Collin McHugh
vs
Martin Pérez
The calendar rolls to May and the Twins resume starting at the usual 7:10 p.m. time. Hopefully they also resume scoring more runs than the other side.
Category Archives: Gamelog Archive
Archive for game logs from previous seasons.
2019 Game 26: Astros-Twins
So can the Twins keep the momentum going after a classic Odorizzi-Verlander barn burner last night? More importantly can the Astros recover, knowing that there is a new tough guy on the block this year? Well that's why they play the games.
Astros putting up Gerrit Cole who hasn't been super great this year, but definitely gets the SOs, averaging 1.5 inning this year. He had one bad start that has inflated his ERA but should be a pitcher this potent Twins lineup can get to. Michael Pineda up against the Astros again after seeing them last week. Pineda didn't pitch horribly against the 'stros but took the loss. Let's hope for some sweet revenge.
Rainy and cold today unfortunately. Doesn't it seem like our weather has been a month behind since February? I'm guessing they get this in as the rain shouldn't be too heavy and Wednesday and Thursday don't look super great either. First Pitch at 6:40p once again.
Twins Line up:
RF Kepler
SS Polanco
DH Cruz
LF Roasario
1B Cron
2B Schoop
3B Adrianza
C Castro
CF Buxton
2019 Recap: Game Twenty-six
MINNESOTA 1, HOUSTON 0 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Monday, April 29.
Batting star: Ehire Adrianza was 1-for-1 with a home run.
Pitching stars: Jake Odorizzi struck out seven in seven shutout innings, giving up four hits and a walk. Taylor Rogers struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a walk. Blake Parker pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit.
Opposition stars: Justin Verlander struck out seven in six innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks. Michael Brantley was 2-for-4. Carlos Correa was 2-for-4.
The game: It was an old-fashioned pitchers' duel, except that in the old days both starters would've gone the whole game. The Astros got a couple of two-out singles in the first but could not score. The Twins got a two-out double from Jonathan Schoop in the second but did not score. In the third, Adrianza made sure the Twins scored by hitting a home run to put Minnesota up 1-0.
And the pitchers, on both sides, took it from there. Houston only got a man into scoring position one more time, in the sixth. Alex Bregman drew a one-out walk and Brantley followed with a single, but Odorizzi struck out Correa and Yuli Gurriel to end the inning. The Twins also only had a man in scoring position one more time, when Nelson Cruz had a pinch-hit double leading off the eighth. He did not score, either. Correa led off the ninth with a single, but Gurriel hit into a double play and Josh Reddick grounded out to end the game.
WP: Odorizzi (3-2). LP: Verlander (4-1). S: Blake Parker (6).
Notes: Jake Cave started the game in left field, with Eddie Rosario at DH and Cruz on the bench. Adrianza started at third base, with Marwin Gonzalez moving to first and C. J. Cron on the bench. Mitch Garver, who has led off a couple of times this season, batted cleanup. I don't suppose it's exactly rare for a player to bat both leadoff and cleanup, but it is somewhat unusual.
Garver was 0-for-3 and is batting .348. Jorge Polanco was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .327. Cruz was 1-for-1 and is batting .307. Rogers has an ERA of 1.98. Parker has an ERA of 0.96.
I know this isn't exactly brilliant insight, but I feel like the recap wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention how unusual it is for Adrianza to hit a home run off Justin Verlander for the only run of the game. It was the twelfth career home run for Adrianza in 920 plate appearances. Not only had Adrianza hit a home run this season, he hadn't had an extra-base hit of any kind this season. He came into the game with an OPS of .411. The point is not to be critical of Adrianza. The point is that it shows, once again, what a great game baseball is, and how you just never know what might happen in any individual game.
It's also noteworthy that the Twins, who are becoming notorious for swinging early in the count, made Verlander throw one hundred pitches in just six innings. Yes, the strikeouts were part of that, but Odorizzi struck out the same number, pitched one more inning, and still only threw eight-six pitches.
This was Odorizzi's third consecutive good game, and the best of the three. Over that span, he has pitched 18.1 innings and given up three runs on eighteen hits and just two walks. He has struck out fifteen. That kind of pitching would take us a long way this season if he can keep it going.
I don't know why I can't get comfortable with Parker as the closer. Maybe I got scarred by his Twins debut or something. He certainly has gotten the job done--he has both an ERA and a WHIP of less than one. And he was a very effective reliever with the Angels over the last two seasons, so it's not like this just comes out of the blue. Of course, as long as Rocco is comfortable with him as the closer, it really doesn't matter how I feel anyway.
Yesterday I said that we'd know more about the Twins after their next ten games. Well, this was just one game, not ten, but it's certainly a hopeful start. One down, nine to go!
Record: The Twins are 17-9, first in the American League Central, 2.5 games ahead of Cleveland.
Projected record: We're still on track for 153-9!
2019 Game 25: Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins
Alright, boys, you have one goal tonight.
2019 Recap: Game Twenty-five
MINNESOTA 4, BALTIMORE 1 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Sunday, April 28.
Batting stars: Max Kepler was 2-for-4 with a home run (his seventh) and two runs. Byron Buxton was 1-for-3 with a home run. Marwin Gonzalez was 1-for-2 with two walks.
Pitching stars: Kyle Gibson pitched seven innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks and striking out six. Trevor Hildenberger pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one. Blake Parker struck out two in a perfect inning.
Opposition star: Chris Davis was 1-for-2 with a home run, his third.
The game: Jonathan Villar led off the game with a double for the Orioles but did not score. It cost them, as Kepler led off the bottom of the first with a home run to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. It went to 4-0 in the third. Buxton led off the inning with a home run and Kepler followed with a double. The next two batters went out, but walks to Eddie Rosario and C. J. Cron loaded the bases and Gonzalez delivered a two-run single.
Meanwhile, Gibson was in control. Through six innings, Baltimore only once got a man to third base. With two out in the seventh, Davis hit a home run to cut the lead to 4-1, but that was as good as it got for them. They got only one more hit, a two-out double in the eighth, and did not get the tying run up to bat.
WP: Gibson (2-0). LP: Dylan Bundy (0-4). S: Parker (5).
Notes: Mitch Garver was 0-for-3 and is batting .372. Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4 and is batting .337. Hildenberger has an ERA of 1.93. Parker's ERA is 1.08.
It came as something of a surprise to me that Kepler has seven home runs already. He must have gotten them when I wasn't paying attention or something. His career high is twenty, set last year. One would think he has a good chance of bettering that this season.
This was Gibson's second consecutive solid start. Both came against Baltimore, of course. If he can sustain that over his next couple of outings, it will be a really good sign for the Twins' rotation.
In fact, this next week and a half or so will tell us a lot about just how good the Twins are. They host Houston for four, have three in New York with the Yankees, and then go to Toronto for three. If they can handle that stretch of games, we just may have something this season.
Record: The Twins are 16-9, first in the American League Central, two games ahead of Cleveland.
Projected record: We're still on track for 153-9!
2019 Game 25: Baltimore Tater Tossers vs. Minnesota Mashers
So baseball teams are hitting a lot of home runs so far this year, about five percent more than in the most prolific season ever for dingers, and that in the coldest part of the season when balls aren't supposed to carry so well. Apparently the balls have lower drag, which would mean the stitches are not as raised. That would also impact pitchers' ability to get better movement on their throws. Few teams in the game right now are mashing the baseball as well as our own hometown nine. After just a month of games, the Twins have the third highest batting average in baseball (.269), behind only Houston and St. Louis. Their on-base percentage is much lower, 13th in the majors and only nine points above average. But the boys have been bringing out the boomsticks with the team sporting a .514 slugging percentage, the best in the game, and that's good enough to put them atop all teams in OPS at .849 as well. While Eddie Rosario has been en fuego at the plate, it's actually Jorge Polanco who leads the team in OPS at 1.033. Shoot, Eddie's .970 OPS isn't even good enough for second place, which is held by Nelson Cruz at 1.022, one step ahead of Edisito. In fact, the only regular position player on the team right now with an OPS+ below 100 is Marwin Gonzales, who sticks out like Michael Pineda's butt with a 30 OPS+ (Adrianza's sucking the nipple nearest the ass with an OPS+ of just 14). But Rosario does lead the American League in home runs with 11 (third in MLB), and is second in the league in ribeyes with 24, which averages out to one run poked in per game.
On the mound, Jose Berrios is the team's clear ace with a record of 4-1, a 2.97 ERA, 41 strikeouts and only 8 walks. Not only is he pitching the best, he's pitching the most, logging one out above 39 innings pitched, 13 more that the second best innings eater on the team, Martin Perez. Today the Twins send Kyle Gibson to the hill for his fifth turn through the rotation. He's been inconsistent at best, compiling a 6.10 ERA over 20.2 innings. For a guy who seems real reluctant to pitch to contact, he's done his fair share of it, and he's given his share of free passes, too, which accounts for his 1.500 WHIP. Hopefully the offense can provide him plenty of support today and allow him to be more aggressive in the strike zone, which should let him pitch deeper into the game. Not a bad bet considering nearly half of the Twins home runs this year have come at the hands of Baltimore pitchers. The Orioles today are starting Dylan Bundy (who according to BR is a rare switch hitting pitcher). Bundy has no wins and three losses in five starts with a 6.56 ERA. He's also given up one home run for every ten outs he's managed to notch. The sky is fair at Target Field today, a high temperature in the upper 50's is expected, the concrete is most definitely dry and the boomsticks are fully loaded. Play ball!
2019 Game 24: Orioles @ Twins
That Houston series was "disappointing", per se, but after that first game, it just seemed like they let some good opportunities pass then by. The bullpen looked weak and the Twins' aggression at the plate began to look very exploitable.
As it turns out, facing the Orioles is the best medicine. Last night, Alex Cobb pitched like he's trying to top Bert's home run record by the All Star break, and the Twins took advantage. At the very least, this seems like a team that can beat a lesser opponent.
Today's opposing pitcher, Dan Straily, has been having any the same level of success as Cobb has -- that is to say, none at all. Hopefully, our batters can take advantage of that and hopefully Berrios has a tighter outing today than he has in his last few.
This seems like a very winnable game. Here's hoping it sticks to the script.
2019 Recap: Game Twenty-three
MINNESOTA 6, BALTIMORE 1 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Friday, April 26.
Batting stars: Nelson Cruz was 3-for-4 with two home runs, his fourth and fifth. Max Kepler was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth. C. J. Cron was 1-for-3 with a home run, his fourth. Eddie Rosario was 1-for-4 with a home run (his eleventh) and two runs.
Pitching stars: Martin Perez pitched six innings, giving up one run on six hits and no walks and striking out four. Ryne Harper pitched a perfect inning, striking out one. Fernando Romero struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.
Opposition stars: Trey Mancini was 3-for-5 with a double. Jonathan Villar was 2-for-4 with a walk. Gabriel Ynoa pitched 3.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks and striking out one.
The game: With two out in the first, the Twins hit back-to-back-to-back home runs, with Cruz, Rosario, and Cron all going deep to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead. The Twins missed a chance to add to their lead in the second, as they put men on first and second with none out and did not score. In the third, however, Rosario singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on an error to make it 4-0.
The Orioles, who did not have a baserunner through three innings, opened the fourth with consecutive singles, but a double play took them out of the inning. Meanwhile, Kepler homered in the fourth and Cruz hit his second homer of the game in the fifth to make the margin 6-0.
The Orioles sixth opened the same way their fourth had, with consecutive singles by Villar and Mancini. This time there was no double play, however, and a one-out single by Dwight Smith got Baltimore on the board at 6-1. They threatened in the eighth, as a Mancini double and two-out walks to Smith and Rio Ruiz loaded the bases. Trevor May came in and retired Hanser Alberto on a force out. Baltimore also put a couple of men on in the ninth but again did not score.
WP: Perez (3-0). LP: Alex Cobb (0-2). S: None.
Notes: Mitch Garver was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .400. Jorge Polanco was 0-for-4 and is batting .349. Willians Astudillo was 1-for-1 as a pinch-hitter and is batting .313. Cruz raised his average to .308.
Harper lowered his ERA to 2.45. Matt Magill made his season debut and pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up a hit and two walks but no runs, so his ERA is zero.
As you can see, the Twins hit five solo home runs in this game. I don't know what the record is for solo home runs in a game, but I'd think five has to be fairly close. If you just look at most solo home runs without getting any other kind of home run, it seems like it'd be even closer.
It was kind of lost in all the home runs, and kind of discounted because they were playing the Orioles, but Perez had another fine game. I was pretty skeptical about Perez when the Twins acquired him, and his first few relief appearances did nothing to dim my skepticism. In his three starts, however, he has pitched very well. He has pitched six innings in each game and has given up six runs, giving him an ERA of 3.00 with a WHIP of 1.17. He has struck out eleven and walked just three. We'll see if he can keep it going, but so far he's pitched quite well as a starter.
I don't know why A-Stud didn't start on La Tortuga night, but you can't argue with the results. I've said before that I have no idea how Rocco decides who his catcher is going to be on a given night, and that continues to be true. I assume he has a method, that it's not just random, but he doesn't seem to want to tell anyone what it is. And that's fine--he doesn't owe it to me or anyone else to explain how he chooses his lineup, and I haven't heard anything about any of the players complaining. Winning helps a lot with that, of course.
One can feel a bit for the Orioles fans. We've all rooted for some bad Twins teams, and we know it's not any fun. But there's nothing we can do for them, just as no one did anything for us when the Twins stunk. The Twins are doing what you're supposed to do with bad teams--take care of business and beat them. The Orioles will be good again someday, and I'm sure they'll return the favor to us if they can. That's just how it works.
Record: The Twins are 14-9, in first place in the American League Central, leading Cleveland by percentage points.
Projected record: We're still on track for 153-9!
2019 Game 23: Baltimores at Twins
Oh hey, that's right, I said I'd do Friday game logs this year. This is just the second actual Friday game they've played so far, so I've not developed the habit.
Cobb for Baltimore, Perez for the Twins, and hopefully this weekend makes up for a few tough losses in Houston.
2019 Recap: Game Twenty-two
HOUSTON 7, MINNESOTA 1 IN HOUSTON
Date: Wednesday, April 24.
Batting star: Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifth.
Pitching stars: None.
Opposition stars: Justin Verlander struck out eight in eight innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks. Mickey Brantley was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fifth) and a walk, scoring twice. Josh Reddick was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his third) and a walk, scoring twice. Robinson Chirinos was 2-for-4 with a double. Carlos Correa was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifth.
The game: Correa homered leading off the second to give the Astros a 1-0 lead. In the third, Alex Bregman hit a two-out double and Brantley followed with a two-run homer to make it 3-0. Polanco homered with one out in the fourth to get the Twins on the board and cut the lead to 3-1.
Houston got the run back with interest in the bottom of the fourth. Reddick walked and scored on a Chirinos double. Chirinos later came around to score on a pair of wild pitches and the score was 5-1.
The Twins never got back into the game, thanks to the pitching of Verlander. Other than the Polanco home run there was only one time when they got a man past first base. The Astros added two runs in the eighth when Brantley singled and Reddick hit a two-run homer.
WP: Verlander (4-0). LP: Kohl Stewart (0-1). S: None.
The game: Max Kepler returned to the leadoff spot. He played center field, with Willians Astudillo in right and Byron Buxton on the bench. Ehire Adrianza played second base, with Jonathan Schoop on the bench.
Polanco's average is .366. His OPS is 1.119.
You never go into a game thinking you have no chance to win. On the other hand, any fair-minded observer would have said that this was likely to be a pretty tough go for the Twins. In the first place, Houston is simply a very good team. More than that, though, the Astros were using Justin Verlander, who is a very good pitcher and has always been hard for the Twins to deal with. The Twins were countering with Kohl Stewart, who--well, let's just say he's not Justin Verlander.
Given that, this game actually went much better than it might have. Stewart was able to fill up six innings and not embarrass himself. In fact, if not for a couple of gopher balls, he'd have been right in the game. I know you can't just discount the home runs, but the point is that he wasn't all that far away from pitching a pretty good game. As it was, he at least saved the bullpen. Your fear, when you bring up a AAA guy for a spot start, is that he'll be so overwhelmed that you have no choice but to take him out in the second or third inning. Then you end up using five relief pitchers in a game that you're not going to win anyway. By going six innings, Stewart saved the Twins from having to do that. Granted, with an off-day today that's not as important as it otherwise would have been, but it's not nothing, either. The season is long, relievers can only warm up so many times and pitch so many innings, and you hate to waste those times and those innings in blowout games. Good job by Stewart, and to a lesser extent by Fernando Romero, for filling up the innings.
Record: The Twins are 13-9, in first place in the American League Central, a half game ahead of Cleveland.
Projected record: We'll just have to settle for 153-9!