IndianaTwin

Across the board, but Keuchel in particular. Comes in down 5-0 and goes five scoreless, upping his scoreless streak to 11.1 innings. If the Beatles were in charge, he’d be Player of the Week.

I’m baffled why he’s on the roster, let alone hitting anywhere near the top of the lineup. EDIT: I’m a slower typer than Mike.

Relative small group on the Game Thread so far. Probably because several folks are already writing articles analyzing today’s Paparesta confirmation that Buxton will get some reps in CF during his rehab.

If we can pull this one off, we’ll have the Magic Number down to one for each letter of the alphabet. And another win tomorrow and we’ll be down to one for each letter of the Christmas alphabet. That’s the version with no L.

Wait — did you just take a baseball’s diameter and divide it by two?

From the Louisiana Hot Sauce Network, “If you’re going to hit it over the 23-foot-high wall, you’ve got to get the ball up.” Yep, at least 23 feet.

Where have all the flowers gone?

They’re not stellar. And with all the BBQ in Texas, they have the Louisiana Hot Sauce Network?

An inning later, the Rangers radio crew is still talking about they don’t need “teaching moments,” explaining to young players why trying to steal third with an MVP candidate at the plate is a bad idea.

Chief, is that how you’re remembering Pretzels as well?

Congrats to Herr Kepler. Not only was Max’s home run last night a milestone, at career No. 150, but it gave him 449 career RBIs, moving him past Glenn Hubbard to become the all-time leader among players born in Germany. He has long been the career leader in homers, topping second (Mike Blowers, 78) and third (Hubbard) combined. He’s also passed good old Pretzels Getzein for second among hitters in bWAR and is within about .6 of Hubbard for first. Pretzels also picked up a good number of bWAR on the hill.

MN = 27.

No.

Remember all the offseason angst about Ober being slotted at No. 6? And how a lot of us said, he'll get a chance when injuries arise? I think the Twins showed this year how they would like to approach their rotation. Start with six guys with at least some level off success, so that when you have an early season injury, you won't have to immediately dip into your AAA guys. In most years, you'll also use your No. 7, 8, 9 and more. This year they've had amazing health, only using eight starters (plus a game when DeLeon was an opener), so there hasn't been as much dipping into AAA as usual, but that makes this year the exception. At this point, Lopez, Ryan, Ober and Paddack are four of those six. I don't think the Twins see Varland as one of those. He well may be their No. 7, good enough to assume that they'll use him, but not good enough to want to have to count on him. So they'll sign or trade for two. First up is offering Gray the QO, assuming he'll decline. I'd love to sign him to several years, but he's got Cincinnati written all over him. Past history there, Nashville native, gobs of young talent and little financial commitment. At this point, and assuming he keeps rolling, I seriously consider offering Maeda the QO. If you don't, 2 years at $20M isn't going to get it done to sign him. He's going to get two or maybe three years if he wants it. So offer him the $20M QO. Or perhaps $17M with a $3M team option for 2025 at $15M. That guarantees him the $20M, but could turn into 2/$35M, which is probably richer than he can get. And then still sign or trade for someone else.

Why weaken two positions? I’m guessing that the drop-off from Gallo to Luplow was less than the combined drop-off of Gallo to Kepler and Kepler to Luplow, particularly given that right field at Target is a little non-standard.

Locals, I could use a little help on travel logistics. Friday’s game starts at 7:10. I have an Amtrak ticket, scheduled to leave St. Paul at 10:45. I’m trying to figure out my strategy. 1. Current plan is to attend with a friend and cut out early, if needed. Knowing I can’t be late, how much time should I allow from Target Field to Union Station? 2. Suggested location for parking that will allow for a quick exit during the game. I’m okay with walking some distance? 3. How does said location work if the game moves along quickly and I’m able to stay for the whole game? 4. Does the Green line operate during games? It appears to take 46 minutes. Is that going to be quicker than getting to our car and driving over? Other suggestions? I do have the Amtrak app, so I can be monitoring its schedule. A quick game and a 45-minute late train makes things easy.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Are you kidding? It’s my lucky shirt. They lost the last two games when I wore something else. This thing isn’t going to the laundry, let alone Goodwill. EDIT to add: Now I just have to hope for more good luck, so the current Mrs. IT forgives me.

Wonderful Winder, winner, I’ve heard it said.

Remember all that stuff about Julien needing to get experience against LHP? I’m okay with that waiting for another day.

The wall giveth and the wall taketh away. Wallner’s hit so hard he was held to a single. Correa’s stuck at the base and gave Wallner time to score.

MAT just matched his season high for homers, right?

To be fair, three of the Texas runs were scored by non-RISPy players.

When one’s bullpen is tired, it’s preferable to need fewer than 79 pitches to get through four innings.

Consider becoming a Caretaker. Best money I ever spent. I mean, besides the ring for the future Mrs. IT.