Rangers 6, Twins 5: No Sweep in Texas as Twins Leave Victory on the Basepaths

[Steven Trefz]

The Minnesota Twins had every opportunity to defeat the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon. They didn't, and by the end of this week Twins fans should know whether or not it mattered.

Image courtesy of Jerome Miron - USA Today

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Kenta Maeda - 5 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (80 Pitches, 50 Strikes, 62.5% Strikes)
Home Runs: Royce Lewis (10)
Bottom WPA: Josh Winder (-.361), Cole Sands (-.276), Christian Vazquez (-.258)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

The Twins looked to sweep the Rangers in their final preview for round one of the playoffs. Jon Gray took the hill for Texas, and Kenta Maeda countered for Minnesota. The Sunday matinee saw former Twins and new Twins star in the action, but ultimately the former Twins outlasted the current squad, and the twelve Twins left on base and six arms left in the bullpen tell the story of the game.

Maeda Doesn't Like Garv-Sauce
Texas attacked the scoreboard first again on Sunday, with former Twins catcher Mitch Garver delicately placing a Maeda slider that didn't slide just far enough into the left field bleachers. To make matters worse, Garver did this mean-spirited thing with two runners on, making the score 3-0 Rangers before Twins fans were even warmed up.

With nine pitchers getting used on Saturday, a short start wasn't an option for Maeda. Maeda continued to give up contact and walks, seven hits and two walks in only three innings of work to be specific. And yet, Maeda was able to elicit ground outs and weak contact to escape these threats, keeping the Twins within striking distance as the game headed into the middle innings.

Twins Offense Doesn't Like Gray-Sauce
Edouard Julien led off the game with a double off of the wall in left field. The Twins didn't generate another hit against Gray until the top of the fourth when Carlos Correa smacked a single to center. Gray continually fooled the batters, with four of his early strikeouts being on called third strikes. Andrew Stevenson tried to bounce one off of Gray's pitching hand, and reached when Gray couldn't corral it in. He got Christian Vazquez to swing and miss, however, ending the threat in the fourth on his seventh strikeout for the day. 

Royce Lewis Needs a Sauce, and Twins Fans Would Buy All of It
In the top of the fifth inning, Julien got his second hit of the game with one out. Jorge Polanco followed with a walk. Lewis followed by ripping a foul ball straight backward into the home plate umpire's face. After a short delay, everyone got back into their positions, and Lewis straightened it out this time to tie the game at 3-3.

The Twins weren't done yet, Correa singled, Matt Wallner laced a 144 mph missile to right field (OK... 114 mph), and a jut-out in the foul territory fence saved a run by funneling the ball directly to the right fielder. After a Stevenson walk, the Twins were on the verge of breaking things wide open with the bases loaded and two outs. Christian Vazquez stepped up to the plate... and then sat back down after striking out as the Twins had to settle with the tie.

Who's Left in the Bullpen?
Not many relievers didn't see action Saturday night for both squads, so when Maeda and Gray exited after five innings each, the Twins and Rangers scrambled to find a way to complete the ballgame. The Rangers went to lefty Brock Burke in the top of the sixth, and struck out two more Twins for a quick inning. The Twins went to long-man Cole Sands, and he mowed through his first two opponents quickly as well. Then, Sands walked Marcus Semien, gave up a single to Corey Seager, walked Nathaniel Lowe, and chucked a baseball behind Adolis Garcia's back that allowed Semien to score to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead. 31 pitches later, Garcia struck out and the Twins turned to the last third of the game needing a comeback.

Burke stayed in for the top of the seventh, and Lewis and Max Kepler greeted him with singles to knock him out of the game. Chris Stratton came in next and Correa hit a Metrodome classic to left to tie the game 4-4.

The Twins once again failed to knock in the go-ahead run, as Stevenson and Vazquez both bounced out to first base to end yet another threat. 10 runners left on base through seven innings usually comes back to bite at team, and it didn't take long for that big bite to take place. Again, it tasted like Garv-sauce.

Royce-sauce!
The Twins' hopes for a comeback again rested on Lewis, who came up with one down and two on in the top of the eighth inning after Jordan Luplow and Polanco worked excellent patience into consecutive walks off of Jose Leclerc. Once again, Royce-sauce delivered a delicious swing to plate Luplow and knot the game 5-5. Will Smith then entered the game to neutralize Kepler, only to walk him to load the bases after a successful double steal to put the go ahead run at third with less than two outs. Correa was next man up, and he neutralized Kepler himself by bouncing into his 29th double play and leaving another couple of Twins on the pond.

The bottom of the eighth saw lefty Kody Funderburk take the mound for the Twins, and things looked bleak after Leody Taveras ripped a lead-off double. Kody brought the Funder though, and stranded Taveras at third (after getting Semien, Seager and Lowe) to send the game to the ninth still tied. Willi Castro made his reappearance in the lineup by pinch-hitting for Wallner in the top of the ninth, and Kyle Farmer pinch-hit for Stevenson as well, and neither found a way to hit in a pinch en route to a no-run inning. 

Josh Winder was called upon to get the Twins into extra innings again, but that hope didn't last long as Adolis Garcia wiped away his 0-4 day with one big swing to send Rangers fans home happy and Twins fans to their phones to check the Guardians score.

Until We Meet Again...
If the playoffs began today, the Rangers would travel to Target Field as a wild card participant. Between now and October 3rd will be much scoreboard watching and hand-wringing by both clubs. The Twins took five of seven from the Rangers during the regular season, and could have won them all. They also could have easily gone two and five, with many close games and bullpen issues all around. This potential matchup could be the best the Twins could hope for to beat their playoff curse, but the rest of this week will go a long ways towards determining if they get that chance at first place in the first place.

Post-Game Interview

What’s Next?
The Twins open their last series against the Guardians on Tuesday, with RHP Pablo Lopez (9-7, 3.72 ERA) facing new Guardians waiver man RHP Lucas Giolito (7-11, 4.45 ERA). Giolito managed going 1-4 with a 7.24 ERA in August for the Angels, but when with the White Sox he faced the Twins three times and only surrendered two runs over 18 innings. Which version of Giolito will be standing on the mound Tuesday? First pitch at Cleveland is scheduled for 5:10pm CDT.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOT
Durán	20	0	9	21	0	50
Sands	0	0	0	0	50	50
Funderburk	8	0	0	9	14	31
Thielbar	16	0	8	6	0	30
Jax	8	0	11	7	0	26
Pagán	0	0	0	24	0	24
Headrick	0	0	0	15	0	15
Winder	0	0	0	6	5	11
Floro	0	0	0	8	0	8

View full article

[SotaSports in NM]

Correa and his GIDPs have cost us multiple games at this point. That's aside from the fact that he basically just uses a whiffle ball bat at the plate whenever there are runners in scoring position. Dude just really doesn't have it together when it matters. How non-clutch can he be (I know, I know - he did drive in one earlier in the game...)??

Winder served up a delicious meatball with imported Italian meat to Garcia. He falls behind in the count too often and then forces pitches (of course you can say that about many pitchers, though the Twins employ too many of them). Nonetheless, I think Winder is a much safer bet than Sands assuming we do make it to October.

Ok, I'm going to leave my mini-rant at that. On the plus side, Gallo didn't strike out! Not even once!

[BH67]

The Twins won five of seven against a likely playoff team in a ten-day period late in the pennant race.

If their lead shrinks, it's only because their nearest pursuers took five of six in the same timeframe against two similar teams.

Regardless of what happens the next three days, the Twins are playing with confidence and determination. They're not going to "blow this," whatever the final outcome.

(PS: Walker Jenkins has a 1.111 OPS at Fort Myers after today's game. At age 18.)

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Maeda dodged some bullets today. The platoon split, pinch hitting thing going on is way out of control, if you ask me. Sending Castro up to pinch hit already behind in the count 0-1 is … not sure. Nevertheless, a really good series overall. 

Next up, the Twins have a chance to do to Cleveland what Cleveland did to the Twins last September. 

[wabene]

Things are looking good in Cleveland!

[BH67]

23 minutes ago, wabene said:

Things are looking good in Cleveland!

Ballgame! (as Cleveland radio announcer Tom Hamilton would say had Cleveland won -- but not today.)

Twins 71-66

Cle 66-71

Magic number 21.

[wabene]

Cleveland can't win em all. Still 5 games heading into the final series. Sweep em and get the tie breaker. Ova then

[DocBauer]

I didn't get to tune in until Maeda was out. Obviously he had a really rough 1st inning. But it appears he settled down for the next 4 and gave the Twins a chance. Wile 3 runs in 5 IP isn't great by any means, I'll take it most days.

The offense didn't quit. And it's been much better the second half even with a mediocre Correa and missing Kirilloff. It's pointless to play the "what if" game, but man, what if the offense was producing like this in the first half? I think we'd have to be 10 games above .500, yes? 

Taking the series is very good news despite failing the opportunity to sweep. By no means am I piling on Correa, and I'm a fan, but that double play with runners on 3rd and 2nd with 1 out really hurt. Even a decent fly ball to the OF might have made a real difference in the outcome. 

Here's hoping Castro gets in to a groove again. Here's hoping for a return of AK soon as well. Stinks to lose Taylor right now, but again, here's hoping Stevenson settles in and can offer some hits and speed at the bottom of the order. 

I can understand Martin not being up right now if he's not going to play daily, and might be sent right back down when Kirilloff comes back. But it's so frustrating to have an almost unusable player in Gallo taking up a roster spot when Martin might provide a spark. And he's going to be added to the 40 man when the season is done anyway. I think an opportunity has been missed.

I'm just not going to bang on the pen in this one. While they did give up 3 more runs in the 4 innings, they didn't blow up and kept the Twins in the game still. The pen is short at least one more quality arm right now...already been discussed over and over again previously...but the "weak" front end arms that pitched today still kept the team in the game.

ABSOLUTELY have to take 1 of 3 in Cleveland. But with a day of rest for the back of the pen, our top 3 starters going to the hill, and the current fighting spirit of the team, they should take 2. They are the better team.

The Twins were projected for around 85 wins when the season began. And right now, that's about where they look to finish. I always thought they were built for 92-93 IF the offense could come through. Even with a pretty soft schedule going forward, that's going to be pretty tough to meet. But it's how you finish that matters, right? 

This upcoming series doesn't make or break the season. But taking it just might propel them once and for all for the ALC banner.

 

[SD happy]

23 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

I didn't get to tune in until Maeda was out. Obviously he had a really rough 1st inning. But it appears he settled down for the next 4 and gave the Twins a chance. Wile 3 runs in 5 IP isn't great by any means, I'll take it most days.

The offense didn't quit. And it's been much better the second half even with a mediocre Correa and missing Kirilloff. It's pointless to play the "what if" game, but man, what if the offense was producing like this in the first half? I think we'd have to be 10 games above .500, yes? 

Taking the series is very good news despite failing the opportunity to sweep. By no means am I piling on Correa, and I'm a fan, but that double play with runners on 3rd and 2nd with 1 out really hurt. Even a decent fly ball to the OF might have made a real difference in the outcome. 

Here's hoping Castro gets in to a groove again. Here's hoping for a return of AK soon as well. Stinks to lose Taylor right now, but again, here's hoping Stevenson settles in and can offer some hits and speed at the bottom of the order. 

I can understand Martin not being up right now if he's not going to play daily, and might be sent right back down when Kirilloff comes back. But it's so frustrating to have an almost unusable player in Gallo taking up a roster spot when Martin might provide a spark. And he's going to be added to the 40 man when the season is done anyway. I think an opportunity has been missed.

I'm just not going to bang on the pen in this one. While they did give up 3 more runs in the 4 innings, they didn't blow up and kept the Twins in the game still. The pen is short at least one more quality arm right now...already been discussed over and over again previously...but the "weak" front end arms that pitched today still kept the team in the game.

ABSOLUTELY have to take 1 of 3 in Cleveland. But with a day of rest for the back of the pen, our top 3 starters going to the hill, and the current fighting spirit of the team, they should take 2. They are the better team.

The Twins were projected for around 85 wins when the season began. And right now, that's about where they look to finish. I always thought they were built for 92-93 IF the offense could come through. Even with a pretty soft schedule going forward, that's going to be pretty tough to meet. But it's how you finish that matters, right? 

This upcoming series doesn't make or break the season. But taking it just might propel them once and for all for the ALC banner.

 

Excellent summary. Agree 100%.

[Patzky]

45 minutes ago, wabene said:

Cleveland can't win em all. Still 5 games heading into the final series. Sweep em and get the tie breaker. Ova then

Grateful Tampa 1) won and 2) gave Cleveland's bullpen a bit of a workout 

[Dave Borton]

Very, very well written Steven. These last two games have been the best games I have heard on radio all year.

 

Quote

Between now and October 3rd will be much scoreboard watching and hand-wringing by both clubs.

You betcha. Great divisional races coming up and excellent post-season series after those. Good ball this fall.

Keep half an eye on Detroit. Won 4 in a row and Hinch has the relatively young team believing in themselves.

[BH67]

10 minutes ago, davidborton said:

Keep half an eye on Detroit. Won 4 in a row and Hinch has the relatively young team believing in themselves.

Too far behind this year. Potentially really good in 2024.

[jkcarew]

Correa’s career BABiP headed into the season was about 315…this year it’s 266. Meanwhile, his average exit velo and hard-hit % are both HIGHER than last year when he put up a 137 OPS+.

He’s basically one of two (Kepler) on the team who doesn’t strike out well above league average rate. He’s going to ground into DP’s…especially if he’s batting right behind the better OBP guys…but it won’t be 30+ probably ever again.

It’s been one of those years for him offensively. Horrible. Should he have been moved down in the order more aggressively the way things have gone all year? Yep. But, that’s on Rocco. I’ll take Correa on my team, with the defense at a premium position…and wait for the worm to turn.

[darwin22]

 A few thoughts after a frustrating loss today:

1. Thinking back to consecutive road losses at MIL (8-22/23) with the prospect of 7 games against TX, I was HOPING for a home split and 1 road W.  Now that we've completed those 7 games, I would say like most fans, I'm extremely happy winning 5 of those 7 games.

2.  What is the MLB record for most GIDP in 1 season?  Correa has to be getting close to that dubious achievement.

3.   How long of a rope does Kuechel have moving forward as a member of rotation?

I think he's earned another start despite getting lit up in his last start.  Keuchel has alternated very good starts (Game 1 vs. AZ and game 3 vs. PIT) with 2 horrible outings (starts at PHI and the other night vs. TX).  In between those starts, he entered in relief of a very ineffective Ober and tossed 5 shutout innings in a game the Twins came back to win.

His upcoming start against the White Sox is make or break, imo, with Ober sitting ready at SP.  From what I've seen, Ober has NOT pitched at all for SP.  Hopefully the rest will get him the reset he needed.

Finally...

4.  Are there others that are sick and tired of seeing Vazquez continue to fail on a daily basis when he's in lineup?  I know he hit a key solo HR last night, but his performance today was BRUTAL.  It was really "Gallo-esque" in terms of futility. 0-5 this afternoon with 2 Ks--both in key spots--runners on 1st and 2nd in 4th and with bases loaded in 5th.

At the time of his signing, I was "ok" with it, especially after watching Sanchez's mercurial performance last season.  I was surprised with the $$ amount (3yrs/ $30m), but understood it as management expected a rebound from him.  Furthermore, Jeffers had done nothing BEFORE this season to establish himself as the bona fide #1 catcher.  

Now that Jeffers has done that, my question is---Does the front office have the guts to ADMIT THEIR MISTAKE and release him in the off season?  Considering our FO has failed to admit their OBVIOUS ERROR in signing Gallo, I doubt seeing ownership eating the remaining $20m owed to Vazquez.

Saying that---should Vazquez get released, I believe 2 catchers in our system warrant the opportunity to serve as Jeffers backup next season:

Prospect #1:  Jair Camargo/ Age 24. Acquired with Maeda in 2020 trade from Dodgers.  RH bat that, I believe has spent the entire season at SP with the following numbers:  AVG: .247, HR- 18, RBI-56, OBP- .315.  

No idea of his defensive abilities--strengths or weaknesses.

Prospect #2:   Alex Isola/ Age 25.  Rd. 29 pick in 2019 amateur draft.  RH bat.  Played all season at AA Wichita with the following offensive stats:  .271 avg, 18 HR, 54 RBI with a .361 OBP.

I know my last point isn't a concern to many at this point in the year, but I'm beyond ready to jettison Vazquez off this team for 2024.

 

 

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, SD happy said:

ABSOLUTELY have to take 1 of 3 in Cleveland. But with a day of rest for the back of the pen, our top 3 starters going to the hill, and the current fighting spirit of the team, they should take 2. They are the better team.

I'd hold off a bit before making that last statement. Otherwise, I agree.

[stringer bell]

Correa is having a miserable season, no doubt about that. He gets three hits today but hit into the rally-killing GDP. I’m sure his foot throbs a lot more after a loss. 
 

Vázquez has been a huge disappointment offensively and certainly no more than good defensively. Jeffers is far superior this year, but alternating seems to be the plan for the rest of the year. 
 

Of all the criticism leveled at Rocco, I think the most legitimate is his handling of the last reliever in the bullpen. It’s pretty hard to expect good results when Sands has been active well over half the season and this is the FIRST TIME he wasn’t pitching in a low leverage situation. 
 

Royce Lewis would be Rookie of the Year and get MVP votes if he played 150 games at the level he’s played. He might still end up being what many of us hoped Buxton would become. 
 

Alex Kirilloff homered for the Saints today, his second in two days. He left the game after four at-bats. I hope he’s on a plane to Cleveland right now. Austin Martin didn’t play—maybe he’s on a plane.  Also I hope someone is coming up to replace Sands. 
 

Despite Maeda’s five-inning start, the BP is in pretty good shape heading into Cleveland. BTW, Cleveland has the lowest OPS in MLB against left handed pitching, so I think it’s good the Twins have three lefties in the BP for the coming series, although I’d expect Funderburk is out for tomorrow. 

[SotaSports in NM]

40 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

2.  What is the MLB record for most GIDP in 1 season?  Correa has to be getting close to that dubious achievement.

4.  Are there others that are sick and tired of seeing Vazquez continue to fail on a daily basis when he's in lineup?

Jim Rice has the record with 36 and 35 in back-to-back years in the 80s. I don't think CC will quite get there, so that's a plus. It's very easy for me to pick on Correa, but I liked the deal at the time and I still do. That was a deal we had to make, in my opinion.

Vasquez has been so frustrating this year. I liked the deal when it happened, but not the duration. 10 mil isn't crippling, but it will be hard to get out of that commitment without adding a sweetener.

Neither Camargo nor Isola are regarded as any better than average at catcher (and in Isola's case even average is a big step). Yes, their bats look nice, but would they be nice enough to cancel out poor defense for a backup catcher? My inclination is to say no, despite liking both guys. Although, maybe the tradeoff from Vasquez to Camargo would be palatable considering Vasquez has been good but not great with his glove and absolutely atrocious with his bat (even for a catcher)...

It would be great to be able to ditch Vasquez's contract, but it would truly surprise me if the FO would call it quits. They never do...

 

[Blyleven2011]

I'm going to predict that this might be royce Lewis's Twins team pretty soon if the other 2 veterans can't contribute  ...

Lewis is a ballplayer  ....

[DocBauer]

5 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

 A few thoughts after a frustrating loss today:

1. Thinking back to consecutive road losses at MIL (8-22/23) with the prospect of 7 games against TX, I was HOPING for a home split and 1 road W.  Now that we've completed those 7 games, I would say like most fans, I'm extremely happy winning 5 of those 7 games.

2.  What is the MLB record for most GIDP in 1 season?  Correa has to be getting close to that dubious achievement.

3.   How long of a rope does Kuechel have moving forward as a member of rotation?

I think he's earned another start despite getting lit up in his last start.  Keuchel has alternated very good starts (Game 1 vs. AZ and game 3 vs. PIT) with 2 horrible outings (starts at PHI and the other night vs. TX).  In between those starts, he entered in relief of a very ineffective Ober and tossed 5 shutout innings in a game the Twins came back to win.

His upcoming start against the White Sox is make or break, imo, with Ober sitting ready at SP.  From what I've seen, Ober has NOT pitched at all for SP.  Hopefully the rest will get him the reset he needed.

Finally...

4.  Are there others that are sick and tired of seeing Vazquez continue to fail on a daily basis when he's in lineup?  I know he hit a key solo HR last night, but his performance today was BRUTAL.  It was really "Gallo-esque" in terms of futility. 0-5 this afternoon with 2 Ks--both in key spots--runners on 1st and 2nd in 4th and with bases loaded in 5th.

At the time of his signing, I was "ok" with it, especially after watching Sanchez's mercurial performance last season.  I was surprised with the $$ amount (3yrs/ $30m), but understood it as management expected a rebound from him.  Furthermore, Jeffers had done nothing BEFORE this season to establish himself as the bona fide #1 catcher.  

Now that Jeffers has done that, my question is---Does the front office have the guts to ADMIT THEIR MISTAKE and release him in the off season?  Considering our FO has failed to admit their OBVIOUS ERROR in signing Gallo, I doubt seeing ownership eating the remaining $20m owed to Vazquez.

Saying that---should Vazquez get released, I believe 2 catchers in our system warrant the opportunity to serve as Jeffers backup next season:

Prospect #1:  Jair Camargo/ Age 24. Acquired with Maeda in 2020 trade from Dodgers.  RH bat that, I believe has spent the entire season at SP with the following numbers:  AVG: .247, HR- 18, RBI-56, OBP- .315.  

No idea of his defensive abilities--strengths or weaknesses.

Prospect #2:   Alex Isola/ Age 25.  Rd. 29 pick in 2019 amateur draft.  RH bat.  Played all season at AA Wichita with the following offensive stats:  .271 avg, 18 HR, 54 RBI with a .361 OBP.

I know my last point isn't a concern to many at this point in the year, but I'm beyond ready to jettison Vazquez off this team for 2024.

 

 

I understand your frustration with Vazquez's bat. But you have to remember, and accept, that he was signed first and foremost as a quality defensive catcher and game caller with experience. And $10M for that is not an exorbitant price. His career OPS and OPS+ aren't great, but about average for a catcher. The fact that he's about 90 points below his career OPS IS a concern. Is it him suddenly fading? Or is it "just one of those years"?  While his offense has not been as hoped for, i wouldn't dismiss a turnaround next year. Plus, his greatest value is as a veteran backstop for the staff and a mentor of sorts for Jeffers. And there is value in that.

There's more than a few of us who have watched Jeffers BEFORE this season and really liked what we saw, even though there was room for improvement.  We also recognized the bat potential that hadn't been realized yet. And through hard work and experience, we're starting to see just how good he might be. He's EARNED a 60-65% split with game time. 

The Twins MIGHT look to move Vazquez this offseason,but I rather doubt it as he provides value still, might turn his bat around, and his $10M isn't going to handicap payroll.

By reputation, Camargo is a good defensive catcher with a strong arm. His bat began to bloom in 2022 at AA, but I was a little surprised when he was put at AAA to begin this season. He started slow, which has skewed his numbers somewhat, but really took off a couple of months in. But he's still relatively young for a catcher, still has to lower his K numbers a bit, and might not be ready until sometime in 2024. But he's got the potential to make it as a nice 2nd catcher.

Cool your jets on Isola. Like Wiliams, he's a 3rd catcher who plays at 1B/DH. Both have some hit and OB ability, Isola potentially more, but until now, Wiliams has shown much more power. That seems to be changing for Isola, but he's doing it at AA vs Wiliiams at AAA. Barring some sort of AAAA catcher sign or re--sign, Carmago will be the 3rd catcher for 2024, with Jeffers as the primary. That could change mid year.

Look to Winkel, Cardenas, and Cossetti as future catchers moving up next season. But don't dismiss the value of Vazquez as a CATCHER behind Jeffers..if not a good bat..for at least part of 2024.

[stringer bell]

Phil Miller is reporting that the Twins are not presently considering activation of Alex Kirilloff. He also commented that Correa set a Twins’ record when he grounded into his 29th double play. 
 

Phil documented Gallo’s struggles—since his four hit game in Philly, he is 1-25 with 17 Ks and only one ball out of the infield. Before his four-hit game, Gallo had been 6 for 51. In total, he’s 11 for his last 80, with four hits and two homers coming in one game. 

[DJL44]

29 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Phil documented Gallo’s struggles—since his four hit game in Philly, he is 1-25 with 17 Ks and only one ball out of the infield. Before his four-hit game, Gallo had been 6 for 51. In total, he’s 11 for his last 80, with four hits and two homers coming in one game. 

You left out getting caught stealing twice as a pinch runner. His splits are interesting that he's hit much better in Twins wins (,880 OPS) than in losses (.564). I'd say that he's directly to blame for many of those losses because of his lack of production.

[Alex Wilde]

2 hours ago, darwin22 said:

 A few thoughts after a frustrating loss today:

1. Thinking back to consecutive road losses at MIL (8-22/23) with the prospect of 7 games against TX, I was HOPING for a home split and 1 road W.  Now that we've completed those 7 games, I would say like most fans, I'm extremely happy winning 5 of those 7 games.

2.  What is the MLB record for most GIDP in 1 season?  Correa has to be getting close to that dubious achievement.

3.   How long of a rope does Kuechel have moving forward as a member of rotation?

I think he's earned another start despite getting lit up in his last start.  Keuchel has alternated very good starts (Game 1 vs. AZ and game 3 vs. PIT) with 2 horrible outings (starts at PHI and the other night vs. TX).  In between those starts, he entered in relief of a very ineffective Ober and tossed 5 shutout innings in a game the Twins came back to win.

His upcoming start against the White Sox is make or break, imo, with Ober sitting ready at SP.  From what I've seen, Ober has NOT pitched at all for SP.  Hopefully the rest will get him the reset he needed.

Finally...

4.  Are there others that are sick and tired of seeing Vazquez continue to fail on a daily basis when he's in lineup?  I know he hit a key solo HR last night, but his performance today was BRUTAL.  It was really "Gallo-esque" in terms of futility. 0-5 this afternoon with 2 Ks--both in key spots--runners on 1st and 2nd in 4th and with bases loaded in 5th.

At the time of his signing, I was "ok" with it, especially after watching Sanchez's mercurial performance last season.  I was surprised with the $$ amount (3yrs/ $30m), but understood it as management expected a rebound from him.  Furthermore, Jeffers had done nothing BEFORE this season to establish himself as the bona fide #1 catcher.  

Now that Jeffers has done that, my question is---Does the front office have the guts to ADMIT THEIR MISTAKE and release him in the off season?  Considering our FO has failed to admit their OBVIOUS ERROR in signing Gallo, I doubt seeing ownership eating the remaining $20m owed to Vazquez.

Saying that---should Vazquez get released, I believe 2 catchers in our system warrant the opportunity to serve as Jeffers backup next season:

Prospect #1:  Jair Camargo/ Age 24. Acquired with Maeda in 2020 trade from Dodgers.  RH bat that, I believe has spent the entire season at SP with the following numbers:  AVG: .247, HR- 18, RBI-56, OBP- .315.  

No idea of his defensive abilities--strengths or weaknesses.

Prospect #2:   Alex Isola/ Age 25.  Rd. 29 pick in 2019 amateur draft.  RH bat.  Played all season at AA Wichita with the following offensive stats:  .271 avg, 18 HR, 54 RBI with a .361 OBP.

I know my last point isn't a concern to many at this point in the year, but I'm beyond ready to jettison Vazquez off this team for 2024.

 

 

It’ll end up being around a 60/40 split next year between Jeffers and Vasquez. There is still plenty of value to have a solid veteran catcher on the roster even if he is being overpaid.

[beckmt]

If Rocco does not have faith in this bullpen, they why are some of them (Sands) still on this club.  This seems to be an FO issue as maybe their DNA is not to spend on a bullpen, but a great bullpen to go with this starting staff will do wonders next year.  We are going to have to sign one or two starters anyway, so backing them with a great bullpen may keep the cost reasonable for the starters.  

[BH67]

6 hours ago, darwin22 said:

 

2.  What is the MLB record for most GIDP in 1 season?  Correa has to be getting close to that dubious achievement.

 

 

 

That would be Jim Rice, with 36. He did so at least 29 times in four consecutive seasons (1982-85), during which he also drove in 448 runs. Rally killer, though.

And I'll consider Correa's five errors all season at shortstop an acceptable substitute for the power.

[stringer bell]

4 hours ago, beckmt said:

If Rocco does not have faith in this bullpen, they why are some of them (Sands) still on this club.  This seems to be an FO issue as maybe their DNA is not to spend on a bullpen, but a great bullpen to go with this starting staff will do wonders next year.  We are going to have to sign one or two starters anyway, so backing them with a great bullpen may keep the cost reasonable for the starters.  

Sands optioned today. 

[Peter]

At least Cleveland lost and still have 5 game lead. Now it’s time to put Cleveland away and win this division!

[DJL44]

Pretty much every free agent catcher has had a lousy 2023. I'd still rather have Vazquez than Zunino, Hedges, Narvaez or Casali. I definitely am glad they weren't the high bidder on Willson Contreras.

[hitterscount]

22 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Pretty much every free agent catcher has had a lousy 2023. I'd still rather have Vazquez than Zunino, Hedges, Narvaez or Casali. I definitely am glad they weren't the high bidder on Willson Contreras.

Would take Contreras' brother in a second... not sure if the Brewers traded for him or if he was signed as a free agent. But in all honesty, I thought the Vasquez was a good signing at the time. 

 

[saviking]

Okay, Krilloff is tearing the cover off the ball in AAA. Let's get him up here to play first base. 

If DeSawn Keirsey wasn't lefthanded I bring him up to replace Luplow. He stolen 36 bases bases and can play centerfold so I'm not sure we shouldn't do it anyway. Would make a much better punch runner than Gallo. 

If Luplow is so good against lefthanders why is he batting .214. Or he can replace Gallo who's hitting .172. This whole lefty batting against righty or righty against lefty is ridiculous if the guy can't hit in the first place. 

 

[David HK]

It would have been sweet to get a sweep.  But we really smacked the Rangers around in the space of only 2 weeks- that's not easy to do against a quality hitting club. 

Now, let's go into Cleveland and BURY those guys.  This time, I won't be satisfied with anything less than total annihilation.  💪😆