Twins Video
Box Score
Bailey Ober: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (6), Max Kepler (16), Michael A. Taylor (14)
Top 3 WPA: Jhoan Duran (.156), Caleb Thielbar (.139), Max Kepler (.119)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)
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In an odd three-game homestand, the Twins play host to the Diamondbacks at Target Field for the first time sweeping the NL West team in 2017. Nik Turley appeared in one of those games; it’s been awhile. With Joe Mauer’s induction into the Twins Hall of Fame on Saturday, Minnesota looked to start a nostalgic weekend with a victory.
Bailey Ober labored… again. Following an excruciating outing against the Royals in which the typical command wizard fired wildly inside the strike zone, Ober focused himself a little bit, but still ran into similar problems. He needed 104 pitches to get through five. Still—because this is Bailey Ober—he logged in his usual minimum statline, only allowing two while striking out three without a walk.
Those two runs were dangerous, though, because of Minnesota’s opponent: Merrill Kelly. The 34-year-old is unassuming and easy to overlook, but he’s more than held his own in the brutal NL West—and Twins hitters soon learned that scoring off him is not an easy endeavor.
Arizona struck first; Lourdes Gurriel Jr. jumped all over a changeup too far in the strike zone, smoking the pitch into left field to give his team a 1-0 advantage.
The Twins allowed the lead to hold for a bit, but Jorge Polanco soon evened the game, crushing his own screaming blast, shooting a lightning bolt to right that just barely hooked inside the foul pole.
Because of Joe Mauer’s imminent induction into the Twins Hall of Fame on Saturday, plenty of old friends were around the ballpark, with two joining Dick Bremer and Glen Perkins in the broadcast booth. Nick Punto—perhaps a little weepy staring at an un-dived into 1st base—offered some tales from the past; Brian Dozier did the same, but with an eye on the left field fans and their distinct lack of a Twins home run ball souvenir.
Arizona re-took the lead on a soft single, but that hardly mattered; Minnesota yet again responded with a solo homer, this time from Max Kepler, this time to right-center.
And now, there would be no see-sawing between advantages, disadvantages, and ties, as Michael A. Taylor popped a sky-scraping homer to right field, just barely able to guide the ball into the overhang to give the Twins their first lead of the game.
Rocco Baldelli ramped up the relievers he was using. Caleb Thielbar acquired the first out of the 8th—nearly losing his head in the process—before Emilio Pagán coaxed the final two outs of the frame, acquiring a pair of groundballs rendering an earlier relinquished single harmless.
You know who pitched next. Jhoan Duran was a little worse for wear following an uncharacteristically poor road trip—and he allowed a pair of baserunners—but he locked down the save, turning a botched bunt into an easy pop up before freezing Ketel Marte on a splitter somewhere in the vicinity of the outside corner. It wasn't easy, and it certainly wasn't pretty at times, but the Twins won—and winning ugly beats losing pretty every day of the week.
Notes:
Jhoan Duran earned his 20th save of the season on Saturday.
Michael A. Taylor's 14 homers ties his 2015 rookie campaign for his second-highest home run total in a season; he's five bombs away from tying his career-high of 19 set in 2017.
Max Kepler's homer boosted his slugging % to .445, his best outside of 2019.
Emilio Pagán has a 1.35 ERA since June 15th.
Post-Game Interview:
What’s Next?
The Twins and Diamondbacks will play the second game of their series on Saturday; scheduled for a 6:10 PM start, first pitch will come following Joe Mauer’s ceremony, likely somewhere between 30-60 minutes after the alleged 6:10 start.
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
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