Twins 9, Rangers 7: Keuchel Stumbles, but Donovan Solano and the Offense Fight Back in Key 10-Inning Win

[Hans Birkeland]

With the Guardians winning in extra innings against the Rays, the pressure was on the Twins to hold off a struggling but talented Rangers team. Things started rough with Dallas Keuchel unable to get through four innings, but the offense, led by Donovan Solano, clawed back and eventually prevailed against Aroldis Chapman in the tenth.

Image courtesy of © Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel: 3 1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (57 Pitches, 35 Strikes, 61.4%)
Home Runs: Donovan Solano (5), 
Top 3 WPA: Solano (.259), Jorge Polanco (.249), Michael A. Taylor (.199)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

Coming off a much-needed win in game one of the series (in which Max Scherzer was dominant), the Twins turned to Dallas Keuchel in game two. On the surface, it looked like a mismatch, as the Rangers were starting Jordan Montgomery, who completely stifled the Twins in Minnesota for five innings only to have his outing ruined by the first of Royce Lewis's grand slams (off reliever Chris Stratton) that week.

The lefty Montgomery pitched out of trouble in the first after Solano and Jorge Polanco led the game with singles. He got Lewis to ground into a double play and Carlos Correa to bounce out to end the threat.

Keuchel was not so lucky. After allowing a sharp leadoff double to Marcus Semien, he retired the dangerous Corey Seager and hit-machine Nathaniel Lowe on grounders to bring up Adolis Garcia. Behind in the count, Garcia got a backdoor cutter from Keuchel and punished the mistake into the left field stands for the game's first two runs. That cutter was 85 MPH with an inch of horizontal break.

History repeated itself in the second. After allowing a near-home run (reviewed by the umpires) to Robbie Grossman, Keuchel got Ezequiel Duran to pop out weakly. But Sam Huff, a catcher just called up with rosters expanding and operating as the DH, crushed a first-pitch cutter 430 feet for another two-run home run.

The Twins started to chip away in the third, with Solano crushing a two-out home run to get the Twins on the board.

They added on in a big fourth inning. After two quick outs, Jordan Luplow blooped a single to center, and Kyle Farmer walked. Fooled on a two-strike changeup, Ryan Jeffers poked a single through the five-hole to score a run. Matt Wallner fell behind in the count but worked a walk to load the bases. Michael A. Taylor drove a sharp single to tie the game at four, taking second on the throw, and Solano smacked his third hit of the game, a single, to make the game 6-4 and knocking Montgomery from the game. Playing with a sore hamstring, Taylor looked pretty hobbled scoring on the play and was removed afterward.

It was an impressive rally, as Montgomery is not only a lefty but a quality one (115 career ERA+ over 135 games, 134 starts) who had been given a four-run lead. He also did not strike out a single Twins batter.

After a quick third inning, Keuchel couldn't make it through the fourth, allowing a walk and a hit before being lifted for Dylan Floro, who allowed one of the runners to score. His sinker looked okay, but he threw 18 cutter/sliders, two of which were socked for home runs. Command of that pitch will be critical for him going forward.

The bullpens were lock-down through the middle innings. On the Twins side, Kody Funderburk and Josh Winder needed only 15 pitches to navigate through the fifth and sixth innings. The Rangers got scoreless innings from Chris Stratton, Martin Perez, Jose Leclerc, and Will Smith.

Emilio Pagan had a rough eighth inning, walking three before settling down to retire the next three batters. However, one of those batters was Robbie Grossman, and his sacrifice fly made it a 6-6 game.

After Brent Headrick pitched a 1-2-3 ninth against the top of the Rangers' order, the game went to extra innings. Jorge Polanco advanced to third with no outs on a wild pitch when facing Aroldis Chapman. Carlos Correa and Max Kepler hit solid singles to make it an 8-6 game, ending Chapman's night. Ryan Jeffers then added a sacrifice fly for the final Twins ru

 

Jhoan Duran got the tenth and began his outing with a 3-2 102 MPH fastball that struck out Lowe. After a short flyout from Garcia, Jonah Heim fought off a high fastball for a single, and Grossman added his third hit of the game, a deflection off of Duran's glove. Duran then buckled pinch-hitter Josh Smith with a beautiful 1-2 curveball to end the game.

The good:
Solano was unconscious, hitting four rockets for hits and ending up with three RBI. He also made a potentially game-saving over-the-shoulder catch in the eighth; Funderburk, Winder, Jax, and Thielbar were solid in protecting a one-run lead; Correa hit the ball hard with two sharp singles. Three of his batted balls were clocked over 102 MPH.

The bad:
Keuchel was roughed up, leaving numerous cutters up in the zone. He wasn't quite as bad as his line suggests, but regardless, he put the team in a deep hole and was fortunate the offense bailed him out; Royce Lewis swung early and often, grounding into a rally-killing double play in the first, then two lazy fly balls and a strikeout, before walking in the tenth. His average is now below .300.

Emilio Pagan walked the first three batters he faced, pitching with a one-run lead in the eighth. He did retire the next three batters but allowed the game-tying sacrifice fly to Grossman.

What's Next: Kenta Maeda (3-7, 4.69 ERA) goes against Jon Gray (8-7, 3.79 ERA) as the Twins look to complete the series sweep in Arlington. Maeda struggled his last time out against the Guardians, giving up six runs over four innings and escaping with a no-decision thanks to Royce Lewis's second grand slam of the week. Gray has been decent but has allowed eight runs over his last two starts, spanning ten innings.

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Durán	0	20	0	9	21	50
Pagán	14	0	0	0	24	38
Thielbar	0	16	0	8	6	30
Jax	0	8	0	11	7	26
Sands	24	0	0	0	0	24
Funderburk	0	8	0	0	9	17
Headrick	0	0	0	0	15	15
Floro	0	0	0	0	8	8
Winder	0	0	0	0	6	6

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[Matt Braun]

Solano is at .296/.381/.414 on the year. Not a bad way to spend $2 million. 

[darwin22]

A BIG win, which could've been made even better if the Rays hadn't BLOWN 2 leads---9th and 11th inning.

Huge props to Solano!  Hopefully a guy our FO puts an emphasis on to re-sign in the offseason.  Great to see Correa come through in a clutch situation in the 10th.  Same for Kepler.  He sure appears to be producing his way into the Twins picking up his $10m option next year.  Never thought 2 months ago I'd be typing that previous sentence.

Hate to spoil a significant W, but is there really ANY REASON why Gallo is still on this team?  0 for his last 17, 13 of those AB's ending with a whiff.  His last RBI came on Aug. 12th.  What is the downside of DFA'ing him and bringing up Austin Martin?  With Taylor hurting, Martin could spell Stevenson as a short term replacement in CF.  

Is it too much to ask that TB step up and win a game tomorrow?  

 

[stringer bell]

It looks like the roster decisions are made due to injuries. Castro will be ready tomorrow and my guess is that the Twins will have to put Michael A on the IL. They may need to do something with Julien, if removing him today was due to injury. If they do have to put Julien on the IL, it might open a spot for Austin Martin or perhaps the activation of Kirilloff.

The off-season decisions seem to be getting harder. Should the Twins bring back Solano? What about Polanco? It seems that Max Kepler must have played himself into having his option picked up. The emergence of Julien and Royce Lewis seems to render Kyle Farmer expendable, especially if Polanco is brought back. What to do about center field?

The Twins are now 5-1 against Texas. Maybe that is the post-season opponent they would want if they win the Central. The Twins have certainly improved against left handed pitching. They scored all nine of their runs today (eight earned) off lefties. 

I know his numbers don't look great, but Headrick has had a lot of really good quick innings for the Twins. Winder and Funderburk had nice innings today in a close game. Maybe they can continue to see higher leverage situations in the rest of the season. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

A very entertaining game! I think we need to ask if we should be using Duran as much as we are. Back to back nights and 3 nights out of 4 seems like a very bad idea. I think they are overworking him for no good reason. He now seems to have lost command of his breaking pitches to boot. I don't think we should shut him down completely, but just use him more strategically as if the division lead is more like 15 games than 5 games. No more back to backs.

Nevertheless a very nice win tonight. Good rally by Pagan after walking three guys. Nice grab by Solano and clutch hit by Correa. 

[stringer bell]

10 minutes ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

A very entertaining game! I think we need to ask if we should be using Duran as much as we are. Back to back nights and 3 nights out of 4 seems like a very bad idea. I think they are overworking him for no good reason. He now seems to have lost command of his breaking pitches to boot. I don't think we should shut him down completely, but just use him more strategically as if the division lead is more like 15 games than 5 games. No more back to backs.

Nevertheless a very nice win tonight. Good rally by Pagan after walking three guys. Nice grab by Solano and clutch hit by Correa. 

I am pretty sure Duran will be unavailable tomorrow and agree that the Twins should probably limit him, but he's the key guy in the later innings and a five game lead is comfortable, but not safe. 

Jax, Thielbar and Duran have worked two days in a row and all of them might be unavailable tomorrow. It might be nice for Maeda to give at least six innings. 

[USAFChief]

Just your ordinary, every day, "spot em 4 and still come away with the W after your starter leaves in the 4th" game. Yawn...

Seriously, nice job bullpen. Even Pagan, after walking 3 to start the 8th, rallied to limit the damage to 1. 

 

Oh, and really great recap, Mr Birkeland.

[High heat]

With 2 wins in Texas and get away day tomorrow should the twins do the piggy back again.  Let Maeda start and follow with a scheduled Cole Sands?  Gotta give the day off to DuranJax and Thielbar.  The rest of the pen pitched tonight as well.  
 

Maybe we’ll put up a 10 spot early and it’s no big deal!

[Blyleven2011]

I was out on lake tonight , did glance at score  and we were  down by 2 runs , I thought to myself that this wasn't going to be our night ....

Didn't watch any of the game  , just checked the box score and was pleasantly surprised that we came back   from a 4-0 deficit  and went extra innings to win it ....

The Twins are showing that there is some fight in them after all  ...

What took so long  ???

[BH67]

I applaud Messrs. Floro, Funderburk, Winder, Jax, Thielbar, Pagan, Headrick and Duran for another great night in the bullpen. And even though Emilio's control was awful, he gave up only one run for the inning after walking the first three batters faced. His last month has been a big improvement from before.

Now, Emilio shouldn't have been needed at that point, but Mr. Baldelli saw fit to blow through the bullpen depth by having the first five relievers get 11 outs on 36 pitches. Rocco literally expected seven relievers to handle the last 17 outs and preserve a narrow lead.

I'm sorry. Expecting seven pitchers to each keep a run off the board to win one game is ludicrous.

Duran needed to pitch the 9th the last two days to rebuild his confidence. It appears to have worked. And five runs in the fourth after the first two batters were retired, followed by the 10th inning surge against Aroldis Chapman, were a testament to the grit and tenacity of these Twins.

They'll win the division, much sooner if their manager would get out of their way.

[Rik19753]

15 minutes ago, BH67 said:

Now, Emilio shouldn't have been needed at that point, but Mr. Baldelli saw fit to blow through the bullpen depth by having the first five relievers get 11 outs on 36 pitches. Rocco literally expected seven relievers to handle the last 17 outs and preserve a narrow lead.

I'm sorry. Expecting seven pitchers to each keep a run off the board to win one game is ludicrous.

They'll win the division, much sooner if their manager would get out of their way.

I had no problem with how Rocco managed the pen. As has been the case often this year, he was put in a tough situation because the offense failed to put up additional run support after jumping out to a lead.

When your starter only goes 3 innings and the offense doesn't score in the second half of a tight, extra inning game, the result is you blow through your bullpen one way or another. He would probably have given a longer leash to Funderburk, Winder or Headrick had the Twins scored more runs to make the lead comfortable.

[William K Johnson]

In Pagan's defense, his first walked batter should have been a strikeout.    The 2-2 pitch was a great strike that was missed.  He let his frustration with that pitch throw him off the rest of the inning.

[CRF]

I'm more than ready to let the Keuchel experiment end. Yep, he's had a few decent outings, but I don't think he really adds anything to this team. I'd rather have Ober in the rota than Keuchel. I don't even want to go into Gallo. Nice win by our boys and another great comeback! 

[big dog]

1 hour ago, William K Johnson said:

In Pagan's defense, his first walked batter should have been a strikeout.    The 2-2 pitch was a great strike that was missed.  He let his frustration with that pitch throw him off the rest of the inning.

Once again, the home plate ump had too much of an impact on the game. That was a bad call, Julien getting a strike called at 3-1 with the bases loaded was a bad call, and I'm glad he appeared to blow the pitch that was strike 3 to end the game. But yikes. I only watched the second half of the game, and while doing other things, so there may have been other obvious bad calls earlier.

[Doctor Wu]

Can we keep Solano as the leadoff batter from now on? Great game, but he's been a solid hitter all season. And as others have noted, what a bargain!

[rwilfong86]

38 minutes ago, CRF said:

I'm more than ready to let the Keuchel experiment end. Yep, he's had a few decent outings, but I don't think he really adds anything to this team. I'd rather have Ober in the rota than Keuchel. I don't even want to go into Gallo. Nice win by our boys and another great comeback! 

Hopefully Gallo will be DFA as soon as Kirilloff comes back

[rwilfong86]

5 hours ago, BH67 said:

I applaud Messrs. Floro, Funderburk, Winder, Jax, Thielbar, Pagan, Headrick and Duran for another great night in the bullpen. And even though Emilio's control was awful, he gave up only one run for the inning after walking the first three batters faced. His last month has been a big improvement from before.

Now, Emilio shouldn't have been needed at that point, but Mr. Baldelli saw fit to blow through the bullpen depth by having the first five relievers get 11 outs on 36 pitches. Rocco literally expected seven relievers to handle the last 17 outs and preserve a narrow lead.

I'm sorry. Expecting seven pitchers to each keep a run off the board to win one game is ludicrous.

Duran needed to pitch the 9th the last two days to rebuild his confidence. It appears to have worked. And five runs in the fourth after the first two batters were retired, followed by the 10th inning surge against Aroldis Chapman, were a testament to the grit and tenacity of these Twins.

They'll win the division, much sooner if their manager would get out of their way.

His bullpen management was questionable to say the least. 

[Johnny Ringo]

That was a truly gritty performance and an inspiring win by the local nine.

But Rocco, good golly. His use of the pen was inexplicable. He managed it like game 7 of the World Series, burning every arm despite the grace of easy innings.  His removal of Julien for Gallo as a pinch runner in the eighth in a one run game is maddening. Gallo is not a gifted base runner at this point in his career.  The defensive improvement is marginal if it exists at all as it forces Barrels to play second base. Of course, that spot came back up to bat and Joey (naturally) whiffs. Additionally, Rocco feels the need to torch his challenge defending Gallo even though he was very clearly out in a clumsy steal attempt . The replay was explicit. Not to get into the math weeds too much but you don't sell expiring options with some remaining life for nothing. I am generally pretty neutral when it comes to Rocco but last night was a Masterclass in things not to do.  

Rocco's fascination with Gallo is a complete headscratcher to me. Last night, it nearly cost them the game. 

[Karbo]

8 hours ago, stringer bell said:

I am pretty sure Duran will be unavailable tomorrow and agree that the Twins should probably limit him, but he's the key guy in the later innings and a five game lead is comfortable, but not safe. 

Jax, Thielbar and Duran have worked two days in a row and all of them might be unavailable tomorrow. It might be nice for Maeda to give at least six innings. 

Yep, bullpen is going to be pretty thin at the top Sunday. It sure would be nice if the Twins could get a big lead early, and have Kenta go 6 or 7.

[Peter]

As I’ve said before-twins are must watch/listen!!! Put fantasy football/nfl on back burner. Definitely need to resign solano!!  He was the hero!!!   With 4 hits/home run and game saving catch. C4 came through as well!!  Only concern is bullpen is burnt out. Need Kenta to pitch deep today and hope for blowout win and Cleveland loss. Huge comeback win!! Time to put this division to bed and put away Cleveland!!! Go Twins!!

[Whitey333]

Looks like Sunday could be another of Roccos throw away games.  He burned up his bullpen.  Maeda needs a great game today if we have any chance.  He may also be left to hang out to dry even if he has a bad day.  Gallo?  He's a joke and has been fir most of the season.  Putting him in to pinch run is even more of a joke.  Gallo is just an automatic out taking up space.  He needs to be DFAd soon.  He should not even be considered for a possible playoff roster spot.  Same fir Kuechel.  He really doesn't add much to the team at all.  Go Twins.

[akmanak]

It was a entertaining game to say the least. I think it might be time to turn the page on Keuchel unless you use him in the bullpen. He doesn't haven't anymore and is really a liability when facing good teams.

 

Gallo needs to be dumped and give room for someone else. This experiment should be over and I just don't understand on why they are so reluctant to drop him.  He offers no value in his batting and his defense is average. 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Karbo said:

have Kenta go 6 or 7.

Disagree with this. I don't think Kenta is effective into the 7th inning. Might as well go with the relievers. Floro, Winder, Headrick and Funderburk are all available.

 

[wabene]

3 hours ago, Johnny Ringo said:

His removal of Julien for Gallo as a pinch runner in the eighth in a one run game is maddening. Gallo is not a gifted base runner at this point in his career.  The defensive improvement is marginal if it exists at all as it forces Barrels to play second base.

 

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

Gallo?  He's a joke and has been fir most of the season.  Putting him in to pinch run is even more of a joke. 

 

1 hour ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I believe Julien has a hamstring (or other leg issue) that he has been dealing with.  I think Rocco did not want him putting forth max effort on that leg knowing it was a key run.  I'd rather have a limited Julien for his hitting capabilities than lose him to the IL with the Guardians coming up.

When I was putting this together BTG ninja'd me on it. May as well highlight it since he said it better than I would have. I think they even mentioned Eddie's leg on the broadcast. Anyway, a good move and their intentions were proved out by going for the steal. There was some fun, aggressive small ball in this game. I don't remember a Twins team going for so many safety squeezes, what an exciting play. 

[chinmusic]

2 hours ago, Johnny Ringo said:

But Rocco, good golly. His use of the pen was inexplicable

One explanation is that maybe he's setting up the bullpen for the looming Guardian series. And I love that the big 3 will be starting Monday through Wednesday. In order, Lopez, Gray, Ryan.  That series will be crucial, and I think I'm beginning to smell October....

[stringer bell]

The bullpen has been more burnt out several times this year. The problem is the “A” relievers are all down at once. This will put guys like Floro, Funderburk and Winder (perhaps) in high leverage situations.  Using all the guys for short stints keeps them available for a second day in a row.  

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Not sure why they are allowing Julien play when he noticeably favoring one leg? The old “I’m fine coach” should only go so far especially given other injuries we are seeing.

[Jocko87]

3 hours ago, big dog said:

Once again, the home plate ump had too much of an impact on the game. That was a bad call, Julien getting a strike called at 3-1 with the bases loaded was a bad call, and I'm glad he appeared to blow the pitch that was strike 3 to end the game. But yikes. I only watched the second half of the game, and while doing other things, so there may have been other obvious bad calls earlier.

His scorecard matched my live reaction and my feeling that everything went their way.  None of the missed calls were all that close.  Certainly not suggesting a bias, but Seager will get more calls than Julien at this point in their careers.  Pagan got jobbed a bit but has to keep his composure there.  Still did well to only allow that one run.

I was questioning the bullpen use a bit but I'm fine with it.  When a reliever is dominate, as most of the pen was, its the balance of eating the innings by blowing two guys out or keeping them available by taking a 6-7 pitch inning and getting ready for today.  With the extra roster slot it'll be fine.  Ideally the Floro/Funderburk/Sands/Headrick connection will handle it today.

 

[wabene]

Chapman sure didn't seem to like coming out for a second inning. That was fun to watch. 

[JD-TWINS]

12 hours ago, darwin22 said:

A BIG win, which could've been made even better if the Rays hadn't BLOWN 2 leads---9th and 11th inning.

Huge props to Solano!  Hopefully a guy our FO puts an emphasis on to re-sign in the offseason.  Great to see Correa come through in a clutch situation in the 10th.  Same for Kepler.  He sure appears to be producing his way into the Twins picking up his $10m option next year.  Never thought 2 months ago I'd be typing that previous sentence.

Hate to spoil a significant W, but is there really ANY REASON why Gallo is still on this team?  0 for his last 17, 13 of those AB's ending with a whiff.  His last RBI came on Aug. 12th.  What is the downside of DFA'ing him and bringing up Austin Martin?  With Taylor hurting, Martin could spell Stevenson as a short term replacement in CF.  

Is it too much to ask that TB step up and win a game tomorrow?  

 

One can tell they really like his 1B defense since last night they could have pinch it Vazquez v. LH pitcher with RISP & then had him play 1B. Instead they left Gallo in the game and gave up the automatic out with Gallo at the plate.

Once Kirilloff is back & Castro is back, the expanded roster starts to clog & Joey may be gone quickly…….Luplow v. Gallo??