AJ Condon

Martin Perez, the bullpen, and the bats were hot tonight as the Minnesota Twins cruised through the Toronto Blue Jays in the series opener tonight. With the bats coming out right away in the first couple of innings, as well as some defensive errors, the Twins were able to scare Marcus Stroman out of the game before finishing five innings. After dropping a four-game series earlier in the season to the Blue Jays, the Twins got off to a hot start and Perez pitched a solid seven innings in a 8-0 win.Box Score Perez: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 64.7% strikes (66 of 102 pitches) Home Runs: Castro (4), Rosario (12), Polanco (6) Multi-Hit Games: Polanco (3-for-4, 2B, HR, BB), Cruz (3-for-5), Castro (2-for-3, HR), Schoop (2-for-4, 2 2B) WPA of +0.1: Perez .216, Castro .153 WPA of -0.1: None Download attachment: Win56.png (chart via FanGraphs) In the first inning, the Twins were able to score an early run with back-to-back hits, an error on an attempted pickoff, and a Rosario RBI. Jason Castro was able to continue his strong hitting performance with a two-run home run in the next inning to extend the lead to 3-0. Perez was able to retire his first six batters with two strikeouts. In the top of the fourth, Castro was able to pick up his third RBI of the game on a sacrifice to second that scored Marwin Gonzalez after a Jonathan Schoop double. Byron Buxton was able to follow that up with his MLB-leading 15th double of the season to extend the lead to 5-0. Perez finally gave up his first hit of the game in the bottom of the fourth, and after a walk found himself in a little pickle with one out. Perez was able to get Vlad Guerroro Jr. to ground to third, and Gonzalez was able to make a nice throw across the diamond to complete the double play and get out of the inning. Rosario was able to end a 2-for-30 stretch, with no home runs, with a solo home run in the fifth and to take back his American League lead in home runs with 12. After the sixth inning, Perez had given up only two hits and eight strikeouts with a shutout. Polanco was able to pick up his second hit of the game with a solo shot in the seventh to make it 7-0. Perez ended his night in a 1-2-3 fashion in the bottom of the seventh, striking out one to bring his total on the game to nine. His final stat line was seven shutout innings, two hits, two walks and nine strikeouts as he improved to 5-0 on the year with a 2.83 ERA. Ryne Harper came in for the eighth and continued the good pitching day with a 1-2-3 inning of his own which included one strikeout. The Twins added an insurance run in the top of the ninth to extend the lead to 8-0 with Eddie Rosario’s third RBI of the game. Matt Magill got the ninth inning for the Twins and gave up just one hit as he closed up the ninth and held the shutout for the Twins. With this win, the Twins move to 21-12 on the season Jose Berrios (5-1, 2.91 ERA) is set to start tomorrow’s game. He'll look to continue his dominance and secure a series win in Toronto. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen56.png Next Three Games Tue at TOR, 6:07 pm CT (Berrios-Sanchez) Wed at TOR, 6:07 pm CT (Gibson-Thornton) Thu OFF Fri vs. DET, 7:10 pm CT (TBD) Last Game NYY 4, MIN 1: Twins Fizzle, Bronx Drizzles Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins were able to win their first game in Yankee Stadium for the first time since 2017 this weekend but dropped the series two games to one. Even though the Twins were only able to win one game this series, I am still happy about how it turned out. The starting pitching was still pretty good this series, though a few errors allowed some unearned runs that could've been the reason for the loss. The Twins also faced some very good pitching this weekend and struggled to get hits in their two losses. Jorge Polanco and Nelson Cruz had quieter weekends, though Cruz did homer twice, both their averages dropped. Byron Buxton was able to rejoin the lead in doubles this year, and Eddie Rosario went 2-9 in two games this series. Game 1 Kyle Gibson got the start for the series opener against the Yankees on Friday and picked up his first loss of the season. With errors coming from Buxton and C.J. Cron, both players who have been very good for the Twins defensively this season, Gibson allowed five runs but only two of them were earned. He finished with five innings, seven hits, two walks and five strikeouts to move to 2-1 with a 4.68 ERA. James Paxton was the starter for the Yankees but only threw three innings for them. He gave up one unearned run on two hits and three walks with 64 pitches. Paxton was taken out of the game and placed on the 10-Day IL with pain in his left knee. Unfortunately, the Twins couldn't take advantage when Paxton was in the game with how wild he was. He only was able to find the strike zone on 50 percent of his pitches. The offense just didn't seem to be there today as the Twins were only able to put together four hits all game, with Cruz going yard for a 2-run homer in the eighth inning. The Twins ultimately lost game one 6-3. Game 2 This game is exactly what the Twins needed in this series, starting pitching was there, and the offense was right behind the pitching for a solid bounce back game two. Jake Odorizzi got the start and had his fourth solid start in a row. Odorizzi has really picked up his game this year after a rough 2018 season. He has just one bad start this season in his seven games and has now moved to 4-2 with a 2.78 ERA. He was able to throw for another shutout in six innings and only giving up two hits and striking out eight, he did give up four walks. Odorizzi has now pitched 35.2 innings and has only given up 11 runs and stuck out 38 batters! The only problem I still have with him is his walks. He definitely has his games only giving up 0-2 walks but when he gets to the 3-4 per game it can turn into a problem quickly. Luckily, he has been able to work through walks and not have it affect his game in the long run. The offense was back in game two as they combined for 12 hits with three of them being home runs. Mitch Garver added three of those hits and one of the home runs, and Jonathan Schoop and Buxton each added two of their own. Cron and Cruz were responsible for the other two home runs, giving Cruz home runs in back-to-back games and four in his last nine. Eddie Rosario was able to break an 0-23 slump with a leadoff single in the sixth inning. He was also able to pick up an RBI in the seventh on a fielders choice, but finished the day 1-for-5. A strong outing from Odorizzi combined with the hot offense, the Twins were able to take game two 7-3 and picked up their first win in Yankee Stadium since 2017 and set themselves up for a possible series win for the first time since 2013. Game 3 The series finale got off to a bad start the day before it even happened. The game was set for a 12:05 start time was was pushed back three hours due to weather conditions. It wasn't the prettiest game the Twins have played this year but it was the first that didn't even go to the ninth inning. The game was called in the bottom of the eighth with the Yankees on top 4-1 to give them the series win. Michael Pineda was given the series finale start against his former team and gave up four runs, three earned, on six hits and three walks. He was also able to pick up eight strikeouts in five innings of play. Pineda wasn't fully at fault for this loss as the Twins only put together four hits and left two guys on in scoring position in the eighth inning. Not much to talk about on the offensive side either in this one except Rosario was able to pick up another hit in the game, but is still sitting at a .223 average and hasn't homered in eight straight games. It was an all around crappy game with the weather, offense and starting pitching as the Twins lost the series finale and moved to 20-12. What's Next? The Twins get ready for a revenge series against the Toronto Blue Jays that starts tonight. This series is only three games but the Twins had no off days before or during the series. With the expected pitching matchups for this series, I really hope the Twins can put together a sweep and get back on a winning streak heading into division play against the Detroit Tigers after this.

He also had a double get robbed by Reddick in today's game

I don't think it is still possible for Minnesota Twins fans to still doubt the skill of this years team. The Twins just recently won three out of four games against the Houston Astors to improve to 19-10 on the season. The big take away from this series: pitching. The starting pitchers were feeling themselves this past series, minus Pineda, and the bullpen made work with their little time in the game. Besides the 11-0 loss in game two, this was some of the best pitching I've seen all year, and against a good Astros team. Game 1 The first game of the series was a pitching duel between Jake Odorizzi and Justin Verlander, but Odorizzi was the one who ended up on top between the two. Verlander pitched phenomenal but gave up a home run to Ehire Adrianza, who was the last Twin starter to hit a home run this season. It took only one mistake from Verlander as the Twins took a 1-0 win in game one. Odorizzi continues to deal this season improving to 3-2 on the season with a 3.34 ERA. He was able to go seven shutout innings while walking only one and giving up only four hits and striking out seven. Taylor Rogers was able to come in to throw a shutout inning with Blake Parker coming in in the ninth to pick up his sixth save. Game 2 Not much to talk about in this game as the Twins were blanketed 11-0. Pineda had a good start to the game, but in the fifth inning and sixth innings he fell apart. He finished with five innings pitched and five runs along with nine hits and moves to 2-2 with a 6.21 ERA.The offense was no where to be seen for the Twins as they had only three hits, with the first one coming in the seventh. Game 3 Here's where the excitement really got going. On the pitching side, we got to see Martin Perez who came into the game 3-0 with a 4.44 ERA, he improved both those categories in this game. Perez was dealing from start to finish, throwing eight shutout innings and almost went into the ninth before his pitch count rose to 100 and his night was over. He gave up only four hits in the game while striking out seven to move to 4-0 on the year with a 3.41 ERA. The offense also came to play today and it started with a bomb from Jonathan Schoop in the third. He drilled the ball to left field for a 465 foot home run, which was the longest by a Twin since 2017. Cruz put together a nice 2-hit game with two RBIs and a run to go behind that. Unfortunately, Trevor Hildenberger wasn't able to hold the shutout in the ninth as he gave up three hits and two runs. Ultimately the Twins were able to take game three 6-2, and made it so they were in a position to take this series from the Astros Game 4 Jose Berrios was the starter for the series finale and was able to pick up his fourth win of the season behind another strong performance with help from the offense. Berrios had a little rough start to the game giving up a home run in the first inning to Alex Bregman, and giving up back-to-back hits to lead off the third. After he was able to strike out the next batter, get a fly out and strike out the final batter to get out of the pickle and find his groove. Counting those three outs, he was able to retire 12 straight Astros until his final inning in the seventh. He finished with seven innings, two runs, seven hits and five strikeouts to improve to 4-1 with a 2.91 ERA. Ryne Harper and Trevor May were both able to throw one shutout inning to secure the win. The bottom of the lineup really came to play today getting seven hits from the bottom four guys. Jorge Polanco and Byron Buxton were able to both hit a triple today and Jason Castro had a double and a home run along with four RBIs. The Twins took the series finale 8-2 behind a strong fourth inning. Overall The pitching this series was very solid from both the starters and the bullpen, obviously minus game two, but picking up a 1-0 shutout against Verlander was huge, and winning the series three games to one shows that we don't just beat bad teams. Odorizzi and Perez have shown to be good second and third starters but Gibson and Pineda continue to struggle. Eddie Rosario continues to struggle at the plate as he went 0-14 this series and his average dropped to .223. Polanco continues to hit the ball and is leading the team with a .336 average, and Nelson Cruz is still hitting well with a .302 average. What's next? The Twins get right back into action tomorrow when they travel to face the New York Yankees for the first time this season. The Twins are coming into this series winning six out of their last seven, leading the AL, and having the second highest win percentage in the MLB. Hopefully they can keep their hot streak going during this next series.

After a series loss to the Houston Astros, the Minnesota Twins were able to sweep the Baltimore Orioles in another 3-game series with hot bats and solid pitching all around. The Twins were finally able to get an off day after playing 12 straight games before they faced the Orioles for the second, and final time of the season. The Twins just a week prior, and were able to sweep them in a 3-game series after dropping the series against the Toronto Blue Jays. They were able to walk right through the Orioles again and move to 16-9 on the season. The bats continued to stay hot and the pitching really picked up in this series from both the starters and relievers. It started off with Martin Perez on Friday throwing six solid innings while only giving up one run on six hits and striking out four. The bullpen combined for three shutout innings with four strikeouts and only two hits to secure Perez's third win of the season. Just like the last time the Twins played the Orioles, the bats were rolling for the good guys. The Twins got right to work in the first inning, going back-to-back-to-back home runs from Nelson Cruz, Eddie Rosario (of course), and C.J. Cron. Max Kepler was able to add a home run later in the game, and Cruz hit his second of the game to extend the lead to 6-0. The Orioles were able to score one, but the Twins got the win 6-1 in the first game of the series. Jose Berrios was given the start in game two and went straight to work. He dealt six innings and struck out eight, but did give up eight hits which only led to two runs. The bullpen, again, came in and threw three shutout innings, this time striking out six and only giving up one hit. Berrios was able to move to 4-1 and continues to be the ace that the Twins needed. As you can probably guess, more home runs were hit by the good guys in this game as well. This time it was Kepler who picked up the multi-home run game as he homered in back-to-back games. Cron, Marwin Gonzalez, and Jason Castro were all able to go yard in last night's game propelling the Twins to a 9-2 victory. In the series finale, Kyle Gibson was lined up to close out the Orioles, and he did exactly that. He was able to pick up his second win of the season, both of them coming against the Orioles, with a very solid outing. He went seven innings and gave up just three hits and one run while striking out six. Gibson has now gone back-to-back starts without issuing a walk and the lone run was a home run from Chris Davis in the seventh. The runs weren't flowing as much this game, but Kepler, yes again, hit a home run as well as Byron Buxton getting his first of the season. The bullpen came in and did their job in two shutout innings as Blake Parker was able to pick up his fifth save of the year as the Twins got their brooms out in a 4-1 win to sweep the Orioles again. Offense Rosario was able to extend his team high in home runs this series getting his 11th of the season. Max Kepler hit four home runs this series and now has seven on the season. Jorge Polanco was a little cold this series (2-13) but is still batting .337. The teams OPS is still very high sitting at .847 Pitching Twins starters have now gone at least five innings in 14 of the last 15 starts which has been very helpful for the bullpen with how many games they've had/ still have with little rest. The bullpen threw a combined eight shutout innings throughout this series and the starting pitchers only gave up four runs in 19 innings. What's next? The Twins stay at home for a 4-game series with the Astros, who are finishing up a series with the Cleveland Indians tonight. Hopefully this series can go better for the Twins, and they can keep up the pitching and hitting. They then travel to New York to face the Yankees for the first time this season in a 3-game series.

I also was a little disappointed with how we handled game three. Yes some guys deserved an off day but it really did feel like we just gave it to them. If we were able to get more offense, they might've changed up how late Stewart stayed/ who came out of the bullpen. Unfortunately, Verlander pitched eight innings, and we needed to see what Romero could do for us. We've had a problem all year in the bullpen, so we have to keep trying out new guys to see who is going to work. I hope when the Astros come here, we treat all the games the same, and that is to win.

The Minnesota Twins were able to respond well after a series loss to the Blue Jays with a 3-game sweep against the Orioles, but were only able to grab one game against one of the league's top teams, the Houston Astros. Going into this series, all I wanted from the Twins was to win one out of the three games this series, and I knew it wasn't going to be the third game when I saw the pitching matchups: TBD vs Justin Verlander. That meant they needed to take one of the first two, and they did exactly that. Jake Odorizzi was able to pick up his second win of the season, and second straight, in a 9-5 win on Monday. Odorizzi dealt 5.2 innings, giving up only two runs on eight hits and no walks. He moved to 2-2 with a 4.37 ERA in five appearances on the season. Unfortunately, the bullpen wasn't too clean in their relief. Ryne Harper came in for the seventh inning, but gave up a 3-run bomb to Carlos Correa. Adalberto Mejia and Blake Parker were both able to come in and throw shutout innings to close the game off. Polanco was able to have himself a night going 4-5 with four RBIs, including one home run. The Twins racked up 12 hits plus two runs late to help seal the win and take the first game of the series, which was also the first game the Astros have lost at home this year. The next two games of the series got out of hand, lacked offensive, and included struggles from both the starting pitchers and the bullpen. They allowed 17 runs total while only scoring five. The Twins got up 3-0 early in the first game thanks to another Eddie Rosario 3-run home run in the top of the first, but could only manage to score one more run the entire game. Michael Pineda was the starter for this game and went 5.1 innings but gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks. He, luckily, didn't pick up a loss because the Twins were able to tie the game seventh. The tie didn't last long as the bullpen wasn't able to keep the game close. Again in the seventh, the Twins bullpen gave up runs, this time only being two but coming from Trevor Hildenberger and thanks to a couple errors, four runs were scored in the eighth against Tyler Duffey. The twins ultimately lost game two 10-4. We saw two of our relievers surrender their first runs of the year. Harper gave up three runs in game one and Hildenberger give up two runs in game two. The bullpen was again pretty unreliable in these first two games, but probably wasn't the only reason for the loss in game two. The series finale was tonight and Verlander continued to hurt the Twins, pitching eight innings, striking out eight and only giving up four hits and one run. The one run was a home run off the hot hand of Polanco, but was the sole run for the Twins tonight. Before the game, the Twins made some roster moves to get a starter for tonight and another reliever. The two guys brought up, Kohl Stewart and Fernando Romero were the only two pitchers the Twins had to send out tonight. Stewart dealt six innings, but gave up five runs on eight hits and three walks, and Romero finished the game with two innings and two runs. With this transaction, they sent down Tyler Duffey and Jake Cave. I am actually content with how the Twins played this series finale. They've had to play 12 games in just as many days and were playing against the Astros ace. The Twins were able to give some guys the night off in the field and in the bullpen. Byron Buxton, Mitch Garver, and Jonathan Schoop were all given the night off as well as the whole bullpen, besides Romero who we just called up. Like I said at the beginning, going into the series, I wanted one win out of this series and I got that. However, I would've liked to see a better performance from the pitchers. The Twins face the Orioles again, but this time at home in what hopefully is another bounce back series both for the offense and pitchers. After this series the Twins moved to 13-9 but still have a half game lead on the Cleveland Indians for the lead in the A.L. Central. The Twins busy schedule isn't even close to over after they get one off day tomorrow, they play 13 straight days with seven being home and six being on the road.

After a disappointing series loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Minnesota Twins swept the Baltimore Orioles three games to zero in two days. The Twins had played six games in a row coming into this series, and were supposed to play three straight, but due to the weather in Baltimore on Friday, the game got postponed, giving the Twins a much needed rest. The rest proved to be exactly what the Twins needed as they came out for the doubleheader and hit 11 home runs. Jose Berrios and Martin Perez both gave six innings before the bullpen came in to finish the game. In the early game, the Twins were able to strike first putting up two runs in the second thanks to back-to-back home runs for Rosario and Astudillo. The orioles answered the next inning, taking the lead 3-2 on two home runs. Rosario kept his power hitting by sending another ball out of the ballpark to tie the game at three and giving him his second home run of the day, and if you thought he was done, you are wrong. A HBP and a couple of hits in the sixth helped extend the lead to 6-3 and that would be all the Twins needed as they won 6-5. Berrios was able to get the win and move to 3-1 on the year while pitching six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out five. Trevor Hildenberger came in and gave up two hits in only one inning but didn't allow a run. Rogers picked up his second save of the year while giving up three hits, one walk in two innings and striking out five of his six outs. It seemed as though the first game had just ended by the time the second game of the doubleheader kicked off. After the Twins ripped three home runs in the first game, they continued their power right away in the second game. Nelson Cruz and C.J. Cron were the two responsible for getting in going in the first by each hitting a home run as the Twins went up 3-0. The home runs started to come again in the third when Rosario blasted his third home run of the game and fifth in the last three games. After a few other hits, including a Buxton RBI double, Mitch Garver got into the home run spirit and hit a 3-run home run to extend the lead to 10-0 in the top of the third. To make things better, Jonathan Schoop was able to add to the home run total also hitting a 3-run bomb in the fourth against his former team to extend the league again to 13-0. The Orioles weren't just going to watch the Twins hit bombs all day, as they finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth with a 2-run shot. Going into the top of the eighth, not much had happened except another 2-run home run for the Orioles to make it 13-4, but apparently that was too close of a game for the Twins. Garver and Cruz both hit their second home run of the game to make in 15-4. The game was so bad that Chris Davis made his second career pitching appearance for the Orioles in the final inning of the doubleheader. Davis actually has a win under his belt as a pitcher from 2012 when he pitched two innings and gave up no runs. He started out the inning getting Jake Cave to ground out, but bringing Schoop to the plate. Schoop was now facing an ex teammate he used to throw to to get an out, and what better way to say hi then by hitting your second home run of the game and extending the game to 16-7. Martin Perez was able to pick up the win improving to 2-0 on the season giving up six hits, one walk and four runs in six innings and striking out two. Fernando Romero made his first appearance of the season, but only pitched two innings. His pitch count was only at 24, but three runs on four hits. Tyler Duffey came in to close out the game pitching just one inning and not allowing a run. The Twins had already won the series in just one day while playing two games combining for 22 runs on 11 home runs. They also tied their franchise record of home runs in a game with eight. They were then ready to close out the series this morning with Kyle Gibson on the mound. This game was definitely a lot closer and the ball stayed in the park the whole time! The Twins started right where they left off last night scoring two runs in the top of the first to get out to an early 2-0 lead. Gibson pitched well through almost three innings but gave up two 2-out hits which allowed the Orioles to score two runs to put them down 2-3. He was able to settle back in and was able to work through six innings while only giving up those two runs. The Twins were up 4-2 after Gibson exited the game when both Trevors were able to give them shutout innings to set up Rogers for the save. Rogers made it interesting as he found himself in a tight situation after giving up one run, the bases loaded on two outs. He got down right away with a 3-0 count, but thanks to a nice frame by Astudillo for a strike, he got Severino to fly out ending the game and completing the three game sweep. Gibson picked up his first win moving to 1-0 and Rogers picked up his third save. This was a huge series for the Twins after dropping their last one to the Blue Jays. They moved to 12-7 on the season, and have a half game lead on the Indians in the Central. The starting pitchers all were able to go deep into their games, and the bullpen was able to hold the game (mostly). The bats were able to get going throughout this whole series as we saw Rosario continue to power through the ball and leading the team with nine home runs. The Twins get right back into action tomorrow when they travel to Houston to face the Astros in a three game series.

With how they've been playing so far this year, I expect that the attendance will pick up once the weather gets better. It is disappointing seeing no one attending the games when were above .500 on the season

Rough series but it's early in the season. We aren't going to win every ballgame, I just hope we don't have to look back at a series like this wishing we got 2 more wins because we missed the playoff or division by that much. Hopefully they can turn it around these next three series vs Orioles (twice) and Astors.

I agree and I think Kimbrell would be a good addition to our bullpen, but what frustrates me is that the starting pitchers can't go deep into games. They have a good start but then have one inning where they fall apart. We have a few solid guys in the bullpen who have proved consistent so far, but we also have pitchers like Mejia who still worry me when they go out in a 2-3 run ballgame later in the game. I still have hope that they will turn it around and the offense can start producing some more.

At the beginning of the season my money was on Cleveland too, but the Twins have shown that they are right up there for the running in the AL Central. Still have them at 87- 75 getting a wild card spot but I could definitely see them taking the division if no one runs away with it.

Another starting pitcher fails to have a quality start, combined with not much offense leads to the Minnesota Twins dropping the series finale to the Toronto Blue Jays. This time it was Michael Pineda getting the start for the Twins on the mound. He was coming into the game with a 2-0 record with 15 innings pitched in three outings. He pitched well in his first three outings giving up 13 hits and five runs while striking out 15 batters. Today was a different story for Pineda. He started off the game getting two ground ball outs but gave up a two out home run to Grichuk. The Twins were able to answer this when they put together a nice three-run bottom of the second that started with an Eddie Rosario home run. Pineda pitched well in the second and third inning but things got ugly quick in the fourth. After Grichuk singled, Smoak drove a ball to deep right to tie the game at 3. The inning wasn't over yet and Pineda found himself in a tight situation with the bases loaded and only one out. He was able to get Jansen to fly out to shallow center, holding all the runners but then gave up a bases clearing double to Sogard which drove Pineda out of the game. Pineda only put together 3.2 innings while giving up six runs on seven hits. This meant the Twins had to look towards their bullpen a bit earlier than they probably wanted to. Ryne Harper was called upon first to end the fourth inning, which he did, and then proceeded to throw three more shutout innings in a great outing. Duffey came in for the eight inning with the game at 6-3 and struck out the first two batters, but Hernandez took a fastball high and deep into left field to extend their lead to four runs. Rosario was able to answer that with his second home run of the game, but it wasn't enough as the Jays held on through the late innings to win 7-4 and take the series three games to one. Trevor May also came in to pitch the ninth and gave up no hits while striking out one guy. Unlike our recent losses, this one falls on the starting pitcher. Pineda got behind in the count on two different at-bats 2-0 with one leading to a homerun and the other was the bases clearing double. The bullpen came in and gave us a solid 5.1 innings, minus the bomb, but with the offense continuing to struggle, there was no hope for the Twins. They obviously had a great second inning, but the top three batters, Kepler, Polanco, and Cruz, went a combined 0-12 with two walks and three strikeouts. It's hard to be mad at Polanco the way he's been hitting, but Kepler's average has now dropped to .242 and Cruz is hitting .278 with four extra base hits. Rosario drove up his homerun total to six on the year, and Astudillo was able to break a 2-24 slump by getting hits in his first two plate appearances. There wasn't many positives to take away from this game as the Twins dropped to 9-7 on the season. They continue their play tomorrow in Baltimore when they face the Orioles for a three game series and look to fix things from this previous series.

The Minnesota Twins dropped to 8-6 on the season and lose another close game due to a starting pitcher not being able to finish his start, and the bullpen continuing to be shaky. Jorge Polanco was able to get the game going by hitting a solo shot in the third inning and has his average sitting at .415. The Twins hit a total of three home runs tonight with Eddie Rosario adding a 3-run shot in the sixth (another time the Twins answer after allowing runs in the half inning before) and Marwin Gonzalez opening up the ninth with a solo shot to get it within one. It was great seeing the power in the lineup tonight, but besides the homeruns, we only had one other extra base hit and it didn't even matter because C.J. Cron was thrown out at home to end the game on it. On that call to send him, it's tricky to tell if that was the right call. If you ask me, I like it and here's why: First off, I like that the Twins are being aggressive on the base paths. Obviously, Cron is one of the only players currently on the roster that probably gets thrown out there (Cruz being the other) but being aggressive on the base paths will be the reason we win games this year instead of losing them. Also, I know Kepler was on a hitting streak going into the game and it might've been extended while giving the Twins a win, honestly, I don't want the game in his hands. Even with his hit streak, he's only batting .259 on the season. Also, something I didn't notice right away, Byron Buxton ended up on third base on that play. The guy is freakishly fast, and even though the game ended, what heads up baseball that was to get there. However, the game shouldn't have come down to that in the first place because, unfortunately, the bats weren't enough tonight with how our pitchers performed. Kyle Gibson was the starter for this game and pitched a solid five innings, but apparently, that seems to be his max. Through five innings, Gibson had only given up one hit and two walks. This, however, was his third start of the season, but was only the first time making it farther than 4.2 innings. He ended up finishing with 5.1 innings with 4 earned runs, but didn't get the loss. Ryne Harper tried to come in and finish off the fifth but ended up allowing two hits, which fell onto Gibson for ER. Trevor May came in for the next inning and struggled as well giving up two ER on one hit and two walks in .2 of an inning. Trevor Hildenberger came in to try and finish the seventh but gave up one hit to score the sixth run, but was able to get out of the inning on poor base running by the Jays. Tyler Duffey then came in to make his season debut and pitched two shutout innings with one hit and one walk. Pitching hasn't been a small issue, either. Our starting rotation has hurt our bullpen this year. Jose Berrios has been our only consistent starter who can go more than six innings and not blow it at the end of his start. Jake Odorizzi has started three games and has only pitched 11.1 innings, Gibson in his three starts has 14.2 innings, and Pineda (who has an excuse) has 15 innings in three starts. Berrios, in four starts, has 27.1 innings. Especially with how heavy our schedule is right now, we need to rely on our starters to give us a quality six innings through this long stretch. The Twins have dropped the first two games in this series when both games were winnable and move to 8-6 with two games left in the series. I'd hope that they can turn this around and tie this series before going on the road to face the Orioles. This is my first blog about the Twins, but I will try and write as often as I can. Let me know what you think and I hope you continue reading!