Twins 5, Royals 3: Move Over Royce, the Twins Have a New Savior

[Hans Birkeland]

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: José Ureña: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 1 K (73 Pitches, 36 Strikes, 49.3%)
Home Runs: Ryan Fitzgerald (1), Luke Keaschall (2)
Top 3 WPA: Michael Tonkin (.619), Keaschall (.429), Pierson Ohl (.224)
Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs):

Well, the team has been showing positive flashes lately, and it's definitely due to my own prognosis. Or, maybe it's just Luke Keaschall, who had (ahem) a pretty decent game.

The Twins finished up the series against Kansas City today, going for a second straight series win against a team ahead of them in the AL Central standings. I was at Friday's game and witnessed more key RBI hits than occurred in all of 2024. Alas, yesterday, Noah Cameron shut them down, which was a reminder that they are still going to struggle against lefties in the absences of Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, Willi Castro and Harrison Bader.

It looked like they might be facing a huge early deficit with José Ureña on the mound. He allowed a leadoff walk to Mike Yastrzemski, followed by a sharp single to Maikel García. Fortunately, Vinnie Pasquantino then scorched a ball to Kody Clemens at first, who recorded the out and stepped on first for a crushing double play. Especially crushing because a walk and a single would follow. All in all, just the one run would score.

The second inning looked even bleaker for the Twins and Ureña, who walked the first two hitters he saw. Kyle Isbel then bunted the runners over, bringing up the top of the lineup. Yastrzemski hit a sharp line drive... right to Luke Keaschall at second base. Ureña then fooled García with a weird, screwball-type pitch to set him down looking and end the inning.

The Royals countered with a much more impressive arm, Ryan Bergert, whom they acquired from the Padres by trading away one of the heirs apparent to Salvador Perez, Freddy Fermin. Bergert has a couple of nice pitches, but stalled in the high minors before the Padres gave him a look in a swing role. He excelled in that capacity, with a 2.78 ERA over 35 innings, and shut down Boston over 5 2/3 innings in his Royals debut, allowing just two hits and two runs.

Bergert made quick work of the Twins in the first two innings, showcasing an impressive changeup-slider combo, but committed the cardinal sin of walking Mickey Gasper to begin the third. That brought up Ryan Fitzgerald, still looking for his first big-league hit, and he capitalized, crushing a cement-mixer slider into the flower beds in right field for a two-run home run and giving the Twins the lead.

Ureña was done after three innings, throwing a whopping 73 pitches and walking four batters. Any gambler knows to quit while you're ahead, and Ureña leaving with a lead was nothing short of a miracle. Kody Funderburk threw a scoreless fourth inning and gave way to Pierson Ohl in the fifth, who pitched 2 2/3 uneventful, scoreless innings of his own. It should be noted that the Royals were sitting Bobby Witt Jr., and without him, this offense is just a wannabe Whitey Herzog team: fast, contact-oriented, lousy.

Meanwhile, Bergert was racking up strikeouts (eight in total) with exceptional command and efficiency. He had Twins hitters playing defense, working the edges with his fastball and then mixing in the changeup and slider to great effect. Keaschall and Jeffers, two of the better two-strike hitters on the team, were both fooled by changeups right down the middle for strikeouts. He would exit after 5 2/3 innings, and looks like a steal for Kansas City—without factoring in the other pitcher the Royals got in the Fermin deal, Stephen Kolek, who also figures to contribute at the back half of the rotation in the near future.

Now the Twins got to a scenario we were all worried about: a slim lead in the late innings. Ohl began the seventh inning with two quick outs, and was relieved by Cole Sands. García singled, though, and Pasquantino then launched a two-strike curveball to flip the game.

The Twins had an opportunity to answer back in the eighth. With one out, Austin Martin hit a sinking liner that scooted under the glove of left fielder John Rave and ended up as a triple. Kody Clemens hit a pop-up, not quite deep enough to score Martin, and things looked bleak. Fortunately, Jeffers was up next, and the hot-hitting catcher roped a single to left to tie the game against Royals relief ace Lucas Erceg.

The ninth began innocently enough, with Justin Topa retiring Isbel and Yastrzemski on called strikes. The relentlessly troublesome García doubled, however, and Pasquantino was put on intentionally. Certainly, Perez was ready to punish them for such a decision—but he was hit by a pitch, bringing up Adam Frazier, who already had collected four hits to that point. Frazier was all over the next Topa sweeper, but lined out to deep right field. Crisis: averted.

The Twins went down in six pitches in their half of the ninth, so it would be an extra-inning affair. The Twins called on Michael Tonkin, and he was effective, inducing a groundout that didn't advance the runner from Jonathan India, striking out Rave and working around a walk to pinch-hitter Nick Loftin by getting Isbel to pop out to end the inning.

Gasper began the home 10th by drawing a 3-0 count. He tried to bunt on each of the next three pitches, and was unsuccessful each time. The Twins would also go scoreless, pushing the contest to 11 frames.

That's fine, because Tonkin was made for extra innings, apparently. He would strike out Perez to end the top half of that inning scoreless, as well. He's been shelved most of the year by injuries, but when right, he's a rubber-armed multi-use reliever.

In a sentence I didn't think I would ever utter, number two hitter Kody Clemens was walked to bring up number three hitter Ryan Jeffers to begin the bottom of the 11th. It started well, as Jeffers went ahead 3-0. Eventually, Jeffers would fly out, but Manfred Man Martin did not tag immediately, and was thrown out trying to advance to third. Things weren't looking good, with Martin walking off the field even though the Twins (unsuccessfully) challenged the call.

Never fear; Luke Keaschall hits fourth now. He launched a Carlos Estévez fastball over the big wall in right-center field for a walk-off home run. This team has juice, if nothing else, and there truly may be nothing else.

Stray Observations:

-This was Mickey Gasper's first game starting behind the plate, and the first time anyone besides Ryan Jeffers or Christian Vázquez has started there since 2022. Needless to say, Gasper does not possess much of a throwing arm, allowing two early steals. He didn't miss any balls and his framing looked decent, however.

-In the eighth, following Jeffers's tying hit, Royce Lewis (out of the lineup to begin the day) was in the on-deck circle. However, the batter at the time, Keaschall, popped out to end the inning. The next inning, Edouard Julien got the at-bat instead. I suppose it makes sense, as you would prefer Julien to begin an inning and Lewis to finish one, but with Julien struggling, it was eyebrow-raising, especially once Lewis was used as a pinch-runner for Brooks Lee in the 10th.

Postgame Interviews:

Coming soon

What’s Next:

Zebby Matthews (3-3, 5.17 ERA) takes on Will Warren (6-5, 4.44 ERA) as the Twins take their yearly sojourn to Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have had some of the same issues as the Twins these past few years (put pressure on the other team? Nah, look how optimized my swing is), but thanks to Aaron Judge in the regular season and Giancarlo Stanton in the playoffs, their results have looked a bit better. 

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOT
Ohl	61	0	0	0	36	97
Tonkin	0	0	0	18	38	56
Hatch	54	0	0	0	0	54
Kriske	14	0	17	0	17	48
Adams	0	0	43	0	0	43
Topa	0	0	0	15	20	35
Ramírez	0	0	0	21	0	21
Funderburk	12	0	0	0	9	21
Sands	0	0	9	0	9	18

 

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[Dman]

Somebody forgot to tell these guys they were supposed to lose a bunch of games.  Wow! Didn't see this coming.

I kind of thought Keaschall would have a hard time being effective coming back from the broken arm and given the results at AAA.  I guess I couldn't have been more wrong.  When that guy dials it in he means business.  It is still early, but he has that look of a star in the making.  We sure could use one.

[Galen]

Maybe Royce should watch and see what Luke does with pitches on the outer edge of the strike zone.

[gmwannabe]

I enjoy watching the new look Twins, but Gasper not being able to execute a bunt that could have cost us the game is painful. Please DFA him now!

 

 

 

 

 

[LastOnePicked]

Oof. The blown-up Twins are a lot more fun that the pre-deadline Twins. A lot.

[Aggies7]

18 minutes ago, Dman said:

Somebody forgot to tell these guys they were supposed to lose a bunch of games.  Wow! Didn't see this coming.

I kind of thought Keaschall would have a hard time being effective coming back from the broken arm and given the results at AAA.  I guess I couldn't have been more wrong.  When that guy dials it in he means business.  It is still early, but he has that look of a star in the making.  We sure could use one.

They did try their darndest to not win. Those last couple innings were not pretty until the kid bailed us out.

[chinmusic]

What a game!

Apart from the walk off, I was impressed by Keaschall's post game interview. 

Appears to be very genuine and grounded. Not bad for a 22 yo.

True grit from Michael Tonkin, too!

 

[jmlease1]

Is it possible for a player to win Rookie of the Year only playing about 2 months or so of the season? Luke Keaschall sure seems to want it, lol. Heck of a start to his MLB career. Whatever happens, happens, but why not enjoy the ride? Sure is fun.

Urena is a pitcher I'm uninterested in seeing again. (well, appearing again, since I couldn't watch the broadcast anyway because the Twins are awesome at dumb business decisions) Pure luck he didn't bury the team from the jump and I don't want to bet on luck.

KC is going to be kicking themselves; they drew 8 walks and only scored 3 runs. Oof. (I'm sort of amazed that Sal Perez didn't destroy us; even if he's on the downside of his career, even if he's in a bit of a slump, I just sort of assume he's going to come up big against us. As a baseball fan, you'd want him to stick around forever, but as a Twins fan I can't wait for him to retire. Dude terrifies me)

Congrats to Fitz on the dinger.  

[thelanges5]

New Twins are 5-4 since the deadline (Red Wedding)

Let the 2026 auditions continue

[Mike Sixel]

Replacing two guys not hitting with two that are makes a big difference. 

[Major League Ready]

8 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Replacing two guys not hitting with two that are makes a big difference. 

Getting buck back won't hurt either.  

[Danchat]

Wowza, hard to believe this bullpen is holding up. Tonkin with two innings of 0 runs allowed with the new overtime rules and even Kriske looks pretty good. Oddly enough, Sands has been one of the worst relievers in this new-look pen.

Don't think I can say anything about Keaschall that hasn't already been said, but Jeffers deserves a mention, he's been molten hot since the trade deadline. Just wish he could have turned it on earlier this year.

[jkcarew]

The pitch Keaschall hit for the game-winning homer to RIGHT FIELD was absolutely identical in location and velocity to the pitch Lewis K’d on yesterday in the bottom of the 7th with RiSP….fastball at 96, up, and on the outside corner…

…to RIGHT FIELD. I’m talking to you, Royce.

[SaberNerd]

Did Rocco forget to tell Keaschall we are tanking?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in.

[wavedog]

Lewis has taken over the Correa role - can't seem to hit in the clutch  and Martin - questionable fielding, baserunning and too many grounders to the right - try some opposite field - Gaspar those bunt attempts were embarrassing.  .  But let's focus on the good - nice pitching from Ohl and Tonkin especially getting out of those extra innings scoreless.  Keaschall  - what can you say - he has brought back life to Twins baseball when it needed it most.  He has more clutch hits in the past 10 days than the folks traded had all year.   Jeffers has been hot and he had a nice clutch RBI in the eighth.  Congrats to Fitzgerald on his first MLB hit and home run!   Looks like the team is having fun so it is a fun watch.  

[Linus]

Keaschall is something. The Twins really stole one today. Austin Martins speed might be the most wasted asset on the club. He can’t run the bases or efficiently track a fly ball. He does look better at the plate. 

[twinssporto]

The chemistry with this new/revised squad looks good. Team chemistry can be seen outside the locker room. Sounds crazy but things just look different, "in a good way!"

[Always next season]

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in.

So true!

[AceWrigley]

48 minutes ago, Linus said:

Austin Martins speed might be the most wasted asset on the club. He can’t run the bases or efficiently track a fly ball. He does look better at the plate. 

Yep.

[AceWrigley]

Tonkin locking down the 10th and 11th inning was just huge. nice job.

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, Linus said:

Keaschall is something. The Twins really stole one today. Austin Martins speed might be the most wasted asset on the club. He can’t run the bases or efficiently track a fly ball. He does look better at the plate. 

Speed, in and of itself, isn't much of a thing as Martin has shown in his brief major league career. I agree that Martin does look better at the plate and I think he can do a better job of utilizing his speed in the field and on the bases, but I also think he only has seven weeks to do so.

[Linus]

3 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Speed, in and of itself, isn't much of a thing as Martin has shown in his brief major league career. I agree that Martin does look better at the plate and I think he can do a better job of utilizing his speed in the field and on the bases, but I also think he only has seven weeks to do so.

Agreed.  I am not hopeful of improvement in the running game. I think he understands that his speed is an asset but his instincts and understanding of situational baseball are not good leading to mistakes. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

1 hour ago, wavedog said:

Lewis has taken over the Correa role - can't seem to hit in the clutch  and Martin - questionable fielding, baserunning and too many grounders to the right - try some opposite field - Gaspar those bunt attempts were embarrassing.  .  But let's focus on the good - nice pitching from Ohl and Tonkin especially getting out of those extra innings scoreless.  Keaschall  - what can you say - he has brought back life to Twins baseball when it needed it most.  He has more clutch hits in the past 10 days than the folks traded had all year.   Jeffers has been hot and he had a nice clutch RBI in the eighth.  Congrats to Fitzgerald on his first MLB hit and home run!   Looks like the team is having fun so it is a fun watch.  

Fitzgerald is a smooth fielding SS, based on what I saw in spring training this year. Tonkin walks too many batters.  I can excuse the hits, but the walks  by a late inning reliever, are so frustrating.

[stringer bell]

It is a long, long season. At the end of June, most were saying that Brooks Lee had shown major league chops and was a decent bat and glove, then July happened. July was a good month for Lewis but now he has slumped noticeably in August. Jeffers has put together a good couple of weeks to bring his numbers up to a good level.

Keaschall looks like the real deal. I think his hitting success is a little more sustainable than Royce's. Also, he's looked pretty good in the field since he returned. Leave him at second for the rest of the season and maybe just leave him there for the rest of the decade. 

[HerbieFan]

I can't get enough of Keaschall.  The energy he plays with is infectious.  Now, do we really have to see "Mickey Gasper" catch?!  An incredibly loud and damning statement on Falvey that that's even possible.

[cjm0926]

No doubt this team has much more energy and is a lot more fun to watch. Don't want to jump the gun but it looks like Keaschall could be the 2B of the future. The Correa trade helped clear the Lee/Keaschall/Julien jam at 2B a bit but his performance would have sorted that out for itself anyways. I was fortunate enough to briefly meet Keaschall before the game Friday, and he seems to be a friendly, humble guy which bodes well for chemistry within the clubhouse. Good stuff Keaschall!

[Wedman13]

6 hours ago, Dman said:

Somebody forgot to tell these guys they were supposed to lose a bunch of games.  Wow! Didn't see this coming.

 

Slight correction.  Other than Seth, somebody forgot to tell the TD writers and 90% of the folks posting on the site, that they were  supposed  to lose a lot of games.

[jmlease1]

24 minutes ago, cjm0926 said:

No doubt this team has much more energy and is a lot more fun to watch. Don't want to jump the gun but it looks like Keaschall could be the 2B of the future. The Correa trade helped clear the Lee/Keaschall/Julien jam at 2B a bit but his performance would have sorted that out for itself anyways. I was fortuanate enough to briefly meet Keaschall before the game Friday, and he seems to be a friendly, humble guy which bodes well for chemistry within the clubhouse. On the other hand, one thing I did notice, and obviously I didn't see everything, is that when Keaschall came into the dugout after the game, everyone was fired up and full of emotion like they should, but you could see Julien in the corner with his back turned grabbing his stuff from the bat rack looking like someone shot his puppy. Maybe I am looking into this way too much, but that isn't a good look for Eddy, even if the guy is competing for the 2B spot. Even if Ed does regain some form this season, I would like to see him elsewhere next season. He plays too lacksidasically and doesn't really have the hustle some of these other guys do. Like I said, maybe I am thinking about it too much but just a thought. Good stuff Keaschall!

This is the sort of thing people "find" when they've already decided they don't want a player on the team. Suddenly the body language is bad, they don't hustle, blah blah blah. Never heard anything bad about Julien as a teammate.

And of course everything looks great on Keaschall's intangibles: he can't miss at the plate. When was the last time you saw bad body language on a player hitting .400?

 

[Wedman13]

5 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Replacing two guys not hitting with two that are makes a big difference. 

I like your takes so I no offense but they got shot out last light.