stringer bell

I have been thinking about this for a couple weeks. Wallner and Kirilloff disappointed for the Twins this year and Larnach has stepped up. I'm not willing to say he's "figured it out", but he has sustained decent performance for 40% of a season, but then again Wallner did that too. In shorter stretches Kirilloff has also looked like an accomplished major league hitter. The Twins absolutely need decent production from one of the three players this year and might need two guys to establish themselves in 2025 with the probable exit of Max Kepler. The three guys are an interesting compare and contrast. Wallner has big power and the best speed along with an elite throwing arm, but he seems to have the most problems making contact consistently. Kirilloff was the highest draft choice and seemed to possess the best bat-to-ball skill. He's left handed and has been regarded as a potential first baseman since he was drafted. Larnach doesn't have the arm, power or speed that Wallner has, but he's a capable outfielder who excelled in college and presents as a decent power hitter. Larnach is getting big league time and hasn't squandered it. He's reduced his chase rate and his strikeouts and has hit the ball hard. He's done well the last two years in RBI situations and seems to have modified his approach enough to be a decent major league hitter. Wallner probably and Kirilloff possibly will get another chance this year. Maybe they'll make the jump, maybe not. The Twins don't have enough left handed hitting upside to just give up on any of these three. Emma Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins are in the pipeline. One would think they are surer bets than Larnach, AK or Wallner, but there's room for two or three to thrive and help the Twins.

I disagree. Seattle didn't have to put their DH in play, but chose to because....catchers. Seattle had been carrying two catchers plus Garver, but decided they should go with two catchers and risk what happened today.

Okay, it wasn't a one-run win, but this was high anxiety from the fifth inning on. Nice job the last two innings by the bullpen guys. Big hit from Larnach and after screwing up multiple makeable plays, good defense in the late innings.

The last four innings have been like walking through fire followed by walking on broken glass and now snakes. Let's go Durán!!

Canzone and Haniger can pinch hit for the pitcher and Provus still doesn't have it right.

Go right after him Kory!! Good job.

Funderburk needs to throw strikes.

I honestly don't know what they're saving him for.

C'mon Cory. He's batting for the pitcher, not the pinch hitter.

The only move that is unusual is giving Correa a day off. Actually, I think it has a lot more to do with Austin Martin. He is probably on the brink of being sent down IMHO, and giving him a chance to impress, today at second base.

After everything that happened in the fifth, I was holding my breath on the hopper to Lewis.

Probably the craziest inning I've seen in this Twins' season. They are rid of Castillo for the pinch hitter, but Ryan probably has only one inning left at best. Old mo (mentum) seems to have switched sides.

NL ball! Pitchers hitting and sacrifice bunts.

Twins pitching is doing their best to have Seattle break the K record.

The Mariners just gave the Twins an out because the pitcher had to hit.

The same pitch to Buck three times in a row (with the same result).

Castillo might get an at-bat?

Who's gonna wear it for the two HBPs? Buxton, I suppose, maybe Castro.

Buxton an All-Star? He doesn't have enough plate appearances to qualify, but his OPS would rate third among AL center fielders, behind Judge and Bleday. He isn't far behind Bleday (.760 for Buck, .774 for Bleday).

Actually, it is regular rest.

Five thousand wins in franchise history and on Harmon's birthday. The win also clinched another winning month and a winning road trip. A lot of boxes checked in one game. Yes, some guys are hot (Buxton, Miranda, Correa) and some are not (Lewis, Kepler), but there are enough guys hitting to put up runs.

Twins clinch another winning month. They have a winning record in all three months of the season (all four if you count March).

Yes, I remember the late night clear channel stations. Little Rock, Chicago, St. Louis. I listened to a few St. Louis games. Some great music.

It would be worse without the pitch clock. The 9:10 start will probably make this one go to midnight. Speaking of starting times, the Twins used to start their home games at 8:05, but the length of games was a lot shorter back in the 60s.

Gonna take a good effort from the bullpen to win this. Pablo will be lucky to get through five.