Why Weren't The Twins Pitchers More Aggressive?

The Minnesota Twins retreated from Canada on Thursday night, soundly defeated by the Toronto Blue Jays over four games. In the process they lost their postseason position and winning record.

Reflecting back on what they could have done better to quiet the Blue Jays’ mighty lumber, the Twins admitted they failed to dominate the space between the batter and the plate effectively. Thursday night’s starter Kyle Gibson, who was shelled for eight runs over four and two-thirds innings, told reporters after the game that he failed in his attempts to establish his fastball inside.

“I didn’t establish an inside fastball at all. That’s something I wanted to do and needed to do,” Gibson said after the game. “You have to do it against those guys. You can’t put yourself in situations where you have to throw pitches out over the plate, that’s where you get in trouble.”

Gibson simply picked up where others in the rotation had left off before him. The big bats for the Blue Jays were far too comfortable extending their arms and taking advantage of the outer-half. For instance, Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson was able to launch this opposite field shot off of Ervin Santana.

Shortly before the Twins slipped through customs, the Royals had taken umbrage at Donaldson’s pimping home runs. Kansas City’s starter Edinson Volquez then drilled Donaldson square in the shoulders on a first pitch offering to start the last game of the series.In the first three games, Donaldson had smacked two home runs and three doubles while driving in seven runs. On that fourth and final game, after being drilled in the shoulder in the first inning, Donaldson finished the day 0-for-3.

Take a look at how the Royals pitched Donaldson the first three games versus the final three games when he received three pitches up at his chin level.

Should the Twins have followed suit?

Clearly the Twins needed to keep the Blue Jays’ best hitters from diving out over the plate. Hitters like Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki absolutely uncorked on offerings which seemingly appeared like they knew where and what was coming. At the same time, pitching inside against the Blue Jays is tricky. If the pitch is thrown with the intent to dislodge the cleats from the ground but the pitch misses its target towards the plate, Toronto’s hitters have proven they can punch that ball long ways. Their .501 slugging percentage on fastballs inside is only bested by the Yankees (whose short porch in right field helps).

While it may not seem like it following this series, the Twins are actually pretty good at throwing hard inside. Pitching on the inner third is something that Twins pitchers have excelled at all season. According to ESPN/TruMedia data, the local rotation throws more of their fastballs inside (37%) than any other teams besides the Pirates and White Sox. When they are able to locate those pitches inside but out of the zone, they have proven to have a great deal of success.

The results are a lower batting average and slugging percentage than the league’s average.

Pitching inside may have helped achieve a few more outs and it may have opened up the far edges of the zone better to avoid the catastrophic moments. But here’s the thing: They don’t inspire fear. The Twins’ starting pitchers are not in the feet-moving business. They have maimed just nine batters with their fastball, the Yankees, Giants and Astros are the only teams that have popped fewer hitters with the heat. Twins starters throw inside to set up other pitches, not to send messages.

Getting in a knockdown war with the Blue Jays didn’t really help the Royals either. When the smoke cleared, they still lost the game 5-2.

So what about throwing a pitch at their belts to send a message about toning down the post-dinger celebrations? After all, the Blue Jays took more than their share of time admiring their blasts and circling the bases with their arms out.

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Meanwhile, on the rare occasion a Twins hitter slugs a home run that is really worth admiring, like Miguel Sano did, he nonchalantly dropped the bat and began his trot.

Baseball purists and Twins fans will probably applaud Sano’s tactics over the Blue Jays'. On the other hand, the Toronto hitters are having fun and providing some entertainment to the game. Throwing at players just because of showboating reeks of the “get off my lawn” mentality. Players like Bautista and Encarnacion are well within their bounds to pimp some shots while pitchers like Volquez who take exception to the show are within their rights to sizzle a fastball near their belt. That’s baseball.

In the end, throwing inside should be about setting up other pitches rather than sending the proverbial message.

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