Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins

2019 Twins Game Logs

2019 Game 40: LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAngels vs. Minnesota Twins

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Happy Berríos Day!

After splitting the series with Detroit (which admittedly was a disappointment), an even more capable team in the Angels are coming to town. The Twins have .650 winning percentage at Target Field this year, but have split the games when the Angels have stopped by.

Hopefully Cron and Parker will look to extract some revenge against their old team. Cruz has whipped out his Boomstick 50 times against the Angels (good for 2nd most against them as a team), but he's day to day with his wrist is being evaluated. Hopefully we can find another dong masher or two on the team in the meantime.

On the mound for the Angels is Skaggs, whose numbers don't look all that great this year (3-3, 4.70 ERA, 1.37 WHIP). Maybe we can find some of that missing offense tonight.

Finally, don't forget, we're still on 1840 start times. Some of the senior citizens around here can get to bed a little earlier.

2019 Twins Game Recaps

2019 Recap: Game Thirty-six

MINNESOTA 6, DETROIT 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, May 10.

Batting stars:  Mitch Garver was 1-for-1 with a two-run homer (his eighth) and three walks, scoring twice.  Max Kepler was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eighth.  Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jake Odorizzi pitched seven shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks and striking out five.  Matt Magill struck out two in a perfect inning.  Fernando Romero pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  None.

The game:  Christin Stewart doubled with one out in the first, but did not get past third base.  That was the only baserunner the Tigers would get off Odorizzi, and the only runner they would get until the ninth.

Meanwhile, the first six Twins also went out.  After that, though, things got better.  In the third, Garver walked and Jonathan Schoop singled.  With one out, Kepler walked to load the bases and Polanco delivered a two-run double to put the Twins up 2-0.

In the fourth, Marwin Gonzalez was hit by a pitch and Garver followed with a home run, making the score 4-0.  Kepler led off the fifth with a home run to make it 5-0.  In the sixth, Gonzalez got an infield single and walks to Garver, Byron Buxton, and Polanco forced home a run to bring the score to 6-0.

The Tigers opened the ninth with singles by Grayson Greiner and JaCoby Jones, their first baserunners since the first inning.  A strikeout, a force out, and a lineout ended the inning and preserved the shutout.

WP:  Odorizzi (5-2).  LP:  Tyson Ross (1-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Garver is batting .364 with an OPS of 1.228.  Polanco is batting .341 with an OPS of 1.056.

Odorizzi has an ERA of 2.32.  If you could throw out the game against Philadelphia, his ERA would be 1.50.  He has not given up a run in his last three starts (twenty innings) and has struck out twenty over that span, allowing just seven hits and five walks.  Over his last five starts (31.1 innings) he has allowed three runs on twenty-one hits and six walks.  I think you could say he's on a roll.  He's obviously not going to keep that up all season--he'd win the Cy Young award unanimously if he did--but he's sure pitching well right now.

Fernando Romero is now unscored upon in his last five games.  Granted, it's only four innings, and he's allowed four hits and three walks.  Still, his ERA has come down from 11.25 to 5.62.  It's improvement.

Matt Magill is also unscored upon in his last three games (three innings).  He has struck out four and has allowed just one hit and no walks, dropping his ERA from 6.75 to 3.18.

There was a scary moment in the sixth inning when, on a play at first base, Gonzalez' head collided with the knee of Niko Goodrum.  Reports this morning are that Gonzalez has cleared the concussion protocol and is day-to-day, which is certainly good news.  I expect he won't play today, and maybe not tomorrow, but if the reports are correct and nothing else happens, he should be good to go soon.

The Twins have a record of 24-12.  That means they have won exactly two-thirds of their first thirty-six games.  Granted that it's still May, and thirty-six games represents just two-ninths of the schedule.  Granted, as well, that the Twins haven't always played the toughest schedule.  But even granting all that, winning two-thirds of your games over a thirty-six game span is an achievement.  It would be unusual for a bad team to be able to do that, even against weak competition.  Again, lots of things (injuries, slumps, etc.) can happen.  But it certainly appears that the Twins are a good baseball team this season.

Record:  The Twins are 24-12, first in the American League Central, 4.5 games ahead of Cleveland.

Projected record:  We're still on track for 150-12!

 

Keeping Track

2019 Recap: Game Thirty-five

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MINNESOTA 9, TORONTO 1 IN TORONTO

Date:  Wednesday, May 8.

Batting stars:  Jorge Polanco was 5-for-5 with a two-run homer (his seventh) and a double, scoring twice.  C. J. Cron was 4-for-5 with a two-run homer, his seventh.  Eddie Rosario was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirteenth), two runs, and three RBIs.  Jonathan Schoop was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his sixth.  Max Kepler was 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Gibson struck out eleven in six shutout innings, giving up two hits and one walk.  Ryne Harper pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.  Mike Morin pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.  Blake Parker pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Billy McKinney was 1-for-3 with a home run, his second.  Derek Law struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  The Twins threatened to take a big lead in the first inning.  Singles by Kepler and Polanco put men on first and third with none out.  A popup and an Eddie Rosario sacrifice fly put them up 1-0.  Cron singled and Marwin Gonzalez walked to load the bases, but Mitch Garver popped up, leaving the score 1-0.

It didn't matter.  In the second, Kepler walked and Polanco homered, making the score 3-0.  In the third, Rosario singled and Cron homered, and later in the inning Gonzalez singled and Schoop homered, making the score 7-0.  McKinney got the Blue Jays on the board with a home run in the fifth, but in the sixth Polanco doubled and Rosario homered to put the Twins ahead 9-1.

Other than the home run, the only time the Blue Jays got a man as far as second was the ninth, on a walk and a fielder's choice.  It was total dominance by Gibson and three relief pitchers.

WP:  Gibson (3-1).  LP:  Trent Thornton (0-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Garver was 1-for-5 and is batting .354.  Polanco is batting .344.  Harper has an ERA of 1.84.  Parker has an ERA of 1.54.  Morin's ERA is 3.00.

As you probably heard, Polanco is the first Twin to have more than one five-hit game in a season since Joe Mauer in 2010.

Four two-run homers in one game is probably not the record, but it would seem like it has to be at least within shouting distance of it.

Going into the Houston series a week and a half ago, I said that after the next ten games we'd have a better idea of how good the Twins are.  Well, they went 7-3 in those ten games.  Two of the losses were games started by Michael Pineda, and at that only one of them was a blowout--in the other, the Twins just ran into a really good pitcher they couldn't do much with, which happens to everybody sometimes.  It seems to me that we have to say this is a good baseball team.

That's not to say they're going to win the World Series.  I do think they're now the favorites to win the division, though.  They might not do it--it's a long season, and lots of things can happen (injuries, slumps, etc.).  But it's looking good now.  That's why I hope the front office is not willing to settle for just winning the division, and is looking for ways to improve the team so it can actually go somewhere in the playoffs.  Again, I say that not knowing what deals may be available to them.  I'm not advocating a move of the Ramos-for-Capps variety.  But I think they have a real chance this year, and you never know for sure how many of them you're going to get.  When you get one, I think you need to go for it.

Record:  The Twins are 23-12, first in the American League Central, four games ahead of Cleveland.

Projected record:  We're still on track for 150-12!

2019 Twins Game Logs

2019 Game 34: Minnesota Twins at Toronto Blue Jays

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So the Twins once again showed some resiliency by stomping on the Blue Jays 8-0 last night after a disappointing weekend at Yankee Stadium. This a characteristic that was in short supply of previous Twins teams and a nice switch. More please.

Jose Berrios up for the Twins tonight and has pitched about as well as advertised and as we all hoped: 5-1 record, 0.97 WHIP, a strikeout an inning, and an 8-46 walks to SO ratio. He’s establishing himself as easily the staff ace and a legitimate MLB #1 pitcher. Blue Jays have Aaron Sanchez who’s been pretty average this year. He got rocked last game he pitched which contributed mightily to his 1.49 WHIP. My hope is that these trends continue for tonight.

Vlad Jr. has been up to the bigs for about a week now and Blue Jays fans finding out that it’s not easy for a 20-year old to walk right into a MLB lineup and start mashing. An .152 average with no HRs and 1 RBI is pretty humbling no doubt, but the guy will eventually rake. Let’s just hope that it’s not for a couple more days.

Game time at 6:07p Central. C’mon Twins smoke the Jays, but wait until after you defeat Toronto on the field.

Lineup:
RF Kepler
SS Polanco
DH Cruz
LF Rosario
C Garver
1B Gonzalez
2B Schoop
3B Adrianza
CF Buxton

2019 Twins Game Recaps

2019 Recap: Game Thirty

NEW YORK 6, MINNESOTA 3 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Friday, May 3.

Batting stars:  Marwin Gonzalez was 2-for-4.  Nelson Cruz was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, his sixth, and a walk.

Pitching star:  Fernando Romero pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Gary Sanchez was 3-for-4 with two home runs, his ninth and tenth.  James Paxton pitched three innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and three walks and striking out one.  Jonathan Holder struck out two in two perfect innings.

The game:  An error and a walk put men on first and third with none out in the first for the Yankees, and Gleyber Torres hit a one-out single to put New York up 1-0.  The Twins got two singles and a walk in the second to load the bases with one out, but Ehire Adrianza hit into a double play to end the inning.  In the bottom of the inning a walk, a hit batsman, and a Luke Voit RBI single made it 2-0.  Two walks and an error loaded the bases for the Twins again with one out again in the third and C. J. Cron's sacrifice fly brought home one, but that was all the Twins could do, leaving the score 2-1 Yankees.

That was as good as it got for them.  In the fourth New York played small ball--an error and a Cameron Maybin single put men on first and second with none out, a bunt advanced them to second and third, a wild pitch scored one, and a ground out scored another, making the score 4-1.  Sanchez homered leading off the fifth to make it 5-1 and he homered again with two out in the seventh to make it 6-1.

To the Twins credit, they didn't give up.  With two out in the eighth Jorge Polanco walked and Cruz hit a two-run homer to make it 6-3.  Gonzalez got as far as third base with one out in the ninth, but he was still there when the game ended.

WP:  Holder (2-0).  LP:  Kyle Gibson (2-1).  S:  Aroldis Chapman (6).

Notes:  Eddie Rosario was out of the lineup, with Gonzalez playing left field and Adrianza at third base.

Polanco was 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .327.  Mitch Garver was 0-for-4 and is batting .308.  Cruz is batting .303.

I question the decision to sit Rosario down in this game.  I understand the reasoning--you're facing a tough lefty and he's been slumping.  But he hit a couple of balls hard in the last game, even though they went for outs.  I think sitting him down just gives him reasons to question himself and to think Rocco is losing confidence in him.  I'm not saying it was an obviously stupid move or anything.  I just wouldn't have done it.

The game log seems to be divided between criticism of Gibson, criticism of the defense, and criticism of the plate umpire.  I was not around for the game, so it's hard for me to say.  Gibson gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks and threw 100 pitches in just five innings, which doesn't sound good.  On the other had, three of the runs were unearned, and when you make your pitcher get four outs per inning he's going to have to throw more pitches and is probably going to allow more runs.  And Gibson is not a pitcher who can throw the ball over the center of the plate and get away with it, so if he's not getting the corners he's going to be in trouble.  Perhaps there was plenty of blame to go around, I don't know.

I think there were some positives that came out of this game, though.  The Twins never gave up any big innings, despite the errors.  In other words, they didn't collapse just because things went against them.  They had chances to score early on.  They got a couple of late runs to kind of get back into the game.  They were able to get three innings out of the tail end of the bullpen (and in fact both Mike Morin and Romero pitched pretty well), leaving the front end rested and ready for today.  This just has the feel of an ordinary baseball loss, and nothing more.

I realize that's not going to be the popular take.  The popular take is going to be "Here we go again.  Same old Twins.  The Yankees are in their heads.  They're intimidated.  The Yankees own them."  Blah, blah, blah.  And of course, people are going to keep saying that, and writing it, until the Twins do something about it.  Maybe today is the day they start doing something about it.  If they're going to win a game in this series, today looks like their best chance.

Record:  The Twins are 19-11, first in the American League Central, two games ahead of Clevelnd.

Projected record:  We'll just have to settle for 151-11!

2019 Twins Game Recaps

2019 Recap: Game Twenty-nine

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MINNESOTA 8, HOUSTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, May 2.

Batting stars:  Marwin Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs.  Jorge Polanco was 2-for-3 with a triple and a double.  Jason Castro was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third) and a double, scoring twice and driving in four.  Jonathan Schoop was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Jose Berrios pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks and striking out five.  Ryne Harper pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.  Trevor May pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Aledmys Diaz was 2-for-4.  Alex Bregman was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.

The game:  Bregman homered with two out in the first to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.  Each team got a two-out double in the second but did not score.  In the third, singles by Tony Kemp and George Springer put men on first and second with none out, but a strikeout, a fly out, and another strikeout left them there.  Castro led off the bottom of the third with a home run to tie the score at 1-1.

The Twins took control in the fourth.  With one out, C. J. Cron walked and Marwin Gonzalez singled, putting men on first and third.  Schoop delivered an RBI single, Castro had a two-run double, Byron Buxton had a run-scoring triple, Max Kepler hit a sacrifice fly, Polanco doubled, and Nelson Cruz had an RBI double.  In all, six runs scored, putting the Twins up 7-1 and effectively ending the game right there.

They kept playing, of course.  The Twins added a run in the fifth when Gonzalez walked, went to third on a Schoop single, and scored on a fielder's choice.  Polanco hit a one-out triple in the sixth but did not score.  Houston threatened to get back into it in the seventh.  Singles by Yuli Gurriel, Josh Reddick, and Diaz loaded the bases with none out.  A strikeout, a sacrifice fly, and another fly out limited the damage to one run, making the score 8-2, and neither team threatened after that.

WP:  Berrios (5-1).  LP:  Brad Peacock (2-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Polanco raised his average to .336.  Cruz was 1-for-4 with a double and is batting .302.

Even though it was a day game, Rocco did not go with any sort of B lineup.  The regulars played.  The Twins alternate their catchers quite a bit, so that's not really an issue, but there were no substitutes at any other position, either.

Eddie Rosario was 0-for-4 and is now riding an 0-for-24 streak.  He hit two balls hard, though.  I'm not too worried about him.

Berrios pitched a fine game.  It shows the difference expectations can make, though.  If Michael Pineda ever had a game like this, we'd be ecstatic.  When it's Berrios, we just kind of nod our heads.  We expect Berrios to have games like this every time out.  That's a compliment to him, but at the same time, it's something that shouldn't be taken for granted.

Since reaching a low point of .213 on April 17, Schoop has gone 17-for-50 and is now batting .278.

Entering this series, I said the next ten games would tell us a lot about how good the Twins are.  They're off to a good start, winning three of the first four.  Now, of course, we go to New York to play the Big Bad Yankees.  I have a feeling that this year things are going to be different.  I don't have a lot to back that feeling up--the pitching matchups aren't particularly favorable or anything.  But it's a new day, it's a new team, and I just think this is the year things change.  I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Record:  The Twins are 19-10, first in the American League Central, three games ahead of Cleveland.

Keeping Track

2019 Recap: Game Twenty-eight

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MINNESOTA 6, HOUSTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, May 1.

Batting stars:  Nelson Cruz was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Jorge Polanco was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jonathan Schoop was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, his fifth.

Pitching star:  Martin Perez pitched eight shutout innings, giving up four hits and two walks and striking out seven.

Opposition star:  Jose Altuve was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  The Astros opened the game with a walk and a single, but a fly out and a double play ended the threat.  The Twins broke through in the third.  Mitch Garver was hit by a pitch and Schoop followed with a two-run homer.  It did not kill the rally, as Byron Buxton singled, stole second, went to third on a ground out, and scored on an infield hit by Polanco.  The Twins led 3-0 through three.

It went to 4-0 in the fifth.  Max Kepler hit a one-out double and scored when Cruz delivered a two-out single.  Meanwhile, Houston never got more than one man on base in innings two through eight.  Jake Marisnick singled and got as far as second base in the third.  Altuve doubled and got as far as third base in the sixth.

The Twins added two more in the eighth.  Doubles by Polanco and Cruz made it 5-0.  A fly ball moved Cruz to third and a sacrifice fly made it 6-0.  The Astros spoiled the shutout in the ninth, as Carlos Correa hit a one-out double and scored on a two-out single by Aledmys Diaz.  Diaz took second on defensive indifference and scored on a Tyler White single.  It was 6-2, and that was where it ended.

WP:  Perez (4-0).  LP:  Collin McHugh (3-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Garver was 0-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch and is batting .333.  Polanco is batting .327.  Cruz is batting. 305.

Perez obviously pitched an excellent game.  I'll be honest, I was not particularly thrilled when the Twins acquired him.  I saw a guy who had been mediocre to below since 2014, plus had injury problems, and I didn't see how he could help.  The Twins said they saw flaws they could fix.  I was very skeptical, because we've all heard that line or something similar many times.

It's only May, of course, and he's only made four starts.  But in those four starts, Perez has been everything you could hope for, if not more.  He's 3-0, 2.08, 1.08 WHIP.  He has 18 strikeouts and just 5 walks in 26 innings.  I don't expect him to do that all season, of course--he'd win the Cy Young Award easily if he did.  But if he can be a solid rotation starter all season, that's a big plus, and it looks like he can be.

With the Twins having the best record in the league, with a 2.5 game lead over Cleveland, with Corey Kluber fracturing his arm, with no one else in the division looking very good, I really think the Twins could be considered the favorite to win the division.  So the question becomes--is this a year the Twins should go for it?  Not make stupid moves that cripple the franchise for years, obviously.  But should they be aggressive?  Should they go out and try to acquire some players, even at the expense of giving up some possible minor league stars, in an attempt to win this year?

My answer is a qualified yes.  It's qualified by the fact that I have no idea what moves may be available to them and what the cost might actually be.  Yes, Keuchel and Kimbrel are still out there, but I have no idea what it would take to actually sign them.  I also have no idea who's available in trades and what the cost would be.  It's easy to say "Go trade for this guy and that guy", but as fans we really don't know whether this guy and that guy are even available, and if they are we don't know how much teams are demanding in order to get them.  I'm not advocating that we do a Ramos-for-Capps trade.  But I do think the Twins have a real chance, and you never know how many of them you're going to get.  I'd like to see them go for it.

Record:  The Twins are 18-10, first in the American League Central, 2.5 games ahead of Cleveland.

Projected record:  We're still on track for 152-10!

Keeping Track

2019 Recap: Game Twenty-seven

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HOUSTON 11, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, April 30.

Batting stars:  Max Kepler was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Fernando Romero struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Gerrit Cole struck out eleven in seven shutout innings, giving up one hit and three walks.  Michael Brantley was 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, and two runs.  Josh Reddick was 3-for-5.  Carlos Correa was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and three RBIs.  George Springer was 2-for-5 with a home run (his ninth) and a double, scoring twice and driving in two.  Jake Marisnick was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer (his second), a hit-by-pitch, and a stolen base, scoring twice.  Alex Bregman was 1-for-5 with a home run (his fifth) and a walk.

The game:  The Twins opened the bottom of the first with walks to Kepler and Jorge Polanco.  Nelson Cruz then hit a very hard smash right at shortstop Correa, who turned it into a double play.  That was pretty much the last chance the Twins had.

The game didn't fall apart right away.  The Astros were hitting lots of balls hard from the start, but between atom balls and good defense they didn't score until the third, when Marisnick was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on a Springer double.  Houston left the bases loaded in the fourth, but scored two more in the fifth.  Springer led off the inning with a home run to make it 2-0.  Jose Altuve then doubled, went to third on an infield single, and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.

Then the roof fell in, if Target Field actually had a roof.  In the sixth Robinson Chirinos singled and Marisnick hit a two-run homer.  With two out, Bregman homered, Brantley doubled, and Correa had an RBI single, making the score 7-0.  In the eighth, Springer walked and Tyler White singled.  With one out, walks to Brantley and Correa brought home a run.  Reddick had an RBI single, Aledmys Diaz had a sacrifice fly, and an error brought home another run, bringing the score to 11-0.

The Twins offense was basically doing nothing through all this.  They did not get a hit until the sixth, when Kepler doubled.  They loaded the bases in the eighth but did not score.  And that was pretty much it.

WP:  Cole (2-4).  LP:  Michael Pineda (2-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Ehire Adrianza was at third base, with Marwin Gonzalez on the bench.

Polanco was 0-for-2 with two walks and is batting .320.

Pineda pitched five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out two.

Ryne Harper pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on one hit.  His ERA is 2.31.

For the most part, I've thought Rocco has handled the pitching staff fairly well, but he did a couple of things in this game that left me scratching my head.  The first is letting Pineda start the sixth inning.  The Astros were hitting shots off him from the first inning on, and it was just good defense and good luck that kept the Twins somewhat in the game through five innings.  It was suggested in the game log that Rocco was hoping to get another inning out of Pineda to save the bullpen, but as has been said many times, hope is not a strategy.  There was no real reason to think Pineda would get through the sixth, and in fact he didn't even record an out.  All we accomplished by letting him start the sixth is to make sure the game was out of reach before we went to the bullpen.

I'm sure that, when Rocco did go to the bullpen, the plan was to use Magill for two innings and Mejia for two innings.  Magill didn't exactly blow anyone away, but at least he filled up his innings.  Mejia couldn't even do that.  I can't fault Rocco for pulling Mejia.  It's one thing when a pitcher is getting hit hard--you figure that eventually either they'll hit some balls at people or they'll get tired of running around the bases and get themselves out.  But when a guy can't throw strikes, there's not much you can do but take him out.

What I don't understand, though, is why he went to Harper in that situation.  Harper has done well enough not to be considered a blowout pitcher.  You had Romero available, and in fact they went to him in the ninth.  Why not bring him into the game in the eighth?  If he can't throw 1.2 innings of a blowout game, why is he on the team?  Harper can probably pitch again tonight, but probably not for more than one inning.  Had they used Romero, Harper would be available for two or three tonight.  I don't understand it.

It should be pointed out, of course, that the way the Twins batted last night they could've brought in Sandy Koufax in the sixth inning and it wouldn't have made any difference.

It's a long season, and you'll have games like this once in a while.  The point is not to have very many of them.  Let's come back strong tonight!

Record:  The Twins are 17-10, first in the American League Central, 1.5 games ahead of Cleveland.

Projected record:  We'll just have to settle for 152-10!