Sherry Cerny

The Twins have been struggling with runners in scoring position lately, and Bailey Ober didn't have his best stuff in this outing, but the team pulled out a win and Carlos Correa stepped in big time to help give the Twins a victory over the Padres. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Bailey Ober 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (96 pitches, 66 strikes (69.0%) Home Runs: Kyle Farmer (2), Top 3 WPA: Carlos Correa (.259), Joey Gallo (.183), Kyle Farmer (.165), Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) On the very first pitch of the game, Bailey Ober gave up a home run to Fernando Tatis Jr. giving the Padres the first run of the game. Ober ran up his pitches and found himself in some jams but still only gave up three earned runs. In his six innings, Ober allowed a couple of doubles and two home runs that gave the Padres the lead, but the defense was there to help manage the damage. Nick Gordon had the play of the game helping Ober get out of another jam in the fifth inning, flying into center field to catch a ball off Manny Machado to end the inning. “A pair is overrated,” said Justin Morneau in the booth - but not when it comes to the Twins offense in the second inning with a pair of singles from Alex Kirilloff and Jorge Polanco against the Padres Yu Darvish. With the bases loaded and one out, Darvish walked Joey Gallo to bring home Kirilloff and tie the game. The Twins had bases loaded for four straight hitters and only brought in one run, with Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers both striking out. Emilio Pagan was the first pitcher out of the bullpen and seems to be coming out of his 2022 slump these past few weeks. Pagan struck out his first batter with four pitches and had a scoreless seventh inning, making it look seamless and easy. Brock Stewart had a rough eighth inning. He threw just 10 strikes, loaded up the bases with two walks and a hit batter. Thanks to great defense from Michael A. Taylor, who robbed the Padres of two fly balls, and a big strikeout, Stewart was able to get out of the inning with no runs. Kyle Farmer returned to the line-up on Wednesday, after taking a fast ball to the face a month ago. On Thursday, the inevitable happened... he was hit by a pitch for the first time since the injury. Farmer didn’t flinch. He just took first base. After nearly missing a home run the previous night, Farmer caught a hanging breaking ball over the plate and hit his second home run of the year to tie up the game. The Twins took advantage of the Padres bullpen, scoring three runs in the seventh inning to pull ahead. Padres pitcher Brent Honeywell Jr. loaded up the bases and Kepler hit a groundball to short that wasn’t executed quickly enough for a double play to end the inning. Instead Gallo scored when Kepler beat the throw do first base (despite a cramp that caused him to slow down as he approached the base and then leave the game). Why stop there? After Gallo was brought home, Carlos Correa stepped up to the plate and hit a line drive double down the third base line to bring home Ryan Jeffers and Michael A. Taylor (who replaced Kepler) gave the Twins a 5-3 lead. Jorge Lopez came in for the ninth inning and had a 1-2-3 inning. He struck out Nelson Cruz - who came in to pinch hit with two outs - to give the Twins a game and series win over one of the best National League teams. What’s Next? The Twins welcome the Cubs to Target Field for the first time since 2021 for more interleague play! Game 1 - Thursday – 7:10 pm CDT – RHP Sonny Gray (4-0, 1.35 ERA) v. LHP Drew Smyly (3-1, 3.05 ERA) Game 2 - Friday – 2:10 pm CDT - RHP Joe Ryan (5-1, 2.45 ERA) v. RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-1, 3.93 ERA) Game 3 - Saturday – 2:10 pm CDT - Louie Varland (0-0, 4.32 ERA) v. RHP Marcus Stroman (2-3, 2.28 ERA) Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SUN MON TUE WED THU TOT Pagán 12 0 24 0 12 48 Stewart 11 0 0 9 25 45 Jax 0 0 18 17 0 35 Lopez 0 0 0 17 15 32 Alcala 0 0 23 0 0 23 Durán 0 0 0 17 0 17 Morán 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rodriguez 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Can the Twins establish themselves as the team to beat in the AL Central? Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski USA Today For the first time this season, the Twins and the Guardians will face off in a match that can determine early bragging rights for the AL Central.. The Twins are out-pitching (3.42 ERA vs 3.99 ERA) and out-hitting (4.53 R/G vs 3.77 R/G) the Guardians, but that doesn't mean that the Guardians can't contend for that first-place spot. This series could potentially set the tone for the further match ups this season between the two clubs. Weather Factor: The weather in Cleveland doesn’t look overly friendly, but the temperature will be in the high 50’s / low 60’s making it at least tolerable during the day, but chilly in the evenings. Pitching Probables Game 1 – Friday, May 5th, 2023 – 6:10pm CDT – To start the series, the Twins bring right-hander Bailey Ober (1-0, 1.59ERA) to the mound. Ober’s first outing, against the Nationals, resulted in his first win of the season before being optioned back down to St. Paul Triple-A. Just as quickly, he was brought back up when Kenta Maeda was sent back to the IL for a right triceps strain. In his second game against the Royals, Ober allowed only one run in his 5.2 innings pitched, but the Twins bullpen blew a late lead. Ober has shown excellent command throughout his career, but less so in his first two starts. As long as his walks are under control and the offense gives him support, Ober has the potential to provide a solid foundation for a win. The Guardians will send 25-year-old rookie Peyton Battenfield (10-2, 4.67 ERA) to the hill. The same trade deadline in which the Rays traded Joe Ryan to the Twins, they traded Battenfield to Cleveland, but he hasn't had the early success that Ryan had. He spent last year in AAA (3.92 ERA, 153.2 IP, 109K) and he has filled into the rotation while Aaron Civale recovers from an oblique injury. In his three starts, he's lasted five innings only once, versus Detroit. Game 2 – Saturday, May 6th, 2023 – 5:10 pm CDT - Veteran and AL ERA leader Sonny Gray (4-0, 0.77ERA) will start game two for the Twins. Gray continues to dominate, closing out the month of April with a record against the Royals, being the first pitcher ever to go 9-0 in nine consecutive starts against them. He also tied Ervin Santana for the lowest opening-month ERA for Twins starting pitchers. Gray has been perfecting his pitching arsenal, carrying six pitches and specifically improving his cutter, making him exceptionally effective this season. Rookie Logan Allen (1-1, 2.45ERA) is a left-handed pitcher drafted in 2020 by the Guardians in round two as the 56th pick overall and has moved quickly through the system, making his MLB debut this season with the Guardians. Allen's advantage in this match is that none of the Twins have seen him on the mound. He’s also posted impressive numbers so far with 16K and only three walks in 11 innings.. So far, against righties and lefties, Allen is evenly split, but expect the Twins to beef up their lineup with plenty of right-handed bats. Game 3 - Sunday, May 7th, 2023 – 12:40pm CDT - Joe Ryan (5-0, 2.37ERA) returns to the mound after a scoreless six innings against the White Sox. Ryan's second month of the season is starting as well as the first. Ryan has excellent command with low walks (4.2%) and high strikes (30.1%), and his swinging strike rate is 15.5%, one of the best in the league. In each of Ryan’s first four games this season, he gave up a home run. Cal Quantrill (1-2, 4.73ERA) faces off against the Twins lineup. Quantrill has a better record on the road (3.38 ERA, 1-0) than at home (8.64 ERA, 0-2), which is typical for the entire Guardians team. In his last start, Quantrill had a solid game against the Yankees (2 R over 7.1 IP) but did not factor into the decision. Quantrill has been inconsistent thus far this season, having two bad starts: at Seattle and at home versus Colorado. Quantrill struggles to strike out batters, with 17 strikeouts over 32.1 innings. If the Twins lineup can get to Quantrill early, they have the potential to control the game and give Ryan excellent run support. Prediction Time! What's your prediction for this series? Can the Twins dominate and establish themselves as the team to beat in the AL Central?? Let's go, Twins Territory! View full article

The Twins have not had a day off since April 18th and don't have a day off until Monday. If they are tired, you can’t tell. With more arms joining the bullpen, and the bats heating up, the Twins are on a roll. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson USA Today Box Score SP: Tyler Mahle 4.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (66 pitches, 44 strikes (66.0%) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (5), Carlos Correa (3) Top 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (.118), Tyler Mahle (.108), Trevor Larnach (.085) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Early Run Support Brings the Energy Tyler Mahle got some great run support to start the game, which he hasn’t had much of this season. In Mahle’s six games this season, he has allowed nine earned runs. In three of those games, the Twins offense simply couldn’t get anything started, getting no more than two runs. That was not the case on this night. The Twins offense started strong and showed no signs of slowing down. In the first inning, the Twins started with a couple of singles before Trevor Larnach singled to bring Carlos Correa home for the first run of the game. The Twins scored two more runs in the second inning, for a 3-0 lead over Zack Greinke. Is Buck Back? Since April 19th, Buxton has had a hit or run in all but one of his appearances. He started this game 0-for-2, but in the bottom of the fourth inning, Buck launched a 419 foot, three-run, home run off Zach Grienke’s 73 MPH breaking ball, breaking the lead open by five more runs. Carlos Correa, who has also been on a streak, hit a solo home run immediately following Buxton’s. The back-to-back bombs got the crowd going and gave Grienke a trip back to the dugout. The Twins have had five home runs in the last three games. Deep Threat Pitching Mahle only saw four innings before the Twins brought reliever Brock Stewart to the mound in the fifth. 31-year-old Stewart made his Twins debut after spending rehabbing in 2022 and the start of 2023 in St. Paul. Stewart was originally drafted by the Dodgers in 2014 in round six (189th over all). He elected into free agency in 2021 and was picked up on a minor-league contract with the Twins on July 14, 2022, and has been in the system ever since. He had a great return to the big leagues. He threw two scoreless innings. He gave up only a single and struck out three batters. A great start for the newly-minted Twin. In the eighth inning, it was announced that Mahle left the game because he was feeling some pain in his elbow. There was no further information and Mahle will be evaluated. Following the game, he noted that he didn't think he'd need to miss a start, but that obviously is yet to be determined. Jovani Moran and Johan Duran finished out the game with no further damage from the Royals, sealing the deal on the first win of the series. The Twins are 6-1 against AL Central teams. What’s Next? The Twins will continue with three more games in the Royals series at Target field with these pitching match-ups: Friday, April 28, 3:10pm CST: RHP Pablo Lopez (1-2, 3.00ERA) v. RHP Jordan Lyles (0-4, 4.88ERA) Saturday, April 29, 1:10pm CST: RHP Sonny Gray (3-0, .62 ERA) v. RHP Brad Keller (2-2, 3.96ERA) Sunday April 30, 1:10pm CST: RHP Joe Ryan (4-0, 3.24 ERA) v. RHP Brady Singer (102, 8.14ERA) Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Can the Twins get another series win versus the Royals? (They better.) Image courtesy of Image courtesy of © Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK The Twins just finished a series with the Yankees and head right into a homestand with Kansas City. The Twins finally took the season series for the first time in 22 seasons against the Yankees, bolstering the confidence they needed after a lousy series loss to the Nationals. They didn't sweep the Yankees, but they certainly showed their intention to play past the regular season. Fun Fact: Royals Salvador Perez has the most home runs of any visitor to Target Field, with 20. Weather Factor: Looking ahead, bundle up a bit because even if it makes it into the 50s, it will be partly cloudy. But don't let that stop you from joining Twins Daily at Friday's game! There are small threats of rain, but mainly an increase in temperature. Like the Twins bats, the weather is trending in the right direction. Pitching Probables Game 1 – Thursday, April 27th, 2023 – 6:40pm CDT – In the series' first game, the Twins will send Tyler Mahle (1-2, 3.32ERA) to the mound to face off against RHP Zach Grienke (0-4, 4.61ERA). The Royals had a rough 2022 season, and it doesn't look like this season will be any better. Grienke has offered them depth in their rotation, but he has not recorded a win yet. In his last outing against the Los Angeles Angels, he pitched five innings but recorded more earned runs (4) than strikeouts (2). Game 2 – Friday, April 28th, 2023 – 3:10pm CDT - In game two of the series, the Twins will send RHP Pablo Lopez (1-2, 3.00ERA) to the mound. Lopez had an off-game against the Nationals early last week, allowing five runs in four innings but still striking out six, in his first game after signing a four-year extension with the club. The Twins hope that Lopez signing the four-year extension gives the club an "Ace," He has shown that even in his tough innings, he can get out of jams. The Royals will start RHP Jordan Lyles (0-4, 4.88ERA), who has no wins on the season. Lyles has struggled this season, but in his appearance against the Twins this year on April 1st, he held them to two runs over 5 1/3 innings. Since then, he's allowed four or more runs in each appearance. Game 3 - Saturday, April 20th, 2023 – 1:10pm CDT - The Twins are sending RHP Sonny Gray (3-0, 0.62ERA) to the mound on one of the cloudy days, but Sonny doesn't let anything bring him down. Gray, who owns the best ERA in MLB, has been dominant this season. The last time he faced the Royals, he went five innings, and though he walked four, no runs scored, and he and the Twins bullpen shut out Kansas City. The Royals will start RHP Brad Keller (2-2, 3.96ERA). Keller is a 27-year-old right-hander who had a decent start to his career, posting a promising 3.50 ERA over his first three years in the majors. But he slipped to a 5.24 ERA over the last two years, and while his he ERA is 3.96 this year, he has failed to get past four innings in his last two starts, and had almost as many walk (19) as strikeouts (20). Game 4 - Sunday, April 20th, 2023 – 1:10pm CDT - To close out the series against the Royals, the Twins are sending RHP Joe Ryan (5-0, 2.81ERA) against RHP Brady Singer (2-2, 6.67 ERA). Ryan is putting up All-Star numbers and leads the American League in wins. Brady Singer had his best outing of the season against the Diamondbacks in his last start. Wanting to set the tone early, he only walked one batter, gave up one earned run, and struck out five. The Twins' offense can't let Singer's ERA fool them into thinking this is an easy win. Prediction Time! What's your prediction for this series? Can the Twins totally dominate and get another series sweep against the Royals? Will the bats stay hot? Let's go, Twins Territory! View full article

There has been a lot of movement between the Saints and the Twins in recent days. With Jorge Polanco completing his rehab assignment, he returned to the Twins. The Twins do have some depth, and some of that depth helped the Saints to a dramatic win on Friday night. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints TRANSACTIONS RHP Jorge Alcala and INF Edouard Julien (Twins Daily’s #5 prospect) were optioned to the Saints Twins Daily’s #6 prospect RHP Simeon Woods Richardson recalled by the Minnesota Twins INF Jorge Polanco has completed his Major League rehab and returned to the Minnesota Twins INF Tyler White placed on the Saints Development List OF Alex Kirilloff and RHP Josh Winder continue to rehab with St. Paul Saints Sentinel St. Paul 10, Scranton-Wilkes/Barre 9 (11 innings) Box Score Starting pitcher Dereck Rodriguez had a rough first inning. He gave up two home runs. In the second inning, two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases. RailRiders (and former Saints) catcher Jose Godoy scored their third run of the night. After he settled in, he had a third and fourth scoreless inning, managing the damage, allowing the Saints bats to go to work. In the second inning, the Saints offense gave the fans early fireworks. With the bases loaded, walks from Alex Kirilloff and Kyle Garlick gave the Saints two runs. Twins Daily’s #11 prospect Matt Wallner followed Garlick and drove a deep grand slam to put the Saints up 6-3. Wallner went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double and the home run. The Saints pitching staff made the decision to replace Rodriguez. In four innings, Rodriguez gave up three earned runs. The bullpen was not able to stifle the RailRiders bats and allowed three runs to tie up the game in the sixth inning. The Saints answered back immediately with an Andrew Stevenson home run to get back out in front. Trevor Megill came in to finish the game, but the RailRiders came back and tied up the game taking the Saints into extra innings. SWB scored to go ahead of the Saints in the 11th on a home run from Godoy scoring Rodolfo Duran to pull ahead of the Saints. The Saints continued to battle. They began the bottom of the 11th inning with Alex De Goti on second base. Edouard Julien coaxed a walk. Chris Williams grounded into a force-out, but with one out, the Saints got the big hit they were looking for. The Saints won in walk-off fashion on a three-run home run from Kyle Garlick to end the game! Quick Note: Shortstop Elliot Soto was hit in the face with a fastball early in the game and immediately replaced by De Goti. No update yet on Soto’s condition. However, he was in the Saints dugout at the end of the game and participated in the Saints on-field celebration. Presumably, that's good news. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 5, Tulsa 6 Box Score The game started out with a solo home run for both teams. Dodgers outfield prospect Jonny DeLuca led off the bottom of the first inning with a homer off of lefty Aaron Rozek. When the Wind Surge came to bat in the second, outfielder Armani Smith (minor-league Rule 5 pick in December) answered with his first homer in the Twins organization. The Surge offense struggled to get on the board after the one run in the second inning. A majority of the batters were connecting with the ball and getting on base, but being stranded at the end of each inning from a defensive play of Tulsa. Aaron Rozek made his second start of the season and tossed four innings. His third inning started with a homer from Josh Stowers, the second he allowed of the night, but didn’t allow any further runs in his appearance. The Surge defense showed up huge, giving the offense a chance to try and pull ahead. Jordan Brink struck out two batters in a scoreless fifth frame. Jose Bravo came on and was charged with three runs on two hits and three walks over 2 1/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Alex Scherff recorded the final two outs of the eighth inning. Jake Rucker hit his second home run of the season in the fifth inning, giving the Surge the nudge they needed to get back into the game. Tulsa tied the game in the eighth inning putting the Surge in a position to close out the game at the top of the ninth, but Tulsa managed to get one more run on the board to win the game. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 4 Box Score The highlight of this game was the first start of the season for Twins Daily’s #4 prospect Marco Raya. He went 2 2/3 innings and was charged with two runs on one hit. He walked three batters, hit one, and struck out four. Reports from a couple of people who were at the game in southern Wisconsin indicate that, despite the cold temperatures, Raya was consistently hitting 97 mph on the radar gun. Lefty John Wilson finished the third inning and also pitched a scoreless fourth frame. 19-year-old Alejandro Hidalgo came on to start the fifth inning. He was really good. He was charged with two unearned runs on five hits over his four innings. He struck out four batters without issuing a walk. Noah Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a triple. Kala’i Rosario had an RBI double. Willie Joe Garry hit a double and his first home run in the game, but it wasn’t enough and the Kernels fell to 5-6 on the young season. Mussels Matters Fort Myers 13, Jupiter 2 Box Score Andrew Cossetti continued to be the talk of the town. He extended his hitting streak to five games with a line-drive single to center in the bottom of the second. Coming into the game, he led the Florida State League in home runs (4), RBI (16), Slugging (.806) and OPS (1.280). This is the second start of the season for Mussels RHP Jose Olivares. In his first appearance, Olivares pitched five innings and only allowed one run. As one of the pitchers who led the 2022 FCL Twins in strikeouts (39), he seemed to struggle with the strike zone tonight early in the game. In the fourth inning, He gave up a run in the fourth inning on a triple followed by a wild pitch The Mussels tied the game at one in the bottom of the fourth inning. Danny DeAndrade and Cossetti drew walks. Then on a double-steal, the catcher threw the ball into left field which allowed a run to score. The Mussels bats came to life in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Mussels scored five runs. The first came on a Dylan Neuse single. Jorel Ortega doubled in two runs, and DeAndrade singled in two more runs. The Mussels continued to put on a show scoring another seven runs over the next two innings. Cossetti, who was the victim of walks twice, got his bat on a ball in the seventh and hit a sharp line-drive double to left and scored De Andrade. Rubel Cespedes followed with a two-run double. Michael Helman singled in a run, and the final two runs came on a Jorel Ortega double. 2022 draft pick Ben Ethridge closed it out with three strikeouts over two scoreless innings. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jose Olivares (Fort Myers) - 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K Hitter of the Day –Kyle Garlick (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, 2 R, BB, 2K, 4 RBI. (including walkoff homer) PROSPECT SUMMARY The Twins Prospect Tracker is the best way to see how each of the Twins top prospects performed during their games; but in case you wanted a quick look, Here is how each of the top 20 performed today: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-for-5, R, BB, 1K #4 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - 2.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. 51 pitches, 28 strikes. #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 0-4, 1R, 2 BB, 2 K #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 3-4, 1R, 1 BB, 1K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-5, R, 2 K, E #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, RBI, SB(1), K #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, 2 BB, K, CS SATURDAY SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS: Scranton @ St. Paul (2:07PM CST) - RHP Sean Boyle (1-1, 4.97) vs RHP Louie Varland (1-0, 1.80) Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05PM CST) - RHP Chad Donato (0-1, 27.00) vs. RHP Emmett Sheehan(1-1, 3.09) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (3:05PM CST) - RHP Orlando Rodriguez will make his first start of the season. Jupiter @ Fort Myers (5:00PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (2-0, 0.00) vs RHP Jacob Miller (0-0, 0.00) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday's games! View full article

On Tuesday night, the Twins begin a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox. Fenway is the home of several big name pitchers and hitters, and they have started the season 8-8. What can we expect from this series? Image courtesy of Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports A split with the Yankees was not the result the Twins were hoping for after winning the first two games of the four-game series, but the pitching looked solid, which made up for the lack of production from their bats. The Twins had a day off to rest, while Boston played their annual Patriots Day game in the morning against the Angels. The Twins lead the AL Central by one game, and can keep the lead provided the lineup can start scoring runs. Fun Fact: When David Ortiz left the Twins, he was simply “David Ortiz”. When he arrived in Boston, Red Sox announcer Jerry Remy started to call him “Big Papi” after the Hall of Famer started to rake in runs for the World Series team. Weather Factor: It is spring in New England, but there isn’t any rain in the forecast, just cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-50s. Pitching Probables Game 1 – Tuesday, April 18th, 2023 – 6:10pm CDT – For the first game of the series, the Twins are sending Sonny Gray (2-0, 0.53 ERA) to the mound to face Chris Sale (1-1, 11.25ERA), Boston's long-time number one starter. Boston is in somewhat of a rebuilding phase and (still) doesn't have any pitching that stands out as a significant threat, but Sale certainly represents their highest ceiling starter. He just hasn't pitched in more than nine games in a season since 2019. Gray has had an incredible start with his lowest ERA to start a season. Prior to an illness-shortened start last week, he allowed only one hit and a career-high 13 strikeouts against the Houston Astros. Starting the series against the lefty gives the Twins an opportunity to load their lineup with right-handed bats. Expect most of the left-handed hitters - Trevor Larnach, Max Kepler, Edouard Juilen and Nick Gordon - to be replaced by the likes of Kyle Garlick, Donovan Solano and maybe even Ryan Jeffers. Which lefty manager Rocco Baldelli puts into the lineup might suggest which one he has the most faith in right now. Game 2 – Wednesday, April 18th, 2023 – 6:10pm CDT - Twins Joe Ryan (3-0, 2.84 ERA) takes the mound opposite veteran Corey Kluber (0-3, 6.92) who is looking for his first win of the season. Kluber is a veteran pitcher with 12 years of experience with two Cy Young Awards under his belt. However, he hasn't been the ace that Twins fans remember since a series of injuries starting in 2019. This year, he has a 6.92 ERA over three starts, though he still has registered 13 strikeouts in 13 innings this season. His downfall has been allowing six walks and four home runs. Kluber has had the Twins number in the past. Byron Buxton has struck out six times in 11 AB, and it is 2-for-11 against Kluber. Carlos Correa is 4-for-22. Nobody on the team with at least 10 plate appearances has even a .200 batting average against him. If Kluber pulls out his old magic, the Twin's lineup could be in trouble. Ryan has been locked in this season, leading the Twins pitching staff with 26 strikeouts until he was passed by Pablo Lopez on Sunday. He also has the lowest WHIP (0.63) in the rotation and has only allowed six earned runs in his three starts. He’ll be asked to control Boston's two star hitters, Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo. Devers and Verdugo have secured 29 RBI for their team; the Twins have 58 RBI as a team. Game 3 - Thursday, April 20th, 2023 – 12:35pm CDT - The Twins have not announced a pitcher for Gate 3 against Boston, but it will likely be Kenta Maeda. Boston will send RHP Tanner Houck (2-0, 4.50 ERA) to the mound. Houck has two wins on the season but has struggled with his control, giving up seven walks in just 14 innings. Houck was a first-round draft pick (#24) in the 2017 draft and was a massive part of the Red Sox bullpen last season before his season ended with surgery on his back. He was thrown into the rotation due to injuries in the Red Sox rotation. Whether starting a game or in a reliever position, Houck has done a nice job. He has a career ERA of 3.39 as a starter and 2.68 as a reliever. Prediction Time! What's your prediction for this series? Can Twins rotation stave off the Boston offense of Devers and Verdugo? Lots of positives this week to look forward to; what are you most excited about? Let's go, Twins Territory! View full article

Joey Gallo played for the Saints. Wichita powered their way to a win. Cedar Rapids' comeback came up short. The Mighty Mussels got a great start. Several 2022 draft picks compiled firsts. There were some good starts, lots of homers and much more. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor leagues on Friday night. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Jorel Ortega), Ed Bailey (Travis Adams) TRANSACTIONS 1B/OF Joey Gallo was added to the Saints roster on major-league rehab assignment (right intercostal strain). RHP Cole Sands was optioned from Minnesota Twins to St. Paul Saints. RHP Louie Varland was recalled by the Minnesota Twins. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 2 Box Score Twins fans who watched the Saints got the opportunity to watch major leaguer Joey Gallo play during a rehab assignment. He batted second and played first base for the first seven innings. He went 1-for-3 with a double off the wall in his first at-bat. However, there was not much on-base action due to the impressive mound work by both teams. Aaron Sanchez started and almost inexplicably tossed five scoreless innings despite allowing six hits and three walks. He received a lot of help from his infield which turned three double plays behind him. Indianapolis shuffled quickly through their pitching staff, reaching into the bullpen early, but managed to keep the Saints bats quiet through seven innings. The Saints kept a steady rotation of players on base in the top of the eighth inning which started with two walks, and ended with three runs on the board. The first came when Chris Williams was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Andrew Stevenson added a two-run single. Just for good measure, the Saints added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning on a Mark Contreras double. The Saints pitching was outstanding. The bullpen was nearly flawless. Cody Laweryson tossed two scoreless innings, and Patrick Murphy pitched a scoreless eighth frame. Brock Stewart gave up two runs but recorded the final three outs to lock down a Saints win. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 7, NW Arkansas 4 Box Score With an ominous forecast which caused the Wind Surge to postpone their post-game fireworks show, the game started on time. In the bottom of the first, Yoyner Fajardo provided some fireworks with a lead off homer to give Wichita a 1-0 lead. It was a sign of things to come. Travis Adams made his second Double-A start on Friday night. He was unable to complete the first inning in his first start, but he was much better in start number two. He completed five innings and gave up two runs on two hits (both solo homers). He struck out seven batters without issuing a walk. The Surge put distance between themselves and the Naturals in the third inning. Two home runs from Jake Rucker and Yunior Severino with players on base, pushed the Surge ahead 5-1. Alex Isola added his second homer of the season in the fifth inning to give them a 7-2 lead. Right-hander Jose Bravo replaced Adams and gave up one run on two hits over 2 2/3 innings. Lefty Kody Funderburk came on and got a strikeout to end the eighth inning. He gave up a run in the ninth, but added two more strikeouts to finish the game. Fajardo went 2-for-5 with a double and a homer. DaShawn Keirsey went 2-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. Yunior Severino went 2-for-4 with a double and homer. Kernel Nuggets Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 6 Box Score The Quad City River Bandits scored a run in the first inning, but the Kernels answered in the second inning, tying up the game 1-1 where it stayed until both teams got busy in the fifth inning scoring three runs a piece, tying up the game again. Jordan Carr started the game on the mound and provided a solid four innings. He was charged with one run on four hits and a walk. He struck out four batters. Malik Barrington came in and allowed three earned runs to give the River Bandits the lead in the fifth inning. The lead did not last long. In the bottom of the inning, the Kernels answered in like with three runs of their own, to tie up the score. Emmanuel Rodriguez drove in one with a double. Ben Ross and Kala’i Rosario drove in the other runs. Unfortunately, in the top of the seventh, Matt Mullenbach gave up a two run homer to put the Kernels behind 7-5. John Stankiewicz got the final seven outs for Cedar Rapids. Ben Ross, Noah Cardenas and Willie Joe Garry each had two hits. Garry had a double. Mussels Matters Fort Myers 5, Clearwater 1 Box Score The Mussels started the game off with a bang. Jorel Ortega led off the first with his first professional home run on the second pitch of the game off Clearwater’s Alex McFarlane. The Mussels were aggressive on the base paths throughout the game. In the fourth inning, Mikey Perez, who led the organization with 48 stolen bases a year ago, was hit by a pitch, then stole second and third and scored when Dalton Shuffield hit a line-drive single to right field. Cory Lewis, the Twins ninth-round pick a year ago out of UC-Santa Barbara, made his second start of the season on Friday night. In his first start, he gave up four runs on six hits, two walks and a hit batter over 4 1/3 innings. He was much better in this game. He didn’t give up a hit until the fourth. Overall, he gave up one run on two hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out eight batters. The Mussels bats broke out with a three-run seventh inning. The scoring started with an Ortega line-drive single with the bases loaded which scored Maddux Houghton. That was followed by a walk by minor-league Rule 5 draft pick Yohander Martinez that scored Dalton Shuffield. Finally, Carlos Aguiar drove in Alec Sayre with a sacrifice fly. The Mussels now had a 5-1 lead going into the 7th inning stretch and maintained the lead to end the game. Hard-throwing Juan Mendez came on and gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings. Gabriel Yanez struck out the side in the eighth inning. He then struck out one more in a perfect ninth inning. Ortega, Martinez and Shuffield each had two hits in the game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Sanchez (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K Hitter of the Day – DaShawn Kiersey, Jr. (Wichita) - 2-for-3, 2 R, 1K, 2 SB. PROSPECT SUMMARY The Twins Prospect Tracker is the best way to see how each of the Twins top prospects performed during their games; but in case you wanted a quick look, Here is how each of the top 20 performed today: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - Did Not Play #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - Injured List #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, 2B(1), R, RBI, 3 K #4 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #5 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-3, K #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #7 - Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, RBI, SB (3) #9 - Louie Varland (Minnesota) - 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (3 HR) #10 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - Injured List #11 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-0 (defensive replacement in 9th) #12 - Yasser Mercedes (Extended Spring Training) - #13 - David Festa (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not play. #15 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - Injured List #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch. #17 - Ronny Henriquez (Minnesota) - Injured List #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, R, K #19 - Jose Rodriguez (Extended Spring Training) - #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Play. SATURDAY SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Indianapolis (5:35PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-1, 4.91) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (2:05PM CST) - LHP Aaron Rozek (first start) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (1:05PM CST) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo (first start) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30PM CST) - RHP Jose Oliveros (first start) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss today’s game! View full article

yeah. meant at home. fixed it!

This is exactly how I feel. I was literally going into this article not even thinking it would be an issue, but now after a deep dive...I can really see that if we don't keep it together, it could be an issue.

same!!

I know....and Cease is either REALLY good or really bad....

LOL, I meant at home. People really hung up on that, instead of the lack of bats going - I love this, because clearly I forgot the Royals. LOL Thank you for making me laugh.

Teaser: How will the Twins fare versus their first interdivisional foe? Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports The Twins had an outstanding home opener and series win against the World Series Champions Houston Astros. The Twins pitching, specifically Sonny Gray, boosted the confidence of all the fans in this home series by commanding the mound and giving life to the game to carry the team through. The White Sox come to town tomorrow, the first divisional series of the season, and while the series against Houston showed how capable the Twins can be, divisional play is a whole new ball game. The Twins (barely) won the season series last season with the White Sox winning 10-of-19 games. The Twins and White Sox have always had a contentious relationship, mainly because the two teams volley for divisional position throughout most seasons. This can create a lot of tension and high emotion, especially recently after the White Sox passed the Twins in September, only to also concede the division race to the Guardians. The White Sox are 4-6, and 3-4 on the road. They also enter the series with relatively hot bats after facing the Pirates. They scored 20 runs in the first two games of that series, but were shutout in the season finale. Fun Fact: The first time the Twins and White Sox competeed for a title was 1965 when the teams finished first and second, respectively, in the American League. In 1969, the league underwent realignment and both franchises were placed in the AL West. The apex of this rivalry came in 2008 when, after 162 games, the two franchises both finished with 88–74 records tied atop the AL Central, Game 163 was needed to break the tie.. The White Sox won the game 1–0 due to a 7th-inning solo home run from Jim Thome, who later played for Minnesota. Weather Factor: The bats aren’t the only thing hoping to heat up in Minnesota. Monday and Tuesday’s games there will be a little cloud cover during the day, but still perfect baseball weather, with the best day being Wednesday with the potential for 81 degrees at game time. Beautiful clear weather, low winds, and the rain staying away should make for perfect playing conditions. Pitching Probables Game 1 – Monday, April 10th, 2023 – 1:10pm CDT – Right-handers Kenta Maeda (Twins) and Dylan Cease (White Sox) will square off in the opener. Cease, undoubtedly the best pitcher for the White Sox, will be coming in with one win and a 1.59 ERA. Maeda, who had a no-decision in his return to the Twins rotation, had a 1.80 ERA and an outstanding 0.60 WHIP with nine strikeouts in his first outing. Game 2 – Tuesday, April 11th, 2023 – 6:40pm CDT – Right-handers Pablo Lopez (Twins) and Lance Lynn (White Sox) take the mound in an evening game where the temperature is expected to be sitting in the low 60’s with clear skies and low winds. Lopez has been a bright spot in the Twins rotation and brings a 1-0 start and a 0.73 ERA and matching 0.73 WHIP into the matchup. Lynn has struggled in his first two starts of the season, giving up 10 runs in 10 innings, but the 35-year-old posted a 3.82 ERA last year. This will be the first time Lopez will have every faced the White Sox. The Twins will catch a break in that the White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jimenez will miss the series with a strained hamstring. However, that just means that Yoan Moncada has been moved up a spot into the cleanup position. He’s hitting .308 with an 889 OPS. Game 3 - Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 – 12:10pm CDT - Right-hander Sonny Gray (Twins) faces off with yet another right-hander, Lucas Giolito (White Sox). Gray comes in at 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA after defeating Houston with his career-high 13 K’s in his last game, while Giolito has two no-decisions against the Astros and Pirates in his first two games, allowing nine runs over nine innings. The Twins hitters are no strangers to Giolito. They split with him last year, but the Twins offense had just a 574 OPS against him in those four games. They’ll also be missing several of their better left-handed (Max Kepler and Joey Gallo) and switch-hitting (Jorge Polanco) batters versus the right-hander. Prediction Time! What's your prediction for this series? Get out the brooms, or something in between? Who do you think can catch fire in the Twins line-up? Will the Twins starters continue their dominant ways? Let's go Twins Territory! View full article

Absolutely!!! It’s been fun to do them and I also am learning a lot!

That is AWESOME!!!!!!!!! I love that!

I *absolutely* loved doing this! 1. I learn SO much, 2. I feel like I know the club better, 3. I love being able to talk to other awesome people about it! Thank you for reading! I’m super stoked about Varland, Wallner and Garlick! It was AWESOME to watch in real time, bouncing back and forth. Haha

The Twins and their affiliates have all had the chance to start their seasons. The Twins had a great home opener with Kyle Farmer providing a walk-off against the Houston Astros. The affiliates continued to carry the torch into the evening, and with every team winning their game, it was a great day for Twins baseball! Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions! TRANSACTIONS RHP Patrick Murphy activated from the Development List RHP Josh Winder has been assigned to Low-A Fort Myers on MLB Rehab. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 6, Iowa 2 Box Score Louis Varland had a phenomenal first game of his season. He threw five innings and allowed only one run, one walk, and he struck out nine batters. Jordan Balazovic, Trevor Megill and Brock Stewart each recorded four outs. Balazovic made his first appearance of the year. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks. Megill walked two. Stewart recorded his first save which gave Varland his first win of the season. Kyle Garlick is the top story today for the St. Paul Saints. The outfielder has been driving in the runs early in the season and Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner setting the table for the middle of the lineup, specifically Tyler White and Mark Contreras to drive them in. Hernan Perez gave the Saints a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning with a solo home run. Mark Contreras came up big in the bottom of the sixth inning. With Garlick and Julien on second and third, he drove them home with a two-run home run which gave the Saints a 5-1 lead. The Saints had just four hits and six walks. Julien had one of the hits and walked twice. Garlick and Contreras each drove in two runs. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 2, Springfield 0 Box Score This was a battle of the pitchers for most of the game. In the third inning, Twins top prospect Brooks Lee and Yunior Severino got on base. Catcher Alex Isola drove in Lee with a double and first baseman Aaron Sabato followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Severino. The Wind Surge had a 2-0 lead, and that was it for run scoring. As you would expect, this game finished in just two hours and five minutes. In his first Double-A start, David Festa pitched a clean, scoreless five innings. He gave up only one hit and struck out eight batters. Hunter McMahon came on and struck out three batters over two perfect innings. Jordan Brink worked a hitless eighth from, and Michael Boyle he save with a hitless ninth frame. The Wind Surge had seven hits. Isola and Yoyner Fajardo were both 2-for-4 in the games. Kernel Nuggets Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 4 (10 innings) Box Score The Cedar Rapids Kernels kept the baseball night alive for the Twins affiliates. The Kernels needed 10 innings to beat the Peoria Chiefs. In the third inning, the Kernels got on the board first with a three-run home run from Tanner Schobel off of Cooper Hjerpe. Kyle Jones started for Cedar Rapids. The 2022 draft pick went five innings without giving up a run. However, he was charged with three runs in the sixth inning. In 5 1/3 innings, he gave up six hits. He struck out six batters without giving up a walk. Matt Mullenbach struck out two batters without giving up a run, though one of two inherited runners scored. Matt Swain got the eighth inning. He walked three batters but gave up a run on a sacrifice fly which put the Kernels down 4-3. In the top of the ninth inning. Keoni Cavaco and Kyler Fedko got things started with singles. Charles Mack laid down a sacrifice bunt and the bases were loaded because of an error. After a strikeout, Emmanuel Rodriguez drove in pinch-runner Willy Joe Garry with the game-tying run. Regi Grace pitched a scoreless ninth inning. Misael Urbina began the top of the 10th as the Manfred Man on second base. Kala'i Rosario singled to score Urbina. Unfortunately, that was the only run they scored. Fortunately, Regi Grace remained in and kept Peoria off the scoreboard to give the Kernels the win. Rosario led the way. He went 2-for-4 with a walk. Noah Miller went 2-for-5. Fedko went 1-for-2 with two walks. Muscle Matters Dunedin 3, Fort Myers 4 Box Score Through four innings, the Mussels held a 4-3 lead. Fortunately, that was a lead they kept the remainder of the game. The game was tied in the third when Alec Sayre got out on a sacrifice fly to score Rubel Cespedes, advancing Mikey Perez to third. Dylan Nuese drew a walk. With men on the corners, and then stole second while Dunedin catcher Sammy Hernandez threw to third base to try and catch Mikey Perez. Perez saw an opportunity and took off, stole home and gave the Mussels a 3-1 lead. Designated Hitter, Andrew Cossetti got his first professional hit during the game, which secured the lead for the Mussels when he hit a line-drive to right center-field to give the Mussels a 4-1 lead. Starting pitcher, Andrew Morris threw 4 1/3i innings, striking out seven batters but gave up the only three earned runs of the game before getting pulled in the fourth inning. The bullpen really shone through to carry the rest of the game. The Blue Jays attempted to catch up to the Mussels, but the bullpen kept that from happening, shutting out the Jays the rest of the game. Twins bullpen pitcher Josh Winder joined the Mussels on a rehab assignment and threw two innings, giving up two hits, He walked two and struck out three batters.. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (1), 2 BB, K PROSPECT SUMMARY The Twins Prospect Tracker is the best way to see how each of the Twins top prospects performed during their games; but in case you wanted a quick look, Here is how each of the top 20 performed today: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 1 R, BB, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, RBI, SF, 2 K #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 1 R, BB, K #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5, 2 K #9 - Louie Varland (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 1 R, BB, K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, K #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, HR, R 3 RBI, 2 K #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, R, 2 BB, K UPCOMING SATURDAY SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES: Iowa @ St. Paul (DH at 1:00) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (0-0, 2.70); GAME 2 - RHP Randy Dobnak (0-0, 1.93) Wichita @ Springfield (6:00PM CST) - RHP - Travis Adams, (0-0, 0.00) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35PM CST) - LHP Connor Prielipp (professional debut) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (0-0,0.00) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss today’s game! View full article