Marlins 5, Twins 2: Bats Disappear Again, Bullpen Melts Down, Miami Wins the Series

Offense anyone?

Tough beat by Thielbar. Definitely a little disappointed in the offense this series.

Starting pitching looked pretty great, though. That's pretty fun.

It's disappointing to drop the series, but a 4-2 road trip is still pretty good.

Ugh!  Very deflating end to this road trip after a 4-0 start.

On the positive side I was very impressed with the outing of Lopez.  Also, Larnach continues to be a key part of lineup getting the game-tying hit off of Luzardo.

On the flip (negative) side a couple of things:

#1  Easy to lay blame on Thielbar for giving up go ahead run and then the game-ending BOMB by Soler. Thielbar has demonstrated his effectiveness for a long period and got a huge 2nd out whiffing Arraez.

Saying that, am I the only Twins fan wondering why our BEST RP---Duran was not brought into the game to face Arraez?  Duran hasn't pitched since opening day.  I know he was unavailable in KC on Sunday, but hadn't heard anything that would've kept him out today.  I would've preferred to see Duran against Arraez and DeLaCruz instead of Thielbar.

#2  I know only a small sample size-------but in 4 of our 6 games this offense has only produced 6 runs.

Collectively in those 4 games the following numbers are horrible---remember 2 of those were against Zack Greinke & Jordan Lyles

Avg:  .184 (24-130)

EBH:  3---------2 doubles (Buxton & Jeffers) 1 triple- Buxton   HR-0

Slug Pct:  .215---------yes .215-----that is beyond awful!

LOB:  26

K's:  34*--including 12 today with every batter whiffing at least once.

Our starting pitching has been excellent all season.  Bullpen, other than today, has been very good.

Buxton, Gallo and Larnach need our other "core hitters"----namely Correa, Miranda and Kepler---to get their bats going.  Those 3 have combined to go 10-61 (.163) with only 5 RBI and 2 extra base hits.

Why didn’t they walk Soler in the eighth and bring in a right hander to pitch to Cooper? Even if they pinch hit a lefthander I would rather face whoever that is than pitch to Soler. He already burned them once, and is one of the best hitters in their lineup.

I think we were getting a little ahead of ourselves with the excitement.  We just lost a series to the Miami Marlins and looked embarrassingly futile offensively.

This day off thing is just getting out of control.  We really can’t even get through week 1 of the season, which already has multiple off days built in, without pulling the plug on guys?  

Nick Gordon leading off yesterday, now Solano hitting third today?  And people here are constantly handwringing about there being no room on the roster?

This roster is still an absolute dumpster fire.  The only thing that’s really changed are the hideous jerseys.

Offense is probably going to be challenged all year. That seemed likely from the get-go. Really counting on Kirilloff (and maybe Lewis later) to tip the balance. 
 

With the starters looking as good as they are, that might mean a season with a lot of close games. So, the bullpen…and Rocco’s ability to maximize it’s effectiveness.

34 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

#1  Easy to lay blame on Thielbar for giving up go ahead run and then the game-ending BOMB by Soler. Thielbar has demonstrated his effectiveness for a long period and got a huge 2nd out whiffing Arraez.

Saying that, am I the only Twins fan wondering why our BEST RP---Duran was not brought into the game to face Arraez?  Duran hasn't pitched since opening day.  I know he was unavailable in KC on Sunday, but hadn't heard anything that would've kept him out today.  I would've preferred to see Duran against Arraez and DeLaCruz instead of Thielbar.

Arraez has a career OPS of .672 vs LHP and zero power vs lefties. yes, Duran is our best reliever, but Thielbar is an excellent pick to face Arraez. And De La Cruz has hit righties better than lefties so far in his short career as well, and much like Arraez shown little power against lefties. Sometimes it goes the other way.

To soon to be happy, to soon to be sad. That the pitching has held up is not surprising and the  hitting well,.. Some of the low contact, high K's line up was to be expected. Wat we now need is our bat to ball hitters to do exactly that. Rest easy or worry, lets enjoy a snowless opener.

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Saying that, am I the only Twins fan wondering why our BEST RP---Duran was not brought into the game to face Arraez?  Duran hasn't pitched since opening day.  I know he was unavailable in KC on Sunday, but hadn't heard anything that would've kept him out today.  I would've preferred to see Duran against Arraez and DeLaCruz instead of Thielbar.

That is a great point. Last year, Duran pitches those moments...

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

Because it's the 6th game of the season and burning through 3 relievers an inning is probably a bit aggressive at this point of the year. And I'm pretty sure their 3 hole hitter is also one of the best hitters in their lineup. Soler hit .223 in 2021, .207 last year, and is at .217 so far this year. Let's not make him about to be something he's not. Cooper hit .284 in 2021, .261 last year, and is at .316 this year.

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

Because it's the 6th game of the season and burning through 3 relievers an inning is probably a bit aggressive at this point of the year. And I'm pretty sure their 3 hole hitter is also one of the best hitters in their lineup. Soler hit .223 in 2021, .207 last year, and is at .217 so far this year. Let's not make him about to be something he's not. Cooper hit .284 in 2021, .261 last year, and is at .316 this year.

Sorry, I disagree. We are trying to win a game. Three relievers in an inning is no big deal. They’ve got a day off tomorrow. You just don’t pitch to Soler in that situation.

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

Because it's the 6th game of the season and burning through 3 relievers an inning is probably a bit aggressive at this point of the year. And I'm pretty sure their 3 hole hitter is also one of the best hitters in their lineup. Soler hit .223 in 2021, .207 last year, and is at .217 so far this year. Let's not make him about to be something he's not. Cooper hit .284 in 2021, .261 last year, and is at .316 this year.

1 hour ago, Beast said:

I think we were getting a little ahead of ourselves with the excitement.  We just lost a series to the Miami Marlins and looked embarrassingly futile offensively.

This day off thing is just getting out of control.  We really can’t even get through week 1 of the season, which already has multiple off days built in, without pulling the plug on guys?  

Nick Gordon leading off yesterday, now Solano hitting third today?  And people here are constantly handwringing about there being no room on the roster?

This roster is still an absolute dumpster fire.  The only thing that’s really changed are the hideous jerseys.

I could not believe Buxton needed a day off already.  4 games as a DH and he already needed a rest day.   He was hitting very good.  I don’t think a player should be pulled when on a streak.  

11 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

 Give me a real fourth outfielder.  I know some of you blasted me yesterday for my Castro rant - have at it again, I feel the same.  Wallner and any other real OF should be on the team.  

The guy you want on the roster instead of Castro is Kyle Garlick. Wallner is not a good player to start against Luzardo.

The Buxton DH experiment and no outfield to maybe May or June is a real joke.  DH where he is running out ground balls, hustling on extra base hits and sliding into bags that look awful compared to running in the field for defense.  He should have been in the field today with tomorrow off (gift of an off day) and then DH Friday in colder weather.  Castro while a nice story is only that.  No reason for him to be on team except they have moves they can make with him with no penalty.  Garlick isn't really the answer either.  

Buxton not playing in the field trickle down effect in full bloom and they say April Showers bring May flowers.

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

Fine, use 3 relievers. But Cooper is the better hitter. What is the logic in loading the bases to face the better hitter? And, fine, bring in a righty reliever. Cooper has an .805 OPS against lefties. But his OPS against righties is .784. The pitcher being a righty makes negligible difference with him. So now you've loaded the bases to face the superior hitter and are bringing in a 3rd reliever who has to be on top of his game with no wiggle room. Failing to see why they'd walk Soler in this situation. Unless we're just using hindsight because of what happened. Pitching to Soler was a pretty defensible decision.

No, it wasn’t in hindsight I felt that at the time. I believe that’s what the discussion on the mound was about also and they made the wrong decision. Walk him and set up a force. You can throw all the averages out there, but a lefty facing righty in that situation with first base open was not smart.

Alcantara is among the best, Luzardo is on the upswing.   Hard to be concerned. Try again Friday. 

Solano batting 3rd… enough said!!!!

Pagan gives up a run in a game that's not really close and TD posters blow up, but Jax and Thielbar blow up a close, winnable game and crickets.

Lopez, either one, should have pitched to the bottom of the order in the 8th, Pablo's pitch count was still good and he was on a roll, Jorge should be the normal 8th inning guy. The starter pitched the 7th, that's Jax's normal role. Then Duran for the 9th, if he was unavailable, then Lopez for the 9th. Either one. 

But, oh yeah, Baldelli doesn't have conventional bullpen roles. Games might be a little easier to manage if he did....