The Minnesota Twins just finished a 3-game series in Kansas City with a very exciting comeback win on Sunday* but they had their 6-game winning streak snapped in an extra-inning loss to the Detroit Tigers yesterday. That should mean they are raring to go to get back in the win column.
*Which should read about HERE!
The Twins had LHP Devin Smeltzer on the mound but they had to make a roster move to make room for Smeltzer:
Twinsactions
(Minnesota Twins Transactions)
The Twins placed RHP Joe Ryan on the COVID Injured List(IL) and recalled LHP Devin Smeltzer*
*Check the Game Notes section for more on who they Twins lost on yesterday.
Here’s how both teams lined up:
Minnesota Twins Lineup:
Kansas City Royals Lineup:
Game Recap
It’s always good to see LHP Devin Smeltzer on the mound because he’s been through so much but he just keeps battling through it all and here he is trying to make the Twins pitching decisions as difficult as possible when it comes to him staying on the roster going forward.
And he started it out right when he struck out Royals leadoff hitter RF Whit Merrifield on 3 pitches. LF Andrew Benintendi then singled to continue destroying Twins pitching* but Smeltzer got SS Bobby Witt, Jr. to fly out to 2nd then struck out Hunter Dozier looking at an 82 mph changeup to end the top of the 1st.
*That base hit made Andrew Benintendi 12-for-24 in the 6+ games he’s played against the Twins this season. There are only 2 extra-base hits (a 2B & a 3B) but he also has 2 walks. GEEZ!
The Twins began the bottom of the 1st with both CF Byron Buxton & SS Carlos Correa striking out looking against LHP Daniel Lynch. LF Kyle Garlick then singled to right field but C Gary Sánchez grounded out to 2nd to end the 1st.
The Royals were set down 1-2-3 via fly, line & groundouts. The lineout was a great defensive play from 3B Gio Urshela.
Urshela then led off the bottom of 2 with a walk. 2B Luis Arraez grounded into a force out at 2nd but the Twins got back-to-back singles off the bats of 1B Jose Miranda & DH Ryan Jeffers to score Arraez and put the Twins up 1-0 before RF Gilberto Celestino lined out and CF Byron Buxton flew out to end the inning. After the leadoff walk, the next 5 Twins batters went after the first pitch and either singled or made an out.
Devin Smeltzer faced just 1 over the minimum over the next 5 innings allowing just 1 walk and 1 single while striking out 4 and getting a double play to keep the game scoreless and to make the Front Office think about how to keep him in the rotation.
The Twins had 4 hits and a walk but also had 6 strikeouts and grounded into 1 double play over the same 5 innings but the 4th inning began with a leadoff hustle & somewhat lucky double from Jose Miranda as the throw from left field wasn’t caught or he would’ve likely been out. After Ryan Jeffers struck out swinging, Gilberto Celestino hit an RBI-single to right field that scored Miranda to double the Twins lead so… everyone say it with us…
Gilbertoooo Celestinooooooo!!!
Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli went to his bullpen and brought in veteran Twins reliever RHP Tyler Duffey even though Smeltzer was at just 80 pitches (52 strikes).*
*Mr. Smeltzer made just 1 start in 2021 before missing the rest of the season with left elbow inflammation and he threw more than 70 pitches just once in his 5 minor-league starts before he was recalled to the majors. So they’re easing him back into a starting pitcher’s workload. He’s also been going every 6th day.
Minnesota Twins LHP Devin Smeltzer’s Final Pitching Line:
7IP 2H 0R/ER 1BB 6K – In Line for his 2nd Win
Duffey got Carlos Santana to ground out to 1st for the 1st out then allowed a single to Emmanuel Rivera but got Nicky Lopez to line out to left field for the 2nd out but allowed a single to pinch-hitter Ryan O’Hearn to bring up Whit Merrifield and Duff hung a curve that Merrifield sent to right center field to tie the game at 2. He then walked Benintendi on 6 pitches after having him down 0-2. That brought up Bobby Witt, Jr. and another hung curveball put the Royals up 3-2.
The Twins loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th on 3 straight singles but held Gary Sánchez at 3rd since there were no outs in the inning. The Royals went to RHP Scott Barlow and he struck out Jose Miranda on a check-swing. The Twins pinch-hit Nick Gordon for Ryan Jeffers (left for right) but he struck out swinging on a nasty curveball. Max Kepler then grounded out softly to 1st to end the threat. WOW!
Yennier Cano took over for the Twins in the 9th and allowed a leadoff walk but got 2 groundouts before striking out Nicky Lopez looking to send the Twins to the bottom of the 9th with Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa & Trevor Larnach coming to the plate.
Buxton singled on a ground ball to 1st. Correa & Larnach both grounded into a force out at 2nd but Gary Sánchez singled to right field, advancing Larnach to 3rd base to bring Gio Urshela to the plate. He worked the count to 3-0 as Barlow tried to get him on 3 low & away pitches. He then took an inside fastball for a strike then swung at a slider in the same location and hit it pretty well (97mph exit velocity) but Bobby Witt, Jr. was there to field it and he double-clutched and went to 2nd to end the game.
Gio must have wanted that 3-0 pitch up a little more to swing at it. Is the not swinging 3-0 in his mind? He had to have the green light, right?
Anyway, 2 straight tough losses for the Twins after allowing the Tigers to tie the game late the night before then losing in extra innings.
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Final Score
Kansas City Royals 3 | 2 Minnesota Twins
W-Josh Staumont(2-1) L-Tyler Duffey(2-3) S-Scott Barlow(5)
Pitching
Starters
MN:
LHP Devin Smeltzer:
7IP 2H 0R/ER 1BB 6K – No Decision
KC:
LHP Daniel Lynch:
5.1IP 7H 2R/ER 2BB 6K – No Decision
Bullpen
MN:
RHP Tyler Duffey:
1IP 4H 3R/ER 1BB – 3rd Blown Save; 3rd Loss
RHP Yennier Cano:
1IP 1BB 1K
KC:
RHP Collin Snider:
0.2IP
RHP Josh Staumont:
1IP 2K- 2nd Win
RHP Joel Payamps:
0.0IP 3H
RHP Scott Barlow:
1IP 2H 2K – 5th Save
Hitting
Home Runs
None
Doubles
MN:
Jose Miranda(5)
KC:
Whit Merrifield(8), Bobby Witt, Jr.(10)
2-Out RBI
MN (Inning):
Gilberto Celestino(4th)
KC (Inning):
Whit Merrifield 2(8th), Bobby Witt, Jr.(8th)
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Game Notes
*
The Stuff of Duff…
Minnesota Twins reliever RHP Tyler Duffey has not been his usual dominant self this season like he was in 2019 & 2020. He’s already blown 3 saves and has 3 losses so far this season. The culprits appear to be the speed of his fastball and the command of his curveball. Both of those pitches are getting hit harder than they have been in a long time.
Loss of velocity is usually a killer for pitchers and he’s lost basically 2 mph on his fastball since that breakout 2019 season. Has that made him try to rely more on his curveball? He was already starting to go to that pitch more often in 2020 and it’s hard to argue with that because it’s been his best pitch but it also has to play off his fastball and since that’s not as good of a weapon, it’s giving hitters a split second more time to hit the heater &/or wait for the curve.
Look at his Statcast Pitch Tracking Stats from 2019-2022. He has already allowed more doubles in 2022 through the first quarter of the season than he did the entire 2019 season. Look at the averages and slugging percentages on those pitches, too. The fastball is getting crushed.
Minnesota Twins Reliever RHP Tyler Duffey’s Statcast 2019-2022 Pitch Tracking Stats
When this happens, fans tend to say they should stop putting him in any tight game situations until he gets back some confidence. There’s a saying for closers that when they blow a save &/or lose a game, the best thing to do is to get them right back out there the next game. That’s pretty much the exact opposite of moving him down a step in the bullpen.
So… we know all of these players have pride in their game and are likely more frustrated with blowing saves & losing games than the fans are so they’ll put the work in to improve.
We’ll see if Duff can improve that velocity and command his curveball better.
**
Prospective Loss
When the Twins recalled RHP Trevor Megill on Saturday, they needed a spot on the 40-Man Roster so they pitching prospect Designated RHP Chris Vallimont for Assignment or Release (DFA’d/DFR’d).
Yesterday, the Twins announced RHP Chris Vallimont was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles. Vallimont was acquired as part of the Sergio Romo trade. The Twins sent prospect 1B Lewin Diaz to the Miami Marlins for Romo, Vallimont and a Player to be Named Later (PTBNL).
Vallimont looked pretty good for awhile but it maybe 2 years off due to the pandemic and no minor-league season hurt his development because he’s really struggled the last 2 seasons and especially this season:
He wasn’t as bad in 2021, with a 6.13 ERA & a 1.638 WHIP. He walked too many batters (61) and had problems with his command but he also had 136 strikeouts in 94.0 innings or 13.0 K/9 innings and that is what made the Twins protect him by adding him to their 40-Man Roster.
It’s somewhat amazing he was never tried in a relief role but he also hadn’t struggled with his command as much before. In 2019, after the Twins acquired him, he had just 4 walks in 22.1 innings while striking out 28.
Baltimore optioned him down to their AA squad right after the waiver claim. That’s the Bowie Baysox if you want to keep following his career.
Lewin Diaz has struggled for the most part, too, after his breakout 2019 season and Sergio Romo left a pretty lasting memory in his time in Minnesota for several reasons so, it still comes out as a good trade for the Twins.
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