Astros 3, Twins 2: Houston Walks-Off Duran and the Twins

[Steven Trefz]

Image courtesy of © Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

 

SP: Joe Ryan 7 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (93 pitches, 59 strikes (63%)
Home Runs: Brooks Lee (6)
Bottom 3 WPA: Jhoan Duran (-.368), Matt Wallner (-.170), Willi Castro (-.148)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins have gone 1-3 over their past four games, surrendering an average of 13 runs in the three losses, while only allowing two runs in their lone victory. Joe Ryan took the hill as the current ace of the Minnesota staff, with a 7-2 record and an ERA creeping towards the land of "less than three." With the offense struggling, and the pitching staff reeling, Ryan needed to deliver another gem if the Twins were going to have any chance of winning in Houston. Unfortunately, the Astros also had their ace going in Hunter Brown (8-3, 1.76 ERA). Add in the fact that Royce Lewis was going to be spending his Saturday afternoon getting an MRI on his injured hamstring, and Twins fans' were in dire straits. Would the Twins be getting money for nothing, or would they surprise everyone and become sultans of swing?

Brown Better than Advertised
The silver lining in Brown's stat line over the past two games was that he averaged over four walks per outing. That didn't translate to runs, but again we are searching for any potential advantage here. After three innings, Brown hadn't walked a single Twin and he had struck out six without allowing a hit. 

Ryan Cruises Until He Doesn't
Ryan matched Brown pitch for pitch in the first two innings, but the number nine man Brendan Rodgers poked a single to right in the bottom of the third. Carlos Correa almost turned a double play off of the man who usurped him in Houston, Jeremy Pena, but Pena beat out the relay and the two out danger zone once again reared its ugly head. This time the villain was Yainer Diaz, and his victim was an elevated Ryan fastball that landed 339 feet to the right field homer zone for a 2-0 Astros lead.

Brooks Lee Keeps On Streaking
The top of the fifth inning looked like more of the same from Brown, as he sawed Correa's bat in half with a first pitch sinker. The new lumber served Carlos well, however, as he laced the next pitch 105.7 mph up the middle to put the lead-off man on base for the first time today. Before Twins Territory had a chance to get excited, Brooks Lee smashed the left-field version of "just enough" 345 feet and over the scoreboard to tie the game up at two apiece, and to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

Brown Giveth in the sixth, and Then He Taketh Away
Byron Buxton took a fastball off of his elbow pad and hand to start the top of the sixth inning, and he was able to not only stay in the game but to steal second base. Trevor Larnach followed with a quality at-bat, holding off several off-speed pitches for a walk to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Brown settled down and blew away Willi Castro before he could advance the runners. Matt Wallner came up next with a chance to pick up his teammate and to put the Twins in the lead, but he was unable to deliver on a 3-1 sinker and lined out to center. Correa was the last hope for the rally, and Brown greeted him with a fastball two millimeters from Correa's knuckles. Three pitches later Correa was walking back to the dugout after striking out, and Brown escaped the jam. The final line on Brown was 98 pitches, 12 strike outs, and one mistake. 

Ryan Giveth Nothing
As stellar as Brown was on Saturday afternoon, Ryan matched him in the most important way that matters: the scoreboard. Ryan struck out seven, surrendered just two hits, and provided seven crucial innings for a rotation that entered the game desperate for success.

A Bullpen Will Win This, and a Bullpen Will Lose This
The Astros turned to Bryan Abreu for the top of the eighth inning, and Christian Vazquez couldn't hold off of ball four and struck out to lead off the inning. Harrison Bader came up next after replacing the wounded Buxton in the seventh, and he learned from Vazquez's at-bat and held off on a full count pitch to take the walk. Bader followed Buxton's lead also by swiping second base to put the go-ahead run in scoring position with one out. Larnach fanned, however, to put the pressure on Castro with two outs. Abreu stayed filthy, striking out Castro and the side to end yet another Twins threat. Griffin Jax took the ball in the bottom of the eighth, and he struck out two to keep Houston off the board as well.

This set the stage for Josh Hader vs. Jhoan Duran in the ninth. Hader dominated Wallner, Correa and Lee in order. Duran got behind Jose Altuve to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and Altuve unloaded a rocket to the deepest part of left-center. Bader tracked it down, and blood pressures returned to normal. Except Duran's, apparently, as he lost control and walked Christian Walker on five pitches. Victor Caratini also didn't offer at Duran's off-speed pitches, and suddenly it was a 3-1 count and Duran was in danger of walking the winning run into scoring position. Jhoan never left the zone again, eventually buckling Caratini's knees with a knuckle curve. Jake Meyers took a pitch in the zone the other way just under a diving Kody Clemens to push Walker to third base and to bring up rookie Cam Smith with the game on the line. Advantage, rookie. A chopper up the middle plated Walker and wasted a stellar Ryan outing. 

What’s Next?
The Twins look to salvage a win in Houston after dropping yet another series in June. The Twins send righty Simeon Woods Richardson (2-3, 5.74 ERA) out in hopes of erasing the taste of his last start from the collective mouths of Twins Territory. Opposing him will be young lefty Brandon Walter (0-0, 1.64 ERA) who is making his third start of the year. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm CDT on Father's Day.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Topa	24	0	0	16	0	40
Wentz	0	0	38	0	0	38
Durán	0	13	0	0	20	33
Jax	0	0	0	17	13	30
Sands	0	0	26	0	0	26
Coulombe	2	0	1	19	0	22
Varland	0	16	0	0	0	16
Stewart	0	13	0	0	0	13

 

 

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[SD happy]

Great effort by Ryan. Unfortunate that once again offense couldn’t come through. On another note, Miranda is not in SP starting lineup. Lewis replacement?

[Aggies7]

On the positive side, Bride got another day to rest his arm 

[Patzky]

6 minutes ago, SD happy said:

Great effort by Ryan. Unfortunate that once again offense couldn’t come through. On another note, Miranda is not in SP starting lineup. Lewis replacement?

Someone has to, especially if Buxton can't go. Good eye.

[Western SD Fan]

Watching the Saints game now. and it looks like they scratched Keirsey Jr right before the game started.  That may be our answer to who is taking Lewis's place on the active roster.

[SD happy]

33 minutes ago, SD happy said:

Great effort by Ryan. Unfortunate that once again offense couldn’t come through. On another note, Miranda is not in SP starting lineup. Lewis replacement?

Correction. Miranda is now in starting lineup and Kiersey is out.

[SD happy]

30 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

On the positive side, Bride got another day to rest his arm 

Bride is leading a charmed baseball life. With Lewis out, he should be guaranteed a roster spot for at least a couple more weeks. 

[thelanges5]

6 minutes ago, SD happy said:

Bride is leading a charmed baseball life. With Lewis out, he should be guaranteed a roster spot for at least a couple more weeks. 

Bride is probably with us until Keaschall comes back. 

[thelanges5]

Positives:

Joe Ryan Experience

lee 14 game hit streak

Jax clean inning

Bader stole a base

[chinmusic]

42 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

On the positive side, Bride got another day to rest his arm 

Don't know whether to laugh or cry....

[Blyleven2011]

It was a good game , then it was not ...

Wasn't what we had hoped for , Ryan pitched effectively  and brown for Houston too ...

I'd tip my hat to brown for pitching a great game but our hitters make all pitchers look good ...

Not many hits for either team but Houston manage to double their hit total with 2 hits and that walk and walked it off bottom of ninth ..

To many strikeouts  , nice that Lee is showing he can hit , 14 game hitting streaks are hard to come by ...

Not looking like we did in May but we are resembling what we looked like in April  , sad but true ...

Can't blame it on pitching as much as you can about the offense  ...

When pitching is good , the hitting isn't good   ...

When the pitching is bad , the hitting is bad ...

[Doctor Gast]

Ryan pitched a great game, so did HOU, Lee had a good game hats off to them but HOU got one more clutch hit. 

[Doctor Gast]

1 hour ago, Western SD Fan said:

Watching the Saints game now. and it looks like they scratched Keirsey Jr right before the game started.  That may be our answer to who is taking Lewis's place on the active roster.

As much as I'd like that, IMO, Keirsey should get more regular ABs 1st.

[Aggies7]

47 minutes ago, chinmusic said:

Don't know whether to laugh or cry....

Cry til you laugh 

[jkcarew]

1 hour ago, thelanges5 said:

Bride is probably with us until Keaschall comes back. 

Are we 100% sure that Raya isn’t Bride’s replacement? Presumably, Raya is materially more effective on the mound, and, if he HAD to hit, not much less effective.

[jkcarew]

If not for the recent trend of horrible losses, this would not have been a discouraging loss at all (as long as Buxton is fine). Houston’s been playing well, Brown’s a stud, Ryan did his job, we need Lee to take a step, not like Duran was getting hit hard at all, etc.

[Bracky]

My real team (Twins) with another hard loss by 1 run and my secondary team (Angels) with a 1 run loss. Maybe I need to pick a third team that likes winning? That must be a fun experience.

[tony&rodney]

Pretty good game. Both Ryan and Brown pitched really well. Wallner looked over matched but that happens when good pitchers are sharp.

Miranda cannot be among the first 5 choices to recall. Right now he is a total mess, as bad as he has ever been in his career. Gasper or Julien are the first choices which will cause alarm, but relax because the Twins will likely bring back Keisey Jr. to play defense and pinch run. Bride? I guess he is a relief pitcher now.

[Vanimal46]

Am I reading the box score correctly? 17 strikeouts? 17 out of 27 outs were not hit into play? Yikes. 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, jkcarew said:

Are we 100% sure that Raya isn’t Bride’s replacement? Presumably, Raya is materially more effective on the mound, and, if he HAD to hit, not much less effective.

Bride isn't walking as many batters as Raya and has a lower RA9. They both have a WHIP > 2.

[Aggies7]

57 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Am I reading the box score correctly? 17 strikeouts? 17 out of 27 outs were not hit into play? Yikes. 

Yeah, It’s hard to see this as a positive game, although I guess the bar is low at the moment. They struck out 5 times in two innings even after Brown left the game with his 12 k’s. Even when they did manage baserunners, they couldn’t take advantage. Ryan and Jax did great.

[knothole61]

A competitive game against an excellent SP, from a team that has been reeling--I'll take that as a good sign.

Now, maybe the Twins and Adam Scott can provide Father's Day presents tomorrow? 

[T.O.]

Polanco walks off the Guardians who just don't seem to want 2nd place no mater how the Twins play.

[David HK]

🙄 "Back it goes, deep it goes..."  Gotta get a catchphrase that doesn't sound like a lame 70's porno trailer, my dude.  

 

[Patzky]

8 hours ago, chinmusic said:

Don't know whether to laugh or cry....

Typically Brides cry. If they're laughing, be very afraid..

[Patzky]

6 hours ago, Bracky said:

My real team (Twins) with another hard loss by 1 run and my secondary team (Angels) with a 1 run loss. Maybe I need to pick a third team that likes winning? That must be a fun experience.

The only sure bet is the Tigers.

[Mark G]

An article on another site reported this is the 2nd injury for Lewis this year running to 1st base.  It noted a lot of his injuries throughout his career have been in his "lower body".  That sounds somewhat ominous for his career going forward.  If you are injury prone by just running, and the game of baseball requires a pretty fair amount of running, there is a problem.  I did a quick google on his injury history and it showed 9 injuries from 2022 to now; 7 of them lower body (legs).  🤕 `

One has to wonder if he will ever play a full season.  Hopefully they can come up with a therapy regimen that will help him.  He is a hell of a talent.  

[Mark G]

12 minutes ago, Patzky said:

The only sure bet is the Tigers.

I have begun to be a Cubs fan of sorts.  I love the fact that Thielbar is doing well and I hope he can have one more day in the sun come October.  🫠

[Lasorda_This_Out]

Maybe it's time the Twins DFA Royce to the garbage bin?

[Peter]

Tough brutal crushing loss!!! Expecting another loss today-need to get back on winning track and it starts with Cincinnati!!! Must must must finish June strong as well going into all star break over .500!!!