AJ Condon

The Twins looked like they were going to pick up a sweep against the Brewers, but got a taste of their own medicine from last night. Trent Grisham hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth to give the Brewers their first lead of the game. The Twins offense got going early, but fell silent in the second half of the game. Gibson struggled with his control but was able to minimize the damage as the Twins failed to extend their lead as the Indians lost earlier today. Image courtesy of FanGraphs The Twins looked like they were going to pick up a sweep against the Brewers, but got a taste of their own medicine from last night. Trent Grisham hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth to give the Brewers their first lead of the game. The Twins offense got going early, but fell silent in the second half of the game. Gibson struggled with his control but was able to minimize the damage as the Twins failed to extend their lead as the Indians lost earlier today. Box Score Gibson: 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 59.8 % strikes (55 of 92 pitches) Bullpen: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K Home Runs: Sano (21), Garver (23), Rosario (26) Multi-Hit Games: None Top 3 WPA: Sano .114, Rosario .155, Polanco .157 Bottom 3 WPA: Garver -.136 Cron -.199, Romo -.685 After a back and forth first five innings, things quieted down for the most part for the next three innings. The Brewers made Sam Dyson and Trevor May work for their three outs, but each got away while facing four batters. Sergio Romo was given the eighth inning and saw the lead wash away. On a routine ground ball to Jorge Polanco, Polanco committed his second error of the game, and third of the series. After a weak ground ball up the middle, the Brewers had a big threat late with runners on the corners with no outs. Last night the Twins got a big three-run homer, tonight it was the Brewers. Rookie Trent Grisham hit just his second home run of his career, but it was crucial for the Brewers in today’s game as they are contending for a wild card spot right now. This put the Brewers up 5-4 going into the ninth. Twins Offense Strikes Early; Goes Quiet Mitch Garver took the place for Max Kepler in the leadoff spot today as lefty Gio Gonzalez was on the mound for the Brewers. GarvSauce got the action going as he led off the game with a solo shot to right. After two strikeouts followed, Eddie Rosario hit another oppo shot for his 100th career home run. https://twitter.com/Twins/status/1161705798982164480?s=20 After a quiet second inning, Miguel Sano hit the third bomba of the day in just three innings. Sano blasted the shot to left-center field for a SanoDoubter to extend the lead back to two. https://twitter.com/Twins/status/1161715720306286594?s=20 The Brewers answered again to bring the score to 3-2, but the Twins opened it right back up. Kepler drew his second walk of the game. That was followed by a double for Schoop bringing Gibson up to bat with runners on second and third with one out. Gibson showed great patience at the plate drawing a full-count walk to load the bases. Bases loaded, the Twins kryptonite so far this year. Gonzalez picked up a huge strikeout against Garver for the second out of the inning. However, Polanco had no intentions of letting this opportunity go to waste as he ripped a two-RBI single to extend the Twins lead to 5-2 and ending Gio Gonzalez’s day. After scoring five runs in the first four innings, the Twins offense really quieted down during the second half of the game. Between the fifth and the ninth, the Twins got just one runner in scoring position when Ehire Adrianza pinch hit for Gibson and got a triple. Garver followed that with a line drive straight to third base, and Adrianza was doubled off. The Twins got just two other base runners and that came from C.J. Cron getting hit by a pitch twice. In the ninth, the Twins drew three straight walks to load the bases with two outs. Another bases-loaded opportunity for the Twins, but this time they failed to execute as Cron flew out to end the game. Gibson Minimizes Damage After having one of his worst starts his last time out against a division rival, Gibson looked to not struggle with his control again. Though he did struggle with his control today, he was able to strand seven runners and keep the damage minimal. After he got some early run support in the first, he allowed a lead off single followed by a walk. Gibson picked up a huge strikeout against Christian Yelich for the first out of the inning. A one-out single brought in the lead runner, and after an error that should’ve been a double play, Gibson found himself with the bases loaded with one out. Gibson got the ensuing batter to ground out, and this time the Twins were able to turn two. In the second inning, Gibson allowed a leadoff double, and later a two-out walk, and he found himself in a jam yet again. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, he got Grandal to ground out to end the inning. The Brewers put together three singles to score another run, and with two outs, Gibson found himself in yet another jam with runners on second and third. He picked up another huge strikeout, this time on Arcia, on a 3-2 curveball to end the inning. In the fifth, Gibson gave up a one-out double to Moustakas and was able to get Cain to ground out on the next at-bat. With two outs and Moustakas on third, Thames picked up his third hit of the day driving in the Brewers third run. Gibson struck out Gamel to end the inning, and also his day, as he was pinch-hit for in the next inning. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. View full article

The Atlanta Braves got going right where they left off last night and hammered Perez early. For the second straight game, the Twins offense was silent through five innings, this time Fried was striking out batters left and right. They awoke in the sixth, and tried another comeback in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as they drop the series and are in trouble to be up just two games before their series against the Indians. Image courtesy of FanGraphs The Atlanta Braves got going right where they left off last night and hammered Perez early. For the second straight game, the Twins offense was silent through five innings, this time Fried was striking out batters left and right. They awoke in the sixth, and tried another comeback in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as they drop the series and are in trouble to be up just two games before their series against the Indians. Box Score Perez: 6 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 65.9% strikes (67 of 102 pitches) Bullpen: 3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Sano (20) Multi-Hit Games: Rosario (2-for-5), Sano (2-for-5, HR), Cron (2-for-4), Cave (2-for-4, 2 2B) Bottom 3 WPA: Rosario -.049, Schoop -.085, Perez -.321 Braves Ready For Perez The Atlanta Braves came out swinging early today and jumped all over Martin Perez for another rough start by Perez’s. Perez has been the Twins’ worst starter for quite some time now. Since May 30th, 11 starts, he holds a 6.21 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Today was no different for him. After getting Ronald Acuna Jr. to fly out to start the game, Albies and Freeman went back-to-back, while both only seeing one pitch. The inning wasn’t over as the Braves put together a 2-out rally with a single and double scoring another run. The home runs and double were all on fastballs left right over the heart of the plate, and Perez paid. After a quick 1-2-3 in the second, the deficit got worse in an ugly third inning that ended featuring the only Twins highlight thus far. The ugly inning went single, single, walk, passed ball to score one, error, RBI single, and a walk to bring in a run. All of this was done with no outs, but what better way to get out of an inning then getting three outs in one pitch. For the second time in just over two weeks, the Twins turned a triple play and both were behind Perez. Last time it was Arraez-Schoop-Sano, and today it started with Sano going to Schoop and ending it with Cron at first. This was the fifth time in franchise history to turn two triple plays in the same season. https://twitter.com/Twins/status/1159164478006726658?s=20 Perez was able to settle down after that triple play and gave up one run in his next three innings. Perez had two very bad innings, but was able to stay in the game and give the Twins six innings to allow the bullpen to do less work than seemed likely after the first inning. Fried Fires Through Twins Max Fried was red hot to start off this game, and gave the Twins offense a lot of trouble through his first five innings. After the first time through the order, Fried was perfect while striking out seven of the nine batters he faced. Jeremie Rehak was the home plate umpire and had a lot of questionable calls that had the whole Twins dugout in a frenzy and Marwin Gonzalez smashing his helmet into the ground following a strikeout. The Twins got their first hit to start the fourth inning which was a double, and later had runners on second and third with two outs. Miguel Sano drilled a liner to center field that was caught to end the Twins threat. The next inning the Twins had another second and third, this time with only one out, but Fried picked up a huge strikeout on Schoop and then Graver flew out to end the threat again. Through five innings, Fried had given up just three hits while striking out a season-high 10 batters, but much like last night, the Twins woke up in the sixth inning. The Twins put three singles together and Fried’s day was over. Fried ended up being responsible for the three runs that were ultimately scored that inning. Twins Comeback Falls Short The Twins, just like last night, were dead through the first five innings, but in the sixth inning they came alive to make things interesting. Tonight it was four singles and a double in the sixth to score three runs and trim the lead to four. Unlike last night, the Twins couldn’t use the momentum to get closer. Ronald Acuna Jr. put the finishing touches for the Braves this series as he hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to put them back in front by six runs. The Twins stranded runners on second and third in back-to-back-to-back innings, though the third time was after they scored three runs. The Braves added two more runs in the ninth to really put the game away. The Twins put together three more singles in the ninth to score another run and a Miguel Sano three-run home run brought the deficit down to just four. Next Series The Twins will face the Cleveland Indians tomorrow for a four-game series that will be huge in terms of standings. The Indians won game one today and if they win game two, they will be just two games back of the Twins. Though the starters got hammered these past two games, Zack Litell, Cody Stashak, and Kohl Stewart gave the Twins quality innings in the bullpen so the Twins’ top guys could have some time off for this huge series. Postgame With Baldelli https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1159228361832427521 View full article

Jose Berrios continued his dominance and struck out 11 Marlin batters as he threw seven scoreless innings. The Twins’ offense rebounded from their slow night last night and jumped on Sandy Alcantara for seven runs and ran him out of the game before he finished the fifth inning. Sean Poppen blew the shutout with a grand slam, but Rogers shut down their rally. Image courtesy of FanGraphs Jose Berrios continued his dominance and struck out 11 Marlin batters as he threw seven scoreless innings. The Twins’ offense rebounded from their slow night last night and jumped on Sandy Alcantara for seven runs and ran him out of the game before he finished the fifth inning. Sean Poppen blew the shutout with a grand slam, but Rogers shut down their rally. Box Score Berrios: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, 69.1% strikes (56 of 81 pitches) Bullpen: 2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Home Runs: Garver (20), Rosario (23), Kepler (29) Multi-Hit Games: Garver (2-for-4, HR), Rosario (2-for-4, HR, 2B) Top 3 WPA: Garver .241, Berrios .200, Kepler .158 Berrios Lights Out Bert Blyleven said before Berrios’ start that he would give him a high-five and a pat on the back if he threw a complete game shutout. He struck out a season-high 11 batters, had a 1-2-3 inning in six out of seven innings he pitched. Unfortunately, he was pulled after just seven innings throwing only 81 pitches. Berrios was perfect through four innings while striking out six of the nine batters he faced. In the fifth, he surrendered two weak-hit balls for singles, but followed it up by getting the next three batters out, one via a strikeout. In the sixth inning, he struck out the side to bring his total up to ten on the night. In his last inning, he picked up his season-high 11th strikeout of the night, but fell short of his career high of 12 after being pulled after just 81 pitches. Berrios was unstoppable on the mound tonight but was pulled before he was able to go for a complete game. Berrios is still deserving of a high-five and a pat on the back after he silenced this Marlins’ team. https://twitter.com/AlexFast8/status/1156739182783553537?s=20 Bomba Squad After an unorthodox night from the Twins’ offense, they pounced on Sandy Alcantara for three home runs and forced him out of the game before he could even finish the fifth inning. Mitch Garver got things going after Jose Berrios battled a leadoff walk which was followed by Max Kepler’s second walk of the day. Garver ended an 0-for-17 streak with a 3-run bomba to capitalize on the leadoff walks. This was just the start of the hitting fun for the Twins tonight. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1156715248054951943?s=20 Kepler led off the fifth inning with a solo shot for his 29th home run of the year to put him in third in the A.L. lead in home runs. https://twitter.com/Twins/status/1156721894386806784?s=20 The fifth inning wasn’t done for Alcantara, after Garver hit a swinging bunt down the third base line, Eddie Rosario hit the team’s third home run of the game. This was only Eddie’s hit fourth home run since June 5th in 31 games. After a walk and double, Alcantara’s night was done, but another run was surrendered on a Schoop single to add on to his rough night. Poppen Blows Shutout Sean Poppen came in after a stellar performance by Berrios and worked through the eighth inning with ease. The ninth was completely different as he gave up three straight singles to start the inning followed by a grand slam by Brian Anderson to cut the deficit to only three runs. Poppen picked up a strikeout on the following batter before Taylor Rogers came in to close out the game striking out the two batters he faced. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. View full article

Nelson Cruz and the Minnesota Twins continued their hitting hot-streak and jumped on Lucas Giolito and the White Sox. Jose Berrios finally got some run support and picked up his first win since June 6. Poppen put up two shutout innings as the Twins' bullpen gets another break. Image courtesy of FanGraphs Nelson Cruz and the Minnesota Twins continued their hitting hot-streak and jumped on Lucas Giolito and the White Sox. Jose Berrios finally got some run support and picked up his first win since June 6. Poppen put up two shutout innings as the Twins' bullpen gets another break. Box Score Berrios: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 75.5% strikes (80 of 106 pitches) Bullpen (Poppen): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Home Runs: Cruz 3 (25), Kepler (26), Sano (17) Multi-Hit Games: Cruz (3-5, 3 HR), Sano (2-4, HR), Buxton (2-4, 2 2B) Top 3 WPA: Berrios .111, Kepler .140, Cruz .377 Bottom 3 WPA: Buxton -.048, Garver -.040, Polanco -.034 Offense Continues to Thrive Nelson Cruz has now homered in the last four games, and has seven home runs in the last six games. He came into tonight’s game with 382 home runs in his career, but did something for the first time in his career tonight. It came against the ace of the Sox as he faced him three times and hit three home runs. Giolito came into this game giving up only 10 home runs, but surrendered five to the league’s best home run hitting team. His first home run was a solo shot and went 473 feet that set a record for the longest home run in Guaranteed Rate Stadium in the Statcast era. His second and third home runs traveled 433 and 430 feet, respectively, and came with a runner on. His home run distance added up to 1,336 total feet and all three balls went to three different spots on the field. https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1154567230660784129?s=20 Max Kepler and Miguel Sano each got in on the home run fun by hitting two-run home runs of their own. Byron Buxton brought his energy back to the lineup by extending a single into a double and hitting a stand-up double in the eighth. Berrios’ Quality Start After seeing some of the worst pitching of the season throughout the last series, Jose Berrios came in and showed why he is the ace of this ball club. Though this long start was a night late, it still came at a good time as most of the bullpen was able to have another night off. Though Berrios has been pitching outstanding this year, he hasn’t picked up a win since June 6 solely because of the lack of run support in those games. He had an ERA of 2.65 through seven starts in 44 2/3 innings. Tonight was no different from Berrios, but completely different from the offense. Berrios was locked in tonight as he gave up only two earned runs, one unearned, through seven innings. He managed to strikeout eight batters, getting five on his four-seam fastball, two with his changeup, and only one on his dirty slider. He also was able to get 17 swinging strikes. Poppen Continues AAA Success During a series that no Twins’ pitcher cares to remember, there were three standouts, and all of them were in AAA before the series started. With the bullpen getting worked so much recently, another move happened before today’s game that brought up Sean Poppen for the second time this year. After the three call-ups from last series gave up just two runs in 9 2/3 innings, Poppen continued their recent success tonight. In his first inning of work, Jose Abreu helped him out by not retouching second base on his way back to first after a fly ball and Rosario tossed it to Schoop to double him up. He then struck out James McCann to end the eighth. He worked through an easy 1-2-3 ninth inning to finish the game and his second appearance of the year. He got a weak ground ball and struck out the final two batters with his slider. Poppen’s stuff looked really good, but struggled with his control a little. His fastball has good movement on it and sits around 94-95 MPH and he really likes to use his sinker and sliders. They both have great movement and some White Sox hitters swung at some pitches in the other box. https://twitter.com/ajcondon_/status/1154590943120691200?s=20 Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. View full article

The Twins and Yankees picked right back up where they left off last night, as the bats were hot, again, in the rubber match tonight. The Yankees jumped on Odorizzi early and were playing from behind almost the whole game. The Yankees couldn’t figure out Devin Smeltzer, but the Twins’ offense couldn’t complete the comeback, as the Indians continue to gain ground on the Twins as their lead is only two games now. Image courtesy of FanGraphs The Twins and Yankees picked right back up where they left off last night, as the bats were hot, again, in the rubber match tonight. The Yankees jumped on Odorizzi early and were playing from behind almost the whole game. The Yankees couldn’t figure out Devin Smeltzer, but the Twins’ offense couldn’t complete the comeback, as the Indians continue to gain ground on the Twins as their lead is only two games now. Box Score Odorizzi: 4 IP, 10 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 61.7% strikes (63 of 102 pitches) Bulllpen (Smeltzer): 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K Home Runs: Rosario (22), Cruz (22), Gonzalez (12) Multi-Hit Games: Cruz (2-for-4, HR), Rosario (2-for-4, HR), Arraez (2-for-3, BB), Schoop (2-for-3) Top 3 WPA: Cruz .100, Smeltzer .105, Rosario .172 Bottom 3 WPA: Garver -.081, Polanco -.136, Odorizzi -.576 Yankees Rake Odorizzi The Twins could’ve really used a seven inning performance from their All-Star pitcher tonight in hopes of giving their bullpen a night off before their series against Chicago. The Yankees offense had a different idea as they pounced on Odorizzi for seven extra base hits and a season-high, nine runs in just four innings. In his last seven starts, Odorizzi has given up at least three runs in six of those. Didi Gregorious and Aaron Hicks continued to destroy the Twins’ this series and they both made their presence felt early. After Gregorious demolished the Twins for five hits and seven RBIs last night, he ripped an RBI double and 2-RBI triple in the first half of the game. Hicks, who put the Yankees ahead in the ninth, and ended the game in the 10th, picked up two more RBIs in the first half off a home run and single. Though Odorizzi was able to strike out seven through four innings, his control was the biggest issue tonight. He wasn’t hitting his spots on any of his pitches, as he was only able to get a first pitch strike on 50% of the 24 batters he faced. Smeltzer Deals There have really only been three good pitchers for the Minnesota Twins this series, and coincidentally, they were all on the AAA roster before the series started. Lewis Thorpe gave the Twins a solid 2.2 innings on Monday, Cody Stashak gave them two shutout innings last night, and tonight Devin Smeltzer gave the Twins’ bullpen a much needed rest throwing five innings. He finished the game with five very solid innings and was the only pitcher out of the bullpen. After Odorizzi was only able to go four innings, Smeltzer came in and gave four shutout innings before surrendering a home run in the ninth. He gave up only three hits in those first four innings, and even struck out the side in the seventh. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1154221912219762688?s=20 Smeltzer was called up today because the Twins were in dire need of some arms. He out-performed what was expected of him tonight, and really gave the Twins a good chance at coming back. He had command with all of his pitches and was able to pick up a first pitch strike on 16 out of the 19 batters he faced! Twins Offense Comes Up Short This whole series, both teams have needed their offense to match what the opponents did before them. Tonight was no different as the Bomba Squad tried to match the Bronx Bombers. It was an action-filled first half of the game, but the bullpens came in and shut down these hot offenses. The Twins got the action going when Rosario hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the first, but saw their only lead vanish quickly. After Odorizzi gave up nine runs, that was matched by only one from the Twins, Marwin Gonzalez finally got them back on track with another 2-run homer. A Garver sac-fly and a solo shot later, the Twins saw their deficit down to only two. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1154188615913619456?s=20 After the Twins scored their last run on a Nelson Cruz home run, the Yankee bullpen got the next 15 outs while facing only 18 batters. They had some threats throughout those 15 outs, but hit into two double plays, and stranded two guys on in the seventh. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. View full article

Eddie Rosario redeems himself after yesterday’s error with a go-ahead pinch-hit three-run homer in the seventh and Mitch Carver and C.J. Cron add big insurance runs. Gibson helps Twins pick up their second win against Mike Fiers and Taylor Rogers saves the comeback. The Twins continue to be sloppy and it needs to be fixed. Image courtesy of FanGraphs Eddie Rosario redeems himself after yesterday’s error with a go-ahead pinch-hit three-run homer in the seventh and Mitch Carver and C.J. Cron add big insurance runs. Gibson helps Twins pick up their second win against Mike Fiers and Taylor Rogers saves the comeback. The Twins continue to be sloppy and it needs to be fixed. Box Score Gibson: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 68.9% strikes (73 of 106 pitches) Bullpen: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Rosario (21), Garver (16), Cron (18) Multi-Hit Games: None WPA of +0.1: Rogers .160, Sano .210, Rosario .465 WPA of -0.1: Garver -.108 Rosario Redeems and Garver, Cron Solidify A night after Eddie Rosario dropped what would have been an inning-ending fly ball to keep the game within reach, he blasts the first pitch he sees tonight to give the Twins a 4-3 lead. Rosario was most likely not in the lineup tonight as punishment for yesterday’s mishap, but made his presence felt tonight. https://twitter.com/cjzer0/status/1152049149182926853 That was just the second pinch-hit home run for the Twins this season, and of course Rosario was the culprit of the first one as well. In 12 at-bats as a pinch-hitter, Rosario has three hits for three home runs. Mitch Garver and C.J. gave the final punches in tonight’s game by each hitting a solo shot in the eighth for huge insurance runs to give them a three-run lead going into the ninth. The Athletic’s bullpen gave up three hits in tonight’s game, but they were the three biggest hits for the Twins. Pitcher’s Rematch Just over two weeks ago, Kyle Gibson and Mike Fiers faced up against each other, but unlike tonight, neither pitcher picked up a decision in that 12-inning contest. Tonight Gibson got rewarded for his solid outing, and the Twins picked up just their second win against Fiers in 13 games against him. Gibson had another great outing against the Athletics, but this time was actually able to pick up the win. He pitched his deepest into a game and picked up his most strikeouts since June 25th. It was very impressive to see Gibson work around a few errors, not give up any walks, and pick up the win. He struck out three batters with his two-seam, and two batters with each of his changeup and slider. Rogers' Save Taylor Rogers started warming up immediately following Rosario’s go-ahead home run for a six-out save. Rogers has been the Twins’ best reliever, and continued his great season tonight. He gave up two singles in the eighth, but that was nothing to worry about as he retired the next five batters to complete the save and end the Twins’ longest losing streak of the season. Sloppy Play The Twins sloppy play has been pretty apparent since the All-Star break, and it continued tonight. Coming into tonight’s game they had six errors in five games and added two more in the first two innings. A couple of base-running errors also ended Twins’ threat in two different innings. The base-running errors were the ones that hurt the most tonight. The first one came with a man on third base and one out. Max Kepler ripped a line drive to first base, which Olson made a nice grab on, and doubled up Cave who was halfway to home plate. The next one came after a leadoff walk and single, when Arraez thought Cave had been hit by a pitch and was making his way to third only to realize the ball was still in play and proceeded to get thrown out on his way back to second. Though the errors didn’t lead to anything tonight, it still is something that you want to clean up because they usually come back to hurt. Arraez and Sano were responsible for the fielding errors tonight with Arraez picking up a two-base error in the first after misfiring a throw to first, and Sano misfielding a hard hit ball that landed 10 feet in front of him. Postgame With Baldelli https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1152071444949397505 Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. View full article

The Minnesota Twins’ offense got off to a great start in their final series before the All-Star break by exploding for 13 extra base hits and 15 runs. Martin Perez shined in his first six innings, but struggled finishing out his start, and Polanco and Schoop made some highlight plays in the field amidst an offensive explosion. Image courtesy of FanGraphs The Minnesota Twins’ offense got off to a great start in their final series before the All-Star break by exploding for 13 extra base hits and 15 runs. Martin Perez shined in his first six innings, but struggled finishing out his start, and Polanco and Schoop made some highlight plays in the field amidst an offensive explosion. Box Score Starter: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 62.8% strikes (59 of 94 pitches) Bullpen: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K Home Runs: Arraez (2), Polanco (12), Schoop (14), Garver (13) Multi-Hit Games: Kepler (2-4, BB), Polanco (2-5, HR), Garver (2-4, 2B, HR, BB), Gonzalez (3-4, 2 2B, HR), C.J. Cron (2-5, 2 2B), Arraez (2-5, HR), Schoop (3-5, 2B, HR), Buxton (2-5, 2 2B) Top 3 WPA: Perez .125, Arraez .091, Buxton .081 Twins’ Offense Erupts After a quick first inning by Adrian Sampson that included two strikeouts, the Twins batted around in the second with eight hits, six of them being extra-base hits to score six runs. Five of those runs were scored with two outs in the inning. https://twitter.com/Twins/status/1147342674988605441 In the second inning there clearly wasn’t enough damage to Sampson, as the Rangers left him out there for the third and fourth. After getting five straight outs, Sampson gave up three straight hits, and another run to end his night after giving up seven runs on 11 hits over 3 1/3 innings. Schoop extended the Twins lead to nine on a two-run shot in the fifth to really put this game out of reach. After a little comeback by the Rangers in the seventh, the offense felt the game getting a little too close for comfort and put up a three spot in response. Garver hit a solo shot for the team’s 166th home run of the season, extending their MLB-record of most home runs hit before the All-Star Break. Schoop's third extra-base hit of the night grabbed two more RBIs to get the lead back to seven. The Twins’ offense combined for a season-high 20 hits, 15 runs, club-tying 13 extra base hits, four home runs, and every batter had at least one hit! Perez Battles Old Team Martin Perez got his first start tonight against his old team after spending his first seven seasons with the Rangers. This was definitely a game Perez wanted to start, seeing some familiar faces and trying to gain bragging rights against some of his old buddies. Perez had all the fun in his first six innings but ran into trouble before exiting the game in the seventh. Perez gave up just four hits in those first six innings with the first three of them being weak singles with exit velocities of 69.8, 84.1, and 76.7, respectively. The seventh inning is where Perez ran into trouble, and it started with a walk. A leadoff walk was exactly what got things started in his last start when he gave up two runs in the second inning to the Tampa Bay Rays. Tonight, the leadoff walk was a little more detrimental, though the offense gave Perez room to work. Following the walk, Perez gave up three straight hits for two runs which ended his night. He was responsible for two more runs as Harper wasn’t able to get out of a second and third no-out jam. Middle Infielders Shine When talking about this team’s highlight-reel defense, it usually has to do with Buxton and making some ridiculous catch look easy. Tonight, it was the middle infielders who rose above the rest. The first highlight-reel play was courtesy of Polanco, Schoop, and Cron’s first double play of the night. Choo grounded a ball towards the middle but Polanco grabbed it out of the air with his glove, didn’t even bother using his other hand, flipped it to Schoop who gunned it to Cron to end the inning. Schoop tried to top Polanco’s acrobatic play the next inning when he made a running backhand stop and delivered a bullet to Cron for the third out. Just when the Rangers thought they had a threat, Polanco and Schoop combined with Cron again for an inning-ending double play. Postgame With Baldelli https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1147370125357490179 Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. View full article

The Minnesota Twins escape, again, from losing three games in a row this season. This was the Twins’ eighth time on the brink of a three-game losing streak, but they continue to show success. A late-inning push and a solid performance from the bullpen was the formula for tonight’s win. Image courtesy of FanGraphs The Minnesota Twins escape, again, from losing three games in a row this season. This was the Twins’ eighth time on the brink of a three-game losing streak, but they continue to show success. A late-inning push and a solid performance from the bullpen was the formula for tonight’s win. Box Score Starter: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 55.9% strikes (57 of 102 pitches) Bullpen: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (11) Multi-Hit Games: Garver (2-6), Arraez (3-5) WPA of +0.1: Harper .104, Duffey .135, Polanco .137, Schoop .181, Rogers .195, Garver .265, Parker .269, Arraez .295 WPA of -0.1: Gibson -.110, Buxton -.117, Cron -.175,Sano -.311, Adrianza -.391 Twins’ Late Comeback After not getting a baserunner until there were two outs in the fifth inning, the Twins were able to put together a little comeback to tie the game late and ultimately win the game. The comeback started by getting three singles off Fiers in the sixth to grab their first run of the game. The two outs that followed were balls that almost drove in another run, but a nice play by Laureano and a blooper by Cron ended the threat. The Twins got into the Athletic’s bullpen in the seventh, and were able to score a run right away thanks to an error by Barretto on the throw to first base. Polanco was able to tie the game on a two-out solo shot in the eighth. The Twins were able to take advantage of a pair of one-out walks in the twelfth and took the lead with a go-ahead single by Mitch Garver on a full-count. He delivered a single into left field, and the speedy Byron Buxton was able to hustle around third and score. They failed to extend their lead with the bases loaded and one out on a nice place by Chapman at third to get a double play to end the inning. Lights Out Bullpen The bullpen came into the game with a 3-2 deficit and made it possible for the Twins to fight back. They have been very solid in the games of late, and continued their success tonight. They threw a combined six shutout innings while only allowing four hits. Blake Parker dug himself into the biggest hole for the bullpen in the tenth with two lead-off walks, but thanks to Sano’s defense, no runs were scored. He worked around those walks and had a relatively easy 11th inning. Taylor Rogers made this game interesting in the 12th, though it wasn’t completely on him. The inning started on an error by Schoop and was very close to becoming a problem. But, Profar tried to extend his single into a double on the throw to third, and the Twins were able to get him out after a challenge and were left with a runner on third with two outs. Rogers was able to close the game out with a strikeout and he picked up his 11th save of the year. Gibson’s Mistake Gibson had a relatively good start tonight, but his one mistake will be the talking point of his start. This mistake came in the second inning after an error by Cron and a walk to lead off the inning. What followed was an at-bat that almost decided the game, and was the first hit by the Athletics, a three-run home run by Laureano. His struggles came with not being able to find the strike zone early in the count. Out of the 26 batters he faced, he got a first-pitch strike on only 13 of the batters. He had to work behind in the count and was chasing batters throughout the night, which led to the four walks he gave up. After the second inning, Gibson settled in for the most part. He didn’t have any 1-2-3 innings after the first, but was able to keep the score the same as he left it after the second. Even after having a rough couple of innings, Gibson was able to finish six innings. Gibson also had two double plays turned behind him. Gibson was able to pick up the no-decision with some mid-late inning runs that were capped by a Jorge Polanco solo shot in eighth. Fiers Brings Trouble Mike Fiers came into tonight’s game allowing no more than two runs in five of his last six starts. Tonight, he had a perfect game going into the fifth, and didn’t give up a baserunner until Sano hit a double with two outs in the fifth that ultimately led to nothing. He managed to throw 68 percent of his pitches as strikes as well as getting ahead of 14 out of the 23 batters he faced with a first-pitch strike. The Twins were able to scare Fiers out of the game after they got three hits in the sixth, which led to their first run, and a single to lead off the seventh. He finished with only five hits and one earned run while striking out four and giving no free bases. He set the Athletics for a chance to win the series, but the Twins’ offense had different plans. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past fiv View full article

For the second time in nine days, the Twins were playing into the 17th inning. The bullpen kept giving the offense opportunities to take this game, Martin Perez had a stellar comeback after a rough second inning, and the Twins offense was lifeless after the first. Image courtesy of Chart via FanGraphs For the second time in nine days, the Twins were playing into the 17th inning. The bullpen kept giving the offense opportunities to take this game, Martin Perez had a stellar comeback after a rough second inning, and the Twins offense was lifeless after the first. Box Score Perez: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 65.7% strikes (67 of 102 pitches) Bullpen: 11 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 11 K Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Polanco (2-for-6, 2B, BB), Arraez (3-for-7) WPA of +0.1: Duffey .111, Rogers .144, Parker .144, Littell .144, May .144, Gibson .144, Perez .261, Morin .288, Magill .288 WPA of -0.1: Cave -.139, Kepler -.276, Sano -.288, Garver -.306, Cron -.308, Schoop -.364, Harper -.455 Bullpen Hangs Tough The bullpen had a lot of work to do in today’s game, and they were up for the test. After Martin Perez had sent down 16 straight going into the eighth inning, it was time for the bullpen to take over. Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers were given the following two innings and made it 22 straight sent down going into the 10th. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1144345279564357632 Blake Parker was given the tenth inning, and broke the streak of 22 straight batters sent down. He found himself in a pickle with bases loaded and no outs, and it was Parker’s time to settle in. He got an infield fly, strikeout, and a game-saving stop by Sano for the final out to keep the game tied. Zack Littell worked himself into a jam as well with two two-out walks, but got a flyout to end the threat in the 11th. Mike Morin, Trevor May, and Matt Magill gave five more shutout innings that included only one walk while striking out five. And then things got even weirder as Kyle Gibson came into the game in the 17th inning to pitch. He was only asked to give one inning as Ryne Harper came in for the 18th. Harper had pitched the previous two games which is probably why they waited so long to put him in. Harper found himself in a similar position as Parker was in, in the 10th, as he found himself with the bases loaded and no outs. It didn’t end the same way as Harper gave up three hits and three runs in the 18th. https://twitter.com/FOXSportsFL/status/1144388920974565376 Offense Goes Quiet The Twins’ offense got going right away in today’s game as they were able to get two runs on three hits in the first inning. They were able to jump out in front of the Rays in all three games this series. However, after the first inning, they went completely quiet. They combined for only 11 base runners off six hits and five walks through the next 17 innings, went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and struck out 21 times. They also haven’t hit a home run in 28 straight innings going back to Tuesday’s game when Garver hit a home run in the eighth. The bullpen set the offense up inning after inning to finish this game, and inning after inning, the offense put up a goose egg. They hit into three double plays today, two of them coming in extra innings and ending a threat. Perez Settles Martin Perez came into this game on a very bad slump. Over his last six starts, he is only 0-2, but has an ERA of 6.83 and his ERA has risen from a season-best 2.83, to 4.15 after today’s start. The biggest issue it seemed with Perez was giving up walks. Over those six starts, 28 runs have been scored, 22 earned, on 35 hits and 15 walks! Today, his first, and only, walk came in the second inning after he was ahead in the count 0-2. That walk came back to hurt Perez after two two-out hits tied the game at two. After that second inning, it was looking like Perez was again going to have a rough outing, and maybe time for him to take a break. That inning was enough for Perez as he settled in and sent down 16 straight Rays’ batters to complete seven innings and finish his day. Perez looked very locked in today and was able to see that his fastball wasn’t working and incorporated his cutter and change-up a lot more to get the job done. All-Star Game Because of the rain delay and 18 inning game, Jorge Polanco figured out mid-game that he would be the starting shortstop for AL in this year's All-Star Game. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1144397880930660352 Bullpen Usage Click here for a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days. View full article

For the first time this season the Twins win on a walk-off hit from (who else?) Max Kepler. It was the longest game of the season for both teams tonight and both bullpens were lights out, but one had to blow it. Kepler also hit a game-tying single in the eighth inning and a game-tying homer in the 13th. Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports For the first time this season the Twins win on a walk-off hit from (who else?) Max Kepler. It was the longest game of the season for both teams tonight and both bullpens were lights out, but one had to blow it. Kepler also hit a game-tying single in the eighth inning and a game-tying homer in the 13th. Box Score Pineda: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 73.8% strikes (59 of 80 pitches) Bullpen: 11 IP, 12 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 12 K Home Runs: Max Kepler (18) Multi-Hit Games: Cron (2-5), Kepler (3-5 HR), Rosario (4-8, 3 2B), Schoop (2-7) WPA of +0.1: Kepler .847, Littell .288, Magill .288, Duffey .288, Rosario .263, Pineda .235, Rogers .144, Parker .144 WPA of -0.1: Harper -.129, Schoop -.161, Cave -.165, Cron -.228, Garver -.240, Morin -.289, Polanco -.294, Sano -.433 (chart via FanGraphs) Clutch Kepler After not being in the starting lineup, Kepler pitch-hit for Gonzalez in the sixth inning. He drew a walk in his first plate appearance, then came up clutch in the eighth with a two-out single to tie the game at 2-2. In the 13th inning, with the game on the line, Kepler led off the inning with a solo shot, again to tie the game. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1141202616346505216 Who better to get the first walk-off hit for the Twins than the guy who tied the game twice earlier. With one out in the 17th inning, and bases loaded, Kepler delivered for the Twins to keep the streak going without losing three games in a row. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1141223485781377025 Bullpens Dominate Both bullpens did an excellent job following the starters’ strong starts. David Price gave the Sox five innings and Michael Pineda gave the Twins six innings, and each allowed just one run. The bullpens came into work after that were very good through 12 innings. Ultimately, one of them was going to blow this game though. The Twins’ bullpen was the first one to surrender a run, and it came off a leadoff home run in the seventh. Trevor May, Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey, and Blake Parker were able to keep the game going into the 12th with six shutout innings giving up only four hits with seven strikeouts. The Sox bullpen had a little more work to do, but had the same results. They gave up the tying run in the eighth inning with a pair of walks and a two-out hit. They combined for seven innings giving up only five hits and striking out 11, but gave up four walks. Both bullpens surrendered a run in the 13th inning which kept the game going. Both runs came from a lead-off home run. For the Sox it was Mookie Betts, and for the Twins, it was Kepler. After the 14th inning, it was back to the stalemate. In the bottom of the 15th, Velazquez gave up a lead-off double, but C.J. Cron hit a hard line drive straight to first that ended in a double play when Eddie Rosario was caught drifting too far from second base. In the top of the 17th, Littell got out of a big jam with zero outs and a runner on third. Familiar Foe Pineda has faced the Red Sox 12 other times in his career and had a great outing tonight. In 12 games against the Sox, he is 5-5 and has a career 4.23 ERA and 1.2 WHIP in 66 innings. Pineda was with the Yankees for 11 of those starts and with Seattle for the other. Coming off probably his best start of the season, Pineda followed up Berrios’ gem last night with a solid outing of his own, and arguably his best outing of the season. He faced 22 batters and got 15 first-pitch strikes. He faced the minimum number of batters in the first three innings thanks to a double play in the first. He had two double plays turned behind him tonight. Unfortunately, the offenses failed to give these starters much aid and neither was able to pick up the win. Here’s a great article on how Pineda has been a huge upgrade as the Twins’ fifth starter. Postgame With Baldelli https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1141230489732206593 Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: View full article

A pitchers duel in tonight’s game kept the two best power hitting teams in the league quiet ... until the bullpens came in. Byron Buxton tied it to cap a late push and send the game into extra innings, but errors were too much for the Twins to overcome. Image courtesy of © David Berding-USA TODAY Sports A pitchers duel in tonight’s game kept the two best power hitting teams in the league quiet ... until the bullpens came in. Byron Buxton tied it to cap a late push and send the game into extra innings, but errors were too much for the Twins to overcome. Box Score Berrios: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 66.4% strikes (71 of 107 pitches) Bullpen: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K Home Runs: Gonzalez (8), Kepler (16), Buxton (9) Multi-Hit Games: Garver (2-for-4), Gonzalez (2-for-4, HR), Sano (2-for-4, 2B) WPA of +0.1: Buxton .351, Gonzalez .296, Berrios .208 WPA of -0.1: Polanco -.104, Rosario -.132, Kepler -.138, Cron -.152, Parker -.239, May -.241, Duffey -.455 (chart via FanGraphs) Errors Open the Game The Minnesota Twins were charged with five errors in tonight’s game, and all of them came in the final three innings. Four out of the five errors actually resulted in runs being scored. C.J. Cron was responsible for the first error in the eighth inning when he misjudged a ground ball that slipped by him into right field. One run was scored on that play, but it was followed by a three-run home run to put the Mariners up by five. The Twins’ late rally was overlooked after three more errors by the Twins’ defense in the 10th inning. The first one hurt the most as the Twins played the situation perfectly with runners on second and third and one out. Tyler Duffey was able to get Mallex Smith to ground right to Cron at first, but Mitch Garver tried to apply the tag at home before he had caught the ball allowing the go-ahead run to score. https://twitter.com/ROOTSPORTS_NW/status/1139016800249688064 The next one was probably a worse play by Sano, as he couldn’t field a ground ball to his left and came up blindly firing over to first and put the ball into the stands. Two more runs came around and just like that, the Twins were down three runs. Late Inning Push One of the best offenses in the league was held quiet through six innings. Not to worry Twins’ fans, the “Run Bunch” always comes alive at some point of the game, sometimes you just have to wait. It all started in the seventh inning when Marwin Gonzalez went deep to tie the game and save Jose Berrios from potentially picking up a loss. That was followed by another home run and a couple of hits against former Twins pitcher Tommy Milone in the eighth inning to keep it close. Miguel Sano got the ninth started with a single and Byron Buxton demolished a ball to tie the game and send it to extra innings. https://twitter.com/Twins/status/1139013306851762177 Pitcher Duel Berrios had a shaky start to tonight’s game as a Mariner runner reached third base in the first four innings. Berrios was able to work out of the jam in each of those innings to keep the runner from crossing the plate. He was able to strand six runners, with five of them being in scoring position. The Mariners were able to get only one run on Berrios with a solo shot by Vogelbach in the sixth on a hanging changeup. Berrios closed out tonight’s game barely over an ERA of three, sitting at 3.01, but unfortunately, picked up a no-decision with the Twins’ lineup nowhere to be seen in the first six innings. Berrios was also one pitch away from an immaculate inning in the fifth. Tommy Milone, former Twins pitcher from 2014-16, was able to keep the Twins’ offense quiet through six innings. He struggled late in his outing and ended up giving up three runs, and a start to the Twins’ push. His success came from getting ahead early and his changeup that Twins’ batters just couldn’t figure out. He struck out six batters using his changeup for the final strike in all of them. He also faced 22 batters and got 17 first pitch strikes. Postgame With Baldelli https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1139026557001801729 Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Game Thu vs. SEA, 12:10 pm CT (Pineda-Kikuchi) Last Game MIN 6, SEA 5: Comeback Victory Capped By Trevor May Save More from Twins Daily Do the Twins Have the Best Bottom of the Order Ever? Baseball and the Slow Death of Chewing Tobacco Why Miguel Sano's Strikeouts Are Not a Problem View full article

The Twins were able to use a late inning push to improve to 44-21 and retake their lead as baseball's best. The Twins score three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a one-run lead. Taylor Rogers was unavailable due to a stiff back, so it was Trevor May who was given the ninth tonight. He passed the test. Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports The Twins were able to use a late inning push to improve to 44-21 and retake their lead as baseball's best. The Twins score three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a one-run lead. Taylor Rogers was unavailable due to a stiff back, so it was Trevor May who was given the ninth tonight. He passed the test. Box Score Perez: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 62.1% strikes (59 of 95 pitches) Bullpen: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Home Runs: Schoop (12), Castro (8) Multi-Hit Games: Polanco (3-for-3, 2 2B) WPA of +0.1: Polanco .398, Gonzalez .190, Schoop .111 WPA of -0.1: Sano -.172, Perez -.205 (chart via FanGraphs) Twins Pounce on Bullpen See Twins fans, our bullpen isn’t the only one to blow leads late in the game. In fact, entering tonight, the Twins are tied for fifth fewest blown saves with only four. The Mariners, on the other hand, picked up their 12th blown save, which is tied for third-most in the league. Though the Twins don’t have that many blown saves, that doesn’t mean our bullpen isn’t bad. That was shown tonight when Trevor May almost gave Twins’ Twitter another reason to talk about how not getting Craig Kimbrel was a mistake. The ninth inning opened with a pair of singles, but May managed to protect the one-run lead. Rogers was unavailable due to a sore back. https://twitter.com/DanHayesMLB/status/1138654935992741888 The Twins were able to pick up their first lead of the game in the eighth inning with the first three batters getting on, which included back-to-back doubles to bring them within one, followed by a walk. Austin Adams came in, no not the Twins’ reliever, but the reliever for the Mariners, and tied the game up on a wild pitch which scored Jorge Polanco. Two batters later Marwin Gonzalez gave the Twins the lead with his first hit of the game. Leake Deals Prior to that late comeback, it was a bit of a frustrating evening for the Twins. Mike Leake was able to hold them to only three runs through seven innings. He got a lot of help from the Twins being very aggressive in the later innings, but nonetheless, had a very solid outing. He had 16 at-bats where he threw four or fewer pitches, including 10 at-bats that were two pitches or fewer. Leake gave up back-to-back home runs in the fourth, but settled in after that. Other than his two home runs, in his seven innings Leake gave up only four hits, zero runs, and struck out six. Perez Continues to Struggle This start by Martin Perez marks his third straight giving up more than two runs. Perez had a 7-2 record with a 3.72 ERA coming into this game, but it’s been rising for the past three outings and tonight didn’t help. Over the last three games, he had posted a 7.44 ERA and 2.15 WHIP. Perez’s struggles started right away with his first-pitch strikes. In the first three innings he was only able to get five first pitch strikes out of 13 batters. He was able to keep his struggles irrelevant in the first 2 2/3 innings, but with a two-out rally in the third, things went downhill. Perez was limited to just five innings in tonight’s game which makes it four straight starts where he has failed to go more than five innings. He was only able to throw a first pitch strike to 11 out of 24 batters he faced tonight. His ERA has risen a full run in his last four starts to bring it to 3.97, but thanks to a late inning push, he picked up a no-decision. Record-Breaking Powerhouse Every few games it feels like the Twins are breaking a new record whether it’s their own franchise record, or a MLB record. After their first home run of the game bringing them to 126 on the season, they had already set a new club record and MLB record. They passed their previous record of home runs before the All-Star game from 1964, with 24 games until the break, and set the MLB record for most home runs in their first 65 games of the season. They finished the night with 127 home runs. Postgame With Baldelli https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1138655178385571840 Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Game Wed vs. SEA, 7:10 pm CT (Berrios-Milone) Last Game MIN 12, DET 2: No Motown Blues for the Minnesota Twins More from Twins Daily Why Miguel Sano's Strikeouts Are Not a Problem 10 Relievers Minnesota Could Target Giving Opponents Ls in Fort Myers View full article

Rookie Luis Arraez broke the ice Tuesday night against the Angels. The Twins were being no-hit through four innings, but Arraez hit a leadoff single in the fifth. The Twins broke through for three runs in the sixth then four more in the seventh. Arraez also hit his first major league home run and made an excellent defensive play to end this game. Image courtesy of © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports Rookie Luis Arraez broke the ice Tuesday night against the Angels. The Twins were being no-hit through four innings, but Arraez hit a leadoff single in the fifth. The Twins broke through for three runs in the sixth then four more in the seventh. Arraez also hit his first major league home run and made an excellent defensive play to end this game. Box Score Pineda: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 63.0% strikes (51 of 81 pitches) Home Runs: Gonzalez (5), Arraez (1) Multi-Hit Games: Kepler (2-for-4, 2B, BB), Polanco (2-for-4, BB), Gonzalez (2-for-5, 2B, HR), Rosario (2-for-5), Arraez (2-for-4, HR) WPA of +0.1: Gonzalez .305, Polanco .285 WPA of -0.1: Schoop -.100 (chart via FanGraphs) The matchup for tonight’s game was Michael Pineda against Trevor Cahill as the Twins looked for their second straight win and to continue their hot road trip. Pineda Settles Michael Pineda had a rough start to the game, giving up a solo shot to Mike Trout in the first and a two out rally in the second as the Angels got off to a 3-0 lead. After a shaky start that included three hits, one walk and a wild pitch, he was able to send down 13 out of 14 batters to close out his night. It was very impressive to see Pineda be able to pitch six innings tonight after his first two innings. He recovered well and finished with 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks and was able to pick up a win thanks to some late game hitting. He improved to 4-3 but his ERA is still pretty high, sitting at 5.43. He’s been looking better of late and keep in mind, he’s coming off Tommy John surgery. Offense Comes Alive Late After being no-hit for the first four innings of the game, Arraez continued his hit-streak to start his career. He hit his first major league home run in the eighth inning and is now 7-for-12 in the major leagues. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1131059991127871488 Through five innings, the Twins had only three baserunners, two walks and one hit, but none of them had made it past first base.Then, the Twins exploded in the second half of the game to win their second straight and improve to 5-1 on this road trip. In the sixth inning they had three straight extra base hits on three straight pitches. It started with a double from Kepler that was very close to being a home run which ended Cahill’s night, exactly what the Twins needed. Polanco followed with a double of his own down the first base line to score the first run for the Twins. Marwin Gonzalez was able to tie the game on a home run to right field to extend his hit streak to 11 games and tying the game at 3-3. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1131046022405283840 The hitting continued into the seventh to put the Twins up for the first time tonight. A hit-by-pitch and a pair of singles, including another RBI for Polanco on a two-out single. Gonzalez extended the lead with a ground rule double for his third RBI of the night. Eddie Rosario kept it going with a weird play between the shift which scored two more runs in the seventh. Bullpen’s Work Matt Magill came in for the seventh and made quick work, striking out his first two batters, and after allowing a single, got La Stella to ground out to end the inning. Trevor May got the call for the eighth and after giving up a lead off walk, he got a fielder’s choice and a strikeout before handing the ball to Baldelli. Rogers came in, after pitching for the first time in six days last night, and retired his only batter on the first pitch to end the eighth. Mike Morin was given the ninth inning and gave up a couple of singles. There was no need to worry with the defense he had behind him. Buxton made one catch crashing into the wall, and another sprinting in for the first two outs, and Arraez made a diving stop at third to finish off the game The Twins won 8-3 and secured a series win in Anaheim. They improve to 32-16 with a 6.5 game lead in the American League Central. Postgame With Arraez https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1131074165757304836 Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Game Wed at LAA, 8:07 pm CT (Perez-Harvey) Last Game MIN 3, LAA 1: Pitching Great, Sano Homers Late More from Twins Daily The Artist Currently Known as Taylor Rogers Twins' Offense Having a Barrel of Fun Twins Minor League Report (5/21): Gonsalves Returns View full article