Tom Froemming

The Twins trounced Seattle starter Erik Swanson, saddling him with eight earned runs in his start that lasted just three innings, and the Mariners made a few embarrassing missed-catch errors in the outfield. It was a performance that gave me flashbacks to the 2016 Twins. You could almost feel bad for those Mariners fans in attendance. Almost.Box Score Pineda: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 70.3% strikes (64 of 91 pitches) Home Runs: Castro (7), Kepler (9), Cron (10), Buxton (3) Multi-Hit Games: Cron (4-for-5, HR), Rosario (3-for-5), Polanco (2-for-5), Sano (2-for-5, 2 2B), Buxton (2-for-5, HR) WPA of +0.1: Castro .151, Cron .129 WPA of -0.1: None Download attachment: Win516.png (chart via FanGraphs) Seattle was one of just two teams who have hit more home runs that the Twins so far this season. Both teams lived up to their early-season reputations. Jason Castro opened the scoring in the third inning with a solo home run. That gave him seven homers in his first 62 plate appearances on the year at that point. Insane. I pointed out on Twitter before the game how Max Kepler had been struggling and suggested it may be time to slide him down in the order. He had a .476 OPS in May entering this game. So, of course, he hit his ninth home run in the third inning, another solo shot. In the fourth inning, C.J. Cron hit what should be counted as something more than just a home run. He obliterated a fastball 453 feet into the upper deck. The exit velocity was 114.3 mph. This was already his 10th home run, and while so many others have been low laser beams, this one was a tall, majestic blast. So the final line for Sano was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a strikeout. He also looked good on his lone defensive chance of the evening. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Pen516.png Next Three Games Fri at SEA, 9:10 pm CT (Perez-Gonsales) Sat at SEA, 9:10 pm CT (Berrios-LeBlanc) Sun at SEA, 3:10 pm CT (Gibson-Kikuchi) Last Game MIN 8, LAA 7: Twins Squeak Out Victory Click here to view the article

Move him up already! I don't think he's comfortable because he's hitting ninth, I think he's comfortable because he knows he's going to be in the lineup nearly everyday and he just needs to be a guy on this team, not the guy. That won't change regardless of where he's batting. I think he deserves more plate appearances right now.

On a beautiful Wednesday day game, the Minnesota Twins were able to pick up another series win, this time against the Los Angeles Angels, as the bats came back to life to help Jake Odorizzi pick up his sixth win of the season. The Twins came into this game on a little offensive slump in the past three games, scoring only 10 runs in those games. However, today, they were able to string together 10 hits and eight runs as they won 8-7 and improve to 27-15.Box Score Odorizzi: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 64.3% strikes Home Runs: Buxton (2), Castro (6) Multi-Hit Games: Polanco (2-for-4, 3B), Schoop (2-for-4), Adrianza (2-for-3, 2B, BB) WPA of +0.1: Adrianza .121, Buxton .109 WPA of -0.1: None Download attachment: Win515.png (chart via FanGraphs) Pitching Jake Odorizzi has been one of the Twins best pitchers recently, and entered this game with 20 straight scoreless innings. He was able to extend his streak to 22 before giving up a one-out home run in the third inning. Odorizzi didn’t have his cleanest start of the season, giving up a season-high nine hits, but was able to hold the Angels to only three runs. The bullpen was a little shaky today, and in the seventh when Matt Magill gave up a sac fly to Goodwin, which was the first run given up by a bullpen pitcher, who isn’t Trevor Hildenberger, in 12 games. Magill wasn’t charged a run on this as May had given up back-to-back singles right before he was taken out. Trevor Hildenberger continued to struggle on the mound today as he gave up three runs on three hits. He has given up runs in five of his last six outings and it hasn’t been just one run each time either. He has given up two runs four of those outings and three in today’s. It might be time to send Hildenberger down to Triple-A to hopefully get his confidence back up. UPDATE: Hildenberger was optioned to Triple-A after the game. The Angels put together a ninth inning rally, after Hildenberger retired the first batter. The Angles put together four straight hits to get the game to 8-6. Mike Morin came in and surrendered a hit on his first batter, struck out the next batter, but then hit Mike Trout with the bases loaded to bring the game to 8-7. Morin was able to strand three runners as he got Ohtani to ground out to pick up the save. Errors Early Both teams were a little off in the field at the beginning and it ended up turning into runs for the Twins. In the second inning, C.J. Cron was able to reach off a dropped third strike, and two batters later, Schoop reached on an infield single, and thanks to an error by Cahill, he advanced to second while Cron moved to third. Ehire Adrianza was able to make the Angels pay with a 2-RBI double for the first runs of the game. On the Twins side, the error occurred on one of the weirdest plays. It happened with Odorizzi and Cron, after Ohtani hit a weak comeback that Odorizzi was able to collect. However, Cron was looking for Jonathan Schoop to field the ball, and didn’t even realize Odorizzi had it. This led to Odorizzi throwing to an unprepared Cron, which allowed Ohtani to reach second base. Luckily the Twins were able to make it nothing as Simmons grounded out the next at-bat. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen515.png Next Three Games Thu at SEA, 9:10 pm CT (Pineda-Swanson) Fri at SEA, 9:10 pm CT (Perez-Gonzales) Sat at SEA, 9:10 pm CT (Berrios-LeBlanc) Last Game MIN 4, LAA 3: Throw Down Click here to view the article

Byron Buxton made a beautiful defensive play — this time with his arm — but it ended with Mitch Garver being assisted off the field, not putting any weight on his left leg. It was the loudest Target Field has been all year, immediately followed by concern for Garver, who hit his ninth home run earlier in the game.Box Score Gibson: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 56.8% strikes (50 of 88 pitches) Home Runs: Garver (9) Multi-Hit Games: None WPA of +0.1: Parker .229 WPA of -0.1: None Download attachment: Win514.png (chart via FanGraphs) With the Twins clinging to a one-run lead, Brian Goodwin sent a solid single into center field. Buxton corralled the in-between hop, set himself and fired a bullet to home plate, right on the money, to nail Shohei Ohtani trying to score the game-tying run. This play … wow. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen514.png Next Three Games Wed vs. LAA, 12:10 pm CT (Odorizzi-Cahill) Thu at SEA, 9:10 pm CT (TBD-Swanson) Fri at SEA, 9:10 pm CT (TBD) Last Game LAA 5, MIN 4: More Missed Opportunities Click here to view the article

Not sure where to dig up the numbers specifically on shifting, but I know the Twins are inside the top five in shifts and have allowed the 11th-lowest BABIP in baseball, .284. Last season they ranked 25th with a .302 BABIP. I'm not saying those stats make it an open and close case, there's a lot of other factors to consider about why that BABIP is so much lower, and there was quite a bit of turnover in terms of personnel, but they're doing something right. That's a pretty significant increase in balls in play they're turning into outs. But when the shift doesn't work it most definitely stands out a lot more than when it does.

Had a few minutes to scan the updated numbers this morning. The issue is quality of contact. In two out, RISP situations the Twins have a 15.5 LD% and a 16.3 IFFB%. Those are both quite a bit worse than their overall numbers. That being the case, of course their BABIP in those situations is going to be horrible (.220). Something that's worked out really well for this lineup is being aggressive early in the count. They haven't done that quite as much in these two out, RISP situations. Here's a look at their average pitches per plate appearance: 2 out, RISP PPA: 4.00 (656/164) All other situations: 3.76 (4,949/1,316) That may not seem like a huge difference, but keep in mind the team with the lowest overall pitches per plate appearance (the Twins) is at 3.79 and the highest (Texas) is at 4.10.

I would certainly expect things to even out, but sometimes they don't. The Dodgers had the third-best OPS in baseball last year (.774) but somehow maintained the third-worst OPS with two outs and RISP (.640). They also still won 92 games and went to the World Series, so ya know, things worked out OK for them. Still, what a weird thing to happen.

The Twins have been getting plenty of big flies, but the big hits have been tough to come by. Despite having one of the best lineups in baseball so far in 2019, the Twins actually rank near the bottom both in hitting with two outs and runners in scoring position and hitting with the bases loaded. They left six more men in scoring position today, leaving a total of 11 runners on, and it cost them.Box Score Perez: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 63.4% strikes (59 of 93 pitches) Home Runs: Adrianza (2) Multi-Hit Games: Buxton (3-for-3, 2B, BB), Gonzalez (2-for-4, BB), Adrianza (2-for-3, HR, BB), Cave (2-for-4, 2B) WPA of +0.1: Buxton .189, Gonzalez .115 WPA of -0.1: Perez -.116, Astudillo -.160, Polanco -.215, Cron -.252 Download attachment: Win512.png (chart via FanGraphs) The Twins entered this afternoon’s game with an impressive .831 OPS, nearly 100 points above the league average. With two outs and runners in scoring position, however, they’ve been pretty putrid. In 158 plate appearances in those situations, the Twins had a .185/.304/.296 line (.600 OPS) coming into today, 140 points below league average. They’ve also been dreadful with the bases loaded. Here’s a look at some of the numbers: Download attachment: Chart.png I’ll stop short of saying the Twins are hitting too many home runs, but this is becoming a cause for concern. You’d expect things to start evening out, but we’re nearly a month and a half into the season now. The Twins had a difficult time getting anything going against Detroit’s Daniel Norris this afternoon, but they threatened to score in the fifth inning. Ehire Adrianza and Jake Cave hit back-to-back two-out singles. Byron Buxton did a nice job of drawing a walk to load the bases, but Willians Astudillo popped out to squander the rally. The Twins finally got on the board in the seventh when Adrianza hit a solo home run and Buxton drove in Cave on a single. Astudillo followed with a double, putting runners at second and third base. Jorge Polanco popped out, creating another two out, runners in scoring position opportunity. Pinch hitter Mitch Garver nearly hit a three-run homer, but it sailed foul. He drew a walk to load the bases, then Marwin Gonzalez drew another free pass to drive in a run. That brought the Twins within two runs of Detroit. A base hit to the outfield would have tied it up, but C.J. Cron struck out. In the bottom of the eighth, Adrianza walked and Buxton hit a two-out double to put runners at second and third. Astudillo popped out to end the inning. The Twins left three men in scoring position Friday night, six Saturday afternoon, seven more Saturday evening and another six today. That makes a grand total of 22 runners they stranded in scoring position in this four-game series against the Tigers. I’m not usually one to nitpick lineup construction, but the way Rocco Baldelli filled things out had me scratching my head. This was Astudillo’s first game since April 27, but he was the leadoff man. He ended up leaving six men on base today. I get that Buxton has looked very comfortable in the No. 9 spot, but having him behind Adrianza and Cave against a left-handed starter was odd to see. It seems silly to gripe about anything in regard to this team’s offense, especially the way Baldelli has gone about his business, but I do feel like this is an element to keep an eye on going forward. The players have to execute, obviously, but that big gap between overall production and performance with two outs and runners in scoring position seems to be something that may be corrected by an adjustment to the batting order. Back to this game, Martin Perez gave up a two-run home run to Nicholas Castellanos in the first inning and then a solo shot to Brandon Dixon in the second. He got rolling from there forward, but was removed in the sixth inning after the leadoff batter hit a single off his ankle. Perez was at 93 pitches and Trevor May was already warming in the bullpen, so it was probably an appropriate time to bring out the hook regardless. May pitched a scoreless sixth inning before Trevor Hildenberger came in and sunk this game for the Twins. He gave up two runs on three hits and also hit a batter. He’s up to 10 earned runs over his last six innings pitched. That put the Tigers up 5-0, and while the Twins had their chances at coming back, it would have been really nice to have those two runs back. Blake Parker held Detroit scoreless over the final two innings. Taylor Rogers hasn’t pitched since May 7. Nelson Cruz exited this game with a left wrist injury. Perez was diagnosed with a left foot contusion. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen512.png Next Three Games Mon vs. LAA, 6:40 pm (Berrios-Skaggs) Tue vs. LAA, 6:40 pm (Gibson-Pena) Wed vs. LAA, 12:10 pm (Odorizzi-Cahill) Last Game MIN 8, DET 3: Now Witness the Firepower Click here to view the article

This Twins lineup is a thing of destructive beauty. The scary part: Even a couple of the guys who got off to slow starts are starting to catch fire. C.J. Cron hit a big three-run home run tonight. He also homered this afternoon, giving him nine round trippers in his last 25 games. Marwin Gonzalez added a dinger of his own.Game 2 Box Score Stewart: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 63.3% strikes (57 of 90 pitches) Home Runs: Cron (9), Gonzalez (3) Multi-Hit Games: Cron (4-for-5, 2B, HR), Rosario (3-for-5), Gonzalez (2-for-4, HR, BB), Buxton (2-for-4, 2B) WPA of +0.1: Cron .243 WPA of -0.1: None Download attachment: Win511g2.png (chart via FanGraphs) Through his first 10 games with Minnesota, Cron had just a .508 OPS and Twins fans were starting to compare him to the other former Tampa Bay first baseman who flopped with the team. After a big day at the plate, Cron’s OPS is all the way up to .839. He’s been on an absolute tear. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Pen511g2.png Next Three Games Sun vs. DET, 1:10 pm CT (Perez-Norris) Mon vs. LAA, 6:40 pm CT (TBD) Tue vs. LAA, 6:40 pm CT (TBD) Last Game DET 5, MIN 3: Tigers Out-Tater Twins, Gardy Gets Tossed Click here to view the article

The Tigers decided to take a page out of the Twins’ playbook and hit four home runs in the first of two games at Target Field today. Detroit ended up taking the advantage in the ninth inning, as Rocco Baldelli decided to go with Trevor Hildenberger over Taylor Rogers.Game 1 Box Score Pineda: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 68.4% strikes (65 of 96 pitches) Home Runs: Castro (5), Cron (8) Multi-Hit Games: Castro (2-for-4, HR) WPA of +0.1: Cron .288, Harper .161, Castro .127 WPA of -0.1: Cruz -.120, Rosario -.137, Kepler -.214, HIldenberger -.402 Download attachment: Win511g1.png (chart via FanGraphs) The Twins entered the ninth inning tied and had a freakishly fresh bullpen to work with. Rocco Baldelli had both Trevor Hildenberger and Taylor Rogers warming in the pen during the bottom of the eighth inning. He went with Hildy. It didn’t work out. Hildenberger gave up a solo homer, his first home run allowed this season, and allowed a second Tiger run to score in the inning. He’s now surrendered eight runs in his last six appearances. You have to wonder when it’s time to roll him back to low-leverage work whenever possible. Michael Pineda started this game. In the fourth inning, he gave up his third home run of the day to the struggling Tigers lineup, sparking conversations about what to do about his spot in the rotation going forward. He ended up providing a quality start. The Twins’ starting pitching has been so dominant of late that a performance the club would have been desperate for from a back of the rotation guy in recent years inspires cause for concern in 2019. Pineda ended up giving up just those three runs on the solo homers over his six innings of work. Pineda did get an assist from Ryne Harper, who stranded two inherited runners in the seventh, but Big Mike ended up surrendering just six hits and didn’t walk anyone. Serving up taters is bad, obviously, but Pineda has always done a nice job limiting damage by limiting free passes. He now has 35 strikeouts and just nine walks on the season, a 3.88 K:BB ratio. That ranks second on the starting staff behind only Jose Berrios. In the sixth inning, Jason Castro appeared to have been hit by a pitch. Detroit should have left well enough alone, but instead they challenged the call and it was overturned. Castro responded by destroying a home run to bring the Twins within a run of the Tigers. C.J. Cron tied things up in the eighth with a home run of his own. Unfortunately, that’s when Hildenberger came in and allowed Detroit to re-take the lead. The Twins’ lineup failed to make the most of their opportunities in this game. They drew five walks and had a batter hit by a pitch, but were also 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Ron Gardenhire was ejected from this game, drawing a fun reaction from the Target Field crowd. Good to see Gardy still has some fire left in him. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Pen511g1.png Next Three Games Sun vs. DET, 1:10 pm CT (Perez-Norris) Mon vs. LAA, 6:40 pm CT (TBD) Tue vs. LAA, 6:40 pm CT (TBD) Last Game MIN 6, DET 0: Odorizzi Deals (Again), Twins Win Fourth in a Row Click here to view the article

Fixed, thank you.

Luke Raley is raking in his first taste of Triple A. Acquired from the Dodgers at last year’s trade deadline, Raley has made an excellent early impression with his new org. He smashed his seventh home run of the season in a big three-hit game for the Red Wings. Come check out what else happened around the minors.TRANSACTIONS Miguel Sano is a step closer to returning to the Twins. He traveled to Rochester to join the Red Wings today. RED WINGS REPORT Durham 11, Rochester 8 Box Score Chase De Jong: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 56.7% strikes (51 of 90 pitches) HR: Luke Raley (7) Multi-hit games: Raley (3-for-4, 2B, HR), Brent Rooker (2-for-5, 2B), Tomas Telis (2-for-4), Jordany Valdespin (2-for-3, 2 2B, BB), Drew Maggi (2-for-4) Addison Reed had a successful first outing of his rehab assignment. The follow up didn’t go so well. The second pitch out of his hand ended up in the seats for a solo home run. Reed gave up three runs on five hits in his inning of work. Silver lining: He got four swinging strikes and threw 16 of his 21 pitches for strikes. The Red Wings rallied back from being down 9-5 in the fifth inning to getting the tying run into scoring position in the eighth. Unfortunately, their rally ended there and to make matters worse Gabriel Moya gave up a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning. Luke Raley was the big stud at the plate. He was 3-for-5 with a double and a home run. He scored twice and drove in three runs. Raley is now hitting an even .300 to go with a .929 OPS in his first taste of Triple A. Chase De Jong … ouch. He’s been really up against it this season, and now has given up 24 earned runs in 14 innings pitched for Rochester. Old friend Aaron Slegers got knocked around for six runs, five earned, on 10 hits over five innings for Durham. It is a really difficult time to be a pitcher at the Triple-A level right now. BLUE WAHOO BITES Mississippi 4, Pensacola 1 Box Score Griffin Jax: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 70.8% strikes (51 of 72 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: Taylor Grzelakowski (2-for-4), Jordan Gore (2-for-4, 2B) Griffin Jax lives in the strike zone. He does such an incredible job with throwing strikes it makes it really hard for opposing teams to really rack up any runs against him. Even with Mississippi hitting three home runs off him tonight, Jax still managed to limit the damage to four runs over his six innings of work. This is Jax’s worst start of the season, as he’d given up a grand total of two earned runs in six outings heading into tonight, but it’s still a testament to what he brings to the table even when things aren’t going his way. His ERA skyrocketed up to … 1.35. Wow, what a roll he’s been on. Unfortunately, the Blue Wahoo bats couldn’t pick up the slack as Kyle Muller, Atlanta’s No. 12 prospect per MLB Pipeline, pitched a great game for the Braves. Pensacola’s lone run was scored on a wild pitch. Cody Stashak pitched two perfect innings out of the bullpen and struck out four batters. In 17 innings so far this season he has 28 strikeouts and just two walks. Alex Kirilloff had the night off. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1: Tampa 5, Fort Myers 2 (suspended in the fifth inning due to heavy rain) Game 2: POSTPONED This team can’t catch a break with the weather right now. This makes four postponements and a suspended game already this month. It’s only the 10th! The suspended game will continue in the bottom of the fifth inning tomorrow. Lewin Diaz hit another home run, his third in seven games, and Ryan Costello added another homer. But, those stats won’t become official until this game is completed. So you can read all about that (assuming the weather cooperates) in tomorrow’s report. KERNELS NUGGETS West Michigan 8, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score Tyler Palm: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 55.2% strikes (37 of 67 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: Gilberto Celestino (2-for-4), Yeltsin Encarnacion (2-for-3, BB) The Kernels just could not get out of the fourth inning tonight. Tyler Palm and Austin Schulfer combined to give up six runs on five hits and two walks. Meanwhile, the lineup struggled to deliver a big hit, going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight men on base. This Cedar Rapids club could really use a boost right now. They’re 4-7 and have scored just 35 runs so far this month. Is it Wander Javier time yet? STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Cody Stashak, Pensacola Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Luke Raley, Rochester TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed 6. Brent Rooker (ROC): 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, K 11. Nick Gordon (ROC): 0-for-5, K, E (throw) 16. Gilberto Celestino (CR): 2-for-4 18. LaMonte Wade (ROC): 1-for-5, 2B, R 2 K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Durham, 12:05 pm CT (TBD) Pensacola at Chattanooga, 6:15 pm CT (TBD) Fort Myers vs. Tampa, 2:00 pm CT (continuation of suspended game) Fort Myers vs. Tampa, 4:00 pm CT (Charlie Barnes) Cedar Rapids at West Michigan, 6:05 pm CT (Cole Sands) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article

What does it matter if Jorge Polanco gets a second cycle or a sixth hit or if Kyle Gibson pitches a complete game? You have them on your fantasy team? When you have a massive lead, it makes all the sense in the world to get some guys work to stay fresh. Under different circumstances, I'm sure Gibson would have pitched another inning, but this bullpen has hardly been used of late. Kyle doesn't need to be stretched out, I'm sure -- Wait, why am I even discussing this!?!?!? The Twins just got a sweep at Toronto in which they outscored the Blue Jays 20-1. The Twins are 23-12. The Twins have the best record in baseball!!! If managerial decisions at the tail end of a blowout victory are the nitpicking points, then we're in a beautiful situation my friend. Might as well let King Midas push whatever buttons he wants from the dugout.

I still feel like you're more likely to be sorry you didn't have an extra pitcher than you are an extra bat. The way this lineup is built, there aren't many guys you'd want to platoon or pinch hit for late in a game anyway. Plus with the defensive versatility some of these guys bring there should be no trouble giving guys rest when needed even with a short bench. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if they go back down to 12 pitchers. It's just not the move I'd make.

Sunday's Twins game at Yankee Stadium was both pushed back and called off early due to rain. In between, the Twins bats scored just one run and left eight men on base. The Twins had an opportunity to send their fan base into a frenzy by winning this series in New York, but instead they fizzled out. After multiple wild pitches, a passed ball and a hit batter, the tarps finally came out in the bottom of the eighth inning.Box Score Pineda: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 63.2% strikes (60 of 95 pitches) Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Gonzalez (2-for-4) WPA of +0.1: None WPA of -0.1: Adrianza -.127, Pineda -200 Download attachment: Win55.png (chart via FanGraphs) The Twins rotation has been on fire lately. Well, pretty much everybody except for Michael Pineda. I’m sure Pineda would have loved to keep that momentum rolling, especially against his former team, but he wasn’t quite up to task despite having some really good stuff this afternoon. Pineda struck out eight batters and got 18 swinging strikes over his five innings of work, but he also gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks. The big blow was a Mike Tauchman two-run homer that came with two outs and a full count. Pineda got ahead of Tauchman 0-2, but couldn’t finish him off. The fifth and sixth pitches of that at-bat were chase sliders that were simply way too far off the plate to get even the most anxious hitter to bite. If that battle goes Pineda’s way, we may be talking about this as his most impressive outing as a Twin. Instead, it’s another subpar outing. Pineda has given up 18 earned runs over his last 19 innings pitched. Domingo German, who is having a breakout season, was excellent for the Yankees. His first name translates to Sunday in Spanish, so I think the universe was just going to be on his side either way today. The only run he surrendered over 6 2/3 innings was on an RBI single by Marwin Gonzalez. Marwin actually got two of the Twins’ four hits against German, and now has multiple hits in three of his last four games. He had just four multi-hit games in his first 24 contests with the Twins. They rain really started coming down later in this game and in the eighth inning it became an issue. Adam Ottavino threw a wild pitch, Gary Sanchez slipped retrieving it and then the next batter, C.J. Cron, was hit by a pitch. With two on and two out in the eighth, Aaron Boone brought in Aroldis Chapman to face Gonzalez. It can’t ever be comfortable to face a guy who throws 100 mph, but in the rain? No thanks. Chapman also threw a wild pitch on a slider but he eventually got Marwin swinging to end the threat. The grounds crew brought out a bunch of diamond dust between innings. Fernando Romero threw a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth. The instant it appeared as though Yankee batters may be in danger, out came the tarp. Weird. The start of this game was also delayed by three hours. The Yankees don’t have to travel tonight and the Twins just need to jump on a quick flight to Toronto, but I can’t imagine this delay will drag on too long. If they do get back underway, I’ll make sure to swing back and update this article. Here's how the radar looks right now: Download attachment: Screenshot 2019-05-05 at 6.21.10 PM.png UPDATE: The game was, in fact, called off early. Chapman was credited with the save, in case you were wondering. The silver linings are that the Twins at least didn’t get swept in New York and that Cleveland also lost today. So we’ve got that going for us. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen55.png Next Three Games Mon at TOR, 6:07 pm CT (Perez-Stroman) Tue at TOR, 6:07 pm CT (Berrios-Sanchez) Wed at TOR, 6:07 pm CT (Gibson-Thornton) Last Game MIN 7, NYY 3: Curse This Click here to view the article

Friday night’s ugly performance in a 6-3 defeat was yet another chapter in Twins futility in New York. Just when it feels like this franchise will be forever cursed at Yankee Stadium, the Twins went out and sent a reminder this afternoon. New team, new manager, new mojo. Curse? What curse?Box Score Odorizzi: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 65.0% strikes (65 of 100 pitches) Home Runs: Garver (6), Cron (6), Cruz (7) Multi-Hit Games: Garver (3-for-5, HR), Schoop (2-for 3), Buxton (2-for-4, 2B) WPA of +0.1: Odorizzi .316, Garver .215 WPA of -0.1: None Download attachment: Win54.png (chart via FanGraphs) It’s only one game in early May, but this victory carries a lot of weight across Twins Territory. Even with the team's excellent start, a sweep at the hands of the Yankees would have been pretty devastating to fan morale. We now know that’s not going to happen. Jake Odorizzi held New York to just two hits over six shutout innings and the offense was relentless. The Twins tallied 12 hits and scored in six different innings. When the Yankees scored two in the seventh off Trevor Hildenberger, the Twins responded with a run. When New York added another run in the eighth, the lineup responded again with a run and topped off with another in the ninth just for good measure. Odorizzi finished strong, something he's struggled with over his career. He had to face the meat of the Yankee lineup in his sixth and final inning. It was that dreaded third time he was working through the order, so there was plenty of cause for concern, but he got Luke Voit and Gary Sanchez to ground out. He surrendered a single to Miguel Andujar, but then struck out Gleyber Torres on three pitches to end an incredibly encouraging performance on a high note. And it could have been even worse for the Yankees. Jonathan Scoop appeared to have hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning, but Cameron Maybin made a sensational catch to rob the home run and end the inning. It was all good, because Mitch Garver, C.J. Cron and Nelson Cruz all managed to homer. It’s nice to see a Twins team able to take full advantage of the dimensions of Yankee Stadium, though Cruz’s shot was a no-doubter. That constant stream of run scoring took a ton of pressure off the bullpen. Taylor Rogers pitched an efficient 1-2-3 ninth inning to secure the victory and put the mind of Twins fans at ease. Yes, this is a beat up Bronx Bombers team, but a win in New York is a win in New York. These suckers have been tough to come by. Enjoy it. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen54.png Next Three Games Sun at NYY, 3:05 pm CT (Pineda-German) Mon at TOR, 6:07 pm CT (TBD-Stroman) Tue at TOR, 6:07 pm CT (TBD-Sanchez) Last Game NYY 6, MIN 3: All Too Familiar at Yankee Stadium Click here to view the article

Happy to see Tom Hackimer healthy and performing again.