Tom Froemming

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) New game, new thing to worry about. Let’s turn our attention to Addison Reed. Reed entered the eighth inning of this game with the Twins leading 4-3. He walked the leadoff man, gave up a double and then a sacrifice fly to tie it up. He managed to work out of the inning, sandwiching an intentional walk between two strikeouts. Reed has now given up four earned runs over his last five innings pitched. His main issue was with location tonight, as he threw just 11 of his 23 pitches for strikes, but there is also an alarming trend with his fastball velocity. Reed averaged 90.5 mph on his fastball and topped out at 91.6, per Baseball Savant. Here’s a month-by-month breakdown of his fastball velocity since the start of last season via Brooks Baseball: Uh-oh. The game remained tied thanks to Fernando Rodney working around some suboptimal defense to pitch a scoreless ninth. John Curtiss, making his 11th career MLB appearance, was tasked with keeping things afloat in the 10th inning. To say things didn’t go well would be an understatement, but to be fair it wasn’t all on Curtiss The inning opened with Kevin Pillar smashing a double into the gap. He would later steal third without a throw and then score the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. The Blue Jays scored a second run on a hot grounder that Gregorio Petit, who was playing in, failed to field cleanly. Then just for good measure a third run scored on another wild pitch. https://twitter.com/ParkerHageman/status/991526406663364608 Ouch. Three runs and the Blue Jays only had to hit one ball out of the infield. This game actually got off to a great start, as the Twins took a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to Joe Mauer’s first homer of the year and an RBI double by Eddie Rosario. https://twitter.com/BallparkVids/status/991475057011646466 Kyle Gibson was cruising along until he gave up a couple of runs in the fifth to tie the game. He finished the night with six strikeouts over five innings, giving up those two runs on five hits and a couple walks. Ryan Pressly gave up a homer to give Toronto its first lead of the night, but it was short-lived. Rosario blasted a go-ahead homer, scoring Eduardo Escobar. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/991499866713899008 Another positive note was that Petit went 2-for-4 in his Twins debut. And guess what? It’s Fernando Romero day tomorrow! So … everything’s still really, really, really great in Twins Territory. Really great. It’s still early, right? Right? 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 vs. TOR, 12:10 pm CT Thu at CHW, 7:10 pm CT Fri at CHW, 7:10 pm CT Last Three Games TOR 7, MIN 5: Twins Can’t Recover After Another Poor Start by Lynn CIN 8, MIN 2: Berrios Bombs as Twins Drop Series to Cincy MIN 3, CIN 1: Losing Streak Snapped as Odorizzi Delivers Quality Start More From Twins Daily Twins Minor League Report (5/1): No Hitter In Cedar Rapids Upstages Gonsalves Performance Can Fernando Romero Spark The Twins? Sano to DL, Petit Promoted, Enns Designated, Kinley Returned Royce Lewis is Finding His Stroke Something Has Clicked with Eduardo Escobar

Sano experienced tightness in his left hamstring during Friday's game and sat out the last three contests. Eduardo Escobar is expected to shift over to third base while Ehrie Adrianza takes over at shortstop. Sano's absence in the lineup has created a huge void. With Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco also inactive and Brian Dozier slumping, the Twins are severely lacking offensive punch against left-handers outside of the surging Escobar. The Blue Jays are scheduled to start right-handers the next two nights and they only feature one southpaw in their bullpen, so that flaw may not be exposed in the short term. Petit has hit .293/.323/.362 as the everyday shortstop for Rochester so far this season. He has 171 MLB games under his belt, previously playing for Oakland, Houston, the Yankees and Angels. He has a .643 OPS against major league pitching over his career. Enns, who was also in Rochester, has a 4.50 ERA and 1.65 WHIP in 20 innings so far this season. That's come with a rather underwhelming 11 strikeouts and 11 walks. The soon to be 27-year-old was acquired from the Yankees last July. His left-handedness and ability to throw multiple innings could make him interesting for teams combing the waiver wire. Kinley gave up nine earned runs while recording 10 outs for the Twins. He was removed from the 25-man roster, giving the Miami Marlins the opportunity to bring him back, though it's a little surprising the Twins couldn't work out a trade to keep Kinley in the org.

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Something clearly isn’t right with Lynn. He walked five more batters over five innings Monday night, though I guess to be fair one of those was intentional. That gives him 23 walks in 23 2/3 innings so far this season. He walked five or more batters twice in 33 starts last year. He’s already done that in three of his first five starts for the Twins this year. Lynn’s poor start allowed Toronto to build a 6-1 lead, but the Twins showed some life, mounting a comeback. Escobar hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth, the Twins scratched across another run in the sixth and Kepler hit a two-out RBI double in the seventh to pull within one run of the Blue Jays. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/991133545958535168 Eddie Rosario committed a two-base error to open the ninth inning, opening the door for Toronto to pick up a huge insurance run. Brian Dozier also committed an error in the ninth, but luckily Kepler made a beautiful diving catch to bail the rest of the defense out that inning. https://twitter.com/BallparkVids/status/991153463815032832 Dozier was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, giving him six Ks in his last two games. He’s 4-for-34 (.118) with four walks over his last eight games. He has one extra-base hit over that span, a double. It was another Twins loss, but unlike much of the rest of the games over this slump, there were quite a few positives. Escobar and Kepler continued to play well. Max ended the evening 3-for-5 with a couple of doubles and a triple. One of those two outs he made was on a ball scalded at 104.7 mph for a lineout to center field. The bullpen was really good. Trevor Hildenberger pitched two perfect innings, striking out a pair of batters. Ryan Pressly ran into some trouble, but he got five outs and the only run he gave up was unearned. John Curtiss, making his 2018 debut, entered the game with runners on first and second in the ninth inning and retired the only batter he faced. Robbie Grossman picked up another couple of hits, as did Mitch Garver. The Twins had the tying run at second base when the final out of the game was recorded. Garver had a bit of an adventurous night behind the plate. He was charged with a passed ball that allowed a run to score and made this curious play: https://twitter.com/BallparkVids/status/991115499831521280 It certainly appeared as though Mitch could’ve easily picked that ball up and tagged the runner heading home. Instead, that’s how Toronto scored their first run. But, sticking with the positive tone I’m trying to end this on, Garver also made a great play to throw out a runner attempting to steal second base in the eighth inning. https://twitter.com/BallparkVids/status/991148761844998144 Postgame With Molitor https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/991163420383719424 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 vs. TOR, 7:10 pm CT Wed vs. TOR, 12:10 pm CT Thu at CHW, 7:10 pm CT Last Three Games CIN 8, MIN 2: Berrios Bombs as Twins Drop Series to Cincy MIN 3, CIN 1: Losing Streak Snapped as Odorizzi Delivers Quality Start CIN 15, MIN 9: It Got Even Worse More From Twins Daily Twins Minor League Report (4/30): Lookouts Win In A Walkoff Twins Tied to Misael Urbina, Expected to be “Aggressive” Internationally Gleeman & The Geek, Ep 366: From Bad To Worse

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Ric Flair says “to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.” By that logic, we can also say “to be the worst, you’ve got to be beaten by the worst.” It’s difficult to even put into words how bad of a stretch this has been for the Twins Since the Puerto Rico Series, the pitching staff has given up 83 runs in 10 games. To put that into some perspective, the defending World Series champion Houston Astros had only given up 77 runs in 28 games played coming into today. The Twins are missing several key pieces, especially with Miguel Sano missing his second-straight game due to hamstring issues, but even the established regulars who are active are struggling. Berrios lasted just three frames, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks without striking out a single batter. He clearly didn’t have it today, but it was still surprising to see Paul Molitor pull him after just 60 pitches. That put a huge tax on the bullpen, which was (once again) shouldered by a pitcher making his Twins debut. Berrios now has three excellent starts and three stinkers. In the good games, he’s thrown 23 scoreless innings. In his other three outings, he’s given up 14 earned runs over 11 2/3 innings. Taylor Rogers was the first man out of the bullpen and struggled every bit as much as Berrios had. He ended up recording just two outs and was charged with three earned runs in the process. Matt Magill, making his first appearance for the Twins, threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings, though he allowed both the runners he inherited from Rogers to cross the plate. Tyler Duffey threw three innings of relief to finish out the game. The only run he gave up was on his fourth homer surrendered in just three appearances so far this season. The Reds built a 7-0 lead before the Twins finally got on the board. The Twins tallied eight hits, two of which came from both Eduardo Escobar and Jason Castro. Joe Mauer and Logan Morrison each reached safely twice, recording a hit and a walk. 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 vs. TOR, 7:10 pm CT Tue vs. TOR, 7:10 pm CT Wed vs. TOR, 12:10 pm CT Last Three Games MIN 3, CIN 1: Losing Streak Snapped as Odorizzi Delivers Quality Start CIN 15, MIN 9: It Got Even Worse NYY 4, MIN 3: Rodney Spoils Great Gibby Start, Twins Swept More From Twins Daily Twins Minor League Report (4/28): Dobnak Delivers, Lookouts Comeback Twins Minor League Report (4/27): Friday Night Under The Lights

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Odorizzi wasn’t dominant -- he gave up five hits and two walks while striking out three batters -- but he was efficient and effective. The lone run he surrendered was on a solo homer. Eduardo Escobar, starting at third base today due Miguel Sano being out with a hamstring injury, delivered a huge hit and some nice defense. Escobar hit an RBI double that scored Eddie Rosario to tie the game and he took advantage of a slight miscue by the Cincinnati right fielder to take third base. Robbie Grossman drove him in on a go-ahead sac fly. https://twitter.com/BallparkVids/status/990309675789938696 Entering today, Twins catchers combined for a .465 OPS, which was the second-lowest mark for a catching unit in all of baseball. Along with calling a good game behind the dish, Garver also belted a solo home run, his second of the season, and a double. https://twitter.com/BallparkVids/status/990316200524701696 Things got dicey a couple times late, but the bullpen held it together. Odorizzi was on the mound to open the seventh, but gave up a double to the leadoff man. Zach Duke came in and gave up a single to the first batter he faced, giving the Reds runners at the corners and no outs. Duke worked his way out of the jam with a pop out, strikeout and then a fly out to end the threat. Addison Reed took over in the eighth and walked leadoff man Joey Votto. Luckily, the next batter hit into a double play, which was followed by an inning-ending fly out on which Rosario fought the sun to haul in a nice grab. https://twitter.com/BallparkVids/status/990334063067189248 Fernando Rodney handled the ninth, so you know there were some hairy moments there. He walked the leadoff batter on four pitches and issued a one-out walk, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. Two pop outs later, one on a nice catch by Brian Dozier, and the Twins had the victory in hand. Losing streak over. https://twitter.com/BallparkVids/status/990341134059737089 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 vs. CIN, 1:10 pm CT Mon vs. TOR, 7:10 pm CT Tue vs. TOR, 7:10 pm CT Last Three Games CIN 15, MIN 9: It Got Even Worse NYY 4, MIN 3: Rodney Spoils Great Gibby Start, Twins Swept NYY 7, MIN 4: Lance Lynn Is a Dumpster Fire Right Now More From Twins Daily Twins Minor League Report (4/27): Friday Night Under The Lights On Ryan Pressly's Release Point, Pitch Mix

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) I honestly don’t know what to say. If you watched this game, you’re either here because you’re glutton for punishment or you just came to voice your frustrations in the comments (if that’s the case, by all means do so). If you didn’t watch the game, first off congratulations. Secondly, it may be best to just pretend like there was no Twins game on April 27, 2018. Ignorance is bliss. Here we go, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Phil Hughes gave up a solo homer in the top of the first, but the Twins’ offense exploded for five runs in the bottom of the inning. Twins Territory was rejoicing to see the bats finally seem to break out. The big hit in that first frame was a Logan Morrison two-run homer, so the positive vibes were really flowing. It was a simpler time. Hughes really struggled to hit his spots and lasted just 3 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks. At this point, I don’t know how management can justify giving Hughes another start. The bats added a few more runs, with Robbie Grossman racking up three hits in the process, but everything came crashing down in the fifth. Everything that could go wrong did. Tyler Duffey gave up a leadoff homer to Joey Votto. The next three Reds batters all got hits and the next man reached on an error committed by Duffey. Ryan Pressly came in and gave up a sac fly, the first out of the inning, and then an RBI triple to Billy Hamilton. He scored on a wild pitch. As bad as that inning was, it may have been even more frustrating to watch the Twins fail to rally back when they only trailed by two runs. Cincinnati scored a run in the seventh and then four more in the ninth. David Hale, making his first and what could be final appearance with the Twins, pitched three innings, giving up four runs on four hits and four walks. He threw 57 pitches and the Twins are going to need some fresh arms, so it would be no surprise to see him removed from the 25-man roster. Poor guy. Positives? Well, LoMo and Grossman both had good games. Eddie Rosario homered. Max Kepler got a single off a lefty. Um … Justin Morneau was really good in his booth debut on Fox Sports North. Really nothing positive to say about the pitching. 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 vs. CIN, 1:10 pm CT Sun vs. CIN, 1:10 pm CT Mon vs. TOR, 7:10 pm CT Last Three Games NYY 4, MIN 3: Rodney Spoils Great Gibby Start, Twins Swept NYY 7, MIN 4: Lance Lynn Is a Dumpster Fire Right Now NYY 8, MIN 3: Resistance is Futile More From Twins Daily Twins Minor League Report (4/27): Friday Night Under The Lights On Ryan Pressly's Release Point, Pitch Mix Searching for Answers on Trevor Hildenberger Rodney Living His Own Experience