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So, Anthony Swarzak started. No one really thinks Anthony Swarzak should be starting major league baseball games. I doubt if even Anthony Swarzak thinks Anthony Swarzak should be starting major league baseball games. But he started because the Twins have played a bunch of doubleheaders and Tommy Milone is apparently still unavailable and Samuel Deduno and His Magical Zoomball are in Houston. That still bothers me, but I know it's time for me to let it go. "Let it go". Hey, that sounds like a good name for a song. Excuse me while I make note of it. I don't want to wait, because someone might beat me to it and I'd be frozen out.
Anyway, Max Scherzer started for Detroit, and at first it looked like he was way more pitcher than they needed. He was dominant for the first four innings. The Twins appeared to have no chance. It looked like Adrian Peterson playing against a bunch of four-year-olds. You just know he's going to beat them.
Okay, that was bad. I probably shouldn't have said that. I apologize. I'd better just switch the subject.
Surprisingly, after getting down 6-0, the Twins came back and made a game of it. Orlando Arcia hit his eighteenth homer (he has eighteen homers? When did that happen?). Joe "Mr. Clutch" Mauer, who some believe to be very good at baseball, hit a two-run single in the sixth and did it again in the eighth, and all of a sudden the Twins had six runs of their own. And it was enough to tie the game, because A. J. Achter and Ryan Pressly, two of Rochester's finest, blanked the Tigers for 3.2 innings.
Then Casey Fien came in, and he promptly put a stop to that. Torii Hunter went boom and Miguel Cabrera went bang and that was that. It would've been nice if we could've helped out our pals in Kansas City, since they still have a chance and we don't. Lord knows we will never be Royals. But it wasn't to be.
So, we move on. Ricky Nolasco, who has pitched a Really Good Game two times in his last four (I think that's a record), goes against Rick Porcello, who has been much better during the season but also has only had two good games in his last four. Maybe if we refer to them as Rick Nolasco and Ricky Porcello, we'll get a role reversal. It's worth a try. Darn near anything is worth a try at this point. There are only twelve games left, and the Twins need to win ten of them to avoid another ninety-loss season. No problem, because the Twins are going to win all twelve of them! We'll just have to settle for 75-87!
Wow, Jeff A is getting punchy! 🙂
I like this version!
Nicely done, Jeff A! Rick Nolasco it shall be from now on!
Anthony Swarzak also started on July 23, so even if Deduno were still with the Twins, he wouldn't have been starting. It should be noted that Swarzak allowed just 1 run and 3 base runners in that game. For an emergency starter, I have no problem with the Twins starting Swarzak.
As for Arcia, he had an .845 OPS on the season on June 11, then he went through an 0-for-29 over the next 8 games. Since then, he has an .816 OPS and has hit 14 of his 18 home runs. Since Aug. 1, Arcia has an .879 OPS. People forget that Arcia has a .917 OPS in over 1,800 minor league PAs and he had better numbers in the high minors at a young age.
Deduno had just pitched three innings on July 20, whereas Swarzak hadn't pitched since July 18 (1.2 innings). That was likely at least a factor in deciding who was going to start the July 23 game. In thirty major league starts, Swarzak is 7-17, 5.85, 1.51 WHIP. He should not be starting major league baseball games.
My comment about Arcia was not meant as a criticism. I just was surprised to read that he had 18 homers. As you point out, since August 1 he has hit really well.
However, we're now taking both of those comments much more seriously than I originally intended them.