Twins 8, Tigers 6: Early Onslaught, Strong Bailey Ober Outing Earn Twins First Series Win

[JD-TWINS]

TWINS tied for 4th place in the A.L. as of today, after starting 2-4………. 

Brian Kenney has Jeremy Zoll on MLB Network shortly ……. discussing Twins “highest challenge rate” in the game.

[TheLeviathan]

How bad is the rest of the AL that this lineup is 2nd in the league in runs scored?

I'm floored by that.

[jorgenswest]

They beat a 32 million dollar pitcher folded by 27.5 million. Valdez has an AAV of 36.5. Next year his salary is 45.5. How much money have the Twins committed this year to the 9 they faced?

[LambchoP]

It's been fun to watch these wins but man, how long of a leash does Lee have? Bad fielding, lost at the plate. They even tried to have him bunt and he couldn't do that. I expect Gray to play today at least. Same with Outman unfortunately. If this team really wants to compete, I think Lee and Outman need to be sent down. Outman can be replaced by Roden. If we lose him to waivers, so what? Lee can be replaced by Arcia if they want Culpeper to get some more time in the minors 

[Linus]

48 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

It's been fun to watch these wins but man, how long of a leash does Lee have? Bad fielding, lost at the plate. They even tried to have him bunt and he couldn't do that. I expect Gray to play today at least. Same with Outman unfortunately. If this team really wants to compete, I think Lee and Outman need to be sent down. Outman can be replaced by Roden. If we lose him to waivers, so what? Lee can be replaced by Arcia if they want Culpeper to get some more time in the minors 

That bunt attempt was horrible. The proper way to bunt is to set the bat at the top of the zone. That way you only have to adjust the level of the bat one direction - down. If it’s above the bat it’s a ball. Then you are supposed to “catch” the ball with the bat, not jab at the ball. Well Lee set his bat at waist level and jabbed at it up which of course leads to a popup. The guy is really struggling on both sides of the ball. 

[bean5302]

I'll take the win, and the strong results from Ober. The Tigers were not hitting his pitches well at all, despite even more decline on the velocity.

As noted above, after inning 3, Ober's fastball sat in the 87.x mph range a scary amount. Kyle Hendricks (4.76 ERA 86.6mph) and Trevor Williams (6.21 ERA 87.9mph) are the only starters out of 221 pitchers with more than 30 innings last year who managed lower than Ober's 88.1mph average yesterday.

I don't think it's sustainable for him, but Ober will continue to get the call for a while. It would be really interesting to see him be successful as a soft tosser. I think it would also be good for the game in general.

[Jacksson]

The reality of the game was that:

Wallner made a bonehead play in the OF.  Unacceptable, this is MLB.

Martin made a bonehead play on the bases.  Unacceptable, this is MLB.

Lee not only can't hit but after all his time playing baseball doesn't know how to bunt.

Between Banda and Sands, the game was nearly BLOWN.

A WP each by Banda & Sands = inexcusable for relievers.

A HBP each by Lawyerson & Funderburk = inexcusable for relievers.

Larnach came in to pinch hit and hit into a Double Play.

Wallner went 1-4 but struck out TWICE.

Didn't see Lee's errant throw = on him or on the 1B being unable to adapt to it.

Funderburk "Earns" a save when he puts the tying runs on WITHOUT giving up a hit and except for a good play by Keaschall, the game could have been tied.

A win based on pure luck; the other team's inability, NOT the Twins' ability or skill.

Some benching of position players, more instruction to relievers, potential demotions.