Category Archives: 2018 Twins Game Logs

Game 138 — Twins at Astros

So, it's after Labor Day and the Twins are just about done (Tragic Number is 12). Byron Buxton is exiled, Sano is mired in a horrible slump, Someone called Johnny Field is playing in the outfield and Chris Gimenez is making "contributions." Makes me almost pine for the days when I paid attention to NFL football. Almost.

Anyway Twins play the Astros so you can see Justin Verlander pitch. He's not the dominant pitcher he was a few years back but he doesn't have to be given the Astros' lineup. Also 240 Strikeouts, 181 Innings Pitched, WHIP of 0.95 are all among the league leaders. Trevor May is the Opener for the Twins, I couldn't find who is coming in after him. Sorry for the half-bakedness.

EDIT: Apparently Kohl Stewart is the Follower tonight.

Game at 7:10p

2018 Game 136: Twins at Rangers

Today the Twins will be doing their "Opener" experiment, sending Gabriel Moya to the mound to pitch the first inning only. Zack Littell will take over in the second inning as the "Primary" pitcher. The quotation marks are mine, intended to convey my high level of skepticism with this approach. The Rangers will counter with Yohander Mendez as their starting pitcher. I guess my point is that if you're going to experiment with opener and primary pitchers, it really doesn't make sense to be using as your primary pitcher a rookie who has pitched in just two games, who lost them both, and who carries an ERA of 18.90 to the mound. I don't see how much you're really going to learn from doing it this way with this particular couple of pitchers. I'm not opposed to innovation and evolution, nor to data-driven strategy, but until I see hard evidence that this approach will help the Twins win more ballgames, I'm going to cross my arms over my chest, shake my head and frown a lot, spit sideways in disdain on occasion, and shoo the neighborhood kids off of my lawn. Free Buxton!

Game 135: Minnesota at Texas

And so we enter the last month of the season.  It somehow seems like it should be later in the season than it is.  Maybe it's because football has started, maybe it's because the minor league seasons are nearly over, maybe it's because the Twins have been out of the race for quite a while now.  But the fact is that we still have a month of the season to play.

That's all right.  The off-season is too long as it is--I'm certainly not wishing for it to be longer.  Let's enjoy this last month of the season.  We have Jose Berrios going tonight, and we can hope that he'll actually pitch like Jose Berrios.  The Rangers counter with Yovani Gallardo.  Let's win tonight and give ourselves a chance for a sweep tomorrow.  Go Twins!

Game 131 — Twins at Cleveland

If it's Tuesday must be another series against the soon to be 2018 Central Division Champion Cleveland Baseball Club, Inc. With the Twins' Tragic Number at 18, it's now all about playing the string out for the home town squad; maybe checking in on some prospects and ideas for 2019.

Gibby on the mound for the Twins. He's been decent this year, although his last start, not so much. Same could be said for Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco. Game time at 6:10p.