Make It Official! Twins 6, A's 2: Splashes, Not Ripples

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober: 6 1/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K (96 Pitches, 64 Strikes, 66.6%)
Home Runs: Carlos Correa 2 (8), Royce Lewis (6), Carlos Santana (11)
Top 3 WPA: Ober (.220), Correa (.213), Lewis (.073)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

It's been quite a homestand for the Twins thus far, featuring the triumphant return of Louie Varland; (perhaps) the end of Caleb Thielbar; the Buxton-Correa-Lewis trio clicking for the first time.. ever; Flo Rida; and an overall record of five wins in six games.

After Saturday's game was rained out, the Twins turned to the scuffling Bailey Ober in game one of a Fathers Day twinbill. Ober seemed to be on the cusp of settling into one of his patented grooves in his last start, until Henry Davis and Andrew McCutchen wore him down with two outs in the fifth, seeing 17 combined pitches with each batter walking. Bryan Reynolds and Connor Joe made Ober pay, ruining his pitching line for the day. This, after he pitched his guts out in New York, beaten only because of a jam shot off the bat of Aaron Judge.

Ober started the day well, spotting a fastball that has proven more hittable this year. It was consistently 93 MPH, and his changeup looked as good as it has been this year, even to righties. Overall, the change accounted for four of his eight strikeouts, with eight whiffs on that pitch alone. He cruised the first time through the lineup, but then faced the visitors' best hitter, old friend Brent Rooker, in the third with two men on. This time, Ober did what he couldn't in Pittsburgh, dotting a change-up below Rooker's bat to end the threat.

Also unlike in Pittsburgh, the defense made some excellent plays behind him.

Opposing Ober was A's lefty J.P. Sears, a really nice number four starter they acquired for the husk of Frankie Montas at the 2022 trade deadline. However, in a change from the rest of the post-COVID Twins teams, this one can hit lefties. The resurgent Manuel Margot drew a tough walk to start the game against Sears, and then Carlos Correa unloaded on a high fastball for a two-run home run that surprised no one, given how unconscious Correa has been since that fateful tweet from a certain former-beat-reporter-turned-columnist whose distance from the center of things is starting to show.

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And then Royce Lewis did something even less surprising, homering on the first pitch to the overhang in right field.

Correa wasn't done, though, as he back-legged a sweeper from Sears in the fourth 408 feet for his third hit of the day, making the game 4-0. And with Ober in his biggest pickle of the day in the sixth, Correa made the unassisted double play off a hot ground ball from Soderstrom to preserve the shutout and hopefully give his starter something to build off of.

After Daz Cameron spoiled Ober's quest for a seven inning shut out by hammering an elevated change-up to make the score 4-1, Carlos Santana provided the insurance with a home run off lefty Brady Basso.

Jorge Alcala pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings before giving away to Cole Sands to finish off the win.

The Good:
-Correa's dominance is great, but for me as a fan of Larry David, the spite aspect of his "raking" makes it even better.
-Ober was not at his absolute best, but reversed a few trends in this start. He finished hitters off, as his eight strikeouts attest, and his changeup was a weapon.. until the last one he threw to Daz Cameron.
-Of Alcala's 22 pitches, 17 were strikes. Considering how high-octane his stuff is, that's real nice.

The Bad:
-Not a lot of bad stuff here, but Kyle Farmer made another out on the bases, which you would like to see less of.
-Sands struggled after he attempted to make an acrobatic play on a ball hit off of his body to start the ninth. After allowing two hits and a walk, Jhoan Duran was summoned in a 6-2 game to get the final out.

What’s Next: Chris Paddack (5-3, 4.79 ERA) opposes Joey Estes (2-2, 4.78 ERA) as the Twins look to sweep the doubleheader and the series. Estes is a 22-year-old right-hander who has held his own thus far in his career, but features below-average fastball velocity and was the eleventh ranked prospect in Oakland's fairly weak farm system entering the year. Paddack was much better against Colorado last time out, and his velocity has been on the rise since he battled a dead arm period a few weeks ago.

Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart: