100 games into the season and I feel like the Twins have gotten all of the hard stuff out of the way - the injuries, the best teams, the long losing streaks, etc. I know that's not how it really works, but that's how it feels. These next 100 are going to be great.
We start with Joe Ryan against Mitch Keller.
The bad news is we have to play one more series with New York. The good news is it's the Mets, not the Yankees. I think I can say without much argument that among all our rivals the Yankees are the the one true nemesis of the Twins, the Cobra Kai to our Danny LaRusso. In ancient Greek mythology, Nemesis was the dispenser of misfortune to those mortals displaying hubris. It was Nemesis who lured Narcissus to the pond where he fell in love with his own reflection, wasted away and died. How ironic that the team with the most hubris ever should be the nemesis of our humble Twins.
It's Pablo day in the Bronx. Lopez is 5-5 thanks to some spotty run support this year. His ERA sits at 4.84 thanks to a few outings that snowballed, but he does have 75 strikeouts on the ledger. The Yankees will send Marcus Stroman to the mound to start the game. He's a Yankee so screw him and the stats he rode in on. Stats are meaningless when the mere sight of pinstripes turns your team into a quivering mass of fetid failure. Unless, of course, you're measuring the depths of despair.
This is our last chance to beat the Yankees this season. It could definitely happen and I have a feeling tonight's the night, you just have to be believe. And if you really and truly believe that, you might be interested in a very good deal on one of the many fine bridges connecting the five boroughs.
Play ball!
Chris Paddack
vs
Carlos Rodón
Another Twins-Yankees game. The Twins are 0-4 so far this season. That means they are due for a win.
Twins been playing well lately so no better time to show up at the Bronx for a three gamer against the Yankees. Yanks appear to be great this year - mashing and pitching (I'm not going to look up their fielding stats). Judge and Soto just crushed the Giants this past weekend in a manner rarely seen. No worries, Twins at Yankee Stadium always seems to work Minnesota's way. I'm hearing from the control booth that this is incorrect.
Luis Gil on the mound for the Yankees and he's been lights out this year. Nice little discussion in the CoC this morning about past Twins connections/possibilities. Bailey Ober for the Twins so seems like another mis-match. Royce Lewis back for the Twins (and batting 5th) so at least we have that to look forward to. I'm all negative here but the Yankees just seem on another planet this season so let's at least get one game over the next few days and move on to the rest of the schedule. It's summer and lots of time for great baseball.
Game on TBS but not sure if blacked out in Minnesota.
First Pitch: 6:05p.
"Hey, these are the jerks who eliminated us from the playoffs last year."
"Hey, yeah!"
"It is them!"
"I thought so!"
"Let's get 'em guys!"
And so they did.
Starting with Pablo Lopez finding his stuff against Ronel Blanco, who lost his.
DAY GAME ALERT!
First pitch @ 12:10 p.m. CT
On the Twins website today, the top story is about Bailey Ober's complete futility against the Royals. Ober has a 7.71 ERA in nine career starts against KC, and a 3.36 ERA against everyone else. So Jeff A is not the only one to notice that the Royals just seem to own Ober.
Today Chris Paddack takes the mound for the Twins, countered by Brady Singer for the Royals. Paddack has been a fairly reliable mid-rotation starter this year, pitching to a 4.39 ERA in ten starts. Singer has been quite good this season, sporting a 2.63 ERA and a WHIP of just 1.12.
The ass bats were back on full display last night and the Twins futility at the plate was palpable. What was last year a weak division that we won fairly handily seems much more competitive this year. KC has been building up for a few years and looks like a real contender. But the team to beat to get to the top has to be Cleveland. They have been our closest competition in the division the last couple of years and this year they are playing like champions again. But there's lots of season left and we all know about the sudden reversals of fortune that can occur in sports. Hell, that's what makes it worth watching.
Play ball!
Seth Lugo
vs
Bailey Ober
30-24 in 54 games is a 90-72 team. That's three wins better than last season but I'm not sure that's enough to win the suddenly competitive division this season. The #1, #4, and #5 records, by winning percentage in the AL, are in the ALC right now. Expanded postseason gives the Twins the final wild card but it's a tenuous position.
Attempting to improve that situation is Ober who was knocked out in the second inning of his March 31 start against the Royals. Now two of his earned runs happened after he left but it was still 6-0 before that. His opponent, Lugo, was scoreless over his six innings the day before with the Twins scoring five after he left to get the win. While the result was good, the way to get there doesn't seem repeatable.
Game 54 meaning, the Twins are 1/3 through their 2024 MLB season. I guess we'd take 5 games over .500 at this point but it's been a roller coaster to get there with both winning and losing streaks dominating the season. Game two of a four game series and it really feels like the Twins need to win three of four to keep pace.
Cole Ragans on the mound for the Royals and he's a big strikeout guy, so I get nervous with Twins bats being shut down. Simeon Woods Richardson for the Twins and he's buttressed the bottom of the Twins starters and one of the reasons Twins fans haven't been as nervous about the pitching staff as it was coming into the season. Should be a fun game
Timberwolves-Mavs start about an hour after Twins game starts so we can use this post as a basketball game log as well.
First Pitch: 6:40
Tip Off: 7:30
MEMORIAL DAY GAME ALERT!
The surprisingly good Royals come to town for a four game series against the unsurprisingly flat Twins. Ryan has been pitching well of late, so let's hope the streak continues.
Bailey Ober pitches for the Twins against Jose Urena.
Then the Wolves play. Go Minnesotas!
