Make it Official: Twins 9, Tigers 3 - Minnesota Mashes in Motown

[Ted Schwerzler]

The Twins kicked off their final series against the Tigers with a bang. It's hard to be more impressive than they were, and Royce Lewis was there for the fun. One can argue whether the Tigers City Connect uniform or their performance was uglier.

Image courtesy of © Brian Bradshaw Sevald-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
SP: Pablo Lopez 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, (97 pitches, 68 strikes, 13 whiffs)
Home Runs: Byron Buxton (12), Trevor Larnach (11), Matt Wallner (5), Christian Vazquez (5)
Top 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (.133), Willi Castro (.125), Christian Vazquez (.109)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Dinger Party for Dinner
The Twins lineup faced Keider Montero for the second time this season. The Tigers rookie stymied them the first time, allowing just two runs across 6 1/3 innings. Friday night was a different story. Byron Buxton launched his 12th dinger of the year in the first inning, and Trevor Larnach went deep in the next at-bat. Matt Wallner then took the Detroit pitcher yard in the second inning and Minnesota was up 3-0 with just four outs on the board.

Despite being arguably the worst regular position player in baseball, Javier Baez continues to play for the Tigers. On a gaudy contract that Minnesota is certainly thankful they didn’t agree too, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has to keep running him out there. But after homering for the first time since 4/15 yesterday, Baez got to Pablo Lopez for a two-run shot in the third inning to close the gap to 3-2. That was as close as the Tigers were going to get.

Piling On is Fun
Not looking to let the Tigers hang around, former Tiger Willi Castro quickly created more distance for Minnesota. Rocco Baldelli’s second All-Star singled in the fourth inning with runners on second and third. Wallner and Christian Vazquez scored to make it a 5-2 game. Castro advanced to third on a bizarre error when Colt Keith threw to first base without any defender being on first base. Not looking to waste that good fortune, Buxton recorded his second extra-base hit of the night to bring home Castro. Recording his 21st double of the season, the heater Minnesota’s center fielder is on continued.

The home run party continued rolling in the sixth inning when Vazquez homered off of reliever Joey Wentz. The two-run shot brought in Brooks Lee and pushed the Twins lead to 8-2. The home run made him 3-for-3 on the evening with a stolen base. He continues to put his early-season struggles in the rearview mirror.

Don’t worry though, the Twins made sure to get Manuel Margot a pinch-hitting appearance in the seventh inning. Of course, he was fruitless, again…

Pablo Buckles Down
As the Twins continue to look for the best version of Pablo Lopez, he showed off both sides in the seventh inning. A Matt Vierling double was followed by a Bligh Madris single and a Carson Kelly walk. With the bases chucked and no outs, the Twins ace paired a Gio Urshela ground out with pop-outs from Baez and Wenceel Perez to end the inning unscathed. Giving Baldelli seven innings of two-run ball on 97 pitches, he had again done his job. Lowering his ERA to 4.77 and continuing to track towards expected metrics, he became the second Minnesota pitcher to surpass 2.0 fWAR on the season.

Josh Staumont came on to get outs as he has done all season. After recording a quick pair, he plunked Mark Canha, and then walked Vierling to put runners on first and second. Madris made it hurt by driving home Canha to make it an 8-3 ballgame. Staumont battled to get Kelly to pop out and send the game into the ninth.

After a pair of quick outs for the Twins, Minnesota loaded the bases against Will Vest. Max Kepler singled before Carlos Santana was plunked and Wallner walked. Lee took a bases-loaded walk to drive in another run, and it was a 9-3 lead into the final half. Caleb Thielbar was on for some low-leverage duty. After Urshela singled to open the inning, Thielbar got a pair of flyouts and then struck out Justyn-Henry Malloy to end the game.

Notes
Royce Lewis’ return from the injured list ended an absence of 24 days. He last played against the Detroit Tigers and returned to face that same team. Catcher Jair Camargo was optioned to Triple-A to make room.

Jose Miranda played first base for St. Paul on Thursday night, and the expectation is that he will return for the Twins over the weekend too. 

The weekend series with Detroit marks Minnesota’s last matchup this seasonwith the Tigers. Coming in at 5-5 with a +1 run differential, the Twins can create some distance with the down divisional foe. 

Keith Law updated his top 60 prospects for The Athletic today and the Twins fare well with three prospects ranked: Walker Jenkins (#9), Emmanuel Rodriguez (#26), and Zebby Mattthews (#60). None of these names should be on their way out before Tuesday's deadline, but that may give Minnesota more room to maneuver with the depth behind them.

What’s Next? 
Joe Ryan makes the start on Saturday for the Twins in a marquee matchup against Tarik Skubal. The Tigers aren’t shopping their ace, but if he is moved, the return for Detroit should be massive. A must-see matchup could give the Twins the season series.

Postgame Interviews

 

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[BH67]

My favorite moment tonight was not four home runs or both Lee and Vazquez reaching base four times. Instead, Baldelli kept Lopez in the game after he loaded the bases in the 7th with nobody out. Pablo had to clean up his own mess, and to his credit he did without allowing a run. Maybe this will remedy his evident anxieties when runners get on base.

Of course, we're ready to complain when the Twins look inconsistent, such as -- hold on:

The Yankees have lost 24 of their last 35 games.

Anyway, such as that moment when...

[GNess]

Pablo Lopez hung tough - his pitching well is going to be a central component for the Twins' postseason chances. The FO needs to add a better than average SP if possible. With the Twins lineup and run scoring prowess one more quality SP may make them serious contenders.

[Blyleven2011]

The bats started early and kept adding on ...

Pablo was Pablo  ...

Now that's baseball at it best ...

I loved the throw from Keith to first base ,  nobody there but the umpire  ...

Vazquez had an exceptional  night at the plate with 3 hits and a walk  , maybe tomorrow night he can get 4 hits  ... 

Buxton is back , hitting and fielding ,  stay healthy Byron  ... KNOCK ON WOOD ...

[wabene]

Man that Colt Keith throw was hilarious. In the heat of the moment as he was turning to throw I'm sure the uniform's similarity in color to the ump's is what fooled him. People were calling those uniforms ugly, but they looked beautiful to me on that play, lol.

 

3 homers is a great way to start, setting up Pablo. He wiggled out of that 7th inning jam very nicely. It sure would help if he is putting it together for a good stretch run.

[mikelink45]

I am so happy that Rocco is aware of the PH record that Margot is setting and gave him a chance to extend his streak!  Otherwise it was just a great ball game.

[USAFChief]

A nice, relatively stress free, come-from-ahead win is just what the doctor ordered.

Lopez looks better recently. That's big.

[Blyleven2011]

2 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I am so happy that Rocco is aware of the PH record that Margot is setting and gave him a chance to extend his streak!  Otherwise it was just a great ball game.

It seems like our FO and manager like to break  records  ...

Last year we broke the record  for most strikeouts , now they keep trotting Margot out to break a pinch hitting record of not getting  a hit ( tonight was no difference , o'fr ) ...

I like records  of the positive kind , not the negative  kind ...

[Parfigliano]

45 minutes ago, BH67 said:

My favorite moment tonight was not four home runs or both Lee and Vazquez reaching base four times. Instead, Baldelli kept Lopez in the game after he loaded the bases in the 7th with nobody out. Pablo had to clean up his own mess, and to his credit he did without allowing a run. Maybe this will remedy his evident anxieties when runners get on base.

Of course, we're ready to complain when the Twins look inconsistent, such as -- hold on:

The Yankees have lost 24 of their last 35 games.

Anyway, such as that moment when...

Keep it up Yankees

[USAFChief]

2 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Keep it up Yankees

With tonight's results, the Twins are tied with the Yankees in the loss column.

[JD-TWINS]

Didn’t get to see the game tonight ……. glad to see Larnach stay on the ball - Vazquez & Lee both rolling as well.

Lopez 7 strong - nice W!

Rocco sucked as usual due to his pinch hit choice of Margot……otherwise his roster choices seemed to work out.

[jmlease1]

Thought Brooks Lee looked pretty solid at SS, that was nice to see.

Nice outing for the Twins offense. Good job jumping on the Tigers early and often and never letting them up off the mat. Wallner certainly seems to be back to the guy he was last season. Hope he's worked out all the kinks!

[bighat]

Great game by Lopez and great interview with Lopez there, if you haven't watched that clip please do. Really impressive to hear him discuss that 7th inning in detail. 

[CRF]

Nice win! It'll be a little tougher game tonight with Skubal going for Detroit. Ryan needs to be at the top of his game. 

[stringer bell]

27 minutes ago, CRF said:

Nice win! It'll be a little tougher game tonight with Skubal going for Detroit. Ryan needs to be at the top of his game. 

Yes, the Twins will be challenged by Cy Young candidate Skubal. I hope Miranda is back and in the lineup against the Tigers tonight.

[Doctor Gast]

Great game! Overall Pablo looked really good. Vazquez looked confident at the plate. Lee was being Lee. Let's bring this to Skubal. Maybe we can hold off on that hitless PH record for another day.

[JD-TWINS]

12 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

First off, I like Rocco so this is not bashing him but possibly his analytics.  Why is it OK to PH Margot for a lefty against a LH'ed pitcher only to have him face a RH'ed pitcher in his next at bat but it is not OK to let Wallner for example hit against a lefty so that he can face a righty in his next AB?  It wasn't like the game was on the line at the time he PH Margot.

He’s on the roster to hit lefties and as long as that’s the case he’ll get sent up there………maybe the rationale last night was also to let him pinch hit when the game is not on the line, low pressure AB, to get him over the hump on this streak?

[mikelink45]

I was searching for the worst pinch hitters in MLB history and found this article - https://www.brewcrewball.com/2012/4/25/2975144/stat-of-the-day-cesar-izturis-and-the-worst-pinch-hitters-ever and guess what Margot is worse than all of them. 

[mikelink45]

11 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

It seems like our FO and manager like to break  records  ...

Last year we broke the record  for most strikeouts , now they keep trotting Margot out to break a pinch hitting record of not getting  a hit ( tonight was no difference , o'fr ) ...

I like records  of the positive kind , not the negative  kind ...

Trying to see how bad Margot is I found this article about Stanton who looks like a star PH compared to Margot. Stanton doesn't come close to our PH specialist.

[LambchoP]

Great to see Pablo get the opportunity to work out of his own jam, he's been pitching like an ace lately. I still think we're one good SP short of a true playoff contender. Glad Lee broke out of his little slump with three hits. He also looked great at short. Much better than Castro who shouldn't be relyed upon as a SS. The one complaint I have is Rocco continually pinch hitting Margot. The guy can't pinch hit, there are better options on the team. I don't even trust Margot in the outfield, every time a ball gets hit his way I cringe. Hopefully we can offload him on another team at the deadline so we don't have to watch his ridiculous PH streak gror and grow...

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

First off, I like Rocco so this is not bashing him but possibly his analytics.  Why is it OK to PH Margot for a lefty against a LH'ed pitcher only to have him face a RH'ed pitcher in his next at bat but it is not OK to let Wallner for example hit against a lefty so that he can face a righty in his next AB?  It wasn't like the game was on the line at the time he PH Margot.

Because Wallner isnt Margo. Margot is special.  Ask Rocco.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

First off, I like Rocco so this is not bashing him but possibly his analytics.  Why is it OK to PH Margot for a lefty against a LH'ed pitcher only to have him face a RH'ed pitcher in his next at bat but it is not OK to let Wallner for example hit against a lefty so that he can face a righty in his next AB?  It wasn't like the game was on the line at the time he PH Margot.

From a reputation standpoint at least, Margot is seen as a better fielder than say, Wallner (or Larnach) especially in terms of catching the ball (clearly Wallner has the stronger arm). I'm guessing it's partially a defensive replacement situation where they feel like they can ensure more outs this way and keep the other team from getting back into the game. I'm not sure it's all that impactful, but YMMV.

[Jeff K]

10 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Thought Brooks Lee looked pretty solid at SS, that was nice to see.

Nice outing for the Twins offense. Good job jumping on the Tigers early and often and never letting them up off the mat. Wallner certainly seems to be back to the guy he was last season. Hope he's worked out all the kinks!

What is SO encouraging about Wallner is he is squaring up breaking balls which were his Achilles heel at the start of the season.

[stringer bell]

2 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

First off, I like Rocco so this is not bashing him but possibly his analytics.  Why is it OK to PH Margot for a lefty against a LH'ed pitcher only to have him face a RH'ed pitcher in his next at bat but it is not OK to let Wallner for example hit against a lefty so that he can face a righty in his next AB?  It wasn't like the game was on the line at the time he PH Margot.

I think this management staff believes right handed hitters have a much better chance against right handed pitchers than left handed batter against left handed pitching. Add in that when the season started the right handed hitters (Farmer/Margot/Santana) were considered superior defenders to Julien, Wallner and Kirilloff. 

[Doctor Gast]

I'm surprised that fans aren't all over Buxton for missing that very catchable flyball. It's not like he's a rookie learning a new position.

[TheLeviathan]

Busy night...sorry folks.  Rocco cost us this game.  If he kept his facial hair more groomed like in my days we'd have better at-bats.

Little known fact, Rocco invented analytics out of spite.

[USAFChief]

2 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

From a reputation standpoint at least, Margot is seen as a better fielder than say, Wallner (or Larnach) especially in terms of catching the ball (clearly Wallner has the stronger arm). I'm guessing it's partially a defensive replacement situation where they feel like they can ensure more outs this way and keep the other team from getting back into the game. I'm not sure it's all that impactful, but YMMV.

One would think this analytically inclined staff wouldn't go "by reputation."

Margot is not a better outfielder than any of the LH hitters he replaces.