Blue Jays 9, Twins 8: Welcome to Thunderdome

[Eric Blonigen]

Image courtesy of © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 3 2/3 IP,  5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Home Runs: Byron Buxton 2 (27), Luke Keaschall (4), Austin Martin (I’m giving it to him even if the official scorekeeper didn’t), Brooks Lee (14)
Bottom 3 WPA: Michael Tonkin (-0.535), Simeon Woods Richardson (-0.357), Genesis Cabrera (-0.148)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

On a somber night in which a mass shooting occurred at a school in Minneapolis, the Twins still had to take the field in Toronto. Tonight’s finale against the Toronto Blue Jays featured everything: a little league home run; not one but two Buck Trucks, a Matt Wallner stolen base; scoring runs by playing small ball; and the return of a starting pitcher from an unpleasant stay on the IL. Tell me more, you say? Buckle up.

The Pitchers
Simeon Woods Richardson took the bump in his first start back from the IL, where he dealt with an unpleasant parasite that sapped strength and body weight. He only lasted 3 2/3 innings as he gave up too much hard contact including three home runs. It was great to see him back, however. On the human level, I wouldn't wish a parasite on anyone. Regarding baseball, though, this may officially mean the end of the bullpen games fans have been subjected to over the past month or so. 

The Blue Jays sent lefty Eric Lauer to the mound in Toronto. He came into the game with an 8-2 record on a 3.01 ERA while striking out about a guy an inning. He has pitched like a guy who plans to two-hit the Twins, but luckily for Twins fans, they didn’t follow his game plan.

The Game

Top-1 - Twins 1-0
The Twins began the game in portentous fashion as Byron Buxton hit a leadoff homer off a cutter to set the tone. After Ryan Jeffers grounded out, Matt Wallner took it the other way for a single to right. He then stole second but couldn’t advance as Luke Keaschall struck out looking and Brooks Lee flied out. An auspicious (and fun) start to the game.

Woods Richardson took the bottom of the inning and coaxed a popout, ground out, and flyout to end the inning on seven pitches. In the top of the second, Austin Martin singled and stole second but couldn’t come around to score.

Bottom-2 - Tied 1-1
Woods Richardson didn’t look quite as sharp in the second, as he threw a fastball up in the zone that Davis Schneider pulled and hit out at 104.2 miles an hour.

Top-3 - Twins 3-1
Byron Buxton one-upped himself in his quest to join the 30-20 club by clubbing a 404-foot leadoff homer to left center for his 27th of the year. Three batters later, with two outs an a one-run lead, Luke Keaschall decided to do Luke Keaschall stuff and hit one out of the park as well. His fifth of the year was hit almost perfectly optimally of a slider that was nearly middle-middle. Brooks Lee gave going back to back the ol’ college try. After fouling off a low change and taking a couple pitches outside the zone, he slammed a slow heater to center. Daulton Varsho needed to range back then make a leaping catch to rob the homer. Inning over.

Bottom-3 - Tied 3-3
Woods Richardson struggled mightily with his command and control. This led to the sort of nightmare inning that threatens the best of teams. Tyler Heineman walked on four pitches, although ball four appeared to clip the zone. Andres grounded out, George Springer singled, and after Addison Barger popped out weakly to Luke Keaschall at second, Vladimir Guerrero Jr walked to load the bases. Then, Bo Bichette took a seven-pitch at bat before singling in two runs. Tie game.

Top-4 - Twins 6-3
After Kody Clemens struck out and Royce Lewis popped out, more fun ensued. Austin Martin singled sharply, then Edouard Julien doubled him in. And kept running. And running. Running. As Tyler Heineman sailed the throw, and he scored to double the Jays score. Then, Byron Buxton reached after grounding the ball to short where Bichette had an easy play. Until it wasn’t, and he sailed the throw himself which allowed Buxton to reach second. Then, Ryan Jeffers singled to left and Buxton scored before Jeffers was thrown out to end the inning after he attempted to take second.

Bottom-4 - Twins 6-5
Because this game was destined to keep being fun, the Blue Jays hit two more home runs of their own to tighten the score. Davis Schneider hit his second of the game off Woods Richardson as he hit the middle of the plate with his curve. A few batters later, Giminez homered as well. Rocco made the call to the pen and Thomas Hatch took over. He allowed a single to Springer, who stole second but Hatch won a battle with Addison Barger by getting a strikeout on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, none of which were near the zone.

Top-5 - Twins 8-5
The fun continued for the Twins in the fifth. Brooks Lee decided it had been just a little too long since his last bomb, so he rectified his mistake, hitting his 14th of the year. It’s been great seeing him add a bit of power to his game as his OPS approaches .700. Kody Clemens decided he’s a base stealer now, too, as he took second after singling. Then, Royce Lewis singled to knock in Clemens, then he stole second. The inning ended on a groundout for Martin.

Bottom-5 - Twins 8-6
After Hatch walked Schneider, Kody Funderburk came in to give up a single, then a double to Giminez before recording the final two outs of the inning on strikeouts.

Bottom-8 - Jays 9-8
Genesis Cabrera was the fourth reliever out of the pen, and he decided to make it interesting after old friend Ty France hit his seventh home run of the year. It was a blast to left center that went 420 feet. After Alejandro Kirk singled, Cabrera was pulled for Michael Tonkin, who immediately walked Springer before narrowly avoiding a home run to Barger. The ball hit the very top of the wall but Springer scored from first, and the Jays took the lead. Tonkin struck out Guerrero, then got Bichette to ground out to end the inning.

Top-9 - Twins lose
Jeffers attempted to tie the game against Jeff Hoffman with his A-swing, but Myles Straw caught it at the warning track. Yesterday’s hero, Matt Wallner came up and swung for the fences on three straight pitches, but whiffed badly on a third strike. Down to the last batter, Keaschall doubled down the line to keep hope alive, but Lee chopped it to first to end the game.

Theme of the game: even bad teams are still worth watching

This game featured a bit of slop, a lot of power, and a bunch happening on the basepaths. It wasn’t always pretty, but this is baseball.

Game Notes

• Cole Sands looked filthy as he struck out the side in the 7th tonight. His velocity was up as well. If he’s approaching the dominance of his 2024 season, that’ll signal good news for next year’s bullpen.
• Every Twins hitter recorded at least one hit tonight
• Eight years ago today, Byron Buxton hit three home runs in Toronto

What’s Next?
The Twins have an off day on Thursday before beginning their next homestead when the excellent San Diego Padres come to town. Zebby Matthews will face Nestor Cortes in a down season. First pitch is at 7:10 PM. 

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[mikelink45]

Amazing I had been worried about the bullpen. Still am, but are starting pitching has been horrendous. What has been our ERA for starting pitchers over the last week?   

[SaberNerd]

Mostly what I want out of remaining games.  Buxton/Keaschall/Lee/Martin looked good, and then a bullpen scrub(s) that is getting sent to the shadow realm at the end of the season blows the game to help the tank.  Just wish SWR would have been better.

[Nashvilletwin]

4 minutes ago, SaberNerd said:

Mostly what I want out of remaining games.  Buxton/Keaschall/Lee/Martin looked good, and then a bullpen scrub(s) that is getting sent to the shadow realm at the end of the season blows the game to help the tank.  Just wish SWR would have been better.

Someone seriously has to teach Martin how to run the bases.  Tonight on Julien’s two out double/little league homer, Martin actually paused on the way to second before turning on the jets and scoring (but still the ball was thrown to the plate). Martin - there are two out! Run at the crack of the bat. 
He still had a strong game though.  Team played hard tonight.  Fun to see. 

[David HK]

I had an omen a couple of days ago that Tonk would get lit.  Look at all those fans in the photo depressed about him coming in to the game....

[Baumer67]

Cabrera has no clue where his pitches are going!  He has no command!

[h2oface]

As good as a game Buxton had, the horrendous AB in the top of the 8th with runners on first and second, and then second and third was the time to be the leader. 

[terrydactyls]

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Chicago White Sox	48	85	0.361	-
Pittsburgh Pirates	59	75	0.440	10.5
Minnesota Twins	60	73	0.451	12.0
Baltimore Orioles	60	73	0.451	12.0
Atlanta Braves	61	72	0.459	13.0
Miami Marlins	62	71	0.466	14.0
Los Angeles Angels	62	71	0.466	14.0
Whatever Athletics	63	72	0.467	14.0
Tampa Bay Rays	64	69	0.481	16.0
Arizona Diamondbacks	65	69	0.485	16.5
St. Louis Cardinals	65	69	0.485	16.5
San Francisco Giants	65	68	0.489	17.0
Cleveland Guardians	66	66	0.500	18.5
Texas Rangers	68	67	0.504	19.0

[knothole61]

Wow, I thought they had this. Exciting baseball again, but the Twins have too many awful arms on the roster to win in a shootout. Historical data indicates that an MLB team that scores 8 runs has an 85,6% chance of winning...but we have Cabrera as a late inning option! 

I hate to be an optimist in the midst of a disaster, but I do look forward to seeing Keaschall and Lee develop further next season and begin to make this their team. I also hope that the flawed owners will make some effort to assure that the Twins will be viable in '26. Now that they are no longer lame duck owners maybe they'll be interested again in improving their on-field "product." Maybe?

"The hope which springs eternal in the human breast"? 

[Doctor Gast]

Thanks Eric, like the Twins, your article was very interesting.

Exciting offense, this is how MN should be playing baseball. Too bad the defense wasn't that good, SWR was rushed too soon to MLB & Cabrera isn't ready for MLB.

 

[BrokenCompass]

So are the Twins just not playing this Alan Roden character anymore? Aren't we supposed to be kicking the tires on these acquisitions we got when the team blew up? 

What a joke of a bullpen. This team is depressingly awful. Watching washed up has-beens blowing games isn't what we need to be seeing right now. 

Buxton is awesome though. And for all the crap that Lee has received, he could sniff 20 HRs if he keeps it up. 

[Peter]

Need to win these type of games!!! Off season get the bullpen better!!! 2026 hopefully will and should be much better-

[TwinsDr2021]

32 minutes ago, BrokenCompass said:

So are the Twins just not playing this Alan Roden character anymore? 

sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, had surgery, done for season.

[TwinsDr2021]

8 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Someone seriously has to teach Martin how to run the bases.

When I turned on the game, it was 3 - 1 Twins and SWR was in the process of walking Vlad. Bichette had a great at bat, but a decent left fielder catches that single and the inning is over. Martin is not a decent left fielder. (then I turned off the game)

[thelanges5]

Good to see the offense with some life. I’d rather see guys that have a chance to be on the 2026 roster pitching. Adams or Ohl not Cabrera. 

[jmlease1]

Offense was really good last night. Nice to not get smacked around by any lefty that takes the bump for once. Not a good day for the pitching staff; we sent out 6 guys and only two of them got the job done. SWR in particular can't give up hard contact like that. He looked rusty for sure.

Keaschall continues to look good at the plate and wobbly in the field. He's got some work to do out there.

Be great if Sands is back on track, because we are desperately short on bullpen options.

[tony&rodney]

7 hours ago, h2oface said:

As good as a game Buxton had, the horrendous AB in the top of the 8th with runners on first and second, and then second and third was the time to be the leader. 

Tough to pick on a guy who hit 2 home runs ..... but yes, that was a very unprofessional plate appearance. Trying to pull a third homer on pitches well outside the zone was too bad to not note.

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

When I turned on the game, it was 3 - 1 Twins and SWR was in the process of walking Vlad. Bichette had a great at bat, but a decent left fielder catches that single and the inning is over. Martin is not a decent left fielder. (then I turned off the game)

That play (not made) was huge. I sort of feel sorry for Martin. He plays like he is going to get yelled at no matter what he does; so tentative, halting, and absent-minded. When I watch Austin Martin I see an athlete who could be a very decent baseball player, but I also see a severe lack of confidence and untimely lapses which doom him to a short career. Sports can be cruel.

[Jack207]

I find it amazing that Rocco is now letting the guys run the bases and play exciting baseball. Where was this approach 2 to 3 months ago when the games meant something?

[tony&rodney]

10 minutes ago, Jack207 said:

I find it amazing that Rocco is now letting the guys run the bases and play exciting baseball. Where was this approach 2 to 3 months ago when the games meant something?

..... or, for that matter, since the day he was hired. 

[TwinsDr2021]

28 minutes ago, Jack207 said:

I find it amazing that Rocco is now letting the guys run the bases and play exciting baseball. Where was this approach 2 to 3 months ago when the games meant something?

I don't like defending Rocco, but CC, Vazquez, Bride, France and Keirsey's .141 OBP aren't on the team so there is that..

[Whitey333]

Adam's and Ohl have already shown they are not major league pitchers.  They shouldn't even be in the conversation for next year's team.  Entertaining game yesterday but overall not good baseball.  Toronto looked very bad but has the talent to win.  Not so with the Twins.  Rocco?  He should have been fired a long time ago.  At the very least he and Falvey need to be replaced if the team is going to be taken seriously.

[Linus]

10 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Someone seriously has to teach Martin how to run the bases.  Tonight on Julien’s two out double/little league homer, Martin actually paused on the way to second before turning on the jets and scoring (but still the ball was thrown to the plate). Martin - there are two out! Run at the crack of the bat. 
He still had a strong game though.  Team played hard tonight.  Fun to see. 

I noticed that as well. He often looks tentative in the field as well. He had a good game tonight though if you ignore the ball he should have caught to save two runs. 

[Riverbrian]

The Blue Jays have 10 Pre-Arb Players. The Twins currently have 18. 

The Jays are 78-56 and the Twins are 60-73. 

[Linus]

SWR looks like he lost 15 pounds. 

[tony&rodney]

22 minutes ago, Linus said:

SWR looks like he lost 15 pounds. 

Stomach surgery to remove a parasite. Wow. I'm surprised he is back. He also looked pretty weak by the second innings of his outings with St. Paul. Seems like SWR is going to need some time to get healthy. I have to hand it to him coming back before he has recovered all of his strength. He definitely is too slim.

[Blyleven2011]

Good hitting and 5 bases stolen in the game last night  , but bad pitching and shaky defense doomed us through 9 innings  ...

When will we get consistency on both sides of the ball at the same time  ...

It was fun while it lasted , 8 was not enough to win ...

[LambchoP]

Finally a fun game to watch with all the stolen bases and homers. Our defense needs work but these are things that our young guys can improve upon (if they ever get the right coaching). Our pitching is downright awful. Every SP the last week or so has put us in a massive hole and even when we are keeping the game close, every waiver wire type reliever that comes in just gives you the feeling that the game is over. Instead of these has been relievers, why don't they call up some of our young pitchers from St Paul and see if any of them can find success in piggyback roles or straight up 1-2 inning relief roles. I'm thinking guys like Raya, Morris, Prelipp. Guys that are actually part of our long term plans hopefully. Aside from Hatch, Sands and Topa I don't think any of these other guys will be here next year.

[jmlease1]

2 hours ago, Jack207 said:

I find it amazing that Rocco is now letting the guys run the bases and play exciting baseball. Where was this approach 2 to 3 months ago when the games meant something?

As noted above, you have to get guys on base in order to run, but also you're probably not going to ask guys like Wallner & Lewis to run when they're coming off leg injuries, Correa is very slow, France can't run worth a damn, etc.

Martin, Julien, and Keaschall are more capable of running than Correa, France, or Jonah Bride. (or even Castro, who had slowed noticeably). They're more capable of getting on base than Kiersey. And while I'd love to have Buxton run even more, at this point don't you have to trust him to go when he judges it right rather than sending orders?

You have to have speed in order to use it. Twins have been pretty slow with guys like Larnach, Wallner, Correa, Jeffers, Vazquez, France, Santana, Lee etc. They're getting more athletic and looking healthier, but they're still not one of the faster teams.

[AceWrigley]

46 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

Instead of these has been relievers, why don't they call up some of our young pitchers from St Paul and see if any of them can find success in piggyback roles or straight up 1-2 inning relief roles. I'm thinking guys like Raya, Morris, Prelipp. Guys that are actually part of our long term plans hopefully. Aside from Hatch, Sands and Topa I don't think any of these other guys will be here next year.

I think it's mostly that none of our minor league pitchers are ready for The Show, command and consistency sorely lacking.