Tigers 7, Twins 2: This One Was Ugly From the Start

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

 

Box Score
SP: Zebby Matthews - 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 2 K (58 pitches, 27 strikes (47% strikes))
Home Runs: Kody Clemens (26), Josh Bell (19)
Bottom 3 WPA: Zebby Matthews (-0.24), Brooks Lee (-0.09), Kaelen Culpepper (-0.08)
Win Probability Chart

The Twins entered Wednesday afternoon's series finale against the Tigers looking to win the rubber match after splitting the first two games of the series. Unfortunately, they never really gave themselves much of a chance. Detroit jumped on Zebby Matthews early, scoring twice in the first before putting together a brutal three-run third inning. The Twins briefly made things interesting with back-to-back homers from Kody Clemens and Josh Bell, but Detroit answered and never really let Minnesota get back into the game. The Tigers went on to win 7-2, taking the series and dropping the Twins to 69-77 on the season. They have just 16 games remaining, and would need to win 12 to get to .500.

ZEBBY MATTHEWS COULDN'T ESCAPE THE THIRD INNING

Zebby Matthews's biggest problem this season has been the long ball, and that issue showed up immediately Wednesday afternoon. Colt Keith gave Detroit a 2-0 lead in the first inning when he hammered a changeup down and in out to right field. It was Matthews's 23rd homer allowed this season, with 17 of those coming on the road. After a rough first inning, Matthews bounced back nicely in the second. He retired the Tigers in order, getting Brett Callahan to pop out, Max Clark to strike out, and Ben Malgeri to ground out. It looked like he had a chance to settle in and keep the Twins within striking distance. Instead, the third inning completely unraveled.

John Peck opened the frame with a walk. Kevin McGonigle doubled down the left-field line. Hao-Yu Lee then drew another four-pitch walk, loading the bases with nobody out and bringing Keith back to the plate. Matthews got the massive strikeout he needed against the hitter who had already homered off him, but the trouble didn't end there. He walked Riley Greene to force in another run, his third walk of the inning and fourth of the afternoon. That ended Matthews's day after just seven outs, with Travis Adams coming in to try to clean up the mess.

Dillon Dingler added a sacrifice fly, though, and Callahan's ground-rule double brought another run home. By the time the inning finally ended, Detroit had taken a 5-0 lead. Matthews couldn't afford that kind of inning, especially against a Tigers team that had already taken advantage of him in the first.

CLEMENS AND BELL GAVE THE TWINS A GLIMMER OF HOPE

The Twins didn't waste much time trying to respond. After Detroit's five-run third inning, Minnesota came to the plate in the fourth with a massive deficit to overcome. It took just two batters to make things a little more interesting. Clemens jumped on a first-pitch fastball on the outside corner and drove it out to left field for his 26th homer of the season. That gave him the outright team lead in home runs. Then Josh Bell stepped in and did the exact same thing. Suddenly, the Twins had gone from trailing 5-0 to trailing 5-2, and there was at least a little life in the Minnesota dugout.

But that was as close as they would get. The Twins couldn't string together another rally after the back-to-back homers. Detroit's Tyler Holton worked a scoreless fifth, and the Tigers' bullpen continued to keep Minnesota's offense in check throughout the afternoon. The two homers were a great response after falling into such a massive hole, but the Twins needed more than two swings to overcome what had happened in the third. Unfortunately, they never got it.

This game wasn't completely devoid of opportunities for Minnesota after the fourth inning. The Twins had a chance to make things interesting in the seventh, when Trevor Larnach lined a two-strike curveball into right field for a one-out single. Victor Caratini followed with a two-out single, allowing Larnach to advance all the way to third. That brought Walker Jenkins to the plate with the tying run.

Detroit went to left-hander Drew Sommers, and Jenkins had a chance to deliver the biggest hit of the afternoon. Instead, he swung through a fastball at the top of the zone to end the inning. That was Minnesota's last real opportunity. The Twins managed just one more baserunner after that, with Bell leading off the ninth with a single. Kaelen Culpepper immediately grounded into a double play, and Larnach flied out to end the game.

Minnesota finished the afternoon with just six hits and couldn't put together the kind of sustained offensive pressure it needed after falling behind early. The Tigers, meanwhile, consistently made the Twins pay for their mistakes.

After Tuesday's narrow victory gave the Twins a chance to win the series, Wednesday's game quickly turned into a reminder of how difficult things have been for Minnesota down the stretch. The Tigers scored early, capitalized on Matthews's struggles, and never surrendered control. With the regular season winding down, Minnesota's margin for error continues to get smaller.

What’s Next?
The Twins are off tomorrow before returning to Target Field to host the Guardians in a weekend set. Taj Bradley is lined up to start Friday night for Minnesota. Left-hander Parker Messick, who has allowed just two earned runs over two starts against the Twins this year, gets the ball for the Guards. First pitch is set for 7:10 PM.

Postgame Interviews
Coming soon!

Bullpen Availability Chart

 

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[thelanges5]

Business ops and baseball ops are not on the same page here. Shared by Gleeman 😂

[Peter]

Ugly loss-zebby was 💩🤮👎🗑️ Twins aren’t ready for prime time yet! 

[PuckettPond]

When will the Twins relocate to Las Vegas? 

[Saxophone Joe]

Silver lining: we might now be atop the MLB leaderboard for highest percentage of solo home runs! LFG. 

[ashbury]

8 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Business ops and baseball ops are not on the same page here. Shared by Gleeman 😂

[DJL44]

Their margin for error is gone. They need to go 14-2 to make the playoffs. That is a level of performance they have rarely matched throughout their entire franchise history. 

90% of the season is complete. They should be eliminated by the end of the next homestand. 76 wins is their mean end result with a 2 win standard deviation.

[Mike Sixel]

Can we just bench the veterans now?

[IndyTwinsFan]

More ugliness in a season quite full of it already. 

Sigh! 

[DJL44]

4 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Can we just bench the veterans now?

I want to see if Kody can hit 30 HR

[Saxophone Joe]

5 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

90% of the season is complete.

However, after 10% of the season, we had the best record in the AL. Just gotta finish like we started 🤣 j/k the AL was so bad after 16 games we were still only a few games above. 500.

[SteveLV]

It's over.  It was over at the trade deadline but the FO was delusional.

Get ERod up.  Treat the last 16 games as early Spring Training.

Stop giving playing time to players that have no future on this team (or any other).

[DJL44]

9 minutes ago, Saxophone Joe said:

However, after 10% of the season, we had the best record in the AL. Just gotta finish like we started 🤣 j/k the AL was so bad after 16 games we were still only a few games above. 500.

If they finish like they started they will get to 78 wins.

[DJL44]

4 minutes ago, SteveLV said:

It's over.  It was over at the trade deadline but the FO was delusional.

Get ERod up.  Treat the last 16 games as early Spring Training.

Stop giving playing time to players that have no future on this team (or any other).

That’s just one move though - bench Larnach and play Rodriguez. All the other players with a future are playing every day. Larnach has a .637 OPS in the 2nd half so a benching is justified.

[Nashvilletwin]

15 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I want to see if Kody can hit 30 HR

I wouldn’t bench Kody - he could be part of the future yet.  He’s a really good baseball player.  He should be our starting 2B next year until Houston shows up.  Then Cody can move to 1B and Lewis can be traded, etc.

ERod should play in every game the rest of the season. Larnach, if he’s not coming back next season, shouldn’t see the field the rest of the way.  

 

[thelanges5]

Gleeman:

This is the third straight season the Twins have collapsed in the second half.

During that three-year span, they are a combined 55-89 (.382) in August and September, which is equivalent to a 100-loss pace for a full season.

[1985Fan]

Defense and pitching…. Eight walks today in a must win game and series. Offense wasn’t good either. Keaschall, Lee, Culpepper, Lewis, and Jenkins were 0 for 16 with 5 K’s. 

[Parfigliano]

43 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Can we just bench the veterans now?

I don't see this FO doing that.

[thelanges5]

14 minutes ago, 1985Fan said:

Defense and pitching…. Eight walks today in a must win game and series. Offense wasn’t good either. Keaschall, Lee, Culpepper, Lewis, and Jenkins were 0 for 16 with 5 K’s. 

Bullpen issued over 5 walks per nine and had a 5.40 era in the last 10 games. Offense has been averaging less than 4 runs per game. Easier to list who isn’t slumping. 

[D.C Twins]

1 hour ago, thelanges5 said:

Business ops and baseball ops are not on the same page here. Shared by Gleeman 😂

To be fair.... the ownership, FO and a good chunk of people on TD have all had the same cognitive dissonance (ducking for cover....)

[HarmonK03]

25 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

I wouldn’t bench Kody - he could be part of the future yet.  He’s a really good baseball player.  He should be our starting 2B next year until Houston shows up.  Then Cody can move to 1B and Lewis can be traded, etc.

ERod should play in every game the rest of the season. Larnach, if he’s not coming back next season, shouldn’t see the field the rest of the way.  

 

Give Ross a run at 2B to see if he has the potential to be the backup middle infielder next year.  Clemens should not be a starter, he needs to be a utility type moving around the field and hitting 6th or 7th in the lineup, so he doesn't need to start every game.

[Saxophone Joe]

Just now, HarmonK03 said:

Clemens should not be a starter, he needs to be a utility type moving around the field and hitting 6th or 7th in the lineup.

Hold up. Are you saying you’re down on Kody Clemens? Haha I kid I kid

[HarmonK03]

2 minutes ago, Saxophone Joe said:

Hold up. Are you saying you’re down on Kody Clemens? Haha I kid I kid

I know the comment was in fun, but I am not down on Clemens, I want him in a different role that hopefully makes the team better.  Because that would mean we have raised the floor at other positions.

[Saxophone Joe]

Man, if the Tigers hadn’t blown those 3 games last weekend in Cleveland, they would be right in the thick of this WC race 

[Whitey333]

They are toast and have been toast since August 1st.  It makes little sense now to keep playing guys that are unlikely to be here next year or agent a part of the /Twins future

[MeleMouth]

42 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Gleeman:

This is the third straight season the Twins have collapsed in the second half.

During that three-year span, they are a combined 55-89 (.382) in August and September, which is equivalent to a 100-loss pace for a full season.

This year, they didn't "collapse." They regressed to their talent level, which they had exceeded during the first half.

[RpR]

[RpR]

44 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Gleeman:

This is the third straight season the Twins have collapsed in the second half.

During that three-year span, they are a combined 55-89 (.382) in August and September, which is equivalent to a 100-loss pace for a full season.

Sadly a trait that has plagued the Twins  since the get-go with a few exception; it really took off under Gardenhire.

[RpR]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Can we just bench the veterans now?

Why , so the Twins can set a new strike out record?

[Hunter4848]

25 minutes ago, RpR said:

Why , so the Twins can set a new strike out record?

No, its so we can see the future instead of your favorite washed up old retreads that you seem to love