Braves 6, Twins 4: Keaschall Impresses in Debut, Jax Implodes in Eighth

[Sherry Cerny]

The Twins rookie made huge waves in his MLB debut, but relief pitching drowned the team late in another devastating loss to the Braves.  
 

Image courtesy of © Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Chris Paddack 5.0 P, 3 H,1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (88 pitches, 57 strikes (64%))
Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (1) 
Top 3 WPA: Paddack (.174); Luke Keaschall (.085), Ryan Jeffers (.072)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

The big headline in this game: Luke Keaschall joined the Twins tonight as the designated hitter, making his major-league debut as the team's No. 8 hitter. He was called up to replace Matt Wallner, the team's best hitter thus far who landed on the injured list with a hamstring injury. The pressure was on for Keaschall to help spark a struggling offense and he was ready to deliver.

Coming off a series victory against the Mets that culminated with a walk-off on Wednesday, the Twins hoped they were building a little momentum as they headed into Atlanta to face a Braves that has struggled about as much as they have in the early going.

Braves pitcher Bryce Elder appeared locked in the first inning, but back-to-back doubles from Carlos Correa and Ryan Jeffers soon brought the first run of the game. In his first at-bat, Keaschall got his first major league hit and his first RBI, scoring Jeffers to give the Twins a 2-0 lead and then stealing second for good measure.

Keaschall would add a double down the left field line in his second at-bat, helping the Twins build a 4-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning. Things were moving along pretty smoothly up to this point.

Chris Paddack allowed pitched well for a second straight outing, holding up the lead through his five innings of work. After a rough start, Paddack continues to bring down his ERA and look better each time out. His first game against the White Sox, he allowed nine earned runs. Since then he has a 3.21 ERA in 14 innings.

Louis Varland came in to replace Paddack for the sixth inning. Paddack left with 88 pitches and just one run allowed. Varland stayed on the mound for mere moments getting the Braves out on defensive plays and striking out Sean Murphy to shut down the inning. Varland has been on fire this season, a testament to the work he's done with pitching coach Pete Maki to harness his potential as a reliever.

Coming off an off day, the bullpen was fresh and fully stocked. Danny Coulombe came out for the seventh for Varland to keep the Braves from getting on the board. The Braves kept battling, but couldn't get around the defense from the Twins. 

Griffin Jax whose blown lead on Wednesday forced the Twins to win in extras, was Rocco Baldelli's choice tonight with a three-run lead in the eighth. Jax set down the first hitter with a strike out, but walked Marcel Ozuna and things snowballed from there. Matt Olson ripped a sharp line drive to right field advancing Ozuna, threatening with first and third and only one out.  

Ozzie Albies hit an infield single to Ty France, who dove for the ball, making a mistake by not letting Edouard Julien field it. Ozuna scored on the play. Jax followed with yet another walk, loading the bases, and got pulled in favor of Cole Sands. Back-to-back singles cemented the meltdown and put the Braves ahead 6-4.

The Twins went quietly in the ninth, and another heartbreaking loss was in the books. Jax now has an 11.25 ERA on the season.

What’s Next? 
The Twins are in Atlanta this weekend to hopefully pull off another series win. Simeon Woods Richardson (1-1; 4.30 ERA) will be taking the mound against veteran Chris Sale (0-2; 6.63 ERA) at 6:15PM CST. 

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[BillyBallLives]

Box score credits Jax with his 5th HOLD for the season. 

More things than Jaxs sweeper need fixing. 

[Vanimal46]

It’s a shame we wasted a good Paddack start, which is a rare occurrence. 

Awesome debut by Keaschall. Keep it up young man 

[BillyBallLives]

Q: How is the Twins bullpen like IKEA furniture?

1. Cheaply assembled.

2. Full of confusing parts.

3. Collapses under pressure.

[knothole61]

Ouch...even during his short-lived "he's the greatest set-up man in all of baseball" phase, there's been something about Jax that didn't sit well with me. This is not 20/20 hindsight--I've never really trusted his stuff. I'm not sure what this makes me, (a Boomer I guess!) but I base most of my MLB beliefs on observation and intuition rather than on today's endless and incredible array of stats. So...my eye test has always told me that there's some fragility in Jax that will keep him from ever achieving any long term success in MLB. Maybe he will right the ship and become of value to the Twins. Maybe his 11 runs in 8 innings and 11.25 ERA is aberrant, but I genuinely doubt it. Time will tell, and I hope that I'm wrong, but please Rocco use him sparingly for the time being and not as the vaunted set-up man.  

It's all so sad really...I mean, after all of the early season scuffling and ineptitude, the Twins were ready to turn a bit of a corner tonight. A win to start the Atlanta series, that included an impressive rookie debut and a strong performance from Paddack, could well have provided a springboard for this series and beyond. Instead, the much needed come-from-behind win for the struggling Braves has given them the momentum. 

 

 

  

[jkcarew]

If one were to only watch Twins games this season, you’d swear that every single team has an elite bullpen…or at least, a better bullpen than the Twins.

Have we ever scored even a few runs after the sixth inning to take a lead or pull away. Once? Against the White Sox, maybe?

[Mike Sixel]

I never would have predicted Jax as the issue this year. Sigh. 

[Parfigliano]

3 more often 4 relief pitchers almost every night is not the kind of thing a competitive MLB team does.

[mikelink45]

The question arises again could the starter go further and depend less on the BP

[USAFChief]

29 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I never would have predicted Jax as the issue this year. Sigh. 

More AN issue than THE issue, but yeah.

 Baseball is tough to figure out.

[D.C Twins]

When are we going to find out about Jax's injury?

[Mike Sixel]

9 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

The question arises again could the starter go further and depend less on the BP

Jax would still pitch....

[Linus]

58 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Jax would still pitch....

Yep. I wanted Varland to go two innings but even then Jax would still pitch. He had a stretch like this a couple years ago and then was one of the top relievers in baseball last year. 

[Mark G]

A question for minds much sharper than mine:  how does one get a hold and the loss at the same time? 🤔

It is somewhat a rhetorical question, as I get the scorekeeping rules, but seriously, who dreams up these rules? 🙄

[Aerodeliria]

3 hours ago, knothole61 said:

Ouch...even during his short-lived "he's the greatest set-up man in all of baseball" phase, there's been something about Jax that didn't sit well with me. This is not 20/20 hindsight--I've never really trusted his stuff. I'm not sure what this makes me, (a Boomer I guess!) but I base most of my MLB beliefs on observation and intuition rather than on today's endless and incredible array of stats. So...my eye test has always told me that there's some fragility in Jax that will keep him from ever achieving any long term success in MLB. Maybe he will right the ship and become of value to the Twins. Maybe his 11 runs in 8 innings and 11.25 ERA is aberrant, but I genuinely doubt it. Time will tell, and I hope that I'm wrong, but please Rocco use him sparingly for the time being and not as the vaunted set-up man.  

It's all so sad really...I mean, after all of the early season scuffling and ineptitude, the Twins were ready to turn a bit of a corner tonight. A win to start the Atlanta series, that included an impressive rookie debut and a strong performance from Paddack, could well have provided a springboard for this series and beyond. Instead, the much needed come-from-behind win for the struggling Braves has given them the momentum. 

 

 

  

I second this...

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

When are we going to find out about Jax's injury?

Occam's Razor says when he is demoted.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, Mark G said:

A question for minds much sharper than mine:  how does one get a hold and the loss at the same time? 🤔

It is somewhat a rhetorical question, as I get the scorekeeping rules, but seriously, who dreams up these rules? 🙄

Agents.

[BrokenCompass]

6 hours ago, knothole61 said:

Ouch...even during his short-lived "he's the greatest set-up man in all of baseball" phase, there's been something about Jax that didn't sit well with me. This is not 20/20 hindsight--I've never really trusted his stuff. I'm not sure what this makes me, (a Boomer I guess!) but I base most of my MLB beliefs on observation and intuition rather than on today's endless and incredible array of stats. So...my eye test has always told me that there's some fragility in Jax that will keep him from ever achieving any long term success in MLB. Maybe he will right the ship and become of value to the Twins. Maybe his 11 runs in 8 innings and 11.25 ERA is aberrant, but I genuinely doubt it. Time will tell, and I hope that I'm wrong, but please Rocco use him sparingly for the time being and not as the vaunted set-up man.  

It's all so sad really...I mean, after all of the early season scuffling and ineptitude, the Twins were ready to turn a bit of a corner tonight. A win to start the Atlanta series, that included an impressive rookie debut and a strong performance from Paddack, could well have provided a springboard for this series and beyond. Instead, the much needed come-from-behind win for the struggling Braves has given them the momentum. 

 

 

  

Maybe you were basing your feelings on Jax's 6+ ERA his first year with the club in 2021, or his 4+ lifetime ERA? 

There's a lot of luck involved in baseball. Jax had his fair share of luck the past 2 years. Now he's been a bit more unlucky. But - despite what some Twins fans have been desperate to convince you of - he's not a dominant or intimidating late inning guy - and never has been. 

[beckmt]

The problem here is Rocco, Jax should have been used in lower leverage situations until he worked it out.  Twins because of Rocco on well on the way to leading the league in blown saves and it will not be close.  Save the season and find a new manager who understands pitching and does not just go by script. 

[Bodie]

7 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

3 more often 4 relief pitchers almost every night is not the kind of thing a competitive MLB team does.

Hallelujah!

[William K Johnson]

A couple of observations;

- Really miss Santana's glove at first.   Infielders need to be aware that throwing the ball into the dirt to first is now risky.

 - Why didn't Keaschall play second?

- We all have been around this game long enough to know that when a reliever goes south, they go south.   Apparently, Rocco does not know that.  

- Is Brock Stewart ready yet?

[tony&rodney]

Atlanta was due for some good luck. Whether it was pitch mix, bad location, or good swings the Braves hit the ball hard. Michael Harris II hit that ball that Julien deflected over 112 mph. By comparison Larnach's missile into the seats was at 111 mph. Keaschall first hit was at 55 mph. Sometimes you just tip your hat even when it is a crushing defeat. 

Twins need to have better plate appearances and swings up and down the lineup. Sale (today) is not an easy foe. 

With the exception of the two slightly bad throws and missed catches in inning 2 which Paddack erased and France getting too aggressive fielding Albies ground ball, which we can hardly fault him for, the Twins were fine in the field and played hard. 

Sun is up.

[Patzky]

24 minutes ago, William K Johnson said:

A couple of observations;

- Really miss Santana's glove at first.   Infielders need to be aware that throwing the ball into the dirt to first is now risky.

 - Why didn't Keaschall play second?

- We all have been around this game long enough to know that when a reliever goes south, they go south.   Apparently, Rocco does not know that.  

- Is Brock Stewart ready yet?

It's not far from Florida to Georgia. Stewart hasn't thrown since Wed. Tonkin is there too but pitched two innings Friday 

[Doctor Gast]

8 hours ago, knothole61 said:

Ouch...even during his short-lived "he's the greatest set-up man in all of baseball" phase, there's been something about Jax that didn't sit well with me. This is not 20/20 hindsight--I've never really trusted his stuff. I'm not sure what this makes me, (a Boomer I guess!) but I base most of my MLB beliefs on observation and intuition rather than on today's endless and incredible array of stats. So...my eye test has always told me that there's some fragility in Jax that will keep him from ever achieving any long term success in MLB. Maybe he will right the ship and become of value to the Twins. Maybe his 11 runs in 8 innings and 11.25 ERA is aberrant, but I genuinely doubt it. Time will tell, and I hope that I'm wrong, but please Rocco use him sparingly for the time being and not as the vaunted set-up man.  

It's all so sad really...I mean, after all of the early season scuffling and ineptitude, the Twins were ready to turn a bit of a corner tonight. A win to start the Atlanta series, that included an impressive rookie debut and a strong performance from Paddack, could well have provided a springboard for this series and beyond. Instead, the much needed come-from-behind win for the struggling Braves has given them the momentum. 

I have to admit that I don't have the gift to evaluate pitching, so I can't say that I've seen what you have seen. But I agree with you in many cases that your eye needs to be trusted more than stats. Something seems to  be wrong with Jax & good teams are capitalizing on it.

[jorgenswest]

8 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

3 more often 4 relief pitchers almost every night is not the kind of thing a competitive MLB team does.

The Dodgers used 565 relief pitchers last year. That is 3.5 per game. The 10 openers they used (most pitching 1 inning) should be added to that bullpen use also.

[Peter]

What happened??  Went to mass twins are up 4-1 only to see them lose 6-4. How many more losses can we take like this? We are better than 7-13 record. This is another devastating loss. How do twins recover from this?

[mrtwinsfan]

8 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

3 more often 4 relief pitchers almost every night is not the kind of thing a competitive MLB team does.

?? ya think its because of Roccos pre-game plan and sticking to it -or ? his inability to adjust on the fly ,  Cant expect 3-4-5- pitchers to all be on that game , its like he refuses to deal  with in-game flows ? 

[Nashvilletwin]

7 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

When are we going to find out about Jax's injury?

Or he’s tipping his pitches.

[mrtwinsfan]

13 minutes ago, Peter said:

What happened??  Went to mass twins are up 4-1 only to see them lose 6-4. How many more losses can we take like this? We are better than 7-13 record. This is another devastating loss. How do twins recover from this?

need more Prayer ? 

[Karbo]

Although I can't blame Rocco or anyone else but Jax, a real weakness is beginning to show, and that's the fact the Twins don't seem to have a reliever capable of throwing multiple innings in a close game. As I've said before, they need a couple of setup guys that can get 2 innings or some of these guys are going to pitch in 100 innings.