Twins 6, Rays 5: Brooks Lee Walk-Off Bunt Gives Rocco Baldelli 500th Career Win

[IndianaTwin]

3 hours ago, NotAboutWinning said:

Due largely to their lack of play-off success 😉

The Autumnians have been more successful in October. 

[knothole61]

Well, well...my, my...holy cow! Mojo's risin' baby, got to keep on risin'!

Ur-Nammu 

[Met Stadium Usher]

Some good notes above about the tough Mesopotamian Division.

The Sumerians are a great old school team for sure, but you can never overlook expansion teams like Hammurabi's Babylonians, or the Akkadians, with big boppers Gilgamesh and Enkidu. 

[Doctor Wu]

10 hours ago, miller761 said:

Great 9th inning. Leadoff walk by Buck, Castro trying to hit behind the runner and then Lee with the bunt. Great baseball...more please!

Exactly, Taking walks, bunting for hits ... and letting a relief pitcher who normally closes pitch 2 full innings. I love games like this one ... although it would more pleasurable to give up fewer runs. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

9 hours ago, karcherd said:

This was a great win by the Twins, an exciting game, it was good to play some small ball in the 9th inning.

As far as Adams I thought it was an uneven debut, but would like to see him get some run and find out what he has.  The Twins are not developing any starters in the minor leagues right now, they are all just bulk guys.  They are all going 3 to 5 innings and typically topping out at 70 pitches at the most.  How can you expect to have anyone ready to start if needed.  This seems to fall in line with what Zoll said a few weeks ago of what they are trying to do in the minor leagues.  But will shorter stints and fewer days between appearances translate to the major leagues.

I am not sure why there are people down on Wallner, yes he has not looked good since coming back from injury.  But he has only 644 AB's with an .836 OPS and 37 HR's and 102 RBI's.  Have patience and let him play.  Other teams have played their younger players and let them work thru their struggles, see Chourio of Milwaukee and Merrill of SD last year.

I think Lewis, Lee, Wallner and Larnach need to be in the lineup every day regardless of who is pitching.  We need to find out if they are going to be contributors to a winning team and if not either move on to the next crop of young players or bring in impact players not one year stopgaps.  You are not going to be a consistent winner with Bader, Castro and Clemens/France all in your lineup on a regular basis.  They are role players and can be successful if kept in their roles, but not as everyday players.  This team needs to develop regular players and not turn everyone into a role player.  

I like what Bader, Castro and France bring to the team. They play the game with energy and know how to hit. Clemens has added value at defense plus some very clutch hits. 

[Doctor Gast]

9 hours ago, arby58 said:

Clemens' three run HR was small ball?

Clemens's 3-run HR was clutch & was essential in coming back from a deficit but what won the game was Lee's bunt. If a pitcher gives you a nice home-run ball you take it. If Lee came up swinging for the fences, the game would have been lost because a TB pitcher in that situation will try very hard not to give you a nice pitch to hit.

[karcherd]

29 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I like what Bader, Castro and France bring to the team. They play the game with energy and know how to hit. Clemens has added value at defense plus some very clutch hits. 

And we are 3 games under .500 with France leading the team in AB's.  I am not saying they shouldn't have a role on the team but we need to up the talent level.  A winning team is not going to happen playing all these players on a regular basis and it is shown by our record.  We have to get away from relying on stopgap players for regular roles if we ever want to be a serious contender.  

[JD-TWINS]

10 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

IBecause of the July fourth weekend festivities I wasn't able to watch the game  ...

Checked the box score and read the last couple of pages on the game thread ...

Another walk off win is exciting  , if we win one tomorrow it's called a winning streak  ...

Has the season just started yesterday  , Rocco has played small ball the past couple of games , is he going to continue doing so , with speedy buxton on third and surprising everyone he has Lee lay down a bunt and Buxton scores the walk off winning run ...

Clemens homeruns have been game changing compared to alot of our guys just hitting solo homeruns , would be nice if he could get his average back up , his run of taking the opportunity might be running out with keaschall coming back soon , I like what he has done for the Twins,  some clutch hitting and defense has be solid ...

It's a team effort and everyone needs to do it's share when the bigger bats fail , Clemens and Lee were the heros today , Duran going 2 innings could also be added , but Rocco don't do that to often , but if you do it only increases his trade value that Duran can go more than1 inning ...

As far as the rookie Adam's pitching  , I'll have to take everyone's word that it was average at best , maybe his second start will be better without the debut jitters ...

Even with Keaschall at 100%, Clemens stays in roster ahead of Kiersey. Larnach - Bader - Buxton - Wallner - Castro - Clemens (RF) is plenty of coverage and it seems to me that Clemens is also the back-up 1B right now. Even at .215 BA he still has some leash……Kiersey pinch runs or plays defense 2-3 days per week and gets a hit about once a month.

[arby58]

Earl Weaver was one of the all time great managers. His philosophy of winning baseball was "“pitching and three-run homers. Pitching keeps you in the games. Home runs win the game.” 

The ninth inning squeeze play was fine - but with Buxton on third with no outs, my guess is they could win the game needing only one run in multiple ways. The real impact play of the game was Clemens' three run home run. As Weaver also said, "your most precious possessions on offense are your 27 outs, and if you play for one run, that’s all you’ll get.”

An interesting fact from a SABRE member: Weaver was 213-46 (.822) in games where the Orioles hit a three run home run and 1,267-1,014 (.555) when they did not.

[arby58]

5 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Clemens's 3-run HR was clutch & was essential in coming back from a deficit but what won the game was Lee's bunt. If a pitcher gives you a nice home-run ball you take it. If Lee came up swinging for the fences, the game would have been lost because a TB pitcher in that situation will try very hard not to give you a nice pitch to hit.

Lee's bunt won the game, but it was not the most impactful hit of the game. If the Twins played 'small ball' in the sixth and Clemens maybe scratches out one more run, they wouldn't have been in position to win it in the ninth with a squeeze play.  Yes, there is a time and place for just settling for one run (the bottom of the ninth inning in a tie game is the most obvious situation of all), I just don't believe they should fall in love with that strategy earlier in the game.

[Whitey333]

Nice win Twins.  Let's finish the sweep on Sunday.

[Patzky]

11 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

IBecause of the July fourth weekend festivities I wasn't able to watch the game  ...

Checked the box score and read the last couple of pages on the game thread ...

Another walk off win is exciting  , if we win one tomorrow it's called a winning streak  ...

Has the season just started yesterday  , Rocco has played small ball the past couple of games , is he going to continue doing so , with speedy buxton on third and surprising everyone he has Lee lay down a bunt and Buxton scores the walk off winning run ...

Clemens homeruns have been game changing compared to alot of our guys just hitting solo homeruns , would be nice if he could get his average back up , his run of taking the opportunity might be running out with keaschall coming back soon , I like what he has done for the Twins,  some clutch hitting and defense has be solid ...

It's a team effort and everyone needs to do it's share when the bigger bats fail , Clemens and Lee were the heros today , Duran going 2 innings could also be added , but Rocco don't do that to often , but if you do it only increases his trade value that Duran can go more than1 inning ...

As far as the rookie Adam's pitching  , I'll have to take everyone's word that it was average at best , maybe his second start will be better without the debut jitters ...

Clemens can play RF too. Wallner might be getting a Saints ticket punched. Maybe even ( gasp) an Eddy Julien sighting in the future if he keeps raking.

 

[Craig Arko]

Congratulations, Mr. Baldelli.

[karcherd]

6 minutes ago, Patzky said:

Clemens can play RF too. Wallner might be getting a Saints ticket punched. Maybe even ( gasp) an Eddy Julien sighting in the future if he keeps raking.

 

Wallner and Clemens have almost identical stats for the month of June.  And yet you say Wallner could be sent to St. Paul and keep Clemens.  If they are not going to commit to Wallner for the rest of the season they should trade him.  He is no longer a young prospect, he either has to play or should be traded.  Yes his strikeout rate is high and he had a bad month in June.  But have some patience, advocating for Clemens over Wallner makes no sense.

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

Lee's bunt won the game, but it was not the most impactful hit of the game. If the Twins played 'small ball' in the sixth and Clemens maybe scratches out one more run, they wouldn't have been in position to win it in the ninth with a squeeze play.  Yes, there is a time and place for just settling for one run (the bottom of the ninth inning in a tie game is the most obvious situation of all), I just don't believe they should fall in love with that strategy earlier in the game.

To win with "small ball", the Twins would need more guys who can execute it. Lee put down a nice bunt and looked like he knew what he was doing and any time Buxton is on third with less than two outs, putting the ball in play can get a run. The Twins don't have many good base runners and only a few guys with plus speed. That makes it hard to hit and run because a swing and a miss means a lost base runner. About the only guys they trust running the squeeze are Buxton and Castro. If they want to play that style of ball, they need to change personnel.

Despite only three guys in double figures, they are in the middle of the league in slugging and home runs. That's probably not enough to compensate for their lack of speed and expertise running the bases and only average ability to make contact (16th in K %).

[stringer bell]

31 minutes ago, karcherd said:

Wallner and Clemens have almost identical stats for the month of June.  And yet you say Wallner could be sent to St. Paul and keep Clemens.  If they are not going to commit to Wallner for the rest of the season they should trade him.  He is no longer a young prospect, he either has to play or should be traded.  Yes his strikeout rate is high and he had a bad month in June.  But have some patience, advocating for Clemens over Wallner makes no sense.

Clemens is a versatile guy with no minor league options. He has provided a bunch of key extra base hits. I really doubt his "clutchness" is sustainable, but as of right now, he has been one of the most positively impactful players for the Twins. I have come to give Wallner his due after two years of seeing struggles and then elite slugging, but the waiting gets hard. He's been difficult to watch for a while. Giving him a reset in St. Paul isn't a bad idea IMHO.

Julien has hit maybe a bit above average in St. Paul, but it's not like his numbers demand he get back to the Twins. I know he's played some first and some second for the Saints. 

[karcherd]

18 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Clemens is a versatile guy with no minor league options. He has provided a bunch of key extra base hits. I really doubt his "clutchness" is sustainable, but as of right now, he has been one of the most positively impactful players for the Twins. I have come to give Wallner his due after two years of seeing struggles and then elite slugging, but the waiting gets hard. He's been difficult to watch for a while. Giving him a reset in St. Paul isn't a bad idea IMHO.

Julien has hit maybe a bit above average in St. Paul, but it's not like his numbers demand he get back to the Twins. I know he's played some first and some second for the Saints. 

I am not advocating to get rid of Clemens, I like him and think he can provide a role for the team.  I don't think he is an every day player though.  As for Wallner at what point do you stop giving him resets in St. Paul, he is not a young prospect anymore.  Either he produces or you have to move on.  I would love to see him play every day for the rest of the year and not platooned.  Of course he gets a day off here and there.  But find out if you can count on him going forward.  This team needs direction and needs players with talent. Either develop it or do a better job of signing free agents and not one year stopgap.

[Old Twins Cap]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

Earl Weaver was one of the all time great managers. His philosophy of winning baseball was "“pitching and three-run homers. Pitching keeps you in the games. Home runs win the game.” 

 

I thought it was, "Pitching, defense and 3-run homers".  Mark Belanger, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, that center-fielder, not Bumbry, but a black guy with speed.  

Doesn't hurt when you have 4 20 game winners, either:  Palmer, Cuellar, oh man, who were those other guys....?

[stringer bell]

Just now, Old Twins Cap said:

I thought it was, "Pitching, defense and 3-run homers".  Mark Belanger, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, that center-fielder, not Bumbry, but a black guy with speed.  

Doesn't hurt when you have 4 20 game winners, either:  Palmer, Cuellar, oh man, who were those other guys....?

Paul Blair?

[Old Twins Cap]

2 minutes ago, Old Twins Cap said:

I thought it was, "Pitching, defense and 3-run homers".  Mark Belanger, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, that center-fielder, not Bumbry, but a black guy with speed.  

Doesn't hurt when you have 4 20 game winners, either:  Palmer, Cuellar, oh man, who were those other guys....?

Paul Blair.

They had a team.

[Blyleven2011]

2 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Even with Keaschall at 100%, Clemens stays in roster ahead of Kiersey. Larnach - Bader - Buxton - Wallner - Castro - Clemens (RF) is plenty of coverage and it seems to me that Clemens is also the back-up 1B right now. Even at .215 BA he still has some leash……Kiersey pinch runs or plays defense 2-3 days per week and gets a hit about once a month.

I should of stated his playing time will diminish , I like Clemens and he is versatile and if they trade Castro ,  Clemens could fill his position , I'd like to see that batting average come up though  , if Clemens finishes strong I could see him in a twins uniform next season ...

[stringer bell]

1 minute ago, Old Twins Cap said:

I thought it was, "Pitching, defense and 3-run homers".  Mark Belanger, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, that center-fielder, not Bumbry, but a black guy with speed.  

Doesn't hurt when you have 4 20 game winners, either:  Palmer, Cuellar, oh man, who were those other guys....?

Adding a guy every year to play a role is a good idea, but the core has to carry the load. Looking at the players the team carried over from ‘24, there’s little progress and a lot of stagnation. That is why they are below .500. 
 

[joefish]

16 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

Clemens definitely has that 'it-factor' gene.... I wonder where he got it?

Clemens and Bader. IDK.Just when I think they don't make enough solid contact to add anything to this struggling lineup they come up big. 

Two guys of extremes. Somewhat like Wallner. Inconststent.

[Peter]

2 huge walk off wins!!!  Roccos 500th win!!! Let’s get sweep and over .500 at the break!

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, karcherd said:

Wallner and Clemens have almost identical stats for the month of June.  And yet you say Wallner could be sent to St. Paul and keep Clemens.  If they are not going to commit to Wallner for the rest of the season they should trade him.  He is no longer a young prospect, he either has to play or should be traded.  Yes his strikeout rate is high and he had a bad month in June.  But have some patience, advocating for Clemens over Wallner makes no sense.

They -should- trade him. Or Larnach. They're the same, poor to average defense and occasional power. Clemens at least offers positional flexible and savings.

[arby58]

1 hour ago, karcherd said:

Wallner and Clemens have almost identical stats for the month of June.  And yet you say Wallner could be sent to St. Paul and keep Clemens.  If they are not going to commit to Wallner for the rest of the season they should trade him.  He is no longer a young prospect, he either has to play or should be traded.  Yes his strikeout rate is high and he had a bad month in June.  But have some patience, advocating for Clemens over Wallner makes no sense.

Yeah, it is a long season, and players go through ups and downs. Last year, many were down on Santana when he had a slow start, but later in the year, he was arguably their best hitter. Kepler was like that in 2023 as well, and, same thing, came on strong in the second half. 

One thing that is clear about Wallner - he hits the ball HARD. The five hardest hit balls by a Twin in 2024 were all by Wallner - with two over 116 MPH, which is smoking.

[Jeff K]

52 minutes ago, Old Twins Cap said:

I thought it was, "Pitching, defense and 3-run homers".  Mark Belanger, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, that center-fielder, not Bumbry, but a black guy with speed.  

Doesn't hurt when you have 4 20 game winners, either:  Palmer, Cuellar, oh man, who were those other guys....?

Dave McNally and Pat Dobson.

[JD-TWINS]

12 hours ago, arby58 said:

Yeah, not exactly small ball there. Clemens, for 10 HRs, has been impactful with almost all of them.

So, at 29, he’s hitting a HR in 7.8% of his AB’s…..every 12.8 AB. In 3 plus years prior he hit a HR in 3.9% of his AB’s  or every 25 AB……his bat speed is up this year………what’s changed?

[JD-TWINS]

53 minutes ago, Old Twins Cap said:

I thought it was, "Pitching, defense and 3-run homers".  Mark Belanger, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, that center-fielder, not Bumbry, but a black guy with speed.  

Doesn't hurt when you have 4 20 game winners, either:  Palmer, Cuellar, oh man, who were those other guys....?

Can’t imagine you were searching for McNally & Dobson……..the CF was Paul Blair.

[NYCTK]

52 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Adding a guy every year to play a role is a good idea, but the core has to carry the load. Looking at the players the team carried over from ‘24, there’s little progress and a lot of stagnation. That is why they are below .500. 
 

Yeah. The Twins don't suck because they hired Bader to be their 4th OF. They suck because two of those three presumed starters are terrible defensive outfielders and have combined for a 101 OPS+ and 0.6 WAR. 

Same with France. He'd be fine as a bench bat or occasional player. But if your team composition asks him to be an everyday player, well, things aren't going to go well.