After a hot start, things have decidedly cooled down a bit in downtown Minneapolis. Though the A's are no slouches, the true test comes to Target Field tonight in this clash between division leaders. I don't think I'm the first to say that this three game series could tell us a lot about what kind of team we have here. Just for fun, let's see how hopeless everyone is:
How Many Games Will the Twins Win This Series?
- Two (53%, 8 Votes)
- One (40%, 6 Votes)
- Three (7%, 1 Votes)
- Zero (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 15
Anyway, for tonight's game, Cap'n Cheeseburger faces off against Martín Pérez as the Twins hang on to first place in the Central for dear life. In other roster news Thorpe and Stashak are called up, Littel is DFAed, Cron to the IL, and as of press time it doesn't sound Bux is coming back today.
All right, everyone, buckle in tight, cause here come the Yankees. Drink up, Twins fans!
I'm taking Polanco
Well, I sure hope this game doesn’t turn my stomach. I made a pot of pressure cooker chicken chili verde tonight.
Mmmmhmmm. 👩🍳
A leadoff four-pitch walk is not cool.
Two leadoff walks are even less cool.
I'm eating a slice of New York style bacon cheeseburger pizza from Racanelli's, St Chas County's finest pizza place, and I'm going to eat it all up, just like the Twins lineup will do to CC
Wondering if I should have another slice...
Calories don’t count if it’s a rally slice.
*digs around in pockets for $1 WGOM*
"NY-style" bacon cheeseburger pizza??? Is that like a Mexican-style Reuben burrito?
Triple plays are pretty cool.
AWESOME!!
But triple plays are bear-level cool!!!!
Daym
Wait, Littel was DFA’d? I thought he was just optioned to Rochester.
No. Everything I see says "optioned". I'd be pissed if they DFA'd him.
MLBTR agrees.
Whew.
That was fun. My boys loved it!
Polanco!!!
(Oops!)
?
POLANCO!!!!!!
Love seeing GITP in Gameday
Back to back!
CRUZ!!!!!!!!
Oh h3ll yes!!
Now let's add on some more runs. I don't think two is likely to be enough. But two per inning would be more than acceptable.
That usually is enough.
If solo home runs don't hurt you, is this really a 0-0 game?
Sigh.
I don’t like the way this inning is trending.
This team needs to make a trade. Sooner than later. We need a boost to both our starting rotation and the bull pen.
Which players do you want them to get?
A starter that would come in and be a clear #3 and someone that wouldn't have me putting a lot of money on the Twins losing in October to supplement my christmas budget.
A reliever that doesn't suck all the hope out of me when he comes into a game.
I don't follow enough baseball to appreciate the contractual situations to identify or debate this guy over that guy. I have been a Twins fan long enough to know they have an ownership group that is more concerned with the balance sheet than the October box score.
I get the reasons why people don't want to waste prospects on Bumgarner. But Im not betting big on the Astros in game 3 with Bumgarner starting.
I have never understood wasting the 0-2 pitch with an obvious ball well outside the zone.
I miss Buxton.
Let's get the bats going, boys.
This game is a couple of Arraez multiple outs from being really out of hand.
Arraez handling the hot corner.
Twins with their own Marwin González in Arraez.
Roy Smalley's really nailing his analysis as he repeats that Luis Arraez is "a baseball player"
Yet he's more articulate than Lautner.
When does Morneau come back?
Here’s a CoC poll: Least favorite active Twins TV broadcaster.
Oh man, that's impossible
Frank Quilici. Oh wait, he was radio
Morris, I think. Torii's a reasonably close second.
I recall Smalley being decent, but he's been pretty rough in this stint.
I'd be all for Morneau coming back asap
Luis Arraez for Hall of Fame,
That's a double-play against the A's. *
*Maybe not, but I'll be having nightmares about their infield defense for weeks.
Had the same thought
So not the A's infield...
As good as this team has been HR wise - they have been that bad bases loaded wise. Let's hope that changes here......
Team OPS with runners at
12- 802
1-3 877
-23 909
123 534
Clearly, what teams need to do against the Twins is walk the bases loaded.
We'll take a run any way we can get it!
I would not have thought you'd get an RBI for catcher's interference, but Cory says you do. I learned something, I guess.
So far Garver is being credited with a FC. Hope they change that
They did!
TWINS BASEBALL!!!
who had that on Twingo?
A classic:
Not a pop up, strikeout, or inning ending double play... progress!
Now LeMahieu is a "baseball player." I seriously remember Smalley being decent. What happened?
I think there might be a difference being in the booth as a clear short term replacement vs. being in the booth as a try out for the long term job.
Smalley was a "baseball player".
Productive outs.
FFS. Cut it out with the bertin’ give-back runs.
Let's add on a few more. I don't think we can have too many.
Die Bombe Die
KEPLER!!!!! Thank you, random.org!
Got back from running errands just in time
Suck it, Cheeseburgler!!
GARVER!!!!!
Just passed the 62 Twins
Someone should put together a leaderboard/countdown board for this.
Can't tell if joking...
Not joking.
If only someones had...
Link?
wgom.org
(take a look at the top left column)
I'd love to be able to click on it and bring up a detail page.
Sometimes it updates before being prodded!
hey, it's a lot of HRs to keep up with
I decidedly prefer take-back runs to give-back runs.
Me too
Cruz vs Sabathia is one of the rare match ups with players still older than me
Bert.
Game total was 11.5 at first pitch. Easy money on that over.
Well, Polanco and Voit are helping my fantasy team, anyway
Alright, Duffman. Hopefully you've got some mileage in that arm tonight.
I’m afraid it might be Duff Light tonight.
Wow. Bullpen pitcher covering first base about as well as bullpen pitcher pitches to protect a lead. SMH.
That was a ball, low & away, Blue.
Oooh, some garbage luck on that strikeout by Schoop
I don’t mean Schoop’s foul ball, neither.
Keep those double plays coming.
A DOUBLE ORDER OF SAUCE, POR FAVOR
+106 miles
It is dark outside.
Arraez last struck out on July 6.
Sauce!
Mitch Garver definitely does the "Tecmo Bowl receiver who scored a touchdown" celebration whenever he gets to second base on a homerun.
I get multiple multipliers?
Both solo homers, but still I think at least eight points. Unless it's x4 of the three points for three solo shots.
Plus this one: x2 multiplier = Double your daily total if your player hits a second homer ?
Did you predict Garver would hit two? That gives you the x4 multiplier
I had Garver and Cruz.
You got a ton of points
He's still losing to meat
!
x2
I really think Matt Chapman would have created at least four more outs this game defensively. Not even kidding.
I agree entirely. The A's infield was something else.
Yeah, the drop-off in defense quality between teams is pretty staggering
You say that like it's a bad thing.
Go Twins!
I like Thorpe and wish to see more of him in the big leagues.
Arraez, man. What a fun guy to watch.
Great work, mate.
This. Huge performance exactly when it was needed.
Was this his debut?
2nd. He started a game on June 30th.
First time pitching at home, though.
Second appearance. His first was a solid start to end June.
Pérez didn't complete five so he might be in line for the win.
He deserves it.
Efficient work there by Harper.
Provus says the Twins tie the Red Sox from sometime in the '70s (missed the exact year) in number of times they hit five or more home runs in a game. This was their eighth game in the season and there are still a few more games to go to break the record.
1977.
Speaking of nifty fielding
Ruh rho.
no, it's "Rhu_ru"
Now would be an awesome time for a hidden ball trick.
Could use one final double play.
Not here.
Filthy
Sweeeet pitch to Sanchez.
Release the hounds!
WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Fun!
That felt good.
Plenty of room on my "Twins win 3" bandwagon!
That is a great win. Excellent defense, great hitting, bullpen stepping up big time.
For sure. Great, great start to the series.
In my opinion, you keep Thorpe up now. His stuff clearly plays at the big league level. Find a place for him. If that's the bullpen, so be it.
Same could be said for Smeltzer and Littell.
I definitely think that Littell should stay with the big club for the rest of the season once he comes back. It's just too convenient to send him down when we have these bullpen crunches
Just got the Twins spray chart banner. Nice!
Of course I didn't make a call on a night when half the lineup homers. 🙄
I did and still couldn't get a point.
This was game 99 not 89 btw.
sorry, was just going off of sunday's.
I leave town and no one can count.
I leave town andno one can count.FTFY - it's simpler than that
I was going to mention something about the new numbering system of the last couple of games, but I didn't want to jinx anything since it seemed to be working out in the Twins favor.
So, philo's points:
Garver: 2 solo homers x 2 multiplier = 4
Cruz: 1 solo homer = 1
=5
x4 multiplier for picking both = 20 points
woof.
as someone recently said, fortune favors the bold
I graciously accept.
you did predict a Twins win, so you deserve it!
What do the standings look like now?
rigged
Meat 1,000
Philo 28
jeff 16
nibbish 14
HJ 9
beau 9
zoomx 7
rhubarb 6
BrianS 5
twayn 4
free 3
davidwatts 3
rowsdower 2
cheaptoy 2
socal 2
DreadPirate 1
geoff 1
sean 1
How did meat get 1K, exactly?
Timely prediction swayed the judge.