Minnesota Twins Recap vs Mariners – April 10th, 2021

Posted on April 10, 2021 by Robb

The Minnesota Twins play their 2nd home game as they try to win the 3-game series today with RHP Michael Pineda (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) on the mound against Seattle Mariners LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP).

If you didn’t know, Yusei Kikuchi wears the #18 just like Twins RHP Kenta Maeda does, and in Japan (or is it just the NPB), that is meant to signify the ace pitcher. Yusei is a 29-year-old pitcher who pitched 8 seasons in Japan in the NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) and was very good, going 73-46 in 108 starts. In 1,010.2IP, he had a 2.77 ERA (Earned Run Average) & a 1.169 WHIP (Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched) and allowed 810 hits (73 HRs) with 371 walks & 903 strikeouts. He’s slowly adapting to Major League Baseball as he’s had an ERA over 5 in both 2019 & 2020 and allowed 36 home runs in 2019.

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

Seattle Mariners Lineup:

This was a pretty good pitching duel. Twins RHP Michael Pineda allowed a couple of solo home runs but that’s all in 6 innings. He struck out 6 and put his team in a position to win.

Those solo home runs off the bats of Seattle Mariners CF Taylor Trammell* & RF Mitch Haniger came in the 3rd inning. The Twins got a single from Kyle Garlick and that brought up DH Nelson Cruz and right before his at-bat, they showed a highlight of him receiving his 2020 Silver Slugger Award so…in the 1st pitch of the at-bat, Nelson Cruz hit his 4th HR of the season to tie the game at 2!

The next 4 innings had just 3 hits & 2 walks between both teams.

In the top of the 8th, RHP Alex Colomé took over on the mound for Minnesota. He allowed a leadoff single to J.P. Crawford then struck out Mitch Haniger but Crawford stole 2nd on the strikeout pitch to get into scoring position. He then got Ty France to ground out to 3rd which kept Crawford at 2nd. Up came the veteran Kyle Seager and he hit an RBI-single on a line drive to center field to put Seattle up 3-2. Colomé then struck out Jose Marmolejos to end the 8th.

In the bottom of the 8th, Kyle Garlick flew out to center on a great catch by 2B Dylan Moore. Nelson Cruz walked on 4 pitches in what wasn’t an intentional walk but Mariners reliever RHP Rafael Montero wasn’t giving him anything close to something to hit! Byron Buxton was then hit by a pitch (or his jersey was hit by a pitch). Garver ended up grounding out to 3rd in an 8-pitch at-bat that had a 2-0 pitch called a strike that was questionable so it made the count 2-1 instead of 3-0. It did allow Cave to advance to 3rd and Buxton to advance to 2nd.

A Wild Pitch on the 1st pitch to Max Kepler allowed Cave to score and tie the game at 3. Buxton advanced to 3rd.

That brought up Miguel Sano. Max Kepler stole 2nd right after Twins broadcasting analyst said he’d like to see him take 2nd because Seattle probably wouldn’t chance a throw to 2nd because it could give Buxton a chance to score from 3rd. Miguel Sano fouled off the 1st pitch then took 2 inside pitches for balls. He fouled off the 4th pitch & hit it straight back so he timed it well. He took the next pitch, a 95mph sinker that looked outside but the ump called it a strike to end the inning.

What do you think?

Yep! That’s definitely outside! Blue that call!

Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the 9th to send it to extra innings and everybody’s favorite rule in baseball.

LHP Taylor Rogers pitched the 9th and only needed 8 pitches (7 strikes) to do it so he came back out for the 10th. Seattle Mariners CF Taylor Trammell started the inning at 2nd base. Brendan Bishop laid down a bunt that Rogers got to but couldn’t make the exchange from glove to hand to make a throw so it was a bunt single and Trammell advanced to 3rd on the play. J.P. Crawford grounded out to 3rd. Bishop advanced to 2nd. Mitch Haniger then hit a line drive sacrifice fly deep enough to left field to score Trammell from 3rd to put Seattle up 4-3. Ty France then grounded out to 2nd to end the top of the 10th.

Seattle brought in RHP Keynan Middleton to try to close it out. Jorge Polanco started the inning at 2nd base. Willians #LaTortuga Astudillo pinch hit for Kyle Garlick then popped out to 1st for the 1st out. Jake Cave popped out to short for the 2nd out. Byron Buxton hit a long fly ball down the left field line but it was foul. He then grounded out to short to end the game.

So…the Twins have lost 3 games and every one of them were in extra innings. Sooner or later, you’d think the Twins will have to figure that out, right?

#MNTwins 3, #SeaUsRise 4 | F-10

W-Graveman(1-0) L-Rogers(0-1) S-Middleton(1)

Game Notes

*
The HR was caught by a fan and then thrown back onto the field. It was Seattle Mariners CF Taylor Trammell’s 1st Career HR. I assume the fan didn’t know that because he could’ve gotten something for the ball he caught or got since he didn’t catch it! I’m against throwing a ball back onto the field. It doesn’t make any sense to me. I’ve gone to a bunch of baseball games in my life & I’ve never caught either a foul ball or a home run ball so if I ever do, I’m probably going to keep up.

Hopefully, I’ll remember to bring a baseball with me so I can make the switch and give the baseball I brought to the game to a little kid who, for some reason, deserves it more because they’re a little kid. I don’t understand that but it makes sense to look good instead of looking like a jerk who won’t give a ball to a little kid.

Out-think them!

**
They showed video of Nelson receiving his 2020 MLB Silver Slugger Award (the 3rd one he’s one in the last 4 seasons & 4th overall) and on the 1st pitch of the at-bat, he crushed a ball to the opposite field (EV: 105mph, 364’ at 24º).

So far, Nelson Cruz has looked like the BoomStick Twins fans know & love as he just keeps on slugging!

***
Byron Buxton hit a slow ground ball to the left side. That’s almost as sure of a single in baseball as a frozen rope to the outfield. Apparently, the shortstop still thought he could throw out Buxton, though. He didn’t and because he rushed his throw, it wasn’t accurate and allowed Buxton to go to 2nd. The ball bounced back and the catcher, backing up the play, was really close to getting it right away but it got away from him enough to allow Buxton to slide in safely at 2nd!

At some point, infielders will figure out if it’s hit to the left side, you better know for sure you have a chance to make that play or just eat it and live with it. On the other hand, though, maybe the thinking is they know Buxton can just steal 2nd base so it’s worth the attempted assist.

****
How frustrating is it to get a pitch outside the zone called a strike to end an inning with a runner on 3rd AND that runner is Byron Buxton? Add to that there was already a Wild Pitch that tied the game in that inning so if it’s called a ball correctly, who knows what happens on the next pitch or in the rest of the at-bat.

It’s infuriating!

Plays

Top of 1 (RHP Michael Pineda pitching for MN)

  1. RF Mitch Haniger grounds out to short
  2. DH Ty France K’d looking
  3. 3B Kyle Seager lined out to right center but Buxton gets there to end the top of the 1st

Bottom of 1 (LHP Yusei Kikuchi pitching for SEA)

  1. 2B Jorge Polanco flew out to right
  2. LF Kyle Garlick K’d swinging on a foul tip
  3. DH Nelson Cruz 1B’d on a LD to LF
  4. CF Byron Buxton lined a 1B to LF with an exit velocity of 113mph, Cruz to 2nd
  5. C Mitch Garver flew out to right to end the 1st

Top of 2 (Pineda at 14 pitches)

  1. 1B Jose Marmolejos K’d swinging #BigMiKe
  2. C Luis Torrens grounded out to 3rd
  3. 2B Dylan Moore K’d looking #BigMiKKe

Bottom of 2 (Kikuchi at 17 pitches) 23 pitch inning

  1. RF Max Kepler K’d swinging on a foul tip
  2. 1B Miguel Sano hit a loud flyout to CF
  3. SS Andrelton Simmons walked
  4. 3B Luis Arraez K’d swinging

Top of 3 (Pineda at 26 pitches) 14 pitch inning

  1. CF Taylor Trammell hit his 1st MLB Home Run out to right field and the fan threw it back. 1-0*
  2. LF Sam Haggerty popped out to short
  3. SS J.P. Crawford popped out to 3rd
  4. Haniger HR’d (2) to left field – 2-0 SEA
  5. France flew out to CF

Bottom of 3 (Kikuchi at 40 pitches) 15 pitch inning

  1. Polanco lined out to left
  2. Garlick 1B’d on a LD to left field
  3. Nelson Cruz HR’d** (4) to right field to tie the game at 2!
    1. (Exit Velocity: 105mph, Distance: 364’, Launch Angle: 24º)
  4. Buxton hit a soft ground ball to the left side and SS J.P. Crawford was coming in hard and every Twins fan knew Buxton was going to be safe but Crawford rushed his throw*** thinking he could get him and overthrew the base so Buxton took 2nd.
  5. Garver K’d swinging
  6. Kepler popped up to a shifted SS to end the 3rd inning

Top of 4 (Pineda at 40 pitches) 13 pitch inning

  1. Seager popped up to 3rd and he slammed his bat on the field in disgust. 
  2. Marmolejos popped up to 2nd & he was disgusted, too.
  3. Torrens 1B’d on a groundball to RF
  4. Moore K’d swinging #BigMiKKKe

Bottom of 4 (Kikuchi at 55 pitches) 14 pitch inning

  1. Sano walked
  2. Simmons grounds into a 6-4-3 double play
  3. Arraez grounds out to short to end the 4th

Top of 5 (Pineda at 53 pitches) 9 pitch inning

  1. Trammell K’d looking #BigMiKKKKe
  2. Haggerty 1B’d up the middle against the shift
  3. Crawford popped out to left
  4. Haniger grounded out to 2nd

Bottom of 5 (Kikuchi at 69 pitches) 11 pitch inning

  1. Polanco grounded out back to the pitcher
  2. Garlick K’d swinging
  3. Cruz flew out to right center

Top of 6 (Pineda at 62 pitches) 13 pitch inning

  1. France K’d swinging at a nasty slider #BigMiKKKKKe
  2. Seager grounds out to a shifter SS
  3. Marmolejos popped up to LF

Bottom of 6 (Kikuchi at 80 pitches)

  1. Buxton lined out to right on a frozen rope (106mph off the bat)
  2. Garver K’d looking at a curveball on low & outside but in the zone.
  3. Kepler lined out to right center

Top of 7 (RHP Tyler Duffey replaced Pineda: 6IP 4H 2R/ER 0BB 5K on 75 pitches)

  1. Torrens grounds out to 3rd
  2. Moore flew out to right
  3. Trammell BB’d
  4. Haggerty flew out to left

Bottom of 7 (RHP Casey Sadler replaced Kikuchi – 94 pitches)

  1. Sano popped out to 3rd
  2. Simmons 1B’d on a groundball to left
  3. Arraez lined out to left
  4. Polanco K’d swinging 

Top of 8 (RHP Alex Colomé replaced Duffey-1IP 0H 1BB-17 pitches)

  1. Crawford hit a soft dribbler back to the pitcher for an infield 1B, Colomé got to it but the throw was a split second too late
  2. Haniger K’d swinging, Crawford stole 2nd base (1)
  3. France grounded out to 3rd, Crawford stayed at 2nd
  4. Seager hit an RBI-1B on a LD to CF to score Crawford – 3-2 SEA
  5. Seager stole 2nd (1) – no throw
  6. Marmolejos K’d swinging

Bottom of 8 (RHP Rafael Montero replaced Sadler-1IP 1H 1K-21 Pitches)

  1. Braden Bishop replaced Sam Haggerty in LF, batting 8th
  2. Garlick popped out to 2nd 
  3. Cruz BB’d non-intentionally but it was on 4 pitches so…
  4. Jake Cave pinch runs for Cruz
  5. Buxton is HBP’d (maybe just his jersey), Cave to 2nd
  6. Garver grounds out to 3rd, out at 1st, Cave to 3rd, Buxton to 2nd
  7. Wild Pitch scores Cave from 3rd to tie the game at 3!
  8. Max Kepler is intentionally BB’d
  9. Kepler steals 2nd (2); no throw & Justin Morneau said SEA won’t take a chance throwing to 2nd & give Buxton a chance to score. 
  10. Sano K’d looking at a 95mph fastball that looked outside to me****

Top of 9 (LHP Taylor Rogers replaced Colomé-1IP 2H 1R/ER 0BB 2K-24 pitches (15 strikes))

  1. Cave remains in the game as the DH
  2. Torrens grounded out to 3rd
  3. Moore popped out to 2nd
  4. Trammell popped out to a shifted short

Bottom of 9 (RHP Kendall Graveman replaced Montero-1IP 0H 1R/ER 2BB 1K-22 pitches (10 strikes))

  1. Simmons flew out to center
  2. Arraez grounded out to short
  3. Polanco grounded out to 1st

Top of 10 (Rogers still pitching) 

  1. Trammell starts the inning at 2nd base
  2. Bishop bunt single, Trammell to 3rd – Rogers couldn’t make the exchange from glove to throwing hand and didn’t even make a throw
  3. Crawford grounds out to 3rd, Trammell is held at 3rd, Bishop to 2nd
  4. Haniger is quickly down 0-2, sacrifice fly to left field, 4-3 SEA
  5. France grounds out to 2nd

Bottom of 10 (RHP Keynan Middleton replaced Graveman-1IP-7 pitches (7 strikes))

  1. Polanco starts the inning at 2nd base
  2. Willians Astudillo (La Tortuga) (Pinch Hit for Kyle Garlick) pops out to 1st
  3. Cave pops up to short
  4. Buxton hit a long foul ball down the left field line then grounds out sharply to short to end the game.

Thanks for reading our ‘Takes! Let us know your ‘Takes on Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook!!!

That’s why it’s…

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Minnesota Twins, Schedule | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Twins Open at Home with a Dominant Win

Posted on April 9, 2021 by Robb

It was the Minnesota Twins Home Opener yesterday afternoon! There were 10,000 fans in attendance (9,600+ according to Twins Prez Dave St. Peter) and the Twins did not disappoint as they clobbered the Seattle Mariners 10-2!

The Mariners actually scored 1st. Twins starter, RHP José Berríos, struck out 2 in the 1st inning, allowed a walk in the 2nd inning, which was followed by another strikeout, then he allowed a leadoff hit in the 3rd inning. That hit was followed by another strikeout then a popup to 3rd then another walk so…José was checking off 1sts for the season but they were all negative 1sts and those kept coming as the next batter (Ty France) hit an RBI-single to score the 1st run against José Berríos. The next batter also walked, the 2nd walk of the inning so Twins Pitching Coach Wes Johnson came out to talk to his young pitcher and the next batter lined out to right field to end the inning but the Twins were now down 1-0.

It’s always interesting to see how a team responds to getting scored on to see if they have the ability and compete-level to get right back in the game and the Twins did just that with back-to-back doubles from Jorge Polanco (1) & Kyle Garlick (1) to tie the game at 1 & it took just 4 pitches to get it done. Nelson Cruz walked and Byron Buxton grounded to short for a force out at 2nd but he beat the throw to 1st to keep 2 runners on. Garlick advanced to 3rd. Mitch Garver was up next.* He had the count at 2-2 and had only swung at the changeup for a swinging strike on the 3rd pitch then took the next pitch, a low changeup, for a ball. He fouled off an inside sinker then got another changeup and he crushed it over the center field wall into the juniper wall and Just Like That, the Twins were up 4-1.

Garv Sauce Delivered to Center Field! Have a Ball, Juniper Wall!

Berríos got a lead and struck out the side in the next inning on 17 pitches (2 swinging, 1 looking). A 15-minute Rain Delay split the top & bottom of the 4th inning then the Twins went down 1-2-3 in the 4th as well, 2 of those via strikeout.

In the 5th, Sam Haggerty tried to lay down a bunt on Berríos and José was having none of it as he pounced on it and threw him out then struck out the next batter for 2 quick outs but back-to-back singles from Mitch Haniger & Ty France brought Kyle Seager to the plate as the game-tying run. José had him down 0-2 but he & his shortstop were also keeping an eye on Mitch Haniger at 2nd base as he was taking a big lead and, he’d already picked off a runner trying to steal in the 2nd inning. Seager had fouled off 2 straight pitches to keep the at-bat alive. They tried a pickoff throw before the 1st pitch of the at-bat and that was somewhat close. They tried it again after the 4th pitch and it was even closer. It was called safe on the field but it was close enough for the Twins to challenge the call…and they Overturned the Call to end the 5th inning.**

Justin Morneau’s reaction on the 1st replay is great…”Ooh…that might be…you might take a look at that.”

The Twins then scored 3 more runs in the bottom of the 5th on Byron Buxton’s 4th HR of the season which was followed by a double off the right center field wall from Mitch Garver. Max Kepler then smoked a ball 108mph off his bat and heading toward right field but Seattle 1st baseman José Marmolejos (Mar-Ma-Lay-Hos) jumped and snagged it for the 1st out. Miguel Sano brought in Garver with a single to left field and that ended the day for Mariners starter LHP Marco Gonzales as RHP Drew Steckenrider took over and he was greeted by an Andrelton Simmons double (2) to left field. Sano advanced to 3rd and he was brought in on a Luis Arraez sacrifice fly to left field to make it 7-1.

Berríos came out for the 6th and got Seager to fly out to center field but then left a curveball up and didn’t see that ball again after José Marmolejos put it in the 2nd deck of right center field to get Seattle a run back. He struck out the next batter and that’s when Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli decided 99 pitches was enough for his pitcher as Seager’s flyout was to deep center field so pulled him for LHP Caleb Thielbar.

Caleb (or Kaleb) struck out the next batter to end the top of the 6th. He also pitched the 7th inning for the Twins and he allowed a leadoff single then an error allowed the next batter to reach but he induced a double-play ball to get 2 quick outs then got a called strikeout to get through the 7th with no damage done.

The Twins had 3 singles in the bottom of the 6th including Byron Buxton’s 1st single of the season*** and they got a check-swing RBI-infield hit that brought in the speedy Nelson Cruz to make it 8-2.

In the bottom of the 7th, Andrelton Simmons hit a leadoff double (3) then Luis Arraez joined the Power Producers by hitting his 1st HR of the season, a shot over the right center field wall. That’s his 1st HR since 2019 as he didn’t hit one in the shortened 2020 season.

Luis Arraez made the ball arise over the right center field wall for his 1st HR of the season.

RHP Jorge Alcala took over in the 8th and needed just 9 pitches to set the Mariners down 1-2-3. The Twins got a Willians Astudillo single to leadoff the bottom of the 8th but left him on base.

In the top of the 9th, LHP Brandon Waddell, recently added from the Taxi Squad to take the roster spot of OF Brent Rooker, came in to make his Minnesota Twins debut. He got a flyout from the 1st batter he faced then walked the next batter and allowed a double that had runners on 2nd & 3rd but he got a flyout to center and a groundout to 2nd to end the game.

The Twins get Friday off then get back at it in Game 2 against the Mariners at 1:10pm when Twins RHP Michael Pineda (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) takes the mound against Seattle LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) on Bally Sports North.

Game Notes:

*Some people were already thinking Mitch Garver was struggling & looking more like the Mitch Garver from last season as opposed to the 2019 version who slugged 31 Home Runs. He was only 2-for-14 in the first 6 games with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts. One of the 2 hits was a Home Run. Is 2-for-14 good? Is 7 strikeouts good? No, but it’s only 14 at-bats and he only started 3 of those 5 games. The 2 other games were pinch-hit at-bats and the 3rd start was leading off against Detroit left-hander Matthew Boyd who he struck out 3 times against. He also struck out 3 times in the 1st game of the season.

He was coming off a late injury in Spring Training, too. It’s just too early to start worrying about any player regardless of how they’re doing. Give them at least some home games and some time to get in some kind of routine and to get some confidence going and also look at if/how he’s hitting the ball. Is he making solid contact or just missing? The bottom line is Mitch deserves plenty of time before anyone starts thinking he’s not able to repeat anything close to that historic 2019 season.

**The pickoff at 2nd in the top of the 5th was a huge play in the game as Seager was the tying run at the plate and who knows what happens since Seager had already walked and had also fouled off 2 pitches to keep the at-bat alive but José Berríos & Andrelton Simmons executed the pickoff to perfection as the throw was right on the money and, as Justin Morneau said, Andrelton Simmons’ “…glovework is just incredible.”

***It’s pretty rare to point out a player’s first single of the season but it’s game 7 and that was Byron Buxton’s 8th hit of the season. The other 7 hits were of the extra-base variety with 3 of them being doubles and the other 4 being home runs. This is why the crowd started chanting MVP after his HR in the 5th. This is what Byron Buxton can do. We just hope we can see it for a full season THIS season. If we do, the Twins might be a special team!

Thank you for reading our ‘Takes! We’d love to hear your ‘Takes in the comments or on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn or Facebook!

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Baseball News and Happenings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twins go for Series win #2 today in Detroit with Maeda on the mound & Buxton starting

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Robb

The Minnesota Twins had their ace RHP Kenta Maeda heading to the mound today to try to win their 2nd straight series in today’s rubber game vs the Detroit Tigers & they had Byron Buxton back in the starting lineup. Max Kepler & Luis Arraez got the day off so OF Kyle Garlick got his 1st Twins start, playing right field and hitting 2nd in the lineup in front of Nelson Cruz. Willians Astudillo got the start at 3rd base.

The Minnesota Twins also announced they had placed OF Brent Rooker on the 10-Day Injured List (IL) with a cervical strain which, if you didn’t know like I didn’t know, is just a medical term for neck pain.

Twins OF Brent Rooker placed on 10-Day Injured List with cervical strain (neck pain)

They selected the contract of LHP Brandon Waddell from the Taxi Squad to replace Rooker’s spot on the roster. To make room for Waddell on the 40-Man Roster, they transferred RHP Edwar Colina (right elbow inflammation) to the 60-Day Injured List.

Waddell had a great spring training and made the Twins decision a little more difficult for the final spot in the bullpen before eventually going with fellow lefty, Caleb Thielbar.

Maeda had a decent start but seemed to lose command again in the 6th as he did in his 1st start. Hopefully, he just needs some time to round out his game and some home-cooking will do that. He allowed more than one hit per inning again. He didn’t do that once in 2020. NOT ONCE! Maybe that’s just how great of a season he had but I’d think he’d expect the same kind of stuff this season.

In the top of the 2nd, that Akil Baddoo guy once again made a big play by playing an Andrelton Simmons ball perfectly off the wall and then throwing him out at 2nd. Then in the bottom of the 2nd, he came up with 1 on & 1 out and hit his #1stMLBTriple to score a run and give his team a 1-0 lead.*

The Twins struggled to get anything going against #Tigers LHP Matthew Boyd until the 5th. They had just 2 hits through 4 innings then Byron Buxton led off the 5th with a hard line-drive off the right field wall that was played perfectly by Tigers RF Robbie Grossman but Buxton still slid in safe easily #SpeedTool Miguel Sano then hit a dribbler up the first baseline that allowed Buxton to advance to 3rd and then Willians #LaTortuga Astudillo brought him home with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1.

In the bottom of the 5th, Maeda gave up a solo HR to Wilson Ramos and the Tigers were up by 1 once again.

Then, with 2 outs in the top of the 6th, Kyle Garlick hit his 2nd single of the day. Nelson Cruz hit a ball hard that went off SS Willi Castro’s glove but 2B Jonathan Schoop bare-handed it and quickly threw to 1st for a close call that was an out that would’ve ended the inning BUT…the Twins challenged the call and it was overturned** to put runners on 1st & 2nd and Jorge Polanco to the plate. He hit 2 balls hard yesterday from the right side and he then laced his 1st double of the season to left center field that scored Garlick from 2nd AND Nelson Cruz all the way from 1st to put the Twins up 3-2.

In the bottom of the 6th, Willi Castro led it off with a single and Miguel Cabrera followed with a line-drive double(1) to left field that Jake Cave dove for but missed but he got up and got to it quickly knowing there was a runner on first. He hit the cutoff man in SS Andrelton Simmons and Simmons made a perfect throw to cut down Castro at home but that was just 1 out.
Jeimer Candelario walked & Nomar Mazara singled to right field on a hard line drive that didn’t give Cabrera a chance to score but the bases were now loaded with just one out. Jonathan Schoop came to the plate and he hit a hard fly ball to right field. Garlick caught it and Cabrera was sent home but Garlick’s throw beat him easily to end the inning.***

There were only two more baserunners for the rest of the game, one hit by pitch and one single.

Boyd hit Simmons with a pitch but finished his day with 7 very good innings. RHP Hansel Robles pitched a perfect 7th for MN with 1 strikeout. RHP Jose Cisnero took over for Detroit in the 8th and set down all 6 twins he faced in the 8th & 9th innings.

RHP Alex Colome came in the game in the 8th for the Twins. He struck out Grossman then allowed a single to Willi Castro but he got Miguel Cabrera to ground into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.

Colome came out to go for the 2-inning save and he got ahead of Jeimer Candelario 0-2 to begin the 9th but the next pitch was fouled off and the next 3 were balls to make the count full but got him to strike out on nasty low & inside cutter for the first out. He got Nomar Mazara to fly out to center & up came Jonathan Schoop. He got ahead by taking a 95mph fastball for a ball then fouled off an 88mph cutter that was middle in to even the count at 1-1. A 90mph cutter just missed for ball 2 then swung through a low outside 94mph heater and…

he GOT HEEM with an inside 90mph cutter to end the game and earn his 2nd save of the season.

It’s cool to see how well Colome changes speeds with his cutter and by pairing it with his fastball and changeup.

MNTwins 3, #DetroitRoots 2 | F

W-Maeda(1-0) L-Boyd(1-1) S-Colomé(2) H-Robles(2)

Maeda-6IP 7H 2R/ER 1BB 6K 1HR 1W
Robles-1IP 1KColomé-2IP 1H 3K 1 Save

HR:
MN-None
DET-Ramos(2)

2B:
MN-Buxton(2) Polanco(1)
DET-Cabrera(1)

Buxton-2B,R
Polanco-GW 2-R 2B in 6th
Garlick-2H,R
Cruz-H,R
Simmons-H,#Defense
Cave-H,#Defense-Outfield Assist

Garlick also had an outfield assist as the defense in the 6th held the 1-run lead.

Notes:

*It’s funny how a former prospect starting his career well makes some fans think/wonder why the Minnesota Twins gave up on him. We’re, of course, talking about Detroit Tigers & former Minnesota Twins OF prospect Akil Baddoo, who’s started his career insanely well with a Home Run in the first pitch he saw as a Major Leaguer then hit a Grand Slam late in the Twins 15-6 win on Monday and hit a Walk-Off Single to win the game last night!

He continued making plays today with the first triple of his career to put his team in front in the bottom of the 2nd. He then added an outfield assist to cut down Andrelton Simmons on what looked like a clear double to begin the 3rd inning.

So…let’s get to why the Twins “let him go.” I put that in quotes because Major League Baseball rules only allow teams to control players for a certain length of time before they have to make them available to every other team in the league through the Rule 5 Draft. It started as a way “to give Minor League players more opportunities to crack big league rosters and prevent teams from stashing talented players in the Minor Leagues.”

Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be added to their club’s 40-Man Roster within five seasons or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed at age 19 or older need to be protected within four seasons.

So…Akil Baddoo was a minor-leaguer who had yet to play above High-A ball and the Twins only had 3 spots available so Baddoo was left available. I’m sure they thought but also hoped nobody would select any of their players but that’s just how it goes and for the Twins, that sucks because they need to be able to keep as many prospects as possible. Who would think a player would be doing this after not playing any baseball games in almost 2 years (May 11th, 2019) and it’s not like he was lighting it up at High-A ball, either:

Akil Baddoo hit .214/.290/.393 (AVG/OBP/SLG) in 2019

The key is how long will this last for Akil Baddoo? We assume he’ll come back to earth at some point and/or the league will adjust to him so….we’ll see how he handles that and if, maybe, the Twins get a chance to either get him back or get something for him if Detroit wants to keep him.

**How HUGE was the Challenge that overturned the bad call by the ump in the 6th? It kept the inning going and allowed Jorge Polanco to put his stamp on the game with the game-winning hit! It’s awesome to see the 40-year-old running hard to beat the throw to first then to score the eventual game-winning run! He had some fun with it in the postgame, too. He said he told Buxton earlier that he’s faster than him and he was asked if him being safe & Miguel Cabrera being out at home “proved that you’re faster than Miguel Cabrera?” by the Twins writer from The Athletic, Aaron Gleeman:

He also quoted a tweet from the Detroit Tigers about being tormented by him for the last decade:

Last but not least, he replied to the Twins & Byron Buxton on a Twins tweet about the win today talking about his speed being on display today:

Nelson Cruz is just good for the game of baseball! Haha

***The defense played a huge part in the win today. Simmons throw to get Willi Castro at home in the bottom of the 6th are the kinds of plays they paid $10.5M to sign him to be their shortstop this season. It’s why he’s considered possibly the best defensive shortstop in the league!

The #MNTwins will start a 7-game homestand starting with the #HomeOpener tomorrow at 3:10pm against the Seattle Mariners with 10,000 #TwInsane fans in the stands at #TargetField!

Minnesota Twins RHP José Berríos (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP) #LaMakina
vs
Seattle RHP Marco Gonzalez (0-0, 7.50 ERA, 1.83 WHIP)

📺: Bally Sports North

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Baseball News and Happenings | 2 Comments

UPDATED: Minnesota Twins OF Eddie Rosario Placed on Waivers, Could Be Non-Tendered

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Robb
A Whole Lotta Rosie May Be A Whole Lotta Gone by the End of the Day, Today.

BREAKING NEWS & EDDIE ROSARIO UPDATE!!

Both LHP Caleb Thielbar ($700K) & RHP Tyler Duffey ($2.2M) have avoided arbitration and are signed for the 2021 season. Eddie Rosario cleared waivers but the Twins are rumored to be still negotiating with him and have until 7pm tonight before he would become a free agent if they non-tender him which was the point of sending him through waivers.

Reporter Ken Rosenthal from The Athletic reports the #MNTwins placed OF Eddie Rosario on outright waivers today giving him a chance to be claimed which is a pretty big sign the Minnesota Twins will non-tender the veteran OF because they don’t want to pay him his projected $9.6M arbitration salary. 

Rosenthal then goes on to say the Twins have been trying to trade him but there have been no takers. He would clear waivers at 12pm today, making a case for the club that no team wants to pay him the predicted arbitration salary. They could then try to sign him at a lower price by the 7pm deadline to tender players today. They wouldn’t have to sign him by that deadline since they wouldn’t be tendering him & he’d be a free agent but they would be the only team negotiating with him up until the deadline and, of course, could keep negotiating after the deadline.

Most people believe he will be a free agent in about 7 hours but…

Eddie Rosario is only 29-years old and he’s heading into the prime of his career. He has shown to have a lot of value in all areas of the game but he does has his flaws or weaknesses. He’s impatient at the plate. He improved that part of his game in 2020 even if it wasn’t a huge improvement. It was noticeable and he had previously said it’s something he wanted to improve.

He’s aggressive in all areas of the game. He swings for the fences and a lot of the time, it doesn’t matter where the ball is thrown for him to swing. He tests the opposing team’s defense with his aggressive base-running which sometimes sees him run into an out.

Manager Rocco Baldelli had him hitting 3rd (6) or 4th (29) in the lineup for 35 of the Twins 60 games last season (16 games at 5th, 4 at 6th) showing what he thinks of Rosie. Eddie has turned into a leader in the clubhouse and it’s clear he enjoys playing the game and he wants to win.

This issue isn’t necessarily about the money. He’s likely worth his predicted salary but the Twins also have 2-3 players who are ready to get a shot at the big leagues in OFs Alex Kirilloff, Brent Rooker & Trevor Larnach. They also have Jake Cave & LaMonte Wade who could step into that role. So not only would they save money, they have options and the pandemic may have caused them to have to be a little more cautious with their payroll.

For most Twins fans, they believe it’s time to give a spot to the Twins #2 Prospect OF Alex Kirilloff who debuted in Game 2 of the postseason and recorded his 1st MLB Hit with a line drive to right field in his 2nd at-bat. I agree that he looks ready but it’s very rare that a player is just given a spot in the lineup. He definitely deserves a shot but there are no guarantees he will succeed and/or become great instantly. It usually takes some time and there are hills & valleys of success as teams/pitchers start to see how a hitter adapts to how he’s being pitched. Am I worried about Alex Kirilloff at the plate? No…because he’s a hitting machine but he also has yet to play a game at the AAA level.

We’ll see & maybe hear what the Twins think of Eddie Rosario at some point today.

Here are the MLB rules on Outright Waivers & Tenders/Non-Tenders

What do you think, #TwinsTakers?

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Baseball News and Happenings, Minnesota Twins, Transactions | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Who Will the Minnesota Twins Add to their 40-Man Roster?

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Robb

The Minnesota Twins have to make decisions on a bunch of players to see if they want to add them to their 40-Man Roster.

The top players they’ll have to decide have usually reached at least the AA level because a team has to be willing to carry that player on their Major League roster for the entire season in order to keep them in their organization. If players have yet to reach AA, they probably aren’t going to be much help on the major league roster and, although there are some teams that might not worry about that, those are less likely to be selected off another team’s roster.

Do we have to adjust some players, speculating where they would’ve started & ended this season were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic?

First off, the Minnesota Twins currently have 9 spots available on their 40-Man Roster because there are 9 players who are set to become free agents (10 if you don’t think they’ll bring back RHP Sergio Romo, who has a $250K buyout of his $5M option for next season.)

So…we’ll just go with the top prospects for now and we’ll go by the order of their Top 30 Prospects:
Two of the Twins top prospects are were listed in their player pool and they’re pretty easy decisions since one of them is their top pitching prospect, RHP Jordan Balazovic.

The other is LHP Charlie Barnes, who had reached AAA at the end of the 2019 season but he got hit pretty hard in 4 starts. He was promoted to AA in late May after a slow start. His fastball is basically high-80s/low-90s but his changeup is a good pitch. He struck a batter per inning but he has a relatively high WHIP at 1.360 in AA so with that velocity, I’d probably say the leave him available but since he’s a lefty, I’m going to go 50/50 on if they add him or not. Barnes is not currently on their Top 30 Prospects list. Unprotected

#9 Prospect SS Wander Javier – Low A
—He was left unprotected in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft so it’s hard to believe they now feel they should protect him now after this season of no games but…he is a shortstop so…you never know. Unprotected

#13 OF Akil Baddoo – High A
—Akil has only played 29 games at the High-A level and his career minor league average is .249 but he’s been fun to follow as a speedy outfielder. Unprotected

#22 3B/INF Jose Miranda – AA (just 1 game, though)
—Kind of the same as Akil Baddoo above. He hasn’t really hit enough for me to believe the Twins would protect him. Unprotected

#25 Yunior Severino – Low A
—Acquired after the Braves were penalized in 2017 & had to forfeit international prospects but the 21-year-old has barely played at the low A level. Unprotected

#27 C Ben Rortvedt – AA
—Good, defensive catcher who has made it to AA and shown some plate discipline. He’s 23 but he’s a catcher who’s one of their top prospects. Protected

#30 OF Gabriel Maciel – High A
—Acquired with RHP Jhoan Duran & OF Ernie De La Trinidad in the Eduardo Escobar trade, Gabriel is a speedy outfielder & a switch-hitting contact hitter with good plate discipline who can steal some bases. You could argue that he would’ve made it to AA in a normal 2020 season. Protected

Tomorrow, we’ll look at some other players who’ve already been unprotected and not selected in the Rule 5 Draft that the Twins might think about protecting since we have only 3 so far. It might be very doubtful they protect any players who were not plucked last season especially when you consider how this season went for them but it’s fun to look at more prospects.

Thanks for reading out ‘Takes! We’d love to hear your ‘Takes. After all, that’s why it’s…

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Minnesota Twins, Minor League Affilliates, My Twins Takes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment