Nate Palmer

Not having Alcala is an aspect of this season that I have come back to often and wondered "what if?" His presence and development just seems to be a core piece of how the bullpen was supposed to be constructed and without him we saw how quickly the 'pen became shallow. And yes, the FO put themselves in that position of lacking depth.

The Minnesota Twins were able to extend their winning streak to four games Monday night. Dylan Bundy and the bullpen were able to hold the Red Sox bats at bay and Gio Urshela got the go-ahead, bases-clearing double to secure the victory. Box Score SP: Dylan Bundy: 4 2/3 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (86 pitches, 62 strikes (72.1%)) Home Runs: N/A Top 3 WPA: Gio Urshela (.464), Caleb Thielbar (.113), Nick Gordon (.103) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Minnesota Twins enter into Monday night’s game on the heels of a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants. That sweep had the hometown nine two games back of Cleveland for the AL Central lead. The Twins need to keep things going against a Boston Red Sox team whose record does not look great, but there are plenty of dangerous names up and down their roster. Prior to Monday's game there was a notable bullpen move. Devin Smeltzer was optioned back to St. Paul while fellow lefty Jovani Moran was brought back to the Twins. Before we get to the game, could you take a moment to let us know more about how you like to engage with minor league coverage at Twins Daily? Red Sox break through first, Bundy limits damage As the game ventured into the third inning, the Red Sox began to hit the ball hard. Tommy Pham reached on a line drive single. Alex Verdugo followed up with another hard-hit ball but for a double this time. The double was enough to score Pham. With the score 1-0, Xander Bogaerts would follow up with a single to make it runners on first and third with one out. The inning looked headed straight towards a crooked number, Bundy somehow limited the damage and got out of the inning without allowing any more runs. The fourth inning felt much the same as the third. The Red Sox were going down the lineup and collecting hard hits and hard contact. With one out it was a soft bloop double by Reese McGuire that scored Trevor Story. Once again, it felt like an inning was going sideways for the Twins. Insert Bundy. With a ground out and strike out the Twins starter was able to close out the inning with only one run scored. Cave produces again Red Sox starter Brayan Bello has had very good minor league numbers this season. His ERA has been ugly in the majors at 7.36. At the same time, with a 3.03 FIP it seems there is something better underneath what has happened on the scoreboard for Bello this season in the majors. The right-hander also simply has some nasty stuff. For three innings, Bello looked purely like the 3.03 FIP version of himself. Finally, in the fourth inning, the Twins were able to get their bats going and loaded the bases with no outs. One of this weekend’s heroes, Jake Cave was able to drive in the Twins' first run on a sac fly to center field which brought Jose Miranda home. Unfortunately, that was the only run the Twins could score in that RISP situation. Brings to the forefront again one of the biggest frustration with the Twins' offense this season. Gio with the go-ahead The Twins were able to chase Bello in the fifth after he walk both Luis Arraez and Carlos Correa. After a weird Max Kepler swinging bunt that barely rolled to the front of home plate advanced the runners to second and third, Miranda collected a walk of his own. Kyle Garlick pinch hit for Nick Gordon but wasn’t able to come through after striking out. Then Gio Urshela stepped up to the plate with a fresh John Schreiber brought in to face him. With the count full, Urshela went down and got a low and away slider and was able to poke it down the right field line to clear the bases and put the Twins up 4-2. Bullpen Cruises Monday night was a night where we once again saw the beauty of deadline bullpen addition at work. Caleb Thielbar first came in to help Bundy get out of a jam. Just as Thielbar has done many times again, he did just that getting the final out of fifth and handled the sixth inning as well. Jhoan Duran then came in to take on the heart of the Red Sox lineup. He did so with his patented high-velocity heat. Duran wouldn't have been able to take on that spot if it wasn't for the deadline additions, as he would have been needed to potentially close. Griffin Jax got the eighth and made quick work of it giving up only a single to Story. It was then Jorge Lopez's turn and shut the door with authority getting two ground outs and a strike out to secure the victory for the Twins. What’s Next? The Twins will face off against another young Boston arm in Kutter Crawford. The right hander sports a 5.30 ERA this season over 73.0 innings. The Twins will counter with Chris Archer. Archer will look to bounce back after a rough start against Houston where he surrendered five earned runs. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Megill 23 0 35 0 0 58 Pagán 0 28 0 22 0 50 Duran 20 0 13 0 14 47 Thielbar 0 0 22 0 15 37 Jax 6 0 8 0 17 31 Fulmer 0 12 0 15 0 27 López 18 0 0 0 9 27 Moran 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Editing error. Sorry. It is fixed now.

Tomorrow's starter announced.

The Minnesota Twins came into Monday night needing a win. The defense came through with the season's second triple play, but continued struggles from the offense and an early exit from Byron Buxton led to a loss. Box Score SP: Sonny Gray: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (69 pitches, 47 strikes (68.1%)) Home Runs: N/A Bottom 3 WPA: Jose Miranda (-.225), Luis Arraez (-.150), Max Kepler (-.145) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) As the Minnesota Twins have scuffled through what was supposed to be an easy part of their schedule, they looked to even up the series with the Rangers Monday night. Continuing to sit in second place in the AL Central standings, Monday’s night game felt like a must-win game for the Twins. If not must-win, very important. The struggle to hit with RISP continues The Twins struggle to get hits with runners in scoring position has been well documented. That struggle was highlighted early on Monday night in almost identical fashions. In the first inning, Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton reached base and stood on second and third with only one out in the inning. It looked like the Twins were cruising to an early lead. Instead, Jose Miranda struck out, and Max Kepler continued his struggles by pulling a pitch into a ground out to end the inning and the threat. Once again, in the third inning, Correa was again standing on third base and Buxton on second. This time it was with two outs after Jose Miranda grounded into a fielder’s choice to put the two Twins stars in those positions. Kepler’s overall batting struggles were highlighted once again as he couldn’t muster anything more than a fly out to center field. Twins turn second triple play of season The fourth inning started in a way that did not look favorable for the Twins. Starter Sonny Gray who was off to a great start sending the first nine batters faced down without incident, wasn’t as fortunate as the lineup turned over. Marcus Semien broke through with a single for the first hit off of Gray Monday evening. Corey Seager followed up with a walk putting runners on first and second with no outs. Not only did Gray look to be in trouble, but he looked so with the middle of the Rangers lineup due up. With Nathaniel Lowe at the plate, Gray caused the left-handed batter to pull a liner right at Miranda. Miranda was able to step on first for out number two. Miranda then spun and fired down to second where Correa had to leap to snag the throw and was still able to come down and get Semien out to complete the Twins second triple play on the season. The 17th in franchise history. Nick Gordon breaks through To start the fourth inning, Gio Urshela gave the Twins their second lead-off triple after sending a pitch the opposite way down the first baseline. Nick Gordon came to the plate and nearly broke through to start the run-scoring with a true exclamation point. Gordon sent a moonshot down the first base line that just hooked foul. It was called so live on the field and was later confirmed by a crew chief review. Gordon wouldn’t be fully denied. He came back and lined the ball down the third base line to score Urshela and add a double to his resume. That double brings Gordon up to 18 for the 2022 season. Middle-inning pitching struggles The Twins have seemingly been plagued repeatedly by starting pitchers struggling in the middle innings of games. That was again the case Monday evening as Gray saw all the damage done against him in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. In fairness, Gray was able to mute the actual damage done, leaving the game with the Twins down 2-1. The solo homerun by Adolis Garcia and RBI-single from Corey Seager did carry much more weight as the Twins offense could only muster up one run of support for Gray. Buxton leaves after 6th inning Buxton had two significant instances where it was evident his hip was once again bothering him. After swinging through a pitch during an at-bat in the 5th inning, it could be seen on Buxton's face that it was painful. Then again, after attempting to dive to catch a fly ball, he was slow to get up. It has been well documented that Buxton has been working extremely hard to make it onto the field each day he plays. It does not remove the frustration present as the Twins best player is sidelined and sidelined in a game where they desperately needed some offensive firepower. What’s Next? The Twins will catch a late-night flight to Houston, where they will open a three-game series against the always-tough Astros. It already was an important series, and became that much more important with Monday's loss, as the Twins try to keep pace in the central and compete with a playoff-caliber team. Currently, the probable starters lineup as follows: Tuesday: Aaron Sanchez vs. Justin Verlander Wednesday: Dylan Bundy vs. Framber Valdez Thursday: Chris Archer vs. Luis Garcia Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THUR FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Thielbar 0 17 11 0 12 40 Pagán 0 0 0 39 0 39 Megill 0 24 0 15 0 39 López 0 20 9 0 0 29 Jax 0 0 11 0 14 25 Fulmer 0 0 0 0 12 12 Duran 0 10 0 0 0 10 Sands 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

I would actually think that there is a strong possibility every arm is available again. There may be a preference to try and not use Duran and Lopez, but in a pinch both could probably go. Everyone's work load was (and has been) about as minimal as you could hope for.

Max Kepler found his bat, and Caleb Thielbar got two huge outs as the Twins open the home series with a win. Box Score SP: Joe Ryan: 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (80 pitches, 54 strikes (67.5%)) Home Runs: N/A Top 3 WPA: Caleb Thielbar (.226), Max Kepler (.158), Jose Miranda (.136) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) After a rough road trip to LA, the Minnesota Twins needed to return home and find some home cooking. A familiar division foe in the Kansas City Royals awaited them. Only playing the game would let us know if the Twins would take advantage of an easy stretch in their schedule. Royals New and Old A familiar Royals bat and a new royals bat teamed up in the first inning to give the visiting team an early lead. Joe Ryan has struggled as of late and was looking to find the front-line starter form that he had exhibited early in the season. That form looked to have returned as Ryan struck out the first two batters of the night. That changed as usual Twins killer Salvador Perez, broke open the hitting with an opposite-field single. Something the Twins will take as Perez has made loud contact against the Twins more often than anyone wants to remember. While Ryan avoided loud contact against Perez, he didn't, with Vinny Pasquantino facing the Twins for the first time. Pasquantino squared up a Ryan fastball and dropped it in the right field bleachers to give the Royals an early 2-0 lead. Breaking Streaks Max Kepler’s bat has been absent since coming back to action after breaking his toe. Coming into the evening, Kepler was 0 for 29. With runners on first and second, Kepler would slap the ball to the opposite field. The hit had just enough run to bring Jorge Polanco around to score and bring the Twins within one run. While snapping his individual hitless streak, Kepler also snapped the Twins 0-19 streak with runners in scoring position. The new haircut Kepler was sporting will certainly receive lots of attention and credit through the evening as Kepler went on to go 3-for-4 with a double, a run, and an RBI. Ryan hits the century-inning mark As Ryan steadied his form after the first inning home run, in the middle of the fifth inning, he hit a significant number on the season. Ryan became the first Twins pitcher to log 100 innings in 2022. The Minnesota Twins were also the last remaining MLB team to have a pitcher hit that mark. A further display of the struggles in the rotation when it comes to both health and having any starters who can pitch deep into games. The Rookie and Polanco show up in the fifth As the Twins bats struggled through much of the game to get going against Royals starter Kris Bubic, in the fifth, the Twins finally began to string some hits together. Jose Miranda added an exclamation point by singling to right-field to score Luis Arraez to tie the game. Polanco followed with a sac-fly to score Carlos Correa to give the Twins a 3-2 lead. Thielbar slams the door in the sixth As Ryan was making his way a third time through the Royals lineup, he ran into trouble. After a walk to Pasquantino and a near homerun to Michael Massey there were runners on second and third with no outs. Ryan was able to strike out Nate Eaton before being lifted for Caleb Thielbar. Thielbar came into the game to face former Twin Brent Rooker and forced him to fly out. The lefty then slammed the door on the Royals scoring opportunity by striking out Michael A. Taylor to strand two Royals runners in scoring position. That outing from Thielbar set up the bullpen to do what it is designed to do. That is shut down the opposing lineup as it goes through Griffin Jax, Jhoan Duran, and lastly Jorge Lopez to finish out the win. What’s Next? Tomorrow evening the Twins will send Sonny Gray to the mound. Gray will be looking to put together a complete outing after falling apart late last time out. The Royals will counter with veteran Zack Greinke. Greinke has not been the same pitcher as he has been in previous seasons, and the Twins bats will look to capitalize on that. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Duran 0 15 19 0 10 44 López 0 10 19 0 13 42 Fulmer 0 12 0 20 0 32 Jax 0 0 13 0 14 27 Megill 0 0 0 26 0 26 Thielbar 0 0 13 0 8 21 Pagan 0 0 9 10 0 19 Sands 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

The Minnesota Twins got a solid start from journeyman Aaron Sanchez. The bats were quiet most of the night, but they came alive in the late innings and ended it in the 10th frame with the exclamation point coming from the happy new dad, Gio Urshela. Box Score SP: Aaron Sanchez: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K (81 pitches, 51 strikes (62.9%)) Home Runs: Gio Urshela (10) Top 3 WPA: Jose Miranda (.536), Gio Urshela (.231), Jharel Cotton (.089) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Minnesota Twins returned home on trade deadline eve to face off against the Tigers. While the hope was that the Twins may have acquired some pitching help via trade by this point in time, the reality is they were forced to turn to recent minor-league signing Aaron Sanchez for the start Monday evening. Since joining the Twins organization, Sanchez has made eight starts for the St. Paul Saints while sporting a 4.26 ERA with 11 walks and 26 strikeouts over 38 innings. Sanchez’s time in the majors this season came with the Washington Nationals, where he struggled to an 8.33 ERA in seven starts this season. Tigers Strike First The second inning may have quickly been giving Sanchez flashbacks to how his season began in Washington. A walk and then a single quickly put runners on the corners with one out. Then facing Tucker Barnhardt, a ground out to the right side of the infield was able to score Jeimer Candelario to give the Tigers the early 1-0 lead. The positive to that second inning is that with a runner still in scoring position, Sanchez bounced back and struck out Akil Baddoo to end the inning and minimize the damage. Free baserunners came back to haunt Sanchez again in the 4th inning. A walk to Miguel Cabrera and hitting Willi Castro with a pitch set Barnhart up for his second RBI of the night. The catcher took advantage of that opportunity by lining a single to center field to bring Cabrera home and extend the lead to 2-0. Even though the free passes hurt Sanchez, he did limit the damage by striking out Baddoo again to end the inning. Garlick exits game Kyle Garlick, who was in the game to try and fulfill his customary role as lefty masher, exited the game early with what the team has called rib inflammation. Alex Kirilloff came off the bench to replace him, but there is lots of concern on whether or not Kirilloff should have been in the game himself. He still suffers from pain in his wrist while he swings the bat. With Max Kepler still out due to his toe and Gilberto Celestino on the paternity list, options became limited fast, with the only other outfielder available being Byron Buxton. Buxton was on a scheduled rest day Monday evening. In the eighth inning, Tim Beckham pinch hit for Kirilloff and took over in leftfield, which gave relief to the concerns. Sanchez with solid outing There was plenty of speculation around what exactly the Twins would get out of Sanchez in his first start for his new team. The one-time dominant starter has not looked like that for some time. Monday evening, he provided a lift to a banged-up Twins rotation that needed it. Sanchez made it through five innings. He struck out eight Tiger batters and induced 14 swings and misses while allowing two runs. Bats finally come alive in the eighth For most of the night, the Twins bats were quiet. Outside of what Nick Gordon was able to do, it felt like the bats were lifeless. That was until the eighth inning when Michael Fulmer took the mound. Jorge Polanco got the hit parade started. Consecutive hits by Polanco, Carlos Correa, Luis Arraez, and a two-run single from Jose Miranda put the Twins on the scoreboard. Miranda’s single evened the score at two. Base-running error shuts down the ninth The Twins looked to be making a bid to walk off the ball game in the ninth inning. Gordon provided some more spark to start the inning and was on third base with Correa up to bat with two outs. Correa worked a walk, but on ball four, the ball kicked away from Tigers catcher, Tucker Barnhardt. Gordon started to move toward home. Two steps in changed his mind, but he couldn’t make it back to third in time before being thrown out. Luis Arraez would have been up with the bases loaded and two outs. Instead, the Twins took the field as the game went into extra innings. What will certainly also be questioned about the ninth inning is why didn’t Buxton pinch-hit for Mark Contreras. On to the tenth Griffin Jax was given the tenth inning, with Willi Castro standing on second. After a diving catch by Contreras in right field off the bat of Eric Haase that moved Castro to third base, Baddoo, who had struck in each of his three previous at-bats, hit the ball up the middle, past the drawn-in infield to score Castro and give the Tigers the lead. Urshela walks it off The Twins weren't ready to return to the field for the eleventh inning. With one out, Jose Miranda came up big again with an RBI single to tie the game. With two outs, Gio Urshela walked up to the plate with Miranda on second and made sure there was no doubt the winning run would cross the plate. Urshela, fresh off the paternity list, hit his tenth home run of the season to give the Twins the win. The injuries and their effect on the team were again evident Monday night. Also, once again, the Twins figured out a way to scrape together the win. Hopefully, through tomorrow the Twins will add via the trade deadline, but for tonight Aaron Sanchez looked like he wants to be one of those deadline additions to help the Twins down the stretch. What’s Next? The Twins will look to right the ship tomorrow against the Tigers. This time they will send right-hander Chris Archer to the mound for his 18th start of the 2022 season. The Tigers will send right-hander Matt Manning to the mound. It will only be Manning’s third start of 2022. After eight total innings in his previous two starts, Manning currently sits at a 2.25 ERA. The hope will be that the Twins bats will bump that up by the end of Tuesday evening. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON FRI SAT SUN SUN TOT Moran 0 25 0 16 0 41 Cotton 0 13 0 0 27 40 Pagan 0 0 20 20 0 40 Jax 0 0 11 0 20 31 Megill 0 0 7 23 0 30 Duffey 0 0 28 0 0 28 Duran 0 0 11 0 10 21 Smith 0 0 0 0 3 3 Cano 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

To kick off an important series in Chicago, Arraez showed up with three hits and the most important in extra innings. Buxton hit another home run. The combination of the two helped the Twins record another win against an AL Central opponent. Box Score SP: Dylan Bundy: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (58 pitches, 41 strikes (70.7%)) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (22) Top 3 WPA: Luis Arraez (0.268), Byron Buxton (0.136), Dylan Bundy (0.135) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) For some time this offseason, Twins fans were under the belief that Johnny Cueto was close to becoming a Twin, adding an interesting wrinkle to Monday night’s game. Coming into the game, Cueto had been pitching relatively well with a 3.33 ERA over 54 innings pitched coming into the night. Through four innings, Cueto was able to hold the Twins from scoring even though he surrendered some hits and allowed four walks. After an ample missed opportunity in the first inning, it almost looked like Cueto had the Twins locked into one of those nights where the offense would go absent. Until the fifth rolled around. Buxton’s feelin’ 22 Luis Arraez led off the game in the first inning with a double. In the fifth, he hit another. In the first, Buxton missed the opportunity to bring Arraez around, but he did not waste any time regarding the same situation in the fifth. Buxton got a hold of a Cueto offspeed pitch and planted it in the left-field seats for his 22nd home run of the season. Bundy completes a solid five innings While Cueto kept the Twins at bay until the fifth inning, Dylan Bundy was also pitching well. Bundy produced 12 swings and misses while striking out six White Sox batters. The Twins starter also only allowed one walk. There were some loudly hit balls, and thankfully the Twins defense came through for Bundy multiple times to keep runners off the bases and runs off the scoreboard. The one ball that the defense couldn’t do anything about was in the second inning off of the bat of Jose Abreu. Abreu tagged Bundy for a home run that just missed Max Kepler’s glove and landed on the other side of the fence instead. Jax struggles in his second inning The Twins called on Griffin Jax to relieve Bundy to start the sixth inning. After cruising through the sixth, he was asked to continue into the seventh. The seventh would prove to be a very tough inning for Jax to navigate. After a potentially missed hit-by-pitch call, Abreu was once again a thorn in the Twins side and reached base by way of a double. Gavin Sheets then occupied first base after being hit by a pitch of his own out of the hand of Jax. With those runners on first and second, Yoan Moncada came to the plate with no outs and singled the ball to left field. That single allowed Abreu to come around and score as the White Sox tied the game up 2-2. The seventh inning could have been disastrous if it wasn’t for a big break in the form of the Twins franchise 16th triple play. AJ Pollock gave a Jax pitch an excellent ride to right-center field, where Buxton, in a majestic way, tracked the fly ball down. With Adam Engel and Moncada running with no expectation of the ball being caught, once Buxton got the ball into the infield, Gio Urshela could make easy work of outs two and three. Hendriks, Graveman prove to be too tough of a task The Twins saw firsthand why the White Sox were picked to have one of the best bullpens entering the 2022 season. Liam Hendriks came into the eighth inning fresh off the IL and struck out the side. He sent Correa, Kepler, and Polanco all packing. While Nick Gordon was able to get on base against Kendall Graveman, that was all the Twins were able to do against the White Sox reliever. Setting the scene for Emilio Pagan to once again pitch in relief for the Twins with a walk-off opportunity ripe for the taking for the opposing team. Pagan holds the ninth Every Twins fan collectively had nightmarish-type visions of what happened against Cleveland as Pagan took the mound in the bottom of the ninth. For one night, Pagan righted the ship. With two-outs, danger lurked as the right-hander walked Engel to bring Moncada to the plate. Engel attempted to steal second base off of Pagan, but Ryan Jeffers had other thoughts as he made a fantastic throw to second. It was met by an equally incredible tag by Carlos Correa. Initially, Engel was called safe, but after a challenge, the call was overturned to end the ninth inning. Arraez, Twins bats with extra-inning magic The Twins began the tenth inning with Gilberto Celestino on second base. Arraez would have the first crack at bringing the speedy Celestino around to score. There may not have been a more perfect setup for the Twins. With a 2-1 count, Arraez took a Joe Kelly curveball to center field to bring Celestino around to give the Twins a 3-2 lead. Jorge Polanco would add to the lead with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly that moved every runner up and plated Arraez. It was then Alex Kirilloff's turn to get a hit off of Kelly as he sent the ball through the left side of the infield to score two runs and increase the Twins lead to 6-2. Those runs allowed Jhoan Duran to come on to finish off the game. After allowing the lineup to turn over and Time Anderson to hit again, Duran ultimately only allowed the spotted runner on second to come around to score and cut the winning score down to 6-3. What’s Next? Tomorrow evening the Twins will get set for game two of this series against the White Sox. Chris Archer will toe the rubber for the Twins as he looks to continue his string of solid performances and improve upon his 3.08 ERA. The Twins could have a challenging task ahead of them in White Sox right-handed starter Michael Kopech. Kopech is only 2-5 on the season but will bring to the table a 2.78 ERA. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Duffey 28 0 0 0 13 41 Cotton 0 0 38 0 0 38 Moran 20 0 0 18 0 38 Pagán 0 0 10 0 18 28 Jax 0 0 0 0 26 26 Duran 0 0 0 0 20 20 Thielbar 0 12 0 0 0 12 Megill 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

The swing was checked and at least the broadcast initially put it up as a ball. Maybe that isn't what the call would have been, but in the moment that is what I saw.

The Minnesota Twins came into Seattle and was able to take advantage of a matchup that favored their bats against Mariners starter Chris Flexen. A Buxton bomb and solid pitching brought the Twins another victory. Box Score SP: Chris Archer: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (67 pitches, 39 strikes (58.2%)) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (18) Top 3 WPA: Emilio Pagan (.175), Jhoan Duran (.129) Byron Buxton (.111) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pregame: Reinforcements are Coming As the Twins flip from the East coast to the West coast, it was learned that some much-needed starting pitching help is on its way. Both Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray are expected to make their return to the Twins rotation during this Seattle series. Ryan has been recovering for Covid while Gray was recovering from an injury to his pectoral muscle. Buxton Stays Hot After winning player of the week honors, Byron Buxton came into Monday night’s game looking at a Seattle starter he has had success when facing. Buxton was 5-for-5 against right-hander Chris Flexen and in the first at-bat, promptly made that 6-for-6. All the while, Buxton added his second home run against Flexen. The home run put two runs on the board to start the game as an equally good-performing Luis Arraez was on base. Arraez finished the night 2-for-4 with a run and a walk. Buxton finished the game 2-for-5 with the home run and two RBIs. Miscues Haunt Twins in Third Inning With one out and Dylan Moore up to bat, catcher’s interference was called on Gary Sanchez after a review on what should have been ball one. That gave the Mariners a free runner on first base. Eventually, that free runner would come around to score on a grounder to Gio Urshela that he couldn’t quite get out of his glove. A double-play was possible, although hard to turn. Then there was almost more disaster as there was a miscommunication between Jose Miranda and Chris Archer on who would cover first base on a ground ball fielded by Miranda. On that play, the Twins still got one out, and the double play would have been difficult to turn. Thankfully, while it was another miscue, it turned out to be a harmless one. Archer and Bullpen limit Mariners to Two Runs. Chris Archer continues to do exactly what the Twins ask him to do. As we have seen time and time again, it is not flashy and it does not get style points, but it leaves the Twins in a position to win. Monday night was Archer’s tenth start, where he allowed two runs or fewer. While the short starts have proven to be very effective, that does leave the Twins bullpen to get through the game's final five innings. Caleb Thielbar and Griffin Jax were the first two, and each had quick innings. Jax continues to show why he should be considered one of the best bullpen arms the Twins currently have, as he even battled back from being down 3-0 to strike out Abraham Toro. It was not until the seventh when the Twins started to run into a bit of trouble. Jharel Cotton coughed up a home run to Taylor Trammell, which cut the Twins lead down to 3-2 after Max Kepler drove in a much-needed insurance run earlier in the inning. Cotton would get two outs but, after issuing a walk, would give way to Joe Smith, who on one pitch retired Ty France to get the Twins out of the inning. Jhoan Duran was called on to get the eighth inning and came up big for the Twins. The righty pumped his patented 100+ mph fastball across the plate and got two Mariners to strike out. The Twins then called on Emilio Pagan to complete the bridge from starter Archer to the end of the game. Pagan did just that, with the exclamation point being a strike out of Jesse Winker to win the game. What’s Next? The Twins will continue their series against the Mariners Tuesday. Joe Ryan is reportedly set to return to start for the Twins. Ryan will look to build on a solid season in which he has pitched 43 1/3 innings and owns a 2.28 ERA. The Mariners are scheduled to send right-handed pitcher Logan Gilbert to the mound. Gilbert has had a solid season going into Tuesday with a 2.41 ERA. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Cotton 13 0 26 0 18 57 Pagán 0 15 21 0 18 54 Smith 26 24 0 0 1 51 Duran 15 0 16 0 13 44 Moran 36 0 0 0 0 36 Duffey 0 0 0 33 0 33 Thielbar 0 0 19 0 8 27 Thornburg 0 0 0 26 0 26 Jax 0 14 0 0 12 26 Megill 0 0 16 0 0 16 View full article

I would think, just like today, Polanco may temporarily be moved over there. Unless there is some other reports that I missed that would impact that happening.

The Minnesota Twins looked to be on their way to win on Memorial Day after hitting three home runs. In the end, defensive miscues brought the Twins to a loss against the Tigers to open the road trip. Box Score SP: Dylan Bundy: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (95 pitches, 64 strikes (67.4%)) Home Runs: Gary Sanchez (5), Jose Miranda (2), Gio Urshela (5) Bottom 3 WPA: Joe Smith (-0.300), Dylan Bundy (-0.214), Kyle Garlick (-0.149) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pregame Notes Sunday was filled with the excitement of the return of Royce Lewis and his start in center field. Monday was kicked off with the news that he would be hitting the IL with a bruised knee after his collision with the outfield wall during Sunday’s game. Jose Miranda got the call back to the Twins after being the move to make room for Lewis initially. There is certainly room to wonder whether or not Alex Kirilloff was more deserving of the spot on the Twins 26-man. Miranda’s handedness has helped him hang on to his spot on the MLB roster. Sanchez gets Twins going early With plenty of Twins starters like Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Carlos Correa, and Royce Lewish not in the lineup for various reasons, Gary Sanchez got the Twins offense going early in the second inning. The home run was his fifth of the season and his hardest-hit ball of the 2022 season, with an exit velocity of 113.2 mph and traveling 415 feet. The Twins could have gotten more runs, but as has continued to be a trend, they struggled to get hits with runners on base. Trevor Larnach should have scored the second Twins run after a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Larnach was then thrown out at third base while trying to advance after Gio Urshela grounded to Tigers shortstop Javier Baez. The attempt to advance by Larnach was likely the wrong read, and that misjudgment removed him from the bases when he would have likely scored on Jose Miranda’s single to center on the very next at-bat. Miranda’s bat stays hot, glove goes cold While the past 24 hours have been a roller coaster for Miranda after being sent down and then immediately recalled based on the events surrounding Lewis. The right-hander has remained hot at the plate. Monday afternoon, he got started with a single in front of the Tigers centerfielder, Hill. The fireworks came in the fourth inning as Miranda hit his second major league home run to give the Twins a 3-1 lead. While Miranda's bat had fans forgetting about Kirilloff, his glovework raised questions. Two defensive miscues directly lead to Tiger runs. First was a throw behind Joe Smith. The second came on the back end of a fantastic Gio Urshela play where Miranda may have needed to step off of first to grab an offline throw. A decision a more experienced first baseman may have been able to make. Bundy manages hard hits but is undone by weak contact Dylan Bundy has been a relatively steady force for the Twins in their starting rotation. Monday afternoon wasn’t an outing Bundy will likely want to remember. While he managed a barrage of the hard-hit ball (12 to be exact), the weak grounders and bloops seemed to undo him. What may be the key to starts by Bundy is that he left the game with the Twins in a place to be able to win the game. He did manage that as he exited with the game tied at four runs a piece. Smith’s struggles continue After pitching near-perfect baseball to begin the season, Joe Smith continued to unravel Monday. Smith was only able to make it 2/3 of an inning before leaving the game after giving up three hits, one earned run, and another run scored after a throwing error by Miranda. Smith has now given up a run in three out of his last four appearances after giving up no earned runs in every other appearance of 2022 before those four. Former Twin Schoop with milestone hit While 2022 hasn’t exactly been kind to the current Tiger and former Twin infielder, Jonathan Schoop was able to pick up the 1,000th hit of his career Monday afternoon. Schoop spent the 2019 season with the Twins. A season in which he hit 23 home runs and especially punished left-handed pitching. What’s Next? The Twins will hope that the rest gained by some players on Monday will help with the doubleheader scheduled for Tuesday. In Game 1 the Twins will send Devin Smeltzer to the mound against right-hander Rony Garcia of the Tigers. Then in game 2, the Twins look to send Cole Sands to the mound against lefty Joey Wentz. Hopefully, the Twins lineup can succeed against two arms with limited major league experience and right the ship after Monday's loss. Postgame Interview No Interviews but we learned this news postgame. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SUN SUN MON TOT Megill 0 26 0 0 34 60 Duffey 31 0 20 0 0 51 Moran 0 0 34 0 0 34 Smith 0 18 0 0 16 34 Minaya 0 0 31 0 0 31 Thielbar 0 1 0 22 0 23 Jax 0 0 0 20 0 20 Duran 0 19 0 0 0 19 Pagán 0 3 0 12 0 15 View full article

Thank-you! I appreciate your kind words.

The Minnesota Twins took the lead early on a Max Kepler grand slam. After letting the Tigers back into the game, it took a 9th inning walk-off single from Gio Urshela to take game one of the series. Box Score SP: Chris Archer: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (72 pitches, 46 strikes (63.9%)) Home Runs: Max Kepler (6) Top 3 WPA: Max Kepler (0.275), Kyle Garlick (0.232), Emilio Pagan (0.230) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Archer four innings of bend don’t break In the offseason, Chris Archer was picked up to be the Twins 5th starter. That said, Archer has since become one of the most available arms for the Twins, even if it is for only four innings at a time. The short outings still often leave the Twins in a spot to win more often than not. The journey there can be bumpy. Monday night, that came in the way of three hits and two walks and scoring threats in three of the four innings Archer completed. If it weren’t for Daz Cameron’s speed beating out a double play, Archer likely would have put up a scoreless outing. The difficulty with the short outings is that it means the bullpen must be able to pick Archer up. More on that later. “Checked then Wrecked” You have probably heard the patented phrase “bloop and a blast.” The Twins put together a first inning that resulted in a check-swing single from Jorge Polanco to load the bases—followed by an absolute bomb from Max Kepler for a grand slam to give the Twins and Archer an early 4-0 lead. Monday night’s grand slam was Kepler’s sixth on the season. A season in which Kepler is reestablishing himself as a reliable offensive threat in the Twins lineup. Coming into Monday evening, he carried a career-best 136 WRC+. Chinks in the bullpen armor The bullpen has, time and time again in 2022, shut down opposing lineups. Monday night, the Tigers tested that ability was tested, and the results were not favorable. Griffin Jax came into the game to begin the 5th inning. In that inning, Jax let up a home run to Jonathan Schoop. Then in the 6th, Eric Haase was able to drive in a second run against Jax cutting the Twins lead down to one. Even the seemingly untouchable Joe Smith was scored on Monday night. This time Schoop was the one on base after his own one-out double and driven in by a Miguel Cabrera single. Smith was only to record one out in his appearance and was chased from the game after allowing three hits and striking out one. Pagan steadies the ship Emilio Pagan has created some interesting moments at the backend of games, but he came up big right on Monday night when the Twins needed it. Not only did Pagan shut down the Tigers in the eight. The Twins also called on to take on the ninth. While Pagan allowed one hit, he also struck out four batters. Including Schoop and Cabrera, who caused trouble for the Twins bullpen earlier in the game. Pagan likely won't be mentioned in headlines, but he came up big for the Twins. Urshela with heroics for the second straight game After allowing the Tigers back into the game and tying the score up at four, the Twins had to rally in the bottom of the ninth. Kepler, who already had the important grand slam in the first inning, took a vital walk to lead off the inning. With a lefty in Andrew Chafin on the mound, Rocco Baldelli turned to his bench and lefty masher Kyle Garlick. Garlick promptly hit a single to the outfield which advanced Kepler to third base. On night after Garlick homered off of a righty, he continues to show how elite he is when facing lefties. After a Sanchez pop-out, Gio Urshela came to the plate. Urshela has been one of many Twins that has been bit by the double-play grounder bug. With Garlick on first, that result had a strong chance as one of the Twins bottom of the ninth outcomes. Instead, Urshela was able to hit a grounder up the middle with enough speed that the Tigers couldn't handle it and allowed Kepler to score the game's winning run. Two incredible and exciting wins in the row take the Twins to five straight wins as they try to extend their AL Central lead. What’s Next? Tuesday, the Twins will send Sonny Gray to the mound for his sixth start of the season. He will look to get the Twins a win and improve upon his already solid 3.48 ERA. The Tigers will send rookie Beau Brieske to the mound. The righty sits mid-90s with his fastball and mixes in a changeup and slider, but has been hit pretty hard to this point in his young career. We will see if the Twins can exploit that Tuesday. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet - THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Jax 0 18 0 0 33 51 Pagán 0 19 0 0 28 47 Cano 0 0 0 38 0 38 Smith 0 0 21 0 17 38 Duran 0 16 0 17 0 33 Duffey 0 18 0 14 0 32 Megill 0 0 0 31 0 31 Thielbar 0 0 18 0 3 21 Stashak 0 0 18 0 IL 18 View full article

The Twins not using Pagan, Duran, Smith, even Thielbar seems to be the reset. That is the usual go to for late inning save situation games.

Royce Lewis was the spark to the Minnesota Twins offense early, scoring the Twins first two runs. Gary Sanchez added some power, and the Twins bullpen was lights out once again as the Twins won the first game of their west coast road trip. Box Score SP: Chris Archer: 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (62 pitches, 37 strikes (59.7%)) Home Runs: Gary Sanchez (3) Top 3 WPA: Gary Sanchez (0.143), Griffin Jax (0.143), Jorge Polanco (0.138) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Garlick activated The Twins sent out their patented righty heavy lineup with lefty Zach Logue on the mound for the Athletics. It was a perfect opportunity for the healthy Kyle Garlick to return to the Twins after spending time on the IL with an injured calf. Coming into Monday night, Garlick has hit .357/.500/1.000 with a 1.500 OPS against left-handed pitchers. Archer gives the Twins four innings Chris Archer did exactly what 2022 Archer does. He gave the Twins four full innings of work and left the game with the Twins in a position to win the game. It was an uneasy beginning as it seemed Archer was trying to nibble around the edges of the plate. Once the right-hander could locate some pitches better, he went through a stretch of sending nine straight A's batters back to the dugout. Lewis makes his case As Carlos Correa draws closer to returning from his finger injury, Royce Lewis isn’t ready to go back to St. Paul just yet. The Twins shortstop is doing everything to make sure he stays in the majors. Lewis accounted for two Twins runs. He was first driven home by Jorge Polanco after his third-inning double and then Byron Buxton after a fifth-inning walk. While Lewis will need to find a new defensive home if he and Correa are to coexist in the same lineup, his bat may force just that to happen. Lewis is now hitting .286/.306/.457 since his call up. Gary brings the power While the Twins needed to employ small-ball tactics of what feels like an era forgotten for their second run, Gary Sanchez brought us right back to present-day baseball. Sanchez smashed a ball to center field in the sixth inning for the Twins third run. His home run measured at 433 feet and had an exit velocity of 109.9 mph. Cano, Jax, Duffey impress out of the bullpen Yennier Cano has seen the Twins bullpen roles be shuffled around, and now he is staking his claim to a role of his own. Cano once again was asked to pitch two innings as he came on in relief of Archer. As he sat mid-90s with his fastball, Cano only allowed one hit and recorded two strikeouts. Cano is turning heads early on in his major league career. Griffin Jax was the next man up out of the bullpen and added his own two innings following Cano. Allowing only one hit, Jax has continued to be trusted by his manager and has become a real asset for the Twins. Tyler Duffey followed to get the save on a night in which Emilio Pagan was unavailable. It is also interesting that the choice was Duffey and not Jhoan Duran, but now Duran will be available for the rest of the series. What’s Next? The Twins will go to bed likely with the sounds of drums and horns bouncing in their heads. It was announced Dylan Bundy will return from the COVID IL to make the start on Tuesday. Bundy brings into the game a 5.76 ERA on the season in his five starts. The A’s will send James Kaprielian to the mound. The right-hander has made three starts in 2022 and currently owns a 4.97 ERA. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Jax 0 50 0 0 25 75 Cano 36 0 0 0 25 61 Stashak 46 0 0 13 0 59 Duffey 33 0 5 0 20 58 Pagán 0 22 9 10 0 41 Thielbar 23 0 15 2 0 40 Smith 0 4 15 9 0 28 Duran 0 10 12 0 0 22 Cotton 0 0 17 0 0 17 View full article