Tag Archives: oh yeah Twins

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2018, Game Six

MINNESOTA 4, SEATTLE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, April 5.

Batting stars:  Eddie Rosario was 1-for-2 with a home run.  Miguel Sano was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his third) and a walk.  Mitch Garver was 1-for-3 with a home run.

Pitching stars:  Kyle Gibson pitched 4.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk.  He threw 80 pitches.  Taylor Rogers pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up only a walk.  Addison Reed struck out two in a perfect inning.  Fernando Rodney pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Daniel Vogelbach was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Jean Segura was 2-for-4 with a stolen base.  James Paxton struck out seven in five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk.

The game:  The Mariners got both of their runs in the first inning.  Dee Gordon and Segura opened the game with singles.  With one out Mitch Haniger hit what might have been a double play ball, but a throwing error brought in a run and no one was retired.  Vogelbach delivered a two-out RBI single to make it 2-0 Seattle.

Each team threatened in the second and the third, and the Mariners got a pair of one-out walks in the fifth.  It was still 2-0 until the sixth, however, when Joe Mauer led off with a single and Sano followed with a two-run homer, tying the score.  The Mariners put men on first and third with none out in the seventh but failed to score, so Garver was able to put the Twins on top in the bottom of the seventh with a home run.

Rosario homered in the eighth to make it 4-2 Twins.  Gordon walked leading off the ninth and stole second, but the next three batters were retired and the Twins had the victory.

WP:  Zach Duke (1-0).  LP:  Dan Altavilla (0-1).  S:  Rodney (1).

Notes:  Ehire Adrianza was at shortstop in place of Jorge Polanco, who was suspended for the first half of the season.  Sano was at third base.  He was the regular third baseman when he was healthy, but he was only able to play 56 games there due to injuries.  Eduardo Escobar played the most games at third with 77.  Adrianza also saw substantial time at third (28 games).

Byron Buxton was in center field.  Again, he would have been the regular there, but injuries limited him to 27 games in center.  Jake Cave played the most games in center with 70.  Max Kepler was there for 55 games and Ryan LaMarre played 34 games in center.  LaMarre was in left field in this game, with Rosario given the day off.  Rosario pinch-hit for LaMarre in the sixth inning and remained in the game in left field.

The Twins did not have a .300 hitter unless you count Willians Astudillo, who had just 93 at-bats.  Polanco and Rosario each batted .288 to lead the team.  The Twins batted .250, which was sixth in the league.  Boston led at .268.

Rosario led the team with 24 home runs.  Kepler had 20, Brian Dozier 16, Escobar 15, Logan Morrison 15, Cave 13, and Sano 13.  The Twins hit 166 home runs, twelfth in the league.  New York led the league with 267.

We went through the Twins pitching staff when we did a 2018 game about a week and a half ago, so there's no need to repeat that.  The Twins were ninth in ERA at 4.50--Houston led at 3.11, which was more than half a run better than the second place team (Tampa Bay, 3.74).  The Twins were tenth in WHIP at 1.38--Houston led there, too, at 1.10.

As you can see, the Twins were clearly not a bomba squad yet.  Still, with all four runs coming on three homers, perhaps the beginnings were there.

The losing pitcher, Dan Altavilla, was actually having a solid season out of the bullpen until he got hurt in early June and had to miss the rest of the year.  He was 3-2, 2.61, 1.26 WHIP in 22 games (20.2 innings).  He had a poor year in 2019, leading one to think he may not have been fully healthy.  One hopes he can bounce back for 2020.

The Mariners were 2-for-17 with men in scoring position and stranded 11 runners.

It seems like more than two years ago that we had these guys:  Morrison, Logan Forsythe, Bobby Wilson, Gregorio Petit, Johnny Field, Taylor Motter, Oliver Drake, Tyler Kinley, David Hale.

Record:  The Twins were 4-2, in first place in the American League Central, one game ahead of Chicago.  They would finish 78-84, in second place, 13 games behind Cleveland.

The Mariners were 3-3, in third place in the American League West, 2.5 games behind Houston.  They would finish 89-73, in third place, 14 games behind Houston.

Random record:  The Twins are 49-48 in Random Rewind games.

 

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2018, Game One Hundred Twenty-four

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CHICAGO 8, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, August 20.

Batting stars:  Max Kepler was 2-for-4 with a home run (his seventeenth) and a triple.  Ehire Adrianza was 2-for-4.  Jake Cave was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his sixth), a walk, and three runs.

Pitching stars:  Alan Busenitz pitched 2.2 innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and two walks and striking out two.  Oliver Drake struck out four in two perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Daniel Palka was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Tim Anderson was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Matt Davidson was 2-for-5 with a home run (his eighteenth), two runs, and three RBIs.  Jose Abreu was 2-for-5 with a double, a stolen base (his second), and two RBIs.  Juan Minaya struck out five in two perfect innings.

The game:  The White Sox put men on first and third in the first inning but did not score.  In the second, however, they scored four times.  Nicky Delmonico tripled and Davidson hit an RBI single.  Yolmer Sanchez walked and Kevan Smith was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Anderson singled home a run and Abreu doubled home two to make it 4-0 Chicago.

The Twins got one back in the bottom of the second when Mitch Garver walked and Cave hit an RBI double.  The White Sox got the run back in the fourth when Abreu singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a stolen base-plus-error to make it 5-1 Chicago.

The Twins got back into the game in the bottom of the fourth when Garver hit a two-out double and Cave delivered a two-run homer to cut the lead to 5-3.  It stayed 5-3 until the seventh.  At that point Avisail Garcia singled and Davidson hit a two-run homer.  They added one more in the eighth when Anderson singled and scored from first on Palka's double, making the score 8-3.

The Twins tried to come back in the ninth.  Kepler led off the inning with a home run.  Cave drew a one-out walk, took second on defensive indifference, and scored on Adrianza's two-out single.  But Joe Mauer grounded out, and the game was over.

WP:  Lucas Giolito (9-9).  S:  Stephen Gonsalves (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Adrianza was at second base.  Brian Dozier was the regular second baseman, but of course he was traded at the end of July.

Miguel Sano was at third base.  Nothing noteworthy about that, really, but injuries limited him to 56 games at third base.  Eduardo Escobar played the most games at third, 77.  Adrianza played 28 games there.

Cave played the most games in center and Kepler played the most games in right.  In this game, however, their roles were reversed, with Kepler in center and Cave in right.

Tyler Austin was the DH.  He had been acquired in a trade about ten days earlier.  The Twins used a bunch of guys at DH in 2018.  Robbie Grossman played the most games there, 36, but Logan Morrison was right behind at 35 and Mauer had 33.  Austin played 20 games at DH and Eddie Rosario had a dozen games there.

The Twins did not have a .300 hitter unless you count Willians Astudillo, who had 93 at-bats.  Jorge Polanco and Rosario each batted .288.  The Twins were seventh in the league in batting at .250.  Boston led the league at .268.

Rosario led the team in home runs with 24.  Kepler was second at 20.  Dozier had 16, Escobar and Morrison each had 15, and Cave and Sano each had 13.  The Twins were twelfth in home runs with 166.  New York led the league with 267.

This was the major league debut for Gonsalves.  It did not go well.  He pitched 1.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks.  He did strike out three.  He would make three more starts and three relief appearances, going 2-2, 6.57.  The Twins struggled to find more than three starters.  Jose Berrios was 12-11, 3.84, 1.14 WHIP.  Kyle Gibson was 10-13, 3.62, 1.30.  Jake Odorizzi was 7-10, 4.49, 1.35.  But beyond that, it was tough.  Lance Lynn made twenty starts, going 7-8, 5.10, 1.63.  The only other pitcher to make double-digit starts was Fernando Romero, who was 3-3, 4.69, 1.42.  Eleven other pitchers made at least one start, with six of them making four or more.

Fernando Rodney was the closer most of the season and he did well enough, going 3-2, 3.09, 1.40 WHIP.  Taylor Rogers was very good:  1-2, 2.63, 0.95.  Ryan Pressly was reliable, for the most part:  1-1, 3.40, 1.36.  But Addison Reed and Trevor Hildenberger struggled, and beyond that it was a bunch of guys like Matt Magill, Zach Duke, and Matt Belisle.

The Twins were ninth in team ERA at 4.50.  Houston led at 3.11, far above the number two Rays at 3.74.  The Twins were tenth in WHIP at 1.38.  Houston led there, too, at 1.10, again significantly ahead of number two Tampa Bay at 1.20.

It seems like longer ago than two years that we were playing guys like Busenitz, Drake, and Morrison.

Record:  The Twins were 59-65, in second place in the American League Central, 13 games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 78-84, in second place, 13 games behind Cleveland.

The White Sox were 47-77, in fourth place in the American League Central, 25 games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 62-100, in fourth place, 29 games behind Cleveland.

Random Record:  The Twins are 44-44 in Random Rewind games.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2009, Game Sixty-two

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OAKLAND 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Thursday, June 11.

Batting stars:  Justin Morneau was 2-for-4.  Delmon Young was 2-for-4.  Joe Crede was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his tenth.

Pitching star:  Nick Blackburn pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Jack Hannahan was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Adam Kennedy was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer (his fifth), a walk, and a hit-by-pitch.  Trevor Cahill pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out two.  Brad Ziegler struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  The Twins started the second with two singles, but nothing came of it.  In the fourth Morneau singled with one out.  Jason Kubel walked and Crede followed with a three-run homer, putting the Twins ahead 3-0.

That's all the Twins did on offense, but for a while it looked like that would be enough.  Blackburn appeared to be in control, giving up just three hits through seven innings.  With one out in the eighth, however, Hannahan tripled, Orlando Cabrera had an RBI single, and Kennedy hit a two-run homer, tying the score at 3-3.

We went to the bottom of the ninth.  Sean Henn started the inning and walked Jason Giambi.  Matt Guerrier came in and hit Kennedy with a pitch, moving the deciding run to second.  A bunt moved the runners up and Rajai Davis singled, ending the game in Oakland's favor.

WP:  Ziegler (1-1).  LP:  Henn (0-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Brian Buscher was at first base, with Morneau at DH.  Kubel, who played the majority of games at DH, was in right field.  Michael Cuddyer, normally in right, was in center.  Carlos Gomez, normally in center, was given the day off.

Matt Tolbert was at second base in place of Alexi Casilla.  Casilla was in the process of losing the second base job, and would have lost it by now had the Twins had a decent alternative.  As his competition was Tolbert and Punto, he still managed to play the most games at the position, 72.

Brendan Harris was at shortstop.  He and Nick Punto shared the shortstop spot until the end of July, when the Twins traded for the above-mentioned Orlando Cabrera.

Gomez came in to run for Kubel in the eighth.  He then went to center, with Cuddyer moving to right.

Mauer, whose season didn't start until the first of May, was batting .410.  He would finish at .365.  Morneau was batting .340--he would finish at .274.  Kubel was batting .311--he would finish at .300.  Denard Span, who did not play in this game, batted .311.  He was essentially a regular, but is not listed as one because he did not play the most games at any one position.  He played 84 games in center, 74 in left, and 39 in right.

At the other end of the batting scale, Tolbert was batting .183.  For some reason, he led off in this game.  He would finish at .232.  Buscher was batting.195.  He would finish at .235.  The Twins were still third in batting in 2009 at .274.  Los Angeles led with .285.

Cuddyer led the team in home runs with 32.  Morneau was right behind at 30 and Mauer and Kubel were not far back at 28.  Crede contributed 15 and Young 12.  The Twins were ninth in home runs with 172.  New York led with 244.

Blackburn had a solid year for the Twins, going 11-11, 4.03.  He led the starters in ERA and was tied for the most starts with Scott Baker, who led the team in wins.  He went 15-9, 4.37.  From there it got kind of ugly.  Francisco Liriano 5-13, 5.80 and Glen Perkins was 6-7, 5.89.  Kevin Slowey went 10-3 despite a 4.86 ERA, and Carl Pavano was 5-4, 4.64 in 12 starts.  Anthony Swarzak also made 12 starts and went 3-7, 6.25.

The Twins did have a pretty solid bullpen.  Joe Nathan saved 47 games and had a 2.10 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP.  Guerrier, although he did not pitch well in this game, had an ERA of 2.36 and a WHIP of 0.97.  Jose Mijares appeared in 71 games, posting an ERA of 2.34 and a WHIP of 1.18.  Also contributing were Jon Rauch (1.72 ERA, 1.21 WHIP in 17 games) and Ron Mahay (2.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP in 16 games).

The starters, though, dragged the Twins down to eleventh in ERA at 4.50.  Seattle led with 3.87.  They were sixth in WHIP at 1.38.  Seattle led that, too, at 1.30.

There were several "oh, yeah" Twins in this game:  Tolbert, Harris, Crede, Buscher, Henn.  The main thing I remember about Crede is the Twins Territory ad that referred to him as "Home Run Greedy Crede".

Oakland players with a Twins connection are Cabrera and Kurt Suzuki.

Hannahan's triple was one of five he had in his career.

The Twins were in a stretch where they won four out of five.  This was their only loss.

Record:  The Twins were 30-32, in second place in the American League Central, four games behind Detroit.  They would finish 87-76, in first place, one game ahead of Detroit.

The Athletics were 27-32, in fourth (last) place in the American League West, seven games behind Texas.  They would finish 75-87, in fourth place, 22 games behind Los Angeles.

Random record:  The Twins are 40-40 in Random Rewind games.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2014, Game Twenty-eight

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MINNESOTA 6, BALTIMORE 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, May 3.

Batting stars:  Joe Mauer was 3-for-4 with a home run (his second), two runs, and four RBIs.  Brian Dozier was 3-for-4 with a home run (his eighth) and three runs.  Kurt Suzuki was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Kevin Correia pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks and striking out three.  Casey Fien pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Jared Burton pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  J. J. Hardy was 2-for-4 with a double.  Nick Markakis was 2-for-4 with a double.  Wei-Yin Chen pitched five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk and striking out five.

The game:  In the first inning Mauer hit a one-out single and scored from first on Trevor Plouffe's double.  The Orioles tied it in the second when Adam Jones reached on a strikeout-plus-wild pitch, stole second and scored on a Hardy single.  Dozier led off the third with a home run, putting the Twins back up 2-1.

The Twins got an insurance run in the fifth when Dozier got to second on a single-plus-error and scored on a Mauer single.  They put it away in the seventh.  Pedro Florimon and Dozier led off with singles and Mauer hit a three-run homer, giving the Twins a 6-1 lead.  Baltimore did not threaten to get back into the game.

WP:  Correia (1-3).  LP:  Chen (3-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Florimon began the season as the starting shortstop, but when he predictably didn't hit he was replaced by Eduardo Escobar.  Jason Kubel was in left in place of Josh Willingham, who was injured.  Sam Fuld was in center field.  Aaron Hicks, who started the year as the regular in center, was apparently out with a minor injury.  Danny Santana would eventually take over in center field.  Chris Colabello was in right field, as Oswaldo Arcia was out due to injury.

Josmil Pinto was the DH.  The Twins didn't have a regular DH in 2014.  Kennys Vargas played the most games there with just 40.  Kendrys Morales had 26, PInto 21, Mauer 19, Colabello 13, and Willingham 13.  Fourteen others were at DH at least once, including such sluggers as Florimon and Doug Bernier.  In fairness, I suspect players like that were used as pinch-runners and so technically became the DH.

The only substitution the Twins made was that Chris Herrmann pinch-ran for Colabello in the seventh and stayed in the game in right field.

The Twins had no one batting over .300 at this stage of the season.  The only one who would end up over .300 is Santana, who batted .319.  They did have two batters below .200--Pinto (.198) and Florimon (.121).  The Twins would finish seventh in batting at .253.  Detroit led the league at .277.

Dozier led the team in home runs with 23.  Arcia was not far behind with 20.  The only others in double figures were Plouffe (14) and Willingham (12).  The Twins were eleventh in home runs with 128.  Baltimore led the league with 211.

Correia was not good for the Twins, but unfortunately did not particularly stand out.  Phil Hughes was easily the best starter at 16-10, 3.42.  Kyle Gibson was adequate at 13-12, 4.47.  After that it was Ricky Nolasco (6-12, 5.38) and Correia (5-13, 4.94).  They never really did settle on a fifth starter, with Yohan Pino making the most starts out of that slot with 11.  He was 2-5, 5.07.  Others who made at least five starts were Trevor May, Samuel Deduno (and his magical zoomball), Mike Pelfrey, and Tommy Milone.  The Twins were dead last in ERA at 4.57--Seattle led at 3.17.  They were twelfth in WHIP at 1.39--Oakland led at 1.15.

This team had a lot of "oh yeah" Twins, as in "oh yeah, I remember that we had that guy".  Some of them will eventually be forgotten Twins, but not enough time has passed.  I would put Correia, Florimon, Fien, Fuld, Morales, Pino, and Milone all in that category, and maybe a few others.

Players with Twins connections who played for Baltimore in this game were Nelson Cruz, J. J. Hardy, Steve Pearce, and Jonathan Schoop.

This win broke a four-game losing streak and started a three-game winning streak.

Record:  The Twins were 13-15, in third place in the American League Central, 4.5 games behind Baltimore.  They would finish 72-90, in fifth (last) place, 20 games behind Detroit.

The Orioles were 15-13, in second place in the American League East, a half game behind New York.  They would finish 96-66, in first place, 12 games ahead of New York.  It hardly seems possible that Baltimore was that good that recently, but there you go.

Random record:  The Twins are 39-37 in Random Rewind games.