Twins 8, Angels 0: How Games Against the Angels Are Supposed to Go

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Dean Kremer: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K (96 Pitches, 60 Strikes, 62.5%)
Home Runs: Alan Roden (1)
Top 3 WPA: Kremer (0.28), Josh Bell (0.18), Roden (0.13)
Win Probability Chart (Via BaseballSavant):

The Twins are in full "let's see what we have for next year" mode. Sunday found them finishing up a series against a team that is always planning for next year (though rarely making decisions that support that vision): the L.A. Angels.

That meant Walker Jenkins hitting leadoff, the return of Alan Roden, and Ben Ross playing shortstop. Dean Kremer took the mound for the Twins, opposing Ryan Johnson—who, like many Angels pitchers, has had an encouraging second half.

The Twins had a hard time squaring up Johnson, who has a funky, quick delivery with lots of side-to-side movement. There was a lot of weak contact on the ground until the third inning, when with one out, Jenkins legged out an infield single and Brooks Lee followed with a hard single to right. Josh Bell looped in a single to score Jenkins, and Roden delivered yet another single to score Lee. That made it 2-0 Twins.

Kremer wasn't at his sharpest early, with his velocity down a bit and looking a little off in terms of command. But he bore down when he had to, getting the light-hitting Angels to chase and taking advantage of the fact they burned all their challenges by the second inning. They didn't collect their first hit until the fourth, when Vaughn Grissom singled, but he was quickly erased on a double-play grounder from catcher Moisés Ballesteros.

Lee and Bell peppered Johnson with a couple more singles in the fifth, resulting in another RBI for Bell and chasing Johnson from the game. Kremer found his rhythm as the outing progressed, still staying out of the middle of the zone but throwing a few more strikes. He managed eight strikeouts through six innings, with a lot of whiffs on his four-seamer, despite touching 94 MPH just once.

The top of the sixth was very on brand for the Angels. With two outs, Emmanuel Rodríguez doubled off Jose Siri's glove. It was a play that would have been lauded as really nice had Siri made the catch, but in reality, he had plenty of time and barely had to jump. Regardless, Rodríguez deserved the break; he has really struggled lately. Ross singled him home, then tried to steal second. For some reason, Ross decided not to slide, which turned from a poor to a perfect choice when the ball scooted into center field. He coasted into third, then realized the Angels were picking up the ball with little urgency, turned on the jets, and scored.

The valiant visitors would add on in the seventh. Lee and Bell produced their third hits of the game, both singles. Roden then pulverized a first-pitch slider from lefty Sammy Peralta for a three-run homer. It's notable that Roden looked overmatched against Peralta in the fifth, eventually grounding out weakly, which shows a good ability to adjust on the fly.

Bailey Ober was brought out for the seventh, with the Twins juggling their starting rotation for the last week of the year. He hit 91 MPH and carved up the Angels lineup for the final three innings, allowing only a single (that was really a misplay by Ross at shortstop).

Stuff I'm Tracking:

• I'm going to miss the old version of the Angels, who were always all-in on the current season but made terrible baseball ops decisions, had a terrible culture, and apparently didn't even utilize pitch-tracking data until they revamped their pitching department this August. You just knew trading with them was playing chess while (former owner) Arte Moreno insisted his club play checkers. I still wouldn't have traded Kaelen Culpepper (plus more, reportedly) for Zach Neto, though.
• Royce Lewis looks cooked. No idea what the plan is for him next year. He did loop in a meaningless single in the seventh after striking out swinging his first three at-bats.
• Roden quietly has a .278/.349/.375 slash despite inconsistent playing time, this being his first game since August 26. You do root for a guy like him who hasn't done anything wrong; he's just been a victim of poor roster construction with all the left-handed outfielders on this team who need at-bats.
• Rodríguez is in the meat grinder, constantly behind in counts, and when he swings early, it's in play and an easy out. He did break an 0-17 with the double off Siri's glove in center.
• Is there a better pitcher in the league with a big lead than Ober? When he doesn't have to be perfect (and when he doesn't have to pace himself toward six innings), he looks great.

What’s Next: The Twins head to San Francisco to take on the floundering Giants. Ober was the scheduled starter, but with him pitching in relief, it may be Zebby Matthews taking the turn. Whoever it is will face Landen Roupp (9-14, 4.01 ERA), a solid but unspectacular righty who will be making his 30th start of the year. The Giants have been beset by injuries, and Luis Arraez is still second on the team in bWAR even though he was traded at the deadline. Crazy how a team that thought of itself as a contender is this bereft of talent, despite Rafael Devers quietly having his best overall year. (He's out for the rest of the year with a core muscle injury, leaving the Giants' own core rather damaged.)

Postgame Interviews: Coming Soon
Bullpen Usage Chart:

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