2018 Twins Game Logs

2018 Game 94: Rays at Twins

81 Comments

Sometimes when I intend to make an omelet in the morning, things go awry. I have all the right ingredients, everything is chopped and mixed and whipped just as it should be. But somehow, when it comes time to do the actual cooking, I just end up with a scrambled egg mess. It's still edible, of course, but the presentation sure leaves something to be desired. That's pretty much how I feel about this Twins season. Back in April we all thought the team had the roster ingredients to be a contender. But that's life. You don't know how many bad eggs you really have until you start cracking them open. Mrs. Twayn and I decided last night that the weather will be too nice today to spend it watching a game on TV, and since the All-Star break is bound to stall out the momentum the Twins have managed to mount on this home stand I snagged a couple of upper deck skyline view tickets on the third base line for seven bucks each and we're going to the game.

With Slegers heading to the disabled list, the Twins recalled Fernando Romero to make today's start. In ten starts this year he's managed a 3-3 record with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Not bad for a rookie. Ryne Stanek takes the ball for the Rays. He's started ten games this year and made 16 relief appearances. He's 1-2 in games started with an overall 1.93 ERA and a remarkable 0.95 WHIP. This is the last meaningful baseball game for almost a week ("This time it doesn't count™"), so hopefully we can go into the break on a high note. Play ball!

81 thoughts on “2018 Game 94: Rays at Twins”

  2. Five straight singles. I just got here, so I don't know what kind of hits they were, but that sounds like at least partly some bad luck.

    1. A couple were pretty cheap hits, including a seeing eye roller between Mauer and Dozier.

  7. All these pitching changes are going to make the game take a while, but that's all right. Given that we won't have another real game until Friday, I'm in no hurry for this one to get over.

  8. Gladden didn't come out and say so, but it sounded like he thought Rosario should've caught that one.

  9. Okay, somebody's going to have to explain to me why Rodney is coming into this game, because I don't understand it at all.

    1. I guess to ensure he gets some work before the break? He last pitched Friday so it would be a week instead of five days between (possible) appearances.

      1. I thought of that, too, but it's only 4-1 in the fifth. I don't expect the Twins to come back, but it's certainly not impossible. Why not see how the game plays out? You can always use him in the eighth or ninth if it looks like there's no chance for a victory.

        1. Rays looked about to break it open, so it was a relatively high leverage situation. But I agree with your take.

          1. I'd have no problem with that if it was truly Molitor's thought process. But he's never done anything remotely like that before, so I'm thinking it's something else.

            For a second, I thought, "Maybe there's a trade in the works and Molitor wants to use him before he's traded." But that wouldn't make sense, either, because if he'd get hurt you'd blow the trade.

  10. It's really, really hot here today, and the ice cream lines are very long. On the bright side, I'm winning the Pick Three contest through five innings.

  11. Ryan Pressly has just passed Eddie Guardado for most pitching appearances I attended.

  13. Dozier taking a leisurely stroll to first base to get thrown out by just a step.

  14. No surprise that Gladden liked Cave's bunt. I really didn't have a problem with it, either.

      1. My assumption is he was bunting for a hit. It almost worked. Hard to say whether that was a better percentage play than swinging away there, but I was okay with it.

  19. From Provus and Gladden's description, the umpires needed to step in and take control before it reached this point.

      1. To be clear, they didn't come out and say that. It just seemed like it was a situation that was building and building and the umpires were not doing anything to stop it.

  20. Now, the question is whether the Twins can avoid what's become a tradition this season--giveback runs.

      1. Plus, Hildenberger had to run from the bullpen to the mound and back five times in five minutes

  27. Sounds like it was a good send, even if he was out. Sometimes you have to make them make the play. And the Twins lead (again)!

        1. Cory said he couldn't tell if Cave's foot hit the plate or if it was on top of the catcher's foot.

          1. yeah the replays looked as though that wasn't the case, but I can see that making it "inconclusive"

  31. Carlos Gomez has been loving this. He's spent every delay chatting with Twins.

  41. The best thing about a walkoff win is that there's no chance for any giveback runs.

  42. Immediately before the pitch, I told Sheenie the only thing the game was missing was a grand slam

  44. Turns out Rodney was used early because he had to leave early to catch a plane. He has an immigration hearing in Miami tomorrow, according to Paul Molitor.

  45. My mom was so excited at the end of the game that she had to text me to tell me what happened. She's adorable.

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