2023 Twins Game Logs

2023 Game 44: Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Dodgers

59 Comments

Sonny Gray
vs
Dustin May

West Coast day game!

That battle of the 'ays today and final game against the Dodgers this season. It's been a competitive series so far, at least per the results for someone not willing to stay up past midnight on the opposite coast.

That figures to continue with Gray pitching today. He's been absolutely excellent this year. His May hasn't been as strong but now is a good time to improve his May stats versus a May.

59 thoughts on “2023 Game 44: Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Dodgers”

  2. Wiggling out of the inning and the transition to a bullpen game for the Dodger's makes me feel better about today.

  3. 12-inning game on Monday and Kershaw only went four innings yesterday. Tough next couple of games for the Dodgers' bullpen with their next off day not until next Thursday.

    1. I don’t disagree. Has me wondering … how many games does one need to play for us to consider them a CFer? And how many games does a CFer need to miss before we no longer consider them a “CFer”?

  11. Is there a scourge of traffic deaths due to not wearing a seat belt in Minnesota? Because I'm being repeatedly shamed into wearing one during commercials, even though I always do.

    1. Looking at the data suggests MN is one of the safest states for traffic accidents. Probably because they put money and effort into shaming people with these kind of public health efforts.

    1. Yeah. They’ve managed 8 hits in 46 PAs with bases loaded and 0, 1 or 2 outs - 19 RBI total.

    2. First HR allowed in over 17 innings, I’m not overly worried. On social media, there’s so much confirmation bias at play whenever Pagan does anything negative, it’s basically going to be impossible for him to repair his reputation.

      Reminds me a bit of our old friend LaTroy Hawkins. He had 7 seasons of 4-6+ FIP pitching, and basically eroded potential fan goodwill/trust, but then had a 2.76 FIP in 2002 and a 2.38 FIP in 2003. I don’t know what did it, but he legitimately got better. Still, I think you would have been hard-pressed to find a lot of fans who were super confident in him.

      1. Well, in LaTroy’s case, there are three (arguably four) distinct roles in that data:

        Starter (1995–99), with 20+ starts/season in 1997–99
        Closer (2000–2001)*, led the bullpen in games finished & saves both seasons
        Set-up man (2002–2003), pitching 7th/8th innings & rarely finishing games

        I don’t have a b-ref subscription anymore to scrutinize how frequently was entering the game with men on or anything,

        * Technically a co-closer with Bob Wells in 2000, and was gradually supplanted in closing duties by Everyday Eddie as Hawk posted a 5.96 ERA (4.74 FIP) & 1.909 WHIP on the season.

        1. Hawk is an interesting case. He was mostly a replacement-level starter. As a reliever, he pretty consistently out-lucked his middling FIPs, other than 2002-03, when he was excellent all around.

          And by "out-lucked," I just mean the outcomes exceeded FIP-based expectations.

        2. Switching from starter to closer didn’t make a huge difference, but when he took a step forward it was when he moved primarily to set-up work. Personally, I am inclined to believe that something happened in his approach other than the change in role. For instance, Rick Anderson’s first season as pitching coach coincides with Hawkins taking a huge step forward in performance. It’s easier for me to believe that Anderson worked with him on a new pitch, or adjusting grip or something on an existing pitch, and that making a big difference, versus the psychology or whatever of the 9th inning versus the 7th or 8th.

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