Nate Palmer

Bailey Ober’s solid start and Josh Donaldson’s 2-run home run secures a Twins win over the Tigers in a game that came down to the wire. Box Score Starter: Bailey Ober 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Home Runs: Josh Donaldson (21) Top 3 WPA: Alcala (.259), Colome (.214), Donaldson (.191) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Monday was a day the Twins were initially scheduled to have a day off but instead spent the afternoon making up a game against division foe Detroit before heading home for a series against the Cubs. While it had all the makings of a “throw-away” game, with two below .500 teams facing off, it gave us a good starting pitching matchup. The Tigers sent former top draft pick Casey Mize to the mound, who entered the game with 24 starts and a 3.55 ERA. The Twins counter with their hottest starter in Bailey Ober. In his 4 August starts, Ober holds a 2.11 ERA, .265 batting average against, and a .697 OPS. The majority of the first three innings produced quick three up, three down baseball. That is until the end of the third inning when Ober needed to get one more out to start the game with nine straight batters retired. Instead, Derek Hill smashed an up and in 92.7 mph fastball for his second home run of the season to put the Tigers up 1-0. The Twins would answer immediately in the 4th. Buxton collected the Twins first hit with a 1-out double down the left-field line. With Polanco up to bat, a Mize pitch would find the backstop, allowing Buxton to move to third and easily be singled home by Polanco to tie the game up 1-1. With Polanco on first base, Josh Donaldson took a Mize slider to center field for his 21st home run and a Twins 3-1 lead. The Tigers would get one back in the 5th. Harold Perez was standing on second after a lead-off double. He scored on a bloop single from Zack Short that landed beyond a diving Simmons who played in a bit on the infield. While the hit wasn’t the most impressive of hits, it was enough to bring Perez around to score. Down to the Wire Once again, an Alex Colome outing turned interesting. This time it wasn't necessarily because of his pitching but because of his fielding. Two fielding miscues put Colome in a position where he needed to get out of a 2-out, runners on the corners jam. He thankfully popped up old friend Robbie Grossman to end the game and get the team on the road back to the Twin Cities. Bailey Ober Solid Again As the Twins will be looking to fill rotation spots for 2022, Ober again makes a good case that he will need to be in the mix for one of those spots. He put his team in a spot to win and himself in a place to earn a win. Didn’t give up any free passes and collected a good number of whiffs as well. He continues to be one of the exciting players to follow down the stretch of a lost season. When it comes to the development of Ober, there are encouraging signs surrounding his fastball, as pointed out by Nash Walker. Josh Donaldson Showing His Worth Donaldson’s aforementioned 21st home run of the season also was his 5th of the month. While the Twins may continue to look to offload his contract because of the injury risk, if he sticks around for 2022, the Twins will look forward to penciling his bat into the lineup every day he is healthy. Monday showed again how valuable Donaldson could be as he can change a game quickly with one at-bat, one swing. Here is a breakdown of Donaldson's home run swing by our own Nash Walker: Tomorrow the Twins kick off their series with the Chicago Cubs. It should be a fun mid-week series even if neither team is looking at the playoffs. Don't forget Wednesday night you could order a drink from John Bonnes if you are at the game! Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Albers 0 88 0 0 0 88 Colomé 0 13 13 0 23 49 Alcalá 0 12 0 0 25 37 Gibaut 0 0 0 33 0 33 Thielbar 0 0 23 0 0 23 Coulombe 0 20 0 0 0 20 Minaya 0 0 17 0 0 17 Garza Jr. 4 0 0 11 0 15 Duffey 0 6 0 0 0 6 View full article

Captain Jax battles defensive miscues and the bullpen gets the Twins to another Jorge Polanco walk-off hit for the win in extras. Box Score Starter: Griffin Jax 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K Home Runs: Max Kepler (16), Ryan Jeffers (11) Top 3 WPA: Thielbar (.486), Polanco(.241), Colome (.144) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) In case you missed it, the Twins have been pretty good as of late. They have won a series against three first-place teams in the last week and carrying a record of 7-3 in their previous ten games. Tonight’s starter, Griffin Jax, also had himself a great outing on August 10th against the White Sox, going 6.0 innings with ten strikeouts and three earned runs. With Cleveland coming to town Monday night, the hope for the Twins would be that they could carry all those good fortunes into the new week as they play a rare series against another non-competitive team. The game did start on the right foot for the Twins. After a scoreless first by Jax, Max Kepler led off the Twins half of the 1st with a home run off of Cal Quantrill to put the Twins up 1-0 early. Kepler would also make a tremendous foul territory catch in the 3rd over some fans and finish the game going 1- with a walk and an RBI on a fielder’s choice on the weirdest 6-4 putout ever. By the second inning, some of those good vibes started to wear off. If there was one thing in Jax’s last outing that was a negative, it was the two home runs he surrendered. It was a home run that would get Jax in Monday night’s game as well. After giving up a walk to Franmil Reyes, Bradley Zimmer smashed a 446-foot no-doubter to center field, putting Cleveland up 2-1. Polanco ties the game with his wheels After reaching on a fielder’s choice, Polanco was standing on first with two outs in the third inning. Josh Donaldson was the next batter and just blooped a single into right-center field. Everything looked pretty routine until Polanco rounded third and blew through Tony Diaz’s somewhat casual stop sign. Something about the play even caused Cleveland’s defense to be somewhat lulled into a daze, allowing Polanco to score and tie up the game 2-2 on a play that results typically in him still standing at third base at its conclusion. Twins Out Run Defensive Miscues, Until They Didn’t While Jax didn’t pitch with the strikeout dominance, he did last week. He still did well to pitch around a lot of defensive miscues. Beginning with the second inning, the Twins had three consecutive innings with defensive miscues that extended the inning. The fifth inning included another miscue that didn’t extend the inning but allowed Ahmed Rosario to take an extra-base as Jake Cave overran a ball in the outfield that turned a double into a triple. Rosario would score on a single by the next batter, Jose Ramirez. The sixth inning brought another one of those inning extending plays as Andrelton Simmons committed an error trying to pick up a grounder to short. This miscue led to an Andres Gimenez walk and then a single down the left-field line by Austin Hedges to bring Gimenez to the plate and give Cleveland a 4-3 lead. Jeffers To The Rescue After allowing Cleveland to go ahead in the top part of the inning, Ryan Jeffers didn’t want to leave his pitcher hanging out there with the chance of getting the “L.” Jeffers took a Justin Garza pitch and relocated it to the other side of the outfield fence. Another One for Jorge If the Twins were going to walk off this game, it seemed only fitting that it would be Jorge Polanco once again. After a deflating double play masterfully put together by Cleveland's Ramirez, Polanco ended the game by driving home Kepler. Sound off in the comments about the win, and get ready for another game tomorrow night! The Twins will look to keep the winning ways going tomorrow, with Bailey Ober slated to take the mound against Cleveland's Eli Morgan. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Barnes 0 0 0 73 0 73 Gant 0 41 0 0 17 58 García 0 27 0 21 0 48 Vincent 0 37 0 0 0 37 Thielbar 0 0 0 15 19 34 Duffey 0 0 0 27 0 27 Colomé 0 0 0 13 10 23 Minaya 0 0 0 0 19 19 Garza Jr. 0 0 16 0 0 16 Coulombe 0 0 10 0 0 10 View full article

The Twins came in hot, but Giolito and Jimenez were too much as they pitched and slugged the White Sox to a 11-1 victory at Target Field. Box Score Starter: Beau Burrows 2.0 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K Home Runs: Sano (19) Bottom 3 WPA: Burrows (-.402), Kepler (-.027), Sano (-.019) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins were riding high as they came into Target Field after a good road trip. All we had to do is look at the pitching matchup for the first game to know that the hot streak had little chance to carry into the first game of the homestand. With the state of the Twins rotation being what it is, the home team went with an opener/bullpen game Monday night, with Beau Burrows getting the first nod. Coming into the night, Burrows had logged 9.0 innings in the majors and sported an ugly 11.00 ERA. Monday night did not help that situation one bit. Burrows wound up allowing two home runs in the first inning. One was a lead-off homer by Tim Anderson. Then after a walk to new White Sox second baseman Cesar Hernandez, Eloy Jimenez hit his own home run to put the White Sox up 3-0. What makes a rough pitching performance worse, you might ask? A fielding error behind him. Burrows should have gotten out of the first by popping Luis Robert up, but Miguel Sano, while back peddling, dropped the easy out, letting in the 4th run of the 1st inning. The second inning wasn’t any better for the Twins right-hander as the top of the White Sox lineup did damage again. This time with Tim Anderson and Cesar Hernandez on the basepaths, Jimenez again found the seats with a 3-run home run and his second in as many innings as Monday night's game. Just like that, Burrows 11.00 ERA was up to 13.91. With the game score at 7-0 after two innings, the game was all but over before it even started. There was a bright spot in another recent pick-up for the Twins off the waiver wire. Edgar Garcia Looks Sharp July 30th, the Twins acquired Garcia off waivers from the Phillies. After one waiver claim in Burrows that the Twins acquired didn’t do well, Garcia sent down seven batters in a row. His stuff looked good, and the results followed. Garcia was lifted after pitching 2.1 innings and giving up a single to Yoan Moncada. While Burrows ERA ballooned, Garcia's dropped from 16.62 to 12.15 with his strong performance. Giolito Tossed a Gem It wasn’t a perfect game, and a smash up the middle by Luis Arraez prevented it from being a no-hitter, but it was still a magnificent game by the White Sox starter. In the end, he would make one mistake (see below) and would strike out eight Twins batters. Monday night was a night whereas a Twins fan, we are reminded that Giolito is one of the really dominant arms that resides within the AL Central. While it seemed that Nelson Cruz always brought his best against Giolito, the Twins will now have to figure out how to compete when he is on the mound without Cruz. Sano Scores Lone Run Giolito did let one sinker sit too high in the zone. While there is plenty to criticize Sano about, one thing that is certain is that he can crush a pitcher’s mistake. He did just that to end the shutout and notch his150th career home run. Monday night ends by looking like just one more jab from the White Sox to the Twins. As the White Sox run away with a division the Twins were supposed to be competing with them in; the Sox continued their dominance by taking a page out of the BOMBA squad book. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Barnes 80 0 0 0 0 68 148 Burrows 13 0 0 0 0 64 77 Minaya 44 0 17 0 12 73 Duffey 0 21 20 0 15 56 Thielbar 22 8 0 20 0 50 Colomé 0 7 17 0 18 42 Coulombe 0 17 14 0 7 38 Garcia 0 0 0 0 0 32 32 Gant 0 0 17 13 0 30 View full article

Mitch Garver returned for Game 2 Monday night and the game was covered with GarvSauce. That wasn’t enough as Gavin Sheets hit a walk-off 3-run blast and hand the Twins another heart-breaking loss. Box Score Starter: Jose Berrios 6.0 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K Home Runs: Mitch Garver (9,10) Bottom 3 WPA: Berrios (-.547), Simmons (-.060), Kirilloff/Larnach (-.057) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) After having to battle Lance Lynn in Game 1 Monday evening, a matchup with Reynaldo Lopez who was making the start for the White Sox appeared, on paper, to be a much easier task offensively for the Twins. The Twins did get on the board in the 1st quickly. After Luis Arraez reached with a single, he advanced all the way to 3rd base on a throwing error. He wasn’t there very long as Josh Donaldson drove him home with a sacrifice fly to put the Twins up 1-0 early. That lead didn’t last long. In the bottom half of the 1st, Twins nemesis Jose Abreu hit his 17th home run on the year off of Jose Berrios. Abreu has seen Berrios the 5th most of any pitcher over his career. Berrios has actually had decent “success” against Abreu as Monday night was the second home run he has allowed to last season's AL MVP. Mitch Garver Returns BIG The most exciting storyline of the game was by far the return of Mitch Garver who was activated between games. You may remember it was about 6 weeks ago that Garver had to have emergency surgery for a groin contusion/injury. While normally we would be worried about a player’s timing after that sort of layoff, Garver seemed to lock back in quickly. In his first at-bat during the 2nd inning, Garver hit a solo home run for his 9th on the season to put the Twins back up 2-1. Being a good catcher Garver couldn’t leave his night to just that. In his next at-bat, Garver gave his starter some more breathing room with his 10th home run of the season. After that 2nd home run of the evening, Garver had brought his home run pace to a home run every 11.6 at-bats since the 2019 season. Berrios deals, Berrios implodes The storyline should have been dominated by Garver’s return. As a result, the story of Berrios’ stunning start should have flown under the radar. That was the truth through 6 innings aside from the solo shots from Abreu and Moncada. We of course know with that set up, a “but” is on its way. It looked like Berrios was going to go the distance in Game 2. That would have been huge considering how the Twins high-leverage bullpen arms were all used in Game 1. With the way Berrios had been rolling and the bullpen's status, it made absolute sense to bring him back in for the 7th inning to finish out the game. Those of us watching saw how things went south very quickly. Goodwin and Vaughn both reached base. With those two on 1st and 2nd, Berrios spiked a ball in the dirt allowing them to advance to 2nd and 3rd. With that clear sign that Berrios was rattled, rookie Gavin Sheets took Berrios long to walk-off the Twins. This outing was another case study on the tough decision that lays in the hands of the front office as the trade deadline looms. Is Berrios a pitcher they can continue to build a playoff winning staff around for 2022? Or are the blowups just too much and it is time to capitalize on what would still be a potentially high return that could be had for the remaining time of control? The Twins will see the White Sox and Dallas Keuchel again tomorrow night as Bailey Ober is scheduled to start opposite of Keuchel. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Burrows 0 0 32 0 0 32 Rogers 0 0 21 0 19 40 Robles 0 0 18 0 19 37 Minaya 0 0 0 13 0 13 Thielbar 0 0 0 0 0 0 Duffey 0 0 0 0 16 16 Colomé 0 0 0 0 0 0 Alcala 0 0 0 0 23 23 View full article

If the Twins were winning I wonder if this question surfaces in this way. There is fine line between distraction and “swagger” I feel like Dave Boswell could be a mention on this list though. Solid career, but ran his mouth enough in a bar to start a fight amongst the team and get punched by his manager Billy Martin. Which was at least a factor in Martin being shown the door.

This is an absolutely good note. Coulombe saved the rest of the bullpen from not having to come into the game last night. Whether the reason is winning or showcasing for a trade, it puts the rest of the relievers in a better place to succeed.

Lightning delays games and walks still haunt as White Sox jump on Maeda early and proves to be enough for the win. Box Score Starter: Kenta Maeda 4.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 4 K Home Runs: Josh Donaldson (12) Bottom 3 WPA: Maeda (-.355), Jeffers (.076), Cruz (-.055), Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins were able to start the game off with a bang, but the game quickly went south from there. The quick start came as Luis Arraez singled to lead off the game. With Arraez standing on first, Josh Donaldson was able to deposit the ball in the left-field seats to put the visiting team up 2-0 to start the game. With Donaldson trash talking as he crossed home plate it seemed the Twins were headed in the right direction to keep the squad’s season on life support. That quickly changed. Maeda walks 5 2021 continues to be a completely different season for Maeda in comparison to 2020. Health has been an issue. Command has as a result also been an issue. That became extremely evident as Maeda walked three straight batters in the first inning and would end his outing with 5 walks in total. This is incredible considering that is half his walk total from all of last season! Maeda appeared to briefly regain his command in the 4th and into the 5th inning. Once Maeda regained his control it seemed everything else didn’t go right around him. Balls fell in, slow rollers found the right piece of grass, and that was all it took to get the White Sox to 7 runs on the scoreboard. Twins try to make it a game Just as the game seemed to be completely out of reach the Twins began to make it interesting in the 7th. Nelson Cruz doubled home Trevor Larnach after Larnach reached on a near homer to right field. Max Kepler then also doubled to bring Cruz around to score the second run of the inning. To bring the Twins within 2 runs at a score of 7-5, Alex Kirilloff grounded out but on the play, Kepler was able to make his way home as well. In the end, the Twins were two bad baserunning decisions away from potentially tying the game at 7 runs or even winning the game. Cruz getting thrown out at second somehow thinking he was Byron Buxton stretching a single into a double. Also, Jorge Polanco getting absolutely found out on his attempt to steal represents two big mistakes for outs on the basepaths. It is was encouraging to see the Twins battle back, but that margin of error is that much more minuscule through this stretch of division games. Tomorrow the Twins will lean on Bailey Ober as the White Sox send Dylan Cease to the mound. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SUN MON TUE TOT Jax 0 0 75 0 0 0 75 Coulombe 0 0 32 0 0 43 75 Duffey 0 0 0 23 0 15 38 Thielbar 0 4 0 30 0 0 34 Rogers 0 8 9 0 0 0 17 Shoemaker 0 11 0 0 0 0 11 Robles 0 0 10 0 0 0 10 Alcalá 0 10 0 0 0 0 10 Colomé 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 View full article

Just updated the recap. Sounds like a boxer’s fracture. Sounds like “weeks to months”

On an already emotional night, the Twins and Reds played a 12-inning game before Miguel Sano smashed a walk-off home run for the win Box Score Starter: J.A. Happ 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 4 K Home Runs: Nelson Cruz (16), Nelson Cruz Top 3 WPA: Matt Shoemaker (.969), Miguel Sano (.384), Caleb Thielbar (.232) Bottom 3 WPA: (if they lose)Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Before Monday night’s game even saw the first pitch tossed it was a big night. First, on Cancer Awareness Night the Twins remembered bench coach Mike Bell who passed away during Spring Training after his own fight with cancer. If you missed the tribute it is a must-watch. Also, Monday marked the day that MLB’s new foreign substance went into effect as well. As much as substances used by pitchers have been the storyline over the last month-plus of baseball, how these guidelines are enforced and affect the game will be the story the rest of the way for 2021. The Twins started off the game's offense with a big 2nd inning. It started with a Nelson Cruz bomb for 424 feet at a pace of 116.5 mph to put the Twins up 1-0. The table was then set by more of that core the Twins have relied on for years with Kepler walking and Polanco hitting a single to put runners on the corners. A Kirilloff RBI single added to the Twins lead and a later Arraez sacrifice fly would let the Twins end the inning up 3-0. Even though the Twins were in the lead, it was another case of the Twins missing a chance to bust a game open. They left the bases loaded with plenty of opportunities to practically put the game out of reach early. Only time would tell if that would come back to hurt them later in the evening. Happ Good Enough Early, Then… Happ had plenty of rocky stretches early on, but through 3 innings had held the Reds scoreless. The 4th inning took a turn for the worse. Happ issued a walk to Tyler Stephenson who would later advance to 2nd on a wild pitch. While Happ had worked around base runners in earlier innings, this time Eugenio Suarez got on a Happ fastball and sent it into the seats for a 2-run home run. Aristedes Aquino would then hit a solo shot into the left-field bleachers. A home run that many (including this writer) would bring an end to Happ’s evening. The Twins did bring him back in the 5th where he was able to get two more outs before being lifted for Luke Farrell. Another Scare from Buxton Once again it seems that Byron Buxton just cannot avoid the freak injuries. This time it was a stray pitch from Reds starter Mahle that hit Buxton on the hand. Buxton did his best to stay in the game initially. After catching a fly-ball to end the Twins defensive side of the 5th inning. Buxton was 1-for-2 with an infield hit when he was forced from the game. After the game the update was that Buxton has a boxer's fracture. The Twins seemingly played all their chips to try and secure a win in the 8th inning. One spot of the lineup saw many more players shuffle through it as Josh Donaldson pinch hit for Nick Gordon who earlier replaced Buxton. Donaldson was intentionally walked to load the bases to bring Larnach to bat. With Donaldson still not fit to run, Miguel Sano came on as a pinch-runner. Larnach couldn’t get the hit the Twins needed. That left the Twins with the 9th inning to try and get the job done before extra innings. They couldn’t leave another chance with the bases loaded pass them by, right? This time with Kepler, Polanco, and Kirilloff on with 1-out the Twins saw Jeffers take an incredibly painted pitch for a strike-out and Simmons ground out to send the game to extras. Extra-Inning Magic Extra-innings began with the Reds and Twins exchanging 2-run innings. And as the 11th inning began, former starter Matt Shoemaker took the mound for the Twins. Twins fans have become used to Shoemaker’s unfortunate results as a starter but that wasn’t the case Monday night as he pitched a great 11th and 12th inning. That got Miguel Sano to the plate in the Twins half of the 12th, after Arraez had helped move Simmons over from 2nd to 3rd. It didn’t matter where Simmons was standing in the end as Sano blasted a home run over the entire Reds defense for the walk-off win. It was a firework-worthy ending for the longest game in the MLB this season! Also 5 in a row for the Twins! Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Thielbar 0 38 0 12 0 19 69 Alcalá 0 10 18 0 18 20 66 Rogers 0 15 12 13 0 16 56 Colomé 0 20 0 15 0 7 42 Duffey 0 0 20 0 21 0 41 Robles 0 0 20 14 0 0 34 Shoemaker 0 0 0 0 0 32 32 Farrell 0 0 0 0 0 19 19 Dobnak 0 0 0 start 0 0 0 View full article

Maeda’s command played peek-a-boo as he made his return from the IL, the young outfielders provided the offense, but it wasn’t enough as the Twins lost to the Mariners. Box Score Starter: Kenta Maeda 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K Home Runs: Alex Kirilloff (5), Gilberto Celestiono (1) Bottom 3 WPA: Robles (-.241), Farrell (-.226), Donaldson (-.163) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) It had been 20 games since we last saw Kenta Maeda take the mound for the Minnesota Twins. His return was made up of several shifts from moments of “Old Maeda” showing some great command and then “2021 Maeda” losing command and back again. While it wasn’t the most comfortable of rides, Maeda gave the Twins 4 good innings and held the Mariners to one run on 76 pitches. The flashes of command were very encouraging even if not as consistent as one would like. Thankfully, Maeda had Jeffers behind the plate who also did his thing in helping his starter get every strike that he could. Young Outfield Trio Provides Offensive Spark This weekend caused a lot of attention to shift to trade deadline deals and what Twins should make up the core of the next playoff team. Monday night, the outfield full of rookies gave us a potential glimpse into the future as Alex Kirilloff, Gilberto Celestino, and Trevor Larnach provided the offense for the Twins. The Twins first inning was full of weak singles that were capped off by Larnach’s RBI single to start off his 2-for-3 night. It was then Kirilloff’s turn as he did the opposite of hit a Gonzales pitch weakly, launching his 5th homer of the season. Celestino would quickly follow suit and hit his first career homer to put the Twins up 3-1 over the Mariners. While Maeda’s start was encouraging, it still left 5 innings for the Twins bullpen to be able to navigate. Luke Farrell got the 5th inning and immediately allowed the Mariners to tie the game up 3-3. Jorge Alcala and Tyler Duffey followed and were able to hold the game at a tie score as the Twins offense just couldn’t get another hit to come through. Hansel Robles’ name was called on for the 8th. His outing started out well as he struck out Dylan Moore, but in the next at-bat, Jake Bauers took Robles deep for his third home run of the season to put the Mariners up 4-3. The Twins had one more chance in the 9th as the top of the lineup came to the plate. While that is the exact situation any team would want to try and win the game, the Mariners Steckenrider was able to close the door on the Twins. For another time in this disappointing 2021, the Twins seemed just one more pitcher or one more good at-bat away from being able to claim a win. Tuesday night the Twins will send J.A. Happ to the mound to try and find a win in Seattle. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Shoemaker 0 0 35 0 43 0 78 Duffey 0 20 22 0 0 10 52 Jax 51 0 0 0 0 0 51 Colomé 25 0 0 0 24 0 49 Farrell 0 23 0 0 0 24 47 Robles 0 11 0 15 0 17 43 Alcalá 0 7 15 0 0 19 41 Rogers 0 0 3 9 0 0 12 Dobnak 87 0 0 0 40 0 View full article

Sorta took it as a compliment since you took my writing to be at robot competency! Also very much appreciate you reading!

I guess add emotionless to the ways you can describe me. ?

Berríos proved matchless on Memorial Day in an extra-inning win while the offense continued to misfire until late. Box Score Starter: José Berríos 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (5) Top 3 WPA: Rogers (.383), Berríos (.332), Robles (.199) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) It was a nail-biter and likely produced hyper-ventilating and heart palpitations for those watching, but the Twins pulled out an extra-inning win on a day America remembers those who have fallen so we can enjoy the freedoms we do. Twins take advantage of Baltimore miscues in 2nd The Twins took advantage of some defensive miscues by the Orioles to push across their first run in the 3rd inning. Kyle Garlick led off the inning with a single and then stole 2nd base to put himself in scoring position with no one out. On an infield hit to the pitcher by Andrelton Simmons, the Orioles failed to cover third base to help hold Garlick and doubled down by also allowing Simmons to reach first safely. Garlick would then score on a Polanco grounder that resulted in a fielder's choice and a missed double play by the Orioles. The Twins, unfortunately, couldn’t capitalize any further from there as Donaldson allowed Baltimore to play make-up and complete the double play on the next play to end the inning. Berríos Tosses a Gem Just as the Twins need to put together another win streak, Berríos assembled a great start in what seemed like an attempt to single-handedly propel the Twins to a win. Showing a great economy of pitches, Berrios threw 96 pitches over 8 innings. He even earned an opportunity to enter into the 9th inning before surrendering a leadoff bloop single and being removed for Taylor Rogers. Berríos walked zero batters which is exactly what any team wants from one of their top starters. His one real mistake was a solo home run that he gave up to Ryan Mountcastle in the 5th inning that allowed the Orioles to tie the game up 1-1 and make the stretch of the game a nail-biter for Twins fans. (For the sake of positivity we will try to ignore how Refsnyder was absolutely destroyed by the outfield fence on Mountcastle’s bomb). Extra Innings! The Twins finally shook their extra-inning losing streak last time in this situation. That seems to have taken and started a new trend. With Refsnyder starting on second, Garlick moved him over to third on a ground-out. Then with Simmons at the plate, Refsyder scored on a wild pitch. From there the bats briefly seemed to wake up as Polanco added to the Twins lead with a solo home run to right field making it 3-1 Twins. Donaldson also added another threat with his second double of the afternoon, but the two runs were all the Twins could add. And they needed both of them. As Robles came in to close out the game and promptly gave up a double off the bat of DJ Stewart to bring the lead to one. With Stewart standing on third base for far too much of the 10th inning, Robles would seal the 3-2 victory for the Twins with a strikeout of Freddy Galvis. The Twins hopefully are on their way to another win streak and extend their streak against Baltimore as they have now won the last 16 games against the birds. The team also ends May with a 13-16 record as the season continues to feel as it is getting late fast and this road trip looms as a very important one. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Robles 0 0 21 0 16 37 Farrell 0 17 0 16 0 33 Minaya 15 0 0 13 0 28 Rogers 0 0 21 0 6 27 Thielbar 0 0 0 22 0 22 Duffey 0 0 13 0 0 13 Alcala 0 0 10 0 0 10 Colomé 0 0 0 10 0 10 View full article

Mother nature almost disturbed the Twins path to a win. It was a trip through the lineup in the 8th that helped the home team weather the storm for a series opening win. Box Score Starter: Matt Shoemaker 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (2), Kyle Garlick (3) Top 3 WPA: Garver (.279), Garlick (.278), Shoemaker (.247) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) It wasn't the cleanest game ever, but the Twins with the help of some good performances and a strong 8th inning were able to get themselves another win. Shoemaker put together one of his better starts of the season. He made it to 96 pitches and 6 innings before Baldelli looked toward his bullpen to finish out the final 3 innings of the game. Shoemaker did allow the Orioles to get on the board in the 1st inning. After issuing a leadoff walk to Cedric Mullins, the outfielder made his way around to score. He made his way to second by way of his 6th steal on the season and placing himself in scoring position to score off of an Anthony Santander double. The Twins right-hander didn’t necessarily “cruise” from there on as there were some moments that were cause for one to hold his or her breath. The results were there though as Shoemaker did put together a very good start and put the Twins in a good position to try and win the game. Larnach Monster Shot Larnach tied up the game 1-1 with a monster first-pitch home run in the Twins half of the 3rd. It was the sort of swing and result that everyone has been waiting to see come to full fruition from a top-hitting prospect like Larnach. It was not just big in Monday’s night game, but the home run also goes down as the longest home run of the Twins season at 461 feet. And by landing in the Delta Sky360 Club in straight away center field he joins a limited group. Garlick also made sure to get in on the action with his own home run. Rain Delay Kills the Mood The Twins were likely already going to have a tough time closing out the final 3 innings Monday night with a taxed bullpen. Farrell was able to put up a scoreless frame thanks to a great relay play from Garlick-Gordon-Garver. Alcala came in and was one out away from hopefully stranding an Orioles runner on first. That was until the rain poured from the heavens. As the game resumed, maybe somewhat surprisingly Alcala returned to the mound. He was promptly met by DJ Stewart who put the Orioles up 3-2. Big Offensive 8th Inning Just as we may have uttered “here we go again,” the Twins exploded in the bottom of the 8th for 6 runs. It started with a Donaldson sac fly to bring in Simmons and tie the game at 3. Then with both Donaldson and Kirilloff on base, Garver would double in two runs to put the Twins ahead for good. Just about every Twin hitter got in on the fun in the 8th as the team batted around before finally former Twin minor leaguer Tyler Wells got Garlick to strike out swinging. For more on Wells go here. The Twins have a long way to go and a lot of luck may be needed to get back into any vicinity of sniffing the playoffs again. This sort of win is a positive sign for a club that couldn't find any runs in the late innings earlier in the season. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Robles 14 0 27 24 0 65 Farrell 0 38 0 0 16 54 Duffey 25 0 13 15 0 53 Rogers 22 0 9 14 0 45 Alcala 0 10 17 0 14 41 Stashak 19 0 0 0 0 19 Thielbar 0 0 0 18 0 18 Colomé 0 0 2 0 8 10 View full article

J.A. Happ’s beard was in postseason form tonight, but that was about all that was for the Twins as they lost 16-4 to open their series with the White Sox. Box Score Starter: J.A. Happ 3.2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Josh Donaldson (5) Bottom 3 WPA: Happ (-.314), Law (-.091), Garlick (-.039) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) May 17, 2021, White Sox vs. Twins was supposed to be a matchup of two AL Central foes battling it out to see who would take home the division crown. While one team is absolutely on that track, the home team tonight looked just as lifeless as it has for most of the 2021 season. To sum it up: After some very promising starts, Happ for the second turn in a row had a start he will try to forget. In some fairness, Happ was facing likely the toughest matchup for him in 2021 facing a White Sox team that hits lefties very well. The lefty did nothing to help himself as he may have nibbled himself to death as he tried to live around the edges of the zone. That approach resulted in Happ only being able to execute 48 of his 85 pitches for a strike before leaving the game with 2 outs in the 3rd inning and being charged with 6 earned runs. Mitch Garver Exits Early In the 1st inning, while catching, Garver took a foul ball right off of his knee. While his catcher gear stood between the ball and his knee it could only do so much in the way of preventing pain. Garver was initially barely able to stand and was clearly hampered as he doubled and scored a run in the 2nd inning. As the game turned to the 4th inning, Garver was lifted from the game in favor of Willians Astudillo who was bange up himself coming into the game. Official word on Garver was his injury was a knee contusion. Have a Day Nick Madrigal When picking which White Sox hitter was going to threaten to hit for the cycle Monday evening, Madrigal likely wasn’t going to be on anyone’s list. Especially since the second baseman hadn’t ever hit an MLB home run coming into Monday night’s action. That changed in the 3rd when Madrigal hit a home run to left center-field off of Happ after collecting a single in the 1st. He would then hit a double to knock Happ out of the game in the 4th and… The Few “Positives” Looking at the starting lineup Rob Refsnyder (similarly to our sentiments about Madrigal) was likely the last player anyone chose as the Twins offensive player of the game. He was just that as he went 4-for-4 with an RBI double. Just as there was chatter and even wishes for a rain shortened game. The Bringer of Rain brought it. Josh Donaldson may not have had the best all-around night at the plate but he provided the most fireworks from the Twins side. And after going 1-for-3 with that home run, Donaldson earned himself some time off as Larnach would come in to replace him after the homer. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Twins roster before tomorrow's game. With the bench already short before Garver was injured and the way pitchers have been used/performed. It would seem like some roster shuffling will be on its way. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Law 0 35 0 0 42 77 Thielbar 0 29 0 28 0 57 Anderson 0 0 0 11 39 50 Alcala 16 0 0 0 18 34 Rogers 20 0 0 12 0 32 Robles 12 0 17 0 0 29 Duffey 0 0 0 26 0 26 Colomé 0 0 7 0 0 7 View full article