Make It Official! Twins 3, Rangers 2: Minnesota Ekes Out Series-Opening Win

Box Score
Bailey Ober: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Home Runs: Alex Kirilloff (4)
Top 3 WPA: Jhoan Duran (.161), Griffin Jax (.120), Christian Vázquez (.113)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

On a day you could have—and probably should have—chosen to watch the Timberwolves, Minnesota honored Star Wars night by following the original trilogy’s ethos to a tee. No, the evil wasn’t their opponent; it was the spirit of Minnesota sports, cursed, lording, perpetually undercutting, and creeping behind the optimism that so often blesses other franchises. One may call it the force. Certainly, it pushes individuals to choke. Would either team break the curse on Friday?

Bailey Ober didn’t make it easy for his team. An optimist would call his start “workmanlike;” a pessimist, inefficient. His rare poor command portended early trouble when a lead-off walk of Marcus Semien set up Corey Seager to blast a two-run homer to center. He was the second batter of the game. Perhaps it was better to wait for the Wolves.

But, the Rangers didn’t command the same presence they did last year; their World Series hangover hasn’t been yack-in-the-toilet-immediately-after-waking-up bad, but they’ve been laying on the couch nursing a tall bottle of Gatorade for nearly two months now. Their rotation is a mess. Their bullpen—already a scourge, even in the best of times—is less trustworthy than Russia in the Cold War. They entered the series with a 24-27 record following a sweep in the city of Brotherly Love. 

José Ureña revealed this weakness with early mistakes. He navigated a 1st inning mess before faltering in the 2nd, allowing a run when Christian Vázquez smacked his first double of the year into right field. Edouard Julien then concluded the rally with an RBI groundout.

That only tied the game, though. The lead-changing hit didn’t come until Alex Kirilloff caught a lethargic changeup in the zone and turned it into a souvenir. 

So began the typical push-pull common in most baseball games. It's not fair to say that nothing happened; rather, threats appeared and dissipated, occasionally considering altering the glacial task of scoring a run before ultimately falling by the wayside with nothing to show. Steven Okert needed five pitches to get through an inning. Caleb Thielbar, 12. Griffin Jax followed with an equally event-less 8th to allow Jhoan Duran to enter the 9th in a save situation.

And he looked like the Duran of old. Mostly. His first fastball clocked in at 102. His second, the same. Travis Jankowski earned a four-pitch walk, but Semien chopped a grounder to 3rd to render the free pass completely irrelevant. Twins win. Every TV in the area simultaneously switched to the Wolves. 

Notes:

Royce Lewis will fly to Buffalo and join the Saints for a rehab assignment starting Saturday.

Jhoan Duran earned the 40th save of his MLB career. He is four saves away from passing Doug Corbett for 14th place on the All-Time Twins list.

Bailey Ober's three walks allowed tied a single-game career-high.

Alex Kirilloff's 26th career homer ties him with Vic Power, Scott Leius, Mickey Hatcher, and AJ Pierzynski for total home runs hit in a Twins uniform. 

Griffin Jax lowered his season ERA to 2.53.

Post-Game Interviews:

What’s Next?
The Twins and Rangers will play the second game of their series on Saturday. Chris Paddack faces off against Michael Lorenzen. First pitch is at 1:10 PM. 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet