Twins Name Bailey Ober Game 1 Starter for ALDS

[tangopudding]

yeah, rocco said gray for 3. which is logical

[bloomwcjkl]

3 clean innings from Ober. 3 clean innings for Ryan. Then bullpen takes over.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

27 minutes ago, Patzky said:

Guess the guesswork is done! 

I guess so.

[jorgenswest]

If they get three clean innings from Ober I am looking for a fourth clean inning.

[chpettit19]

33 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Lopez and Ryan announced as well.  First 3 are set. 

 

26 minutes ago, Shaitan said:

No Gray?

 

25 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

My guess is game 4 ... if needed 🙂

It's Ober, Lopez, Gray that they announced. Not Ryan.

[Harrison Greeley III]

Ober's only start since July 7th without giving up a homer was Oakland last week. 

He's going to need run support against Verlander. But he gave up 7 HR in September. So it's not out of the question. 

[CRF]

36 minutes ago, ashbury said:

I was hoping for Randy Dobnak in Game 1, Les Straker for Game 2, and then assuming we're up 2-0 in the series we close 'em out with a bullpen game.

What? Not David West?

[stringer bell]

This is the best choice, without a doubt. It will be interesting to see the active ALDS roster with Ober added. 

[USAFChief]

LFG!!

[AlwaysinModeration]

49 minutes ago, ashbury said:

I was hoping for Randy Dobnak in Game 1, Les Straker for Game 2, and then assuming we're up 2-0 in the series we close 'em out with a bullpen game.

Is it too late to trade for Brian Duensing?

[Karbo]

1 hour ago, minman1982 said:

What a luxury to be able to pick between Ober, Maeda, and Ryan! The question is now does Ryan pitch Game 2 with Lopez/Gray doing Games 3 and 4? In my opinion, if they win Game 1, Ryan gets the nod for Game 2. If they lose Game 1, Lopez gets Game 2. 

pretty sure they will have Ryan pitch game 4. He has much better numbers at home, and with the weather cooling the ball shouldn't carry as well.

[ashbury]

9 minutes ago, AlwaysinModeration said:

Is it too late to trade for Brian Duensing?

I'm not sure if any of us ever thought about trading FOR Duensing.

[2wins87]

If Ober has one issue as a starter it's also giving up home runs, like Ryan.  Although he has been a bit better than Ryan at keeping it in the park this year, and also just a little better overall.

He made a strong showing in his last few starts after his AAA stint too, so he's earned it.

I believe his slider is a very different pitch from the last time he faced the Astros all the way back in 2021.  Hopefully a little unfamiliarity on their part can give him a bit of an edge.  He always seems very composed n the mound, I think he's ready for the big moment.

Hopefully Verlander isn't quite as sharp as he was in his last two outings of the regular season.  I think this team can go into Houston and surprise their fans.

[2wins87]

I'll be curious to see who catches in this series as well.

I was a little surprised to see Jeffers get both WC games after how they used him this season.  I don't think they would have used him 3 days in a row, so Vazquez probably would have caught game 3.

Sonny and Ober both had pretty much the same results regardless of catcher, but Pablo and Ryan both did significantly better with Jeffers catching.  There is probably a lot of flukiness in that though.

My initial guess would be Jeffers gets games 1,3, and 5, unless there is actually something behind the performance of Lopez and Ryan with Jeffers catching.  Could depend on how desperate they are to win also.

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, Squirrel said:

My guess is game 4 ... if needed 🙂

Or Game 1 😄 of ALCS!

[NotAboutWinning]

Kudos to Ober! Every time they have treated him like a red-headed stepchild (please, no offense intended to red-headed stepchildren), he has come back blazing. I fully expect he will do the same this time!

[jimbo92107]

This is so cool! I thought for some reason Bailey Ober was in Baldelli's doghouse. I guess not!

Seems like a good decision. Ober is plenty rested, and he has that good sinker from a high release point...very tough to lift it. Polo and Correa can feast on a bunch of two-hoppers. If they do manage to lift Ober's stuff, THEN you bring in Ryan, and watch them hit a dozen pop-ups in a row.

After that, you bring in Maeda with his whiffable forks and curves, then Paddack with high-velo, corner popping heat. 

By the time the hulking figure of Jhoan Duran crushes the mound sand, they'll be begging for a merciful death!

Kinda sorta...

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, Squirrel said:

My guess is game 4 ... if needed 🙂

Meant Gray, sorry.

[D.C Twins]

The FO listened to us at TD!  (I kid... I kid...)

[Craig Arko]

1 minute ago, D.C Twins said:

The FO listened to us at TD!  (I kid... I kid...)

Y’all just took orders from the spreadsheets. ;)

[USAFChief]

39 minutes ago, jimbo92107 said:

This is so cool! I thought for some reason Bailey Ober was in Baldelli's doghouse. I guess not!

Seems like a good decision. Ober is plenty rested, and he has that good sinker from a high release point...very tough to lift it. Polo and Correa can feast on a bunch of two-hoppers. If they do manage to lift Ober's stuff, THEN you bring in Ryan, and watch them hit a dozen pop-ups in a row.

After that, you bring in Maeda with his whiffable forks and curves, then Paddack with high-velo, corner popping heat. 

By the time the hulking figure of Jhoan Duran crushes the mound sand, they'll be begging for a merciful death!

Kinda sorta...

So they're using Ober, Ryan, Maeda and Paddack ALL in game 1??

I'd place a lot of cash against that.

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, IaBeanCounter said:

This sounds what Toronto decided before game 2.  I am for this move in that Baily has performed well on the road against playoff teams:

LAD  6 IP, 1 ER

TB    5.1 IP, 3 ER, 1 HR

Bal   7 IP, 0 ER

Milw 5 IP, 2 ER. 1 HR

 

 

Ober has a 2.08 ERA since his break at end of August. Always seems very levelheaded on the mound. I am sure they mentioned this start as part of the potential plan when they didn’t roster him for WC. Plenty of time to try and prepare mentally.

We have to start scoring 4 runs in games or we’re going to get beat. He can keep the Astros at 2-3 runs through 5 plus innings!

The BeanCounter data above shows Ober’s success against good line-ups. I’m thinking if he gets through 4 and has given up a couple, Maeda is probably the likely bridge through the 7th…….then back to hard throwers!!

I feel as good with him starting as with any of our guys. Hope he shines for the national audience - he deserves some attention.

[JD-TWINS]

47 minutes ago, jimbo92107 said:

This is so cool! I thought for some reason Bailey Ober was in Baldelli's doghouse. I guess not!

Seems like a good decision. Ober is plenty rested, and he has that good sinker from a high release point...very tough to lift it. Polo and Correa can feast on a bunch of two-hoppers. If they do manage to lift Ober's stuff, THEN you bring in Ryan, and watch them hit a dozen pop-ups in a row.

After that, you bring in Maeda with his whiffable forks and curves, then Paddack with high-velo, corner popping heat. 

By the time the hulking figure of Jhoan Duran crushes the mound sand, they'll be begging for a merciful death!

Kinda sorta...

Ryan won’t throw in relief but they may go with a bunch of guys if there’s any trouble early. Maeda does present a different style that could play well against an aggressive team.

[tony&rodney]

Bailey Ober has been pretty much good for 5+ innings, giving up 2 runs as a practice. I'm pumped for Ober to get the ball because he is really tough and will enjoy the atmosphere. 

The Twins need to score more runs in this series, but they can. One thing that may have been overlooked is how good the Toronto pitching staff was this year. Certainly Gausman is among the best starting pitchers in baseball. If guys like Julien, Wallner, Kirilloff, and Lewis can control the strike zone and lay off all of the tricks thrown by Verlander, the Twins can do very well.

Go Ober. Go Twins.

[David Maro]

Ober or Ryan or whomever in game 1 will not matter if they don't hit. Lewis and pitching won game 1 in WC. Correa and pitching won game 2 in WC. The Astros have Altuve,Bregman and Brantley now. The Astros ball park is a band box that they play to their advantage. This will have to be a team effort to win 3 games.

[mikelink45]

I expect that Ryan should be ready quickly if needed, but this makes a lot of sense.  Amazing after the way that Ober has been handled. 

[ClosetFan]

3 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

If they get three clean innings from Ober I am looking for a fourth clean inning.

Yes,

Ober 2023 OPS against:

                          PA             OPS

1st PA               233            .749

2nd PA             231             .704

3rd PA              110             .486

If he is on, teams don't figure him out.

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, D.C Twins said:

The FO listened to us at TD!  (I kid... I kid...)

You still have their number ...

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, David Maro said:

Ober or Ryan or whomever in game 1 will not matter if they don't hit. Lewis and pitching won game 1 in WC. Correa and pitching won game 2 in WC. The Astros have Altuve,Bregman and Brantley now. The Astros ball park is a band box that they play to their advantage. This will have to be a team effort to win 3 games.

The Astros had a losing record at home this year. Minute Maid wouldn’t figure to be much of an advantage for them. 

[Blyleven2011]

4 hours ago, ashbury said:

I was hoping for Randy Dobnak in Game 1, Les Straker for Game 2, and then assuming we're up 2-0 in the series we close 'em out with a bullpen game.

I see where you went with this  , past playoff pitchers but when I first read it Terry Ferrell  pop into my head  , in 4 years with twins he was 0-16 , never pitched in mlb for anybody else ...