stringer bell

Richards is the opener? I haven’t been able to listen.

Blue Jays: Springer rf Bichette ss Belt dh Guerrero 1b Chapman 3b Kirk c Merrifield lf Varsho cf Espinal 2b Richards p

Twins: Julien 2b Solano dh Kirilloff 1b Correa ss Larnach lf Castro 3b Jeffers c Taylor cf Ryan p

Julien on third, one out.

Game has started.

To tag on to Brian's post, I believe Garlick had had success against Kikuchi, something like three for five with two homers. The Twins really need a corner outfield upgrade.

Congratulations to Royce Lewis for the four-hit game in which he didn't hit a single ball hard. He put the ball in play and good results happened. His slow roller in the tenth keyed the inning.

Not a major leaguer, but prospect Austin Martin is on rehab assignment at For Myers. He had one at-bat Thursday and then injured while making a diving catch. No further word as to the seriousness of the injury, but he wasn't in the lineup last night.

For various reasons, the only real place for position player juggling is the corner outfield. Gallo will be back soon, as will Buxton. The obvious candidates for demotion are Garlick and, regrettably, Larnach. That doesn't allow Wallner another chance and keeps Kepler in the lineup. If the club wants more than rearranging the deck chairs, they need to cut ties with Max Kepler and try someone/something else.

Right handed bats 1-9.

While the team was a disappointing in 2021, Polanco was an excellent player. He had a 4.9 WAR, far and away the best on the team.

I wondered why Kepler didn't go when Taylor stole third. The worst possible outcome after Taylor's SB would have been a GDP. I find that much more likely than any negative happening after having runners on second and third. I also thought Kepler could have made third on Lewis' hit into the corner. Despite his decent speed, Max might personify cautious station-to-station base running.

I agree that the hitters need to do a better job of making contact. Having a two-strike approach isn't giving up on the at-bat. Not chasing with two strikes is an easy area of improvement. Teams look terrible when they aren't hitting. There's time for a recovery, but they have squandered a chance to open up a big lead and it's about 90% on the hitters.

I'll defend the team and the manager from most of the accusations in this thread. I don't think this is an attitude problem or that Baldelli has "lost the team". The front office might be culpable for player decisions and the construction of the team. They seem to have a lot of guys that can't stay healthy. I think we are beginning to see results in the much mocked "pitching pipeline". Both Varland and Ober have gone from middling at best prospects to guys that we can project to be rotation mainstays. The underachievement has come principally from the position players and more often than not regress to the mean which would indicate improvement in the last 100 games. I am not sure if the major league batting coaches are effective. The chief guy, Popkins, had not had much experience and certainly not as a major league coach. The strikeouts are record setting and not in a good way. A change in approach probably needs to be done, but the roster is full of strikeout-prone players, so maybe it's on the front office. Alex Kirilloff and Royce Lewis look to me like they could be stars as soon as this year. Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton should be more productive, if they are healthy. Speaking of health, the roster seems to be showing their issues that players can't stay healthy. Baldelli can't go with a set lineup when he has less than a full bench and players haven't established themselves, some of whom have had a full chance. I won't give up on this team just yet. I think the offense will pick up substantially. They probably need to make some kind of move to improve production from their corner outfielders. The better-hitting catcher should be playing more. I just don't think this is a lost cause as of yet.

81 mph slider isn't the same as a fastball.

He's overdue.

New York City?

Zero walks so far for Lewis. He chased ball four that time.

All they needed to do was move CC down..........to cleanup.

Impressive inning for Ober.

I believe it's an aggravation of his previous injury. I doubt they hesitate putting him on the IL.

Polanco hit a rocket up the middle, ticked the pitcher's glove, nailed the second base umpire on the upper arm and landed a foot or so from the second base bag. The Rays ended up getting a force out and Polanco appeared to reinjure his leg running the ball out.

Julien will be on his way to Toronto.

They were going to face three lefties and face the Rays with three lefties in their bullpen. I guess the feeling was that having a right handed bat to hit for or be the alternate for Kepler and Larnach was needed. Garlick is 31 years old and hasn't lit up AAA. He's always been thought of as a lefty mashing specialist who is not particularly adept in the field. Trading him is a remote possibility at the deadline and certainly not right now. He could be a DFA at some point, although he can be optioned this year.

What about Ortega?