Minnesota Twins pitchers seem to be dropping like flies through the 1st 2 weeks of the season. The Minnesota Twins were already without RHP Michael Pineda due to last season’s suspension so he’ll be like a trade acquisition in late August/early September.
But, since the begining of the season, 3 starting pitchers have had to be placed on the 10-Day Injured List (IL), RHP Jake Odorizzi before the season started with a right intercostal* strain, RHP Homer Bailey 2 days ago for Right Biceps Tendinitis and today, LHP Rich Hill for left shoulder fatigue (retroactive to July 31st).
So…start getting loose at home, everyone, and try to get stretched out so you can go at least 4 innings for the Twins because the bullpen can probably handle the last 5, right?
That being said, the Twins had their #1 starter, Jose Berrios, on the mound to day to try to complete a sweep of this short 2-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Jose had the good stuff today. Maybe not the Great stuff but the good stuff as he went 6 innings and only allowed 1 run while also allowing 4 hits and 3 walks but striking out 6. He struck out 2 in the 1st, 3 in the 2nd and 1 in the 3rd. All of them were swinging strikeouts, too. That’s a sign of good stuff.
During those 6 innings, Jose’s offense put up 7 runs for him to work with.In the bottom of the 1st, Max Kepler led off with a walk because he must’ve had his Walkin’ Shoes on but more on that later. Jorge Polanco flew out to LF for the 1st out. Nelson Cruz then singled up the middle to advance Kepler to 2nd. Eddie Rosario kept the train moving with another single to center field, this one scores Max Kepler to put the Twins up 1-0.
Miguel Sano then hit a double (2) down the 3rd base line that scores Cruz to double the leadd and Rosario advanced to 3rd. Luis Arraez then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Rosie and it was 3-0 Twins in the 1st.
Berrios gave up 2 of his 3 walks in the 2nd inning and a single loaded the bases with 1 out so he struck out CF Jarrod Dyson & former Twins C John Ryan Murphy to get out of it with no damage done. (Don’t mention the Trade, please! Thank You!)
In the bottom of the 2nd, Alex Avila struck out to lead off the inning but Byron Buxton got his 2nd hit of the season on a slow grounder but Byron’s speed forced the 3rd baseman to hurry his throw so that throw sailed over the 1st baseman’s head as Buxton glided to 2nd base. Kepler followed with his 2nd walk of the game. (Is it the shoes?) and Jorge Polanco also walked and the bases were loaded. Nelson Cruz singled for his 2nd hit of the game to score Buxton and keep the bases loaded. 4-0 Twins. Rosario popped out to 3rd & Miguel Sano struck out swinging.
Berrios allowed a single after striking out the first batter be he induced a ground ball for a 4-5-3 double play. That was also a “Shifty” double play. The Twins had the shift on for left-handed hitter Josh Bell so 2B Luis Arraez caught it closer to 1st base and threw to Marwin who was near 2nd base and then threw to 1st. That’s how it turns into a 4 (2B)-5 (3B)-3 (1B) double play. Good shift!
The Pirates scores their 1st run off a sacrifice fly from Gregory Polanco. It scored LF Bryan Reynolds from 3rd after he tripled off the center field wall with 1 out in the inning. Buxton was playing the bounce off the right center field part of the wall but it came off pretty quick and got past him. 4-1 Twins
Nothing doing for the Twins in the 3rd but in the 4th, Buxton led off by popping out to 2nd then Max Kepler walked for the 3rd time (were his teammates starting to look at his shoes, at least?). Kepler then stole 2nd base. He left on the pitch but there was no pitch because the catcher didn’t catch the pitch. Nelson Cruz then singled to left field to load the bases once again and former Twins Bench Coach and new Pirates Manager Derek Shelton decided that was it for his starting pitcher, RHP Joe Musgrove, and he brought in LHP Sam Howard to face Eddie Rosario. Well, Rosie doesn’t care about your lefty so he singled to left field to score Kepler but a great throw from LF Bryan Reynolds got Jorge Polanco out at home. 5-1 Twins
Miguel Sano struck out looking but the payoff pitch was outside so it should’ve been a walk as you can see below. (Pitch 7)
In the 5th, there was an on-field delay because a drone was being flown over the ballpark so the teams were sent off the field and into their dugouts until they could get it out of there. 9 minutes or so later, they sent the players back out on the field to start the game again. Why would anyone be flying a drone in downtown Minneapolis in the middle of the afternoon. I wonder if that drone is gone now and/or how much did it cost the?
In the bottom of the 5th, the Twins scored 2 runs off Sacrifice Fly balls after they loaded the bases again. This time, it was off walks from Luis Arraez and Alex Avila with a single from Marwin Gonzalez between them. 7-1 Twins
Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the 6th. Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli brought in just-called-up LHP Caleb Thielbar for his 1st MLB outing since back in late April of 2015. He pitched 2.1 innings and almost earned his 1st career save but he allowed 2 runs to score with 1 out in the top of 9th. RHP Trevor May came in and finished the game. Thielbar allowed 5 hits in those and 2 walks and those 2 runs while also striking out 3 in those 2.1 innings.
After the game, Caleb talked about how long & difficult a road it’s been for him with Marney Gellner of Fox Sports North:
We love a good comeback story. 🥺
For the first time since 2015, Minnesota native Caleb Thielbar (@cthielbar56) pitched in an MLB game. The @Twins reliever got emotional in his postgame interview: pic.twitter.com/xMqtG0hFBg
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) August 4, 2020
Stat of the Day:
In the bottom of the 8th, Max Kepler walked for the 4th time in the game. His other plate appearance was a sacrifice fly so…
Max Kepler led off for the @Twins today and had 4 walks and a sac fly.
He’s the 4th leadoff hitter in the expansion era to come to the plate 5+ times and not record an at-bat, joining:
Chuck Knoblauch (9/11/1996)
Craig Biggio (4/29/2000)
Rickey Henderson (7/30/2000)#MNTwins— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) August 4, 2020
Bottom line, the Twins won their 5th game in a row and now head to Pittsburgh to play a 2-game series there looking to extend that streak to 6 & 7.
The pitching matchups as of right now:
Tomorrow Night:
Twins RHP Randy Dobnak (1-1, 1.00 ERA) vs Pirates RHP Trevor Williams (0-2, 5.40 ERA)
Thursday Night:
Twins RHP Kenta Maeda (2-0, 1.64 ERA) vs Pirates RHP JT Brubaker (0-0. 0.00 ERA) as an Opener?
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