Dodgers 12, Twins 3: The Dodgers Are Who We Thought They Were, and So Are the Twins

Box Score
SP: Kendry Rojas 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (50 pitches, 25 strikes (50%))
Home Runs: Victor Caratini (6), Brooks Lee (12)
Bottom 3 WPA: Austin Voth (-0.39), Byron Buxton (-0.08), Lee (-0.08)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Dodgers did what the Dodgers do on Monday night, winning a close game thanks to their superstars. On Tuesday night, the rain delayed the inevitable, but ultimately, the Minnesota Have-Nots had to play the Los Angeles Haves. Justin Wrobleski and his 2.84 ERA stood in the way of the Twins getting the series back to even. Kendry Rojas looked to take the first couple of innings in his return to action, with newly promoted righty Austin Voth waiting in the wings. The Twins made a game of it early, but they were just the mouse that Los Angeles was playing with before they lost interest and finished the job.

Effectively Wild and Wildly Ineffective
Rojas walked the lead-off man in both of his innings, but he only got burned in the first. The rookie was all over the place, and occasionally in the strike zone, as well. After walking Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages to start things, Rojas then struck out Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts. Tommy Edman stayed red-hot and singled in Ohtani to put the Dodgers up 1-0. Rojas' 50% strike rate ensured that he would not get a second crack at the lineup, and that set the stage for Voth's debut in the third.

In the bottom of the second, Victor Caratini had tied the game with a flower-destroying homer just over the left-field fence. Voth and the Twins' defense managed to immediately give the lead back to the visitors. Freeman hit a double, because that's what he does—more than any other active player. Just when Voth thought he had escaped the threat, Luke Keaschall took what was a guaranteed out number three and underhand chucked it into the dugout to allow Freeman to scamper home. 

The Twins fought right back in the bottom of the third, but they ran themselves out of an opportunity at home plate (yikes, Austin Martin) and then had a three-run Brooks Lee home run go just foul. Josh Bell did plate Byron Buxton in the middle of it all, but the Twins definitely had Wrobleski on the ropes and didn't get the job done. 

Dodgers Show How to Get the Job Done
Immediately, the Dodgers made the Twins pay for their missed opportunities and miscues in the top of the fourth. Voth surrendered a couple of singles to put runners at the corners with one out and Ohtani up to bat. Shohei hit a shallow pop fly, but Martin's throw to the plate was cut off, and the Dodgers were back on top 3-2. Then three straight singles with two outs made it 5-2, and any glimpse of hope left the home team. Voth wore almost 100 pitches, but ultimately his 9.90 ERA wasn't going to get the job done. His fifth earned run of the game got bunted in in the top of the seventh under Travis Adams's watch to make it 7-2 Dodgers.

The Twins' bats could only muster one hit over the final four frames of Wrobleski's night, as he scattered five hits over his seven innings of professional pitching. Pop fly after pop fly left little to cheer about for the hometown faithful, while those sporting Dodger blue yawned due to the redundancy with which they have witnessed this excellence year after year. Taylor Rogers continues to struggle for the Twins' bullpen, and he gave up a homer in the ninth to remind everyone of that fact. 8-2 Dodgers, please make it stop. A walk and a blast to the gap later, it was 9-2. Please make it stop. Pages singled to make it 10-2. Then the bases were somehow loaded up, and then Max Muncy doubled in two more to invoke the mercy rule at 12-2. I didn't know a bullpen could implode when you were already down five runs to start the ninth, but somehow Rogers and the Twins proved me wrong.

Lee did get his home run off of old pal Brock Stewart in the bottom of the ninth. Way too little, and way too late to save this night. It's not because of their payrolls, really, but these are two very different calibers of baseball team.

What’s Next?
Target Field should enjoy its largest crowd of the season on Wednesday evening. Twins ace Joe Ryan (5-3, 2.99 ERA) looks to avoid the sweep, while the Dodgers will put their trust in a bigger ace named Ohtani (7-2, 1.47 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews
Coming Soon

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet