Hey, 3-4 isn't so bad. Playing like that couldn't have us finishing much worse than third in this division, right? Lest I get too optimistic, let's look at the pitchers: young journeyman Jesse Chavez takes on Phil Hughes. Hmm, that could be worse. Chavez does strike some guys out (205 in 241 career innings) but is otherwise unremarkable enough, on either the good or bad side, to mention. As far as his numbers go, he's actually similar in results to Hughes in many ways.
The Twins have one new guy in the lineup as Chris Herrmann mans right field.
This is yet another one I'll see from work, though it's early enough that I'll probably see a good amount of it. Never fear, Twins fans...we finally get a night game on Friday.
FTFY.
Hopefully Hughes uses the home field advantage to keep the deep flies in the park
Walking them is one way to keep it in the park.
So far so good!
Just setting up the triple play...
Two walks is not exactly how you want to start the game.
Just setting up a slightly different triple play...
Is this the 2nd inning already, did I miss the 1st?
Hughes is ineffectively wild today.
Pinto with three starts, two at catcher, in eight games. Based on current usage, odd team games except for the first, he'll start tomorrow. I would prefer if he got more than 80 starts though.
If only I had something better to do this afternoon.
I'd rather Hughes went back to walking people.
Just setting up a traditional double play...
Outs by the opponent are the key to winning baseball games.
That sounds like something Gameday Scout would tell me...
I'm unconvinced, I say we trust Hughes and see where he's going with this.
How high can the scoreboard go? If the A's get enough runs, will it reset to 0?
I know the guy who wrote the software. I wouldn't be surprised if it wrapped around to negative numbers.
Rain predicted for Friday. If there are no outs at that point, the game will have to be called.
If there are less than 15 outs at that point, I should say.
I have tickets to Friday's game. It best not rain.
I guarantee that Oakland will make at least 27 outs in this game. Win! 🙂
However, it's unclear as to whether Hughes will be on the mound for any of them.
The Quest For An Out starring Phil Hughes.
That swinging strike by Callaspo was only the second swinging strike in Hughes' 33 pitches. Uck.
The Twinns have onne nnew guy inn the linneup as Chris Herrmann manns rright field
FTFY. Back to work though.
Doubly fixed.
Sorry for stepping on your toes.
In my defense, I didn't read anything except the header.
You've probably heard this one. Mom is late for her kid's ball game. She sees him standing in right field and calls out, "What's the score?" Her son says with a smile, "We're behind 15-0." Mom says, "You don't seem very upset about it." And her son says, "Why should we be upset? We haven't come to bat yet."
I'm not sure why that story came to mind right now. ..
an out YAY
Working on upping that K/9!
AN OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4 runs? That's a Radke first inning. What were we all so upset about?
If Hughes was Radke I'd already put up the W.
Joe's gonna have to get ejected sometime. These umps have been screwing him over and know that he won't get in their faces about it.
Wow. Hughes didn't get that pitch.
yeah, home plate ump squeezed Hughes the first inning.
You know, if the ump isn't going to call a pitch in that spot a strike, maybe stop throwing it there?
Nevermind- if the ump isn't going to call that fourth pitch a strike, Hughes is hosed.
Oh come on ump. You've been terrible all day and it's only the second inning.
Okay, I see now. We just had the second inning in the first inning. No problem. Now we'll get serious. Eight-run inning coming up!!!!
There's one!!!!!
Only seven runs short.
Its good to see that the Twins are in danger of overworking their #6pen this early in the season.
Kubel just keeps smashing.
I guess we just had to spot the Athletics a few to even up the sides!
I spend lunchtime painting shutters; best post this:
Glad Hughes got it going some. It may or may not be too late, but at least we didn't have to go to the bullpen in the third or fourth inning.
Sounds like Herrmann got rrobbed by the firrst basemann.
I have to confess that I like the T. C. Bear song.
All he carries is a t-shirt gun.
Oh for crap. Throw out this ump. He has no clue.
Came here to say how much fun Gameday is making this game look:
This ump is turning me into Hawk Harrelson. I hope this ump is getting graded by the robo-umps today.
Gameday was being very generous on that 4th pitch.
Joe doesn't have very good luck with umps with two Z's in their name.
Heh, I also just noticed how similar in location pitches 4 were in my post compared to bhiggum's.
Anytime you can run into a third out on the bases when down three runs you've got to do it.
My sincere hope for Plouffe is a great first half so we can trade him, and burn the bridge while doing so.
Then Mauer can move to third!
Nice to see that Gardy reads the papers and is leaving his relievers in for more than an inning apiece
I'm not watching on TV or on Gameday, but hearing that 5 of the 8 Twins Ks have been looking sounds like we have an awesome ump back there today.
Je
remysse ChavezRight-handed, but I'll take it, especially since he has a career ERA of 5.29 and a career rWAR of -2.3.
DOZED.
Gameday shows strike one to Suzuki as being in the zone, but there's no way that was a strike.
yeah, what DPW said
Umps squeezing Johnson now as well; that first pitch shows an outside strike.
WHAT'S WITH THE FREAKIN' BUNTING?!? Good Lord, if you're going to do it, do it right.
Nice bunt
Punto's at the field and he must be contagious because that was an abomination.
Would be really cool if there were a bat on the bench.
Came here to say just about exactly this.
But then there would be no one to play SS . . . no wonder they needed Nunez!
He'll get called up when Herrmann goes down for that bunt.
They DID have a bat on the bench!
Wow. Another terrible call by the home ump. Finally went against the A's.
? what happened
Wondering the same thing. My guess is Kubel went to get ready to tag and didn't make it home in time when it wasn't caught?
This is all setting up perfectly for Mauer to make the final out.
It's hard to tell if his foot is on the base when he caught it.
We'll find out in about 10 minutes.
I wouldn't overturn it, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
Sweet. If it was clear his foot was down, he would've been out.
Hughes bacon out of the frying pan
Great jorb by the bullpen today so far.
I'll insert a "finally" here.
I figured it was implied.
There goes Gregerson's NSVH for me...
No, I think Gregerson still gets the hold.
Per the Repository of Knowledge:
Best of both worlds then. Go Twins!
Yay!
!!!
And that my friends, is how you get free baseball.
Strategic rumble slide by Suzuki. Clearly safe. First good call home ump has made all day.
I just noticed on Gameday that there's a Twitter "Moundball" contest for every game this season through MLB.com. As someone who has played Moundball in the past, that's pretty cool.
I know they did moundball last year as well, and maybe even two years ago too.
Pffft, Smalley never would have let them intentionally walk him.
Plouffe to make up for that out he ran into at third?
nnnNOPE!
#6pen
Two lefties due up and Duensing on the mound, better yank him for Perkins!*
Perkins threw 21 pitches. Better get him out!
This is why we need a thirteen-man #6pen
*I realize that we always complain about not using a closer in a tie game, but that is more of a problem on the road (when a save opportunity might arise), and also, use your brain and don't be so rigid to see the lineup.
Lefty due up to start the 11th and Perkins on the mound? Better yank him!
Stupid.
Bench clearing milling about!
Perkins had the best reaction to that. If you want to fight, you can fight my team, I'm just gonna go sit in the dugout.
A Kubel walk-off would be so cool.
Four-hit day for Kubel. To hear the Diamondback fans tell it, he didn't manage a four-hit year with them.
I think he was hurt last year, right? I believe I've thrown out the theory that injuries made his last two years look less than his track-record would indicate.
He was saving his hits for his triumphant return to MPLS. The Dude abides!
Such veteranship.
More free baseball.
Dang it, work made me miss all this fun. Hopefully I don't jinx them by paying attention again.
Heh.
Welp, this one's on me.
When you toss enough relievers into the game, you're going to find one that is having a bad day.
There's the #6pen we all know and love.
So it was all for naught then, was it?
TWINS BASEBALL!!!
Twins still get one point.
How many extra innings before the Home Run Derby starts?
*checks box score* Two.
Crap.
I predicted long ago that Mauer would end the game with runners on base. Looks like I may have been right all along.
Not sure this thread can handle that much prescience, so I think he gets a hit/walk here.
Two singles, two strikeouts, and one walk. More obviously he would walk again.
Too much prescience!
Is that like when you're just figuring out how to use a bunson burner, but not actually putting it to use?
yup. Lighting the bunsen burner is clearly pre-science.
The only thing funnier than Gardy churning through the #6pen while lamenting not having thirteen pitchers is Bob Melvin having thirteen pitchers yet using one for 40-plus pitches the day after an off-day with three other relievers still available. It's like he's trolling Gardy.
Out with a Plouffe
Burton made a bad pitch, but he was put behind in the count by the ump. 1-1 pitch clearly a strike called a ball. Next pitch, 3-run HR.
Twins pitched nine scoreless innings against A's and their team ERA still goes up.