2021 Twins Game Logs

2021 Game Log 5: Twins at Tigers

75 Comments

Except for one little 9th inning hiccup and a couple of GI issues (oh and Josh Donaldson), I think Twins fans can all be pretty happy the way the season has gone so far. A 3-1 record, Buxton and Cruz hitting bombas, Arraez getting on base at 6.9420 clip, great starting pitching etc. So let's keep it going.

New Twin J.A. Happ on the mound today and the Twins only lefty. Not a big strikeout guy but maybe a good veteran presence. He's certainly been around both leagues a bit. Casey Mize for the Tigers, a former #1 pick who made his debut last year but wasn't spectacular.

After scoring 15 runs yesterday big concern about saving some for today but Twins' bats should match up well against Mize so no worries there. 12:10p start.

Twins Lineup
Arraez - 2B
Polanco - SS
Cruz - DH
Kepler - RF
Rooker - LF
Cave - CF
Sano - 1B
Astudillo - 3B
Jeffers - C

75 thoughts on “2021 Game Log 5: Twins at Tigers”

  2. Criminy, the Sam Adams commercial is just the worst.

    Also, Astudillo/Polanco/Arraez/Sano is....quite a defensive infield.

        1. Jeter's entire career should have disabused us of the notion that diving catches are equivalent to good fielding.

          1. Jeter's entire career should have disabused us of the notion that diving catches are is equivalent to good fielding.

            PASTA’d for you.

    3. the cool thing about baseball is sometimes you get lucky and the balls in play are simple or go to the better players

    4. Yes, I'm not looking forward to hearing that commercial 160 or so times this season.

          1. Right? I can't believe that anyone could have heard that commercial, or even seen it storyboarded, and thought that --

            THIS IS GOOD!

  4. Obviously I wasn't paying attention, but today I was thinking, what happened to Gardy? Now I understand that he quit before the year was over. Huh. I hope he's doing okay.

    1. Dick brought up Hrbek’s power hitting yesterday, but said he would need the stat guy to give him the total. For a guy who has been broadcasting for the same team as long as he had, I thought that was odd.

      1. Yeah, though not everyone's brain is good at retaining numbers. It would be weird if he was good though at numbers and didn't have that stat memorized.

    1. Depending on how bad it was, it could be today just a matter of getting some food and building back strength. Buxton could be available to play off the bench today.

    1. It was a bad call, though. I liked the fact that Miggy asked the first-base ump to make the call and then didn't like it when it went against him.

  13. Dazzle is both calling the game via television and broadcasting a Joe Mauer batting practice session live at Target Field and critiquing the defense

  17. Since he's no longer there to remind us, did Dick mention that today is Bert's birthday?

  19. Mauer's in the radio booth. I hope the Twins hit a bunch of opposite field singles in his honor.

    1. I was going to head in to my boss's office for a quick word, heard that Buxton was coming up and thought "nah, better wait."

  32. Cabrera starting the tenth inning in second base. Stupid rule, but sounds ideal for the Twins.

  36. The hat in MLB.com's mugshot of Simmons looks a lot like the hat Jim Leyland once wore on a baseball card.

  38. When you're the visitor, you've got to find a way to at least score one in the top of the tenth. It puts too much pressure on your pitcher in the bottom of the tenth when you don't. Maybe Robles can hold them, but it's a tough task.

  42. Twins pitchers have yet to allow a run and be credited with a loss in a game this year. I think it was interesting that the Twins were very cautious with Polanco trying to score from second on a ground-ball single but were aggressive with trying to score on a contact play later in the inning. I think it shows the Twins are willing to trade base runners but not willing to risk outs. If Polanco is throw out trying to score from second, that's giving the Tigers an out on the bases. When he was thrown out trying to score on the grounder, he wasn't giving away an out, but he was giving away a runner at third. With two outs, instead of runners at second and third, the Twins at runners at first and second. Of course, on a contact play, you don't know if the Tigers might have a chance to turn two (unlikely with Buxton batting). The reward is also greater on that play for the risk because if the Tigers come home and don't get Polanco, the Twins avoid an out and gain a base runner. It also forces the Tigers to make a more difficult play to get an out, where they have to tag the runner instead of just getting a forceout at first base.

    What frustrated me was seeing Garlick pinch running instead of pinch hitting for Kepler against a nasty lefty. Garlick is not on this roster for his speed and defense. He's up here to mash lefties.

    1. I guess they do give the pitcher an unearned run when the courtesy runner scores. That really sucks, even though it doesn't show up in ERA. But still, the only Twins losses have come on courtesy runners scoring.

  44. I dont mind the free runner in extra innings, but wish they would start it after the 11th.

    Twins need to treat extra innings like its overtime hockey, be super aggressive.

      1. We don't actually know what would've happened if Polanco had held third, but if Simmons strikes out anyway (as he did), Polanco getting thrown out really doesn't matter. What hurt them is that they had men on first and third with none out and the next three batters couldn't get the ball out of the infield. Two of them couldn't even put it in play.

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