Make It Official! Twins 6, Cardinals 0: Pablo Provides the Pitching; Larnach, Wallner Provide the Power

[Sherry Cerny]

It wasn't a do-or-die game, but it is getting to the point where wins become more critical every time. With the Royals sliding into second place with their win on Friday and the Twins losing to the Cardinals. Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray played a massive role in the Twins postseason run last year, and on this night, Twins fans saw a fun pitching matchup.

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
SP: Pablo Lopez 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER,  1 BB,  9 K (96 pitches, 75 strikes (78%))
Home Runs: Trevor Larnach 2 (14), Matt Wallner (9)
Top 3 WPA: Pablo Lopez (.257), Trevor Larnach (.252), Austin Martin (.042)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Pablo Lopez took the mound opposing former Twins pitcher and friend Sonny Gray. Carlos Santana got a rare day off with Jose Miranda taking over at first base. While the team is very familiar with Gray and his arsenal, it will be their first time facing him since not re-signing him in free agency last offseason. 

Lopez wasted no time setting the tone with a quick inning, giving way to the Twins lineup to set the same tone. But Gray answered and reminded the Twins of who he was by ending the inning for the Twins with a nearly immaculate inning. 

The Cardinals continued to threaten in the top of the third as Lopez’s pitch count climbed. Victor Scott II hit a line drive double. Masyn Winn laid down a beautiful bunt. He was fast, but Lopez was faster, throwing to Miranda to get the out. However, the sac-bunt did its job to get Scott II 90 feet closer to home. With Alec Burleson at-bat and the run to home looming, Christian Vasquez threw a nasty pick-off to third baseman Royce Lewis to get the second out, and then Lopez struck out Burleson for the third out.  Plays like this show just how solid the Twins' defense is and how smart Vasquez is behind the plate. 

Once the Twins settled in, they started to get hard contact on the ball in the third inning, starting with a double by Austin Martin and a walk to Willi Castro. Trevor Larnach followed with a three-run home run, giving the Twins the lead 3-0. The Cardinals pitching coach came to talk to Gray to calm him down, which didn't work. Lewis and Matt Wallner reached base on singles which meant five Twins reached base in a row. Lewis came home on a Max Kepler fielder's choice giving the Twins a 4-0 lead. 

Lopez struggled a bit off and on throughout the night, but managed to get out of the innings with no damage. In the top of the fifth, Lopez slowed down a bit and lost command, striking out the first batter, but allowing the next two on base. Vasquez took a moment to talk to his pitcher, then took a foul ball to the mask, leaving a small nick on the bridge of his nose, but he got right back into the game and helped Lopez get out of the inning unscathed. 

Larnach looked lost during his first at-bat with Gray, but it only took one time of seeing him to learn. Larnach launched his second home run of the game off of Gray in the fifth inning, and it was the first time Larnach had a multi-home run game. It gave the Twins another bump in their lead to 5-0. 

Lopez finished with seven shutout innings, with five runs of insurance. He left the bullpen to come in and close out the game. 

Griffin Jax came out of the 'pen for the 8th inning and maintained the shutout. The Twins offense got another chance to add some runs before the closer came in. Wallner hit a 430-foot bomb to centerfield. It was on the first pitch of Cardinals reliever Kyle Leahy, pushing the lead 6-0. Since returning to the big leagues, Wallner has had the highest barrel rate of any hitter in the big leagues since July 23. 2% ahead of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto of the Yankees. 

With a scoreless inning from Jhoan Duran, who hasn't pitched a game since the weekend, was a welcome way to end the the game. 

What’s Next? 
The Twins continue with the Cardinals in the last game of the series with rookie Zebby Matthews (1-1; 3.60 ERA) taking the bump against Erick Fedde (8-7; 3.39 ERA) at 12:10 pm central, in hopes to secure the series before hosting the Braves starting on Monday. 

Postgame Interviews

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

 

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[BH67]

Your start today made me sigh, young Pablo. (Pause.) More of that, please.

The bats arrived en masse against Gray the second time through, just as they disappeared en masse at that point yesterday. I’d prefer something less extreme but closer to the feast, and Zebby will need that help tomorrow to take the series.

I’m not concerned about Jax and Duran being used with a big lead. Rust is a frequent affliction with Twins relievers unused for more than three days, and tonight shook that off. They each performed well on consecutive days last week, so I’m confident they can close out a win tomorrow if needed.

Cleveland wins, KC loses, and we’re back to Friday morning in the standings. Hanging in but not accelerating. My wish tonight is for an immediate cure to plantar fasciitis.
 

[Panthers FTW]

that throw by Vazquez was seriously a work of art

[wabene]

78% strikes, SMH, Pablo appears to be getting stronger as the year goes on like '23. Gasin' 98 right on by guys for Ks.

[Blyleven2011]

It was a fun match up of sonny and Pablo  , and the twins won it ...

Pablo struggled early but got through it all unscathed ....

Larnach  hit 2 dingers ,  the first one was a blast ,  probably farther then the tape measured  , wallner they said on broadcast it went to St Paul ...

Vazquez  throw to Lewis nailed the runner at third was a highlight  , Vazquez is certainly a better defensive catcher  and his hitting  has been  acceptable   , catchers are the most important position  as they control the game , Vazquez is a savvy  catcher  , a week ago or so I remember him motioning to the pitcher to throw to first and the pitcher picked him off ...

Get off Vazquez back , he's doing alot better than last year  ...

A good game , larnach broke it open with his 3 run blast , he's healthy and contributing  ...

[Linus]

Savvy play by Vasquez. He correctly guessed the contact play was on and figured the runner might be leaning. He was coming out of his crouch as the pitch was on its way so he was really quick getting the ball out. 

[Dman]

A much needed win to keep us in front of KC and Boston.  With KC and Cleveland facing each other 4 times if we can get some wins we should make up some ground on one of them.

Really nice to see Larnach get rewarded for the good swings he has been putting on the ball. He seems to be getting better and better. 

Wallner,  it's a crazy K rate (38%) and high BABIP but its working so keep hitting the ball hard Matty.  Another massive HR for Wallner and also a  three hit night.

Pablo with the shutout was really nice to see no mistake pitches especially with men on.  We needed this win and he was the key to getting it and he didn't disappoint.

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

Sonny has really been struggling with hard contact recently, surely feels like some regression from his historic HR "prevention" last season. Which was great for the Twins tonight! 2 or 3 foul ball homers in addition to the bombs he gave up to Larnach tonight.

A shame Texas couldn't keep from soiling their britches tonight. 

[DocBauer]

Had to work so I only got the 9th inning and the post game, plus the box score, and the write up here. I'll be watching the condensed version of the game later tonight. Just a few random points:

1] Pablo....YES PLEASE. Keep it going.

2] Call me crazy, but I thought we'd get to Gray tonight.

3] Due to many circumstances, including injury delays, prospects don't develop in a linear fashion. I'm recalling a recent TD OP regarding Larnach usually hitting 2nd in the lineup. Tonight is an example of why. He's now at .257/ .328/ .457/ .785 for his quad slash line. We can debate lineup construction when everyone is healthy, but the guy has really developed this season. He might not be...yet anyway...what we had hoped for, but he's doing well. And I think there's another level yet to reach.

4] Isn't Wallner just FUN? He's also getting better.

5] Despite seeming to alternate between hot and cold at the plate...though right now Jeffers is heating up again...offensively and defensively, do the Twins have the best catching duo in MLB?

6] No more injuries, the Twins need to nurse/work with/keep trusting Festa and Matthews in the rotation. While he might or might not turn in to an immediate pen stud, Varland moving to the pen soon gives them another power arm that's usually been proven to be very good for a couple of innings. Could a healthy Funderburk make a late season surge to displace Okert? Did what we saw of Winder in his last promotion mean he's ready to contribute on a regular basis? Any chance Paddack comes back like he did late in 2023 to add another good arm to the pen? If the rookies can just be solid and not hit a wall, might we end up with a good pen to end the season?

7] Lee is on rehab and might be back soon. Maybe I'm reading between the lines too much as an optimist, but it sounds like Buxton's hip is feeling better and he might be ready in a week? Correa has moved to sprinting, which is one of the final tests, as I understand his rehab. He's not quite right yet. But he is better. He's probably further away than Buxton. But at some point, Correa will be back, even at 80-90%...but we can cross fingers for more. Is it possible the Twins are 100% come mid September?

8] The Twins are the best team in a much improved and surprisingly competitive ALC, still suffering from their horrendous start to the season. No more injuries or rookies hitting a wall, I think the ALC can still be taken. I'm excited!

 

[Parfigliano]

2 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Had to work so I only got the 9th inning and the post game, plus the box score, and the write up here. I'll be watching the condensed version of the game later tonight. Just a few random points:

1] Pablo....YES PLEASE. Keep it going.

2] Call me crazy, but I thought we'd get to Gray tonight.

3] Due to many circumstances, including injury delays, prospects don't develop in a linear fashion. I'm recalling a recent TD OP regarding Larnach usually hitting 2nd in the lineup. Tonight is an example of why. He's now at .257/ .328/ .457/ .785 for his quad slash line. We can debate lineup construction when everyone is healthy, but the guy has really developed this season. He might not be...yet anyway...what we had hoped for, but he's doing well. And I think there's another level yet to reach.

4] Isn't Wallner just FUN? He's also getting better.

5] Despite seeming to alternate between hot and cold at the plate...though right now Jeffers is heating up again...offensively and defensively, do the Twins have the best catching duo in MLB?

6] No more injuries, the Twins need to nurse/work with/keep trusting Festa and Matthews in the rotation. While he might or might not turn in to an immediate pen stud, Varland moving to the pen soon gives them another power arm that's usually been proven to be very good for a couple of innings. Could a healthy Funderburk make a late season surge to displace Okert? Did what we saw of Winder in his last promotion mean he's ready to contribute on a regular basis? Any chance Paddack comes back like he did late in 2023 to add another good arm to the pen? If the rookies can just be solid and not hit a wall, might we end up with a good pen to end the season?

7] Lee is on rehab and might be back soon. Maybe I'm reading between the lines too much as an optimist, but it sounds like Buxton's hip is feeling better and he might be ready in a week? Correa has moved to sprinting, which is one of the final tests, as I understand his rehab. He's not quite right yet. But he is better. He's probably further away than Buxton. But at some point, Correa will be back, even at 80-90%...but we can cross fingers for more. Is it possible the Twins are 100% come mid September?

8] The Twins are the best team in a much improved and surprisingly competitive ALC, still suffering from their horrendous start to the season. No more injuries or rookies hitting a wall, I think the ALC can still be taken. I'm excited!

 

Okert is DFA

[DocBauer]

2 minutes ago, CCHOF5yearstoolate said:

Sonny has really been struggling with hard contact recently, surely feels like some regression from his historic HR "prevention" last season. Which was great for the Twins tonight! 2 or 3 foul ball homers in addition to the bombs he gave up to Larnach tonight.

A shame Texas couldn't keep from soiling their britches tonight. 

But I thought he was doing so much better and was so much happier away from the Nasty Man Rocco?

LOL

TOTAL tongue in cheek! UTMOST respect for Gray and his professionalism as well as his contributions for the Twins. Just couldn't bypass a small troll to a few haters. Forgive my humorous hijack. :)

[IaBeanCounter]

1-1, even with KC and Cle.  However picked a game on Bos (first team eliminated from playoffs) and Hou (for 2nd seed if we overtake Cle and hold off KC)

[IaBeanCounter]

On the radio, they talked that Lewis was taking some reps at 2nd base.  I would think he could handle that and would allow Miranda to play 3rd.

[Peter]

This was a huge bounce back win after last night-great win!!! Let’s take series tomorrow and reduce Cleveland’s lead in division 

[TheLeviathan]

We'd have won this game tonight if Rocco hadn't pulled Sonny early and turned it into a bullpen game.

Moron.

[mnfireman]

Pablo is 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA and a 40/10 K/BB ratio and only 4 HR covering 44 IP in 7 starts since the All-Star break...

[Doctor Gast]

A great game to watch especially since we won. Pablo pitched great, Vazquez kept him focused. Vazquez didn't get a hit but his defense was spectacular. Great pick-off! I'm sure Vazquez works with all the INFers before the games to let them know what to expect. Congratulations, Larnach on the 2HR game! Great offense also from Wallner & Martin. Miranda looked good at 1B, The line-up came through in the absence of Correa & Buxton, plus Lewis & Miranda haven't been their best. Lee & Kiriloff are on their way back. I imagine a lot of moves will finally happen around the 1st that should have happened a while ago. Like bringing up Varland & Keirsey for good. DFA more guys which they started with Okert. Bring back Correa & Buxton, ready or not.

[Nashvilletwin]

 No much commentary tonight about Martin.  His heads up double was a big spark this team needed.  He’s starting to show signs of being that true pirahna ballplayer so correlated with much of the Twins’ most successful years over the past couple of decades.  He’s fun to watch too.

[Karbo]

Vasky is a really good catcher. Now that he's hitting more I hope some of the haters get off his case. The play of Martin says to me that Margot isn't really needed anymore. Could he get DFA'd?

[Linus]

As noted above Martin is starting to hit some. He is still rough in the OF (don’t get me started on why he played SS endlessly in the minors) but I would run him out there instead of Margot every time. Gleeman had an interesting note: Larnach has been killing cutters. Both homers last night were off cutters. Apparently the Cards don’t have an analytics department. 

[JD-TWINS]

9 hours ago, IaBeanCounter said:

On the radio, they talked that Lewis was taking some reps at 2nd base.  I would think he could handle that and would allow Miranda to play 3rd.

Interesting, about Lewis. Seems Lee would then have a consistent spot to contribute from as well. Essentially, a hands down reason to be able to “free” Farmer.

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

A great game to watch especially since we won. Pablo pitched great, Vazquez kept him focused. Vazquez didn't get a hit but his defense was spectacular. Great pick-off! I'm sure Vazquez works with all the INFers before the games to let them know what to expect. Congratulations, Larnach on the 2HR game! Great offense also from Wallner & Martin. Miranda looked good at 1B, The line-up came through in the absence of Correa & Buxton, plus Lewis & Miranda haven't been their best. Lee & Kiriloff are on their way back. I imagine a lot of moves will finally happen around the 1st that should have happened a while ago. Like bringing up Varland & Keirsey for good. DFA more guys which they started with Okert. Bring back Correa & Buxton, ready or not.

Bringing back guys whether they “are ready or not” doesn’t seem like a good plan……

Keirsey………maybe deserving on a lesser club but once Buxton is back (soon) he has no chance of being on the roster.

Ready for Winder & Varland to displace Richards & Henriquez or Blewett.

[JD-TWINS]

Am glad to put the “un-hittable Sonny Gray” to rest. I like Gray - wish him well - he was not a necessity for this club to have success and tired of hearing that for last 9 months.

Pablo showed up in a big head to head pitching match up!

Gray’s ERA is 4.07 v. 2.79 in ‘23. He’s at .6 runs higher than his career 3.51 ERA. He’s given up 20 HR’s through August 24th, with 7 starts left in the season and last year he gave up 8 through September. He started great and may rally to have a decent year. He’s not a dominant Ace as was evidenced last year in the playoffs. He got out of a big jam in the 5th by picking a guy off 2nd. He was done after 5 innings. Then, he pitched poorly in his next outing v. Houston.

Would it be a nice luxury to still have him on the Twin’s roster? Sure. Not down on the organization though, for not getting him signed at $25M/year through ‘26.

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

 No much commentary tonight about Martin.  His heads up double was a big spark this team needed.  He’s starting to show signs of being that true pirahna ballplayer so correlated with much of the Twins’ most successful years over the past couple of decades.  He’s fun to watch too.

If the throw is on target, Martin is out there. Manufacturing runs is great, but it felt like the risk was a little higher than I'd like. I was 60/40 on him being thrown out when he turned that corner. He made it happen, though!

[bean5302]

I know the article says Lopez struggled from time to time, but I never got the impression he wasn't in control of the game. It honestly felt like Lopez was dialed in and it seemed like the Cardinals hitters couldn't do anything consistent against him at all. The game was fast and Pablo was incredibly efficient.

On the other side, Gray looked just as good to start the game. Everything changed in the 3rd. Larnach got a hold of a cutter inside, but inside and high is not a good pitch (hits cutter well) or location (rakes the high/inside corner area) to give Larnach, and Gray had already shown Larnach the cutter twice in the first. Feels like Larnach was sitting cutter the rest of the night, and it sure paid off. The Twins eeked out another run when it had a feeling double play when the ball came off Kepler's bat, but Donovan was slow to make a decision. If he goes 3-4 there, inning over, but Lewis probably scores before the ball gets the 3rd out so moot, I guess.

Side note, was at the game over 2hrs before the start and the season ticket holder line ran out of jerseys before I got there. First line to run out at the stadium it seems. There were other places, but my friend had recently had surgery, and I couldn't drag her all over the stadium. I was more than a little mad.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

Ready for Winder & Varland to displace Richards & Henriquez or Blewett.

Henriquez has clearly outpitched Winder this season.

[wabene]

4 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Henriquez has clearly outpitched Winder this season.

Ronny out pitched Winder in the minors this year with a mediocre performance himself, but Winder has pitched a little better than Ronny in the majors in an absolutely tiny sample size.

[karcherd]

I was at the game last night and was sitting behind the dugout and am wondering if Rocco was in the dugout.  Letting Larnach hit against a LH would indicate he wasn't.

[wabene]

4 minutes ago, karcherd said:

I was at the game last night and was sitting behind the dugout and am wondering if Rocco was in the dugout.  Letting Larnach hit against a LH would indicate he wasn't.

Maybe Larnach is gaining his trust just as Kepler already has done. 

[karcherd]

7 minutes ago, wabene said:

Maybe Larnach is gaining his trust just as Kepler already has done. 

Which one of his 15 prior AB's against LH pitching did Rocco decide that he now trusts him.