Angels 6, Twins 5: A Roller Coaster of a Game Ends in Defeat

[Cory Moen]

Image courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio - IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Box Score 
SP: Joe Ryan - 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (99 pitches, 66 strikes (66.7% strikes))
Bottom 3 WPA (via Fangraphs): Yoendrys Gómez (-0.32), Royce Lewis (-0.32), A.J. Minter (-0.30)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): 

After splitting the first two games of the series, the Twins and Angels both sent All-Stars to the mound, with the Twins turning to Joe Ryan and the Angels sending lefty Reid Detmers to the mound.

The Angels got a couple runners on in the first inning but were unable to scratch a run across after Ryan gave up a single and hit a batter before getting out of danger with a fly out to left field to keep the game scoreless.

In the second inning, both teams got a two-out hit, but were unable to get a rally going, as both Ryan and Detmers got the next hitter to end their respective innings on the mound. 

Unfortunately, the Twins lost ball-strike challenges in both the top and bottom halves of the second inning, which left them without a challenge for the entirety of the game. 

The Twins were the first ones to get on the scoreboard. With Walker Jenkins on second base, Luke Keaschall switched places with him. 

With Zach Neto and Mike Trout getting on base, Joe Ryan did his best tightrope act getting a flyout and an inning-ending double play to keep the score at 2-0. 

In the top of the fourth inning, the Twins extended their lead on a Victor Caratini two-out single to score Brooks Lee, giving the Twins a three -run lead. 

In the bottom half of the inning, Ryan attempted to pitch around runners on base for the fourth inning in a row, but the Angels lineup finally got to him on a home run off the bat of center fielder Jose Siri which cut the Twins lead to 3-2. 

Ryan Kreidler must have been feeling left out. The Twins shortstop led off the fifth inning with a home run on the first pitch of the inning. 

In the bottom of the fifth, the Angels got a couple more runners on base but were not able to get the hit when they needed it, keeping the score at 4-2. 

Each team got runners on base in the next couple of innings, but the score didn’t change until the top of the eighth, when Cartini came through for the second time in the game, with a one-out RBI single, scoring pinch runner Ben Ross to give the Twins an insurance run and a 5-2 lead. 

The Angels offense made some noise in the bottom of the eighth, most notably from pinch hitter Adam Frazier, who doubled in two runs with one out off struggling reliever Yoendrys Gómez.

Derek Shelton turned to Kody Funderburk to get out of the jam. He came in with runners on first and second and one out to face Mike Trout. Funderburk proceeded to get Trout to ground into an inning-ending double play, holding the Twins lead heading into the final inning. 

A.J. Minter came in to close the game and got the first batter of the inning. Unfortunately, he was not able to close the game out. Vaughn Grissom was able to lift one into the seats in right center tying the game at five. 

Minter was able to get out of the inning with the game still tied, sending the Twins and Angels to extra innings, for the second time in the series. 

In the top of the 10th inning, Ben Ross was the Manfred Man. Brooks Lee was able to line out to right field, deep enough for Ross to reach third base with one out. The next batter, Royce Lewis, lifted a ball to shallow right field. Ben Ross tagged up, but Josh Lowe threw him out trying to score the go-ahead run. 

In the bottom of the inning, Lowe was not able to get the job done, bunting a 2-2 pitch from Taylor Rogers foul for the strikeout. The Twins decided to intentionally walk Jose Siri. The Angels pinch-hit Oswaldo Peraza against Taylor Rogers. With Peraza batting, the Angels executed a double steal, which made it appear the Angels would scratch across the winning run.

However, Rogers struck out Peraza to set up a showdown with Zach Neto with two outs and runners on second and third. Rogers won the battle, striking out Neto to send the game into the 11th inning. 

The Twins were unable to score in the top of the 11th off of reliever Tayler Saucedo, giving the Angels another opportunity to walk it off in the bottom of the inning. 

The Twins wisely walked Trout to start the inning, and Rogers, who went back out to pitch his second inning, was able to get Wade Meckler to fly out to right for the first out of the inning. Unfortunately, Rogers hit Vaughn Grissom on an 0-2 count to load the bases.

Derek Shelton came out to the mound and subbed in Kody Clemens for Walker Jenkins to have a five-man infield. 

Rogers struck out Moises Ballesteros for the second out, but the game ended with the next pitch, with Christian Moore hitting a ground ball back up the middle, which went off of Rogers and stopped in no man's land between the mound, home plate and third base and the Angels walked off the Twins for a 6-5 win in 11 innings. 

Post Game Interview

What’s Next?
The Twins will finish the series against the Angels tomorrow for the series finale. The pitching matchup will have the Twins send Dean Kremer (3-5, 5.35 ERA) to the mound while the Angels will send RHP Ryan Johnson (5-8, 4.88 ERA).

Kremer is coming off of two solid starts, against the Tigers and Yankees. Against Detroit, he threw five innings, giving up two earned runs while striking out three and against the Yankees, he threw 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run and striking out five. 

After the series finale tomorrow, the Twins will finish their final road trip of the year with three against the San Francisco Giants before finishing the season with a three-game series at home against the Texas Rangers. 

Twins Bullpen Usage Chart

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Nance	0	14	0	23	0	37
Morris	30	0	13	0	15	58
Minter	0	22	14	0	8	44
Gomez	10	24	18	0	24	76
Adams	0	34	0	10	0	44
Rogers	38	0	0	0	26	64
Hoffman	0	16	5	0	19	40
Funderburk	0	4	1	0	2	7

 

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[glunn]

I was at this one. Two mediocre teams playing for what was to be the last game for a lot of the Angels fans who attended. I did not expect much from the Twins and did not mind the loss considering that it might lead to a better draft slot for the Twins next year. The people in front of us had the best time imaginable, except the designated driver, including 3 appearances on the stadium camera/scoreboard.

[Patzky]

3/18 RISP..

Yeah Yoendrys, and 3 HBP.

But 12 K and 3/18. It's really been the story, like Shelton says, of not extending the leads. Let's get the split, no pressure now. On Keaschall, on Jenkins, on Emmy and Roden. Bye Larnach, Bye Jeffers, we're grateful we know'd em.

[CRF]

Seems like Gomez really hit the wall the last 2-3 weeks. Not a good sign at all. 

[mikelink45]

Our RP are either cooked or showing their true values.  The use of 2 - 4 RP every game is bound to wear them down, but it still makes me wonder if this BP can carry over to next year.  I know Rogers will be gone, are Minter and Gomez as good as we thought going through the summer?  Adams and Morris both wore down.  Hoffman is the only one I think we can count on as an asset next year. 

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

Gomez appears to have disintegrated in the past month. He's gone from a somewhat reliable closer to a scary guy to have on the mound. 

[Saxophone Joe]

Dang, a lot of walk off/extra inning losses during this stretch since Aug. 1. Frustrating. This team can not close out games. 

Sorry, I love Twins baseball and appreciate the (marginal) step forward this year, but I tell ya, I am so ready for this season to be done.

[c24]

Gomez's August/September have turned him from a for sure leverage arm in '27 to a will he even be on opening day roster in '27

[Patzky]

44 minutes ago, CRF said:

Seems like Gomez really hit the wall the last 2-3 weeks. Not a good sign at all. 

Could be we are seeing the beginning of the transition to middle relief for him. Is Hoffman able to reclaim the good and not turn into a pumpkin again for next year? Might Marco Raya have a crack at closing? Very dark horse candidates.. Adams, Orze, and Rojas.

[Whitey333]

Its so hard watching the Twins but i still do.  I knowing I get negative on here but its because i have always loved the twins for over 60 years.  I just get so frustrated watching them repeat the same thing for years.  I would like to see some definite direction from the franchise.  Do they have a plan?  How do we actually get better and respectable?  Many of the young players look good. 

[Saxophone Joe]

Honestly, would be so funny to hear a montage of Shelton saying some variation of “we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.” Probably said it after 50 games (maybe more?) in his postgame presser.

Who’s accountable to that? Been an issue literally all season, despite the high RISP average in the first half.

[HarmonK03]

This stretch is showing why a 6 man rotation or even piggybacking doesn't work.  The Twins still have one additional arm in the bullpen thanks to September expansion but the bullpen is still running short.  The way bullpens are utilized today, you can't operate down one arm.

They really need to bring in another option for closer, Hoffman may be able to bounce back, but they will need another option.  Because Gomez is middle relief at best.

[DJL44]

Royce Lewis and Ryan Kreidler have basically the same OPS now.

[DJL44]

4 hours ago, glunn said:

I was at this one. Two mediocre teams playing for what was to be the last game for a lot of the Angels fans who attended. I did not expect much from the Twins and did not mind the loss considering that it might lead to a better draft slot for the Twins next year. The people in front of us had the best time imaginable, except the designated driver, including 3 appearances on the stadium camera/scoreboard.

I was impressed by the size of the crowd to see the last place Angels. I don’t expect the Twins to draw that well against Texas.

[Blyleven2011]

With the bases loaded, my thought process was to bring in Nance who is an escape artist with bases loaded …

as the opening paragraph said the twins were heading towards being  winner’s  , NOT WITH THIS BULLPEN  …

[DJL44]

Glad to see Joe Ryan showcasing his health to the rest of the league 

[Saxophone Joe]

💀😭

[jmlease1]

Gomez has really fallen apart, but it's a little tough to argue it's overwork when he's still only thrown 64 innings. Wonder if there's a mechanical issue, but regardless he's been quite poor with only 1 good game in his last 5 outings. That's not good enough. But again do you rate him based on 4 crap games at the end of the season or the fuller body of work for the season? The frustrating thing about this collapse is it calls into question his viability for next season and the last thing we need is more question marks.

How about Walker Jenkins, though? After only getting 4 hits in his first 15 games, he's now had 8 in his last 3 and looking much more like the Prospect That Was Promised. Nice to see him figuring things out a bit and adapting. That's what the dregs of this season are for at this point.

Disappointing loss, but guess it helps the tank for a pick. Really ready for this season to be over. Only reason to watch is to see the kids play, and every time the Twins have to tun to someone like the truly washed Rogers it becomes easy to turn the channel.

[HarmonK03]

6 minutes ago, Saxophone Joe said:

💀😭

We are not eliminated yet, still have a chance, very small, but a chance.

[thelanges5]

Hard to believe they have a worse winning percentage in Aug/Sept this year than they did post fire sale. Bullpen is still bad even after the trades to make it better. 

[Glorybound]

Proof that closers don’t grow on trees. The Varland trade looks to haunt the franchise for some time it appears.

[thelanges5]

1 hour ago, Saxophone Joe said:

Honestly, would be so funny to hear a montage of Shelton saying some variation of “we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.” Probably said it after 50 games (maybe more?) in his postgame presser.

Who’s accountable to that? Been an issue literally all season, despite the high RISP average in the first half.

They had a three run lead with 6 outs to go. This one is on the bullpen. 

[DJL44]

22 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

We are not eliminated yet, still have a chance, very small, but a chance.

There is a big ‘E’ in the official standings. It’s over.

[Saxophone Joe]

Minter sure gives up a lot of homers, huh? 

[Jack207]

This may be a small point but you have to keep at least one challenge into the later innings. How many games are the Twins out of challenges by the 5th or 6th inning. There has to be some kind of plan using the challenges by both batters and catchers. Too many times the Twins are using and losing in situations that don't warrant it. 

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I was impressed by the size of the crowd to see the last place Angels. I don’t expect the Twins to draw that well against Texas.

That's the thrill of new ownership after years of incompetence. I'm jealous.

[LastOnePicked]

47 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Hard to believe they have a worse winning percentage in Aug/Sept this year than they did post fire sale. Bullpen is still bad even after the trades to make it better. 

It's almost as though this team was always more than just a few arms away from contention. 

"Going for it" when you don't actually have the tools to get "it" done is a fool's errand.

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Royce Lewis and Ryan Kreidler have basically the same OPS now.

I'd like to believe there's an alternate reality for the Twins where Royce is having a monster year and this is a really good thing for Kreidler.

Sadly, we don't get to live in that particular reality.

[DJL44]

10 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

That's the thrill of new ownership after years of incompetence. I'm jealous.

Would people here be thrilled to watch the Twins finish in last place if someone else owned the team? I doubt it.

[HarmonK03]

43 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

There is a big ‘E’ in the official standings. It’s over.

For division we are eliminated, wild card the magic number is still one.