Joe Ryan
vs
Dakota Hudson
Yesterday's game marked two-thirds of the season. Pro-rating to the full 162 games puts the Twins at 82.5 wins, a mere tenth of a win below their preseason forecast. FanGraphs is more optimistic now, projecting them at 83.5 wins.
Cardinals tore it down while the Twins did nothing (on deadline day). I can't really blame them after making big trades last year that did poorly. Sure would be nice to have Steer's .320/.377/.602 versus lefties with the Twins this year.
That was a rough week with the Twins losing five straight, including being swept by the lowly Royals. Fans are cranky because the Twins should be running away with the Central Division but are only one game up on the clearly packing it in Guardians. Pitching has regressed to the mean while the hitting has yet to do the same in the opposite direction. Two of the Twins more exciting players -- Alex Kirilloff and Royce Lewis -- are on the Injured List. Fun time!!
What a great time to head to St. Louis and have to face the wrath of the best fans in baseball(tm). Thankfully the Cardinals are lousy this year as well so hopefully the Twins can right the ship in St. Louis before heading back up the Mississippi. Also trade deadline is approximately 2 hours before the game so both teams will know what kind of team they will have for the remaining 50 some games of the season.
First pitch at 6:45 and it has been reported that a number of WGOM Citizens will be at the game. Let's all wish them a good time and something to cheer for. Meet up photos in the comments please.
Hopefully it's a beautiful night for a win in KC. Sonny Gray pitches against Brady Singer.
Day game alert!
Bryce Miller
vs
Joe Ryan
Another solid start wasted by the bullpen. The batters however did their part with seven runs.
This is Bryce Miller's rookie season. BA and MLB prospect rankings had him at the end of their top 100 lists at #100 and #98 respectively. 13 starts in and he's done well. 3.50 ERA (3.48 FIP) over 69 ⅓ innings. Almost a strikeout per inning and only 1.9 walks per nine for a 0.966 WHIP. In terms of results, it's very similar to Joe Ryan except Miller throws harder. He's a fastball/slider guy and he throws the fastball around 68% of the time. That should bode well for the Twins hitters if he misses with any of those fastball.
9-2 after the All Star game has done wonders for the attitude of fans and the 2023 version of the Twins. Not only are the Twins winning games but they are putting together good at bats, and getting clutch hits. Now with 60 games left in the season, and the trade deadline a week away, hopefully the Twins can position themselves for a decent showing in the playoffs - like perhaps winning a playoff game.
Pablo Lopez on the mound for the Twins. Twins did him no favors last week against Seattle scoring 0 runs while Lopez again pitched decently. George Kirby for the Mariners. He was on the Mariners side of that 5-0 win, hopefully the Twins saw something they can use this game.
First pitch at 6:40 in which promises to be a steamy, hot game.
In a rain delay, but game start should be around quarter to 7.
Dylan Cease vs ALL STAR® Sonny Gray
Are the Twins a good team? Can they be a contender? I don't know if we actually know yet. If the bats play, I think they could be, but I don't actually know what the potential of this lineup is.
Hope tonight's potential is around twelve runs against Cease.
Go Twins!
A central division foe comes to Target Field. Lance Lynn vs. Joe Ryan.
After laying a big egg in Baltimore to end the first half, the local nine have been playing much better ball since their return from the All-Star break with a sweep of the Athletics and two wins in three games with Seattle. The Twins will try to seal a series win from the Mariners in a businessman's special this afternoon.
The Twins will send Pablo Lopez (5-5, 4.24 ERA, 145 K) to the mound today, Seattle will counter with sophomore right-hander George Kirby (8-8, 3.43 ERA, 93 K). Let's hope the Twins bats make a lot of noise again today, it sure is entertaining to watch when this team is hitting well.
Play ball!
Maeda
v
Castillo
The Twins scored five, ten, and again five runs versus the lowly A's. Nice signs for the batters but it's the A's. The Mariners' staff is actually better than average (4.2 runs/game versus average of 4.6 runs/game). So the Twins scoring six and then ten runs is nice to see. Tonight will be the real test of this series with Castillo and his 2.96 ERA / 3.92 FIP. He's really good.
So after beating up on the dreadful A's the Twins back in the mire losing to teams that are decent. The Mariners are a little disappointing this year after finally making the playoffs in 2022 but apparently playing the Twins is a good tonic for what ails you (Royals and A's excepted).
Rookie Bryan Woo on the mound for the Mariners. He's only 23 and I think this is his 3rd or 4th start. Bailey Ober up for the Twins and he continues to pitch well, but without a lot of run support from the bats.
First pitch at 8:40.
