Twins Video
Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober 5.0 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (82 pitches, 61 strikes, 15 whiffs)
Home Runs: N/A
Bottom 3 WPA: Bailey Ober -0.349, Edouard Julien -0.078, Carlos Correa -0.065
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)
Miranda Strikes, but Ober Gets Royal’d
After posing a two-out threat against Seth Lugo in the first inning, the Twins finished the frame scoreless. Following a Willi Castro double in the second inning, Carlos Santana singled to put him just 90 feet from home. José Miranda then lofted a sacrifice fly to put the Twins on the board and up 1-0.
Including (but not limited to) his start against them in the opening series of the season, Ober has proved unable to keep the Royals offense down. For whatever reason, they absolutely have him figured out, and Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez are especially lethal against him. Kyle Isbel singled to open the third inning; Witt later scored him from second base on a single of his own. Perez then traded places with the talented shortstop, and the Twins were down 2-1. By getting Adam Frazier to fly out, Ober nearly escaped a big inning, but Nelson Velázquez took him deep and the two-run dinger made it a 4-1 game.
As they have done following an opposing outburst far too often, the Twins went down in order during the bottom of the third inning. Continuing to terrorize the Minnesota starter, Perez got him again in the fifth inning, this time for a solo home run to make it a 5-1 game. Velázquez got him for the second time in the game thereafter, widening the Kansas City lead to 6-1.
Twins Can’t Touch Lugo
Despite getting the first run early, the Minnesota Twins had no answers for Major League Baseball’s ERA leader. While some of his secondary numbers suggest likely regression, it wasn’t happening at Target Field on Wednesday night. Although Seth Lugo struck out just five, while walking three, he worked around six hits and multiple frames of traffic. Throwing 100 pitches across six innings, Lugo held Minnesota to 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight.
After having warmed up a couple of times previously, Diego Castillo made his Minnesota debut tonight. Working a pair of scoreless innings, he walked a batter and didn’t strike anyone out. All in all, it was a fine opening salvo. Miranda singled and Manuel Margot walked to open the ninth inning, but neither advanced beyond those bases, and the Twins took a 6-1 loss. Castro went 3-for-4 with a run scored and the only extra-base hit in the loss.
Notes
Walker Jenkins had a day off with no FCL action while Brooks Lee batted second and was the Fort Myers designated hitter. Lee went 2-for-4 on the night. Royce Lewis also got an off day for the St. Paul Saints but is expected to play tomorrow in Rochester.
Former Twins reliever Jorge López, the one they traded Cade Povich and Yennier Canó to Baltimore for, had quite the night. First he sent his glove flying into the stands following an ejection, then he doubled down in his postgame comments. He will be DFA’d, so guess he doesn’t have to worry about his employer anymore.
What’s Next?
Wrapping up the four-game set with the Kansas City Royals, Chris Paddack goes for the Twins looking to turn in another good start. He’ll be opposed by Brady Singer. The Twins need to grab the victory in order to walk away with the series before heading to Houston.
Postgame Interviews
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now