Twins 2, Marlins 1: Twins Manufacture Enough Offense to Win a One-Run Game

[Sherry Cerny]

Image courtesy of © Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Simeon Woods Richardson 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (75 pitches, 50 strikes (67%))
Home Runs:  None
Top 3 WPA: Simeon Woods Richardson (.192); Griffin Jax (.144); Danny Coulombe (.131)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

After a loss Tuesday against the Marlins, the Twins entered Wednesday 1-3 on their road trip and in need of a win. Byron Buxton started things the right way, with a single. Miami pitcher Janson Junk threw a wild pitch to Trevor Larnach and Buxton took advantage to advance to second. Willi Castro singled to advance Buxton to third—so hard that Buxton couldn't score, but extending the threat. Brooks Lee took the first pitch to right field for a sacrifice fly to cash in Buxton. Carlos Correa struck out swinging, but last night the Twins couldn’t even get one run on the board, and tonight, they started out ahead. Would that be a sign of things to come? 

Both offense and defense put in the work like their lives (or at least their futures in Minnesota, four weeks shy of the trade deadline) depended on it. The Twins' situational hitting was bleak in the month of June, but it’s a new month, a new day, a new chance to get things back above .500.

Simeon Woods Richardson had a good start to the game. He continued to look more confident and attacked the plate with each hitter. His fastball and slider got hitters to chase throughout the at-bats, and retired the first four batters he saw. Alas, Kyle Stowers (him again) caught hold of a slider inside and yanked it out of the park down the right-field line, tying the game 1-1. The umpire seemed to have an interesting strike zone, but Woods Richardson recovered after the Stowers shot and sailed.

Castro has been on fire since coming back from injury. An All-Star last season, he’s started coming back around to looking like one. In his second at-bat, he hit a line drive to right field to secure his 13th double of the season. With a lead on the bases, waiting to be cashed in, singles by Lee and Correa brought Castro around. The inning ended on a double play, but with the Twins back out in front 2-1. 

Brock Stewart relieved Woods Richardson in the sixth inning, and once again, the Marlins looked to get a run in with two outs, just like they have 34 times before since June 22nd, with a line drive from Stowers. However, in a fun turn of events, the ball hit the umpire in the infield, killing the ball and the play, and the run that made it in had to come back. With Stowers stationed at first and Jesús Sánchez recalled to third, Stewart got Eric Wagaman swinging, and there were no runs to end the inning; the Twins still led 2-1. That was a much-needed reprieve for the Twins, and their nine straight losses of one-run games. They needed a break, and finally caught one.

Royce Lewis and Ty France came in to pinch-hit for Matt Wallner and Kody Clemens, but a Lewis walk was stifled when France hit into a double play. No insurance runs materialized, and in the seventh, they rolled with Louis Varland on the mound. 

The Marlins put a little pressure on Varland, whom Pete Maki decided to visit only 11 pitches in, but had a one-out, two-on situation and a chance to tie up the game. Harrison Bader had been all over the outfield tonight, making insanely aggressive plays keeping the Marlins from scoring. On a line-drive single by Xavier Edwards, Connor Norby tried to score from second, but Bader fired a strike to the plate to nab him. The Marlins challenged the play that would give the Marlins a tying run (again) for interference. They lost the call and their challenge, the Twins still led 2-1. 

The Marlins had bases loaded and tried one more time, but a fly ball to Bader (shocker) ended the inning. 

Griffin Jax came out to relieve Danny Coulombe, and got out of the inning with a very fresh arm in 14 pitches. This week is some of the best Twins pitching fans have seen in weeks, and the offense finally showed up just enough.

Jhoan Duran shut the door handily in the ninth, giving the Twins a chance for a .500 road trip with a win Thursday.

What’s Next? The Twins finish out the series with the Marlins, with a getaway game before heading back home for their longest homestand this season, before the All-Star Break. David Festa (2-2; 5.40 ERA) will be taking the mound against Eury Pérez (0-2; 6.19ERA) at 11:10 AM CST. 

Postgame Interviews

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[mikelink45]

So glad we won, but my celebration is muted when I consider the team we are playing.  It should not be this close.

[jkcarew]

Two nice starts in a row for SWR. Way to go, young man!

 

It was just a matter of time before the Marlins would succumb to the relentless pressure that is the Twins offense.

 

Also of note: as I type this, the Twins are just a few outs on Chicago’s north side from absolutely blowing past the Guardians into second place in the ALC. I think I can actually hear Poland and Falvey patting each other on the back right now.

[thelanges5]

Take what we can get here in Twins Country. Ended the Marlins streak and added one to the W column. 
 

Happy Festavus tomorrow! Let’s get the series win. 

[Parfigliano]

1 minute ago, jkcarew said:

Two nice starts in a row for SWR. Way to go, young man!

 

It was just a matter of time before the Marlins would succumb to the relentless pressure that is the Twins offense.

Twins O just chip chipping away for a 1 run W.

[Blyleven2011]

Pinch me , pinch me , pinch me ...

The twins won a game by 1 run ...

Got to give an assist to the 2nd base umpire for getting hit by a batted ball and saving the tying run from scoring , sure glad the umpires are not athletic  ...

 

SWR pitched effectively  , but if I was SWR  I would have hit Stowers  ...

[darwin22]

Big THANK YOU to Harrison Bader!  Absolutely dart of a throw to nail Norby at the plate.

Question:  What is "the plan" (dare we have one) to replace Ober in the rotation?

Saw that Funderburk (yawn) was called up today.

[Aggies7]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

So glad we won, but my celebration is muted when I consider the team we are playing.  It should not be this close.

That’s what they said yesterday 😂

[Whitey333]

Not too often we get to thank the umpires for aiding a victory.  That umpire should have never been hit by it.  Poor positioning and too damn slow to move.  What a joke.  But thanks because the Twins need a lot if help.  Offense?  What offense?  Our last three games we have scored 0,  0,  and 2. With the rays and cubs coming to town they better find some offense or they could lose all those games.

[tony&rodney]

48 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Not too often we get to thank the umpires for aiding a victory.  That umpire should have never been hit by it.  Poor positioning and too damn slow to move.  What a joke.  But thanks because the Twins need a lot if help.  Offense?  What offense?  Our last three games we have scored 0,  0,  and 2. With the rays and cubs coming to town they better find some offense or they could lose all those games.

Well, it is as easy for me to avoid the ball on my couch as it is for you in your chair but perhaps the umpires have a little different position. Stuff happens.

[knothole61]

SWR = beautiful game and hitting 96 on the gun! Our pitching can come around again and sadly but truly it's good to have Ober out of the rotation for now.

He's a very strange and flamboyant man and that bug-dusted hat (even indoors!) is crazy, but Bader's throw likely saved the game.

It's nice to win. The Twins have scored two runs in the last three games, but with a win tomorrow they will have completed a .500 road trip to the wonderment of all. Baseball is so strange...

[Doctor Gast]

7 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Pinch me , pinch me , pinch me ...

The twins won a game by 1 run ...

Got to give an assist to the 2nd base umpire for getting hit by a batted ball and saving the tying run from scoring , sure glad the umpires are not athletic  ...

 

SWR pitched effectively  , but if I was SWR  I would have hit Stowers  ...

Falvey after the game, probably went to sign that 2B umpire as a 2Bman to a MiLB contract. :)

[Doctor Gast]

Nice to see Sims got his confidence back since returning from AAA, to end the hot MIA winning streak. Hats off to Bader, Castro & the BP. Good pitching, good defense & clutch hitting = WINS. Keep up the good work, Go Twins!

[Patzky]

7 hours ago, darwin22 said:

Big THANK YOU to Harrison Bader!  Absolutely dart of a throw to nail Norby at the plate.

Question:  What is "the plan" (dare we have one) to replace Ober in the rotation?

Saw that Funderburk (yawn) was called up today.

I dread having to see Funderburk come in today with the usual BB , single, error, BB, three run double, BB, send Wentz.

[Patzky]

7 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Not too often we get to thank the umpires for aiding a victory.  That umpire should have never been hit by it.  Poor positioning and too damn slow to move.  What a joke.  But thanks because the Twins need a lot if help.  Offense?  What offense?  Our last three games we have scored 0,  0,  and 2. With the rays and cubs coming to town they better find some offense or they could lose all those games.

Lol at poor umpire positioning.. maybe the ball was hit into a poor position. Hit em where they ain't.. even the blue! We have had no shortage of weird breaks ourselves..

[Riverbrian]

8 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

So glad we won, but my celebration is muted when I consider the team we are playing.  It should not be this close.

Yeah... Like the Tigers did to the Nats yesterday!

Not like what the Nats did to the Tigers yesterday. 

[BrokenCompass]

The offense is truly uninspiring. While it's nice to have a chance at a .500 road trip, the Twins have got to be one of the worst teams to watch in MLB. It's been this way for almost 2 years now. 

SWR taking his opportunity but gee, the guy has pitched more than 5 innings ONCE all year. I don't get it. He threw 75 pitches last night. A couple weeks ago he got pulled after 5 innings after throwing just 53 pitches. 

Both pitchers the Twins faced so far in this series have been very hittable. To score just 2 runs in 2 games is an embarrassment. The Twins face Eury Perez and his 6.15 ERA this afternoon. They gonna get shut out? 

[CRF]

The good thing is...SWR had another very nice start. The bad thing is...we can't hit our way out of a paper bag. 

[jmlease1]

SWR did a nice job. The miss on the homer was frustrating (it seems like we have no ability to keep a hot hitter from smashing homers sometimes) but overall he pitched quite well. 

Bader's defense was excellent, really fun to see. It's why we signed him for sure, and good to see him have that kind of impact in LF.

The offense still needs work for sure. The DPs killed them, and they were never able to get a knockout on Junk, who threw a ton of it early. (I truly disliked the home plate umpire's zone early, though, where he was very inconsistent on the outside of the zone and was missing pitches. Both teams were simply guessing at what was a strike or a ball on the outside of the zone against that clown for the first few innings, and I'm guessing it was driving both teams nuts) Castro looks in the zone right now, but we need a few other guys to get going.

Taking the win. Let's keep it going, win the series. That's all they need is a few series wins.

[JD-TWINS]

10 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

So glad we won, but my celebration is muted when I consider the team we are playing.  It should not be this close.

They had just won 8 straight - they had two less wins than the Twins. We aren’t very good either.

As a separate thought/comment, how can anyone feel good about what the offense was able to produce? At least 3 times, after getting to 2 runs, Team had a guy on first base ready to be moved to 2B with a bunt to add an insurance run and it never happened. Strikeouts and a couple double plays later, we still had 2 runs. Harrison Bader (regressing for a month) batting 9th with Top of order behind him …….he has good speed……..no outs & runner on 1B ……… BUNT! I protect Rocco about 90% of the time but this, to me, was idiotic! …………Happened 2 other times in last 4 innings.

When is Wallner going to St. Paul?

[Western SD Fan]

I was disappointed in Rocco's explanation on why he took SWR out after 5 innings.  He said that he had an entire bullpen rested and ready to go to support SWR and get the win and the bullpen arms had already been planned out for the game.  He must have forgotten that he still has a potential bullpen game to plan for on Saturday and that's provided that Festa and Paddack will go at least 5 innings the next two days, which is not always guaranteed in Rocco ball.  My only real defense that I can come up with is that the heart of the Marlins order was coming up in the 6th (batters 2-4).

[Patzky]

What now..

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

They had just won 8 straight - they had two less wins than the Twins. We aren’t very good either.

As a separate thought/comment, how can anyone feel good about what the offense was able to produce? At least 3 times, after getting to 2 runs, Team had a guy on first base ready to be moved to 2B with a bunt to add an insurance run and it never happened. Strikeouts and a couple double plays later, we still had 2 runs. Harrison Bader (regressing for a month) batting 9th with Top of order behind him …….he has good speed……..no outs & runner on 1B ……… BUNT! I protect Rocco about 90% of the time but this, to me, was idiotic! …………Happened 2 other times in last 4 innings.

When is Wallner going to St. Paul?

You wanted Wallner to bunt Brooks Lee to 3rd in the 4th inning? Because that's the actual situation before Jeffers grounded into the DP. And with Correa being the runner at 1B, there's a real possibility they could have turned a DP on the bunt, and then you're looking at a runner at 3B with 2 outs. Yes, it sucked that Wallner struck out and Jeffers grounded into a DP, but playing for an insurance run in the 4th is a strategy that's going to lose more than it wins.

Next inning we got the leadoff single and didn't do anything with it, but how much benefit do we get with Clemens on 2B and giving up the out? Unless one of the next 2 batters gets a hit, the bunt means nothing.

The next opportunity is when Royce gets the walk in the 7th to lead off the inning. Nice job by him. But he's coming off a hammy injury and doesn't have the speed he used to. Is Jeffers supposed to bunt Royce over to 2B to avoid Ty France hitting into a DP there? Say he does: 2B and 1 out doesn't get us further unless France gets a hit. The DP sucked but bunting probably doesn't help much.

9th inning, Twins tried to be aggressive in get the insurance run: Castro tried for the steal with 2 strikes (good time for it, he's got good speed and an ability to steal) but he got caught. Lee's been one of the better hitters over the last month, why take the bat out of his hands with no outs? If Castro had stolen 2B before Lee K's, then you have Lee send him to 3B with a bunt.

Bunting is an exciting play at times and can put pressure on the defense, and I'm fine with players with good speed bunting for hits. I'm fine with playing for 1 run late in the game to either get the win or an insurance run, when the situation makes sense. But there's this obsession around here about bunting that makes no sense to me. Most of the time, you're trading an out for a base at best, and when it's only moving a runner from 1B to 2B, it's just not worth losing the out. Yes, it sucks when the other team turns a DP, but the idea that it's fixed by bunting is really just hindsight talking and damage mitigation, not actually getting us an advantage.

[AceWrigley]

13 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

So glad we won, but my celebration is muted when I consider the team we are playing.  It should not be this close.

Miami (13-15) had a better W/L record in June than the Twins (9-17). Maybe Marlins fans should feel like they are the better team.

[AceWrigley]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

You wanted Wallner to bunt Brooks Lee to 3rd in the 4th inning? Because that's the actual situation before Jeffers grounded into the DP. And with Correa being the runner at 1B, there's a real possibility they could have turned a DP on the bunt, and then you're looking at a runner at 3B with 2 outs. Yes, it sucked that Wallner struck out and Jeffers grounded into a DP, but playing for an insurance run in the 4th is a strategy that's going to lose more than it wins.

Next inning we got the leadoff single and didn't do anything with it, but how much benefit do we get with Clemens on 2B and giving up the out? Unless one of the next 2 batters gets a hit, the bunt means nothing.

The next opportunity is when Royce gets the walk in the 7th to lead off the inning. Nice job by him. But he's coming off a hammy injury and doesn't have the speed he used to. Is Jeffers supposed to bunt Royce over to 2B to avoid Ty France hitting into a DP there? Say he does: 2B and 1 out doesn't get us further unless France gets a hit. The DP sucked but bunting probably doesn't help much.

9th inning, Twins tried to be aggressive in get the insurance run: Castro tried for the steal with 2 strikes (good time for it, he's got good speed and an ability to steal) but he got caught. Lee's been one of the better hitters over the last month, why take the bat out of his hands with no outs? If Castro had stolen 2B before Lee K's, then you have Lee send him to 3B with a bunt.

Bunting is an exciting play at times and can put pressure on the defense, and I'm fine with players with good speed bunting for hits. I'm fine with playing for 1 run late in the game to either get the win or an insurance run, when the situation makes sense. But there's this obsession around here about bunting that makes no sense to me. Most of the time, you're trading an out for a base at best, and when it's only moving a runner from 1B to 2B, it's just not worth losing the out. Yes, it sucks when the other team turns a DP, but the idea that it's fixed by bunting is really just hindsight talking and damage mitigation, not actually getting us an advantage.

All true, but the Twins have had serious problems getting runs across lately, so playing the "short game" early on isn't that bad of an idea at times like these.

[chpettit19]

3 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

They had just won 8 straight - they had two less wins than the Twins. We aren’t very good either.

As a separate thought/comment, how can anyone feel good about what the offense was able to produce? At least 3 times, after getting to 2 runs, Team had a guy on first base ready to be moved to 2B with a bunt to add an insurance run and it never happened. Strikeouts and a couple double plays later, we still had 2 runs. Harrison Bader (regressing for a month) batting 9th with Top of order behind him …….he has good speed……..no outs & runner on 1B ……… BUNT! I protect Rocco about 90% of the time but this, to me, was idiotic! …………Happened 2 other times in last 4 innings.

When is Wallner going to St. Paul?

 

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

You wanted Wallner to bunt Brooks Lee to 3rd in the 4th inning? Because that's the actual situation before Jeffers grounded into the DP. And with Correa being the runner at 1B, there's a real possibility they could have turned a DP on the bunt, and then you're looking at a runner at 3B with 2 outs. Yes, it sucked that Wallner struck out and Jeffers grounded into a DP, but playing for an insurance run in the 4th is a strategy that's going to lose more than it wins.

Next inning we got the leadoff single and didn't do anything with it, but how much benefit do we get with Clemens on 2B and giving up the out? Unless one of the next 2 batters gets a hit, the bunt means nothing.

The next opportunity is when Royce gets the walk in the 7th to lead off the inning. Nice job by him. But he's coming off a hammy injury and doesn't have the speed he used to. Is Jeffers supposed to bunt Royce over to 2B to avoid Ty France hitting into a DP there? Say he does: 2B and 1 out doesn't get us further unless France gets a hit. The DP sucked but bunting probably doesn't help much.

9th inning, Twins tried to be aggressive in get the insurance run: Castro tried for the steal with 2 strikes (good time for it, he's got good speed and an ability to steal) but he got caught. Lee's been one of the better hitters over the last month, why take the bat out of his hands with no outs? If Castro had stolen 2B before Lee K's, then you have Lee send him to 3B with a bunt.

Bunting is an exciting play at times and can put pressure on the defense, and I'm fine with players with good speed bunting for hits. I'm fine with playing for 1 run late in the game to either get the win or an insurance run, when the situation makes sense. But there's this obsession around here about bunting that makes no sense to me. Most of the time, you're trading an out for a base at best, and when it's only moving a runner from 1B to 2B, it's just not worth losing the out. Yes, it sucks when the other team turns a DP, but the idea that it's fixed by bunting is really just hindsight talking and damage mitigation, not actually getting us an advantage.

 

10 minutes ago, AceWrigley said:

All true, but the Twins have had serious problems getting runs across lately, so playing the "short game" early on isn't that bad of an idea at times like these.

Nobody out, guy on first has a run expectancy of 0.87. 1 out, guy on second has a run expectancy of 0.67. Teams score fewer runs with 1 out and a guy on second than they do with no outs and a guy on first. Sac bunting is a bad strategy. There's a reason teams don't do it.

Those are the numbers for this year, but they're roughly the same for the last several years. The numbers for 2021-2024 are 0.90 and 0.71. For 2015-2019 they're 0.91 and 0.71. Your odds of scoring go down when you bunt a runner from first to second.

The number of runs teams score go down when you bunt runners on 1st and 2nd to 2nd and 3rd. 1st and 2nd, no outs has a run expectancy of 1.55. 2nd and 3rd 1 out has a run expectancy of 1.41.

Giving up outs is a bad idea. There's a reason teams stopped doing it. Especially early in games. It hurts your odds of scoring, not helps.

[JD-TWINS]

45 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

 

 

Nobody out, guy on first has a run expectancy of 0.87. 1 out, guy on second has a run expectancy of 0.67. Teams score fewer runs with 1 out and a guy on second than they do with no outs and a guy on first. Sac bunting is a bad strategy. There's a reason teams don't do it.

Those are the numbers for this year, but they're roughly the same for the last several years. The numbers for 2021-2024 are 0.90 and 0.71. For 2015-2019 they're 0.91 and 0.71. Your odds of scoring go down when you bunt a runner from first to second.

The number of runs teams score go down when you bunt runners on 1st and 2nd to 2nd and 3rd. 1st and 2nd, no outs has a run expectancy of 1.55. 2nd and 3rd 1 out has a run expectancy of 1.41.

Giving up outs is a bad idea. There's a reason teams stopped doing it. Especially early in games. It hurts your odds of scoring, not helps.

 

2 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

You wanted Wallner to bunt Brooks Lee to 3rd in the 4th inning? Because that's the actual situation before Jeffers grounded into the DP. And with Correa being the runner at 1B, there's a real possibility they could have turned a DP on the bunt, and then you're looking at a runner at 3B with 2 outs. Yes, it sucked that Wallner struck out and Jeffers grounded into a DP, but playing for an insurance run in the 4th is a strategy that's going to lose more than it wins.

Next inning we got the leadoff single and didn't do anything with it, but how much benefit do we get with Clemens on 2B and giving up the out? Unless one of the next 2 batters gets a hit, the bunt means nothing.

The next opportunity is when Royce gets the walk in the 7th to lead off the inning. Nice job by him. But he's coming off a hammy injury and doesn't have the speed he used to. Is Jeffers supposed to bunt Royce over to 2B to avoid Ty France hitting into a DP there? Say he does: 2B and 1 out doesn't get us further unless France gets a hit. The DP sucked but bunting probably doesn't help much.

9th inning, Twins tried to be aggressive in get the insurance run: Castro tried for the steal with 2 strikes (good time for it, he's got good speed and an ability to steal) but he got caught. Lee's been one of the better hitters over the last month, why take the bat out of his hands with no outs? If Castro had stolen 2B before Lee K's, then you have Lee send him to 3B with a bunt.

Bunting is an exciting play at times and can put pressure on the defense, and I'm fine with players with good speed bunting for hits. I'm fine with playing for 1 run late in the game to either get the win or an insurance run, when the situation makes sense. But there's this obsession around here about bunting that makes no sense to me. Most of the time, you're trading an out for a base at best, and when it's only moving a runner from 1B to 2B, it's just not worth losing the out. Yes, it sucks when the other team turns a DP, but the idea that it's fixed by bunting is really just hindsight talking and damage mitigation, not actually getting us an advantage.

My comment clearly said “…..,after they got to 2 runs……move runner to 2B with no outs….”. I understand the reluctance to bunt to move runs into scoring position based on statistics - real data. However, the average runs scored from FIRST with NO OUTS is averaged across every situation, all teams, and includes 1-2-3-4-5 hitters being at the plate in that situation as well as the bottom of the order. Bader has very good speed, and is batting 9th for a reason……..bunt & move the runner and put pressure on the defense with your speed. It’s not hindsight if one wants a player to do it in real time.

Wallner bunting is never a good idea…..not sure where that came from?

Bunting a player to 3B is never a good idea unless Team needs one run in bottom of extra innings…… That strategy was never stated nor inferred. Not sure where you come up with the twisted view of the point I was trying to make? Work on the comprehension skills perhaps?

[jmlease1]

3 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

 

My comment clearly said “…..,after they got to 2 runs……move runner to 2B with no outs….”. I understand the reluctance to bunt to move runs into scoring position based on statistics - real data. However, the average runs scored from FIRST with NO OUTS is averaged across every situation, all teams, and includes 1-2-3-4-5 hitters being at the plate in that situation as well as the bottom of the order. Bader has very good speed, and is batting 9th for a reason……..bunt & move the runner and put pressure on the defense with your speed. It’s not hindsight if one wants a player to do it in real time.

Wallner bunting is never a good idea…..not sure where that came from?

Bunting a player to 3B is never a good idea unless Team needs one run in bottom of extra innings…… That strategy was never stated nor inferred. Not sure where you come up with the twisted view of the point I was trying to make? Work on the comprehension skills perhaps?

I think my comprehension skills are just fine. I laid out the scenarios where the Twins had a runner on first with no outs after having scored their second run. All of them.

You seem to be arguing that the stats are wrong about how useful it is to bunt a player over because situationally it might be better to do it with the top of the order coming up and the hitter in question being bad. But at the end of the day you're still giving up an out for a base. If you can do the math where it shows how having the 9th man in the lineup sacrificing the runner from first to second with the top of the lineup is better than just having them hit followed by the top of the lineup, be my guest.

If Bader is bunting for a hit, it's a different story. Bunting for a hit is very different than a sacrifice. But you don't appear to be arguing that, only for moving the runner over and seeing what happens.

[AceWrigley]

15 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

 

My comment clearly said “…..,after they got to 2 runs……move runner to 2B with no outs….”. I understand the reluctance to bunt to move runs into scoring position based on statistics - real data. However, the average runs scored from FIRST with NO OUTS is averaged across every situation, all teams, and includes 1-2-3-4-5 hitters being at the plate in that situation as well as the bottom of the order. Bader has very good speed, and is batting 9th for a reason……..bunt & move the runner and put pressure on the defense with your speed. It’s not hindsight if one wants a player to do it in real time.

Wallner bunting is never a good idea…..not sure where that came from?

Bunting a player to 3B is never a good idea unless Team needs one run in bottom of extra innings…… That strategy was never stated nor inferred. Not sure where you come up with the twisted view of the point I was trying to make? Work on the comprehension skills perhaps?

And when you have average sequencing of offensive events, this is all true. The Twins recently have not been average in sequencing, they've had a hard time putting 2 hits together and changing the dynamics of the moment and putting some kind of pressure on the other team can be a good thing.