Make It Official! Twins 8, Diamondbacks 3: Willi Castro, Bona Fide Star

[Theodore Tollefson]

The Twins played their second of three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Wednesday night. After losing a close one against the D-Backs on Tuesday night, the visitors sought to bounce back with Simeon Woods Richardson on the mound.

Image courtesy of © Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
SP: Simeon Woods Richardson 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (90 pitches, 57 strikes (63.3% strikes))
Home Runs: Willi Castro (7)
Top 3 WPA: José Miranda .162. Woods Richardson .125, Carlos Santana .090

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Road Bumps Don’t Swerve Woods Richardson in Solid Start  
The Twins were looking for revenge after their devastating 5-4 loss against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night. Woods Richardson made his 13th start of the season with the big-league club, and had things working relatively well through his first three innings.

He hit a rough patch in the bottom of the first, allowing a one-out walk to Ketel Marte and a single to Joc Pederson, but some bad baserunning by Pederson and a flyout from Christian Walker dropped the momentum built up from Marte’s walk. In the next two innings, Woods Richardson allowed only one baserunner (on a Corbin Carroll single) but kept up the lead for his team.

---

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.

---

The fourth inning started out badly for Woods Richardson, as he hit the leadoff man, Pederson. Two batters later, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. drove in Pederson on an RBI triple to get the Diamondbacks' first run of the game and make it a score of 6-1. But after that triple, Woods Richardson would retire five consecutive batters to avert further damage.

Starting the sixth inning at 74 pitches, Woods Richardson would need to be efficient to make it through his fifth start of the season with at least six innings of work. But the Diamondbacks chipped away at him, with another walk from Marte and a double from Walker that moved runners into scoring position. While not his most dominant night on the mound, Woods Richardson did his part to keep the Twins' large lead intact and earned his third win of the year. 
 

Miranda Mania Builds Early Lead to Victory 
To quote former Twins Daily writer and current Reno Aces (Diamondbacks Triple-A affiliate) play-by-play man Nash Walker, Miranda Mania was the difference in the Twins' 8-3 win over the D-backs. The Twins had the opportunity to strike early, and they didn’t let it slither past them. 

With no outs in the top of the second, the Twins created a bases-loaded situation (on a couple of hits and a hit batter) for their third baseman. On a 2-1 count, Miranda smacked a bases-clearing double on a meatball pitch to give the Twins the early 3-0 lead. 

The Twins wouldn’t muster any more runs in the second, but in the third, Byron Buxton extended the lead by one with a sacrifice fly. Then in the fourth, Trevor Larnach and Carlos Correa both provided RBI doubles to make it a 6-0 lead. The final runs for the Twins would come off a Willi Castro two-run homer in the fifth, drilled into left field. 

Extra Rest Proves Worthwhile for Bullpen 
No one will ever complain about giving a bullpen extra rest, and the extra rest the Twins bullpen has had since Bailey Ober’s complete game on Saturday bore fruit Wednesday night. The four Twins relievers who succeeded Woods Richardson combined to throw 38 pitches through 3 ⅓ innings--including a quick outing from Jhoan Durán, who managed to get the last two outs in the bottom of the eighth on just three pitches. 

Durán, Josh Staumont, Steven Okert, and Ronny Henriquez were all perfect in their efforts to seal the Twins' 8-3 victory, combining for four strikeouts (three from Okert, the other from Henriquez), to seal the victory over the Snakes. 

What’s Next? 
The Twins finish up their three-game series in the desert at 2:40 P.M. Central on Thursday. The Diamondbacks send veteran lefty Jordan Montgomery to the mound against the Twins' newest pitcher, David Festa, who will be making his Major League debut. 

Postgame Interview 

Bullpen Usage Sheet 

View full article

[Markdumont25]

I've seen a post or two about him but damn, does our boy Willi still feel underappreciated. What he's done this year compared to what expectations were for him is quite astounding. What a steal and let's hope he can keep it up... But from what I've seen so far I actually believe he can. 

[SwainZag]

16 GS 3.43 ERA, 1.134 WHIP, 6-6, 2.1 BB/9, 6.3 K/9, 4.99 FIP, 97.0 IP

13 GS 3.26 ERA, 1.137 WHIP, 2-1, 2.5 BB/9, 7.7 K/9, 3.66 FIP  60.2 IP

 

I know pitcher A has 35% more innings, which is pretty substantial. The Twins have also handled SWR with kid gloves and La Makina is one of my favorite former Twins, but that trade is starting to look not that bad.  Reading SWR was young for his current level got pretty old to read, but the kid is turning into quite the asset.

[Peter]

Great bounce back win!!! Let’s take this series!!!! Go Twins!!!

[William K Johnson]

I take back every bad thing I ever said about Miranda and Larnac.

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

Hard to say Staumont was "perfect" when he allowed both his inherited runners to score, one when he threw a wild pitch on his first pitch of the game.

Nice win, though!

[Doctor Wu]

How about Josh Staumont? Seems like he is the pitcher that nobody is talking about. Okay, he's only pitched 17 innings so far this season, but ... zero earned runs all season! Is that insane, or what? Man, I hope I'm not jinxing the guy, but he has been a jewel in the bullpen. Okay, there was a wild pitch in the Arizona game, but that's about the only blemish I can see so far. His free agent signing this past winter was one of those under-the-radar moves that may end up being a big one. 

[mickster]

5 hours ago, Markdumont25 said:

I've seen a post or two about him but damn, does our boy Willi still feel underappreciated. What he's done this year compared to what expectations were for him is quite astounding. What a steal and let's hope he can keep it up... But from what I've seen so far I actually believe he can. 

Huge improvement over Gordon, that is for sure.

[Doctor Wu]

24 minutes ago, mickster said:

Huge improvement over Gordon, that is for sure.

You are right, I always liked Gordon, and keep hoping he would get the chance to stick, but that never happened, and he hasn't exactly set the world on fire with Miami this year either. But Castro has turned into a VERY effective player, and for what, only a waiver claim? 

[BH67]

The Twins have scored 108 runs in their last sixteen games and scored at least 5 runs in thirteen of those games. Their opposition during this stretch, however, has some of the worst pitching in the majors.

I take comfort that the Twins lineup routinely overwhelms sub-.500 teams now. I’ll be convinced it’s durable if they keep pounding in Seattle this weekend.

[jmlease1]

What a difference a year and good health makes. Jose Miranda is back to being the kind of hitter we thought he could be and really looks locked in. (oddly, he's struggling the most against LHP, which I expect will start to norm out as the season goes on) Love the way he's insisting that he get in the lineup with his play.

This is the kind of offense we expected this team to produce this season, even if it's not exactly the group of guys we thought would be doing it. 

SWR just keeps grinding away. He's doing a very good job of keeping the ball in the park and not handing out free passes and just keeping the team in the game and giving them a chance to win. He's been really important this season.

[Whitey333]

Nice win Twins!  Let's take the series Thursday afternoon.

God I miss Provus on the radio broadcasts.  Attaberry is too hard to follow.  He spends more time talking about other things unrelated to the game.  It seems the calling of the game has become secondary.  I wonder if he realizes there is an actual game going on?  Part of a radio sports announcers job is to paint a picture of the game in the listeners mind.  All you get with Atterberry is a blur.

 

[SockNet]

Twins fianlly won when Cleveland lost!

Gleeman was wrong. The Guardians are the Boogyman, lurking.

[Doctor Gast]

28 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

What a difference a year and good health makes. Jose Miranda is back to being the kind of hitter we thought he could be and really looks locked in. (oddly, he's struggling the most against LHP, which I expect will start to norm out as the season goes on) Love the way he's insisting that he get in the lineup with his play.

This is the kind of offense we expected this team to produce this season, even if it's not exactly the group of guys we thought would be doing it. 

SWR just keeps grinding away. He's doing a very good job of keeping the ball in the park and not handing out free passes and just keeping the team in the game and giving them a chance to win. He's been really important this season.

Never in my mind had I doubted Miranda's bat. He's a pure hitter that can hit anybody, There will come a day when his time at 3B will be limited. Can he become our full-time 1Bman? IMO yes. 

Great observation on SWR, JM. The difference between this game & the game before is the prior game the Snakes struck 1st. SWR held them early & gave our offense the chance to have the advantage,

[Doctor Gast]

I like Castro from the beginning, but knowing the Twins I doubted he make the team & flounder at AAA. Fortunate for injuries (strange to hear that) it gave him the opportunity to prove himself & shine. He has been valuable for the Twins with his flexibility, glove & bat and IMO he is still not done rising. The offense shone led by clutch hitting by Miranda & Castro. SWR gave us the chance for our offense to win the game. Great throw out by Vazquez to squelch a AZ rally.

 

[Linus]

This was a good outing by SWR in that he was struggling with command but managed to make enough pitches to get some outs. Many times pitchers in the same situation get blown up. 

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

How about Josh Staumont? Seems like he is the pitcher that nobody is talking about. Okay, he's only pitched 17 innings so far this season, but ... zero earned runs all season! Is that insane, or what? Man, I hope I'm not jinxing the guy, but he has been a jewel in the bullpen. Okay, there was a wild pitch in the Arizona game, but that's about the only blemish I can see so far. His free agent signing this past winter was one of those under-the-radar moves that may end up being a big one. 

There’s the Wild Pitch & the 3 walks in an inning that he worked around in a recent outing……..”control” was his problem after health…..can’t be perfect but he’s been better than solid! Innings total is whatever it is - he’s not allowing runs when called upon.

[JD-TWINS]

Who gets sent down to make room for FESTA? ….is Henriquez obviously the choice or somebody else out???

[jmlease1]

55 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Never in my mind had I doubted Miranda's bat. He's a pure hitter that can hit anybody, There will come a day when his time at 3B will be limited. Can he become our full-time 1Bman? IMO yes. 

I think he has the ability to be at least average defensively at 1B and he'll hit enough for the position. Backup 3B if needed, play some DH...hard not to see him having a full-time role in 2025 for sure. The injury last season really wrecked his whole year, and he probably should have shut it down and had surgery sooner, but it's understandable why he and the team would try and rehab and play through it. He's clearly feeling much better at the plate, and is able to swing hard and confidently again.

[LambchoP]

Miranda needs an everyday position and spot in the lineup. If Lewis is our third baseman, Miranda should be our first baseman. Having both of them in the lineup everyday should be priority. Excited to see how Festa does tonight:)

[wabene]

7 hours ago, Markdumont25 said:

I've seen a post or two about him but damn, does our boy Willi still feel underappreciated. What he's done this year compared to what expectations were for him is quite astounding. What a steal and let's hope he can keep it up... But from what I've seen so far I actually believe he can. 

Originally an international signing by Cleveland, after being traded to Detroit he was rushed to the majors at 22. Willi is talented, but maybe wasn't quite ready to put it together. This is one of those fortuitous moves for the Twins that helps offset some moves that turned out less well. With one more year of control it will be interesting to see if they try to lock him up for longer.

[Patzky]

22 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Who gets sent down to make room for FESTA? ….is Henriquez obviously the choice or somebody else out???

Money's on Funderburk.

[mickster]

15 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

Miranda needs an everyday position and spot in the lineup. If Lewis is our third baseman, Miranda should be our first baseman. Having both of them in the lineup everyday should be priority. Excited to see how Festa does tonight:)

Let's project.  If Miranda is our everyday 1B next season, Then who is his backup?   Assuming that Margot, Farmer, Santana and Kepler are all not back?   If Santana can maintain what he is doing and the start was just poor, would anyone be up for signing him for this role and occasional DH?   Would need to be at a discounted rate, but at 39 will he command anything more?  I am not sure if AK will be an option but would make the most sense if he can right himself.   Willi won't play there, so curious who others see in the backup role.

[LambchoP]

1 minute ago, mickster said:

Let's project.  If Miranda is our everyday 1B next season, Then who is his backup?   Assuming that Margot, Farmer, Santana and Kepler are all not back?   If Santana can maintain what he is doing and the start was just poor, would anyone be up for signing him for this role and occasional DH?   Would need to be at a discounted rate, but at 39 will he command anything more?  I am not sure if AK will be an option but would make the most sense if he can right himself.   Willi won't play there, so curious who others see in the backup role.

Good question. Severino sure looks like a prototypical power hitting first baseman. He's already on the 40 man. Miranda at 1. Lee at 2. Correa at SS with Lewis at 3. Severino could backup first and 3rd with Keaschal on his way as well. That puts Castro in the outfield with Buxton, Larnach, Martin and Keirsey Jr and E Rodriguez.

[Patzky]

7 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

Good question. Severino sure looks like a prototypical power hitting first baseman. He's already on the 40 man. Miranda at 1. Lee at 2. Correa at SS with Lewis at 3. Severino could backup first and 3rd with Keaschal on his way as well. That puts Castro in the outfield with Buxton, Larnach, Martin and Keirsey Jr and E Rodriguez.

I'm saddened by but understand the prospect of not having Santana in 2025. When we need a play he makes it. When we need a base runner he becomes it. He's never hurt. Hard to rationalize spending 2024 Farmer money on 2025 Santana though isn't it.

[DJL44]

13 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

Good question. Severino sure looks like a prototypical power hitting first baseman. He's already on the 40 man. Miranda at 1. Lee at 2. Correa at SS with Lewis at 3. Severino could backup first and 3rd with Keaschal on his way as well. That puts Castro in the outfield with Buxton, Larnach, Martin and Keirsey Jr and E Rodriguez.

Eddy Julien is also still around. So is Kirilloff.

[DJL44]

I haven't checked Tigers Daily but I imagine it's incessant complaining about how dumb the Tigers front office is to have let go of Willi Castro.

[mickster]

42 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Eddy Julien is also still around. So is Kirilloff.

It would be awesome if one or both can make the comeback.   I would love to see it, but I see one or both, along with Wallner heading elsewhere this winter

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I haven't checked Tigers Daily but I imagine it's incessant complaining about how dumb the Tigers front office is to have let go of Willi Castro.

Isn't it called Tiger Beat? 🐅 😂 

[JD-TWINS]

4 hours ago, mickster said:

Let's project.  If Miranda is our everyday 1B next season, Then who is his backup?   Assuming that Margot, Farmer, Santana and Kepler are all not back?   If Santana can maintain what he is doing and the start was just poor, would anyone be up for signing him for this role and occasional DH?   Would need to be at a discounted rate, but at 39 will he command anything more?  I am not sure if AK will be an option but would make the most sense if he can right himself.   Willi won't play there, so curious who others see in the backup role.

Kirilloff/Miranda is best if they are hitting because either can DH…..Miranda can play 3B…..Kirilloff can play corner OF. Great flexibility!