Twins 5, Royals 1: Late Home Runs Back Taj Bradley’s Strong Outing

[AceWrigley]

13 hours ago, ashbury said:

The Michael A Taylor trade continues to pay dividends to the Twins!

Wow, good one. I had to look it up. Thank you Steven Cruz.

[jmlease1]

48 minutes ago, AceWrigley said:

All Tarheeltwinsfan was saying is that he thought Rocco wouldn't have let Bradley pitch the 6th inning and he's probably right. He didn't say Rocco was a bad manager. And 6 games in with a new manager I think comparisons are and should be expected.

No clear evidence on this one: Bradley had a clean 5th, with only 11 pitches. He's a starter who has gone deep in games before, but usually when he's been very efficient. But he's thrown over 100 pitches in a game before. If the Twins were coming off an off-day (or heading into one), Bradley might have gotten lifted after 5, but they wanted/needed the extra inning. I suspect the decision remains the same regardless of the manager, especially since Pete Maki is still here.

Taj did well. It's been a good start to his season. The more he can avoid those innings where he really labors and throws 25-30 pitches, the better he'll do. Efficient Bradley is effective Bradley.

Nice to see the late dingers for the Twins. Sure, it'd be nice to get them early, but you take them whenever you can. (and Cruz was a solid pitcher for KC last season, a reminder of just how fungible relievers can be year over year)

 

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

Nice to see the late dingers for the Twins. Sure, it'd be nice to get them early, but you take them whenever you can. (and Cruz was a solid pitcher for KC last season, a reminder of just how fungible relievers can be year over year)

 

Agree 100% about relief pitchers. Right now, Jax for Bradley looks like an absolute steal for the Twins. A month from now, we might be singing a totally different song. 

[jmlease1]

6 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Agree 100% about relief pitchers. Right now, Jax for Bradley looks like an absolute steal for the Twins. A month from now, we might be singing a totally different song. 

I think people forget that Jax has had exactly one great season in relief. His other 3 seasons relieving (before this ugly start to 2026) he was a good reliever, not a great one. Reliever stats can vary wildly and there's simply not as many guys who are great year after year. I expect Jax to do far better than this in 2026, but I won't be shocked at all if he's not looked at as a potential closer ever again.

Starters are easier to predict and project. Still too early to be sure Bradley has figured it out (and most pitchers need to continually evolve to sustain success anyways) but it's a good start. And trading relievers for starters is generally a very good idea.

[JD-TWINS]

8 hours ago, knothole61 said:

Old Hat, I'm not as pessimistic as some but I do agree that shortstop will be a black hole until management sees fit to bring up Kaelen Culpepper or makes a blockbuster trade which, of course, is not likely. I fear that Lee has hit the peak of his career already and is fading fast. He could end up as just a memory soon, like Miranda. And I certainly don't want to see him back at short. Caratini made a laughable base running blunder, but do we know if the new coach urged him on? If so he needs a talking to. Gray is, I feel, simply not ready for primetime. Clemens, on the other hand, has too much value as a gritty player with some power and a good attitude to forsake at this point.     

Gray is supposed to be a back-up OR the platoon option v. RH pitching. After 3 starts, the regular SS is so bad that they started Gray v. Cole Ragans. Prior to yesterday (in 2 starts), he was hot. After yesterday he’s 3 for 9 with a 151 OPS+. His defense was always known to be average, at best. I’m certainly not ready to say he’s “not ready”.

[JD-TWINS]

Pitching has been “decent” outside of the rain game Wednesday.

Buxton - Keaschall - Wallner - Lee (Culpepper)  - Lewis - Jeffers need to get to average results and Team will be fine. Currently, .174 - .214 - .174 - .154 - .211 - .214 are the core’s batting averages. That’s not F.O. nor ownership - that’s professionals not getting it done.

[knothole61]

15 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Gray is supposed to be a back-up OR the platoon option v. RH pitching. After 3 starts, the regular SS is so bad that they started Gray v. Cole Ragans. Prior to yesterday (in 2 starts), he was hot. After yesterday he’s 3 for 9 with a 151 OPS+. His defense was always known to be average, at best. I’m certainly not ready to say he’s “not ready”.

JD,

Egg on my face after the grand slam! I'm old enough (God knows) to know better than to make such unqualified pronouncements early in a baseball season. Good for the kid...this team may give us more thrills this season than anyone expected.