Tom Froemming

Bad teams fail to execute, good teams make you pay for mistakes. Jorge Polanco committed an error on what could have been a double-play ball in the second inning and the Astros capitalized, scoring a pair of runs that frame. The Twins, on the other hand, had numerous scoring chances that they failed to follow through on. They actually out-hit Houston 8-4 in this one.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Gibson: 53 Game Score, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 5 K, 1 BB, 59.2% strikes (58 of 98 pitches) Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Mauer (2-for-5) WPA of 0.1 or higher: None WPA of -0.1 or lower: Austin -.124, Polanco -.131, Gibson -.174 Download attachment: WinChart93.png At the point where Houston went up 3-0 in the second inning, I thought “I wonder if Chris Gimenez can pitch back-to-back days?” Gibson settled in, however, and pitched very well from there forward. One thing that hurt Gibby was a horribly-timed error by Jorge Polanco. With no outs in the second and a runner on first, Polanco could not handle a potential double-play ball. The Astros went on to score two runs that inning. It was Polanco’s 10th error in just his 53rd game this season. Unfortunately, the Twins’ lineup could not emulate that bounce back from Gibby. The only run came in the sixth inning, but they had plenty of other scoring chances. They managed to leave the bases loaded in both the first and ninth innings. The Twins combined to go 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, left 11 men on base and racked up 13 strikeouts. In addition to the costly error, Polanco left six men on base. During the game it was announced that the Twins would be adding John Curtiss, Chase De Jong and Gregorio Petit to their active roster now that Rochester’s season has concluded. I typically don’t get into the broadcasts much in these recaps, mainly because I have audio muted quite a bit of the time, but I just wanted to say that I really enjoy LaTroy Hawkins as Dick Bremer’s analyst. He’s pretty sparse, leaving plenty of room for Dick to call the game, but when he chimes in it’s worth listening to. Like a lot of the former players, Hawk has some great little anecdotes from his playing days and is also good for a one-liner here and there, but at the same time he never has the “well back in my day” tone that some of the other former players have. The thing I appreciate most is LaTroy will comment on a pitcher’s arsenal, how their pitches move and will detail what’s going on in the cat and mouse game between the pitcher and the hitter from time. Bert Blyleven’s simply been at it for a long time, and he and Dick seem to have the dynamic of an old married couple at this point. Justin Moreau is good when they’ve used him as the third man with another analyst, but I don’t think he’s been strong on his own. Roy Smalley is pretty solid, but talks way too much. Torii Hunter is pretty fun, and is a really good storyteller, but I don’t think he’s as good at keeping the focus on the game as Hawkins is. On the other end, Jack Morris is a bit of a grump. If FSN puts Dick in the booth with both Hawkins and Morneau, that would equate to must-listen baseball in my mind. But again, I’ve missed a ton of the broadcasts because I tend to put them on mute, so I’m interested in any opinions from the Twins Daily community. Drumming up conversations about the broadcast … yup, it’s September of a losing season alright FYI: Now that the rosters have expanded and the Twins aren’t playing meaningful games anyway, I won’t be including the bullpen usage chart going forward. Next Three Games Tue at HOU, 7:10 pm CT: TBD vs. Justin Verlander Wed at HOU, 7:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Framber Valdez Thu: Off Fri vs. KC, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games TEX 18, MIN 4: Speechless TEX 7, MIN 4: Is Jose OK? MIN 10, TEX 7: Tex-plosion! Click here to view the article

He’s back! The Twins re-acquired 2017 two-way sensation Chris Gimenez at the waiver trade deadline, and his presence on the roster immediately paid off. Gimenez pitched and hit a home run Sunday. Shohei Ohtani? Pfft, who needs 'em!?!?!? Read on for the full rundown of everything you need to know (and a bunch of stuff you’d rather forget) from the past seven days.Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 8/27 through Sun, 9/2 Record Last Week: 2-4 (63-73 overall) Run Differential Last Week: -22 (-59 overall) Standing: Second place in AL Central (-14) HIGHLIGHTS Most of the positive news coming out of Twins Territory this week had to do with the minor leagues, so you’ll want to make sure and check out the “down on the farm” section. As for the major league club, the entire starting pitching staff is struggling and the offense has had difficulties scoring runs. Pretty tough to find silver linings when that’s the case. Luckily, Jake Cave and a couple of the guys in the bullpen have continued to impress. Cave has homered in three straight games and has six homers in his last 13 games. Trevor May pitched 2 ⅔ scoreless innings and struck out six batters in the process. His ERA is down to 1.88 and he’s racked up 22 strikeouts in 14 ⅓ innings while walking just three batters. Taylor Rogers added 2 ⅔ innings to his scoreless streak, which is now at 14 ⅔ innings. He’s only given up seven hits and a walk over that span and has stranded eight of the nine runners he’s inherited in the process. Also, Joe Mauer reached another milestone this week, scoring the 1,000th run of his career, and Willians Astudillo hit his first Major League home run. Left-handed reliever Andrew Vasquez, a former 32nd-round pick who opened the year with the Fort Myers Miracle, made his Major League debut Saturday. He recorded two outs in that game, giving up an unearned run due to his own two errors. OK, so maybe that wasn’t such a hallmark moment, but debuts are always highlights in my book. LOWLIGHTS Everything else. The Twins’ established starting pitchers all appear to be fighting through some things right now. Kyle Gibson (5 ER in 5.1 IP), Jake Odorizzi (3 ER in 5.1 IP) and Jose Berrios (5 ER in 4.0 IP) combined for a 7.98 ERA this week. To make matters worse, the rookies struggled as well. Kohl Stewart (3 ER in 4.2 IP), Stephen Gonsalves (3 ER in 3.2 IP) and Zack Littell (2 ER in 4.0 IP) combined for a 5.84 ERA, and even combining to allow four unearned runs. So yeah, the defense was real bad too. Littell served as the “primary pitcher” in the Twins’ first experiment with the opener Sunday. It was was a complete disaster in what ended up being an embarrassing 18-4 loss. It’s not like the offense was firing on all cylinders, either. They averaged 4.3 runs per game this week even with a 10-run effort sprinkled in there. One of the big dates on the transaction calendar passed this week, as Aug. 31 was the deadline for waiver trades. The only move the Twins made was to send Bobby Wilson to the Cubs for Gimenez and a player to be named. Big news, I know. TRENDING STORYLINE Rosters expanded on Sept. 1, meaning the Twins had enough room to activate Matt Belisle off the DL and call up Gimenez. Yay! Vasquez, Littell, Tyler Duffey and Johnny Field, were also added to the active roster. With the minor league season ending there will likely be a few more guys who join the Twins early this week. A couple players we know will not be joining the Twins are Fernando Romero and Byron Buxton. Romero has pitched a career-high 146 ⅔ innings this season, and has been showing some signs of fatigue over his past five starts, so the team is deciding to shut him down to avoid any further stress on his arm. There was a lot of good discussion already at the site about Buxton leading up to this decision. First in Nick’s Awkward Decisions article, then in Ted’s piece titled Hardball, the Twins and Byron Buxton. I don’t feel the need to rehash everything here, since it’s already been well-covered and I’m sure will continue to be a topic of discussion. Make sure to check out this week’s episode of Gleeman and the Geek for more. The reasoning the Twins, through GM Thad Levine, have provided on that move are not exactly clear. There was some acknowledgement that service time had something to do with the move, but the club is also insisting that Buxton’s left wrist injury continues to bother him. Anyway, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press did an excellent job of reporting on the decision. I recommend you go check out his article from Saturday evening if you’re interested in seeing how Levine addressed questions. Personally, I think it’s clear this has everything to do with manipulating his service time in order to gain an extra year of control. Absolutely 100 percent. If his wrist is still bothering him, why in the world was he even playing games for Rochester in the first place? If the Twins were in the playoff hunt right now, Buxton would be on this team. Anyway, moving on ... Now that we know who’s up and who’s definitely headed home at the conclusion of the minor league season, who’s left? The only other healthy players on the 40-man roster are John Curtiss, Chase De Jong and Lewis Thorpe. Like Romero, Thorpe has already established a new career-high in innings pitched, but (unlike Romero), he’s finishing strong. Thorpe got called up to Rochester for his final four starts and pitched to a 3.32 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 4.33 K:BB ratio (10.8 K/9, 2.5 BB/9). DOWN ON THE FARM On the final day of their regular season, the Fort Myers Miracle clinched a playoff appearance. They entered Sunday a game back, meaning they need to win AND the team they were chasing had to lose. They pulled it off, as a 2-1 Miracle victory combined with a 5-2 loss by the Charlotte Stone Crabs sent Fort Myers to the postseason. Brusdar Graterol (4.2 IP), Jovani Moran (2.1 IP) and Colton Davis (2.0 IP) were up to the task, combining to give up just one run. Aaron Whitefield drove in a run on a single in the fourth inning, stole second base, stole third base and scored on a throwing error by the catcher. The Miracle open their series against the Palm Beach Cardinals Tuesday night. Cedar Rapids also qualified for the playoffs, and will kickoff its playoff series Wednesday evening Elizabethton has already opened up postseason play, and won its matchup in the Appalachian League Semifinals. The E-Twins are trying to defend their 2017 league title, and take their eighth Appy League Championship since the turn of the millennium. Game 1 against the Princeton Rays is Tuesday evening. The participants for the Arizona Fall League were also announced this week. The Twins are sending pitchers Griffin Jax, Hector Lujan, Alex Robinson and Devin Smeltzer. The position players who are Arizona bound include Travis Blankenhorn, Jaylin Davis, Luke Raley and Brent Rooker. Additionally, Chattanooga manager Tommy Watkins will be managing the Salt River Rafters. The AFL season opens Oct. 9. LOOKING AHEAD The Twins head to Houston to play the defending World Series champion Astros. The series opens with a Labor Day matinee. After taking Thursday off, the Twins will come home to play their second to the last series of the season at Target Field. Monday, 9/3 at Houston, 1:10 pm CT Tuesday, 9/4 at Houston, 7:10 pm CT Wednesday, 9/5 at Houston, 7:10 pm CT Thursday, 9/6 OFF Friday, 9/7 vs. Kansas City, 7:10 pm CT Saturday, 9/8 vs. Kansas City, 6:10 pm CT Sunday, 9/9 vs. Kansas City, 1:10 pm CT CATCHING UP ON TWINS DAILY GAME RECAPS Game 130 | CLE 8, MIN 1: Where Did the Runs Go? Game 131 | MIN 4, CLE 3: Astudillo Gets First Homer, Mauer Scores 1,000th Run Game 132 | CLE 5, MIN 3: Odorizzi Fades, Busenitz Blows It Game 133 | MIN 10, TEX 7: Tex-plosion! Game 134 | TEX 7, MIN 4: Is Jose OK? Game 135 | TEX 18, MIN 4: Speechless Click here to view the article

What can you even say about this game? Well, to even call it Major League Baseball is an embarrassment on multiple levels. The Twins played very poorly, there was an epic ump show and things wound down with Chris Gimenez on the mound. What do we even call this? Total system failure is already taken.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Download attachment: WinChart92.png In the sixth inning, Matt Belilse made his first appearance since being activated off the disabled list. He threw three pitches, the last of which hit Adrian Beltre. For some reason, home plate umpire Alan Porter determined it was intentional and tossed Belisle. The score was already 10-0 at that time. In the eighth inning, Addison Reed got ejected for arguing balls and strikes. The score was 13-2 at that time. I hope Mr. Porter is real proud of himself for entertaining all the people who came out to the ballpark to see him. Gimenez came in to replace Reed, because of course. At least Gimenez provided a light-hearted finish to this game by hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. The Twins experimented with the opener today, starting things off with Gabriel Moya. He gave up a two-run homer in the first. Zack Littell came in for the next four innings and gave up three runs, though only two were earned. Oh yeah, the Twins also committed three errors today. Tyler Duffey recorded only one out and gave up five runs (four earned). Alan Busenitz recorded two outs and gave up a run on a homer. Reed gave up a run before he got tossed and the Rangers scored five runs off Gimenez in the eighth. If you ask me, it’s a little bit bush league to have your guys swinging out of their shoes against Gimenez. On the other hand, I guess it’s pretty bush of the Twins to have him pitching in the first place, especially in September when there should be an abundance of arms. Jake Cave was a bright spot for the Twins, as he hit his 10th home run of the season. He’s now gone deep in three straight games and has has six homers in his last 13 games. Postgame With Molitor Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen92.png Next Three Games Mon at HOU, 1:10 pm CT: TBD Tue at HOU, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Wed at HOU, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games TEX 7, MIN 4: Is Jose OK? MIN 10, TEX 7: Tex-plosion! CLE 5, MIN 3: Odorizzi Fades, Busenitz Blows It Click here to view the article

Should have qualified that with "relatively speaking." Basically just point to a guy in either Triple A or Double A and they'd be more intriguing than the Belisle/Gimenez/Field types on this roster right now. How about Jake Reed, Brian Navarreto and LaMonte Wade instead?

Yes, with the combination of travel and recent workload (I included his Triple-A appearances on the bullpen chart), it's certainly fair to have expected Vasquez not to be at the top of his game in his debut. I still don't mind Molly sneaking him in there for a short appearance just to get it out of the way. He's going to be a fun guy to watch, he's so different. As far as the September callup decisions, I think we know now that this front office is going to do everything it can to avoid having players accrue service time. These guys like Belisle, Gimenez and Field are around to hold back some of the other, more intriguing prospects.

Jose had that start where he was sick and came out the first couple innings down around 90. Tonight he was consistently 93-94, which is pretty typical. Yep, that's him. He uses his height to helps with deception/effective velocity and gets tons of grounders. He only gave up two homers in 178 total IP down on the farm. I don't have a good enough eye to know specifically what he's doing mechanically to make that happen, but he's just one of those guys who back in the day they'd say throws a "heavy" ball. He started this year all the way down in Fort Myers, so it's pretty wild to see him make it this far in one season.

Jose Berrios is one of very few Twins players who has actually taken a step forward so far this season. He should be the least of our concerns, but you can’t ignore what’s been a continuing downward trend of late. The Rangers hit three home runs off Berrios, as he gave up five runs and lasted just four innings in a loss at Texas Saturday night.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Berrios: 25 Game Score, 4.0 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 6 K, 3 BB, 58.0% strikes (51 of 88 pitches) Home Runs: Cave (9) Multi-Hit Games: Forsythe (3-for-4, 2B), Mauer (2-for-4, 2B), Cave (2-for-4, 2B, HR) WPA of 0.1 or higher: Forsythe .143, Cave .115 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Sano -.108, Grossman -.128, Polanco -.200, Berrios -.297 Download attachment: WinChart91.png This is the fifth consecutive start in which Berrios has failed to record an out in the sixth inning. Over that stretch, Jose has a 6.65 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 1.77 K:BB ratio and has given up seven home runs in just 21 2/3 innings pitched. I’m not sure if this is fatigue, though I doubt that, and there doesn't seem to be any evidence, such as a dip in velocity. Maybe he’s tipping his pitches again? Either way, having Berrios on a backslide would be a pretty rotten way to end what’s been a rotten year for Twins baseball. Here’s hoping he can turn it around from here forward. That start didn’t put the Twins in much of a position to win tonight, but it did serve as an opportunity to get Andrew Vasquez’s major league debut out of the way. He gave up a hit and a run while recording two outs. The run was unearned because Vasquez committed two errors in the inning. The 6-foot-6 lefty was as advertised on the mound, throwing his slider on 11 of his 16 pitches while topping out at 90.1 mph, per Baseball Savant. Jake Cave had another great night, going 2-for-4 with a double and a mammoth homer. He even added a nice catch in center field. Joe Mauer also collected two hits and Logan Forsythe had a three-hit night. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen91.png Next Three Games Sun at TEX, 2:05 pm CT: TBD (Zack Littell to be primary pitcher) vs. Yohander Mendez Mon at HOU, 1:10 pm CT: TBD Tue at HOU, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games MIN 10, TEX 7: Tex-plosion! CLE 5, MIN 3: Odorizzi Fades, Busenitz Blows It MIN 4, CLE 3: Astudillo Gets First Homer, Mauer Scores 1,000th Run Click here to view the article

Elizabethton lost a wild Game 2 of the Appalachian League Semifinals, but the E-Twins can still advance to the finals if they win Sunday evening. Chris Williams was the offensive star of the night, though Luke Raley also had an excellent game, while Carlos Suniaga and Edwar Colina delivered the strongest pitching performances. Come check out what else happened around the minor league system Saturday night.TRANSACTIONS -Tyler Duffey, Johnny Field and Andrew Vasquez were all called up to the Twins. Zack Littell is also expected to get called up for Sunday’s game. -Omar Bencomo and Dietrich Enns were both promoted up from Chattanooga to Rochester. -Bryan Sammons was activated from the DL and assigned to Chattanooga. He made his Double-A debut tonight. RED WINGS REPORT Lehigh Valley 2, Rochester 1 Box Score SP: Fernando Romero (3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Kennys Vargas (2-for-4) Fernando Romero struggled to find the strike zone and the Red Wings’ lineup couldn’t get much going. Romero walked five batters in his three innings of work, throwing 38 of his 73 pitches for strikes in the process (52.1 percent). Rochester’s only run was scored in the first inning. Nick Gordon hit a two-out triple and scored on a Kennys Vargas single. D.J. Baxendale pitched a scoreless inning before Dietrich Enns held the IronPigs scoreless over the final five frames. Byron Buxton did not play. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Jackson 7, Chattanooga 5 Box Score SP: Bryan Sammons (4.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K) HR: Andy Wilkins (12) Multi-hit games: Luke Raley (3-for-5, 2B, 3B), Brian Navarreto (3-for-3, 2B, HBP) This was Bryan Sammons’ Double-A debut, and he got beat around a little bit (see above), though the six strikeouts are encouraging. Luke Raley, who will be representing the Twins in the Arizona Fall League this year, was a home run shy of the cycle and Brian Navarreto had a three-hit night as well. Andy Wilkins continued to provide power for the Lookouts. He hit his 12th home run in what’s been just 130 plate appearances for Chattanooga. Brent Rooker, who will also be participating in the AFL, was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks. MIRACLE MATTERS Clearwater 5, Fort Myers 2 (10 innings) Box Score SP: Edwar Colina (6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K) HR: Jose Miranda (3) Multi-hit games: None The Miracle took a 2-0 lead, but the Threshers tied it up on a two-run homer in the sixth, then scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning. It was a rough night for the Fort Myers lineup, as Nos. 1 and 2 hitters Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff combined to go 1-for-10 with a pair of strikeouts and the team combined to go 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Edwar Colina had a great night, striking out nine batters over 6 2/3 innings. Ryan Mason followed with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball before Hector Lujan gave up the runs in the 10th. This loss dropped Fort Myers to a game behind the Charlotte Stone Crabs in the Florida State League South standings. The Miracle play their final regular season game tomorrow. Lewis joined the Twins pregame broadcast on FSN for an interview, check it out: KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Beloit 2 Box Score W: Carlos Suniaga (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) SV: Jared Finkel (2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Gabriel Maciel (2-for-5, 2B), Trevor Larnach (2-for-3, 2B, BB), Ben Rodriguez (2-for-4, 2B), Ariel Montesino (2-for-3, BB, 2 SB) The Kernels did most of their damage tonight in the third inning. Ariel Montesino led things off with a walk, stole second base and advanced to third on a ground out. Michael Helman was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners. That Montesino-Helman combo was able to pull off a double steal, giving the Kernels their first run. Trevor Larnach hit a double that plated another run, and then scored on a Ben Rodriguez double to give Cedar Rapids a three-run inning. This was the first time Carlos Suniaga, who spent much of the early season as a reliever, pitched more than five innings. He went seven innings, remarkably needing just 83 pitches to do so, 61 of which were strikes (73.5 percent). E-TWINS E-NOTES *Appalachian League Semifinals* Kingsport 7, Elizabethton 6 (10 innings) Box Score SP: Luis Rijo (5.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Chris Williams (2-for-3, 2 2B, 2 BB), Alex Robles (2-for-3, 2 2B, BB) Elizabethton could have punched its ticket to the Appalachian League Finals, but they fell just short in a wild game. Kingsport jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the E-Twins even had the chance to bat. E-Town chipped away with runs in the second and fourth inning. The game-tying run came across thanks to a wild pitch. The catcher’s return throw attempting to get Ricky De La Torre got past the pitcher. Lean Marrero tried to score all the way from second base, but the pitcher retrieved the ball, tossed back to the catcher and caught Marrero to end the inning, leaving the game tied 3-3. And that’s how things would remain through nine innings. I was disappointed to see the new extra innings rule in which a runner starts on second base was carried forward to postseason play, and it certainly made an impact in this one. After combining to score six runs through nine innings, a total of seven runs were scored in the 10th. Kingsport tallied four runs in the top of the 10th, but the E-Twins nearly came back to tie it up again, scoring three runs before recording the first out of the inning. Elizabethton got the tying run all the way to third base, but couldn’t seal the deal. This was such an odd game. The E-Twins managed their six runs on just seven hits (Kingsport had 15), were only credited with four RBIs (the K-Mets committed four errors) and they also racked up 13 strikeouts. Chris Williams was, of course, a beast. In his five plate appearances, he had two doubles and two walks. After taking over for starter Luis Rijo, Kody Funderburk delivered four scoreless innings before running into all that trouble in the 10th. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Carlos Suniaga, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Chris Williams, Elizabethton TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed 1. Royce Lewis (FM): 1-for-5, K 2. Alex Kirilloff (FM): 0-for-5, K 3. Brusdar Graterol (FM): Did not pitch. 4. Nick Gordon (ROC): 1-for-4, 3B, R, 2 K 5. Stephen Gonsalves (MIN): Promoted to the Twins. 6. Trevor Larnach (CR): 2-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI, R 7. Brent Rooker (CHAT): 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB, SB 8. Akil Baddoo (CR): Did not play. 9. Wander Javier: Out of for the season 10. Zack Littell (MIN): Promoted to Twins. 11. Blayne Enlow (CR): Did not pitch. 12. LaMonte Wade (ROC): 0-for-4, 2 K 13. Travis Blankenhorn (FM): 1-for-3, BB, K 14. Lewis Thorpe (CHAT): Did not pitch. 15. Ben Rortvedt (FM): Did not play. 16. Yunior Severino (ET): 0-for-4, BB, R, 3 K 17. Lewin Diaz (FM): Out for the season. 18. Ryan Jeffers (CR): 1-for-4, 2B, BB, RBI, 3 K 19. Jacob Pearson (CR): 0-for-4 20. Luis Arraez (CHAT): 1-for-4, R, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Lehigh Valley, 5:05 pm CT: Omar Bencomo Chattanooga at Jackson, 2:05 pm CT: TBD Fort Myers vs. Clearwater, 11:00 am CT: Brusdar Graterol Cedar Rapids at Beloit, 2:00 pm CT: Randy Dobnak Elizabethton vs. Kingsport, 5:00 pm CT: Andrew Cabezas Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article

With the Twins falling behind 6-0 Friday night against the Rangers, it seemed like an incredibly tall task for their slumping offense to mount a comeback. It took them one inning. An offensive explosion in the fifth inning resulted in eight runs for the Twins. The Bullpen backed that up with a masterful performance to protect the lead.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Gonsalves: 18 Game Score, 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 0 K, 4 BB, 60.0% strikes (54 of 90 pitches) Home Runs: Austin (15), Cave (8) Multi-Hit Games: Garver (3-for-5, 2 2B), Mauer (2-for-5, 2B), Kepler (2-for-5) WPA of 0.1 or higher: Garver .343, Cave .260 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Gonsalves -.234 Download attachment: WinChart831.png That big fifth inning all started with a Tyler Austin home run, was highlighted by a Mitch Garver bases-clearing double and was capped off by a Jake Cave homer. Some familiar names on that list, but Andrew Vasquez comes as a bit of a surprise. Unlike some of the other relief options, he's not currently on the 40-man roster, and also has no previous MLB time. Vasquez is one of the front runners for Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year, as he's pitched to a 2.34 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 14.0 K/9 over 69 13 innings between three levels this season. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen831.png Next Three Games Sat at TEX, 7:05 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Yovani Gallardo Sun at TEX, 2:05 pm CT: TBD vs. Bartolo Colon Mon at HOU, 1:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games CLE 5, MIN 3: Odorizzi Fades, Busenitz Blows It MIN 4, CLE 3: Astudillo Gets First Homer, Mauer Scores 1,000th Run CLE 8, MIN 1: Where Did the Runs Go? Click here to view the article

Draw page views? Really? So we should never speculate on anything ever? Man, the Offseason Handbook is really gonna suck if that's the case Does the front office need to come out and detail their intentions? No, but I do think them not committing either way opens the door for them to be criticized.

Y'all know the minor league regular season ends on Labor Day, right? Not sure what AK can learn in four games with the Lookouts ...

So you would have just pulled Odorizzi after the fifth inning in which he set down the side in order on 10 pitches, finishing things off with a swinging strikeout on Lindor?

I mean Molly did pull him before he gave up any damage. He got Lindor, he got Brantley, what were you gonna do? Yank him right after the Ramirez walk?

Busenitz just isn't fooling anybody right now. I think he's used to Triple-A hitters chasing his curveball and that's just not happening much when he's at the MLB level. It's a good pitch, but he can't just bury it in the dirt and expect guys to go chasing it very often. On Kepler, coming into today he had the sixth-lowest BABIP among the 152 qualified hitters at .241. Some of that he can control -- he needs to hit fewer popups, for example -- but some of that is bad luck. As far as his high WAR, depending on where you're looking a lot of that is built off his excellent defense. FanGraphs has him rated as the 13th-best defensive outfielder in baseball.

Jake Odorizzi was cruising right along and then BAM, he couldn't find the strike zone. With one out in the sixth, Odorizzi issued consecutive four-pitch walks and was removed. Cleveland jumped all over Alan Busenitz to turn that into a decisive four-run inning.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Odorizzi: 55 Game Score, 5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 K, 3 BB, 56.4% strikes (53 of 94 pitches) Home Runs: Adrianza (6), Sano (13) Multi-Hit Games: None WPA of 0.1 or higher: Adrianza .218, Odorizzi .103 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Kepler -.116, Busenitz -.416 Download attachment: chart (2).png Odorizzi’s third time through the order issues are well documented. He got off to a great start the third time through, striking out Francisco Lindor to end the fifth. He also got Michael Brantley to pop out to open the sixth. Then came the consecutive four-pitch walks and the hook, but Odorizzi still exited this game with the Twins up 2-1. Busenitz came in and gave up a game-tying single to Yonder Alonso and then a three-day homer to Jason Kipnis. All the Twins’ runs came via the longball, as Ehire Adrianza hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning and Miguel Sano hit a solo shot in the ninth. Jorge Polanco's sat for the third straight game and Eddie Rosario left this one in the sixth inning due to a leg injury. This game was broadcast on Facebook, and their booth crew, including Glen Perkins, asked Paul Molitor during an in-game interview about future roster plans. He said a decision on Byron Buxton would be coming sometime in the next 24 hours and some of the specific names he mentioned among September callups were Tyler Duffey, John Curtiss and Zack Littell. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Screenshot_20180830-152420~2.png Next Three Games Fri at TEX, 7:05 pm CT: Stephen Gonsalves vs. Drew Hutchison Sat at TEX, 7:05 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Yovani Gallardo Sun at TEX, 2:05 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games MIN 4, CLE 3: Astudillo Gets First Homer, Mauer Scores 1,000th Run CLE 8, MIN 1: Where Did the Runs Go? OAK 6, MIN 2: Austin Goes Deep Twice in Loss Click here to view the article

Let him hit .100, who cares, as long as he's hitting .100 because he's trying to make some kind of an adjustment. There's only so much you can do in the cage/over the offseason. At some point you've got to do it against live pitching. He's going to be much better off in the long run for having struggled through those 40-50 PAs as opposed to just sending him home. Also, you wouldn't want to get as many looks at him as possible for evaluation purposes? Maybe even just getting him out there will help him realize how other teams have him scouted/how pitchers are generally going about attacking him at the plate. If there were no service time considerations, I'd imagine sending him home wouldn't even be thrown out as a possibility and he'd probably already have rejoined the big club by now.

Maybe you're right, but on the Sano thing, finding infielders should not be an issue in this year's free agent crop. Sign Escobar to play 3B, sign Jed Lowrie to play 2B. Plenty of other options beyond those two, if they don't move the needle for you. On 1B/DH options, those names you listed are far from the only options available. There's always trades. Anyway, my sincere hope is that Joe Mauer comes back, stays healthy and keeps up his solid play, but I'm worried that wouldn't happen. But if he does return, you've gotta make sure then to mold the roster around him correctly.

You're right, it's a lot more impressive to say he ranked 11th in the AL in bWAR.