WALKMEN ARE BACK BABY AND THEY DIDN'T REHEARSE AT ALL
(3 votes, average: 8.33 out of 10)
Loading... Hardy Richardson (1855)
Ken Strong (1906)
Gary Peters (1937)
Dick Green (1941)
Al Bumbry (1947)
Jesse Orosco (1957)
Les Lancaster (1962)
Ken Caminiti (1963)
Kip Wells (1977)
Terry Tiffee (1979)
Joc Pederson (1992)
A member of the pro football Hall of Fame, Ken Strong played minor league baseball from 1929-1931 and played very well. He hit 41 home runs and had 130 RBIs in 1930 in what is now the Eastern League and hit .340 in 1931 in the International League.
In addition, we would like to wish a very happy birthday to twayn.
As of today the Twins have a 31.3% chance of making the playoffs and a 1% chance of winning the World Series, but as of today I'd be willing to take that World Series bet at 100-to-1 odds. A modest wager, of course, it's way too early to lose our heads. Still, a 10-7 record that includes a split four game series at Yankee Stadium is the kind of start you dream about when you're blowing the latest eight inches of snow off your driveway in the dark at 5:00 p.m.
About that start. I'd say it's fair to say that our pitching is contributing considerably more to the team's winning record than is the offense. The Twins sit atop the Central division but rank in the bottom third of the AL in most offensive categories with a meager .224 batting average (13th) and a .653 OPS (85 OPS+/12th). The pitching, on the other hand, has been uncharacteristically good, and especially so the starting rotation. As a team the Twins sport a 2.61 ERA (169 ERA+), the best in the American League, 179 strikeouts in 151.2 innings pitched (10.6K/9), and a .996 WHIP.
Today the Twins send Kenta Maeda back to the mound in search of his first victory, at 0-2 he's the only starter without a win this young season. Despite the lack of a W, Maeda has respectable numbers with a 4.09 ERA (108 ERA+), 1.00 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts in 11 innings over his first two starts. The Beantown nine counter Maeda with Tanner Houck, 2-0 in three starts with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.
Play ball!
RAILRIDERS 3, SAINTS 1 IN ST. PAUL
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre scored one in the first and two in the sixth.
St. Paul had six hits, all singles, and no batter had more than one. Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4. Alex Kirilloff did not play.
Aaron Sanchez struck out five in five innings, giving up one run on six hits and three walks. Jordan Balazovic struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.
DRILLERS 4, WIND SURGE 0 IN TULSA
Tulsa scored two in the third and Imanol Vargas hit a two-run homer in the eighth.
Wichita had five hits, all singles, and no batter had more than one.
David Festa pitched 4.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks and striking out six. Osiris German pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a walk. Jordan Brink retired the only man he faced.
SKY CARP 5, KERNELS 2 IN BELOIT
Beloit scored all five of their runs in the second inning.
Cedar Rapids had only three hits, and no batter had more than one. The Kernels did draw seven walks.
Starter Kyle Jones pitched three innings, giving up five runs on six hits and two walks and striking out one. Malik Barrington struck out five in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk. Niklas Rimmel pitched two shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out one. Matthew Swain pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.
HAMMERHEADS 8, MIGHTY MUSSELS 7 IN FORT MYERS
Fort Myers led 6-0, but Jupiter scored five in the seventh and three in the eighth. Cristhian Rodriguez' two-run single brought home the tying and go-ahead runs.
Andrew Cossetti was 3-for-4 with a home run (his third), a walk, two runs, and four RBIs. Ricardo Olivar was 3-for-5 with a double. Jorel Ortega was 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs.
Davelson Aria pitched five scoreless, hitless innings, giving up two walks and striking out four. The bullpen surrendered all eight runs on seven hits and two walks in four innings.
TODAY'S TILTS
6:00 Jupiter at Fort Myers (Cory Lewis, 1-1, 4.82)
6:35 Cedar Rapids (Jordan Carr, 0-0, 2.25) at Beloit
6:37 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at St. Paul (TBD)
7:05 Wichita (Travis Adams,1-1, 12.71) at Tulsa
A good day to try to distract yourself from the Minnesota Playoff Experience™.
Germany Smith (1863)
Tommy Dowd (1869)
Charlie Hemphill (1876)
Charlie Smith (1880)
Dave Bancroft (1891)
Heavy Johnson (1895)
Roy Hofheinz (1912)
Preston Gomez (1923)
Tom Hutton (1946)
Milt Wilcox (1950)
Doug Clarey (1954)
Floyd Chiffer (1956)
Don Mattingly (1961)
Greg Brummett (1967)
Dan Smith (1969)
Todd Hollandsworth (1973)
Brandon Belt (1988)
Judge Roy Hofheinz was the leader of a group that brought an expansion team to Houston.
Dan Smith was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-second round in 1987, but did not sign.
Stay groovy, citizens.
(4 votes, average: 8.50 out of 10)Loading... First up in Minnesota men's professional sports, the Twins vs Red Sox.
Joe Ryan
vs
Corey Kluber
Kluber stopped being Klubot last year, maybe 2021. His strikeouts are mostly back this year but he's walking a ton and giving up plenty of home runs to a 6.70 FIP. It's a good game to get back to the scoring frequently thing.
At 8:30, possibly after this game ends, the Wild begin their second game against the Stars. The Wolves follow 30 minutes later.
I had to decide last night between watching the latest Succession or the finale of Med Men (which I've not yet seen). I decided the minefield of internet spoilers would likely be worse for the episode that didn't air eight years ago.
SAINTS 6, RAILRIDERS 0 IN ST. PAUL
Mark Contreras hit a grand slam in the first and St. Paul never trailed.
Contreras was 2-for-4 with a grand slam (his third homer) and five RBIs. Alex Kirilloff was 2-for-4 with two runs.
Bailey Ober struck out six in five shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk. Patrick Murphy pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and striking out one. Cody Laweryson pitched a perfect inning. Dereck Rodriguez struck out three in a perfect inning. Brock Stewart struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and a walk.
WIND SURGE 4, DRILLERS 2 IN TULSA
Eighth-inning homers by Brooks Lee and Yunior Severino broke a 2-2 tie.
DaShawn Kiersey hit a two-run homer. Lee's homer was his second. Severino's homer was his third. No Wichita batter had more than one hit. Of the teams' five hits, three were home runs.
Blayne Enlow pitched six innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks and striking out five. Jose Bravo retired all five men he faced, striking out two. Kody Funderburk pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out one.
SKY CARP 6, KERNELS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
Kyler Castillo hit a two-run single in the fifth to give Beloit a 3-1 lead.
Noah Miller was 2-for-4 with a home run.
Starter Jaylin Nowlin pitched 4.1 innings, giving up three runs on three hits and two walks and striking out seven. Charlie Neuweiler struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.
HAMMERHEADS 5, MIGHTY MUSSELS 1 IN FORT MYERS
Jupiter scored four in the third and never trailed.
Michael Helman was 2-for-3 with a double. Andrew Cossetti was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second.
Starter C. J. Culpepper pitched four innings, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks and striking out five. A. J. Labas pitched 2.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits and striking out one. Gabriel Yanez struck out four in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.
TODAY'S TILTS
11:05 Wichita (David Festa, 1-0) at Tulsa
6:00 Jupiter at Fort Myers (Develson Aria)
6:35 Cedar Rapids (Kyle Jones, 0-1 at Beloit
6:37 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at St. Paul (Aaron Sanchez)
