Jamie Cameron

The Twins faced a familiar foe in the Yankees Tuesday, with an even more familiar outcome, losing 8-4. Minnesota lost Rob Refsnyder to injury and capitulated after a promising start. Box Score Pineda: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Rogers -.333, Garlick -.118, Colome -.101, Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) On a sweltering day in Minneapolis the Twins received positive injury news on Tuesday. Rob Refsnyder was activated from the 7 day concussion IL with Gilberto Celestino optioned back to St. Paul. Additionally, Byron Buxton began a rehab assignment with the Saints Tuesday night. Kenta Maeda is scheduled to throw 50-60 pitches for St. Paul Wednesday night. Will the Twins get healthy in the nick of time, or is it too late? DJ Lemahieu led off for the Yankees, barely missing a home run with a long double to right field. Despite the first two Yankee batted balls ominously clocking in at over 100 mph, Pineda recovered for a strong, scoreless first inning. The Twins returned the threat with singles from Josh Donaldson and Miguel Sanó, the latter coming after an impressive at bat laying off close pitches on the outside corner. Ryan Jeffers then worked back from an 0-2 count to rip a double down the left field line, scoring both runners and giving the Twins the first lead of the night. Rob Refsnyder led off the top of the second as if he’d never left, with a single to left field. Andrelton Simmons singled up the middle before a brutal call from home plate umpire Nick Mahrley on a fastball well inside rung up Garlick. Josh Donaldson ripped a line drive right at Gleybar Torres but the Twins were looking comfortable against Jordan Montgomery through 2 innings. It was perhaps a sign that luck was on the Twins side when Miguel Andujar ripped a 109 mph screamer off Pineda, which Willians Astudillo snared on an incredible play at 3rd. Twins fans optimism however, was misplaced. Make no mistake, Pineda was cruising. After the first inning leadoff double, he retired 11 straight before Giancarlo Stanton hit a weak ground ball through the hole at short. Pineda had particularly strong command of the outside corner of the plate. In spite of an error which allowed Urshela to reach base on a dribbler to the mound, Pineda escaped the jam, getting Sanchez to line out to Andrelton Simmons to end the threat. Pineda found trouble in the 5th, a walk and two singles loading the bases with only one out. Pineda then walked in Aaron Judge to cut the lead to 2-1 before being removed by Rocco Baldelli. Pineda followed a pattern more typical of José Berríos, looking dominant before completely losing control in short order. Jorge Alcalá, being exposed to increasingly high leverage roles, entered for Pineda, bases loaded, one out. After back to back swinging strikes on nasty sliders, Alcalá spiked a 55 foot fastball to allow the tying run to score on a wild pitch. Sigh. Torres lined out to Simmons for the second out, before Stanton ground out to end the inning. All things considered, one out of three inherited runners scoring was a win. The game was knotted at 2-2 entering the bottom of the fifth. What felt like it might have been a strong day for the offense also fell into a predictable pattern. After an impressive start, the Twins capitulated against Jordan Montgomery. They have to go against Gerrit Cole and the spider stuff tomorrow, y’all. Alexander Colomé entered in the 6th inning, immediately giving up a searing, 111 mph double to Roughned Odor before a Willians Astudillo error on a chopper to third loaded the bases for the second straight inning. A Gardner sacrifice fly gave the Yankees their first lead. Astudillo made consecutive gaffs on consecutive plays, cutting off a strong Larnach throw which could have saved the Yankees go ahead run. The Twins bats finally awoke in the 6th, with Refsnyder doubling home Larnach. Refsnyder would immediately exit the game with hamstring tightness. The Twins were unable to score. In the 8th, the Yankees retook the lead. Clint Frazier singled, Andujar singled, and Gardner sacrifice bunted them over to 3rd and 2nd respectively. With the infield playing in, a smoked LeMahieu ground ball was thrown away by Polanco, the Twins 3rd error of the game. The Yankees scored again on a fielder’s choice which resulted in the Twins 4th error of the night as Simmons was off the base at 2nd. Rogers induced a double play to end the inning, but the damage was done. Griffin Jax entered for his MLB debut in the 9th. He hung a breaking ball to Gary Sanchez which was deposited for a 2 run HR, making it a 7-3 ballgame. Andujar added a solo shot two batters later. The Yankees closed out the game in the 9th despite a Twins win to take their record at Target Field to 24-11. Bleacher Tweets On my recap days, I’m going to throw in a crowd sourced statistic, joke, story, or complaint to get more voices into the recap. Tonight's Bleacher Tweet is courtesy of Matt Braun Bullpen Usage Chart THU FRI SAT SUN TUE TOT Robles 20 0 10 15 0 45 Farrell 11 0 0 13 19 43 Alcala 0 7 0 10 21 38 Duffey 12 0 7 14 0 33 Rogers 0 0 12 0 20 32 Jax 0 0 0 0 23 23 Colomé 0 0 0 0 9 9 On Wednesday, the Twins will send Randy Dobnak to the hill against Gerrit Cole. First pitch is at 7:10 CT. If you want to whet your whistle for tomorrow’s encounter, check out this footage, courtesy of BSN of Donaldson and Cole addressing pitchers using sticky substances on the baseball. View full article

This is a good question. WPA is split between the 2 teams in the game. The winning team, cumulatively, will contribute .500 WPA, the losing team, -.500. Shoemaker’s -.433 is out of a possible -.500 for the Twins as the collective losing team.

It’s funny you say that, I always look at the pattern of the probability chart as a proxy for what the game was like. Worst of the season for sure.

The Twins fall to the Royals after a nine-run first inning and a four-run second inning. They are now 4-6 in their last ten games, all against the Orioles and Royals, and drop to 22-35 on the season. That and more in tonight's recap. Box Score Matt Shoemaker: 0.1 IP (10 batters faced), 6 H, 8 ER (9 R), 2 BB, 1 K Homeruns: Polanco (6), Sanó (10), Gordon (1) Bottom 3 WPA: Shoemaker -.433, Astudillo -.048, Larnach -.039 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Historic First Inning Fells Twins In a season of low lows for a Twins club entering 2021 with high expectations, Friday night was rock bottom. Matt Shoemaker gave up 9 first inning runs, making it through 0.1 innings and securing an infamous place in MLB history. Shoemaker gave up 9 runs on a single, walk, double, single, walk, strike out, catcher interference, single, single, and a 3 run home run. The game was ostensibly over before Nick Nelson had even made it to his seat with his first Boulevard of the night. What a disgraceful performance. Indeed, Shoemaker’s latest capitulation encapsulates the performance of the Twins offseason free agent pickups. Has the performance of the Twins free agents and trades this offseason soured you on the Twins front office? Shoemaker now owns a 7.28 ERA as Minnesota’s fifth starter. It’s time to move on, and give those innings to literally anyone else. Offense Generates Plenty of Hits, Few Runs In another constant sub-narrative of the Twins season, the offense mustered plenty of hits. By the end of the 7th inning, the Twins had 9 hits to the Royals 12. The difference? The Royals were 8-14 with RISP (.571), the Twins? 0-8. Jorge Polanco provided the lone spark, cranking his 6th home run of the year, a solo shot in the 5th inning. The Royals continued to add on in the second, generating 4 runs off recently recalled reliever Shaun Anderson, who the Twins rode for 3.2 innings and 62 pitches. The Twins were down 13-0 after two innings. Gordon Hits HR #1 in Front of His Dad The Twins offense continued to battle throughout the game and broke through in the 8th inning, hitting back to back home runs from Miguel Sanó and Nick Gordon. Gordon hit his first MLB home run in front of his father, Tom, in attendance for the first time watching his son play a MLB game, part of a strong 3-4 performance. Willians Astudillo continued his grumpy facade pitching the 8th inning for the Twins, offering back to back pitches of 43 mph and 82 mph to Kelvin Gutierrez. After a pop out and a walk, Sanó bobbled a routine ground ball to 3rd base for the Twins 4th error of the night. Astudillo induced a double play to end the inning, but there was no escaping the consistently amateurish defensive play which, whether hinging on injuries or not, is now characterizing the Twins nightly performances. The Twins ‘cleanup hitter’, Astudillo almost hit a home run but flew out to left field to end the game, capping a miserable night the the Twins which was ostensibly over after one half inning. Where do the Twins go from here? This team has a solid offense which never hits with runners in scoring position, poor pitching, struggling defense and a mountain of injuries. Surely a fire sale awaits? Bullpen Usage Chart MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Minaya 0 33 8 0 34 75 Anderson 0 0 0 0 62 62 Farrell 0 36 0 11 0 47 Colomé 0 17 21 0 0 38 Robles 16 0 0 20 0 36 Duffey 0 0 0 12 0 12 Alcala 0 0 3 0 7 10 Rogers 6 0 0 0 0 6 Next Up The Twins send José Berríos to the mound on Saturday to face Royals lefty Mike Minor. First pitch is at 3:10 CT. View full article

As the Twins discover whether they have simply made a bad start or are just a bad team, they face a tough decision with Michael Pineda; trade him, or extend him? On the mound, he has the look of a person who desperately needs to use the bathroom or has an itchy clothing tag which won’t stop bothering him. Michael Pineda is fidgety, twitchy and frankly, uncomfortable to watch. His physical quirks bely the smooth operator on the mound. Over the last 3 years, Pineda has been a model of consistency and excellence for the Twins. As the team answers the question of whether they have started slow or are simply a bad team, they need to decide what to do with Pineda, trade him, or extend him? In spite of the recency bias which perhaps clouds our judgement of the Twins front office, they are a shrewd bunch. Pineda may have been their shrewdest move in 5 years leading the team. Pineda was first signed by the Twins to a 2 year, $10 million deal in December 2017. Pineda was coming off a significant injury, so the first year of his deal provided him financial certainty and the Twins the ability to monitor his rehab and potentially hit on a significant lottery ticket for a team which has done little to develop strong organizational pitching depth. Boy, did they win big. Over 3 seasons with the team, Pineda has now logged approximately 220 innings, managing a 3.59 ERA and 5.7% BB% in that span. The latter half of Pineda’s 2019 and beginning of 2020 season will rightly be colored by a 60 game suspensions for PEDs, but whatever way you want to chop it up, Pineda has been a tremendous success for Minnesota. The front office agreed, giving Pineda a 2 year, $20 million extension in 2019. That’s just $2 million more than J.A. Happ earns, y’all. Switching focus away from Pineda and to the 2021 team, there’s no escaping the truth. This Twins team is bad. The 2021 season was summed up in one cruel, painful blow when Mitch Garver, the Twins lone hot hitter, had to have surgery after a groin shot foul ball following Tuesday night’s game in Baltimore. I know it’s not what we all wanted, but this team just ain’t it. So what should the Twins do with Pineda as June marches on and the July trade deadline approaches? On one hand, the answer seems simple. Trade Pineda. This is clearly the organizationally smart, efficient thing to do, a decision, results aside, that the Twins front office seems most likely to make if they decide this Twins team cannot mount a serious playoff challenge. Despite Pineda being on an expiring contract, he is capable and has a track record which suggests he could start a playoff game for a team with a weaker rotation, a fact which could command a solid price. Trading Pineda doesn’t preclude the Twins from re-signing him this offseason. Pineda is clearly comfortable in Minnesota and fond of the organization. However, the consistency of his performance in parts of 3 seasons with the Twins will undoubtedly create a more robust market for Big Mike given his improved health in recent seasons for Minnesota. If the front office believes the team needs to retool, rather than rebuild (a fair conclusion given the strong core of young players and emergency of high end prospects like Kirilloff and Larnach), they could instead choose to extend Pineda. The Twins have essentially been Cleveland’s opposite organization in recent seasons, struggling to create any meaningful starting pitching pipeline to the majors. This may be on the verge of changing with the Falvey led front office, with Jhoan Duran beginning to dominate at AAA and several other standout options working their way through MiLB. If the Twins are to ‘retool’ instead of rebuild, let’s consider their rotation. José Berríos is under team control for one more season, an extension seems unlikely. Kenta Maeda, 2020 Cy-Young runner up is under affordable team control but is now a huge question mark, given his abject start to 2021. J.A. Happ and Michael Shoemaker are free agents and may not make it through the season for various reasons. Randy Dobnak is a strong 4th or 5th option. For a team who wants to contend and build a sustainable winner, this is a poor stable of starting pitching options. So what would an extension look like for Pineda? He’s certainly due for a raise over his last contract. Career long health concerns would likely limit him to a 2 year deal as teams would likely not want to risk adding a third for a pitcher who will be 35 at the end of it. The Twins could offer Pineda a 2 year, $26 million deal which would give him the raise he deserves, still be reasonable value for a pitcher who has provided upwards of 3.0 fWAR in his last 200 IP for the Twins, and raise the floor of the rotation for a team hoping to bounce back in 2022. What would you do with Pineda, trade him, or extend him? View full article

Thanks for reading! That definitely would have made it better.

I’ve definitely had my fair share of stinkers this year, but they allow me to mess around with different things with writing and paying attention to the prospects has been fun. Thanks for reading and commenting as always Mike!

Wow! Wishful thinking? Thanks for catching that!

The Twins fumbled in Baltimore Tuesday night, as all three phases of the game let them down in a drab 7-4 loss to the Orioles. Box Score Pineda: 3 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Garlick (4), Astudillo (4) Bottom 3 WPA: Pineda -.339, Polanco -.097, Sano -.068, Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Four pitches into the game Cedric Mullins was already standing comfortably at third base. Conversely, Mitch Garver was in a crumpled heap on the floor after taking a groin shot foul ball from Trey Mancini. The Twins immutable injury crisis continued to mount Tuesday. After being helped slowly from the field, the only available bench players for the Twins were Trevor Larnach (in a walking boot yesterday), Rob Refsnyder (LITERALLY a white outline of him painted on the Camden Yards outfield fence), and Nick Gordon (hasn’t played in a week). The Twins are a mess, don’t let the opposition fool you. Astudillo, pressed into outfield service, provided perhaps the most scarring experience for Twins fans on the 2nd pitch of the game. Cedric Mullins ripped a line drive to right field, La Tortuga was all over the place. Indeed, the route Astudillo took to the ball was more reminiscent of a play one would expect to see in Williamsport than Camden Yards. After a long Kyle Garlick home run tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the 3rd, Michael Pineda began to unravel. Pineda was giving up significant hard contact Tuesday night, with 7 batted ball events over 100mph through 3 innings. By the end of 3, the Orioles had a 5-1 lead, and an 84% chance to win the game. The Twins 4th inning response was best summed up by Jake Depue. Pineda was replaced by Luke Farrell in the bottom of the 4th inning. If you’re thinking tonight's waxing was unusual for Pineda, you’re right. Pedro Severino added a long home run to left field off a hanging Farrell breaking ball to make the lead 6-1 in the bottom of the 4th, and put the game beyond reach. The Twins showed flashes offensively throughout the rest of the game. They had runners on the corners in the top of the 5th before the incredibly disappointing Josh Donaldson struck out to end the threat. Nelson Cruz doubled to lead off the 6th. Kirilloff followed up with an RBI double of his own to narrow the lead to 6-2. Miguel Sanó and Willians Astudillo could not keep the inning going. The Twins can still win tomorrow and win the series with Baltimore. A victory would give them 8 victories in their last 11 contests. In spite of this, the Twins haven’t been convincing. This feels like a team walking up a downward facing escalator being pushed inexorably to the bottom. Entering play tonight, the Twins RDIFF was -21, the White Sox was +80. That tells you more about the cavernous gulf in class between the teams than the 10.5 game gap in the standings ever could. Juan Minaya entered in the 6th and gave up a home run to Maikel Franco on his first pitch. And so it went for the Twins pitching staff in this game, each pitcher entered, each pitcher promptly gave up ground to the Orioles. Any sniff of a comeback was immediately extinguished by Baltimore, leaving the Twins bench looking tired, exasperated, and frustrated. The Twins again threatened in the 7th, a Garlick walk and a Donaldson hit by pitch putting men on 1st and 2nd with one out. Dillon Tate walked Cruz to load the bases with one out. Trevor Larnach pinch hit for Rortvedt and struck out swinging. Kirilloff came through with a single to trim the lead to 7-3 with the bases still loaded. Polanco grounded out to short to end the inning. In the 8th, Astudillo cut the lead with a solo home run to left field, his 4th. Andrelton Simmons followed up with a single to center, the Twins again threatening. Simmons second guessed taking second base after the ball was thrown away by the pitcher, getting caught in a run down and providing the second little league caliber play of the night from the Twins. In their final half inning, the Twins again threatened. Trevor Larnach doubled Nelson Cruz over to 3rd. Alex Kirilloff struck out swinging, leaving Jorge Polanco as the Twins last hope. Bleacher Tweets On my recap days, I’m going to throw in a crowd sourced statistic, joke, story, or complaint to get more voices into the recap. This week, Cody Pirkl brings you more Twins gems. Bullpen Usage Chart FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Farrell 17 0 16 0 36 69 Minaya 0 0 13 0 33 46 Robles 0 21 0 16 0 37 Rogers 0 21 0 6 0 27 Colomé 0 0 10 0 17 27 Thielbar 0 0 22 0 0 22 Duffey 0 13 0 0 0 13 Alcala 0 10 0 0 0 10 What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send Randy Dobnak to the hill against Matt Harvey. First pitch is at 6:05 CT. View full article

Perfect summary on Refsnyder!

The Twins improved to 5-2 in their last 7 games on Tuesday. Twins cult hero Rob Refsnyder smacked two doubles and a home run, while José Berríos was inefficient but effective in his 5.2 innings of work. Box Score Berríos: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K Home Runs: Refsnyder (2) Top 3 WPA: Refsnyder .276, Simmons .136, Rogers .105 Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Injuries and Roster News The Twins injury carousel continued its inevitably relentless spin on Tuesday. Nelson Cruz and Luis Arraez did not return to the lineup from respective wrist and shoulder injuries. Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco did return however, easing the strain on a lineup hamstrung in recent days. Despite their seemingly perpetual health struggles, the Twins entered Tuesday's game as obvious favorites, with Jose Berríos taking on Dean Kremer, who is, well, not very good yet. The Orioles immediately posed a threat in the top of the 1st, before Berríos picked off Cedric Mullins at 2nd base for the Twins league leading 7th pickoff of the 2021 season. The Orioles did take the lead in the second, a missed catch error by Andrelton Simmons opening the door for two unearned runs to score. The rejuvenated Polanco immediately got a run back in the second for the Twins, blistering a home run to right field while hitting left handed, a promising sign as he continues navigate the ankle injury which has resulted in back to back offseason surgeries. Rob Refsnyder continued his torrid hitting for the Twins, lacing a double to tie the game. Refsnyder would add two more hits on the night, bringing his average with the Twins to .438 and providing a real spark which has invigorated the lineup in the last week. Two wild pitches and two additional Twins runs later, Minnesota was up 4-2, and didn’t look back. Berríos delivered the kind of typically maddening performance which will have both fans and detractors affirmed in their assessments of his assets and shortcomings. The Twins enigmatic pitcher produced incredible swords, striking out 7 over 5 innings. Conversely, he was inefficient and wobbled significantly, giving up 7 hits. Berríos began the 6th inning, immediately hitting Ryan Mountcastle on the hand. He was pulled after 5.2 innings and 106 pitches, giving way to Caleb Thielbar. Thielbar escaped the inning, leaving the Twins with a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th. An Alex Kirilloff double scored Donaldson to increase the Twins cushion to 6-3. Alexander Colomé entered for The Twins in the 8th. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, he immediately surrendered a home run to DJ Stewart to cut the lead to 6-4. The Orioles followed up with back to back singles, leading to Taylor Rogers warming up in a hurry. Rogers needed one pitch to induce a Cedric Mullins ground out and end the threat. Back to back appalling appearances from Colomé seem to have re-relegated him to a lower leverage role in a Twins bullpen still struggling to get out of its own way. Refsnyder added a solo shot in the 9th (what’s the in season equivalent of the Sire of Fort Myers?) to continue his helium fueled ascent to Twins fans cult hero. Rogers slammed the door in the 9th to help the Twins improve to 5-2 in their last 7 games and begin a soft 13 game stretch in their schedule 2-0. Other News In other Twins news, congratulations to LaTroy Hawkins as he received the nod to manage the AL in the Futures Game at this years All-Star festivities. New Era may have caused the biggest stir of the day on baseball twitter with new city themed caps. Bleacher Tweets On my recap days, I’m going to throw in a crowd sourced statistic, joke, story, or complaint to get more voices into the recap. Tonight's non Twins related offering is courtesy of Cory Engelhardt. Bullpen Usage Chart FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Robles 0 27 24 0 13 64 Farrell 38 0 0 16 0 54 Rogers 0 9 14 0 26 49 Alcala 10 17 0 14 0 41 Duffey 0 13 15 0 0 28 Colomé 0 2 0 8 13 23 Thielbar 0 0 18 0 2 20 Stashak 0 0 0 0 0 0 What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send Michael Pineda to the hill against Jorge López. First pitch is at 12:10 CT. View full article

The Twins walked off the White Sox 5-4 Tuesday in a game full of drama. In a game where Miguel Sanó finally arrived in the 2021 season, the biggest question remains, did Tyler Duffey throw at Yermin Mercedes on purpose? Box Score Ober: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Home Runs: Sanó 3 (6) Top 3 WPA: Sanó .477, Polanco .432, Rogers .139 Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Pineda Scratched, Pen Shuffled Michael Pineda was scratched from his start Tuesday, with Twins injury news coming thick and fast. To replace Pineda, the Twins promoted 6’9 Bailey Ober, The Twins 2017 12th round pick. The control artist has put up consistently outstanding numbers for the Twins in MiLB, most recently sporting an ERA under 1.00 in 2019 between A+ and AA. In an additional move, the Twins promoted Cody Stashak, DFAing Derek Law after surrendering 4 runs in 1.1 inning in Monday’s blowout. In other roster and injury news, well, here’s a summary: Ober-Matched? Ober was welcomed to the show by Jake Lamb, who deposited a pitch into the right field bleachers to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. After back to back hits from Moncada and soon-to-be-punished Yermin Mercedes, Ober settled down to retire the side. Ex-Twin and current sweaty grizzly bear Lance Lynn struggled in the first, before getting Miguel Sanó to pop out to end a two-on threat. The Sox added on in the third, Moncada doubling home Lamb. Yasmani Grandal then added a two run home run off Ober, on one of his few mistake pitches. Despite surrendering 4 ER in his first 4 innings, Ober’s stuff looks like it will play at the back end of an MLB rotation. In what is already a lost season, Twins fans will want to see more. Sanó continued his improved at bats with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the 4th, keeping his hands inside a Lance Lynn cutter, trimming the deficit to 4-1. Five Innings of Bull...pen Ober surrendered the game to a returned Cody Stashak in the 5th inning. Stashak worked two scoreless inning, *lowering* his ERA to 7.11. Sanó added his second home run of the night after an excellent at bat in the bottom of the 6th, working a 3-2 count after being down 0-2 and depositing a pitch to straight away center field. Larnach followed up with a 114 mph single to right field, before Kyle Garlick grounded out to short to end the threat. Late Inning Drama After entering in the 7th and beginning the inning with as Moncada groundout, Tyler Duffey was ejected after throwing behind Yermin Mercedes. Rocco Baldelli was ejected in quick succession after arguing with home plate umpire Jim Reynolds. The million dollar question: did Duffey throw at Mercedes on purpose? You decide. In an improbable turn of events, Miguel Sanó hit his third home run of the game in the bottom of the 8th, an opposite field shot of Aaron Bummer, tying the game at 4. Taylor Rogers entered in the top of the 9th, and struck out Yasmani Grandal, giving the Twins an opportunity to walk off in the bottom of the 9th. In the bottom of the 9th, Simmons singled, Cruz moved him to second with a weak groundout. Tony La Russa intentionally walked Luis Arraez before a Donaldson fly out moved Simmons to third base. Enter Jorge Polanco. Polanco's walk off was an outstanding end to what seemed like another inevitable defeat. Whether the Twins can put more wins together and turn their season around, remains to be seen. What were your thoughts on the game today? Is Miggy back? Did Duffey throw a Mercedes? Weigh in below. Bleacher Tweets On my recap days, I’m going to throw in a crowd sourced statistic, joke, story, or complaint to get more voices into the recap. Tonight's depressing offering is courtesy of noted grump Cody Pirkl. Bullpen Usage Chart FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Thielbar 29 0 28 0 0 57 Stashak 0 17 0 0 35 52 Rogers 0 0 12 0 27 39 Robles 0 17 0 0 17 34 Duffey 0 0 26 0 5 31 Colomé 0 7 0 0 19 26 Alcala 0 0 0 18 0 18 What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send Matt Shoemaker to the hill against Lucas Giolito. First pitch is at 12:10 CT. View full article

The Twins reached a new trough Wednesday, getting hammered by the White Sox. The lethargy with which the team has been playing is quickly spreading across a once energized fan base. The gulf in class between the two teams was as cavernous Wednesday night as the deficit J.A. Happ put the Twins in by the end of the fourth inning. Box Score Happ: 3.1 IP, 9 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO Home Runs: Cruz (9) Bottom 3 WPA: Happ -.517, Simmons -0.94, Sano -0.65 Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Injury Updates The Twins provided positive injury news Wednesday, with Alex Kirilloff showing signs of progress from a wrist strain. In the relentless carousel of Twins relievers, Shaun Anderson was recalled to replace Devin Smeltzer, who was placed on the 10 day IR with elbow inflammation. Twins Take Early Lead, Surrender it in Comically Expedited Fashion The Twins started the game well. Nelson Cruz clubbed his 9th HR of the season to left center field. Tom Froemming tried to warn me, and I didn’t listen. The White Sox came into the game slashing .300/.387/.471 against left handed pitching. J.A. Happ took the mound for the Twins. If nothing else, Happ’s previous two seasons with the Yankees have deprived baseball fans of a truly elite beard. Full yet even, with the right balance of salt and pepper to fit into a dramatized reenactment on History Channel, Happ was ready for the White Sox. They wasted no time demolishing him, immediately hitting a single, two doubles, and a triple...in the first inning. The Sox took a 2-1 lead after one. Known Twins Killer, Billy Hamilton? The Sox quickly added on in the second, career .323 SLG Billy Hamilton ripping a triple off Happ, before scampering home on a wild pitch which seemed to spell the beginning of the evergreen evening Twins fans have experienced all season. The Twins fought back however, Josh Donaldson exemplifying a strong offensive approach in staying away from Dallas Keuchel’s soft and away stuff to poke a two run, opposite field single through the hole, to cut the lead to 4-3. White Sox Pour it On The story of the Twins season however, in addition to a lot of losing, is at least one phase of play letting them down on a nightly basis. Today, it was Happ. White Sox prospect Andrew Vaughn crushed a two run home run off Happ in the bottom of the 4th to increase the lead to 6-3, before Hamilton added a double. This elevated Happ’s pitch count to almost 80 in the bottom of the 4th with none out. Not the position to put a bad bullpen in when the Twins are in the midst of a stretch of 17 games in 16 days. Some time elapsed. At the end of the 4h inning, the Twins were down 9-3. Newly promoted Shaun Anderson relieved Happ in the 4th. He gave up a solo homer to previously struggling Yasmani Grandal in the 5th to extend the lead to 10-3. Some more time elapsed. At the end of the 5h inning, the Twins were down 12-3. In spite of his final pitching line, Anderson’s stuff was intriguing. He showcased good velocity and a sharp bite to his slider. Given then he threw over 50 pitches, he will likely be replaced by a fresh arm Thursday, but warrants a further look from the Twins. The Twins continued to execute decently against Keuchel in the 6th, with 3 consecutive singles cutting the lead to a mere 8. Jorge Polanco is a clear reason for optimism amongst Twins fans. In addition to his increased consistency from both sides of the plate, Polanco’s last 100 plate appearances show a clear improvement Twins fans should be excited for moving into May, with approximately 130 games left in the 2021 season. A two run Luis Arraez single closed the lead to 12-7 after the top of the 6th. The Final Third In the final third of the game, Twins twitter continued to provide sobering perspective on the state of the still young 2021 season. Scott Badger put the division into perspective. Alexander Colomé pitched a scoreless (gasp) 7th for the Twins, despite two deep fly ball outs. The Twins offered little offensively in the 8th or 9th save Trevor Larnach’s first big league hit, a double to right field off Liam Hendriks. The Twins fell to 12-22, 9 games behind the first place White Sox. Bullpen Usage Chart Click here to see the bullpen usage over the past five days (link opens a Google Sheet). What’s Next? On Thursday, the Twins will send Michael Pineda to the hill against ex-Twin Lance Lynn. First pitch is at 1:10 CT. View full article

The Twins looked as if they would continue their hot streak Tuesday, until another harrowing bullpen performance cost the team yet another winnable game. J.A. Happ delivered another strong performance against old friend Kyle Gibson.Box Score Happ: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 K Home Runs: Buxton (9), Astudillo (3) Bottom 3 WPA: Waddell -.293, Rogers -.245, Polanco -.218 Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Download attachment: Rangers.png Arraez to IL, Kirilloff Scratched Luis Arraez was placed on the 7 day concussion IL after a home plate collision on Monday, with Nick Gordon being recalled on MiLB opening night (what does he have to do to get an at bat?) Elsewhere, hot hitting Alex Kirilloff was a late scratch from the lineup after experiencing wrist soreness which is likely to cause significant anxiety for Twins Territory until the extent of the injury is known. Dueling Aces? Elsewhere, the battle of the mound consisted of the Twins most effective pitcher this season against an old friend, as J.A. Happ took on Kyle Gibson. After getting rocked on opening day, Gibson has been excellent for Texas, dominating for an ERA in the low twos, in addition to not allowing a home run. That changed early Tuesday, as Byron Buxton continued his torrid season, launching a 433 foot home run into the bullpen on a sinker left up by Gibson. Gibson then settled in, retiring nine straight Twins hitters before Mitch Garver ripped a 100 mph single to right field, continuing his encouraging trend of squaring up the ball with more consistency in recent games. Happ meanwhile, was giving up plenty of hard contact, with batted ball events with xBA of .650, .970, .930, and .500. Tortuga Adds On In spite of Gibson’s excellence, the Twins managed to add on in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gibson hung a slider to Willians Astudillo, who deposited it into the left field seats for his third home run of the year. Despite not making it through the sixth inning, Happ again gave the Twins an excellent chance to win the game, lowering his ERA in 2021 to 1.91. Hansel Robles replaced Happ with a man on base and Joey Gallo at the plate. Gallo grounded out to first before Willie Calhoun struck out looking to end the inning. While Happ is due for some regression, his 3.75 xERA is an excellent return on the Twins investment so far in 2021, a product of his ability to generate consistently soft contact. Over to the Pen With the Twins bullpen remaining one of the biggest issues with the team currently, Robles came back out for seventh. David Dahl crushed a 103 mph line drive after a strong at bat at the top of the 7th, but made the mistake of hitting it to the area of the field covered by Byron Buxton. Baldelli faced an interesting bullpen decision in the top of the eighth, inserting Tyler Duffey in the top of the inning, despite having thrown 24 pitchers Monday night. Despite giving up a ground rule double, Duffey struck out Adolis Garcia before turning the ball over to Joey Gallo, who had taken Taylor Rogers deep for a two run home run on Monday night. Rogers won round two, getting Gallo to strike out swinging to end the eighth. Rogers took the top of the ninth, and immediately served up a home run to Willie Calhoun, cutting the lead to one. Donaldson was then unable to play a Culberson ground ball to third. Culberson came around to score on a sac fly to shallow center field which Andrelton Simmons did incredibly well to snag. Solak flew out to end the inning with the score tied at three heading to the bottom of the ninth. Extra Innings? Familiar Outcome Joely Rodríguez entered in the bottom of the ninth for Texas, easily dispatching the heart of the Twins lineup, before Rocco Baldelli brought in Brandon Waddell for the 10th. A taxed Twins bullpen produced an outcome all too familiar and pitiful in close and late situations in 2021. Waddell served up a two run home run to Adolis Garcia. It’s telling that with almost no relievers available, Baldelli preferred Waddell to Alexander Colome. Wednesday’s game with spot starter Lewis Thorpe promises to be challenging if Thorpe struggles. Garver singled Polanco to third to lead off the bottom of the 10th. Jake Cave then struck out, before Astudillo ground into a double play to end another late game meltdown. What is your take on the Twins performances over the last week? How do you think the team will absorb new injuries and manage a taxed bullpen throughout the rest of the week? Bullpen Usage Chart Click here to see the bullpen usage over the past five days (link opens a Google Sheet). What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send Lewis Thorpe to the hill for a spot start against Rangers lefty Hyeon-Jong Yang. First pitch is at 6:40 CT. Click here to view the article

Jorge Polanco has struggled mightily offensively in 2021, particularly as a left handed hitter. Should Polanco continue to switch hit in the face of such consistent struggles, or hit from the right side full time?A front office stroke of genius has quickly turned into a move viewed with apathy by the Twins fan base. When the Twins signed Jorge Polanco to a five-year, $25 million extension prior to the 2019 season, Polanco’s subsequent appearance as the starting SS for the AL All Star Team had Twins fandom in raptures. Since then, Polanco has regressed significantly at the plate, with no struggle more evident than the switch hitters inability to hit right handed pitchers batting left handed. Let’s rewind to a happier time. It’s 2019 and Polanco has made his first All Star team. Polanco, fresh off a team friendly, front loaded extension, has managed a searing 129 wRC+ and .367 wOBA in the first half. As his name is announced over the PA system while playing an 18 inning game against the Tampa Bay Rays, a surreal grin spreads unstoppably across his face. The Twins had found a top of the order hitter for the next five years, one who had just beaten out Gleybar Torres and Carlos Correa for an All-Star appearance. Fast forward to 2021 and Polanco is in the doldrums. Polanco has plateaued, then regressed, his progression hindered by multiple ankle surgeries. In a young 2021 season, Polanco is worth -0.2 fWAR and has amassed a 44 wRC+, making him about 65% worse than an average MLB hitter. Particularly of note since his ankles began to trouble him is his performance from the left side of the plate. It’s time to question whether Polanco has any business switch hitting. Download attachment: polanco.png 2019 was an outlying year for Polanco as a left handed hitter. 16 of his 22 home runs came from the left side of the plate, in addition to a .306 average and 133 wRC+. 2020 and the beginning of 2021 have been a spiral in the wrong direction. Over that span, Polanco has seen his average drop .136 points, his isolated power evaporate, and his ground ball rate from the left side increase close to 25%. There are too many concerning metrics about Polanco’s performance as a left handed hitter to simply explain away. Polanco’s penchant for ground balls when batting left handed is a severe detriment to the rest of his offensive game. In 2019, his BABIP as a left handed hitter was .334, followed by .264 in 2020, and .200 so far in 2021. All that adds up to a 33 wRC+ left handed, compared to 95 wRC+ as a right handed hitter since the beginning of 2020. It’s both notable and noticeable that Polanco’s left handed swing looks awkward. Gone is the swaggy, confident look of a hitter able to spray the ball to all fields. Polanco now spins out of his left handed swing, no longer getting into the base of his core and his legs, a result which usually results in a ground ball to the pull side. Polanco’s transition to second base will advantage the Twins defensively long term. In Andrelton Simmons, Minnesota has, at least temporarily, an elite defensive shortstop, whose range, arm and defensive savvy no analytically laden positioning can outmaneuver. Offensively, the bottom half of the Twins order has been completely lost. While the lineup without Kepler has been short of effective left handed bats, Polanco from the left side is as good as a free out so far in 2021. Until he gets back on track offensively, the Twins second baseman has no business switch hitting. More from Twins Daily Trevor Larnach on the Minor Leagues, Prospect Rankings, and Where he Still Needs to Improve How Long Will the Twins Be Able to Keep Thad Levine Click here to view the article

The Twins showed signs of early offensive life Tuesday before slumping to another lifeless defeat, characterized by the poor play which has encapsulated their 2021 season.Box Score Maeda: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 K Home Runs: Buxton (7) Bottom 3 WPA: Maeda -.180, Garver -.154, Arraez -.117 Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Download attachment: chart (4).png Buxton Returns to Strengthened Lineup Byron Buxton returned to the lineup Tuesday, after a bout of patellar tendinitis. Kyle Garlick and Max Kepler cleared COVID protocols, promising further reinforcements later in the week. Rocco Baldelli also reported that Miguel Sanó’s hamstring is close to one hundred percent, meaning the Twins could be at full strength by the weekend. Twins Bats Come Out Strong The Twins bats came out strong against CBT starter Aaron Civale, who had excelled early in the 2021 season. A Byron Buxton infield single in which he reached 30.9 ft/s was followed up by a Nelson Cruz triple (yes, you read that right). Kirilloff then followed up with an RBI single but was thrown out by Cleveland left fielder Eddie Rosario attempting to turn a single into a double. Maeda Still Out of Command Kenta Maeda gave a run back immediately in the bottom of the first, as Jose Ramirez deposited a center cut fastball into the right field seats. In the bottom of the third, Franmil Reyes followed up with this. The Twins surrendered the lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Alex Kirilloff took a bad route to a fly ball to left field, fumbling the ball off his glove leading to a double on a batted ball which had an xBA of .090. The Twins evened up the game in the 4th, stringing together a single from Cruz, another from Astudillo, and a double from Cave. In a stretch where the offense has been so ineffective, it was at least encouraging that the Twins had five batted balls over 100 mph by the end of the 4th inning. Little did we know that would be almost the end of the Twins offensive threat. Cleveland Takes the Lead for Good Cleveland took the lead again in the bottom of the 6th, Franmil Reyes swatting a Maeda fastball over the left field wall for his second home run of the night. A Josh Naylor double spelled the end of the night for Maeda. In a Twins season marred by poor execution and underperformance, Maeda continues to be a microcosm of the problem, again failing to muster the command his stuff requires. A Jake Bauers double off Caleb Thielbar’s curveball made it 5-3 Cleveland at the end of six innings. A two run lead would prove enough for Cleveland. Byron Buxton crushed his 7th home run of the season in the 8th, off an Aaron Civale curveball, cutting the lead to one. Once again, the Twins needed someone to come up in a big spot for them. Once again Nelson Cruz and Byron Buxton answered the call. One again, no one else did. Buxton’s solo home run in the 8th inning was the Twins lone hit after the 4th inning. Rocco Baldelli brought in he embattled reliever Alexander Colomé in the bottom of the 8th. Colomé promptly hit Josh Naylor and walked three batters before being pulled by Jorge Alcala. Alcala hit a batter, scoring another run, before striking out Jose Ramirez to end a miserable inning of Twins pitching. Another game, another pitiful performance by a team expected to be one of the best in baseball. After a positive start to the season, the Twins have lost 13 of their last 15 games. You have to imagine Twins fans may transition from passionate and upset at the performance of their team, to tired and apathetic in short order. And who can blame them? Night after night of poor baseball and failed execution is tough to watch. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here to see the bullpen usage over the past five days (link opens a Google Sheet). What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send J.A. Happ to the hill against Logan Allen. First pitch is at 12:10 CT. Click here to view the article