Steven Trefz

The Minnesota Twins had every opportunity to defeat the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon. They didn't, and by the end of this week Twins fans should know whether or not it mattered. Image courtesy of Jerome Miron - USA Today Box Score Starting Pitcher: Kenta Maeda - 5 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (80 Pitches, 50 Strikes, 62.5% Strikes) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (10) Bottom WPA: Josh Winder (-.361), Cole Sands (-.276), Christian Vazquez (-.258) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins looked to sweep the Rangers in their final preview for round one of the playoffs. Jon Gray took the hill for Texas, and Kenta Maeda countered for Minnesota. The Sunday matinee saw former Twins and new Twins star in the action, but ultimately the former Twins outlasted the current squad, and the twelve Twins left on base and six arms left in the bullpen tell the story of the game. Maeda Doesn't Like Garv-Sauce Texas attacked the scoreboard first again on Sunday, with former Twins catcher Mitch Garver delicately placing a Maeda slider that didn't slide just far enough into the left field bleachers. To make matters worse, Garver did this mean-spirited thing with two runners on, making the score 3-0 Rangers before Twins fans were even warmed up. With nine pitchers getting used on Saturday, a short start wasn't an option for Maeda. Maeda continued to give up contact and walks, seven hits and two walks in only three innings of work to be specific. And yet, Maeda was able to elicit ground outs and weak contact to escape these threats, keeping the Twins within striking distance as the game headed into the middle innings. Twins Offense Doesn't Like Gray-Sauce Edouard Julien led off the game with a double off of the wall in left field. The Twins didn't generate another hit against Gray until the top of the fourth when Carlos Correa smacked a single to center. Gray continually fooled the batters, with four of his early strikeouts being on called third strikes. Andrew Stevenson tried to bounce one off of Gray's pitching hand, and reached when Gray couldn't corral it in. He got Christian Vazquez to swing and miss, however, ending the threat in the fourth on his seventh strikeout for the day. Royce Lewis Needs a Sauce, and Twins Fans Would Buy All of It In the top of the fifth inning, Julien got his second hit of the game with one out. Jorge Polanco followed with a walk. Lewis followed by ripping a foul ball straight backward into the home plate umpire's face. After a short delay, everyone got back into their positions, and Lewis straightened it out this time to tie the game at 3-3. The Twins weren't done yet, Correa singled, Matt Wallner laced a 144 mph missile to right field (OK... 114 mph), and a jut-out in the foul territory fence saved a run by funneling the ball directly to the right fielder. After a Stevenson walk, the Twins were on the verge of breaking things wide open with the bases loaded and two outs. Christian Vazquez stepped up to the plate... and then sat back down after striking out as the Twins had to settle with the tie. Who's Left in the Bullpen? Not many relievers didn't see action Saturday night for both squads, so when Maeda and Gray exited after five innings each, the Twins and Rangers scrambled to find a way to complete the ballgame. The Rangers went to lefty Brock Burke in the top of the sixth, and struck out two more Twins for a quick inning. The Twins went to long-man Cole Sands, and he mowed through his first two opponents quickly as well. Then, Sands walked Marcus Semien, gave up a single to Corey Seager, walked Nathaniel Lowe, and chucked a baseball behind Adolis Garcia's back that allowed Semien to score to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead. 31 pitches later, Garcia struck out and the Twins turned to the last third of the game needing a comeback. Burke stayed in for the top of the seventh, and Lewis and Max Kepler greeted him with singles to knock him out of the game. Chris Stratton came in next and Correa hit a Metrodome classic to left to tie the game 4-4. The Twins once again failed to knock in the go-ahead run, as Stevenson and Vazquez both bounced out to first base to end yet another threat. 10 runners left on base through seven innings usually comes back to bite at team, and it didn't take long for that big bite to take place. Again, it tasted like Garv-sauce. Royce-sauce! The Twins' hopes for a comeback again rested on Lewis, who came up with one down and two on in the top of the eighth inning after Jordan Luplow and Polanco worked excellent patience into consecutive walks off of Jose Leclerc. Once again, Royce-sauce delivered a delicious swing to plate Luplow and knot the game 5-5. Will Smith then entered the game to neutralize Kepler, only to walk him to load the bases after a successful double steal to put the go ahead run at third with less than two outs. Correa was next man up, and he neutralized Kepler himself by bouncing into his 29th double play and leaving another couple of Twins on the pond. The bottom of the eighth saw lefty Kody Funderburk take the mound for the Twins, and things looked bleak after Leody Taveras ripped a lead-off double. Kody brought the Funder though, and stranded Taveras at third (after getting Semien, Seager and Lowe) to send the game to the ninth still tied. Willi Castro made his reappearance in the lineup by pinch-hitting for Wallner in the top of the ninth, and Kyle Farmer pinch-hit for Stevenson as well, and neither found a way to hit in a pinch en route to a no-run inning. Josh Winder was called upon to get the Twins into extra innings again, but that hope didn't last long as Adolis Garcia wiped away his 0-4 day with one big swing to send Rangers fans home happy and Twins fans to their phones to check the Guardians score. Until We Meet Again... If the playoffs began today, the Rangers would travel to Target Field as a wild card participant. Between now and October 3rd will be much scoreboard watching and hand-wringing by both clubs. The Twins took five of seven from the Rangers during the regular season, and could have won them all. They also could have easily gone two and five, with many close games and bullpen issues all around. This potential matchup could be the best the Twins could hope for to beat their playoff curse, but the rest of this week will go a long ways towards determining if they get that chance at first place in the first place. Post-Game Interview What’s Next? The Twins open their last series against the Guardians on Tuesday, with RHP Pablo Lopez (9-7, 3.72 ERA) facing new Guardians waiver man RHP Lucas Giolito (7-11, 4.45 ERA). Giolito managed going 1-4 with a 7.24 ERA in August for the Angels, but when with the White Sox he faced the Twins three times and only surrendered two runs over 18 innings. Which version of Giolito will be standing on the mound Tuesday? First pitch at Cleveland is scheduled for 5:10pm CDT. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Durán 20 0 9 21 0 50 Sands 0 0 0 0 50 50 Funderburk 8 0 0 9 14 31 Thielbar 16 0 8 6 0 30 Jax 8 0 11 7 0 26 Pagán 0 0 0 24 0 24 Headrick 0 0 0 15 0 15 Winder 0 0 0 6 5 11 Floro 0 0 0 8 0 8 View full article

I’m a big believer that a starter’s attitude influences team success. Pablo had comparable stats and a better team record, hence the edge in a close race. There is evidence that Gray is making a qualitative turn, and I hope he continues to do so!

The Twins finished August with a 15-12 record, but faced diminishing results from some key starting pitchers and system failure from much of the bullpen. What pitchers were able to overcome this inertia and rose to the occasion in order to keep the Twins in first place? Roles reversed in August, as the Twins saw their starters achieving more quality starts, while the previously lights-out bullpen stumbled in streaky fashion. As the boom or bust offense continued to seek its way, the pitching staff felt the pressure and mostly stepped up to the rubber with confidence. Here are the best of the best for the Twins pitching staff in August. Honorable Mention Jhoan Duran - 12 G, 2.84 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 14 H, 3 BB, 17 K Duran's August left Twins fans with a bitter taste in their mouth after poor fielding and wild pitches led to a Guardians comeback in the final game of their recent series. This wasn't the only blip on the radar for Duran. He gave up a run or more in five of his twelve appearances and took two losses in the process. Duran is still the king of the bullpen, and the go-to closer for the Twins. His ability to regain consistency around the strike zone, especially with his fastball, will be important for the playoff push. August actually was a better overall month than July for Duran, so hope is trending in the right direction for his September. August Pitchers of the Month #4. Dallas Keuchel - 4 G, 3.50 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 18 IP, 20 H, 6 BB, 6 K For Dallas Keuchel, simply pitching for the Twins this season was in question in July. By the end of August, he had contributed to three victories and offered some of the best pitching of the month. From his August 6th victory against the Diamondbacks to his flirtation with perfection on August 20th against the Pirates, Keuchel has shown moments of the pinpoint control and Cy Young experience that got him to this point in his career. In his start against the Phillies in Philadelphia, he didn't make it out of the second inning before six runs had crossed the plate. The closest example to what Twins fans might expect from Keuchel in September and beyond came on August 27th in the "piggy-back" game against the Rangers. He bailed out Bailey Ober and kept the Rangers scoreless until a rally could transpire. #3. Emilio Pagan - 13 G, 3.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 12 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 9 K Pagan is the only pitcher to stay on the list from July to August. The "Paganaissance" continued, as Pagan's increased usage in high-leverage situations helped the Twins gain victories with only one home run hiccup. Pagan pitched in 13 of the team's 27 games and garnered weak contact to the tune of a .189 BABIP. With others in the bullpen imploding, Pagan has consistently stepped up into the situation that the game requires, silencing critics and establishing himself as a go-to arm for the stretch run. His ERA elevated almost two full runs between July and August's performances, but the overall results remained strong. #2. Sonny Gray - 6 G, 2.04 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 39.2 IP, 27 H, 7 BB, 41 K While Kenta Maeda and Bailey Ober didn't live up to their July success, Gray found a way to improve upon his. En route to a league leading ERA, Gray continued to give the Twins a chance to win day in and day out, and managed to last longer into his starts as well. Despite this individual statistical success, the Twins only went 3-3 in his six starts in August. The Twins inability to complete the victory after a Gray start has stung his resume since May, and one must question what factors support this trend given that run support and defensive metrics don't seem to support the struggles. As the only Twins pitcher in the Cy Young conversation, Gray needs to be celebrated, but he wasn't able to climb to the top spot this month which goes to... Winner: Pablo Lopez - 6 G, 2.25 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 36 IP, 37 H, 7 BB, 36 K In August, the Twins won five of Lopez's six starts, with the only loss being a quality start against the Guardians this past week. The Lopez/Gray debate is a coin flip statistically, but Lopez comes out on top in my book for looking the part of team leader and displaying less volatility between starts (especially with regard to control in the final innings of his outings). I know the "eye test" doesn't account for much in a sabermetrics world, but Lopez clearly brings less drama into a game than Gray does currently, and that attitude bleeds over into defense, offense, and managing. For these reasons, when the Twins enter Game 1 of a potential playoff series, Lopez is "The Guy," and Gray is number two. And the Twins should still go 2-0. Congratulations to Lopez for making August "Pablo Month." The Twins are going to need more of his best if they hope to seal the division title in September. What do you think? How would you rank your top Twins pitchers of August? Comment below. View full article

The Twins had the Guardians on the ropes heading into Tuesday night's ballgame, but it was Cleveland who came out swinging and connecting, en route to a series tying victory. Here's how it all went down. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, USA Today Box Score Starting Pitcher: Pablo Lopez - 6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K (97 Pitches, 62 Strikes, 64% Strikes) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (9) Bottom WPA: Carlos Correa (-.221), Christian Vazquez (-.128), Royce Lewis (-.082) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins entered Tuesday night having staked claim to a seven game lead over the Guardians and looking for more. After preparing to face rookie starter Gavin Williams, the Twins found themselves instead facing the Guardians bullpen starting in the second inning with Williams needing to leave due to injury. Pablo Lopez hoped to show the playoff-ready dominance that the Twins traded for. What transpired was a low key baseball game, filled with some odd situational action, small ball, long ball, and a lot of missed opportunities against a variety of Guardian pitchers. Guardians Get to Lopez Early and Often Cleveland knew after last night's game that their offense was going to need to keep generating runs in any way possible. The first way possible ended up being Bo Naylor taking a pitch at his eyes and depositing it into the concourse in right for a 1-0 Guardians lead in the top of the second inning. The top of the third inning saw Lopez giving up two more hits and a wild pitch that brought in the second Guardian run. The top of the fourth saw the second place Cleveland squad load the bases with nobody out. After getting Jose Ramirez to force out the lead runner at home, Cole Calhoun chopped a ground ball to first baseman Joey Gallo that scratched across the third Cleveland run. Royce Lewis is Human, and Not Human, and Human Again In the bottom of the first inning, Lewis found himself in territory very few have ever played in. He strode to the plate with the bases loaded, having just hit grand slams in back-to-back games. The crowd and the entire fanbase readied themselves to erupt... but Lewis popped up to deep second base, and the threat went unredeemed. In the bottom of the fourth inning, with the Twins down 3-0, Lewis came up with nobody on base. This time he didn't miss to pull the hometown nine one run closer at 3-1. Lewis got another opportunity in the bottom of the fifth inning. After a leadoff single off of lefty Sam Hentges by Max Kepler, Matt Wallner struck a single into right to advance Kepler to third. With one out, Lewis popped up to shallow right, failing to plate Kepler and leaving the Twins a Christian Vazquez strikeout away from another a prime scoring chance. Lopez Settles Down, Twins Bats Go Silently Lopez found his groove in the fourth inning and managed to complete six without letting any more Guardian runs cross the plate. Unfortunately, the Twins bats failed to mount any more threats against Hentges either. Emilio Pagan came in for the top of the seventh inning, and allowed a one out single to Ramon Laureano off of his glove. Then Carlos Correa oddly chose to let an Andres Gimenez infield fly fall at his feet, before turning and tossing the ball to second for the out. I say oddly, because this allowed a more successful base stealer to occupy first. Sure enough, after two disengagements, Gimenez stole second easily, which set up Will Brennan for an RBI on a single up the middle. The score now showed 4-1 Guardians, and the Twins began running out of room to respond. Jorge Polanco led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk, and Kepler drove the ball to the wall in left, but Steven Kwan leaped and robbed Kepler and the Twins of hope. Correa did the rest, grounding weakly into his 27th double play of the year. Cole Sands and Other Stuff at the End of the Game The final two innings of the night belonged to Sands, in an effort to keep the bullpen fresh for the series finale. Sands did well enough, no more damage there. The Twins bats couldn't figure out the Cleveland relief, however, and the game ended without much fanfare. Matt Wallner facing his former high school teammate Nick Sandlin was interesting, but the weak contact that Sandlin induced wasn't fun to see from a Twins fan perspective. Vazquez in particular had an extremely tough night at the plate, but Lewis also left plenty on the table. Even a Michael A. Taylor solo home run in the bottom of the ninth seemed anti-climactic. It was clear that the Twins prepared for Williams, and ended up getting something else entirely. The home run or bust offense busted on solo shots, and the division lead crept back down to six. Post-Game Interview What’s Next? The Twins look to take the series back on Wednesday afternoon, and send RHP Sonny Gray (7-6, 3.06 ERA) out to face the Cleveland ace rookie RHP Tanner Bibee (10-3, 3.01 ERA). On paper, the Guardians look ready and able to steal the series before next week's clash in Cleveland. Will the Twins offense boom or bust after scoring 10 runs Monday, and going 0-9 with runners in scoring position Tuesday? First pitch is scheduled for 12:10pm CDT. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Sands 32 0 0 0 24 56 Pagán 0 14 11 0 14 39 Floro 0 12 19 0 0 31 Jax 0 28 0 0 0 28 Funderburk 0 0 0 28 0 28 Winder 0 0 0 24 0 24 Durán 0 12 9 0 0 21 Thielbar 0 10 11 0 0 21 View full article

The game started innocently enough, but then two grand slams and 13 innings later the contest was no longer for the weak at heart. The Twins finally brought home the victory on a walk-off Michael A. Taylor walk, and redeemed what could have been a disasterous loss as they look ahead to a key Guardians series. Here's how it all went down. Image courtesy of Jeffrey Becker, USA Today Box Score Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober - 4 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K ( 73 Pitches, 52 Strikes, 71% Strikes) Piggy-Backer: Dallas Keuchel - 5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K ( 76 Pitches, 45 Strikes, 59% Strikes) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (7) Top WPA: Donovan Solano (.732), Michael A. Taylor (.612), Royce Lewis (.184) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins went from seeking a four-game sweep of the Rangers to hoping to salvage a series win after a disasterous ninth inning Saturday night. Sunday's matchup involved Bailey Ober looking to maximize his pitch count on a short leash, versus Jordan Montgomery and his amazing left-handedness. Ober Allows a Magical Moment...for the Rangers The Rangers started the offensive action in the top of the second inning, when J.P. Martinez crushed a 2-2 fastball deep onto the right field concourse for his first career home run. Ober completed three innings with only that run tacked against him, but the Twins offense failed to garner a single hit against Montgomery. So the middle innings would transpire with the Rangers leading 1-0. Ober Allows a Deflating Moment...for the Twins In the top of the fourth inning, the Rangers started to string together some baserunners. A double, single, and walk loaded up the bases for the aforementioned Martinez. After witnessing the orbit of the last pitch he had thrown to Martinez, Ober was able to alter the plan and the outcome, striking Martinez out with a changeup. It turns out that he should have put that changeup in his pocket and never threw it again, because the next pitch was the same exact pitch, and Jonah Heim was more than ready for it. Let Me Piggy-Back on That Last Comment Not only did that grand slam ruin the afternoon for Ober, it also made the impending "piggy-back" usage of Ober and Dallas Keuchel less interesting. Keuchel started warming up during the implosion during the fourth, but as the announcers continuously pointed out: "He's a starter, so he isn't stretched out in a way that let's him come right into the game. He needs 20 minutes." This information made it clear that the fourth inning was Ober's mess to clean up, and luckily he regained his footing and held the Rangers to their 5-0 lead. Keuchel came in to pitch the fifth, and thanks to a double-play he was able to escape facing the minimum three batters. The sixth inning also went silently for the Rangers offense, as Keuchel continued to scatter weak contact and flumox the hitters. Twins Can't Hit Lefties Again Montgomery stymied the Twins offense for five innings. The third time through the lineup, the Twins scraped a single, single, and walk to load the bases with one out. Montgomery gave way to the Rangers bullpen, scattering four hits and staying clean in the run column. Fellow trade buddy Chris Stratton came into the game looking to clean up the mess. Unfortuneately for Stratton, he's a right-handed pitcher. And Royce Lewis is awesome. Now That We Have a Ballgame, Back to That Piggy-Back Thing... All of a sudden, Keuchel found himself rolling along in a 5-4 ballgame, and his ability to succeed in this new role gained a new level of pressure and importance. The seventh and eighth innings brought some minimal drama, but at the end of the day Keuchel had pitched four scoreless innings, and kept the Twins in the game. The Rangers relied on a more typical bullpen approach, mixing in relievers for an inning at a time. The bottom of the seventh saw Michael A. Taylor and Jorge Polanco flirt with the fence, but ultimately flying out. The bottom of the eighth saw Max Kepler come through with a pinch-hit lead-off rocket single to right against Jose Leclerc. Carlos Correa followed with a walk on a full count, and Lewis found himself up to the plate again with runners on the pond, and a hero's moment waiting to be seized. Lewis took a hack at the first pitch, and popped up softly to the second baseman. That brought Ryan Jeffers up for his crack at the defining moment of the game. With two strikes, Jeffers crushed a ball to left field limestone just left of the left-field foul pole. My heart rate did not go down, and yet the pitch clock waits for no one and Declerc kept dealing to strike out Jeffers. Two on, two out, and Rocco Baldelli brought in Edouard Julien to be the hero as a pinch hitter for Kyle Farmer. Bruce Bochy responded in kind by bringing in the left-handed and generally lights-out reliever Will Smith. Smith gave up the Jeffers blast on Thursday, and he would try to get the final out against not Julien, but Christian Vazquez in the third move of the at-bat. Vazquez struck out swinging, and the game of manager roulette ended "advantage Rangers." Last Hope? Keuchel surprisingly came out in the top of the ninth for his fifth inning of work, and while the inning started easily enough, it ended stressfully. Most importantly, the inning ended without any more Rangers runs, and the Twins just needed one to tie in the bottom of the ninth against Rangers closer Aroldis Chapman. Matt Wallner led off the inning with what he thought was a walk, but a close call kept him at home plate for an eventual strike out. Taylor followed with an actual walk, and then Chapman started throwing the ball around in ways that helped the Twins greatly. First, he lost track of his "engagements" to first, and Taylor was awarded second base. This set the stage for Donovan Solano to keep on raking in August, as he laced a single to center to tie the game! A wild pitch put Solano at second base with one out. Polanco struck out, Kepler walked, and Correa came up in yet another potential hero's moment. A swinging strikeout later, and it was time for the hero to emerge in extra innings. Who Will Prevail? Keuchel's ability to last through five innings set the Twins up with a mostly clean bullpen to utilize in extra innings, whereas the Rangers had used up their biggest weapons. Jhoan Duran came in to take the 10th inning, and Correa immediately booted a ground ball that would have either caught the ghost runner Lowe napping at second or the batter Mitch Garver at first. Neither event occurred, and suddently Duran was in trouble. A harmless fly ball and a 5-4-3 double play later, and the trouble tables had turned. Josh Sborz got the call for the Rangers, and the first man he faced was Lewis with Correa occupying second base as the winning run. Royce got fans exited with a flare to right, but it was caught easily enough. Jeffers and Vazquez (remember that Julien substitution?) both went down quietly to send everyone to another inning of free baseball. Caleb Thielbar redeemed himself nicely from his recent homer happy relieving, and set down the Rangers quietly in the 11th. Sborz again trotted out to the mound to pitch. He induced a pop fly from Wallner, which should have been harmless enough. Unfortunately and shockingly for Twins fans, we got to witness what happens when pinch runner Joey Gallo bluffs a tag to third and then falls down. I kid you not. Suddenly the bases were empty with two out, and Taylor's fly out to center field sent the defense back onto the field. Emilio Pagan got three straight outs in the top of the 12th, but unfortunately the first two were deep fly balls, and Leody Taveras didn't fall down at any point during his tagging up en route to scoring the go-ahead run. In order for the Twins to avoid hanging the loss on a guy who only recorded outs, they needed to bring in Taylor from second base after not having even advanced a ghost runner so far this game. Solano battled lefty Brock Burke into a walk on a full count. Polanco stepped up looking to tie the game, and Burke sent a bouncing pitch through the legs of both catcher and umpire, moving Solano and Polanco both into scoring position with nobody out. Polanco battled off pitch after pitch, until he won the battle and tied the game with a ground ball that scored Taylor but caught Solano in no-man's land and unexplicably out at third in the second baserunning gaffe in as many innings. This error on the paths stung immediately, as Kepler laced a "should-have-been-game-winning" single to center. Instead of enjoying a team gatorade bath, the Twins were left hoping that Correa would come up big. He didn't. He hit into his 26th double-play of the season, and to the 13th we headed. Dylan Floro was forced to come out of the pen. Odds are that many, many, many people lost prop bets on whether or not the Rangers would score against Floro, because he struck out two and left the ghost runner right where he belonged to give the offense yet another golden opportunity to salvage this game. With Correa on second, Lewis came up empty, striking out swinging at ball four a foot out of the zone from new Ranger Jonathan Hernandez. The announcers claimed the shadows were to blame...but its not a new facet of the Twins offense to strike out repeatedly. Gallo redeemed himself a bit by avoiding swinging altogether to take the walk that Lewis and Jeffers should have taken, bringing up Wallner yet again with the chance to send Twins fans home happy. He didn't get out, as he worked another walk to load the bases with two outs. Hernandez was throwing airbenders, the shadows were hiding the pitches, and yet the Twins just needed one more thing to go their way. Turns out that one more thing was Michael A. Taylor standing at home plate with the bat on his shoulder. And every single fan in Twins Territory will be enjoying that walk-off walk for the next 24 hours! Twins win! Twins win! The Minnesota Twins...win! Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins square off against the Guardians in an attempt to wipe any lingering threat away from their division lead. RHP Kenta Maeda (3-7, 4.22 ERA) will face Cleveland RHP Xzavion Curry (3-2, 3.51 ERA) in the first of six games in ten days versus the Guardians. Bullpen usage might necessitate a roster move, or another piggy-backer? First pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm CDT. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Jax 14 15 0 28 0 57 Durán 33 0 0 12 9 54 Winder 0 46 0 0 0 46 Pagán 21 0 0 14 11 46 Thielbar 22 0 0 10 11 43 Sands 0 0 32 0 0 32 Floro 0 0 0 12 19 31 Balazovic 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Announcers leaned into this with Duran in the 9th...how overly spiking his curve and split actually caused batters to lay off of multiple pitches, hence the climbing walk and hard hit rates. Yet when he just threw normal out of the zone pitches, hitters couldn't tell the difference until its too late, and definitely couldn't make hard contact. Keep those pitch counts down across the board...bonus.

Aka 10 games up instead of 15-20. The Tigers that are whoopin teams the past two weeks aren’t your parents Tigers…they got the Hinch dog in em

Saw angel and a few others utilized the “getaway zone” today as well. It’s a real deal…take advantage!

Twins fans got to witness veteran pitching at its finest Sunday afternoon as Dallas Keuchel tossed a perfect game into the seventh inning en route to a 2-0 victory. Here's how the gem sparkled. Image courtesy of Jeffery Becker, USA Today Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel, 6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (85 Pitches, 53 Strikes, 62%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Keuchel (.332), Edouard Julien (.120), Griffin Jax (.092) Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs): The Twins looked to execute some revenge Sunday afternoon, against a Pirates squad that aimed to neutralize the Twins offense with an opener and bullpen game approach. Ryan Borucki was the first man up for Pittsburgh, and the lefty held the Twins hitless over two innings, striking out three in the process. Osvaldo Bido was the next arm up for the Pirates, and he got the bulk of the work for the bullpen. Bido struck out six Twins batters over 3 1/3 innings, and dominated most of the lineup. Luckily for the Twins, Donovan Solano and Edouard Julien were not dominated so easily. In the bottom of the fourth, Solano led off the inning with a single, and hustled his way to third on a Correa flare to right. Julien launched a deep fly to the left field warning track that was reeled in, but Solano tagged and scored to make the game 1-0 in favor of the Twins. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Solano led off the inning with a double to the opposite field. Julien came up with Solano at second and one out, and this time he couldn't be reeled in. Keuchel Channels His Inner Cy Young Two runs proved to be enough for the Twins this day, because Dallas Keuchel decided he wasn't going to allow a hit through six innings. The Twins lefty threw a master class in pitch location, generating 10 groundouts and weak contact up and down the Pirates lineup. After allowing six runs in only 1 2/3 in Philadelphia earlier in the week, this performance seemed improbable or impossible. Twins fans will take it, no questions asked. After seeing Sonny Grays five no-hit innings get erased in the sixth last night, watching Keuchel hold his outing into the seventh felt tangibly comforting. Only a Bryan Reynolds double off of the wall in right could end this miracle run, and Keuchel left with a 2-0 lead and to a standing ovation. Twins Bats Keep Flailing After whiffing their way to 15 strikeouts last night, the Twins offense looked to make more contact against this Pirates bullpen. They didn't. 16 strikeouts in only eight innings of batting. The Twins averaged two strikeouts an inning at the plate. Seriously. This run of deflating at-bats can't continue against the likes of Texas and Cleveland in the coming weeks, or the AL Central race will be tigher than it needs to be. Twins Bullpen Returns the Favor Luckily for the Twins, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, and Jhoan Duran also were making the Pirates bats flail. Jax came in and struck out his two batters in the top of the seventh to erase the threat. Thielbar and Duran faced little resistance, and the Twins pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout to complete the series win. What’s Next: The Twins enjoy an off-day on Monday, before they travel east for a two-game border battle with the Brewers. Tuesday's matchup will see Twins RHP Bailey Ober (6-6, 3.40 ERA) face Brewers LHP Wade Miley (6-3, 3.05 ERA). First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7:10pm CDT. Postgame Interviews: Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Jax 33 0 11 0 11 55 Balazovic 18 0 0 36 0 54 Durán 0 0 17 0 17 34 Floro 6 0 0 27 0 33 Winder 28 0 0 0 0 28 Thielbar 0 0 10 0 18 28 Pagán 15 0 11 0 0 26 Sands 0 0 0 8 0 8 View full article

This game started like most of the Twins-Tigers games in 2023. The Tigers take an early lead, the Twins fail to amount any offense whatsoever, and all hope seems lost. Enter Matt Wallner, a 111 mph grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning, and a re-write to the season narrative. Here's how it all went down. Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson, USA Today Box Score Starting pitcher: Bailey Ober: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K ( 87 Pitches, 56 Strikes, 64%) Home Runs: Matt Wallner (9) Top 3 WPA: Wallner (.197), Carlos Correa (.115), Max Kepler (.100) Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs): Mr. Cabrera, You Can Retire Now Bailey Ober's night started well, with help from his catcher Ryan Jeffers' right arm and a throw out of Akil Baddoo at second to clean up the bases in the top of the first. After the Twins went three-up, three-down in the bottom of the first, the Tigers bit hard in the top of the second. With one out, Kerry Carpenter walked. Ober then tried to sneak an 0-1 fastball down the middle to one of the greatest hitters of all time, and 438 feet later the score was 2-0 Tigers. Why Can't the Twins Beat the Tigers? The Twins entered today's game having gone 4-7 against the Tigers in 2023. With a losing record in the season series already guaranteed, the Twins were attempting to at least gain some semblance of respectability as they march toward their potential playoff bid. The root causes involve a lack of offense on the Twins' part (3.36 runs per game) and pitching struggles (giving up 4.45 runs per game). Ober faced the Tigers twice already this season, with both outings trailing his season statistics. He held the Tigers in check after Cabrera's blast, escaping a bases loaded situation in the top of the fourth by striking out Isan Diaz. Ober's pitch count climbed to 87, however, before he concluded the fifth inning, and the bullpen was destined to have their rested-ness tested yet again. Twins Offense...Please? Anything? Alex Faedo is not a Cy Young award candidate, but you wouldn't have known that the way the Twins offense looked against him over the first five innings. Faedo got six strike outs and surrendered only one hit through his first two trips through the Twins lineup. Luckily for the Twins, the Tigers, for some reason that made sense on some separate universe, pulled Faedo after only 81 pitches and five innings of work. Bullpen Time! Advantage Twins? Dylan Floro came in to face the top of the Tigers' lineup in the sixth inning, and thanks to a sweetly turned double play by Carlos Correa and Jorge Polanco he held them scoreless. Jose Cisnero came in for the Tigers to face the top of the Twins lineup in the sixth inning, and thanks to a classic pee wee baseball play by Vierling and Eric Haase on a Max Kepler foul pop, the Twins found themselves with runners at the corners and nobody out. Newly-reinstated Royce Lewis found himself up at the opportune time, and he decided it was time for the shutout to be over. Cisnero's night was over, and Will Vest came in to face Correa with runners at first and second. The good news, Correa finally caught a break as he beat out an infield bouncer. The bad news, that loaded the bases...and that situation has been kryptonite to the Twins this season. Matt Wallner came to the plate, looking to reverse that curse, and he delivered grandly! Can the Twins Hold On? Wallner's slam flipped the score to 5-2, but flipped the Twins bullpen into its hold-and-save mode. Emilio Pagan took on Cabrera and the gang in the seventh, and set them down 1-2-3. Insurance runs were on the bases for the Twins in the bottom of the seventh, and Correa remembered the bases loaded curse, bouncing into a double play to keep the score 5-2. Caleb Thielbar was the next man up for the Twins, and he mowed down the Tigers 1-2-3 again, with another great play by Polanco to close out the inning. Jhoan Duran got the ninth, and gave up an 0-2 home run to Spencer Torkelson. Cabrera came up as the tying run as well, but an amazing play by Correa cut him down at first. Duran struck out the Zach McKinstry to end the threat, and the ballgame at 5-3. What’s Next: The Twins wrap up their season series against the Tigers by sending RHP Kenta Maeda (3-7, 3.97 ERA) to the mound Wednesday afternoon.. His opponent will be Tigers rookie RHP Reese Olson (2-5, 4.45 ERA), who threw six scoreless innings in a win against the Twins on 8/10. First pitch is scheduled for 12:10pm CDT. Postgame Interviews: Bullpen Usage Chart: FRI SAT SUN MON TUES TOT Winder 43 0 0 0 0 43 Thielbar 0 15 14 0 9 38 Durán 0 0 13 0 14 27 Jax 0 15 12 0 0 27 Pagán 0 0 9 0 11 20 Balazovic 0 18 0 0 0 18 Floro 0 0 0 0 14 14 Sands 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Sonny Gray took the mound aiming to duplicate the dominant performance of Pablo Lopez the night before. Gray ended up delivering even more convincingly, and the Twins offense did just enough to sneak out a series win. Image courtesy of Bill Streicher, USA Today Box Score Starting pitcher: Sonny Gray: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K ( 80 Pitches, 51 Strikes, 64%) Home Runs: Jordan Luplow (1) Top 3 WPA: Gray (.368), Caleb Thielbar (.310), Emilio Pagan (.047) Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs): Welcome to Minnesota Mr. Luplow! The Twins got on the board right away against Phillies lefty Ranger Suarez, when newcomer Jordan Luplow teed off on a sinker that didn't sink to the right field bullpen. The pitch came in at 92.1 MPH, and left at 103.1 MPH to put the Twins up 1-0 in the top of the first. Small Ball Strikes Again for Twins Christian Vazquez laced a second inning Suarez pitch to left field that looked to be gone as well, but it was a foot too little in launch angle and Vazquez was tossed out at second base trying to advance the warning track single into a double. In the top of the third inning, the Twins didn't get greedy and rode three singles to another run. With one out, Edouard Julien, Donovan Solano, and Jorge Polanco hit back-to-back-to-back singles to extend the lead to 2-0. Sonny Skies in Philly Gray dominated the majority of his six innings of work. The Phillies managed to load the bases in the bottom of the second thanks to a lead-off walk and a hit batter, but Gray was able to strike out Kyle Schwarber to end the threat. Philadelphia's offense stayed silent throughout the next four innings with Gray turning things over the bullpen in the seventh. Cloudy Skies for Jax As tidy as Gray kept things through the first six innings, Griffin Jax was a hot mess in the seventh. Kyle Farmer faced a lot of shade before the came, with fans clammoring for any of the AAA talent to be in today's line-up instead of the veteran. Farmer responded by saving the seventh inning and perhaps the game itself, before he even knew it was at risk of being lost. Trea Turner bounced a weak grounder to the hole in short, and Farmer picked and fired to nab the speedy Turner at first. Two singles and a hit batter later, Jax was gone and Caleb Thielbar was thrown into the fire. That's where this low-scoring game took on a new level of excitement, as we got to witness just how irate the Philly faithful can get. Theilbar got Schwarber to pop out to first base innocently enough, and then on a full count, Thielbar threw this beauty to Alec Bohm. Bohm hit the showers early. The fans cheered and booed like their lives depended on it, and when Bryce Harper met a similar fate on a close pitch in the bottom of the eighth. Manager Rob Thompson decided he wanted to take the ninth inning off as well. To the Ninth We Go! Insurance is important, in any situation. When facing the red-hot Phillies at their home lair, with crazed fans charged up...insurance is everything. The Twins managed to tie together yet another Julien (walk), Solano (single), Polanco (single) string to take a 3-0 lead. This extra run loomed large, as Jhoan Duran allowed lead-off batter Turner to reach on a single to center in the bottom of the ninth. Jake Cave came up as the "non-tying" run now, and flied out deep to center. Garrett Stubbs came up as the "non-tying" run next, and after working the count, he lined out to Joey Gallo for a double play at first to end the game with little drama. What’s Next: The Twins enjoy an off-day Monday, and travel home from this disappointing, but not horrible 3-4 road trip. Revenge is in order for Tuesday, with the Detroit Tigers coming to Target Field for a quick two-game set. The Twins send RHP Bailey Ober (6-6, 3.40 ERA) to the mound to take on Tigers RHP Alex Faedo (2-4, 5.80 ERA). Postgame Interviews: Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Balazovic 39 0 0 18 0 57 Winder 0 0 43 0 0 43 Durán 0 18 0 0 13 31 Thielbar 0 0 0 15 14 29 Floro 0 28 0 0 0 28 Jax 0 0 0 15 12 27 Pagán 14 0 0 0 9 23 Sands 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Eduardo Rodriguez is still a left-handed starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, and the Minnesota Twins wish that he was in Dodger blue. Rodriguez controlled the game from start to finish, and the Tigers pieced together hit after hit to end the Twins' winning streak at five games. Image courtesy of Rick Osentoski, USA Today Box Score SP: Sonny Gray, 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K (90 pitches, 65 strikes (72% strikes)) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Gray (-.097), Willi Castro (-.115), Jordan Luplow (-.074) Win Probability Chart That's Not How to Support Your Starter Miguel Cabrera ranks at the top of the list for "no need to rush your throw to get him out at first base." Unfortunately, Jorge Polanco did anyway in the bottom of the first inning. Cabrera hit a harmless chopper up the middle with two outs and Riley Greene at second base. Polanco slung it on the run, wide of Donovan Solano at first base, and Greene never stopped running until it was 1-0 Tigers. Eduardo Rodriguez is a Different Kind of Left-Handed Starter Fresh off of their seven-run outburst against left-handed starter Joey Wentz, the Twins experienced a reality check against Rodriguez and his 1.05 WHIP. They managed to clutter the bases with two outs in the first inning and again in the third inning, with Carlos Correa's singles accounting for both run-scoring opportunities. A Willi Castro groundout and a leaping catch by Javier Baez on a Jordan Luplow liner ended the threats. Tigers Go Station to Station Against Gray The Twins' failure to cash in on runners in scoring position became more troubling when Gray imploded in the bottom of the fourth. The inning started with a phantom pitch clock violation against Gray, and four straight hits later, the score was 3-1, with runners on the corners with nobody out. Christian Vazquez took care of the first out by throwing out Zach McKinstry at second on an attempted steal. Gray struck out Nick Maton and got Jake Rogers to ground out to second to end the threat. The Twins Outfield Keeps the Score Close Castro and Matt Wallner made sliding, diving, beautiful catches to end threats in the third and fifth innings, or else this game could have been a mirror image of last night's lopsided affair. Gray racked up ten strikeouts through the first six innings and provided a quality start, but the offense remained ice-cold against Rodriguez through the middle innings. The streaky Twins offense only accumulated four singles over the first seven innings against the dominant lefty. To the Bullpens We Go Josh Winder came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh inning since Gray had gone 90 pitches. All went well, except for the 2-2 fastball that Rogers parked into the left field bleachers to make the score 4-0. If the Twins were going to stage a late-inning rally, they picked an excellent team to be facing. The studs of the Tiger bullpen all have ERAs over 4.00, and they rank 18th overall in the MLB at giving up home runs. Polanco got a double in the eighth, but Correa and pinch-hitting Edouard Julien could not bring him home. The bottom of the eighth saw Winder begin to unwind as he filled the bases with only one out. He almost got out of the jam, but Zack Short delivered with two outs, plating two more runs with a single, making it 6-0 Tigers. The only drama left in the game was whether or not the Twins would get shut out. Polanco stroked a double to the gap in right in the bottom of the ninth, but he became the eighth Twins runner left on base, and Vazquez became the seventh batter to get out with runners in scoring position. The illusions of having success against left-handed pitching evaporated tonight, and it will be interesting to see how the Twins respond in their next opportunity to break the stigma. Other Notes Solano left the game after singling in the bottom of the third inning when he stumbled awkwardly back to first base after making a wide turn. He beat the throw back but had to be replaced by Joey Gallo. If Solano is to miss more time, Gallo becomes the primary first base option unless a call-up arises. Cabrera continues to collect milestones and standing ovations on his farewell tour, and with two more hits tonight, he reached 3142, passing Tony Gwynn and tying Robin Yount for 20th on the all-time hits list. What's Next? The Twins send RHP Bailey Ober (6-5, 3.21 ERA) to the mound to face Tigers RHP Alex Faedo (2-4, 5.80 ERA). While this looks like a signed, sealed, and delivered win, Faedo recently went six scoreless against the Padres on July 23. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40pm CDT. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Winder 0 0 0 0 42 42 Headrick 0 0 0 41 0 41 Floro 19 0 20 0 0 39 Thielbar 12 0 17 0 0 29 Pagán 11 0 18 0 0 29 Jax 0 0 27 0 0 27 Balazovic 0 26 0 0 0 26 Durán 19 0 0 0 0 19 View full article

In the two hours between article time and game time, a lot happened!!! Curious to see if Luplow gets a start. Wondering why Lopez got pushed back, unless the Twins are actually concerned about the Tigers. Maybe with the weather guaranteeing an up and down game, they picked the guy that won’t throw as many innings anyways?

The 56-54 Minnesota Twins come back home to Target Field for Joe Mauer weekend for an interleague series against the 57-53 Arizona Diamondbacks. Both teams have been sliding towards .500, but both still remain in the playoff hunt. Who will gain ground this weekend? Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson, USA Today The Twins enter this weekend's series against the Diamondbacks with three of their hottest pitchers set to start each game of the series. They are facing right handed pitchers who have been struggling of late. The Diamondback offense hasn't scored more than four runs in a game since a week ago, while the Twins have begun to string hits together since the All-Star break. For the Twins, Ryan Jeffers, Byron Buxton, and Matt Wallner come in as the hottest hitters, all posting an OPS over 1.00 in their past seven games. The bottom of the barrel concerned OPS contains Eduoard Julien (.502) and Carlos Correa (.310), with Jorge Polanco also starting off slow following his return from the IL. By constrast, over the past seven games the Diamondbacks don't have anyone batting over .792 OPS (Lourdes Gurriel Jr.), and no one has hit more than one home run. Young phenom Corbin Carroll has fallen off of the map (.115 average, .322 OPS), and no one has stepped up to pick up that slack in the lineup. As I type this, I can see already how the Diamondbacks are set to average seven runs a game against us this weekend... Weather Factor: Gorgeous. Beautiful. No excuse to not pack the stadium type of weather. low to mid-80's with sunny skies and probably some humidity during the day. Sunday's forecast looks dicey, but all games should get played on the day they are scheduled for. Pitching Probables Game 1 – Friday, August 4th, 2023 – 7:10 pm CDT – Twins RHP Bailey Ober (6-5, 3.19 ERA) looks to bounce back from his worst start of the season, while the Diamondbacks send out RHP Merrill Kelly (9-5, 3.23 ERA). Like Ober, Kelly's record would be even better if his team's offense provided any help. Kelly hasn't won since mid-June, but he's provided quality starts in all but three of his 17 starts. After an IL stint in early July, Arizona hopes that Kelly's return to the rotation will help right the ship for the playoff push. New addition Tommy Pham gets the start and bats fifth against a Twins team many expected to be in the market for him. Should the game reach a save situation, the Twins will also have to deal with new Arizona closer Paul Sewald. Game 2 – Saturday, August 5th, 2023 – 6:10 pm CDT - Joe Mauer Twins Hall of Fame night should bring beautiful weather and a packed house to watch RHP Kenta Maeda (2-6, 4.53 ERA) take the mound. Maeda will try to keep his hot summer stretch of pitching going for the Twins. Arizona counters with another home-grown draft product, RHP Ryne Nelson (6-5, 4.84 ERA). Kelly has been the model of consistency this season, but he has seen his home run rate spike in the past two games, where he surrendered three dingers each to St. Louis and San Francisco. Hopefully this is a trend that the Twins lefty-heavy lineup can continue to exploit. While Nelson gives up home runs and hits pretty equally regardless of handedness, he has walked 29 lefties and only nine righties so far this season. Patience will be the virtue of the evening for the Twins lineup. Remember to arrive early to take in the pre-game ceremony, featuring Twins legends and generational favorites from the Mauer era. Enjoy some 2000-10's memories, seeing Johan Santana to Josh Willingham, and everyone in between! Game 3 - Sunday, August 6th, 2023 – 1:10 pm CDT - In what was supposed to be a battle of the current team aces, the series finale pits new Twins LHP (and former Cy Young winner) Dallas Keuchel against Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (11-5, 3.41 ERA). After starting the season 10-2 withe a 3.02 ERA, Gallen has become human in July, going 1-3 with a 4.45 ERA over a span of six games. Keuchel survived the drama of last week’s opt-out, and all eyes will be watching Sunday to see if anything is left in the tank. From the "What does this mean?" stat department, Gallen has surrendered 12 home runs in 11 day games, versus only three home runs in 12 night games. The weather looks questionable with chances of rain throughout the day, so plan for a potential late start and game delays, which would obviously change the bullpen's role in this finale. Prediction Time! The Twins' lead in the AL Central has only climbed since the trade deadline, and the Diamondbacks are reeling right now. How do you think the Twins will produce offensively against this right-handed staff? Will the Twins continue to add to their division lead, or will they leave the weekend snakebit by Arizona and the fans? Leave your thoughts in the comments. View full article