DET 4, MIN 2: Stewart Debuts, Bats Slump in Loss

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs)

Kohl Stewart: 40 Game Score, 4.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 K, 1 BB, 60.8% strikes (45 of 75 pitches)

Home Runs: Max Kepler (15)

Multi-Hit Games: None.

WPA of 0.1 or higher: None.

WPA of -0.1 or lower: Stewart -.134, Sano -140

This looked a lot like the minor league version of Stewart, which makes sense because he was basically facing a Triple A lineup. OK, all joking aside, he looked pretty good before running into some trouble in the fifth inning.

I can’t imagine the emotion these guys must be going through when they reach the majors for the first time. Some players have a lot of build up to their debut. I’d imagine that allows them to be a little more mentally prepared when it happens. Kohl wasn’t even on the 40-man roster prior to his call-up, and while I’m sure he was confident this day would come in the not too distant future, the timing had to have caught him from out of the blue somewhat.

You never would have guessed this was Stewart’s first time on a major league mound. He was very composed.

We saw the good, as Stewart didn’t allow any extra-base hits and was getting grounders like crazy, but we also saw the bad, as he failed to miss many bats. You allow enough balls to be put into play, eventually you’re going to get stung.

A curious decision by Ehire Adrianza, playing third base today, didn’t help. He had a chance to just tag the lead runner out on his way to third, but chose to throw across to first instead, resulting in an infield hit to load the bases. Still, things like that are liable to happen from time-to-time when everybody’s putting the ball in play.

Stewart walked in a run to give Detroit a 2-1 and was lifted with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning. Taylor Rogers allowed an inherited run to score on a sac fly, giving Stewart three earned runs over his 4 ⅓ innings of work. He topped out at 95.2 mph, but only got two swinging strikes on his 74 pitches.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens next. I think Stewart showed enough to warrant another turn in the rotation, but at the same time there are some other starting pitchers down on the farm who also deserve a look.

Runs were very difficult to come by for the Twins. Mitch Garver hit a triple and scored in the second inning and Max Kepler hit a solo homer in the eighth. Altogether, the bats managed to score just nine runs in this three-game series at Detroit.

Logan Forsythe now has a hit in all 10 of the games he’s started for the Twins. That represents a career-high hitting streak for him.

Bullpen Usage

Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days:

AL Central Standings

CLE 65-51

MIN 54-63 (-11.5)

DET 49-69 (-17)

CHW 42-74 (-23)

KC 35-81 (-30)

Next Three Game

Mon: Off

Tue vs. PIT, 7:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Jameson Taillon

Wed vs. PIT, 12:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Chris Archer

Thuvs. DET, 7:10 pm CT: TBD

Last Three Games

MIN 4, DET 3: Austin Homers, Hildy Survives Save Chance

DET 5, MIN 3: Is There Anything Left?

CLE 5, MIN 4: Walks and a Walk-Off