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It’s time to name the best Minnesota Twins hitter of the month! So far, Mitch Garver, Nelson Cruz, and Jorge Polanco have taken home this prestigious award. Will there be a new winner for the month of August? August represented the first month of the season in which Minnesota had a winning record. Curiously enough, according to several metrics, it was also the month in which they had their lowest offensive productivity. This controversy (given that their pitching wasn’t substantially better either) could be explained by the fact that Twins hitters performed very well in clutch situations, making the difference between losing and winning in at least a handful of games. Without further ado, here are three honorable mentions, followed by the big winner! Honorable Mention #3: Luis Arraez This is how good Luis Arraez is: despite having a slight dip in productivity during August, he still had one of the top 15 batting averages in baseball. Also, by slashing .291/.371/.384 (.755), he finished the month with the highest batting average on the team. Unsurprisingly, his power numbers aren’t impressive, but he compensates for that with a ton of plate discipline. Among all qualified batters in August, Arraez’s strikeout rate (8.2%) ranked fourth-best in baseball. He only struck out more than one of his teammates in August: bullpen legend Willians Astudillo (2.9%). It should be brought to your attention that Arraez’s final numbers in August started to drop only during the last week of the month. Until Aug 24, he was slashing .314/.381/.404 (.785) before an 0-for-16 slump. Hopefully, the turn of the calendar will help him get back on track. Honorable Mention #2: Miguel Sanó Miguel Sanó’s mere presence in this Twins lineup was a question mark for quite some time. When he struggles, as he did during April and May, many people are vocal about it. Well, for the past three months, he’s been proving many people wrong, having a very consistent, above league average productivity. His highlight of the month happened last week, when he hit the longest home run in all of baseball this year, sending the poor baseball completely out of Fenway Park. During August, Sanó had his highest number of plate appearances of the season (106), and he was able to sustain a season-best .820 OPS while also having a .344 wOBA and 118 wRC+. It seems as if consistent playing time makes all the difference for the big fellow. Sanó had the team’s second-most extra-base hits (11) and third-highest SLG (.489) in August. Not to mention that he stepped up when the team needed him the most, putting the ball in play 50% of the time in high-leverage situations, the eighth-best BABip in all of baseball in such situations. Honorable Mention #1: Josh Donaldson “The Bringer of Rain” had an incredible month of August, possibly his best in a Twins uniform. Donaldson led the team in batting average for the month, slashing .278/.360/.519 (.878) while also posting .376 wOBA and 140 wRC+, both ranking second-best on the team and considerably above league average. This was the fourth month out of five this year in which he maintained a wRC+ of at least 125. For those who believe the Twins should pursue a trade involving him next winter, his improved second half of the season can seriously increase his trade value. Hitter of the Month: Jorge Polanco For the first time since we’ve established the hitter of the month award, we have a player to be named for a second time. In August, Jorge Polanco was easily the Twins’ best hitter, leading the team in fWAR, with 1.1 and also most of the other relevant offensive metrics, including .945 OPS, .612 SLG, .390 wOBA, and 150 wRC+. But what was even more impressive about Polanco’s August was how clutch and decisive he was! He was responsible for three consecutive walk-off RBI hits for Minnesota this month alone. Check out this video from Twins Daily’s Tom Froemming with every one of his five walk-off hits this season. Given his track record and expected statistics, his current power surge is probably unsustainable over an entire season. He slugged .421 for the first three months of 2021 before jumping to .548 in July and .612 in August. Nonetheless, Polanco’s August was just the icing on the cake of what has been one of his best seasons as a major-leaguer, entitling him to be a front-runner to be named the Twins’ hitter of the year. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article

A great pitching performance was not enough. The Twins offense wasted too many opportunities to score, despite producing a lot of baserunners. The Cubs, making their first trip to Target Field in six years, take game one of the interleague series. Box Score John Gant: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (64% strikes) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Kepler -.209, Buxton -.148, Simmons -.144 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Each team scored a run in the first inning. John Gant, who’s trying to make a case for himself to be a part of the 2022 starting rotation, nearly had an uneventful top of the first. Standing in the way was Frank Schwindel, who jumped on the first pitch he saw to make it 1-0 Cubs. But that lead didn’t last long. Luis Arraez opened up the bottom of the inning with a leadoff double, snapping an 0-for-16 slump. Byron Buxton followed up with a single to move Arraez to third, and Jorge Polanco pushed him across with a sac-fly, tying the game. Since we mentioned Buxton, get a load of what he did during the second inning: The Cubs still managed to score their leadoff runner that same inning, after Robinson Chirinos hit a blast to center field and Brent Rooker couldn’t field it at the warning track. The ball apparently hit him on the leg and rolled away from Buxton. Matt Duffy scored, and Chirinos reached third very easily, giving Chicago back the lead. Minnesota threatened again, in the bottom half, with men in the corners with no outs. But this time, they ended up empty-handed. After a busy first couple of innings, both pitchers settled down and dominated opposing pitchers. Gant finished off his start with a perfect second time through the order – three consecutive 1-2-3 innings. He didn’t walk a single batter all night. Unfortunately for the Twins, Cubs starter Zach Davies also put away nine batters in a row, starting in the second inning. It was not until the fifth that the Twins would have baserunners again. Both of them ended up being stranded. Juan Minaya came in relief of Gant and faced the minimum in the sixth. However, he couldn’t keep up the good work during the seventh when he loaded the bases with no outs, forcing Rocco Baldelli to pull him from the game. Tyler Duffey took the mound and did a fantastic job, striking out the side on 16 pitches. This was the first time since May 29 (third overall) that Duffey pitched at least one scoreless inning with three strikeouts. With his outing tonight, he posted a 2.25 ERA in August. Meanwhile, the offense kept struggling against Cubs pitching. They stranded a pair of runners in the bottom of the seventh, at which point they had accumulated five men left on base and were 1-for-7 with men in scoring position. Chicago’s offense, on the other hand, extended their lead in the eighth, with Ian Happ hitting a monstrous third deck home run to left, which gave the Cubs a two-run lead, 3-1. The Twins tried to start a rally during the eighth, loading the bases with singles by Arraez and Polanco, and a walk by Donaldson. With only one out, Max Kepler hit a bloop to shallow right, and Arraez decided to tag up, but Duffy made a perfect throw home to get him, giving Chicago an inning-ending double play. Ralph Garza Jr. kept Minnesota’s hopes alive by pitching a scoreless ninth, but the offense went down in order in the bottom half. Despite losing tonight, the Twins still end up August with a winning record (14-13), the first time this has happened this season. They face the games again this Wednesday (9/1), at 7:10 pm CT, with Joe Ryan set to make his big-league debut. Check out Tom Froemming's video recap of tonight's Twins action! Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Albers 88 0 0 0 0 88 Colomé 13 13 0 23 0 49 Thielbar 0 23 0 0 26 49 Minaya 0 17 0 0 24 41 Alcalá 12 0 0 25 0 37 Gibaut 0 0 33 0 0 33 Garza Jr. 0 0 11 0 17 28 Duffey 6 0 0 0 16 22 Coulombe 20 0 0 0 0 20 View full article

Minnesota took an early lead on a Josh Donaldson first-inning home run. Andrew Albers delivered five-plus scoreless innings, and the bullpen was lights out, helping the Twins shut out the Brewers in game one of the Border Battle. Box Score Andrew Albers: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Home Runs: Donaldson (20) Top 3 WPA: Albers .306, Donaldson .177, Coulombe .080 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Before either team even took the field, two special stories were already on display. First, third baseman Eduardo Escobar, now with the Brewers, made his first visit to Target Field as an opposing player since he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2018. He got a warm welcome from Twins fans! The other story, the most important one, was also about a player’s return. After spending over two months on the injured list recovering from a hand fracture caused by a hit-by-pitch, Byron Buxton was activated by the Twins roughly an hour before the game. He took the leadoff spot in Rocco Baldelli’s lineup, starting what might be a crucial stretch for his continuity as a Twin. While Buxton’s first plate appearance in the majors since Jun. 22 was unimpressive, with a three-pitch strikeout, that didn’t mean Minnesota’s offense wasn’t going to make some noise early. With two outs in the first, Rob Refsnyder singled, reaching with a head-first slide. Josh Donaldson hit a line drive home run to left in the following at-bat, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead. This was Donaldson’s fourth home run in the last six games. Even though they came out of the second inning empty-handed, the Twins offense kept Brewers starter Eric Lauer on the ropes. They loaded the bases with only one out and suddenly had the chance to blow this game wide open. One of those runners was Buxton himself, who worked a five-pitch walk after getting ahead in the count with 3-0. Refsnyder hit a ground ball to left that would’ve cleared the bases had it stayed fair. But it landed inches into foul territory, and he ended up being struck out briefly after that to end the inning. Albers picks up where he left off Meanwhile, Andrew Albers began putting together a nice start. Over a week after his relief appearance in New York, where he provided four innings of one-run ball, he dominated Milwaukee’s lineup the first time through the order. He retired nine of his first 11 batters faced, pitching three shutout innings on 41 pitches. He pitched himself into a jam during the fourth inning. After allowing only one hit through three, he gave up two and hit a batter, loading the bases. But he managed to induce weak enough contact to get out of it. In fact, this is what he was able to do a lot tonight. His stuff wasn’t electric, but everything was well located, causing Brewers batters to ground out multiple times. With an arsenal of five pitches, very few of them were not thrown for a strike. According to Statcast, he didn’t give up a single barrel during this outing. After a shaky fourth inning, he returned to pitch a 1-2-3 fifth and retired one batter in the sixth before being removed from the game. Jorge Alcala, also making his return to the team from the IL, came in in his relief and finished off the Brewers on ten pitches. Offense quiets down, but the bullpen is lights out Minnesota didn’t get a lot done on offense for the remainder of the game. The only time they could pose a threat was during the sixth inning when Buxton had men in the corners with two outs. Kirk Cousins’ cousin, Jake, painted the inside part of the strike zone to strike him out. Fortunately for the Twins, their bullpen was lights out. Jorge Alcala and Danny Coulombe held the Brewers scoreless until the eighth before Tyler Duffey came in to get the final out of the inning. Duffey, in fact, caught a huge break with a slow curveball out of the zone that was called for a strike – framed brilliantly by Ryan Jeffers. But on the previous pitch, a pitch that painted the lower corner of the zone and got called for a ball should’ve ended the inning. Alexander Colomé pitched the ninth inning, looking to bounce back from his previous two disastrous outings. This time, he was able to retire the side on only 13 pitches (10 strikes) to earn his eighth save of the year. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT TUE WED THU FRI TOT Albers 0 0 0 0 88 88 Garza Jr. 31 0 24 4 0 59 Coulombe 0 0 19 0 20 39 Thielbar 0 14 22 0 0 36 Duffey 0 19 9 0 6 34 Colomé 0 0 20 0 13 33 Minaya 0 30 0 0 0 30 Gibaut 0 23 0 0 0 23 Alcalá 0 0 0 0 12 12 Barnes 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Nothing new under the sun, as the Yankees crushed the Twins in the Bronx. Charlie Barnes was roughed up early, allowing six runs in two innings, making it hard for Minnesota to come back. Box Score Charlie Barnes: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 2 K (53.2 % strikes) Home Runs: Donaldson (17) Bottom 3 WPA: Barnes -.352, Astudillo -.051, Polanco -.036 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Early on, things didn’t go the Twins’ way at all, but they could’ve been much worse. Facing Néstor Cortes Jr., the offense was utterly dominated by the Cuban, who needed only 11 pitches to retire the top of Minnesota’s order. Then, the Yankees took a 4-0 lead in the bottom half of the first, with Charlie Barnes loading the bases twice. He really struggled with his control and command, giving up three walks and hitting a batter before stranding three runners to conclude the inning. A leadoff single by D.J. LeMahieu followed by a home run to the Short Porch by Aaron Judge in the second inning put the Yankees ahead 6-0. Barnes was able to cool down at this point forward,. He was able to retire six of the next eight batters, including a 12-pitch scoreless third inning. But Barnes settling down wasn’t enough. The Twins needed their offense to step up. Through the first three innings, Minnesota’s lineup got no-hit by Cortes Jr. The only Twins baserunner came via (checks notes) an Andrelton Simmons’ walk. The first sign of life from the Twins offense came during the fourth inning. Mitch Garver drew a two-out walk shortly before Rob Refsnyder ended Cortes Jr.’s no-hit bid. Nick Gordon was hit by a pitch, and, suddenly, the Twins were one swing away from getting right back into this game. It was up to Willians Astudillo, and he made contact with every pitch he saw, maybe putting a little pressure over Cortes Jr. But eventually, he flied out to right, ending the Twins’ threat. Barnes pitched himself into a jam once again in the fourth, giving up two consecutive one-out walks. Luke Voit hit a ball deep to center, and Gordon couldn’t make the diving catch on the warning track. Fortunately for the Twins, that ball bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double, and New York settled for only one run batted in, extending their lead to 7-0. Barnes came back to deliver a scoreless fifth. Twins get on the board After getting only one-hit through five innings, the Twins offense finally made some noise. Luis Arraez hit a leadoff double, coming back from an 0-2 count. Josh Donaldson had a full count after getting ahead 3-0, but Cortes Jr. hung a slider in the heart of the plate, and Donaldson brought the rain. Garver hit a single immediately after that Donaldson home run, prompting the first mound visit for the Yankees in the game. With no outs yet, Minnesota had a great chance to spark a rally. But Cortes Jr. managed to retire the following batter and then induced a ground ball double play to put the inning on the books. As it turned out, after that Garver single, Yankees pitching retired eight consecutive Twins batters. Kyle Barraclough was the Twins 40th round draft pick in 2011. He chose not to sign and was drafted the next year by the Marlins. He has spent parts of several seasons in the big leagues, and tonight, he made his Twins debut. He came in in relief of Barnes and pitched a 1-2-3 sixth frame. However, New York managed to add three more runs: a leadoff home run by Voit in the seventh and a two-run shot by LeMahieu in the eighth. Juan Minaya took over and finished the inning. Garver drew another walk, to lead off the ninth inning, but that was all Minnesota got out of that inning. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THURS FRI TOT Barnes 0 0 0 0 109 109 Gant 17 0 0 61 0 78 Minaya 19 0 40 0 16 75 Albers 0 0 0 63 0 63 Barraclough 0 0 0 0 46 46 Colomé 10 0 31 0 0 41 Garza Jr. 0 13 23 0 0 36 García 0 0 35 0 0 35 Thielbar 19 0 9 0 0 28 Coulombe 0 0 7 19 0 26 Duffey 0 0 14 0 0 14 View full article

The Twins got a quality start from Bailey Ober, plus three scoreless frames from their improved bullpen. But the offense couldn’t capitalize their many chances with men in scoring position and Minnesota failed to rally against Cleveland. Box Score Bailey Ober: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (75.3% strikes) Home Runs: none Bottom 3 WPA: Refsnyder -.222, Donaldson -.182, Sanó -.166 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The first half of this game saw a lot of action from both offenses, but, ultimately, the two young starters were able to put out the fires they encountered. Bailey Ober had the help of some very good defense behind him to conclude the first inning. That included a beautiful sliding stop from Andrelton Simmons at short and a bold diving catch from Max Kepler, that prevented José Ramírez from scoring from second. The Twins posed a threat of their own during the second inning, as they loaded the bases with no outs against Cleveland’s rookie Eli Morgan. After Miguel Sanó struck out swinging, Rob Refsnyder couldn’t bring his bat back after starting a swing and ended up hitting a weak grounder right into the glove of Morgan, who started an inning-ending double play. Then Morgan decided he was done. After that loaded bases jam in the second, he delivered three scoreless frames on 33 pitches, utterly dominating Minnesota’s bats. After he loaded the bases, he retired 11 of the next 12 Twins batters. To make matters worse for Minnesota, he also got some run support. Ober had pitched four solid shutout innings, but gave up a leadoff double to Yu Chang in the fifth, followed by a long two-run home run from Daniel Johnson. Ober found himself in trouble again in the sixth. Despite getting ahead on the count, he lost Amed Rosario for a leadoff single. Then, a fielding error from Sanó allowed Rosario to reach third and Ramírez to reach first on a fielder’s choice. Wilson Ramos stepped up to the plate and absolutely clobbered the second pitch he saw. It looked like a home run. That ball left his bat at 107 MPH and it had a 95% chance of becoming a hit (per Statcast), a three-run jack, maybe putting this game out of reach. But Refsnyder made a fantastic catch near the wall and maybe an even more fantastic throw to first, to double up Ramírez. Rosario scored from third to make it 3-0 Cleveland, but that play gave that inning a completely different ending. That play not only kept the game within reach but also helped Ober to complete his very first Major League quality start. On only 69 pitches (52 strikes), the rookie completed six innings for the first time in the season, allowing three runs, one of them unearned. Yet another sign that he might earn a permanent rotation spot in 2022. Both starters departed the game after the sixth. Coming into this game, Minnesota’s bullpen had the 10th best August ERA in baseball, with 3.22. Ralph Garza Jr. and Nick Vincent both pitched quick, scoreless innings to keep Minnesota’s hopes alive. But they needed their offense to step up. That almost happened in the bottom of the eighth, when Nick Gordon, Kepler and Brent Rooker loaded the bases with no outs, drawing three consecutive walks off Bryan Shaw. Sadly, all they got out of it was a forceout to score only one run. By that point, the Twins were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Vincent came through and kept Cleveland scoreless again, in the ninth. Down to their last chance in the bottom of the inning, the offense once again couldn’t provide the needed runs for the comeback. Cleveland reliever Emmanuel Clase had no trouble to pitch a 1-2-3 inning to close out the game. Cleveland evens the series at one game apiece and both teams play a rubber game tomorrow, at 12:10 CT. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Barnes 0 0 73 0 0 73 Vincent 37 0 0 0 28 65 Gant 41 0 0 17 0 58 García 27 0 21 0 0 48 Thielbar 0 0 15 19 0 34 Garza Jr. 0 16 0 0 13 29 Duffey 0 0 27 0 0 27 Colomé 0 0 13 10 0 23 Minaya 0 0 0 19 0 19 Coulombe 0 10 0 0 0 10 View full article

It was an emotional night at Target Field, with Nelson Cruz’s return to town. Nelly homered and helped the Rays shorten Michael Pineda’s night to less than three innings, with Tampa Bay cruising to an easy win. Box Score Pineda: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (82.9% strikes) Home Runs: Rooker (5) Bottom 3 WPA: Pineda -.237, Gant -.138, Larnach -.133 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Friday night was an emotional affair for the Twins at Target Field even before the first pitch. For starters, the organization kicked off the “1991 Reunion Weekend” celebrations, with fans being able to take pictures with some World Series champions. Then, Gophers football head coach P.J. Fleck threw the ceremonial first pitch. But none of that seemed to be as big as the return of an old friend. Nelson Cruz played his first game as an opponent of the Twins since May 27, 2018, and the first one at Target Field since May 14 from that same year. Batting third for the Rays, he received a standing ovation from Twins fans, to whom he tipped his helmet. He also got shown some love from his old teammates, like Miguel Sanó, who crashed Nelly’s Zoom call with the media, asking “Papá Cruz” to go easy on the Twins. Cruz may have done what his friend and mentee asked him to do in his first at-bat – he struck out on three pitches. But his new teammates sure weren’t going to do the same. Brandon Lowe had hit a leadoff single to open the game before Cruz’s at-bat. Then, after it, Randy Arozarena hit a long double off the wall at center field, driving in Lowe. During the second inning, the Rays scored a couple more runs. Yandy Diaz hit a leadoff home run, and Mike Zunino scored after Pineda gave up back-to-back singles, followed by a wild pitch. Something seemed off with “Big Mike.” He faced Cruz for the second time in the game to open the third inning, and, this time, Nelson didn’t go easy. He crushed a hanging changeup to the left corner for a line-drive home run that left his bat at nearly 111 MPH. The Rays took an early 4-0 lead. After that, Pineda induced a couple of ground ball outs, but before he could finish the inning, he departed the game with an apparent injury. Pineda didn’t have a lot of problems throwing strikes (39 out of 47 pitches), but his velocity was slightly below his season average, perhaps making it easy for Tampa Bay hitting to get six hits off him. Twins try to rally multiple times, Rays always respond Making his Twins debut, veteran Nick Vincent came in relief of Pineda to get the last out of the third. Then, he gave up a solo home run to Zunino in the fourth, making it 5-0 Rays. But other than that, the 35-year old managed to limit the damage to the one run for the remainder of his outing. During the bottom of the fourth, the Twins offense finally posed its first threat to Rays’ starter, Shane McClanahan, putting two men on. Sanó singled to the gap to score Brent Rooker from third, putting the Twins on the board, before stranding both runners left. Minnesota kept hitting the ball hard, trying to spark a rally. After Vincent pitched a scoreless fifth, Ryan Jeffers led off the home half of the inning with a single. Then, Rooker, with his third hit of the night, pushed him across. Josh Donaldson had the chance to cut the Rays’ lead to only one run, but he ended up striking out, ending the threat. In the following inning, Tampa Bay responded right back, with an inside-the-park home run by Kevin Kiermaier, making it 6-2. He hit a flyball to deep right, which looked like a triple, but Jorge Polanco juggled the ball before being able to get Kiermaier at home plate. Mitch Garver and Rob Refsnyder opened the bottom half of the sixth with back-to-back singles, and Sanó made it three consecutive hits with an RBI single to score Garver. Suddenly, the Twins had two men on with no outs, down by only three runs. That was Miggy’s second RBI of the night. But once again, Tampa’s pitching frustrated Minnesota’s offense and spoiled their rally, ending the inning with a ground ball double play. Rays explode for a four-run seventh John Gant gave up that inside-the-park home run in the sixth, but he settled in and retired the following three batters. With the bullpen needing to eat up innings, he was brought back to pitch the seventh, and that’s where things went sour. Tampa produced four runs on three hits and a sac-fly off him, putting this game well out of reach, 10-3. Even with such a large deficit, Minnesota didn’t give up. Rooker got his fourth hit of the night with a two-out solo home run in the home half, cutting Tampa’s lead to six. Donaldson and Garver hit back-to-back singles after him, and once again, the Twins were one swing away from getting right back in the game. But they couldn’t capitalize again. Making his second appearance as a Twin, Edgar García pitched a couple of scoreless frames to close up the game, providing yet another very effective outing. The offense fell in order in the bottom of the ninth, and Tampa ran away with the win. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Barnes 68 0 0 0 0 68 García 32 0 0 0 27 59 Gant 0 11 0 0 41 52 Vincent 0 0 0 0 37 37 Colomé 0 10 14 0 0 24 Thielbar 0 0 20 0 0 20 Duffey 0 15 0 0 0 15 Minaya 0 0 15 0 0 15 Coulombe 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

It was a wild one, but the Twins came back from an early 3-0 deficit to beat the Astros in the second game of the series, earning at least a split. Minnesota’s bullpen had an outstanding game to support Bailey Ober’s solid start. Box Score Ober: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (68.7% strikes) Home Runs: Garver (13) Top 3 WPA: Minaya .718, Colomé .305, Kepler .110 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The bats started this game very eager to create an early lead as they did on Thursday night. That became evident by Max Kepler jumping on the game’s very first pitch and smacking a 106 MPH line drive to center. In fact, that was the first of four hard-hit balls collected by the Twins offense in the first four innings and the first out of five that had at least .500 xBA, per Statcast. Unfortunately, it was also the only one to become an actual hit. Despite allowing a great deal of hard contact, Astro’s starter Zack Greinke managed to retire the eight batters he faced following that Kepler leadoff single. Meanwhile, Bailey Ober had a hard time against the long ball, which allowed Houston to create a three-run lead. After a scoreless first inning and retiring the first two batters faced in the second, Ober gave up back-to-back two-out hits. The second one was a two-run home run for Taylor Jones. Ober got back on track and tossed a scoreless third, but then Chas McCormick took him deep with a solo shot in the fourth, making it 3-0 Houston. Twins rally back; bullpen helps to take the game into extras Minnesota finally managed to ambush Greinke in the fifth inning. After being limited to only the one hit through four, the Twins produced four hits in the same inning. Mitch Garver hit a leadoff homer to left to put Minnesota on the board. Miguel Sanó and Rob Refsnyder followed him with back-to-back singles, making it three consecutive to open the inning. Then Kepler grounded into a force out to score Sanó from third, pulling the Twins within a run. Ober finished his outing with a strong display. After getting two outs on nine pitches, he battled Kyle Tucker on a tough, seven-pitch at-bat. Ober prevailed and struck out Tucker, his first punchout since the second inning. Over his last six starts, dating back from the start of July, Ober has posted a 4.22 ERA while striking out 9.7 batters and walking just 2.9 per nine. Ober seems to be steadily evolving into a solid bottom of the rotation presence. He finished July with a 3.97 ERA over five starts and has now delivered at least five innings of work in four of his last six starts. Jorge Polanco opened up the sixth inning with a double, showing that the Twins’ comeback wasn’t done. A couple of at-bats later, Luis Arraez hit a hard ground ball to left, his first hit of the night, pushing Polanco across and tying the game. That run also earned Ober a no-decision. John Gant celebrated his birthday with a strong outing. He struck out the first two batters he faced before inducing a groundout to complete a 1-2-3 sixth on 17 pitches. However, Tyler Duffey’s outing after him wasn’t nearly as uneventful. He gave up back-to-back one-out hits, including a single to José Altuve that snapped an 0-for-11 stretch. Duffey took advantage of a fantastic defensive play from Arraez that ended the inning. Unfortunately, it also forced Arraez to leave the game a few moments later, as it seems like he twisted his knee on the play. The offense struggled against Houston’s bullpen. After the game-tying single from Arraez in the sixth, the Astros relievers retired 12 Minnesota batters in a row. That put a lot of pressure on the Twins bullpen, but they managed to navigate through it. Jorge Alcala pitched a 1-2-3 eighth on 14 pitches, striking out a pair. That was his fourth consecutive outing without allowing an earned run, for a total of 5 ⅓ innings. Has he finally turned the corner? Similarly, only with fewer innings, Alexander Colomé pitched a fourth consecutive scoreless outing, keeping the game tied after nine, taking the game to extra innings. Both teams exchange punches in extras With Refsnyder starting the 10th inning on second, the Twins managed to score quickly. Andrelton Simmons swung on the second pitch he saw from reliever Phil Maton and sent Refsnyder to third. Then Kepler got ahead in the count and hit a sacrifice fly to center, moving up both runners. Minnesota took the lead for the first time in the game, 4-3. That didn’t last long, though. Houston tied it up in the bottom half of the inning. Lefty Danny Coulombe came in relief of Colomé. Michael Brantley grounded out to move up Altuve, the automatic runner, to third. Then Yordan Álvarez singled to left to score Altuve. Coulombe gave up a two-out walk to Tucker, putting two runners on for Houston. Rocco Baldelli brought in Juan Minaya, who struck out Aledmys Diaz on three pitches to end the inning. Having a quiet night up until that point, Josh Donaldson stepped in and came through with a big hit to open the 11th inning, and that was enough to score Polanco from second and retake the lead for the Twins who now took a 5-4 lead. Minaya came back to close the game, and he did it brilliantly, retiring the first two batters on seven pitches. Then, some thrilling plays took place. Minaya induced poor contact from Jason Castro. But Garver, playing at first base, couldn’t field the ground ball cleanly, allowing his former teammate to reach and moving Diaz to third. In the final play of the game, Altuve tried to bunt to third, but Sanó was able to pick up the ball and retire Altuve at first with an 84 MPH “bazooka” throw, securing the win. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Minaya 0 0 44 0 17 61 Colomé 0 20 0 7 17 44 Coulombe 0 13 0 17 14 44 Duffey 0 0 0 21 20 41 Gant 0 22 0 0 17 39 Thielbar 0 0 22 8 0 30 Alcala 0 0 0 14 14 28 Burrows 0 0 13 0 0 13 View full article

We’re a few hours away from the 2021 trade deadline, and the Twins are on the verge of trading away José Berríos. ‘La Makina’ is, without a doubt, the greatest homegrown starting pitching talent Minnesota has developed in a long time. Is trading him similar, in any way, to trading Johan Santana back in 2008? Please, calm down. I’m not at all saying Berríos is, today, similar to what Santana was when the Mets acquired him from Minnesota. Nor that he will be nearly as good as the Venezuelan. But bear with me, while I look at what those two deals have in common. Their role in the Twins After the 2007 season, Santana was already one of baseball’s greatest pitchers, if not the best one. Mentioning his accolades up until that moment has no use here. They couldn’t afford him, so they found themselves forced to trade him. Berríos, right now, may not be the ace Johan was, but he is certainly one of baseball’s most reliable arms. Especially, you know, health-wise. So far in his career, Berríos hasn’t had any serious injury that cost him relevant playing time. His injury history is immaculate. Minus 2016, the year he got called up for the first time, and 2020, the 60-game season, Berríos has logged at least 145 innings in each season of his career. He’s having career numbers this year, which indicates that he’s only getting better. So he may not be as talented as Santana, but he’s a solid piece of this rotation. A player who could easily be a number three starter for the vast majority of MLB teams. And, at 27, which is two years younger than Santana when he was dealt, you just have to assume he’s just entering his prime. What if they stayed? My main point here is this. What could’ve happened if the Twins could afford Santana and signed him to an extension? And what may happen if they decide to hold on to José now? Everything from now on will be hypothetical, so get ready for many ‘what ifs.’ When Minnesota traded Santana, they knowingly gave up on a two-time Cy Young Award winner, the best starter they had since… Blyleven? Viola in ‘91? Or the best one ever? You decide. If he had stayed, he would’ve made that phenomenal Twins team even better. After a disappointing 79-83 record in 2007, Minnesota went on to win at least 87 games in each of the following three seasons, including a 94-win season in 2010, capping a second consecutive AL Central title. However good they were, those teams could never get past the Yankees in their trips to the ALDS. How much closer to winning a World Series would that particular team be, had Santana stayed? No one will ever know. But I think it’s fair to assume they would have much, much better odds. In conclusion, trading away Johan, even though it was the only logical solution given the club’s financial reality at that point, undeniably made the Twins a worse team. With that being said, let’s shift to Berríos’ case now. Realistically speaking, the Twins are a much better team with him around. No pitcher within the organization brings to the table, today, the same productivity from Berríos. Kenta Maeda bounced back very nicely, but there’s no way he’s had a better season than José so far. If you’re not looking at the prospect of a two or three-year rebuilding process, there’s no way you trade Berríos now. Minnesota’s chances of having a competitive rotation in 2022 are not better at all with the absence of Berríos. Unless, of course, they pull a huge free agent signing during the winter, which is very unlikely. Let me repeat myself: Berríos is no ace (yet), and he doesn’t bring to the table the same as Santana 13 years ago. But if you keep him, adding one or two good free agent arms during the winter could turn this rotation around next year. If you don’t, you’re considerably further along. What is the big difference? Like I said before, the Twins had no alternatives but to trade Santana. Revenue wasn’t the same, so it’s understandable. What you can question is how bad the return for Santana was. That deal turned out to be one of the worst in club history. But, yeah, trading him was a must. On the other hand, that certainly doesn’t seem to be the same case with Berríos now. First, a contract extension to José wouldn’t be nearly as expensive. Twins Daily’s Ted Schwerzler believes that a Berríos contract would look similar to those of Luis Severino, Aaron Nola, and Lance McCullers, ranging around the $12-15M AAV and going for four or five years. We don’t know the complete picture of Minnesota’s financial reality, but that doesn’t seem like a very expensive ask. The aftermath While the return for Santana was suboptimal, sadly, the remainder of Santana’s career was severely affected by injuries. While still a fine pitcher and pitching an amazing 2008 season, he needed to go through two season-ending surgeries in 2009 and 2010, the latter one also removing him from the entirety of 2011. Again turning to hypotheticals, if he had been healthy in New York, watching him pitch at a high level for a different team could be somewhat similar to watch David Ortiz slug his way into the Hall of Fame in a Red Sox uniform. What aggravates Ortiz’s case is the fact that no one saw that coming, unlike Santana. Still, it wouldn’t feel nice. Thinking about the comparison with Berríos, how frustrating would it be to see him actually become an ace for a different team? Many Twins fans don’t consider him ace material up until now. But are you willing to bet money that this will never change? How certain are you that he won’t be one of the league’s top starters two or three years from now? Offering a more optimistic perspective: how amazing would it be if Berríos actually becomes an ace and the Twins had already locked him up long-term with a ‘bargain’ of $15M AAV? He would not only be the cornerstone of the Twins rotation, but he would also serve as a mentor to all the exciting arms coming up from the farm. Just picture, three years from now, a rotation containing Berríos and names like Josh Winder, Jordan Balazovic, Griffin Jax, and Bailey Ober. Assuming the financial aspect isn’t an issue, the only thing standing between Berríos and a future with the Twins is whether the club wants him around or not – unlike Santana. A haul in exchange for him would obviously look nice. But keeping him may potentially be even more profitable. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article

Down by four runs early on, the Twins never gave up and managed to rally back to beat the Angels and even the series, one game a piece. Ryan Jeffers' clutch hit and Nick Gordon's aggressive baserunning sealed the deal late. Box Score Happ: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (62.5% strikes) Home Runs: none Top 3 WPA: Jeffers .512, Rogers .169, Polanco .104 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Happ struggles early but settles in nicely Eight pitches. Eight pitches were all it took for this game to have its first runs on the board. Happ was off to a horrendous start, which is not news. Coming into tonight’s game, 21.3% of all earned runs given up by the southpaw in the season happened during the first inning of games. That became a little worse when Phil Gosselin doubled and then scored on a Jose Iglesias’ single. Then it became a lot worse a few moments later when old friend Kurt Suzuki hit a two-out, two-run bomb to the left field corner, making it 3-0 Angels. Facing righty Alex Cobb, the offense loaded the bases during the bottom of the first inning but couldn’t capitalize. They went down in order in the second frame, but not before Happ had given up yet another home run in the top of the inning to Jack Mayfield, extending the Angels’ lead to four. With the four early runs allowed, the Twins’ starter took the lead of Robbie Ray for most earned runs allowed by any left-handed pitcher in the American League. Minnesota got one run back in the third inning with Jorge Polanco keeping his hot streak alive and well with a double, and being pushed across by a single from Trevor Larnach. Fortunately, that was also the inning when Happ had started to settle in. After the awful first two innings, he went on to pitch four scoreless frames. Before he departed, the Twins manufactured another run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Max Kepler hit a bullet to lead off the inning (110 MPH exit velocity), then Polanco singled to move him to third. With men on the corners, a fantastic defensive play from Mayfield at third prevented the Twins from maybe scoring a couple of runs. Instead, Josh Donaldson grounded into a double-play, but that was enough to score Kepler from third and cut Los Angeles’ lead to 4-2. Offense keeps pushing for a rally The Twins continued to peck their way into this game. Cobb came back to the mound for the bottom of the sixth, but he left the game with a blister before throwing a single pitch. With Steve Cishek pitching, Miguel Sanó led off the inning with a double, and Nick Gordon singled to right to bring the big man home, putting Minnesota within a run. Minnesota kept hitting the ball hard. After Alexander Colomé delivered a scoreless seventh inning, Donaldson hit a single in the bottom of the inning, the Twins’ 11th hit of the night. However, they couldn’t add on, thanks to Mayfield’s impressive defensive display at the hot corner. While the Twins were able to produce baserunners, most of them were stranded by the Angel defense. Juan Minaya worked out of a jam in the top of the eighth to keep this a one-run game. Then, with a series of great at-bats, the offense came through in the home half. Sanó worked an eight-pitch at-bat to draw a leadoff walk, prompting a pitching change. Joe Maddon brought in star closer Raisel Iglesias to try to keep the Angels ahead. After he got the first out of the inning, Gordon responded with a single, his second of the night. Then Ryan Jeffers came through with his most clutch hit yet! A single to left, just out of the reach of Mayfield, was enough to score Sanó from second. After an errant throw home, Suzuki tried to catch Gordon advancing to third base, but he was way off the mark, allowing the Twins’ rookie to score sliding and give the Twins their first lead of the night, 5-4. Taylor Rogers came in to pitch the ninth inning and, despite giving up a bloop single to David Fletcher, managed to retire the side and secure the Twins win. This was his ninth save of the season, the 50th in his career. He's now even closer to enter the top 10 in career saves in Senators/Twins franchise history, ranking 13th at the moment. Postgame Interviews Nick Gordon Ryan Jeffers Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Colomé 0 26 22 0 11 59 Duffey 16 0 38 0 0 54 Alcala 23 24 0 0 0 47 Coulombe 0 5 0 32 0 37 Rogers 19 0 0 0 18 37 Thielbar 0 17 16 0 0 33 Robles 19 7 0 0 0 26 Minaya 0 0 0 0 20 20 View full article

The Mets, under new ownership, were aggressive in the market last winter and landed some key pieces. However, injuries have taken a toll on their season, and winning the division isn't a certainty. They haven't been to the postseason in four years, and if they want to have a relevant October, they need to add at least a starting pitcher and one more bat. Minnesota has exactly what they need. Will the clubs find the right price? What's their situation? The Mets' presence in October looks pretty likely, although it's not a sure thing. They went into the All-Star break leading the NL East by 3.5 games over the Philadelphia Phillies, with a record of 47-40. After a slow start in April, they exploded to go 17-9 in May. This helped them improve from the fourth-worst record in the NL to the top of their division by the end of the month. Winning the division – something they did last in 2015 – appears to be the safest way for them to make it into the postseason. The Los Angeles Dodgers (56-35) and the San Diego Padres (53-40), the two clubs currently in ownership of the two wild card spots, both have records considerably better than New York at this point. If one of them manages to win the NL West, the San Francisco Giants (currently at 57-32) suddenly become the Mets' competition for the wild card. New York finished the first half of the season with a winning record within the division, 19-18. But against their two main threats, the Phillies and the Braves, they are at 14-10. The Braves, unfortunately, lost Ronald Acuña Jr. for the season due to a torn ACL, so their already-average offensive productivity (100 wRC+) may take a dip during the second half. With the Mets having one of baseball's best pitching staffs, making the right additions in this trade deadline could be key to put them over the top in the NL East. Steven Cohen, the team's new boss since last October, is baseball's richest team owner with a net worth that has reached the $16 billion thresholds last April, according to Forbes. Not three months after acquiring Francisco Lindor from Cleveland last January, Cohen demonstrated his business aggressiveness and locked him up in late March with a 10-year, $341 million extension. Not only this proves his total commitment to building a World Series-caliber team, but it also puts the Mets into a very convenient position when they need to lure free agents or top trade targets into the club. Trading for and then signing Lindor to an extension wasn't the only move from the Mets for this season. Over the winter, they made some key free-agent additions, such as keeping Marcus Stroman, as well as All-Star starter Taijuan Walker, former All-Star catcher James McCann, and our dear Trevor May. The Mets being in a position of entering a pennant race after the trade deadline additions is certainly not an accident. What do they need? As good as the Mets' pitching staff has been, they could still use some help. Their starting rotation has produced 9.9 fWAR (4th most in baseball) while also having the second-best ERA, with 2.98, and the best FIP, at 3.36. However, they did that relying basically on three arms: Stroman, Walker, and Jacob deGrom, who's having one of the most dominant seasons a starting pitcher has had in years, possibly decades. Outside of the trio mentioned above, if you put together all the other pitchers who started at least one game for the Mets this season, they have a combined 4.62 ERA and 4.61 FIP. If they don't pursue pitching help now, that's the kind of productivity they'll be relying on should any severe injuries happen to one of their top three starters. Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard have slight chances of returning to the team this season, but that definitely shouldn't be something to count on. If you're the Mets, shopping for a solid starter to strengthen your rotation in the second half and into October should be your top priority. Next on their list are, of course, bats. The Mets as a team have had a very poor offense – to sugarcoat it – throughout this season, ranking 17th in wRC+ (93) and 25th in OPS (.683), while striking out 24.4% of the time, which represents the 10th highest percentage in baseball. They've produced the second-fewest runs in all of baseball so far this season, with a total of 327. deGrom, who constantly doesn't get run support from New York's lineup, has a .758 OPS, which is higher than those of seven of the eight qualified hitters in the team. Lindor appears to have found his mojo this month, but he's had an abysmal first three months as a Met, being booed several times by the fans. J.D. Davis has been sidelined for most of the season, which creates a huge gap in their lineup. Even though he's expected to be activated very soon, you have no idea what version of him is coming back from the injured list. So it makes a lot of sense to look for some help at third base. Besides, if he does come back hitting as well as he was in April, they can easily move him to one of their corner outfield spots. Good pitching is never enough, but so far, the Mets haven't been linked to any significant relief pitching rumors. They appear to be satisfied with what their bullpen is bringing to the table, a staff with a 2.12 WPA so far this season, the 12th-best in baseball. Seven of their eight most-used relievers this season have a sub-four ERA. Which Twins are the best fit? Having that in mind, the Twins may immediately become the best trading partner available for New York, as they can kill two birds with one stone by dealing with Minnesota. Josh Donaldson might not be a frontrunner, but he would be the perfect fit for the Mets. Earlier this month, it was reported that both sides started preliminary talks. However, things didn't progress. Nonetheless, 'The Bringer of Rain' is undeniably an upgrade over veteran Jonathan Villar, the Mets' primary hot corner starter this season. Donaldson's .831 OPS for the season (1.035 over his last 30 games) are considerably above Villar's .745. Besides, even with some of his defensive metrics being below his career average right now, Donaldson still provides the Mets much better defense. José Berríos is the next big thing the Twins have to offer. The former All-Star is not an ace, as we all know, but he is absolutely solid and, at 27 and under team control for this season and next, the upside is huge. After 18 starts this season, 'La Makina' is posting some career numbers, such as 3.48 ERA, 3.40 FIP, and 1.10 WHIP. In several metrics, Berríos is a superior pitcher to Walker himself, providing more strikeouts and giving up fewer walks. Having Berríos as their number three or four starter would make the Met rotation much, much scarier. Adding Berríos would also be huge for New York because both Stroman and Syndergaard will be free agents at the end of the season. The upside that he brings to the table is so significant that some Mets fans even consider him the 'condition' to accept all the potential downside of bringing in Donaldson, such as the age, the injury history, and the high salary. However, names like Kris Bryant, Adam Frazier, and Eduardo Escobar might get in the way of them making another blockbuster trade, such as the one they did with Cleveland in January. Who could the Twins get back? In mid-June, New York-based SNY presented this package in exchange for Berríos: Ronny Mauricio, a 20-year-old shortstop, is currently the organization's #2 prospect, while J.T. Ginn (RHP) is their #6, and Junior Santos (RHP) their #11. While this is a package containing some of your best-ranked prospects, looking at their productivity in the minors this season makes you think. Santos', who's only 19, still hasn't had a very good season in the Mets' system, with a 4.37 career ERA so far. On the other hand, Ginn has a solid 2.48 ERA this season, his first out of college, but the sample might still be too small to judge him. Mauricio is a very attractive piece, even though he doesn't have eye-popping numbers so far. However, it's uncertain how much the Twins would be willing to have the most valuable trade piece be a shortstop. This position already accounts for four of the team's top 30 prospects list, including their #1, Royce Lewis, and #7, Keoni Cavaco. Not to mention that Nick Gordon just made the big league team and is doing pretty well. But those are all more of a wondering than it is a reason to say no. It's hard to imagine that the Mets would toss in anything more than this for Berríos. Would they be willing to add a low-end prospect to the package in exchange for Donaldson? As much as Berríos and Donaldson would be the perfect fit for them, perhaps they won't be willing to go any higher than something similar to what's been suggested above. They could probably land a better third baseman with those same pieces if they decide to trade with some other team. At the same time, I also feel like the Twins could get a better return in exchange for Berríos. That is if they're really willing to deal him – which we aren't sure they are. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article

The Twins managed to come back from a two-run deficit and led by one in extra innings, but with an unbelievable play that ended the game, the Tigers won the nightcap and swept the split doubleheader with a walk-off. Box Score Maeda: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (68.8% strikes) Home Runs: Donaldson (14) Bottom 3 WPA: Rogers -.542, Jeffers -.366, Kirilloff -.192 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Bats show up early, Baddoo overpowers them In game one of the doubleheader, Minnesota’s lineup couldn’t figure out how to get to the Tigers pitching. They managed to get only two total hits the Twins were shut out. But in game two, things were different and it didn’t take long this time. Nelson Cruz hit a two-out double off Tyler Alexander shortly before Josh Donaldson brought him home with a liner to center. It was a rocket, too, leaving his bat at 108 MPH. Minnesota surpassed its hits total from the first game during the second inning when Miguel Sanó hit a double, but that threat was short-lived. Detroit, however, made the most of their opportunity in that same inning. A ghost from Kenta Maeda’s last start came back to haunt him, as he failed to retire the leadoff hitter, issuing a walk. Despite retiring his next two batters, he loaded the bases on a single and a hit-by-pitch. Akil Badoo made him pay and, on the next at-bat, the former Twins prospect tripled to clear the bases, putting the Tigers ahead, 3-1. Donaldson brings the rain, puts the rally in motion The Twins were far from done. While Maeda settled in and delivered back-to-back 1-2-3 innings, Minnesota tied it up, scoring a run in two consecutive innings. First, Donaldson got his second hit and run batted in of the game, with a leadoff home run in the fourth, to put the Twins within one. Oh, and potential Donaldson buyers at the trade deadline are going to be happy to know that this was an even stronger blast, leaving his bat at 113 MPH. Digging into their bullpen, the Tigers couldn’t avoid the Twins’ comeback. Minnesota loaded them up early in the fifth, after Andrelton Simmons and Jorge Polanco hit back-to-back singles, prompting Detroit’s second pitching change of the night, and Trevor Larnach drew a walk. Cruz hit a 107 MPH chopper that was understandably bobbled by second baseman Harold Castro, allowing Simmons to score and tied the game. After giving up that triple against Baddoo in the second, Maeda never allowed another Tiger to reach, retiring the final ten batters he saw. In fact, minus the second inning, he allowed only one baserunner to reach in this game, a single in the first inning. It was the third consecutive start in which he induced at least 15 swings and misses. Both bullpens didn’t allow any further scoring during regulation. Hansel Robles, topping at 99.6 MPH, pitched two scoreless innings. The only Tiger to reach against him was Eric Haase, who got hit by a pitch on the helmet by a 95 MPH four-seamer. Scary stuff. But fortunately, he seemed fine, as he stood up. Detroit medical staff did decide to remove him from the game. Ghost runners will haunt The 8th inning, which was also an extra-inning (2021 baseball, right?), was very peculiar, and I’m not talking about the ghost runner. Let’s begin with the fact that, after being hit by a pitch, Cruz stole another base. For the first time since 2015, Nelly has at least three stolen bases in the same season! But in all seriousness. Cruz’s presence at second put a lot of pressure on Tigers’ reliever Joe Jiménez, who now had two runners in scoring position, with Nick Gordon, the ghost runner, advancing to third on a sac-fly. Facing Ryan Jeffers, Jiménez threw a wild pitch, allowing both runners to move up and Gordon to score. Minnesota was back on top and headed to the bottom of the inning with a 4-3 lead. Then disaster struck. Jonathan Schoop tied the game against Taylor Rogers with a one-out single, scoring Derek Hill from third base. Rogers struck out Baddoo to open the inning and then did the same to Robbie Grossman. When facing Miguel Cabrera, the All-Star reliever managed to induce weak contact from Miggy, who popped up to center. But neither Gordon and Simmons could get to the ball. It dropped and Schoop was rewarded, scoring the winning run all the way from first base, in heartbreaking fashion (from the Twins' perspective). Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Burrows 0 0 0 0 32 32 Rogers 0 0 0 0 21 21 Robles 0 0 0 0 18 18 Thielbar 0 0 0 0 0 0 Duffey 0 0 0 0 0 0 Colomé 0 0 0 0 0 0 Coulombe 0 0 0 0 0 0 Alcala 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Kenta Maeda and Tigers’ starter Matt Manning both pitched five innings of shutout baseball before Minnesota’s offense ambushed the Detroit rookie for four runs in the sixth inning. The Twins have a chance to win the series on Saturday afternoon. Box Score Maeda: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (61.9% strikes) Home Runs: none Top 3 WPA: Maeda .288, Kepler .170, Robles .119 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Both starters began this game in a real pitchers’ duel. Making his fifth big league start, Manning no-hit the Twins lineup through three innings, on 34 pitches. Maeda had to work a bit harder, struggling to retire leadoff batters and surpassing 50 pitches in that same span. He did manage to fan six through three scoreless frames, but he also relied on some good defense to bale him out. Like when Ben Rortvedt caught former Twins prospect Akil Baddoo trying to steal second base during the first inning to complete a double play. Speaking of Rortvedt, here’s a fun stat brought by MLB.com beat writer Do-Hyoung Park: After three innings of work, both offenses managed to produce only three runners combined. Maeda continued to have a hard time with leadoff hitters, as four out of five reached. But he also missed a ton of bats, producing 17 swings and misses in this game, his third-highest total in a game this season. Strangely, Rocco Baldelli pulled him after five innings, with his pitch count at 84. He concluded his shutout with seven punch outs, all of them on swinging strikes, which makes it 31 consecutive swinging strikeouts for him. Manning took his no-hit bid into the fifth inning, still under 60 pitches, retiring nine consecutive Minnesota batters at one point. Then the Twins threatened for the first time in the game, with Jorge Polanco drawing a walk and being sent to third by a Max Kepler opposite field single. However, he took care of the next two batters and kept the game scoreless through five. The offense comes through big in the sixth Jorge Alcala pitched a quick, scoreless sixth inning. Then, the Twins offense finally managed to break Manning’s dominance. Luis Arraez jumped on the first pitch he saw for a leadoff single. Josh Donaldson drew a walk immediately afterward which forced A.J. Hinch to pull his rookie. Reliever Ian Krol took over, but he couldn’t take care of the inherited runners. He balked, advancing both of them, before giving up an RBI-single to Trevor Larnach. Nelson Cruz hit a sac-fly to push Donaldson across and double the Twins' lead. But they weren’t done. Alex Kirilloff drew a walk after falling behind 0-2 in the count and kept the threat going. Kepler, who’s having a scorching-hot month of July, cleared the bases with a two-out triple, scoring Larnach and Kirilloff, making it 4-0 Minnesota. Oh, and it wasn’t without the help of some vintage Robbie Grossman defense out in left field. The bullpen kept things interesting. Caleb Thielbar took over for Alcala in the seventh and managed to close out the inning, in spite of giving up a single. However, after allowing a leadoff single to Baddoo in the eighth, he saw Grossman hit a two-run bomb to left, cutting the Twins’ lead in half. Baldelli had enough and brought Hansel Robles into the game at once. Not only did he end the threat in the eight, but he also closed out the game with a scoreless ninth, earning his ninth save of the season. Robles has now had back-to-back scoreless outings, after giving runs in four consecutive games. The Twins record is now 37-50 and they have the chance to win the series this Saturday. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:10 pm CT, with Bailey Ober on the mound for Minnesota. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Thielbar 29 0 20 0 20 69 Law 0 0 50 0 0 50 Rogers 31 0 0 6 0 37 Robles 12 0 0 0 24 36 Duffey 17 0 0 15 0 32 Alcala 0 0 0 0 23 23 Colomé 0 14 0 0 0 14 Coulombe 0 12 0 0 0 12 View full article