Twins 4, Braves 2: This Time, Bullpen Holds

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 1 BB (94 pitches, 62 strikes)
HR: None
Top 3 WPA: Bell 0.15, Adams 0.14, Hoffman 0.08
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

The Minnesota Twins came into Monday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves with plenty of pressure on their shoulders. After being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend, the Twins fell six games behind in the American League Central and dropped to five games below .500. They remained just one game out of the AL Wild Card, but with the season quickly running out of runway, another series sweep would have been a difficult hole to climb out of.

The Twins were also looking for a bounce-back performance after blowing a five-run lead against the Phillies on Sunday. They got exactly what they needed Monday night, although it certainly did not come easy.

The game itself started later than usual after the Twins and Braves called for a preemptive rain delay. The tarps eventually came off, and after waiting an hour, the two teams began the game without a drop of rain falling.

The Twins were tasked with facing an old friend in Braves starter Martín Pérez, who spent the 2019 season with Minnesota. It looked like a challenging matchup on paper, especially considering the Twins entered the night ranked 22nd in baseball in OPS against left-handed pitching. They certainly didn't play like it in the first inning.

Luke Keaschall got the offense started with a leadoff double, and the Twins quickly loaded the bases after Pérez walked Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers. That brought Josh Bell to the plate, and the veteran first baseman delivered with a two-run bloop double down the first base line to give Minnesota an early 2-0 advantage.

The Twins weren't finished. Royce Lewis followed with an RBI single, and Kody Clemens added another RBI single to make it 4-0 before the Twins had even recorded their first out. After struggling to generate offense against left-handed pitching all season, Minnesota couldn't have asked for a better start.

Bailey Ober took the mound for the Twins looking to rebound from a rough outing against Baltimore last week in which he allowed five earned runs. Ober looked sharp through the first four innings, but things began to unravel in the fifth.

Austin Riley led off the inning with a single before reigning Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Ronald Acuña Jr. then delivered a two-run single to cut the Twins' lead in half.

With Acuña on base and just one out, the Twins decided they had seen enough from Ober. The right-hander was pulled after just 4 1/3 innings, leaving Minnesota's bullpen with a tall task: protect a two-run lead for the final 4 2/3 innings.

Considering what had happened less than 24 hours earlier, it was easy to wonder if the Twins were about to watch another big lead disappear. Instead, the bullpen saved the day.

Taylor Rogers was the first man through the door, and he entered in a difficult situation. Acuña was standing on first base, there was only one out, and the heart of Atlanta's lineup was coming to the plate with the Twins clinging to a 4-2 lead. Rogers worked his way out of the jam to keep the Braves off the board, giving the Twins exactly what they needed after Ober's abbreviated outing.

Travis Adams followed and provided perhaps the biggest contribution of the night. Adams has struggled considerably of late, but the Twins needed him to provide length and bridge the gap to the back end of the bullpen. He responded with two scoreless innings, striking out three without allowing a baserunner, allowing Minnesota to preserve its two-run advantage.

That set the stage for the bullpen's heavy hitters.

Jeff Hoffman, who has quickly become the Twins' most important bullpen piece since arriving at the trade deadline, tossed a scoreless eighth inning, aided by a massive defensive play from Kody Clemens. Then Yoendrys Gómez came in for the ninth and shut the door, albeit not without some nerves, securing a 4-2 Twins victory. 

After scoring four runs in the first inning, the Twins couldn't push another run across the plate despite creating several opportunities. The biggest came in the bottom of the eighth, when Minnesota loaded the bases with nobody out and had a chance to put the game away, and came away empty-handed.

It didn't matter. The four runs Minnesota scored in the opening frame were enough because the bullpen refused to let Atlanta answer. After Ober's early exit, the Twins' relievers combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing Minnesota to survive a game that could have easily gone the other direction.

The Twins improved to 61-65 with the victory and, thanks to losses by both the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays having the day off, moved to just a half-game back of the AL Wild Card.

After the way the weekend went, the Twins desperately needed a win to start this series, and they got exactly that.

What's Next
The Twins will look to capture a series victory on Tuesday evening at Target Field. The Twins will be facing another old friend in Tyler Mahle, with Zebby Matthews taking the rubber for the Twins. First pitch will be at 6:40 pm (assuming no rain delay this time).

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Chart

	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TOT
Morris	0	0	23	28	0	51
Adams	42	0	0	0	18	60
Hoffman	0	0	17	0	20	37
Minter	0	0	12	14	0	26
Rogers	10	0	0	16	11	37
Funderburk	0	0	16	4	0	20
Nance	16	0	0	0	0	16
Gomez	0	0	0	0	19	19

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[Permanent Twins Fan]

Much needed win. Offense struggled after the first, but it is good to see them get enough to get a win. Great job by the bullpen and especially Adams with two dominant innings. Big win to get them just 0.5 games out of the Wild Card. Go Twins.

[wesnewy]

lets hope they can capitalize off of this and sting together a couple of wins

[Saxophone Joe]

Hit grand slam: lose

NOBLETIGER: Win

[Saxophone Joe]

…Did I hear that right: the hit that Clemens saved was 108 off the bat? Wow! Best play I’ve seen him make at 2nd, arguably his biggest defensive play as a Twin. 

[RpR]

[Bracky]

The play by Clemens at 2nd was great. The ball was hit hard too.

Then he ends up making the last two outs in left field to end the game.