Twins 10, Guardians 6: Twins Bats Heat Up and Snap Four-Game Losing Streak

[Sherry Cerny]

Image courtesy of © David Richard-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober - 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (89 pitches, 57 strikes (64% strikes)
Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (8); Brooks Lee (15)
Top 3 WPA: Brooks Lee (0.32); Trevor Larnach (0.12); Travis Adams (0.11)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

The Twins and Guardians met Wednesday night for Game 3 of 4, with Minnesota looking to keep alive their chance to split the series and to snap a four-game losing streak. The game started with promise as Trevor Larnach crushed a 404-foot leadoff home run to right-center, giving the Twins an early 1-0 lead.

Making just his third start since returning from the injured list, Bailey Ober wasn't getting shelled, but Cleveland did what it does best. The Guardians sat on his 80-mph changeup, blooping soft singles into the outfield and manufacturing runs. Singles from José Ramírez and Brayan Rocchio tied the game, before Cleveland small-balled its way to a 3-1 lead in the second.

The Twins, however, answered with big ball. Alex Jackson doubled, Larnach worked a walk, and Brooks Lee drove in a run with a single. Josh Bell tied the game with an RBI groundout. Ober battled through a messy third without allowing a run, despite his pitch count continuing to climb.

Minnesota took control in the fourth, and stayed there the rest of the game. Three straight singles put the Twins back in front by one, before Lee launched his 18th home run of the season to extend the lead to 7-3. That cushion would prove to be significant later in the game. Cleveland answered with one run in the bottom half, but Ober limited the damage.

The fifth inning brought a scare, when Victor Caratini fouled a pitch off his right knee and was helped off the field. Ryan Kreidler replaced him, while Luke Keaschall worked an 11-pitch walk, but the Twins stranded the runners. (Caratini was later diagnosed with a right knee contusion, needing further testing.)

The bullpen took over from Ober in the fifth inning. Usually an early visit to the bullpen is a recipe for disaster for the Twins, but Kody Funderburk tossed a scoreless inning before Travis Adams retired the side on just six pitches in the sixth and put up another goose egg in the seventh. The yeoman's work from those middle relievers gave the offense a much-needed opportunity to keep the pressure on.

Minnesota added insurance in the late innings. After Ramírez committed an error, Matt Festa hit Keaschall with a pitch, and Trevor Larnach delivered a two-run single to put the game further out of reach at 9-4. The Guardians made a pitching change, but that didn’t save them. The Twins got one more in from Bell for a 10-4 lead.

Andrew Morris came out in the eighth inning and immediately broke his 18-inning scoreless streak with a solo home run from Kyle Manzardo. Not as sharp as he might have been if the game were a little tighter, Morris put two more runners on base, but avoided further damage.

Yoendrys Gómez closed down the game for the Twins. He faced the meat of the hosts' lineup, and while he gave up one run, there was never any real worry that the Guardians would come back. It was a sloppy game for Cleveland, but an impressive win for the Twins.

What’s Next?
The Twins finish the series and the road trip with a getaway day game at 12:10 pm CST. The Twins will send Taj Bradley to the mound (9-4, 3.85 ERA), facing Gavin Williams, then head home to make the most of one last push before the trade deadline.

Postgame Interviews 

Coming soon.

Bullpen Availability Chart

 

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[wesnewy]

Great way to get off the shnide 

fun fact about brooks lee:

I love him

[RpR]

[Sampson5]

Brooks a demon on the road I'm just gonna assume he hates target field the way most his production is on the road . Cool to see the offense bounce back I had doubts when I saw a lineup with both buck & jeffers not playing be cool to split this series tomorrow 

[Mike Sixel]

6 minutes ago, Sampson5 said:

Brooks a demon on the road I'm just gonna assume he hates target field the way most his production is on the road . Cool to see the offense bounce back I had doubts when I saw a lineup with both buck & jeffers not playing be cool to split this series tomorrow 

Wow, just checked. It's night and day on lee home and away. 

[Danchat]

Notably, Travis Adams has gone 8 scoreless innings in a row... I'm glad they haven't given up on the kid. He's the type of guy to gives chances to, not a DFA pickup.

Also, I feel like Roden deserves some credit for putting the ball in play even if the opposing team flubbed it up, even though it counts against his batting average that's better than striking out.

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Need to score some runs? Sit your 2 best bats for the day. 🙄

Ober continued the streak of starters struggling, but not as bad as those before him. 

[USAFChief]

Only mostly dead.

[Parfigliano]

Not pretty but still a W.

[JD-TWINS]

Need Taj to come up Big on Thursday! Get the split with Cleveland and take 4 of 6 in homestand ……. back to .500 and trying to maneuver an acquisition or two.🤞

[mikelink45]

Hope Taj gives us some hope for the rotation again!  SP is our strength?

[knothole61]

That was a very important win. If the Twins can shake their "getaway day" doldrums and win on Thursday the road trip will have been just disappointing and not disastrous. Come home on a high note and take care of business against the As and KC and I think the playoff train may be back on the track for now.

My favorite Denard-ism last from last night's broadcast was: "That occurred simultaneously at the same time." 

[AlwaysinModeration]

Step one of the Twins’ 15 game winning streak.

[Peter]

Huge much needed win!!! Get the split today!

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

4 hours ago, knothole61 said:

My favorite Denard-ism last from last night's broadcast was: "That occurred simultaneously at the same time." 

That ranks up there with the best of Yogi Berra!

[HarmonK03]

8 hours ago, Danchat said:

Also, I feel like Roden deserves some credit for putting the ball in play even if the opposing team flubbed it up, even though it counts against his batting average that's better than striking out.

Are we in Little League. 😀

[big dog]

8 hours ago, Danchat said:

Also, I feel like Roden deserves some credit for putting the ball in play even if the opposing team flubbed it up, even though it counts against his batting average that's better than striking out.

He puts the ball in play and he runs it out hard. That's something to appreciate.

[big dog]

8 hours ago, Danchat said:

Notably, Travis Adams has gone 8 scoreless innings in a row... I'm glad they haven't given up on the kid. He's the type of guy to gives chances to, not a DFA pickup.

Putting on my Travis Adams Skeptic hat...

8 IP, 0 runs    ERA = 0.00  that's good

5 H, 6 BB, 5 K   WHIP = 1.375, K/BB = 0.83, K/9 = 0.625  that's less good

I'm still not convinced, but he had a good outing last night (against a team without much offense).

[William K Johnson]

How about a shoutout for Alex Jackson.   Saw the kid hit a home run at Lakeland earlier this year and have not seen anything yet that indicates that he is overmatched up here.

[jmlease1]

Team desperately needed that one to stop the bleeding. Hopefully they can back it up on getaway day and steal a split. They're not dead yet, but would have been dangerously close if they'd dropped another.

Like seeing the big game from Brooks. He hasn't had a bad month at the plate all season and has been hitting quite well for the past month. Be interesting to see how much more is in his bat; the home-road splits are weird and fluky (he was better at home than road last season), and he hasn't found his RH swing this year...bringing both of these up to neutral and suddenly he's looking like the serious hitter we've were hoping for when he was drafted. 

[HarmonK03]

9 minutes ago, William K Johnson said:

How about a shoutout for Alex Jackson.   Saw the kid hit a home run at Lakeland earlier this year and have not seen anything yet that indicates that he is overmatched up here.

Definitely think he can be a solid backup, he has come in and helped the team every time he plays.

[MMMordabito]

17 minutes ago, William K Johnson said:

How about a shoutout for Alex Jackson.   Saw the kid hit a home run at Lakeland earlier this year and have not seen anything yet that indicates that he is overmatched up here.

The indicators are there, but the Twins will take all the results that defy expectations that they can get.  

[Riverbrian]

Not only did the Twins score 10 runs last night but they scored 10 runs without their two best hitters statistically. Jeffers and Buxton with a .950 OPS and .902 OPS respectively did not play.

The Twins still have the top run producing offense in the American League with 4.81 Runs Per Game. 

The Twins average 5.01 Runs Scored per game vs Right Handed Starters and they have a 38-34 record when Right Handers Start the Game against them. 

The Twins average 4.29 Runs scored per game vs Left Handed Starters and they have a 12-19 Record when Left Handes start the game against them. The disparity is getting pronounced despite jamming the lineup with 8 players in right handed batters box against the southpaws and still struggling. Switch hitters Bell and Lee lead the team in AB's vs Left Handers. Bell is decent against them... 5th best on the team with a .710 OPS. Lee... has work to do with a .610 OPS against lefties. For comparison purposes... Trevor Larnach had a .608 OPS against lefties last season.

The only left handed hitter we deploy against left handed pitchers is Kody Clemens. Kody is ranked 4th in OPS against left handed pitching with a .724. Cody had a .482 OPS in 89 PA''s against left handed pitching last year. In his prior seasons. Kody had a total of 21, 19 and 22 PA's against left handed pitching. 

 

The Twins are 7th in MLB in runs scored per game. There are 6 NL Teams with more runs scored per game. Yeah you can guess Dodgers, Cubs and Braves in that top 6 and you would be correct with and teams 3, 4 and 6. The Nats are #1 with an enormous 5.50 Runs per game. The Nats have 10 out of 13 players on their 26 man roster under 3 years experience. The Pirates and Esmerlyn (Who is this guy) Valdez are #2 and the Brewers #5. 

The good news is that we do face a Right Handed Pitcher this morning. We will stack the Left Handed Batters Box with 5 players at most if Caratini is hurt. 4 players if either Larnach, Clemens, Roden, Lee or Bell need a day. 

[DJL44]

8 hours ago, Danchat said:

Also, I feel like Roden deserves some credit for putting the ball in play even if the opposing team flubbed it up, even though it counts against his batting average that's better than striking out.

His Baseball Savant page is bright red. He is controlling the strike zone and hitting the ball hard (exit velocity up 3 MPH from last season). 

[ryan189]

58 minutes ago, big dog said:

Putting on my Travis Adams Skeptic hat...

8 IP, 0 runs    ERA = 0.00  that's good

5 H, 6 BB, 5 K   WHIP = 1.375, K/BB = 0.83, K/9 = 0.625  that's less good

I'm still not convinced, but he had a good outing last night (against a team without much offense).

easy to take snap shots his k rate is one of the best on the team since 6/23

7 games 11.2 innings

10ks

1.54 era

1.03 whip

1.58 baa

[HarmonK03]

30 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

His Baseball Savant page is bright red. He is controlling the strike zone and hitting the ball hard (exit velocity up 3 MPH from last season). 

And his batting average is .200, he has had one good game with the walk off hit.  This profiles to a good 4th outfielder type, results do matter.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

Hopefully Caratini just needs a day or two off. Jackson is showing how valuable he is. Multiple days off and still performs. 
 

That win was necessary if the Twins do go into buyers mode. We will see if they can go on a hot streak.

Lee has had some wierd anomalies in his splits the last couple of years. He continued to get better. I really think he will be the Twins super utility player down the road. 

[chinmusic]

6 hours ago, knothole61 said:

"That occurred simultaneously at the same time." 

Duly reported to the department of redundancy department.

Also, it's Caratini; not Carantini.

Enough of that. Let's go for the split this aft!

[bean5302]

26 minutes ago, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

Hopefully Caratini just needs a day or two off. Jackson is showing how valuable he is. Multiple days off and still performs. 
 

That win was necessary if the Twins do go into buyers mode. We will see if they can go on a hot streak.

Lee has had some wierd anomalies in his splits the last couple of years. He continued to get better. I really think he will be the Twins super utility player down the road. 

Lee will be out of baseball in a couple years. It's nice that he's having his very own Danny Santana one year breakthrough, but eventually, the regression will happen. The Twins certainly need all the help they can get so I'm glad Brooks is rolling a lot of doubles, but only a couple times in a row, and avoiding all the hotels on Boardwalk.

[Colbeh]

30 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

And his batting average is .200, he has had one good game with the walk off hit.  This profiles to a good 4th outfielder type, results do matter.

Results can be skewed when its a SSS

His .227 BABIP suggests he's been very unlucky so far. League average is .290-.310 depending on how hard you hit the ball.

At the end of the day we're talking about 25 ABs so his potential is undetermined