Twins 11, Nationals 3: Taj Bradley and the Twins Win in a D.C. Landslide

[Steven Trefz]

Image courtesy of © Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Taj Bradley 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K (96 pitches, 63 strikes (66%))
Home Runs: Byron Buxton (11)
Top 3 WPA (via FanGraphs): Brooks Lee (0.27), Bradley (0.12), Trevor Larnach (0.11)

Win Probability Chart (via BaseballSavant) 

The Twins traveled to the nation's capital for a showdown with the team who lives in their old place. Minnesota received good news regarding Joe Ryan's injury, and hoped that this positive momentum could carry into a very winnable series. Fireballer Taj Bradley took the hill for the visiting Twins, while young righty Cade Cavalli looked to match Bradley's heat pitch for pitch.

Catching Up to the Heat
Both young hurlers lived in the upper 90s throughout the first few innings of the game, but both offenses found a way to break through when they went offspeed. The Nationals struck first in the bottom of the first inning, when Curtis Mead sent a Bradley splitter to the left field wall for a double that placed runners at second and third with only one out. CJ Abrams couldn't handle a Bradley fastball, but his weak dribbler towards Luke Keaschall was too slow to let the drawn-in infielder make a successful throw home to nab the speedy Daylen Lile to put the Nationals up 1-0.

The Twins quickly handed Cavalli two outs in the top of the second, but Cavilli got wild and hit Kody Clemens, and Keaschall got his dribbler revenge on a soft roller to third to put runners at first and second. Brooks Lee came up next, and he turned around 97.6 mph in a lead-taking fashion.

The Twins weren't done there, as Cavilli ran into trouble toward the bottom of the lineup once again in the top of the fourth. Austin Martin got the start instead of Matt Wallner, and he rewarded his manager's trust with a leadoff single. Clemens solicited a walk, and Keaschall legitimately worked a 10-pitch walk to load the bases with nobody out. Lee came up again in an RBI spot, and this time his contact only traveled 40 feet, but Cavilli booted the ball into foul territory to plate Martin and to keep the bases loaded with nobody out. Royce Lewis, number one pick but number nine in the order, hit one just short of the right field fence for a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1 Twins. Byron Buxton popped straight up to home plate, leaving Trevor Larnach in a position to pile on more runs in preparation for the Twins' bullpen coming in. Trevor fell behind 0-2 on two straight knuckle curves. Cavalli tried one more, though, and Larnach un-knuckled it to the right field gap to up the lead to 6-1.

Bradley Gets Back on Track
The off day on which the team traveled from Minneapolis to Washington looked to be extremely important, as Bradley needed 51 pitches just to survive the first two innings. However, he managed to rediscover the strike zone, and coerced the Nationals into making outs early in the count. Bradley mowed down eight batters in a row until Lile laced a two-out double in the fifth. Then it was Mead striking again, surviving fastballs, splitters, and cutters until he finally could poke a splitter into left field to creep a run closer, at 6-2. Bradley's night was done after six innings, but he left his team in a great position for victory—as Twins starters have been doing for weeks.

Bloops and Bullpens
The Nationals turned to righty Andre Granillo to start the top of the seventh, and Ryan Jeffers hit a pop fly to the right-center gap. Both fielders converged, but the ball found grass and rolled away for a gift double. Josh Bell immediately made the Nationals pay by stroking a single into right to plate Jeffers and widen the lead to 7-2 Twins. 

Before Twins fans could get too excited, the Twins turned to their own bullpen in the bottom of the seventh, and Eric Orze immediately gave up a booming double to Jose Tena. Two batters later, James Wood missed a home run by inches, and his double instead plated Tena to close the gap to 7-3. As fears began to mount, Jeffers rightly challenged what would have been a walk to Mead to put two men on. Then Orze, the Twins bullpen's most consistent workhorse in thick or thin, took that second chance to induce a grounder to himself to end the threat. 

The Twins' bats also could feel the threat looming, and they took the game back, thanks to the fact that the Nationals bullpen hasn't been much better in this young season. Granillo stayed in for the top of the eighth, and he started the inning by giving up a single to a red-hot Lee, plunking Lewis in the shoulder, then getting hit by a speeding Buck Truck. As the sparse crowd tried to chant "Throw it Back!" while heading for the exits, Buxton rounded the bases for his 11th home run of the season.

Anthony Banda is still in the Twins bullpen, and in the eigth inning, he showed why that is by retiring the Nats in order (albeit on 19 pitches). Lee got another RBI on a double in the ninth, thanks to some Orlando Ribalta walks. In the bottom of the ninth, Luis Garcia got the next turn of the May 2 Implosion Redemption Tour, and surrendered a walk but wiped it away with a double play to face the minimum and to end the evening with only smiles.

What’s Next?
The Twins look to continue their winning ways in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening. Twins righty Bailey Ober (3-1, 3.55 ERA) will attempt to continue to eat six innings of quality mound time in hopes the offense keeps on attacking. The Nationals will counter with the floundering righty Miles Mikolas (0-3, 8.23 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 5:45 pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	TOT
Orze	33	0	24	0	16	73
Morris	0	0	57	0	0	57
Rogers	8	0	32	0	0	40
Garcia	9	18	0	0	13	40
Banda	0	18	0	0	19	37
Topa	0	10	17	0	0	27
Funderburk	0	14	3	0	0	17
Klein	0	12	0	0	0	12

 

 

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[Permanent Twins Fan]

With Lopez and Ryan both hurt, Bradley continuing to shine is even more crucial for the Twins. He has definitely been a bright spot. A good day from the offensive side as well. Buxton is red hot, but it is nice to see Lee have a good day and also Keaschall draw three walks and reach base 4 times. Great Win. Go Twins

[Parfigliano]

A winning streak.

[big dog]

They haven't quit. Hope they can keep churning.

[Sampson5]

Y'all might not wanna hear it but I think this brooks lee fella might be a mlb caliber hitter we not gonna bring up the defense tho lmao good for brooks only took getting smoked in the face trying to bunt to figure it out at the plate maybe Royce could try it out so his bat could wake up ( it's a joke btw) 

[stringer bell]

I’ve believed in Lewis the last two years despite deep slumps. My hopeless faith is almost gone. He had better start hitting soon of he will find a seat on the Green Line.

Brooks is having a nice run and I don’t think the RBI total should be ignored. He’s moved his WAR into  positive category despite his defensive shortcomings. Maybe the best thing for him is to stay toward the bottom of the order.

It was reported that Fedko was pulled from the starting lineup for the Saints in Vegas. Could he get a shot with the Twins? An exchange for Outman would open a 40-man slot. I think he would be better than Carson McCusker. 

[knothole61]

1 hour ago, Parfigliano said:

A winning streak.

One game back of everyone in the ALC loss column...this will be a very strange season.

[Blyleven2011]

A good game , a relaxing game , twins were patient and worked Washington's pitcher ...

The twins had plenty of walks and hits for plenty of action  , Buxton finally got a hit with runner's in scoring position  , the hit was a 3 run  homerun and broke a 0-20 hitless streak with runners in scoring position  , bottom of the lineup added the early runs  ...

Bradley had a good game ...

Royce Lewis did not have a good game  ...

[Peter]

Great win!!! Only 1 game back in central division!!!

[CRF]

A very nice win, but it's real disappointing to watch Lewis at the plate. He's totally lost. 

[Senior Softball Guy]

If Lewis is sent down, and he needs to figure it out at AAA, perhaps Culpepper is ready to next step. We'll probably see Fedko before that happens.

[mickster]

40 minutes ago, Senior Softball Guy said:

If Lewis is sent down, and he needs to figure it out at AAA, perhaps Culpepper is ready to next step. We'll probably see Fedko before that happens.

Might do some damage to his ego, which may not be a bad thing..........

[Old Twins Hat]

The Buxton homer on a high cement-mixer curve ball was at 41% launch angle.  He wind-milled it high and deep into the night, impossibly far, one of those homers that you dream about, wondering if it will ever come down.  Buck was just crossing second base when it landed.

[Doctor Gast]

I think we should send Wallner and Lewis to AAA & Fedco brought up. Also, Lee be raised in the line-up & Martin lowered to 9th (in front of Buck) against RHPs. 

Another good game for Bradley. Low-leverage Banda & Garcia were ok in their mop-up duties,

[Linus]

Taj was effectively wild. More than a few times errant 97mph fastballs had hitters dancing out of the way. He threw just enough strikes to get the job done. Keaschalls abs look much better as he isn’t chasing at all, neither is Martin. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

38 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

I think we should send Wallner and Lewis to AAA & Fedco brought up. Also, Lee be raised in the line-up & Martin lowered to 9th (in front of Buck) against RHPs. 

Another good game for Bradley. Low-leverage Banda & Garcia were ok in their mop-up duties,

I like Martin batting 9th in front of Buck or Martin bat  1st and Buck bat second. There will be no rally ending double plays with Buck at bat, due to Buck's speed. 

[DJL44]

6 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Royce Lewis did not have a good game  ...

Scored a run, drove in a run, made his plays on defense. Nothing to get upset about.

[jmlease1]

I was impressed with how Taj managed to settle down after a couple of high stress innings where he was struggling to locate in order to get through 2 effective innings. I think a year ago he would have had the meltdown game, walking 5 guys, throwing a couple of meatballs as "get over" pitches to try and buy a strike, and get hammered. That's good pitching. His stuff has never really been the question, and I liked how he fought through his troubles locating his pitches to manage the game. I'm not going to pretend the Nats are a murderer's row of hitters, but they have scored plenty of runs this season, so holding them down was nicely done. Wonderful start to the season for Taj, and he's been really important for the rotation.

Keaschall is showing some signs that he might be working his way out of the hole. Love seeing a guy who has been struggling take a bunch of walks; that tells me he's got his head in the right place and trying to stay disciplined.

Very pleased with Brooks Lee's night: he's been looking so much better at the plate the last month, and the doubles last night were a nice reward. If he can hit like this he'll be a valuable player, even if it's not at SS. (I think his defense will play just fine at 3B or 2B)

Larnach is having a very nice season. I was totally out on him at the start of the season, but he's been absolutely doing the job mashing RHP. The roster problem of too many LH OF bats remains (Larnach can't hit LHP any better than Wallner did, Outman isn't going to help there either) but at least we're getting real production from Larnach, the kind of mashing of RHP you need a platoon-type bat to do. He's even been back to form in the OF, looking awkward but effective.

And Buck's homer...oh, my!

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, Linus said:

Taj was effectively wild. More than a few times errant 97mph fastballs had hitters dancing out of the way. He threw just enough strikes to get the job done. Keaschalls abs look much better as he isn’t chasing at all, neither is Martin. 

I didn't see the game so I was curious how you could comment on Keaschall's abs.  I realized quickly that you meant his "at bats", not his stomach muscles.

[stringer bell]

According to The Fielding Bible, the Twins best defensive player thus far this year is.....................Trevor Larnach (+3 DRS). Second best is Martin (+2 DRS) and third is Clemens. I'm stunned that Larnach is rated so well in any defensive rating.

No one rates Lee highly on defense, but his hitting is currently making up for his limited defensive tools at this point. If he can continue as a above-average hitter, he has considerable value as a switch-hitting infielder.  

[JD-TWINS]

3 hours ago, Senior Softball Guy said:

If Lewis is sent down, and he needs to figure it out at AAA, perhaps Culpepper is ready to next step. We'll probably see Fedko before that happens.

There are no AAA options left for Lewis …….get ready to ride it out.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Scored a run, drove in a run, made his plays on defense. Nothing to get upset about.

Yes, I do remember last night thinking what a nice job he did hitting the fly ball to the track in right center to drive home the run - that WAS a positive! His defense seems to have settled over the last 75-80 games, back to last year……:he looks pretty good to me. No options - gotta ride out his struggles at the plate. Fingers crossed!

[Linus]

23 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

I didn't see the game so I was curious how you could comment on Keaschall's abs.  I realized quickly that you meant his "at bats", not his stomach muscles.

How do you know?😀. He battled in all his plate appearances and did not help the pitcher out. 

[JD-TWINS]

Jeffers - Larnach - Martin …….. Buxton not far behind ……… are all off to “career year” starts. Clemens is warming with more opportunities - still don’t think he’s a real MLB guy at 1B (or in line-up) ………… Keaschall walking 3 times in one game following 2 doubles on Sunday - maybe the switch has flipped? WALKING 3 times - seriously, I doubt he’s walked 3 times in a whole week this year!

Bell & Caratini are vets and will ebb & flow the plate…….things should shift back to positive results for one or both very soon.

Brooks Lee! My apologies!! Offensive surge may be short lived but he’s doing things now I didn’t think he’d achieve. Keep it up!

I still think, with his potential 20-25 HR he should be considered for the Team’s guy at 1B medium-long term with Houston & Culpepper coming in next 2-12 months. The 2 strike line drive to LF on Tuesday really got me thinking he’s figuring it out & maybe relaxing just a bit………letting the ball get deep and then just taking it the other way - AFTER a pull side double, really nice piece of hitting!

[JBK]

Anthony Banda has pitched in 17 games totaling 15 IP.  His ERA is 8.40.  What's wrong with this picture?  

[Jeff K]

50 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I was impressed with how Taj managed to settle down after a couple of high stress innings where he was struggling to locate in order to get through 2 effective innings. I think a year ago he would have had the meltdown game, walking 5 guys, throwing a couple of meatballs as "get over" pitches to try and buy a strike, and get hammered. That's good pitching. His stuff has never really been the question, and I liked how he fought through his troubles locating his pitches to manage the game. I'm not going to pretend the Nats are a murderer's row of hitters, but they have scored plenty of runs this season, so holding them down was nicely done. Wonderful start to the season for Taj, and he's been really important for the rotation.

Keaschall is showing some signs that he might be working his way out of the hole. Love seeing a guy who has been struggling take a bunch of walks; that tells me he's got his head in the right place and trying to stay disciplined.

Very pleased with Brooks Lee's night: he's been looking so much better at the plate the last month, and the doubles last night were a nice reward. If he can hit like this he'll be a valuable player, even if it's not at SS. (I think his defense will play just fine at 3B or 2B)

Larnach is having a very nice season. I was totally out on him at the start of the season, but he's been absolutely doing the job mashing RHP. The roster problem of too many LH OF bats remains (Larnach can't hit LHP any better than Wallner did, Outman isn't going to help there either) but at least we're getting real production from Larnach, the kind of mashing of RHP you need a platoon-type bat to do. He's even been back to form in the OF, looking awkward but effective.

And Buck's homer...oh, my!

Keaschall and Lee are both looking better and better.  I have to join the conga line and take my beatings over Larnach.  I was convinced he should not have been tendered.  Glad to be wrong.  I still want to see the youngsters, but Larnach, at the least, is a more compelling trade chip.  

[LA Vikes Fan]

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I like Martin batting 9th in front of Buck or Martin bat  1st and Buck bat second. There will be no rally ending double plays with Buck at bat, due to Buck's speed. 

Martin is hitting .325 with an .886 OPS and he's been up there for more than 30 games. He should not hit last. I remain in favor of Martin leading off, Buxton second, Larnach 3 against RH pitching, Jeffers 4 and, I can't believe I'm saying this, Lee in the 5 hole. Bell/Wallner can hit 6 as the DH, Keaschall 7, Clemens 8 (he's hitting all of .200 with a .682 OPS, right in line with his career stats), and Lewis/Gray 9. Move Jeffers to 3 against a LH starter, Bell 4, Lee 5, Keaschall 6, Fedko/Wallner/Larnach 7, Caratini 8, Lewis/Gray 9. 

I saw that Fedko got removed from the AAA lineup right before game time yesterday. Anyone hear if he's on the way up?

[bean5302]

44 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

According to The Fielding Bible, the Twins best defensive player thus far this year is.....................Trevor Larnach (+3 DRS). Second best is Martin (+2 DRS) and third is Clemens. I'm stunned that Larnach is rated so well in any defensive rating.

No one rates Lee highly on defense, but his hitting is currently making up for his limited defensive tools at this point. If he can continue as a above-average hitter, he has considerable value as a switch-hitting infielder.  

and Luis Arraez is by far the best fielding 2B in all of baseball between OAA and DRS. Maybe a bit early in the season for these defensive metrics meaning anything...

[Nshore]

From my vast experience trying to hit 95 mph fastballs😃, I think Lewis could benefit from cutting way down on his swing.  Just try to make contact and hit it back up the middle through the infield.  See ball, hit ball.  Stop trying to be a wall banger for a while.

[DJL44]

56 minutes ago, Nshore said:

From my vast experience trying to hit 95 mph fastballs😃, I think Lewis could benefit from cutting way down on his swing.  Just try to make contact and hit it back up the middle through the infield.  See ball, hit ball.  Stop trying to be a wall banger for a while.

I think that was Tom Kelly’s advice to David Ortiz.