Make It Official! Twins 8, White Sox 6: Bats Back Sheriff in Return to Rotation

[Nate Palmer]

It took extra innings, but the Twins bats picked up where they left off for much of the weekend. Three home runs and Brooks Lee in the clutch helped get the Twins the win in 11 innings in Chicago. They're 8-0 against the woeful White Sox this year.

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski - USA Today Sports

Box Score
SP: Chris Paddack: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (78 pitches, 54 strikes (69.2%)
Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (9), Matt Wallner (2), Carlos Correa (12)
Top 3 WPA: Jhoan Duran (0.313), Byron Buxton (0.297), Kody Funderburk (0.203)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

After taking a series from the Houston Astros over the weekend, the Minnesota Twins welcomed Chris Paddack back to the mound; Sean Aronson to the radio booth; and Marney Gellner on the television side, all in grand fashion.

Larnach Makes It 26 Straight
It didn’t take long for the Twins to put themselves in the run column. Squaring up a Chris Flexen curveball Trevor Larnach hit his ninth home run of the season. That solo shot into the bullpen also extends the Twins game with a home run streak to 26 games. 

Max Kepler and Byron Buxton kept the scoring going in the fourth inning. After Kepler hit his 16th double on the season with two outs in the inning, Buxton came in right behind him, replacing Kepler at second base with his 17th double and putting the Twins up 2-1. 

Kepler’s double had career significance as it was the 200th double of his career. Brooks Lee was looking to keep his career headed in a great start and nearly continued the scoring for the Twins. Lee hit his own line drive but was robbed by White Sox second baseman Nicky Lopez. 

Rest Seemed to do Paddack Good
Chris Paddack returned to the team after some time on the IL to deal with his arm as he continues through his first full season since Tommy John surgery. For most of the game, Paddack was doing well. His velocity was back where it had been, and he worked through the White Sox lineup out side of two instances. 

In both instances, Paddack had the batter at a 0-2 count with two outs in the inning. Martin Maldanado hit a home run to put the White Sox on the board in the third inning. Then, in the fifth, Corey Julks doubled to score Lopez from first base. Paddak’s performance took him five complete innings before he handed the ball off to the bullpen. 

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Okert Struggles in 6th
Steven Okert was the first man up out of the bullpen, and it simply did not go well. He hit his first batter faced in Andrew Benintendi. That followed up with an Andrew Vaughn double to put runners on second and third. Okert got Luis Robert Jr. to strike out, ending the left-hander's evening. 

The Twins turned to Josh Staumont, who has pitched well in low-leverage spots and now would get the chance to get the Twins out of a jam. That isn’t quite what would happen. An Eloy Jimenez single, Lopez single, and a Ryan Jeffers throwing error brought the White Sox quickly ahead of the Twins 5-2. 

Twins Fight Back
The Twins offense wouldn’t let things end there. Buxton hit his second double on the night. Lee followed up with a single after getting robbed earlier in the game to score Buxton. Lee now has a hit in each of his six games played. Wallner, as part of his welcome back to the big leagues, hit a home run to score Lee. Just like that, the game was tied again, 5-5. 

The offense was not ready to settle for a tie. Carlos Correa came up to bat and took White Sox reliever Jordan Leasure deep for his 12th home run. Leasure did his part in the seventh to help the Twins forget about the Okert, who showed up in the sixth. 

White Sox Wouldn’t Go Away
Unfortunately, the White Sox just wouldn’t go away. With Griffin Jax on the mound, Robert Jr. would walk, steal second, and reach third on a wild pitch. Led the way for Lopez to show up again and hit a double to score Robert Jr. and tie the game up again at 6-6. 

That took the game into extra innings. The Twins could not do anything in the tenth and sent Jhoan Duran to the mound to keep the game alive. After intentionally walking Eloy Jimenez, it got a little scary for a moment, with runners at first and second, but Duran was able to extend the game to the eleventh inning. 

In the eleventh, the Twins bats were ready to go as left-handed reliever Jared Shuster took the mound. Buxton singled, then so did Lee to score Kepler and put the Twins ahead 7-6. The single not only scored Kepler but also allowed Buxton to move to third. This development proved critical, as Manuel Margot was able to ground out, but it was still enough to get Buxton home and pad the Twins' lead 8-6. 

Just as it was drawn up, Kody Funderburk would be called upon to get the Twins the win and collect his own save. Facing the 7-8-9 spots in the lineup, that is exactly what would happen. The Twins would hope not to have to get those kind of wins against a club like the White Sox, but it is certainly better than those sort of losses. 

What’s Next?
Bailey Ober will take the mound for the Twins and look to continue his stretch of good pitching into the All-Star Break. The White Sox will send likely trade deadline target, Erick Fedde to the mound. Fedde seems to have bad games when he pitches against good lineups, but last time facing the Twins on April 23rd he held the Twins to one run. 

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

 

	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TOT
Sands	14	0	28	0	0	42
Jax	0	0	0	16	23	39
Funderburk	0	26	0	0	12	38
Alcalá	0	24	2	0	9	35
Durán	0	0	0	22	13	35
Staumont	0	0	0	9	15	24
Thielbar	0	0	9	0	14	23
Okert	0	0	0	0	8	8

 

 

 

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[gregens]

Another season high water mark of 13 more wins than losses.  The Twins have gained 2 games on Cleveland in the last 10 games!

[BH67]

These Twins refuse to lose.

[strumdatjag]

Nice pbp by Marnie Gellner tonight. 

[jimbo92107]

Brooks Lee made an in-game adjustment after his first line drive was snagged with a leaping grab.

After that, he hit line drives a few feet higher.

[USAFChief]

I'm concerned with Brooks Lee. He only went 2 for 5 tonight, and his BA is dropping like a rock. 

[Althebum82]

This season's lefty reliever script got flipped as Okert struggled and Thielbar and Funderburk shined!

Nice to see the rest strategy pay off at least for this game with Paddack.

Lee is increasingly contrasting his value compared to what can only be described as survival by sentimentality for Kyle Farmer.  With Martin & Lewis soon to return (Austin and Royce, not Dean and Jerry), that sentimentality is going to need to encounter an expiration date.

Yes, it is the White Sox.....but this offense has become breathtaking to behold against every team.

Nicely written summary, by the way.

[JD-TWINS]

11-5 in games started by Paddack…..gives the Team a chance! Some nights he locates and his plan seems much better. Getting better & better between his ears. Can get a little stubborn with the “want” to throw his fastball but better that than throwing an uncomfortable change-up. He looked decent after time off - 1.00 WHIP!

11-5 in games started by SWR….also, gives the Team a chance.

Louie Varland starts - team is 1-5…..live & learn.

Not such a terrible thing that they let Maeda & Gray depart……………..combined, the other 3 starters are about where one would expect relative to Wins & Losses to date.

I really hope Wallner can be a portion of what we’ve seen so far. He was batting 9th and one hopped the fence for a double and then almost hurt somebody with a 116.7 MPH exit velocity dinger! Seems selective or more disciplined as well. It’s a half dozen plate appearances - fingers crossed!

[JD-TWINS]

I realize that Okert didn’t help the cause much on Monday. Jeffers throw to 2B was a bit of a shocker as well in the quest to try and get a win.

However, I tried to put this behind me and just can’t, Griffin Jax is too good to give up runs like that last night! He walks a guy to start the inning - cannot do that with a lead, ever & against this line-up it makes no sense. Stuff happens. Anyway, he wild pitches a guy to 3B, again stuff happens. But when facing Lopez he didn’t throw a fastball, that I could recognize, the entire AB. All he has to do is throw 95 plus in the zone and there’s an outstanding chance the inning is over. He does not - count moves to 3-2 and the guy hits a change-up off the handle that lands in the dirt over the 3B head. Next guy he blows away with 97 in the zone repeatedly.

Gotta call a better game & gotta make pitches that make sense when capable of making them. Trying to be cute with off speed to a banjo hitter and then showing off your fastball v. the next guy, after a run scores, makes zero sense. Come on!!!

Need the 8th inning HOLD v. the White Sox!

[Peter]

Nerve wracking win by twins yesterday!!!within 5 games of Cleveland-get a win today!

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.

[Riverbrian]

I recognize the ridiculousness of the question that I'm about to ask. .

Ridiculous because it's only been two games of Wallner. 

Here's the question:

What would you choose

80 AB's of Wallner in June.

or

56 AB's from Margot in June. 

Three balls hit over 116 mph in two games since called up has answered that question for me. 

Yes I know. It's ridiculous to conclude anything after two games. 

 

 

[Karbo]

8 hours ago, strumdatjag said:

Nice pbp by Marnie Gellner tonight. 

I thought she did a pretty good job, with help from the ex-players. Something was wrong with the sound on DirecTV though. Sounded tinny and sound lagged behind video.

[Doctor Gast]

CWS have been our best friend, giving us wins & gain wins against our nemesis (they have a much better record against CLE). A nice game for Paddack to get back in the saddle. Twins battled & won & gain a game on CLE. A good win. Go Twins!

[Whitey333]

Nice to pick up a win in spite of not playing too well overall.  Great to see Lee playing so well.  Twins bullpen did ok but have o e of the worst performances in all of baseball kn allowing inherited baserunners to score.  Thats 46% of inherited runners scoring.  But overall it's always nice to just win.  Go Twins!

[Joe Schmitt]

Wallner went down, got a reset, and has been a much better hitter since that time. Presumably part of the reset was playing every day. If he isn't sent down, or if he is called back up on May 31 and then relegated to playing part time, he may or may not have been able to reset and be hitting the way he has hit since that time.

In other words:  we wouldn't have necessarily gotten this Wallner if we had not sent him down/called him up on 5/31.  Personally, I'm happy we have him now.  And since June 1 the team has been 21-14 (.600 winning percentage) with basically the top offense in the AL. 

[bighat]

5 hours ago, Althebum82 said:

Lee is increasingly contrasting his value compared to what can only be described as survival by sentimentality for Kyle Farmer. 

Farmer's got to be DFA'ed soon. His numbers are horrific, batting .192 with 0 homers!

I don't think the Twins have to worry about someone else claiming him at this point. I reckon Farmer would likely refuse the assignment and elect free agency, correct? 

What's the downside to jettisoning this guy? Sure he's a nice depth piece but I don't see a reason for him to be on this team's big league roster.  

 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Won't be too hard on Jax because Robert was gifted a ball 3 - the check swing was a somewhat obvious strike. If the Twins get that call, Jax's line looks a lot cleaner.

As for Okert, I could be wrong but he hasn't pitched in a while and perhaps some rust led to hitting Ben. His strikeout of Robert loomed large - if there was ever a time I was expecting a 400+ FT homer, it was there.

I find Morneau to be a little corny at times but he made a good point about the line-up. Last night's version has no easy outs. 1 through 9. Everyone's a threat. They're rolling right now and when Lewis gets back, it is going to be a wealth of riches. My only question (fear) is what happens with Lee? Sending him down would be an awful decision but this front office loves veteran players and Farm Dog is a bit of a made man because of his 'leadership' and value in the clubhouse. Farm Dog absolutely needs to go, but will they do it?

Oh, and I'm happy to eat a 50-pound plate of crow when it comes to Popkins. It's not too hard to make a fool out of me and my baseball takes but Popkins has taken it to another level! Well done.

[wabene]

48 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I recognize the ridiculousness of the question that I'm about to ask. .

Ridiculous because it's only been two games of Wallner. 

Here's the question:

What would you choose

80 AB's of Wallner in June.

or

56 AB's from Margot in June. 

Three balls hit over 116 mph in two games since called up has answered that question for me. 

Yes I know. It's ridiculous to conclude anything after two games. 

 

 

You make a good point, but it did take a while for Wallner to get going. He apparently needed a long series against the worst pitching staff in the International League to jump start his confidence. That series was in June.

[Old Crow]

15 minutes ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Won't be too hard on Jax because Robert was gifted a ball 3 - the check swing was a somewhat obvious strike. If the Twins get that call, Jax's line looks a lot cleaner.

As for Okert, I could be wrong but he hasn't pitched in a while and perhaps some rust led to hitting Ben. His strikeout of Robert loomed large - if there was ever a time I was expecting a 400+ FT homer, it was there.

I find Morneau to be a little corny at times but he made a good point about the line-up. Last night's version has no easy outs. 1 through 9. Everyone's a threat. They're rolling right now and when Lewis gets back, it is going to be a wealth of riches. My only question (fear) is what happens with Lee? Sending him down would be an awful decision but this front office loves veteran players and Farm Dog is a bit of a made man because of his 'leadership' and value in the clubhouse. Farm Dog absolutely needs to go, but will they do it?

Oh, and I'm happy to eat a 50-pound plate of crow when it comes to Popkins. It's not too hard to make a fool out of me and my baseball takes but Popkins has taken it to another level! Well done.

If Farmer is that big a club house value keep him on as a coach.

[JD-TWINS]

53 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I recognize the ridiculousness of the question that I'm about to ask. .

Ridiculous because it's only been two games of Wallner. 

Here's the question:

What would you choose

80 AB's of Wallner in June.

or

56 AB's from Margot in June. 

Three balls hit over 116 mph in two games since called up has answered that question for me. 

Yes I know. It's ridiculous to conclude anything after two games. 

 

 

So, out of Spring Training they were both supposed to be on the Club. They were both terrible and Wallner had options.

In June through July 3, Margot had a .899 OPS - real stuff not conjecture.

Looking forward to the best of both going forward. Wallner looks locked in and hope he can stay somewhat consistent.

[Dman]

2 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

I realize that Okert didn’t help the cause much on Monday. Jeffers throw to 2B was a bit of a shocker as well in the quest to try and get a win.

However, I tried to put this behind me and just can’t, Griffin Jax is too good to give up runs like that last night! He walks a guy to start the inning - cannot do that with a lead, ever & against this line-up it makes no sense. Stuff happens. Anyway, he wild pitches a guy to 3B, again stuff happens. But when facing Lopez he didn’t throw a fastball, that I could recognize, the entire AB. All he has to do is throw 95 plus in the zone and there’s an outstanding chance the inning is over. He does not - count moves to 3-2 and the guy hits a change-up off the handle that lands in the dirt over the 3B head. Next guy he blows away with 97 in the zone repeatedly.

Gotta call a better game & gotta make pitches that make sense when capable of making them. Trying to be cute with off speed to a banjo hitter and then showing off your fastball v. the next guy, after a run scores, makes zero sense. Come on!!!

Need the 8th inning HOLD v. the White Sox!

I agree.  He needs to be ready to make them earn their way on.  Giving up that leadoff walk lead to 11 innings instead of 9.  He's got the stuff and this isn't a good hitting team.  Keep that nasty stuff in the zone against the guys that have trouble hitting and he wouldn't have had to give up a run there.

[umterp23]

How many good club house guys do you need that aren't pulling their weight on the field? I like Farmer, but he hasn't done a lick to stay on the team.  I heard at least 1/2 dozen good club house guys mentioned this year, sounds like too many cooks in the kitchen or just another reason to hold onto a good guy.  $6MM for good club house guy is not money well spent

 

[Trov]

That Wallner HR was crazy hard hit.  I know just 2 games back but he looks like the guy that had a good second half last year.  Hopefully he is up here for good the rest of the year hitting balls so hard it may tear the glove off defenders hand if they do touch it. 

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, wabene said:

You make a good point, but it did take a while for Wallner to get going. He apparently needed a long series against the worst pitching staff in the International League to jump start his confidence. That series was in June.

I have no problem with his being sent down when he was sent down. It allowed Larnach and even Miranda a chance to show what they can do. 

I'm not even advocating the immediate release of Margot with my statement. 

But... I am pointing out that Lee and Wallner were two of three real hot hitters in June for St. Paul and they are pretty scary right now in the majors. 

It's not always the case but I'm not afraid of youth. I think we should always be looking for better and sometimes better is below you.

Sometimes injuries make you better.  

But then again... It's just two games and I want everyone to know that I realize it's just two games. 

[Trov]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

I recognize the ridiculousness of the question that I'm about to ask. .

Ridiculous because it's only been two games of Wallner. 

Here's the question:

What would you choose

80 AB's of Wallner in June.

or

56 AB's from Margot in June. 

Three balls hit over 116 mph in two games since called up has answered that question for me. 

Yes I know. It's ridiculous to conclude anything after two games. 

 

 

Well, are those 80 ab's against lefties?  I would not want to see a single at bat of Wallner against a leftie over Margot.  I agree Wallner looks good in his 2 games and crushed several balls against righties. but Margot still has a .OPS of .829 against lefties this year.  Margot is terrible against righties.  They are like the perfect platoon guys.  

So if Wallner is hitting against RH, him all day.  If a LH is on mound Margot over Wallner all day. 

[Dman]

2 minutes ago, umterp23 said:

How many good club house guys do you need that aren't pulling their weight on the field? I like Farmer, but he hasn't done a lick to stay on the team.  I heard at least 1/2 dozen good club house guys mentioned this year, sounds like too many cooks in the kitchen or just another reason to hold onto a good guy.  $6MM for good club house guy is not money well spent

 

I don't think many if any of us disagree, but I still think the Twins will hang onto him until at least the deadline.  They will want to make sure the league doesn't figure out Lee giving him a month to make sure he sustains his play at the plate. They also might keep him until Lewis comes back.

The problem is if they let him go they lose him and the money they spent to have him on the team.  Another team would likely pick him up for the minimum and then if they had a need for someone like farmer they would need to spend more money or assets to get someone.  They have enough guys to fill spots so they don't "have" to use him much so he isn't killing the team.  I think they will hold onto him until later in the season when he likely becomes the odd man out or if injuries then they keep him to end.

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

So, out of Spring Training they were both supposed to be on the Club. They were both terrible and Wallner had options.

In June through July 3, Margot had a .899 OPS - real stuff not conjecture.

Looking forward to the best of both going forward. Wallner looks locked in and hope he can stay somewhat consistent.

I recognize Margot's recent OPS.

I also recognize that the time frame you've chosen... has required over the top numbers against left handers to produce that OPS.

Since June 1

Against RH: 45 PA's - .220 BA - .606 OPS

Against LH: 35 PA's - .367 BA - 1.062 OPS

He is still facing more right handers than left handers.

Wallner would play more because of the 75% right handers. 

I agree with you that I look forward to the best of both. But... Right Now... If I had to choose using hindsight in all the advantages that hindsight gives you.

Those exit Velo's made my decision.

My original post was just a thought exercise and right now I'm thinking about swapping out another hitter in St. Paul that was as hot as Wallner and Lee in June. 

How can we work Severino into the lineup at the expense of Farmer?    

 

[DJL44]

10 hours ago, strumdatjag said:

Nice pbp by Marnie Gellner tonight. 

Good work on the radio announcing sub as well.

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, Trov said:

Well, are those 80 ab's against lefties?  I would not want to see a single at bat of Wallner against a leftie over Margot.  I agree Wallner looks good in his 2 games and crushed several balls against righties. but Margot still has a .OPS of .829 against lefties this year.  Margot is terrible against righties.  They are like the perfect platoon guys.  

So if Wallner is hitting against RH, him all day.  If a LH is on mound Margot over Wallner all day. 

I used 80 AB's because that was how many AB's Kepler got in June and Kepler didn't start against left handers. 

Yes... Based on what Margot has done vs. left handers in the month of June... You make a solid point. 

In order to protect Wallner against left handers that comprise 25% of the pitches thrown. You have to roster a player who struggles to hit 75% of the pitching and in the end faces more right handers because of the 3 to 1 disparity. I'll take the small percentage hit for the larger percentage gain in this apple and orange choice between two players.   

That is of course assuming that Wallner would continue to be a larger percentage gain which isn't for sure because it's only been two games and also assuming that Wallner would continue to be a small percentage hit which also isn't for sure because Wallner or anyone can improve against left handers with exposure.