Make it Official! Twins 4, Giants 2: Carlos Touches Them All

Box Score
SP: Simeon Woods Richardson - 4.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (86 pitches, 61 strikes, 10 whiffs)
Home Runs: Carlos Santana(13)
Top 3 WPA: Carlos Santana (.233), Cole Sands (.154), Griffin Jax (.137)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

New Position, Some Revenge
After Carlos Correa was scratched with a heel contusion, Rocco Baldelli’s lineup was left with some serious question marks to start the game. Royce Lewis remains on the injured list, and Jose Miranda is dealing with a back issue. That meant Christian Vazquez was starting at third base for the first time in his career.

Simeon Woods Richardson got Jorge Soler on strikes to kick off the bottom half, but last night’s menace Brett Wisely immediately took aim at Vazquez. Bunting to third base, the Giants shortstop singled. San Francisco couldn’t cash in though.

Making his first big league start at second base, Brooks Lee flashed the leather early. He was scheduled to take place in the Futures Game on Saturday, but this situation is probably quite a bit better for the rookie.

The sides stayed scoreless until the fourth inning. Ryan Jeffers reached after getting plunked, joining Willi Castro as the second Minnesota player to get hit. After Lee moved him to second on a pop out, Matt Wallner doubled to drive Jeffers home. Advancing to third on an error, he scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0.

Soler ripped a ball towards third base, but Vazquez couldn’t reel it in. The base hit went for a double before Woods Richardson uncorked a wild pitch. With one out in the fifth inning, San Francisco had the tying run at third base. Heliot Ramos hit a comeback to Minnesota’s pitcher, and the deflection allowed Soler to score. 4 1/3 innings, on 86 pitchers, was the end of the line for the Twins starter.

Taking the Lead Against Taylor
Cole Sands came in and finished out the fifth inning for Woods Richardson before Minnesota went back to bat. Bob Melvin told Hayden Birdsong he was done after the fifth inning, and it was former Twins closer Taylor Rogers on to face some of Minnesota’s sluggers. Getting Wallner on strikes, Rogers was got by Carlos Santana. The first baseman blasted a solo shot, his 13th, to left field. The home run was a big one as not only did it give the Twins a lead, but checked off the final ballpark needed for Santana to have gone deep in all of them.

Rogers recorded just a single out on 18 pitches. He allowed a pair of hits, including a single by Max Kepler. Randy Rodriguez took over and gave up another hit to Manuel Margot. Vazquez grounded into a double play though, and the potential threat was over. Lee added another solid defensive play at second in the sixth inning, and it was starting to set in just how good the rookie is with the leather.

Minnesota mounted a two out threat against Erik Miller in the eighth inning. Margot stepped in against the lefty with runners on the corners, but after a hard-fought at bat he was rung up on a called third strike touching the edge of the zone. Patrick Bailey nearly tied the game with a triple in the bottom of the frame, but Griffin Jax benefited from Oracle Park. Missing middle-middle with a curveball, the Giants catcher went to triples alley and grabbed three bases instead. Jax got Matt Chapman to end the inning and strand the tying run 90 feet away.

Insurance, Check
The Giants brought in Minnesota-native Sean Hjelle for the final frame. He was greeted with singles by Vazquez, Willi Castro, and Trevor Larnach to load the bases with no outs. Ryan Jeffers grounded into a double play, but Vazquez came home to give the Twins a bit of extra breathing room. Lee walked and stole his first career base, but Wallner's strikeout ended the frame.

Baldelli's bullpen pecking order had worked out perfectly, and it was going to be Jhoan Duran for the ninth inning. Duran has struggled to find his typical velocity most of the year, but he has it against the Giants tonight. Punching out Michael Conforto and getting LaMonte Wade Jr. to ground out, the Twins closer had brought his fireball and was ready to grab the save. Duran got Mike Yastrzemski to ground out and Minnesota picked up their 54th win.

The Twins had ten hits, with a pair each coming from Santana, Kepler, and Castro. They went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left ten on base.

Notes
Twins prospect Luke Keaschall, who took over for Brooks Lee, participated in the Futures Game at Globe Life Field on Saturday. The Wind Surge infielder has already earned a promotion this season, and remains among the best talents in Minnesota’s system. He went 1-for-1 in the game. The National League team won 6-1.

Carlos Correa was scheduled to start at shortstop, but was scratched with a heel contusion. It remains to be seen how that may impact his All-Star Game availability.

Byron Buxton was also out of the lineup, allowing for Manuel Margot to start in center against a right-handed pitcher. This would seem to be in relation to his hard crash up against the wall on Friday night.

What’s Next? 
Minnesota goes with Chris Paddack on Sunday against the Giants free agent acquisition Blake Snell. The matchup is the final tilt of the first half as the home run derby takes place Monday with the All-Star Game on Tuesday in Texas.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet