Twins 2, Pirates 1: Minnesota Conquers Paul Skenes

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

 

Box Score
Joe Ryan: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (13)
Top 3 WPA: Trevor Larnach (.181), Jhoan Durán (.161), Joe Ryan (.145)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

It’s a little early in the season for spectacle, yet the demand for a show never ceases. The Twins entered their final series before the All-Star break with the hottest ticket in town: not only would they send their newly minted All-Star, Joe Ryan, to the mound; the Pirates were ready to counter with pitching supernova Paul Skenes. Plus, Nelly is in the house for a post-game concert. Where else would you want to be?

Somehow, Ryan pitched five innings. Through pure guile he did it. The righty stretched the term “laborious” to the point where even the viewer felt strained. He needed more than 30 pitches to work through a somehow scoreless first before another cumbersome frame pushed his pitch count over 50 across just six outs. At that point, he didn’t need a mound visit; he needed an oil change. And maybe a shot of whiskey. 

Yet, he found a way to net outs, with an even more fastball-heavy approach than usual—and Ryan walked off the mound after the fifth inning with a lead and an ordinary pitching line.

Yeah, a lead. Go figure. 

You don’t need this author to soliloquy until his prose turns purple about how good Paul Skenes is. Since his first overall selection two years ago, he’s smoothly transitioned into being one of the game’s most dominant pitchers… ever (for a pitcher his age.) 

Early on, it appeared the Twins would be the latest to succumb to his reign. They couldn’t hit anything. Skenes diced and dazzled with a perfect initial trip through the order, earning first pitch strikes to every batter. Someone in the TD group chat wondered if a no-hitter was in order. Grousing and grumbling took place in households across Minnesota.

Byron Buxton lessened the qualms with a leadoff infield single in the fourth, quickly advancing to second on a groundout. Enjoying the team’s first chance with a runner in scoring position, Trevor Larnach worked the count full before seeing a curveball neatly placed in the middle part of the strike zone. One sweet lefty swing later, and the Twins had suddenly warted Skenes for two runs. 

The great running of the bullpens froze the score in place, as hurlers of various skills and walks of life danced their routine on the mound, holding hitters at bay with monotonous consistency.

There was one important event, though. Tommy Pham sharply doubled off the right field overhang, sending defensive replacement DaShawn Keirsey Jr. scampering to the wall. He played the bounce well and gunned down the runner attempting to stretch the hit to a double. Unfortunately, Pham’s helmet drove into Carlos Correa’s left leg, and the shortstop crumpled to the ground. He officially exited the game with a mild ankle sprain.

The injury neutered what should have been a celebratory tone at Target Field, as the back-end fire-breathers in Minnesota's bullpen carried the game to its endgame with little dramatics. Even a runner on second in the ninth felt trivial, with Jhoan Durán displaying full command of his legendary stuff in a ninth that ended with two hitters striking out with ease.

Time for the Nelly concert. I hope he starts with Country Grammar. 

Notes:

Joe Ryan earned his 646th career strikeout, the 16th-most in Twins history. He's 69 away from tying Eric Milton. 

Griffin Jax locked down his 20th hold of the season, tying him for the 4th-most in MLB.

Danny Coulombe appeared in his 323rd MLB game.

Trevor Larnach's 48 home runs since 2021 are the 6th-most by a Twin. 

Post-Game Interview:

 

What’s Next?
The Twins and Pirates will grow closer to wrapping up the first half with a penultimate game on Saturday. Mike Burrows is scheduled to pitch opposite the feisty and mercurial TBD. First pitch is at 1:10 PM. 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

 

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[Vanimal46]

Best SP matchup at Target Field in God knows when, and they pitched a combined 10 innings. Pretty lame to be honest 

[Parfigliano]

So far this home stand is really pumping up the false hope that this is a playoff caliber team. 

That's not good.

[jorgenswest]

False hope? Lame?

I must have been enjoying the wrong game.

[Linus]

4 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

False hope? Lame?

I must have been enjoying the wrong game.

Thanks. Me too. 

[David HK]

🤣😂🤣  This ad actually popped up on TD the same night as they wore those godforsaken blue pajamas! 🤣😂😅

[Doctor Gast]

Again, good pitching, good defense & clutch hitting against the best SP in baseball now. Skubal also lost, so everything is good.

[DJL44]

Pulling Skenes after 5 innings is just proof that Pittsburgh is tanking.

[CRF]

Nice win, but Skenes deserves to be pitching for a better team. He's about as hard luck as they come. 

[DJL44]

Is Correa going on the IL? He'd be eligible to return for the Dodgers series and would only miss 5 games.

[thelanges5]

Per Dan Hayes:

Carlos Correa is walking around without any assistance. Said he’s fine. Wants to play Saturday, but #MNTwins will hold him out for precautionary reasons. Aiming for a late pinch hit or playing Sunday.

[Whitey333]

Nice win against a very poor pirates team.  The pitching match up was great but a bit of a letdown as they each only lasted 5 innings.  Great crowd 40,100.  Twins will sweep pirates then after all star break will sweep Rockies to make everyone temporarily happy.

[Hubie29]

9 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Best SP matchup at Target Field in God knows when, and they pitched a combined 10 innings. Pretty lame to be honest 

Against the two of the worst hitting teams even.

[William K Johnson]

If it were not for Wallner's great defense in right field, it would be hard to justify him in the lineup.

[jmlease1]

I think the NBA and NFL have warped people's ideas about what you should do with a season. It's much easier to do a quick turnaround in either sport than is likely/possible in baseball, which should disincentivize tanking. Beyond that, baseball margins are close enough (and anything can happen in a short series) that any time you have a chance to get in the playoffs, you should take it. Looking at the bust rate of prospects even in very smart and talented front offices and the challenges in surround great talent with enough support (when you're not one of the super high payroll teams, at least) only reinforces the idea that you should try and compete if you can make the damn playoffs.

All of this is to say, I'm enjoying seeing the team win. I hope they keep it up, no matter who the opposition is, and would much rather have the team keep winning and push for a playoff berth than quit on the season and have a fire sale.

Skenes is pretty awesome. Beating him was great. Larnach is a real threat against RHP.

Hope Correa is ok. Sounds like it isn't too serious, but it makes you nervous.

[Blyleven2011]

The twins did just enough to win the game ...

They beat a good pitcher ...

Ofense and defense  , Game ball larnach , 2 run homer and kiersey Jr for throwing out a possible tying run at second base ...

[Blyleven2011]

39 minutes ago, William K Johnson said:

If it were not for Wallner's great defense in right field, it would be hard to justify him in the lineup.

Your kidding , right  ....

Kiersey Jr  came in for defense letee in the game and played right field and saved a possible tying run by throwing him out at second base  ...

What game were you watching ???

[Sjoski]

29 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Hope Correa is ok. Sounds like it isn't too serious, but it makes you nervous.

No disrespect to Correa,  but it makes you wonder how MLB has changed over the years.

Cal Ripken...also a shortstop...played in
2,632 consecutive games from 1982–1998.

That’s every single game for 16 straight seasons.

Guess he was a freak of nature. 

But yes, I hope C4 is back on the field soon.
 

 

[jmlease1]

1 minute ago, Sjoski said:

No disrespect to Correa,  but it makes you wonder how MLB has changed over the years.

Cal Ripken...also a shortstop...played in
2,632 consecutive games from 1982–1998.

That’s every single game for 16 straight seasons.

Guess he was a freak of nature. 

But yes, I hope C4 is back on the field soon.
 

 

Yes, Cal was a freak of nature. I'm sorry, but this is seriously weird. Gehrig & Ripken's streaks are both massive outliers in MLB history. 3rd place is Everett Scott (ever heard of him? I presume not) which ended in 1925 at 1307. When only 2 guys in history have ever cleared 2000 consecutive games and both are more than 50% higher than 3rd place, I think it's safe to say that neither record has anything to do with "MLB having changed".

While one of the best abilities is still availability (tm Tony Kornheiser) you're missing a lot if you only judge durability based on consecutive games played. And comping anyone's durability to Ripken's is kind of meaningless. It's like ripping a guy who hits 30 hrs for not hitting 70.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

Nice win against a very poor pirates team.  The pitching match up was great but a bit of a letdown as they each only lasted 5 innings.  Great crowd 40,100.  Twins will sweep pirates then after all star break will sweep Rockies to make everyone temporarily happy.

TC won't sweep Rockies.  2 out of 3 losses.  What's it gonna take to WAKE UP SMELL THE FKIN COFFEE 

[Parfigliano]

16 minutes ago, Sjoski said:

No disrespect to Correa,  but it makes you wonder how MLB has changed over the years.

Cal Ripken...also a shortstop...played in
2,632 consecutive games from 1982–1998.

That’s every single game for 16 straight seasons.

Guess he was a freak of nature. 

But yes, I hope C4 is back on the field soon.
 

 

Or didn't have Rocco playing LHP v right or RHP v left

[Sjoski]

25 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

It's like ripping a guy who hits 30 hrs for not hitting 70

Wasn't ripping anyone,  just pointing out how outer worldly Ripken was.

I do think the mlb mindset has changed over the years. Players are seeing themselves as commodities. They do anything to protect themselves.  I'd do the same. 

But we're off topic now, so, I'll stop. 

[BrokenCompass]

Was that a curveball that Larnach hit out of the park? That's nice to see, he normally has trouble with the off-speed stuff. 

I know it was Paul Skenes, but this Twins offense is absolutely abysmal. They couldn't do anything against the mop-up guy Mlodzinski and his 5.00 ERA. 

If the Twins sweep the Pirates they'll be .500 at the break. They are much worse than that record would indicate. I wish things were different but that's the truth of it. 

Royce Lewis could be the biggest disappointment in MLB this season. He's a shell of his former self. 

[lukeduke1980]

Was there any comment on the Willi Castro play?  Like he just fell down and decided not to run?

[LambchoP]

Typical Twins. Start off horrible then go on a win streak to get our hopes up, then fall apart for a month. Then, before the all star break and trade deadline they go on a bit of a run, preventing ownership from selling off expiring contracts and making moves like they should. I expect very little to be done just like last year. They'll claim we have enough talent coming back from injury to be a playoff team. Then after the break we'll have another horrible month, knocking us out of the wildcard race once again....definition of insanity anyone?

[LambchoP]

25 minutes ago, lukeduke1980 said:

Was there any comment on the Willi Castro play?  Like he just fell down and decided not to run?

Also very curious about this. I thought he might have been hurt but no, he was fine. He's had a few weird mental mistakes like this during the season. Like that one play at 2nd base where he got the out but for no reason didn't throw to first base to get the double play. There needs to be some kind of consequences for these types of screw ups. He's a veteran, not a rookie....

[Joe Schmitt]

I was at the game, and watching, and I still have no idea what was going on for the Castro play. It was like he just decided not to try. I was baffled. So was everyone sitting around me. We should have had two runners on with no outs (and then a three run HR as well). 

[LastOnePicked]

I'm not a big fan of the front office, but I concede that they have a very difficult choice ahead.

I really, really would like an organizational rebuild. I want to see this organization change and become more aggressive, athletic and fundamentally sound. BUT ... I want this team to WIN and to electrify the state in September and October. I'm 90% sure that's not possible this year with this squad, but that 10% chance almost seems worth it. Almost.

[David HK]

I would have gone the Billy Martin route with both Willy and Wally.  Take 'em out of the game immediately, and publically.  Those were embarrassing plays, and embarrassment would be a proper solution.

But, I'm old school, so there's that.

[David HK]

1 hour ago, lukeduke1980 said:

Was there any comment on the Willi Castro play?  Like he just fell down and decided not to run?

I had the Pirates radio on while out on a walk, they were giving it to him and Wally both.  Pirate announcer, "Castro's not running!  What a buffoon!"   I mean, it's fair that he stumbled out of the box, that stuff happens.  But the play's right in front of you, and you can see your teammate busting his @$$ getting to second, and you STILL jog down the line?  Fuggetaboutit.