Twins 7, Tigers 3: Keaschall’s First Homer Sparks Twins to Much-Needed Win

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Joe Ryan 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R (2 ER), 7 K, 3 BB
HR: Luke Keaschall (1)
Top 3 WPA: Keaschall 0.27, Lawyerson 0.17, Caratini 0.16
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

The Minnesota Twins finally gave the home crowd at Target Field something to warm up about. Coming into the fourth series of the season, the Twins have yet to win a set, dropping each of their first three series two games to one. A frigid week in Minneapolis didn’t make things any easier, and a matchup with the AL Central-favorite Detroit Tigers wasn’t exactly a get-right opportunity, on paper.

But behind their ace, Joe Ryan, and a much-needed offensive response, the Twins flipped a familiar script and came away with a 7-3 win to open the series.

The Twins wasted no time generating offense in the third inning. Byron Buxton sparked the rally with a double, followed by a single from Trevor Larnach and a walk by Luke Keaschall to load the bases with no outs. They capitalized in methodical fashion, starting with a sacrifice fly from Victor Caratini before RBI singles from Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis gave Minnesota a 3-0 lead.

Then came the moment Twins fans have seen too often. In the top of the fourth, the Tigers answered immediately. Colt Keith roped an RBI double, and Zach McKinstry followed with a two-run single to even the score at 3-3. It had all the signs of another game where early momentum would slip away.

This time, it didn’t. In the bottom half of the inning, Keaschall delivered the swing of the game. After a slow start to his season, he turned on a pitch and launched his first home run of the year into the left-field bleachers, a two-run shot that immediately swung momentum back in Minnesota’s favor and put the Twins up 5-3.

For Ryan, the fourth inning was the lone blemish in an otherwise steady outing. He battled some control issues but limited the damage, finishing with three runs allowed over five innings while keeping the Twins in position to win.

From there, the bullpen took over and slammed the door. Anthony Banda, Eric Orze, Kody Funderburk, and Cody Laweryson combined for four scoreless innings. The Twins added breathing room in the eighth inning, and once again it was Caratini in the middle of it. With the bases loaded, he lined a two-run single to extend the lead to 7-3, giving Minnesota the cushion it had been missing in previous games. The Twins answered adversity, regained control after losing it, and got contributions up and down the roster.

What’s next
The Twins will look to build on the momentum as they continue the series against Detroit. They’ll face a tough test in Tarik Skubal, the two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner, who is set to take the mound for the Tigers. Opposing him will be Taj Bradley, as the Twins try to secure their first series win of the season at 6:40 PM CT. It will, blessedly, be warmer.

Bullpen Usage Chart

	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TOT
Laweryson	0	10	9	0	14	19
Topa	13	17	0	15	0	45
Rogers	4	0	23	18	0	45
Banda	0	17	15	0	17	32
Orze	0	37	0	0	12	37
Sands	11	0	0	21	0	32
Funderburk	15	2	0	3	20	20
Acton	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[GopherMike]

It feels weird to be 4-6 and think "I'm not sure we're this good"

[Vanimal46]

1 minute ago, GopherMike said:

It feels weird to be 4-6 and think "I'm not sure we're this good"

Over 162 games that’s about what I expect winning 40% of them which would equate to a 65-97 record. 

[strumdatjag]

I was at the game, which was sparsely attended by an enthusiastic crowd.   
The Twins have a late-inning video to fire up the crowd.   The soundtrack is “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes which includes the lyrics - 

“I’m going to Wichita.”

Are Twins players likely to be fired up to go to Wichita (demoted to AA to play for the Wind Surge)?

[Nshore]

I saw Wallner actually wait on a change up and go with the pitch to left field for a double - a nice piece of hitting.  I...... I don't know what to say.

[Blyleven2011]

A nice win to open the series  , good timely hitting and a homerun with a runner on helped break the tie ...

Tough game ahead for tomorrow against skubal , but momentum and home field advantage could help ...

Take the series tomorrow and let us fans relax alittle please  ...

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, Blyleven2011 said:

A nice win to open the series  , good timely hitting and a homerun with a runner on helped break the tie ...

Tough game ahead for tomorrow against skubal , but momentum and home field advantage could help ...

Take the series tomorrow and let us fans relax alittle please  ...

Four game series, we need more than tomorrow 🙂🙂but one game at a time 

[knothole61]

2 hours ago, Nshore said:

I saw Wallner actually wait on a change up and go with the pitch to left field for a double - a nice piece of hitting.  I...... I don't know what to say.

Wasn't that something? Imagine the possibilities...

[Blyleven2011]

3 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Over 162 games that’s about what I expect winning 40% of them which would equate to a 65-97 record. 

And by that calculation , that is what the pohlads would call competitive  , not losing 100 games ...

Small crowds all bundled up ...

[h2oface]

3 hours ago, Patzky said:

Four game series, we need more than tomorrow 🙂🙂but one game at a time 

It's right up there with the math on total pitches for the last 5 days for Funderburk, Lawyerson, Banda, and Orze (unless they change it now.)

[Patzky]

3 hours ago, knothole61 said:

Wasn't that something? Imagine the possibilities...

Buck and Keaschall, to a lesser degree Lewis, are the keys to the engine as it is presently constructed. They had enough success tonight to propel the Twins to a win. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

It's time for Roden to be promoted. Outman got the golden sombrero last night and his average dropped to .077. Roden's BA is .304. His OBP is .529 with 10 walks and only 3 K's and his OPS is 1.007. Culpepper is chomping at the bit with 3 HR and .294 BA and .927 OPS.

[Riverbrian]

8 hours ago, GopherMike said:

It feels weird to be 4-6 and think "I'm not sure we're this good"

Winning on average 6 out of 10 over the course of 162 games produces 97 wins. Most likely a playoff team with a bye. 

Winning on average 5 put 5 produces 81 wins. Most likely out of the playoffs but close enough that you might be buyers at the deadline. 

Winning on average 4 out of 10 over the course of 162 games produces 65 wins. Sellers at the deadline, high percentage of lottery balls in the draft. 

The margins are so tight that it's a one win or one loss every 10 games that separates a fantastic team from average and a crappy team from average. 

[Peter]

Huge win to start off week against big city Detroit!!! Tough game tonight against skubel!! Let’s hope for crowd support of 30000 and pack target field! Let’s go Twins!!!

[thelanges5]

Wallner’s first RBI single since Aug 3. Nice team win. Go Twins!

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

How long does Outman have before he's out, man? 

Lee does not look good in the field. Ryan seemed rattled after his misplay. 

But overall, a nice win! Maybe some bats are starting to wake up?! Let's get after Skubal tonight and make it 2 in a row! 

[arby58]

9 hours ago, GopherMike said:

It feels weird to be 4-6 and think "I'm not sure we're this good"

They are 0-3 in 1 or 2 run games - it's not like their 4 wins have been nail biters.

[arby58]

22 minutes ago, soyouresayingtheresachance said:

How long does Outman have before he's out, man? 

Lee does not look good in the field. Ryan seemed rattled after his misplay. 

But overall, a nice win! Maybe some bats are starting to wake up?! Let's get after Skubal tonight and make it 2 in a row! 

Culpepper is raking at AAA - 34 ABs, 3 HR, .927 OPS. My guess is, if he keeps hitting like this, come May he will be playing on the other side of the Mississippi River. I'd prefer Emma over Outman as well, but if Larnach keeps hitting, it's hard to call him up to just give Buxton a day off from CF every now and then.

[jmlease1]

A good win, but with several nervous moments. 

Ryan wasn't particularly sharp, but only got burned in the 4th. But as a result, he didn't go deep like you'd like to see. Lee's error wasn't great, but Ryan isn't some rookie to get flustered by one baserunner, and your best pitcher should be able to pick up your infield occasionally, right? Bigger issue was 101 pitches through 5. That's not efficient enough in finishing guys off. But he kept us in the game.

Dodged a huge bullet with Funderburk's walks; he was definitely off and was missing the plate by a lot. Props to Laweryson for slamming the door.

Nice to see the offense come alive. 10 hits and 7 walks had better get you a W. Was worried it was going to be a WTF game when they loaded the bases with 1 out in the 2nd and couldn't get a run, but they did a bit better with some timely hitting. 

Good to see Lewis have a smart game with 2 walks and a hit, Buck was swinging the bat pretty well, Wallner and Larnach both had 2 hits which was good as well. Outman, on the other hand...yikes. Finally gets another start, does nothing with it. Only 9 games, but he looks lost at the plate. As much as I look to have been wrong about Larnach so far, I've been right about Outman being trash.

Bring up Roden and give him some real run. I'm pretty sure Outman passes through waivers if for some reason the Twins feel inclined to keep him.

[arby58]

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

It's time for Roden to be promoted. Outman got the golden sombrero last night and his average dropped to .077. Roden's BA is .304. His OBP is .529 with 10 walks and only 3 K's and his OPS is 1.007. Culpepper is chomping at the bit with 3 HR and .294 BA and .927 OPS.

Agree on Culpepper. The problem with Roden is where does he play? He's not a CF, and spelling Buxton is Outman's primary role. Larnach is 5 for 15 with 2 doubles, 5 walks and only 1 K, so hard to move him off the platoon with Martin. For all Wallner's warts, he is still an impactful offensive player and leads the Twins in HRs with 3.

[Whitey333]

Nice win.  Im sure the 12,000 that showed up were thrilled.  Thank goodness for TwinsTv so i can watch in the warm comfort of home.  Some good signs in the team.  For goodness sakes dump Outman.  Who cares if someone claims him?  Big deal.  He is No one to fret over.  Bring up Roden.  He may or may not do well but he sure deserves a shot.  He shouldn't have been sent down because Outman is out of options.  That's only a small part of what is wrong with this franchise.

[AceWrigley]

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

It's time for Roden to be promoted. Outman got the golden sombrero last night and his average dropped to .077. Roden's BA is .304. His OBP is .529 with 10 walks and only 3 K's and his OPS is 1.007. Culpepper is chomping at the bit with 3 HR and .294 BA and .927 OPS.

Actually Outman's batting average is a robust .000. And he hasn't even looked that good.

[HarmonK03]

For everyone who is wondering where Roden or ERod would play if called up.  There is a very easy solution, left field.  They obviously are not going to play Martin there against RH pitching, so one of those two could play there.  Then Larnach slides to DH and Clemens moves to the bench where he belongs.  Again play your best nine players and I will take the upside of Roden or ERod over Clemens any day.

[The Great Hambino]

They must really be afraid of Martin or Roden having to cover CF for even a short spell

Would a plausible workaround to that be Roden/Kriedler up, Outman/Clemens down?  Roden/Martin platoon in LF, Bell at 1B most days, Larnach at DH most days, Caratini a true backup at C/1B while moonlighting as DH (he'd still play a decent amount), Kriedler primary utility IF while providing cover in CF.  I don't think the D we've seen at 1B from Clemens is appreciably any better than Bell, so he becomes unnecessary pretty quickly.  Kriedler can't hit but neither can Outman, and at least he provides some positive versatility.   I don't see anyone picking up Outman after the start he's had.  Clemens might, but that's fine.  He isn't doing anything well enough to justify a spot anymore.

[JD-TWINS]

10 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Over 162 games that’s about what I expect winning 40% of them which would equate to a 65-97 record. 

I don’t expect Abel or whoever takes his spot to continue with a double digit ERA for the next 6 months - Team can’t collectively hit .202 for the next 6 months.

Seems to me that if guys just HIT to somewhere close to expectations they can still win 80+……..seems NUTS, but Outman will be exchanged soon (somehow worse than D. Kiersey at the plate) Jeffers - Buxton - Keaschall will all start getting better results…………Lewis may hit .230 but he can be effective in spots. Lee too, will be exchanged if his bat doesn’t come around as there are better defensive options in Minors that can hit .210. Youth will displace Clemens at some point………his “defense at 1B” is what’s keeping him viable - that’s nuts! To me, Jackson as Catcher depth, allowing Caratini to play 1B more is potentially better than Clemens.

Caratini seems real & Larnach will hit .265 with 15+ HR’s if he gets 450 AB’s …….. Bell & Gray look OK in a 10 game window.

Next two nights against Skubal & Valdez may not bring much of an uplifting feeling though.

[BrokenCompass]

Skubel tonight? Yikes. 

Would be over the moon if the Twins can somehow split this 4 game series. 

[Edmond Dantes]

16 minutes ago, AceWrigley said:

Actually Outman's batting average is a robust .000. And he hasn't even looked that good.

Outman is unfathomably bad, and has been for 2+ years. Who cares if he is out of options, he's not an MLB player. They had all off season to prepare Roden or Martin for spot starts in CF.                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Lee needs to be replaced by Culpepper soon.

[Patzky]

12 minutes ago, Edmond Dantes said:

Outman is unfathomably bad, and has been for 2+ years. Who cares if he is out of options, he's not an MLB player. They had all off season to prepare Roden or Martin for spot starts in CF.                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Lee needs to be replaced by Culpepper soon.

If they're delaying Culpeper for financial reasons bring up Arcia for Pete's sake. Lee can go to St Paul. Roden for Outman seems a no brainer. 

[Nshore]

When Funderburk has to come out for a second inning in any situation it seems like his control issues usually ramp up.  It might be better to use him at the start of an inning only.  

[stringer bell]

Roden and Martin played a lot of center field in Spring Training. I don’t think either one was really poor in CF. Between them, they should be able to cover center for Buxton’s time off. I would think Outman’s leash isn’t very long.

Lee hasn’t earned a long runway either, but I think a little patience is justified.