Twins Video
Box Score:
Starting pitcher: Pablo López : 5 ⅔ IP 8 H 7 ER 3 BB 7 SO (106 Pitches, 67 Strikes, 63%)
Home Runs: Michael A. Taylor (11), Kyle Farmer (5)
Top 3 WPA: Farmer (.430), Griffin Jax (.109), Ryan Jeffers (.080)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):
Facing fungible opener Austin Pruitt, the Twins wasted no time in repeating their antics from Friday’s first inning, with Carlos Correa singling the other way, Donovan Solano walking and Kyle Farmer doubling to right-center field and scoring both. The inning could have really gotten out of hand if Byron Buxton’s scorching line drive (109 MPH) didn’t settle in third baseman Jace Peterson’s glove for an out.
After being duped by the Giants opener for Sean Manaea in May, starting all their lefties thinking Manaea wouldn’t pitch and then subbing them out once Manaea came in to start the second, the Twins played it right this time, leaving Edouard Julien and Alex Kirilloff on the bench to start the game knowing lefty Hogan Harris would be the bulk pitcher.
They wasted no time in getting to Hogan, starting walk-single-walk and then a Carlos Correa two-run single to make the game 4-0. Michael A. Taylor added a two-run homer in the third.
Feisty A’s get to López
Pablo López appeared to pick up where he left off, an electric four hit shutout against the Royals in his last start, by carving up the depleted A’s lineup early. He probably made it harder on himself than he needed, running into a few too many three ball counts, but put up zeroes for the first two innings. Things started to change in the third, when rookie Zack Gelof squirted a soft liner past the diving Max Kepler for a triple and scored on a Nick Allen grounder. In the fourth, López started losing command of his offspeed pitches, leaving three hittable ones for Oakland’s three best (for them) hitters in Ryan Noda, J.J Bleday and Seth Brown, and before you could blink López had given up four runs.
The A’s took a more Guardians-esque approach in the fifth, leading off with a bloop hit from Jace Peterson, and followed that with a bunt hit from Allen. Tony Kemp, fresh off robbing Max Kepler of a two-RBI double with a leaping catch in left field, then punched an RBI single through the right side and Allen then scored on a wild pitch, making the score 7-6. He was then questionably allowed to pitch the sixth, giving up a check swing single, walk, three steals and a sacrifice fly to bring in the tying run.
López’s stuff has looked worse, but this may have been his worst start of the year results-wise, given the opponent. After López departed with the go-ahead run on third, Jovani Moran gave up a blast (105 MPH) to Brent Rooker, the tie game only preserved by a great robbery from Taylor.
Twins turn to Ortega in Eighth Inning
Clinging to a two-run lead in the eighth, the Twins surprisingly turned to waiver claim Oliver Ortega rather than have Griffin Jax continue his outing after throwing six effective pitches in the seventh. Ortega allowed a leadoff single on a 3-1 count to Tyler Soderstrom and a bunt single to Allen, but retired Gelof, Peterson and Rooker to preserve the lead.
Farmer Powers Offense
After limping into the All-Star break with a sub .650 OPS, Kyle Farmer has been on fire in the first two games of the Oakland series. Following his two-run double in the first, he had a sharp single in the third, and the go-ahead home run in the seventh. With a chance for the cycle in the ninth, Farmer fouled out to first base.
Willi Castro catches the A’s napping
With the A’s suddenly making a game of it in the fourth, cutting the deficit to two, Willi Castro broke out of a mini strikeout slump by getting hit by a pitch with two outs. He advanced to third on a bloop hit by Ryan Jeffers, and with Taylor up Jeffers broke for second on a delayed steal. Castro read it perfectly and scored while Jeffers was in a rundown, adding a crucial seventh run.
Broadcast team jinxes Jeffers
In displaying a rather incredible stat, that Jeffers has blocked every ball in the dirt thus far this year in 37 chances, the Bally Sports North team placed a terrible jinx on the catcher, as Jeffers allowed a wild pitch in the fifth inning on a ball in the dirt that allowed a run to score to bring the A’s within a run. Naturally.
What’s Next: Joe Ryan (8-6, 3.70 ERA) tries to give the Twins a sweep against lefty J.P Sears (1-6, 3.97 ERA). Ryan has struggled lately outside of his shutout against Boston, with the home run ball continuing to bite him. Sears was one of the prizes of the A's Frankie Montas trade with the Yankees last year and is exactly the kind of middling lefty starter that has given the Twins fits this year.
Postgame Interviews:
Bullpen Usage Chart:
| TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | TOT | |
| Durán | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 12 | 29 |
| Morán | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 13 | 28 |
| Pagán | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 27 |
| Jax | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 19 |
| Ortega | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 19 |
| Balazovic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Sands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. López | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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