Archive for game logs from previous seasons.
Dylan Bundy
vs
Kyle Bradish
One month in, how are ex-Twins doing compared to the current players at those positions?
| Player | Avg | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twins C | .220 | .281 | .427 |
| Twins 3B | .303 | .364 | .393 |
| Twins SS | .242 | .301 | .326 |
| Twins DH | .218 | .306 | .310 |
| Mitch Garver | .183 | .272 | .310 |
| Josh Donaldson | .210 | .333 | .358 |
| Isiah Kiner-Falefa | .311 | .346 | .392 |
| Nelson Cruz | .143 | .233 | .209 |
| Andrelton Simmons |
So we're back in the Minnesota men's sports abyss. Twolves out of the playoffs after coughing up three 4th quarter double digit leads. The Wild puke up a 0-4 loss in their first playoff game. Vikes look intent on winning between 7-9 games a season. Even the newest team in the market, the Loons, seem to have embraced their Minnesota mens sports team legacy of practicing competent mediocrity. But wait, what about the Twins? Could it be it's the Minnesota Twins that get us out our doldrums? After a slow start, the Twins have won 10 of 11 and look to have a pretty decent pitching staff. Perhaps it's the Twins that take us to the promise land after a 30 year wandering in the sports abyss desert.
Speaking of decent pitching staff, Joe Ryan on the mound tonight with his 1.17 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 25 Ks versus 6 walks stat line. Ryan appears to be the real deal could be a staff ace for years to come. Bruce Zimmerman up for the Orioles but this team is already in tank mode so any numbers he or any pitcher puts up seems silly to discuss.
Game time 6:05.
Twins Lineup:
CF - Buxton
SS - Corea
2B - Polanco
3B - Urshek
1B - Miranda
DH - Shanchez
RF - Kepler
C - Jeffers
LF - Celestino
New series in Balmore! Miranda’s big league debut! Let’s do this, citizens!
Game in progress. Bundy's ERA is regressing to the mean very quickly.
If you'd told me two weeks ago that on this day the Twins would be in first place riding a 6-game winning streak and have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, statistically speaking, I would have scoffed, perhaps even guffawed at such a foolhardy notion. Yet here we are. Joe Ryan is absolutely, undeniably ridiculous. He's 3-1 in four starts and has only given up 3 earned runs on just 10 hits in 23 innings pitched, good for a 1.17 ERA. He's struck out 25 and only walked 6 batters, giving him a 0.70 WHIP. Ridiculous, I say.
If Joe Ryan is ridiculous, Dylan Bundy is absurd. He's undefeated in three starts with a 0.59 ERA. Chris Archer, one of the more veteran arms, has no decisions nor gaudy numbers, but he's got a respectable 3.18 ERA and he's holding hitters to a .209 batting average. Chris Paddack and Sonny Gray have been the hard luck kids of the rotation with 3.68 and 5.68 ERAs, respectively.
That brings us to today's Twins starter, Bailey Ober, 1-1 in 3 starts, 2.81 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 13 Ks in 16 innings. You know, middle of the road. He goes up against southpaw Tarik Skubal for the Tigers. He's 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA and 16 strikeouts. I'd say we should maybe expect a pitcher's duel today but the Twins are swinging some hot bats, so maybe not. Either way, it's a fun team to watch right now.
Play ball!
Michael Pineda
vs
Joe Ryan
Big Mike comes to town as a Tiger now. His first start was last week against the Yankees and went well. Any wins against the Yankees are good wins.
Meanwhile this is Joe Ryan's fourth start and he's been getting better for each one. He hasn't pitched in the seventh yet so I'm hoping his pitch count is now high enough to get more than 18 outs.
So the heat generated by the Twins taking the Jaspers to the White Sox nor the smoking hot men's sports weekend wasn't enough to warm Minnesota's temperatures so we will have another chilly night at Target Field for the Tigers. I'd like to hit a game soon but could at least like something in the 60s.
Tigers in town for the first time this year with Miguel Cabrera in the 3000 hit, 500 homer club. The Tigers should start to be a little better this year although their 6-9 start isn't so nice.
LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1, 5.27) for the Tigers and RHP Chris Paddack (0-2, 5.00) for the Twins. The Twins have scored exactly zero runs in games that Paddack has pitched in so hopefully that changes tonight.
First Pitch at 6:40. Bring a warm coat if you go to the game.
Twins Lineup
DH - Buxton
SS - Correa
2B - Polanco
LF - Garlick
3B - Urshela
RF - Kepler
1B - Sano
C - Jeffers
CF - Celestino
Chris Archer on the mound as the Twins go for 4 straight wins and a .500 record. It's pretty easy to feel invincible with Byron Buxton at the top of the lineup, so I say they do it.
White Sox are trying to avoid losing 7 straight and may or may not have Lucas Giolito pitching (I can't find an official announcement of the starter as I'm writing this).
Hits are hard to come by these days.
How bad are offenses across the league? Gary Sanchez, Gio Urshela and Trevor Larnach have been league average hitters so far, and two of them have OBPs that start with a 2.
Finally, an opponent in our same division! Royals? Nope, never heard of them. Definitely didn't score only 4 runs over 3 games. Nope, our high-powered offense wouldn't slump that badly. Didn't happen.
Anyway, assuming no weather issues, Ober pitches against Kopech tonight, and the Twins are going to score lots of runs, which is a thing they regularly do.
