Mariners 9, Twins 7: Twins Bullpen Implodes Against the Mariners

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Pablo Lopez: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (94 Pitches, 63 Strikes, 67%)
Home Runs: Matt Wallner (2), Michael A. Taylor (12) 
Bottom 3 WPA: Oliver Ortega (-.439), Jovani Moran (-.189), Emilio Pagan (-.176)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

After surviving two consecutive extra-inning walk-off victories, the Twins looked to win the season series against the Mariners and to keep their good times rolling against right-hander George Kirby. Kirby held the Twins scoreless last week in Seattle over seven innings of work, so the task looked formidable from the start. Turns out scoring runs against Kirby was the least of the Twins' worries, as he only lasted four innings in this game. Yet the Twins still found a way to lose a virtual lock of a game.

Twins Pick Up Where They Left Off Offensively
The Twins started their offensive attack against Kirby right from the first pitch. Carlos Correa took a fastball to the opposite field for a double and the Twins didn't stop until they put a four-spot on the board. Edouard Julien worked the count full, before bashing a triple off of the left field wall, scoring Correa in the process. Max Kepler followed up a few batters later with a seeing-eye, thanks-for-not-shifting-anymore single through the hole at second.

Before Twins fans could even say "Thank goodness Max is back!" Matt Wallner stood up to the plate and torpedoed the first pitch fastball he saw, hitting it 111 mph off of a human in the right field overhang to complete the four-run first inning.

Pablo Deals, but the Mariners Hung Around
Lopez only gave up three hits over the first five innings, but unfortunately, two of those were home runs. Julio Rodriguez took Lopez deep in the top of the second, and Cade Marlowe followed in the fifth inning by crushing a no-doubter to the bullpen for his first career home run. One might argue that Lopez was pitching as if he was spotted a 4-0 lead in the first inning, but he has already given up 17 homers on the year, and is on pace to set a career-high by the time the playoff push rolls around.

Lopez ended up completing seven innings, and only surrendered the two runs. That should be the main point of the story here. It really should be. A few base runners scattered around when those homers launch, like in his July 15th start against Oakland, and the story changes dramatically. Will Lopez be able to make the necessary adjustments for the nights when the offense isn't adding on?

The Twins Add On a Little, and Strike Out Far Too Much
One of the plagues of the first half of the season for the Twins involved failing to add on to leads when opportunities presented themselves. Slamming extra base hits with runners on base continues to be an effective way to overcome that trend. Willi Castro was the first man up to get it done in the bottom of the third, when laced a triple to right and forced Kepler to run really hard all the way around the bases to make the score 5-1 at the time.

The flip side of this quality offensive outburst was the 12 strike outs that Twins batters amassed in the first five innings. 12. In the first five innings. Granted the Twitter-verse disagreed with a few of the called strike threes to Trevor Larnach, but flailing and missing accounted for eight of them, including all three of the vaunted lefties when southpaw Gabe Speier came in to relieve Kirby in the fifth.

The Twins Add On a Little, and Strike Out Far Too Much
This is a different section than the one above. I promise. Except that it isn't different. It's the same story just shared two innings later.

Willi Castro look a walk to lead off the bottom of the sixth for the Twins. Then Castro stole second and third while Larnach was working a strike out. Ryan Jeffers walked, and Donovan Solano came in to pinch hit for Joey Gallo. Solano received a fortunate no-call on what should have been strike three at the knees, and hit a fly ball to right for a sacrifice fly to plate Castro and to put the Twins ahead 6-2. 

The strike outs kept piling up through the late innings, and the Twins struggled to add more baserunning threats to bolster their lead. This came back to bite them in a big way.

Pitching as Though the Twins Need to Trade for Bullpen Help
With the game time temperature of 90 degrees and no breeze to speak of, the Twins depleted bullpen faced a slight challenge, but the Twins had a 97% chance of winning when Jovani Moran got the ball in the top of the eighth with a 6-2 lead. He proceeded to walk the first two batters that he faced. Moran delivered a changeup for a strike to Cal Raleigh, but unfortunately for the Twins, the M's catcher drove that pitch to the left field gap to make the score 6-3. Moran exited stage left without recording an out, and Emilio Pagan was brought in to face the heart of the Seattle order in hopes of keeping the lead.

Thanks to Julio Rodriguez, those hopes went unfulfilled, as he went opposite field for a no-doubt, game-tying home run off of Pagan.

The Twins Strike Outs Kept on Coming
The Twins came to the plate in the eighth ready to respond, and Wallner started things off by striking out (called, not flailing) against hurler Matt Brash. Castro was next up, and he struck out. Larnach was next up, looking to avoid the golden sombrero. After getting two strikes early, Larnach managed to work a walk to keep the inning alive. Ryan Jeffers then struck out. That's 18 Twins strike outs for the game if you were keeping track.

The Bullpen Kept on Imploding
Oliver Ortega got the call to pitch the top of the ninth for the Twins, as the majority of the bullpen was unavailable for the evening. Ortega walked Marlowe, allowed a stolen base, successful bunt, and hit a batter to load the bases with nobody out. The extra innings and inability to put away teams finally came to call upon the Twins bullpen, and things looked dire.

They were dire, and Eugenio Suarez placed a double down the left field line to score two and give the Mariners into the lead at 8-6. With runners at second and third with nobody out, the Mariners continued to add on with a sacrifice fly (see sections above for why it's important to make contact when opportunities present themselves). Eventually the Twins came up for the bottom half of the ninth needing three runs to tie the game at nine.

A lead-off ninth inning homer for Michael A. Taylor gave a glimmer of hope, but the Mariners were inevitable tonight. Three up and three down followed, and the Twins were left wondering what might have been.

What’s Next:
The Mariners series wraps up with an afternoon affair to determine the season series victor. The Twins send RHP Joe Ryan (9-6, 3.88 ERA) to the mound, while Seattle counters with RHP Bryce Miller (6-3, 3.50 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 12:10pm on Wednesday at Target Field.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Chart: