Astros 5, Twins 2: Beaten Bats, Balk Ruin Home Opener for Minnesota Twins

[Matthew Taylor]

The Twins’ home opener started with promise, as the home nine jumped out to a two-run lead in the first inning. But as we’ve seen too often, the bats then went cold. The offense stalled, and the early momentum faded. Held scoreless the rest of the way, the Twins couldn’t recover and dropped a frustrating opener at Target Field.

Image courtesy of © Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

Box Score 

SP: Joe Ryan 5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (83 pitches, 49 strikes (59%))

Home Runs: None

Bottom 3 WPA: Joe Ryan -.215, Ty France -.094, Carlos Correa -.078 

Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs):

The Twins’ home opener had all the makings of a great celebration. The energy at Target Field was high as Nelson Cruz threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and the team seemed to carry momentum from their series win in Chicago. That momentum showed early, when Matt Wallner nearly blasted a leadoff home run (but had to settle for a triple). Carlos Correa cashed him in with a broken-bat groundout, giving the Twins a quick 1-0 lead. Byron Buxton followed with a single, swiped his first stolen base of the season, and came around to score on a bloop single from Trevor Larnach. Just like that, the Twins were up 2-0 in the first, and things looked promising.

But, as we’ve seen far too often from this team in recent seasons, the offense completely shut down after the fast start. Following their three-hit first inning, the Twins managed just two hits the rest of the game. They struck out 10 times and didn’t record another extra-base hit after Wallner’s triple. The bottom of the lineup was especially rough, as Edouard Julien, Ryan Jeffers, Harrison Bader, and pinch-hitter Jose Miranda combined to go 0-for-9 with four strikeouts. Not only were the Twins unable to capitalize with runners in scoring position, but they rarely even had anyone reach second base. Only four batters all game made it that far.

Credit is due to Houston’s Hunter Brown, who looked like the next star pitcher in the Astros' seemingly endless pipeline of talent. After a shaky first inning, he settled in and dominated, tossing six innings of two-run ball with eight strikeouts. Brown kept the Twins off-balance all day, inducing weak contact (Wallner was the only Twins' player to hit the ball with an exit velocity over 100 MPH) and keeping them from generating any kind of rally.

On the mound for the Twins, Joe Ryan struggled with an all-too-familiar issue: the home run ball. After being handed a quick 2-0 lead, he immediately gave it up in the top of the second when Christian Walker and Jeremy Peña launched back-to-back home runs. The Astros then took the lead for good when Brendan Rodgers delivered RBI singles in the fourth and sixth innings, putting Houston up 5-2.

Ryan said afterward that the pitch to Walker was a sweeper that didn't "kick" the way he expected it to, but that the high fastball to Pena was "executed to my standard."

"That probably wasn't the pitch in that spot," the righty admitted. "I even knew that, it was in my scouting book. Just reading the swing there, I felt like that was the pitch to try, and he hit it."

The Twins bullpen did its job, keeping the game within reach. Louie Varland, Jorge Alcala, and Darren McCaughan combined for four innings of one-run relief, but with the offense stuck in neutral, the damage had already been done.

One of the lone bright spots on the day was Harrison Bader’s defense in left field. Though he didn’t have any highlight-reel plays, he showed why the Twins were eager to bring him in, making smart reads, cutting off balls in the gap, and limiting potential extra bases.

A small consolation for Twins fans? Jose Altuve had a nightmare of a day at the plate, going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts—the first time in his career he has worn the dreaded platinum sombrero. The crowd began booing him in pregame introductions, and by the fifth strikeout in the ninth inning, they were raised to a fever pitch. Unfortunately, that was about the only thing that went the Twins’ way in a disappointing home opener.

What's Next

The Twins have an off day on Friday before looking to even up the series on Saturday afternoon when Bailey Ober will work to avenge his brutal first start of the season opposite Spencer Arrighetti at Target Field.

Bullpen Usage Report

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[thelanges5]

This season is going to be a roller coaster 🎢

[JD-TWINS]

Didn’t see the game but Ryan can’t have zero walks and 6 K’s in 5 innings and then give up 4 runs! 41% Balls with no walks seems he may have been in some deep pitch counts and then gave in - guessing………..Gotta score to win. 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

The balk was a killer. 3 balks in 7 games. 

[Vanimal46]

Our offense just makes me sad more often than not. 

[sweetmusicviola16]

Yesterday they played the CWS. Today they actually played an MLB team.  That's one of our biggest problems, playing good teams. 

[Whitey333]

Not surprised.  After that 3rd inning tye offense went totally cold.  How often has that happened the last couple of years?  Correa is hitting .080. He is like 2 for 29 after a bad spring.  Oh that's right spring training stats don't matter.  Buxton looked good getting 2 hits.  2-5 not a good start.  They keep telling us they aren't worried as it is early.  Very true.  But I think the losses still count.

[IndianaTwin]

The headline says something about a balk. Unless I missed it, there’s nothing in the article about any balks. 

[Blyleven2011]

 

It's not whether you win or lose , it's how you play the game ...

Man do they suck , waiting for someone to step forward and take responsibility  , this is not an April fools joke  , it's for real ...

Light a fire under these guys ...

I worked for a complete a-hole in my day , he  knew his business , i didnt walk on egg shells around him but it made me learn a better skill , I worked for the guy because I wanted to be on the traveling team , I did walk out on him a few times , he didn't like it , but the supervisor had no problem with it ...

The team doesn't  need to play for an a-hole , it just needs to play for someone that knows it's business  ...

You guys figure out who I might be talking about , it could be more than just 1 ...

[tony&rodney]

Looked like Ryan wasn't settled on what to throw and he began his motion as he tried to step off. Brutal balk. I don't think Jeffers and Ryan seemed on the same page at times. Would have liked to see Jeffers call time there but Ryan takes the credit for the balk.

A missed pitch to Walker and the balk were about it. Twins pitchers were good. 

[h2oface]

"A small consolation for Twins fans? Jose Altuve had a nightmare of a day at the plate, going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts—the first time in his career he has worn the dreaded platinum sombrero. The crowd began booing him in pregame introductions, and by the fifth strikeout in the ninth inning, they were raised to a fever pitch. Unfortunately, that was about the only thing that went the Twins’ way in a disappointing home opener."

Twins fans merilessly boo Altuve, still, just like all the other stadiums in which Houston visits. And all the other stadiums mercilessly boo Correa, still, except Houston...... and Minnesota. They boo them for the same reason - that they cheated the game, and were never compunctious, and never had to suffer a penalty for it. Why boo Altuve in Minnesota, if you give Correa a pass (and actually revere him), when he did exactly the same thing you are booing Altuve for?

[mikelink45]

Sad that sox couldn't propel the team to a place where they could start their home season with a win 

Beating the white Sox is not enough to get the fans engaged.  This poor team can't figure out how to win at home or on the road or in public relations. 

[DJL44]

Quote

Louie Varland, Jorge Alcala, and Darren McCaughan combined for four innings of one-run relief

Louie Varland coughed up another run but Alcala and McCaughan did fine. Varland was lousy last fall and he's been lousy so far this season. 71.4% hard hit.

[thelanges5]

Only seven games, small sample size I get all that. Trying my best to stay optimistic, but from the ownership down to the players, they make it so **** hard.

[twinzcynic]

I for one am SHOCKED! I read in the comments after our last game that beating the Sox 2 out of 3 meant that the haters (of which I'm proud to be a part of) were wrong and that the team was back on track. Anyone sane enough to point out that the Sox are a AAAA club was quickly thumbs-downed. This team is a joke, and we won't be finishing above .500.

[LastOnePicked]

The worst thing about this club is that they just aren't tenacious or sharp. They can't seem to will themselves to a victory. If things fall into place and the opposition makes plenty of mistakes, sure, they'll win a few games, but if it's close, they can't seem to get the big hit or make the big play or get the big strikeout. They don't seem ready for primetime. Again, that's a signal that the coaching approach isn't working.

Ryan's crucial balk, moving up the baserunners who scored on what otherwise would have been an inning-ending DP, was just another sign of a team whose players just aren't 100% in the game.

Its early, but it's also just tiring to watch/listen to this team.

[Boswell]

The Twins will turn it around and win the division at 85-77! 😊

[USAFChief]

OP:  "One of the lone bright spots on the day was Harrison Bader’s defense in left field"

 

Wow.  The run Off Varland was directly due to ****** defense by Bader. He got a terrible jump on a shallow fky ball that should have been caught, then made an ill advised dive that missed by several feet and turned rhat bloop single into a bloop double. That runner then scored on a single.

While Im at it, the 3rd and 4th runs dont score without the balk.

As noted in the game thread, these fundamental mistakes are all too commonplace, and prove too much for a weak offense to overcome. Way too often. 

[Mark G]

I know it is early, but 5 games out of 7 scoring the dreaded 3 runs or less (and only one of those a 3).  On the flip side, we have given up 5 or more runs in 5 out of the 7 (and the other 2 being the CWS).  🤒

Maybe we just weren't ready coming out of ST.  I would like to think it is only that.  

[Aerodeliria]

To be fair to Ryan, the pitch to Peña looked like a very good pitch indeed. It was high and tight, but he just tomahawked it. Give credit where credit is due.

When you score seven or eight, the miscues seem to be a minor irritation; however, when it's only two or three runs a night, they are glaring....

[Karbo]

This team just doesn't seem prepared. Too many mental mistakes, too little fundamentals. Physical errors I can handle as they will happen. But all these little mental errors are a killer. These guys are pro's and get paid well, so IMO they should be better prepared and have their heads into the game. Is this a coaching problem? Have they tuned out their managers voice? Has Rocco been to easy on them? I don't know.

[PatG]

Can't have the ABS here fast enough; some of those ump calls change the game (the fifth run).....

Why isn't J Morales up and hitting with the Twins, seems like that guy just wants to hit!! 

 

[Peter]

This was one we needed to win and didn’t. With fan base at 0 tolerance. 2-5 is bad start twins need Royce and brooks back!!! Very important to get back to winning series especially with royals/tigers coming up!!! We must expect and demand twins do better!!!

[MinnInPa]

watching this team bat is nauseating.....are they just guessing up there??and our pitchers living in the middle of the plate. gonna be a long year

[Doctor Gast]

Since the beginning of last season, there seems to be very little & diminishing fire & chemistry. Twins seem very little concerned about it & more concerned about their cold, hard analytics. Frustrating their players by not giving them a chance, moving them to unnatural positions, & etc. IMO, BOS has done the same thing this year. On paper, they looked really good by getting Bregman, but they failed to smooth things over with Devers 1st. People's feelings that generate fire & chemistry are ignored because they aren't included on the spreadsheet.

[AceWrigley]

5 hours ago, Aerodeliria said:

To be fair to Ryan, the pitch to Peña looked like a very good pitch indeed. It was high and tight, but he just tomahawked it. Give credit where credit is due.

When you score seven or eight, the miscues seem to be a minor irritation; however, when it's only two or three runs a night, they are glaring....

It was a really good pitch. The reaction time and bat speed to get to that pitch was amazing. You could tell Ryan was thinking how the heck did he do that.

[David Maro]

How about benching a player for swinging at 3 pitches neck high and inside. Then swinging at a pitch that bounced on the plate. Apparently he has lost the ability to know the zone. It's time to make moves with players who don't have their heads in the game. This team has become too wily nilly and the manager has lost them.

[LambchoP]

The balk and then bringing the infield in cost us two runs. Not that it matters if your lineup can't score runs. I am worried about Correa. Didn't hit all spring and now he's 2-25? Seems like every at bat is a ground out to SS. He needs to get going, like Buck. It was nice to see him get some hits and even steal a base. Pitching wise we look ok. Other than Varland our pen has been decent. I'm not sold on Louie. A guy with that kind of velo shouldn't be getting hit so hard. Problem is I think his fastball is flat. Plus, he doesn't have any good secondary pitches, so hitters can just sit on the heater. He needs to get the curve or slider to work otherwise I fear he won't last.

[JD-TWINS]

11 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

 

It's not whether you win or lose , it's how you play the game ...

Man do they suck , waiting for someone to step forward and take responsibility  , this is not an April fools joke  , it's for real ...

Light a fire under these guys ...

I worked for a complete a-hole in my day , he  knew his business , i didnt walk on egg shells around him but it made me learn a better skill , I worked for the guy because I wanted to be on the traveling team , I did walk out on him a few times , he didn't like it , but the supervisor had no problem with it ...

The team doesn't  need to play for an a-hole , it just needs to play for someone that knows it's business  ...

You guys figure out who I might be talking about , it could be more than just 1 ...

So, I get the frustration!!

Twins fan living 3 decades in Cincinnati. Terry Francona, I assume everyone on TD would agree, is more than solid & as certain a HOF Manager as one can be. The Reds have lost 3 straight games 1-0! Players have to perform and the Manager can’t be responsible …… more than roughly 10-20% (IMO) for any guy’s performance. Whether it’s technical skill improvement - strategy - motivation - discipline …………the Manager can only do so much that then translates into the batter’s box.

The players aren’t getting it done. The Manager getting them more fired up to hit or perform in general, seems to be some imaginary solution to me. It’s not football - basketball where more physical aggression and nastiness translates into results. My opinion only - I’m sure many think otherwise.

Talent - calm mind - intuitive feel - scouting knowledge - thinking on your feet as count evolves ……………these individual traits make up a hitter not some attitude or wisdom from the Manager.

[DJL44]

A team of mostly the same players is playing mostly the same as they did last season. Ty France also looks mostly the same as he did last season. Christian Vazquez doesn't have a hit or a walk but somehow managed to get caught stealing.