Minnesota Twins Recap vs Tigers – 9-4-2020

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Robb
2-0 Win behind some great pitching and these 2 hits!

The Minnesota Twins were looking for some redemption in a 5-game series against the Detroit Tigers that started with one of them 7-inning doubleheaders today. Game 1 had Twins RHP Randy Dobnak on the mound vs Detroit Tigers LHP Matthew Boyd who went 6 innings against them in his last start on August 29th, allowing just 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits (1 HR (Cruz) and 0 walks while striking out 6. Will the Twins turn the tables on him today?

Roster Moves – Rooker Of The Year

The Minnesota Twins placed RF Max Kepler on the 10-day Injured List (IL) and they have selected the contract of OF/1B Brent Rooker & he will make his #MLBDebut in Game 1 of today’s doubleheader vs Detroit.

The Twins also added C Willians aka #LaTortuga “The 🐢” Astudillo as their 29th man for the DH today. RHP Juan Minaya cleared waivers and was assigned to the Twins Alternate Training Site in St. Paul.

LF Eddie Rosario will sir for Game 1 along with CF Byron Buxton who will likely be in the lineup for Game 2 as they ease him back into an everyday role. Ehire Adrianza is at 2B & Marwin Gonzalez is in RF. RHP Randy Dobnak is on the mound against LHP Matthew Boyd as the Twins look for some redemption vs Detroit. 

Remember, Game 2 will be considered a Home Game for Detroit as it’s a makeup game from the postponed game last week in Detroit!

Twins Lineup:
SS Jorge Polanco
3B Josh Donaldson
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Miguel Sano
RF Marwin Gonzalez
2B Ehire Adrianza 
LF Brent Rooker – MLB Debut
CF Jake Cave
C Ryan Jeffers

Tigers lineup:
CF Victor Reyes
2B Jonathan Schoop
DH Miguel Cabrera
1B Jeimer Candelario
SS Willi Castro
LF Christin Stewart
RF Travis Demeritte
C Austin Romine
3B Isaac Paredes

Twins starter RHP Randy Dobnak allowed back-to-back 1-out singles from Schoop & Cabrera before striking out Candelario swinging on 3 pitches then got Willi Castro to ground out to 3rd.

The Twins got a couple back-to-back hits in the first, too, but theirs were hit a lot further as Jorge Polanco & Josh Donaldson both hit solo HRs to put the Twins up by 2 early. It was Jorge’s 4th & Josh’s 2nd of the season.

Cruz followed with a line-drive single but both Sano & Gonzalez struck out swinging on check swings then Adrianza flew out to right field to end the 1st inning. 2-0 Twins

Stewart singled to lead off the top of the 2nd for Detroit then Demeritte walked but Dobnak got a GIDP (Grounded Into Double Play) ball to get 2 quick outs. Paredes then struck out swinging to end the top of the 2nd.

Twins LF Brent Rooker led off the bottom of the 2nd with his 1st MLB Plate Appearance and on a 1-2 pitch, he was hit in the right foot/ankle. Not that exciting but, hey, he’s reached base every time he’s come to the plate. Cave & Jeffers struck out then Polanco grounded into a force out. Rooker out at 2nd to end the 2nd.

Reyes singled to left to lead off the 3rd inning but Dobnak got another double play ball as the Twins went 5-4-3 this time. The Twins needed to challenge the safe at first call to get it overturned. Cabrera then flew out to RF to end the top of the 3rd. Josh Donaldson was then hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the 3rd but a double-play and a strikeout ended that quickly. End of 3.

Both teams were set down 1-2-3 in the 4th. Detroit went groundout, groundout & popout and the Twins had 2 flyouts to right field then Brent Rooker lined the first pitch he saw right to shortstop Willi Castro and the 102mph exit velocity of that ball knocked him over but he held on to the ball to end the 4th. Still 2-0 Twins

Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli made a defensive substitution by bringing in CF Byron Buxton to replace Rooker but to play center field. Jake Cave moved from CF to LF then Dobnak set the Tigers down 1-2-3 again going groundout to 3rd, swinging strikeout & lineout to right. The Twins got a 1-out single from Jeffers but a double play ended that quickly to end the 5th.

RHP Tyler Duffey came in to pitch the 6th and he got Reyes to fly out to center then struck out both Schoop & Cabrera swinging to end the top of the 6th. The Twins went down 1-2-3 themselves with a Donaldson strikeout, a Nelson Cruz lineout and a Sano strikeout, his 3rd of the day but…Still 2-0 Twins

Rocco still went to LHP Taylor Rogers to try to earn his 8th save of the season as he tries to get things going a little smoother every time he comes in to pitch. He allowed a leadoff single to Jeimer Candelario then threw a Wild Pitch that allowed Candelario to advance to 2nd. He got Castro to ground out to short for the 1st out. Candelario advanced to 3rd. Jorge Bonifacio then pinch-hit for Christin Stewart and grounded out to 3rd and Candelario stayed at 3rd instead of going home on the ground ball. Justin Morneau called that a bad play because Josh Donaldson is going to take the easy out at 1st rather than try to get him out at home.

That brought Travis Demeritte to the plate. He was 0-1 with a walk and began the at-bat taking 2 balls. Rogers came back with strike 1 on a low inside curveball then threw a fastball high & outside but clearly in the zone but it was called a ball making the count 3-1 instead of 2-2.

Look at that 4th pitch. How is that called a ball?

Taylor Rogers came back with a low fastball in the zone for a full count then had a curveball fouled off before throwing some 95mph HIGH HEAT to strike out Demeritte swinging to end the game and give Randy Dobnak his 6th win of the season, which ties him for the league lead.

He was very good today: 5IP 4H 0R/ER 1BB 4K 2 DP 1 Win

#MNTwins 2, #DetroitRoots 0 | F
W-Dobnak(6-2) L-Boyd(1-5) S-Rogers(8)
H-Duffey(9)

Dobnak: 5IP 4H 0R/ER 1BB 4K 2DP 1 WIN
#MNBP: 2IP 1H 0R/ER 0BB 3K 1 Hold 1 Save
Duffey: 1IP 2K #TheStuffOfDuff
Rogers: 1IP 1H 1K

HR:
MN:Polanco(4) Donaldson(2)

Only 4 Twins hits & 5 Tigers hits so…uhh…pitching.
Cruz/Jeffers: H

Game 2 coming up very soon!

It still says TBD for the pitchers for both teams. What’s Tyler Duffey’s middle name? Does it “start” with a B?

It Does Start with a B! It’s Blinn if you didn’t know!

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Minnesota Twins Recap vs White Sox – 9-2-2020

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Robb

The Minnesota Twins sent RHP Jose Berrios to the mound and there is a possibility of rain 🌧 at Target Field tonight because 3B Josh Donaldson* has been activated off the 10-Day Injured List (IL) by the Minnesota Twins.
*Josh Donaldson’s Twitter handle is @BringerOfRain20 because he’s a huge fan of the show Spartacus: Blood & Sand and one of Spartacus’ nicknames in Bringer of Rain.

INF Ildemaro Vargas was Designated for Assignment (DFA’d) or Release to make room on the roster.

Here’s how the lineup looks for tonight’s Rubber Game against their White Sox, who send RHP Reynaldo Lopez to the mound. He faced the Twins in the 3rd game of the season in Chicago and was removed after getting only 2 outs in the first inning, as he allowed 4 earned runs (all scored with 2 outs in the 1st) on a 2 walks, a double off the bat of Nelson Cruz and a Grand Slam from Jake Cave. Does that bode well for the Twins tonight? That’s difficult to know but he did allow 4 runs in 7.1 innings on 7 hits and 4 walks while striking out 8 in his last 2 starts, lowering his Earned Run Average(ERA) from 54.00 to 9.00. We’ll see if the Twins raise that ERA back up again.

CF Byron Buxton is getting a regular day off so Jake Cave is in the lineup.

Time to start a Winning Streak, fellas!!!

Twins Lineup:
RF Max Kepler
3B Josh Donaldson
SS Jorge Polanco
DH Nelson Cruz
LF Eddie Rosario
1B Miguel Sano
2B Luis Arraez
CF Jake Cave
C Ryan Jeffers

White Sox lineup:
SS Tim Anderson
3B Yoan Moncada
C Yasmani Grandal
1B Jose Abreu
LF Eloy Jimenez
DH Edwin Encarnacion
CF Luis Robert
RF Nomar Mazara
2B Nick Madrigal

Are the Twins back, now? After a nice win last night, will they start having fun and play like they and their fans expect them to? Let’s find out!

Jose started the game by setting the Chicago White Sox down 1-2-3 in the top of the 1st with a groundout to short, a bunt attempt that Jose pounced on, barehanded and threw out Moncada at 1st and a strikeout looking on a foul tip on Yasmani Grandal. After the bunt attempt, Jose Berrios half-heartedly looked over at the White Sox dugout like you’re really going to try to bunt against me? Haha

In the bottom of the 1st, it looked like the Twins came to play as they got back-to-back singles from Max Kepler and Josh Donaldson then got a walk from Jorge Polanco to load the bases but Nelson Cruz struck out on a foul tip and Eddie Rosario grounded into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play. The Twins challenged the out at 2nd base because it appeared that Anderson didn’t have his foot on the bag but they stayed with the call on the field to end the 1st.

The White Sox got a leadoff single from Jose Abreu then a 1-out single from Edwin Encarnacion but Jose struck out the side to get out of that jam. The Twins led off the bottom of the 2nd with a Miguel Sano strikeout looking then Luis Arraez flew out to left field. Jake Cave then came up to the plate and he must really like hitting against Reynaldo Lopez because he hit his 2nd HR of the season out to center field to put the Twins up 1-0. Both of Cave’s HRs have come off of Lopez, his first one in the 3rd game of the season on a Grand Slam in the 1st inning.

Jake Cave’s 2nd HR of the season & his 2nd HR off White Sox RHP Reynaldo Lopez!

Ryan Jeffers walked then Max Kepler reached on an error and Josh Donaldson hit a beautiful line-drive to right center field that scored both Jeffers & Kepler and that was it for Lopez. He lasted an inning longer than the last time he faced the Twins. Progress.

Donaldson hits a 2-run double (1) in his return from the injured list.

LHP Ross Detwiler came in for the White Sox and walked Polanco on 5 balls. 1 of them was called a strike as the homeplate ump had a rough night calling pitches. Cruz then grounded out to end the 2nd. 3-0 Twins

Marwin Gonzalez replaced Max Kepler in the top of the 3rd due to a left groin injury. 

Berrios allowed a lead off single to Nick Madrigal then got a double play ball off the bat of Tim Anderson but the throw from 2nd was offline and may not have beaten Anderson anyway. Moncada then walked. Twins Pitching Coach Wes Johnson went out to talk to Jose Berrios then Berrios walked the bases loaded and, with the Twins infield in to cut down the run, he induced a groundball but Sano may have taken his eye off the ball for a split second to look at the runner at 3rd. The run scored but he still got the out at 1st and Berrios struck out Jimenez swinging for the 2nd time to end the top of the 3rd. 3-1 Twins

We’ve said this a lot on here but we’ll keep saying it. The 2019 Twins had a resilience about them that came out whenever they were scored on or lost a game or a series so we wondered if they are getting back to that and after being scored on in the top of the 3rd, would they respond to it in the bottom of the 3rd.

Rosario grounded out to 1st for the 1st out. That brought up Miguel Sano and he appeared to have swung on a check swing but they 1st base coach said he didn’t so it was Ball 3 and a full count. The very next pitch went off the facing of the 2nd deck in left center field for Miguel Sano’s 8th HR of the season.

Sano goes off the facing of the 2nd deck for his 8th HR of the season.

Arraez singled afterward but Cave struck out and Jeffers popped out to 1st to end the 3rd but respond they did. 4-0 Twins

The White Sox went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 4th on a lineout, a groundout and Jose Berrios’ 6th strikeout. The Twins had Polanco reach on an error from the 3B and Cruz followed with a single but Rosie fouled out on a popup to 1st to end the 4th.

The White Sox got a baserunner on a Luis Arraez fielding error and that baserunner advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch but Moncada struck out and Grandal flew out to left to end the threat. RHP Zack Burdi replaced LHP Ross Detwiler to pitch the 5th for the White Sox and he gave up a Miguel Sano double(12) high off the right center field wall. Arraez then grounded into a forceout at 1st. Jose Abreu saw Sano off of 2nd so he got Sano in a rundown and Sano just wanted to stay in it long enough to allow Arraez to get to 2nd but a throw from SS Tim Anderson got past 3rd base, allowing Sano to score. Arraez was already at 2nd so they could’ve just chased Sano down. Jake Cave hit an RBI-single on a line-drive to right field to score Arraez from 2nd. Zack Burdi then struck out the side but did allow another walk. 6-1 Twins

Berrios began the 6th by hitting Jose Abreu with a pitch then struck out Jimenez for the 3rd time. He then got Encarnacion to fly out to right field and Luis Robert to line out to right field. RHP Jimmy Cordero replaced Zack Burdi to pitch the 6th & he walked Nelson Cruz. Eddie Rosario then hit his 8th HR of the season over the center field wall.

Eddie Rosario puts the Twins up 8-1 with his 8th HR of the season in the bottom of the 6th.

Sano struck out for the first out. Luis Arraez then reached on a fielding error in left field but limped out of the batter’s box after he hit the ball and he came off the field favoring his left leg. He was replaced by Ehire Adrianza but both Cave & Jeffers struck out to end the 6th. 8-1 Twins

Twins RHP Jorge Alcala replaced Jose Berrios who had a line of 6IP 3H 1R/ER 2BB 8K 1 HBP & 1 WP. Alcala went the next 2 innings allowing just 1 hit, a double to CF by Yasmani Grandal in the top of the 8th that maybe should’ve just been a single but Jake Cave tried to catch it by diving forward and missed but got enough of it to hold Grandal to a double. Up 7 runs in the 8th, do you need to dive to try to make a catch there? I don’t know. It’s up for debate. I’d be interested to hear your ‘Takes on that. Alcala got Abreu to strike out and pinch-hitter Jarrod Dyson to ground out to end the top of the 8th so it didn’t matter.

Twins LHP Devin Smeltzer got the 9th and struck out Edwin Encarnacion swinging for the 1st out then got a ground out to short & a lineout to center to end the game.

#MNTwins 8, #ChangeTheGame 1 | F
W-Berrios(3-3) L-Lopez(0-2)

Berrios:6IP 3H 1R/ER 2BB 8K 1 WIN #LaMaKKKKKKKKina
#MNBP:3IP 1H 0R/ER 0BB 3K…
Alcala:2IP 1H 0R/ER 0BB 2K
Smeltzer:1IP 0H 0R/ER 0BB 1K

HR:
MN:Cave(2) Sano(8) Rosario(8)

2B:
MN:Donaldson(1) Sano(12)

Kepler: H, R Left game in 2nd (left groin)
Arraez: H, R Left game in 6th (left foot/leg?)

Donaldson: 2-5-2-run 2B(1)
Sano: HR(8) 2B(12) 2 R
Cave: HR(2) RBI-1B
Rosario: HR(8) 2 RBI
Polanco: 2 BB
Cruz: H, BB, R
Jeffers: BB, R
Marwin: BB

Day off tomorrow.

5-Game Series vs DET begins on FRI w/Game 1 considered a DET home game because of the postponed game last week.

Game 1: 1:10pm – RHP Dobnak vs LHP Boyd

Game 2: TBD – I believe since it’s a doubleheader, it’s 2 7-inning games and the 2nd game will start 30 minutes after Game 1 ends.

We’ll let you know if anything happens with the injuries to RF Max Kepler & 2B Luis Arraez. Arraez looked to be pretty upset so who knows how much that tells of the seriousness of it. He’s been dealing with left knee soreness off & on this season and he had the look of “Not again” so INF Ildemaro Vargas, who was Designated For Assignment so the Twins could activate Josh Donaldson, may be making a quick return to the roster. As for Kepler, it’s his groin & those are sometimes slow to heal so that could mean either a return recall of OF LaMonte Wade, Jr, or maybe OF/1B Brent Rooker who a lot of people have been saying the Twins need to call up. 

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Minnesota Twins Recap vs White Sox – 9-1-2020

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Robb

The Minnesota Twins got some reinforcements today in RHP Michael Pineda, who was activated off the restricted list after serving the rest of his 60-game suspension from last season and missing the first 36 games, to start tonight’s game. They also activated CF Byron Buxton off the 10-Day Injured List (IL) and are rumored to be activating 3B Josh Donaldson tomorrow.

To make room for those moves, the Designated RHP Juan Minaya for Assignment (DFA’d) of Release and Optioned OF LaMonte Wade, Jr to their Alternate Training Site in St. Paul.

So…how will RHP Michael Pineda pitch after missing almost a full year of competition? His last game was on September 6th and No…I don’t count playing intrasquad games in St. Paul as competition. It’s not the same thing.

The Chicago White Sox sent LHP Dallas Keuchel to the mound with his 5-2 record, his 2.70 ERA & his 1.04 WHIP. The Twins are going with a heavily right-handed lineup with Sano leading off for the 2nd time in his career.

Let’s find out! Here’s how they lined up:

Twins Lineup:
1B Miguel Sano
SS Jorge Polanco
DH Nelson Cruz
RF Marwin Gonzalez
LF Eddie Rosario
3B Ehire Adrianza 
CF Byron Buxton
2B Ildemaro Vargas
C Ryan Jeffers

White Sox lineup:
SS Tim Anderson
C Yasmani Grandal
1B Jose Abreu
DH Edwin Encarnacion
LF Eloy Jimenez
CF Luis Robert
RF Nomar Mazara
3B Yolmer Sanchez
2B Nick Madrigal

In the top of the 1st, the 1st batter, White Sox SS Tim Anderson, reached on what some say is a bad play by Miguel Sano. He was shifted a little further off of 1st base and a groundball was hit to his right and he went for it but missed it and Pineda didn’t have time to get to 1st but was Pineda going to 1st right away? He was but he hesitated a little bit and couldn’t get to first. I honestly don’t know if Sano can get to 1st in time to make that play. I do think instincts took over and it’s a hit against the shift.

Grandal flew out to left field. Abreu singled to left field. Anderson advanced to 2nd. Encarnacion lined out to center field. Eloy Jimenez doubled to the left center field wall to score Anderson from 2nd & Abreu from 1st and the White Sox took a 2-0 lead early. Luis Robert then lined out to left to end the top of the 1st. 2-0 White Sox

The Twins got a 2-out walk from DH Nelson Cruz but that’s it in the first. Pineda set the White Sox down 1-2-3 in the 2nd, groundout, swinging K & another groundout. Eddie Rosario led off the bottom of the 2nd with a single through the shift but Adrianza struck out, Buxton flew out & Vargas grounded out. Still  2-0 White Sox

Pineda allowed a leadoff single to Tim Anderson but got Yasmani Grandal to ground into a shifted 4-5-3 double play to clear the bases and Abreu popped out to end the top of the 3rd. Polanco & Cruz both hit 2-out singles but Marwin grounded into a force out to end the 3rd.

Pineda struck out Encarnacion swinging to begin the 4th and got Jimenez to fly out to center and Robert to ground out to 3rd for his 2nd 1-2-3 inning of the game. Buxton hit a 2-out single on a line drive to center & Vargas walked but Jeffers struck out swinging to end the 4th. 2-0 White Sox

Pineda got the first 2 batters out to begin the 5th, one via strikeout & one groundout but he loaded the bases on 2 singles and a walk before a Mound Visit and he then got Abreu to ground out to 1st to end the threat. Sano lead off the bottom of the 5th with a strikeout but both Jorge Polanco & Nelson Cruz singled. Polanco advanced to 3rd on Cruz’ single. Marwin Gonzalez then grounded into a force out but White Sox 1B dropped the ball which allowed Polanco to score from 3rd. Cruz out at 2nd. Rosie singled but Adrianze lined out to center to end the 5th. 2-1 White Sox

Pineda then finished his outing by setting the White Sox down 1-2-3 for the 3rd time, getting Encarnacion to fly out to center but this wasn’t just any flyout. Byron Buxton had to make a Game-Changing catch to bring this ball back into the park.

BuxTon of Defense! Defense Tool!

Jimenez then struck out swinging and Robert grounded out back to Pineda to end the 6th. 2-1 White Sox

RHP Jimmy Cordero came into to pitch the 6th for the White Sox. Keuchel’s line was 5IP 7H 1R 0ER 2BB 4K. Buxton popped out to 1st for the 1st out. Jake Cave pinch-hit for Ildemaro Vargas and then tripled on a 97mph fastball down the middle for the payoff pitch and there was some excitement in the building even if the crowd wasn’t going wild because they weren’t there. Luis Arraez then pinch-hit for Ryan Jeffers and he hit the first pitch he saw, an 88mph changeup down the middle, to right center field for an RBI-double (4) and THIS….GAME….WAS….TIED!!! Arraez was then trying to get a rise out of his teammates on the bench with some emotion at 2nd base. Sano hit a groundball to short and Arraez must have thought he could beat the throw but…he didn’t so 2 outs and a runner on 1st instead of 2 outs and a runner on 2nd but Polanco lined out to center to end the 6th. 2-2 Tie Game

Twins LHP Caleb Thielbar has been a great story so far this season as he seems to have new life at 33-years-old now that he’s back in baseball and back with his hometown Twins (he’s from Northfield, MN.) Before tonight, he had pitched 9.2 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 13 for a 1.86 ERA & a 1.138 WHIP. Caleb allowed Mazara to single on a ground ball to right field then struck out Sanchez and got Madrigal to line out to left field before throwing a Wild Pitch that allowed Mazara to advance to 2nd but Caleb (or Kaleb as I like to call him) struck out Tim Anderson to end the inning. 

In the bottom of the 7th, Nelson Cruz led off with his 5th double of the season & his 3rd hit of the game. Chicago then made a Pitching Change to RHP Evan Marshall and he walked Marwin Gonzalez to put 2 on with no outs but Rosario flew out to left field and Adrianza lines out to center field to bring up Byron Buxton. Marshall threw him an inside fastball that Buxton hit foul down the left field line but Marshall followed that up with the exact same pitch and Bux straightened this one out for an RBI-single to left field to score Cruz from 2nd base and put the Twins in the lead.

That’s the last hit the Twins would get on the night. Would that matter?

RHP Sergio Romo took over for Thielbar to pitch the 8th and he got the 1st batter on a groundout and the 2nd batter on a flyout but he may have injured his leg during the at-bat against the 3rd batter. Remember, he had that little trick injury from last year where he would kind of limp but still get the job done? Well, that’s what he did. He jumped up a couple of times cringing from the pain but he still got Encarnacion to pop out to end the top of the 8th.

White Sox reliever RHP Steve Cishek struck out the side in the 8th against the Twins and since the bullpen was pretty used up in last night’s game, Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli made the call to RHP Matt Wisler to close out this game. Wisler has “opened” and done very well in any spot he’s been used in, allowing just 2 runs on 8 hits and 10 walks while striking out 19 in 15.2 innings before tonight. Also, in his 9 appearances so far this season, only 1, his 1st appearance, has been just 1 inning. The rest have seen him go out for more than 3 outs. Tonight, there were only 3 outs left to get.

The other thing you should know about Matt Wisler is that he throws sliders, a lot of sliders. That’s really why the Twins claimed him. They liked his slider. He likes his slider and now, Twins fans like his slider. He threw 16 pitches tonight and he got Jimenez to ground out to 3rd for the 1st out but Ehire Adrianza had to make a very nice diving play to his right then get up and make a great throw to first for Sano to still have to pick it for the 1st out. He then got Luis Robert to strike out swinging on 3 pitches for the 2nd out. Nomar Mazara came up as the White Sox last hope to extend the game and he worked the count 3-1 before Wisler threw a slider taken for strike 2 so it was payoff pitch time and…..STRIKE THREE SWINGING ON A SLIDER!!!

Every Pitch he threw was a slider! Maybe his name should be Matt Disler because his last name is just one letter away from spelling slider or…we can just call his pitches Wislers? Yeah! That’s better than S-L-I-W-E-R! I’m not even sure how you’d say that…Sliwer? Sly-wer! Sloo-wer? Nope! That’s dumb! I’m not doing it! Haha!

I did say this, though…You Can’t Spell Wisler without a W or an S! W for Win! S for Save!

Really nice win for the Twins tonight to snap the streak.

Losing streak SNAPPED!!! #tWINs

#MNTwins 3, #ChangeTheGame 2 | F

W-Thielbar(1-0) L-Cordero (0-2,BS(1))
H-Romo(9)

HR: None
3B:
MN:Cave(1)
2B:
MN: Arraez(4) CHW: Jimenez(6)

Buxton GW RBI-1B in 7th, Game-Saving Catch(?) in 6th

Pineda:6IP 6H 2R/ER 1BB 4K
#MNBP:3IP 1H 0R/ER 0BB 4K
Thielbar:1IP 1H 0R/ER 0BB 2K #KKaleb
Romo:1IP 0H 0R/ER 0BB 0K 1 Hold(9)
Wisler:1IP 0H 0R/ER 0BB 2K 1 Save!!!

Buxton:2-4-GW RBI-1B
Cave:PH 3B (1), R
Arraez:PH RBI-2B (4)
JoPo: 2-5, R
Cruz: 3-3, 2B(5), R
Rosie: 2 H
Adrianza: You can’t spell his name with a D for Defense!

Same teams, Same time tomorrow:
RHP Jose Berrios (vs RHP Reynaldo Lopez (9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP)

GAME TIME: 7:10pm on Fox Sports North

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Minnesota Twins Swept – Is it Time to Panic? NO!

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Robb

The Minnesota Twins sent their best current pitcher to the mound today in RHP Kenta Maeda. He pitched well except for a couple of mistake pitches that were sent out over the fence for solo home runs but 6 innings while allowing just 3 runs is considered a quality start and this Twins offense should be able to win the majority of games when their pitching only allows 3 runs.

That’s the problem, the Offense.

No Offense

So what’s wrong with the offense? Well, for starters, they’re without starters. Three starters are on the Injured List (IL) in C Mitch Garver, 3B Josh Donaldson & CF Byron Buxton. That’s a 3rd of their lineup and big parts of this team. 

Sadly, none of those guys were really lighting it up on offense before they went down with injuries but now you’re sending guys who aren’t considered starters in to play multiple games and they haven’t been playing…like…at all. But, that’s their job. Get out there & produce & they aren’t getting it done.

No excuses but why is it happening?

Are the Twins hitters trying to do too much? This could be the biggest reason for their struggles. Nobody is coming through to create more offense so is each player then putting more pressure on themselves to be The One who gets it done or gets it started?

In today’s game, someone said Nelson Cruz wanted his team to be more intense for today’s game. Is that a sign they are lacking confidence because of their struggles? That brings up the next point. They don’t look like they’re having fun right now. Having fun is a result of having confidence in your abilities and your teammates. Unfortunately, losing will destroy that confidence but they should get it back and maybe playing the next 8 games at home will do that.

They could win the next 8 games. It is possible. Most fans wouldn’t expect that to happen but that’s what’s great about this team & really any team. They don’t need to care what the fans think to have success.

I expect they will have an intense flight home talking about all of this and maybe playing the Chicago White Sox and a pitcher who pitched a no-hitter in his last game in RHP Lucas Giolito is just what they need.

This team responded to adversity almost every time last season so it’s time for them to step up and make some things happen starting tomorrow night. There are good leaders on this team in Manager Rocco Baldelli, DH Nelson Cruz, LF Eddie Rosario, LHP Taylor Rogers and others that will get together and fix this.

This is why it’s always fun to see how a team responds to losing a game, a series or having a bad stretch like a 3-6 road trip against their Central Division foes. The next 8 are also against the Central Division, too.

No Need to Panic!

The Minnesota Twins are 1.5 games back in the Division as this is being written. Cleveland lost and the White Sox are tied at 2 with the Royals and headed into extra innings so they’ll stay 1.5 games back regardless of the outcome of that game. They’ll either be 1.5 games back of just Cleveland or both Cleveland and Chicago. There are 25 games left in this 60-game season and 16 of those games at home for the Twins. This is their stretch run. There is no need to panic. Get your work in and a win tomorrow night changes the narrative.

They could get Josh Donaldson back soon and RHP Michael Pineda is scheduled to start on Tuesday. Someone said it’s time to call up one of their top prospects (OF Alex Kirilloff, OF/1B Brent Rooker or OF Trevor Larnach) & that it needs to be done.

A response to that said “..its time to make a big trade & to start benching some of these bums. Let them know that if they don’t play well, then they don’t play at all.”

Both of those are panic moves and there is no need to panic. Panicking is not what good teams do and threats seem like a rarity especially when it would be a pretty empty threat because who are you putting in their place? What move can you make in either of these situations? The only roster move that looks like could be an option would be to send RHP Juan Minaya back down to their Alternate Playing Site. His contract was recently selected so I don’t really see that happening unless it’s a move to activate RHP Cody Stashak. RPH Sean Poppen could be another option but I still think that move would be to bring up a different pitcher, not a position player.

Is there really any position player you could send down to bring up one of those prospects? It doesn’t look like it. You can’t send down a catcher because you only have two on the active roster. They have 6 infielders listed on the active roster in 1B Miguel Sano, 2B Luis Arraez, 2B Ildemaro Vargas, 3B/UTIL Marwin Gonzalez 3B/UTIL Ehire Adrianza & SS Jorge Polanco so they aren’t going anywhere. For outfielders, they have LF Eddie Rosario, OF LaMonte Wade, Jr, CF Jake Cave & RF Max Kepler.

Could LaMonte Wade be sent down for one of those prospects? Yes. Probably but they called him up because he can play every outfield spot. Marwin could play in the outfield if needed and Cave or Kepler can play center field, too. 

How healthy is Rosario? Well, he pinch-hit in the top of the 9th in today’s game so that probably means he’s not going on the 10-day IL. The only other active roster player is DH Nelson Cruz and he’s obviously not going anywhere.

We’ll see what happens but, again, they are 1.5 games back with 25 games to play. There is no need to panic.

Get home. Get some rest (and a nap or two) and come ready to play tomorrow night!

Highlights from Today’s 3-2 Twins loss to the Detroit Tigers

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Minnesota Twins get swept in today’s Doubleheader in Detroit

Posted on August 29, 2020 by Robb
Nelson Cruz hits HRs 12 & 13 today & now leads the league in HRs (tied with Fernando Tatis, Jr.)

The Twins got swept in both games of today’s 7-inning game doubleheader, losing 8-2 in Game 1 & 4-2 in Game 2.

The only real highlight was DH Nelson Cruz hitting a HR in both games for his 12th & 13th of the season.

In Game 2, they had runners on 1st & 2nd with no outs in the top of the 7th but grounded into a 5-4-3 double play then struck out looking to end the game so they at least had a chance to tie the game and maybe more but they just didn’t come through today.

Stats & Highlights from today’s game are here:
Game 1 – https://www.mlb.com/gameday/twins-vs-tigers/2020/08/29/631458#game_state=final,game_tab=videos,game=631458

Game 2 – https://www.mlb.com/gameday/twins-vs-tigers/2020/08/29/631458#game_state=final,game_tab=videos,game=631458

Get ’em Tomorrow! Will the Twins respond?

We’ll see how they respond tomorrow with RHP Kenta Maeda on the mound at 12:10pm on FOX Sports North.

Detroit will send their #2 prospect and top pitching prospect RHP Casey Mize to the mound. He’ll be making his 3rd career start and he’s been hit pretty hard in his previous 2 starts. He started 15 games at AA ball last season so he’s yet to pitch in AAA but it’s the only way he can get some actual real baseball games in this season so Detroit is putting him in there to get him some experience. They obviously believe in this kid but time will tell if it’s the right decision to give him a shot against the best players in the world. Is his makeup strong enough where if he pitches bad the whole time, it won’t affect his future?

Prospect Development during a Pandemic

This is just another strange aspect of this shortened season being played during a pandemic with no minor league baseball. The Royals have a couple of their top pitching prospects in their rotation, too: RHP Brady Singer & LHP Kris Bubic. It’s an interesting move for young teams looking to the future. It does bring up the topic of what will the league do for minor-league baseball?

What if this pandemic goes into next season? Will they find a way to hold minor-league games somewhere? The biggest question with that is probably the money it would cost to do it. It would likely have to be put on by the MLB & it’s teams but you’d think they’d want to do that to get their prospects back on the field so they can continue to develop instead of literally going a year (or another year) with no games to challenge them and see where they are at in their development.

The Minnesota Twins have 7 minor-league affiliates. That’s a lot of prospects who are not getting any work in this summer.

A Minor Bubble

How about a bubble or two or probably more? Hopefully, all 30 MLB organizations are thinking about what they can do and have several plans for both their Major & Minor-League teams. They might not need any plan but they have to be planning for anything and they’re currently dealing with their Major League teams playing through this pandemic so they’re learning about what works and maybe more importantly, what doesn’t work.

Could they do a regional bubble for each level? Or each league, maybe? I did a quick look and for the Twins teams, there are 14 teams in the AAA International League, 10 in the AA Southern League, 12 in the High-A Florida State League, 16 in the Low-A Midwest League, 10 in the Rookie Appalachian League and 18 in the Rookie Gulf Coast League. There are other leagues, too, but those are the leagues for the Twins and this is very hypothetical so we’re just going to go with that for now.

The NHL had two bubbles for 24 total teams, 12 in each bubble & they’ve proven it can work as they haven’t had one positive test since they’ve been in there. It’s taken a lot of very strict protocols to get it done so you’d have to make sure every player understands the importance of those protocols (Cough-Clevinger & Plesac-Cough) & the role it plays for their safety and the safety of everyone else. They might still have to shorten the season to do fewer games because even a 10-team league would have to try to find a way to do 5 games per day and at roughly 3 hours per game, it’d be pretty impossible so they’d have to do 2 sites or have days off for 4 teams each day. Some minor-league complexes do have multiple fields so they could make it work that way and stagger the games.

Like I said it’s all hypothetical but it does make you wonder what they could do if this pandemic is still a problem in February & March when teams would normally start Spring Training.

Do you have any ideas about the minor-leagues and how they could continue developing in a pandemic? Could things change based on what they’ve done this year, too?

Panic Time?

Some people are almost panicking about the Twins losing to Detroit and how they somewhat struggled against KC (5-5 in the season series) but it’s still too early to panic in my opinion.

The Minnesota Twins might get 3B Josh Donaldson back soon. RHP Michael Pineda is eligible to return on Monday (or Tuesday since a game had to be postponed) and have had a lot of injury issues. There are 26 games remaining and the Trade Deadline is Monday.

Trade Deadline

We’ll see if the Twins do anything via trade. A rumor had them asking the Los Angeles Angels about RHP Dylan Bundy. Will that turn into something? We’ll definitely let you know.

Those are our ‘Takes! What are your ‘Takes! We’d love to hear from you so comment here, or on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

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