Royals 2, Twins 0: What in the Name of Oklahoma Joe is Going On Here?

[Hans Birkeland]

The Twins lineup was lifeless, and barely put up a fight against a dominant Michael Wacha as the Royals cruised to a sweep. Next week's series at Fenway Park is starting to loom, despite Boston losing to *checks notes* the White Sox today.

Image courtesy of © Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (70 Pitches, 44 Strikes, 62.8%)
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Edouard Julien (-.223), Trevor Larnach (-.124), José Miranda (-.116)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

Visions of 2022 were swirling in my head as I absorbed last night's loss to the Royals. The team has been losing games and losing players at a rapid pace. We aren't quite at the "Nick Gordon hitting cleanup against a lefty" stage yet, but we have entered the "every reliever turns into the worst version of Emilio Pagán when it matters" portion. The "Byron Buxton has a great year before going down in August with a hip issue" might be the hardest pill to swallow, but nevertheless, the team is eight (or so) wins away from clinching a playoff spot, with 20 games remaining.

Today's game featured underrated veteran Michael Wacha opposing the scuffling rookie, Simeon Woods Richardson. The recent lineup formula for the Twins has been to get traffic on early, squander an opportunity or two, and then go silent for the last seven or eight innings, and, well. Today began with a one-out single from Jose Miranda and then a ringing double from Trevor Larnach. It looked like Hunter Renfroe had a little trouble picking the ball up in right field, but Miranda is not fast and third-base coach Tommy Watkins had gotten desperate; Miranda was thrown out fairly easily. Matt Wallner then walked, so all was not lost, but Royce Lewis sure is, and he flailed away at a belt high fastball he crushes when he is right.

Woods Richardson is a confident guy, and came out of the gates on a mission, commanding his fastball and throwing a lot of sliders and curveballs. His misses were close and he looked locked in. Through the first four innings the Royals only managed a harmless MJ Melendez double (off a change-up, naturally). 

The Twins' lineup averaged about 45 seconds per inning against Wacha, with the changeup artist eliciting early (and weak) contact that allowed him to cruise through five innings with just 69 pitches. When Twins hitters managed to survive to two strikes, Wacha threw dotted fastballs up in the zone, or his famous change-up down to strike them out.

The game was tied through four and a half, but it felt like the Twins were facing a deficit the moment Miranda was thrown out at home in the first. That came to fruition in the fifth. Melendez drew a walk on a questionable 3-2 change-up right on the black. Freddy Fermin then singled the other way, and Maikel Garcia was sent up to bunt. Garcia failed at this, but when things are going well, you get a hit on the next pitch, which is exactly what happened. Garrett Hampson nearly hit a grand slam next, but it turned into a deep sacrifice fly, making the score 1-0. After walking Tommy Pham, Woods Richardson was done, with Cole Sands coming in to face Bobby Witt Jr. with the bases loaded.

Somehow, Sands threw a cutter by Witt to strike him out, but he still had to face the Royals only other good hitter, the legendary Salvador Perez. He chased a cutter outside the zone, because Perez, for all his accomplishments, has no plate discipline. However, because these are the Twins, Perez hit a dribber up the third base line that somehow did not go foul as it rolled to a stop by Royce Lewis' feet.

Sands got squeezed on a call to the next hitter, Michael Massey, resulting in a 3-1 count, but bounced back to retire him on a fly out to right field.

Christian Vazquez got an excuse-me single to start the sixth, but Wacha pitched around it and got Miranda to hit into a double play to end the threat before he broke a sweat.

After Sands pitched a quick bottom half, the Twins went even quicker with the middle of their lineup (Larnach, Wallner and Lewis) going down without any semblance of a fight. Wacha smelled blood and used his experience and surprisingly lively stuff to carve up Twins hitters desperate to make something happen.

Reliever Kris Bubic pick ed up where Wacha left off, and set down Castro, Jeffers and Lee easily in the eighth.

Vazquez again led off with a single in the ninth, but Julien struck out, Miranda grounded out and Larnach popped out.

Trends:

 

	Healthy	Hurt
Performing
Contributing
Low Impact
IL/Minors
C	Ryan Jeffers 📉	Christian Vazquez 📈
1B	Carlos Santana 📈	Alex Kirilloff 📉	Jose Miranda 📈
2B	Edouard Julien 📈	Kyle Farmer 📈'
3B	Royce Lewis 📉
SS	Carlos Correa 📉	Brooks Lee 📉
LF	Matt Wallner 📈	Trevor Larnach 📈	Austin Martin 📉
CF	Byron Buxton 📉	Manuel Margot 📉	DaShawn Keirsey Jr. 📈
RF	Max Kepler 📉
UTIL	Willi Castro 📉	Michael Helman 📈
SP	Pablo Lopez 📈	Bailey Ober 📈	Joe Ryan 📉	Chris Paddack 📈
RSP	David Festa 📈	Zebby Matthews 📉	Simeon Woods Richardson 📉
CR	Jhoan Duran 📉	Griffin Jax 📈
SR	Brock Stewart 📉	Jorge Alcala 📈	Cole Sands 📈
MR	Caleb Thielbar 📈	Scott Blewett 📈	Michael Tonkin 📈	Louie Varland 📉
LR	Josh Winder 📈	Ronny Henriquez 📈	Randy Dobnak 📉	Diego Castillo 📈

 

Stray Notes:
-Brooks Lee made a great play with Witt on second following a leadoff ninth inning double. Perez grounded up the middle, Lee smothered it and threw to third to get WItt in a rundown, where he was retired without Perez advancing to second.

-The bullpen was excellent, with Sands, Alcala, and Scott Blewett stifling the Royals through the later innings, allowing just three hits.

What’s Next: David Festa (2-5, 4.75 ERA) goes against the Angels' Reid Detmers (3-6, 5.87 ERA) as the Twins look to get on track against one of the few teams that have looked more pathetic than themselves recently. Detmers is a decent lefty but with good raw stuff, but has struggled this year, even spending time in the minor leagues. Festa has been pretty good since his second call to the big leagues, with an ERA in the low 3.00's and elite strikeout numbers.

Postgame Interviews:

(Coming Soon)

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOT
Blewett	43	0	0	0	19	62
Varland	59	0	0	0	0	59
Sands	0	0	0	0	30	30
Durán	0	12	0	17	0	29
Henríquez	12	0	13	0	0	25
Jax	0	13	0	8	0	21
Thielbar	0	0	19	0	0	19
Tonkin	17	0	0	0	0	17
Alcalá	0	0	0	0	11	11

 

 

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[USAFChief]

[S Bart]

Two runs in three games in tough to handle for a fan wishing that their team makes the playoffs. I have tickets for the red Soc games at Fenway and it may be over for the Twins by that time.

I made a post on the last game comparing Ober being pulled early to comments made by Sonny Gray in 2022.  Below is an article from 2022 regarding that issue which is still current today. Is the analytics rational on switching pitchers mentioned valid?

 

Sonny Gray is Sick of His Short Leash (minnesotasportsfan.com)

[thelanges5]

Rocco’s mad, as he should be. Can he light a fire under these Twins?

 

[Parfigliano]

Perfect opportunity to get back to winning playing LAA and CIN the next 6 games.  I strongly suggest they win 5 of them.

[USAFChief]

2 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Rocco’s mad, as he should be. Can he light a fire under these Twins?

 

Who is the manager of that bunch, Rocco?

[RpR]

Vazquez went 3 for 3 today, so he broke his slump.

Put Julien back on the bench and play Farmer.

Miranda is still batting .300.

[RpR]

1 minute ago, Parfigliano said:

Perfect opportunity to get back to winning playing LAA and CIN the next 6 games.  I strongly suggest they win 5 of them.

The supposed lessor teams this year have been pretty much as much of a gremlin to the Twins as any so called top team.

[hitterscount]

They rely on the home run to generate runs, with the issue being they don’t have one major home run threat. This is what an offense looks like when your offensive philosophy sucks.

As far as Rocco lighting a fire in the players, I suspect there isn’t much respect there… just might explain these lifeless performances.

[big dog]

Might as well fire Popkins? The trainers? Or ride it out, hope for the best and hope the poor Pohlads hit the lottery this winter so the team can upgrade a few spots. 

[Western SD Fan]

This may be asking too much from our injured star players but I wish they would show up in the dugout trying to encourage and help these young players along in a pennant race. It just seemed that they were scrapping but losing control trying to hold it together until Buxton and his clubhouse energy could come back. The bottom fell out when his rehab was shut down. There is just no vocal veteran presence left. Rocco doesn’t seem to be the fire and brimstone manager when they need it. There was no game thread today as I would have commented on Lewis hitting 5th again maybe putting too much pressure on someone in an 0fer hole, but there really was no one else to put there as everyone seems to be in a slump right now.

[IndyTwinsFan]

35 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Perfect opportunity to get back to winning playing LAA and CIN the next 6 games.  I strongly suggest they win 5 of them.

I agree with the suggestion, but I strongly suspect that they'll be lucky just to split the 6 games.  And I wouldn't be at all surprised if they don't even do that well.

A season starting with such promise is slowly swirling right down the toilet and will soon be completely flushed away.  Sigh!

[Aggies7]

45 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Who is the manager of that bunch, Rocco?

“No other comment”

hey rocco

[Hubie29]

53 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Who is the manager of that bunch, Rocco?

Rocco has lost the team. They are sick of him and his personality and his decisions and his comments and his.... They don't want to play for him anymore. If they don't make the playoffs, they get their wish. 

[GNess]

Grim performance and situation by and for the Twins.

 

[Aggies7]

2 minutes ago, Hubie29 said:

Rocco has lost the team. They are sick of him and his personality and his decisions and his comments and his.... They don't want to play for him anymore. If they don't make the playoffs, they get their wish. 

To be fair, the players have been pretty terrible too 

[S Bart]

9 minutes ago, Western SD Fan said:

This may be asking too much from our injured star players but I wish they would show up in the dugout trying to encourage and help these young players along in a pennant race. It just seemed that they were scrapping but losing control trying to hold it together until Buxton and his clubhouse energy could come back. The bottom fell out when his rehab was shut down. There is just no vocal veteran presence left. Rocco doesn’t seem to be the fire and brimstone manager when they need it. There was no game thread today as I would have commented on Lewis hitting 5th again maybe putting too much pressure on someone in an 0fer hole, but there really was no one else to put there as everyone seems to be in a slump right now.

Yes....Correa is known as the "leader" by many. He has been present in the dugout during the home games. It would be nice if he makes an attempt to at least DH. It has been almost 2 months since he has been present in a game. He stated that the Nike spikes don't work well. Can't NIKE do something to help him out? If not, Ohtani and many others use New Balance which are more "foot friendly."

[howeda7]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

Who is the manager of that bunch, Rocco?

Falvey's nerd department. 

[Hubie29]

13 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

To be fair, the players have been pretty terrible too 

Reflection of their manager and the clubhouse atmosphere he has created. 

[Hubie29]

12 minutes ago, S Bart said:

Yes....Correa is known as the "leader" by many. He has been present in the dugout during the home games. It would be nice if he makes an attempt to at least DH. It has been almost 2 months since he has been present in a game. He stated that the Nike spikes don't work well. Can't NIKE do something to help him out? If not, Ohtani and many others use New Balance which are more "foot friendly."

Almost too ridiculous to be true.  But with "todays" athletes, I guess nothing is too ridiculous 

[MMMordabito]

Who cares? It's football season now.

[Karbo]

Is this going to be a total collapse? I'm afraid so unless somehow they get Buxton and Correa back on the field. 3 rookie starters need some runs to be scored for them. I believe they just get in with 8 more wins but then what?

[dberthia]

Rocco is not the type of guy to inspire or light a fire under his players. What they really need is a cross between the old school guys who have some "spunk" as well as a good instinct for the game, and someone who can absorb analytics without being completely beholden to them. Rocco is a stoic flatliner who has no feel for game situations unfolding right in front of his face.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

1 hour ago, thelanges5 said:

Rocco’s mad, as he should be. Can he light a fire under these Twins?

 

"that was an unprofessional series of managing baseball....."  Fixed it for you Rocco.  SMH

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, big dog said:

Might as well fire Popkins? The trainers? Or ride it out, hope for the best and hope the poor Pohlads hit the lottery this winter so the team can upgrade a few spots. 

The pohlads have already won the lottery  multiple  times , their inheritance  for 1 ...

They haven't spent a cent of it ...

[Blyleven2011]

26 minutes ago, Karbo said:

Is this going to be a total collapse? I'm afraid so unless somehow they get Buxton and Correa back on the field. 3 rookie starters need some runs to be scored for them. I believe they just get in with 8 more wins but then what?

Total system failure , in other words an embarrassing playoff appearance  ...

[JADBP]

This is Rocco's doing.  PERIOD.

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, Hubie29 said:

Rocco has lost the team. They are sick of him and his personality and his decisions and his comments and his.... They don't want to play for him anymore. If they don't make the playoffs, they get their wish. 

Thìs homestand will tell the story , last homestead was probably the worst since 2022 ...

If I was FO  and the team loses this homestand  , I wouldn't wait For the end of the season  , I'd fire him and get Toby to finish out the season and playoffs ...

This team is made up of young professional ball players  , Rocco and his coaches has to find a way to reach the talent  and make them better , learning never stops  ...

If thè coaches and Rocco aren't teaching these players anything , they are definitely ruining alotof talented ball players ...

[RpR]

Next game will show if Baldeli knows what he put on the field is fifty percent of the  problem or not.

[RpR]

Just now, RpR said:

Next game will show if Baldeli knows what he put on the field is fifty percent of the  problem or not.

Yesterday's was Rocco, today was the players.