IndianaTwin

With the All-Star break being five days and then days off the following Monday and Thursday, they could send down Smeltzer after Friday’s start and play with an extra reliever through the end of the month. 14-Gray 15-Smeltzer (then down for Archer) 16-Bundy 17-Archer 23-Ryan 24-Gray 26-Bundy 27-Archer 29-Ryan 30-Gray 31-Smeltzer 1-Bundy 2-Archer 3-Ryan (or Winder in 6-man rotation), etc.

That's another way to think of it. I was suspecting it was, "Let's get to the 10th, because our bullpen depth is better than the Twins." Along with, they have not used him in the 10th a single time all season. All 31 of his appearances were in the ninth, and he's only inherited two runners, so they certainly take the approach of always starting him with a clean inning.

And courtesy of the nice work out of the pen from Thielbar and Jax, and the drawn walk by Polanco and nice single by Kepler to keep the line moving, and the RBI single and great catch by Celestino...

The always-popular "pitched to three batters in ninth" line in the box score.

And there's the hazard of using pitchers according to the "defined" role. One wonders if it may have burned the Brewers to use Hader for the save in a three-run game last night.

I also love it when Miranda gets on the roundabout!!!!!!!

I don't think Duran gets the 10th!!!!!!!!!

Ideally, no. ?

I think Hader goes back-to-back regularly, but he did throw 16 pitches last night.

Looked like a strike on ball four, but it was more of a ball on strike two.

Most teams do, but for some reason the Twins and Tigers don't.

Braun just called that pitch "down the pipe." Jeffers won't disagree.

Five days, actually. They have Friday off as well.

I'm curious to see whether he actually goes. This is about the time time the "not going because of injury" messages start to come out. They've already said he's not doing the HR derby, which seems like a clue.

I hate it when Counsell places his defense according to his spreadsheet.

Boxberger -- the best "Players Weekend" uniform, by far.

Nice job, Thielbar.

Even '73 would work.

The announcers are not particularly good on the YouTube games, but I like the random dugout and crowd shots one gets during breaks.

Garlick powdered that line drive.

FTFY EDIT: It's actually "just" seven LOB so far. It just shows up as 14 LOB in the individual totals because a guy who leads off the inning with a walk and doesn't score shows up as an LOB for each of the next three batters.

My brother is a relaxed kind of guy, so he wasn't prepared when he took his wife to a high-end restaurant for their anniversary. When the maître d' wouldn't let him in without a tie, he went back out to the pickup to see what he could find. All he could find was a pair of jumper cables, so he tied them into a knot around his neck and went back inside. "I suppose that's allowed," the maître d' said. "But don't start anything."

It's Quick Turnaround Time after last night's three rain delays extended the game until past midnight here in the Eastern time zone. And speaking of quick turnarounds, I'm a big fan of roundabouts. Research in the U.S. has found that roundabouts lead to a 37 percent reduction in collisions, 75 percent reduction in injury collisions and 90 percent reduction in fatalities, all compared to traffic lights. Conversion to roundabouts also leads to quicker traffic flow, with a reduction in delays of anywhere between 20 and 89 percent. They are also cheaper to build than traditional intersections, there are lower maintenance costs compared to a traffic signal, and they provide increased landscaping opportunities. My experience is that many people hate the thought of roundabouts when they are introduced to a community, because they seem confusing at first. But after people use them for a while, they become accepted and even appreciated. Even Clark Griswold is a big fan! Mrs. IT would tell you that I'm a big fan of roundabouts because I have an incredible ability to take a roundabout way of getting to the topic at hand. To that end, let's talk baseball. Before getting to today's game, however (see what Mrs. IT is saying?), I'll note that today is an anniversary day for me. It was 48 years ago today that I saw my first MLB game. I've written about it here: https://twinsdaily.com/blogs/entry/23334-marty-pattin-rocks/?tab=comments#comment-24314 Also, before getting to the today's game, I'll report that the city just stopped in to upgrade my water meter, The obtuse connection here is that Target Field has been ranked No. 2 in the National Resources Defense Council's list of energy-efficient baseball stadia, trailing only Marlins Park. Low-flow urinals, dual flush toilets, aerated faucets and a rain recycle system all contributed to the outstanding ranking. As an aside, that's probably the only time that Marlins Park has ranked No. 1 on a stadium listing. And now, the game. Our heroes will be trying to salvage the two-game series split as they send Joe Ryan to the hill. He'll be opposed by Aaron Ashby. Best I can tell, Ashby is No. 2 on the list of all-time players when alphabetized by first names (not counting guys who use initials, like A.J. Pierzynski). He follows only Aaron Altherr. Altherr is of note to Twins fans because he was the only real threat to stay ahead of Max Kepler in career home runs hit by players born in Germany. Altherr last played in the majors in 2019, finishing with 37 homers. Our Max has blasted by the field, with his 129 topping second place Mike Blowers' 78. If Kepler hits two home runs today, he will actually have schlugged 30 percent of the all-time home runs hit by folks born in Germany. For that reason, he has been declared today's Pick to Click. (Of course, Ashby is a lefty, so it would be advantageous if he'd get knocked out of the game early.) Finally, today's outing is the MLB Game of the Week Live on YouTube, where it's streamed, free, to fans around the world in 182 countries. Tune in to MLB's YouTube channel, where you can listen to MLB Network's Scott Braun and Yonder Alonso. If I'm remembering correctly, you can also choose the home or visiting team's audio feed as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCwWiJ5RCbE Lineups: Milwaukee Pilots 1. Kolton Wong (L) 2B 2. Willy Adames (R) SS 3. Rowdy Roddy Tellez (L) 1B 4. Andrew McCutcheon (R) LF 5. Omar Narvaez (L) C 6. Luis Urias (R) 3B 7. Jace Peterson (L) RF 8. Victor Caratini (S) C 9. Jonathan Davis (R) CF --. Aaron Ashby (L) P Minnesota Senators 1. Byron Buxton (R) DH 2. Carlos Correa (R) SS 3. Jorge Polanco (S) 2B 4. Kyle Garlick (R) RF 5. Jose Miranda (R) 1B 6. Gio Urshela (R) 3B 7. Ryan Jeffers (R) C 8. Alex Kirilloff (L) LF 9. Gilberto Celestino (R) CF --. Joe Ryan (R) P

So what are the memories from your first game?

This date in baseball history. On July 13, 1974, Aurelio Rodriguez’s fourth-inning single broke a 2-2 tie, propelling the visiting Detroit Tigers to an 8-2 win over the homestanding Kansas City Royals. Woody Fryman (4-5) went the distance to pick up the win for the Tigers, scattering 12 hits and two walks while striking out five. Starter Paul Splittorff gave up four runs, all earned, over 3.1 innings, falling to 9-9. Splittorff gave up eight hits and a pair of walks before being replaced by Al Fitzmorris, who gave up the remaining four runs in 3.2 innings. The Rodriguez ground ball single to center plated Marv Lane, who had led off the fourth with a single and then stole second. Lane advanced to third when Splittorff’s errant pickoff throw ended up in center. Rodriguez would advance to third on a single to right by weak-hitting Ed Brinkman, scoring on a Mickey Stanley sacrifice fly that made the score 4-2. (Aside: Rodriguez is the answer to a great trivia question – he’s the first player in MLB history to use all five vowels in his first name. Ed Figueroa is the first to use all five vowels in his last name. I don’t know if there’s been a second in either case.) The Tigers opened the scoring in the first when Stanley led off with a double. After a pair of strikeouts, Bill Freehan crushed his fourth homer of the season on a shot to left. The Royals knotted the score in the third when Kurt Bevacqua reached on an infield single and then scored on Cookie Rojas’s inside-the-park home run to left. Detroit extended the lead in the fifth, keyed by a two-run triple from Lane that scored Freehan and Dick Sharon. Rodriguez followed with a sacrifice fly to make the score 7-2. Detroit closed the scoring in the seventh when Freehan scored on a Fitzmorris wild pitch. Freehan had reached on an error, stole second and advanced to third when catcher Fran Healy’s throw went into center. Lane finished with four hits in four trips to the plate, with two stolen bases to go with his two-run triple. Freehan had a single alongside his homer, scoring thrice and driving in two. Everyone in the Tiger lineup had at least one hit, except future Hall of Famer Al Kaline, who struck out twice in his five trips to the plate. Kaline would join the 3,000 Hit Club later in this, his final season, finishing with 3007. With 13 homers on the season, he fell one short of joining the 400 Home Run Club. (Aside: Kaline holds notoriety in our house – my baseball-loving son missed “alkaline” to be eliminated from the county spelling bee.) At the other end of his career, rookie Royal third baseman George Brett had the night off. His replacement, Bevacqua went three for five from the leadoff spot, improving his average to .167. Bevacqua would go on to fame as the 1975 Joe Garagiola/Bazooka Bubble Gum Blowing Champ, earning his way on to a 1976 baseball card celebrating the feat. For the Royals, Hal McRae had a double and two singles. Rojas had a single to go along with his homer and Amos Otis had two singles. Just another ho-hum midseason game between teams that would finish fifth (KC) and sixth in their divisions, right? Not so, my TD friends. Sitting amidst the 25,834 fans in 97 degree heat was an eight-year-old IT, taking in his first-ever major league baseball game. He, his parents and his 14-year-old brother were visiting his dad’s oldest brother in Kansas City, and the businessman uncle had procured four tickets for the family. Regretfully, I don’t have the ticket stub, but in looking at the map of Royal Stadium, as it was then called, my hunch is that we were somewhere near the back of section 115 or 116, just beyond the third-base turf cutout and painted infield arc, perhaps in the area I circled above. And why does Marty Pattin rock? After all, he didn’t even get into the game. Well, prior to the contest, IT and his brother made their way down to the rail by the dugout. Nearing the end of an impromptu autograph session, older brother found his way to the front of the herd, where Pattin used a borrowed pen to add his autograph to the thumb of the red baseball glove IT would wear with pride throughout Pee Wee and Little League baseball. Regretfully, the glove either didn’t survive our last move or is boxed up in the basement. Pattin had 224 starts in a 475-game career. Most would describe him as a journeyman, but he’ll always hold a special place in my heart. Speaking of special places in my heart, my mom turned 90 on Monday. I give her and Dad huge props. Mom grew up Amish, and both concluded school at eighth grade, but they encouraged me (especially Mom) toward college. Though Dad loved competing (he competed in the World Ploughing Contest, a worthy story in its own right), neither were sports fans beyond going to local high school events well into their 80s. They knew their youngest had an insatiable passion for baseball, however, and allowed him to live into it. After Dad died about 20 months ago and Mom moved to the retirement home, I became the recipient of the diaries that Mom kept from 1957 until late in 2019, when her Alzheimer’s made it impossible to continue. The entry for July 13, 1974 includes, “(For) the big event of the day, we went to the Major League baseball game between Kansas City Royals and Detroit. Boys thought it was great.” Yes, I did, Mom. Thank you.