Twins Video
Box Score
SP: Pablo Lopez 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (103 pitches, 67 strikes (68% strikes))
Home Runs: none
Bottom 3 WPA: Jose Miranda -.112, Edouard Julien -.103, Carlos Correa -.099
Win Probability Chart
A Pitchers Duel for a Sunday Matinee
Sunday’s game was all about the pitchers, Gerrit Cole and Pablo Lopez. Lopez had his most shaky start of the season so far, by his high standards, but it was still a phenomenal outing, especially for a Twins pitcher in Yankee Stadium.
Lopez kept great command of the strike zone Sunday whiffing a lot of hitters with his sweeper and fastball. He totaled seven strikeouts on the afternoon and 13 swings and misses. Lopez walked one batter the entire afternoon.
Lopez hit 97.4 MPH on the radar gun with his fastball to strike out the likes of Aaron Judge. The Yankees hitters were still making strong contact against the pitch getting the ball in play six times and getting three hits on that contact.
His biggest "mistake" came in his final inning of work in the sixth allowing a lead-off home run to D.J. LeMahieu that gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead. The Yankees tried to rally more runs in the inning as Jose Trevino singled, but Lopez shut down the rally and got out of the inning unscathed with his final strikeout of the afternoon.
Lopez was done after the sixth as he reached a season-high 103 pitches, only five more pitches thrown than his last start against the White Sox on Tuesday.
Questionable Umpiring Continues
Saturday’s game came with questionable umpiring by not enforcing their pitcher substance rules on Domingo German. The bias toward the Yankees continued into Sunday in the bottom of the third inning, when they let Anthony Rizzo remain on base after the Twins challenged a hit-by-pitch call.
That hit-by-pitch moved Aaron Judge into scoring position and he eventually scored the first run of the game on a LeMahieu RBI single. With LeMahieu’s home run later in the game, the advancement of Judge to second may not have been as costly considering how the Twins bats were all day.
Hitting Woes All Game
The Twins had no hits against Cole through the first 4 2/3 innings of the game. Donovan Solano ended the no-hit bid before the fifth inning was completed. Cole got Max Kepler on a comebacker to end the inning.
Aside from Solano’s hit the Twins managed only one other hit, a single from Michael A. Taylor in the top of the sixth. Edouard Julien sacrificed Taylor to second. Cole shut down Carlos Correa to prevent Taylor to have a chance to score.
The Twins managed to get 13 additional balls in play against Cole but his 10 strikeouts through eight innings had the Twins hitters overmatched all afternoon.
Other Notes
While he had a tough game, Jose Miranda was able to put on a defensive show for his famous cousin and Hamilton creator, Lin Manuel Miranda, early in the game. Miranda helped Lopez escape an early jam in the second inning that kept Willie Calhoun from scoring after a lead-off single.
What’s Next?
The Twins have Monday off and will travel to Boston for a three-game series against the Red Sox. Sonny Gray is set to make the start for the Twins Tuesday night against Boston. The Red Sox have yet to announce a starter. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. C.T.
Postgame Interview
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now