Nate Palmer

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

The Minnesota Twins showcased a storybook return from Royce Lewis on Memorial Day. Lewis performance and an extra-inning Ryan Jeffers home run highlighted a series opening win. Image courtesy of Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Sonny Gray: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (79 pitches, 46 strikes (58.2%) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (1), Ryan Jeffers (3) Top 3 WPA: Royce Lewis (0.543), Ryan Jeffers (0.340), Jhoan Duran (0.325) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) As our nation celebrates Memorial Day and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, the Minnesota Twins also played a baseball game. While Memorial Day ultimately ruled Monday this week. There was another memorable day on Monday focused around one Royce Lewis. Lewis did his best with his play to try and overshadow everything else going on Monday. A year to the day Lewis tore his ACL for the second time, the first-round pick returned to the big leagues to start for the Twins at third base alongside Carlos Correa. It was a Correa injury that allowed Lewis to break into the big leagues initially in 2022, where Lewis went on to slash .300/.317/.550 with a .867 OPS and two home runs over 12 games and 41 plate appearances. Lewis got everyone’s excitement flowing early as he came to bat in the first inning with runners on first and second and two outs. Lewis gave a J.P. France slider a ride to deep left field, which flirted with home run status but ultimately would fall short. Defensively later in the first, Lewis was involved again as he began a double play to help starter Sonny Gray get out of the inning facing the minimum. The play went from Lewis to Correa to Gallo, and that Lewis-Correa combination is one Twins fans would be happy to see regularly. It was then in the third inning that Lewis put his “I’m back” mark on the game. Once again, coming to bat with runners on first and second, Lewis wouldn’t leave them stranded this time. Instead, he sent the ball to the opposite field, securing a three-run home run right into the corner to put the Twins up 3-0 in the third inning. Castro Continues to Show His Value Willi Castro continues to prove he has value on this roster, even as many of us are trying to find ways to get him out of the lineup. Monday afternoon, we again saw his speed on display to score the Twins' fourth run of the game. The events began with Castro beating out the throw at first base to keep the Astros from turning a double play. During Michael A. Taylor’s at-bat, Castro looked poised to try and steal second base, and instead, his presence may have caused France to throw a wild pitch creating the same result. Shortly after that, Taylor pushed the ball through the right side of the infield, giving Castro just enough time to fly around third base and slide under the tag at home. Once again, Castro proved his value through his flexibility and production in timely situations. Castro ended the game by going 2-for-5 and scoring that critical run in the fourth inning. Another Sonny Day It may not have felt like an overly dominant outing with strikeouts, but Sonny Gray pitched very well again for the Twins. There were a few innings where Gray had to work out of jams, namely the fourth, where the Astros secured their first run, but the right-hander still made it through six innings with only 68 pitches thrown. While Gray cruised well through those six, this game will be remembered for when Gray stepped back onto the mound to pitch the seventh. Gray struggled early with the low pitch count and found himself with runners on first and second. The Twins then and there chose to turn away from Gray, and Brock Stewart took the ball to try and pitch out of the scoring threat. Stewart Did It Until He Didn’t. As Stewart took over for Gray, he was somehow on his way to getting out of the jam and making a solid appearance again. With two outs and Jose Altuve up to bat, there was one last battle left to move the Twins into the eighth inning. Instead, Altuve changed the game's trajectory by hitting a grand slam and putting the Astros up 5-4. Lewis to the Rescue! Lewis wasn’t finished putting up numbers and big at-bats just yet. In the 9th inning, with former Twin Ryan Pressly on the mound, Lewis came to bat with runners on first and second, again! This time Lewis hit a two-out single to bring around Kyle Farmer to score. What led up to the Lewis at-bat was an Alex Kirilloff walk. While Kirilloff didn’t have any truly impactful at-bats as Lewis did, he quietly was very effective for the Twins as he collected two hits, three walks, and scored on the Lewis home run. The Twins could only get the score even at five in the ninth, and after Jhoan Duran held off the Astros in the ninth, it would take extras to see if the Twins could finish off this storybook game. Jeffers Delivers Winning Blow As extra-innings began, Max Kepler took his place on second base, and Ryan Jeffers took his place in the batter’s box. It didn’t take long, and Jeffers put the Twins back in the lead as he took a first pitch, an 86 mph slider from Bryan Abreu, and hit a line drive home run to left field. Duran came back in to pitch the tenth. He pitched through the inning, going three up, three down. The culmination of the outing was a face-off with Yordan Alvarez in which Duran got the slugger to strike out looking. A great way to punctuate a fantastic day of baseball. Lewis grabs the headline today, but many others were critical contributors. What’s Next? The Minnesota Twins will look to secure the series win in game two as they send Joe Ryan to the mound. The Astros will counter with right-hander Brandon Bielak. Bielak has pitched in five games this season with four of those being starts and holds a 3.55 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 25 ⅓ innings. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT De León 0 19 0 27 0 46 Durán 0 0 12 0 29 41 Stewart 0 0 13 0 18 31 Pagán 0 21 0 7 0 28 López 0 0 22 0 6 28 Sands 0 0 0 16 0 16 Jax 0 0 0 12 0 12 Morán 0 0 9 0 0 9 View full article

The Minnesota Twins had a Giants bullpen game served up on a platter for them to take game one of the homestand. Instead the night was filled with an uncharacteristic opening for Bailey Ober and a non-existent offense which led to a Twins loss. Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Bailey Ober: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (76 pitches, 49 strikes (64.5%) Home Runs: Kyle Garlick (2) Bottom 3 WPA: Bailey Ober (-0.247), Kyle Farmer (-0.128), Michael A. Taylor (-0.123) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Before the game's first pitch, the Twins shared great news after a weekend filled with injuries. That news was that Byron Buxton would, in fact, be able to play Monday night in the series opener against the Giants. As the lineup struggles, it cannot afford to miss Buxton’s bat. Walks Will Haunt Over his first five starts, Bailey Ober has been very good at two things. He has limited walks and home runs. Coming into Monday’s game, Ober had allowed two home runs and seven walks to opposing batters, giving him a fantastic 1.78 ERA and making him a valuable part of the Twins starting rotation. It is those pristine numbers that made the sloppy first inning Monday so strange. Ober handed free passes to the first two batters, which set the table for J.D. Davis to double home the game's first run. In the next at-bat, Michael Conforto took Ober deep for a 3-run home run putting the Giants up 4-0 before an out was recorded. Haunts to Flaunts While the first inning was a nightmare, Ober deserves a truckload of credit for settling in and working quickly through the rest of his start. Over the next four innings, Ober only allowed one hit and no walks. The right-hander did great work at saving the bullpen and giving time for the offense to try and chip away at the lead. (More on that later.) Put Me in Coach… Edouard Julien was set to get time at second base and hit cleanup for the Twins. Well, he did play second base but never had the opportunity to hit. In the second inning, after the Giants pulled their right-handed opener John Brebbia and turned to left-hander Sean Manaea. Rocco Baldelli made his move. The Twins turned to Donovan Solano over Julien. While Solano got a base hit to lead off the inning, the Twins could not do anything with it. It is an interesting managing decision not to let a young hitter get any chance against a struggling Manaea, even if he's a left-hander. The Twins had a plan for pinch hitting against the Giants and stuck to it. Not only was Julien lifted early, but so was Alex Kirilloff in favor of Kyle Garlick. While we will focus mainly on the Twins plan for their own offense, credit to the Giants for their plan. The Giants had a clear blueprint to try and neutralize the Twins bench moves, and that plan was executed masterfully. There was quite a level of gamesmanship that went into the Giants plan. Dan Hayes offered up on Twitter that Manaea threw a bullpen session pre-game. A pre-game bullpen would cause any team to assume he wouldn’t be the long arm after the opener. Where’s the Offense? As has plagued the Twins all season long, the offense disappeared. What is most frustrating on a night like tonight is that they did so against a pair of pitchers that have performed more like replacement pitchers than anything. Manaea and Tristan Beck are the type of pitchers a competitive ball club should feast on, and the Twins did the exact opposite of that. Garlick did get Beck for a solo home run in the eighth inning in a righty vs. righty matchup. While the home run prevented the shutout, that was all it was good for. Injuries have certainly been an issue for the Twins, but even with the injuries, this lineup is talented enough to have put up crooked numbers against the pitchers they faced Monday. What’s Next? In the second game of the series the Twins will send Sonny Gray to the mound who is still carrying a 1.64 ERA this far into the season. The Giants will counter with their best starter as Alex Cobb takes the mound who has his own sub two ERA AT 1.94 nine starts into his season. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Jax 0 33 0 0 17 50 Sands 0 0 0 0 44 44 De León 0 0 0 31 0 31 J. López 0 0 19 12 0 31 Pagán 0 0 0 0 23 23 Durán 0 0 20 0 0 20 Stewart 0 11 5 0 0 16 Morán 0 0 9 0 0 9 View full article

The Twins and Dodgers went back and forth into the early hours of the morning. Eventually the Dodgers lineup, fueled by Max Muncy's thunder, was too much for the Twins as they lose in 12 innings. Image courtesy of Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Pablo Lopez: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (92 pitches, 68 strikes (73.9%) Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (4), Trevor Larnach (5) Bottom 3 WPA: Pablo Lopez (-0.293), Alex Kirilloff (-0.264) Griffin Jax (-0.241) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Minnesota Twins roll into Los Angeles looking to answer the test of a West coast road trip. While the Dodgers may not be the Dodgers of the past several seasons, their roster still will provide a tall task for the Twins. The Twins thought they found the answer to the test in a bases-loaded walk by Christian Vazquez to put the Twins up 8-7. That wasn’t the answer. Instead, it was the Dodgers who aced the test with their own bases-loaded walk with Trayce Thompson at the plate. It was a wild ride of a game even in a loss, so let’s take a closer look at it. Dodgers bats get going early The first inning was not good for the Twins as the Dodgers bats got off to a hot start against Pablo Lopez. Veteran Freddie Freeman started the hitting with a single through the right side of the infield, setting up Will Smith. Smith took a Lopez four-seamer and put it in the seats for a two-run homerun—his seventh of the season. In the next at-bat, Max Muncy did the exact same thing. He took a Lopez four-seam fastball and turned it into a home run to put the Dodgers up 3-0. The three-run first continues a trend from Lopez of giving up runs in the first inning. Lopez has given up runs in the first inning of each start since his clean opening day outing. If the first inning wasn’t enough of a nightmare. Just as the Twins thought they had ended the inning on a ground out of Jason Heyward. The Dodgers challenged the play, and the officials ruled catcher's interference on Christian Vazquez. Thankfully, it didn’t lead to any more runs, and Lopez was able to retire Miguel Vargas for the third out. Hustle and Power With one out in the second inning, Jorge Polanco hit a grounder to Dodgers first baseman Freeman which he fielded in foul territory. In a foot race with the starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard, Polanco was just able to beat him to the bag with a feet-first slide. With Kyle Farmer at the plate, Polanco successfully stole his first base of the season. Now in scoring position for Farmer, the Twins third baseman hit a single up the middle giving Polanco ample time to score the Twins first run of the game, making it 3-1. Polanco didn’t only show off with his hustle. He flashed his power too. In the fourth inning, Polanco took Syndergaard deep to right field for his fourth home run of 2023. He hit another ball hard in the eighth which had a chance to be a home run but ended up as a double. Polanco finished the night 3-for-4, with two runs scored. Rough Outing for Lopez Lopez has largely been reliably consistent for the Twins this season. Monday night, the Dodgers chased the right-hander after 4 2/3 innings—his second-shortest start of the season. As was mentioned on the television broadcast several times, the difference between a solid start and the one we saw was likely one bad changeup to Muncy, who took Lopez deep for his second home run of the night and his 14th of the season. Mixed Bullpen Results Former Dodger Brock Stewart came in for the Twins in relief of Lopez. Like he has shown an ability to do early in his time with the Twins, Stewart held the Dodgers scoring at bay. In 1 1/3 innings, Stewart only gave up two hits while striking out one. Emilio Pagan was the next arm up, and while he has found his groove comparatively to last season. He couldn’t hold off Freeman, who got to him for a hard shot off the outfield wall—allowing Mookie Betts to score. Griffin Jax also struggled as he gave up some hard and loud outs until they weren’t outs any longer. David Peralta doubled in a run on a questionable fair or foul call down the first base line. Maybe Jax is truly the most unlucky pitcher. As the arms were used up, both Jhoan Duran and Jorge Lopez were asked to stretch into a second inning of work. In the end, both wound up giving up runs after getting through their first inning of work. It will be interesting how game one’s bullpen usage impacts the rest of the series. Larnach Trusts the Process It has been well documented that Trevor Larnach has not had a good time at the plate lately. That carried well into Monday evening as he started the game 0-for-2. What must have been frustrating for Larnach was he was making excellent contact on the ball with exit velocities of 107 and 108 mph on line outs to right field and left field. That all turned around in the 8th inning. With two runners on, Larnach got a fastball from Yency Almonte and took it deep to right-center field to tie the game 6-6. The result was better, and so was the exit velocity as the ball got up to 112 mph. The At-Bat that Altered the Game Now rarely does it seem write to blame the umpires or officials for the outcome of a game. In such a close back and forth contest, Phil Cuzzi certainly put himself in that place. While Alex Kirilloff was up to bat in the 10th innings, Cuzzi called two pitches on either side of the plate as strikes that were well off the plate. Two pitches that Kirilloff took expecting to get a ball and instead got two strikes and a strikeout. It was so bad even the Dodgers announcers recognized what was going on. What’s Next? Tuesday night, veteran ace Clayton Kershaw will take the mound for the Dodgers even after losing his grandmother over the weekend. When the Twins saw Kershaw at the beginning of last season, he tossed seven no-hit innings. Something the Twins will hope not to see repeated as they send Bailey Ober to the mound. Ober will look to continue his strong performance since stepping into the rotation. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Sands 0 0 54 0 0 54 Pagán 12 0 0 23 18 53 Stewart 25 0 0 0 28 53 Lopez 15 0 0 9 26 50 Alcala 0 33 0 13 0 46 Jax 0 26 0 0 13 39 Morán 0 9 24 0 0 33 Durán 0 0 0 0 18 18 UPDATE: Added the Phil Cuzzi Ump Scorecard for fun... View full article

Are we just going to disrespect Eduardo Nunez like that?

Kepler, Gallo, Larnach, and Jeffers each launch home runs as the Twins offense exploded for eleven runs on Monday night. Tyler Mahle continued the pitching parade as the Twins easily handled the opener in Miami. Image courtesy of Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Tyler Mahle: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (83 pitches, 53 strikes (63.8%) Home Runs: Max Kepler (1), Joey Gallo (3), Trevor Larnach (1), Ryan Jeffers (1) Top 3 WPA: Joey Gallo (0.124), Tyler Mahle (0.110), Max Kepler (0.109) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Minnesota Twins fans saw the new guy, Pablo Lopez, start the season opener in Kansas City. On Monday night, as part of the season’s second series, fans got to see the old guy, Luis Arraez. Coming into the series, Arraez has been performing very well, collecting nine hits for a .563 average and a 1.213 OPS. His old teammates will try to slow him down while visiting Miami, and Tyler Mahle got the first crack at the task Monday. Kepler’s first hit, first home run Plenty of attention has been pointed in Max Kepler’s direction to see if he can get his bat back on track in 2023. The results weren’t good throughout the weekend in Kansas City, but the trip to Miami must have done something as Kepler hit a 411-foot home run off of Johnny Cueto to get things started in the first inning. That home run was Kepler’s 14th career leadoff home run. Kepler collected another hit in the form of an infield single. On the close play at first, Kepler visibly grimaced and was removed from the game with knee discomfort. Hopefully the move was an exercise of caution with the Twins holding a sizable lead. Offense doesn’t stop there The offense didn’t stop in the second inning. Miranda walked, and Gordon collected his first hit, a single, to put runners on the corners. Then Joey Gallo continued his hit streak like he never left Kansas City. He hit another three-run bomb to put the Twins up 4-0. After Cueto was removed from the game with injury concerns (sounds like a bicep injury), Jeff Lindgren stepped on the mound for the Marlins in his major-league debut. After some success getting several Twins batters to pop out, Trevor Larnach welcomed the Marlins righty to the big leagues with his first career triple, scoring Byron Buxton. Larnach added a two-run home run in the seventh inning and finished the game 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Carlos Correa, whose bat lacked production in the Twins first three games, also joined the hit parade. As the Twins figured out Lindgren, Correa added his own two-run double, which gave the Twins an 8-0 lead in the fourth inning. Correa went 2-for-4 Monday evening after adding another single. Mahle continues pitching parade The storyline over opening weekend was how good the Twins starting pitchers were. Tyler Mahle continued that trend Monday night. He tossed five innings and gave up only one run. He threw 83 pitches and struck out seven batters. The right-hander ran his fastball up to 95.4 mph and induced nine swings and misses while also freezing a couple of Marlins hitters as part of his seven strikeouts. Mahle did get a bit shaky in the fifth inning as eventually none other than Arraez got to Mahle for the Marlins lone run. Arraez singled to right field to score outfielder Bryan De La Cruz. Even with the run scored, it was good to see Mahle pitch well after his season was cut short by an injury last season. Two Innings from Alcala There are many hopes for Alcala to claim a valuable role in the Twins bullpen, and Monday evening, he was given two innings of work to prove that he is back and ready to contribute. His first inning (the sixth inning) included a single stuck between three strikeouts. The 10-1 lead and a desire to save other bullpen arms must have given Rocco Baldelli confidence as he gave Alcala a second inning. The inning started rocky as De La Cruz hit a double over Willi Castro’s head in left field. Thankfully, the Twins took advantage of some aggressive baserunning and threw the outfielder out at third base. Alcala was able to go on to induce two harmless ground balls for outs. Cole Sands made his 2023 debut Monday night after the Twins very much had the game in hand. Sands didn’t give up any runs but allowed plenty of batters to reach base, even loaded the bases in the 8th inning. Sands did rebound in the 9th with an inning that was much more comfortable although, allowing two singles along the way. Sands ended with 28 pitches, five hits, no walks, and one strikeout. What’s Next? In the second game of the series, we will see the first regular-season action from Kenta Maeda since August of 2021. It will be an excellent test for the veteran starter after an up-and-down spring training. The Twins bats will also be tested as the Marlins send Sandy Alcantara to the mound. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner gave up three runs in his first outing of the season to the New York Mets, but the righty was a 2.28 ERA pitcher last season. Game time is set for 5:40 p.m. central time. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Alcala 0 0 12 0 25 37 Thielbar 11 0 18 0 0 29 Sands 0 0 0 0 28 28 López 5 0 8 11 0 24 Jax 9 0 11 0 0 20 Moran 0 0 0 20 0 20 Duran 16 0 0 0 0 16 Pagan 0 0 0 16 0 16 View full article

Carlos Correa, one of the top free agents of the offseason, is back with the Minnesota Twins. How long and what does he need to accomplish to be considered the greatest to ever play shortstop for the Twins? Image courtesy of © Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports If you haven’t heard, the Minnesota Twins pulled off the improbable and signed Carlos Correa to a long-term deal. With Correa in the fold as the Twins shortstop for the next six seasons and potentially ten and carrying the richest contract in franchise history, it feels safe to ask one question. How long until Correa can be considered the best shortstop in Twins history? To open the answer to that question, we can state the obvious: it won’t take much. In case you missed it, the shortstop position has been a bit of a revolving door over the years. While that is true, it has also been filled by some Twins favorites like Christian Guzman . While we have loved many of those players over the years, the position has lacked some much needed star talent until the arrival of Correa and the numbers show that. In Correa’s one season in Minnesota, he put up a 5.4 bWAR. In what felt like a pretty mediocre season by Correa standards after a slow start to 2022. Still, that WAR number landed third on the Twins all-time single-season list (when sorted for players playing at least 50% of their time at shortstop). Correa finds himself behind only the incredible 1965 MVP season produces by Zoilo Versalles that tops the list at 7.2 bWAR. Roy Smalley is between Versalles and Correa with his 5.9 bWAR in 1978. Correa has already put himself firmly in a place where his name will have to be mentioned amongst some of the best to play shortstop for the Twins. Correa should only continue to put up similar, if not better, numbers as he returns to Minnesota. Correa has twice in his career put up WAR numbers above 7, with his 2021 season matching Versalles’ 7.2. While that is impressive, the greatest of all time assumes some longevity. So who tops that list for the Twins, and what will it take Correa to get there? Before we talk about the top of the list, there are some fun names on this all-time list to highlight. Two shortstops put in one season with the Twins and rank 14th and 15th according to WAR. Number 14 is Andrelton Simmons (1.5 WAR) and at 15 J.J. Hardy (1.4 WAR). Even Pedro Florimon makes the list at 12 with his 2.0 WAR from 2012 to 2014. Not exactly the start of a storied history. The focus of the present already finds himself 10th on this all time ranking. At the top is the guy with the longest tenure, Smalley. Over his career with the Twins and multiple positions, he accrued 20.9 WAR. Greg Gagne comes in second with 17.9 WAR over his career. Gagne's claim, over everyone else on this list, is that he was the shortstop for both World Series titles. Coming in tied for third, but with plenty of WAR accrued at another position, is Jorge Polanco with 15.3 WAR. Almost half of those numbers have come after his switch to second base. The aforementioned Versalles is tied with Polanco, with almost half of his total coming from his one MVP season. If we make WAR the benchmark for Correa, three more identical seasons to 2022 puts him 0.1 WAR shy of Smalley’s mark with the Twins. Outside of the shortened 2020 season, Correa’s lowest total for a single season was 3.1 WAR in 2018. If Correa even performed at that level over the next six seasons he would become the Twins all-time WAR leader at shortstop at 23.8 WAR. Numbers are part of the story but may not mean everything when discussing the best shortstop of all time for the Twins. There is a lot of love for the players who have brought the two rings to Minnesota. Because of that, it would help Correa’s case to bring the Twins back to that level of play finally. He may not even need to win a championship, but serious contention for one will be needed in order to hurdle Gagne and Smalley when considering more than purely numbers. The best WAR total is very much within reach for Correa. The question will be how those other achievements fit into the equation and what team achievements he will lead everyone in accomplishing. Correa is already a well-rounded baseball player hitting for average, for power, providing good defense, and great leadership. It would be hard to see Correa not fill out those superlatives one would look for when crowning the greatest player at the franchise’s shortstop position. Whether it is only six years or the length of the full reported contract, Carlos Correa could very easily be considered the best shortstop in Twins history by the contract’s end. View full article

The point of addressing the weaknesses is to be honest. I don't want to try and sugar coat an idea just to make it sound better than it maybe is. The reason a team would consider something like this is to get the player that is already something instead of waiting for the prospect to become something that they may never become. Devers is a very good bat who can play third for the moment but would be moved defensively in favor of someone like Brooks Lee at some point.

The Minnesota Twins could really use another impact bat in their lineup. While third base isn't the most obvious fit, there are options on the trade market that could fill that need for some offense. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports The Minnesota Twins officially (again) lost Carlos Correa and one of their most impactful bats to the New York Mets. That still leaves the Twins with a huge void to fill in the middle of their lineup. It will be impossible to replace Correa truly, but there may be a path to replace some of his value by acquiring a few different third basemen that could be available via trade. Rafael Devers , Red Sox Stop me if you have heard this before. The Red Sox have an impact, all-star level player ready to hit free agency, and we aren’t sure if they will keep them in town on a new contract. We have seen the team in Boston dance this dance with both Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts , only to see one traded and the other walk. Should the Twins maybe try and benefit this time around? Rafael Devers has been an excellent hitting third baseman in the middle of Boston’s lineup and is in his last year of arbitration. This past season he hit .295/.358/.521, which was good for a 141 wRC+. Defensively he may not stay at third base long term as his defensive numbers are already looking a bit ugly, but that didn’t prevent him from putting up a 4.9 fWAR in 2022. While the last thing the Twins need is another left-handed bat, Devers is in that top tier where handedness matters little. He isn't as bothered by the platoon splits as he only drops to .272/.315/.424 and a .739 OPS when facing lefties. Devers power does drop but overall, but still continues to hold his own. The sticky part of a trade for Devers is that the acquiring team would want to be assured they could sign him to an extension. Maybe the Twins would be willing to put that Correa money toward the 26-year-old Devers. If so, a package around Jose Miranda could make sense for both sides, especially since the hope is that Miranda would turn into a right-handed hitting version of Devers, but isn’t that quite yet. Anthony Rendon , Los Angeles Angels Those who listen to Gleeman and the Geek will have heard the guys talk about the Twins going after “depressed assets.” Anthony Rendon very well could be the poster child of a depressed asset. Bad enough that the Trade Simulator gives Rendon a -132.3 value. By comparison, Trevor Story comes in at -37.4. Rendon has certainly earned that ranking entering the 4th year of his 7-year, $245 million contract. The past two seasons have seen Rendon’s offensive numbers dip dramatically. The one-time All-Star has only been slightly above replacement level in recent seasons. As his K-rate has gone up and walk-rate down, he only slashed .229/.326/.380 this past season. So why would the Twins want to gamble on an expensive, declining player? The conversation would start and end with the front offices' confidence in being able to bring Rendon back to his earlier career performances. He already has two things going for him versus the rest of the Twins roster: he is right-handed and hits left-handed pitching well. Last season he sported a .873 OPS when facing lefties. A mark that jumps to .900 over his whole career. A Rendon acquisition is an absolute gamble, but with Gio Urshela in the fold, the Angels may be willing to get rid of their third baseman. A move that would also clear the payroll in preparation to try and keep Shohei Ohtani . Eduardo Escobar , New York Mets In case you missed it earlier, the New York Mets just signed a $315 million third baseman. With that move, rumors are circulating that they may be willing to move the veteran infielder and old friend, Eduardo Escobar. Someone that Cody Christie also highlighted when exploring some former Twins the club could bring back. Escobar is the most likely out of this list the Twins could acquire and, unfortunately, the one that moves the needle the least. He would bring in another bat to mix into the lineup against left-handers. Eddie’s numbers against lefties in 2022 were .259/.299/.519 with a .817 OPS. and nine home runs. The tricky thing about Escobar is he is hardly a third baseman at this point in his career. He recorded a -11 DRS and a -7 OAA. So while he could play the position, he may be more of a bat at this point than carry any value as a fielder. Considering how bad the Twins were against left-handed pitching last season, he could still be a valuable addition to the team. View full article

Both would be great. I also once had myself convinced for a hot minute that the Twins could land both Darvish and Ohtani.

Out of the trade options, Manny Pina always made the most sense to me for who the FO would go after. He is coming off an injury but is easy to have him share time with Jeffers. He has also shown his bat can get just hot enough for stretches to help carry a lineup. He also shouldn’t cost much in prospect capitol to acquire.