Category Archives: 2019 Twins Game Logs

2019 Twins Game Logs

2019 Game 105: Us and Them

65 Comments

Starting Lineups

Win Probability: 59%

The ten game lead on Cleveland that the Twins enjoyed two months ago had been whittled down to eight games just one month ago. In the past month of games, Cleveland has slashed that lead to just one game. The Twins vaunted offense remains potent (despite last night's ass-battery), the starting pitching remains mostly competent if no longer outstanding, but the bullpen continues to vex. I mean, when Taylor Rogers breaks your heart twice in one week, it might be time to re-evaluate your emotional entanglements. If nothing else, the worrisome collapse of a double digit divisional lead down to a single game helped spur the front office into action and pick up Sergio Romo from the Marlins. Carlos Torres was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Romo. So long, Carlos, we hardly knew ye. The brain trust has until Wednesday afternoon to make any additional moves that could impact the roster for the playoffs. Now, I keep hearing from the mouthpieces that the Twins, despite their precipitous fall in the standings, are playing with a lot of confidence right now. That's good. But maybe it's time to also play with a little bit of fear and loathing, and more competence than the Twins have shown in recent days. Were I Jonathan Schoop, for instance, I think I would have burned that glove with the hole in it and gotten myself a new one by now.

So, cue the Mighty Mouse theme song, because today the Twins have Kyle Gibson (9-4, 4.24 ERA, 109 K) on the mound to start the game. The Nibbler is our last best hope for maintaining sole possession of first place in the AL Central by the end of the day. Him and the offense, which went MIA on the south side last night. Oh, and the Kansas City Royals. But that's it, just Kyle Gibson, the Twins offense, and the Kansas City Royals. The White Sox send right-hander Dylan Covey (1-6, 6.04 ERA, 31 K) to the hill today. In short sample size theater, Schoop is two for three and hitting .667 against Covey, Garver (not in the lineup) hits him at a .500 clip, and Max Kepler averages .444 against him in nine at bats. So, 58 games to go and Cleveland is hot on our heels and breathing down our necks. Hold onto your butts, citizens, this ride might get a little rough. Play ball!

2019 Twins Game Logs

Game 103: Duplicates at Bleached Footwear

53 Comments

Apparently battling the White Sox is easier than battling the Yankees or A's, or... any good team, really. Apparently pitching Jose Berrios helps too.

Tonight Big Mike gets to keep the train rolling, and, more to the point, hopefully the batters do their part against Dylan Cease in his 4th big league start. So far he's faced the Tigers, Royals, and Tampa, none of whom are quite known for their offense in the same way, so... this should be a good test for the kid. Of course, these new guys often present their own kind of challenge, so hopefully the Twins can solve him early and thoroughly.

A few more HRs would be nice too. We haven't passed a previous year's HR total in almost 24 hours.

Also, I adore that the White Sox have a downward facing arrow in their signage. Someone really wasn't thinking there, were they?

2019 Twins Game Logs

Game 102: Minnesota @ Chicago White Sox

59 Comments

Berrios
-vs-
Giolito

Minnesota & Chicago have identical 3-7 records over their past 10 games and both have lost two in a row. The difference being, the Twins faced the Yankees, Athletics, Mets (derp) and Cleveland while Chicago managed that against the Marlins, Rays and Royals. On the season, Minnesota has scored 576 runs and given up 468 for a run differential of +108. The White Sox have plated 418 and given up 514 runs for a differential of -96.

So ... you're thinking this should be a bounce back game series after the heartbreaker on Tuesday and non-competitive start last night? We'll see - 24-year-old Chicago Ace and former 1st rounder Lucas Giolito has seemingly "figured it out" over 19 starts this year to the tune of 3.14 ERA, 1.092 WHIP, 134 K's in 112.2 innings pitched. He's leading his team in WAR at 3.8 (a full 'Win' ahead of their #2 player, catcher James McCann). All that said, 3 of his 4 losses have come in his past four starts (though the lone 'W' in there was against the Twins on June 30).

After watching Twins starters struggle mightily over the past 10 games (only Gibson secured a starter 'W'), it'd be nice to see José Berríos get the group back on more solid ground. Unfortunately, Berríos hasn't won a start since June 6 (1-3 w/ 4 no decisions) though he has had some nice games where the Ass Bats© did him no favors - he's had 5 or more runs of support only three times in that span. We can only hope that the seemingly awakened Bomba Squad continues to hit; José - and the club - could use a laugher.

2019 Twins Game Logs

2019 Game 89: New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins

166 Comments

After a hot start, things have decidedly cooled down a bit in downtown Minneapolis. Though the A's are no slouches, the true test comes to Target Field tonight in this clash between division leaders. I don't think I'm the first to say that this three game series could tell us a lot about what kind of team we have here. Just for fun, let's see how hopeless everyone is:

How Many Games Will the Twins Win This Series?

  • Two (53%, 8 Votes)
  • One (40%, 6 Votes)
  • Three (7%, 1 Votes)
  • Zero (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 15

Loading ... Loading ...

Anyway, for tonight's game, Cap'n Cheeseburger faces off against Martín Pérez as the Twins hang on to first place in the Central for dear life. In other roster news Thorpe and Stashak are called up, Littel is DFAed, Cron to the IL, and as of press time it doesn't sound Bux is coming back today.

All right, everyone, buckle in tight, cause here come the Yankees. Drink up, Twins fans!

2019 Twins Game Logs

2019 Game 88: Oakland White Pachyderms vs. Minnesota Doppelgangers

101 Comments

Starting Lineups

Win Probability: 54.2%

Around the eighth inning last night I thought I'd be writing about how the Twins have a chance to win this four-game series with Oakland today. Instead, because Taylor Rogers chose an inopportune time to have a very rare bad outing, we're hoping to salvage a split and maybe get a game back in the standings from Cleveland. Such are the vagaries of baseball. I can't say that I've been overly impressed with the Twins' overall performance since the All-Star break. They've been adequate at best. But then again, they spent the first half of the season setting very high expectations for the second half that they just haven't managed to equal yet. In some ways, I think a hard-fought race for the division title would be good for this team, a crucible in which they temper their skill and desire into hardened competitive advantage for the postseason. On the other hand, I'd be fine with the Twins going on a month-long winning streak and putting another ten games or so between their tail feathers and Cleveland's beak.

The Twins commence today's contest with Big Mike Pineda on the mound for the 19th time this year. While I wouldn't say I'm a fan yet, he is working hard to win me over and has shown considerable improvement over his last several starts. His ERA is down to 4.38 (104 ERA+) and in four of his last five outings he allowed just one earned run. A 4.18 FIP would suggest he's doing all that while not being especially lucky. In 98.2 innings pitched he's given up 99 hits, 16 walks, and 51 runs for a 1.166 WHIP. He's compiled 87 strikeouts and whiffs more than five batters for every free pass he hands out. Not shabby for a back of the rotation arm, I guess. But despite all the favorable numbers you can find for Pineda, he's still only managed a 0.7 WAR and -0.2 WAA for the season. Cornelius McGillicuddy's legacy counters Pineda today with Daniel Mengden's moustache (4.21 ERA). The Twins touched the right-hander for five runs over 5.2 innings just a few weeks ago. Hopefully they can improve on that today. Play ball!

2019 Twins Game Logs

Game 96: Oakland at Minnesota

37 Comments

Bassit v. Odorizzi.

There's a part of me that, all season long, just hasn't bought into Odorizzi. For some reason, I feel like he's been doing it with smoke and mirrors. But his last outing, against Cleveland, felt like something different. He didn't have many K's (2), and he still only lasted 5.1 innings, but... it was an important game. A win in that middle game of the series would deny the Indians a chance to gain ground in a home series against the Twins. And limiting the Tribe to just 3 hits felt like something notable. It wasn't about whether Odorizzi is truly an all-star pitcher, and was every bit about the team, and doing what he could to contribute.

Meanwhile, last night's game felt much the same way. It was a hero off the bench who provided the, uh, heroics. Walks were drawn, pressures were kept up, etc. Down 3-1, it was starting to feel like another loss. And then suddenly it wasn't, and it seemed like the whole team was clicking again.

This is one of the things I love most about baseball. It is so much more a team sport than most others. And this is one of the things I've been loving about this iteration of the Twins: it feels like a team. A really well-rounded team.

Speaking of the A's, this phenomena reminds me a bit of Moneyball. One of the great things about Moneyball, and probably something that isn't emphasized all the time, was the focus on the team aspects. Beane said "we don't need you to hit 40 HR, we need you to hit 20, and we'll get the other 20 from X, Y, and Z" (or somesuch. I can't be bothered to look this up.).

Anyway, that's how this Twins team feels to me. And I like it.

Now let's get us another win!