IndianaTwin

They used a lot of guys, but I suspect only Duran and Ortega are truly not available, with a preference to not use Jax.

And had it gone another inning, I’d have been inclined to go another inning with Pagan before going to Moran, Sands or Balazovic, who were the three remaining.

I’ll bite on pinch hitting Vazquez for Wallner. 1. I don’t like to second-guess in general, at least in part because I never have all the pieces of information that go into a decision. 2. But for his career and for the season, Vazquez has an OPS of .730 against lefties, in several hundred at bats. 3. Albeit in a SSS, Wallner is 0-3 on the season vs. lefties and has a career OPS of .293 against lefties. That’s not OBP. That’s not Slugging. That’s OPS. Someone will say, “But how he’s ever going to hit lefties if he doesn’t get a chance?” By getting a chance in lower-leverage situations. Some of us grumble at times, but all in all, the team’s MO with rookies is to bring them along slowly into pressure situations whenever possible. 4. By already having used Castro, Gallo and Farmer, I suspect Rocco had already committed to taking Wallner out for defensive purposes if it reached another inning. The only way to do that is to go to Vazquez anyway, so he pretty much knew that Vazquez was going to be hitting in that spot if the game went through the lineup another time. 5. People were worried about using the second catcher, in case something happened to Jeffers (and it nearly did). In reality, they had an intermediate option if Jeffers has a minor injury. When Jeffers got hit, for example, an option was to flip him and Vazquez. And there was even another option, to actually use Buxton on defense. 6. See also, Chief’s comment above. 🤣 Right decision? Who knows. But to me, it’s much more defensible than he’s given credit for.

Never a Doubt.

Must be a cold front blowing in, because the forecast looks like low 50s by next weekend in Kansas City.

With the extra innings, I needed to let Mrs. IT know that supper will be a little later than originally planned. I’ll be trying to grill salmon rather than the traditional chicken, but I am using the “Simon & Garfunkel” rub that I usually use for chicken/turkey.

I was on the Sox cast. What did he say?

Also, while Giolito was very good, the Twins did force a lot of pitches and got him out after five.

I know that it’s nearly impossible for some to make a positive statement about Baldelli or Pagan, but Baldelli managed the bullpen perfectly and Pagan was great. Pinch-running Gallo for Solano probably created the 10th-inning run. The Twins deserved to win this one. It wasn’t pretty, and they didn’t make every clutch play, but they made more of them than Chicago did.

When they’ve been in this spot earlier, I think Vazquez has always gotten 1B.

Gallo, Castro and Kirilloff in the outfield. Vazquez-Julien-Correa-Farmer 1st to 3rd. Vazquez has played first at least a time or two, and the FO’s planning for flexibility pays off again.

He sorta did.

No, it’s treated as unearned. EDIT: Ninja’ed.

Forget about the curve ball, Jhoan. Give him the heater.

Phils win.

And much of the Sox as well. Of the first 42 outs of the day, 22 by strikeout. All pitchers have been good and ump has been consistently generous. EDIT to add: Fourth whiff for Robert.

Mr. Anderson, I know you didn’t care for the Strike 3 call, but from your spot at SS, you should have seen that Giolito has been getting at least that much all day.

Conjunctivitis effect.

U.S. 3, Vietnam 0.

Let’s see Kepler with a 12-pitch at bat.

Let’s see Solano with a 12-pitch at bat.

Benetti: “Julien slices a one-out single.”

Julien needs to block that. EDIT: And it may have cost a run, given that Correa makes that play if he’s not needing to play in.

Wallner is a budding Ron Hunt. That’s 7 HBP in 113 plate appearances. That’s around 40 over a full season. In the minors, he had 43 in 1467.

Benetti on the number of check swings: “We’ve had more checks than Prague.”