Twins 8, Angels 6: Minnesota Wins the AL Central for the First Time Since 2020!

[Matt Braun]

But that year barely counts, so let's call it 2019 to make it more impressive.

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
Pablo López: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Home Runs: Alex Kirilloff (10)
Top 3 WPA: Kyle Farmer (.165), Alex Kirilloff (.147), Louie Varland (.094)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

It was perhaps the most raucous night in Target Field history. With a playoff magic number down to 1, the Twins no longer had to TV-watch in the hopes that some other team could help their fortunes; they now commanded the situation, making a potential victory on Friday a clinching occasion. 

And, it was fitting that the man looking to lead Minnesota was the starter they acquired in an eternally controversial trade.

Pablo López appeared dominant. He diced through the Angels early, either eliciting a strikeout or a groundout as LA’s hapless lineup fell over themselves with glee to get out. They were caught looking; they went down swinging. Even the one time they got on base was a 70 MPH lazy fly too lethargic to reach an outfielder. In every sense, they were overwhelmed. 

Minnesota’s offense, however, was energetic. From the beginning, there was a buzz surrounding their bats, fueling them; firing them up even after a quiet 1st. 

Silent no more, they took an inevitable lead when Michael A. Taylor shot a single into center field.

So they added on in the 4th; Willi Castro blasted a triple out to left, and he would eventually be knocked in… with a walk. Unusual as it was, LA’s new bulk man—Davis Daniel—couldn’t find the strike zone if Vegas-style neon signs guided him to the plate. Balls begat walks; walks begat runs. Matt Wallner plated a run with a free pass before Alex Kirilloff knocked in a second one with a sacrifice fly. The three-run lead seemed a fortress. 

A baseball game can turn quickly, though, and an Angels offense that seemed impotent and stale suddenly turned. Jo Adell walked, setting up Jared Walsh to punish a López fastball thrown into the heart of the plate. If that were it, Minnesota would have still claimed the lead; but LA tacked on, riding López’s sudden lack of command for a trio of singles, turning the game tied when Nolan Schanuel’s opposite-field single fell safely into left. 

It was a sudden shock to the Twins’ system. The team appeared so in control of the game but found themselves tied with a squad only competent in half an inning.

While Minnesota couldn’t answer in the 5th, they did in the 6th; Alex Kirilloff plastered a high-and-tight fastball deep enough into right to clear the overhang. The Twins had the lead again. 

It soon became a bullpen game. López fires off a scoreless 6th, giving way to the relief buzz saw that is Louie Varland in the 7th. He barely broke a sweat with a perfect inning. 

Instantly cooling was a breakthrough 8th—the kind of frame that decides the game and puts a manager at ease. Minnesota pummeled Jhonathan Diaz, sticking four runs on the lefty through a variety of methods. Most notably: yet another bases-loaded situation that turned into bonus runs. 

(This is quite the game to give a detailed playback if you didn’t notice).

Somehow the runs didn’t discourage the Angels, though, as they struck back in the 8th with a two-run shot to slice the lead to three—making Jhoan Duran the likely candidate to end the game.

If you thought that would be it, then you don't know Twins baseball.

Duran indeed entered the game, but he soon labored. The strike zone was nebulous; his control sparse. He struck out the opening batter before entering into a prolonged Cold War, walking and allowing singles with un-Durian flair. Finally, after throwing God knows how many pitches, Duran coaxed the game-winning groundout, fielded by Edouard Julien, and transforming the Twins into the 2023 AL Central division champions. 

Notes:
Alex Kirilloff’s homer gave the Twins 12 players with at least 10 homers on the year, a club record (the 2019 team had 11; Jake Cave was two away from being the 12th). 

Minnesota's 10 walks on Friday give them 557 on the year, good for the 12th most in franchise history. 

Pablo López's seven strikeouts pushed his season total to 228, tied with 1972 Bert Blyleven for the 9th-most in team history. 

Post-Game Interview:

 

 

 

 

What’s Next?
The Twins and Angels will play the second game of their weekend series on Saturday; Sonny Gray will take the mound with first pitch coming at 12:10 PM.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

 

 

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[LastOnePicked]

Hey, there are a number of folks here on Twins Daily who kept spirits up, who remained optimistic all season and who saw this division championship coming, even early on. If that's you, this often-pessimist toasts you all tonight. Enjoy this victory, and let it be the first of many toasts this offseason.

Go Twins. Good work.

 

[USAFChief]

Don't stop now boys!

[DJL44]

Handshakes all around

 

 

[IndianaTwin]

Uh, @Matt Braun, second paragraph = “Saturday”? Have I spotted a trend for you? 🤣

Seriously, thanks for your good and regular work in cranking out these postgames. 

[IndianaTwin]

Depth was clearly the modus operandi in the offseason, so it’s appropriate on clinch night we have…

• Castro, 1-4, plus a walk. Big-time triple. 2 runs scored.
• Farmer, 2-3, plus 2 walks. Double. Two runs. RBI.
• Taylor, 1-3, plus a walk. 2 RBIs.
   

[Linus]

Congratulations to the team and more importantly the fans. I’m going to enjoy this for a day or two and then come back to reality. Which is we slid into the easiest playoff spot possible. Enjoy the playoffs and then expect our FO to do substantially better next year. 

[darwin22]

Why would any Twins fans expect a "routine" last 4 outs to win a divisional title while holding a 5-run lead?

Whew.  Way too much late inning drama, but we won!

With game on the line--------honestly, how many fans would've predicted Eddie Julien to make a nice game ending play?  

Time to get our pitchers rested and ready for playoffs.  

Will be interesting to see what Rocco/Falvey does with rotation over the next 8 games.

I see Keuchel getting at least 2 starts.  Others likely 1 more each, with a "bullpen" game---maybe a Winder start to account for the last 8 games.

Hopefully the reports of Lewis' hamstring issue being minor are accurate.

Absolutely need Correa's leadership, defense and bat ready for playoffs.

[Matt Braun]

36 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

Uh, @Matt Braun, second paragraph = “Saturday”? Have I spotted a trend for you? 🤣

Seriously, thanks for your good and regular work in cranking out these postgames. 

You go five months perfect and then suddenly think every day is Saturday 

[BH67]

No Correa. No Lewis. No Buxton.

Pablo López throws a horrible inning. So does Caleb Thielbar. So does Jhoan Duran.

At least thrice the Twins leave runners on both second and third base.

And the Twins win, unlike the Astros, Marlins or Reds who badly needed a W to maintain control of their playoff destinies.

Great day to get a lot of occasional bugs out of the system, and still claim a major achievement.

Division champions.

[Rosterman]

You could see the anxiousness in the dugout when the Twins had the commanding lead. They were about to be champions.

But still must finish the game.

A bad pitch by Thielbar after a walk. Tough, but happens.

You see why playoff experience is so important to have on a team. Duran ws so into the greatness of the moment, and then almost totally lost it. I guess you could say kudos to Rocco for leaving him out there to deal with it.

I would've gone with Jax or Pagan for the 9th, though. Acturally, I would've gone with Floro - I'm not sure how much more time he has with the team - as they might need his 40-man spot.

A fantastic home team crowd for so many of the players to experience.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

42-30 since the 30 June meeting.  Definitely a different second half team.

Strap in for October, everybody!

[jimbo92107]

Congratulations to Rocco and his boys. Long, tough season, but the Twins kept grinding, and now they're back in the playoffs. 

One thing they might consider, as a secret weapon... Bring up Brooks Lee. The rookie would be a valuable bench add for various reasons, including subbing for 2B, SS, or 3B, plus pinch hitting and pinch running. Give him a cuppa for a good season in the minors. If he takes off, keep him around. 

[davidborton]

6 hours ago, Matt Braun said:

You go five months perfect and then suddenly think every day is Saturday 

You must be retired, where every day is Saturday, like some of us. <Winks>.

[davidborton]

3 hours ago, jimbo92107 said:

Bring up Brooks Lee. The rookie would be a valuable bench add for various reasons, including subbing for 2B, SS, or 3B

Careful.
Julien, about whom so many worry defensively, .990.
Lee, defensively '23, .959.

[bighat]

Great to see the guys enjoy this moment and love Farmer's bold prediction! 

[Peter]

2023 American League central division champions!!!!  This team will break playoff losing streak and possibly win it all!!  Go Twins!!!

[Squirrel]

6 hours ago, jimbo92107 said:

Bring up Brooks Lee

I’d rather they give Martin a cuppa 

[Karbo]

6 hours ago, jimbo92107 said:

Congratulations to Rocco and his boys. Long, tough season, but the Twins kept grinding, and now they're back in the playoffs. 

One thing they might consider, as a secret weapon... Bring up Brooks Lee. The rookie would be a valuable bench add for various reasons, including subbing for 2B, SS, or 3B, plus pinch hitting and pinch running. Give him a cuppa for a good season in the minors. If he takes off, keep him around. 

Not on 40 man roster yet.

[jmlease1]

Good job finishing off the division title! Always good to get it done on your own terms, at home, and without having to take multiple shots at it. Good job by the Twins not letting it hang around.

Happy to see Kirilloff get a dinger; if he's elevating the ball and flashing power it's a great sign for this club. I'm a huge fan of him as a hitter, but when he gets dinged up it really shows for him at the plate. And props to Julien for drawing a walk against a lefty for the first time this season. (Twins drew 10 walks. 10! that's crazy)

Lopez looked really great early. Had a wobbly inning but still gave us a solid 6. Varland looked pretty great; that cutter seems to be really playing up now that he's hucking it at 90+. Duran's command was a bit off, but the bloody Angels also took good ABs against him. (plus you could see some of their guys up there really hoping for the walk). Glad he finished it. 

Rest up, get everyone as healthy as possible and let's get ready for the post-season!

[Blyleven2011]

I don't know  if an apology is needed but the way they played in the first half ( uninspiring baseball )  I never expected them to win the division , even in the weak central division  ...

After the Allstar game  we started to play better baseball  and keep a small distance between  Cleveland , young players  were brought up and life in baseball  started getting exciting again with a new chemistry  , Lewis is definitely a player to watch and hope the injury subsides , Lewis  is more valuable to the team right now than Buxton or maybe even Correa  ...

I'm sorry I wasn't a believer in the first half , but that all changed in the second half when the team started playing better ball ...

Congratulations Twins players on the division title , Tony O and carew are very proud of you  ...

[GNess]

By my quick count this is the 13th division title for the Twins since the playoff era began in 1969. (50+ seasons) So as a fan, I always try to really enjoy these moments. Win Twins!

[Squirrel]

12 hours ago, Matt Braun said:

Finally, after throwing God knows how many pitches, Duran coaxed the game-winning groundout, fielded by Edouard Julien, and transforming the Twins into the 2023 AL Central division champions. 

I'm not sure 'Duran coaxed a groundout' is really the story. Yeah, it was a grounder that ended up in an out, thanks to a great play by Julien. It really wasn't a run o' the mill groundout. For all the talk about Julien's lacking defense, for the clinch to come on a great play by him, I think the line should read 'Finally, after throwing God knows how many pitches, Duran very likely could have given up the lead with a grounder up the middle if not for a great play by Julien to end the game and transforming the Twins into the 2023 AL Central division champions.' I don't know if Julien has grown as a fielder, gained more confidence as a fielder, but that was great to see. Just my opinion. 🙂

[KnoblauchWasFramed]

8 hours ago, jimbo92107 said:

Congratulations to Rocco and his boys. Long, tough season, but the Twins kept grinding, and now they're back in the playoffs. 

One thing they might consider, as a secret weapon... Bring up Brooks Lee. The rookie would be a valuable bench add for various reasons, including subbing for 2B, SS, or 3B, plus pinch hitting and pinch running. Give him a cuppa for a good season in the minors. If he takes off, keep him around. 

Bro.... was this satire?  If so, well done!!!

[Matt Braun]

4 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

I'm not sure 'Duran coaxed a groundout' is really the story. Yeah, it was a grounder that ended up in an out, thanks to a great play by Julien. It really wasn't a run o' the mill groundout. For all the talk about Julien's lacking defense, for the clinch to come on a great play by him, I think the line should read 'Finally, after throwing God knows how many pitches, Duran very likely could have given up the lead with a grounder up the middle if not for a great play by Julien to end the game and transforming the Twins into the 2023 AL Central division champions.' I don't know if Julien has grown as a fielder, gained more confidence as a fielder, but that was great to see. Just my opinion. 🙂

I would have liked to have been more precise, but the rest of this thing was verbose enough, and quite frankly, I just wanted to put an end to what almost became four pages of typing. 

[Squirrel]

13 minutes ago, Matt Braun said:

I would have liked to have been more precise, but the rest of this thing was verbose enough, and quite frankly, I just wanted to put an end to what almost became four pages of typing. 

Just trying to express an opinion that given this board's opinions on Julien's defense, that was really a great play to end the inning and clinch the title. That out was more on him than Duran, imo.

[Aerodeliria]

21 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

I'm not sure 'Duran coaxed a groundout' is really the story. Yeah, it was a grounder that ended up in an out, thanks to a great play by Julien. It really wasn't a run o' the mill groundout. For all the talk about Julien's lacking defense, for the clinch to come on a great play by him, I think the line should read 'Finally, after throwing God knows how many pitches, Duran very likely could have given up the lead with a grounder up the middle if not for a great play by Julien to end the game and transforming the Twins into the 2023 AL Central division champions.' I don't know if Julien has grown as a fielder, gained more confidence as a fielder, but that was great to see. Just my opinion. 🙂

Julien made two great plays, both for the third out. The first was (I think) in the 5th when Lopez was really laboring.

[Aerodeliria]

Amazingly, this is the first game I was able to watch this year. I suspect, they had in mind that Ohtani-san would be in the game and there was a chance Maeda-san would be pitching. It was fun to watch and a bit nerve-wracking.

[wabene]

Man Louie Varland is looking like a weapon. Now that was fun to watch. Even when he caught that grounder and headed to first, he is fired up!

This pen could really have some fireballers. We will find out this week who can make that first series. I would give Jax TBar and Duran some real rest with maybe just a tune up outting at the end. 

[Aerodeliria]

1 minute ago, wabene said:

Man Louie Varland is looking like a weapon. Now that was fun to watch. Even when he caught that grounder and headed to first, he is fired up!

This pen could really have some fireballers. We will find out this week who can make that first series. I would give Jax TBar and Duran some real rest with maybe just a tune up outting at the end. 

I agree about Varland. He looked super confident out there. I wanted him to pitch two innings actually.