Tom Froemming

Box Score Perez: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 60.9% strikes (56 of 92 pitches) Home Runs: Buxton (7), Cruz (8), Polanco (10) Multi-Hit Games: Polanco (2-for-4, HR) WPA of +0.1: Buxton .191, Polanco .156 WPA of -0.1: Sano -.137, Perez -.218, Parker -.500 (chart via FanGraphs) The Twins held a 6-5 lead through six innings, but rain caused this game to be delayed more than an hour and a half. The Twins scratched across an insurance run once play resumed, but Blake Parker was ready to play his role in throwing gasoline on what was already a hot talking point across Twins Territory. I don’t know that you’ll find a Twins fan or baseball analyst who believes the Twins bullpen is fine as it’s currently constructed. So for Kimbrel to sign and Parker to give up three runs to blow the lead within a matter of hours is only going to increase the attention paid to that storyline. Parker gave up a two-run homer to Jordan Luplow and a solo shot to Roberto Perez. Just for good measure, Tyler Duffey gave up a solo homer to Francisco Lindor in the eighth. It’s worth mentioning that the Twins came into tonight 34-2 when holding a lead entering the seventh inning. Things like this haven’t happened all that often this year, it’s just that we’ve all been expecting doom for so long that it feels like they have. Perez Struggles Again Martin Perez entered this start having posted a 5.59 ERA over his previous four outings. His last time out against Tampa Bay was particularly ugly, as he gave up six earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Perez opened his evening by walking the leadoff man, Francisco Lindor, on four pitches. The Twins lineup was making noise again tonight, creating plenty of breathing room, but Perez wasn’t sharp once again tonight. There were a few bad-luck, seeing-eye singles mixed in, but Perez struggled to find the strike zone. When he did, he didn’t miss many bats. He threw only 60.9 percent of his pitches for strikes and got just four swinging strikes on his 92 pitches. That’s the fewest swings and misses he’s had in an outing this season, which is particularly striking because he had four appearances of fewer than four innings coming into tonight (he started the year in the bullpen, remember?). It was a bit of a sloppy game for the Twins. Perez and Jason Castro had some troubles, accounting for both a wild pitch and a passed ball. Also, Miguel Sano committed his second error of the season. Only two of the five runs Perez gave up were earned. Still, he was given a 5-1 lead at one point and could not seal the deal. Cleveland Pen Battles Through Trying Times This appeared to be a tough matchup for Cleveland from the get-go. Carlos Carrasco was placed in the IL due to a blood condition, resulting in the team being forced to go with a bullpen game. As if that wasn’t a challenge enough, I imagine the rain delay didn’t help things. They used seven pitchers tonight. Momentum isn’t something that can be quantified, but for Cleveland to win this game under these circumstances has to have injected some swagger into that clubhouse. The Good Stuff It wasn’t all bad. The Twins lineup was out there hitting bombas again. Byron Buxton absolutely obliterated an 0-2 pitch for a three-run homer. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1136418611927474176 The lineup also combined to go 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position and five of the Twins’ run were scored with two outs. Trevor May made things interesting in the sixth, but he got out of it unscathed and struck out a pair of batters. He was averaging 96.1 mph with his four seamer tonight. He had been sitting at 94.8 mph with that pitch coming into this evening. But who am I kidding? You’re a Minnesota sports fan. You’re only here to cry in your beer (or coffee, depending on when you’re reading this) and lament about not being able to have nice things. That’s OK, we’re all here for you, lol. Postgame With Baldelli https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1136496021943357440 Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Game Thu at CLE, 6:10 pm CT (Berrios-Bauer) Last Game CLE 5, MIN 2: Twins Can’t Figure Out Bieber, Lindor Lifts Cleveland More from Twins Daily Will Minnesota Be a Fit for Craig Kimbrel or Dallas Keuchel? 2019 MLB Draft Day 2 Thread MLB Draft Day 3 Thread

Box Score Gibson: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 67.0% strikes (59 of 88 pitches) Home Runs: Gonzalez (6), Buxton (6) Multi-Hit Games: Castro (3-for-4, 2B), Gonzalez (2-for-5, 2B, HR), Buxton (2-for-3, HR, BB), Rosario (2-for-4, BB) WPA of +0.1: Gonzalez .168, Gibson .151, Polanco .125, Castro .107 WPA of -0.1: None (chart via FanGraphs) Gonzalez, who hit .299/.370/.443 (.814 OPS) in May, had a go-ahead RBI double and a solo home run today. He also had a flyout that had an exit velocity of 99 mph and traveled 379 feet. Marwin accounted for three of the five longest balls hit in today’s game, those three balls traveling a combined 1,201 feet. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1134896671022706689 Gonzalez has played a different position each game of this series so far. He’s moved across the diamond, going from third base Thursday to shortstop last night to first base this afternoon. He contributed there, as well, making a few nice scoops and stretches. The Twins’ bullpen, subject of constant nitpickery, was also solid today. That unit combined to cover the final four innings of this game, and the only run they surrendered was on a 67.4 mph Ryne Harper curveball below the zone that Christian Arroyo somehow muscled out for his first homer of the year. Tampa Bay starter Yonny Chirinos was nasty early on, but the Twins seemed to figure him out as the game progressed. They were having a tough time with Chirinos’ slider in particular, but he left one up on an 0-2 count to Byron Buxton in the fourth inning that resulted in an RBI single. Buxton also hit a solo homer with two strikes off reliever Hunter Wood in the sixth inning. Chirinos ended up with seven strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings and got 19 swinging strikes on his 91 pitches. Even with that nastiness, the Twins lineup was able to get nine hits off him. Kyle Gibson had basically the opposite experience. He wasn’t overpowering Tampa Bay, but he managed to make pitches when he really needed to. After the Twins took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning, it was starting to feel like Gibson might unravel in the bottom of that frame. He labored through, requiring 28 pitches to get through it, but he managed to hold the Rays off the board and stranded the bases loaded. Gibson followed that grind of an inning up with a quick 1-2-3 fourth inning that required just 10 pitches. He ran into some more trouble in the fifth, but pitched around a leadoff single. In his five innings, the Rays were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position against Gibson and stranded seven runners on base. The only run he gave up was unearned. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Game Sun at TB, 12:10 pm CT (Odorizzi-TBD) Last Game MIN 5, TB 3: Twins Rally, Top Rays Late More from Twins Daily Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - May 2019 Twins Minor League Report (5/31): Cave Walks Off Boshers, Everybody Wins! How the 2018 Twins Draft Looks One Year Later