Mill1634

This is interesting

Nothing like an unplanned baseball game taking place on a should be off day! The Twins were part of the third rainout in Los Angeles since 1995, and will finish their season series against the Angels this afternoon. Minnesota has already locked up the season win, as well as the series win. They will also travel back to Minnesota with another successful road trip. The Pitchers: Martin Perez (6-1, 2.89 ERA, 53 K's) vs Matt Harvey (2-3, 6.35 ERA, 34 K's) Martin Perez would be the clear cut choice for most improved player in the American League if the season were to end today. However, it does not. The former top 100 prospect has put together an amazing year on the bump for the Twins, and are making the Twins FO look like geniuses. Perez is striking out exactly one hitter per inning, which is a massive upgrade from where he used to be. He is walking half a batter more per 9 innings, but that is something I am willing to accept for someone that looks like an All-Star. Speaking of All-Stars, Matt Harvey has been very bad ever since being injured. The Dark Knight is struggling in LA. He looked like he maybe turned the corner in Cincy last year, but Great American Ballpark can make almost any pitcher look good. He has walking a full two more batters this year per 9 than he did last year, and his strikeout rate has also fallen. He is also giving up his fair share of long balls, which could spell trouble against this Twins lineup. The Lineups: Twins CF Max Kepler L SS J. Polanco S RF M. Gonzalez S LF E. Rosario L 1B C.J. Cron R DH Luis Arraez L 3B Miguel Sano R 2B J. Schoop R C W. Astudillo R Angels LF D. Fletcher R DH Mike Trout R 1B A. Pujols R C J. Lucroy R 3B T. La Stella L 2B Luis Rengifo S RF Kole Calhoun L SS Zack Cozart R CF B. Goodwin L The Twins are giving Byron Buxton a well deserved off day, and Max Kepler will start in center field. Marwin Gonzalez will make his second start of the season in right, which saw him misplay a ball last time he was out there. Luis Arraez serves as the DH, which I don't even think he would believe if you told him that just a few days ago. Sano is back at the hot corner after homering in his last at bat, and La Tortuga is starting behind the plate on National Turtle Day. Only two Twins have ever seen Harvey before. However, some Angels are very familiar with Martin Perez as he started for divison foe Texas for quite some time. Mike Trout is hitting just .217 off the lefty in 23 AB's. Albert Pujols has better luck, hitting .385 in 26 at-bats, including a homer. Shohei Othani is being given the day off, which isn't surprising given a lefty starter on the mound for the Twins. Let's just hope Tommy La Stella doesn't keep hitting like an MVP candidate. Mill's Moments 1. Nelson Near Return Nelson Cruz is eligible to come off of the DL tomorrow, and I think he should be activated sometime this weekend if all goes well. At the start of the week the answer to the roster crunch was seemingly clear. You option Luis Arraez back to Rochester. However, he has made that choice much more difficult. Arraez has hit the cover off the of the baseball since his debut, and is passing the eye test with flying covers. The only other choice is to send Ehire Adrianza packing. However, he is out of options, and would have to clear waivers. I am almost certain he would be claimed by someone, and he is even starting to hit the ball well as of late. I still think the solution is to send Arraez down whenever Cruz is activated, but it makes an interesting situation. 2. Terrible Trevor Trevor Hildenberger was sent down a little over a week ago after nearly blowing a huge lead against the Angels, and his return to AAA has not been promising. In his first game he threw one inning against AAA affiliate of the Rays, the Durham Bulls. He gave up 4 earned runs on 3 hits. The problem wasn't that he was not locating his pitches, as he threw 19 of his 27 pitches for strikes. He was just very hittable, even in AAA. His second outing was not any better, as he gave up 3 earned in two innings against the Buffalo Bison. The Toronto affiliate also didn't take any walks, but just hit Trevor around the park. This is very concerning, and makes me wonder if he is either battling an injury, or tipping his pitches. Whatever it is, the Twins need to get him right for a late season run. This Day in History: 1991 - Kirby Puckett strokes five singles and a triple in the Twins' 10-6 loss to Texas at the Metrodome. It is the second time the outfielder has collected six hits in a game, making him the first major leaguer to have accomplished the feat twice. Pick to Click: Jonathan Schoop is going to get a significant extra base hit in today's game Go Twins!!!

I can take tomorrows game thread...May 23rd, make up game. Let me know if you want me to.

Field doesn't look great....Let's hope we get this in.

Send him down to AAA when Cruz is back. However, when Garver is back, send Willians out to AAA, and bring Arraez back up.

Twins win!!! Pineda pitches well, the lineup finally wakes up, and Luis Arraez is absolutely fantastic both at the plate and in the field. We are now 32-16, and 6.5 games up. It’s May 22nd. This is insane.

We’re using rogers in a 5 run game why?

LONGBALL LUIS!!!!!!!

EDDIE!! The angels imitated the mariners quite well right there

MARGO!!!!!!!

JORGE!!!!!!

Very solid outing from Pineda. Let Morin or magill take 7-8-9, and then we get to see if rogers is available (I’m guessing no)

Hildenberger gave up 3 runs in 2 innings tonight..struck out 3. Something is off with him.

looked like the catcher was out..

Cron just missed a hanging changeup...

If Pineda is going to be removed from the rotation, it is going to be for someone not in the org. right now.

Pineda is not good...we have to upgrade his spot in the rotation sooner rather than later

Yikes

He played first base last night....

I love these west coast games as a night owl. It gives me something to do while I lay in bed, but having no intentions of sleeping. It is especially fun when you are winning these games, and the Twins secured a winning road trip with the victory yesterday. They have yet to drop a stand, whether it be home or away. I think if we keep doing that, we get to raise a trophy at the end of the year. Don't quote me, though. The Pitchers: Michael Pineda (3-3, 5.55 ERA, 41 SO) vs Trevor Cahill (2-4, 6.95 ERA, 33 SO) Michael Pineda hasn't exactly set the world on fire, but he did look better in his last start out, but did have an advantage of pitching with a fairly large lead. He has given up 13 home runs this year, which is one off of the MLB "lead," Pineda is actually pitcher better than his FIP predicts, which is a 5.64 thus far. However, his HR/9 is a half a homer over his career high, so we should see that drop somewhat. It will be tough for him to strike out batters tonight, as the Angels strike out the fewest in the league. Cahill is making his second straight start against the Twins. Last time he failed to make it five innings, and gave up six runs. Let's hope the Twins have the same productivity this time around. It will be interesting to see what kind of adjustments the right hander makes the second go around. http://ldywgilfmw17e67w3vjk9exe.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ap_fd8fddf671a1429697a803f7b1aff49c-546x400.jpg The Lineups: Twins RF Max Kepler L SS J. Polanco S DH M. Gonzalez S LF E. Rosario L 1B C.J. Cron R 3B Luis Arraez L 2B J. Schoop R C Jason Castro L CF Byron Buxton R Angels 3B T. La Stella L CF Mike Trout R DH S. Ohtani L 1B A. Pujols R RF Kole Calhoun L C Kevan Smith R LF B. Goodwin L 2B Luis Rengifo S SS D. Fletcher R The Twins welcome Marwin Gonzalez, CJ Cron, and Jonathan Schoop back to the lineup tonight. Luis Arraez makes another start after jumping off to a hot start with the Twins, and will be playing third base. Miguel Sano will get a well deserved day off after saving last nights game with a long ball late. Angel's shortstop Andrelton Simmons was placed on the 10-day injured list with a grade three ankle sprain after a play in the eighth inning grounding out, in which he rolled his ankle on the 1st base bag. This was a play after Shohei Othani struck out swinging on a ball that hit his hand. I am a bit surprised to see him in tonights game after he was acting like he was going to need a hand amputation less than 24 hours ago. Mill's Moments 1. Props to Luis Luis Arraez was promoted aggressively after the injury to Nelson Cruz, playing just three games at triple-A Rochester. I know we talk about small sample size an awful lot around here, and this is no different. However, Luis passes the eye test of a major league ball player. The moment does not seem too big for him, and he takes professional at bats. I don't think his glove would grade out as a plus at any position, but I don't think it is going to hold him back. I am interested to see him at the hot corner tonight, as it is not a position he has played a lot of in the minor leagues. It seems as if the Twins are grooming him to be the next Marwin Gonzalez, which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. 2. Astudillo is Wearing Me Down Don't get me wrong, I think Astudillo is a great story. He is a good ball player, but he is not nearly as good as some make him out to be. I know he gets the love because he looks more like one of us than he does a pro athlete, but that shouldn't matter. The Twins are trying to win baseball games this year, not sell tickets like they were last September. He should clearly be on the roster with Garver going down. However, with Arraez, Marwin, and Ehire on the roster right now, that is the only place he should be playing. He should not be getting ABs at first base, third base, or a corner outfield position. In fact, his best position is probably pinch hitting off the bench in which he provides great value for putting the ball in play virtually every time. This Day In History: 2009 - The Twins enjoy a six-run and a seven-run inning when they trounce the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, 20-1. Joe Mauer leads the Minnesota offense with a grand slam and two doubles, driving in a career-high six runs. (Via nationalpastime) Pick to Click: Eddie Rosario is hitting a ball over the outfield fences in fair territory tonight, probably on a pitch not in the strike zone. Go Twins!!!

tWINs!!! Sano saves the day, and Parker slams the door. Harper keeps earning that trust, and Arraez is making his mark in a Minnesota uniform. Have a great night (or morning) Go twins!!!

Man Richard seems like his dog died ever since simmons got hurt

Just got home. And what do I see? SANO SMASH!

Yikes Gibson...

POLANCO!!!!