White Sox 8, Twins 0: Bradley Gets Rocked, Offense Remains Negligible

[Hans Birkeland]

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Taj Bradley: 5 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (88 pitches, 54 Strikes, 61.4%)
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Bradley (-.364), Luke Keaschall (-.035), Kody Clemens (-.033)
Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs):

It could have been an exciting weekend—almost as exciting as games could be, for a team that has gone in the tank. The Twins won a thriller on Friday, then had the debuts of Mick Abel and Taj Bradley to look forward to. Well, Abel got obliterated yesterday, and today, Bradley was even worse, at least at the start.

He began by allowing a base hit to Mike Tauchman, followed by singles to Miguel Vargas and Kyle Teel, the latter scoring the game's first run. Eventually, Edgar Quero singled in two more, and there were no silver linings. Bradley couldn't locate his fastball and was hesitant to throw his splitter, which the White Sox hitters picked up on right away. His fastball has good velocity, but it's hittable, especially when the hitter knows it's coming. Bradley tried emphasizing his curveball a little more, but he missed the zone with it more times than not, and only got one swing and miss.

Meanwhile, Twins hitters were up against Yoendrys Gomez, a journeyman swingman on his third team of the year. He looked good, though, sitting in the mid- to high 90s with a moving fastball. The Twins really had no answer for him, outside of a Trevor Larnach double in the first and an Austin Martin lineout in the fifth on which Luis Robert Jr. made a great diving play deep in the left-center gap.

The bottom of the second inning began lineout-single-walk-single for Bradley, before the impressive rookie Colson Montgomery jumped all over a fastball on the inner half of the plate, making it a 7-0 game for what felt like the 13th game in a row.

The third began with a single to Andrew Benintendi, but Bradley was bailed out with a double play off the bat of the next hitter, Chase Meidroth. He got out of that inning unscathed, and actually pitched a decent fourth inning, giving up fairly hard contact but retiring Tauchman, Vargas and Teel in order. His fastball started burning more edges, and he emphasized his secondary pitches early in counts, getting some weak contact and efficient outs. After throwing over 50 pitches in the first two innings, he finished the fifth at just 88 total.

It's historically been hard to read a lot into a starting pitcher's performance against the White Sox, but they are getting a little more fun, with Teel, Quero, Vargas and Montgomery offering a legitimate glimmer of hope for the long-suffering Sox. They also seem to have rejuvenated Robert, who is hitting like a decent player again since the All-Star break. Bradley has historically struggled in the early innings, and he did legitimately look better as the game went on.

But the hitters never made a dent against Gomez, drawing a couple of walks but otherwise playing into his hands. They worked counts at times, but in the few instances in which they actually made hard contact, the ball found Sox defenders' gloves. Gomez was done after a dribbler of a single from Byron Buxton in the fifth, finishing with four and two-thirds innings, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out six.

Facing reliever (Brandon Eisert) in the sixth, Brooks Lee walked, and with two outs, Ryan Jeffers roped a double over the head of Tauchman in right field. Somehow, Lee barely made third base on the play. Is he really this slow? The metrics certainly think so, with a 16th-percentile sprint speed; it just doesn't seem like he's ever really sprinting. Even a slow runner should really score on a two-out double to the wall, though. Anyway, Royce Lewis struck out on three pitches to end the threat.

Pierson Ohl finished the game with three solid innings, while a trio of Sox relievers kept the Twins lineup on silent mode.

Stray Observations:
-Pierson Ohl threw a couple more knuckleballs. I guess his search for a secondary pitch to complement his changeup has arrived at the gimmick stage. At least he understands the assignment for the stretch run with this team: do something interesting.

-Luke Keaschall made two errors. One came on a relay throw that flew over Edouard Julien's head; the second was a booted ground ball. Hopefully, this is not the start of a trend. He did record a double and a walk to keep his OPS above .900. His fielding percentage is above that, too—for now.

-Kody Clemens went 0-4, and although he has been a nice story, if he finishes the year with an OPS under .700, it becomes a little harder to justify handing him a roster spot for 2026.

What’s Next: Joe Ryan (12-6, 2.77 ERA) takes on Max Scherzer (4-2, 3.60 ERA) as the Twins make their annual trek to Canada to take on the AL East-leading Blue Jays on Monday. Scherzer has been reborn into a serviceable starter once more at age 41, allowing just eight runs over his past five starts and going at least six innings in each turn. Ryan had one of his more regrettable starts last time out against the A's, and will be looking to bounce back against one of the best lineups in baseball.

Postgame Interviews:

 

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOT
Hatch	0	0	0	54	0	54
Topa	20	0	32	0	0	52
Ohl	0	0	0	0	46	46
Cabrera	20	0	17	0	0	37
Tonkin	0	32	0	0	0	32
Sands	17	0	14	0	0	31
Funderburk	7	0	21	0	0	28
Kriske	16	10	0	0	0	26

 

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[ashbury]

"Hello, Twins Offense.  Whaaat's happening?  Ahhm, I'm gonna need you to go ahead and start producing some hits. So if you could do that, starting next game, that would be great.  Mmmkay?  Oh, oh, and I almost forgot, ahhm, I'm also gonna need you to go ahead and turn some of those hits into runs right after that, too.  We, uh, lost some games this week and, uh, we sorta need to play catchup.  Thaaanks."

[thelanges5]

0-11 w/RISP Sat and Sun. Still clinging to the 24 spot in MLB for OPS w/RISP. 
 

 

[IndyTwinsFan]

"Negligible"?  "Non-existent" would be a much more appropriate description. Plus the pitching and defense are usually just about as bad.

A poor excuse for a team, with a poor excuse for a manager, a poor excuse for a front office, and a poor excuse for an ownership group. 

Enough said!

[jorgenswest]

Discouraging.

[Aggies7]

My takeaway from this weekend is to be weary when a team is willing to trade away a (once) starting pitching prospect.

[Nshore]

Maybe part of the goal is to make Lopez and Ryan BEG to be traded.

[LastOnePicked]

25 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

My takeaway from this weekend is to be weary when a team is willing to trade away a (once) starting pitching prospect.

I was going to use the old "Jack and the magic beans" analogy, but at least the beans in that old tale actually grew into something. Not sure we'll have that luck with either Abel or Bradley.

[Brandon]

The whole team really came together to lose this one. No losing effort was wasted!

[sweetmusicviola16]

I'm really comforted by Joe Pohlad's commitment to winning. I can't imagine the state of affairs if he wasn't.

[Glorybound]

2 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

I'm really comforted by Joe Pohlad's commitment to winning. I can't imagine the state of affairs if he wasn't.

  Nothing points to success like going 1-5 against the Athletics and White Sox. Everyone was clamoring to so Abel and Bradley. Well now you have seen them in Twin’s uniform.

[tony&rodney]

50 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

My takeaway from this weekend is to be weary when a team is willing to trade away a (once) starting pitching prospect.

I am weary of how many times Falvey & Sons struggle to identify talent. Oh well, maybe things change in the future. Why does it seem like a few GM's are excited to discuss Ryan and Lopez with the Twins brain trust this coming offseason?

Doesn't it seem like Griffin Jax might have returned a guy like Harry Ford? I guess it gets tough when a team takes 15 minutes to complete a deal. Doesn't leave much time to float other offers or interest.

Nobody was too surprised that the White Sox took the series. 

[Aggies7]

2 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

I am weary of how many times Falvey & Sons struggle to identify talent. Oh well, maybe things change in the future. Why does it seem like a few GM's are excited to discuss Ryan and Lopez with the Twins brain trust this coming offseason?

Doesn't it seem like Griffin Jax might have returned a guy like Harry Ford? I guess it gets tough when a team takes 15 minutes to complete a deal. Doesn't leave much time to float other offers or interest.

Nobody was too surprised that the White Sox took the series. 

It sounds like this was a big part of it. They were doing so many deals at once and it seems like they weren’t really prepared. It was just “get rid of everyone and get what you can”

I don’t know how you trade all those guys and keep the management. Nonsensical. 

[sweetmusicviola16]

9 minutes ago, Glorybound said:

  Nothing points to success like going 1-5 against the Athletics and White Sox. Everyone was clamoring to so Abel and Bradley. Well now you have seen them in Twin’s uniform.

I'm fine with running Abel out there  time after time the rest of this lost season. We have him and may as well use him. But his resume and the resume of the guys that traded for him give me little confidence.

[Doctor Gast]

We started the game by Martin preventing a sure double & holding Tausman to a single. Bradley is a GB pitcher, which is beneficial if you have a strong infield.  But singles bled through our INF, especially on the right side.

 

[hitterscount]

Another gritty performance from Rocco's guys. You cannot question the effort. Martin, Julien, Clemens battling every AB. Loved Clemens bat flip yesterday on a team down 6 and 10 games under .500. 

Think you need to get the players that you are counting on next season out of here if they have options left, for sure Keaschall. St. Paul should provide the needed cover. This is a joke and watching you can almost feel how toxic the clubhouse is. I cannot for the world understand why Buxton wouldn't want out. You're at the backend of of your career, this is worth sticking around? Makes me question if he is part of the solution... not that he's going anywhere... but if you are committed to playing on a winning team and in the postseason you would drop the no trade clause without a second thought. His body language after his many strikeouts is not great.

Cancelled MLB TV for the second time this year, and can guarantee it will not be picked up until next season. My expertise will have to rely on gamecast and box scores.... just to save 30$ a month, that's how unenjoyable this team is.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

The whole team really came together to lose this one. No losing effort was wasted!

Not an individual effort.  Definite team loss.

[Parfigliano]

51 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

It sounds like this was a big part of it. They were doing so many deals at once and it seems like they weren’t really prepared. It was just “get rid of everyone and get what you can”

I don’t know how you trade all those guys and keep the management. Nonsensical. 

Not a serious or competent organization.

[Parfigliano]

51 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

I'm fine with running Abel out there  time after time the rest of this lost season. We have him and may as well use him. But his resume and the resume of the guys that traded for him give me little confidence.

Abel every 5th day and see if he sinks, swims, or can even tread water.

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, Nshore said:

Maybe part of the goal is to make Lopez and Ryan BEG to be traded.

They shouldn't have to beg , it's pretty clear one if not both get traded this off season   , but begging might help ...

They better get a better return than they did for the quality bullpen arm's  they traded away for salary relief ...

[AceWrigley]

2 hours ago, ashbury said:

"Hello, Twins Offense.  Whaaat's happening?  Ahhm, I'm gonna need you to go ahead and start producing some hits. So if you could do that, starting next game, that would be great.  Mmmkay?  Oh, oh, and I almost forgot, ahhm, I'm also gonna need you to go ahead and turn some of those hits into runs right after that, too.  We, uh, lost some games this week and, uh, we sorta need to play catchup.  Thaaanks."

Ummmm, yeah. It's not a half day or anything.

[Aggies7]

10 minutes ago, hitterscount said:

Another gritty performance from Rocco's guys. You cannot question the effort. Martin, Julien, Clemens battling every AB. Loved Clemens bat flip yesterday on a team down 6 and 10 games under .500. 

Think you need to get the players that you are counting on next season out of here if they have options left, for sure Keaschall. St. Paul should provide the needed cover. This is a joke and watching you can almost feel how toxic the clubhouse is. I cannot for the world understand why Buxton wouldn't want out. You're at the backend of of your career, this is worth sticking around? Makes me question if he is part of the solution... not that he's going anywhere... but if you are committed to playing on a winning team and in the postseason you would drop the no trade clause without a second thought. His body language after his many strikeouts is not great.

Cancelled MLB TV for the second time this year, and can guarantee it will not be picked up until next season. My expertise will have to rely on gamecast and box scores.... just to save 30$ a month, that's how unenjoyable this team is.

He’s loved here and isn’t going to be hassled by the fans like he would in other towns when he slumps or plays 100 games a season. Not a dig at him I like him a lot. But some guys are good with that and not seriously competing for a title.

[AceWrigley]

33 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

We started the game by Martin preventing a sure double & holding Tausman to a single. Bradley is a GB pitcher, which is beneficial if you have a strong infield.  But singles bled through our INF, especially on the right side.

 

Half of that is the positioning of the infielders doesn't coincide with the pitch selection or maybe execution from the pitchers. If Cal Ripken were watching he'd be tearing his hair out. Ummm, too late for that. 🙂

[sweetmusicviola16]

2 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

They shouldn't have to beg , it's pretty clear one if not both get traded this off season   , but begging might help ...

They better get a better return than they did for the quality bullpen arm's  they traded away for salary relief ...

All because the Pohlads don't run straight books and like to do some dipping. Losing money my arse.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Glorybound said:

  Nothing points to success like going 1-5 against the Athletics and White Sox. Everyone was clamoring to so Abel and Bradley. Well now you have seen them in Twin’s uniform.

It’s a good thing they let them both acclimate to the organization in AAA and debut against a bad team like the White Sox. It could have been ugly if they had gone directly into the rotation.

[RpR]

[Maybe Next Year]

Perhaps Baldelli and Maki should quit calling pitches from the dugout and let the catcher call the game. Seems to me the catcher has a better feel for the pitchers stuff that particular day than Baldelli’s computer does. 

[hitterscount]

39 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

He’s loved here and isn’t going to be hassled by the fans like he would in other towns when he slumps or plays 100 games a season. Not a dig at him I like him a lot. But some guys are good with that and not seriously competing for a title.

I get what you’re saying, and by no means do I think he’s dogging,  but it does make me question if winning is important to him. There aren’t many competitors with his talent that would want to play on this team given the choice to leave. 

[TheLeviathan]

All season long our issue has been offense.  I was 100% for blowing up this team at the deadline, but one thing I do scratch my head at is the lack of talent acquisition that centered on position players.

I really hope this team uses the offseason to bolster the everyday players around Keaschall, Buxton, and whomever else is still around in the years ahead.  The lineup just has way too many gaping holes in it.

[Blyleven2011]

4 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

All season long our issue has been offense.  I was 100% for blowing up this team at the deadline, but one thing I do scratch my head at is the lack of talent acquisition that centered on position players.

I really hope this team uses the offseason to bolster the everyday players around Keaschall, Buxton, and whomever else is still around in the years ahead.  The lineup just has way too many gaping holes in it.

I agree the line up and positions has to many holes in it , i wish they would find some permanent players to fill those positions instead of the year to year cheap deals ....