José Urquidy
vs
Chris Archer
Came too close to comfort to two no-hitters last night. Urquidy was good, not great, in 2021. This year he's stepped back some and has been quite hittable. He doesn't walk many so the Twins should be expecting strikes and getting some hits.
I recall several years ago when the Twins were good and we would go on these fairly long winning streaks, but we also managed to limit our losing streaks to no more than a few games. That trend seems to be repeating so far this year, with the team's longest winning streak hitting seven games, and their longest losing streak ending after two mere defeats. We had four of those two-game losing streaks in the first two weeks of the season, and none since. The pitching staff has been outstanding, the offense is scoring more than four runs a game, and the defense has been solid. One has to wonder, just based on historical precedent, when the feces will eventually impact the rotary oscillator. We're already starting to see some injuries whittling into the roster, and I guess if that's what it takes to get a guy batting .090 out of the lineup I'll take it. But despite my natural inclinations I'm trying cockeyed optimism on for size. Maybe this will be the year after all.
Chris Archer on the mound tonight for the Twins, he's in his tenth major league season. He has no decisions in four starts, a respectable 2.93 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and 14 strikeouts. He needs to limit the walks, he's given 9 free passes so far, but otherwise the status quo is just fine by me.
Baltimore sends Spenser Watkins out to sling for the final matchup of this four-game series. He also has no decisions in four starts, a 2.55 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 8 strikeouts. The only Twins hitter to ever face Watkins is Gio Urshela, who faced off with him once and did not record a hit.
Play ball!
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!
