Make it Official! Twins 3, Dodgers 2: Tacos for Julien, All Clear for Okert

Box Score
SP: Chris Paddack 4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (86 pitches 55 strikes 10 whiffs)
Home Runs: Edouard Julien 2(3)
Top 3 WPA: Edouard Julien (.258), Steven Okert (.162), Griffin Jax (.120)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Walks Will Haunt
Chris Paddack took the ball today for the Twins and was tasked with getting through the monster that is this Los Angeles Dodgers lineup. Mookie Betts welcomed him to the game with a second-pitch single, and Paddack responded by walking Shohei Ohtani on four straight.

With runners on first and second, Teoscar Hernández stepped in and put a ball in play at just 67.4 mph. With Carlos Santana playing well off the line, though, the dribbler went into right field for a double and allowed Betts to race home, scoring the game’s first run. Paddack was able to bear down and get out of the inning on just 17 pitches, but: damage done.

It appears that the Twins wanted to make up for lost time as they donned the alternate “Twin Cities” uniforms for the second straight day. After being without them for the first eight games due to missing pants, the crisis has officially been averted.

Julien Wants Tacos
The Twins lineup has looked lost for most of their first nine games this season. Edouard Julien has been among the culprits, and with a player that has shown such a refined approach, he also seems to deviate from it a significant amount. Stepping in against the Dodgers Bobby Miller this afternoon, the second baseman put in an order for tacos.

Lifting a ball the opposite way over the left field wall, Minnesota had shown their first early sign of life in this series. Tying the score in the bottom half of the inning in which they gave it up was a nice response to see. The dinger is Julien’s second of the year, and the hope would be that it can spark some momentum from his bat.

Carlos Correa followed the blast with a hard-hit single of his own, but unfortunately, Alex Kirilloff grounded into a double play and Byron Buxton was frozen on a looking third strike.

Sheriff Speaks Up
After allowing the first-inning run, Paddack returned to the bump as a man on a mission. Facing James Outman, Miguel Rojas, and Austin Barnes, The Sheriff struck out the side on just 12 pitches.

While not all Dodgers hitters are made the same as the top of their lineup, Outman has launched home runs against the Twins in both of the first two games of this series. After getting behind in counts during the first inning, Paddack responded by hitting 96 mph twice during the frame, and he was able to simply overpower the opposition.

Miller didn’t make it through the second inning of his last start this, and the Twins came in making him work. After Manuel Margot drew a walk, Austin Martin escaped a questionable check swing strike to walk on his own. With no one out, Minnesota has speed on first and second. It was the first chance for the Twins with a runner in scoring position, of which they had gone 0-for-their-last-29 in those spots.

Santana continued his futility with an infield fly to third base, and Christian Vázquez struck out on a pitch that might have taken the head off a left-handed hitter. Kyle Farmer then dribbled a first pitch back to Miller, and just as quickly as they worked to put the opposition in a bad spot, they obliged by giving it all away.

The Top Does It Again
Starting off the 3rd inning in a similar fashion to how they began the 2nd, Minnesota had runners on the basepaths. Julien came out with a single before Correa lined a single to right-center. This time Kirilloff stepped in with runners on the corners and an opportunity to end the 0-for-32 RISP drought. Miller reared back and blew 99 mph by Kirilloff to make it 0-for-33.

Buxton, who if you missed Monday night’s game announced he’s back, lined a single to left field and ended the RISP drought. Driving in Julien from third base, the Twins had their first lead of the series. Margot’s lineout was lofted just a bit too strong in center and had Martin stepping in with two outs.

After collecting a pair of doubles last night, one of which was his first major league hit, Martin had started off the matinee with a walk. His plate discipline is a key aspect of his game, and once again he showed that working the count full against Miller. He got jammed on an inside fastball, rolling a soft grounder to third base, but the Twins had momentum.

Twins Daily's winning "Make It Official!" game recaps are sponsored by Official Fried Chicken, which you can find in center field of Target Field. With a name like "official," we know we have to be the best in the game every day, and from your first bite, you'll know that's a promise we make good on.

Muncy Makes It Even
On the third pitch of the 4th inning, Paddack served Muncy a right-on-right changeup that got way too much of the zone. The Dodgers infielder responded by sending it 400 feet to right-center, and all Martin could do was look up and watch it leave the year. Once again things were evened up, this time at two. Following a pair of dribblers for outs, Paddack punched out Austin Barnes for strike three and got his defense back into the dugout.

Minnesota couldn’t make anything happen in their half of the frame either. Santana went down looking on a close strike three, and Farmer grounded into a double play that wiped out the walk by Vazquez.

Throwing his 86th pitch, which was singled to center by Hernandez, Baldelli went out to grab Paddack. With Ohtani on third, two outs, and Muncy stepping up to the plate again, the lefty-lefty matchup play allowed Kody Funderburk an opportunity to close the frame scoreless. Despite getting behind 2-0, Funderburk worked back with a sinker and got whiffs on his fastball and slider to dispel the threat.

Julien Jolts Again
Last night the Dodgers went to Alex Vesia late and he was greeted by home runs from Correa and Kirilloff. The lefty-lefty matchup against Julien to start the 5th inning is a spot Baldelli could have opted for a pinch hitter, but he stuck by his starting second baseman and was rewarded.

For the second time on the afternoon, Julien lifted a ball the opposite way and had his second dinger. The 386-foot blast put the Twins back on top 3-2, and for a guy that has been clamoring for more at-bats against southpaws, Julien certainly rewarded his manager’s faith in this spot. Now 3-for-3 on the afternoon, he also had the first multi-homer game of his career.

Maybe looking to keep the same decision-making work, Baldelli left in Kirilloff to face the lefty Vesia after Correa struck out. Last season Kirilloff saw just 59 plate appearances against left-handed pitching and his .482 OPS was evidence as to why. Today he popped up a 2-2 pitch to short left field before Dave Roberts countered Byron Buxton with Michael Grove. Down on strikes for the second time today, Minnesota still took a 3-2 lead into the 6th inning.

C4 and Vazquez Show Off
All year long Vazquez has been telling runners they should stop attempting to steal bases under his watch. Having caught two of the first six attempts against him (and with two of those being entirely on the pitcher), he has brandished the cannon. In the 6th inning, Outman was the latest runner to test the Twins backstop, and another perfect throw and tag turned into a fist-pumping out.

In the 7th inning, following another impressive showing by Jorge Alcala, it was Brock Stewart on against the Dodgers. After walking Bernes to start the inning, the base runner turned into Betts on a ground out, and then subsequently Ohtani on the same fate. Freddie Freeman ripped a double down the line into the left field corner, and the superstar DH was on his way to the plate.

From there…we’ll let the video do the work.

Baldelli Tweaks the Pen
With no Jhoan Duran available during this early portion of the season, it remained to be seen how Baldelli would handle late-inning leverage spots for his bullpen. In a tight game against the Dodgers, Stewart got the 7th inning and was working for the second straight day. Griffin Jax then came in for the 8th inning and got the Dodgers 4-5-6 hitters on strikes. With both velocity and breaking pitchers, his stuff looked as nasty as ever.

After using Stewart and Jax to face the most dangerous threats in the Los Angeles lineup, Baldelli turned to Steven Okert for the final three outs in the 9th inning. Lefty Outman was set to start the inning, but Roberts brought in Chris Roberts as a pinch hitter. Still, the Twins reliever was facing the 7-8-9 hitters as he looked to record the first save of his career. After sending Roberts down swinging, Will Smith was announced as the pinch hitter for Gavin Lux, and he singled through the hole at short and the Dodgers had life. Taylor Trammell took over at first base as a pinch runner, and Barnes stepped in.

Okert got the double play ball on a bouncer from Barnes to Julien, but the Los Angeles catcher just beat it out as a replay review confirmed. With Jay Jackson up in the pen, Baldelli opted to stay with Okert against Betts, and a final out was needed to solidify the victory. Getting behind 2-0, and working to 3-1, Betts popped up a lazy infield fly to end it and the reliever acquired in the Nick Gordon trade officially announced his time with the Twins is here.

Notes
The Twins put a necessary pin in the 0-for-33 stretch with RISP. Although it was good to see the poor run come to an end, they still went 1-for-9 today and left five runners on base. The lineup will need to click at a higher clip to win on most days, but you'll take it against a juggernaut like the Dodgers.

Julien's first career multi-homer game came in his 119th career appearance. The home runs were the 18th and 19th of his career, and he moved his OPS from .444 to .757 with today's game.

2015 Twins first round pick, 6th overall Tyler Jay, is being called up by the Mets. They signed him out of the Frontier League. Truly an amazing story of determination.

What’s Next? 
The Minnesota Twins will head to Detroit and look for a series win in a four-game tilt against a team that is expected to contend for the AL Central Division title. A.J. Hinch has his Tigers squad rolling out of the gate, and Cy Young contender Tarik Skubal will be among the arms rolled out by the opposition. It will also be Rocco Baldelli’s first time seeing Kenta Maeda on the opposing side this season.

At some point on the road trip, Caleb Thielbar and Josh Staumont could return to the Minnesota bullpen. With Michael Tonkin added from the Mets, the Twins need a good bout of injury luck to strike for the next few days.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet