KC 6, MIN 1: Bad Inning Spoils Awesome Uniforms

On a day in which both teams paid homage to the Negro Leagues by wearing throwback Negro League uniforms, one bad inning sunk Michael Pineda and the Minnesota Twins. They lost in Kansas City, splitting the four-game series, primarily due to a five-run third inning for the Royals.

Box Score

Starter: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 69.6% strikes (64 of 92 pitches)

Bullpen: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Home Runs: Eddie Rosario (20)

Multi-Hit Games: Luis Arraez (4-for-4, 2B), Max Kepler (2-for-5, 2B), Jorge Polanco (2-for-5)

WPA of +0.1: None

WPA of -0.1: Pineda -.231

(chart via FanGraphs)

Crooked Number Cooks Pineda

Michael Pineda has pitched well over his last seven starts, dating back to May 11. Over that time he has gone 2-0 3.67 ERA 0.91 WHIP. Of those previous seven starts, five were quality starts. Overall, very solid production from the back end of your rotation.

Pineda did not necessarily pitch badly but he had one bad inning that hurt him. That rough inning came in the third, in which he gave up five earned runs, including one three-run home run to Hunter Dozier.

Prior to giving up the home run, Pineda surrendered three singles to the Royals Nos. 9, 1 and 2 hitters and then a double to Alex Gordon. After allowing the home run, Big Mike settled in and threw two more scoreless innings, keeping the team in the game.

Stay Hot, Luis Arraez

This kid continues to flat-out hit. His bat-to-ball skills and knowledge of the strike zone are fun to watch. Luis added four more hits today and improved his season slash line to .436/.521/.590, relatively small sample size but impressive nonetheless.

Rosario Goes Deep but Offense Falls Short

Eddie Rosario registered his 20th bomba of the season when he launched a solo home run to right field in the fourth inning.

https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1142876665690775552

Minnesota did not have many scoring chances throughout the game but they wasted a good once in the seventh innings when Rosario was unable to deliver with the bases loaded and two outs.

Postgame With Baldelli

https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1142914685840183297

Bullpen Usage

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

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