Thiéres Rabelo

In what might have been the Twins’ best, most dominant display of the season, the bats came back to life after a cold game on Tuesday. Louie Varland tossed a gem, and Minnesota crushed the Astros in Houston to secure the series win and the season series victory over the World Series champs. Image courtesy of Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports In what might have been the Twins’ best, most dominant display of the season, the bats came back to life after a cold game on Tuesday. Louie Varland tossed a gem, and Minnesota crushed the Astros in Houston to secure the series win and the season series victory over the World Series champs. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Louie Varland, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (86 pitches, 66 strikes, 76.7%) Home Runs: none Top 3 WPA: Louie Varland (.229), Donovan Solano (.184), Ryan Jeffers (.095) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Early offense (finally!) delivers with the bases loaded Rookie starter Hunter Brown took the mound for Houston, hoping to carry on his solid season thus far. Instead, the Twins’ offense drove his pitch count up early and did some bases-loaded damage to back up Louie Varland. Though the offense went down in order in the first two innings of the game, a 12-pitch at-bat from Alex Kirilloff in the first had Brown reaching 21 pitches to end the inning. Meanwhile, Varland needed only 17 pitches to cruise through two, and he got some run support right away. The bottom third of the Twins’ lineup ambushed Brown in the third, with the first three Minnesota batters reaching: after Max Kepler and Willi Castro hit back-to-back singles, Michael A. Taylor drew a four-pitch walk to load them up. Before tonight’s game, the Twins had gone 5-for-46 (.109) with the bases juiced this season – the worst batting average in said situations. Could they break the slump? Édouard Julien struck out next for the first out, but Donovan Solano didn’t waste his opportunity and snapped a team 0-for-14 skid with the bases loaded. He slapped a single to shallow right to score Kepler and Castro and send Taylor to third. Then, Kirilloff came through with a chopper to the gap at short to push Taylor across and make it 3-0 Minnesota. Bats cash in with the bases loaded again; Varland still cruising Despite closing in on 80 pitches, Brown remained in the game, and the Twins took advantage of that once again. After coming out of the fourth empty-handed, Minnesota’s offense added on in the fifth. Solano and Kyle Farmer reached on a one-out walk and a two-out single. But with Brown surpassing the 100-pitch mark, he was pulled from the game with two outs. Facing reliever Parker Mushinski, Joey Gallo got hit in the elbow on the very first pitch of the at-bat, and suddenly, the bases were loaded again. Red-hot Jeffers, who had been slashing .400/.500/.867 in the previous seven games, made Mushinski pay: he smacked a long double to center that would’ve been a bases-clearing hit had it not one-hopped into the bullpen and been ruled a ground-rule double. Solano and Farmer scored, making it 5-0 Twins. This was the first time in the season that the Twins got two bases-loaded hits in the same game. Varland continued to dominate the Astros lineup with ease, completing five scoreless on only 53 pitches. He also continued to be rewarded for his superb performance with more run support. Castro and Taylor opened the top of the sixth with a single and a walk against Mushinski, and the offense was at it again. Solano crushed a double to left to bring home both runners and make it 7-0 Minnesota. Varland completes seven, a career-high Heck, even when Varland wasn’t so sharp, he got some more run support. After recording the first two outs in the bottom of the sixth on only nine pitches, the Minnesota native lost the next two batters to a single and a walk, his first of the night. He got the force out in the following at-bat and kept the zero on the scoreboard, but not before throwing 20 pitches in the inning, his longest one of the night. The offense added on against reliever Seth Martinez in the top of the seventh. Castro drew a two-out walk, stole second, then was pushed across by a Taylor double to center, making it 8-0 Minnesota. Varland came back for the home half of the inning with only 73, and he delivered yet another scoreless frame to complete seven shutout innings. Before tonight’s game, Varland’s longest start of his young career had been the 6 1/3 he tossed against the Cubs earlier this month. Jorge López continues to struggle badly Having allowed earned runs in three of his previous four games, Jorge López came into the game in the eighth hoping to get back on track after an awful month of May. Unfortunately, he would end up having what was maybe his worst outing as a Twin. Jake Meyers hit a leadoff home run on the very first pitch of the inning, which was followed by another home run next, by Yainer Díaz, scoring Houston’s second run. He then lost Mauricio Dubón on a ten-pitch walk and hit Jeremy Peña on the fingers next, giving Houston the chance to cut the lead down to only three on a swing of the bat. Rocco Baldelli decided to bring Brock Stewart in before López could record an out. Stewart did a phenomenal job by striking out the side on 13 pitches to shut down the Astros’ rally. López, who didn’t allow a single run during his March and April outings, ends the month of May with a 9.00 ERA. José De León pitched around a hit batter in the bottom of the ninth, and with that, the Twins secured only their second road series win on the season, the first one since the Royals series that opened the season for the Twins. Postgame interview What’s Next? The Twins head back home, where they’ll start a four-game series against the Cleveland Guardians at Target Field. The series opener is scheduled for 6:40 pm CDT on Thursday (6/1), with Pablo López (3-3, 4.11 ERA) set to make the start for Minnesota and Tanner Bibee (1-1, 2.88 ERA) toeing the rubber for Cleveland. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Sands 0 16 0 48 0 64 Stewart 13 0 18 0 13 44 J. López 22 0 6 0 16 44 De León 0 27 0 0 16 43 Durán 12 0 29 0 0 41 Jax 0 12 0 8 0 20 Morán 9 0 0 1 0 10 Pagán 0 7 0 0 0 7 View full article

Despite missing several big bats on their lineup, the Twins avoided the sweep by crushing the Giants at Target Field. Minnesota took advantage of a series of defensive miscues by San Francisco to put the game out of reach early. Image courtesy of Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports Despite missing several big bats on their lineup, the Twins avoided the sweep by crushing the Giants at Target Field. Minnesota took advantage of a series of defensive miscues by San Francisco to put the game out of reach early. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (107 pitches, 72 strikes, 67.3%) Home Runs: Édouard Julien (3), Ryan Jeffers (2) Top 3 WPA: Matt Wallner (.224), Édouard Julien (.147), Willi Castro (.127) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Offenses get busy early The bats were active early for both teams. Though the Giants didn’t score in the top of the first, they drove up Joe Ryan’s pitch count by making him throw 24 first-inning pitches. The Twins struck first, though, with Édouard Julien jumping on the second pitch of the inning for a leadoff home run to deep center. The lead didn’t last long. With back-to-back hits to open the second inning, including a leadoff double, the Giants tied the game on a Casey Schmitt RBI single. The Giants scored only one run, but they once again forced San Francisco native Ryan to throw more than twenty pitches to get through the inning. At 45 pitches after two innings, it was uncertain whether Ryan would be able to stay in for a long start. How long Ryan would stay in this game was uncertain, but at least he got some immediate run support. Three Twins batters reached against San Francisco starter Anthony DeSclafani in the bottom of the second. Willi Castro doubled to center and was brought home by a Matt Wallner double in the following at-bat that put the Twins ahead. Wallner reached third on a passed ball and scored on a Julien sacrifice fly next, making it 3-1 Minnesota. Ryan threw a scoreless third but couldn’t prevent his pitch count from reaching 62 by the end of the inning. It could’ve been a much shorter inning for him hadn’t he made a throwing error to second trying to rush an inning-ending double play. Twins take advantage of the Giants’ mistakes and add on Still, in the third inning, Minnesota’s offense didn’t start well, with DeSclafani striking out the first two batters quickly. But before he could record the inning’s final out, the Twins took advantage of a series of defensive miscues by the Giants' defense to score two more runs. Kyle Farmer reached on a fielding error by Brandon Crawford, and after Castro got hit by a pitch, Farmer himself scored after a Wallner ground ball went through the legs of Brett Wisely to reach right field. The error allowed Castro to reach third, and with Wallner at first, the Twins tried a double steal. Wisely made a faulty throw home to catcher Blake Sabol, who couldn’t glove, allowing Castro to steal home and make it 5-1 Minnesota. The Twins scored yet another run on a San Francisco mistake in the fourth inning. With Julien at third, DeSclafani threw a wild pitch, allowing the Twins' second baseman to score Minnesota’s sixth run. Ryan went on to complete five innings allowing just one run but having thrown almost 110 pitches. Could the struggling Twins bullpen hold on to a five-run lead? Twins bullpen escapes a huge jam; offense adds on Brock Stewart was the first relief pitcher out of the bullpen to replace Ryan in the sixth. He did not look sharp at all, and San Francisco loaded the bases before he could record an out. He was given an opportunity to try and get out of the jam, at least partially. He got two outs with a strikeout and a popout, then departed the game. Jovani Morán took the mound and got the final out on a single pitch. The bullpen got even more support in the bottom of the sixth when Ryan Jeffers hit a leadoff home run, making it 7-1 Minnesota and getting DeSclafani out of the game. Morán came back for the seventh and gave up a leadoff walk, but he managed to strike out the next three batters to end the threat. José De León pitched a quick, scoreless eighth, and former Twin Taylor Rogers pitched himself into a jam in the home half of the inning – runners on the corners with only one out – but Minnesota couldn't capitalize. De León came back to get the first out in the ninth, then Jhoan Durán finished it off without any problems. Postgame interview What’s Next? Minnesota has a day off on Thursday as they prepare for another home series over the weekend. On Friday (5/26), the Twins begin a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm CDT. Louie Varland (2-0, 4.18 ERA) is set to make the start for Minnesota, while the Blue Jays starter has yet to be determined. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT De León 0 31 0 0 21 52 J. López 19 12 0 18 0 49 Sands 0 0 44 0 0 44 Morán 9 0 0 10 24 43 Jax 0 0 17 18 0 35 Stewart 5 0 0 10 20 35 Durán 20 0 0 0 13 33 Pagán 0 0 23 9 0 32 View full article

In a game that saw both starting pitchers leave the game early, the Twins came from behind twice and had the lead in the seventh, but the offense failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position, and 2022 Emilio Pagán came in and gave up the lead late. Image courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports In a game that saw both starting pitchers leave the game early, the Twins came from behind twice and had the lead in the seventh, but the offense failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position, and 2022 Emilio Pagán came in and gave up the lead late. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Sonny Gray, 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (84 pitches, 54 strikes, 64.3%) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (9), Joey Gallo (10) Bottom 3 WPA: Emilio Pagán (-.631), Donovan Solano (-.113), Jorge Polanco (-.071) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Both starters have to leave the game early Sonny Gray did a solid job keeping the Dodgers lineup on a leash early on, allowing just two runs through four innings. But that was no simple task. Right out of the gate, Los Angeles applied some serious pressure on the Twins’ early-season Cy Young hopeful, loading the bases with only one out in the bottom of the first. Though the home team came out of the inning empty-handed, they didn’t stop pushing. After a quick 1-2-3 second, Los Angeles was threatening again in the third. Mookie Betts hit a leadoff triple on a flyball off the wall that looked playable (but probably wasn't), but Nick Gordon couldn’t make the play in the right-center field gap. Betts was pushed across by a Freddie Freeman sac-fly that scored the game’s first run. Gray managed to finish the inning having allowed just the one run, but not before giving up a single and a walk and reaching 62 pitches. Dodgers starter Dustin May breezed through the top of the Twins lineup in the first with 16 pitches, but he immediately left the game after that first frame with elbow pain. Still, even with his departure, Minnesota’s offense couldn’t get rolling, collecting only a pair of singles through three. It was only in the fourth that the Twins got on the board after a Byron Buxton solo home run to deep center. Gray gave up a leadoff single in the fourth to James Outman, who stole second merely minutes later. The Twins’ starter retired the next two batters, but he couldn’t prevail against Betts, who slapped a single to center to bring Outman home and regain the lead for the Dodgers. Freeman singled next to put pressure on Gray, but Sonny got Will Smith to ground out and end the inning. With yet another inning with more than twenty pitches, Gray was pulled from the game. Twins tie it, take the lead, but waste huge opportunities The offense couldn’t get anything going against reliever Dylan Covey, who completed four after delivering a scoreless fifth. But that would change in the sixth: Joey Gallo jumped on the second pitch of the at-bat to crush a low sinker for a leadoff home run to center, tying the game at 2-2. Apparently, that home run was all the Twins needed to crack Covey. Following Gallo’s at-bat, Alex Kirilloff and Carlos Correa hit back-to-back singles, followed by a Buxton walk to load the bases with no outs. The Dodgers brought reliever Victor González into the game and retired the side against the middle of Minnesota’s lineup. The Twins are now 0-for-7 in the year with the bases loaded and no outs. After Jovani Morán and José De León combined to pitch two scoreless frames, the Twins were once again threatening on offense in the top of the seventh. Willi Castro and Christian Vázquez hit back-to-back singles to open the inning, immediately putting lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson in a jam. During a solid Kirilloff ten-pitch at-bat, Castro took off from second to steal third, causing Ferguson to make a throwing error. The ball got away, allowing Castro to score and give the Twins the lead and Vázquez to reach third. Despite the fight, Kirilloff ended up striking out, and Correa grounded out against former Twin Brusdar Graterol, stranding Vázquez at third. Pagán has one of his worst outings as a Twin Then came the seventh inning. De León remained in the game, trying to preserve the one-run lead. He did a fantastic job by striking out Betts and Freeman on only six pitches, but he couldn’t retire Smith and Max Muncy, who hit back-to-back singles. Rocco Baldelli decided to bring Emilio Pagán into the game to get the final out, and the rest is history. Failing to throw strikes, Pagán gave up a six-pitch walk to Jason Heyward that loaded the bases. His command issues continued, and Miguel Vargas drew another walk next to tie the game at 3-3 and keep the bases juiced. Then, on the very first pitch he threw in the following at-bat, James Outman crushed a grand slam to center, making it 7-3 Dodgers and putting the game out of reach. Injury update Three Twins players left the game due to injuries. Here's an update on their status by The Athletic's Dan Hayes: What’s Next? The Twins remain in Greater Los Angeles, where after a day off on Thursday, they’ll visit the Angels in Anaheim for a three-game weekend series. Game one of the series is scheduled for 8:38 pm CDT on Friday (5/19), with Joe Ryan (6-1, 2.16 ERA) taking the mound for Minnesota. The Angels’ starting pitcher has yet to be determined. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Morán 24 0 0 25 15 64 Pagán 0 23 18 0 14 55 Sands 54 0 0 0 0 54 Stewart 0 0 28 17 0 45 López 0 9 26 0 0 35 De León 0 0 0 0 28 28 Jax 0 0 13 11 0 24 Durán 0 0 18 0 0 18 View full article

I finally had some time to fix the list I originally posted on Friday based on the ESPN information (they even missed the José Berríos trade...). This time, I used the Twins website. If I didn't miss anything, the number is currently at 81 total trades.

That's right. I even double-checked the ESPN list, and that's not the only 2018 trade they missed. They didn't include the Lance Lynn deal, either. I wonder how many more they missed... Anyway, I'll update the list. Thank you!

So far, the Twins have made 81 trades since Derek Falvey started his tenure as the club's POBO. What were, in your opinion, the five best ones and the five worst ones? You can see the list below or simply click here to read it on Google Sheets. December 8, 2016 Acquired RHP Justin Haley from the San Diego Padres for RHP Miguel Díaz. February 9, 2017 Traded RHP Pat Light to Pittsburgh Pirates for Player To Be Named Later. May 8, 2017 Traded LF Danny Santana to Atlanta Braves for cash and LHP Kevin Chapman. June 3, 2017 Traded LHP Jason Wheeler to the L.A. Dodgers for cash. July 23, 2017 Traded RHP Nick Tepesch to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations. July 24, 2017 Acquired LHP Jaime García, C Anthony Recker and cash considerations from Atlanta for RHP Huascar Ynoa. July 27, 2017 Traded C John Ryan Murphy to Arizona for LHP Gabriel Moya. July 30, 2017 Traded LHP Jaime García and cash to the N.Y. Yankees for LHPs Dietrich Enns and Zack Littell. July 31, 2017 Traded RHP Brandon Kintzler to Washington for LHP Tyler Watson and international bonus pool allocation money. December 6, 2017 Acquired C David Banuelos from the Seattle Mariners for Future Considerations. December 6, 2017 Acquired OF Jacob Pearson from the Los Angeles Angels for $1,000,000 in international bonus pool cap space money. February 17, 2018 Acquired RHP Jake Odorizzi from the Tampa Bay Rays for SS Jermaine Palacios. March 16, 2018 Traded RHP Luis Gil to the New York Yankees for CF Jake Cave. March 20, 2018 Acquired 1B Robby Rinn from the Kansas City Royals. March 23, 2018 Traded C Rainis Silva to Seattle Mariners for Future Considerations March 23, 2018 Acquired RHP Adam Bray from the Los Angeles Dodgers. May 5, 2018 Traded RHP Max Cordy to Los Angeles Angels. May 9, 2018 Traded LHP Anthony McIver to Seattle Mariners for cash. May 22, 2018 Acquired 1B Chris Carter from the Los Angeles Angels for cash. May 27, 2018 Traded RHP Phil Hughes, cash and the 74th overall draft pick in 2018 to San Diego for C Janigson Villalobos. May 30, 2018 Traded RHP Myles Jaye to Cleveland for cash. July 6, 2018 Acquired RF Jon Kemmer from the Houston Astros. July 19, 2018 Acquired LF Jeremy Hazelbaker from the Tampa Bay Rays for cash. July 27, 2018 Traded SS Eduardo Escobar to the Arizona Diamondbacks for RF Ernie De La Trinidad, RF Gabriel Maciel and RHP Jhoan Durán. July 27, 2018 Acquired RHP Jorge Alcalá and OF Gilberto Celestino from the Houston Astros for RHP Ryan Pressly. July 30, 2018 Traded RHP Lance Lynn and cash to New York Yankees for 1B Tyler Austin and RHP Luis Rijo. July 30, 2018 Traded LHP Zach Duke and cash to Seattle for RHP Chase De Jong and INF Ryan Costello. July 31, 2018 Traded 2B Brian Dozier to the L.A. Dodgers for INF Logan Forsythe, OF Luke Raley and LHP Devin Smeltzer. August 9, 2018 Traded RHP Fernando Rodney to Oakland Athletics for RHP Dakota Chalmers. August 30, 2018 Traded C Bobby Wilson to the Chicago Cubs for C Chris Gimenez and a player to be named or cash. November 21, 2018 Traded RHP Nick Anderson to Miami for 3B Brian Schales. January 15, 2019 Acquired INF Daniel Ozoria from the Los Angeles Angels for RHP John Curtiss. March 3, 2019 Traded OF Zack Granite to Texas for RHP Xavier Moore and cash and traded Moore to Baltimore for international signing bonus pool allocation. March 3, 2019 Traded RHP Xavier Moore to Baltimore Orioles for Future Considerations. March 23, 2019 Traded CF Michael Reed to the San Francisco Giants for OF John Andreoli and cash. April 8, 2019 Traded 1B Tyler Austin to San Francisco for OF Malique Ziegler. May 4, 2019 Traded 2B Adam Rosales to Cleveland Guardians for cash. June 2, 2019 Traded OF John Andreoli to Seattle. June 10, 2019 Traded LHP Tyler Jay to Cincinnati for cash. July 20, 2019 Traded RHP Mike Morin to Philadelphia for cash. July 21, 2019 Traded RHP Matt Magill to Seattle for cash. July 25, 2019 Traded cash to Boston Red Sox for LHP Jeremy Bleich. July 25, 2019 Traded C Brian Navarreto to New York Yankees. July 27, 2019 Acquired RHP Sergio Romo and RHP Chris Vallimont and a player to be named from the Miami Marlins in exchange for INF Lewin Díaz. July 31, 2019 Traded OF Jaylin Davis and RHPs Prelander Berroa and Kai-Wei Teng to San Francisco for RHP Sam Dyson. July 31, 2019 Acquired RHP Marcos Diplan from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for cash. August 2, 2019 Acquired OF Brandon Barnes from the Cleveland Guardians for cash. August 5, 2019 Traded RHP Drew Hutchison to Los Angeles Angels for cash. August 6, 2019 Traded RHP Drew Hutchison to the L.A. Angels for cash. August 10, 2019 Acquired CF Ian Miller from the Seattle Mariners for cash. September 8, 2019 Acquired OF Ryan LaMarre from the Atlanta Braves for cash. January 29, 2020 Traded RHP Ryne Harper to Washington Nationals for RHP Hunter McMahon. February 10, 2020 Acquired RHP Kenta Maeda and C Jair Camargo and cash considerations from Los Angeles Dodgers for RHP Brusdar Graterol and OF Luke Raley and a Competitive Balance B Pick in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft. August 11, 2020 Acquired INF Ildemaro Vargas from the Arizona Diamondbacks for cash considerations. February 4, 2021 Traded LaMonte Wade Jr to San Francisco Giants for RHP Shaun Anderson. July 7, 2021 Acquired RHP Joe Kuzia from Texas in exchange for cash considerations. July 22, 2021 Acquired RHP Joe Ryan and RHP Drew Strotman from Tampa Bay in exchange for DH Nelson Cruz and RHP Calvin Faucher. July 30, 2021 Traded RHP Hansel Robles to Boston Red Sox for RHP Alex Scherff. July 30, 2021 Traded RHP José Berríos to Toronto Blue Jays for SS Austin Martin and RHP Simeon Woods Richardson. July 30, 2021 Traded LHP J.A. Happ and cash considerations to St. Louis in exchange for LHP Evan Sisk and RHP John Gant. August 31, 2021 Traded LHP Andrew Vasquez to Los Angeles Dodgers for C Stevie Berman. March 12, 2022 Traded C Mitch Garver to Texas Rangers for 3B Isiah Kiner-Falefa and RHP Ronny Henríquez. March 13, 2022 Acquired RHPs Sonny Gray and Francis Peguero from Cincinnati in exchange for RHP Chase Petty. March 13, 2022 Traded 3B Josh Donaldson, INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa and C Ben Rortvedt to the New York Yankees for C Gary Sánchez and INF Gio Urshela. April 7, 2022 Traded LHP Taylor Rogers, OF Brent Rooker and cash to the San Diego Padres for RHP Chris Paddack, RHP Emilio Pagán and Player To Be Named Later. April 21, 2022 Acquired RHP Brayan Medina from the San Diego Padres. May 30, 2022 Traded RF John Andreoli to the Philadelphia Phillies. August 2, 2022 Acquired RHP Jorge López and cash considerations from Baltimore in exchange for RHP Yennier Cano, LHPs Cade Povich, Juan Rojas and RHP Juan Nunez. August 2, 2022 Acquired RHP Tyler Mahle from Cincinnati in exchange for SS Spencer Steer, INF Christian Encarnacion-Strand and LHP Steve Hajjar. August 2, 2022 Acquired RHP Michael Fulmer from Detroit in exchange for RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long. August 2, 2022 Acquired C Sandy León from the Cleveland Guardians for RHP Ian Hamilton. November 18, 2022 Acquired INF Kyle Farmer from Cincinnati in exchange for RHP Casey Legumina. November 18, 2022 Traded INF Gio Urshela to the Los Angeles Angels for RHP Alejandro Hidalgo. January 10, 2023 Acquired RHP A.J. Alexy from Washington in exchange for minor league RHP Cristian Jimenez. January 20, 2023 Acquired RHP Pablo López, INF José Salas and OF Byron Chourio from Miami in exchange for INF Luis Arráez. January 23, 2023 Acquired OF Michael A. Taylor from Kansas City Royals for LHP Evan Sisk and RHP Steven Cruz. March 27, 2023 Traded LHP Danny Coulombe to Baltimore Orioles for cash. March 27, 2023 Acquired LHP Gabriel Yanez from the Philadelphia Phillies. April 9, 2023 Traded LHP Sean Nolin to Miami Marlins. April 12, 2023 Acquired SS Alex De Goti from the Miami Marlins. April 30, 2023 Acquired a player to be named and cash from Milwaukee Brewers for RHP Trevor Megill.

Five of the eight walks were IBB (a club record). In the end, the bullpen tossed five innings with tons of high-leverage moments, giving up only one hit and three walks while striking out six times.

Pablo López and Lucas Giolito provided a memorable pitching duel in Chicago this afternoon. It wasn’t until the extra innings that the Twins offense busted the game wide open and avoided a sweep against the White Sox. Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Pablo López and Lucas Giolito provided a memorable pitching duel in Chicago this afternoon. It wasn’t until the extra innings that the Twins offense busted the game wide open and avoided a sweep against the White Sox. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Pablo López, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (101 pitches, 70 strikes, 69.3%) Home Runs: Carlos Correa (4), Byron Buxton (8) Top 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (.378), José Miranda (.327), Jorge López/Emilio Pagán/Brock Stewart (tied with .135) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Despite coming into this game with a healthy three-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians atop the American League Central, you can say there was a lot at stake for the Twins in this game. Set to go to Cleveland for a three-gamer starting this Friday, Minnesota needed to avoid a sweep against a team currently tied for the third-fewest wins in the majors before facing their main competition for the AL Central crown. Not only was this game critical for shifting the Twins’ momentum, but it was also vital for their staff ace Pablo López. The Venezuelan star began the season with four stellar starts, culminating in him being offered a contract extension the day after his fourth start. However, since that fourth start, he had back-to-back rough outings, allowing at least five runs in each one of them. The worst part is that each of those starts came against last-place teams. López delivered two scoreless frames to begin this game, but the White Sox delivered the first punch of the game in the third inning. Seby Zavala drew a leadoff walk against him, and despite retiring the next two batters, López gave up a two-out, two-run home run to Eloy Jiménez, making it 2-0 White Sox. This was Jiménez’s second home run in this series. Bats struggle against Giolito, but Correa and Buxton tie the game The offense was mostly a no-show for the first half of this game. After putting two men on in the top of the first, Minnesota’s batters went 0-for-16, with Lucas Giolito retiring 13 consecutive Twins’ batters. (José Miranda reached on a fielding error in the second.) In the fifth inning the Twins got their second hit of the game and consequently got on the board. Carlos Correa swung on an 0-1 pitch for a solo home run to left field that cut the deficit in half. With that home run, the Twins matched a franchise record by homering in 16 consecutive games. Even though he didn’t get enough run support to be eligible for a win, López finished the start in a brilliant way. After giving up that home run to Jiménez, he went on to retire nine of the next ten batters, delivering four consecutive scoreless innings in dominant fashion. Reliever Reynaldo López replaced Giolito in the eighth, but things didn’t look much better for the Twins’ offense at first, as Max Kepler and Correa were taken care of on only four pitches. Then, it was time for Byron Buxton to show up. Minnesota’s superstar tied the game with his team-leading eighth home run of the year. He’s now on an eight-game hitting streak. Bullpen is lights-out, bats come to life in extras Johan Durán and Jorge López combined to pitch two scoreless after Pablo López departed the game, taking the game to extra innings. Both of them had to get out of jams, as both gave up leadoff walks that resulted in the runner reaching third. In the first extra frame, the Twins offense couldn’t produce the necessary runs, so in the 10th, the White Sox had a golden opportunity to close out the game against Brock Stewart. With two intentional walks, Chicago had the bases loaded with only one out, but Stewart came up with two huge strikeouts to end the threat, the first of which was on a hit-by-pitch. Emilio Pagán pitched a very solid bottom of the 11th and kept the Twins' chances alive. He now has four consecutive outings without giving up an earned run. With former Twin Alex Colomé taking the mound for the White Sox in the 12th, Minnesota took advantage of a Tim Anderson error, and Miranda pushed designated runner Trevor Larnach across to give the Twins their first lead of the day, 3-2. Colomé was pulled after getting the first out when Nick Gordon was called on to pinch hit. The offense feasted off his replacement, southpaw Sammy Peralta. With two men on, Gordon lined a deep double to center field, bringing Joey Gallo home for the Twins’ fourth run. Kepler worked a five-pitch walk to load the bases with only one out to Correa, who also drew a walk of his own to bring home another run. Peralta struck out Buxton for the second out, but Jorge Polanco hit a ground ball to center to drive in two more runs, making it 7-2 Minnesota. Jovani Morán gave up a single to Jiménez that drove in a run in the bottom of the 12th, but with a double play and a strikeout, he closed the door. Postgame interview What’s Next? The Twins head for Cleveland, where they start a three-game series against the Guardians on Friday (5/5). Game one is scheduled for 6:10 pm CDT tomorrow, with Bailey Ober (1-0, 1.59 ERA) set to make his third start of the season, while the Guardians turn to rookie righty Peyton Battenfield (0-2, 4.67 ERA). Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SUN MON TUE WED THU TOT Pagán 23 0 0 18 20 61 Stewart 13 0 24 0 16 53 López 0 0 15 0 16 31 Jax 0 0 9 15 0 24 Morán 0 0 0 9 15 24 Winder 23 0 0 0 0 23 Durán 7 0 0 0 16 23 Thielbar 0 0 13 0 0 13 View full article

The bats came back to life after a cold night on Tuesday, but it wasn’t enough. A short start by Louie Varland and a critical missed opportunity late with the bases loaded cost Minnesota the game and the series. Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports The bats came back to life after a cold night on Tuesday, but it wasn’t enough. A short start by Louie Varland and a critical missed opportunity late with the bases loaded cost Minnesota the game and the series. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Louie Varland, 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (87 pitches, 59 strikes, 67.8%) Home Runs: Nick Gordon (2) Bottom 3 WPA: Trevor Larnach (-.234), Louie Varland (-.203), Griffin Jax (-.165) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Chicago jumps on Varland early Minnesota dropped the series opener on Tuesday night after the bats went painfully cold, and a terrific shutout start by Joe Ryan went to waste. The Twins’ offense produced only three hits all night, and the White Sox walked it off in the tenth. On Wednesday, despite facing Chicago’s staff ace in Dylan Cease, the bats needed to come back to life if Minnesota was going to avoid the White Sox’s first series win of the season. However, different from last night, Chicago’s bats made the first move and jumped to an early lead in the first inning. Emergency starter Louie Varland was called up earlier on Wednesday to replace Tyler Mahle, who was placed on the injured list with a right arm posterior impingement and flexor pronator strain. Making his second big league start of the season, Varland was ambushed right out of the gate. Varland walked Tim Anderson, and after he retired the following two batters, Chicago did some two-out damage. Eloy Jiménez collected a single to send Anderson to third, and he was followed by Luis Robert Jr., who crushed a three-run shot to center. Could the offense wake up and bale him out of his first big-league loss of the season? Correa, Buxton, Gordon bring the Twins back Yes, they did it. After a scoreless second inning, the Twins' offense produced more hits in the third inning than they did in the entire game on Tuesday. Willi Castro led off the inning with a single, and after Cease retired the next two batters, it was time the Twins did some two-out damage of their own. Jorge Polanco hit a liner to right, and with men on the corners, Carlos Correa hit a 108 mph groundball down the left field line to score both runners. Next, Byron Buxton wasted no time and jumped on the first pitch he saw for and RBI double off of the center field wall, scoring Correa and tying the game. And the bats weren’t done. After Varland delivered a scoreless third, Nick Gordon hit a solo home run in the fourth to give the Twins their first lead of the game, 4-3. The Twins infielder also hit a pinch-hit home run on Tuesday, with this becoming the first time in his big-league career that he homered in back-to-back games. Unfortunately for Minnesota, Varland was unable to hold on to that lead. In the bottom of the fourth, he loaded the bases after giving up a two-out walk to Chicago’s number nine hitter Elvis Andrus. Back to the top of the White Sox lineup, Anderson lined a single to right to score the tying run. Fortunately, Yasmani Grandal was easily thrown out by Max Kepler at home to end the threat. Twins load the bases with no outs, come away empty-handed During the seventh inning, the Twins had their best chance to bust the game open. Facing reliever Gregory Santos, Minnesota loaded the bases before he could record an out. Ryan Jeffers and Max Kepler hit back-to-back singles, and Polanco laid down a bunt. Santos slipped as he neared the ball and suddenly the bases were loaded for Correa. Correa and Buxton, though, were a tad too impatient. Both of them jumped on early pitches but failed to get the ball out of the infield, allowing Chicago’s defense to make two fine plays to get the outs at home. Trevor Larnach had a considerably better at-bat next but ended up striking out swinging on eight pitches. The Twins were punished soon after that. In the bottom of the seventh, Anderson hit yet another leadoff single for his third hit of the night, facing Griffin Jax. Though Jax was able to pick Anderson off at first, he gave up a single and a walk next, allowing Jiménez to single to left and push Andrew Benintendi across, giving Chicago a 5-4 lead. An uninspired offense went down in order in the top of the eighth, and Chicago added on another run. Grandal hit a leadoff single against Jovani Morán and was replaced by former Twin Billy Hamilton as the pinch-runner. Hamilton moved up to second on a sac-bunt and later scored from second when Andrus grounded out. Jorge Polanco ranged across second base and threw to first base for the out. Donovan Solano bobbled the ball in his attempt to throw home, but Hamilton was going to be safe regardless. With two outs in the ninth, Polanco had a tremendous plate appearance, drawing a walk on 11 pitches and bringing Correa to the plate. The Twins superstar, however, struck out swinging, and the game was over. Postgame interview What’s Next? The two teams meet again on Thursday (5/4) afternoon for the final game of the series, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:10 pm CDT. Twins ace Pablo López (2-2, 4.00 ERA) takes the mound looking to bounce back after a pair of rough outings that caused his ERA to more than double in the last ten days. Chicago will turn to Lucas Giolito (1-2, 4.15 ERA) for the start, with the righty trying to get back on track after a tough start to the season. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Pagán 0 23 0 0 18 41 Jax 15 0 0 9 15 39 Stewart 0 13 0 24 0 37 Thielbar 22 0 0 13 0 35 López 16 0 0 15 0 31 Winder 0 23 0 0 0 23 Durán 15 7 0 0 0 22 Morán 0 0 0 0 9 9 View full article

A partnership with Audacy is slowly destroying the radio experience across baseball everywhere. A partnership with Audacy is slowly destroying the radio experience across baseball everywhere. When first introduced in 2002, MLB TV became a revolutionary way for baseball fans to follow teams outside of their home market. Fans across the United States could tune into almost any game broadcast—sans blackouts—and enjoy the teams that mattered to us most. For some, the TV part is what matters. For others, MLB TV also comes with rights to every game on radio. The radio is an essential piece of the deal—whether it’s for listening at work, on the road, or in spaces where you might not be able to carry an AM radio. (Additionally, those of us who might want to avoid John Smoltz’s playoff commentary can switch over to local broadcasters). But now a second year into operating for all 162 games + playoffs with the audio streaming company Audacy, MLB is allowing the company to destroy the product. Extremely delayed live broadcasts, overly loud betting ads, and more are taking away an essential form of baseball consumption. And as MLB contemplates a different form of television consumption, it is time they seriously invest in radio. Both Audacy and MLB did not respond for request to comment on this story. In a story on GeekWire, MLB responded by noting, “Due to technological limitations in the digital space, latency of the feeds is unavoidable. We have had success working with our partner to reduce the latency times and we will continue to work on further improvements.” Audacy’s “disruption” into MLB radio is to replace the game’s local ads. So rather than get Sheboygan Sausage ads with Byron Buxton, I will get ads for local Honda dealers in Southern California. However, these ads often start before the inning is over and last long into the next inning. I will often get updates on my phone about the new score of the game minutes before the radio broadcast returns. (Additionally, these ads come over streaming — meaning they do not apply to the CALM Act that limits the volume of ads). I’ll just start with one example from earlier this week: I was watching the Mariners play the Cubs on MLB TV. I needed to start dinner, so I did what I usually do: put the TV on mute, and turn on the radio broadcast in my kitchen. It’s a perfect compromise: the radio calls the game with more description, so I can listen carefully, and if there’s a critical play, I can step over to the TV to watch the replay. I then proceeded to hear over seven minutes of ads. Much longer than they should by a mile; I walked over to the TV and noticed that the game already had two outs. By the time the Mariners had retired the side on the TV broadcast, Audacy was still feeding me ads. When it finally returned, the broadcast cut into the game already with two outs and the batter had a 1-1 count. 10 seconds later, the batter was retired. Audacy had essentially skipped the bottom of the ninth. Since the delays began in 2022, I have contacted Audacy multiple times. According to Audacy’s Support Representatives, this is essentially a function of the delay of broadcast and “expected behavior.” An understandable delay of 5-15 seconds, which is what most streams of sports usually provide compared to OTA and Cable broadcasts, is nowhere near what Audacy is providing. Instead, the game is often six to seven pitches behind. More so, MLB TV offers an option to sync the radio broadcast with the TV broadcast, which brings the game more or less in real time. It is possible to get an on time broadcast, but Audacy’s pursuit of ads is literally slowing down the game. If you’re an old school fan who loves listening to the radio at the ballpark, you’re best bet is to bring an actual radio than rely on this scam of a product. For those of us on Twitter or in Discord channels watching the game with others, it can ruin the surprise of a home run. As much as I miss Buxton singing about sausage, I won’t argue against Audacy trying to make money via advertising. So far this year, Audacy has cut down on what felt like at least 50% ads for gambling, a true scourge on the sport. But this is the second year of this partnership and the technical issues have only become worse. And given that MLB can at least do a stream either faster or at least in real time without Audacy, perhaps it is time to return to what worked before. What will actually get Audacy to fix the problem? Probably nothing, which is why I recommend those who love MLB on the radio to deliberately work against it and boycott Audacy's programs. Those with an MLB TV subscription can listen to non-Audacy broadcasts via KODI. Or, fans can use the MLB radio broadcast option via MLB TV—this has the problem of requiring the iPhone screen to stay on, not the best for those of us driving, but it at least works. MLB has taken some small but at least notable steps this season toward expanding baseball by listening to fans, though not without ignoring the cries of some others. It’s time Rob Manfred take this step too and make Audacy deliver a workable product. View full article

The Twins had the chance to sweep the Yankees for the first time in over 31 years. For a third consecutive game, the offense produced six runs, but Kenta Maeda’s worst start in his career and a few defensive mistakes cost Minnesota the game. Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports The Twins had the chance to sweep the Yankees for the first time in over 31 years. For a third consecutive game, the offense produced six runs, but Kenta Maeda’s worst start in his career and a few defensive mistakes cost Minnesota the game. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Kenta Maeda, 3.0 IP, 11 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (72 pitches, 46 strikes, 63.9%) Home Runs: José Miranda 2 (2), Joey Gallo (7) Bottom 3 WPA: Kenta Maeda (-.423), Max Kepler (-.061), Carlos Correa (-.054) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Yankees break the game open early Making his first start since being hit by a comebacker against Boston last week, Kenta Maeda had a rough time to begin this game – and the Yankees weren’t the only ones responsible for it. After he pitched an uneventful, clean first inning, a couple of defensive miscues by Minnesota allowed New York to score five runs in the second inning. Playing at center field, Nick Gordon made a fine play on a D.J. LeMahieu line drive that ended the first inning. But then, to start the second, he made an odd throw to second to catch Gleyber Torres trying to stretch a single into a double. Carlos Correa was unable to field it, allowing Torres to reach third. In the very next at-bat, Joey Gallo was able to stop a ground ball from Willie Calhoun, but he was far from the bag and failed to make a throw to Maeda on the bag for the out. Maeda himself couldn’t field an Isiah Kiner-Falefa bunt attempt, and three consecutive Yankee hitters reached to open the second inning. In that play, Maeda fell awkwardly on his stomach, but he continued in the game. The Yankees continued to push, and soon the bases were loaded for New York with only one out. Anthony Volpe (single) and Aaron Judge (double) got back-to-back hits off Maeda to score four more runs. Miranda’s first home run of the year goes to waste If the Twins would have any chance to come back from this was if they responded quickly. On the first pitch of the bottom of the second, José Miranda snapped an 0-for-7 with a home run to left, his first of the season. Sadly, that was all Minnesota’s offense could salvage from that inning, and the Yankees would very soon erase that. Both pitchers tossed a scoreless third, but New York added on in the following inning. With three consecutive hits to open the fourth, two more runs scored on a long double to center by Volpe. Judge drew a walk next, and Anthony Rizzo brought both runners home with a double, making it five consecutive batters reaching before Maeda could record an out. With an apparent injury, Maeda himself seemed to ask to leave the game. Brent Headrick replaced the Twins’ starter, and after retiring the first batter of the inning, he gave up a two-run home run to Torres, making it 11-1 Yankees. Ten runs were credited to Maeda, making it the worst start of his MLB career. Should the Twins consider shifting him to a bullpen role? Or is it still too soon to think about that? Twins offense cut New York’s lead in half Several times this season, we’ve witnessed the Twins pitchers pitch some brilliant games only to find no support from a cold offense. This game was the complete opposite. After New York’s six-run fourth, Minnesota would go on to score five runs on a couple of home runs and a single. In the bottom of the fourth, Miranda became the third Twin to have a multi-HR game this season: after Trevor Larnach drew a leadoff walk, Miranda blasted high line drive to center to put two more runs on the board. With Headrick eating up as many innings as he could – and doing a great job at it –the offense was able to score two more runs off Yankee starter Domingo Germán. In the sixth inning, already with two outs, Miranda was hit by a pitch to reach for the third time in the afternoon. Gallo stepped up to the plate next and hit his seventh dinger of the year to deep right. Minnesota even added another run in the seventh after Gordon tripled and was brought home by a Max Kepler force out, but it was just too late. The Yankees got that run back in the eighth on a LeMahieu deep sac-fly to score Volpe from third. It was an impressive defensive play by Larnach, who stole LeMahieu of an extra-base hit that would’ve scored at least two runs. Postgame interview What’s Next? The homestand continues for the Twins. Starting on Thursday (4/27), they host the Kansas City Royals for a four-game series until Sunday. Coming off his best start of the season last Friday, Tyler Mahle (1-2, 3.32 ERA) starts the game for Minnesota, with Zack Greinke (0-3, 4.61 ERA) taking the mound for Kansas City. Tomorrow’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm CDT. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Headrick 3 0 0 0 83 86 Durán 0 11 0 15 0 26 Morán 0 0 24 0 0 24 Jax 0 0 23 0 0 23 Thielbar 0 18 0 0 0 18 López 0 7 0 10 0 17 Pagán 0 0 0 0 10 10 Stewart 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

The slow-running Twins' offense has been the topic of many discussions over the past few weeks. Tonight, though, the bats were simply unstoppable against the Red Sox, and Minnesota has evened the series at Fenway Park. Image courtesy of Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports The slow-running Twins' offense has been the topic of many discussions over the past few weeks. Tonight, though, the bats were simply unstoppable against the Red Sox, and Minnesota has evened the series at Fenway Park. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (100 pitches, 70 strikes, 70.0%) Home Runs: Édouard Julien (2), Joey Gallo (4), Trevor Larnach (2) Top 3 WPA: Édouard Julien (.176), Joe Ryan (.112), Joey Gallo (.111) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) An offensive blitz puts the game out of reach early Three struggling Twins hitters – which isn’t a very exclusive club at the moment – helped Minnesota to a large, early lead. Despite hitting an important home run on Tuesday night, Max Kepler came into this game slashing a very poor .120/.185/.360. He did, however, reach safely in his first two trips to the plate, including a leadoff walk in the top of the first. Then, Byron Buxton snapped an 0-for-15 funk with a one-out double to the gap in center field, sending Kepler to third. Trevor Larnach drove in the game’s first run with a groundout that brought Kepler home. Before Boston’s Corey Kluber could get out of the jam, Édouard Julien snapped an 0-for-14 skid of his own by blasting a two-out, two-run bomb to right for his second big-league dinger, making it 3-0 Minnesota. Are we sure this kid will be going back to Saint Paul soon? Are we sure he’s even a rookie? The offense went quietly in the second, but after Joe Ryan delivered two perfect innings, the bats ambushed Kluber once more in the third. The former Cy Young Award winner struggled with his command, giving up a walk to Larnach and hitting Julien. After a mound visit, José Miranda slapped a ground ball up the middle to bring Larnach home from second, scoring the Twins’ fourth run. They weren’t done. After being activated from the 10-day injured list earlier on the day, Joey Gallo returned to the lineup with a leadoff single during the scoreless second. Then with Julien and Miranda on base in the third, he clobbered a three-run shot to break the game open, making it 7-0 Twins. With that homer, Gallo momentarily jumped to the team lead in home runs (4) and batting average (.350), seemingly picking up exactly where he left off before being placed on the injured list. Ryan escapes a couple of jams, gets more run support, and a quality start After breezing through the first two innings with ease, Ryan found himself in a jam in the third. Also having some issues with his command, he gave up a leadoff walk before eventually loading the bases with only one out. The Red Sox got on the board with a Raimel Tapia groundout to score Triston Casas. With two men in scoring position, Ryan got a huge help from the defense behind him: Carlos Correa ended the inning with a great play at short. After a solid, scoreless fourth, Boston threatened Ryan once again in the fifth, with the first two batters reaching on a single and a double. But the defense was brilliant again, turning in a double play on an Alex Verdugo groundout. The runner on third scored Boston’s second run of the night, but Ryan finished off the inning by retiring Tapia. As if seven runs weren’t enough, the offense gave Ryan even more run support in the top of the sixth. Reliever Ryan Brasier replaced Kluber, but the offense jumped all over him as well. Kepler reached for the third time in the evening with a one-out double, then Buxton drew a two-out walk. Larnach then obliterated a Brasier four-seamer for a monster 423-feet, three-run bomb to make it 10-2 Minnesota. That ball left his bat at nearly 110 mph. Ryan completed his quality start despite allowing another run in the bottom of the sixth. After getting two quick outs on six pitches, he gave up a solo shot to Kiké Hernández that cut the lead down to seven. Next, the Red Sox got a double from Reese McGuire, prompting a mound visit, but Ryan was able to get the final out. Lefty Brent Headrick, who was recalled from St. Paul on Sunday, made his big-league debut, and his stuff looked impeccable at first. He pitched two perfect frames on 25 pitches, with 76% strikes and topping out at 94.2 mph. He struck out three of the six batters he faced while inducing 50% whiffs (six in twelve swings). However, he came back for the ninth looking considerably less sharp: he lost each of his first three batters to load the bases with nobody out. Boston got one run back on a Jarren Duran sac fly, but Headrick managed to retire the next two batters to pick up a save. What’s Next? Both teams close out the series on Thursday afternoon (4/20) for the rubber game, with the first pitch scheduled for 12:35 pm CDT. After ten days, Kenta Maeda (0-2, 4.09 ERA) takes the mound for Minnesota to make his third start of the year, while righty Tanner Houck (2-0, 4.50 ERA) toes the rubber for Boston. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Morán 26 0 0 26 0 52 Headrick 0 0 0 0 47 47 Alcalá 44 0 0 0 0 44 Jax 0 13 0 26 0 39 Durán 0 0 0 19 0 19 Thielbar 0 0 0 17 0 17 Pagán 0 15 0 0 0 15 López 0 0 0 10 0 10 View full article

A once again depleted Twins lineup struggled to provide a lot of runs, with the score being 1-0 until the eighth inning. But a solid start by Sonny Gray and a fantastic four-inning outing by the bullpen put the Twins on top against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports A once again depleted Twins lineup struggled to provide a lot of runs, with the score being 1-0 until the eighth inning. But a solid start by Sonny Gray and a fantastic four-inning outing by the bullpen put the Twins on top against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Sonny Gray, 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (78 pitches, 45 strikes, 57.7%) Home Runs: none Top 3 WPA: Sonny Gray (.275), Griffin Jax (.116), Ryan Jeffers (.095) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Julien makes his big-league debut The biggest story before this game was second baseman Édouard Julien being called up to the majors earlier today. With Joey Gallo being placed on the 10-day injury list, the Canadian infielder was hurried back to the Twin Cities from Indianapolis to join the Twins roster and make his big-league debut. His first at-bat came only in the third inning, as Lucas Giolito cruised through the first two innings. The at-bat was rather quick, with Julien grounding out after only two pitches. But it wasn’t his first trip to the bat that caused some concern. In the top of the third, Andrew Benintendi hit a ground ball to right, towards Julien. The rookie infielder managed to get to the ball in time, but the ball just skidded under his glove to reach right field. It wasn’t ruled an error for him, but it was certainly a playable hit. Then, in the fifth inning, he made an awful throw to first base trying to pick off the runner, but fortunately, there were no repercussions. First-day jitters? We sure hope so. Twins take the lead after a scary moment for Farmer It was exactly after Julien’s first at-bat that things started to slip away from Giolito’s control. He gave up back-to-back singles, then loaded the bases by giving up a two-out walk to José Miranda. Nick Gordon flied out to center, and the Twins couldn’t capitalize on their first big threat, but some command problems by Giolito, combined with a few defensive mishaps by the White Sox defense, were about to give Minnesota its first lead shortly. In the fourth inning’s first at-bat, Ryan Jeffers hit a bullet to deep right field, which possibly was playable for Gavin Sheets. However, the White Sox outfielder fell down and couldn’t make the play, allowing Jeffers to reach third. Then, with Kyle Farmer batting, Giolito badly misplaced a fastball and ended up hitting the Twins infielder right in the face. He left the game with what the Twins initially called a jaw injury. Following that play, Julien made his second trip to the plate and took advantage of Giolito apparently still feeling shaken for hitting Farmer. The Chicago starter was all over the place during the at-bat, and Julien drew a five-pitch walk to load the bases again. Michael A. Taylor grounded out to first base, and the White Sox defense once again failed to field cleanly and, instead of turning a double play, allowed Jeffers to score from third. Gray tosses five scoreless but doesn’t look sharp in the end Making his third start of the season, Sonny Gray delivered another scoreless outing. However, he didn’t look as sharp as he did in his last time around when he pitched seven brilliant innings of one-run ball against the Astros on Friday. The White Sox put some pressure on him right out of the gate, with Luis Robert Jr. (double) and Andrew Vaughn (walk) both reaching in the first inning. He responded by retiring the next six batters he faced. After giving up two more singles in the third, then throwing a 1-2-3 fourth, he seemed to have command issues during the fifth. He simply couldn't find the strike zone against Seby Zavala, giving up a leadoff walk. He did manage to retire the next three batters, but he struggled to throw strikes. At the end of the day, what matters the most is the fact that he kept Chicago scoreless, but it’s worth wondering why he was a bit off target during that inning. He was pulled after the fifth with only 78 pitches thrown, but also throwing less than 58% strikes. Offense adds on, and the bullpen holds on tight Coming into this game, the White Sox bullpen had the third-worst ERA in the majors, at 6.91. When Giolito departed the game after the sixth inning, the Twins' offense managed their first multi-hit inning since the third but failed to capitalize in the seventh. Byron Buxton was involved in a collision with infielder Lenyn Sosa and landed awkwardly in the inning’s final out. But things were different in the bottom of the eighth. Jeffers hit a leadoff single and, a couple of at-bats later, was brought home by a Willi Castro double to right. Castro himself moved up to third on a Matt Wallner sac-fly, then scored on a Taylor bloop single to shallow center, making it 3-0 Twins. Upon the departure of Gray, the Twins’ bullpen absolutely dominated Chicago’s lineup. Jorge Alcalá, Jorge López, and Griffin Jax tossed three scoreless innings on 39 pitches, allowing only one hit and one walk. With the run support provided in the eighth, Jhoan Durán came in to get the save. He did give up a leadoff single, taken care of by a double play, and then a two-out solo home run to Sosa, but eventually finished off the game with a groundout to earn his third save of the season. Postgame interview What’s Next? Minnesota gets back on the road starting tomorrow for a four-game set against the New York Yankees in the Bronx. The first game of the series is scheduled for this Thursday (4/13) at 6:05 pm CDT, with Joe Ryan (2-0, 3.75 ERA) set to start the game for the Twins and Jhony Brito (2-0, 0.90 ERA) taking the mound for New York. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Alcalá 0 45 0 0 15 60 Morán 20 0 35 0 0 55 Durán 3 0 0 24 15 42 Jax 12 0 0 8 12 32 López 14 0 0 0 12 26 Pagán 0 23 0 0 0 23 Thielbar 0 0 10 4 0 14 Sands 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Pablo López delivered seven brilliant innings of one-run ball, but the offense never really showed up, and the bullpen blew up in the eighth. The Twins dropped the game and the series against the Marlins before heading north for the home opener. Image courtesy of © Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports Pablo López delivered seven brilliant innings of one-run ball, but the offense never really showed up, and the bullpen blew up in the eighth. The Twins dropped the game and the series against the Marlins before heading north for the home opener. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Pablo López, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (88 pitches, 60 strikes, 68.2%) Home Runs: none Bottom 3 WPA: Caleb Thielbar (-.320), José Miranda (-.181), Willi Castro (-.107) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) López and Luzardo dominate Similar to what happened in Tuesday night’s game, Minnesota struggled early at the plate. The Marlins' number two starter, Jesús Luzardo, kept the Twins hitless through three innings on 34 pitches, with the only Twins baserunner (Willi Castro) reaching on a throwing error. Also similar to the evening before, the Marlins got on the board early with a first-inning solo home run, this time by Jorge Soler. Facing a lefty starter for the first time in the year, the Twins’ strategy was to fill the lineup with eight righties, including Donovan Solano, who batted .301 against southpaws in 2022. But Minnesota only broke Luzardo’s no-hit bid in the fourth inning when Byron Buxton hit a leadoff single to right field. Fortunately for the Twins, Pablo López was also having a brilliant start against his former team. After the Soler home run in the first, Marlins batters went 0-for-12 with a walk against him, with the only other hit coming in the bottom of the fifth. He completed five innings of work on only 60 pitches. Larnach ties the game, but the Marlins break it open against the bullpen The first big threat posed by Minnesota’s offense came in the top of the sixth, when Michael A. Taylor, Carlos Correa, and Solano reached to load the bases with two outs. But Luzardo got José Miranda to fly out after four pitches to end the threat. While López continued to dazzle and delivered another scoreless inning to remain below the 75-pitch mark, the offense finally came through in the top of the seventh to tie the game. Ryan Jeffers hit a rocket (106.2 MPH exit velocity) to right for a one-out double, and a couple of at-bats later, Trevor Larnach scored him from second with a liner to left-center. López completed seven innings with a tie game when the ball was handed to the bullpen. Griffin Jax took over to pitch the bottom and the eighth, but he was removed from the game after giving up back-to-back one-out singles, with Luis Arráez coming up as a pinch hitter. Caleb Thielbar stepped up to the mound, retired his old teammate (strikeout) for the second out, but followed up by giving up a long single to Jean Segura and then a three-run home run to Soler, making it 5-1 Miami. With only the top of the ninth to try and rally back, the Twins were able to threaten again. Kyle Farmer hit a one-out groundball and was followed by a Jeffers walk. After moving to third on a Taylor fly out, Farmer scored on a wild pitch with Larnach batting, but the Twins left-fielder struck out to end the game. To be fair, the pitch that got called a third strike to end the game was really... a strike (see the video on the tweet below). But would that have changed the outcome of the game? Postgame interview What’s Next? The Twins were supposed to head back to Minnesota and have their home opener against the Houston Astros on Thursday, then have a day off on Friday. However, the Thursday game was officially postponed by the club yesterday, and it will take place on Friday instead. Sonny Gray (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will start the game for Minnesota, while righty José Urquidy (0-0, 6.75 ERA) toes the rubber for Houston. The first pitch of the game is scheduled for 3:10 pm CDT, but Twins Daily is having a pregame party at Tom’s Watch Bar starting at 11 am CDT, and we would be thrilled if you could join us. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Pagán 0 16 0 26 0 42 Alcalá 12 0 25 0 0 37 Morán 0 20 0 15 0 35 Thielbar 18 0 0 0 13 31 Sands 0 0 28 0 0 28 Jax 11 0 0 0 9 20 López 8 11 0 0 0 19 Durán 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

The 2023 World Baseball Classic concluded on Tuesday night with Samurai Japan downing Team USA 3-2 in the championship game. The Classic closed with a final at-bat for the ages between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. While most people agree such a spectacular final game is the cherry on top of a tremendous tournament, some still oppose the competition. Image courtesy of Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports The 2023 World Baseball Classic concluded on Tuesday night with Samurai Japan downing Team USA 3-2 in the championship game. The Classic closed with a final at-bat for the ages between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. While most people agree such a spectacular final game is the cherry on top of a tremendous tournament, some still oppose the competition. For three weeks, most of the baseball world celebrated the multicultural festivities of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) that took place in four different cities across three countries and two continents. The tournament had some of the world’s best players and broke, with ease, all of its attendance and viewership records. Still, in the middle of all that baseball fun, some people still managed to find a negative way to look at the competition. When Puerto Rico closer Edwin Díaz got hurt celebrating his country’s crucial win over the powerhouse from the Dominican Republic on March 15th, several media outlets and personalities bashed the WBC and its “lack of relevance.” Most notably, Barstool’s Kevin Clancy went on a rant about how “nobody gives a [expletive] about the WBC except for [expletive] losers.” Then, podcaster Keith Olbermann piled on by claiming the WBC is “a meaningless exhibition series designed to (...) split up teammates based on where their grandmothers got laid.” Despite being made in a grotesque way, there’s a very valid point in those statements, and they are definitely worth being politely discussed: is the World Baseball Classic fun worth the risk of superstars getting injured? Here are some reasons why I think it is. For many people, the WBC matters much more than the MLB This year’s WBC broke all of its attendance and viewership records. The tournament drew 1,010,999 fans to the stands during pool play, shattering the previous record of 510,056 set in 2017 with a 98% increase. Pool D, which was played in the US, drew 295,850 fans to the stands, making it the most-attended WBC round ever played in the United States – an 81% increase compared to the previous record. The TV viewership of this year’s WBC was also outstanding. Numbers on Tuesday night's championship game are not officially out yet, but one of the Samurai Japan games in this edition already broke an interesting record. Until this year, the most-watched baseball game in history was considered to be Game 6 of the 1980 MLB World Series, when 54,86 million people tuned on NBC to watch the Phillies defeat the Royals. But when Japan played against South Korea in their third pool play game, around 62 million people were watching the game in Japan – nearly half of the country. Tuesday’s championship game has the potential to be the most-watched game in baseball’s history. To put things in perspective, according to MLB, the 2022 World Series averaged 12.02 million total viewers per game across FOX, FOX Deportes, and FOX Sports streaming platforms. The final game of the series reached a peak audience of 14.73 million viewers during the game. Another fun number: when Puerto Rico played against the Dominican Republic in the final game of Pool D, about 62% of the island was watching the game, including 24% of viewers under the age of 35, and 55% were female viewers. Can you imagine over 60% of a country watching the same game? You can find some more fun stats about the WBC here and here. Finally: the players love it. Former Twin Nelson Cruz said, "the WBC is the real World Series.” It is easy to notice how important representing their country is for players, especially from countries like the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, where baseball is the number one sport. But it’s not only them. Here’s what Mike Trout and Mookie Betts had to say right after the Edwin Díaz injury. Injuries will happen anywhere, at any time Wanting the end of the WBC over injuries makes no sense. First and foremost because Major League Baseball has insurance in place to protect its teams in circumstances like this. The Mets, for instance, will get reimbursed for Edwin Díaz’s salary during the star closer’s time on the injured list. That should be the end of this. But in case that’s not enough, people should remember that injuries like that could happen anywhere, at any time. Gavin Lux suffered a non-contact knee injury in this year's spring training and will miss the entire season. Brandon Nimmo got injured sliding into second. Last Sunday, both Juan Soto and Austin Nola left their respective spring training games due to injuries, and the Padres might miss them for a while. Nola, specifically, was hit in the nose with a pitch. Yet, no one is calling for spring training to be canceled. And no one should, as it doesn’t make any sense. Injuries are unpredictable. Remember when Francisco Liriano missed out on roughly $11M when he broke his arm slamming into a door to scare his kids on Christmas? The odds of that happening might be the same as Díaz suffering a torn patellar tendon while celebrating a WBC win with his teammates. The WBC puts baseball on the map Finally and most importantly, the WBC makes baseball stronger. The United States is the birthplace of baseball, and it might even sound weird for a US native to hear that baseball needs to be strengthened. But the truth is that baseball is not among the most globally-spread sports in the world. Outside the US, it is only considerably popular in Central America and east Asia. I’m not from the USA. I’m a born and raised Brazilian who’s been living in Brazil my entire life. I had never watched a baseball game until I was 16, and I didn’t know the first thing about the sport. Unfortunately, that’s the case for most people in most countries outside the US and those two other areas. A global event such as the WBC is vital for baseball’s future, especially since it has been dropped from the Olympic Games. Baseball is the greatest game on the planet, and the whole world needs to know that. The WBC isn’t nearly as representative as other sports’ world cups, like FIFA’s, FIBA, the cricket world cup, the rugby world cup, etc. But it can be. It has to be. It will be, as long as we don’t give up on it over a superstar injury. What do you think? Is the World Baseball Classic important enough for superstar players to risk getting injured? Share your thoughts in the comments! 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