Mill1634

What the hell was that? The Twins are finding weirder and weirder ways to screw up.

Ouch, as an umpire myself that does not feel good off of a high schoolers bat. Can't imagine a major leaguer. He was doing a fine job back there too

WOW. What a catch Margo

When did we decide to start bunting?? I HATE THAT

Saw Gibby's wife at the game. VERY ballooned up. Any idea when she is due? Just trying to figure out when he is going to miss his start for his child being born.

Way to work around your defense Gibby

jeesh. Defense starting where we left off.

I am getting this game thread up a lot earlier than I normally do. I typically like to wait until lineups are out so I am able to talk about them, but my brother is playing in a playoff baseball game tonight (Thank you Iowa High School Athletic Association for playing baseball in the SUMMER, when it is supposed to be played), and he takes priority over the Twins, albeit very close The Twins come in to the series with a 1-1 record vs the Mets this year, both games agains the Mets' aces in Noah Syndergaard and Jacob DeGrom. Thankfully for the Twins they aren't expected to see either of them. The Twins will send Michael Pineda and Martin Perez to the mound for their first starts out of the break. The Pitchers Steven Matz (5-6, 4.89 ERA, 78 K's) vs Michael Pineda (6-4, 4.56 ERA, 84 K's) The Mets left hander gives up home runs, and gives up a lot of them. Matz is giving up the long ball two times per nine innings, which is insane. He is striking out almost one batter per inning, but this is not a great matchup for Steven against a Twins team who hit a lot of dongs. Expect the baseball to be flying all around Target Field in the bottom half of innings. Pineda also gives up his fair share of homeruns, coming in at 1.6 HR/9. However, he is facing the Mets lineup which isn't exactly great. However, they do have a huge power threat in Pete Alonso, who is probably the rookie of the year right now. Pineda is also finding his rhythm right now, giving up only one run four of his previous five trips to the mound. He has also only given up two long balls in those give games, a key factor to his success. The Lineups I will have someone post the lineups when they are available, either in a different post, or edited in here. No Minnesota Twin has ever taken an at-bat against the left hander, but the Twins absolutely crush left handed pitching. So far this season the Twins have an OPS of .868 vs southpaws, compared to .817 against righties. A few more key pieces could be back for the Twins, too. I fully expect Byron Buxton to be back in the lineup tonight after a few days back, and Eddie Rosario should be nearing a return as well. CJ Cron is also on the DL, and could be making his return to the lineup tonight, which would help a lot. Cron crushes left handed pitching, and would be a welcome return to the lineup. Former teammate of Pineda, Robinson Cano, has had decent success off the Twins righty, going 6-9 with two homers. The only other Met with a hit off of Pineda is veteran third basemen Todd Frazier. Mill's Moments 1. Please Enjoy Buxton's Aggression in the Field I know, I know. Nobody wants Byron Buxton to be hurt, and neither do I. Of course you can not be valuable if you are not on the field. However, I don't want Byron Buxton to stop playing with the defensive aggression that we have seen out of him his entire MLB career. Sure, he would still be the best MLB outfielder if he wasn't diving or running into walls all the time, but this is who he is. He wants to make every single catch he can, and you can't turn that off like a switch. Sure, we are going to be holding our breath every single time he looks like a crash test dummy slamming against the wall, or dives into the grass with no respect for his body, but that is what makes him the most exciting player in baseball to watch in the outfield. Enjoy it Twins fans, he is a rare talent on the defensive side of the ball, and he is on our team. 2. This is Why You Can't Quit Sano Sure, Miguel Sano is probably not the annual All-Star that we thought he would be coming up through the minor leagues, but that is okay. Those type of prospects rarely reach their ceiling. However, he is one of the most dangerous hitters in the Twins lineup at this given time. He is riding a double digit hitting streak, and they aren't bloops or weak rollers through the infield. Sano is laying off sliders that we have seen him chase in the past, and is crushing the pitches that are over the plate. His walk rate is down, and sure, his strikeout rate hasn't changed much at all, but that is the way baseball is going. Joey Gallo, who should've been the All-Star Game MVP, is the exact same way as Sano is right now. Sure, he may strike out in 40% of his plate appearances. However, when he is hitting the ball, he is hitting it, and hitting it hard. If Sano keeps his current approach up, and get trim 3% off his K rate, while adding it to his walk rate, he is a borderline All-Star. This Day in History: 2000 - The Twins announce the possibility of playing a home series outdoors in a temporary stadium next season. The move away from the Metrodome, however, would require approval of major league baseball, the players' association, the opponents, broadcast affiliates, and the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. Pick to Click: It's hard to make a pick to click without the lineups, but count me down for Jonathon Schoop if he plays. I know he's been bad lately, so that means he's gonna get a big hit today. Go Twins!!!

Welp. Berrios didn't have his best stuff, but the bullpen was okay. Not sure why we threw that curveball to Carlos, but hindsight is 20/20. We picked up a game in the standings, and got three games off the schedule. Expect a lot of fans at the next homestand!!! I will be there Wednesday!! Have a good afternoon, and monday. See y'all Tuesday.

Schoop strike out. BAU

Arraez!!!! All he does is hit! wow

Welp. May was throwing gas there until that homer by Santana.

Well, at least we got it tied. Bullpen is fairly taxed however. Will be interesting to see how Rocco plays this one.

Right, but isn't Brad Hand available. He is as close to Andrew Miller as you're gonna get in todays game, barring Taylor Rogers of course. Also, MAX!!! Line drive in the box score.

I would've hit Ehire for Schoop. He is a sac fly machine.

oof

Is Tito trying to get fired? Why in the world is Bieber still in this game? Isn't he the same guy that rode Andrew Miller just a few years ago?

haahahaha. Great challenge by the Twins!!

MARWIN!!! We ain't done yet baby!

Think the Twins caught a break there. That sounded like it went off the knob of the bat.

Not the start I expected from JO at all.

Lucky to get out of that with only one run. Need Berrios to pick it up obviously. Not sure I have ever seen JO that off with his breaking ball.

Ron Kulpa behind the plate which means the the strike zone is now 22 inches wide rather than 17.5

The Twins picked up a big first win out of the All-Star break featuring a fantastic bullpen performance, and some timely hitting. Taylor Rogers was dominant once again, and it is scary to think what this bullpen will look like after adding a few more impact arms to pair with Rogers. The bad news is the Twins faced the worst of three starters they would see this weekend, as they face off with Trevor Bauer in tonights matchup. The Twins send their All-Star Jake Odorizzi to the hill. The Pitchers Jake Odorizzi (10-4, 3.15 ERA, 96 K's) vs Trevor Bauer (8-6, 3.61, 149 K's) Are the Twins potentially facing a future Twin within this month? I sure hope so. Trevor Bauer has been very hot in his last six starts, going 4-0 with an ERA of 2.90. Bauer is a borderline All-Star every single year, and has great stuff although his character is an issue some may have. Jake Odorizzi comes off the DL in which he was dealing with a finger blister. Odorizzi had a very surprising first half, even to Twins fans. We started to see him decline a bit in his last few starts, but he is still a solid #3 on a contending club. However, he is still outperforming his FIP by a full run, so farther regression is likely. However, if he can keep striking out over nine and a half hitters per nine, he will continue to have some sort of success against hitters. I predict a solid outing against a fairly poor hitting lineup in Cleveland. The Lineups Twins RF Max Kepler L SS J. Polanco S DH Nelson Cruz R 1B M. Gonzalez S 3B Luis Arraez L 2B J. Schoop R C Jason Castro L LF Jake Cave L CF Byron Buxton R Indians SS F. Lindor S CF O. Mercado R 1B C. Santana S 2B Jason Kipnis L 3B Jose Ramirez S DH B. Bradley L LF Jake Bauers L C R. Perez R RF Greg Allen S Luis Arraez finds himself in the lineup for the second straight day out of the All-Star break, which I would not take as a coincidence. Arraez had a nice base hit yesterday, and had another screaming line drive taken away by Jose Rameriz at the hot corner. Jake Cave will find himself in left field, which is a scary thought both at the plate, and in the field. Really too bad LaMonte Wade Jr. ended up hurting himself. Miguel Sano gets an early off day after hitting a monster double in last nights matchup. Nelson Cruz, Max Kepler, and Jonathan Schoop have all had great success against Bauer. Cruz is hitting .400 in 14 AB's, Kepler with 3 homers and a .324 average, and Schoop comes in with an average of .353 versus the Cleveland right hander. Fransisco Lindor is the only Indian with great success off of Jake, with an average .353 in 17 at bats, including 2 home runs. Mill's Moments 1. Mejia DFA'd Adalberto Mejia was DFA'd today to make room for Jake Odorizzi for Saturdays start. I find it interesting that Devin Smeltzer was the one sent down after his start, especially with Mejia being sent out after just one day. However, I am glad to see this move done. Don't get me wrong, I want nothing but the best for Mejia and the rest of the Twins roster, but we are in a position to contend. It is clear that Mejia was not a pitcher that was going to help us contend, and the front office made the right move despite the fact that Mejia was out of options. It will be very interesting to see if Mejia is claimed or not. He throws with decent velocity from the left side, and is young enough to be enticing to some rebuilding teams. 2. Two 40-man Spots Open With Adalberto Mejia being DFA'd this afternoon the Twins now have two spots open on their forty man roster, which is interesting. I expect one of those spots to be taken by Cody Allen within the next week or two, who was promoted to AAA Rochester over the All-Star break. The other spot will probably be filled by a trade at some point over the next two and a half weeks. It will be interesting to see who else the Twins clear from the forty man when they add another two or three players, plus Cody Allen leading up to the trade deadline. My best guesses would be Ryan Eades, Nick Gordon or Luiz Arraez (in a trade), and Jake Cave (also in a trade). Something to Keep an Eye On This Day in History: 1993 - In a game best remembered for John Kruk's non-at-bat against fireballer Randy Johnson, the AL All-Stars beat the NL rivals at Baltimore's Camden Yards, 9-3. As the Phillies' first baseman flails at the Big Unit's fastballs comically, Kirby Puckett's double and home run earn the Twins outfielder the Midsummer Classic's MVP Award. Pick to Click: Nelson Cruz is going yard for the second day in a row, maybe more than once. Go Twins!!!

One of the more exciting strike 'em out, throw 'em outs we've seen all year