Marlins 4, Twins 1: Woof

[Hans Birkeland]

With their season in the balance, the Twins welcomed the National League's worst team, featuring a manager who knows he won't return for 2025. Of course, they lost easily, driving a stake further into the heart of a depressing season.

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober: 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (89 Pitches, 58 Strikes, 65.1%)
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Ober (-.217), Kyle Farmer (-.110), Ryan Jeffers (-.083)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

If the Twins' season was a single game, they fell behind early but bounced back and carried an eight-run lead into the fifth. They allowed two runs in that inning, two more in the sixth, two more in the seventh, and two more in the eighth. Another run scored in the ninth, and they now faced a deficit for the first time since May. Fortunately, they had Bailey Ober pitching on "Bark at the Park" night. Unfortunately, the Miami Marlins have been a trap team their entire existence.

Miami started Ryan Weathers, the former San Diego top prospect and son of former Reds closer, David Weathers. He throws hard from the left side and has had some success this year. The Twins rolled out a 100% righty lineup with their season on the line and threatened in the first. Carlos Correa hit a screaming double over the center fielder and Byron Buxton was hit by a pitch. Carlos Santana then popped out and Royce Lewis was retired on a sharp line drive (107 MPH) right to right fielder Jesus Sanchez.

Ober was ready to cruise against one of the worst lineups in baseball, but what Miami lacks in star power they make up for in post-hype prospects that really aren't that bad, Weathers included. The second began with a homer from Jonah Bride off a fastball at the top of the zone that Miami's DH got on top of, something you rarely see with Ober's fastball when located well. Oh well, solo home runs won't kill you. Except Ober then hit Derek Hill with a pitch with two outs, allowed a bloop hit to Otto Lopez and then left a pitch up in the zone to light-hitting catcher Nick Fortes, who smacked a single the other way to score the game's second run. Ober was clearly frustrated and threw another mistake to Xavier Edwards, who doubled to left-center to score two more runs. In the blink of an eye, the score was 4-0.

Ober's velocity was down a bit, sitting at 90 MPH and dipping into the 80s at points. He also left a few cutters hanging in the middle of the zone (see above), and not all of them were hit, or even swung at. In short, it could have been worse.

The Twins put traffic on in most innings, and with one out in the third, Lewis rifled a base hit through the left side to score Buxton, who had reached on an infield hit and advanced on a Santana walk. The trouble was that Kyle Farmer hit into an inning ending double play. It's funny, but Farmer is kind of who you wanted to see in that situation, with his recent hot-hitting and career-long ability to punish left-handed pitching. As the Twins and their fans have learned, when your season is circling the toilet, you can't un-flush.

Correa delivered his second hit in the fifth with one out, and Buxton doubled to the corner to put runners on second and third with Santana up facing a lefty. The Twins first baseman was retired on a foul pop up and Lewis tapped to third to waste another opportunity.

Ober gutted his way through five innings, but walked Derek Hill to start the sixth and was removed for the Twins new best pitcher, Scott Blewett, who quickly got a double play ball and got through the inning unscathed.

Matt Wallner was called upon to pinch hit in the sixth and struck out while being frozen on a breaking ball, He then grabbed his side and was removed from the game. That is one injury this team cannot afford; Wallner has been their only effective and healthy hitter for a while now.

Willi Castro led off the seventh with a 3-2 single, but Brooks Lee tapped out, Correa struck out, and Buxton flied out to end whatever threat there was.

A last flicker of hope was extinguished in the eighth. Santana led of with a walk against tough righty Anthony Bender. Trevor Larnach, hitting for Wallner, laced a single to center following a lineout from Lewis. Jeffers then popped out for the twelfth time in his last eleven at-bats, and the inning was left to the forgotten Edouard Julien, who hadn't taken a plate appearance in a week. One thing I've noticed about Julien is that his opposite-field fly balls are just about ten feet shorter than last year and right on queue, he flew out short of the warning track to end the inning.

Cole Irvin pitched a scoreless inning despite himself (two walks, one wild pitch).

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 📉	Cole Irvin 📉	Cole Sands 📈
MR	Caleb Thielbar 📈	Scott Blewett 📈	Michael Tonkin 📈	Louie Varland 📈
LR	Josh Winder 📉	Ronny Henriquez 📈	Brent Headrick 📉	Diego Castillo 📈

 

 

What’s Next: Simeon Woods Richardson (5-5, 4.00 ERA) opposes Edward Cabrera (4-8, 5.12 ERA) as the Twins play out the string. Cabrera has great stuff and an incredible change-up, and was the subject of Twitter-based trade speculation last off-season, In reality, he has struggled with injuries and command in his brief career, but also scouts should throw out positive results against the Twins in the past month.

Postgame Interviews:
(Coming soon)

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	TOT
Tonkin	14	0	37	0	25	76
Headrick	0	0	60	0	0	60
Irvin	0	0	25	0	19	44
Blewett	12	0	7	0	20	39
Sands	16	0	20	0	0	36
Thielbar	10	0	17	0	3	30
Durán	20	0	0	0	0	20
Varland	13	0	0	0	0	13
Jax	8	0	0	0	0	8

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[BillyBallLives]

Wow. What a performance.

What will this FO do in the off season? 

Fire the equipment manager? ? ? 

 

 

 

[Doctor Gast]

You can't underrate any MLB team, especially when things aren't going right. MIA is better than most think. 

[wavedog]

The performance of the team speaks for itself.  I have seen too many of these re-runs.   

[ashbury]

A fitting end to the season.  Unfortunately there are still 5 games to go.

[D.C Twins]

Let me put this in kindergarten language for Rocco....

If you are going to bat Margot leadoff in a game of consequence....

You get what you get... and you don't get upset.

[terrydactyls]

Does anyone know when the TD staff will publish their annual "If You Were the Front Office" spreadsheet?  I think it's time to get started on the off season.

[darwin22]

Pathetic performance.

Where is the pride?  Where are the guts?  Where is the fire?

Of course, being the "Twins way" there will be ZERO accountability from the front office or ownership.

Anyone expecting anything even resembling a shakeup hasn't followed this team for any long stretch.

 

 

[chpettit19]

4 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

Let me put this in kindergarten language for Rocco....

If you are going to bat Margot leadoff in a game of consequence....

You get what you get... and you don't get upset.

I despise Margot being on this team, but in 41 games as a leadoff hitter he's hit .326/.380/.473/.853. It's literally the only thing he's been good at.

[Mike Sixel]

Disappointing for sure. Needed strong performances from Lopez and Ober the last week. Not how I thought this would go a month ago. Something needs to change. 

[Western SD Fan]

It would be poetic that the night we are eliminated from the playoffs that Margot comes off the bench for a PH appearance. I know Rocco will die on that hill with his spreadsheets held high.

[Old Crow]

Sadly, the Twins have become virtually unwatchable.  

[1985Fan]

Game was over in the second inning and you could see it. Twins can’t hit and they especially can’t hit when they’re behind, They do not exude confidence, and that is what’s killing this team. Everyone is waiting for the shoe to drop, tightening up to try not to be the one to lose the game, Then they collectively go ahead and lose the game. 
Manager and team leaders need to loosen this team up, remind them to have fun and let their talent win games. But they don’t have that kind of manager and team leaders.

[jkcarew]

To be fair to the Twins, Miami came in with 40 wins against +500 teams…one MORE than the Twins. Now they have 2 more than the Twins.

A couple of evenly-matched teams. Twins battled well and just couldn’t come up with the big blow.

Perspective is everything.

[Maybe Next Year]

24 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

Let me put this in kindergarten language for Rocco....

If you are going to bat Margot leadoff in a game of consequence....

You get what you get... and you don't get upset.

Amen!

[USAFChief]

"...Kyle Farmer hit into an inning ending double play. It's funny, but Farmer is kind of who you wanted to see in that situation..."

 

You might have wanted Kyle Farmer. 

Not me.

"Recent hot hitting" notwithstanding. 

I can do without Manny Margot too.

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

5 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

"...Kyle Farmer hit into an inning ending double play. It's funny, but Farmer is kind of who you wanted to see in that situation..."

 

You might have wanted Kyle Farmer. 

Not me.

"Recent hot hitting" notwithstanding. 

I can do without Manny Margot too.

 

 

Strong concur. I don't even want them on the roster, let alone hitting. 

[D.C Twins]

42 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I despise Margot being on this team, but in 41 games as a leadoff hitter he's hit .326/.380/.473/.853. It's literally the only thing he's been good at.

Well researched....

but still a hard no as the leadoff hitter in a game of consequence because he is not fast, is not an on base machine, and not the first choice on the team to get as many ABs as early as possible. 

[Vanimal46]

Do has 2 additional tweets with Correa quotes but this kinda says it all, no? We’ve got some players in the clubhouse planning their vacation on Monday. 

[D.C Twins]

MAKE IT OFFICIAL!  (it's over)

[Vanimal46]

The offense is mind boggling, really. I haven’t had the stomach to watch this trash, but the box score tells all. How are we supposed to move forward as an organization when the majority of the lineup disappears for weeks at a time? 

[D.C Twins]

44 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Disappointing for sure. Needed strong performances from Lopez and Ober the last week. Not how I thought this would go a month ago. Something needs to change. 

Many of us have been voting for Rocco to be that change for almost 3 years (fingers and toes crossed!)

Would have loved a follow up question for Correa..."has your manager exuded any sense of urgency or leadership? Has he encouraged others to do extra things like Correa?"

[Althebum82]

right on queue?

Perhaps you are saying that if he didn't wait around so much in line that his fly balls would land ten feet further? You may be right, and it would, of course, have to happen right on cue to be true.

 

[Doc Lenz]

Anyone know how many different batting orders have been used this year? Most good or great Managers have set lineups each game. Guys get comfortable knowing when they get to the park . I don’t understand his reasoning.

[hitterscount]

59 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Disappointing for sure. Needed strong performances from Lopez and Ober the last week. Not how I thought this would go a month ago. Something needs to change. 

You down vote anyone that has anything negative to say about Rocco… please share what you see in his managerial decisions that deserve respect? It’s been two plus years of uninspiring performance, many questionable decisions… what are many of us missing?

[knothole61]

Wow! I was 90% sure that they would sweep the mediocre (at best) Marlins to save their season--such as it remains. But...they lazed their way through another offensive no show, even though the stakes were very high. I'm surprised (is that surprising?) and completely baffled.

I think someone on TD said that the Twins looked tight tonight due to the weight of "must win" pressure, but I don't see that. Instead, they seem resigned to defeat due to the weight of weeks of abject failure. Miranda shares an all-time MLB consecutive hits record (all-time MLB, you know, something the likes of DiMaggio, Williams, Musial, etc., etc. have never accomplished) and now he looks completely lost at the plate. He's swinging as if the goal was to hit the bottom of the ball and pop it up resolutely--at that he has become very good! And Jeffers, a god at the beginning of the season, has struggled mightily since then--I cringe when he is up in a clutch situation.

I mention those two, but most of the team has fallen flat offensively since that fateful, final game loss in Texas...so strange. Praise, however. must go to Correa, a true professional who continues to field his position with aplomb and to hit for average despite the lingering pain he must be enduring from his chronic injuries. Hats off to Carlos!

With KC's win tonight and our latest miserable loss, Minnesota needs to pick up two games in five days just to tie KC, and depending on what Seattle can manage to do, thereby slouch into the last playoff spot.  Sadly the odds of the Twins making the postseason are low. Therefore, reflective of the last few weeks of slow but certain death, I offer a 2024 season epitaph in the slightly-altered words for T.S. Eliot: This is the way the season ends/Not with a bang but a whimper.

Sorry Peter, I love your passion man but for me it's time to say "Go Vikings!"    

[chpettit19]

27 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

Well researched....

but still a hard no as the leadoff hitter in a game of consequence because he is not fast, is not an on base machine, and not the first choice on the team to get as many ABs as early as possible. 

Who is fast and an on base machine for this team? His OBP is .380 in the leadoff spot. 

Again, hate him being on the roster. But Margot leading off against lefties is the least of the team's problems right now. There's not a lineup you can build with how these guys are hitting that should make anyone confident they'll score more than 2 or 3 runs.

At some point we need to just point at the players and say they're the problem. Plenty of blame to go around for all this, and I'd fire Rocco and the FO, but at some point the players just need to be better and fans need to quit blaming guys not actually on the field for how the guys on the field are playing.

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

I despise Margot being on this team, but in 41 games as a leadoff hitter he's hit .326/.380/.473/.853. It's literally the only thing he's been good at.

He's a career 0.670 OPS guy. That line is a complete mirage. 

[Mike Sixel]

11 minutes ago, hitterscount said:

You down vote anyone that has anything negative to say about Rocco… please share what you see in his managerial decisions that deserve respect? It’s been two plus years of uninspiring performance, many questionable decisions… what are many of us missing?

I down vote comments that have a certain tone....

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, jkcarew said:

To be fair to the Twins, Miami came in with 40 wins against +500 teams…one MORE than the Twins. Now they have 2 more than the Twins.

A couple of evenly-matched teams. Twins battled well and just couldn’t come up with the big blow.

Perspective is everything.

Throw the Twins in the NL, they might have 99 losses too.