Sorry for the half-baked game log, I’m doing it from my phone in Duluth. I’ve been a bit distraught about the injury to Arraez, but it sounds like maybe the ankle can be ready by Friday. One of the perks of winning the division, extra time to recover and prepare. I don’t know who is pitching today, it’s a meaningless game, and my team has done way more than I expected of them back in March. Now, if they can just do that in the playoffs. Play ball!

I had a game log all ready to go, but instead of scheduling it I just left it open in a browser last night and when I tried to save it this morning the laptop seized and I lost it. And the dog ate my homework. And the check's in the mail.

One week of baseball to go. Seven games with a four game lead. Magic number of 4 (thanks, Phillies). I'm still all hunched over from that ninth inning nut punch the Royals delivered last night. I'm hoping for better today. We are off to celebrate my mother-in-law's 80th birthday with brunch, so it will be Gameday on the phone and radio for me today. Play ball!

What, you think I'm going to step up to the plate to pinch hit and knock one over the fence? Maybe a grand salami? Maybe a walk-off bomba? You've been watching too much Twins baseball. In these situations, I'm generally happy to work a walk and keep the inning alive. Rocco Baldelli is serving up a pitching surprise tonight. We know that Randy Dobnak will get the ball for the first inning, but after that it's an enigma wrapped in a mystery. I'd look for Rocco to ask Dobnak to go as deep as he can, four or five innings, and then see what the bullpen can do to finish it off. Rocco might as well take advantage of all the extra arms in the bullpen, it's worked out well so far this month and it'll be a different story rosters-wise next September. Kansas City is starting rookie Eric Skoglund to take the place of Jakob Junis. Skoglund has only pitched 14 major league innings to date, in part because of an 80 day PED suspension. Enjoy the last weekend of summer, folks. Play ball!

Starting Lineups

Win Probability: 37.7%

Enjoy the view today, citizens. This is what the world looks like when you're sitting, albeit precariously, in the catbird's seat. After one of the more eventful doubleheaders I've had the pleasure to see (especially the Sano salami that had everyone at Buffalo Wild Wings cheering), the Twins find themselves with a not-all-that-comfortable 5.5 game lead on Cleveland with just 14 games left to play. Even assuming a loss today, and Fangraphs makes it pretty clear who the underdog is, the Twins would still lead the division by 4.5 games with just two weeks to go. Over that span the Twins have a steady diet of Chicago, Detroit and Kansas City while the Cleveland squad still has to tangle with the Nationals and the Phillies. I like to think of the Twins as an old-time army that marched out of the city almost six months ago. Over the course of the summer campaign they battled with many other armies, collecting wins as their booty and hoisting home runs as their trophies. There were many triumphs and some difficult defeats. Now, with their spoils in tow, the weary army is marching home. The healthy do their best to carry the injured, and the walking wounded do what they can to stay on the march and in the fight. Up ahead, the city gates have come into view. All General Baldelli has to do is fight a rearguard action of daily skirmishes and get his men inside the walls before the army that's been in hot pursuit for weeks and weeks can overtake them. Do that and you get to keep the spoils and bear the title division champions. But if you fail, then all of the triumphs turn to dust and ash, your army is decimated, and your city is sacked and burned by the barbarian horde.

The Twins enter play today with their magic number at nine and an improbable chance to sweep Cleveland and pound a few nails into the coffin set aside for their playoff hopes. Baldelli is relying once again on the bullpen and call-ups to pitch the entire game, opening with Randy Dobnak who will give way to Kohl Stewart. The Indians delve into their embarrassment of starting pitching riches and trot out Not Justin Bieber, who has not given up more than three earned runs in any of his last 11 starts. The days are getting shorter, there's a chill in the air of a morning, and football is trying to infringe on pennant races. It's time to get this done. Play ball!

Starting Lineups

Win Probability: 48.9%

When this baseball season started, I was in a world of pain. Recovery from coronary bypass surgery is not a pleasant experience. Having the Twins play the winning kind of baseball they did back in April was a huge comfort to me. Sure, I couldn't get out of bed without help and I could barely lift a gallon of milk to pour on my cereal, but the Twins were winning almost every day so dammit, all was right with the world. Today, six months on from the surgery, I feel pretty darn good. And when you feel pretty darn good and your favorite baseball team is locking horns with a strong division rival in a September pennant race, what else is there to do but jump on the train to Target Field for a Sunday matinee?

With the series on the line, the Twins appear to be using Randy Dobnak as an opening pitcher, followed by Devin Smeltzer. The Lakesiders are sending Mike Clevinger (insert crazy good stats here) to try to seal the series and steal a game in the standings from the Twins. Take me out to the ballgame...

Starting Lineups

Win Probability: 58.5%

Welcome to September baseball. Here's to the Twins playing through October as well. Yesterday the Twins passed the team single season home run record. I missed it live since the wife and I were at the fair, but everywhere we went people were talking about the Twins and checking their phones to see if they broke the record. I got into several nice baseball conversations while standing in lines waiting for food, beverages, bathrooms, etc. Of course, if the Twins don't hold on and outpace the Yankees to maintain their lead in dingers then the record could belong to the Bronx Bombers, not the Minnesota Bomba Squad, by the end of the year. And that would be a crying shame. I don't have to tell anyone that the days are getting shorter and we're flat out of summer, or that games are becoming a dwindling resource.

Big Mike on the mound for the Twins today. He's been our best starter over the past several weeks and after yesterday's hurling debacle the team needs him to step up and deliver once again. The Fighting Tigers counter with Spencer Turnbull (3-13, 4.18 ERA, 112 K). Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend, and thank a union member for your day off tomorrow. Play ball!

Starting Lineups

Win Probability: 61.7%

There's been a decided turn in the weather the past week - cooler and drier, almost autumnal. It's the kind of weather that prompts one's mind to pivot towards fall. The leaves changing colors. A touch of frost on the grass of a morning. And my favorite team battling a worthy rival in a close-fought pennant race. Never mind that the Twins followed up their most recent butt-kicking road trip by coming home and screwing the pooch against the Pale Hose. Today is ripe for a little redemption. Here's hoping they win this game and series and salvage a split on the home stand.

Martin Perez starts for the Twins today. He's had some ups and downs this season, but a cursory glance at this BBR.com page will show that for the most part, we got what we paid for. In most major stat categories, Perez's performance metrics for the year are all closely aligned with his career averages. Taking the ball for the Motor City today is lefty Matthew Boyd (6-9, 4.24 ERA, 201 K) in his first start since coming off paternity leave. He was oh-fer in his three starts at Target Field last year. Play ball!

Starting Lineups

Win Probability: 48.1%

As much as my blood pressure would appreciate having a ten game lead on Cleveland, I do love a pennant race that goes down to the wire. Why? I don't know. Maybe we just crave the drama. I know when kids fantasize about playing in the major leagues, it's always World Series game seven, bottom of the ninth inning down by three with the bases loaded and two outs. You just never hear a kid saying, "It's the top of the fourth inning and bases are empty in a meaningless spring training game as I step up to the plate..."

The Twins enter play today with the opportunity to sweep this four-game series with Tejas and at the least maintain their 2.5 game division lead. Martin Perez takes the hill for the good guys, Lance Lynn goes for the home team. Play ball!

Starting Lineups

Win Probability: 59.9%

The Twins pumped the brakes on their four-game skid with a rain-delayed win over Cleveland last night. Jake Odorizzi stepped up as the stopper, tossing five and two-thirds scoreless innings. Even the bullpen got into the act, giving up just one run over the remainder of the game. I have to say that while it's been hard to watch the team play what we now consider sub-par baseball for the past month, and especially hard to watch Cleveland loom larger and larger in the rearview mirror, I still think this team is fundamentally sound. Yes, the offense needs to be more productive in the early innings and more clutch with RISP in the late innings. The starting rotation needs to be more efficient and go an inning or so deeper into games to take pressure off the bullpen. And the bullpen itself needs a zero tolerance policy - we will only tolerate putting zeros on the board.

We have Berrios starting today, Cleveland has recent AAA call-up Aaron Civale taking the ball. That and home field advantage probably account for our high win probability. Play ball!