Tag Archives: Michael Pineda

2011 Game 39: Mariners 5, Twins 2

Weather: "indoors"
Attendance: 14,859
Time: 2:31

Twins record: 12-27 (last in AL Central, 13.5 GB)
Fangraphs boxscore | MLB Game Wrap

"Highlights":

  • Highest WPA, hitter: Morneau .038 (1-4, SO) | Highest WPA, pitcher: Some band-aid whose name I've already forgotten .003 (1.1 IP, ER, 2 BB)

Lowlights:

  • Lowest WPA, hitter: Cuddyer, -.138 (1-4, R) | Lowest WPA, pitcher: Baker, -.172 (6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 8 SO, 4 ER)
  • Pretty much all of it.

Last night Scott Baker had a very Scott Baker-y outing. The Twins lost.

What else can I say about the game? I fell asleep after Pineda came out, it's now 2:30am, and I'm going to bed. If I've missed something important, talk about it below.

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This week's View from the Ballpark might be too easy, but I like the history behind it too much to let it go.

photo by Flickr user joshbousel

Over the years at least two former Twins have managed here. | photo by Flickr user joshbousel

Remember, no embiggening.

2011 Game 39: Twins at Mariners

Finally, the Twins get to pick on somebody their own size. The Worst Team in Baseball is 12-256; the Mariners, 16-23 and in last place in the A.L. West, percentage points "up" on the Bitch Sox for second worst record in the A.L.

Seattle returns home from an 0-4 East Coast (err, Bal'more and Cleveland) trip that ended with consecutive rainouts. So they should be well rested.

Pitching matchup

Scott Baker (3.71 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 3.76 xFIP, 97 tRA+, 40:15 K:BB in 43 2/3) vs.
Michael Pineda (2.84 ERA, 2.67 FIP, 3.31 xFIP, 145 tRA+, 45:13 K:BB in 44 1/3)

The 22-year old rookie right-hander Pineda has been very effective to date, echoing his minor league performance (2.49 ERA, 396:93 K:BB in 404 1/3). He's a fastball-slider guy and, according to PitchFx, Pineda has a VERY live fastball (avg 95.1 MPH), with the slider coming in at 84.7. A right-handed F-Bomb??

Oh, and in case that wasn't discouraging enough, here's some salt in your wounds from the Yahoo preview:

Minnesota outfielder Delmon Young(notes) went 1 for 12 with seven strikeouts against Toronto over the weekend in his return from rib soreness that sidelined him nearly a month. Young is a .227 lifetime hitter at Safeco Field with 18 strikeouts in 66 at-bats.

Enjoy some West Coast baseball, kids. I will be at the Girl's violin lesson for most of this one.