LAA 2, MIN 1: Ohtani Excellent as Angels Walk Off Twins

Twice this year, the Twins have been involved in outstanding games during the regular season.

That crazy game in PR against the Indians the Twins won in extras and now this game against the Angels.

Yeah, the funk the team went into between then and now was maddening, but, this team is really looking good now.

Should be fun going forward this year.

The bad news:  With all due respect (and,has anything respectful ever followed that disclaimer?), there was no way Grossman's ball was gonna be caught.  Right fielder Young's numbers were visible the entire time as he was in pursuit.  Judging from the way the ball came down pretty quickly towards the end, it probably had a ton of topspin on it.  You can see Young turn his shoulders to start to play the ball off the wall when Trout swoops in from out of camera range and grabs it.  If nothing else, on a ball behind him, Adrianza should have checked with Glynn, who had a far easier read to make on that ball from the third base coaching box.  Not scoring from first base on that ball, when running with the pitch, is bad baserunning, plain & simple.

The good news:  We are bemoaning a tough loss that capped off a 7-3 roadie against one horrible team & two excellent teams.  Given the recent rough patch, this is a very good thing.  Looks like the ship is well on its way to being righted.  Got to get to .500, then start making hay from there.  

Yep, hit probability and catch probability are two different things. Hit probability doesn't take defensive positioning into account at all. Unfortunately, they make catch probability very difficult to find and only highlight it when a fielder makes a sensational play.

 

But, just forget I even brought any of that up, my main argument is that ball was in the air a very long time. You could see where a player's clock in his head would say that's going to get caught. Adrianza could have done a better job reading the defense, but taking off on the pitch I'm sure made that a bit more difficult. It certainly was not a great base running play, but there was some stuff going on there where I can see why it caused him some trouble.

 

It's unfortunate. If he would have even advanced another foot or two while that ball was in the air he's safe and the Twins probably win that game. 

You can see in the replay above that it sure looks like Adrianza sees the ball and is shuffling along to make sure it isn't caught.    He is facing the outfielders.   I think he could have had a little more momentum going and made the decision sooner.   If a diving catch was made he still had time to get back.     Great play by the Angels and by no means am I laying blame for the loss at his feet.   Just not a great read.     No where near my pet peeve of when a hitter is running but not all out and then decide to try for another base.   You can actually see them turn on another gear and then get thrown out by inches.   Running more aggressively from the start gets them the base easily.  

sure would have loved to steal this game, but it's hard to be upset about what the Twins did on this road trip. Won a couple of games against a first-place team and split with a very hot Angels ball club. This homestead could be exactly what the Twins need to get back to or maybe even over the .500 mark.

This homestead won't be easy. The Cardinals, albeit beat up a bit, are still very dangerous. The Mariners, even sans Cano, are still a threat. The Brewers have been a good team most of this season. And although the Tigers are cold, you can't overlook them. They can still do damage if taken for granted. 

This 9 game homestand should hopefully produce at least 5 wins. Hopefully more, but that should be the basement for this homestead.

I also would use basically anyone in baseball who happens to throw righthanded, before using Duke against consecutive righties.