Twins 9, Royals 4: Minnesota Clobbers Seth Lugo In Decisive Win

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of © Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Box Score
Joe Ryan: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Home Runs: Matt Wallner (16), Kody Clemens (13)
Top 3 WPA: Luke Keaschall (.146), Ryan Jeffers (.101), Kody Clemens (.094)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

 

The prodigal sons return home. Or maybe they never left. Connecting the allegorical themes of the biblical story and this baseball team seems strained. In any case, the Ship of Theseus Twins, fresh off a convincing and enjoyable series win in Detroit, graced Target Field with their presence for the first time since 40% of the squad was sent elsewhere. It’s the dawn of a new age; one in which Alan Roden not only exists in Minnesota’s shared memory, but hits leadoff. How would the hometown faithful greet their new heroes? And would they bring new tales to tell?

Initial results favored the opponent. Long-time Giant Mike Yastrzemski greeted Joe Ryan with a lead-off blast deep into the overhang in right field. The homer augured an occasional quirk of Ryan: a decidedly poor first inning that casts doubt on his ability going forward in the game. He allowed another hit. He threw 26 pitches. The final out nearly banged off the right field wall. That’s just how it goes.

Fortunately, these Twins are apparently resilient in a way previously rarely seen before the Great Trade-Off of 2025. Facing Seth Lugo and his perpetual offerings, Matt Wallner found a fastball to his liking and cracked the pitch 434 feet to left-center to tie the game. 

 

With an even slate, Minnesota went to work. Ryan Jeffers walked, and Kody Clemens sharply singled to left to set up Luke Keaschall with two men on base. Pro tip: you do not want to set up Luke Keaschall with two men on base. The youngster slashed a single to right before helping a third run score by beating the throw to second off a Royce Lewis dribbler. 

The onslaught continued. A pair of runs scored in the second. Ryan Jeffers knocked in the first. The RBI machine, Keaschall, drove in the other. The jersey retirement ceremony will occur any day now. 

The Twins fell silent in the third—perhaps lulling Lugo into some sense of relaxation—before uncoiling for a fourth-inning strike. Jeffers chopped a grounder too tall for first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, setting up Clemens to smash a two-run shot, giving Minnesota seven runs off the 2024 AL Cy Young runner-up. 

All the while, Ryan settled into the usual competence that made him so coveted at the trade deadline - and so worthy of remaining a Twin. He navigated Kansas City’s lineup with ease, striking out five across five frames with the Yastrzemski homer remaining as his lone blemish. Once again, he also blessed us with an iconic image: this time, a still of him harkening back to Suleiman the Magnificent, or perhaps an ancient Muslim at the Baghdad House of Wisdom, or maybe the Girl with the Pearl Earring, this time swathed in a Gatorade-branded towel.

 

The rest of the game was window dressing surrounding the inevitable. Travis Adams entered. Bobby Witt Jr. immediately homered. So it goes. Minnesota responded with two scores to push their total to nine. Adams allowed another run. Cole Sands was forced to enter the game. He loaded the bases. There was maybe a second where things got uncomfortable. Adam Frazier softly grounded out to conclude the threat.

Brooks Kriske took the mound in the ninth to end what we already knew to be true; that the Twins had won on Friday in impressive fashion. Few cared that he allowed a run. Is this 2017 2.0? We shall see. 

 

Notes

In his pregame talk, manager Rocco Baldelli revealed that his strategy versus Lugo was to load up the lineup with as many left-handed hitters as he could find because Lugo has been particularly effective versus right-handed hitters this year. He's right: left-handed batters entered the game wth a 788 OPS against Lugo, while right-handed hitters have just a 572 OPS with a .177 batting average.

So the Twins lineup only included three right-handed hitters: Royce Lewis, Luke Keaschall, and Ryan Jeffers. The other seven batters went 7-17 (.412 BA) against Lugo, including two home runs and seven earned runs. Though the three righties found success, as well, so maybe it was just one of those nights. 

Matt Wallner is slashing .292/.452/.792 in his last seven games with more walks (6) than strikeouts (5).

Joe Ryan has set a career high in fWAR with 3.2 (although that number could fall, as WAR is not a counting stat.) He also crossed the 600-inning mark in his MLB career.

Luke Keaschall's 10 RBIs through his first 10 games is a Twins team record. 

Across their last three games, the Twins have taken 12 walks while striking out nine times.

Post-Game Interview:

What’s Next?
The Twins and Royals meet again for a game on Saturday. An evening affair with a 6:10 PM start time, Bailey Ober will start opposite lefty Noah Cameron. 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[jorgenswest]

These players are fighting and this game was a pleasure to watch. Wallner and Clemens crushing the ball was a highlight. Clemens has a 117 wRC+ as a Twin. That is going to work with his positional flexibility. Wallner is hitting like the player we expected. Those home runs were nice but the play of the day for me was Keaschall’s busting it to second base on the ball hit to Witt. If the plan was to tank no one told the players.

[Mike Sixel]

Wallner with a 121 wrc+ again....up to 1.1 fwar in 73 games. And there are a huge number of people here that just want to DFA him.....

[stringer bell]

2 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

These players are fighting and this game was a pleasure to watch. Wallner and Clemens crushing the ball was a highlight. Clemens has a 117 wRC+ as a Twin. That is going to work with his positional flexibility. Wallner is hitting like the player we expected. Those home runs were nice but the play of the day for me was Keaschall’s busting it to second base on the ball hit to Witt. If the plan was to tank no one told the players.

Clemens:  With his sustained performance now with a sample size of 225 plate appearances, I think he comes back next year and he deserves it. He's currently in front of all organization options at first base and plays an acceptable second base and corner outfield.

Wallner: Interesting game for the Moose. Almost got kicked out of the game for griping about what looked like a proper called third strike. A late jump cost him catching a liner and then was halfhearted on the contact play when on third base. On the flip side, he hit a big homer and got a double off a lefty.

Adams, Sands and Kriske were each on the mound when a single run scored. As it turned out, that was fine. With Vázquez' injury, it would appear that Ryan Jeffers will get more run, both at DH and catcher. 

Maybe the team will finish with more than 70 wins.

[Parfigliano]

Is Buxton still injured?

[Melissa]

Dare I say it? This team is getting to be fun to watch.

[USAFChief]

1 minute ago, Parfigliano said:

Is Buxton still injured?

Yes. Still on IL and it doesn't sound like it'll be this weekend for sure

 

[Parfigliano]

Attendance 28,242 and no Buxton or Correa.

[Dman]

These young guys are bringing some energy.  They really seem to be connected and rooting for each other to succeed. Kind of looks like a brotherhood in the dugout when the camera heads there.

Keaschall sure seems like he might have that "it" factor.  So intense and into the game just love watching him in the field and at the plate.

Kind of felt like Lugo got Ober'd in Minnesota.  Just couldn't catch a break. The young bats were all over his stuff.

[TwinsAce]

58 minutes ago, Dman said:

These young guys are bringing some energy.  They really seem to be connected and rooting for each other to succeed. Kind of looks like a brotherhood in the dugout when the camera heads there.

Keaschall sure seems like he might have that "it" factor.  So intense and into the game just love watching him in the field and at the plate.

Kind of felt like Lugo got Ober'd in Minnesota.  Just couldn't catch a break. The young bats were all over his stuff.

Losing Keaschall to the injury this spring might have been the difference between playoffs and selling off. (Plus Lopez.) He seems to bring the speed as well as solid hitting that this team was missing for so long. I know I have to pump the brakes in my mind, but like you said, he just seems to have an "it" factor. Fun to watch and excited to see next year as he continues to get healthier!

[Bodie]

5 hours ago, Dman said:

These young guys are bringing some energy.  They really seem to be connected and rooting for each other to succeed. Kind of looks like a brotherhood in the dugout when the camera heads there.

Keaschall sure seems like he might have that "it" factor.  So intense and into the game just love watching him in the field and at the plate.

Kind of felt like Lugo got Ober'd in Minnesota.  Just couldn't catch a break. The young bats were all over his stuff.

What you are describing is a "team".

It is this revolutionary idea that a group can be collectively better than the sum of the individuals.  

Twins fans can be forgiven for forgetting this concept,  as it hasn't been seen on a diamond in several years...

[UpstateNewYorker]

34 minutes ago, Bodie said:

What you are describing is a "team".

It is this revolutionary idea that a group can be collectively better than the sum of the individuals.  

Twins fans can be forgiven for forgetting this concept,  as it hasn't been seen on a diamond in several years...

The Twins getting rid of Correa and seemingly improving reminds me of Bill Simmons' "Ewing Theory":  https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/010509a

[big dog]

7 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Adams, Sands and Kriske were each on the mound when a single run scored. As it turned out, that was fine. 

 

Adams actually gave up 2 runs in 2.1 innings- 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.

His Twins career so far:

19.2 IP, 18K. That's the good.

19.2 IP, 24 H, 4 BB, 1.42 WHIP, .316 BAA, 6.86 ERA. That's everything else.

He threw a decent 5 innings against Detroit (4 H, 2 ER, 7 K). I hope he can start to dial in better

[stringer bell]

44 minutes ago, big dog said:

Adams actually gave up 2 runs in 2.1 innings- 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.

His Twins career so far:

19.2 IP, 18K. That's the good.

19.2 IP, 24 H, 4 BB, 1.42 WHIP, .316 BAA, 6.86 ERA. That's everything else.

He threw a decent 5 innings against Detroit (4 H, 2 ER, 7 K). I hope he can start to dial in better

My bad. I thought Sands was on the mound when the second Adams run scored. By phrasing it that way, I was trying to point out that all three guys were okay, but not dominating.

[JD-TWINS]

8 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Wallner with a 121 wrc+ again....up to 1.1 fwar in 73 games. And there are a huge number of people here that just want to DFA him.....

I don’t think they can DFA him as he’d just be optioned ……. he has been very disappointing, in general. Can’t imagine anyone here has said he should be released but not being a consistent contributor & hitting .200 +/- is not good. He hits lots of solo shots and strikes out with guys on base - routinely. I like his recent trending and expect/want him to do well! He’s been hard to watch or get behind essentially the entire year……..couple of his recent HR’s have been to left field, this seems encouraging as he’s letting the ball travel and not pulling off it - hopefully, he’ll keep heating up for remaining weeks if the season.

[stringer bell]

7 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

Attendance 28,242 and no Buxton or Correa.

Not a bad count. I wonder how many didn't show up after buying tickets.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Bodie said:

What you are describing is a "team".

It is this revolutionary idea that a group can be collectively better than the sum of the individuals.  

Twins fans can be forgiven for forgetting this concept,  as it hasn't been seen on a diamond in several years...

Apparently, BALDELLI has shifted his managerial approach for this energy shift to happen because the player’s performance & attitude is completely controlled by the Manager…….. hitting/base running/defensive sharpness are not the player’s responsibility but rather the Manager’s through his motivational approach & strategy………….75% of people here at TD buy into that anyway.

Players play and that level denotes the Team’s success!

[mikelink45]

Keaschall has had a magic season and I would love to see it continue, but I felt the same with Lewis' beginning.  I just keep marveling at his enthusiasm and his ability so far.  He has the potential to be really great.

The energy of this team has really changed.  The BP is a problem and will continue to be, but still it is fun and I hope they continue to be loose and play with joy. 

[thelanges5]

More fun to watch than the previous rendition of the club. Open tryouts are going well. Nice win!

[stringer bell]

9 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

I don’t think they can DFA him as he’d just be optioned ……. he has been very disappointing, in general. Can’t imagine anyone here has said he should be released but not being a consistent contributor & hitting .200 +/- is not good. He hits lots of solo shots and strikes out with guys on base - routinely. I like his recent trending and expect/want him to do well! He’s been hard to watch or get behind essentially the entire year……..couple of his recent HR’s have been to left field, this seems encouraging as he’s letting the ball travel and not pulling off it - hopefully, he’ll keep heating up for remaining weeks if the season.

Much like Joey Gallo, OPS is his friend. It will be the stat that makes Wallner look the best. Wallner was tremendously disappointing until the last couple of weeks, but if he's hitting a homer every three games and drawing some walks the OPS won't look too bad. 

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Bodie said:

What you are describing is a "team".

It is this revolutionary idea that a group can be collectively better than the sum of the individuals.  

Twins fans can be forgiven for forgetting this concept,  as it hasn't been seen on a diamond in several years...

Apparently, BALDELLI has shifted his managerial approach for this energy shift to happen because the player’s performance & attitude is completely controlled by the Manager…….. hitting/base running/defensive sharpness are not the player’s responsibility but rather the Manager’s through his motivational approach & strategy………….75% of people here at TD buy into that anyway.

Players play and that level denotes the Team’s success!

[William K Johnson]

Wins are good, but that bullpen is spooky.

[Old Crow]

Only two rightys in the line up Lewis and Jeffers what is Keaschell chopped liver?

[Whitey333]

Great win.  Fun game.  Great enthusiasm from players.  As long as Baldelli doesn't mess up and change players positions or mess with the lineup too much we could be ok.  I don't trust Baldelli to do the right thing.  He's messed up too many players and teams during his time here.  The attendance was very good.  It was boosted by a post game fireworks display and Royals fans.  But still good.  Keep Lewis at third, Lee at short and keaschall at second and Clemens at first Everyday!!  Twins are 4-3 since trade day.  Wallner is ok but still has a way to go.  He hits Homer's many of them solo shots but still make fielding and base running errors.  But Great start for the Twins.  Finally look like they have some energy.  Go Twins

[jmlease1]

I guess Keaschall has no intention of slowing down. Hey, good for him. He's definitely got a little of that energizer to him. At some point the grounders through the infield are going to stop going through every time, but he's still got a good approach at the plate and all signs are good I think. He looks fine at 2B as well with good range and a solid glove. Still some concerns about the arm, but that might improve just through getting the reps in.

Roden did well again; hopefully he just needed some time to settle in. I'd love to be wrong about him and that he's more than just a Quad A player. It does look like the Twins see him as being a replacement for Larnach?

Great to see the offense clicking like this. Jeffers is locked in at the plate right now and looked great (less great on that throw he airmailed to CF, but they got through it).

Little surprised to see Wallner catching flack for getting rung up on that 3-2 pitch and being mad about it; maybe it nicked the corner, but also looked like it might have never actually touched the plate. The ump's reaction on it makes me back Wallner: he was slow to make the call, waited until Wallner started to walk to first, and then stumbled in his actual strike call as if he wasn't actually sure he had it right. That kind of crap is going to tick off the player and make him more certain that the ump got it wrong, and I don't blame him. 

A good win. Ryan is always fun to watch pitch. I'm going to be furious if he gets traded in the offseason; he's the kind of player to extend, not deal. Please sell the team!

[Bodie]

The catchers are mortal!!!!

Time to see just how shallow (or, underrated!) the Twins catching actually is.

I won't even wonder how Vasquez is out with "an infected shoulder"... assuming a typo by AP's overnight staff.

[Squirrel]

11 minutes ago, Bodie said:

The catchers are mortal!!!!

Time to see just how shallow (or, underrated!) the Twins catching actually is.

I won't even wonder how Vasquez is out with "an infected shoulder"... assuming a typo by AP's overnight staff.

An infected shoulder is no joke and can be serious

https://www.healthline.com/health/bacterial-joint-inflammation

[Eephus]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

I don’t think they can DFA him as he’d just be optioned ……. he has been very disappointing, in general. Can’t imagine anyone here has said he should be released but not being a consistent contributor & hitting .200 +/- is not good. He hits lots of solo shots and strikes out with guys on base - routinely. I like his recent trending and expect/want him to do well! He’s been hard to watch or get behind essentially the entire year……..couple of his recent HR’s have been to left field, this seems encouraging as he’s letting the ball travel and not pulling off it - hopefully, he’ll keep heating up for remaining weeks if the season.

Sometimes I get this feeling Wallner watched too closely on how Joey Gallo went about his business. Superficially, there's a giant man swagger they share and some similarities in their pre-pitch routine.

[David Maro]

Keaschall has become the straw that stirs the drink. Since he's return the team has played much better.

They do have to realize that Wallner is a DH at best. He is a liability playing RF with the glove. Maybe he would be better at 1st with Clemens in RF.

Its August and Ryan is looking tired and his velocity is down. I didn't see a single fastball at 95.

[Matt Braun]

4 minutes ago, David Maro said:

Its August and Ryan is looking tired and his velocity is down. I didn't see a single fastball at 95.

He threw one 95.8 and sat 93.4. His average on the season is 93.5.