Tom Froemming

The Twins racked up 10 hits and added three walks but all that activity on the bases resulted in just one run Sunday afternoon in Cleveland. Jake Odorizzi didn’t have his best performance either, walking four batters in five innings while barely throwing more than half of his pitches for strikes.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Jake Odorizi: 43 Game Score, 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 K, 4 BB, 53.8% strikes Bullpen: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 K, 0 BB Lineup: 1-for-10 w/RISP, 10 LOB Top three per WPA: Escobar .185, Grossman .104, Motter .028 Download attachment: WinEx617.png Brian Dozier, hitting in the fifth spot again, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and left five men on base. He recorded the final out of the first inning, stranding a runner on second base. In the third, Dozier again accounted for the third out, leaving men on first and second. In the fifth, Dozier was up with two outs and runners on second and third … you know where this is going by now. He grounded out to end the inning. To be fair, Brian wasn’t the only one who had a rough day at the plate. Mitch Garver was 1-for-4 with a pair of Ks and left four men on and Joe Mauer, Logan Morrison and Ehire Adrianza all left three men on base. One guy who had a great game was Eduardo Escobar. He hit three more doubles, giving him 30 on the season. He had the team’s lone RBI, driving in Mauer in the first inning. Prior to today, Odorizzi was relying on his four-seam fastball just 33 percent of the time, a career low per Brooks Baseball. Maybe he didn’t have a feel for his other pitches, or maybe it was just that he was constantly behind in the count, but today Odorizzi deployed that pitch 59 percent of the time. The big sting from Cleveland was a bases-clearing double in the third inning that Odorizzi left right in the middle of the plate. The Twins were also rough around the edges both in the field and on the bases once again. Eddie Rosario played a single into a triple. Garver and Adrianza combined for a bad moment on the bases, resulting in an out at third. Robbie Grossman left this game with a heat-related illness in the sixth inning. 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: Bullpen617.png AL Central Standings CLE 37-33 DET 35-37 (-3) MIN 31-37 (-5) CHW 24-45 (-12.5) KC 22-48 (-15) Next Three Games Mon OFF Tue at BOS, 7:10 pm CT - Jose Berrios vs. Chris Sale Wed at BOS, 7:10 pm CT - Lance Lynn vs. David Price Thu at BOS, 12:10 pm CT - Kyle Gibson vs. Rick Porcello Last Three Games MIN 9, CLE 3: That’s Our Eddie MIN 6, CLE 3: Anything is Possible DET 3, MIN 1: Lynn Overexposed, Offense Overmatched See Also I took some time this morning to speculate on when I expect Miguel Sano to return to the Twins. Check it out and let me know what you think: Click here to view the article

Eddie Rosario, what can you say? One moment he’s making you clap in excitement, the next he’s making you throw your cap on the ground in disgust. It can be an adventure sometimes, but the guy is always trying to make something happen. He did just that Saturday, carrying the Twins’ offense once again.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Fernando Romero: 30 Game Score, 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 1 K, 1 BB, 68.3% strikes Bullpen: 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 K, 0 BB Lineup: 6-for-14 w/RISP, 7 LOB Top three per WPA: Rosario .198, Magill .122, Morrison .112 Download attachment: WinEx616.png Rosario went 4-for-4 with a double, a solo home run and even a stolen base. He drew a six-pitch walk in his first plate appearance, then hit the first pitch in each of his last four PAs. Of the five times he reached base, he scored in four of them. The other one, well it was one of those adventure moments, but we won’t dwell on that just yet. Eduardo Escobar also had yet another strong performance, going 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Unlike so many other games this season, Rosie and Double E got some support from the rest of the lineup. Joe Mauer was 2-for-4 with a walk, Logan Morrison was also 2-for-4 and drove in three runs and Max Kepler, who entered this game with just one RBI in 13 games this month, drove in a pair of runs. All that offense was crucial, since Fernando Romero didn’t put his best foot forward. He gave up three runs and was pulled after just four innings. Over his last 16 2/3 innings, Romero has given up 15 earned runs and has just 11 strikeouts. Lucky for the Twins, an extremely well rested Matt Magill was prepared to pick up the slack. He pitched three perfect innings, lowing his ERA on the season to 1.14. Circling back to Rosario, he made questionable decisions in both halves of the same inning. With one out in the top of the fourth inning, Morrison hit a ball to the outfield. Mauer bluffed a tag from third base. It must have been a really good one, because he definitely faked out Rosie. Eddie was caught way off second base, cause some confusion on the bases that led to Mauer being thrown out to end the inning. Then in the bottom of the fourth, Cleveland had runners at second and third and hit a ball of their own to the outfield. This time, it appeared fairly obvious that it was going to be an easy sac fly. Instead of hitting the cutoff man to hold the runner at second, Rosario threw all the way through to home, and was way off target. Luckily, that runner was stranded at third. Rosario has certainly been Mr. Entertainment so far this season. His aggressiveness has paid off far more often than it’s hurt the Twins. He’s up to a .323 average and .948 OPS(!), so he’s obviously in a good place playing with freedom this season, even freedom that can border on recklessness. Even so, you can't help but appreciate the fact there's not a single play he doesn't think he can make. One thing’s for certain, whether he’s at the plate, on the bases or in the field, Eddie Rosario is a guy who you want to watch. Heck, he’s even pretty entertaining in the dugout sometimes. Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco was forced out of this game in the second inning when Mauer hit a 99.6 mph line drive square off his elbow. That forced them to ultimately turn to the pitcher they originally had scheduled to start tomorrow, Adam Plutko, to eat a couple of innings out of the bullpen. The Twins went from losing a series against Detroit to not only taking the first two games at Cleveland, but also setting themselves up to face an emergency starter who’s going to be filling in for their emergency starter. Baseball’s a hell of a drug. 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: Bullpen616.png AL Central Standings CLE 36-33 DET 35-37 (-2.5) MIN 31-36 (-4) CHW 24-45 (-12) KC 22-48 (-14.5) Next Three Games Sun at CLE, 12:10 pm CT - Odorizzi vs. TBD Mon OFF Tue at BOS, 7:10 pm CT - TBD Wed at BOS, 7:10 pm CT - TBD Last Three Games MIN 6, CLE 3: Anything is Possible DET 3, MIN 1: Lynn Overexposed, Offense Overmatched DET 5, MIN 2: Bulldog Berrios and the Addison Reed Experience Click here to view the article

Would it seem less random if I said last four weeks? Diaz is already in Fort Myers, no he's not on the 40 man. Not sure if a joke just went completely over my head, or what. I would agree with Seth, I think he's still in my top 20, but barely. What the FSL has done to Diaz should be reason for people to really start believing in Travis Blankenhorn's bat.

The Twins offense has been sputtering. Corey Kluber has been dominant. Was there some kind of a Freaky Friday situation that played out in this game or something? The Twins, who just dropped a series to Detroit, rolled into Cleveland and beat one of the best pitchers in baseball behind a great start from Kyle Gibson. Eddie Rosario had another great game and Brian Dozier slid down in the order and provided a big fly.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Kyle Gibson: 68 Game Score, 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 K, 4 BB, 61.2% strikes Bullpen: 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 K, 0 BB Lineup: 0-for-4 w/RISP, 1 LOB Top three per WPA: Gibson .281, Rosario .146, Dozier .135 Download attachment: WinEx615.png The Twins made a lot of moves, some of them big (Miguel Sano being demoted, Joe Mauer being activated from the DL) and some small (Dozier sliding down the fifth in the order, Taylor Motter being promoted to help fill out the bench). It was enough to give the team a bit of a new look, new feel and so far so good. Coming into tonight, Kluber hadn’t walked a batter in more than 40 innings, had gone 26 starts without giving up four runs and pitched at least six innings in all of his starts this season. None of those streaks survived this Freaky Friday. Rosario hit a first-inning home run, giving Gibson a lead before he even took the mound. Rosie also led off what turned out to be a three-run fourth inning with a double. Dozier clubbed a two-run homer to cap that inning, just his sixth since the start of May. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullen615.png AL Central Standings CLE 36-32 DET 33-37 (-4) MIN 30-36 (-5) CHW 24-43 (-11.5) KC 22-46 (-14) Next Three Games Sat at CLE, 3:10 pm CT - Romero vs. Carrasco Sun at CLE, 12:10 pm CT - Odorizzi vs. Plukto Mon OFF Tue at BOS, 7:10 pm CT - TBD Last Three Games DET 3, MIN 1: Lynn Overexposed, Offense Overmatched DET 5, MIN 2: Bulldog Berrios and the Addison Reed Experience MIN 6, DET 4: More Grand Slams, Please More From Twins Daily Miguel Sano's Struggles Trying to Get a Reed on Addison Twins Daily Roundtable: Romero's Innings Click here to view the article

That section will rotate each month. To your point, Kohl Stewart does have a 9.2 K/9 and 3.6 K:BB ratio on the year, but he also has a 7.36 ERA and 2.02 WHIP in his last four starts. He's definitely making some progress, but we're seeing some of the growing pains too. Overall, I'm still higher on him than I was before the season started, despite the run prevention problems.

I disagree. Rooker has been raking in Double A of late, Graterol has been a beast, Thorpe is racking up strikeouts while facing older batters 93% of the time, Wade has 10 more walks than strikeouts, Rortvedt is a 20-year-old catcher who's now hitting in the FSL and Blankenhorn is in the top-15 in slugging in the FSL. Plus, Enlow is one of the youngest pitchers in the MWL and Baddoo seems to be feeling out who he is as a hitter. Since the start of May, Akil has a .790 OPS (MWL league-average OPS is .704). If you expect to see 15 Hall of Famers on here, then yeah, I guess you're going to be disappointed.

Welcome to another edition of the Twins Prospect Pulse, a new feature on Twins Daily inspired from suggestions from you, the readers. There have been numerous players promoted over the past few weeks and a lot of players who got off to slow starts are suddenly surging. Here's how each affiliate is performing, a rundown of the Twins Daily top 20 prospects and another 10 names of note. Here we go …In case you missed it, late last month I rolled out this feature without really having any idea where it was going to fit into the big picture of minor league coverage at the site. Seth and I came to the conclusion this would be a good mid-month feature to sort of play off his Minor League Player of the Month Award articles. Speaking of which, here are the award winners from May: Hitter: Alex Kirilloff, OF, Cedar Rapids Starting pitcher: Brusdar Graterol, RHP, Cedar Rapids Relief pitcher: Todd Van Steensel, RHP, Chattanooga Below are the stats for this edition of the Prospect Pulse. All numbers were pulled on the morning of June 15. Affiliates -Rochester Red Wings: 30-33, fifth place in IL North -Chattanooga Lookouts: 35-32, second place in SL North -Fort Myers Miracle: 26-39, last place in FSL South -Cedar Rapids Kernels: 31-35, sixth place in MWL Western -Elizabethton Twins (season starts June 19) -GCL Twins (season starts June 18) -DSL Twins: 8-3, tied for first place in DSL South Top Prospects Here’s a snapshot at how the top 20 prospects have performed. Just a quick note before we get into the numbers, one way or another there will be an updated top 20 list I’ll be using for the mid-July Prospect Pulse. 1. Royce Lewis, SS, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .267/.300/.505 (.805 OPS), 17.1 K%, 3.6 BB% Full season: .291/.336/.437 (.773 OPS), 15.9 K%, 6.0 BB% 2. Fernando Romero, RHP, Minnesota Last 28 days: 24.2 IP, 6.20 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 6.9 K/9, 2.7 K:BB Full season: 62.1 IP, 3.47 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, 2.3 K:BB (MIN & CHAT) 3. Nick Gordon, SS, Rochester Last 28 days: .269/.290/.385 (.674 OSP), 19.6 K%, 2.8 BB% Full season: .308/.347/.466 (.813 OPS), 16.8 K%, 4.7 BB% (ROC & CHAT) 4. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, Rochester Last 28 days: 15.1 IP, 9.98 ERA, 2.28 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 0.9 K:BB Full season: 57.0 IP, 4.42 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 1.9 K:BB (ROC & CHAT) 5. Alex Kirilloff, RF, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .346/.417/.635 (1.051 OPS), 13.3 K%, 10.8 BB% Full season: .329/.386/.608 (.994 OPS), 16.9 K%, 8.2 BB% 6. Wander Javier, SS, out for the year with a shoulder injury. Last 28 days: None. Full season: None. 7. Brent Rooker, 1B/LF, Chattanooga Last 28 days: .273/.354/.535 (.889 OPS), 28.3 K%, 11.5 BB% Full season: .255/.310/.449 (.759 OPS) 28.4 K%, 7.0 BB% 8. Blayne Enlow, RHP, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: 15.2 IP, 4.60 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 1.4 K:BB Full season: 34.1 IP, 4.46 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 1.7 K:BB 9. Brusdar Graterol, RHP, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: 22.0 IP, 3.68 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 4.2 K:BB Full season: 36.1 IP, 2.48 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 7.0 K:BB 10. Akil Baddoo, CF, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .233/.309/.493 (.802 OPS), 27.2 K%, 9.9 BB% Full season: .220/.364/.387 (.751 OPS), 30.4 K%, 17.8 BB% 11. Zack Littell, RHP, Rochester Last 28 days: 19.0 IP, 7.11 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 1.6 K:BB Full season: 58.0 IP, 5.12 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 10.20 K/9, 2.6 K:BB (MIN, ROC & CHAT) 12. Lewis Thorpe, LHP, Chattanooga Last 28 days: 26.1 IP, 3.76 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, 3.7 K:BB Full season: 62.2 IP, 4.74 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 10.6 K/9, 3.5 K:BB 13. Lewin Diaz, 1B, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .167/.177/.244 (.421 OPS), 16.5 K%, 0.0 BB% Full season: .208/.232/.344 (.576 OPS), 18.2 K%, 1.5 BB% 14. LaMonte Wade, OF, Rochester Last 28 days: .267/.375/.350 (.725 OPS), 9.7 K%, 13.9 BB% Full season: .293/.396/.424 (.821 OPS), 9.3 K%, 13.7 BB% (ROC & CHAT) 15. Mitch Garver, C, Minnesota On May 28, Mitch collected his 130th MLB at bat, meaning he no longer qualifies as a prospect. 16. Ben Rortvedt, C, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .362/.384/.435 (.818 OPS), 16.4 K%, 4.1 BB% Full season: .288/.335/.388 (.723 OPS), 20.8 K%, 6.4 BB% (FM & CR) 17. Travis Blankenhorn, 3B/2B, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .313/.385/.388 (.773 OPS), 20.3 K%, 10.1 BB% Full season: .270/.323/.446 (.769 OPS), 24.4 K%, 6.7 BB% 18. Yunior Severino, 2B, expected to join E-Town next week. Last 28 days: None. Full season: None. 19. Tyler Jay, LHP, Chattanooga Last 28 days: 15.1 IP, 3.52 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 2.8 K:BB Full season: 27.2 IP, 2.60 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 2.3 K:BB 20. Felix Jorge, RHP, out with a knee injury. Last 28 days: None. Full season: None. Another 10 to Know These aren’t necessarily the next 10 in the rankings, but here are some other names of note: Luis Arraez, 2B, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .345/.400/.500 (.900 OPS), 8.1 K%, 8.1 BB% Full season: .271/.328/.371 (.699 OPS), 11.8 K%, 7.2 BB% Charlie Barnes, LHP, Fort Myers Last 28 days: 23.0 IP, 3.13 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 2.7 K:BB Full season: 55.2 IP, 3.88 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 2.0 K:BB Trey Cabbage, 1B/LF, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .254/.325/.463 (.787 OPS), 24.7 K%, 9.1 BB% Full season: .248/.312/.418 (.730 OPS), 31.2 K%, 7.1 BB% Randy Dobnak, RHP, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: 28.0 IP, 1.29 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 4.8 K/9, 7.5 K:BB Full season: 58.1 IP, 4.01 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 5.4 K/9, 3.89 K:BB Adalberto Mejia, LHP, Rochester Last 28 days: 27.1 IP, 2.63 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 3.9 K:BB Full season: 36.1 IP, 3.47 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, 2.9 K:BB Sean Miller, SS/2B, Chattanooga Last 28 days: .303/.387/.364 (.750 OPS), 21.3 K%, 12.0 BB% Full season: .225/.281/.275 (.556 OPS), 19.4 K%, 5.8 BB% (ROC & CHAT) Jose Miranda, 2B/3B, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .339/.390/.514 (.904 OPS), 12.7 K%, 6.8 BB% Full season: .251/.308/.381 (.689 OPS), 13.0 K%, 6.5 BB% Jovani Moran, LHP, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: 18.1 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 15.2 K/9, 3.9 K:BB Full season: 34.2 IP, 2.60 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 14.0 K/9, 2.1 K:BB Brian Navarreto, C, Chattanooga Last 28 days: .269/.319/.388 (.708 OPS), 12.5 K%, 4.2 BB% Full season: .265/.300/.377 (.677 OPS), 13.4 K%, 2.9 BB% Bryan Sammons, LHP, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: 23.2 IP, 3.04 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 10.6 K/9, 7.0 K:BB Full season: 53.0 IP, 2.89 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 3.6 K:BB That’s it for this edition of the Prospect Pulse. Thanks for checking it out. Click here to view the article

Congrats Griffin!

Alex Kirilloff has been among the most impressive prospects in the Twins system all year, but he may have had his best game yet in what was an impressive offensive output from the Kernels Thursday night. Also, some familiar faces had strong performances for Rochester and there were some noteworthy transactions.TRANSACTIONS Hmmm, where to start? Well, I suppose Miguel Sano being demoted to Fort Myers was something worth mentioning, huh? Joe Mauer’s rehab assignment with Rochester ended. He was 0-for-10 with two strikeouts and no walks. Also, Jake Cave was optioned to Rochester. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Buffalo 1 Box Score W: Adalberto Mejia (6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K) SV: John Curtiss (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) Multi-hit games: Zack Granite, Kennys Vargas Adalberto Mejia! Zack Granite! Kennys Vargas! Remember those guys? Well, they’re still around, and they all helped lift the Red Wings to a win tonight. Mejia gave up just one run on four hits in six innings of work, lowering his ERA to 3.47 on the season. He struck out six and walked three batters. Granite was 2-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored while Vargas was 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs. Nick Anderson had hit a bit of a rough patch, but he got back on track again tonight, pitching two scoreless innings. John Curtis picked up his fourth save. All three of Rochester’s runs were scored in the first inning. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Birmingham 3, Chattanooga 0 Box Score SP: Omar Bencomo (5.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) It was a really rough night for the Chattanooga bats. The Lookouts were shut out, only had five hits, drew zero walks and struck out 11 times. I usually don’t mention opposing players, but Birmingham pitcher Dane Dunning is looking like a stud. He was a first-round pick out of Florida back in 2016 and made most of the top 100 prospect lists this season. He was originally drafted by the Nationals, who traded him to the … Chicago White Sox. Aw man, seriously? Edgar Corcino got the only extra-base hit of the night for Chattanooga, a double. Omar Bencomo gave up three runs on nine hits over five innings. He struck out seven. Tyler Jay (two innings) and Cody Stashak (one inning) combined for a scoreless night from the bullpen. MIRACLE MATTERS Palm Beach 3, Fort Myers 2 (10 innings) Box Score SP: Charlie Barnes (5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) HR: Taylor Grzelakowski (6) Multi-hit games: Ben Rortvedt, Travis Blankenhorn Charlie Barnes didn’t get his first full season as a professional off to a great start, but he’s been rolling as of late. Last year’s fourth-round pick had a 5.14 ERA through his first five starts, but since then he’s pitched to a 3.12 mark. Barnes gave up one run on just two hits in 5 2/3 innings tonight, but unfortunately the Miracle bullpen couldn’t hold a one-run lead. Ben Rortvedt was 3-for-4. They’ve all been singles, but he’s 6-for-15 (.400) since being promoted. Rortvedt’s arrival has provided an opportunity for fellow catcher Taylor Gzelakowski to get work in elsewhere. He started in left field tonight and hit his sixth homer. Travis Blankenhorn and Jaylin DAvis each reached safely twice and they also both stole a base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Kane County 3 Box Score W: Bailey Ober (7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) HR: Alex Kirilloff 2 (13) Multi-hit games: Kirilloff, Robby Rinn, Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, David Banuelos Take a bow, Alex Kirilloff. This was his first four-hit game of the season and second multi-homer effort. He’s tearing apart Midwest League pitching, posting a line of .329/.386/.608. It would have been understandable if Alex had gotten off to a slow start after missing all of last season, but he’s been a beast from the get-go. In a season that hasn’t had many positives for Twins fans, this young man represents a brilliant beam of sunshine. There were plenty of other strong performers for Cedar Rapids, as Robby Rinn had three hits, both Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda had two doubles and David Banuelos reached safely three times. The Kernels were actually trailing 1-0 after the first inning, but Bailey Ober ended up getting settled in. He went seven innings, needing only 79 pitches to do so, and gave up two runs on four hits and one walk. He struck out seven batters and threw 72.2 percent of his pitches for strikes. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Bailey Ober, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Alex Kirilloff, Cedar Rapids TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects performed: 1. Royce Lewis, CR: 2-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, BB 2. Fernando Romero, MIN 3. Nick Gordon, ROC: 0-for-4 4. Stephen Gonsalves, ROC: Did not pitch. 5. Alex Kirilloff, CR: 4-for-6, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBIs 6. Wander Javier: Out for the season with a shoulder injury. 7. Brent Rooker, CHAT: 0-for-4, 2 Ks 8. Blayne Enlow, CR: Did not pitch. 9. Brusdar Graterol, CR: Did not pitch. 10. Akil Baddoo, CR: 1-for-5, BB 11. Zack Littell, ROC: Did not pitch. 12. Lewis Thorpe, CHAT: Did not pitch. 13. Lewin Diaz, FM: 1-for-5, K 14. LaMonte Wade, ROC: 1-for-2, 1 R, 2 BBs 15. Mitch Garver, MIN 16. Ben Rortvedt, FM: 3-for-4 17. Travis Blankenhorn, FM: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 K 18. Yunior Severino: Expected to join E-Town. 19. Tyler Jay, CHAT: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K 20. Felix Jorge: Out with knee injury. FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Buffalo, 6:05 pm CT (Zack Littell) Chattanooga at Birmingham, 7:05 pm CT (Kohl Stewart) Fort Myers OFF Cedar Rapids vs. Peoria, 6:35 pm CT (Bryan Sammons) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article

Lance Lynn did his job, but things went poorly when he was asked to put in overtime. Lynn held the Tigers scoreless over his first six innings, giving up just three hits in the process. He went back out for the seventh and gave up three runs on a triple, a sac fly, a hit by pitch and a home run. The homer was from JaCoby Jones, who had a career .586 OPS heading into today, and it came on Lynn’s 114th pitch of the afternoon.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Current record: 29-36 Lance Lynn: 62 Game Score, 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 9 K, 1 BB, 66.7% strikes Bullpen: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 K, 0 BB Lineup: 1-for-4 w/RISP, 6 LOB Top three per WPA: Garver .044, Duke .023, Escobar .013 Download attachment: chart.png Like it or not, it’s unrealistic to expect a starter to continue to perform after he’s pitched six innings or eclipsed 100 pitches. At that point, he’s been overexposed. You put him out there for more and you're playing with fire. Maybe it works out, but the risk is probably not worth it, especially when your team is holding a one-run lead, as the Twins were after six innings on Thursday afternoon. A lot of fans will reject that premise. Players too, as we know Lynn himself has said pitch counts are worthless. It’s a debate that will go on, but it certainly appeared today that the Twins would’ve been better off going to a fresh bullpen arm for the seventh. Matt Magill, who has a 1.31 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 13 appearances, hasn't pitched in more than a week. Or maybe the Twins are just doomed no matter how they manage the pitching staff. The offense mustered just one run and it came in the first inning. It was scored by Eddie Rosario and driven in by Eduardo Escobar. Bet you would’ve never predicted that, huh? The Twins only tallied six hits and drew one walk. Both Brian Dozier and Logan Morrison were 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. Max Kepler was 0-for-3 with a walk and also had a pair of strikeouts, bad zone or no bad zone. Miguel Sano was on the bench, even when he could've pinch hit for Jake Cave in the ninth inning. The Twins have won just three of their last nine games as they head to Cleveland for a three-game series. AL Central Standings CLE 35-31 DET 33-37 (-4) MIN 29-36 (-5.5) CHW 24-42 (-11) KC 22-46 (-14) Next Three Games Fri at CLE, 6:10 pm (Gibson vs. Kluber) Sat at CLE, 3:10 pm (Romero vs. Carrasco) SUN at CLE, 12:10 pm (Odorizzi vs. Plutko) Last Three Games DET 5, MIN 2: Bulldog Berrios and the Addison Reed Experience MIN 6, DET 4: More Grand Slams, Please MIN 7, LAA 5: Jake Cave Sparks a Fire More From Twins Daily Miguel Sano Optioned to Ft. Myers Twins Minor League Report (6/13): Lookouts Pace the Action Twins Daily Roundtable: Romero's Innings Twins Sign Belisle: What Does This Mean? Click here to view the article

Reed needs to work some low-leverage situations to get pointed in the right direction, but ... Here are the hit probabilities on the five hits he gave up: 66, 44, 16, 53, 86. It was basically a bunch of seeing-eye singles, outside of the last one. I think he's going to eventually be fine, but you just can't keep pitching a guy who's struggling this badly in one-run ballgames.

This is a fun question because it's really hard to answer. Even though I was on the higher side with my number, I reserve the right to completely lose my mind if his velocity drops or he starts to get roughed up on a consistent basis. I was really freaked out about Romero last September. I wrote an article in which I said this: What would I do? Well, I've already joked around here a few times that I'd freeze Romero in carbonite a la Han Solo and have him remain in that state until the spring.

To your point ... Ehire Adrianza in 118 games as a Twin .261/.322/.403 (.726 OPS, 97 OPS+) Jorge Polanco in 211 games as a Twin .266/.322/.417 (.739 OPS, 98 OPS+) Ehire is hitting .340/.404/.723(!) over his last 53 plate appearances. That's obviously not sustainable, but he's been a breath of fresh air for an offense on life support.

Earlier today, the Twins brought back Matt Belisle, which appeared to be an indication the front office isn’t ready to trust the younger relievers. Well, there’re two sides to every transaction. To make room for Belisle, the Twins designated Gregorio Petit for assignment, leaving the bench without an infielder. That's a pretty big show of trust in Ehire Adrianza. In a situation he may usually have been lifted for a pinch hitter, Adrianza hit his first career grand slam tonight, lifting the Twins to a come-from-behind victory.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Current record: 29-34 Jake Odorizzi: 52 Game Score, 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 K, 4 BB, 62.7% strikes Bullpen: 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 K, 1 BB Lineup: 2-for-4 w/RISP, 3 LOB Top three per WPA: Adrianza .558, Sano .185, Rodney .101 Download attachment: WinEx612.png How great was it to see the Twins not only comeback, but also hold a slim lead late? Coming into this game, the Twins were only 4-25 when trailing after six innings. Eduardo Escobar (who else?) led off the seventh with a single, which was followed by a walk from Miguel Sano. You had to have a feeling things were going to go the Twins’ way when Sano was actually able to check his swing on a full count to draw the free pass. Max Kepler struck out and pinch hitter Jake Cave flew out. Just like that, you had to have the feeling the Twins were going to squander another scoring chance. Logan Morrison drew a walk to load ‘em up, bringing up Adrianza. Ehire entered this game hitting .202/.269/.340 (.610 OPS) against right-handed pitchers. Those numbers look much better now. Adrianza knocked his first career grand slam, putting the Twins up 5-2. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen612.png AL Central Standings CLE 35-29 MIN 29-34 (-5.5) DET 31-37 (-6) CHW 22-42 (-13) KC 22-44 (-14) Next Three Games Wed at DET, 6:10 pm CT Thu at DET, 12:10 pm CT Fri at CLE, 6:10 pm CT Last Three Games MIN 7, LAA 5: Jake Cave Sparks a Fire LAA 2, MIN 1: Is This a Rerun? LAA 4, MIN 2: Bullpen, Bats Spoil Strong Start from Lynn More From Twins Daily Win Free Tickets To Meet Jose Berrios Don't Give Up On These Twins Quite Yet Jose Miranda Heating Up With The Weather Click here to view the article

Just start calling it bading average. If that's the only thing you're looking at, yes, you are missing something. If this makes you feel any better, here's his batting line from May 9 on, a sample of 133 PAs: .292/.361/.458.

Injuries create opportunity. Unfortunately for the Twins, there hasn’t really been anyone who’s jumped out and seized those opportunities, until now … maybe? In his first start since being recalled from Rochester, Jake Cave went on a rampage. He was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, a double and an RBI single, providing a much-needed boost to the Twins offense.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Current record: 28-34 Fernando Romero: 52 Game Score, 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 K, 2 BB, 64.9% strikes Bullpen: 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 K, 3 BB Lineup: 3-for-9 w/RISP, 7 LOB Top three per WPA: Cave .225, Adrianza .158, Morrison .111 Download attachment: WinEx610.png Cave, who was acquired via a trade with the Yankees in mid March, hit a home run in his MLB debut back on May 19. He got only a three-game cameo before being sent back to Rochester. He reacted exactly as you’d hope. Cave went on a tear, hitting .315/.377/.556 with four home runs over 15 games with the Red Wings, forcing his way back up to Target Field. With Byron Buxton out and Ryan LaMarre hitting just .194/.265/.258 over his last 24 games, Cave has an excellent opportunity to make an impression. Some players are never afforded such a chance. If today’s game was any indication, Cave intends on making the most of his opportunity. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen610.png AL Central Standings CLE 34-29 DET 31-36 (-5.0) MIN 28-34 (-5.5) CHW 22-41 (-12) KC 22-43 (-13) Next Three Games Mon OFF Tue at DET, 6:10 pm CT Wed at DET, 6:10 pm CT Thu at DET, 12:10 pm CT Last Three Games LAA 2, MIN 1: Is This a Rerun? LAA 4, MIN 2: Bullpen, Bats Spoil Strong Start from Lynn MIN 7, CHW 2: Berrios CG, Power from the Eds Fuel Twins Victory Click here to view the article

The Twins made a few promotions of note recently, one being catcher Ben Rortvedt getting the call up to Fort Myers. He made his Miracle debut tonight and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Check out what else happened across the system on Saturday.TRANSACTIONS -Jake Cave promoted to Minnesota with Tyler Duffey optioned to Rochester. -LaMonte Wade promoted to Rochester. -Jordan Balazovic and Robert Molina promoted to Cedar Rapids. RED WINGS REPORT Durham 3, Rochester 1 Box Score SP: D.J. Baxendale (3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Willians Astudillo The Willians Astudillo saga continues. He made his first appearance of the season at third base tonight, was 2-for-3 with an RBI and stolen base. You wouldn’t figure a guy listed at 5-foot-9, 225 pounds who’s primarily a catcher would be a threat on the bases, but that was Astudillo’s fifth steal of the season. Unfortunately, the Red Wings could muster only one run. This ended up being a bullpen game for Rochester, and the pitching staff performed admirably, all things consideed. D.J. Baxendale gave up one run over 3 2/3 innings and struck out five batters. Maybe the biggest item of note was the fact that Trevor May only pitched 1 2/3 innings in a night that Rochester could have used some length. He gave up a run on two hits and walked three batters. Gabriel Moya pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings and John Curtiss gave up a run in two frames of work. This was the seventh-straight loss for the Red Wings, who have now fallen below .500. LaMonte Wade was 0-for-4 in his Triple-A debut. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Montgomery 4 Box Score W: Omar Bencomo (8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) HR: James Ramsey (2) Multi-hit games: Brian Navarreto, Chris Paul The Lookouts had a 2-0 lead before they even recorded an out. This game opened with back-to-back singles which were followed by a two-run triple from Edgar Corcino. Catcher Brian Navarreto had a big night, going 3-for-4 with a couple of doubles and two RBIs. He now has 11 doubles on the season, which is just two shy of his career high. Omar Bencomo held the Biscuits to one run over eight innings. He improved his Southern League record to 5-0 and he now has a 1.94 ERA for the Lookouts. Left fielder James Ramsey hit a two-run homer. Chattanooga had a 7-1 lead heading into the ninth, but Tyler Jay surrendered three runs, two of which were earned. MIRACLE MATTERS Dunedin 6, Fort Myers 4 Box Score SP: Andro Cutura (5.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Luis Arraez, Brandon Lopez, Ben Rortvedt Fort Myers fell behind 6-0 in this one thanks in part to three errors in the field. They battled back to get the go-ahead run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, but could not complete the comeback. Ben Rortvedt went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs in what was his Florida State League debut. Luis Arraez led the team with three hits. Starter Andro Cutura gave up four runs, though only two were earned, over five innings. Andrew Vasquez gave up yet another unearned run in his two innings of work. Logan Lombana gave up an earned run over the final two innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 4, Cedar Rapids 0 Box Score SP: Edwar Colina (5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Royce Lewis The Kernels just could not get anything going on offense, as they combined for four hits, two of which came off the bat of Royce Lewis. Edwar Colina gave up four runs over five innings, though one run was unearned due to Lewis’ 10th error of the season. The Cedar Rapids bullpen provided three no-hit innings, as Carlos Suniaga handled the sixth and seventh innings and Jared Finkel covered the ninth. Trey Cabbage was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. It’s only been six games, but Cabbage is hitting .389/.455/.722 so far this month. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Omar Bencomo, Chattanooga Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Brian Navarreto, Chattanooga TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects performed: 1. Royce Lewis, CR: 2-for-4, 2B 2. Fernando Romero, MIN 3. Nick Gordon, ROC: 0-for-4 4. Stephen Gonsalves, ROC: Did not pitch 5. Alex Kirilloff, CR: 0-for-3, BB 6. Wander Javier: Out for the season with a shoulder injury. 7. Brent Rooker, CHAT: 1-for-5, R 8. Blayne Enlow, CR: Did not pitch. 9. Brusdar Graterol, CR: Did not pitch. 10. Akil Baddoo, CR: 0-for-4 11. Zack Littell, ROC: Did not pitch. 12. Lewis Thorpe, CHAT: Did not pitch. 13. Lewin Diaz, FM: 1-for-5, 2B 14. LaMonte Wade, ROC: 0-for-4 15. Mitch Garver, MIN 16. Ben Rortvedt, FM: 2-for-4, 2 RBI 17. Travis Blankenhorn, FM: 0-for-1 18. Yunior Severino: Expected to join E-Town this month. 19. Tyler Jay, CHAT: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K 20. Felix Jorge: Out with injury. SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Durham, 12:05 pm CT - Zack Littell Chattanooga at Montgomery, 5:05 pm CT - Kohl Stewart Fort Myers vs. Dunedin, 3:00 pm CT - Tyler Wells Cedar Rapids at Wisconsin, 1:05 pm CT - Melvi Acosta Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article