Twins 4, Mariners 3: Maeda's Gem and Late-Inning Heroics; Twins Stay Hot

Box Score
SP: Kenta Maeda: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K (98 pitches, 58 strikes (59.2%)
Home Runs: 
Top 3 WPA: Max Kepler (0.443), Christian Vazquez (0.300), Jovani Moran (0.170)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

Monday night marked the Minnesota Twins second meeting with the Mariners in the last week after playing one another in Seattle last week. With Kenta Maeda starting for the Twins and Luis Castillo starting for the Mariners, the game was set up to be a possible pitchers duel. The only caveat was, would either offense carry with them the familiarity of just seeing their respective opponent and capitalize on it with significant offensive output. 

Castillo Strong Early, Twins Find Success Late
Luis Castillo was dealing early and shut down the Twins offense the first time through the order. Going nine up and nine down and stretching that number to ten until Edouard Julien finally reached base in the fourth inning. Julien would eventually make a mistake on his lead-off from first, resulting in a pick-off to end the fourth inning.   

It looked like it would be a very long night until the fifth inning when Max Kepler finally broke through with the Twins first hit. A single pulled not far off of first base into right field. As Castillo worked the Twins to two outs, it looked like Twins might squander Kepler’s hit. That all changed with the crack of Trevor Larnach’s bat. Larnach launched the ball off the right field wall for a game-tying triple. As the next batter, Christian Vazquez hit his own single to right field to score Larnach, giving the Twins a 2-1 lead to end the fifth. 

While Castillo would leave the game with his team losing, he put forth a great effort. He struck out nine batters after striking eleven Twins out last week. 

Maeda Works His Own Magic
Maeda put together an excellent outing of his own. While Maeda’s outing didn’t look quite as dominant as Castillo, it proved to be just as effective. Maeda worked through contact and some loud contact to hold the Mariners to one run. 

It wasn’t until the lead-off batter of the fifth inning that some of the contact Maeda gave up burned him. When it did, it was because of Tom Murphy’s bat. Murphy absolutely crushed a ball and bounced it off the flowers in center field. 

While Maeda would leave mid-seventh with runners on first and second, he had another solid outing, as has been the norm since returning from the IL. With only one run allowed and eight strikeouts, Maeda left the game in the hands of the bullpen with a Twins lead. 

Bad Baserunning or Aggressive Baserunning?
Throughout the game, Julien made two outs on the base paths. The first was already mentioned, as he was picked off first. The second came in the sixth inning as he tried to go first to third on a Kepler single but was gunned down easily by Teoscar Hernandez.

Immediate gut reaction to both plays is to be upset with Julien’s baserunning. There is undoubtedly a reason to be upset. At the same time, is this simply the result of the Twins trying to make the most of their offensive output by being aggressive on the base paths? 

Just Sunday, we saw that on display with the good and bad outcome. Kepler was aggressive coming home and was gunned down. Gallo was also aggressive as he made his way home but was able to score. It is a situation to keep our eyes on. 

Taxed Bullpen Comes Up Big, Breaks, then Comes Up Big
With most of the Twins bullpen getting good work over the weekend, the Twins attempted to close out the game with a bit of their "B" lineup. Jovani Moran and Jordan Balazovic made it through their innings well. Rocco Baldelli then turned to Griffin Jax to close out the game and give Jhoan Duran the day off. Even though Jax was used only slightly less this weekend and Monday night was his third straight day of work. 

Jax brought the Twins within one pitch of closing out the game. Cal Raleigh produced a single, which led to an unlikely Kolten Wong two-run home run to give the Mariners a 3-2 lead. 

More Late-Inning Magic?
The Twins had late-inning magic over the weekend. Could it happen again? In the bottom of the ninth, Alex Kirilloff got the offense rolling with a double of the left field wall that just stayed in the ballpark. Kepler followed up with a double of his own to tie the game up. Matt Wallner and a pinch-hitting Donovan Solano both had a chance to send everyone home but could not. Sending the Twins to extra-innings once again. 

Jorge Lopez came on for the top of the 10th and got through the inning cleanly. It was a big inning for the Twins and for Lopez, and hopefully works to continue building his confidence. It was once again up to the offense. And that offense was up to the task. Vazquez moved Solano over from second to third. 

That bunt set up the opportunity for a safety squeeze. Jeffers laid down a bunt right in front of home plate. As Solano read it, he decided it wasn't wise to head for home. Instead of being a completely blown play, the Mariners misplayed the bunt on their end, and Jeffers reached first safely.  

That set up a showdown between Carlos Correa and Paul Sewald. A reliever that could be coveted by contending teams as the trade deadline quickly approaches. Correa wasn't about to let Sewald add to his resume Monday evening. The Twins star shortstop slapped a single to right field to walk off the game. 

The game started with a methodical pace but ended in another flurry of big hits late. This walk-off takes the Twins to 9-2 since the All-Star break. 

What’s Next?
The Twins will try and keep things rolling tomorrow against the Mariners. George Kirby, who had the Twins number last time out, will take the mound for Seattle. Pablo Lopez will look to match or better Maeda as he takes the mound. 

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet