Pirates 7, Twins 4: Gray Perfect Through 5, Offense Squanders Opportunities

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Sonny Gray: 6 2/3 IP, 4 H 4 ER 3 BB 7 K (93 Pitches, 60 Strikes, 64.5%)
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Royce Lewis (-.212), Joey Gallo (-.174), Donovan Solano (-.162)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

Sonny Gray has been sharp lately, both due to better command of his breaking pitches, and a concerted effort to challenge hitters more. His 2.78 FIP coming into the game led baseball, as did his rate of home runs allowed. With Gerrit Cole's blowup against the Red Sox (4 IP, 6 ER), a good outing would position Gray well in his quest for a first Cy Young award (though Pablo Lopez might have something to say about that). It sure started off well.

Fresh off of blanking the hot-hitting Phillies over six innings last Sunday, Gray got right to work against the struggling Pirates' lineup in the first. He struck out Ji-Hwan Bae and Bryan Reynolds on three pitches each (featuring some devastating sweepers), then got ahead of Andrew McCutchen 0-2. With the first immaculate inning in Twins history* hanging in the balance, the veteran McCutchen spoiled the fun by flying out lazily to Max Kepler.

*The Twins' broadcast mentioned that Scott Baker once threw an immaculate inning, which is not true, Baker did, however, strike out four men in one inning in 2008, which may have produced the confusion.

Opposing Gray was Mitch Keller of the Pirates, a former high draft pick (from Cedar Rapids) and top prospect who had a few lean years before appearing to break out earlier this year, pitching to a 3.31 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate in the first half. He has struggled mightily since then, with a 7.71 ERA and 20% strikeout rate.

The Twins added to his struggles in the first, starting with Jorge Polanco, who smacked a one-out single into right field and promptly stole second. With two outs, Kepler hit a grounder up the middle that would have been right at Pirates shortstop Liover Peguero... except the ball struck Keller in the foot and caromed into right field for a double and the game's first run. 

Keller recovered to strike out the streaking Royce Lewis, which would be a theme in the early innings. Keller's sinker and sweeper confounded Twins hitters and resulted in a whopping eight strikeouts through the first three innings. He finished with 12.

But at that point, Gray was untouchable. Through the first five innings, he threw only 47 pitches, eliciting weak contact and confusing an inexperienced Pittsburgh lineup with his vast assortment of pitches.

In the fifth, Richie Palacios appeared to break up the perfecto as well as the no-hitter, hitting a sharp grounder up the middle with second baseman Eduoard Julien shading towards first. But Julien ranged to his right, popped up off of a knee and delivered a strong throw to retire Palacios. It wasn't just an impressive play by Julien, but a legitimately impressive play, period.

The Twins added some insurance in the bottom of the inning. Following a rare Joey Gallo ground ball double play, Christian Vázquez delivered an opposite field double which was then followed by a soft single by Michael A. Taylor to double the lead.

After retiring his 16th straight batter of the night, Gray then induced a soft ground ball off the bat of Peguero that was fielded by Polanco at third. Polanco's throw was wide, however, and Peguero took a circuitous route to the bag, possibly interfering with first baseman Donovan Solano's glove. But the out was not recorded, and Peguero was awarded a hit, ending the possibility of any sort of history being made.

A bloop hit and a walk followed, bringing up Reynolds with the bases loaded. Gray set him down on three pitches, but threw a mistake pitch to McCutchen ahead in the count, who drove a single up the middle to tie the game 2-2. Ke'Bryan Hayes then broke the tie with a sharp single to left.

The Twins had a golden opportunity to bounce back in the bottom of the sixth. Following a Polanco leadoff walk, Correa and Kepler both singled, bringing up Lewis with the bases loaded. Perhaps expecting the sinker down 0-2, Lewis swung through a four-seamer a few inches outside for a crucial strikeout. That brought up Solano, who fell behind on a questionable strike one call and eventually struck out on a beautiful sweeper, bringing up Gallo with two strikes. He worked the count full, but succumbed to strike three on a fastball up in the zone, ending the threat. Keller was pretty electric, overall.

The fates had more misery for the Twins in the top of the seventh. After a Jack Suwinski walk, Peguero grounded to third base. Polanco threw to second , and while Julien made his relay, Suwinski interfered by continuing to charge forward, clearly altering Julien's throwing motion. The throw was high and Solano appeared to still get his foot down before Peguero's, but this was the infamous Laz Diaz's umpire crew, and not only did they not call interference, they also called Peguero safe at first. The Twins challenged both plays, and somehow were denied on both counts. You don't have to watch a lot of baseball to know that Bae then doubled home Peguero to extend the lead to 4-2.

The Good:
Vázquez had two doubles, after entering the game with 12 extra base hits all season;

Correa got on base twice more, with a sharp single and a walk. He came into the game with a 1.149 OPS over his previous ten games;

The Bad:
Gray fell into some of his old habits by walking three men, all in crucial spots late in his outing;

Lewis had a series of bad at-bats, including his bases loaded strikeout. He later swung wildly at what would have been ball four inside, resulting in a strike out to lead off the eighth inning.

Balazovic had a tough outing, giving up three hits, three runs and three walks without recording a strikeout. The smoke and mirrors success he had early on has not proven sustainable, and McCutchen's home run off of him sealed the loss tonight.

What’s Next: Dallas Keuchel (0-1, 9.45 ERA) goes for the series win against Osvaldo Bido (2-3, 5.05 ERA). Keuchel is on thin ice, having not struck out a batter over his first two outings, while Joe Ryan had a successful rehab outing on Friday.

Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart: