Twins 8, Guardians 3: Vazquez and Twins Deliver Early and Late to Defeat Guardians

[Steven Trefz]

The Twins looked to deliver another crushing blow to their division rivals on Tuesday night. After swinging and missing several times, they finally landed the knock out punch to the Guardians in the eighth inning. Here's how the big night went down.

Image courtesy of Ken Blaze - USA Today

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Sonny Gray - 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (101 Pitches, 66 Strikes, 65% Strikes)
Home Runs: Christian Vazquez (6)
Bottom WPA: Willi Castro (.312), Christian Vazquez (.297), Carlos Correa (.088)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

The Twins faced an unusual challenge on Tuesday night in Cleveland. How does one go from facing a third-string catcher for four innings of the 20-6 victory on Monday, to facing a Cy Young candidate the very next day? When the season is on the line, but isn't really, but kinda is...would the Twins respond like a team that deserves a playoff opportunity, or a team that can't bring a consistent attack to the field night in and night out?

The Art of the Two Out Rally
The top of the first inning started innocently and meekly enough, with Tanner Bibee retiring the first two Twins easily. Bibee wanted no part of Royce Lewis, however, and walked him on four pitches. Max Kepler decided that a pitcher should be punished for that kind of disrespect.

The Twins weren't done there, as Carlos Correa continued his recent line drive exploits, singling in Kepler to put the Twins up 2-0. This stretch of 7-3 baseball has displayed a new-found flavor for not giving up on an inning, as the Twins continue to put up crooked numbers against starting pitching with two outs in an inning.

The Art of Going to the Well One Too Many Times
Sonny Gray cruised through his first two innings of work, but after surrendering a lead off single to Will Brennan, Gray found himself trying to get back on track against slugger Bo Naylor. Gray was able to sneak a fastball by Naylor right down Broadway to advance the count to 0-2, but he through the same pitch in the same spot with his next attempt, and Naylor parked it 389 feet to right-center to even up the score at two apiece.

The Art of the Poorly Timed Strike Out
In the second inning, the Twins had opportunity to strike again  and add to their lead, but with runners at second and third with one out, Edouard Julien struck out, and the runner at third never made it home. In the fifth inning, Polanco led off and missed a home run by inches, but ended up at second base, and then advanced to third on a Lewis single. Again with one out and a runner at third, the Twins were in perfect position to re-take the lead. Kepler again strode to the plate, but this time he struck out swinging at a ball above his ears, and once again the runner at third stayed stranded.

Juxtapose this with Cleveland's bottom of the fifth inning, where they advanced a leadoff double by Gabriel Arias to third with one out, and then Myles Straw choked up on two strikes and fought off a fly ball deep enough to to plate Arias on a tag to take the lead at 3-2.

The Christian Vazquez Redemption Story Begins Tonight?
The Guardians bullpen got the call to enter in the top of the sixth, with the left-hander Matt Moore starting the evening's wave of managing. Rocco Baldelli countered with pinch-hitting Jordan Luplow for Matt Wallner (and thus removing his bat for the entire game), and Luplow promptly struck out. Before Twins fans had time to release the appropriate expletive, Vazquez stepped up and unleashed an opposite field bomb to tie the game at three apiece.

A Willi Castro single and a Kyle Farmer double later, and the Twins were right back in position to score with a runner on third and one out. Polanco worked a full count, and then... struck out swinging. This deflating narrative of the Twins offensive performance in a pivotal game continued, with Lewis also striking out to end the threat. Now the expletives focused themselves towards the "coulda, woulda, shoulda" aspect of this game.

Will the Missed Opportunities Come Back to Haunt the Twins?
Some Guardians familiar faces put immediate heat back on Gray, with Jose Ramirez and Kole Calhoun singling their way to first and third with only one out. Andres Gimenez found himself in the prime at-bat, and Gray fought him pitch after pitch to strike Gimenez out, and retire Arias after him to escape the jam.

Bullpens took over for good after that, and Reynaldo Lopez hoped to have a better first impression as a waiver wire hero for the Guardians than Giolito did the night before. He did.  Griffin Jax took his turn in the seventh for the Twins, and he did well.

Trevor Stephan of the Guardians found no such luck in the top of the eighth inning, however, when the Vazquez redemption tour led off with a single, and Castro roped a double to once again place runners at second and third with nobody out. It was Farmer's turn to come up in the "do not strike out" spot, and he struck out. Polanco came up next, trying to cash in where he failed earlier in the game. Things looked bleak as Polanco fell behind 0-2, and expletive's once again were locked and loaded, but Twins Territory let out a collective sigh of relief as Polanco made just enough contact to the outfield to drive in pinch-runner Joey Gallo to re-take the lead 4-3.

Stephan then walked Lewis and Kepler to load the bases, and sent a pitch to the backstop to make it 5-3. Correa got hit by a pitch, and then the bases were loaded yet again for Donovan Solano. And he delivered!

What began as an "oh no, not again" Twins offensive inning, became a laugher that was sending fans home early.

With a five run lead, the Twins turned to Caleb Thielbar and Emilio Pagan took turns quieting the Guardian's bats, and the Twins looked every bit the part of a team that is destined for a playoff appearance.

Up-to-Date Standings

Post-Game Interviews

 

What’s Next?
The Twins look to win the season series with a sweep of the Guardians on Wednesday. This game carries extra weight, as its worth an extra game in the standings either way due to the elimination of Game 163 in the new playoff alignment. Twins starter Joe Ryan (10-8, 4.20 ERA) will look to avenge his two earlier quality start losses against the Guardians. He will face Cleveland rookie RHP Gavin Williams (1-5, 3.46 ERA), who hasn't pitched since he got pulled due to injury after one inning versus the Twins last week. First pitch is scheduled for 12:10pm CDT.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TUES	TOT
Headrick	0	15	0	46	0	61
Pagán	0	24	0	0	12	36
Jax	11	7	0	0	17	35
Durán	9	21	0	0	0	30
Thielbar	8	6	0	0	10	24
Funderburk	0	9	14	0	0	23
Floro	0	8	0	14	0	22
Winder	0	6	5	0	0	11
Varland	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

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[LastOnePicked]

I am starting to wonder if perhaps - perhaps - I overestimated the threat of Cleveland this season.

OR, if I had underestimated our Twins.

Either way, I'm good with my mistakes. But keep going, boys. Let's close out the Central early!

[jkcarew]

I don’t know which is more pleasing…

Twins taking a big step closer to a spot in the postseason…

or Francona’s Monday night strategy (travesty) failing.

Our favorite club doubled my fun tonight.

[LewFordLives]

I'm not a member of the Rocco fan club, but I thought his decision to let Gray work out of that jam in the 6th was the turning point. Gray showed a real fighters mentality and that the Twins were gonna battle to the end no matter what. 

[CoastiePilot08]

Smells like a division title is imminent 

[Dave Borton]

10 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

...

OR, if I had underestimated our Twins.

Either way, I'm good with my mistakes. But keep going, boys. Let's close out the Central early!

I as well. I had the Twins winning 79. They would have to go 6-17 to hit my number.

I am just glad we are seeing excellent ball this fall.

[stringer bell]

13 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

I am starting to wonder if perhaps - perhaps - I overestimated the threat of Cleveland this season.

OR, if I had underestimated our Twins.

Either way, I'm good with my mistakes. But keep going, boys. Let's close out the Central early!

Cleveland has suffered injuries, much as the Twins did last year. They've been concentrated in their pitching staff. Then the Guards decided to sell, letting Civale, Rosario and Bell go before and at the trade deadline. They aren't what they were last year and it looks like next year they'll have a new manager. 

[darwin22]

Unfortunately had to miss the game due a meeting.  Was beyond elated with the comeback victory that once again was spurred by some clutch hitting, a good start by Gray and three shutout IP from Jax, Thielbar and Pagan.

I need to give deserved props/apology to Christian Vazquez.  After calling him out/asking for a minor league replacement for next season (which I was rebuked for by numerous parties) after his 0-5 performance Sunday, Vazquez shut me up by poking a game tying HR in the 6th.  His hitting line also included a single and two walks.  Nice job Christian!

After producing the biggest hit of the game can our front office just go ahead NOW and sign Solano to a new contract with a nice raise?  Where would this team be without his contributions all season?  Hitting a team leading .294 ( Not counting Lewis due to limited ABs) with a .376 OBP, Solano has more than earned his $2m salary.

Having won the first two games of this series, I sure hope Rocco goes for the jugular tomorrow with our "A" lineup.  

Joe Ryan should be amped (hopefully not too much) for his start.  Main bullpen arms should be available tomorrow with possible exception of Jax as Thielbar (10) and Pagan (12) both had efficient one inning stints tonight.

Cliche time:  1 game at a time boys.  23 to go.  

As a former legendary high school basketball coach I used to work for would say:

"Focus on the task at hand."  

[LastOnePicked]

12 minutes ago, CoastiePilot08 said:

Smells like a division title is imminent 

A win tomorrow and I think it's in hand. We're in good shape regardless, but a win tomorrow would kinda hammer in that final nail. And I would love it.

[stringer bell]

It looks like the team not making it to the post-season is Texas. They're losing big (again) to Houston. The beneficiary is Toronto, the team I've thought the Twins would play all along.

[DJL44]

Isn't this more fun than quitting?

[wornsmooth]

Once again the runs come too late for Sonny to get the win.

I have lost count the number of games he pitched well enough ro win but didn't due to lack of early enough runs, or relief pitching losing the lead.

A superb pitcher who doesn't have it fairly reflected in his games won stats.

 

[FlyingFinn]

11 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Isn't this more fun than quitting?

If your calling Francona a quitter, I strongly disagree.

[BH67]

51 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

I am starting to wonder if perhaps - perhaps - I overestimated the threat of Cleveland this season.

OR, if I had underestimated our Twins.

Either way, I'm good with my mistakes. But keep going, boys. Let's close out the Central early!

The Twins finished the first half one game under .500 -- but did so against a schedule that included the Braves, Dodgers, Astros and 29 of their 32 games against the AL East. And they were at or near the top of the majors in ERA, strikeouts pitched, and quality starts. They had come through a difficult stretch ably. So underestimation is I think accurate.

Then for a month after the break they became the Box of Chocolates, swept by Kansas City but taking two of three in Philadelphia, for example. I wrote before last week's Cleveland series that I hoped for Chocolate Truffle and not Crunchy Frog.  But their confidence and determination were just coming into bloom, and the last week revealed it after the heart-wrenching loss in the final Cleveland match at Target Field..

So much so, that these Twins no longer resemble Russell Stover. You know you're getting their best effort every night now.

As for moderating that early schedule imbalance, the Twins have 16 games remaining against the Mets, White Sox, Angels, A's and Rockies. And these Twins will fight hard no matter the ineptitude they face.

 

[stringer bell]

13 minutes ago, BH67 said:

The Twins finished the first half one game under .500 -- but did so against a schedule that included the Braves, Dodgers, Astros and 29 of their 32 games against the AL East. And they were at or near the top of the majors in ERA, strikeouts pitched, and quality starts. They had come through a difficult stretch ably. So underestimation is I think accurate.

Then for a month after the break they became the Box of Chocolates, swept by Kansas City but taking two of three in Philadelphia, for example. I wrote before last week's Cleveland series that I hoped for Chocolate Truffle and not Crunchy Frog.  But their confidence and determination were just coming into bloom, and the last week revealed it after the heart-wrenching loss in the final Cleveland match at Target Field..

So much so, that these Twins no longer resemble Russell Stover. You know you're getting their best effort every night now.

As for moderating that early schedule imbalance, the Twins have 16 games remaining against the Mets, White Sox, Angels, A's and Rockies. And these Twins will fight hard no matter the ineptitude they face.

 

Health and depth are far superior to last year. 

[DocBauer]

Gray was excellent again, and I love the Rocco visit to the mound where Gray just told him "I got this" and then did it. He, once again, deserved the win in a wild season where he's thrown like a deserved All Star but can't get the W. Not sure he really cares that much as the team won. Jax got the W, and maybe deserves it, not only because he was good, but he was so snake-bit in the first half.

Jax might be out for Wednesdays game, but Thielbar and Duran are probably available due to smaller pitch counts and a day off Thursday. 

Vazquez is not a great hitter. But he's better than he has been for most of this season. Just great to see him have a good game and maybe notch his confidence up a needed notch right now.

I fully understand and appreciate match ups against a good pitching staff and PH at times. I do think Rocco does so earlier than I think he should at times. You WANT those moves to work. But pulling Julien and Wallner when he did concerned me for the later innings, before the Twins exploded. I don't know that he was right or wrong, but I hate removing those bats, generally, before the 8th. Farmer had a nice double, but, unfortunately, it didn't amount to anything. 

Statistically speaking, the Twins would have to IMPLODE to not win the ALC right now. And I don't see that happening. I'm hoping for the nail in the coffin with a sweep on Wednesday afternoon.

In a weird way, what pleases me most about tonight's win is not beating Cleveland, per say, but that the Twins reached 7 games above .500 for the first time this season. 

There is an old adage in baseball that the team you are in April and May might not be the team you are in August and September. And I think we're seeing that now. I've watched this team beat winning teams the first half, split series they could have easily won the first half against winning teams, FRUSTRATED by offensive inconsistencies that held them back from being "better" than their record. 

I say again, I thought this team could be a 92-93 win team, even with a couple question marks, if the offense could come together. And there really is NO WAY you could take the second half production, lead by Kepler and the young players, and translate it to a W-L total. But I'd be willing to bet the second half offense, producing like it has been since the break, would have won a good 3-5 games more.

I don't mean to disparage ANYONE, but the truth is the Twins offense has been better WITHOUT Gallo doing ANYTHING, and mostly without the super-talented but injured and disappointing Buxton. 

I have real hope Kirilloff is ready come the homestand starting Friday. He's looked more than ready in his brief rehab and I'm surprised he wasn't brought to Cleveland. So a move has to be made. I don't see Luplow being discarded only because he's RH and offers SOME RH threat. And Taylor is on the IL. Is this, finally, the merciful end to Gallo? I sure hope so because Stevenson at least offers speed and a LH bat to work with Taylor when he's back. We just can't keep rostering Gallo as a LH bat when AK returns, who is regulated to PR for a catcher at 3B. It's just TIME!

 

[IndianaTwin]

Wasn’t able to follow along live, but can tonight’s Rocco/Gray interaction also put to bed the “Gray wants outta here” chatter?

[USAFChief]

Nice win. Felt like the kind of game they've let slip away too many times this season. But not tonight. 

First time all season they've gotten to 7 games over .500. Good time for it.

[IaBeanCounter]

Don't look now, but the Twins are only 5 games back in loss column to be the second seed in AL.  Keep playing to their potential and they may make up those games.  The Twins only have to tie Hou & Tx

[Vanimal46]

Last season, the Guardians hammered the final nail in our coffin during the early September series. Feels good to be returning the favor this year. Stay hot, Twins! 

[tony&rodney]

Long season and the Twins are pulling it together too. The at bats have been consistently better for some time now and opposing  pitchers just get worn down trying to throw so many good pitches.

Cleveland played hard, using pretty much all of their main guys except for the closer. Tomorrow the Twins could put the AL Central to bed with a win,  which would effectively mean a nine game lead. 

Is it greedy to feel the Twins could catch the AL West winner for the second bye?

[Wedman13]

2 hours ago, LastOnePicked said:

I am starting to wonder if perhaps - perhaps - I overestimated the threat of Cleveland this season.

OR, if I had underestimated our Twins.

Either way, I'm good with my mistakes. But keep going, boys. Let's close out the Central early!

Perhaps.  Maybe, maybe not 😁162 game season, gotta let it play out.  That's what we love about baseball.  Could turn on a dime still but it's been a fun ride!

[Squirrel]

2 hours ago, LastOnePicked said:

I am starting to wonder if perhaps - perhaps - I overestimated the threat of Cleveland this season.

OR, if I had underestimated our Twins.

In true game thread fashion … yes

[UK Twin]

Given the Astros have two series v KC and one v Oakland still to play, I suspect the no.2 seed will be out of our reach. But even so, plenty of incentives for finishing the regular season strongly. Always good to go into the play offs in good form.

[Blyleven2011]

Again Sonny Gray  pitches well enough for the win ...

Twins score first but Cleveland  comes back to tie it  and then  take a 1 run lead ...

Twin tie it  and score 6 unanswered runs to win it  , good job bullpen  ...

Today's game was a good example how a game is played ...

Solano  has been playing steady all season , defense  started out shaky but that has improved , Twins would be wise to extend  him a contract  before he is eligible for free agency  ...

[JoshDungan1]

30 minutes ago, UK Twin said:

Given the Astros have two series v KC and one v Oakland still to play, I suspect the no.2 seed will be out of our reach.

While true, both teams have known to surprise, and the Astros also still have series against the Diamondbacks, Orioles and Mariners on their docket, which may well determine who wins that division.

[UK Twin]

1 hour ago, JoshDungan1 said:

While true, both teams have known to surprise, and the Astros also still have series against the Diamondbacks, Orioles and Mariners on their docket, which may well determine who wins that division.

True, but we need to make up 5.5 games on them. We'd probably need to go 17-6 to give ourselves a chance. Not out of the question but too much of an ask IMO.

[Riverbrian]

8 hours ago, DocBauer said:

I don't mean to disparage ANYONE, but the truth is the Twins offense has been better WITHOUT Gallo doing ANYTHING, and mostly without the super-talented but injured and disappointing Buxton. 

Buxton not hitting while tying up the DH spot was a pretty heavy anchor that the boat had to pull. It does seem to be moving through the water much easier. 

And Gallo... Yeah Gallo. He's a pinch runner now. 😁

 

[jmlease1]

A really good win, and an important one. Ensuring that Cleveland can't gain ground in a head-to-head matchup is pretty huge and ramps up the pressure on them down the stretch if they want to try and steal this. With the Twins starting to get healthy and showing impressive depth...it seems more and more unlikely.

Vazquez had a really good game, not just on offense. That strike 'em out-throw 'em out sequence to support Gray was huge and he was calling a nice game behind the plate. He's had some rough stretches this season at the plate, but the team has never lost confidence in him as a catcher.

Correa had a nice game as well; hopefully we can find him some rest down the stretch so he's closer to full strength come playoff time.

Gray was struggling with his command, but battled through it. nice to have a good performance from the bullpen to back him up too.

Thought the Twins took really good ABs last night; they hit a lot of balls hard that didn't get anywhere early, but kept working and it finally paid out. 7 walks? That sure helps create opportunities.

[FlyingFinn]

8 hours ago, IaBeanCounter said:

Don't look now, but the Twins are only 5 games back in loss column to be the second seed in AL.  Keep playing to their potential and they may make up those games.  The Twins only have to tie Hou & Tx

The Twins will have to do it without their best guys in the end. Correa and anyone kind of injured will get plenty of rest. We will see a lot of Keuchel and the back end of the Twins bullpen once we have clinched, probably even rotating guys to and from St. Paul to eat up innings.