Make it Official! Twins 4, Giants 2: Carlos Touches Them All

[Ted Schwerzler]

The Twins sought to rid themselves of the bad taste from Friday night's loss. Everything they did wrong in that game was tightened up on Saturday, and Carlos Santana checked off a final box in the victory.

Image courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
SP: Simeon Woods Richardson - 4.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (86 pitches, 61 strikes, 10 whiffs)
Home Runs: Carlos Santana(13)
Top 3 WPA: Carlos Santana (.233), Cole Sands (.154), Griffin Jax (.137)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

New Position, Some Revenge
After Carlos Correa was scratched with a heel contusion, Rocco Baldelli’s lineup was left with some serious question marks to start the game. Royce Lewis remains on the injured list, and Jose Miranda is dealing with a back issue. That meant Christian Vazquez was starting at third base for the first time in his career.

Simeon Woods Richardson got Jorge Soler on strikes to kick off the bottom half, but last night’s menace Brett Wisely immediately took aim at Vazquez. Bunting to third base, the Giants shortstop singled. San Francisco couldn’t cash in though.

Making his first big league start at second base, Brooks Lee flashed the leather early. He was scheduled to take place in the Futures Game on Saturday, but this situation is probably quite a bit better for the rookie.

The sides stayed scoreless until the fourth inning. Ryan Jeffers reached after getting plunked, joining Willi Castro as the second Minnesota player to get hit. After Lee moved him to second on a pop out, Matt Wallner doubled to drive Jeffers home. Advancing to third on an error, he scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0.

Soler ripped a ball towards third base, but Vazquez couldn’t reel it in. The base hit went for a double before Woods Richardson uncorked a wild pitch. With one out in the fifth inning, San Francisco had the tying run at third base. Heliot Ramos hit a comeback to Minnesota’s pitcher, and the deflection allowed Soler to score. 4 1/3 innings, on 86 pitchers, was the end of the line for the Twins starter.

Taking the Lead Against Taylor
Cole Sands came in and finished out the fifth inning for Woods Richardson before Minnesota went back to bat. Bob Melvin told Hayden Birdsong he was done after the fifth inning, and it was former Twins closer Taylor Rogers on to face some of Minnesota’s sluggers. Getting Wallner on strikes, Rogers was got by Carlos Santana. The first baseman blasted a solo shot, his 13th, to left field. The home run was a big one as not only did it give the Twins a lead, but checked off the final ballpark needed for Santana to have gone deep in all of them.

Rogers recorded just a single out on 18 pitches. He allowed a pair of hits, including a single by Max Kepler. Randy Rodriguez took over and gave up another hit to Manuel Margot. Vazquez grounded into a double play though, and the potential threat was over. Lee added another solid defensive play at second in the sixth inning, and it was starting to set in just how good the rookie is with the leather.

Minnesota mounted a two out threat against Erik Miller in the eighth inning. Margot stepped in against the lefty with runners on the corners, but after a hard-fought at bat he was rung up on a called third strike touching the edge of the zone. Patrick Bailey nearly tied the game with a triple in the bottom of the frame, but Griffin Jax benefited from Oracle Park. Missing middle-middle with a curveball, the Giants catcher went to triples alley and grabbed three bases instead. Jax got Matt Chapman to end the inning and strand the tying run 90 feet away.

Insurance, Check
The Giants brought in Minnesota-native Sean Hjelle for the final frame. He was greeted with singles by Vazquez, Willi Castro, and Trevor Larnach to load the bases with no outs. Ryan Jeffers grounded into a double play, but Vazquez came home to give the Twins a bit of extra breathing room. Lee walked and stole his first career base, but Wallner's strikeout ended the frame.

Baldelli's bullpen pecking order had worked out perfectly, and it was going to be Jhoan Duran for the ninth inning. Duran has struggled to find his typical velocity most of the year, but he has it against the Giants tonight. Punching out Michael Conforto and getting LaMonte Wade Jr. to ground out, the Twins closer had brought his fireball and was ready to grab the save. Duran got Mike Yastrzemski to ground out and Minnesota picked up their 54th win.

The Twins had ten hits, with a pair each coming from Santana, Kepler, and Castro. They went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left ten on base.

Notes
Twins prospect Luke Keaschall, who took over for Brooks Lee, participated in the Futures Game at Globe Life Field on Saturday. The Wind Surge infielder has already earned a promotion this season, and remains among the best talents in Minnesota’s system. He went 1-for-1 in the game. The National League team won 6-1.

Carlos Correa was scheduled to start at shortstop, but was scratched with a heel contusion. It remains to be seen how that may impact his All-Star Game availability.

Byron Buxton was also out of the lineup, allowing for Manuel Margot to start in center against a right-handed pitcher. This would seem to be in relation to his hard crash up against the wall on Friday night.

What’s Next? 
Minnesota goes with Chris Paddack on Sunday against the Giants free agent acquisition Blake Snell. The matchup is the final tilt of the first half as the home run derby takes place Monday with the All-Star Game on Tuesday in Texas.

Postgame Interviews

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

View full article

[Mike Sixel]

Great job by baldelli and team. Truly. 

[Joe Schmitt]

Wow, very impressive plays by Lee.  His throws, in particular, are excellent and right on the money.  Would love to see him playing every day there.

[tony&rodney]

Nice win by the Twins. Down a few guys we expect to always start but these things happen and the bench picked up the injured.

 

[GNess]

21 minutes ago, Joe Schmitt said:

Wow, very impressive plays by Lee.  His throws, in particular, are excellent and right on the money.  Would love to see him playing every day there.

Lee seems like a legit player. I think he is poised for an impactful 2nd half.

[DJL44]

Crazy how a team with 5 players on the 40-man who can play 3B ends up with Vazquez starting at 3B. I would have bunted at him a few more times.

[DJL44]

I hope Julien is on the team tomorrow, put Miranda on the 10 day IL retroactive to 2 days ago. They can't afford to have their only bench player an emergency catcher they don't actually want to play. I don't care that Snell is a lefty, Julien is going to help more than having Vazquez in the infield.

[USAFChief]

Gutsy win.

[BH67]

No Buck, CC4 or Miranda Warning.

Vázquez at 3rd.

SWR is not great but keeps the team in contention.

Santana pauses his slump magnificently. ¿Oye cómo va? Muy bien!

And the bullpen does what the bullpen does. Ho hum, ha ha.

Assuming a win Sunday, the Twins winning both series this week might be their best achievement prior to the All-Star break, as they find ways to prevail with several key parts missing. They also moved ahead of the Brewers tonight and have the 6th-best record in MLB.

Winning ugly. Refusing to lose. Bliss.

 

[jimbo92107]

Biggest problem with Brooks Lee appears to be that there's only one of him. He looks like the team's best fielder at 3rd, 2nd, and...hasn't had a chance at SS yet. 

Should they call up Yunior Severino?

[stringer bell]

28 minutes ago, jimbo92107 said:

Biggest problem with Brooks Lee appears to be that there's only one of him. He looks like the team's best fielder at 3rd, 2nd, and...hasn't had a chance at SS yet. 

Should they call up Yunior Severino?

The other Diego Castillo is being called up. A 40-man move will have to be made with the active roster move of Miranda going on the IL.

[IndianaTwin]

On the bright side, Vazquez needing to play third pushed Lee to second. Not sure that Julien would have made the plays at second that Lee did. 

[IndianaTwin]

10 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

The other Diego Castillo is being called up. A 40-man move will have to be made with the active roster move of Miranda going on the IL.

Alex Kirilloff went on the 10-day IL June 13. With not having heard updates and it being a back injury, it doesn’t seem impossible to think of him moving to the 60-day. 

[knothole61]

Impressive win tonight...the kind that displays true character.

Please pardon this brief off-topic thought, if it violates our strictures I hope to be forgiven. Like some of you, I'm sure, I spent much of the game checking in with news channels trying to get a handle on the shocking events in Pennsylvania today. All I know is that we, of all political persuasions, must learn to stop hating and try to find some common ground--we must be better than this. 

[Todd Nelson]

So why didn't Farmer play at 2nd so Lee could stay at 3rd? Why is he on the 40 man then? Is Vasquez's bat hot enough expose him at 3rd?

 

[wabene]

1 hour ago, Todd Nelson said:

So why didn't Farmer play at 2nd so Lee could stay at 3rd? Why is he on the 40 man then? Is Vasquez's bat hot enough expose him at 3rd?

 

Farmer is on the IL.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

5 hours ago, IndianaTwin said:

Alex Kirilloff went on the 10-day IL June 13. With not having heard updates and it being a back injury, it doesn’t seem impossible to think of him moving to the 60-day. 

Or possibly DFA Boushley, but pitching would then get real thin

[Patzky]

9 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I hope Julien is on the team tomorrow, put Miranda on the 10 day IL retroactive to 2 days ago. They can't afford to have their only bench player an emergency catcher they don't actually want to play. I don't care that Snell is a lefty, Julien is going to help more than having Vazquez in the infield.

Actually Diego Castillo will be called up and Miranda on IL.

[Doctor Wu]

9 hours ago, BH67 said:

SWR is not great but keeps the team in contention.

That about sums it up. He's been steady all year. Not amazing, but good enough to stay in the rotation. I keep waiting for an implosion, but it hasn't happened yet. And I hope it won't!

[Doctor Wu]

9 hours ago, Joe Schmitt said:

Wow, very impressive plays by Lee.  His throws, in particular, are excellent and right on the money.  Would love to see him playing every day there.

Yes, Lee looked VERY good at second base in that game. Plus, he actually stole a base after getting on base with a walk. Despite going hitless the past few games, he still looks like a keeper!

[Joe Schmitt]

I really hope they have professional at bats in the first few innings against Snell, and put the pressure on to get to him and drive up his pitch count. He was good his last start, but not the three previous ones, and he isn't going deep into games. We've worked to tire out their bullpen, and if we get Snell out early, that would be very helpful.

[Patzky]

29 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

That about sums it up. He's been steady all year. Not amazing, but good enough to stay in the rotation. I keep waiting for an implosion, but it hasn't happened yet. And I hope it won't!

Consistency every time out! That's hard to find on a streaky team, I guess we should be grateful!

I'd consider shaking up the rotation to split him and Ober, for consistency sake.

 

Ryan Ober Pablo Sim Paddack.

[chinmusic]

As stated earlier, it really was a gutsy win!

With so many guys banged up, it's a good time for the break.

All I can say is: I sincerely hope "heel contusion" is not a euphemism for plantar fasciitis.

 

[Whitey333]

It could be the Twins year.  They find ways to win ugly games.  Let's put the Giants away on Sunday and take the series.  Go Twins.

[wabene]

5 minutes ago, chinmusic said:

All I can say is: I sincerely hope "heel contusion" is not a euphemism for plantar fasciitis.

My thoughts as well. Does anyone know if it is the same foot?

[Jeff K]

10 hours ago, Joe Schmitt said:

Wow, very impressive plays by Lee.  His throws, in particular, are excellent and right on the money.  Would love to see him playing every day there.

no doubt,  this is what, I think, most of us were hoping...that Brooks Lee could be a good 2nd bagger.  Wow!

[LambchoP]

Lee looked like a gold Glover at second base, he sure seems like the real deal. I had to laugh when I looked at our lineup yesterday. I get that we have Correa, Miranda and Buxton banged up. But calling up a third catcher so Vasquez can play third base? Lol we're lucky they hardly hit anything to him. It's a miracle we scraped out a win, and we'll need another miracle today. With Snell, a lefty pitching, we know we're going to see Margot leading off, Vasquez hitting cleanup...Farmer would've been out there had he not been hurt. 

[Doctor Gast]

Dang evening game on the West Coast weekend again, so I couldn't see the game. Seems like SWR battled well to keep us in the game with 7Ks. No Lewis, Correa, Buxton, Miranda, or Martin. No Farmer & Castro was needed elsewhere so Vazquez who never played 3B was put there & Margot in CF, it seemed like a recipe for disaster to me.

I'm all for players to get ample time in AAA to help perfect their best opportunistic position but when management refuses to do so the only solution is to learn at the MLB level. For almost all of Martin's MiLB career, they tried to force him at SS, a position he had never played before, when his most natural & opportunistic long-term positions were OF & 2B. Julien was forced to play 2B almost exclusively throughout his professional career even though his best, more natural, opportunistic long-term position is 1B. Lee's most opportunistic position is 2B, until infrequently lately at the AAA level, he has not played 2B. Even when he had chances to play 2B in MLB he did not, even though he's a gifted INF & IMO would have no problem there. Because they had no choice but to play Lee at 2B, Lee showed that he's an all-star 2Bman. Give him the opportunity for him to perfect the position & make the Twins a better team.

I don't ever recommend Vazquez to play 3B again. But I do commend his unselfish effort to support the Twins in any way he can. He didn't reel in some balls that most 3Bmen couldn't & even all-star ones don't always make. I also commend him for scoring the winning run via his base running. I do so because no one else will. I also congratulate Santana on hitting a HR in all 30 stadiums & aiding to the Twins win.

A well-fought game that wrestled a win from the jaws of defeat. Go Twins!

[chinmusic]

1 hour ago, wabene said:

. Does anyone know if it is the same foot?

Good point. I googled. Correa had PF in his left heel! So that is potentially good news. Fingers crossed.

 

[twinfan]

Seems like Woods-Richardson is suffering from lack of support. I don't know if he is really that good but he is pitching well without much help.