Twins 5, Tigers 1: Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

Funny how that works.  You don’t walk anyone, you catch the ball, you don’t throw it around the diamond, you get a few key hits, you run the bases well, your manager doesn’t do anything stupid, and your team leader shows up to play for a change. Wow, next thing you know, you win a ball game.  Who would have thought? 

It’s literally not rocket science.

Nice win. 

SWR is an interesting pitcher. He gets by with guts and mixing up four average pitches enough to get guys out eventually.  Thought maybe Varland would get a second inning to save some guys. 
Bader showed why having athletes is important: didn’t contribute with the bat but made an important catch. 
Time of game: 2:15.  Nice crisp game. 

I couldn’t watch Julien with a 1-2 count last year. Today he went after a 1-2 pitch on the high outside corner of the strike zone. It is progress even if he fouls it off down the third base line. For now he has earned that spot at the top of the order. If he was worried about losing his spot to Brooks Lee he responded perfectly. Other need to follow suit.

Two Words: World Series!

So it was all Miranda's fault....

Seriously, this is what it's supposed to look like. Announcing crew mentioned several times the team seemed more upbeat. Even if they're faking it a couple more wins (or at least competitive losses) should improve the attitude. Improved attitude will mean improved play.

Well at this pace we should continue to be winning one of every three games.  We are in a neck and neck race with the White Sox for last place.  Good game today though!  Only negative I really saw today was having to use the bullpen so much again today to try and nail down a win.  That isn't sustainable. Go Twins

Julien is a good fit for the leadoff spot if he's made the adjustments that will keep him hitting. Nice to see him doing well right now, and hopefully he's got his confidence back.

Reasonable choice to pull SWR; I suspect they might have let him go longer if it was a bigger lead. He doesn't dominate, but he keeps the team in the game.

Hope Ryan can go deep against the Mets, and the offense can generate enough to give us a chance.

SWR battles and gives it all he has, every time. I'll bet his teammates love him. Rocco should have let him go longer, but this time, for a change, the relievers didn't fail. A well-played game.

2 hours ago, shimrod said:

So it was all Miranda's fault....

Seriously, this is what it's supposed to look like. Announcing crew mentioned several times the team seemed more upbeat. Even if they're faking it a couple more wins (or at least competitive losses) should improve the attitude. Improved attitude will mean improved play.

Umm Correa didn't play. Maybe it's his fault. Last win was Wednesday and that day Buxton didn't play. I see a pattern developing here.

Was a good performance  , a team effort  , good hustle by Bader  , looks like we found out everyday leftfielder , now if he could only hit a bit , like 250 average  ...

Here comes the Mets  ,  clay Holmes  against Joe Ryan  ...

Holmes has been a reliever and Mets made him a starter  , let's send him back to the bullpen and whip his arse  , don't make him look like a Cy young  candidate  ...

24 minutes ago, rv78 said:

Umm Correa didn't play. Maybe it's his fault. Last win was Wednesday and that day Buxton didn't play. I see a pattern developing here.

I had the same thought about the day off pattern for Buxton and Correa  , I didn't want to hurt my fingers and write it myself  ...

Thanks ...

2 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

SEVEN straight solid starts by 6 different guys over the last 7 days. Not really on same page with overuse of the PEN strife? 3-4 relief pitchers are a pretty normal usage throughout today’s game…..get used to it since Team has been doing this for years.

Relievers gotta be able to throw 14-18 pitches every other day without being “overloaded” …… that’s 4 innings a week in a busy week!

If Team scored more than 3 runs routinely the Twins would be in first place.

Ty France, for now, seems to be the least of the Team’s worries……..Buxton .192 BA …… Larnach .189 BA ……..Correa .164 BA …….Lewis out & we’re counting on Brooks Lee for an offensive spark.

I do agree that Julien has earned AB’s with recent scrappiness and performance at the plate.

Does Matthews pitch on Monday or Joe Ryan?

JD, of the three Mendoza Line players you've mentioned, I'm most concerned about Larnach. Buxton doesn't have to hit for average to give the Twins a boost; his occasional blasts, genuine speed on the bases, and fielding ability make him worthy of his keep. As for Correa: he will catch fire with the bat for a couple of stretches this year. He is, by all accounts, an inspirational team leader, and, of course, much is always forgiven a good-fielding shortstop. But Larnach...I'm not sure how valuable he's going to be for the rest of his career.

Although 2024 was his best year thus far, (and it wasn't anything spectacular) I can't forget his rather pedestrian 2023 campaign when he struck out at nearly a 35% rate, or about 10% over league average. He's 28, has neither a great glove, strong arm, nor speed on the base paths, and Rocco and others when interviewed often claim that he's about ready to break out and realize his full potential. I hope that they are correct, although I fear that we have seen his full potential already. He kind of looks lost at the plate right now-yes?

Oh, by the way, nice win today!     

35 minutes ago, Karbo said:

This announcing crew are complete "homers". I miss the good old days with Dick and Bert!

I loved Bremer, but let's not pretend he wasn't a homer. Part of that was Dick is Mr. Positivity, but still.

And Bert wasn't much different that today's crew when it came criticizing Twins players and basically never took a poke at the manager or front office. 

When Dick & Bert were in their prime, it was great, but you're clearly not remembering the last several seasons with Bert, where he was mailing it in and frankly dragging Bremer down with him. Bremer got a second wind when he got new partners.

44 minutes ago, Karbo said:

This announcing crew are complete "homers". I miss the good old days with Dick and Bert!

I generally watch the other team's crew, sure they are homers about their side, but most also seem more objective about the Twins.

13 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Well at this pace we should continue to be winning one of every three games.  We are in a neck and neck race with the White Sox for last place.  Good game today though!  Only negative I really saw today was having to use the bullpen so much again today to try and nail down a win.  That isn't sustainable. Go Twins

It isn't sustainable, but it ain't going to change.

You want the honest evaluation, by the Twins, of thier pitching, look at the usage.  If they refuse to ever let a guy go the third time through the order. 

Rocco looks at his staff and doesn't see anyone who is above a ~3 slot starter. Top of the rotation guys can give more than 6 innings.  Mid rotation guys can get through a couple of times, but not much more consistently.   End of the rotation/long reliever can't  consistently get through twice.

Rocco, by his use of the starters says the Twins have nothing above average #3 guy.  The FO apparently agrees, as the outright abuse of the bullpen is a detrimental to both the team's record,  and is a turn off for fans (longer games equal fewer eyes watching).

After Ty France led off with a duck snort single ...

I love that term! Here's hoping for more "duck snort singles" !

Good win today but don't forget the same manager is still in dugout.

43 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

 …….starters are often built up on pitches over the first 3-4 starts of the year - pretty typical.

Incorrect.  Starters USED to be built up prior to the start of the regular season starting.  It's only the past 12-15 years that has changed and it's stretched into the beginning of the regular season.

10 minutes ago, David Maro said:

Good win today but don't forget the same manager is still in dugout.

Exactly, I'll take it, but they've got quite the nasty hole to dig themselves out of and I'm not convinced they will, this could be a flash in the pan and then back to what we were seeing before.