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In the second installment of the series, we look at the strengths and weaknesses of the pitching staff. Specifically the names that will be key contributors in the Wild Card round. View full video

With the AL Central in hand, the Twins are now focused on whittling down their magic number and taking steps toward reaching full strength (or as close as they can get) in time for the playoffs. Last week they made positive progress in both pursuits. Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 9/11 through Sun, 9/17 *** Record Last Week: 4-3 (Overall: 79-71) Run Differential Last Week: +16 (Overall: +90) Standing: 1st Place in AL Central (7.0 GA) Last Week's Game Results: Game 144 | TB 7, MIN 4: Bullpen Struggles After Gray's Early Exit Game 145 | MIN 3, TB 2: Julien and Castro Homers Tilt Close Game Game 146 | TB 5, MIN 4: Twins Rally Back But Fall Short, Drop Series Game 147 | MIN 10, CWS 2: Bats Lift Off, Maeda Cruises in Chicago Game 148 | MIN 10, CWS 2: Another Lewis Slam Fuels Another Blowout Game 149 | CWS 7, MIN 6: Early Pablo Struggles Too Much to Overcome Game 150 | MIN 4, CWS 0: Twins Take Series from Sox in Easy Shutout NEWS & NOTES As he battled through a series of attempted ramp-ups and setbacks, it started to look as though a return to action was not in the cards for Brock Stewart this year. With just a couple of weeks left to go, he's aiming to upend that narrative at the most crucial time possible. Stewart initiated a rehab stint at Triple-A St. Paul on Friday and looked fantastic, striking out two on 12 pitches in an inning of work. With his fastball ripping in the upper-90s, Stewart looked very much like the dominant specimen we saw in the first half. I'm guessing the Twins will get Stewart one or two more appearances in the minors before recalling him and letting him loose a few times in the majors before season's end. Those who remember how incredibly clutch the 31-year-old was in high-leverage spots back in May and June need not be reminded what a game-changing impact Stewart's arrival could have on the relief corps for October. Chris Paddack also took another positive step in his rehab, throwing four innings in a start for Wichita on Tuesday. The stuff looked good as Paddack struck out six with no walks, though he did give up a pair of runs, including one on a solo homer. The same night as Stewart kicked off his rehab stint with the Saints, Nick Gordon did the same. This development is less impactful for the playoff picture – Gordon likely won't make the roster, barring something unexpected – but it's good to see him make it back on the field at the end of a lost season. Gordon is hitless through seven plate appearances with the Saints. Will Bailey Ober play in the postseason? That's an open question, but the tea leaves seem to be signaling against it, even though Ober has had a very good year and was solid in his return to action on Friday night. He hurled five innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts and no walks. With a bullpen role in October seeming unlikely, Ober might just by playing out the string for this season. HIGHLIGHTS We've officially run out of superlatives to describe Royce Lewis. What is even going on. Manager Rocco Baldelli was rightfully astonished after watching the rookie phenom launch his fourth grand slam of the season and fifth in his young career on Friday night. Lewis' propensity for delivering big hits in key spots has already earned him legendary status at age 24. For the week, Lewis went 7-for-25 with three home runs, 10 RBIs, and six walks; the developing discipline is especially promising. Joining the fun in a week that saw Minnesota's explosive offense post two double-digit totals and rally for several comebacks: Max Kepler was 8-for-24, hitting for the cycle across six games while driving in four runs. His three-strikeout game on Saturday was, notably, his first of the season. Shaking free from a slump that was clearly frustrating him, Matt Wallner got back on track in a big way, tallying nine hits in 19 ABs. His OPS is back up over .850 thanks to the big surge. Edouard Julien, too, shook free from a mini-slump – though in his case "slumping" still tends to involve getting on base 40% of the time. He did just that last week, drawing five walks in six games, but he also chipped in three homers and a double. Despite being clearly slowed by a hamstring issue, Julien started all seven games. Having all of these hitters clicking the way they are – along with Jorge Polanco (5-for-15 with a homer last week) and Carlos Correa (three doubles, a homer and five walks) – bodes very well for the club's postseason outlook. Key developments are priming the pitching staff for postseason success as well. Chief among them: the emergence of Louie Varland as a bulldog out of the pen. He made two multi-inning appearances last week and was lights-out in both, holding the Rays scoreless for 2 ⅓ and then tossing two more shutout innings against the White Sox. Unleashing upper-90s heat and a newly weaponized cutter, Varland was utterly dominant, striking out seven with zero walks. Meanwhile, Kenta Maeda made a case for his readiness to assume an important postseason role, tossing seven innings of two-run ball in Thursday's blowout win over the White Sox. The outing matched Maeda's longest of the year (July 4th vs. KC) and the eight strikeouts were his most in nine starts. Maeda is probably behind Joe Ryan in line for a playoff start, but his proven postseason track record – comprising mostly relief work – makes him an X-factor for October. LOWLIGHTS The heart of the Twins relief unit is looking strong, with Varland on his way to joining Jhoan Duran and Caleb Thielbar as reliable high-leverage fixtures. But the postseason rewards deep bullpens, and a tough offense like Toronto or Seattle is likely to test Minnesota beyond its trusted back-end horses. Thus the pressure is mounting on guys like Griffin Jax and Dylan Floro, whose on-field results have lagged badly behind their expected numbers. Jax had another tough week, coughing up a game-winning home run to Randy Arozarena on Wednesday at home, where he was tagged with his 10th loss of the season. The right-hander entered the All-Star break with a 2.92 ERA but is at 5.76 since, with 27 hits and five homers allowed in 24 innings. Floro had actually put together a nice string of outings since his nightmare meltdown in Milwaukee, but lapsed against the Rays last Monday, surrendering three runs in the fifth inning of an eventual three-run loss. In both cases, there are underlying metrics that inspire some level of faith. Jax has a 2.92 xERA on the season, compared to his 4.13 actual ERA. For Floro, it's 3.36 versus 4.97. But theoretical expected numbers don't mean much when they are consistently misaligned with results, and that's only more true in the playoffs. A solid stretch to close the season from either of these two would go a long way toward instilling piece of mind for Twins fans, and lessening the urgency for Stewart and/or Paddack to come back and work miracles. TRENDING STORYLINE In an article for the Star Tribune last week, Bobby Nightengale detailed Correa's painful battle with plantar fasciitis, which the shortstop said continues to affect him on a daily basis. "It's just tough to move around," Correa said in the piece. "Defense is not all hands. It's moving your feet and getting yourself in the right spot. It makes everything tougher, even just walking in the morning. It's just harder to move around, but at the same time, I have to finish plays." This has been noticeable in watching Correa miss some plays he characteristically makes at shortstop, though his bat does seem to be coming around. And while Nightengale's article affirms what we've consistently heard – a few days or even weeks off won't solve the problem – it does appear the Twins are making efforts to get Correa off his feet more with the division all but clinched. Correa had started 23 consecutive games before getting the day off on Wednesday, and Rocco Baldelli was committed enough to making it a true day off that he bypassed subbing Correa in a key late-game pinch hitting situation, turning instead of the vastly inferior Christian Vázquez. Correa also got Thursday off. He returned to play all three games over the weekend, going 3-for-11 with a double and three walks, but it would be no surprise to see him spelled frequently in the final two weeks. In fact I'd be surprised if he's not, and I hope the small respites can help Correa bring his A-game when it counts most. LOOKING AHEAD The Twins wrap up their midwest swing with a trip to Cincinnati that is solid (five games above .500) but out of contention. The Reds haven't announced starters for Monday or Tuesday yet, but Hunter Greene is slated to start on Wednesday, setting up a matchup between the No. 1 (Lewis) and No. 2 (Greene) overall picks in the 2017 draft. Minnesota returns home against the weekend to face the Angels, which should be an easy matchup except the Halos are throwing three left-handers. I'll be curious to see how much Baldelli tests his lefty hitters in that series, given the presumably low stakes. MONDAY, 9/18: TWINS @ REDS – RHP Joe Ryan v. TBD TUESDAY, 9/19: TWINS @ REDS – RHP Kenta Maeda v. TBD WEDNESDAY, 9/20: TWINS @ REDS – RHP Bailey Ober v. RHP Hunter Greene FRIDAY, 9/22: ANGELS @ TWINS – LHP Tyler Anderson v. RHP Pablo Lopez SATURDAY, 9/23: ANGELS @ TWINS – LHP Reid Detmers v. RHP Sonny Gray SUNDAY, 9/24: ANGELS @ TWINS – LHP Patrick Sandoval v. RHP Joe Ryan View full article

After a short start by Dallas Keuchel, the Twins were down four runs early. They rallied back to tie it and had a mostly great outing from their bullpen. But one bad pitch in the ninth cost them the game and the series. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel, 4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (78 pitches, 47 strikes, 60.3%) Home Runs: Matt Wallner (12), Kyle Farmer (10) Bottom 3 WPA: Griffin Jax (-.306), Dallas Keuchel (-.282), Royce Lewis (-.181) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Keuchel gives up four early runs Things looked really promising for Dallas Keuchel to begin this game, as he got two quick outs on only six pitches. He got Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay’s leadoff hitter, to strike out with a couple of nasty swings and misses, including an 80.1 mph changeup that called Rob Friedman’s attention. But that was pretty much all the “Vintage Keuchel” Twins fans would witness, as things took a turn for the worse. Not only did Keuchel stop missing bats, but Rays batters also began barrelling his pitches. He didn’t give up a run in the top of the first, surrendering merely a two-out double, but in all three times Tampa Bay’s hitters got to make contact during that inning, it was hard contact – nothing below 97.5 mph exit velocity. The Rays scored three runs in the top of the second. Curtis Mead led off the inning with a triple that left his bat at 100 mph, then scored on a fielder’s choice a couple of at-bats later. Tampa Bay continued to push, and with two on and two outs, Díaz got his revenge on Keuchel by hitting a long double to deep center to score both runners. With the Twins offense not putting up a big fight, Tampa Bay managed to add on in the top of the third. Keuchel gave up a one-out walk to Isaac Paredes, who scored on the next at-bat on another Mead extra-base hit, an RBI double, making it 4-0 Rays. Twins tie it up, both starters depart the game Minnesota couldn’t get anything going in the first two innings of the game, being limited to a lone walk. But things quickly changed in the bottom of the third. Matt Wallner jumped on the first pitch he saw to crush a leadoff home run to deep center, putting the Twins on the board. Kyle Farmer was exactly as aggressive and also took Taj Bradley deep in the next at-bat. The Twins continued to threat in the same inning, with Jorge Polanco smacking a one-out double, but Bradley managed to put the fire away. After Keuchel delivered his first 1-2-3 inning of the afternoon in the top of the fourth, the offense took one more shot at Bradley in the home half, with Ryan Jeffers hitting a one-out double. This time, though, the Twins were unable to capitalize. Keuchel returned for the fifth, but his day was over before he could record an out. Harold Ramírez hit a leadoff single, which was followed by a walk from Paredes. Rocco Baldelli decided to pull him and bring in Dylan Floro, who successfully took care of the mess on 13 pitches. Fortunately for the Twins, Keuchel wouldn’t be the only starter to depart the game in that inning. The bottom of the fifth began tremendously well for Minnesota, with Farmer making Bradley fight hard for a strikeout after a 16-pitch at-bat. The Twins went on to draw back-to-back walks, then both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Bradley was pulled after getting the second out, but it was no use: against reliever Jake Diekman, Max Kepler hit a triple to right to drive in both runners and tie the game. The bullpen looks great… for the most part Floro did a great job not allowing his two inherited runners to score in the fifth. But Emilio Pagán, who took over after him in the sixth, was perhaps even more impressive. He delivered two scoreless frames after retiring the side on 15 pitches in the sixth and surviving a jam in the seventh. Díaz and Randy Arozarena opened the inning with back-to-back singles, but Pagán was able to retire the next three batters on eight pitches to end the rally. Caleb Thielbar tossed a scoreless eighth on Tuesday night’s win, and he was brought into this game to make his seventh appearance on no day’s rest this season. Not only was he trying to keep this a tied game, but he would also try to preserve his 0.00 ERA pitching on back-to-back days this season. Spoiler alert: he did a phenomenal job! He retired the side on 17 pitches, closing out the inning with an absolutely filthy 71.5 mph curveball for a punchout. Then, it was Griffin Jax’s turn to keep the Rays from scoring in the top of the ninth. Things started out great for him, who retired the first two batters on only six pitches. But when Arozarena stepped up to the plate, Jax was doomed. His command was a little off, and Arozarena got ahead 0-2. Jax managed to even the count, but a couple of pitches later, the Rays’ outfielder crushed him for a third-decker, making it 5-4 Tampa Bay. Jordan Luplow worked a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth to make things interesting. Andrew Stevenson came in to pinch-run for him, and he stole second. But ultimately, it was no use, as the Rays bullpen held on tight. Postgame interview What’s Next? The Twins head to Chicago, where they’ll start a four-game set against the White Sox. The series opener is scheduled for 6:40 pm CDT on Thursday (9/14) at Guaranteed Rate Field. Chicago’s starting pitcher has yet to be determined, while Kenta Maeda (4-7, 4.65 ERA) is expected to take the mound for Minnesota. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Varland 20 0 0 31 0 51 Floro 11 0 24 0 13 48 Headrick 0 0 47 0 0 47 Jax 0 24 0 0 16 40 Winder 0 0 38 0 0 38 Thielbar 10 0 0 11 17 38 Pagán 0 0 0 0 29 29 Funderburk 15 0 0 0 0 15 Durán 0 0 0 10 0 10 View full article

The Minnesota Twins lost to the Rays Wednesday afternoon at Target Field. With Cleveland in a tailspin, there’s not much to get worked up about in terms of wins and losses, but there were a couple of big-picture items of concern that continued to reveal themselves. Griffin Jax gave up the go-ahead homer in the ninth inning and has a 6.26 ERA in the second half. Also discussed is the decision to pinch hit Christian Vázquez for Edouard Julien. Down in the minors, both Simeon Woods Richardson and Pierson Ohl continued their strong streak of performances on the mound. Also, Yunior Severino homered for the third-straight game. View full video

Pablo Lopez brought his Sunday best, setting two personal milestones on the mound, and the Twins still lost. Here's how this getaway dud of a game went down. Image courtesy of Michael McLoone - USA Today Box Score Starting Pitcher: Pablo Lopez - 8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 14 K (106 Pitches, 73 Strikes, 69% Strikes) Home Runs: None Bottom WPA: Griffin Jax (-.410), Alex Kirilloff (-.178), Matt Wallner (-.140) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Sunday brought last-minute changes to the line-up, a pitching milestone, and the opening of the NFL season a few blocks down the street from Target Field. Jorge Polanco was placed on the bereavement list hours before game time, and Gilberto Celestino made his 2023 return to the ball club as the corresponding move. Donovan Solano took over at second base, bumping Edouard Julien into the DH spot. Pablo Lopez got the start one day after his "Los Twins" jersey was distributed to the masses. While the Vikings attempted to begin anew, the Twins were busy trying to finish off a series sweep. Fans of both teams were left wanting. It's Been "Pablo Day" All Year Long The first out of the game was a momentous one, as Lopez struck out his 200th batter of the season. Lopez became the ninth Twins to reach the feat, and it was his first season for such an accomplishment. 2018's version of Jose Berrios was the last Twin to achieve the mark, and Twins fans would agree that that if Lopez could reach a happy middle ground between Berrios and four-time 200 strikeout man Johan Santana, its going to be a good few seasons enjoying Lopez' contract extension! Lopez didn't stop at 200. Will he reach the 265 mark set by Santana in 2004? Probably not. But he's getting closer to his idol inning by inning. Scoring Runs is Hard to Do...Apparently Last year's opening day pitcher for the Mets, Tylor Megill (also known as former Twins pitcher Tyler's brother) tried to silence the Twins lineup. The first time through, all was quiet on the offensive front. In the bottom of the third, the second run through the lineup brought better plate appearances but still no runs. Alex Kirilloff laced a sinking liner to left, and Julien got caught in no-man's land between first and second, and was forced out at second on the trapped ball. Royce Lewis had a chance to open up the scoring with Castro on third, Kirilloff on second, and two outs, but a soft liner down the left field line landed just foul. Eventually Lewis squared up the ball, directly to the third baseman, and on to the middle innings we went still tied at 0-0. In Sunday games this season, the Twins have reflected their overall summer vibe. They've gone 11-12, averaging 3.91 runs per game. While this screams "average," in 10 of the 23 games the Twins have scored two or fewer runs. This is the offensive element that gives me the most pause heading into the playoff push. Lopez Keeps Dealing K's, but the Twins Bats Stay Quiet Maybe Lopez will reach Santana's record at this rate! He struck out the side in the fourth, and other than a hit batter he was spotless through five. The top of the sixth brought two more, to put Lopez's six inning total to 10 K's on only 77 pitches. Kirilloff's double-play ball to second ended a threat for the Twins in the bottom of the fifth, as Megill limited the Twins to two hits. Megill's pitch count was not nearly as tidy, however, and he was finished at 93 pitches after five innings of work. Mets Bullpen = Runs? Statistically speaking, the Mets bullpen has not enjoyed facing the Twins this week. In the first two games of the series, Mets relievers have surrendered eight runs in four innings of work. Phil Bickford got the call in the sixth, and he walked Lewis to start the inning. Max Kepler was next up, and Dick Bremer erroneously cried "Home Run wolf" for what felt like the 90th time this series, and as Kepler's ball failed to reach the warning track, Lewis scampered to third on the tag. With a runner at third, and less than two outs, the Twins were back in September's version of "bases loaded no outs" with Carlos Correa up at the plate. Correa fanned, putting the slumping Matt Wallner into the hero's spot. A weak pop fly to center ended yet another threat in a game where one run feels like 1,000,000. How Far Can He Go? With the Twins having placed themselves well into the driver's seat of the AL Central, one of the talking points heading into the final weeks of the season revolved around pitch counts and innings for the playoff-caliber starting staff. How far would Rocco Baldelli allow Lopez to go in this game? In the seventh inning, Lopez struck out two more on only 14 pitches, to equal his career high mark at 12 K's for the game. The eighth inning brought the Twins ace back onto the mound (or, perhaps it was the utter failure of the Twins offense that did it...). Two more strike outs, a career high 14 for the game, and the Target Field faithful who chose baseball over football today gave him a well-deserved standing ovation. Does Someone Want to Win This Game? Unfortunately the Mets did. Griffin Jax came in for the ninth, and immediately got Francisco Lindor to hit a weak fly ball to left. Wallner got there eventually, dove for it but for some reason turned his glove upside down at the exact moment the glove should have been open, and a gift double was the result. Jax then hit Jeff McNeil on an 0-2 pitch. Two batters later, DJ Stewart hit the ball a long ways to the gap and it was 2-0 Mets. Adam Ottavino entered to attempt the save. Correa greeted his second pitch with 110 mph of angst for a lead-off double. Wallner's offensive woes continued with a strike out. Trevor Larnach, your table is ready. Lopez's brilliant start was wasted, a winnable game was placed yet again on the Sunday afternoon disinterested offensive effort pile, and attention in Twins Territory can once again promptly turn towards yelling at the Vikings. Next Up The Twins look to avenge their mid-season sweep in Tampa Bay by sending RHP Sonny Gray (7-6, 2.98 ERA) up against his ERA doppleganger RHP Tyler Glasnow (8-5, 2.98 ERA). Thanks to Cleveland wasting a gem by their ace Tanner Bibee, the Twins still hold a 7.5 game lead on the AL Central and saw their magic number drop to 12 on Sunday. First pitch at Target Field is scheduled for 6:40pm CDT on Monday. Up-to-Date Standings AL Central W L Pct GB Minnesota 75 68 .524 0.0 Cleveland 68 76 .472 7.5 Post-Game Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Varland 43 0 0 20 0 63 Jax 0 0 8 0 24 32 Funderburk 11 0 0 15 0 26 Thielbar 0 0 15 10 0 25 Durán 0 0 14 0 0 14 Pagán 0 0 11 0 0 11 Floro 0 0 0 11 0 11 Headrick 0 0 0 0 0 0 Winder 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

The Minnesota Twins have some questions looming in their bullpen. Who can we trust most right now out of the arm barn? Here's Nash's updated bullpen trust rankings before the Twins host Tampa Bay! View full video

The Twins faced a big challenge last week, facing off against first-place teams for six straight days as their overworked bullpen continues to falter. They rebounded from a tough series in Milwaukee to take three of four from a potential future playoff foe, the Texas Rangers. In holding their own against tough competition, the Twins held their ground in the AL Central as the clock ticks down on the regular season. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 8/21 through Sun, 8/27 *** Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall: 68-63) Run Differential Last Week: +4 (Overall: +47) Standing: 1st Place in AL Central (6.0 GA) Last Week's Game Results: Game 126 | MIL 7, MIN 3: Floro Fumbles in Middle Innings Game 127 | MIL 8, MIN 7: Bullpen Blows Lead, Bats Can't Keep Pace Game 128 | MIN 7, TEX 5: Jeffers Delivers Go-Ahead PH Homer Game 129 | MIN 12, TEX 2: Twins Rock Rangers in Dominant, Spicy Win Game 130 | TEX 6, MIN 2: Ryan Solid in Return But Pen Implodes Game 131 | MIN 7, TEX 6: Twins Erase Deficit, Win with Walk-Off BB NEWS & NOTES Last year around this time, the Twins were being constantly bombarded by crushing injury news, setting up a disastrous September that would ultimately remove them from playoff contention. This year, things are trending in a much more favorable direction. Instead of receiving update after update filled with setbacks and sad-trombones, much of the information shared out from the team lately points toward positive progress and momentum. Lately we've learned that: Byron Buxton is tentatively working toward a September return to center field (part-time, at least). Brock Stewart is ramping up again and reporting no pain after a couple of recent bullpen sessions, with the possibility of a rehab stint on the horizon. Chris Paddack, now 15 months removed from his second Tommy John surgery, is throwing in the mid-90s down in Florida and being eyed for a possible bullpen role in October. Alex Kirilloff has been taking swings and building up after giving his shoulder some time to rest. He'll take part in live batting practice on Tuesday and if that goes well, a rehab assignment could follow later in the week. Jorge Alcala (remember him?) is feeling good and will throw live BP against Buxton and Kirilloff. Alcala himself could be in line for a rehab assignment in the near future if things go smoothly. It's probably not reasonable to expect all of these guys to return and make a big impact before year's end, maybe not even most of them. But even just getting back a couple of them at semi-full capacity could make a big difference, given this first place team's makeup and needs heading into September. We're talking about some major proven talents in that mix. Already the Twins have activated Joe Ryan, who tossed five innings of one-run ball in his return against the Rangers on Saturday. Their rotation is essentially at full strength heading into the end of August, albeit with Bailey Ober starting to wobble under his workload a bit and Dallas Keuchel adding an interesting element. With 31 games left on the schedule, Minnesota holds a six-game lead over the Guardians in the Central, as they prepare to host Cleveland at Target Field with their top three starters on the mound. It's getting late early for the Guardians, who will be matching up their .450 road winning percentage against Minnesota's .590 clip at home. HIGHLIGHTS The Twins offense shows no real signs of slowing down. They gave it their all last week, pushing across 36 runs on 53 hits in six games, launching 14 home runs, as they tried to keep pace with a leaky bullpen. Royce Lewis once again took center stage in his second week back. He homered in Wednesday's game against Milwaukee, then homered again as part of a 3-for-3 Thursday night against Texas, and added a game-salvaging grand slam on Sunday. Perhaps most encouraging out of all that: Lewis showed some discipline, drawing three walks against four strikeouts. Monumental as it was, Lewis' slam against the Rangers ranked merely as the second-most exciting home run of the week for Minnesota. It's tough to compete with a pinch-hit, go-ahead, two-run blast in the eighth inning. Yeah, Ryan Jeffers did that. Michael A. Taylor kept the power surge pumping with three home runs. Max Kepler went 8-for-18 with a homer and three doubles, lifting his OPS on the season north of the .800 mark. Kyle Farmer had a much-needed productive offensive week, collecting five hits in 11 at-bats, including a pair of bombs. In a dramatic turnaround from the first half, the Twins now have an offense that can run with the big boys, and that's before you factor the potential returns of Buxton and Kirilloff. They also have a verifiable ace-level performer atop their rotation, which is not something we've been able to say in a long while. Sonny Gray spun another gem on Friday, tossing seven innings of one-run ball to lower his ERA to 3.05. That figure ranks sixth in all of baseball, and Gray is fifth in fWAR behind only Zack Wheeler, Spencer Strider, Zac Gallen and Kevin Gausman. If not for his paltry win total, Gray would be a prime contender for Cy Young consideration. But while the rotation and offense keep offering reasons to believe in this team's viability, the mounting bullpen lapses are preventing that confidence – along with their control of the AL Central – from becoming firmly solidified. LOWLIGHTS This past week, same as the last week, troubling breakdowns in the relief corps were the main source of consternation. On Tuesday, Dylan Floro entered with a one-run lead after Ober's five solid innings, then gave up five runs on six hits in one inning, turning a winnable game into a lopsided loss. The following day, Minnesota's top four relievers – Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, Emilio Pagán – combined to give up five runs on seven hits in 4 ⅔ innings. On Saturday, Jax had his second total meltdown in 11 days, entering in the ninth of a tie game and giving up four earned while recording just one out as he completely lost command of the strike zone. The week ended on a high note for the bullpen, which came through brilliantly in a 13-inning grudge match on Sunday, but that hardly negates the alarms being raised by this unit. The rough stretches for Thielbar – who gave up two runs in three innings, though he threw a dominant 11th frame on Sunday – and Jax are most worrisome. Jax has a 6.48 ERA and 6.39 FIP in 16 ⅔ innings since the All-Star break, with dwindling strikeout rates and deteriorating control. This isn't just bad luck anymore. If Jax continues to trend in the wrong direction, the long-shot scenarios of Stewart or Alcala coming back and handling high leverage work suddenly become rather essential instead of luxurious. Otherwise the Twins might need to get creative by, say, converting Louie Varland into a short-burst relief role, which they've hinted at. TRENDING STORYLINE Willi Castro started a rehab assignment in St. Paul over the weekend and his return to the Twins is looking imminent, though an anticipated paternity list trip will delay him a bit. Rocco Baldelli will welcome his cherished gadget player, with Castro bringing speed, defensive versatility and switch-hitting ability to make himself a skipper's best friend. The question of course becomes: who goes to make room? The most likely answer seems to be Jordan Luplow, who has cooled off significantly after a hot start for the Twins, batting .080 with one RBI in his past 10 games. That would however leave the Twins lacking for a quality RH outfield bat, which is not a role Castro fills particularly well. Personally, I wonder if the Twins might think about placing their slumping-again shortstop Carlos Correa on the injured list to rest up his feet. He's looked rough lately and was especially brutal on Sunday, where he went 0-for-4 with a GIDP and error. The Twins can get by for awhile with Farmer and Lewis splitting time at short – especially with Castro returning to provide depth at third. They'd miss Correa's glove, but wouldn't be losing much offensively. And if the Twins think this plan would have any real chance of getting C4 into a better place by the time October rolls around, it's worth a shot. LOOKING AHEAD Cleveland is coming to town, with their season more or less on life support. The Guardians could vault themselves back into legitimate contention by sweeping the series, thus closing the gap in the Central to three games, but anything less than a series victory is going to leave them in pretty dire straits. Meanwhile, a sweep by the Twins would essentially seal the deal, leaving them ahead by nine games with 28 left to play. A tough series in Texas follows over the weekend, so needless to say, Minnesota needs to be focused on taking care of business in their final home series against the shabby Clevelanders. Get it done here and you can more or less put it on cruise control for September. MONDAY, 8/28: GUARDIANS @ TWINS – RHP Xzavion Curry v. RHP Kenta Maeda TUESDAY, 8/29: GUARDIANS @ TWINS – RHP Gavin Williams v. RHP Pablo Lopez WEDNESDAY, 8/30: GUARDIANS @ TWINS – RHP Tanner Bibee v. RHP Sonny Gray FRIDAY, 9/1: TWINS @ RANGERS – RHP Joe Ryan v. RHP Max Scherzer SATURDAY, 9/2: TWINS @ RANGERS – RHP Bailey Ober v. LHP Jordan Montgomery SUNDAY, 9/3: TWINS @ RANGERS – RHP Kenta Maeda v. RHP Jon Gray View full article

The Twins have taken two games thus far in the series, and while one doesn’t want to say easily, the Rangers slump certainly plays into the favor of the Twins, but on Saturday, Joe Ryan returned from the IL and Max Scherzer pitched for the Rangers. A battle of the pitchers ensued. Image courtesy of Jeffrey Becker 2023 USA Today Box Score SP: Joe Ryan 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (80 pitches, 51 strikes (63%) Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (9) Top 3 WPA: Jorge Polanco (.155), Joe Ryan (.153), Jhoan Duran (.103) Bottom 3 WPA: Griffin Jax (-.457), Caleb Thielbar (-.115), Matt Wallner (-.085) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Joe Ryan returned to the mound tonight from the IL (groin) and got out his first two hitters on strikeouts. He allowed a single before striking out the last pitcher to end the inning. A solid start coming off injury. His velocity was a little lower than we saw in the beginning of the season, sitting between 91 mph and 94 mph, which could be an issue later. However, maybe it was his change of pace for music for his walk up. Max Scherzer, who came to the Rangers in a trade deadline move, was backed up with Mitch Garver who has caught all his games since the trade. Scherzer looked good in the bottom of the first getting two outs before Max Kepler shot a single into the centerfield gap for a single and then walked Carlos Correa. Scherzer’s walks have been up this season, and in a slump-breaking situation, walks will haunt. Ryan worked up his pitch count in the second inning, struggled a bit with the velocity still, and allowed low hanging fruit to create opportunities for the Rangers. The first was a home run by Mitch Garver to put the Rangers on the board first. Frustratingly, Garver got the Rangers on the board first with a home run on Friday night too. The Twins defense kept things tight as Robbie Grossman hit a line drive double to Kepler, and as Ezequiel Duran rounded the bases and dug for home, a relay from Max Kepler to Correa before a cannon to home to get Duran out. Edouard Julien hadn't seen Scherzer before this game and struck out looking in his first at-bat, but fought back in the third and got a double to start out the inning followed by a solid hit to center field gap from Kepler, scoring Julien to tie up the game. The Twins and Rangers stayed tied through. Both pitchers and defenses stayed tight, Ryan continued to stay in command of the strike zone as he settled in. Caleb Thielbar came out in the sixth inning to give Ryan a break. Undoubtedly manager Rocco Baldelli is working Ryan back to more pitches. Thielbar gave up a home run to Adolis Garcia , giving the Rangers the lead, but nothing else, closing out the inning with minimal damage and a chance to come back, and come back they did with a solo home run from Jorge Polanco in the bottom of the sixth to tie-up the game again. Emilio Pagan replaced Thielbar in the top of the seventh inning and as he has done so many times the past three months in these set-up positions, got out of the inning with no damage. Both threw 10 pitches in their appearances, and for Thielbar, eight of those were strikes. The Minnesota Twins bullpen has been getting stronger, better and hopefully ready for a postseason push. The game remained tied and the Twins brought out Jhoan Duran in the eighth inning, which led this writer to believe that he would subsequently be back out for the ninth, but instead the Twins brought out Griffin Jax. The Twins flame-thrower Duran has struggled when in situations when he has to relieve in two innings. Jax has had a funny season. Lots of up and down, high highs and low lows, but as evidenced by his relief appearance on Thursday, he still has "it". Jax has been worked a lot this week, the most of the relievers (three relief appearances and 57 pitches) and his momentum quickly faded. The ninth inning was messy. Jax had two runners on base with no outs when Pete Maki made a visit to the mound, to relax his reliever. Jax initially focused in and then threw a pitch that got Duran on the soft part of the elbow to load the bases. Tie game, one out, bases loaded and Robbie Grossman up to bat, the infield came to the mound to discuss how to get shut down Grossman and out of the inning with no damage, maybe hit into a double play and move to the tenth inning. The meeting didn't work and Grossman was walked to put the Rangers up 3-2, but the damage was far from over. Jax walked another player with the bases loaded giving the Rangers another run for a two run lead. Dylan Floro came in to replace Jax, who left the mound with his head hanging. Floro came into the inning with the bases loaded, but in a repeat performance, Floro hit Marcus Semien in the elbow and reloaded the bases and bringing in another walk for a 5-2 lead. The bleeding finally stopped with a 6-2 lead for the Rangers. The pitching wasn't the only thing to blame in this demise, the Twins bats were quiet and offense didn't show up outside of a double and solo home run, giving the pitchers no cushion to allow for runs. With the amount of usage the bullpen got this week, the bats needed to show up just as much. The Rangers sent out Aroldis Chapman to face the four five six batters and the Twins made some adjustments with Jordan Luplow in the number five spot. Luplow walked and it looked like Donovan Solano squared up enough to send the ball out for a homerun, but he got just under it and it fell into the glove of Garcia in right field to end the game and the pain. What’s Next? The Twins continue their homestand with one more game from Texas in this series before coming head to head with Cleveland. Sunday 12:35 pm CDT: RHP Bailey Ober (6-6, 3.41 ERA) vs. LHP Jordan Montgomery (8-10, 3.12 ERA) Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Twins fans got to witness veteran pitching at its finest Sunday afternoon as Dallas Keuchel tossed a perfect game into the seventh inning en route to a 2-0 victory. Here's how the gem sparkled. Image courtesy of Jeffery Becker, USA Today Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel, 6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (85 Pitches, 53 Strikes, 62%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Keuchel (.332), Edouard Julien (.120), Griffin Jax (.092) Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs): The Twins looked to execute some revenge Sunday afternoon, against a Pirates squad that aimed to neutralize the Twins offense with an opener and bullpen game approach. Ryan Borucki was the first man up for Pittsburgh, and the lefty held the Twins hitless over two innings, striking out three in the process. Osvaldo Bido was the next arm up for the Pirates, and he got the bulk of the work for the bullpen. Bido struck out six Twins batters over 3 1/3 innings, and dominated most of the lineup. Luckily for the Twins, Donovan Solano and Edouard Julien were not dominated so easily. In the bottom of the fourth, Solano led off the inning with a single, and hustled his way to third on a Correa flare to right. Julien launched a deep fly to the left field warning track that was reeled in, but Solano tagged and scored to make the game 1-0 in favor of the Twins. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Solano led off the inning with a double to the opposite field. Julien came up with Solano at second and one out, and this time he couldn't be reeled in. Keuchel Channels His Inner Cy Young Two runs proved to be enough for the Twins this day, because Dallas Keuchel decided he wasn't going to allow a hit through six innings. The Twins lefty threw a master class in pitch location, generating 10 groundouts and weak contact up and down the Pirates lineup. After allowing six runs in only 1 2/3 in Philadelphia earlier in the week, this performance seemed improbable or impossible. Twins fans will take it, no questions asked. After seeing Sonny Grays five no-hit innings get erased in the sixth last night, watching Keuchel hold his outing into the seventh felt tangibly comforting. Only a Bryan Reynolds double off of the wall in right could end this miracle run, and Keuchel left with a 2-0 lead and to a standing ovation. Twins Bats Keep Flailing After whiffing their way to 15 strikeouts last night, the Twins offense looked to make more contact against this Pirates bullpen. They didn't. 16 strikeouts in only eight innings of batting. The Twins averaged two strikeouts an inning at the plate. Seriously. This run of deflating at-bats can't continue against the likes of Texas and Cleveland in the coming weeks, or the AL Central race will be tigher than it needs to be. Twins Bullpen Returns the Favor Luckily for the Twins, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, and Jhoan Duran also were making the Pirates bats flail. Jax came in and struck out his two batters in the top of the seventh to erase the threat. Thielbar and Duran faced little resistance, and the Twins pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout to complete the series win. What’s Next: The Twins enjoy an off-day on Monday, before they travel east for a two-game border battle with the Brewers. Tuesday's matchup will see Twins RHP Bailey Ober (6-6, 3.40 ERA) face Brewers LHP Wade Miley (6-3, 3.05 ERA). First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7:10pm CDT. Postgame Interviews: Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Jax 33 0 11 0 11 55 Balazovic 18 0 0 36 0 54 Durán 0 0 17 0 17 34 Floro 6 0 0 27 0 33 Winder 28 0 0 0 0 28 Thielbar 0 0 10 0 18 28 Pagán 15 0 11 0 0 26 Sands 0 0 0 8 0 8 View full article

Well, not everything can be perfect. Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Pablo López: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K Home Run: Michael A. Taylor (16) Top 3 WPA: Pablo López (.331), Griffin Jax (.267), Michael A. Taylor (.251) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) It was a great day to kick off a glorious weekend. The bonus off-days allowed the Twins to re-shuffle their starting rotation, moving Dallas Keuchel to Sunday, as Friday’s start went to Pablo López. López had been excellent in his last two starts, holding both Detroit and Philadelphia scoreless over 13 innings of work. Friday was more of the same. But it wasn’t easy. Pittsburgh was in no mood to go down easy. They jumped on López often, placing runners on base in every inning he pitched, but that One Big Hit never came; López slipped out of trouble every time. It was far from efficient, but the most important numbers—six innings; no earned runs—were all manager Rocco Baldelli was looking for. The start extended López’s scoreless innings streak to 19. Orel Hershiser will remain at peace, but the streak has been impressive, and for a starter who may have gotten unlucky earlier in the year, a new ERA of 3.51 is closer to his true talent. The Twins had trouble with Pittsburgh starter Andre Jackson. He wasn’t fully stretched out, but that didn’t appear to matter much to him. The Twins could gain baserunners, but they evidently suffered under a similar hex as their black and gold opponents, as they failed to knock in their brethren, forcing them to trudge through much of the game unable to support their starter. “Much of the game,” isn’t all of the game, however, as Minnesota did strike against Jackson eventually. Christian Vázquez softly served a changeup into center field. Perhaps believing in his cambio’s ability to earn weak contact, Jackson threw it again to Michael A. Taylor. He was wrong. Taylor took a mighty hack at a changeup low, but not low enough, and the ball finally landed 410 feet later as Taylor slowed down his effort to a celebratory jog. The Twins scored again in the 6th, when—following a Matt Wallner double—Donovan Solano cracked a single into center. Baseball has a sense of humor, though. López’s ability to escape danger did not translate to Caleb Thielbar. The lefty was shocked to learn that these Pittsburgh batters meant business, and they quickly plated their first run of the ballgame. Griffin Jax entered. Despite him imploding in catastrophic fashion on Wednesday, turning a potential win into a close loss against a team they really should have beat, Baldelli believed Jax to be the best bet to get out of the jam. It made sense, really. And he was perfect. Ke’Bryan Hayes popped out, Jack Suwinski struck out staring at a sweeper, and Henry Davis at least made it look pretty by swinging for his strikeout. Somehow, no runners scored. Such is the life of a reliever. The Twins scored a critical insurance run when Jorge Polanco tricked the Pirates into staring at his pop fly, bringing home the fourth run of the game. Kyle Farmer did basically the same thing the following at-bat, but he one-upped his teammate by taking second. The trade-off for such fortune was cruel: Wallner took a fastball off his hands and couldn’t even attempt to talk his way into staying into the game. The team later announced he suffered a right hand contusion. Not much happened after that. Well, Pirates pitcher Yohan Ramirez plunked a few batters, causing Baldelli to consternate and scour, but nothing came of it. Jhoan Duran entered to get back on the horse, and he struck out the side. That's quite the horse to get back on. Notes: Carlos Correa's hitting streak ended at nine. He walked twice and struck out twice. Michael A. Taylor's 16 homers on the year are three off his career-high of 19 set in 2017. Pablo López's seven strikeouts pushed his season total to 187, tying him with Toronto's Kevin Gausman for the second-highest total in MLB. Spencer Strider leads everyone with 227 strikeouts. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Pirates will play the second game of their series on Saturday. Sonny Gray will start for Minnesota. First pitch is at 6:10 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Things started out smoothly for Minnesota, who built a four-run lead early. But an off day by Kenta Maeda and a Griffin Jax meltdown proved too costly for the Twins, who dropped their eighth against Detroit for the year. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Kenta Maeda, 4.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (87 pitches, 56 strikes, 64.4%) Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (8), Max Kepler (20) Bottom 3 WPA: Griffin Jax (-.586), Donovan Solano (-.313), Matt Wallner (-.178) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Bats build a four-run lead in a hurry No American League Central team has been a bigger thorn in the Twins' side this season than Detroit. The Tigers secured the season series win against Minnesota last week by taking three out of four at Comerica Park, making it seven out of 11 against the Twins for the year at that time. Today, Minnesota had the chance to complete their first and only sweep of the Tigers on the year while putting themselves in position to match their biggest lead atop the division. Things started well for the Twins at the plate, and they built a four-run lead very quickly. When Édouard Julien jumped on the first pitch he saw for a leadoff single in the bottom of the first, you could tell the Twins bats were hungry. Julien got picked off, but Minnesota's offense didn't take it lying down. Max Kepler worked a two-out walk shortly before Royce Lewis stepped up to the plate and smacked an RBI double to the gap in right-center field to put the Twins on the board. That was all the Twins could muster in the first, but they were back at it again in the second. Christian Vázquez, Joey Gallo, and Kyle Farmer collected three consecutive singles to load the bases with one out against Tigers' starter Reese Olson. To make up for his baserunning blunder from earlier, Julien punished Olson's curveball with a line drive to center, pushing two more runners across. Then, in the following at-bat, Jorge Polanco flied out to deep center, deep enough to score Farmer from third and make it 4-0 Minnesota. That was the 13th time this season the Twins' offense scored four runs or more in the first two innings of a game. Maeda isn't sharp, exits the game early The offense looked great to start this game, which is a relief, given how inconsistent it's been this season. And given how well Minnesota's pitchers have been this year, one could naturally expect a four-run lead to be enough to secure a win. Right? Well, Twins' starter Kenta Maeda had an off day. Not only did he fail to take advantage of that lead, but his start was also short-lived. Maeda tossed two scoreless to open the game, but it wasn't simple. It took him 26 pitches to get through the first, and he gave up a single and a walk. The second inning was less eventful, but he still needed to pitch around a leadoff double to Miguel Cabrera – who, by the way, tagged up and reached third on a flyout, the daredevil. In the third, Detroit managed to ambush him with a pair of long balls. Akil Baddoo led off the inning with a single, followed by a Riley Greene two-run shot. Then, Spencer Torkleson hit a one-out solo shot to cut the Twins' lead down to one. Kenta would give up another single before closing the book on this inning. He came back to toss a 1-2-3 fourth, but with his pitch count reaching 82 after four, he faced only one batter in the fifth before Rocco Baldelli pulled him from the game. It was the first time Maeda had thrown four or fewer innings in a start since July 14. Jax struggles, Tigers punish him The Twins got some quality relief from Dylan Floro and Emilio Pagán, who combined for two scoreless frames on only 21 pitches after Maeda departed the game. Then, Griffin Jax took over in the seventh, and things turned disastrous. He got the leadoff man to ground out but relinquished the one-run lead after giving up a walk to Baddoo and a triple to Greene. Matt Vierling grounded out to short to send Greene home and give Detroit its first afternoon lead. With two outs and only a one-run deficit, things were still salvageable for Minnesota, provided Jax could get the final out. But everything got a little more complicated as Jax gave up back-to-back solo home runs to Torkleson and Kerry Carpenter. It was the first time Jax had given up four runs in an outing since May 13, 2022. Josh Winder took over in the ninth and gave up a leadoff walk to Baddoo that returned to haunt him. Baddoo reached third after a throwing error by Vázquez, and Greene hit a long flyout that went deep enough to send him home for Detroit's eighth run. This run turned out to be the game-winning one. Epic rally falls short After scoring the four runs in the first two innings, the Twins' offense remained active for a couple more innings, producing five more baserunners (three singles and two walks). But they went ice-cold immediately after that, going 0-for-13 into the eighth, with only a walk to show. When the ninth inning came, things went wild. Julien snapped the team's funk with a leadoff single representing his fourth hit of the day, a career-high for him. Then, Polanco and Kepler followed with back-to-back home runs, and suddenly the Twins were within one. Lewis made it four in a row with a single, bringing Matt Wallner to the plate with a chance to walk it off. He swung on the second pitch he saw, sending it to deep left field, but a foot shy of a home run, right into Baddoo's glove. Lewis couldn't move up, and the Tigers induced a game-ending double play next. Postgame Interview What's Next? The Twins will enjoy a day off on Thursday but stay in town to continue their homestand on Friday (Aug 18). They'll host the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three-game set over the weekend, with the first pitch of game one scheduled for 7:10 pm CDT on Friday. Pablo López (8-6, 3.66 ERA) is expected to take the mound for Minnesota, while the Pirates' starter has yet to be determined. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Jax 15 12 0 0 33 60 Thielbar 15 14 0 9 0 38 Balazovic 18 0 0 0 18 36 Pagán 0 9 0 11 15 35 Winder 0 0 0 0 28 28 Durán 0 13 0 14 0 27 Floro 0 0 0 14 6 20 Sands 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Sonny Gray took the mound aiming to duplicate the dominant performance of Pablo Lopez the night before. Gray ended up delivering even more convincingly, and the Twins offense did just enough to sneak out a series win. Image courtesy of Bill Streicher, USA Today Box Score Starting pitcher: Sonny Gray: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K ( 80 Pitches, 51 Strikes, 64%) Home Runs: Jordan Luplow (1) Top 3 WPA: Gray (.368), Caleb Thielbar (.310), Emilio Pagan (.047) Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs): Welcome to Minnesota Mr. Luplow! The Twins got on the board right away against Phillies lefty Ranger Suarez, when newcomer Jordan Luplow teed off on a sinker that didn't sink to the right field bullpen. The pitch came in at 92.1 MPH, and left at 103.1 MPH to put the Twins up 1-0 in the top of the first. Small Ball Strikes Again for Twins Christian Vazquez laced a second inning Suarez pitch to left field that looked to be gone as well, but it was a foot too little in launch angle and Vazquez was tossed out at second base trying to advance the warning track single into a double. In the top of the third inning, the Twins didn't get greedy and rode three singles to another run. With one out, Edouard Julien, Donovan Solano, and Jorge Polanco hit back-to-back-to-back singles to extend the lead to 2-0. Sonny Skies in Philly Gray dominated the majority of his six innings of work. The Phillies managed to load the bases in the bottom of the second thanks to a lead-off walk and a hit batter, but Gray was able to strike out Kyle Schwarber to end the threat. Philadelphia's offense stayed silent throughout the next four innings with Gray turning things over the bullpen in the seventh. Cloudy Skies for Jax As tidy as Gray kept things through the first six innings, Griffin Jax was a hot mess in the seventh. Kyle Farmer faced a lot of shade before the came, with fans clammoring for any of the AAA talent to be in today's line-up instead of the veteran. Farmer responded by saving the seventh inning and perhaps the game itself, before he even knew it was at risk of being lost. Trea Turner bounced a weak grounder to the hole in short, and Farmer picked and fired to nab the speedy Turner at first. Two singles and a hit batter later, Jax was gone and Caleb Thielbar was thrown into the fire. That's where this low-scoring game took on a new level of excitement, as we got to witness just how irate the Philly faithful can get. Theilbar got Schwarber to pop out to first base innocently enough, and then on a full count, Thielbar threw this beauty to Alec Bohm. Bohm hit the showers early. The fans cheered and booed like their lives depended on it, and when Bryce Harper met a similar fate on a close pitch in the bottom of the eighth. Manager Rob Thompson decided he wanted to take the ninth inning off as well. To the Ninth We Go! Insurance is important, in any situation. When facing the red-hot Phillies at their home lair, with crazed fans charged up...insurance is everything. The Twins managed to tie together yet another Julien (walk), Solano (single), Polanco (single) string to take a 3-0 lead. This extra run loomed large, as Jhoan Duran allowed lead-off batter Turner to reach on a single to center in the bottom of the ninth. Jake Cave came up as the "non-tying" run now, and flied out deep to center. Garrett Stubbs came up as the "non-tying" run next, and after working the count, he lined out to Joey Gallo for a double play at first to end the game with little drama. What’s Next: The Twins enjoy an off-day Monday, and travel home from this disappointing, but not horrible 3-4 road trip. Revenge is in order for Tuesday, with the Detroit Tigers coming to Target Field for a quick two-game set. The Twins send RHP Bailey Ober (6-6, 3.40 ERA) to the mound to take on Tigers RHP Alex Faedo (2-4, 5.80 ERA). Postgame Interviews: Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Balazovic 39 0 0 18 0 57 Winder 0 0 43 0 0 43 Durán 0 18 0 0 13 31 Thielbar 0 0 0 15 14 29 Floro 0 28 0 0 0 28 Jax 0 0 0 15 12 27 Pagán 14 0 0 0 9 23 Sands 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Coming into the 2023 Major League Baseball season the Minnesota Twins front office had made a plethora of moves to help the roster. They largely ignored the bullpen though, and then doubled down with that mistake at the trade deadline. Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports This winter, everyone saw the Carlos Correa saga play out. They landed Pablo Lopez for Luis Arraez. Joey Gallo got a change of scenery, and Christian Vazquez would start behind the plate. Kyle Farmer and Michael A. Taylor looked like solid complimentary pieces, and Rocco Baldelli had plenty of healthy talent returning from 2022. The bullpen, however, had no additions. As they have done routinely throughout their tenure leading the organization, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine punted on the bullpen. They made a few waiver claims and had Danny Coulombe and Jeff Hoffman in on minor-league deals. Despite both arms looking good through spring training, the insistence of rostering Cole Sands as a long man won out and had them both out of the organization by Opening Day. Fast forward to where we are now, and those decisions look poor. Despite spending most of July with Minnesota, Sands recorded just five outs, relegated almost entirely to mop-up duty. He went an entire week on the roster, during a significant daily game stretch, without being used. Coulombe has a 2.92 ERA with the Orioles, and Hoffman owns a 2.51 ERA for the Phillies. With the trade deadline looming outside of a right-handed bat, nothing was more obvious to add than bullpen help. It was an opportunity for the front office to right their previous wrong. They needed to give Jhoan Duran some help. Griffin Jax had crazy usage, and Caleb Thielbar had just returned from the injured list for the second time dealing with an oblique issue. They did nothing and accepted the failure of the Jorge Lopez trade with Baltimore, sending him to Miami for Dylan Floro in hopes a change of scenery could suit both players. For months we had heard a similar refrain from the front office, and it often comes to the tune of players in the clubhouse being talented enough to get it done. That is fair when looking at an underperforming lineup. Considering the bullpen, though, doing nothing for that group is a slap in the face. Not only has Duran underwhelmed during July, but it came out on deadline day that Brock Stewart (who also was acquired through a minor league deal) had a setback with his arm, and the timetable for his return is unknown. Thielbar is no sure bet to stay healthy; from there, it's a bunch of dice rolls. Floro is an upgrade over the version of Lopez Minnesota employed, but his improved production relies on the peripherals playing better. Emilio Pagan has been solid this year but is less than 12 months removed from being an absolute disaster. Jordan Balazovic and Josh Winder are both failed starters with little-to-no track record, and Jovani Moran looks every bit the command mess his numbers suggest he is. The front office failed to show up for Baldelli and his group of relievers that could've used their help. Acquiring relief arms is not rocket science, and while a lefty made sense for Minnesota, anyone performing at a relatively positive level with a pulse should've been an option. They were never going to spring for Aroldis Chapman, but plenty of possibilities were available. To do nothing is simply unacceptable. The Chicago White Sox highlighted the perils of trying to buy a bullpen. Grabbing Kendall Graveman, Liam Hendriks, Joey Kelly, and Craig Kimbrel in the same stretch still didn't save them. No one asked the Twins' front office to plop down Edwin Diaz-money on relief arms, but with $5 million or a mid-level prospect enough to move the needle, they chose neither. When the dust settles on this season, the Twins will have to win the division if the front office wants to save face. Only Cleveland represents a threat, and it remains to be seen if even they are trying. Ending the 0-for-18 postseason stretch has to happen, and winning a series would be nice. No matter what happens from a results standpoint, consistently ignoring the bullpen is a broken process. View full article