Tom Froemming

Tyler Austin blasted two more home runs Sunday afternoon, one into the Catch area above the center field batter’s eye, giving him six homers in just 12 games with the Twins. Unfortunately, that was all the offense the Twins could muster as they lost their third straight game to the A’s.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Berrios: 43 Game Score, 5.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 4 K, 0 BB, 63.8% strikes (60 of 94 pitches) Home Runs: Austin 2 (14) Multi-Hit Games: Polanco (2-for-3), Austin (2-for-4, 2 HR) WPA of 0.1 or higher: Austin .164 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Garver -.119, Grossman -.142, Magill -.185 Download attachment: WinChart826.png Austin has six homers in just 46 plate appearances so far with Minnesota, and 14 total in 178 PAs on the season. That 7.9 HR% would lead the league if he had enough playing time to qualify (Oakland’s Khris Davis is the top dog at 7.5%). His first homer was a mammoth blast to center … The only other extra-base hit the Twins had was a double from Mitch Garver. After a stretch of strong offensive performances, the Twins have managed just five runs over their past three games. Jose Berrios started today’s game, and had to be checked out by the training staff in the first inning. La MaKina was sitting 90-91 mph in that first inning, but he stayed in the game and appeared to loosen up as things progressed. By the third inning he was consistently hitting 93-94 mph with his four-seam fastball. Berrios gave up three runs on eight hits over his five innings of work. He struck out four. Matt Magill,the first man out of the bullpen, gave up three solo homers in an inning. Taylor Rogers (1 2/3 innings) and Trevor Hildenberger (1 1/3 innings) kept things clean from there, but the damage had been done. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen826.png Next Three Games Mon: OFF Tue at CLE, 6:10 pm CT: Kyle Gibson vs. Carlos Carrasco Wed at CLE, 6:10 pm CT: Kohl Stewart vs. Adam Plutko Thu at CLE, 12:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Mike Clevinger Last Three Games OAK 6, MIN 2: Gonsalves Gets Burned on Mistake Pitch OAK 7, MIN 1: Puckett 2,304, Mauer 2,086, Carew 2,085 MIN 6, OAK 4: Twins Top Red-Hot A’s Click here to view the article

Thanks Seth!

Tyler Wells continued to turn heads for the Lookouts tonight, lowering his Southern League ERA to 1.67. Also, in an E-Town win, Gilberto Celestino hit his first homer since joining the org, Akil Baddoo reached safely four times in a Cedar Rapids victory and Alex Kirilloff hit his 18th home run of the season. Come check out what else happened around the minor leagues Saturday.TRANSACTIONS To Fort Myers: RHP Edwar Colina To Cedar Rapids: LHP Zach Neff, RHP Carlos Suniaga Also, Jordan Balazovic was placed on the Kernels’ DL and it was reported that Michael Pineda’s rehab assignment has been put on hold due to concerns over some soreness in his knees. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Syracuse 1 Box Score W: Luke Bard (3.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K) SV: John Curtiss (1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K) SP: Ryan Eades (3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: None Rochester scored all three of their runs on a two-out rally in the fifth inning. It all started with catcher Juan Graterol drawing a walk. Alex Perez followed with a single, which chased Syracuse’s starter from the game. Byron Buxton was hit by a pitch to load the bases, then Nick Gordon drew an RBI walk. Gregorio Petit capped it off with a two-run single. D.J. Baxendale had an impressive night, striking out four of the six batters he faced over 1 2/3 scoreless innings. John Curtiss struggled some with his control, throwing just 17 of his 33 pitches for strikes, but still picked up his ninth save. Buxton was 1-for-3 with a single, a hit-by-pitch and two strikeouts. He also threw out a runner at home to end the sixth inning. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Jacksonville 5, Chattanooga 4 Box Score SP: Tyler Wells (6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) HR: Andy Wilkins (8) Multi-hit games: Tanner English (2-for-2, 3B) This game started out as a pitchers duel, with Tyler Wells absolutely dealing for the Lookouts. The first run of the game didn’t come until the top of the eighth inning when Jacksonville took a 1-0 lead. Things got real interesting from there. Chattanooga responded with four runs in the bottom of the eighth, but their bullpen could not make that lead hold up, as they surrendered four runs right back to Jacksonville in the top of the ninth. Andy Wilkins delivered the big hit for Chattanooga, hitting a go-ahead, three-run homer with two outs in the eighth. Circling back to Wells, after six innings of shutout ball, his ERA is down to 1.67 since joining the Lookouts. He threw 63 of his 92 pitches for strikes and punched out seven batters. He’s given up just five earned runs in 27 innings for Chattanooga and has struck out 31 batters in the process. MIRACLE MATTERS St. Lucie 5, Fort Myers 2 Box Score SP: Griffin Jax (5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 1 K) HR: Alex Kirilloff (5) Multi-hit games: Alex Kirilloff (2-for-4, HR), Robbie Rinn (2-for-4) Griffin Jax had his worst start of the season and the Miracle could not recover. Jax tied a season high with four earned runs and issued four walks in a start for the first time in 24 professional appearances. Alex Kirilloff hit a home run, his fifth with the Miracle and 18th overall this season. Adam Bray pitched the final three innings, giving up one run on two hits to go along with three strikeouts. The Minneapolis native and South Dakota State product has a 1.27 ERA in 17 games with Fort Myers. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Kane County 2 Box Score W: Carlos Suniaga (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) HR: Michael Davis (7) Multi-hit games: Akil Baddoo (3-for-4, BB), Michael Helman (2-for-5, 2B), Trevor Larnach (2-for-4), Michael Davis 2-for-4, HR) The Kernels had two runs on the board before they even made an out in the bottom of the first inning and cruised to victory. Leadoff man Akil Baddoo filled up the stat sheet, reaching base four times. He also stole his 22nd base of the season. A quartet of 2018 draftees had big games as well. First-round pick Trevor Larnach was 2-for-4, pushing his batting average since joining the Kernels to .310, and drove in two runs. Michael Helman, an 11th-round pick, was 2-for-5 with a double and is hitting .368 in 19 games with Cedar Rapids. Michael Davis, selected in the 24th round, hit a two-run homer, his seventh with the Kernels. Finally, 31st-round pick Zach Neff logged 2 2/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball to go with three strikeouts in his Midwest League debut. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 7, Bristol 5 Box Score W: Josh Winder (5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) SV: Erik Cha (2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) HR: Yunior Severino (7), Gilberto Celestino (1) Multi-hit games: Gilberto Celestino (3-for-4, HR), Yelstin Encarnacion (2-for-4) E-Town jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and fended off multiple comeback attempts by the Pirates to improve their record to 36-26 this season. Josh Winder put together a solid start and Yunior Severino socked a two-run homer in the second inning. Gilberto Celestino, acquired in the Ryan Pressly deal, hit his first homer since joining the Twins and finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Erik Cha, making his Appy League debut, inherited a one-run lead with one out and a runner on in the seventh inning. He gave up one hit and one walk over 2 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the save, striking out five of the 11 batters he faced in the process. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 7, GCL Red Sox 6 (13 innings) Box Score W: Michael Montero (3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) SP: Kai-Wei Teng (4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) HR: Shane Carrier (1) Multi-hit games: Estamy Urena (3-for-5), Shane Carrier (2-for-5, HR) Michael Montero entered this game with one out in the top of the 10th inning, after the Red Sox had scored the go-ahead run. He got out of a jam, recording the last two outs with runners on first and second base. Charles Mack tied it back up with a sac fly in the bottom of the 10th, and Montero just kept cruising. Despite having a runner start on second base each inning, Montero posted zeros in the 11th, 12th and 13th innings. Finally, in the bottom of the 13th Hunter Lee hit a walk-off single. Shane Carrier hit a three-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Tyler Wells, Chattanooga Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Gilberto Celestino, 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, R, K 2. Alex Kirilloff (FM): 2-for-4, HR, RBi, R 3. Brusdar Graterol (FM): Did not pitch. 4. Nick Gordon (ROC): 1-for-2, 2 BB, RBI 5. Stephen Gonsalves (MIN): Promoted to the Twins. 6. Trevor Larnach (CR): 2-for-4, 2 RBI, K 7. Brent Rooker (CHAT): 1-for-4, R, K 8. Akil Baddoo (CR): 3-for-4, BB, 2 R, K, SB 9. Wander Javier: Out of for the season 10. Zack Littell (ROC): Did not pitch. 11. Blayne Enlow (CR): Did not pitch. 12. LaMonte Wade (ROC): Did not play. 13. Travis Blankenhorn (FM): 0-for-4, K 14. Lewis Thorpe (CHAT): Did not pitch. 15. Ben Rortvedt (FM): 1-for-4 16. Yunior Severino (ET): 1-for-3, HR, 2 BB, 2 RBI, 2 R, K) 17. Lewin Diaz (FM): Out for the season. 18. Ryan Jeffers (CR): Did not play. 19. Jacob Pearson (CR): 1-for-4, R, K 20. Luis Arraez (CHAT): 0-for-1, K (as a pinch hitter) SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Syracuse, 12:05 pm CT: Lewis Thorpe Chattanooga vs. Jacksonville, 1:15 pm CT: TBD Fort Myers at St. Lucie, 11:00 am CT: TBD Cedar Rapids vs. Kane County, 2:05 pm CT: Tyler Watson Elizabethton at Bristol, 5:00 pm CT: TBD GCL Twins: Off Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article

Stephen Gonsalves had a much better go of things his second time around with the Twins, but I’m sure really wishes he could have one pitch back. The end result wasn’t great but as it turned out, Gonsalves would have had to have been close to perfect tonight for the Twins to have a chance. The bats could only muster a pair of runs against the A’s.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Gonsalves: 32 Game Score, 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 K, 4 BB, 53.3% strikes (48 of 90 pitches) Home Runs: Sano (12), Austin (12) Multi-Hit Games: Mauer (2-for-5), Austin (2-for-4, HR) WPA of 0.1 or higher: None WPA of -0.1 or lower: Kepler -.106, Gonsalves -.148, Rosario -.186 Download attachment: WinChart825.png Even when things are going well for Gonsalves, he has a tendency to struggle with his control. He’s still been effective, however, because he very rarely makes true mistake pitches. It’s one thing to throw non-competitive pitches out of the zone and another to serve up meatballs over the plate. Gonsalves ran into some trouble in the fourth inning, and got further into a jam due to some of those control problems. With two outs and a runner on first, he issued a five-pitch walk to fellow rookie Ramon Laureano, who had only drawn one base on balls in 45 MLB plate appearances coming into tonight. A two-out walk, well that’s no big deal as long as you just get the next guy, right? Gonsalves left a rare cookie over the heart of the plate on his first pitch to Jonathan Lucroy, who blasted the changeup into the seats for a three-run homer. Manager Paul Molitor called it the biggest pitch of the game. "Gonsalves was a little bit better. He had some command issues at times. The changeup that Lucroy hit was obviously a missed spot, and that was probably the biggest swing of the game." Pitching coach Garvin Alston had just come out to the mound to discuss Lucroy with Gonsalves and Willians Astudillo. Gonsalves said they knew he would swing at the first pitch. Gonsalves said after the game, "Garvin came out and said ‘Hey, he’s swinging 0-0. So what do you want to throw -- a changeup or a fastball?’ I was locating my changeup pretty well the first couple innings, so I said let’s throw a changeup and hopefully we’d get him to pop out. It was the only changeup that cut on me. Unfortunately, it came back over the plate and caught his barrel." Oakland did Gonsalves some favors in that fourth inning, running into two outs on the bases, but you still can’t help but wonder how things may have turned out if he had that one pitch back. As it was, Gonsalves gave up four earned runs on seven hits and four walks in five innings pitched. Both of the Twins’ runs tonight came on solo home runs, as Miguel Sano and Tyler Austin both went deep. Sano’s blast had an exit velocity of 113.8 mph. Molitor was impressed with the Sano homer. "I didn’t lose that fact that honoring Jim the way we did and then having the mammoth blast from Miggy. It was a good atbat too. He had gotten him out on a 3-1 changeup the first time, and it looked like he had him set up for maybe the fastball after showing him a couple more off-speed pitches in that particular at bat. Yeah, he quick snatched it and it kind of went to a place where not many men can go, as they say." The lineup combined to go just 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and struck out 10 times. Eddie Rosario was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and left five men on base. Jake Cave, playing right field tonight, had two outfield assists. Out of the bullpen, Alan Busenitz delivered two scoreless innings before Gabriel Moya gave up three runs in his inning of work. Trevor May finished things off with a scoreless eighth that included three strikeouts. Since his return from Tommy John surgery, May has given up three runs in 11 ⅔ innings (2.31 ERA) and has 16 strikeouts against just two walks. Before the game, the Twins recognized Jim Thome, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. While Thome only played roughly seven percent of his big league career with Minnesota, tonight’s ceremony was proof that he left quite an impression on Twins Territory. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen825.png Next Three Games Sun vs. OAK, 1:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Brett Anderson Mon: OFF Tue at CLE, 6:10 pm CT: TBD Wed at CLE, 6:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games OAK 7, MIN 1: Puckett 2,304, Mauer 2,086, Carew 2,085 MIN 6, OAK 4: Twins Top Red-Hot A’s CHW 7, MIN 3: Sox Get to Gibby Click here to view the article

Joe Mauer passed Rod Carew on the all-time Twins hit list with a fifth-inning single Friday night at Target Field. With 2,086 hits, he now trails only Kirby Puckett on the Minnesota Twins franchise leaderboard. I’m sure he would have preferred to reach that milestone in a victory, but unfortunately the Twins fell to Oakland 7-1.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Odorizzi: 68 Game Score, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 K, 1 BB, 66.7% strikes (72 of 108 pitches) Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Rosario (2-for-4), Grossman (2-for-3) WPA of 0.1 or higher: Rosario .143, Odorizzi .139 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Sano -.107, Drake -.215 Download attachment: WinChart824.png Jake Odorizzi pitched seven innings … wait, hold up, that can’t be right. Odo, as was on his Player’s Weekend jersey, managed to hold Oakland to two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk, throwing 108 pitches in the process. This was the first time Odorizzi recorded an out in the seventh inning for the Twins. The last time he completed seven innings was July 17, 2017. The bullpen was not as good. Not at all. Oliver Drake gave up three runs in the eighth and then Addison Reed gave up a pair of runs in the ninth. Mauer’s big milestone hit was the highlight of the night for the bats, as the only run of the game for the Twins was driven in on a Miguel Sano sacrifice fly. Memorable accomplishment for Joe, forgettable night for the Twins. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen824.png Next Three Games Sat vs. OAK, 6:10 pm CT: Stephen Gonsalves vs. Mike Fiers Sun vs. OAK, 1:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Brett Anderson Mon: OFF Tue at CLE, 6:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games MIN 6, OAK 4: Twins Top Red-Hot A’s CHW 7, MIN 3: Sox Get to Gibby MIN 5, CHW 2: Wild Final Inning Puts Twins Over Click here to view the article

Oakland has been one of the hottest teams in baseball, but the Twins managed to pull off a comeback victory. Kohl Stewart ran into some trouble in the second inning, allowing the A’s to take a 2-0 lead, but a string of timely hitting quickly pushed the Twins on top for good.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Stewart: 41 Game Score, 4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 6 K, 2 BB, 57.1% strikes (56 of 98 pitches) Home Runs: Kepler (18) Multi-Hit Games: None WPA of 0.1 or higher: Garver .180, Busenitz .108 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Forsythe -.120 Download attachment: WinChart823.png Stewart didn’t have a good stat line tonight, see above, but he did strike out six of the 23 batters he faced (26.1 percent) and got 11 swinging strikes on his 98 pitches (11.2 percent), both of those marks are above the league average for starting pitchers. In the fifth inning, Stewart gave up a leadoff double to Matt Chapman, who eventually scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3 Twins. With two outs, Matt Olson hit a double and that was it for Stewart. I noticed on the game thread here on the site there were a few people scratching their heads as to why Paul Molitor didn’t let Stewart try to work out of the jam and potentially earn the victory (he only needed one more out to qualify). The Twins are pretty conservative with their young starters down on the farm. In 21 minor league starts, Stewart topped out at 100 pitches and only eclipsed 90 pitches 11 times. In 23 total starts between all levels heading into tonight’s game, Stewart had averaged 84 pitches. Anyway, Alan Busenitz came in and walked the first batter he faced, then nearly gave up a run but was bailed out by a terrific play by Eddie Rosario and Mitch Garver. The Twins had a great night with runners in scoring position, going 4-for-6. Rosie got the Twins on the board in the third inning with an RBI single, stole second base and then scored on a Jorge Polanco single. In the fourth inning, Jake Cave and Ehire Adrianza hit consecutive singles before Garver delivered a two-run double. He then scored on a Joe Mauer single. The final run came on Max Kepler’s 18th home run of the season. Bobby Wilson appeared to have suffered a leg injury in the top of the fourth inning, but remained behind the plate for the final two outs. He was replaced by a pinch hitter in the bottom half of that inning. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen823.png Next Three Games Fri vs. OAK, 7:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Sean Manaea Sat vs. OAK, 6:10 pm CT: Stephen Gonsalves vs. Mike Fiers Sun vs. OAK, 1:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Brett Anderson Last Three Games CHW 7, MIN 3: Sox Get to Gibby MIN 5, CHW 2: Wild Final Inning Puts Twins Over CHW 8, MIN 5: At Least That’s out of the Way Click here to view the article

I think this point is something that gets overlooked a lot from a fan's perspective, but I'm sure this is a huge factor in who an organization chooses to manage. And to that point, I think Paul Molitor is very good. Also, if anything, the Twins' "brand" is elevated by being connected to a Hall of Fame player from Minnesota. I don't think you could say the same kind of thing about, say, Derek Shelton or a lot of other potential replacements.

I talked to a scout that saw him in late July, had Jay clocked at 91-93 mph. Still, the lefty thing may get him some attention. I mean, if the Twins took Tyler Kinley ... I just wouldn't be real worried about losing Jay at this point. More important guys to protect.

My predictions would be no and no. He's not the guy the Twins drafted. Injuries have taken away a ton of his stuff. He's left-handed, so I guess I'd never say never.

Kyle Gibson has been a steady performer this season, but Wednesday afternoon in Chicago the White Sox knocked him around a bit. Gibson failed to complete five innings for the first time since April 11 and just the third time overall this season in 26 starts. He also gave up three home runs for the first time all season. It was just the fourth time he’d given up multiple homers in the same game all season.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Gibson: 12 Game Score, 4.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 5 K, 4 BB, 59.0% strikes (62 of 105 pitches) Home Runs: Polanco (3) Multi-Hit Games: Forsythe (3-for-5) WPA of 0.1 or higher: None WPA of -0.1 or lower: Rosario -.143, Gibson -.402 Download attachment: chart.png To make matters worse for Gibby, Logan Forsythe committed an error that eventually led to three unearned runs. On a positive note, Forsythe had another good day at the plate, going 3-for-5. The Twins actually had a 2-0 lead before they even took the field thanks to a Jorge Polanco two-run homer, but couldn’t get much else going at the plate from there. Gabriel Moya took over for Gibson with two runners on and two down in the fifth. He walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, but then induced an inning-ending pop out. Matt Magill pitched a scoreless sixth inning. In the seventh, Addison Reed pitched his first 1-2-3 inning since June 6. In the 18 appearances he made between then and now, he surrendered 17 runs (15 earned) on 30 hits, four walks and a hit by pitch over 18 innings of work. On the downside, Reed still only topped out at 90.2 mph. To finish a positive day for the pen, Oliver Drake pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. He’s given up just one hit over 9 1/3 scoreless innings of work so far with the Twins. There were a lot of strange base running plays in the this series, but this one has to take the cake. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen822.png Next Three Games Thu vs. OAK, 7:10 pm CT: Kohl Stewart vs. Trevor Cahill Fri vs. OAK, 7:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Sean Manaea Sat vs. OAK, 6:10 pm CT: Stephen Gonsalves vs. Mike Fiers Last Three Games MIN 5, CHW 2: Wild Final Inning Puts Twins Over CHW 8, MIN 5: At Least That’s out of the Way MIN 5, DET 4: Late Rosario Homer Lifts Twins to Elusive One-Run Victory Click here to view the article

What!?

Great stuff, I really like this idea. It makes all the sense in the world to do this once the rosters expand, but I even think this may be an effective strategy to get the most out of this pitching staff next season. It would be more difficult to pull off with just a 25-man roster, though I suppose you could go with five starters, three "piggyback" relievers and then five more traditional relievers. With how many guys the Twins have with options, I think they could pull it off by rotating some of the arms in the pen. As a side note, I thought it was encouraging that Lewis Thorpe wasn't a guy mentioned among those on an innings limit. He's also reached a career high this year, happy to hear there don't seem to be any concerns with him.

A marquee starting pitching matchup was derailed by a nearly hour-long rain delay. That was enough to halt Michael Kopech’s major league debut, but only shortened Jose Berrios’ night. This one came down to the ninth inning, where the Twins broke open a tie game by scoring three runs in a pretty strange series of events.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Berrios: 53 Game Score, 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 2 BB, 67.9% strikes (55 of 81 pitches) Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Mauer (2-for-4, BB), Rosario (2-for-5) WPA of 0.1 or higher: Rosario .368, Berrios .175, Cave .122, May .108 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Kepler -.131, Sano .149 Download attachment: WinChart821.png The Twins entered the top of the ninth inning with the game tied at 2-2. The White Sox had opened the scoring in the second inning before the Twins answered with a pair of runs in the fourth, one of which the Twins stole. With runners on the corners and one out, Robbie Grossman broke for second base. It looked like the hit and run may have been on, as Bobby Wilson swung through a pitch that was way outside. The throw beat Grossman by a mile, but he was able to get into a rundown long enough for Jake Cave to score from third. Yoan Moncada hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the seventh. Then things got real interesting. There was a whole lot more running. The Sox led off the eighth inning with a single from Adam Engel. He was picked off by Trevor May, but managed to reach second base safely due to some poor execution by the Twins’ infield. Then, Tim Anderson tried to bunt Engel over to third. May slipped while fielding the bunt and threw wildly to first base. Anderson just kept running. The Twins got him into a rundown and this time did an excellent job. Mauer threw to Polanco, who ran Anderson back toward first. Then he realized he had Engel caught up in no-man’s land and fired to third. Anderson just kept running. Sano chased Engel toward home, threw to Wilson, and by the time Engel tried returning to third, Anderson was already there. In the end, the White Sox got what they originally wanted — a runner on third with one out — but it could have ended up much worse for the Twins. May struck out the next two batters to end the threat. Jake Cave led off the ninth with a walk and was bunted over to second by Grossman. Mitch Garver followed with a single, but Cave was thrown out at the plate. With Garver advancing to second on the throw, the White Sox opted to intentionally walk Joe Mauer. Eddie Rosario delivered the go-ahead run on a bloop single to center. Engel had a hard time fielding the ball in center, allowing Mauer to advance to third, and then his throw got by the third baseman, allowing Rosie to reach second base. Polanco hit a single that plated both runners, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it to second base. So the Twins basically gave Chicago all three outs in the ninth inning (sac bunt and two outs recorded on the bases), but still scored three runs. Taylor Rogers struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning to earn his second save of the season. 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: Bullpen821.png Next Three Games Wed at CHW, 1:10 pm CT: Kyle Gibson vs. Carlos Rodon Thu vs. OAK, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Fri vs. OAK, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games CHW 8, MIN 5: At Least That’s out of the Way MIN 5, DET 4: Late Rosario Homer Lifts Twins to Elusive One-Run Victory DET 7, MIN 5: Stewart Bombs Second Audition Click here to view the article

Hindsight is 20/20, but I would reverse the Jake Cave trade in a heartbeat. Luis Gil is throwing 99 mph and has a 1.37 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 13.3 K/9 in a league where the averages are 4.83, 1.50 and 8.8, respectively.

Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the situation. You miss a strike when you're up 0-2 with the bases empty and two outs, no big deal. You miss a strike when you really need it, that could lead to a big inning. If you think he doesn't throw enough strikes, consider this: Zone% 39.4-Gibson (second-lowest among the 70 qualified starters) 44.8-Odorizzi (15th) 46.4-Berrios (23rd) I also think, as a flyball pitcher, Odorizzi could have benefited from the expected outfield alignment of Rosario-Buxton-Kepler. Hopefully those guys will be behind him for the majority of next season.

A major league debut is an exciting thing to watch, but more often than not, it simply seems like a burden a player must shed. Stephen Gonsalves gave up as many runs as he recorded outs in his debut, but now it’s all about moving forward from here.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Gonsalves: 23 Game Score, 1.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 K, 2 BB, 58.2% strikes (32 of 55 pitches) Home Runs: Cave (6), Kepler (17) Multi-Hit Games: Kepler (2-for-4, HR) WPA of 0.1 or higher: None. WPA of -0.1 or lower: May -.115, Mauer -.119, Gonsalves -.327 Download attachment: WinChart820.png There’s no beating around the bush, Gonsalves had a bad debut. However, this game being delayed and then rain continuing to fall while he was on the mound couldn’t have helped. There were also some positive signs. First off, Gonsalves got five swinging strikes on his 55 pitches and struck out three of the 13 batters he faced. The White Sox opened the second inning with a pair of hits followed by a walk, but then had a few fortunate bounces. Gonsalves hit Kevan Smith as he was squaring to bunt. A curveball dropped down and got him on the toe. Next, Tim Anderson hit an RBI bloop single that had a hit probability of one percent per Baseball Savant. In the end, Gonsalves allowed seven balls in play, six of which went for hits, but four of those had a hit probability of 55 percent or lower. Gonsalves’ early exit meant the bullpen had to cover the final 7 2/3 innings, and it took them 121 pitches to do so. That’s a big ask, given this is a pen that’s been overworked the past couple days and there’s not an open day on the scheduled for another week. The first four hitters in the Twins’ lineup (Joe Mauer, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano) combined to go 0-for-16 with five strikeouts and a walk. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen820.png Next Three Games Tue at CHW, 7:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Michael Kopech Wed at CHW, 1:10 pm CT: Kyle Gibson vs. Carlos Rodon Thu vs. OAK, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games MIN 5, DET 4: Late Rosario Homer Lifts Twins to Elusive One-Run Victory DET 7, MIN 5: Stewart Bombs Second Audition MIN 5, DET 4: Take a Bow, Joe Click here to view the article

Not any ones in which I'm satisfied with the methodology, but there are some pretty good pitch framing metrics, and those suggest Garver is one of the worst in the league while Bobby is above average. That could certainly make a massive difference for a guy who needs all the strike calls he can get.