The Minnesota Twins held a 1-game lead* over the Cleveland Guardians as they began a 3-game series at Target Field and they’ll also play each other 8 times in the next 9 days as they’ll play 5 in Cleveland starting next Monday including a day-night double-header on Tuesday, June 28th.
*This is a little misleading because the Twins have played 6 more games than the Guardians.
Tonight’s starting pitchers are Minnesota Twins RHP Joe Ryan (5-3, 2.85 ERA, 1.021 WHIP) and Cleveland Guardians RHP Aaron Civale (2-3, 7.84 ERA, 1.516 WHIP). Joe Ryan is making his 2nd start after missing 15 days after being placed on the 10-Day Covid-related Injured List. He did make a rehab start on June 9th for the AAA St. Paul Saints where he threw 3 innings and allowed just 1 hit with no runs or walks and he struck out 4 but, in his first start back on a week ago, he struggled a little in the 4th & 5th innings as he allowed a 2-R HR in each in a 5-0 loss in Seattle. Hopefully, Joe Ryan will get back to being that top of the rotation-type pitcher we’ve since for the majority of his time in the majors.
*ERA=Earned Run Average, WHIP=Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched
Cleveland Guardians RHP Aaron Civale has struggled this season as evidenced by that high ERA & WHIP above & he actually went on the injured list the same day as Joe Ryan but* his injury was of the non-Covid variety as he had left glute tightness. He made 2 rehab starts in AAA (also sent on the rehab assignment at the same time as Joe Ryan) and was activated for tonight’s start.
*Or Butt?
Here’s how both teams lined up:
Minnesota Twins Lineup:
Cleveland Guardians Lineup:
Game Recap
Here we go with 1st place in the American League Central Division on the line.
Cleveland started the game with back-to-back singles from LF Steven Kwan and SS Amed Rosario. Kwan hit a line-drive to center field while Rosario hit a soft floater off the end of the bat that just got over the leap from Twins 2B Luis Arraez. 3B José Ramírez then popped out to short right field. The infield fly rule was called but the ball wasn’t caught by Arraez and Rosario took off for 2nd thinking he had to run since the ball wasn’t caught so the Twins could’ve gotten a free out but Max Kepler didn’t see Rosario and threw to 3rd to keep the runner at 2nd. 1B Josh Naylor then grounded into a force out at 2nd which allowed Steven Kwan to advance to 3rd then RF Oscar Gonzalez got a nice 2-out RBI-double (10) to score Kwan and put the Guardians up 1-0. DH Franmil Reyes then struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Twins got a 2-out double off the bat of SS Carlos Correa but he was left on base when RF Max Kepler grounded out to 1st to end the 1st inning. 1-0 Cleveland
Twins starting RHP Joe Ryan set down the Guardians 1-2-3 (flyout, groundout, swinging strikeout) in the 2nd. The Twins got another 2-out hit with an Alex Kirilloff single on a line-drive to right field but Guardians starting RHP Aaron Civale finished the inning with a swinging strikeout of LF Gilberto Celestino as he struck out the side.
Steven Kwan led off the top of the 3rd with a single to center field again but he was picked off and caught stealing for the 1st out. Joe Ryan then struck out swinging on a foul tip but allowed a José Ramírez hustle-double (21) to center field and Josh Naylor followed that with a 2-run HR to right field to add to the Cleveland lead. 3-0 Cleveland
The Twins were set down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 3rd.
Joe Ryan allowed a 1-out single and a 2-out walk before getting Steven Kwan to line out to left field to end the top of 4. The Twins got a 1-out single from Max Kepler followed by a 7-pitch walk from Gary Sánchez. 3B Gio Urshela struck out swinging for the 2nd out but 1B Alex Kirilloff got his 2nd hit of the game when he hit a line-drive double to right center field that scored both Kepler & Sánchez to bring the Twins within a run at 3-2.
The Guardians were set down 1-2-3 in the 5th while the Twins got a 1-out double(8) off the bat of 2B Luis Arraez that nearly left the yard* but he was left on base after CF Byron Buxton struck out and Carlos Correa flew out to right field to end the 5th inning with the score still 3-2 Cleveland
*Highlight of this at 4:12 of the condensed game highlights at the end of the recap.
Joe Ryan struck out the side in the 6th and Cleveland went to their bullpen to get RHP Enyel De Los Santos and he struck out both Max Kepler & Gary Sánchez swinging then got Gio Urshela to ground out to short.
Cleveland RHP Aaron Civale’s Final Pitching Line:
5IP 5H 2R/ER 1BB 7K – No Decision
Joe Ryan did not come out for the 7th as Twins manager Rocco Baldelli went to his bullpen to bring in RHP Jharel Cotton. He struck the 1st 2 batters he faced then allowed a Steven Kwan single before getting Amed Rosario to flyout to left field.
Minnesota RHP Joe Ryan’s Final Pitching Line:
6IP 7H 3R/ER 1BB 7K – No Decision
Alex Kirilloff led off the bottom of the 7th for the Twins and he was called out on strikes on a pitch that definitely looked to be low*:
*Check out our Game Notes section at the bottom of the article for more on this topic.
Pitch #8 sure looks like it misses the zone by quite a bit, huh?
Twins outfielder Trevor Larnach pinch-hit for Gilberto Celestino and drew a 4-pitch walk so Cleveland brought in RHP Eli Morgan and Twins C Ryan Jeffers hit the first pitch he saw to the wall in left field and the Twins had runners on 2nd & 3rd with just one out and Luis Arraez coming to the plate.
Arraez took a high first-pitch fastball for a ball then fouled off another fastball that was at the top right of the zone. The pitcher thought he’d try to sneak a change-up past Luis Arraez but he missed his spot and this time, the ball just barely left the yard and… Just Like That… the Twins turned a 1-run deficit into a 2-run lead! 5-3 Minnesota
Larnach stayed in the game, playing left field and Rocco brought in RHP Emilio Pagán from the bullpen to pitch the 8th inning. He allowed a 1-out single to Josh Naylor then got Gonzalez to right field for the 2nd out to face DH Franmil Reyes who had struck out in his 1st 3 at-bats. Pagán threw nothing but cutters to him but the 6th one he left up and it landed over the center field wall to tie the game at 5.
The Twins went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 8th with two groundouts sandwiched around a flyout against Cleveland RHP Bryan Shaw.
The Twins brought in fireballer RHP Jhoan Duran to pitch the 9th. He struck out the first batter he faced then allowed a 2-out single before getting Rosario to groundout to 2nd to end the inning.
Twins OF Kyle Garlick pinch-hit for Alex Kirilloff to face Minnesota native LHP Sam Hentges and he got an infield hit to lead off the bottom of the 9th and was immediately pinch-run for by UTIL Nick Gordon. Jose Miranda pinch-hit for Trevor Larnach but flew out to center field for the 1st out. Nick Gordon then was caught stealing for the 2nd out. Ryan Jeffers singled but Luis Arraez grounded out to 2nd to send this game to Extra Innings!
MLB restored the rule to start extra innings with a runner at 2nd base to try to “preserve player health and safety during the condensed schedule.”**
**Check out our Game Notes section at the bottom of the article for more on this topic.
Nick Gordon & Jose Miranda remained in the game playing left field and 1st base, respectively. Twins RHP Jhoan Duran also remained in the game to pitch the 10th and Guardians SS Amed Rosario started the inning at 2nd base. Duran got José Ramírez to ground out then walked Josh Naylor intentionally after starting the plate appearance with 2 straight curveballs in the dirt. Owen Miller pinch-ran for Naylor. Duran got out of the inning by getting Oscar Gonzalez to ground into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
The Guardians Owen Miller remained in the game playing 1st base & RHP Trevor Stephan was brought in to pitch the bottom of the 10th. Arraez started the inning at 2nd base. Byron Buxton walked on 5 pitches but Carlos Correa, Max Kepler & Gary Sánchez all struck out swinging to send it to an 11th inning.
The Twins brought in RHP Griffin Jax to pitch the 11th. Oscar Gonzalez began the inning as the runner at 2nd base. Jax struck out Franmil Reyes looking but Andrés Giménez hit a line-drive to center field for an RBI-single to put the Guardians up 6-5. Jax then walked Luke Maile but struck out Myles Straw looking and got Steven Kwan to ground out to 3rd to end the top of the 11th.
Cleveland brought in RHP Emmanuel Clase for the save. Gary Sánchez began the inning as the runner at 2nd base. Gio Urshela struck out swinging. Nick Gordon grounded out to 1st. Jose Miranda swung and hit the first pitch. It sounded good off the bat and left field Steven Kwan was going back towards the wall and he caught it to end the game as it was about 3 feet short of being a walk-off home run. OHHH!!!
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Final Score
Cleveland Guardians 6 | 5 Minnesota Twins
W-Stephan(3-2) L-Jax(4-1) S-Clase(16)
Pitching
Starters
MN:
Joe Ryan:
6IP 7H 3R/ER 1BB 7K 1HR – No Decision
CLE:
Aaron Civale:
5IP 5H 2R/ER 1BB 7K – No Decision
Bullpen
MN:
RHP Jharel Cotton:
1IP 1H 2K – Hold
RHP Emilio Pagán:
1IP 2H 2R/ER 1HR – Blown Save(4)
RHP Jhoan Duran:
2IP 1H 1BB 1K
RHP Griffin Jax:
1IP 1H 1R/0ER 1BB 2K – 1st Loss of 2022
CLE:
RHP Enyel De Los Santos:
1.1IP 0H 1R/ER 1BB 3K – Hold(2)
RHP Eli Morgan:
0.2IP 2H 2R/ER 0BB 1K 1HR – Blown Save(2)
RHP Bryan Shaw:
1IP
LHP Sam Hentges:
1IP 2H
RHP Trevor Stephan:
1IP 1BB 3K – 3rd Win
RHP Emmanuel Clase:
1IP 1K – 16th Save
Hitting
Home Runs
MN:
Luis Arraez(4)
CLE:
Josh Naylor(8), Franmil Reyes(4)
Doubles
MN:
Carlos Correa(12), Alex Kirilloff(3), Luis Arraez(8), Ryan Jeffers(7)
CLE:
Oscar Gonzalez(10), José Ramírez(21)
2-Out RBI
MN (Inning):
Alex Kirilloff 2(4th)
CLE:
Oscar Gonzalez(1st), Josh Naylor 2(3rd), Franmil Reyes 2(8th)
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Game Notes:
*
The Called Low Strike
How does the home plate ump call the low strike like the one above on Twins 1B Alex Kirilloff? Can he even see it?
It looks like his angle is terrible to try to judge where a low pitch would be.
I couldn’t find many great pictures but I did find a lot of information so we’ll have to get back to you on this one.
**
Extra Innings Rules, the Ghost Runner & the Pitcher Loss
It doesn’t take a lot of intelligence to tell that fans don’t like the Ghost Runner rule for extra innings. Yes, the rule was put in to help preserve the health of the players or, more to the point, pitchers so games wouldn’t go on & on.
If it’s a “ghost runner,” meaning they are just placed on 2nd base to begin the inning, then that runner shouldn’t result in stats for anything surrounding him for either team. It shouldn’t count as a run scored, an RBI, a run against the opposing pitcher or a win or a loss for either pitcher. It should just be a team win, run, RBI, etc…
Twins RHP Griffin Jax is given a run against and a loss even though he allowed just a single and a walk in the 1 inning he pitched. Cleveland relievers Trevor Stephan was given the win and Emmanuel Clase was given a save, too.
***
Pitching Pipeline
The Cleveland Guardians just keep developing pitching. They’ve been doing it for years, probably decades. This is where Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey came from and a major reason why the Twins wanted him to lead their organization when they hired him in October of 2016.
And this is what the Twins seem to be building. They’ve seen 12 or more pitchers from recent drafts, trades or free agency they have helped develop that have made an appearance for the Major League club this season.
Have Minnesota Twins fans ever seen anything like this before? I can’t think of a time where they had prospects coming on the mound like they do right now. Will it get better? Yes. It should. This is just the beginning. More is coming…
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Next Up:
Game 2: 6:40pm on Bally Sports North
RHP Sonny Gray
(3-1, 2.09 ERA, 0.93 WHIP*)
vs
RHP Triston McKenzie
(4-5, 2.96 ERA, 0.93 WHIP)
*ERA=Earned Run Average, WHIP=Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched
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Also… check out our last recap from May 26th. Yeah. I know.
