  Lost today, by typical means, and it doesn't bother me at all. Any other old timers have this disease? Have you gotten treated for it? Is there a cure? 

Yes...I'm with you.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

2 hours ago, Hubie29 said:

To all the baseball doctors out there.  What is wrong with me? 62 y/o male. Grew up with Halsey Hall, and of course the best of all time Herb Carneal. I was ecstatic when the Twins won and it took me hours to get over a loss.  It was like this up until about 3 years ago. Slowly but surely, I am losing interest and affection for my partner, the Twins. I don't get excited with a win anymore, and don't really care if they lose.  Playoffs were the ultimate reward, couldn't get any better than that.  We have almost clinched the division by default this year, and I am not even excited about it.  Lost today, by typical means, and it doesn't bother me at all. Any other old timers have this disease? Have you gotten treated for it? Is there a cure? 

You are just exhausted from years of watching the Twins. You have no control over their wins or losses.  Something must have happened in your life 3 years ago. Think back 3 years ago. What was it? I'm Dr. Fraiser Crane and I'm listening.

[D.C Twins]

Well, at least we can all be thankful that Rocco got both of the FO's pet projects into the lineup today for their token strike outs!

Gallo and Luplow.... you keep doing you... the Rocco and the FO are sooooo proud of you!

[Lasorda_This_Out]

Relax...this ineptitude is nothing more than RoccoBall?