Mill1634

ARRAEZ TRIPLE

Nice work by Berrios to buckle down. Had a little bit of a mid-game hiccup once again, but he buckled down when needed. Bullpen needs to lock this down, and offense needs to add at least one more.

Not the best defensive inning for Simba

Poor throw, but AK has to scoop that

This is what we've seen out of Berrios all year. Looks amazing in the first 3-4 innings, and then the mid-innings hit and he can't throw strikes.

Berrios....come on. You have to lock this down.

Not the inning you want after a 7 run inning

GARV SAUCE

AK gets it done!

Buxton is so fast

SIMMONS SMASH LETS GO

I know he made an out, but when Max is going well those are the types of pitches he hits for XBH. Good to see him hit that hard

STRIKE 'EM OUT THROW 'EM OUT

JD has been quietly horrid this week...1/17 with a homer. It'll happen over 162 though. I'm surprised that he hasn't gotten a day off in a while, and think he could maybe use one.

The Twins look to bounceback on Sunday after taking a beating in yesterdays game. The Twins started off the homestand with a convincing win over the ALC leaders after 3 weeks, and look to close out the series with a victory today. We know the Twins aren't going to go on a 30+ game win streak like the Indians did a few years ago, so they must take these small victories as they come, and that starts with winning series. The Pitchers RHP Jose Berrios (2-2, 3.04 ERA, 33 K's, 26.2 IP) vs RHP Brad Keller (2-2, 9.00 ERA, 13 K's, 18 IP) The Twins turn to arguably the best starter we've seen this year in Jose Berrios, while the Royals will send out one of their worse arms in Brad Keller. We've seen Jose appear to be rolling in games this year, only to hit the middle of the game and all of a sudden falter and have to be removed. Last start we saw Rocco unexplainably not know the 1 mound visit per coach per inning rule, and was forced to remove Berrios at just 83 pitches. Keller last started against the Tigers in which he threw 6 innings, but allowed 8 hits and 2 earned runs. He also only struck out 2 batters. Keller will rely on a sinker and 4 seam combination, throwing the former to right handed batters, while attacking left handed hitters with the 4 seam. Neither pitch has been good this year, as the 4 seam is getting hit at a .318 clip, while the sinker is allowing a .417 batting average. The slider is easily his best pitch, and is getting a whiff rate of 31%. His offspeed pitch, the changeup, has a whiff rate of 25%, but he only throws it 4% of the time. The Lineups Twins 2B Luis Arraez L 3B J. Donaldson R CF Byron Buxton R DH Nelson Cruz R 1B A. Kirilloff L C Mitch Garver R RF Max Kepler L LF Jake Cave L SS A. Simmons R Royals 2B W. Merrifield R 1B C. Santana S DH S. Perez R RF Jorge Soler R LF A. Benintendi L 3B H. Dozier R CF M. Taylor R C C. Gallagher R SS Nicky Lopez L Luis Arraez slides back into the leadoff spot against a right handed starter, followed by the familiar faces of Donaldson, Buxton, and Cruz that we've seen as of late. They're followed by Alex Kiriloff, who has been crushing the baseball since he was recalled, and has finally been getting rewarded for it this series. Garver gets another start behind the plate, and is followed by corner outfielders Max Kepler and Jake Cave. Andrelton Simmons rounds out the order. Jorge Polanco is not in todays starting lineup, and Miguel Sano is expected to join the team in the middle of this upcoming week. Vegas Odds: Twins -215, Royals +180, O/U 8.5 This Day In History - 2001: The game at the Metrodome, which is delayed for 12 minutes when the umps need to pull the opposing players off the field, comes close to being forfeited by the Twins when unruly spectators pummel Chuck Knoblauch with coins, plastic beer bottles, and golf balls in left field. Minnesota skipper Tom Kelly appeals to the crowd, including over 40 ejected fans, to be calm as the home team defeats their former second baseman and the Yankees, 4-2. Pick to Click: Max Kepler finds his stroke and hits his first homer of the year.

Sigh. Guess I can turn this game off. Shoemaker was horrible today .

Shoemaker has been getting ahead in the count and then throwing absolutely horrible pitches

Twins WIN!!!! Pineda was good through 5, the defense was amazing tonight headlined by Byron Buxton, and the AB's were as good as they've been all year. AK is a fantastic hitter, and was finally rewarded for hitting the ball hard. I liked the hit and run that we saw late in the game. Going to need some more of that if there aren't going to be a ton of homers. Bullpen was good. Congrats to Ben Rortvedt for his first MLB hit!! See y'all tomorrow, Go Twins!!!

I can't believe I'm saying this but...Alex Colome should be on the mound right now

Sano being recalled

BEN!!! Good to see

Hit and run!!! I love that with Simmons

Alcala with a clean inning, good to see

If the Twins send down AK, like the announcers on FS1 are saying is a possibility, I will personally drive to Target Field and kick Falvey in the shin