Twins 9, Rockies 8: Extra-Innings Walk-Off Redeems Late Blown Lead

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Box Score
Taj Bradley: 7+ IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Home Runs: Kody Clemens (12), Brooks Lee (14)
Top 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (.420), Andrew Morris (.310), Taj Bradley (.200)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Are the Dodgers gone? Thank God.

Unalienable is the feeling of getting your (Butt) beat. Just thrashed. The brutal knowledge that your opponent is simply better; and that any success on your end is a fluke, a mirage occasionally fading into sight, just to turn sour eventually. And it will. Thus is the mandate when the Great matches up against the meager Just Fine. Fortunately, not every team is Great, and sometimes, another Just Fine rolls into town just in time for a beleaguered team to lick their wounds and move on.

The Rockies entered town a common opponent; not particularly impressive in any facet—though probably better than their last three 100-loss efforts. They play baseball. Sometimes it’s good baseball. They command a few players of unordinary stature. But their purple and black hides very little: this is a doldrum team that could offer solace to a Twins squad in need of some mojo.

And so it was early on Friday. The two teams could hardly exchange pleasant greetings before Kody Clemens stepped up to the plate with a man on and pounced on a Tomoyuki Sugano splitter, blasting the offering into the right-field overhang.

Not to be one-upped, Brooks Lee did the exact same thing in the second. 

The Twins took a two inning break from their mayhem before returning for more in the fifth for a double-infested rally, manifest in acuity and action as the lineup turned what was a two-out situation into a three-run frame that would soon chase the starter Sugano from the game and turn what was a normal lead into the sort of advantage that can put even the most stringent manager at ease. Trevor Larnach hit the first double. Byron Buxton, the second. Then Clemens walked and Josh Bell sharply parted the left-center gap to cap the innings’ action.

By his lack of appearance so far, Taj Bradley’s dominance should be self-evident. The Rockies had no answer. His fastball overwhelmed, and his breaking stuff befuddled; the innings melted into each as the outs piled up, slowly morphing a potentially good outing into an undeniably great one. He finished with seven innings pitched and just two earned runs allowed, and neither run scored while he was on the mound.

Right. So. That was all from the Before Times. Well, between the eighth and ninth when a victory appeared imminent. And it should have been: the Twins entered the game's final frame the owners of a convincing 7-3 lead. It should have been enough. Not one soul in the stands, watching on TV, or standing in the Twins dugout could have believed the game to be in any serious danger.

And yet! That's not how the ninth played out. A walk portended an RBI double. So be it. Then a homer. Alright, matters might be somewhat serious now. Backs straightened. A carefree tone and vigor in the dugout now altered, impacted by the sudden realization of what could be reality. Derek Shelton's decisions suddenly carry immense weight. He brought in Anthony Banda. A double. A homer. What was once a lead, eviscerated. One swing turning a fun romp into a disappointing disadvantage.

But the Twins buckled down. Steeled up, Whatever. An Austin Martin blooper and Ryan Kreidler single put Minnesota back into business. They could save this situation. Buxton chopped a ball to Willi Castro at third and... the unexpected big hop ate up the third baseman. The ball was in left field. Martin was scrambling home.

Andrew Morris stranded his Manfred Man in the tenth, and a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning moved Minnesota's rule-forced runner to third. With the infield in, Royce Lewis shot a grounder up the middle and safely into center field. The pinch-runner Kyler Fedko scampered home safely, and the Twins saved what could have been a tragic, inconceivable loss. 

Notes:

Post-Game Interview:

What’s Next?
The Twins and Rockies meet once more in a Saturday evening showdown, pitting two namesakes against each other: the casual Mike Parades against the professional Michael Lorenzen. First pitch is at 6:10 PM. 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	TOT
Rogers	17	38	0	0	0	55
Banda	0	0	24	0	11	35
Adams	0	30	0	0	0	30
Morris	15	0	7	0	6	22
Funderburk	0	0	0	0	20	20
Orze	11	0	0	0	14	11
Gómez	0	0	10	0	0	10
Raya	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[TheLeviathan]

[RpR]

[DataNerd]

That was technically a baseball game, but it didn't really feel like one.

[Vanimal46]

Funderburk and Orze can be out of sight out of mind any day. If you can blow a 7 run lead in less than 2 innings you're not a part of the solution moving forward. 

Royce 3/5 at the plate with the game winner. Buck truck with a clutch hit to tie the game. 

[Peter]

What a crazy game!!! I wouldn’t have slept at all tonight if they lost!!! Royce💪💪💪💪 taj was magnificent!!! Huge huge huge win!!! Biggest one of the year!!! Let’s go twins!!!

[Mike Sixel]

This bullpen.....wow. Seriously. Doing nothing to fix it .....wow. 

[Mike Sixel]

1 minute ago, Vanimal46 said:

Funderburk and Orze can be out of sight out of mind any day. If you can blow a 7 run lead in less than 2 innings you're not a part of the solution moving forward. 

Royce 3/5 at the plate with the game winner. Buck truck with a clutch hit to tie the game. 

I don't care if they have to reach down to A ball, get those  two off the roster. 

[Parfigliano]

Walk off win.  Yea, I guess?

[ashbury]

The late innings nonsense could have been averted if Taj Bradley would just go deeper into games.

 

/  yes I'm kidding

[Aggies7]

Should only get a half win for that game

[RpR]

We can pee and moan but they won, and not because of poor defense -  well I guess there was that chinese fire drill moment.

[Western SD Fan]

I put this meme in the game thread and the game sure played out that way.

[krink]

Not sure the win would have happened without You Know Who. Can we please stop wasting our time with Gray?!

[DocBauer]

Unalienable is the feeling of getting your (Butt) beat. Just thrashed. The brutal knowledge that your opponent is simply better; and that any success on your end is a fluke, a mirage occasionally fading into sight, just to turn sour eventually. And it will. Thus is the mandate when the Great matches up against the meager Just Fine. Fortunately, not every team is Great, and sometimes, another Just Fine rolls into town just in time for a beleaguered team to lick their wounds and move on.

REALLY? That's your opening? The Dodgers are the best team in MLB. And while the Twins simply had almost no choice but to give away game 2, they were RIGHT IN both games 1 and 3. There are NO moral victories in the final W-L totals of a season. But playing the Dodgers so damn close in games 1 and 3 where just one more pitch or one more hit might have allowed at least ONE win, it not TWO shouldn't be ignored. At LEAST we were competitive when we had a decent, solid SP to take the mound.

So that's your opener? The Twins WEREN'T BUTT BEAT in games 1 and 3 when they had a legitimate SP on the mound. Nor were they "thrashed" in those 2 games previously mentioned. I'm sorry Matt, I usually enjoy your posts, but that's just poor journalism. 

But let's play the glass is half full game after tonight's win. And let's start with the "half empty" portion.

1] Bradley had an amazing 7 IP which put him at about 90 pitches thrown. I really don't want to bash Shelton for sending Bradley out for the 8th, but I believe he should have let Bradley rest at that point. The bullpen was rested after a day off. And Bradley hasn't been quite as sharp after his IL stint. With a 7-0 lead after 7 IP, I think he should have been sat down. It would be better for his arm with a big lead.

2] I think Funderburk got a bit snake-bit in his appearance. If he came in for a clean inning, things might have been better. 

3] Kinda ditto for Orze. He didn't miss his pitches by much, but he sure wasn't good. Sometimes he looks pretty solid, and sometimes he doesn't.  But that's what happens with mediocre BP arms. 

But let us ALSO recognize the glass half full.

1] Bradley was AGAIN  a STUD through 7 IP.

2] Kreidler keeps looking like a keeper based on his defense. The play home to Caratini was OUTSTANDING. 

3] Morris really did his job yet again as a reliever and as a fielder working with Lewis at 1B. 

4] Lewis has adapted to 1B tremendously well so far. And he delivered the game winning hit tonight.  He just LOOKS like a much more confident hitter. I just continue to belive Lewis's problem is mental. He just believes he's SUPPOSED to be so great his head gets messed up.

If he's FINALLY  realized he doesn't have to be GREAT, but just GOOD he might have turned a corner. 

This was a BS win, but still a win, So MAYBE some posters will understand there is a reason to pull starters once in a while. 

LOVE Lewis came through. 

It just shouldn't have been an extra inning game. 

5] Despite an "interesting" game ONE where the Twins won but damned near blew it, can they rebound for missed opportunity and blow the Rockies out of Minnesota?

 

 

[knothole61]

1 hour ago, DocBauer said:

Unalienable is the feeling of getting your (Butt) beat. Just thrashed. The brutal knowledge that your opponent is simply better; and that any success on your end is a fluke, a mirage occasionally fading into sight, just to turn sour eventually. And it will. Thus is the mandate when the Great matches up against the meager Just Fine. Fortunately, not every team is Great, and sometimes, another Just Fine rolls into town just in time for a beleaguered team to lick their wounds and move on.

REALLY? That's your opening? The Dodgers are the best team in MLB. And while the Twins simply had almost no choice but to give away game 2, they were RIGHT IN both games 1 and 3. There are NO moral victories in the final W-L totals of a season. But playing the Dodgers so damn close in games 1 and 3 where just one more pitch or one more hit might have allowed at least ONE win, it not TWO shouldn't be ignored. At LEAST we were competitive when we had a decent, solid SP to take the mound.

So that's your opener? The Twins WEREN'T BUTT BEAT in games 1 and 3 when they had a legitimate SP on the mound. Nor were they "thrashed" in those 2 games previously mentioned. I'm sorry Matt, I usually enjoy your posts, but that's just poor journalism. 

But let's play the glass is half full game after tonight's win. And let's start with the "half empty" portion.

1] Bradley had an amazing 7 IP which put him at about 90 pitches thrown. I really don't want to bash Shelton for sending Bradley out for the 8th, but I believe he should have let Bradley rest at that point. The bullpen was rested after a day off. And Bradley hasn't been quite as sharp after his IL stint. With a 7-0 lead after 7 IP, I think he should have been sat down. It would be better for his arm with a big lead.

2] I think Funderburk got a bit snake-bit in his appearance. If he came in for a clean inning, things might have been better. 

3] Kinda ditto for Orze. He didn't miss his pitches by much, but he sure wasn't good. Sometimes he looks pretty solid, and sometimes he doesn't.  But that's what happens with mediocre BP arms. 

But let us ALSO recognize the glass half full.

1] Bradley was AGAIN  a STUD through 7 IP.

2] Kreidler keeps looking like a keeper based on his defense. The play home to Caratini was OUTSTANDING. 

3] Morris really did his job yet again as a reliever and as a fielder working with Lewis at 1B. 

4] Lewis has adapted to 1B tremendously well so far. And he delivered the game winning hit tonight.  He just LOOKS like a much more confident hitter. I just continue to belive Lewis's problem is mental. He just believes he's SUPPOSED to be so great his head gets messed up.

If he's FINALLY  realized he doesn't have to be GREAT, but just GOOD he might have turned a corner. 

This was a BS win, but still a win, So MAYBE some posters will understand there is a reason to pull starters once in a while. 

LOVE Lewis came through. 

It just shouldn't have been an extra inning game. 

5] Despite an "interesting" game ONE where the Twins won but damned near blew it, can they rebound for missed opportunity and blow the Rockies out of Minnesota?

 

 

I agree completely with "half-full" section, point #4. Lewis is packed with talent and will serve the Twins very well as long as he keeps that positive vibe between his ears.

Lewis at first and Keaschall in right might be just what the doctor ordered?

[David HK]

A microcosm, that's what it was, of every way the FO and "ownership" have Fd this team the last couple of years.  Ever since Crazy Joe Pohlad punted the team with his right-sizing BS, the vast majority of moves they've made (and haven't made) have been pathetically, comically wrong.

Imploding the ENTIRE BP was the most egregious, unforgivable error. I'm so sick of these effing pedestrians that stroll out of the BP into oncoming traffic every damn day.  Orze, Banda, Fundy, ( who showed flashes in the past), and whatever Stiff of the Week they keep coming up with are a disgrace to a major league uniform.

And gawd almighty, can we please dispense with Bonehead Baseball?!? Austin, what the H are you doing making that swan dive? That's Baseball 101!  (Rockies crew were chortling about him being a "defensive replacement").  Mr. Gray, the play is right in front of you - plus you may be the only guy in the league slower than Brooks! I was shouting at the screen - No No No! 😫 If Idiot Plays were in a box score, the Twinks would lead the league in something at last.

They came back and got it, thanks to a lucky topspin hop, and a bleeder through the drawn-in IF, so I'm glad they won in the end. But that's not going to happen often when we keep having these nitwits and talent-free hurlers haunting Targét Field.

 

[Sampson5]

Orze has had a few moments this year but he's been mostly terrible not sure why he's the choice in the 9th sure we're up by 4 but at that point go to one of the trustworthy arms the fact that the walk off was even needed makes that game feel like a loss . Feel for taj takes a no decision in a game where he left up 7 runs .. yikes good thing offense bailed the bullpen out although this game probably further tells you the twins aren't making the playoffs unless they decide to go aquire multiple relievers at the deadline which is not happening obviously