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Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 5/1 through Sun, 5/7
***
Record Last Week: 2-4 (Overall: 19-16)
Run Differential Last Week: +0 (Overall: +26)
Standing: 1st Place in AL Central (2.5 GA)
Last Week's Game Results:
Game 30 | CWS 3, MIN 2: Another Ryan Gem Wasted in Walk-Off Loss
Game 31 | CWS 6, MIN 4: Missed Chances Lead to Late Swing of Fortunes
Game 32 | MIN 7, CWS 3: Twins Grind Out Extra-Inning Win to Avoid Sweep
Game 33 | MIN 2, CLE 0: Pitchers Dominate Hapless Cleveland Lineup
Game 34 | CLE 4, MIN 3: Gray Loses Control, Bats Remain Cold
Game 35 | CLE 2, MIN 0: Lineup Held to One Hit as Twins Drop Series
NEWS & NOTES
Things came to a head more quickly than expected with the Alex Kirilloff situation. Despite being pronounced physically ready, and affirming that billing with his play at Triple-A, the 25-year-old was seemingly stymied by a lack of opportunity on the big-league team.
That is, until Trevor Larnach made the decision easier for the front office by slumping very badly at the exact wrong time. An 0-for-9 series in Chicago, including eight strikeouts, sealed Larnach's fate as he was shipped out prior to the Cleveland series, making room in the lineup for Kirilloff.
The handling of the move was a little odd – Larnach had been announced as the No. 8 hitter on Friday night before being optioned ahead of the game. There was no apparent reason for urgency in promoting Kirilloff, who didn't start on Friday or Saturday anyway. Perhaps the Twins are angling to make Larnach available again as soon as possible, since a player must wait 10 days after being optioned to return.
This dynamic actually might've played a role in the timing at play here. Given that 10 days hadn't passed since Kirilloff was optioned, an injury was needed to bring him back, so he was actually swapped for Caleb Thielbar. The lefty reliever went on the injured list with a right oblique strain.
With that, it looks like we're back into full rotating-door mode at the back end of the bullpen. Long reliever Dereck Rodríguez was called up to temporarily fill Thielbar's spot, and then Josh Winder was swapped out for Jorge Alcala the following day.
To make room for Rodríguez on the 40-man roster, Tyler Mahle was placed on the 60-day IL, meaning he won't return until at least the 4th of July, with the season half over.
HIGHLIGHTS
Starting pitching continues to be this team's calling card, and a fine one at that. The Twins are in basically every game; while the losses are frustrating, they almost never feel out of reach. The rotation is setting a really high floor and a strong basis for success with their routinely quality work.
Bailey Ober has been sensational since getting his opportunity to step in, and kept the momentum rolling on Friday with seven shutout innings against the Guardians. Ober allowed just three hits while lowering his ERA to 0.98, and he has yet to allow a home run through three starts.
A day earlier, Pablo López got back on track in a dignity-salvaging victory against the White Sox, hurling seven innings of two-run ball with eight strikeouts and one walk. Only three American League pitchers have tallied more strikeouts than López, who has pitched at least into the seventh in four of his seven starts. The righty has been everything the Twins could've hoped, which is great news as Luis Arraez continues to tear it up in Miami with a league-leading .420 average.
Joe Ryan started twice and turned in a couple more quality starts, hurling six shutout innings against the White Sox and then limiting the Guardians to two runs in six frames on Sunday, although his charmed run support finally ran dry in the latter when he suffered his first loss of the season.
Nonetheless, Ryan's numbers are stellar across the board: a 5-1 record, 2.45 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 0.84 WHIP and 47-to-6 K/BB ratio in 44 innings of work. He's completed six-plus innings every time out.
While Thielbar's loss hurts for a bullpen that has been quite strong in the early going, the addition of Brock Stewart has proven to be a huge boost. The right-hander made three appearances last week and didn't allow a hit. He has now provided six scoreless innings since being called up, and leads all Twins relievers in Win Probability Added.
LOWLIGHTS
Wednesday's loss to the White Sox was symbolic of the larger trend that's held Minnesota back from a true breakthrough this season.
The offense was having a decent game, knocking Dylan Cease out after five innings and erasing an early deficit. In the seventh inning, with the game tied 4-4, the Twins had a chance to open up a big lead against Chicago's bullpen when they loaded the bases with no outs for the 3-through-5 spots in their lineup.
And then: Carlos Correa grounded out, Byron Buxton grounded out, and Larnach struck out swinging. Threat over. Chicago scratched across runs in each of the next two innings to take the series.
Correa has been a prevalent contributor to the ongoing offensive misfires. His production continues to not materialize as he keeps appearing in the most critical lineup spots. The past week saw Correa go 4-for-25, dropping his season slash line to .193/.271/.378.
You may recall Correa getting off to a slow start last year but it was nothing compared to this. Through 31 games in 2022, he was comparatively slashing .275/.346/.400, with his bat already awakening from an early swoon that was far less drastic.
Correa might be the most high-profile culprit in this offense's woes but he's hardly the only one. With the exception of Buxton and Max Kepler, bats have pretty much gone ice-cold throughout the lineup – even those that had previously been productive:
- Joey Gallo went 0-for-15, and has seen his OPS plummet by nearly 200 points here in June. On the bright side, he's not striking out a crazy amount and is still drawing walks, but the hits and homers have gone amiss.
- Christian Vazquez, whose offensive output in the first couple of weeks was a pleasant surprise, has fallen into a deep slump. He went 1-for-13 in four starts last week and is slashing .200/.262/.250 in the past month.
- Donovan Solano went 0-for-10 in the series, dropping his OPS to .637. His usefulness to the team is waning with Kirilloff back in the mix, so it'll be interesting to see how much longer the Twins stick with the struggling veteran. The last time he played a full nine-inning game for Minnesota was April 18th, nearly three full weeks ago.
Then of course there is Jose Miranda, who remains unable to snap out of his prolonged funk. His 2-for-21 week, which included six strikeouts and zero walks, dropped his line on the season to .219/.275/.313. What might seem like a mere five-week slump at the plate is actually considerably more substantial if you extend it back to last year, after his rookie hot streak faded.
To make matters worse, Miranda also had some brutal defensive moments at third base, cementing his current status as a two-way liability. Something needs to change. It's likely about to.
TRENDING STORYLINE
Kyle Farmer has been rehabbing in Triple-A (I watched him hit a home run in St. Paul on Sunday) and it sounds like he'll be ready to be activated and rejoin the team at Target Field on Tuesday.
So who goes to make room?
While Willi Castro is a possibility, it's looking like the more likely candidate is Miranda, whose broken plate approach is pretty clearly meriting of a minor-league reset.
The idea of both Larnach and Miranda in Triple-A, optionally, five weeks into the season is not something anyone would've envisioned as an ideal scenario. But it speaks to the strength and depth of the Twins roster that they not only have readily available quality alternatives in Kirilloff and Farmer, but that they'll soon have prospects potentially pushing those replacements in Matt Wallner, Edouard Julien, and Royce Lewis.
LOOKING AHEAD
Here comes the National League! Fans who are interested in catching a few visiting teams we've rarely had the opportunity to see are in luck, with the Padres and Cubs coming to Target Field as part of Major League Baseball's newly diversified schedule mix. Both clubs are off to solid starts and should present a challenge – especially the star-studded Padres who will be rolling in with Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and our old friend Nelson Cruz.
TUESDAY, 5/9: PADRES @ TWINS – RHP Michael Wacha v. RHP Louie Varland
WEDNESDAY, 5/10: PADRES @ TWINS – RHP Seth Lugo v. RHP Pablo Lopez
THURSDAY, 5/11: PADRES @ TWINS – RHP Yu Darvish v. RHP Bailey Ober
FRIDAY, 5/12: CUBS @ TWINS – LHP Drew Smyly v. RHP Sonny Gray
SATURDAY, 5/13: CUBS @ TWINS – RHP Hayden Wesneski v. RHP Joe Ryan
SUNDAY, 5/14: CUBS @ TWINS – RHP Marcus Stroman v. RHP Louie Varland
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