Twins 10, Athletics 3: Led By Willi Castro, Twins Take Advantage of A's Bullpen Again

[Steven Trefz]

Image courtesy of © Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Pablo Lopez 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (72 pitches, 43 strikes (60%))
Home Runs: 2 Willi Castro (5,6), Trevor Larnach (9)
Top 3 WPA: Castro (.277), Byron Buxton (.169), Larnach (.154) 
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 
 
The Twins got their first taste of Sacramento baseball on Monday night and were left satisfied. Pablo Lopez looked to avenge his last loss and to feast against a struggling Athletics squad. The Twins bats looked to stay hot against an opener and bullpen situation. What could possibly go wrong?
 
Pablo Continues to Struggle
After the Twins flied out quietly into the night against Grant Holman in the top of the first inning, López immediately came under assault in the bottom half. After falling behind Lawrence Butler 3-0, he surrendered a lead-off double. Ex-Twin Brent Rooker battled until he finally flared a single to right to plate Butler and stake the A's to a 1-0 early advantage. López walked JJ Bleday, but managed to escape only giving up the lone run.

... Until the bottom of the third, that is, when Tyler Soderstrom ripped a triple just past Harrison Bader at the wall with one out. Shea Langeliers immediately cashed in run number two with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 for the "home" team. Stretching back to the Tampa game last Sunday, López had given up six runs over his last five innings pitched as the game headed into the fourth.

Willi Castro Takes and Makes Offense
Lefty Jacob Lopez officially entered in the middle of the second inning to make this a López v. Lopez situation, and he cruised through the Twins lineup relatively easily—until he faced Castro with one out in the top of the fourth inning. Castro got behind in the count 1-2, but by the time Lopez's cutter traveled deep over the left field wall, it was 2-1 on the scoreboard.

López Settles Down, Lopez Gets Rocked, and Both Lopezes Forced Out of Game
Pablo locked things down in the fourth and fifth, which set the stage for the inevitable A's bullpen implosion for the night. The A's bullpen had surrendered eight runs or more in five straight games, and after the top of the sixth inning, the streak looked probable to continue. Trevor Larnach started the rally with a 107-mph missile to the right field berm to tie up the game at 2-2. Two batters later, Castro went yard again for another solo shot to make it 3-2. Here are some videos to prove that these aerial displays took place.

The Athletics stuck with Jacob Lopez, even though he was journeying further in this contest than he was used to being used. That decision came back to bite the A's when Brooks Lee dribbled a single to first, and the much-maligned Royce Lewis worked a walk. Osvaldo Bido got the call and immediately walked Bader on four pitches. With the bases loaded and two outs, Byron Buxton strode to the plate and kept the Buck Truck rolling with a single up the middle to score Lee and Lewis and make it a 5-2 ballgame.

In typical Twins fashion, though, these good times were about to get squashed. Ló was taking his warm-up pitches in the bottom of the sixth. At only 72 pitches, the Twins hoped that López could take the lead and cruise through the seventh. But after the third warm-up pitch, Pablo motioned to the trainer and his night was over. Early conjectures pointed to a groin or leg injury, but it was later announced that tightness in López's right shoulder was to blame for the early exit. The Twins have tentatively diagnosed him with a lat strain, which would be very bad news.

God Bless the A's Bullpen
After the gut punch of losing López to injury, Cole Sands got the call to get ready quickly. He was immediately taxed with a double by Langeliers, who eventually scored on a groundout to close the gap to 5-3. Fortunately for the Twins, the A's bullpen streak was about to be extended in all of its glory in the top of the seventh.

Larnach got the action started with another 108-mph missile, this time for a single. Carlos Correa walked, and Ty France hit a bloop single to load the bases with one out against new reliever Tyler Ferguson. Ferguson's control issues were on full display, as he plunked Lee to allow Larnach to score. With a 6-3 lead, and one out, Lewis got the best chance he was ever going to get to break his slide, and boy did he deliver.

With the A's bullpen streak now officially at six straight games of surrendering eight runs or more, Ferguson yanked a slider to the backstop to score Lee to make it 9-3 Minnesota.

With a six-run lead in the top of the eighth, Twins fans were content to have a nice and tidy wrap to a late-night victory. The Twins offense was not content. Ryan Jeffers led off the eighth with a double, and Larnach kept on raking with another single to put runners on the corners. Correa hit a chopper to third that a drawn-in Logan Davidson bobbled before settling for the out at first to make it 10-3. Justin Topa and Jorge Alcala put up spotless seventh, eighth, and ninth innings to preserve another lopsided victory for the Twins.
 
What’s Next?
The Twins look to keep the good vibes going in California Wednesday night in game three of this four-game set. Twins righty Zebby Matthews (0-1, 6.43 ERA) looks to build on the strong finish to his last start against the Mariners and hopes to avoid the four-run first inning this time around. The Athletics haven't named a starter for Wednesday night's game. First pitch is scheduled for 9:05pm CDT. 

Postgame Interviews 

 

	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	TOT
Alcalá	0	28	0	0	28	56
Sands	21	6	0	0	25	52
Stewart	17	11	0	12	0	40
Jax	0	18	15	0	0	33
Varland	0	18	0	15	0	33
Topa	0	10	0	11	10	31
Durán	13	14	0	0	0	27
Funderburk	0	0	0	17	0	17

 

 

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[JD-TWINS]

Pablo down is tough to weather ……..can’t take any chances, obviously, ……….,he’s probably out a month or more, just hoping that’s all & he can make it back.

Larnach is locked in and fun to watch……..the competition isn’t great but he’s been coming on for a few weeks now.

Lewis is close. Seems his base (legs) must be - might be - just not strong enough yet. He’s barreling balls and flying out to the track once or twice every game. Seems to be less swing and miss though. If he can just be average the Team’s line-up is so much better! ……he seems capable at 3B again - good movement.

Great to see Castro inject some life into the Team! Hitting it all over from the right side is really encouraging as well.

Wallner sat and still had plenty of offense.

Can get to the winning side on the road trip tonight………good luck to Zebby! Varland - Jax - Duran are lined up to help.

[jmlease1]

A nice win against a bad team. But it's a bummer that Pablo might miss some time. Just hoping beyond hope that it's minor and the time he misses is measured in weeks not months. The depth will be tested here, but the good thing is Festa has looked ready, and SWR has looked like he's been making adjustments in AAA if they need to call on him again.

No complaints about getting double digit runs in back to back games! Even Alcala looked good last night.

Let's keep it up. win the series today, aim for the sweep.

[CRF]

I wonder if the shoulder has been kind of bothering Pablo for a while. He certainly hasn't been at his best this season. Hopefully, some rest and rehab will quiet it down and get him back soon. We need him. 

[JD-TWINS]

Festa or SWR? ……..from the little I’ve seen from St. Paul (here in Cincinnati)  they both seem to be doing well enough to consider. Am assuming SWR is pretty hungry to get back in his role in the rotation - to me, he’s the logical choice………..still need to remember Paddack is a potential injury waiting to happen so Festa can still be utilized in 2nd half - almost certainly, for some unknown reason…….really wishing all the best for Pablo, both for him and the Club.

[Rosterman]

Dang! Get to test the wins rotation depth now if Lopez goes down for any length of time. Festa looks rady. But the Twins could also use a good long arm out-of-the-pen (flip someone for Adams) unless you still trust Alcala or hope the Twins have more mop-up games like tonight was.

[arby58]

6 minutes ago, CRF said:

I wonder if the shoulder has been kind of bothering Pablo for a while. He certainly hasn't been at his best this season. Hopefully, some rest and rehab will quiet it down and get him back soon. We need him. 

You know we are spoiled when Pablo 'hasn't been at his best this season' when he's sporting a sub 3.00 ERA.

[Jeff K]

12 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Festa or SWR? ……..from the little I’ve seen from St. Paul (here in Cincinnati)  they both seem to be doing well enough to consider. Am assuming SWR is pretty hungry to get back in his role in the rotation - to me, he’s the logical choice………..still need to remember Paddack is a potential injury waiting to happen so Festa can still be utilized in 2nd half - almost certainly, for some unknown reason…….really wishing all the best for Pablo, both for him and the Club.

Festa...gotta be!

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Sucks about Pablo. But if he's going to have a lat injury, better now than in later in the season like Ryan had in 2024. Ideally, he's back at some point in August and he's refreshed and ready to go. I do think the rotation is good enough to weather this storm but obviously, they can't afford another injury.

[tony&rodney]

Bats are awake ....

.... and we can end all discussion about trading pitchers until the offseason returns.

[mickster]

4 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Bats are awake ....

.... and we can end all discussion about trading pitchers until the offseason returns.

Maybe we targe another SP?   Keep the depth at St. Paul.    Not sure who we can offer though as Miranda, Julien and Martin would be throw ins.

[Patzky]

22 minutes ago, Jeff K said:

Festa...gotta be!

All the talk about trading Paddack seems to have been stilled. 👌

[Blyleven2011]

Another double digit game , A's Lopez was effectively throwing and twins finally started building the come from behind win ...

Nice Lewis finally gets a hit to break his slump ....

Pablo Lopez injured  , who will take his spot , Festa and SWR are first in line ...

Let's keep it going tonight , hopefully zebulon Matthew's has a strong showing  ,pitching has been the savior so far in the season  ...

Even a blind squirrel  ( acala ) can find an acorn once in awhile , he did pitch 2 solid innings ...

[David Maro]

Great game but this is why they can't afford to trade a starter. It's time for SWR or Festa to grab the bull by the horns.

[MMMordabito]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

You know we are spoiled when Pablo 'hasn't been at his best this season' when he's sporting a sub 3.00 ERA.

Yeah, it's kind of a first world problem. 

[2wins87]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

Festa or SWR? ……..from the little I’ve seen from St. Paul (here in Cincinnati)  they both seem to be doing well enough to consider. Am assuming SWR is pretty hungry to get back in his role in the rotation - to me, he’s the logical choice………..still need to remember Paddack is a potential injury waiting to happen so Festa can still be utilized in 2nd half - almost certainly, for some unknown reason…….really wishing all the best for Pablo, both for him and the Club.

I'd scratch Festa's start in St Paul tonight and insert him into the rotation (between Ober and Paddack) for the first game against Toronto.

The hope is that Festa and Zebby will be mid rotation guys for several years to come, so I don't see any reason not to have them getting MLB experience in situations like this.

I appreciate what SWR has done, but he's still realistically a back-end arm.

Festa and Zebby can compete for the last rotation spot when Pablo gets healthy, and SWR is still there if there is another injury or one of them falters badly.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Another double digit game , A's Lopez was effectively throwing and twins finally started building the come from behind win ...

Nice Lewis finally gets a hit to break his slump ....

Pablo Lopez injured  , who will take his spot , Festa and SWR are first in line ...

Let's keep it going tonight , hopefully zebulon Matthew's has a strong showing  ,pitching has been the savior so far in the season  ...

Even a blind squirrel  ( acala ) can find an acorn once in awhile , he did pitch 2 solid innings ...

Alcala looked like a loose, competitor last night. He was all in or around the zone and threw at least 3 different pitches. He was stoked! He’s got the talent, if he can get out of his own way he can be a weapon again at some point. 🤞

[Patzky]

25 minutes ago, MMMordabito said:

Yeah, it's kind of a first world problem. 

It's not going to be moving for awhile 😔 

[Patzky]

10 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Alcala looked like a loose, competitor last night. He was all in or around the zone and threw at least 3 different pitches. He was stoked! He’s got the talent, if he can get out of his own way he can be a weapon again at some point. 🤞

I was amazed.. I didn't even know he had a curveball.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

Actually,  the Pablo thing sounds more preventive than anything.  He was pitching but felt discomfort.  I will say this staff does seem willing to take the long approach.   We have the pitching depth.  Rest him for 2-4 starts and get him healthy and rested.  

Bats are willing to punish weak bullpens.  I am still concerned about the bats against better pitching.  

[Doctor Gast]

Alcala had a very good game. If you want consistency from Alcala, you need to pitch him consistency 1 inning every other day. Not on consecutive days, not a long wait between outings & not multiple innings, he's not a long RP anymore than Steward is. When they don't, quit expecting consistency from him.

[mikelink45]

3 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Festa or SWR? ……..from the little I’ve seen from St. Paul (here in Cincinnati)  they both seem to be doing well enough to consider. Am assuming SWR is pretty hungry to get back in his role in the rotation - to me, he’s the logical choice………..still need to remember Paddack is a potential injury waiting to happen so Festa can still be utilized in 2nd half - almost certainly, for some unknown reason…….really wishing all the best for Pablo, both for him and the Club.

After SWR last outing I think Festa comes up next.

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

Alcala looked like a loose, competitor last night. He was all in or around the zone and threw at least 3 different pitches. He was stoked! He’s got the talent, if he can get out of his own way he can be a weapon again at some point. 🤞

He has had many good games - the problem is that his bad games are awful and too frequent.

[DJL44]

4 hours ago, arby58 said:

You know we are spoiled when Pablo 'hasn't been at his best this season' when he's sporting a sub 3.00 ERA.

It's more that Pablo Lopez has been at his best (highest ERA+ of his career, lowest FIP) but he hasn't been at his healthiest.

[GNess]

Pablo's time off will test the Twins SP depth, but this is a common issue (injuries) that true contenders are able to work their way through successfully.  I suspect they'll be able to remain in the race until Pablo returns to health and the rotation.

[Patzky]

3 hours ago, 2wins87 said:

I'd scratch Festa's start in St Paul tonight and insert him into the rotation (between Ober and Paddack) for the first game against Toronto.

We should know by first pitch in Oakland (it will be so) what happens in St Paul.

 

[Blyleven2011]

9 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Alcala looked like a loose, competitor last night. He was all in or around the zone and threw at least 3 different pitches. He was stoked! He’s got the talent, if he can get out of his own way he can be a weapon again at some point. 🤞

I saw some movement on his pitches I haven't seen all year ...

It was a good solid 2 innings , he just has to be more consistent  , like you said , his head isn't always screwed on the right way ...