Nate Palmer

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

Kenta Maeda and Luis Castillo dueled, but it was the late-inning offensive heroics that stole the show once again. The Twins win in extras on a Carlos Correa single. Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Kenta Maeda: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K (98 pitches, 58 strikes (59.2%) Home Runs: Top 3 WPA: Max Kepler (0.443), Christian Vazquez (0.300), Jovani Moran (0.170) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Monday night marked the Minnesota Twins second meeting with the Mariners in the last week after playing one another in Seattle last week. With Kenta Maeda starting for the Twins and Luis Castillo starting for the Mariners, the game was set up to be a possible pitchers duel. The only caveat was, would either offense carry with them the familiarity of just seeing their respective opponent and capitalize on it with significant offensive output. Castillo Strong Early, Twins Find Success Late Luis Castillo was dealing early and shut down the Twins offense the first time through the order. Going nine up and nine down and stretching that number to ten until Edouard Julien finally reached base in the fourth inning. Julien would eventually make a mistake on his lead-off from first, resulting in a pick-off to end the fourth inning. It looked like it would be a very long night until the fifth inning when Max Kepler finally broke through with the Twins first hit. A single pulled not far off of first base into right field. As Castillo worked the Twins to two outs, it looked like Twins might squander Kepler’s hit. That all changed with the crack of Trevor Larnach’s bat. Larnach launched the ball off the right field wall for a game-tying triple. As the next batter, Christian Vazquez hit his own single to right field to score Larnach, giving the Twins a 2-1 lead to end the fifth. While Castillo would leave the game with his team losing, he put forth a great effort. He struck out nine batters after striking eleven Twins out last week. Maeda Works His Own Magic Maeda put together an excellent outing of his own. While Maeda’s outing didn’t look quite as dominant as Castillo, it proved to be just as effective. Maeda worked through contact and some loud contact to hold the Mariners to one run. It wasn’t until the lead-off batter of the fifth inning that some of the contact Maeda gave up burned him. When it did, it was because of Tom Murphy’s bat. Murphy absolutely crushed a ball and bounced it off the flowers in center field. While Maeda would leave mid-seventh with runners on first and second, he had another solid outing, as has been the norm since returning from the IL. With only one run allowed and eight strikeouts, Maeda left the game in the hands of the bullpen with a Twins lead. Bad Baserunning or Aggressive Baserunning? Throughout the game, Julien made two outs on the base paths. The first was already mentioned, as he was picked off first. The second came in the sixth inning as he tried to go first to third on a Kepler single but was gunned down easily by Teoscar Hernandez. Immediate gut reaction to both plays is to be upset with Julien’s baserunning. There is undoubtedly a reason to be upset. At the same time, is this simply the result of the Twins trying to make the most of their offensive output by being aggressive on the base paths? Just Sunday, we saw that on display with the good and bad outcome. Kepler was aggressive coming home and was gunned down. Gallo was also aggressive as he made his way home but was able to score. It is a situation to keep our eyes on. Taxed Bullpen Comes Up Big, Breaks, then Comes Up Big With most of the Twins bullpen getting good work over the weekend, the Twins attempted to close out the game with a bit of their "B" lineup. Jovani Moran and Jordan Balazovic made it through their innings well. Rocco Baldelli then turned to Griffin Jax to close out the game and give Jhoan Duran the day off. Even though Jax was used only slightly less this weekend and Monday night was his third straight day of work. Jax brought the Twins within one pitch of closing out the game. Cal Raleigh produced a single, which led to an unlikely Kolten Wong two-run home run to give the Mariners a 3-2 lead. More Late-Inning Magic? The Twins had late-inning magic over the weekend. Could it happen again? In the bottom of the ninth, Alex Kirilloff got the offense rolling with a double of the left field wall that just stayed in the ballpark. Kepler followed up with a double of his own to tie the game up. Matt Wallner and a pinch-hitting Donovan Solano both had a chance to send everyone home but could not. Sending the Twins to extra-innings once again. Jorge Lopez came on for the top of the 10th and got through the inning cleanly. It was a big inning for the Twins and for Lopez, and hopefully works to continue building his confidence. It was once again up to the offense. And that offense was up to the task. Vazquez moved Solano over from second to third. That bunt set up the opportunity for a safety squeeze. Jeffers laid down a bunt right in front of home plate. As Solano read it, he decided it wasn't wise to head for home. Instead of being a completely blown play, the Mariners misplayed the bunt on their end, and Jeffers reached first safely. That set up a showdown between Carlos Correa and Paul Sewald. A reliever that could be coveted by contending teams as the trade deadline quickly approaches. Correa wasn't about to let Sewald add to his resume Monday evening. The Twins star shortstop slapped a single to right field to walk off the game. The game started with a methodical pace but ended in another flurry of big hits late. This walk-off takes the Twins to 9-2 since the All-Star break. What’s Next? The Twins will try and keep things rolling tomorrow against the Mariners. George Kirby, who had the Twins number last time out, will take the mound for Seattle. Pablo Lopez will look to match or better Maeda as he takes the mound. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Ortega 18 0 0 36 0 54 J. López 28 0 0 9 12 49 Jax 0 0 16 8 19 43 Durán 0 0 21 16 0 37 Morán 0 22 0 0 5 27 Pagán 0 15 0 11 0 26 Balazovic 0 0 7 0 12 19 Sands 3 0 0 0 0 3 View full article

The game got interesting late, but a big home run from Ed Julien in the eighth inning got the Twins bats going. Paired with a good Joe Ryan start, those runs brought the Twins back into the win column. Image courtesy of © Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Joe Ryan: 60 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (94 pitches, 62 strikes (65.9%) Home Runs: Edouard Julien (5) Top 3 WPA: Edouard Julien (0.269), Carlos Correa (0.189), Joe Ryan (0.126) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) To this point in the season, the Minnesota Twins, as their offense has struggled, haven't hit any left-handers well, and their pinch-hit attempts haven't gone well either. For one night, those details reversed course. Ultimately, an eighth inning, pinch-hit home run by Edouard Julien put the Twins up for good. Here is how it went. First Inning Deja Vu The game did not start on the right foot and felt like Joe Ryan's previous start in Atlanta. Only this time, Maikel Garcia, instead of Ronald Acuna Jr. took Ryan deep. One pitch into the game, and the Twins were down 1-0. Thankfully, the inning did not progress toward being a Home Run Derby preview. Instead, Ryan recovered, struck out the next two batters, and induced a harmless fly ball to center to prevent a crooked number from going up on the scoreboard. Speed Kills The Twins were able to get themselves on the board in their half of the first inning. It was all set up by Carlos Correa, from the leadoff spot for the fourth game, hustling and legging out a double. Donovan Solano then moved Correa over to third base so that he could score on Byron Buxton's sacrifice fly. Then in the second inning, Willi Castro again showed off his speed by stealing second base for his 16th steal of 2023. That extra base proved crucial as it put him in a position to score off a shallow bloop single off the bat of Michael A. Taylor. Castro ended the fourth inning thinking he could get another free base but was instead picked off first. The Royals used speed to their advantage as well. With the Twins now up 2-1, Bobby Witt Jr. took his turn at quickly stealing second base. That put him in a position to easily score off a Nick Pratto single to right field. That allowed the Royals to even the game up 2-2. Witt would also notch a second steal in the fifth inning. Buxton and Correa Producing The most significant offensive issues that the Twins faced over the first half of the season have been Buxton and Correa's missing bats. Monday night, the Twins saw production from each of their two leaders. Correa went 4-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored out of the leadoff spot. Buxton had two very well-hit balls to the outfield. Neither fell for a hit, and Buxton officially went down as 0-for-3, but he produced two runs on sacrifice flies. After Julien but the Twins up, it seemed the whole lineup decided to produce in the bottom of the eighth inning. While Julien's home run put the Twins ahead, the inning resulted in five total runs. As was mentioned on the television broadcast, those runs helped save Griffin Jax's arm for tomorrow or later in the week. Emilio Pagan allowed the game to become more interesting than it should have. Saving Jax is still very welcomed with a bullpen that has quickly found itself very thin. What’s Next? The Twins will face their AL Central foe in a 4th of July day game tomorrow. Kenta Maeda will take the mound to pick up his second win of the season. The Royals will send to the mound veteran Zach Greinke, who is not the same pitcher he once was but still can be tricky to figure out. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN SUN TOT Pagán 0 19 0 6 25 50 Durán 0 0 8 34 0 42 Morán 0 8 0 0 17 25 Jax 0 0 11 14 0 25 Balazovic 0 9 0 0 6 15 Headrick 0 0 0 0 12 12 Ortega 0 0 0 0 0 0 Winder 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

I am here to enter Danny Coulombe for cash into the chat. The Twins could have really used him even if he was only a portion of what he has been in Baltimore.

Minnesota Twins fans were treated to a great pitchers duel for most of Monday evening. In the end, the Braves bats beat the Twins in a 4-1 loss. Image courtesy of © Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Sonny Gray: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (102 pitches, 69 strikes (65.9%) Home Runs: Joey Gallo (13) Bottom 3 WPA: Emilio Pagan (-0.163), Carlos Correa (-0.134), Willi Castro (-0.131) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Coming off of a series win, the Minnesota Twins opened a series against the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves Monday evening. We were in for quite the treat in the opener as the Twins' Sonny Gray and Braves' Spencer Strider faced off against one another on the mound. With “Quad-zilla” Strider, the Twins saw their weakness, strikeouts, face off with the righty's strength as the MLB strikeout leader. Gallo Finds the Chink in the Armor Strider hasn’t been quite as dominant as he was last season. One of the reasons is his propensity to give up the long ball. Coming into Monday, Strider was allowing 1.28 home runs per nine innings. In the second inning, Joey Gallo took the first pitch he saw from Strider and sent it to the trees in center field. Despite some struggles to stay consistent at the plate, the home run was Gallo’s 13th of the season. Gray Duels Strider Gray has had a very good 2023 sporting a 2.56 ERA and his very low 0.22 HR/9. As of late, Gray has found himself in some wobbly innings mid-game, making some of his starts feel worse than the box score reflected. Overall, that was not the case Monday. On the other side, Strider is a different type of pitcher than Gray and significantly outpaced him in the strikeout column. Strider limited the Twins bats outside Gallo’s home run by striking out ten batters. Gray would leave the game with the Twins down 2-1 after allowing his third home run of the season to Marcell Ozuna in the seventh inning. Even though Gray left the game with the Twins down by a run, he pitched a great game. Gray held one of the best and hottest lineups in MLB in check. Then enter Emilio Pagan… Pagan Allows Final Blow After Alex Kirilloff narrowly missed a highlight reel catch to allow Michael Harris II to reach base for the third time, Gray was lifted for Pagan. Pagan took the mound to face the Braves best hitter and a front runner for MVP honors in Ronal Acuna Jr. As Twins fans have witnessed too often, Pagan gave up a home run to Acuna to put the Braves up 4-1. Pagan continuing to get these sorts of chances also points to just how thin the Twins bullpen is. The front office didn’t do much to fortify it this offseason, and injuries have only further ravaged that lack of depth. What’s Next? After a tough loss, the Twins will look to Joe Ryan to even the series. Ryan is fresh off his shutout performance which he took the distance. The Braves will counter with Bryce Elder who has outpaced his expected results to become the NL ERA leader with a 2.40 ERA. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Stewart 0 28 0 14 0 42 Pagán 0 0 30 0 8 38 Durán 0 19 0 15 0 34 Jax 0 12 0 17 0 29 Balazovic 0 0 6 18 0 24 Winder 0 0 0 0 19 19 Morán 0 16 0 0 0 16 Headrick 0 0 0 6 0 6 View full article

Very little went right for the Twins Monday evening as both Lopez and the offense struggled. On the other side, James Paxton was dealing and the Twins couldn't find an answer as they took the loss. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Pablo Lopez: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 9 K (104 pitches, 69 strikes (66.3%) Home Runs: Christian Vazquez (1) Bottom 3 WPA: Jovani Moran (-0.338), Pablo Lopez (-0.136), Edouard Julien (-0.087) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) In case you hadn’t heard, the Minnesota Twins offense has struggled all season. As the team opened their series against the Boston Red Sox, the bounce-back path did not look to be getting any easier. The Red Sox sent lefty James Paxton to the mound to face the home team. The Twins also found themselves without their fWAR leader among their position players, Michael A. Taylor, after he was hit in the head during Sunday’s game. None of us expected to utter that statement coming into the season. While full of sarcasm, it does help to point out just how much the offense has struggled as we quickly approach mid-summer. Lopez struggles Pablo Lopez got the start for the Twins and escaped some tough spots but struggled with his command throughout the evening. The first inning ended with a Boston runner on third base. The third inning saw two additional runs across the plate courtesy of two walks, a hit batter, and a double. Lopez struggled to put batters away, which was true to the end of his start. After putting runners on second and third sixth, Lopez was lifted in favor of Jovani Moran with two outs in the inning. Both those runners would come around to score after Moran gave up a three-run triple to Alex Verdugo to put the Red Sox up 6-3. Vazquez hits first home run of season In the fifth inning, with the Twins down 3-0, Christian Vazquez came up to bat with two runners on base. While the entire Twins offense has been in a drought, Vazquez is one of the players in the middle of his own slump. That had to make his fifth-inning, game-tying, three-run home run feel that much better. It is Vazquez’s first home run of the season and first since October of last season. MVP Duran, but not that one Twins fans usually watch Jhoan Duran enter the game, pumping 105 mph as the most valuable arm out of the bullpen. Monday night, the Red Sox version of Duran, Jarren Duran, was the Boston catalyst. Their Duran hit three straight doubles to open the game. He also played a vital role in the first three runs for Boston before being pinch-hit for by former Twin Rob Refsnyder. Paxton is back After a long road of injuries and diminished velocity, Paxton once again showed up and pitched well in 2023. The Twins could only muster up offense in the fifth inning against the left-hander when Vazquez hit his home run. He finished with a line of 6 ⅓ innings, allowing three hits while striking out seven. It starts at the top The Twins offense came almost exclusively from the bottom part of the order. The Twins top-five bats in the order only recorded two hits all evening. It is always good to see the margins of the roster producing, but that is only encouraging when the roster's core is doing the same. As has been talked about repeatedly, the Twins leaders also need to start leading on the field. What’s Next? The Minnesota Twins will look to rebound on Tuesday against Boston right-hander Kutter Crawford. Crawford has appeared in 13 games for Boston this season and holds a 4.20 ERA. The Twins will counter with Bailey Ober, who will look to put up another strong performance after going six innings and allowing only two runs against Milwaukee last time out. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Pagán 24 0 21 0 17 62 De León 0 0 24 0 25 49 Morán 22 0 0 11 13 46 Balazovic 0 0 0 40 0 40 Headrick 0 0 35 0 0 35 Jax 0 0 8 0 10 18 Durán 0 0 15 0 0 15 Stewart 0 0 5 0 0 5 View full article