Nate Palmer

The Minnesota Twins faced one of the most exciting lineups in baseball Monday, and they saw just exactly why Baltimore is generating so much hype in a 7-4 loss. Image courtesy of © Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Louie Varland: 5.0 IP, 11 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (94 pitches, 66 strikes (70.2%) Home Runs: José Miranda (1) Bottom 3 WPA: Louie Garland (-0.335), Christian Vázquez (-0.129), Kyle Farmer (-0.073) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Coming off a disappointing weekend in Detroit, the Twins hoped to turn things around as they opened a series against the Baltimore Orioles. The hope was that the pageantry of Jackie Robinson Day might have given the club a spark, but instead, all that magic seemed to go Baltimore’s way. Orioles Show Off Strong Lineup The Twins got an up-close look at last season's American League East champions and their multitude of good, and often young, hitters. Those bats wasted no time and got to the Twins in the first inning, as Jordan Westburg doubled and drove in Adley Rutschman and Ryan O’ Hearn. That truly was only the beginning of a good offensive showing for the Orioles. Five of the Orioles’ top six hitters had multi-hit games, with O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins, and Gunnar Henderson all hitting home runs. Miranda Providing Offense If there was any Minnesota magic, it would come in the form of Jose Miranda. With so much fire out of the lineup, this is Miranda’s opportunity to save his spot not just in the Twins lineup but possibly on the roster. Monday night it included some good steps in that direction. Coming into the evening, Miranda had only put together a line of .154/.267/.154 with a .421 OPS. Those numbers should see a bit of a jump after his performance on Monday. Miranda got it all started with a second-inning home run that trimmed the Orioles' lead to 2-1. After a Byron Buxton double, Miranda would also provide the second Twins run with an RBI single. Miranda would end the game with a three-hit night, going 3-for-4 with no strikeouts, two singles, and his home run. Jeffers Extends Hitting Streak While Miranda may have felt like a miracle, Ryan Jeffers remained the steady and reliable force in the Twins lineup. After the slow start, Jeffers took his game-hitting streak to six games. Extending the streak wasn’t just squeaked out. It was done with an exclamation and Jeffers' own three-hit game. The third hit was a two-RBI double that drove in Austin Martin and Edouard Julien. Bowman Debuts Matt Bowman made his Twins debut after being called up and kept on the roster, while Jorge Alcala was sent to the minors. The welcome was not kind, as Gunnar Henderson decided the best welcome was to take the right-hander deep for his fourth home run of the season. Bowman would settle down after the home run. While the end of his outing in the eighth inning did get a bit scary, Bowman would ultimately provide the Twins with three scoreless innings in relief. Now, we will await his fate as he likely will not be available for a bit after tossing 46 pitches. While the Twins were able to force the Orioles into a save situation, the game never truly felt that close. Varland may get the most of the attention after a bad start, but the bats continue to deserve a similar amount of credit for a game like this. What’s Next? Chris Paddack will look to get the Twins back in the win column while possibly earning his first win of the young season. The Twins will take on the Orioles’ young, promising starter, Grayson Rodriquez. The Twins will have their work ahead of them trying to deal with a pitch mix that includes a 96 mph fastball, an 84 mph changeup, and an 81 mph curveball. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Bowman 0 0 0 0 46 46 Funderburk 0 15 17 0 0 32 Jax 0 0 11 18 0 29 Stewart 0 0 19 10 0 29 Sands 0 0 28 0 0 28 Jackson 0 13 10 0 0 23 Okert 0 0 13 0 0 13 Thielbar 0 0 0 13 0 13 View full article

I would think we would see Julien move to 1B before Lewis.

I understand this reservation. I am pretty sure I penned/said/tweeted similar words about either Sano or Josh Donaldson or maybe both. Let's just hope I didn't deliver the KOD on this matter.

The Minnesota Twins have struggled to get a combination of stability and production from the left-side of their infield in recent history. The team seems to be on the verge of that with the duo of Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis both looking healthy headed into 2024. The lack of production produced from the shortstop position for the Twins pre-Carlos Correa has been well-documented over the years. Even though Correa stumbled through the 2023 season, he still has plenty of time to become not just one of-- but the best shortstop in Minnesota Twins history. Meanwhile, third base hasn’t been nearly as bad from a production standpoint. While many have produced for the Twins at third base, it has often been a new face year to year or every couple of years, which has made third base also a position lacking the combination of stability and production year to year going back as far as Corey Koskie. It seems that as of the middle of last season, Correa may have found lining up to his right the stability that the position needs in the form of Royce Lewis. Finally healthy, Lewis was able to play 58 games for the Twins last season while amassing a 2.4 WAR with a .921 OPS, 15 home runs (four of which were grand slams for a franchise record), and six stolen bases. While being proficient with the bat, Lewis has turned his shortstop skills into third base defense that continues to improve as he spends more time there. Lewis’ numbers drew national attention, and he has put his name alongside some of the greats in baseball. Paul Casella at MLB.com notes that Lewis joins eight other rookies in hitting .300 with at least 15 home runs and a 150 OPS+. Those eight being Yordan Alvarez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jose Abreu, Yasiel Puig, Mike Trout, Ryan Braun, Albert Pujols, and Mike Piazza. Next to Lewis is Correa, who, in a down year, still put together a 1.1 WAR season but is capable of much more like his 4.4 WAR his first season in Minnesota. Steamer has projected Correa at a 3.5 WAR and a .787 OPS. Something that would pair nicely with Lewis’ projected 3.7 WAR and .820 OPS. Of course, both players must avoid injuries, which hasn’t been easy for either while part of the Twins. If the two of them can spend more time on than off of the field, those projections put them in the conversation for one of the best offensive left sides of the infield in baseball. This is exciting news for Twins fans. With Correa already locked in long-term and reports of extension talk circling around Lewis, Minnesota could be preparing to watch a generationally great type duo—an exciting place even after a lackluster offseason. How excited are you for a Lewis-Correa left-side? When did you last feel this good about that part of the Twins infield? Join the conversation below! View full article

Former Minnesota Twin Mitch Garver just won the World Series with the Texas Rangers. Let's take a look back at how the move to trade him has aged since it happened a couple offseasons ago. Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports As the baseball world was treated to a Texas Rangers World Series championship, Minnesota Twins fans watched former Twin and fan favorite Mitch Garver perform well throughout the playoffs. His highlights included a golf-shot home run off of Merrill Kelly in Game 2 and an RBI single to break open the scoring in the title-clinching game. With the Rangers' incredible run fresh in mind, let’s take a trip back to examine the trade that landed Garver in Texas. The trade followed a 2021 season with the Twins where Garver had played in only 68 games but hit for an .875 OPS and 139 OPS+ in those limited plate appearances. That left the front office with a decision to make. Could they rely on the often-injured Garver, was it time to hand the reins to the rising Ryan Jeffers? Or, could they both share the catching load? With other needs to fill on the roster, the decision ultimately was made to trade Garver away. A deal with the Rangers materialized and resulted in Garver leaving with Ronny Henriquez and Isiah Kiner-Falefa coming to Minnesota. This trade will always be challenging to analyze on its own because it set off a string of moves, which included trading away Josh Donaldson and eventually signing Carlos Correa. The Immediate Move Based on the holes on the Twins roster at the time, it was understood that either Garver or Jeffers could be traded at some point in the 2021-2022 offseason. The return of Henriquez and Kiner-Falefa did feel light for what fans had hoped to see in a return for Garver. Kiner-Falefa was an example of the front office setting a floor at an empty position. His bat has never been that impactful, boasting a meager 84 and 78 OPS+ over the past two seasons. What IKF does provide is above-average defense across the infield and, most notably, at shortstop, which was a hole on the roster heading into the 2021-2022 offseason. There is still a chance that Henriquez will turn into a bullpen arm for the Twins. He came to the organization as a potential starter but, due to his struggle to stay healthy, has shifted primarily to the bullpen. While there is still a chance for Henriquez to impact the Twins roster, he will need to rise the ranks to meet the value of Garver when the two are placed side by side. The Long-Term Ripple Effects The positive of this move comes from the chain reaction it set off. The trade allowed the Twins to send out Josh Donaldson, his contract, and his negative clubhouse presence to the Yankees, who were keen on acquiring Kiner-Falefa. Donaldson’s absence opened up payroll space to bring in Carlos Correa for his initial deal, paving the way for this year's long-term contract. Garver has also seemingly had the judgment passed on him that between injuries and performance, others should be playing catcher over him. The Twins did pass on Garver in favor of Jeffers, and the Rangers chose Jonah Heim and trade deadline acquisition Austin Hedges behind the plate. While they were two of the three best defensive catchers in the game, according to Baseball Savant, it is still worth noting that the Rangers saw a need to acquire Hedges when Garver was in the locker room. Even as just a right-handed bat, Garver could have helped the Twins, especially considering his .938 OPS against left-handed pitchers in 2023. The only issue would be roster space and playing time. The Twins are currently seeing a roster crunch when all players are available at designated hitter (and corner positions if he was willing to play first base), and Garver would only add to that crunch. In the end, the initial deal looked like a short-sighted one. Thankfully for the Twins and us as fans, the Yankees were desperate to grab IKF and created all those other moves. Moves that, in ways, laid the groundwork for 2023 and beyond. Now, Garver will hit the free agent market, and we will see if everyone views him simply as a designated hitter or if someone will give him a chance to catch again. How did watching Garver win a championship with another team sit with you? How do you feel about the trade a couple of years later? Let us know below! View full article

After a long road back from Tommy John surgery, Chris Paddack steadied the Twins in Game 4 against the Houston Astros. Will he be able to provide a similar presence for the rotation in 2024? Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports In the early days of the 2023 season, during spring training at the Minnesota Twins complex in Fort Myers, Florida, a 6’5” figure could be seen walking. Walking with a weighted vest on. Around the parking area and on the field pregame. Walking and certainly itching to be ready to throw once again. That figure was Twins pitcher Chris Paddack. At that point, Paddack was still recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. Certainly, he wanted to nail his recovery so that he would not be taken out of action for a similar time frame again. To be able to spend 2024 Spring Training ramping up his workload to get ready to start for the Twins instead of reaching for that glimmer of hope that he might be able to do something at the end of the season as his 2023 went. For Paddack and the Twins, that slice of being able to compete was realized at the end of this season but came into a larger view during the playoffs. Paddack prepared himself and delivered when the Twins needed him to. No time bigger than in Game 4 against the Houston Astros, unfortunately, a game that we now know would ultimately eliminate the Twins from World Series contention. Paddack entered the game in the fourth inning where just two batters previously Jose Abreu took Caleb Thielbar deep to break the 1-1 tie. Now facing a 3-1 deficit, Paddack came on to face Chas McCormick and try to steady the ship. After giving up a single to McCormick, Paddack was able to calm what must have felt like a Titantic-sized ship. Paddack would finish out the fourth and go three up, three down in both the fifth and the sixth innings, which included striking out in order Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, and Kyle Tucker. At a quick glance, it was a mere 29 pitches of 2 1/3 innings, but those pitches were very valuable in keeping the Twins in the game and not allowing the Astros to cause more damage. On a night when so much would go wrong, Paddack went right. At the same time, others like Royce Lewis and Edouard Julien would give glimpses of hope for the offense in 2024. Paddack can give that same sort of hope for the pitching staff. We, as fans, must remember that we are a season removed from Paddack being a piece of the Taylor Rogers trade. If healthy, he certainly could have changed our opinion of that trade significantly based on his start to 2022. Chris Paddack only made five starts, but those five starts left an impact on a struggling starting staff. His five starts fell slightly shy of accounting for a full win above replacement at 0.9 fWAR. A fWAR total that would lead the team in that metric well beyond him being injured and shut down. His actual ERA may at first seem like it could be more impressive at 4.03 but out of qualified starters would have been top-30. Paddack's expected ERA of 3.10 certainly jumps off the page and is something to be optimistic about. Not to mention, if the Twins can find something to boost Paddack’s performance, we could see a bit more from him. As a reliever, he saw an over 14 K/9 after putting up a 8.1 K/9 in 2022 and a 8.2 K/9 in 2021 as a starter. Even some marginal improvements for a now healthy Paddack could help the Twins round out a rotation looking at the strong possibility of losing one of their leaders in Sonny Gray. Of course, every team is chasing that sort of improvement from middle or back-of-rotation starters. As Twins fans, we are believers after seeing what happened when Lopez added a sweeper into his repertoire. Can the Twins catch lightning in a bottle a second time? Only time will tell. What we do know is that reportedly Derek Falvey was optimistic postgame. How do you feel about Paddack’s performance and future? Is it enough to cover for a rotation without Gray if he signs a deal elsewhere, or do the Twins need to continue and explore another addition? View full article

Since the Minnesota Twins last playoff win - before yesterday - was many years ago and in a baseball stadium far, far away, we decided to take a look at where some of the Twins Daily writers were in their lives in 2004. Image courtesy of Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports On Tuesday, the Twins topped the Blue Jays 3-1 in Game 1 of the Wild Card round of the playoffs. In case you hadn’t heard, the Minnesota Twins were on an 0-18 streak in postseason games. We must travel back to 2004 to remember what that a postseason win was like. It's a win that we, as fans, hope can be replicated many times this October. Since their previous playoff win was so long ago, it could be fun, maybe slightly painful, to look back to see where many of the Twins Daily writers were in life for that last playoff win. Theodore Tollefson “I was in my second month of Kindergarten. The only Twin I knew of at the time was Torii Hunter. I was more worried about figuring out which Star Wars character I’d be for Halloween than baseball. I ended up being Darth Vader.” Steve Trefz “I was 24. Newly married and living in a studio apartment at school in Chicago. My final year of seminary just started. It was a Tuesday with a 7:21 p.m. first pitch. I watched from the comfort of my couch. I had no idea it would be the last.” Seth Stohs “I was 29. I had just bought my first (and only) house a couple of months earlier. I’m sure I thought of it as the first of many because even though Mauer didn’t play (Oh Henry(!) Blanco), they had so many young players (Morneau, Cuddyer, Santana, etc.). I was sure they would become a juggernaut, similar to what the Atlanta Braves had become. I had been blogging for like 15 months, so I’m sure someone could probably find what I wrote…but probably not.” If someone can find what Seth wrote, I think we would all enjoy seeing that. Don’t scroll through the WordPress version of Seth Speaks. It won’t get you far enough back. I also don’t care to share how I obtained this knowledge either! (Editor Note - But I do, so I linked to that old site and you can enjoy my thoughts, ramblings, rankings and more from the olden days. -Seth) Cody Schoenmann “I was four years old. I am now 23. I got my tonsils taken out when I was four, but the last playoff win may have happened before or after. I don’t remember. I didn’t know baseball existed, and my parents weren’t big baseball people. So, I was still multiple years away from being introduced to baseball and the Twins. I would love to experience a Twins playoff win and have a recollection of it as well.” Cody Christie “I was in my sophomore year of college. My RA rented out a projector, and my whole wing sat out in the common area and watched the game projected on the wall. I remember hanging on every moment, especially some of the tremendous defensive plays made by the Twins to preserve the shutout. We erupted when Jacque Jones hit the home run. For one night, it seemed like the Twins were going to be able to slay the mighty Yankees.” Matthew Lenz simply remembers Phil Cuzzi blowing the foul ball call. Melissa Berman “I was in 4th grade, and I remember my teacher rolled in a TV on a cart so we could watch the game during class! I was lucky to have teachers who were big Twins fans growing up who would always show the games in class–if my parents didn’t bring me down to the Metrodome to see in person!” John Bonnes “I had started TwinsGeek.com two years earlier, seen one playoff run, seen the Twins go down 3-1 versus the Yankees the year before, and was looking forward to defeating the evil empire and writing about it. But here’s the thing: I don’t remember that game. I remember the game after vividly, watching Gardy stay with Joe Nathan one inning too long. I remember the next two games just as vividly, because I was at them. I remember where I was sitting when Ruben Sierra went deep on Juan Rincon. And I remember the weather change that happened right after the game, when the north wind hit, and we walked to our car. But I don’t remember that win. It drives me crazy.” Even though John cannot find in his memories the game, he thankfully wrote something down. Here is the conclusion to his game coverage: “The Twins did not win last night’s game because of a Cy Young pitcher that was dominant. They won last night’s game because they kept making big plays when they were put in a position to make big plays. Because of that they’ll now get the opportunity to enlist their own ghosts–let’s call them Clamor and Din–this weekend in Minneapolis.” Nate Palmer “I was a few months into my senior year of high school, fully into a cross country season where I was trying to beat personal bests and be a catalyst to lead our team to wins. I also would put plastic bags around my socks early every morning before they hit my shoes as I grabbed my trumpet for early morning marching band practice. This was about the time I really started to enjoy watching the Twins. One of my cross-country teammates and I would go back and forth, talking about the team. I don’t remember what it was like watching the game. With my schedule, who knows if I watched it or if I also had to snag a shift making Blizzards at the local Dairy Queen. This one I will be able to listen to or watch and hopefully will remember more fully the details.” Do you remember where you were in 2004? Were you a Baby Twins fan just getting started on this rollercoaster journey? Were you someone who vividly remembers 1987 and 1991 and thought this was the start of another run like those years? Whatever or wherever you were, we would love to read about it below! View full article

Twins pitching couldn't lock down a dangerous Reds lineup. Adding to the pain, Correa leaves game early as the Twins lose the series opener in Cincinnati. Image courtesy of Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK Box Score SP: Joe Ryan: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K (84 pitches, 54 strikes (64.3%) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (15), Alex Kirilloff (9) Bottom 3 WPA: Joe Ryan (-0.178), Matt Wallner (-0.096), Dallas Keuchel (-0.077) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) With the Guardians losing to the Royals earlier in the day, the Twins magic number hit five. The Twins hoped to lower that number even further as they prepared to take on the Reds, with Joe Ryan leading the way from the mound. Correa Exits in the Second The Twins had an early blow dealt to them as Carlos Correa was pinch-hit for in the second inning. Correa exited due to a flare-up of his ongoing struggles with Plantar Fasciitis. Kyle Farmer replaced Correa in the lineup and at shortstop in the field. Royce Lewis remained at third base to continue his development there. Top of Two Bad, Bottom of Two Worse While the Twins saw their shortstop leave in the top half of the inning, the Reds put runs on the board in the bottom half. Noelvi Marte put the first run on the board with a single to center field. As Michael A. Taylor fielded the ball, Joey Votto challenged him by going first to third on the single. A move that also allowed Marte to reach second and place two runners in scoring position. Will Benson tried to make it not matter where Votto or Marte stood on the base paths, but Taylor was involved again. Benson drilled what looked like a three-run home run. Instead, Taylor jumped and reached over the wall to turn a home run into a sac-fly, putting the Reds up 2-0. Lewis: Same Song, Different Verse While Connor Phillips hadn’t allowed any hits into the fourth inning, that was all about to change as Lewis stepped into the batter’s box. As Lewis had made a habit of doing when the Twins needed a big hit, he came through with one. He hit his 15th home run of the season to cut the Reds lead in half, making it 2-1. The "Great American Bandbox" A game in Cincinnati would only be complete with some more home runs. Benson got his revenge on Ryan and Taylor in the 4th inning. This time, he hit a two-run home run and placed it where Taylor could not bring it back in. Alex Kirilloff didn't want to be left out of the party and hit his own solo shot in the seventh inning. The home run was Kirilloff's ninth of the season and was his only hit of the game as he went 1 for 3. Keuchel Used Out of the Bullpen As the Twins shuffle their pitchers in an attempt to figure out roles for the playoffs, Dallas Keuchel had an opportunity to work out of the bullpen. His first inning went smoothly, only issuing a walk. His second inning turned ugly as he gave up three runs, and the Twins went down 7-2. Gray, Farmer Return to Cincy Over the past season, the Twins and Reds have lined up on several trades. Sonny Gray and Farmer were both part of those trades and fully enjoyed returning to the place where they once played. As mentioned on both television and radio, Farmer is very grateful for the Reds and their willingness to allow him to play shortstop. Gray used his familiarity to give an assist to his bullpen mates. He hooked them up with a great reservation and picked up the tab as well! On the Reds side, Spencer Steer wanted to show off his development has continued and went 3-for-4. Those three hits included a well hit double that bounced off the outfield wall. What’s Next? The Twins will look to even the series on Tuesday as they send Kenta Maeda to the mound. After a seven-inning outing last time out, Maeda will look for another strong appearance tomorrow. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Keuchel 0 0 0 0 58 58 Winder 14 0 25 0 0 39 Jax 0 16 0 13 0 29 Varland 0 29 0 0 0 29 Pagán 0 0 0 22 0 22 Funderburk 0 16 0 0 0 16 Durán 0 0 9 0 0 9 Thielbar 0 0 0 0 0 0 Floro 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

A short Sonny Gray start and a strong Tyler Glasnow start set the tone for the Twins night that resulted in a loss. Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Sonny Gray: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (89 pitches, 55 strikes (61.8%) Home Runs: Max Kepler (22), Royce Lewis (12) Bottom 3 WPA: Dylan Floro (-0.243), Carlos Correa (-0.124), Willi Castro(-0.115) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Minnesota Twins have an opportunity this week to test them in a series against the final playoff-caliber team on their schedule. While a whole series is ahead of the two teams, the first game did not go the Twins way. Sonny not Sharp As Sonny Gray took the mound Monday evening, he has looked like an American League Cy Young candidate most of the season. With another Cy Young candidate on the other side of the slate, Monday night was not Gray's night as the Rays nibbled away at him throughout his outing. The Rays didn’t exactly hit Gray hard, but singles, hit batters, and fielding miscues did Gray in. The first run was scored on a pair of bloop singles, a ball that kicked away from Ryan Jeffers, and another single delivered by Josh Lowe. The rest of Gray’s outing would be very similar, with no other loud damage being done. There would be an unearned run scored courtesy of Randy Arozarena, who reached on a fielding error, advanced to second on a fielder’s choice, and eventually landed on third via a wild pitch in time for Jose Siri to single him home for the Rays second run. While Gray left the game with two Rays runs on the board, he only made it four innings. The rest of the game was on the Twins bullpen’s shoulders, beginning with Dylan Floro. Bullpen Couldn’t Carry As Floro took the mound, the hits from the Rays looked much the same. Nothing too hard or to cause too much concern, until with two runners on Floro gave up his first home run as a Twin. Taylor Walls hit a three-run home run to put the Rays up 5-2. Since being exchanged for Jorge Lopez, Floro came into tonight tossing 12.2 innings for the Twins. That has led him to a 4.97 ERA and a .314 batting average against. Neither are encouraging numbers for a reliever on a playoff-bound team. Diaz and Glasnow with Big Nights Two Rays players had big nights. Yandy Diaz was a catalyst of the Rays offense, collecting four hits in his first four at-bats. All of it was accented by a solo home run in the sixth inning off of Twins reliever Brent Headrick. While Glasnow’s final line will not look clean, that doesn’t quite tell the entire story of how the Rays starter took care of the Twins. It all started as Glasnow nearly tossed an immaculate inning in the first. Instead of getting three strikeouts on nine pitches, he needed a tenth pitch to get the three strikeouts. Glasnow had a hiccup in the fourth inning when he let up a big home run with Max Kepler at the plate. Kepler remains one of the most valuable Twins bats and fielders down the season's stretch. Since the All-Star break, Kepler has held a .900 OPS even after cooling down a bit since the beginning of September. Enter Royce Lewis Above, it was mentioned that Glasnow’s final line wouldn’t reflect his dominance against the Twins. That is all due to what happened in the 6th inning. And as usual, a big spot found Royce Lewis, and Royce Lewis did Royce Lewis things. With two runners on, Lewis hit his own three-run blast with an exit velocity of 112.9 mph. Lewis’ homerun would make the sixth inning Glasnow’s final. While he gave up four earned runs to the Twins, he also struck out eight Twins batters. Gray Hits Career Mark While Gray will be in no mood to celebrate after his performance Monday evening. He did make it to 1,500 career strike outs in the first inning. After Monday's game, Gray has 165 strikeouts for the season. What’s Next? Joe Ryan takes the mound for the Twins for Tuesday’s game. Since returning from the IL, Ryan has a 2.40 ERA in three starts. On the other side, the Rays will send old friend Zach Littell out for the start. The one-time dominant reliever for the Twins will make his 12th start of 2023 for the Rays. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Headrick 0 0 0 0 47 47 Winder 0 0 0 0 38 38 Floro 0 0 11 0 24 35 Jax 0 8 0 24 0 32 Thielbar 0 15 10 0 0 25 Varland 0 0 20 0 0 20 Funderburk 0 0 15 0 0 15 Durán 0 14 0 0 0 14 Pagán 0 11 0 0 0 11 View full article

The Minnesota Twins 2019 team home run record is being threatened and a familiar face is helping lead the charge. Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports For the Minnesota Twins, 2019 was one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory. While it ended with another postseason collapse, it was marked by a much different offense than Twins fans had recently become accustomed to. Coming off an era where the offense was most commonly referred to as a nibbling group of carnivorous fish, they seemingly overnight turned into Jaws and could take out opposing pitchers in one big bite. That led to the Twins claiming the single-season team home run record by hitting 307 home runs and gaining the moniker “The Bomba Squad.” In 2023, that record is under fire by none other than the National League-leading Atlanta Braves. On the way to the season of 307 home runs, the Twins had ten players who hit at least 10 home runs. Five of those players, Nelson Cruz (41), Max Kepler (36), Miguel Sano (34), Eddie Rosario (32), and Mitch Garver (31) had over 30 home runs on the season. C.J. Cron (25), Jonathan Schoop (23), and Jorge Polanco (22) made it over the 20 home run mark. As of this writing, the Braves are on pace to hit 309 home runs as a club. Matt Olson is leading the charge for the Braves by hitting 43 home runs to this point. That is already two more than the Twins leader Cruz had in 2019. Marcell Ozuna (31) and Austin Riley (32) are also above 30 home runs. Ronald Acuna Jr. (31) also just joined the 30 home run club Thursday night as he became the first player in MLB history to hit 30 home runs and steal 60 bases in the same season. Ozzie Albies (28) is just behind them. Something especially interesting is Eddie Rosario is now on the Braves squad and looking to grab the team home run title for a second time. While Rosario struggled initially after leaving the Twins, he has, like so many, found a productive home in Atlanta. He currently sits at 20 home runs and is hitting .262/.314/.487 with an .801 OPS. The Twins themselves are still a power-hitting club. Minnesota is still far behind Atlanta, sitting sixth in the MLB with 187 home runs. Max Kepler leads the way for the Twins with 21 home runs. Michael A. Taylor and Joey Gallo are at the 20 home run mark. In comparison, Kepler is a repeat of the 2019 team; the other leaders are of a much different makeup here in 2023. As Twins fans, we will focus most on the magic number to win the division. We can certainly glance occasionally to see if the Bomba Squad’s mark will hold or if the Braves take over the top spot. No matter what, we can hold onto the fact that “he was out.” View full article

As the Twins open up six games over ten days against Cleveland Monday night, Royce Lewis found the big moment once again. Becoming the first Twin to ever hit a grand slam in back-to-back games as the Twins increase their division lead. Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Kenta Maeda: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (66 pitches, 43 strikes (65.2%) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (8), Matt Wallner (10), Jorge Polanco (10) Top 3 WPA: Royce Lewis (0.357), Jorge Polanco (0.278), Matt Wallner (0.119) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Twins Find Themselves in Familiar Territory Early Sunday, the Twins found themselves down 5-0 after the 4th inning. After the Cleveland half of the second inning, the Twins would find themselves down once again. This time by a 4-0 margin. In the second inning, the Guardians bats found Kenta Maeda’s pitches with some hard and effective contact. The run-scoring was accented by a Gabriel Arias double to put the Guardians up 2-0. Then Bo Naylor flashed his power, hitting a two-run home run to score the third and fourth runs of the inning. By the inning's end, Cleveland had three hits with an exit velocity above 100 mph. Royce Lewis Grand Again A Xzavion Curry Balk and a Donovan Solano double got the Twins on the board first, cutting the lead in half to 4-2. Unfortunately for Solano the inning will not be remembered for his RBI effort. Instead, we will remember the second inning of Monday night’s game for Royce Lewis. Like Sunday, Lewis found himself at bat with the bases full of Twins. Just like Sunday, Lewis launched a pitch over the outfield. This one dropping into the bullpen. The grand slam is Lewis’ third of his career. Lewis also became the first Twin in the club’s history to hit grand slams in back-to-back days. Lewis continues his tear after finding his groove earlier this season after some early struggles. Coming into tonight, Lewis had hit for a .352 average and .942 OPS in the past 29 games. Wallner and Polanco join the party Over the third and fourth innings, the Guardians and Twins traded runs. With the score 6-5, another rookie in Matt Wallner also went deep. Wallner put the ball into the seats in right-center field for his 10th home run on the season to put the Twins up 7-5. Cleveland would get a run back on a pair of doubles off the bats of Arias and Steven Kwan in the fourth inning, making it 7-6. The Twins wouldn’t leave the lead that small for long. Jorge Polanco, during his at-bat, joined the home run parade. He hit his 10th of the season, scored three runs and put the Twins up 10-6. Kody Funderburk Makes Debut Shortly before the game, the Twins announced that Bailey Ober was being sent down to St. Paul while they brought up left reliever Kody Funderburk. After Maeda could only make it through four innings, Funderburk was called upon for his major league debut to protect the Twins 10-6 lead. He started his MLB career off by fielding a grounder off the bat of Kole Calhoun. He then recorded his first MLB strikeout by freezing Ramon Laureano. After the strikeout, Funderburk finished the inning the way he started it by fielding an Andres Gimenez grounder to get out of the inning three up, three down. Many have been waiting to see Funderburk step on a major league mound, and all of Twins Territory saw why as he completed two perfect innings. If he keeps this performance up, another solid left-handed arm like Funderburk's would help bolster a weak point of the Twins roster all season down the stretch. Winder Proves Valuable Again Over the homestand, Josh Winder has come up big by providing bulk innings twice this homestand. He has provided six innings of shutout pitching. Three coming tonight in an all too important spot after Sunday's extra-inning game and Maeda's short start, which left the bullpen a bit taxed. What’s Next? Pablo Lopez will take the mound to attempt to continue the Twins winning ways. While Lopez has been very good for the Twins this season, he will look to rebound after struggling his last time out and giving up a career-high three home runs. Cleveland will counter with rookie Gavin Williams, who will bring with him a 3.52 ERA over 64.0 innings pitched. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN SUN TOT Winder 46 0 0 0 24 70 Jax 15 0 28 0 0 43 Sands 0 32 0 0 0 32 Floro 0 0 12 19 0 31 Funderburk 0 0 0 0 28 28 Pagán 0 0 14 11 0 25 Durán 0 0 12 9 0 21 Thielbar 0 0 10 11 0 21 Balazovic 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

As written above, it seemed it was really between him and Sands. Pagan very well should or could have been part of that conversation but nothing has given us evidence that that was the case. Also, Coulombe has been better in just about every measure than Pagan. K/9, BB/9, K%, ERA, xERA, FIP, xFIP, WPA, and he doubles Pagan in WAR.

The difference with Cano is he was hurt and not doing anything for the Twins last season when traded off. Cano flashed some intriguing stuff but wasn't by any means a sure thing. Coulombe was sitting there ready to contribute as soon as the season started and the only thing keeping him from doing that in the past with the Twins was injury.

So, we're good with this bullpen?

The Twins gave away a quality reliever just before the start of the season. That decision will haunt them the rest of the season as they were only able to swap relievers and not truly add to their bullpen depth for the stretch run. Image courtesy of Mike Watters, USA TODAY Sports As well documented, the Minnesota Twins trade deadline came with much noise but no action. That deadline could have looked much better if the front office hadn't made things tougher on themselves just before the season began. As the opening day roster was getting its final refinements, a decision about the once often-injured left-handed reliever, Danny Coulombe, was needed. Over the past three seasons, Coulombe pitched for the Twins in a somewhat limited fashion, with his 34 1/3 innings in 2021 being the most for a single season. Even though limited, when he was healthy, Coulombe proved to be a quality secondary setup man for the Twins over the past three seasons. As Coulombe was healthy and pitching well this spring, he appeared to have earned himself a spot in the Twins' pen. In the Twins' eyes, there was still a battle for the last spot. That battle for the final spot came down to Coulombe or Cole Sands. (Emilio Pagan's name should likely be here, but we know that story by now.) The Twins went with Sands and collected cash from Baltimore for Coulombe. That has made Coulombe an essential part of the Orioles bullpen, throwing 37 innings with a 2.92 ERA, 11.2 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and a 144 ERA+. The lefty has pitched well against both sides of the plate, although with much more success getting strikeouts against right-handed batters. With the ongoing struggles with injuries and ineffectiveness in the Twins bullpen, Coulombe would have been a valuable piece in Minnesota. Coulombe would have helped Pagan pitch fewer innings, Jovani Moran pitch fewer innings, and more help during Caleb Thielbar and Brock Stewart's injury. Instead, the Twins went with Sands to begin the season. Sands has appeared in 10 games, throwing 14 innings. That comes with a 4.50 ERA, 9.0 K/9, 5.8 BB/9, and a 98 ERA+. It also includes about a week when Sands was in the bullpen, and the Twins seemed unwilling and unconfident to pitch him even though the rest was running on fumes. The handling of Coulombe is a further example of how the Twins need help to self-evaluate players within their system. Coulombe may not go on to become the next great setup man or closer for anyone, but he has found an impactful role on a very competitive team. A role he should have filled in Minnesota. The negative impact of the move is only that much more accented now that the Twins were unable or unwilling to swing a trade for a reliever at the deadline. The lack of movement might have been more tolerable if Coulombe was still in a Twins uniform. As it stands, this roster has a lot of question marks attached to it. If they aren't now answered internally in a way that leads to the playoffs, the questions might begin getting more heated for the front office. While it was a minor move, the Coulombe decision has significant ripple effects on the season for the Twins. View full article