All posts by Twayn

Bats: Right Throws: Right
2023 Twins Game Logs

2023 Game 57: Guardians vs. Twins

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Cleveland comes to town to kick off a four-game weekend series tonight, so this is a chance for the Twins to gain some ground head-to-head on a divisional rival. I'm not sure what to make of this team yet since we haven't seen them hitting on all cylinders since April, but I've been duly impressed with the starting rotation. Pablo Lopez has been solid (considering what we gave up I'd like more out of him), Sonny Grey has been phenomenal, but some regression to the mean has to happen eventually, right? The young guys are getting it done, too, we've seen some great starts by Ryan and Varland. The bullpen has been decent, not outstanding but solid enough to keep games winnable in late innings, with some notable exceptions, of course. I don't know what's wrong with Jorge Lopez, for example, the last two outings of his I've seen were horrendous and he simply could not get an out. It's like he's got relief pitcher yips or something, keeps throwing the ball exactly where he doesn't want to. Anyway, tonight we get Pablo Lopez and Tanner Bibee slinging the horsehide. Let's hope the offense we found in Houston made the trip home and shows up for this series.

Play ball!

2023 Twins Game Logs

2023 Game 54: Twins at Rastros

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Hungry Joe is unavailable so I'm pinch hitting today. I can't say I've been happy with the quality of ball and strike calling over the past couple of weeks, but you really can't blame the Twins' chronic ass-bats on the umps. At the games on Friday and Saturday, I counted 7 Blue Jays in the lineup hitting above .250. The Twins had just two. They had two hitters above .300, we had none. And it's not just low overall averages,  it's the complete dearth of clutch hits. Rather than cheer when we load the bases with no outs, I cringe at the prospect of underperforming run expectancy yet again. Combine the ass-bats with some sloppy defense and it gets hard to win games, even when the rotation is killing it and the bullpen is showing surprising signs of adequacy.

Speaking of that rotation, Twins ace Sonny Gray takes the mound today for the home team. He's got a 1.82 ERA (236 ERA+), a 2.02 FIP, and a 1.196 WHIP. He's given up zero home runs while notching 66 strikeouts in 54 innings pitched. No pitcher on the team has done more to help win games this year than Sonny. The Astros counter with J.P. France. He's got a 3.43 ERA in four starts with a 1.19 WHIP. Hope everyone is having a pleasant Memorial Day.

Play ball!

2023 Twins Game Logs

2023 Game 32: Twins Cities at Second City

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Disconcerting. That's the safe-for-work word I'll use to describe blowing into the Windy City and dropping the first two games - both of them achingly winnable - to the Pale Hosers. Pitching has not been the problem, though (odd how saying that feels like putting on a shirt that doesn't quite fit right).

Between the last two losses and a couple of others here and there the Twins could easily have 20 wins or more under their collective belt. Instead, sporadic ass-battery has reared its ugly head and is driving the team down. Six out of nine hitters in today's starting lineup have averages below .250 and as a team the Twins are hitting a paltry .232, and from that vantage point you can damn near see Mario Mendoza. Buxton solo home runs are great to watch, but if they don't ultimately deliver puppies and fireworks what's the point?

On the mound today, Pablo Lopez (2-2, 4.00 ERA, 46K) will face off against Lucas Giolito (1-2, 4.15 ERA, 34K). Hopefully when Lopez comes off the mound today it will be late in the game with the Twins leading and no trainers in sight. It's great to have starting pitching depth in St. Paul, but it's even better when you don't have to use it.

Play ball!

2023 Twins Game Logs

2023 Game 19: Twins at Red Sox

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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!

2023 Twins Game Logs

2023 Game 1 – MN Twins vs. KC Royals

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Opening Day greetings from Minnesota, the land that spring forgot. Outside there are still two feet of snow on the ground and there's a winter storm watch until 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Game time conditions in Kansas City, though, should be more pleasant, about 68 degrees and breezy. There's a reason our home opener is never on actual Opening Day.

To say last season was disappointing for Twins fans would be an exercise in understatement. So many things that could have gone right went wrong, and it far too often involved severe bodily harm to key players. By most accounting, if not for a plethora of injuries late in the season the Twins would have won the division. But those are the vagaries of the game that make it so maddening and endearing, and keep us coming back for more year after year.

You generally put your ace starting pitcher on the mound for Opening Day. For Kansas City, that means Donald Zachary Greinke and his 223 career wins, 2882 strikeouts, and 3.42 ERA. It will be the seventh Opening Day start of his career. The Twins, I believe, selected their Opening Day starter by draw and Pablo Lopez pulled the short straw. He'll go to the mound for his first ever Opening Day start with 28 career wins, 489 strikeouts, and a lifetime 3.94 ERA under his belt.

I have no prognostications to offer for how this season will go for the Twins, my crystal ball is perpetually hazy these days. Conventional wisdom says don't be surprised to see the Twins and Guardians battling it out for the division title again come September, but every season starts with a big old question mark. If we're lucky along the way and enough things go right, we get to end it with a giant exclamation point.

Play ball!

 

 

 

2022 Twins Game Logs, Game Logs

2022 Game 136: Futility in the Bronx

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After winning five in a row to get our hopes up temporarily, the hometown boys have dropped six of their last seven to fall two games behind Cleveland and tied for second place with Chicago. It's not like we don't have a chance to win this division, but considering the quality of play we've seen in the past week there's not much reason for optimism in that regard.

Sonny Gray vs. Nestor Cortes on the mound tonight, so we face a tough lefty in Yankee Stadium late in the season after dropping three games there in two days. Good luck, boys. You're going to need it.

Play ball!

2022 Twins Game Logs

2022 Game 123: Minnesota at Houston

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Chris Archer has started 21 games for the Twins this season. In not one of them has he pitched more than five innings. Not one. He'll take the mound again tonight, but if want to see him pitch, try not to blink. Archer squares off with Luis Garcia, who is 10-8 with an ERA just north of four and 127 strikeouts in 124 innings. If momentum is tonight's starting pitcher, advantage Astros, I guess.

The Guardians keep collecting wins while the Twins squander their opportunities and pile up the losses with lackluster defense, baserunning, and an offense that is only days away from an official MIA designation. The main thing that keeps me hanging on is that I love watching Luis Arraez play baseball and feel compelled to watch every plate appearance and track his batting average on a daily basis. So, I have no idea how you turn this team around and get it playing up to its potential again, that's Rocco's job and that's why he makes the big pile of dough. It doesn't strike me as an easy task, though.

Play ball!

2022 Twins Game Logs

2022 Game 99: Twins at Padres

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I'm starting to feel like May and June were just a mirage and even if this Twins team makes the playoffs it will just be setting up another one and done disappointment. But I'm gloomy and melancholy like that sometimes. I can't say I'm enthused to stay up late and watch a game that starts so close to bedtime, so I'll probably be skipping this one. I probably won't be alone.

With a 7-3 record and a 2.89 ERA and 73 strikeouts, young Joe Ryan takes the mound for the Twins tonight. He's opposed by southpaw Blake Snell (2-5, 4.75 ERA, 71 K). So there you go.

Play ball!