Tom Froemming

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Current record: 22-29 Starting Pitcher: 1 Game Score, 1.2 IP, 8 ER, 1 K, 1 BB, 67.3% strikes Bullpen: 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 K, 1 BB Lineup: 4-for-11 w/RISP, 7 LOB Top three per WPA: Escobar .108, Sano .048, Rosario .039 Romero got torn to shreds, giving up more damage in 1 2/3 innings tonight as he had in his previous five starts combined. He saw his ERA rise from 1.88 to 4.15. Down 9-0 after the first two innings, the Twins offense finally appeared to loosen up. I think that’s a pretty good sign the guys have been putting too much pressure on themselves. They fired back to score eight unanswered to pull within a run of the Royals in the sixth inning, but KC tacked on single tallies in the seventh and eighth innings. Slegers not only stabilized this game, but he also saved the bullpen. That’s huge heading into a key four-game series against Cleveland. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three batters. His reward will likely be an option back to Rochester. It’s hard to imagine the Twins will carry a guy in their bullpen who they won’t be able to use the next couple games (Slegers threw 83 pitches). Hopefully the bats can carry this performance over. Not only did they score eight runs, but they were also 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position and had six two-out RBIs. Ehire Adrianza hit his first home run of the season and also doubled. Brian Dozier homered, as well. Miguel Sano had a pair of hits and three RBIs. Eduardo Escobar and Eddie Rosario also posted multi-hit games. Cleveland beat the White Sox tonight, meaning the Twins are now 5.5 games back of first place in the AL Central. They’re already 9.5 games out in the Wild Card. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: AL Central Standings CLE 29-25 DET 25-30 (-4.5) MIN 22-29 (-5.5) KC 20-36 (-10) CHW 16-37 (-12.5) Next Three Games Thu vs. CLE, 7:10 pm CT Fri vs. CLE, 7:10 pm CT Sat vs. CLE, 3:10 pm CT Last Three Games KC 2, MIN 1: Every Game is the Same Game MIN 8, KC 5: Bats Break Out SEA 3, MIN 1: Worst Birthday Ever More From Twins Daily Twins Minor League Report (5/30): Bencomo Dazzles While Miranda Launches Lewis, Kirilloff Provide High Character, Huge Potential 2018 MLB Draft Top 50 Prospects: 1-10

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Current record: 22-28 Kyle Gibson: 78 Game Score, 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 8 K, 1 BB, 64.4% strikes Bullpen: 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 K, 2 BB Lineup: 2-for-7 w/RISP, 13 LOB Top three per WPA: Gibson .509, Magill .496, Hildenberger .290 This wasn’t just good Gibby, great Gibby showed up Tuesday night. He allowed very little traffic in his seven innings of work, limiting the Royals to five hits and one walk. This was the first time Kyle completed seven innings this season and the fourth time in 11 starts he walked fewer than two batters. Here’s a look at Gibson’s pitch usage and outcomes via Baseball Savant. The slider continues to be an elite pitch, but he really upped its usage tonight. As has far too often been the case this season for the Twins, they let that excellent start go to waste. Their one run came on a bases-loaded single form Miguel Sano. Brian Dozier was thrown out at home on that play and Eddie Rosario was later caught being over aggressive on a turn at first base. https://twitter.com/TwinsHighlights/status/1001652289088745477 Still, Gibson exited this game with a 1-0 lead. Addison Reed came on in the eighth and gave up a leadoff single to Jon Jay, a one-out single to Mike Moustakas then hit Salvador Perez to load the bases. Reed walked Jorge Soler to bring in the game-tying run. He hadn’t walked a batter in his previous eight appearances. Mitch Garver led off the top of the ninth with a single and was replaced with pinch runner Byron Buxton. Ehire Adrianza bunted him over to second, but pinch hitter Logan Morrison lined out and Dozier grounded out to strand the runner and send the game into the bottom of the ninth tied. The Twins loaded up the bases with two outs in the 10th. Buxton flew out. The best the Twins could muster in the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th innings was one lousy walk. That Garver single to open the ninth would be their final base hit of the evening. Trevor Hildenberger pitched two scoreless innings and Matt Magill tossed 3 1/3 no-hit innings. Taylor Rogers gave up a walk-of homer to Alcides Escobar to end it in the bottom of the 14th inning. You never know what you’re going to see in a baseball game, but this is getting to be unbelievable. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Wed at KC, 7:15 pm CT Thu vs. CLE, 7:10 pm CT Fri vs. CLE, 7:10 pm CT Last Three Games MIN 8, KC 5: Bats Break Out SEA 3, MIN 1: Worst Birthday Ever SEA 4, MIN 3: Zuni-Not Again More From Twins Daily Twins Minor League Report (5/29): Miracle Blast Threshers Twins Daily Roundtable: Minnesota's All-Star Selection Overshadowed Twins Pitching Staff is Roundly Excelling

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Current record: 22-27 Lance Lynn: 57 Game Score, 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 K, 3 BB, 58.2% strikes Bullpen: 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 K, 0 BB Lineup: 5-for-11 w/RISP, 10 LOB Top 3 Twins WPA: Dozier .162 Rosario .156, Sano .130 Sano was back at third base and broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning by slugging a two-run homer, his first since April 25. Brian Dozier was 3-for-5 and drove in the go-ahead run. But, as has been the case for the bulk of the season, it was Eddie Rosario who delivered the big hit -- a bases-clearing double in the eighth inning. Lynn was constantly pitching with runners on, but the only damage he gave up was a two-run double to Mike Moustakas. Lynn closes out May with a 3.76 ERA and the Twins went 4-1 in his starts. The Twins took advantage of a few moments of hesitation from the Kansas City defense. Max Kepler hit what typically would have been a double into the right field corner. Jorge Soler didn’t look particularly concerned about getting the ball back in, so Kepler stretched it into a triple. He also had a double tonight. That massive Rosario bases-clearing double probably would have usually been a two-run single, but both Rosie and Dozier, who was on first base, just kept running. The Royals weren’t exactly quick to get that ball back into the infield, and when it finally did go into second base, they were more focused on keeping the tag on Rosario than keeping an eye on Dozier. https://twitter.com/TwinsHighlights/status/1001287790578020352 It would be interesting if we had baserunning probability metrics. I’d bet under normal circumstances, there’s less than a 15 percent chance that’s a double and close to zero chance anyone would score from first on that play. Poor execution by Kansas City, but you gotta love Rosario and Dozier taking advantage. Rosario also stole third base later that inning. The bullpen did its best to make things interesting. Zach Duke committed a throwing error while fielding a bunt, allowing a run to score. Fernando Rodney entered this game with two outs in the eighth inning and allowed another one of Duke’s runners to come around, making it a 6-4 ballgame. It was a good thing the Twins were able to tack on a couple more runs in the top of the ninth, because Rodney gave up another run on a homer in the ninth. Lynn was credited with his third win and Rodney got his 11th save. Robbie Grossman had two hits and a walk, Mitch Garver was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two RBIs and two runs and Logan Morrison drew a pair of walks. Byron Buxton was 1-for-5, but the most encouraging plate appearance of his night may have been the one in which he struckout. Buxton fell behind 0-2, but managed to work an 11-pitch at-bat before going down swinging. Postgame With Molitor https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1001296712005181440 Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Tue at KC, 7:15 pm CT Wed at KC, 7:15 pm CT Thu vs. CLE, 7:10 pm CT Last Three Games SEA 3, MIN 1: Worst Birthday Ever SEA 4, MIN 3: Zuni-Not Again SEA 2, MIN 1: Paxton Outduels Romero More From Twins Daily Twins Minor League Report (5/28): Memorial Day Memories Made? Week in Review: Wasted Starts Overshadowed Twins Pitching Staff is Roundly Excelling

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Current record: 21-27 Jose Berrios: 62 Game Score, 7.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 K, 1 BB, 67.9% strikes Bullpen: 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 K, 0 BB Lineup: 0-for-6 w/RISP, 2 LOB Top three per WPA: Berrios .306, Pressly .056, Rosario .055, Berrios has now gone at least seven innings and given up two runs or fewer in three-straight starts. He leaned heavily on his curveball, going to it on 32 of his 106 pitches on the afternoon. He got 11 of his 17 swinging strikes on the curve and the M’s only put that pitch in play four times. The Twins got out to an early lead when Eddie Rosario scored all the way from first on an Eduardo Escobar double in the second inning. Rosie made a great read off the bat and made an outstanding slide to avoid the tag at the plate. Berrios gave up a solo homer to Kyle Seager in the fourth inning to tie it up. He opened the eighth by giving up a single and then a walk, with a caught stealing in between. Ryan Pressly came in and struck out Nelson Cruz for the second out. Zach Duke came in to face Seager, a lefty, but gave up a hit. Addison Reed entered with two outs and runners on first and second. He gave up a two-run double to the first batter he faced. Mike Leake, who entered the day with a 5.46 ERA, held the Twins to four hits over eight innings. He only needed 86 pitches to get that far. Alex Colome handled the ninth for his first save with Seattle. Rosario got two of the Twins’ four hits on the day. Miguel Sano was 1-for-4 with a double. The Twins were putting the ball in play all game, they only struck out twice, but there just weren’t many hard-hit balls. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Mon at KC, 6:15 pm CT Tue at KC, 7:15 pm CT Wed at KC, 7:15 pm CT Last Three Games SEA 4, MIN 3: Zuni-Not Again SEA 2, MIN 1: Paxton Outduels Romero DET 4, MIN 1: Niko’s Revenge More From Twins Daily Twins Trade Phil Hughes, Draft Pick to San Diego 2018 MLB Draft Top 50 Prospects: 11-20

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Current record: 21-26 Jake Odorizzi: 38 Game Score, 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 K, 1 BB, 60.7% strikes Bullpen: 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 K, 0 BB Lineup: 3-for-7 w/RISP, 5 LOB Top three per WPA: Hildenberger .268 | Reed .105 | Kepler .076 This game recap is brought to you by the letter “v” as in it’s very late. Or “v” as in video. It was yet another frustrating night for the offense, as the Twins combined for eight hits and three walks over 12 innings. Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario had the only two extra-base hits, both doubles. Making an inning’s worth of outs on the basepaths didn’t help, either. Both Eduardo Escobar and Logan Morrison were thrown out trying to stretch a singles into a doubles and Gregorio Petit was caught stealing second . Included in the video highlights is Buxton’s collision with the wall. Actually, the worse impact was probably when he hit the ground. Buxton was checked for a concussion, but thankfully he passed all the tests. I’m sure the Twins will play it safe and continue to keep any eye on him. Hell of an effort. As has often been the case, it’s hard to find fault with the pitching. Odorizzi had a shutout going before surrendering two homers in the sixth inning and the bullpen had logged 6 1/3 innings of two-hit ball with zero walks prior to that Zunino homer. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Sun at SEA, 3:10 pm CT Mon at KC, 6:15 pm CT Tue at KC, 7:15 pm CT Last Three Games SEA 2, MIN 1: Paxton Outduels Romero DET 4, MIN 1: Niko’s Revenge MIN 6, DET 0: Lynn Shows Will to Win More From Twins Daily Twins Minor League Report (5/26): Lookouts Turn Triple Play in Wild Victory 2018 MLB Draft Top 50 Prospects: 11-20 Ready To Move Up

Transactions Cedar Rapids placed Bryan Sammons on the DL due to a sprained ankle and added Moises Gomez to their roster. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Buffalo 0 Box Score W: Dietrich Enns (5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) SV: Nick Anderson (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Kennys Vargas, Wynston Sawyer Dietrich Enns (5 2/3 innings), Alan Busenitz (2 1/3 innings) and Nick Anderson (one inning) combined to pitch a four-hit shutout. You’d have to imagine Busenitz’s time with Rochester won’t last too much longer. He’s given up one earned run over 14 2/3 frames and has 22 strikeouts for the Red Wings, or I guess tonight they were the Hop Bitters. Catcher Wynston Sawyer drove home Kennys Vargas on a single to score the first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Sawyer is hitting .379/.526/.517 in 10 games since being promoted to Triple A. The next inning, Nick Gordon singled home Jermaine Curtis for his first career RBI in Triple A. https://twitter.com/TwinsHighlights/status/1000534818571145216 CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 11, Montgomery 10 Box Score W: Williams Ramirez (1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 B, 2 K) SV: Ryne Harper (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) SP: Anthony Marzi (4.1 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) HR: Brent Rooker (7) Multi-hit games: Rooker, Tanner English, Zander Wiel Brent Rooker nearly hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a double and a homer, but that may not have even been the most noteworthy thing about this game even if he had. Ryne Harper took over on the mound in the eighth inning with the Lookouts clinging to a one-run lead. Oh, and the bases were loaded with no outs. He needed only one pitch to get out of the jam. The Lookouts turned a triple play. The batter deadened the pitch straight into the ground and an aware Brian Navarreto picked up the ball just in front of the plate, stepped on home, threw to third baseman Chris Paul for the second out and then over to Rooker at first. Rooker had three RBIs and scored three runs. Leadoff man Tanner English was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and scored four times. Zander Wiel was 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles. MIRACLE MATTERS Charlotte 2, Fort Myers 0 (5 innings) Box Score SP: Tyler Wells (4.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: None This game was completed early due to rain. Originally scheduled as a doubleheader, Game 2 had to be postponed. In the very little baseball they were able to get it, things didn’t go the Miracle’s way. Mark Contreras was 1-for-2 with a walk and both Luis Arraez and Taylor Grzelakowski had hits. Tyler Wells will get credit for a complete game even though he only pitched four innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1: Clinton 4, Cedar Rapids 1 (7 innings) Box Score SP: Brusdar Graterol (6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: None You’re going to win most games in which your starting pitcher strikes out nine and walks nobody. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for the Kernels in the first game of their doubleheader. Brusdar Graterol was excellent, but he gave up a couple of homers and the Cedar Rapids bats couldn’t get much going. Graterol has a 1.78 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 12.8 K/9. Maybe most impressive is the fact that he has six times as many strikeouts as walks, having issued just six free passes in those five starts. Alex Kirilloff drove in the lone Kernels run on a single. He entered the day second in the Midwest League in RBIs. Game 2: Clinton 9, Cedar Rapids 6 Box Score SP: Jovani Moran (2.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 B, 4 K) HR: Shane Carrier (5) Multi-hit games: Jacob Pearson, Jean Carlos Arias This game was tied 3-3 heading into the fifth inning, but that’s where things got away from the Kernels. A five-run inning for the LumberKings included three walks, a hit by pitch, a wild pitch and a passed ball. Shane Carrier hit his fifth home run of the season. Royce Lewis had a strong performance, going 1-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. He also made a great catch in foul territory. https://twitter.com/TwinsHighlights/status/1000600048932188160 Jacob Pearson, acquired from the Angels over the winter, played center field and hit leadoff for the Kernels. He was 2-for-4 with a double and his second stolen base. Cedar Rapids is going to be playing another doubleheader tomorrow, so they had Jordan Gore, usually an infielder, pitch the final inning of this one. He gave up a run on a hit and three walks. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Brusdar Graterol Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Brent Rooker TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects performed: 1. Royce Lewis, CR: 1-for-5, double, 2 RBIs, 2 runs 2. Fernando Romero, MIN 3. Nick Gordon, ROC: 1-for-4, RBI 4. Stephen Gonsalves, ROC: Off 5. Alex Kirilloff, CR: 1-for-5, 2 RBIs 6. Wander Javier: Out for the season with a shoulder injury. 7. Brent Rooker, CHAT: 4-for-5, double, home run, 3 RBIs, 3 runs 8. Blayne Enlow, CR: Off 9. Brusdar Graterol, CR: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K 10. Akil Baddoo, CR: Out with a hamstring injury. 11. Zack Littell, ROC: Off 12. Lewis Thorpe, CHAT: Off 13. Lewin Diaz, FM: 0-for-2 14. LaMonte Wade, CHAT: Off 15. Mitch Garver, MIN 16. Ben Rortvedt, CR: 1-for-4 17. Travis Blankenhorn, FM: 0-for-2 18. Yunior Severino: Expected to join E-Town next month. 19. Tyler Jay, CHAT: Off 20. Felix Jorge: Out with tricep injury. SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Buffalo, 12:05 pm CT - Trevor May Rochester vs. Buffalo, Game 2 - Adalberto Mejia Chattanooga vs. Montgomery, 5:15 pm CT - TBA Fort Myers at Charlotte, 11:35 pm CT - Clark Beeker Cedar Rapids vs. Clinton, 3:05 pm CT - Edwar Colina Cedar Rapids vs. Clinton, Game 2 - Randy Dobnak Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games.

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Current record: 21-25 Fernando Romero: 69 Game Score, 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 K, 2 BB, 61.4% strikes Bullpen: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB Lineup: 0-for-0 w/RISP, 3 LOB Top three per WPA: Kepler .145, Romero .054, Reed .030 The Mariners did an excellent job manufacturing their runs. Jean Segura hit a leadoff single in the first and stole second base. He came around to score on a two-out single from Nelson Cruz. Romero retired the first two batters he faced in the sixth but then ran into some control issues. He walked Guillermo Heredia, whose life must have flashed before his eyes on ball four, a 96.5 mph fastball that was headed straight for his head. Luckily he ducked. Heredia advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single. That was all the offense Seattle could muster, but Twins pitchers have to be basically perfect with the way their offense is playing right now. To be fair, Mariners starter James Paxton is among the better pitchers in baseball right now. He struck out 11 Twins batters over seven innings. The star of the game for the Twins’ lineup was no doubt Max Kepler. He hit a home run (off Paxton, a lefty) and made an excellent throw to nail a runner at third base. He also got a single, meaning he accounted for two of the team’s four hits. https://twitter.com/TwinsHighlights/status/1000221384533069826 Romero was extremely efficient, completing seven innings for the first time of his big league career. Between Triple A and the majors, he’s logged 49 2/3 innings so far this season. That total already represents the third-most innings he’s thrown in a season. Miguel Sano returned from the DL. He played first base. That was a good look for him, in my opinion. Unfortunately, he was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Nobody outside of Kepler hit well for the Twins, but it’s disheartening to see Byron Buxton in particular continue to struggle. He was 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts, dropping is OPS on the year to .416 Postgame With Molitor https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1000238526208737281 Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Sat at SEA, 9:10 pm CT Sun at SEA, 3:10 pm CT Mon at KC, 6:15 pm CT Last Three Games DET 4, MIN 1: Niko’s Revenge MIN 6, DET 0: Lynn Shows Will to Win MIN 4, DET 2: It’s All Coming Up Rosie More From Twins Daily Twins Minor League Report (5/25): Vargas Powers Wings Why Isn't Mitch Garver Playing More? Bartolo, the Twins, and a Guy Named Phil Did Minnesota Just Summon the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?