Stephen Strasburg
vs
Martín Pérez
A good postseason test tonight for the Twins. Strasburg is really good. Pérez is a pitcher. Berríos delivered a very strong start yesterday and it's Pérez's turn to get five acceptable innings before handing it to the *checks notes* 12-man bullpen. Batters, this isn't Berríos, please don't forgot about the dongers.
Placeholder game log. I'm out in the woods so this is pre-written, feel free to add any pertinent information. Nationals come in for a 3-game series. We are now back to first pitch at 6:40p.
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...
Game in progress. Garver started off the Twins right, with someone finally hitting it into the stands.
Last night's game felt special. Cleveland lost early in the day. There was a chance to extend the lead. Things weren't working amazingly for the offense, but they did enough, and the pitching really stepped up. It had the feel of a team that knew what they had to do, and just executing. And then that final play... Winning a game on a memorable play like that... it seems like the kind of thing you see from the teams that are putting the pressure on others, not dealing with it themselves.
And tonight, the Twins get to apply that pressure directly. With a 6.5 game lead and just 22 to play, Cleveland is running out of room fast. Every win the Twins rack up this weekend further dents the Indians' chances to make to playoffs. It's a stark difference from the last time Cleveland left town, having tied up the division. Two very different directions for the clubs, and now it feels like the Twins can play loose and easy, and let their game be what it is.
I'm looking forward to a great weekend series, and hopefully, maybe even a Francisco Lindor concession speech.
Let’s hope Pérez can get himself on track enough to make Game 9 of this road trip a ‘one-off’. Eovaldi has 7 starts and 11 relief appearances this season and sports a 6.23 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP ... perhaps the Twins can repay the early runs from last night? Also, I would love to see someone take advantage of the Pesky Pole and short walls in right ... lord knows they have more than enough pop.
Hate to see your #1 struggle, but as the great Mr. Aday would say, “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”!
Berríos
vs
Rodriguez
The Twins are 9-1 over their last ten games. They're 19-11 against the AL East (thanks Baltimore) and now 2-2 against the Red Sox.
Berríos had an extra day off after an improved, but still okay, start. He lost his start against Boston in June, in the midst of regular bullpen implosions. That time was because the Twins forgot how to score for the series.
Let's guarantee at least a season split with another AL East team. Sure, they aren't going to make the postseason, but those are the teams you need to beat.
The day after Memorial Day I wrote this about the Twins being 1/3 of the way through their season:
...day after Memorial Day means the Spring portion of the season is over too. By this time we should be able to get a sense of who the real teams are and who the pretenders are. Obviously all is good in Twins land. Best record in baseball, on pace to smash the Home Run record, 10 game lead on Cleveland -- who doesn’t really look like a team able to play at a .600 pace the rest of the season, Oddo, Perez, Berrios looking great, even bad Gibby has been stuffed in a closet somewhere. Nelson Cruz should be back in the line-up any day, Mitch Garver on track to recover from his injury, Buxton doing (good) Buxton things, the list is endless. So settle in folks, we should have a fun summer of Baseball, and on the Tuesday after Labor Day, hopefully I’ll be writing up a post about Fall baseball coming up and how the Twins need to set up their line-up for the playoffs
Now that it's the day after Labor Day, kind of fun to look back. It has been a fun summer of baseball, the home run record was smashed, bad Gibby did find his way out of that closet, and Perez and Berrios not looking great as of late. That 10 game lead over the Clevanders was eliminated but is now back up to 5.5 games because guess what, apparently the Spiders were able to play at a .600 clip and better for much of June and July, also Twins have 4th best record in baseball now. So playoff line ups aren't being set yet but with the magic number at 20, we can see the end. Just for some context, if the Twins go 10-15 over these last 25 games Cleveland will have to play .625 ball just to force a game 163. If the Twins go 15-10, then Cleveland has to win 7 of every 8 games it plays to force a tie. Now the Twins and Cleveland do still have 6 games with each other, so lots of fun fall baseball ahead.
Speaking of fun baseball, Twins do embark on a pesky 12-game stretch against decent teams. Red Sox, Cleveland, Washington, and Cleveland again. Six to eight wins in this stretch and we can start investing in playoff tickets, especially since the last 13 games of the season are against the White Sox, Tigers, and Royals.
Tonight is the start of the Randy Dubnak era as he gets his first MLB start. Rick Porcello on the mound for the Red Sox and he's been ok but not great this year, which basically describes the Red Sox as whole in 2019. First Pitch at 6:10p
Hey, all. Pretty busy today as I'm guessing you are as well. The Odoreater is up against the Zimm dog, pitching better after a recent IL stint, though he's still afflicted with being on the Tigers. Hoping for a fun-filled donger fest today!
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!
