Twins Video
Box Score
Pablo López: 5 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Carlos Correa (-0.96), Royce Lewis (-0.82), Christian Vázquez (-0.67)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)
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Minnesota took the field on Friday with a clear mandate: win. Win like you’ve never won before. Their only shot at remaining in the postseason race required sweeping the Orioles—good luck—AND having one the Detroit and KC lose out. Well, the Tigers won (the Royals did not), so the Twins’ mission became just that much tougher. They controlled their own destiny much in the same way that a man in the electric chair could take matters into his own hands by violently coughing.
Perhaps it was fitting, then, that their opponent was former Twins farmhand Cade Povich. The universe sure loves kicking you when you’re down. Naturally, he blanked them. For 5 ⅔ innings, the Twins could do little more than put the ball in play in vain, running directly into gloves and outs as the frames melted into each other. Some potential “bad luck” early quickly morphed into bland emptiness in the middle innings. Their best hopes at scoring were a two-out double by Byron Buxton in the 1st and back-to-back runners on second in the 5th and 6th. All rallies led to nothing. Good day.
Pablo López wasn’t so fortunate. In his final start of the year, he dipped into “effectively wild” waters, seeming only to have a vague concept of what the strike zone is—a far cry from his typical, controlled game. Outside of one swing, it worked. Unfortunately, that one swing resulted in a two-run homer. So it goes.
Typically, I would soliloquize about the game more, but the monotony of the last month has sapped almost everything from me; outs are simply just that, and runs are what the other team scores. Who cares. Some stuff happened; the Twins are now down. Rinse and repeat too often, and you’ll build a toxic calcium deposit of apathy—a vile curse that requires significant change to cleanse.
López exited, and an assembly line of Minnesota’s 4th-option relievers revealed that maybe the starter was more brilliant than he received credit for. Caleb Thielbar allowed a homer to a lefty. Kody Funderburk invited four more runs to score. Quiet was the forest these trees fell in.
The Twins did score when, in the 9th—with no stakes whatsoever—the Orioles took some pity on their opponents and allowed them to score. Twice. How kind. Maybe a Twitter account will post it. I doubt it.
Whatever remained of Minnesota's fleeting hopes finally ungracefully ended when Ryan Jeffers grounded out to end the 9th. The long, slow goodbye had been in the works for some time now, but it was finally complete; the Twins, once solidly ahead in the Wild Card race, were eliminated from playoff contention.
What makes a collapse so fascinating, I think, is the majestic totality of its grandeur: an entire collection of people failed at the same time—in differing magnitudes, certainly—but there’s no question that they faltered. The manager slips. The slugging DH misses a few hangers. Shoot, even the beer salesman dogs it. It’s a rare and unnatural phenomenon, but it’s one the 2024 Twins found themselves at the heart of, and there’s nothing more to be said than this: their season is over. Try again next year.
Notes:
Pablo López ends the season with 198 strikeouts, two away from the 200 milestone and 36 off his high-water mark set last year. Still, his 2024 will go down as the 23rd most strikeouts in a season by a Twins pitcher, nestled between 1987 Frank Viola and 2010 Francisco Liriano, respectively.
With two RBIs on Friday, Carlos Santana pushed his career total to 1,081, good for 231st All-Time. Three more runs batted in will tie him with Lou Whitaker.
Caleb Thielbar appeared in his 347th game as a Twin, the 8th-most by a Minnesota reliever. He is 18 appearances away from tying Glen Perkins.
Post-Game Interview:
What’s Next?
The Twins and Orioles will play the penultimate game of the 2024 regular season on Saturday, with Zebby Matthews set to take the mound against the calm and turgid TBD. First pitch is at 6:15 PM.
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
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