At least it was different.
Category Archives: 2015 Twins Game Recaps
Game 106 Recap: Blue Jays 3, Twins 1
Game 105: Twins 1, Blue Jays 5
The wins by Toronto & Baltimore yesterday, combined with the Twins loss, results in a virtual 3-way tie for the 2nd Wild Card spot. Technically, Minnesota and Baltimore are tied and Toronto is virtually tied, though actually a few meager decimals of percentage points behind the Orioles and Twins.
Also technically, Ervin "Not Johan" Santana took the Loss yesterday, but one could argue (as a few of us have recently) that the offense was at fault for the outcome. Now, the Twins were facing newly-acquired ace David Price, who is 4th in the AL in ERA (2.45) & Strikeouts (149), 5th in WAR (3.4), Tied for 6th in WHIP (1.08) and 3rd in Innings Pitched (154). For those who weren't watching or listening, I'd argue that the biggest inning was the 4th when, with the game tied at 1, the Twins managed to load the bases with nobody out. Rosario popped out to short, Hicks struck out looking and Suzuki struck out swinging. Not one productive out, though Suzuki at least had a long at-bat before succumbing to Price. That was it. Price then retired the next 12 batters in order and LaTroy Hawkins took care of the Twins' 3, 4 & 5 hitters in the 9th to salt it away. The Twins struck out 12 times - 11 at the hands of Price.
Santana was facing a Toronto club that is full of great hitters; a team leading all of baseball with 566 Runs scored, and he gave up two Home Runs and only lasted 6 Innings - not enough considering the recent slippage by the bullpen. However, the 5 Runs scored were less than the per-game average scored by the Blue Jays this year (5.3) and they only ended up with 8 hits in the game.
Couple of things.
The offense has been fairly streaky thus far, with lots of young(er) guys getting regular playing time, and their few known quantities batting about as expected. Only Dozier is in the top-20 in the league in OPS (.828) and Mauer leads qualified Twins players* with a .269 BA and a .333 OBP, though his .712 OPS is below league average. On offense, the pleasant surprises (Rosario, Hicks, Sano) have been offset by the disappointments (Vargas, Santana, Arcia and - though limited to 11 games - Buxton). The catcher position has been a black hole and the roster, as constructed, offers Molitor a bench with defensive capabilities, but limited offense. As I noted in the game log yesterday -
"...the fellas have been remarkably consistent - month-to-month - hitting .255/.306/.413 in May (hot) & June (not hot) combined and .255/.311/.420 in July. On the season, they've hit .276/.346/.439 with RISP."
We (I) was wondering what the Twins management would do at the trade deadline, considering where the club is at roster-wise right now, where they're likely hopeful to be at in the coming years, and how the current season has shaped up. We don't know what moves Terry Ryan attempted, only the one that he consummated - bringing in relief pitcher Kevin Jepsen in exchange for a couple of minor-league prospects. My guess is that, being realistic about this team and being unwilling to sell the farm for a chance at the Wild Card, knowing what he's put together in the bullpen and seeing the offense at work (and that Santana won't be available for any post-season play), Terry was not willing to sacrifice prospects to try and upgrade SS, Catcher and the Bullpen.
Secondly: They moved Mauer from behind the dish to try and protect him and prolong his career, expecting that being healthy would keep his bat in the line-up. In two years as a DH/1B, his line is .273/.349/.375 with a 101 OPS+ (good for 2.8 WAR), compared to career numbers of .323/.405/.468 and a 135 OPS+ before the move (good for 44.2 WAR). Is it time to wonder if this is the new normal for Joe? Of note, his .269 BA is 4th in the league for 1B but his .712 OPS is 9th of 12 qualifiers.
*There are only four players who currently qualify for the batting title: Dozier, Mauer, Plouffe! and Hunter. The next closest qualifier is Suzuki with nearly 70 fewer at-bats than Torii.
Game 104: M’s 4, Twins 1 (11)
Well, so much for any positive vibes about the bullpen.
New acquisition (and supposed upgrade) Kevin Jepsen takes the loss after walking the first two batters he faces as a Twin. He did at least strike out red-hot Nelson Cruz, who had homered off of slumping Glen Perkins in the 9th inning. Duensing then came in and gave up a go-ahead double on the one competitive pitch he threw (he intentionally walked the next batter to reload the bases before exiting). Casey Fien then gave up a two-run single to pretty much eliminate any hope of a comeback.
The one interesting development was the fact that Trevor May was used before Jepsen in this game. May pitched the 10th inning even though he had pitched the previous day and Jepsen had pitched only once in the previous 9 days. Prior to the game, the Twins put Tommy Milone on the DL with an elbow strain and recalled Tyler Duffey to take Milone's spot in the rotation. May has been in the bullpen since Ervin Santana returned from his suspension at the beginning of July and hasn't pitched more than 2 innings at a time. Twins management said that they expect Milone to be back quickly, hopefully when the 15 days are up (insert TJ joke here) and chose to go with Duffey over May because May wasn't stretched out.
That makes sense but I think May's effectiveness as a reliever also played a part. The Twins simply can't afford to take him out of the bullpen. May did have a bad outing when he gave up 3 runs to the A's on July 19, but since then he's allowed just 1 run in 6 outings with 8 Ks and 2 BBs (1 intentional). He's also shown increased velocity, much like Perkins did when he transitioned to the bullpen. In this game, May did allow a 1-out double but also had two strikeouts in a scoreless inning.
The rest of the bullpen's woes overshadowed a great pitchers' duel between Hisashi "I Love MN!" Iwakuma and Mike Pelfrey. Pelfrey only had 3 strikeouts, but the Mariners continually pounded his sinker into the grass for 16 outs in 8 scoreless innings. The Mariners didn't even have a runner in scoring position against Pelfrey.
The game might not have gone to extras if it hadn't been for Perkins grooving a fastball on 3-0 to Cruz instead of just walking him. I blame that as much on manager Paul Molitor as Perkins. And yes, I realize the irony of criticizing Molitor for not walking the go-ahead run when the Twins won the day before because the M's had done the exact-same thing. However, there were some important differences. For one, the Mariners didn't even throw one pitch to Eddie Rosario. Perkins fell behind 3-0. At that point, you might as well walk him. It seemed like he was pitching around Cruz anyways. Also, Cruz is much slower than Rosario. The Mariners might have even pinch run for him and getting Cruz out of the game when it is still tied would be no small thing.
The game did get to extras thanks to Brian "Mr. Clutch" Dozier, who hit maybe his most improbable home run this season since it came off of Iwakuma, who had previously never given up an earned run to the Twins in over 40 innings.
Oh well. At least the Twins split the series. This was the first series since the All-Star break that the Twins did not lose. Now it is off to Toronto for perhaps the most important series of the season. The Twins have talked about their resiliency. Well, they need to show some of that real soon or they could be out of this playoff chase very quickly.
Game 102 recap. The Twins scored a run.
Miguel Sano hit a home run.
That was the only hit for the locals.
Thats about we need to know about this game.
Game 101 RECAP: Seattle 5, Minnesota 9
Biggest story of the evening is a 1A/1B type of deal. Two of the Twins' young outfielders, Aaron Hicks and Eddie Rosario, provided some real excitement on the offensive side of the ball to help stop a four-game losing streak - the longest such streak at home this season.
Hicks, batting in the 2-spot, went 3-4 including a HR, with a BB, RBI and 2 Runs scored. It was his fifth consecutive multi-hit game. He's hitting .365/.443/.608 for July.
Rosario was a single short of the cycle, having homered in the 1st, doubled in the 3rd and tripled in the 5th. He scorched a liner to center in the 6th and was robbed of a single by the SS, Brad Miller, with one out in the 8th. Miller made a very nice play and Eddie doffed his helmet* and smiled his way unbelievingly back to the dugout. He finished the night 3-5 with a team-high .294 WPA.
All told, there were 5 HR's hit last night between the teams, with Hughes giving up two. Phil (10-6, 4.11 ERA, 4.58 FIP & 1.253 WHIP) is beginning to enter the "obligatory" territory with HR's in all but four of his starts this year and his 8th game giving up multiple homeruns. His 1.7 HR/9 this season is the worst of his career (1.2 HR/9 career average), though he continues to lead the league in limiting walks. Despite the five runs allowed by Hughes, the bullpen bucked their recent trend, allowing 0 Runs on 1 Hit over four innings of relief.
Finally, Jorge Polanco, filling in on the active roster for Trevor "Big Daddy" Plouffe!, had a nice game in his start at SS. He went 2-3 with a BB, RBI, Run and his first MLB Stolen Base. He committed 1 Error in the 8th, overthrowing 1st Base, and was the pivot man in the only double play of the game in the 9th.
*The Four-Letter coverage of the near-miss cycle made it seem as though Rosario was angry at Miller (not the case), dismissively suggesting that he should be happy with the 3 Hit, 3 Run, 3 RBI night - a "take it and siddown kid" kinda comment. Patronizing and stoopid.
Game 100 Recap: Pirates 10, Twins 4
Game 99 Recap: Pirates 8, Twins 7
The Kong show.
Game 96 recap: Twins 10 Yankees 1
If you missed the game, I found the file footage of Yankees pitching
Miguel Sano's two run HR in the first was really something. (side not, how many times are we going to something like that over his career? 100? 150?) Taking borderline pitches to work the count then found a hanging cutter and crushed it over the CF wall and he didnt full extension of his arms!
Two runs is all Phil Hughes needed as he scattered 7 hits over 7 innings of work as the Twins moved to 52-44 on the season and gained a game on the Royals in the AL Central race. I dont like seeing Wild Card standings. The WC is a crap shoot. Winning divisions guarantees you 3 playoff games.
Kurt Suzuki flashed some of his 2014 form by knocking in two runs to pad the lead. Torii Hunter lined a HR in the 7th, then Trevor Plouffe and Brian Dozier blasted homers in the 8th to make it a laugher. Also of note Eddie Rosario hit 3 doubles.
I love when the Twins beat down an opponent, but there are two teams I really love to see them against: The White Sox and the Yankees. Yeah, this game was awesome. Lets do it again Saturday night!
Game 95 Recap: Twins 3, Angels 0
That's better.