MIN 6, KC 4: Long Day at the Office

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs)

Jake Odorizzi: 42 Game Score, 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 K, 0 BB, 68.1% strikes

Multi-Hit Games: Eddie Rosario (2-for-5), Jorge Polanco (2-for-5, 2B), Miguel Sano (2-for-4, 2B)

WPA of 0.1 or higher: Cave .142, Polanco .136, Sano .114

WPA of -0.1 or lower: Garver -.115, Moya -.142

The Twins jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a Miguel Sano two-run double and Joe Mauer RBI single. Salvador Perez destroyed a two-run homer in the third, and not too long after that the first storm rolled through.

The first rain delay stopped the game in the fourth inning and caused a break of about 90 minutes, so Twins starter Jake Odorizzi’s night was done. Gabriel Moya took over once play resumed and eventually coughed up the lead, but the bats stormed back (sorry) to tie it up on a Logan Forsythe RBI groundout and a bases-loaded walk from Jake Cave.

Trevor May took over in the sixth and was bringing heat. He was consistently hitting 95 mph on his four seamer and touched 90 mph with the slider. He struck out three of the four batters he faced.

The Twins tacked on another run in the sixth thanks to a Jorge Polanco double that plated Eddie Rosario from first base. Then came the second rain delay. The grounds crew struggled to get the main tarp all the way over the diamond and had to pull in a second tarp to get the job done.

After the rain had stopped, the crew basically had to put the entire playing surface back together. Countless bags of diamond dust were applied to the infield and all the warning tracks. Water on the grass had to be swept into the drainage vents under the field. The base lines and batter's box had to be redrawn.

I didn't think there was a snowball's chance in Phoenix this game was going to pick back up again, but those glorious grounds crew members made it happen. Why it was so necessary in a game between two of the worst teams in the American League, I'm not so sure.

https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1025599866947350528

The final three innings and change were uneventful, as the 6-4 advantage held up to give the Twins a victory. A long, wet victory.

Mid-Delay With Aaron From St Cloud

https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1025601840992464896

Bullpen Usage

Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days:

Next Three Games

Sat vs. KC, 6:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Burch Smith

Sun vs. KC, 1:10 pm CT: Ervin Santana vs. Danny Duffy

Mon at CLE, 6:10 pm CT: TBD

Last Three Games

CLE 2, MIN 0: Carrasco Stars in Dominant Performance

CLE 6, MIN 2: Deadline Day Ends in Defeat

MIN 5, CLE 4: Awesome Sauce!