Mets 15, Twins 2: That's Why They Call It Flushing

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 3.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (81 pitches, 52 strikes (64.2%))
Home Runs: Ryan Jeffers (15)
Bottom 3 WPA: Woods Richardson (-0.365), Royce Lewis (-0.072), Willi Castro (-0.064)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

Monday evening, the Minnesota Twins looked to continue climbing to catch the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central. Trade deadline rumors and deals had been flying around all day, and the Twins lineup would look to settle in against Mets left-handed starter José Quintana. 

Margot and Buxton combine early
The Twins have been very successful against left-handed pitching this season, sporting a .778 OPS, the third-best in Major League Baseball. That success flashed early, as Manuel Margot led off the game with a double off of Quintana. Byron Buxton followed him, hitting a single to the outfield, giving Margot enough time to round third and score the game's first run. This put the Twins up 1-0 before an out was recorded. 

That 1-0 score held for some time, too, as Quintana and Simeon Woods Richardson battled each other half-inning after half-inning. Woods Richardson didn’t start completely clean in his first inning of work, but he did put up a scoreless frame, thanks in big part to strikeouts of Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. 

Alonso brings the ice.
The pitching duel quickly lost that feel in the fourth inning. With Alonso at the plate again, the right-handed hitter took a Woods Richardson fastball for an upper-deck ride to right field. The home run was the Polar Bear's 22nd of the season, and it left the field with a 105.6 mph exit velocity.

That home run now looks like it was the beginning of the end for Woods Richardson. Instead of big, impressive hits like Alonso’s home run, the rest of the inning was a collection of primarily walks and singles that kept runners moving and scoring. 

It wouldn’t be until the eighth batter, Brandon Nimmo, came to the plate that Woods Richardson recorded the first out of the inning. It was a sacrifice fly that made the score 5-1. That would be the only out Woods Richardson would record in the fourth, before he was taken out of the game in favor of Cole Sands. By the end of the inning, it was 6-1, and the Twins' bats were looking at a large deficit to overcome.

With the game largely out of hand in the fourth, it was turned over to the bullpen. Sands was the first arm out, and did a decent job trying to slow and stop the scoring. He did allow some inherited runners but was able to stop the bleeding for the moment. 

After Sands, Josh Staumont, Steven Okert, and Brock Stewart had a series of rough outings. Stewart is maybe the hardest to see hit for runs, as the Twins desperately need him to be his old self for the stretch run.

The game got far enough out of hand (14-1 Mets lead) that fans were treated to a position player pitching in the seventh inning. Matt Wallner came on to close out the frame. It makes some sense as Wallner was nearly a pitching prospect instead of a hitting prospect. I don’t think teams were enthralled by the 42-47 mph slider Wallner threw Monday evening. 

To their credit, the Twins have never been a team to make irrational, knee-jerk reactions. With the trade deadline looming, the front office may use Woods-Richardson's rough start and the bullpen's rough performance as motivation to strike a deal before time runs out. 

Ryan Jeffers Homers
It may feel strange to celebrate a ninth-inning home run that makes the score 15-2. Ryan Jeffers needed something positive to happen at the plate. After being robbed of that moment in the sixth, Jeffers connected for his 15th home run as the game was winding down. A jolt in Jeffers's bat would be similar to acquiring a thumping right-handed bat via trade. 

What’s Next?
The Twins will send David Festa to the mound once again on Tuesday. We will have to see if the rookie can continue to build on his strong 4.1 inning and seven-strikeout outing against the Phillies this past Wednesday. The Twins bats will look to get rolling against Sean Manaea, who has pitched 106 innings for a 3.74 ERA in 2024. 

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