JoshDungan1

Thankfully it sounds like it would be Pablo vs. Verlander in Game 5, with a TBD on the starter in Game 4 for the 'Stros.

Just went and looked, appears as though he's made three postseason appearances on fewer than four days' rest. One was on just two days' rest after he started game one for Detroit in 2011 and then was yanked after just the one inning and then he came back two days later to throw eight innings of six hit/four-run ball with three walks and 11 K's. One of the two remaining short-rest appearances was a two-and-two-thirds stint for Houston against Boston in the ALDS Game 4 where he allowed a hit, two walks and one run on a homer and the 'Stros won 5-4. His only full start appearance on short rest came in the 2019 ALDS when he started on three days' rest, went three-and-two-thirds and allowed seven hits and all four runs in a Houston 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay. And that was four years ago when he had even less mileage on his arm; if the Twins really can force the Astros into needing to use him, that could be a huge advantage for them, because he doesn't have much experience pitching long-term on that short of rest. Sonny needs to have the outing of his life tomorrow and the Twins need to be prepared for Javier. Get this to 2-1 in our favor and Houston's in deep, deep trouble with us having another game at home.

Quite frankly I'd be shocked if Houston doesn't go to Verlander in Game 4 if the Twins win Game 3 even if it is on three days rest. You can't have a potential season-ender pitched by whatever B-list starters they might otherwise go to, and Verlander's had some okay short-rest playoff performances if memory serves. Winning the Sonny game would be huge for us for that exact reason, forcing Verlander back on short rest on the road while having a reliable third starting option for us pitching when and where he's best is a definite advantage for us, even if the name advantage does lean quite hard towards the Astros.

I don't believe it's possible for a judgment call play like that by the umps to be challenged, but I'm glad to be proven wrong if someone's got the rules on replay reviews.

Benefits of having fans fully involved in the game. True home-field advantage there.

I think that we were able to get our offense going at all is the important thing. A team that couldn't buy a clutch hit against literally anybody in the first half of the season found guys they could rely on to get those hits, and jettisoned players that weren't up to snuff. As for the Luplow thing, I understand why they were doing it, they had a plan for who they wanted to pitch today and when they reached the end of that list, they went with whoever they thought would end the game soonest. I don't like that we just gave the game up, but we also had the opportunity to win with an actual pitcher on the mound and we couldn't get it done.

I'd rather the track meet tbqh. That's where the better pitching usually wins out. Plus we've shown that we can keep it from becoming much of a track meet against the Rangers, especially with the weather advantage usually slowing down offenses.

Yeah it's tough cause if we're talking about pitching, Texas is the better opponent for us (easier starters to hit by far) but if we're talking about offenses, Seattle's definitely the easier lineup to shut down. Seattle offense: Has had four months of the season (March/April, May, June, September) where they've hit below .240 as a team. Hits a flat .200 in their losses with an OPS of .600, while hitting .279 in wins with an OPS of .849. Texas offense: Never hit below .250 in a month, have yet to have a month where their team OPS drops below .765. Hit a smoking .302 in their wins and .220 in their losses, with a .904 OPS in the wins and a .654 in the losses. Plus we've also gotten a very recent look at Texas and know what their pitchers are bringing and that we're capable of hitting even their best. It's been a little while with Seattle, and that could be a bit of an issue for us.

While true, both teams have known to surprise, and the Astros also still have series against the Diamondbacks, Orioles and Mariners on their docket, which may well determine who wins that division.

You mean beyond their franchise disinterest in spending money in free agency? They also need a major upgrade on Myles Straw (and not just because of what happened tonight) in center, dude's never broken a .600 OPS or had an OPS+ above 70 in the two seasons now he's been their primary center fielder. Not a chance in hell they splurge on Cody Bellinger (especially since there's probably a bidding war for him after this rebound season), and there's really not that many other premier center fielders they can go out and get to upgrade. Also if we're being real, outside of Bellinger, next year's outfield free agent class has more speed to it than power or hitting for average. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but the Guardians could definitely use a hitter with that extra level of pop to his bat, and I don't think that kind of guy is rolling through the door. Let's be real, they're probably closer to trading away their one remaining good hitter in Ramirez and fully sinking into the suck fest than actually building a consistent lineup. The downside of having an owner that doesn't give a s**t.

On the downside, the winning streak comes to an end. On the minor upside, Jhoan Duran has pitched just twice in the last week. He's needed that kind of break. Also, it's been really nice that we've been able to finish out both of the last two games relying on just one relief pitcher in each game.

Blame the blackouts, inability to view the game and complete and utter failure to market the game on that. Plus the league is freaking draconian when it comes to highlights being posted on alternate sites like Twitter/Facebook/even Tik Tok I'd bet.

@roger@FlyingFinn Here's what I found on the Development List: With approval of the MLB Commissioner, a player on a minor league Domestic Reserve List can be placed on the Development List if the player is at the parent organization's Minor League Spring Training Complex or at a club-approved training facility for the purpose(s) of conditioning and/or development, or if the player has been loaned to a club in another MLB organization, to a club in the Mexican League, or to a club in an independent MLB partner league. NOTE: There must first be an agreement in place between MLB and the partner league before players under control of MLB organizations can be loaned to a club in that league. A player on Optional Assignment from an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) can be placed onto the Development List of the minor league affiliate to which he has been optioned, but only with consent of the player. A player cannot be placed on the Development List for the purpose of injury rehabilitation or disciplinary action. A player can be placed on the Development List only during his minor league club's regular season, the player must remain on the Development List for at least seven days, and the player must be reinstated from the Developmental List no later than the day after the conclusion of his minor league club's season. A player on the Development List counts against the in-season minor league 180-man Domestic Reserve List (or MLB 40-man roster if the player is on Optional Assignment), but he does not count against the minor league club's Active List roster. A player is paid by the MLB club while he is on the Development List. Source: https://www.thecubreporter.com/book/mlb-roster-rules-presented-arizona-phil-34 Can't necessarily speak to the accuracy, but it's the top result and seems to make sense.

The flyout that people are mentioning was about 10 feet short of his third home run of the game, and off the bat it 100 percent looked like it was his third of the game.

Crazy how much bullpen depth we have at the ready right now. Might not be the top-end guys that other teams have, but if we need a guy to come up and save our arms for a couple games, we sure have that in spades!

And here I thought Guaranteed Rate Field would remain the dumbest stadium name in baseball for a long, long time. Didn't take long for that to be made completely wrong!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand Thorpe was just optioned.

We do remember when not even Dozier had Dozier's power, right?

Hacks me off we don't get Rooker for the playoffs. Man I loved what he was doing at the plate, even if he wasn't that good in the field.

Especially with how much torque goes into his swing. I mean all swings heavily involve the knees but Arraez in particular I'm sure has to be careful with his.

What could also now happen that we're (for the moment) in first in the division is that the A's take second seed, we could get the third seed, and then we'd be playing the Astros.

I'm glad they went with Wade. I've always had a soft spot for a guy like Wade who can work a walk with a great eye that can drive a pitcher nuts at the plate (one of the reasons why I was an Arraez fan early last year). Hopefully Arraez heals up quick and can be of use to the team in the second round if they make it that far (though if they feel he's healthy earlier, that's good too!)

Though it should be said that FTMP Twins pitchers are probably leading the league in not leaving in the middle of innings, or at worst in the top three. They've done pretty well at getting in and getting out and then passing along to the next guy for the next inning.

We have a stupidly low BABIP against Skubal this season, hopefully that reverts a little tonight.

This one actually surprised me a little, though maybe I haven't been actually watching enough games to notice when Stashak is getting his heaviest workload.