I'm back!!! So glad to be back on Twins Daily to finally create and be involved in game threads, and it has been something I have missed ever since the last out against the Yankees. The Twins are off to a good start, sitting at 3-1, and are looking to make it 4-1 against the 2-2 Cardinals. This is the second, and final game, of a short 2 game home and home split with the Cardinals. The Twins will travel to STL in September. The Pitchers: RHP Daniel Ponce De Leon (1-2, 3.70 ERA, 48.2 IP's, 52 K's, 2019) vs LHP Rich Hill (4-1, 2.45 ERA, 58.2 IP's, 72 K's, 2019) Coming into the series the Cardinals expected to toss Miles Mikolas against the Twins tonight, but he was placed on the injured list and is out for the rest of the season. His replacement, Daniel Ponce De Leon is making his first start of the season, which he did 8 times last year. As noted in the daily notebook, Ponce De Leon doesn't throw real hard, but generates strikeouts. He does struggle with the long ball, and gives away free passes like candy, at 4.8 per 9 innings tossed. Hill is making his first Twins start after being pushed back on Saturday, and will look to do damage with his 2 pitch mix, his fastball and his curveball. Don't expect Hill to hit much over 90 MPH, but be ready to get some late swings on the pitch because of the insane curveball he throws up to the plate. The Lineups Twins 2B Luis Arraez L 3B J. Donaldson R SS J. Polanco S DH Nelson Cruz R LF E. Rosario L 1B Miguel Sano R CF Jake Cave L RF M. Gonzalez S C Alex Avila L Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong L 3B Tommy Edman S 1B P. Goldschmidt R SS Paul DeJong R LF T. O'Neill R C Y. Molina R RF D. Fowler S DH R. Ravelo R CF H. Bader R No Twin has ever seen Ponce De Leon in their career, which typically favors the pitcher because it takes time for hitters to adjust. However, Ponce De Leon isn't going to blow anything past the Twins, and the Twins have shown they have a great eye at the plate, so he will have to come with strikes. Cave is back in in Center, giving Byron Buxton a day off one day after making his debut. Kepler also sits in favor of Marwin Gonzalez, and Alex Avila will be the backstop tonight. The Cardinals feature 8 right handed hitting batters (6 right, 2 switch), and the only lefty is in the leadoff spot. This isn't surprising as right handed hitters are OPSing over .200 points higher than lefties, but still only at a .739 clip, below the league average .758. Goldschmidt is the only hitter with enough at bats to take something away against Hill, and he is hitting .444 in 16 at bats, including a long ball. Catcher Yadier Molina is 0-6 in his career against the Twins southpaw. Mill's Musings 1. Bullpen Depth I think everyone knew coming into the season that the bullpen was going to be very good, coming off a stellar, but under-appreciated by many, 2019. We knew the backend of the bullpen would be very good led by Tyler Rogers (who hasn't appeared in a game yet), Sergio Romo, Trevor May, and Tyler Duffey. However, with Spring Training 2.0 being short we knew that starters wouldn't work deep into games, making the middle relief very important. Those three primary names filling those duties are Zack Littell, Cody Stashek, and Tyler Clippard. Littell got off to a slow start in Chicago, but everyone has a bad day. Stashek looked impressive last night, as did Clippard. It is easy to see why he can get lefties out with that changeup. This depth will be huge the rest of the year. 2. Rosario Range I know it is hard to make judgements off of just a few games, nonetheless one play, but we saw Rosario make a play in the gap last night on a ball that he would've not gotten to last year. I think it was clear that he was being affected by the ankle injury in 2019, but I don't think everyone realized how big of an affect it had on him. It is clear he is feeling better after making that play last night. However, his throwing has still been very bad, but his eye has been decent so that is a win. This Day In History: 2010 - The Twins acquire Matt Capps (3-3, 2.74 ERA, 26/30 saves) and $500,000 from the Nationals for highly touted catching prospect Wilson Ramos and southpaw minor leaguer Joe Testa. Minnesota will use Washington's only All-Star as its closer, filling a void created during spring training when Joe Nathan underwent Tommy John surgery. Pick to Click - Miguel Sano is joining the Bomba squad tonight, book it. Go Twins!!!
EDDIE THE STICK!!!!!
