Make it Official! Twins 3, Nationals 2: Stars and Sausages

[Ted Schwerzler]

The Minnesota Twins ended their road trip with with a victory against the Washington Nationals that had them grabbing a series win. An off day on Thursday sets up a need for more winning when they return home.

Image courtesy of © Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
SP: Simeon Woods Richardson 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (77 pitches, 48 strikes, 4 whiffs)
Home Runs: Max Kepler (4), Carlos Correa (4)
Top 3 WPA: Woods Richardson 0.290, Caleb Thielbar 0.145, Griffin Jax 0.120

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

 

Max Makes Liftoff
Simeon Woods Richardson cruised through the bottom of the first inning with Jesse Winker as the only Nationals hitter to reach. Attempting to steal second base, Ryan Jeffers nabbed him with a perfect throw and Edouard Julien placed a quick tag, having him dead to rights.

Stepping in for his first at bat against Washington starter Jake Irvin, Max Kepler found liftoff and blasted a solo shot to right field. His fourth home run of the season raised his OPS to .909, which now ranked first for Rocco Baldelli’s Twins.

---

Twins Daily's winning "Make It Official!" game recaps are sponsored by Official Fried Chicken, which you can find in center field of Target Field. With a name like "Official," we know we have to be the best in the game every day, and from your first bite, you'll know that's a promise we make good on

---

Correa Covers for Short Start
Woods Richardson’s start became of the abbreviated variety when he was lifted in favor of Steven Okert after working 4 2/3 innings. The lefty slider pitcher grabbed four key outs for Baldelli, and the 1-0 lead remained intact. Of course the best part of his appearance was a ride in on the bullpen cart, complete with a tip. Looking to add, Carlos Correa blasted his fourth home run of the season, joining Kepler, and making it a 2-0 game.

After Kody Funderburk worked himself into trouble, it was Correa saving the day defensively too. Washington had a runner on third with two outs and his diving play with a cannon across the diamond kept the damage to just one run.

Kepler kicked off the 9th inning with a double as his hot-hitting continued. Ryan Jeffers then plated him with a single and gave Minnesota some breathing room to the tune of a 3-1 lead. Despite being stranded on third, the Twins had to feel good about where they were positioned heading into the bottom of the 9th inning. Jhoan Duran came on to close it out and was set to face the Nationals 4-5-6 hitters.

The home run issues for Duran continued as Joey Meneses blasted a leadoff dinger to make it a 3-2 game and put the Nationals within striking distance. Luis Garcia Jr. stepped in and singled to bring up the winning run, and the Twins closer was squarely on the ropes. Former Twins infielder Ildemaro Vargas bunted Garcia to second, giving up an out, and Joey Gallo took a trip back to the dugout after getting gassed up on a fastball. Keibert Ruiz grounded to Edouard Julien and the game was over. A series win for Minnesota was locked in.

Notes
Brock Stewart started a throwing program yesterday. While that will still have him out for a while, and a possible rehab assignment could be needed, it’s a positive development for the Twins bullpen.

Zack Weiss, who has yet to pitch for Minnesota and is on the 60-day injured list, is throwing up to 100 feet. The pitching rubber is only 60 feet and six inches from the plate, so that’s a good thing too.

What’s Next? 
Minnesota gets a much-deserved off day before welcoming the Texas Rangers to Target Field for the weekend. Those pitching matchups are yet to be determined with Bruce Bochy not setting his group. Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack, and Pablo Lopez will go for the Twins.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

View full article

[Patzky]

Is it too early to ask who flipped the switch 🕯️?

[ashbury]

2 minutes ago, Patzky said:

Is it too early to ask who flipped the switch 🕯️?

7 hits, no walks, for 3 runs?  Yeah, maybe a tad early. 😀

[Patzky]

10 minutes ago, ashbury said:

7 hits, no walks, for 3 runs?  Yeah, maybe a tad early. 😀

Why I used a candle not a floodlight. Or a flashbulb.. the pictures are back.

[Doctor Gast]

I saw SWR pitched the 1st inning, he looked pretty good. Why wasn't he allowed to complete the 5th?

[Aggies7]

8 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

I saw SWR pitched the 1st inning, he looked pretty good. Why wasn't he allowed to complete the 5th?

Because the only thing scarier than things that go bump in the night is a young pitcher seeing an order for the third time. Or something.

[DJL44]

20 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

I saw SWR pitched the 1st inning, he looked pretty good. Why wasn't he allowed to complete the 5th?

Off day tomorrow lets them lean on the bullpen

[IndianaTwin]

"Zack Weiss, who has yet to pitch for Minnesota and is on the 60-day injured list, is throwing up to 100 feet."

 

That's serious projectile vomiting!

[1985Fan]

Duran giving up another home run is concerning. Wonder if he is not fully recovered or if he has another physical issue. I didn’t see it, was the home run off of another curve? 

[adjacent]

6 minutes ago, 1985Fan said:

Duran giving up another home run is concerning. Wonder if he is not fully recovered or if he has another physical issue. I didn’t see it, was the home run off of another curve? 

According to Gameday, it was on a splitter

[bighat]

Correa's game giving him some big WAR stats today. Game saving diving play in the 8th and a homer. Gotta be worth somethin'. 

Weird he wasn't in the top 3 WPA. 

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, Aggies7 said:

Because the only thing scarier than things that go bump in the night is a young pitcher seeing an order for the third time. Or something.

This has become a mantra that I still cannot buy into.  Let a pitcher pitch.

[BH67]

1 hour ago, 1985Fan said:

Duran giving up another home run is concerning. Wonder if he is not fully recovered or if he has another physical issue. I didn’t see it, was the home run off of another curve? 

Young Mr. Duran is hopefully looking at adjusting his delivery this evening instead of pointing fingers in front of the media. Better to learn that lesson in May than August.

[Aggies7]

9 minutes ago, BH67 said:

Young Mr. Duran is hopefully looking at adjusting his delivery this evening instead of pointing fingers in front of the media. Better to learn that lesson in May than August.

He went through a rough patch last season too IIRC

[h2oface]

Okert said it was a $5 tip. I call that cheap 😇

If you go to that meticulous planning that will certainly make the highlight reels again and again, don’t be remembered as cheap! Give your driver a Ben Franklin! Be remembered as benevolent and magnificently generous!

Still well played. I give it a 10 for creativity.

 

[LewFordLives]

I enjoy watching Joey Gallo strikeout for someone else.

[h2oface]

44 minutes ago, BH67 said:

Young Mr. Duran is hopefully looking at adjusting his delivery this evening instead of pointing fingers in front of the media. Better to learn that lesson in May than August.

Answering a question honestly and calmly is pointing fingers? I call it being truthful. Always welcome in my book. 

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

I saw SWR pitched the 1st inning, he looked pretty good. Why wasn't he allowed to complete the 5th?

Rocco

[Peter]

Huge much needed series win!!!

[Shaitan]

This post must be incorrect.

Clearly they lost, based on the comments.

[D.C Twins]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

This has become a mantra that I still cannot buy into.  Let a pitcher pitch.

Pitchers gotta pitch but unfortunately they can't because advanced metric-ers gotta ....er.... advance metric.....or something...

[Pat]

This quick hook thing just gets old.  One of the reasons pitchers don't get through a lineup  three times is because they never do it.  It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy: '" They can't do it because they don't do it and they don't do it because they can't do it." A perfect box!

[Doctor Wu]

7 hours ago, LewFordLives said:

I enjoy watching Joey Gallo strikeout for someone else.

Gallo is providing a LOT of enjoyment this year in that sense! He's barely hitting over .100 at this point. 

[bighat]

4 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Gallo is providing a LOT of enjoyment this year in that sense! He's barely hitting over .100 at this point. 

Watching Joey Gallo step into the box during a 9th inning rally with the game on the line made me feel relieved. You just knew he'd strike out. 

How does that guy still have a job? I remember the days of the "Mendoza Line" (.200) being the ultimate minimum in terms of production. These days it's almost June and we've got 3-4 players in the same game hitting .121, .171, .190, etc. No wonder fans are leaving the game. MLB has just got to figure this out. 

[rv78]

1 hour ago, bighat said:

Watching Joey Gallo step into the box during a 9th inning rally with the game on the line made me feel relieved. You just knew he'd strike out. 

How does that guy still have a job? I remember the days of the "Mendoza Line" (.200) being the ultimate minimum in terms of production. These days it's almost June and we've got 3-4 players in the same game hitting .121, .171, .190, etc. No wonder fans are leaving the game. MLB has just got to figure this out. 

If you are a player in AAA that is being blocked by a Joey Gallo you have to ask yourself.... just how bad am I? Or..... What do I have to do to replace this schmuck on the major league roster? 

It's almost as if batting averages mean nothing anymore. Hit a HR or make an out and all is good. Afterall, what was the driving factor in the last 2 games with the Nats? 4 HR's on Tuesday and 2 more on Wednesday = 2 Twins wins. They really need to have everyone swinging for the fences on every pitch. It's about the only way they can score. Or is it, because they are swinging for the fences on every pitch. 

[Riverbrian]

10 hours ago, Pat said:

This quick hook thing just gets old.  One of the reasons pitchers don't get through a lineup  three times is because they never do it.  It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy: '" They can't do it because they don't do it and they don't do it because they can't do it." A perfect box!

[JD-TWINS]

15 hours ago, 1985Fan said:

Duran giving up another home run is concerning. Wonder if he is not fully recovered or if he has another physical issue. I didn’t see it, was the home run off of another curve? 

Pretty sure the announcers said Splinker - missed it - they would have made a bigger deal out of another curve.

[LewFordLives]

6 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Gallo is providing a LOT of enjoyment this year in that sense! He's barely hitting over .100 at this point. 

And yet the Nats guaranteed him $5 million. Boras is a frickin magician.

[JD-TWINS]

15 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

This has become a mantra that I still cannot buy into.  Let a pitcher pitch.

He’s 23 …….other Teams try to turn our order around all the time by switching pitchers ……….,what’s the problem? Okert got left handed hitter and 4 clean outs. Don’t get the constant scrutiny?

Our starters, excluding Ober’s 1 1/3 outing in his opener & Varland’s 4 starts, average 5.47 innings per start - pretty normal. If any of the other 4 veteran starters got pulled with a shutout, I get the angst. The Team is trying to keep a 23 year old unscathed and fresh enough to keep taking the ball every 5th day. I thought it was a bit weird, but understand  what the background is with this specific guy.

Am aside: Okert & Thielbar both with clean outings - hooray!!

[JD-TWINS]

6 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Gallo is providing a LOT of enjoyment this year in that sense! He's barely hitting over .100 at this point. 

Hug the Defensive WAR he brings if you are a Nat’s fan!!