Nate Palmer

On a night when the Minnesota Twins offense only scored two runs. The Twins starter, Chris Paddack, and the bullpen carried the team to victory after combining to allow only one run. Box Score SP Chris Paddack: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (81 pitches, 53 strikes (65.4%)) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Joe Smith (.208), Johan Duran (.191), Emilio Pagan (.137) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The storylines existed for this game before the teams even took the field for warm-ups. It all begins with the Baltimore starter and old friend, Tyler Wells, a Twins 15th-round draft pick from 2016. Wells was selected by the Orioles last offseason in the Rule V draft and has been starting for the Orioles this season, coming into the game with a 5.54 ERA over four starts, and 13.0 innings pitched. The other leading storyline for Monday night's game was that Twins prospect Jose Miranda got his call up to the majors. The Twins number three prospect in Twins Daily’s prospect rankings started at third base while batting sixth in the Twins lineup. While playing at AAA St. Paul Miranda hit .256/.295/.442 with a .737 OPS, two home runs, ten doubles, and twelve RBIs. Twins Bats Scuffle Early Against Former Twins Prospect Tyler Wells Early on, the game came easy for the former Twins farmhand. Wells worked quickly through the first two innings and put up a perfect first three innings. In those first three innings, Wells was able to create several harmless pop-ups and collect two strikeouts. Wells was spotting his pitches well for strikes, and it was apparent even from the television camera angle that he was getting good movement on his breaking pitches. Finally, Luis Arraez found good contact on a Wells’ pitch to break through for the Twins first hit of the night in the fourth inning. Paddack Up for the Challenge With Wells off to the perfect start, Chris Paddack gave the Twins 5.1 innings of a competitive start. There were plenty of long and loud outs throughout his start Monday night, but the key was most of them resulted in outs. Rougned Odor did get to Paddack for a triple which led to an Orioles run after Ramon Urias drove him home. Urias’ single led to the only earned run allowed by Paddack. The Twins right-hander did get into a bit of trouble in the fifth before Joe Smith came on to induce a ground ball double play and keep the Twins in front. Paddack collected eight swings and misses before leaving the game with the Twins leading the Orioles 2-1. Correa Continues to Deliver As Carlos Correa has been heating up over the past week, he continued to deliver for the Twins on Monday evening. This time it was in the form of an RBI single. Correa dropped the ball in the outfield grass with Byron Buxton standing on second base. This sixth inning scoring sequence feels like the situation envisioned when Correa was added to this lineup already featuring Buxton. Correa also flashed his glove again at a critical moment. Jorge Mateo drilled a line drive in the eighth inning with one on and no outs. Correa was there and able to snag the line drive out of the air for the first out and help Emilio Pagan complete the inning without allowing any runs. What’s Next? The Twins will look to pick up another win as they send Joe Ryan to the mound. Their hitters will hope to have better success against Bruce Zimmerman who is the scheduled starter for the Orioles. The Orioles lefty has been tough this year in 19 1/3 innings carrying a 0.93 ERA and 9.8 K/9 Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Jax 46 0 0 0 15 61 Coulombe 0 35 0 0 0 35 Stashak 18 0 14 0 0 32 Duran 0 0 20 0 10 30 Pagán 0 0 0 0 27 27 Duffey 8 0 0 17 0 25 Thielbar 0 0 15 0 0 15 Smith 0 0 9 0 2 11 Moran 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

The third Monday in April every year is a day that is very pro-Boston. A Kyle Garlick two run home run and four RBIs from Polanco led the Twins as they stole some of the joy of Patriots Day away from the Red Sox. Box Score SP: Dylan Bundy: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (71 pitches, 51 strikes (71.8%)) Home Runs: Kyle Garlick (1), Jorge Polanco (2) Top 3 WPA: Dylan Bundy (.162), Kyle Garlick (.160), Jorge Polanco (.126) Game Score: Twins 8, Red Sox 3 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The city of Boston was buzzing with excitement on Monday, also known as Patriots Day. It was the first Patriots Day to feel normal since COVID-19 entered our vocabulary. Just outside of Fenway Park was the running of the Boston Marathon. While Bostonians were looking for a good day, it did not start that way for Red Sox fans as COVID would rear its ugly head. Before game time, Kevin Plawecki was spotted leaving the stadium in street clothes. Later it would be reported that he and two other Red Sox staffers had tested positive for COVID. It will certainly be a development we, as Twins fans, will want to keep an eye on as it could have a ripple effect if any Twins players or staff would also end up testing positive. A Cleanup Spot Garlick Tater Monday morning, as the starting lineup was posted on Twitter, there was plenty of angst surrounding the selection of Kyle Garlick to hit cleanup. Garlick proved his doubters wrong with Carlos Correa on base by placing a Rich Hill pitch right on top of the Green Monster in left field. At first look, there is reason to be initially frustrated that an offensively struggling Twins team would bat a player who wasn’t even on the Opening Day roster cleanup. Garlick also flexed one of the big reasons the Twins front office preferred him over the recently traded Brent Rooker. Garlick rakes against lefties. Entering the day, Garlick, over his career, had slashed .258/.298/.567 with a .865 OPS against southpaws. Bundy Finally Gives Up a Run Even though his velocity seemed to be down, Dylan Bundy pitched very well and was nearly flawless through four innings. That included a stretch in which Bundy sent down ten batters in a row. Bundy ran into trouble in the fifth inning, allowing his first run as a Twin. When the Twins tried to stretch Bundy into the sixth and save the bullpen another inning, everything really went south for Bundy. After getting Hernandez out to start the inning on a strikeout, the next two hits were struck hard and resulted in runners on second and third base with one out. If the Twins did not have a three-run lead, Baldelli might have gone to his bullpen right away to begin the inning. It seemed like a measured gamble worth taking with the lead and how efficient Bundy had been. While the results may have been very similar to Bundy’s first Twins start last Monday, there is one thing to keep an eye on. Last week Bundy kept hard-hit balls to a minimum. Monday morning, the hard-hit rate was up considerably. He gave up ten hard hits and boasted a hard hit % of 66.7%. Where Smith Big in Relief Joe Smith was tasked with cleaning up the mess that was left after Bundy was pulled from the game. He was able to get Martinez to hit an infield grounder that Sano fielded and froze Devers leading to an eventually tag placed on the Red Sox third baseman. Then after an intentional walk to Verdugo, Smith got Arroyo to hit a loud F8 to end the inning. The sixth inning could have turned into an ugly inning, but the veteran Smith was able to come in and save the Twins three-run lead. Polanco Comes Up Big While Garlick got things going on the offensive side of the ball, Jorge Polanco put a big exclamation point on the morning and afternoon. Polanco followed up Garlick’s two-run home run over the Green Monster with one of his own with Gilberto Celestino on base. Then in the eighth inning, with the bases loaded, Polanco came through with a two-RBI single. Polanco’s eight-inning single gave the Twins second baseman a 2-for-5 day and four RBIs, which helped give his team some much-appreciated breathing room. Polanco’s single was part of an excellent eighth inning for the Twins. An inning where they scored four runs on only one hit! Griffin Jax even pitched a scoreless eighth, helping the Twins get past an inning that has not been friendly to them this season. What’s Next? The Twins will move on to Kansas City for their first look at the fellow AL central Royals. Tuesday's game will feature Chris Archer's second start of the season. While the Royals look to send Carlos Hernandez to the mound. Because of the Wild and Wolves, the Twins game will be on the CW. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Winder 28 0 66 0 0 94 Jax 0 22 0 0 47 69 Duran 0 34 0 0 23 57 Romero 34 0 11 0 0 45 Thielbar 18 0 0 17 0 35 Pagán 20 11 0 0 0 31 Duffey 0 0 0 18 0 18 Stashak 0 0 0 17 0 17 Coulombe 14 0 0 0 0 14 Smith 3 0 0 0 6 9 View full article

This is an interesting read! I will join in with my fellow pastors on commenting in saying that appreciate Johnson's perspective after being intimately involved in both realms.

Dylan Bundy gave quiet to some of the skepticism surrounding his addition this offseason. The bats were not as explosive as they were over the weekend, but three straight RBI singles was enough to comfortably put the Mariners away Monday evening. Box Score SP: Dylan Bundy: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (67 pitches, 47 strikes (70.1%)) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Dylan Bundy (.288), Jorge Polanco (.223), Luis Arraez (.118) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Cy-Bundy? Ok, so no one is going Cy-Young award yet on Dylan Bundy. His outing Monday night was very encouraging and clean. Considering the question marks surrounding Bundy and how he might step into the Twins rotation. For at least one turn, the answer was very good. Bundy was very efficient as he made it through 5 innings while only throwing 67 pitches of one-hit ball. 5-6 innings each time out of anything close to Monday night would be an excellent outcome for the Twins' free-agent addition. Everyone gets an RBI-Single The Twins got their first run in the first inning on an RBI double. In the 5th inning, the offense got going with three straight RBI singles and put the Twins up 4-0. Byron Buxton provided the fireworks as he almost hit his 4th home run of the season. Instead, the ball hit the top of the wall, letting Buxton cruise into second with a double. Then, Luis Arraez into Jorge Polanco into Gio Urshela gave the Twins those three straight singles and three more runs on the board. After a weekend that provided a heavy diet of long home runs, the Twins went the route of stringing hits together to get runs on the board. Did Rocco Go to the Wrong Guys in the Pen? After the Twins went up 4 in the fifth inning, Rocco still chose to run out many of his key arms. Caleb Thielbar took the sixth, Tyler Duffey the seventh, and Joe Smith the eighth. It seemed like a game situation where the Twins could have worked some of their lower leverage arms into the game and saved the higher leverage arms for the Dodgers as they come to town tomorrow. If you refer to the bullpen chart at the bottom of the game recap, it seems there is a potential pattern Rocco is following, at least early on. The relievers have been bunched into groups that allow days rest between outings for each reliever. That is true for all the relievers outside of Josh Winder, who has yet to pitch through this opening series. Tonight’s game felt like an excellent opportunity for Winder to have gotten at least an inning or two. We did get to see Jhoan Duran in the ninth and Wow... Base Running Woes Twins fans are not immune from feeling the woes of bad base running. Monday night was a flashback of that. The home team saw two base runners thrown out at home plate. The first was Miguel Sano in the second inning, and the second Alex Kirilloff who was thrown out just ahead of the RBI single parade in the fifth. Those two missed runs may have been enough to add to leaving Winder in the bullpen and not on the mound. What’s Next? The Twins will welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to town along with their powerhouse of a lineup. Chris Archer is set to make the start for the Twins in a game that is scheduled to begin at 6:40 p.m. The Dodgers will look to send Andrew Heaney to the mound. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Coulombe 0 27 0 15 0 42 Duran 0 31 0 0 11 42 Alcalá 0 13 0 27 0 40 Smith 0 0 20 0 19 39 Thielbar 0 0 18 0 19 37 Duffey 0 0 18 0 14 32 Cotton 0 0 20 0 0 20 Romero 0 0 0 15 0 15 Pagán 0 0 0 10 0 10 Winder 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

February is Black History Month, and over the coming weeks, Twins Daily will have a series of articles on African Americans in Minnesota Twins history. There have been award winners, All Stars, and even a couple of Hall of Famers. Today we feature two players who gave the Twins a strong start up the middle, at catcher and in center field. In 1961, center fielder Lenny Green and catcher Earl Battey were part of the collection of players that made the trip from Washington D.C. to Minnesota, a transition that turned the Senators into the Twins. They did so as two of three African Americans with Ron Henry being the third who Seth Stohs wrote about earlier in our series. Lenny Green Green is certainly the lesser-known of the two players in Twins history. He came to the organization in 1959 after starting his career with Baltimore. In 1961, serving as the starting center fielder for the Twins, Green played in 156 games, hit nine home runs, and drove in 50 runs. He slashed .285/.374/.400. Green played for the Twins from that inaugural 1961 season until midseason of 1964. He was the starter in center field until Jimmie Hall supplanted him during the 1963 season. That led the Twins to trade Green in the middle of the 1964 season to the Los Angeles Angels. A trade that brought back Frank Costro and Jerry Kindall. Green went on to play for Baltimore (once again), Boston, and Detroit before his career ended in 1968. 1965 was his best season after leaving the Senators/Twins organization when he was the regular starting center fielder for the Red Sox. Earl Battey If it wasn’t for some guy known for having sideburns, Battey very well would be in consideration for the title of best catcher in Twins history. He was traded to the Senators from the White Sox in 1960. At the time, the backstop was labeled as a defensive catcher. He had always seemed to have success hitting in the minors, but had not been able to get his bat to translate to the big leagues. As a member of the Twins that all changed. In that inaugural season of 1961, Battey played in 133 games, hit 17 home runs, and hit for a .302 average. That batting average ranked sixth-best in the AL by season’s end. Battey also continued with his billing as a good defensive catcher by winning a gold glove in that 1961 season. Before retiring at the end of the 1967 season, Battey won three gold gloves, was a five-time All-Star, and figured into the MVP voting in three different seasons. He certainly was part of a solid core of hitters that had him often overshadowed by the likes of Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, and Bob Allison. What may have shined through even more in retirement from baseball, is that Battey was a really good person. Immediately after his career finished, he was part of a company where one of his main duties was getting free Yankees tickets in the hands of inner-city kids and then attending the game with them. He was the "answer man" for all of the children's questions. The former catcher also became a high school teacher and baseball coach in Florida. Battey passed away in 2003 from cancer. It was the following season, 2004, that Battey entered into the Twins Hall of Fame. Battey is remembered as a great teammate and storyteller. -- A Pennant for the Twins Cities: The 1965 Minnesota Twins was considered in writing this post View full article

A potential Minnesota Twins free agent target went off the board Monday as Eduardo Rodriguez agreed to sign with the Detroit Tigers. Here are three things we now know about the Twins and the division. Monday morning, one of the first free-agent dominoes fell. As reported, free-agent starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez has found a new home with the division rival Detroit Tigers. The reports have the deal at 5 years and $77 million dollars. Rodriguez was certainly a pitcher that made sense for the Twins. At 28, the lefty represents a young free agent who is now controlled on a five-year contract with an opt-out after two years. Rodriguez is coming off a season in Boston that was likely better than his 4.74 ERA suggests. Instead, he finds a home with Detroit. A team the Twins were looking up at in the standings when the 2021 season came to a close. As the dust settles on the news of the Rodriguez signing, here are some things we know. The Twins were not in on Rodriguez. As referenced above, a Twins-Rodriguez union made all the sense in the world. The Twins, at best, need to fill three rotation spots, and Rodriguez has a good mix of experience and youth to be part of a competing rotation for the life of his five-year deal. The union made so much sense that two out of three MLBTR writers predicted that the Twins would be the team to sign Rodriguez in their look at the top-50 free agents this winter. Darren Wolfson reported quickly that the Twins and Rodriguez camp had not been talking about a deal. While this news will disappoint some, it will take time before we know exactly what happened behind the scenes when it came to the Twins view of Rodriguez. That something could have been a talent or makeup issue or a contract commitment. Whatever it was, it left the Twins not interested in the lefty. The Tigers aren’t bluffing One of the most significant talking points of the young offseason is that the Tigers are poised and ready to spend. Most of the attention ends up going the way of the Tigers signing a shortstop like Carlos Correa, but five years and $77 million to Rodriguez is another significant chunk of money that Detroit has now spent this offseason. The Tigers are no strangers to opening up the pocketbook to bring in high-priced free agents. It just has been a while since it made sense for them to do so. The signing also shows that not only are the Tigers willing to spend on free agents this offseason, but at least one free agent has shown he is willing to choose Detroit as his new home. That may be more important than anything for a team looking to build on a young core, and a third-place finish in the AL Central as the 2022 season ushers in. The Twins have work to do The Twins should see a better 2022 than 2021 simply because everything can’t go wrong again like it did in 2021. If the goal is to unseat the White Sox, the Tigers are at least going to make other AL Central teams think about them on their way to the division crown. If the Twins want to be the 2022 AL Central Division champs, this move by the Tigers only further confirms they will need to go and be active in acquiring major league-ready talent through some avenue soon. In past years, when it has been a two-team race, it is easier to sneak into that top spot. With the Tigers making their push, there are at least two other teams in the division ready to make something happen. Thankfully there are still free-agent starting pitchers on the board. With two (Rodriguez and Andrew Heaney) already off the board, the club may not want to wait too long if they have their eye on one of the free-agent starting pitchers that are available. Of course, there is always the route of trading for starting pitching talent as well. Something that Wolfson mentioned several times today as reactions were made on Twitter to the Twins lack of interest in Rodriguez. How are you feeling about the state of the division after Detroit has added Rodriguez to their already talented rotation? Should the Twins have been in on Rodriguez? Let us know below! MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article

Bailey Ober and Michael Pineda shut the door on Cleveland, while Jorge Polanco busted through with a four extra-base hit night. Box Score Starter: Bailey Ober 4.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (27), Byron Buxton (11) Top 3 WPA: Polanco (.240), Pineda (.192), Buxton (.096) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) At this point in the season, it feels like a Bailey Ober start is appointment viewing to get a further glimpse at what the Twins may have in him for next season. Pineda almost stole the headlines as he was activated from the IL to piggy-back Ober. Still, it was truly Polanco who once again stole all the attention away from anyone else on the field Monday night in Cleveland. The Twins got their scoring going early. Buxton was able to get an infield single to lead off the game. Polanco lined his 30th double of the season to advance Buxton to 3rd base. Then one of the more unusual 3-hole hitters for the Twins, Rob Refsnyder, drove both Twins base runners home with an opposite-field single to put the Twins up 2-0 over Cleveland. As the 3rd inning came around, so did Polanco’s spot in the lineup again. In his second at-bat as a righty against the left-handed Logan Allen, Polanco hit his 27th home run of the season. Polanco wasn’t finished for the night either. He would end the night going 4-for-5 with three doubles and a home run. Buxton is Back Buxton has looked good and healthy since returning from the injured list from the running and fielding standpoint. His bat has been quiet. Yesterday it began to awaken, and tonight that awakening continued. In addition to his 1st inning single, Buxton also hit his 11th home run of the season which gave the Twins a 4-2 lead in the 5th inning. Ober Continues His Growth One of the few storylines many fans are watching as the season winds down continues to be an impressive one. Ober continued his excellent stretch of pitching on a night he knew he would be limited and piggy-backed by Michael Pineda. Ober made a mistake with Franmil Reyes' at-bat, and he blasted a hanging slider for a 2-run home run. Besides that run-scoring opportunity, Ober continued to look strong as he challenged Cleveland batters inside, struck out four and walked none. Pineda Returns to the Mound With plenty of questions surrounding where Pineda will be for the 2022 season, Pineda made his return starting the 5th inning after Ober was finished for the evening. Big Mike put together a respectable line of 3.0 IP, 2 H, 3 Ks, and 1 BB. The results were there, but questions still remain around the stuff and/or command being fully back. That is a question that will need to be answered as the Twins consider whether or not they will make Pineda a contract offer for 2022. It was a fun night in Cleveland for the Twins. They will go back at it tomorrow as John Gant takes the mound against Aaron Civale. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Gibaut 24 0 0 47 0 0 71 Colomé 0 0 0 11 23 9 43 Minaya 11 0 0 21 0 0 32 Garza Jr. 0 0 8 23 0 0 31 Thielbar 0 0 0 0 28 0 28 Duffey 0 0 0 0 10 8 18 Alcalá 0 0 0 0 15 0 15 Coulombe 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 View full article

I felt myself gag back some vomit as I had to type that out. Seems so strange that he will end up with a positive stat out of that performance. I understand why, but it shows that there are times we do need to look a bit further than just the number itself to get the full picture.

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

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

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

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

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

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