Twins 13, Red Sox 6: This Team is Hot

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 7 SO, 1 BB (95 pitches, 68 strikes)
Home Runs: Jeffers (2), Buxton (1), Kreidler (1), Caratini (1)
Top 3 WPA: Brooks Lee 0.11, Ryan Jeffers 0.10, Bailey Ober 0.09
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

The Twins came into Monday night with a distinction few guessed they would hold at any point this season: They were the hottest team in baseball.

After entering the season with low expectations, Minnesota returned home from a weekender in Toronto having won six of their last seven games. That stretch included a four-game sweep of the heavily favored Detroit Tigers and a series win on the road against the reigning American League champions. The competition wasn’t letting up, though, with one of the game’s premier left-handed pitchers waiting on the mound.

Garrett Crochet entered the game as the reigning American League Cy Young runner-up, fresh off a strong outing against Milwaukee. On paper, it looked like a tough matchup for a Twins lineup that many questioned heading into the season, particularly against left-handed pitching. Through the first couple weeks, though, Minnesota has proved capable against top arms like Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez.

They did it again on Monday night, and then some. The Twins jumped on Crochet immediately in the first inning. Austin Martin and Luke Keaschall opened the game with back-to-back doubles, setting the tone. A couple of Red Sox miscues made things worse for them, and by the time it was over, the Twins had pushed four runs across the plate.

They didn’t slow down in the second. Ryan Jeffers lined a bases-loaded RBI single. Josh Bell followed with a two-run double, and then the power surge arrived. Victor Caratini left the yard, and Ryan Kreidler delivered the loudest swing of the night—a 438-foot blast into the second deck. It was just the third home run of Kreidler’s career, in nearly 400 plate appearances, and it blew the game wide-open: 11-0, before some fans had even settled in.

Crochet had no answers. The Twins tagged him for nine hits and 10 earned runs without a single strikeout in just an inning and two-thirds. It was one of the most impressive offensive showings against an elite pitcher in recent memory.

The offense kept rolling even after Crochet exited. In the fifth inning, Byron Buxton launched his first home run of the season, becoming Target Field's home run leader in the process. Then Ryan Jeffers added another, giving him a three-hit, three-RBI night that pushed his early season OPS to .952.

All that run support made for a relatively low-stress night for Bailey Ober. The right-hander has faced his share of questions early this season, particularly with a dip in velocity, but Monday offered some encouraging signs. Ober worked six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out seven. He generated 13 whiffs and saw his fastball tick up to 89.4 mph, a noticeable jump from his season average. It wasn’t dominant, but it was progress.

The biggest damage against Ober came on a two-run home run from Jarren Duran in the third inning, but with the offense providing such a cushion, it never felt like the game was slipping.

Eric Orze ran into some trouble in the seventh, allowing a pair of runs, but the outcome was never truly in doubt. Garrett Acton handled the final two innings, helping the Twins preserve the bullpen and close out a 13-6 win.

The victory pushes Minnesota to 9-7 on the season and marks their seventh win in their last eight games. For a team that entered the year with modest expectations, the early stretch has been eye-opening.

What's Next

The Twins will look to keep it going Tuesday evening, as they aim for their third straight series win. Mick Abel is set to take the mound against an old friend, Sonny Gray, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 PM CT.

Postgame Interview

Bullpen Usage Report

	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TOT
Morris	0	0	0	67	0	67
Banda	0	36	0	0	0	36
Funderburk	0	0	17	0	0	17
Acton	35	0	0	0	33	35
Topa	0	12	0	12	0	24
Sands	0	0	22	0	0	22
Rogers	0	30	0	0	0	30
Orze	14	0	0	0	23	14

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[GopherMike]

Eric Orze once again leads the Twins to victory.

6-0 when he pitches. 

[arby58]

Y'all need to fix the Bullpen Usage Report, as it is not adding in the pitchers who pitched in the last game into the totals.

[Colbeh]

Those first two innings were nuts! 

This is a fun team to watch right now and should get more exciting as Prielipp, Festa, Matthews, Culpepper, Emma and possibly GG/Jenkins join the big squad.

[D.C Twins]

You know it is going to be A NIGHT when Kreidler hits one out in the 2nd!

Jeffers is going to get PAID this offseason... unfortunately it is highly unlikely to be by the Twins.... so are we going to let him run out the string and walk for nothing but a comp pick?  

If we are not solidly out of contention by the deadline... it is going to be VERY interesting how we handle Ryan and Jeffers. 

It would be a nice problem to have, but a problem none the less.....  unless they think this team is a championship contender.... which I do not believe that it is.

 

[Dman]

I never in my wildest dreams imagined this offense was capable of what they have done the last week.  This defies all expectations. Baseball has crazy streaks so I guess enjoy the ride.  Getting this team to score runs the last few years seemed like pulling teeth.  These blowouts are just so much fun as everyone seems to be doing well and the wins are piling up.  Keep it going guys.  You have us watching.

[DJL44]

I don’t think the Twins need any more help hitting lefties. They’ve beaten the best ones.

[Vanimal46]

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

22 minutes ago, Matthew Taylor said:

The victory pushes Minnesota to 9-7 on the season

you sure? which previous win didn't count? 🙂

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Chased the Cy Young winner last week and now the runner up tonight with an impressive offensive showing. 

Ober looked better tonight. Home run to Durran was really the only blemish during an otherwise decent outing. 

Hoping Abel can have another good game and we can get after Sonny! Go Twins!

[Old Twins Hat]

16 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

You know it is going to be A NIGHT when Kreidler hits one out in the 2nd!

 

In his 2nd AB of the game....

[arby58]

17 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

You know it is going to be A NIGHT when Kreidler hits one out in the 2nd!

Jeffers is going to get PAID this offseason... unfortunately it is highly unlikely to be by the Twins.... so are we going to let him run out the string and walk for nothing but a comp pick?  

If we are not solidly out of contention by the deadline... it is going to be VERY interesting how we handle Ryan and Jeffers. 

Ryan has another year of control, and the Twins could be very well in contention next year. They may part ways with Jeffers later this year, but I highly doubt it with Ryan.

[LastOnePicked]

Look, I think this is still a sub-.500 team. On paper, they're certainly still a sub-.500 team. But they don't seem to want to be a sub-.500 team ... and that's what I like to see. That attitude may make all the difference.

 

[jkcarew]

13 runs on 16 base runners. 6 for 7 with RiSP.

This is exactly how I saw the lineup performing this season.

[Nshore]

Lewis better hurry back - he's getting Wally Pipped by Kreidler and Gray.

Baseball can be a mind boggling game.  Watching them shell Crochet was surreal and astonishing.

[DocBauer]

Nice to see Ober have a solid game. The 4 runs allowed weren't great, but he was looking pretty good overall, regardless. While the velocity wasn't great, it also didn't suddenly decline. And the 1 BB and 7 K were also very nice. He's a veteran and a very smart dude. While his mechanics might be getting better, he may also be adjusting to what he throws, when he throws it, and how hard he throws it.

While Orze disappointed, he's been pretty good so far. Maybe didn't have the "juice" needed to perform coming in to a blowout game? A 2nd solid appearance from Acton, for what it's worth from a newbie. But the Twins do have a history of finding surprising pen contributors.

I'm not quite as shocked as some by the recent improvement of the offense. Yes, Gray has performed well over his head, and the roster isn't put together logically, but said roster isn't filled with no talent bums. Buxton is special, Keaschall looks to be a real talent, Bell has long been a quality bat, Jeffers is one of the better offensive catchers in the game, Wallner has been quite good in the past, Larnach isn't a bum, etc. It's that everyone is contributing. The fact the the Twins are one of the best BB/OB% teams is encouraging as hell. And the power hasn't been bad. Actually, I'm a little disappointed they haven't scored more runs...especially early on...since they are amongst the league leaders in bases loaded situations.

I don't know how long good/solid performances across the board will last, but I'm sure enjoying how well they are playing as a team currently. 

[DarrenPS]

Extend Jeffers, extend Joe Ryan, and honestly given the injury question marks maybe even extend Pablo and the fans will return to you in full force Mr. Pohlad. Extend one of your young studs (Keaschall? Jenkins?) and show the fans you care. I was one of the 4%'ers but this is how you start to get the rest back

[jorgenswest]

Jeffers has been valuable. He plays catcher. He has a wRC+ of 179. He is second in the league in WPA from overturning calls. He has to be among the leagues most valuable players thus far.

[ashbury]

Very efficient offense, several of these last games.

[Wedman13]

47 minutes ago, DarrenPS said:

Extend Jeffers, extend Joe Ryan, and honestly given the injury question marks maybe even extend Pablo and the fans will return to you in full force Mr. Pohlad. Extend one of your young studs (Keaschall? Jenkins?) and show the fans you care. I was one of the 4%'ers but this is how you start to get the rest back

Disagree very respectably.  Go young.  OBP, speed, defense.  We will never compete with the dodgers with big contracts to Pablo, Jeffers. (Ryan I struggle with)

[h2oface]

Pleasantly flabbergasted. 
Enjoying it while I can  

The bats scoring a lot of runs makes a 6.00 ERA for the game pitching performance look good? That’s some fuzzy, less than 90 mph, math. Gotta love it though. Scoring a ton of runs makes for interesting perspective. 

[Wedman13]

2 hours ago, GopherMike said:

Eric Orze once again leads the Twins to victory.

6-0 when he pitches. 

Haha

typical MN response (from me) "I know it's really early in the year" but is it possible Rocco was simply an awful manager?  I think most liked him, me included, but somewhere along the way it feels like he lost concept.  We can debate MW all day but if in the lineup, should Rocco had him as lead off hitter? Probably not fair to Matt.   The lineups changed every single day.  A starter couldn't go more than 4-5 innings.

no idea where this ends, but as and old timer it's fun to watch baseball played again the way I was raised with.

[AceWrigley]

We are actually 10-7.

[AceWrigley]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

Very efficient offense, several of these last games.

Kinda mind blowing considering the last couple of years.

[Blyleven2011]

43 minutes ago, AceWrigley said:

Kinda mind blowing considering the last couple of years.

Kinda mind blowing considering some the best lefthanders we have beaten  ...

[UK Twin]

Caratini was a very shrewd signing. He's a decent 1B so his bat will be in the lineup most days and we have our main catcher for next year assuming Jeffers departs in FA. 

It's hard to believe the Twins are 2nd in the AL in runs scored. It helps that the two main FA signings, Bell and Caratini have settled really nicely. And Buxton and Keaschall haven't got going yet so there's more to come.

[JDubs]

4 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I don’t think the Twins need any more help hitting lefties. They’ve beaten the best ones.

I saw someone post this online:

Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez, and Garrett Crochet at Target Field in the last week: 11 innings pitched, 28 hits, 7 walks, 22 earned runs. That's an 18.00 ERA for the three All-Star lefties.

[Peter]

Wow!!! Only thing I’m concerned with twins used up all their runs/home runs for today! It’s still early but twins aren’t going away and will be in division and wild card race all year long!!! You have to think with all the negativity it’s bulletin board material!!! Huge win!!! Let’s get win today and clinch series!!! As always go Twins!!!

[TL]

Strange thing is that Buxton and Keaschall have underperformed so far (against all these left handers) and they are still winning. That bodes well for when some of the others cool off and Buxton/Keaschall’s numbers start to normalize. 

[mickster]

7 hours ago, Colbeh said:

Those first two innings were nuts! 

This is a fun team to watch right now and should get more exciting as Prielipp, Festa, Matthews, Culpepper, Emma and possibly GG/Jenkins join the big squad.

Festa dn Matthews are likely to join mid-summer - the others are long team injury replacements as Roden will be called up before any of the outfielders.  The rest will most likely get a cup of coffee as season end, or at the trade deadline if a sell becomes a reality.