Bailey Ober
vs
Tarik Skubal
Only two lefties in the lineup versus left-hander Skubal.
Lineup
Garlick LF
Sánchez DH
Polanco 2B
Urshela 3B
Larnach RF
Miranda 1B
Jeffers C
Palacios SS
Gordon CF
Tag Archives: Tarik Skubal
2022 Game 19: Tiggers vs. Twinkies
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!
2021 Game 82+4: Tigers at Twins
Game Time - 7:10 pm CDT
The Twins kick off their last series before the All-Star break against the Tigers tonight, and their last series at home until the Angels come to town on the 22nd. At 35-50, the Twins sit 15 games below .500 and in sole possession of last place in the division 15.5 games behind the Pale Hosers. I have to think that Messieurs Falvey and Levine are working overtime to figure out how to extract the most possible value for any player that's not a building block. At this point they have to have a chop shop mentality - strip it to the frame, get what you can for the parts, and start rebuilding this broken down team.
There are no promotional giveaways tonight (there is a UND special ticket package), but tomorrow's game features the baby blue Twins replica jerseys to the first 10,000 fans, along with post-game fireworks. Saturday is the 30 HR Bomba Club bobblehead giveaway, and Sunday they're handing out Twins photo magnet schedules. The team has been drawing close to 20,000 fans per game at home since going to 100% capacity, even with the poor caliber of play on the field, so I'm thinking there's just a ton of pent up demand to take me out to the ballgame and low quality performance is not going to deter most people from coming out. It's nice being part of the ballpark experience for folks, but standing on concrete for six hours sure does take a toll on your lower extremities, and I'm working three out of four games this series starting tonight. I'm hoping for fast games with no extra innings, and any wins that the Twins might stumble into are a bonus. J.A. Happ on the hill for the Twins tonight, southpaw Tarik Skubal starting for the Tigers. Play ball!