Twins Video
Box Score
SP: Sonny Gray 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K (77 pitches, 55 strikes (71%)
Home Runs: Ryan Jeffers (6), Michael A. Taylor (13)
Top 3 WPA: Sonny Gray .201, Ryan Jeffers .161, Michael A. Taylor .141
Bottom 3 WPA: Edouard Julien -.043, Carlos Correa -.042, Kyle Farmer -.038
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)
The first inning of the game moved rather quickly for both sides. The Twins led off with Carlos Correa back in the lineup, but Matthew Liberatore didn't mess around and promptly shut down the offense. Sonny Gray started his appearance against Lars Nootbaar, striking him out with a 1-2-3 and getting the next two hitters retiring with pop-out flies.
Jorge Polanco started off the second inning with a walk which came in handy as Ryan Jeffers got his sixth home run off Liberatore's curveball. Jeffers has not performed well against lefties (.649 OPS vs. LHP coming into tonight's contest), so a two-run home run was a great start and provided Gray with immediate run support (something he doesn't get much of from this team).
Willi Castro, who has been keeping the Twins' offense alive lately, got a double when Libertore deflected the ball to left fielder Nootbaar. During Michael A. Taylor's at-bat, Castro saw an opportunity and stole his 27th base of the season. With Castro on third, Taylor launched his 13th home run deep into left field. The Twins ended the second inning with four runs of padding for Gray.
The second inning looked like the Twins may have a battle on their hands as Gray's pitches turned into singles, leaving the Cardinals in constant scoring position. With one out and Tommy Edman on first base, Dylan Carlson hit a line drive into left field, past Castro for a double, scoring Edman from first base, closing the Cardinals' 4-1 gap. Sonny and the defense got out of the inning without any further damage.
Both pitchers slowed the lineups through the fifth inning, but things started to get away from Liberatore in the sixth inning with a couple of singles from Donovan Solano and Edouard Julien.
With one out and Jeffers up to bat, they took a mound break to determine the best move. Knowing what a threat Jeffers was, Liberatore adjusted, throwing low, getting him to chase, and mitigating Jeffers' potential damage, but then walking Castro to load the bases. With bases loaded, the Cardinals brought in Drew VerHagen.
VerHagen walked Taylor, pushing across a run to put the Twins back up by four runs.
The Cardinals returned within three in the sixth inning with a solo home run from Alec Burleson to get the Cardinals up 5-2. Still, again, Gray got out of the inning with no other issues and was back for the seventh with complete domination to close out his appearance. Gray indeed appeared a lot more confident and in control of this game, and it showed. The run support from the Twins also allowed him to lessen his stress and keep things tight.
Griffin Jax threw just an exceptional inning. Even though a few players threatened, the defense came in strong when needed. Jax threw two pitches to Paul Goldschmidt that were absolute heat and got out of the inning, securing the Twins lead for at least another inning.
Jhoan Duran put the Cardinals to rest but struggled to do so quickly and without damage. Duran has had a weird road series and the past few games with the Twins, and tonight the oddity continued as he threw a wild pitch that prompted a towel wipe down to control his sweat and inability to grip the ball.
After a complete wipedown of the arms, delivery of a fresh rosin bag, and mound visit, Duran fired off a fastball that was shot directly to Correa on a hop, who fired an absolute canon to Solano, who masterfully picked it perfectly to retire Dylan Carlson. Burleson scored on the play, making it a 5-3 game.
The ninth inning was a little too close for comfort, but Duran got out of the game with only 15 pitches thrown.
A win not only for the Twins but it was also Sonny Gray's first win since April.
What's Next?
Tomorrow the Twins start a series back home against the Diamondbacks, who just loaded up their lineup in hopes of a postseason run. Arizona will be a good team, and the Twins need to continue to dig deep and find that fire, especially against their pitching.
Friday 7:10 pm: RHP Bailey Ober (6-5, 3.19 ERA) vs. RHP Merrill Kelly (9-5, 3.23 ERA)
Saturday 6:10 pm: RHP Kenta Maeda (2-6, 4.53 ERA) vs. RHP Ryne Nelson (6-5, 4.84 ERA)
Sunday 1:10 pm: RHP Jorge Lopez (6-6, 4.01 ERA) vs. RHP Zac Gallen (11-5, 3.41 ERA)
Postgame Interviews
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
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