stringer bell

Lineup notes: Refsnyder is back and playing right field. Against a lefty, the Twins have only Larnach hitting from the left side. Valdez is a tough matchup for anyone from what I've seen. Regarding ex-Twins pitchers, I've always wondered how good Perez could be. He had been on a nice run until his last outing. Gibson has been sensational since getting beat around in his first outing and Lance Lynn has been outstanding for the Sox. Projecting pitchers seems to be very tough to do. The current front office seemed to do quite well until this year.

Kohl Stewart optioned to AAA by the Cubs. I didn’t even know he was in the majors.

I’m wondering if it is either Kirilloff or Larnach, although either one could end up on the IL. Larnach’s lower legs have taken a beating and Kirilloff might have a lingering wrist or ankle problem. Kepler must be close to ready to return as well. The Twins might have a glut of position players pretty soon, but it’s a pretty good bet that someone else will get hurt.

He had to face three batters.

I did like what Gordon did on the base paths. He drew a lot of attention and still managed to steal two bases. Outside of Buxton, this team really lacks speed. It’s nice to see another threat and see a defense be distracted.

Mud at had a nightclub act “Mudcat and the Kitties” and a nice assortment of pitches. His 20-win season was 1965, the year the Twins broke through and won the pennant. I remember his unique windup with two taps on the rubber.

Today's game is on Fox locally tonight. I guess everybody will be able to watch tonight.

The Twins look to even the series tonight in a 6:15 tilt against the Houston Astros. The Twins version of an ace, José Berríos, will face Luis Garcia of the Astros. Garcia has impressive numbers. I don't know anything about him. Yesterday, the Twins hit four homers (all solos) and still lost to Houston 6-4. The Twins lead MLB in homers, yet their offense is only 11th best in scoring runs, while they are third worst allowing runs. Too many solo homers, too few innings where hits were strung together. A couple of comments about the big talker--substances pitchers have been using to "get a grip" and spin the ball effectively. Offense is way down again this year. Just about every box score I check, I see hitters in the lineup who aren't over the Mendoza line. Strikeouts are continuing to surge and an old timer like me sees pitcher after pitcher with velocities over 95 mph and wonders what Juan Berenguer and his 90 mph fastball would do in today's climate. I'd personally like to see the ball in play more and more facets of the game on display. When there are 20 strikeouts in a game, there are fewer chances for great defensive plays. All of the all or nothing at bats also discourages base stealing and advancing on the bases. Maybe something will happen to change the focus of the game. What I still love about baseball is that you never know with even near certainty how a game will play out. The pitchers might enter the game with terrible stats, but for one day, anything can happen. Over the course of a season, teams with better health and talent win out, but on any given day, the lesser team can win. Pitchers: PLAYER W-L ERA WHIP IP H K BB HR L. Garcia 5-3 2.75 1.00 59.0 40 68 19 8 J. Berrios 6-2 3.58 1.11 70.1 59 73 19 8 Lineups--Astros HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG J. Altuve2B 64-217 30 12 2 .295 M. BrantleyLF 59-180 17 3 0 .328 A. Bregman3B 63-216 33 7 1 .292 Y. AlvarezDH 59-194 33 8 0 .304 Y. Gurriel1B 71-213 46 10 1 .333 K. TuckerRF 60-230 40 11 5 .261 R. GarciaSS 4-26 2 0 0 .154 C. McCormickCF 15-76 19 5 2 .197 M. MaldonadoC 27-159 17 4 0 .17 Twins HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG J. Polanco2B 51-211 27 8 3 .242 J. Donaldson3B 44-176 26 10 0 .250 N. CruzDH 53-184 30 12 1 .288 T. LarnachLF 22-88 8 3 0 .250 M. Sano1B 30-165 31 13 0 .182 A. KirilloffRF 30-115 18 4 0 .261 N. GordonCF 10-27 2 1 3 .370 A. SimmonsSS 41-163 14 2 0 .252 B. RortvedtC 5-36 3 1 0 .139

He’s got to have more complementary pitches. He doesn’t have command of his slider most of the time and he really needs a change up to be effective against left handed hitters

Still waiting for Donaldson to get a hit with two outs and runners in scoring position.

Who homers this inning?

BTW, the Astros lineup, top to bottom, looks like the best in the American League.

Glad to see Kirilloff in the lineup.

Yep, it’s about his ability to play shortstop or else pushing past not one but two players at second base. I like that Nick has some speed, which the team lacks, outside of Buxton.

Well, maybe it got him going!

Tough luck for Duffey that inning, but he did give up the lead off single that came around.

I’ll say this now to get him going…….Nelson Cruz is getting old in front of my eyes.

Happ’s ERA today “only 7.20”.

Donaldson remains hitless with runners in scoring position with two outs.

I voted for a rebuild. I'm just too old to have to wait for the middle of this decade or beyond for my favorite team to be good.

Any established player under team control for this year and at least next year should be an overpay in order to make a deal. It is possible that someone might overpay to get Berríos or a relief pitcher. If Jeffers and both Kirilloff and Larnach demonstrate they are ready to be major league regulars, there may be a chance to trade veterans like Garver, Kepler and Polanco. I think the Twins would need to get a good return for each of those guys, but if the young guys are ready, it makes sense to move the veterans.

Quoting myself. Who has an ego? Anyway, I was getting a little tired of hearing how Dobnak's numbers were skewed by his use as a relief pitcher. Except for ERA (both splits terrible BTW) every major stat has been worse with Dobnak as a starter this year. It reminds me of Bremer over and over saying that Mauer and Morneau were great hitters against left handed pitching. Morneau had a lifetime .710 OPS against lefties versus .886 against right handers. Mauer was .740 against southpaws and .868 against righties.

I have changed my priorities a bit. If I'm home and there's nothing else to do, I'll watch. However, if it's hopeless, I'll find something else to do or watch. I still find things to be positive about--Kirilloff and Larnach, also Ryan Jeffers. Hopefully there will be pitchers I can watch and enjoy in the last 100 games.

Overall, I'm a little disappointed with Simmons. He is a fine defensive player, but he has made miscues at the worst possible moment. On a pennant contender, he can be an asset and most likely a pennant contender will lose their shortstop so I would think he will be in demand by the trade deadline. It would be excellent if the Twins had a plus defender at shortstop who can contribute offensively. I doubt that is anybody we've seen with the major league club, including Polanco and Gordon. I haven't been much impressed with Arraez as a utility guy, but I feel like what he has to offer at the plate is exactly what the team needs. Perhaps Gordon could be a real utility guy and he might offer a bit of speed, which is something the team lacks. Getting back to Simmons, there's really no future for him, but showcasing him before trading him does make sense. He's very good in the field and a bottom of the order hitter. Someone will probably need a player like that .

As I mentioned earlier, I went on to other things after Stanton's first homer, so talk about a ripped fingernail is news to me. Looking at Dobnak's numbers, he is no better than Shoemaker or Happ and has never had the sustained success that those guys have had. I fear Randy is a one-pitch pitcher (moving sinker) and that doesn't cut it either in the rotation or the bullpen. I really want to know what happened to the slider that was one of the big topics in spring training.