Orioles 6, Twins 2: One Last Sunny Sunday

[Hans Birkeland]

The Twins actually took a lead in this one! A couple of bad pitches from Bailey Ober reversed that trend, and the offense went quiet, as the team ended their year on a four-game losing streak, leaving their final record at 82-80.

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (74 Pitches, 55 Strikes, 74.3%)
Home Runs: Carlos Santana (23), DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (1)
Bottom 3 WPA: Royce Lewis (-.150), Scott Blewett (-.143), Ober (-.133)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

The season wound itself to a merciful end today, with the announcement that both Rocco Baldelli and Derek Falvey would return for the 2025 season preceding the game action. Why Baldelli or Falvey would want to stick around is another question.

Bailey Ober made his 31st start of the year, with the only real goal to keep his ERA below 4.00 for the year (he entered at 3.94). He cruised through an Orioles lineup with nothing to play for with his change-up looking sharp initially, and his fastball back to 91-92 MPH.

The Orioles countered with Albert Suarez, who has quietly delivered over 130 innings of above-average pitching for a Baltimore staff beset by injuries. Nothing jumps off the page for Suarez, but he has kept the O's in games, and he did so again. The Twins kept traffic on the bases, but the only runs they scored were on a second-inning home run for Carlos Santana, who wraps his year in Minnesota with 23 home runs; and the first major-league home for DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who stroked a ball into the overhang in right field in the fourth.

Ober's change was a little less precise in the fifth inning. Playing with a 2-0 lead, Ober let his offspeed get hit for singles by Ryan O'Hearn and Cedric Mullins, and James McCann, who let two bats slip into his own dugout on swings his first at-bat, held on this time and crushed a change-up 105 MPH to flip the game for the Orioles. The ERA? 3.98.

Jorge Alcala pitched a nice sixth inning, and the Twins tried to mount a rally in their half of that inning. Brooks Lee blooped a single to right, and Royce Lewis ripped a line drive up the middle that was speared by Orioles' second baseman Jordan Westburg, who then doubled off Lee. Lewis actually expressed frustration, as he threw his bat down in disgust. Maybe some sincere emotions will do the young star some good as opposed to his typical rendition of "wow this root canal is such a great opportunity!" I could see that being pretty annoying in a clubhouse.

Cole Sands was sent out for the seventh, despite everyone knowing his knee wasn't right. He aggravated it and had to leave the game in favor of the overworked Scott Blewett, who tried to gut out his appearance but eventually allowed a bases loaded hit to Westburg as the Orioles expanded their lead to 5-2.

Heston Kjerstad homered off of Randy Dobnak in the eighth for the final run of the game.

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

What’s Next: The Twins business side will try to provide cover for the catastrophe they caused. Chris Paddack and Christian Vazquez will be traded for minimal returns so the receiving team will agree to pay their salaries. Tied to a chair with an apple in his mouth, Falvey will acquire Cooper Criswell from Boston to replace Paddack. Marco Raya will have his innings reduced back to four innings per start. Alcala will be hired as Pete Maki's personal butler in exchange for assurances he will be offered arbitration.

Lee will figure out his left-handed swing, and proceed to hit .150 from the right side. First base will be manned by Ty France after signing a $4-million deal that represents the largest free agent expenditure of the offseason, and he will make 12-15 outs on the bases for no reason while slugging under .400. The Twins will pick up Will Brennan off waivers from the Guardians and give him a ton of playing time, before DFA'ing him in May. Alex Kirilloff will be traded to the Astros and hit .280/.340/.500. Jomboy Media will give the Pohlads $100 to put Twins games picture-in-picture during their warehouse events, but blackouts will remain. LaVelle E. Neal III will champion this as a smart business decision and remain single.

Or.....

Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Blewett	20	0	39	0	17	76
Tonkin	25	0	18	18	0	61
Alcalá	0	20	17	0	18	55
Varland	0	48	0	0	0	48
Sands	0	16	17	0	13	46
Durán	0	14	31	0	0	45
Jax	0	20	13	0	0	33
Dobnak	0	0	0	0	30	30
Thielbar	3	0	11	15	0	29
Topa	0	8	5	0	0	13

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[big dog]

Goodnight, everyone. Have a good offseason. 

[thelanges5]

 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

A thank you to Bailey Ober for taking the ball today. Ober was lined up to pitch on Tuesday. Ober did keep his ERA under 4, which is nice little achievement and will look better on his baseball card.

Correa and Buxton. Any fan willing to attend this game in person today deserved to see Correa and Buxton in the lineup. I guess they were feeling a little sore or didn't see a reason to play with nothing at stake.  

But most of all, congratualtions to DaShawn Keirsey Jr. for the home run - maybe he is our center field backup going into 2025

[ashbury]

41 minutes ago, Hans Birkeland said:

Lee will figure out his left-handed swing, and proceed to hit .150 from the right side. First base will be manned by Ty France after signing a $4-million deal that represents the largest free agent expenditure of the offseason, and he will make 12-15 outs on the bases for no reason while slugging under .400. The Twins will pick up Will Brennan off waivers from the Guardians and give him a ton of playing time, before DFA'ing him in May. Alex Kirilloff will be traded to the Astros and hit .280/.340/.500. Jomboy Media will give the Pohlads $100 to put Twins games picture-in-picture during their warehouse events, but blackouts will remain. LaVelle E. Neal III will champion this as a smart business decision and remain single.

So young, and yet so jaded.  😀

[Whitey333]

Another listless game from a totally checked out Twins game.  I went to the games Saturday and Sunday and the Twins were awful.  They've been awful for weeks and the organization did nothing to try to make them look better.  They turned out to be an embarrassment.  And the worst part is they didn't seem to care.  We did get the expected lip service from the owner and front office.  If they run back pretty much the same team and team philosophy we will have the same results.  Guys with no energy or desire to play.  No sense of urgency.  No sense of caring.  No offense, no defense, no basestealing, no manager that has common sense.  Do I think they should have fired Baldelli and Falvey?  I don't know why they even want to be here.  They act like they don't want to be.  Will the organization take responsibility for the garbage play on the field the last two months?  Probably.  They will replace the batboys and call it a day.  Sheesh.

[Parfigliano]

Why would Rocco want to stick around?  Because no one else would want him as manager.

 

[CRF]

Beautiful day...sunny, warm, low dew point. Very nice. A wonderful day to be alive and outside. Unfortunately, the same lousy baseball team, and same double talk from ownership, gm, and manager. Next season is a long way off. 

[sweetmusicviola16]

This entire regime gets to hang their collective hats on the one outlier season of 2019. SMH

[Old Crow]

AAAARRRGGH!!!!

[Danchat]

That "what's next" segment was pretty funny, and despite being satire half of that will probably come through.

[rv78]

Nice picture of 2 young Twins fans. I feel sorry for them. Without any significant changes in the forseeable future they will never know what it's like to watch a Twins team that knows how to play good baseball. Without the HR ball the Twins would have scored ZERO runs today. Nothing new..... it's the only way they know how to score, and that includes their Manager. A fitting end to a one dimensional offense.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

The Twins actually took a lead in this one! A couple of bad pitches from Bailey Ober reversed that trend, and the offense went remained quiet, as the team ended their year on a four-game losing streak, leaving their final record at 82-80.

Fixed yer article.

Didn't matter if you filled the lineup card with veterans or rookies, the results never changed.  Two runs (or less) a game day after day will sink any ball club. The Twins did it 17 times in the 39 games following the 19 August loss to Texas. Embarrassing and sad.

[knothole61]

3 hours ago, VivaBomboRivera! said:

The Twins actually took a lead in this one! A couple of bad pitches from Bailey Ober reversed that trend, and the offense went remained quiet, as the team ended their year on a four-game losing streak, leaving their final record at 82-80.

Fixed yer article.

Didn't matter if you fill the lineup card with veterans or rookies, the results never changed.  Two runs (or less) a game day after day will sink any ball club. The Twins did it 17 times in the 37 games following the 19 August loss to Texas. Embarrassing and sad.

Is that right? What an amazing stat! So...in 46% of the last 37 games the Twins scored 2 runs or less. I mean, I remember many games when we made mediocre starters look amazing through 6 or 7 innings but I had no idea it was that bad.

And through it all the manager incomprehensibly stuck with his inscrutable system. 

Take care VBR and enjoy the offseason...

[Finfineman]

Thankfully a real product.....The Vikings...

[VivaBomboRivera!]

41 minutes ago, Finfineman said:

Thankfully a real product.....The Vikings...

Don't get your hopes up.  My heart was broken one too many times in '96...

[JD-TWINS]

7 hours ago, VivaBomboRivera! said:

The Twins actually took a lead in this one! A couple of bad pitches from Bailey Ober reversed that trend, and the offense went remained quiet, as the team ended their year on a four-game losing streak, leaving their final record at 82-80.

Fixed yer article.

Didn't matter if you fill the lineup card with veterans or rookies, the results never changed.  Two runs (or less) a game day after day will sink any ball club. The Twins did it 17 times in the 37 games following the 19 August loss to Texas. Embarrassing and sad.

I came here to echo what you said - 3 runs or less, through 9 innings, in 11 of last 16 games played. What’s the expectation for winning ballgames scoring 3, 2, or 1 runs? Offense, lack of, was the problem!!! Weak performances by staff and overuse of bullpen show up when Team is under stress due to no offense.

Miranda hurt in the end & ineffective mostly since late July. Castro faded back to just OK after a ton of use. Jeffers disappeared after May (10 HR over last 4 months). Wallner not up to speed until nearly August. Julien completely crumbled after April. Lewis was bad after July. Lee was terrible at the plate after about his first 10 days…………….to blame the FO for not signing different complimentary, depth players and saying that’s what sunk the season…don’t agree with that sentiment…...the core for the future didn’t perform as a group over a third of the season or more. Scary for the future - the pitching staff going forward looks bullet proof compared to the offense!

Larnach - Wallner - Buxton - Correa - Lewis are what Team is leaning into for ‘25. 2 up & down guys that are showing real promise after ‘24……………3 other guys that can be big stars but are all injury prone. That’s it………FO has a lot more line-up work to do for ‘25 than I thought!!

[VivaBomboRivera!]

4 hours ago, knothole61 said:

Is that right? What an amazing stat! So...in 46% of the last 37 games the Twins scored 2 runs or less. I mean, I remember many games when we made mediocre starters look amazing through 6 or 7 innings but I had no idea it was that bad.

My count may be a little off. 17 of 39 should be correct.  Still stinks.

[jkcarew]

Nice of the organization to throw the loyal few a bone by having Correa or Buxton take a couple of at bats this weekend. Maybe replacing each other at DH? Burn a guy or two as pinch runners if they get on?

I know the excuses, and they hold no water with me.