I am ready to see Hicks lead off and Dozier bat second. Escobar makes a good 9 hitter. That should give RBI chances to Dozier when he comes around again.
Pelfrey exited the game with a one run lead, I believe, and one runner on base. The go ahead run that scored was charged to the reliever, so no, Pelfrey would not have been charged with the loss. I think.
I don't know if the coaches aren't getting scouting reports, or if Pelfrey is only comfortable throwing certain pitches, or if Suzuki isn't calling good pitches, or what.
If Sano hadn't hit that so hard, Escobar might have been able to score from first. Interesting Fox North camera showed Glynn was waving Escobar home, but Escobar was running to second so saw the ball in front of him when it was hit, and he knew he would have been nailed if he tried to score. UPDATE Plouffe grounded out to end inning so didn't matter
I wonder if pitching inside can really be taught. It's not for everyone. Sure you can call for inside pitches. It might be more of a personality trait though, to throw brushbacks at the appropriate time, bust a guys hands or take back ownership of the inside part of the plate when you feel you might lose it. Not sure. It's been a long time since the Twins have done it well.
Here's what I anticipate the lineups to be: CLEVELAND: SS Rubio 2B Walker CF J. Bush DH Trump RF Cruz 1B Paul 3B Kasich LF Carson C Christie P Megyn Kelly MINNESOTA 1B Clinton 2B Clinton SS Clinton 3B Clinton LF Clinton CF Clinton RF Clinton C Clinton DH Bernie Sanders
Yeah for now, let Hicks be Hicks. For 2016, a right field platoon of Arcia and Hicks might be a possibility, or whenever Buxton takes the CF job for good.
Maybe so, but I'd consider the current bench threadbare. There's much less opportunity to write up a competitive lineup when the same slumping guys are playing day after day and have no one to fill in for them. Hunter has worn down yet the only other option is Robinson. It makes very little sense.
I heard the radio broadcasters mention that the Twins might use the off day Monday to skip the fifth rotation spot. If true, the bullpen would now consist of these nine: Achter, Boyer, Duensing, Fein, Graham, Jepsen, May, O'Rourke, Perkins.