Minnesota Twins Wild Card Series Game 1 Recap vs Toronto Blue Jays – October 3rd, 2023

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Robb
2023 MLB Wild Card Series Game 1 Recap - Minnesota Twins vs Toronto Blue Jays - October 3rd, 2023

The Minnesota Twins started a 3-game Wild Card Playoff Series against the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday. They were trying to break an 18-game Postseason losing streak even though that streak had very little to do with any of the players on the 2023 team. 

Quick 2023 Season Recap

The 2023 Minnesota Twins were just 45-46 at the All-Star Break and had fallen to 2nd in the American League Central Division after leading for the majority of the season.* They were swept by the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta & scored just 3 runs in the 3-game series. They responded by winning a series in Baltimore and then swept Kansas City at home but were immediately swept at home by the same Baltimore Orioles team they had just beaten. They were also outscored 24-5 in the 3-game series heading into the All-Star break. The frustration level had to be extremely high. 
*If you go by the Twins schedule, it’s 5 days. If you go by the Cleveland schedule, it’s 7 days. It’s probably because of off days for Minnesota. 

So… they did what great teams do. They got to work and figured out what they needed to fix to right the ship. They trusted their players would come through to being the team they are supposed to be. They stuck with OF Max Kepler even though OFs Matt Wallner & Trevor Larnach were pushing for playing time. He then went on a tear to reward them for that loyalty. They also didn’t make any significant trades at the deadline, choosing to keep the team the way it was and believing they could get it done. That turned into a 42-29 2nd half W-L record that included a 33-22* record after the Trade Deadline and a team that looks very confident going into the postseason.
*Yes. That means they were just 9-7 up to the Trade Deadline but after losing 4 in a row from August 8-11th, they didn’t lose more than 2 in a row the rest of the season.

2023 Minnesota Twins Schedule & Results Graph from Baseball-Reference

2023 Minnesota Twins Schedule & Results Graph from Baseball-Reference

Here’s the American League Wild Card Series Playoff Rosters for both teams:

Minnesota Twins American League Wild Card Series Playoff Roster - October 3rd, 2023

No Byron Buxton (injury), Nick Gordon (injury) or Bailey Ober (only 3 games so no need for another starting pitcher.)

Here’s how both teams lined up for Game 1:

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

Game 1 Minnesota Twins Lineup vs the Toronto Blue Jays - October 3rd, 2023

DH Royce Lewis & SS Carlos Correa were activated from the Injured List today so they could be on the Playoff Roster & be in the lineup for Game 1

Toronto Blue Jays Lineup:

Game 1 - Toronto Blue Jays Lineup at the Minnesota Twins - October 3rd, 2023

Game Recap

Minnesota Twins RHP Pablo Lopéz, acquired from the Miami Marlins for INF & 2022 American League Batting Champion Luis Arraez, started Game 1 which should tell you that trade worked out very well for the Twins.* That was likely a tough trade to make since Luis was a beloved member of the Twins and a very positive part of the clubhouse but moves like that needed to be made to get an ace or top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher.
*It worked out well for the Miami Marlins since Arraez won his 2nd consecutive batting title & the Marlins made the playoffs as well.

Toronto Blue Jays RF George Springer swung at the first pitch, fouling it down the 1st baseline but neither Twins 1B Alex Kirilloff nor RF Max Kepler could run it down. Springer then grounded to 3rd and Twins 3B Jorge Polanco double-clutched on the throw which sent it up the 1st baseline so Kirilloff had to try to make a lunging catch so his glove was in Springer’s running path and Springer stepped on the glove. Kirilloff did catch the ball but it came loose when Springer stepped on it so it was a throwing error (E5) on Jorge Polanco. Toronto DH Brandon Belt fouled out to the catcher for the 1st out. 1B Vladimir Guerrero, Jr grounded out to 2nd and Twins 2B Edouard Julien went to 1st on the fielder’s choice even though it appeared he should’ve been able to get lead runner Springer at 2nd. Toronto SS Bo Bichette popped out to right field to end the top of the 1st.

The Twins avoided a disaster with the error, what also could’ve been a bad injury to 1B Alex Kirilloff and the decision to not get the lead runner but their pitcher saved them.

Toronto Blue Jays starter RHP Kevin Gausman seemed somewhat wild from the start. Twins 2B Edouard Julien led off the bottom of the 1st. Gausman’s first pitch was on the low outside corner then he threw a high fastball & a splitter in the dirt. The 4th pitch was outside to make it 3-1 and the 5th pitch was a mistake that Julien just missed as the catcher was outside and the pitch came inside. The 6th pitch was a few inches outside to walk the first batter. Twins 3B Jorge Polanco popped up to short. LF Daulton Varsho & SS Bo Bichette collided softly as Bichette made the catch for the first out. 

That brought up Twins DH Royce Lewis, who had been on the Injured List with a left hamstring strain since September 22nd but hadn’t played since September 19th. So… two weeks without an at-bat to his 1st MLB Postseason at-bat. Royce lives for these moments though. Let’s see how it went.

  • 1st pitch was called a strike even though it was outside by what looked like 3-4 inches, 0-1
  • 2nd pitch was in the dirt for ball 1, 1-1 
  • 3rd pitch was outside, 2-1
  • 4th pitch was an inside splitter for a swinging strike, 2-2
  • 5th pitch was in the dirt to fill the count, 3-2
  • 6th pitch… fastball inside but…
Royce Lewis took advantage of a bad pitch to put the Twins up 2-0 in the bottom of the 1st inning in Game 1 - October 3rd, 2023

the catcher set up outside and the pitch came inside so…

Royce Lewis Put It In The Seats!!!

Twins RF Max Kepler popped out to 3rd for the 2nd out then 1B Alex Kirilloff walked but SS Carlos Correa struck out looking to end the 1st inning but damage had been done as Royce Rolls again in a big moment.

Toronto Blue Jays 0 | 2 Minnesota Twins 
End of the 1st 

Toronto 2B Cavan Biggio grounded out to 1st to lead off the 2nd inning then C Alexander Kirk made weak contact on an outside sweeper pitcher but Twins CF Michael A. Taylor Swiftly* ran it down for the 2nd out…
*See what I did there? #ALBFF Knows & the Swifties do too, of course!

That Taylor Sure is Swift! Speed ends with D for DEFENSE!

Toronto CF Kevin Kiermaier then walked on 6 pitches but 3B Matt Chapman popped up to center field where Taylor was there again to end the top of the 2nd.

Twins C Ryan Jeffers started the bottom of the 2nd with a liner but it was caught by LF Daulton Varsho for the 1st out. LF Matt Wallner walked and Michael A. Taylor singled then Edouard Julien was struck looking at a ball because it wasn’t a strike.

MLB Umpires need to be better, a lot better. This would’ve loaded the bases.

Jorge Polanco flew out to right field to end the 2nd inning.

Twins pitcher Pablo Lopéz set the Blue Jays down 1-2-3 in the 3rd on a swinging strikeout (Varsho), a popup to 1st (Springer) & a strikeout looking (Belt.) After the half inning, Blue Jays manager John Schneider had some words for the home plate umpire about his strike zone even though Toronto hadn’t really had many bad calls at that point.

Royce Lewis led off the bottom of the 3rd and Gausman threw 3 straight low balls then Lewis took the fastball down the middle but was looking for the next pitch and he sent another ball into the seats, this time into right-center field for his 2nd home run of the day, tying a record for hitting 2 home runs in his first 2 postseason at-bats that only 2 other players have done before. 

Royce Lewis: 3rd player in MLB history (and second Twins player!) to homer in each of his 1st two career postseason plate appearances.

Gary Gaetti (1987)
Evan Longoria (2008)
Royce Lewis (2023)

h/t @EliasSports https://t.co/XASULmLXoT— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 3, 2023

Kepler grounded out to 2nd. Kirilloff lined out to left field and Correa grounded out to 3rd to end the 3rd inning but another run from another Royce Lewis Home Run has the score…

Toronto Blue Jays 0 | 3 Minnesota Twins
End of the 3rd

Blue Jays 1B Vladimir Guerrero, Jr flew out to the warning track in right-center field for the 1st out. SS Bo Bichette hit a bloop single to right field. 2B Cavan Biggio grounded out to short, advancing Bichette to 2nd. Alejandro Kirk was hit by a pitch on his right hand. He stayed in the game and Kevin Kiermaier singled to 3rd but the ball went under Polanco’s glove. Twins SS Carlos Correa raced toward the rolling baseball because he saw Bichette running hard to 3rd. Correa got to the ball, picked it up with his barehand and threw a good low throw to Ryan Jeffers to nab Bichette at the plate and keep the game at 3-0 for his team.

What does that play remind you of? “Flip” to the Game Notes section at the bottom of the article to read about it.

The Twins went down 1-2-3 all via strikeout in the bottom of the 4th, 2 swinging and 1 looking. 

Toronto 3B Matt Chapman led off the top of the 5th with a liner to 2B Edouard Julien but he may have mistimed his jump to catch the ball so it went off the top of his glove to allow Chapman to reach. Twins RHP Pablo Lopéz then got a groundout, a flyout and then struck out Brandon Belt for the 2nd time.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Blue Jays replaced RHP Kevin Gausman with RHP Erik Swanson so…

Toronto RHP Kevin Gausman’s Final Line:
4IP 3H 3R/ER 3BB 5K 2HR
In line for the Loss

Edouard Julien grounded out to 2nd. Polanco struck out swinging. Royce Lewis walked on 5 pitches so Toronto made a pitching change to LHP Tim Mayza and Twins RF Max Kepler greeted him with a single to right field the Twins manager Rocco Baldelli pinch-hit for Alex Kirilloff with Donovan Solano and he flew out to right field to end the 5th. Still…

Toronto Blue Jays 0 | 3 Minnesota Twins
End of the 5th

Solano stayed in the game at 1st base defensively for the Twins. Guerrero, Jr. flew out to center. Bo Bichetter singled on a line drive to center field. Biggio flew out to short. Kirk walked on 5 pitches. Kevin Kiermaier singled to left field to score Bichette from 2nd to get the Blue Jays on the board. Rocco then went to his bullpen and brought in RHP Louie Varland to replace Pablo Lopéz.

Minnesota RHP Pablo Lopéz’s Final Line:
5.2IP 5H 1R/ER 2BB 3K 0HR
In line for the Win

Varland threw 2 pitches and Matt Chapman hit a ball to the right-center field wall but Michael A. Taylor got to it and had to jump to catch it to end the top of the 6th inning.

Toronto replaced LHP Tim Mayza with RHP Chad Green to pitch the 6th and he needed just 9 pitches to set down Correa (ground out to 2nd), Jeffers (flyout to right) & Wallner (groundout to 1st.) 

Toronto Blue Jays 1 | 3 Minnesota Twins
End of the 6th

The Twins made a defensive substitution to bring in Willi Castro to replace LF Matt Wallner. They also replaced RHP Louis Varland with LHP Caleb Thielbar. Toronto then pinch-hit for Daulton Varsho with Whit Merrifield. He popped out to 1st. Springer grounded out to short and Belt flew out to short for a quick top of the 7th.

Whit Merrifield stayed in the game as the left fielder for Toronto. Taylor struck out swinging then Toronto made a pitching change to LHP Genesis Cabrera, Jr. The Twins countered that move by pinch-hitting for Edouard Julien with Kyle Farmer. He struck out swinging and Polanco did as well.

Farmer remained in the game as the 3rd baseman and Jorge Polanco moved from 3rd base to 2nd base. The Twins also replaced LHP Caleb Thielbar with RHP Griffin Jax to pitch the 8th inning and he allowed a double to Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. on the first pitch he threw but he responded by striking out Bo Bichette swinging and Cavan Biggio looking before getting Alejandro Kirk to ground out to 1st to end the top of the 8th.

Toronto replace LHP Genesis Cabrera, Jr. with RHP Jordan Hicks and he got Royce Lewis to ground out to short then struck out Max Kepler. Donovan Solano then walked on 4 pitches. Carlos Correa singled to center and Ryan Jeffers walked on 6 pitches to load the bases but Willi Castro struck out looking to end the 8th.

It was still 3-1 Minnesota heading to the 9th inning so into the game came RHP Jhoan Duran for his postseason debut…

He needed just 7 pitches to strike out the first 2 batters then walked Whit Merrifield on 6 pitches but needed just 1 pitch, a 101-mph fastball to get George Springer to ground out to 1st..

for the…

1st Minnesota Twins Postseason Win since October 5th, 2004. 

That’s just 2 days from 19 years ago. 

I know many people, including my favorite person, who were not alive then!

––––– TT –––––

Final Score
Toronto Blue Jays 1 | 3 Minnesota Twins 

W-Pablo Lopéz (1-0) L-Kevin Gausman (0-1)
S-Jhoan Duran(1)

Pitching
Starters
MN:
RHP Pablo Lopéz: 
5.2IP 5H 1R/ER 2BB 3K 0HR – 1st Win
TOR:
RHP Kevin Gausman: 
4IP 3H 3R/ER 3BB 5K 2HR – 1st Loss

Bullpen
MN:
RHP Louie Varland: 
0.1IP – 1st Hold
LHP Caleb Thielbar:
1.0IP – 1st Hold
RHP Griffin Jax: 
1.0IP 1H 2K – 1st Hold
RHP Jhoan Duran:
1.0IP 1BB 2K – 1st Save
Total:
3.1IP 1H 0R/ER 1BB 4K – 3 Holds, 1 Save

TOR:
RHP Erik Swanson: 
0.2IP 0H 0R/ER 1BB 1K
LHP Tim Mayza: 
0.1IP 1H
RHP Chad Green
1.1IP 1K
LHP Genesis Cabrera, Jr.
0.2IP 2K
RHP Jordan Hicks
1.0IP 1H 2BB 2K
Total:
4.0IP 2H 0R/ER 3BB 6K

Hitting
Home Runs
MN:
DH Royce Lewis 2 
(1st inning off Gausman, 1 on, 3rd inning off Gausman, 0 on)
TOR:
None

Doubles
MN:
None
TOR:
Guerrero, Jr. (Jax)

2-Out RBI
MN (Inning):
None
TOR:
Kiermaier

Other 
(Defense, Key Plays, etc…)
MN:
SS Carlos Correa: 
(Top of 4th)
Defense – Threw out Bichette at home

We’ll do a separate article for Game Notes!

––––– TT –––––

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Minnesota Twins Recap vs the Oakland Athletics – September 28th, 2023

Posted on September 29, 2023 by Robb

The Minnesota Twins played their last regular season home game at Target Field yesterday but it wasn’t their last home game of the 2023 season since we do know the American League Central Division Champions will play at home again in the postseason when it begins in just 5 days on October 3rd. Are You Ready?

The Twins had RHP Sonny Gray (8-8, 2.80 ERA* 1.150 WHIP**) on the mound against Oakland Athletics RHP Luis Medina (3-10, 5.64 ERA, 1.543 WHIP) so it was a Sonny day but it was…
*Earned Run Average **Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched

Target Field on September 28th, 2023 - Minnesota Twins vs the Oakland Athletics

A lot more Gray than Sonny so far today but that’s okay! It’s still ⚾️!!!

Last regular season home game of the season for the @twins!!! #LetsGo!!!

–

From TwinsTakes…

Here’s how both teams lined up:

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

Minnesota Twins vs the Oakland Athletics - September 28th, 2023

Oakland Athletics Lineup:

Oakland Athletics Lineup at the Minnesota Twins - September 28th, 2023

Game Recap

Minnesota Twins RHP Sonny Gray has been great all year for them. Unfortunately, they haven’t been very great for him since he has a record of 8-8 as they’ve been scoring less than 3 runs per 9 innings to help win the games he starts

Minnesota Twins RHP Sonny Gray's Run Support per 9 Innings is at a career low making it very difficult to win games.

Minnesota Twins RHP Sonny Gray’s Run Support per 9 Innings is at a career low making it very difficult to win games.

He does lead Major League Baseball in FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), a stat that measures a pitcher’s effectiveness at preventing home runs (HR), walks (BB), hit-by-pitch (HBP) and causing strikeouts and HR9, which is Home Runs allowed per 9 innings pitched, with a 0.4. 

Let’s see how he did today:

Sonny Gray began the game by striking out 1B Ryan Noda swing then worked around a 1-out single from 2B Zach Gelof by getting former Twins OF Brent Rooker to fly out to right field and DH Seth Brown to ground out to 2nd. The Twins had a 1-out walk but 2B Donovan Solano flew out to right field & 1B Alex Kirilloff lined out to right field. Scoreless after 1.

Mr. Gray allowed another 1-out single in the 2nd inning. This time it was to LF JJ Bleday on a liner to right field. 3B Aledmys Diaz grounded to 1st for the 2nd out but SS Nick Allen hit a bloop single to right field on a slider that was left up a little and Oakland got on the board first. The next batter popped out to 3rd to end the top of the 2nd.

Twins LF Matt Wallner struck out swinging and C Ryan Jeffers struck out looking. RF Trevor Larnach walked & SS Kyle Farmer singled on a swinging bunt but CF Michael A. Taylor struck out swinging to end the 2nd. Minnesota 0 | Oakland 1

Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the 3rd inning. Oakland had a 2-out walk but then flew out to right to end the top of the 4th and the Twins went down 1-2-3 for the 2nd straight inning. Minnesota 0 | Oakland 1

Minnesota Twins RHP Kenta Maeda replaced RHP Sonny Gray in the top of the 5th. It was a typical Sonny day from the pitching side:

RHP Sonny Gray’s Final Pitching Line:
4.0 IP 3 H 1 R/ER 1 BB 4 K (all swinging)
55 Pitches, 33 Strikes

The Twins are preparing for the postseason so they took Sonny out after 4 innings so he’s plenty rested for Game 2 of the Playoffs on Wednesday. Unfortunately, it was another Gray day for Sonny as his team didn’t provide him with any run support in those 4 innings & just 1 hit and 2 walks. Did they provide some run support for Maeda?

In the 5th, Oakland went down 1-2-3 with 2 swinging strikeouts while the Twins got a 2-out walk from Taylor but DH Edouard Julien flew out to left field to keep the score 1–0 Oakland.

Oakland had two 2-out walks but Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda got JJ Bleday to fly out to left field to end the threat and keep his team within 1. The Twins got back-to-back singles from 3B Willi Castro & 2B Donovan Solano then 1B Alex Kirilloff was hit by a pitch (HBP) to load the bases with no outs with power bat LF Matt Wallner coming to the plate. He did this on Tuesday night:

What a Mammoth Blast from Matty Wallner! WOW!!!

But… in yesterday’s game, Matt Wallner grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Willi Castro did score on the play to tie the game though.* Ryan Jeffers than grounded out to short to end the 6th inning but the game was tied. 

*Wallner doesn’t get credit for a run batted in (RBI) even though he hit the ball that brought in the run. Check our Game Notes section at the bottom of this article for more on this topic.

Minnesota 1 | Oakland 1
End of 6

Twins RHP Kenta Maeda continued cruising as he set Athletic batters Aledmys Diaz (ground out to 3rd), Nick Allen (line out to center) & Lawrence Butler (swinging strikeout) down 1-2-3 to get the Twins to the 7th-inning stretch. 

Oakland replaced RHP Luis Medina with RHP Lucas Erceg to start the bottom of the 7th. 

Luis Medina’s final pitching line:
6.0 IP 3 H 1 R/ER 3 BB 4 K 1 HBP 
93 pitches, 55 strikes

Oakland RHP Lucas Erceg walked RF Trevor Larnach to leadoff the bottom of the 7th. Both SS Kyle Farmer and Michael A. Taylor flew out to right field but Julien & Castro walked to load the bases and 2B Donovan Solano ended up striking out on a 99mph fastball in a 12-pitch at-bat to keep the game tied at 1!

So Kenta Maeda came out to start his 4th inning and on a 2-2 pitch, Oakland 1B Ryan Noda untied the game with a massive home run over the right field seats that had kids chasing the bouncing ball. 

Maeda struck out the next batter then was relieved by RHP Louie Varland who struck out Rooker swinging then forced a groundout to 3rd to end the top of the 8th.

Minnesota 1 | Oakland 2
Middle of 8

Oakland replaced Erceg with RHP Dany Jiménez and he struck out Kirilloff to leadoff the bottom of the 8th but Twins LF Matt Wallner doubled (10) down the right field line to get in scoring position but Jeffers flew out to left field and Larnach grounded out to first to end the 8th inning.

Twins RHP Louie Varland came out to start the 9th. He struck out the first 2 batters via swinging strikeouts then got Aledmys Diaz to ground out to short to send the game to the bottom of the 9th with Kyle Farmer (1-3), Michael A. Taylor (0-2 w/a walk) & Edouard Julien (0-3 w/a walk) due up…

Oakland brought in their closer and former Twins closer, RHP Trevor May to keep the Twins from a sweep. Farmer grounded out to 3rd. Taylor struck out looking and Julien popped out to short to end it.

Not a great way to end the home regular season with just 4 hits. They did have 6 walks but also left 9 runners on base.

––––– TT –––––

Minnesota Twins 1 | 2 Oakland Athletics
W-Lucas Erceg(4-4) L-Kenta Maeda (6-8) 
H-Dany Jiménez(6)
S-Trevor May(21)

Pitching
Starters
MN:
RHP Sonny Gray: 
4IP 3H 1R/ER 1BB 4K – No Decision

OAK:
RHP Luis Medina: 
6IP 3H 1R/ER 3BB 4K – No Decision

Bullpen
MN:
RHP Kenta Maeda: 
3.1IP 1H 1R/ER 2BB 5K 1HR – Loss
RHP Louie Varland
1.2IP 0H 0R/ER 0BB 3K

OAK:
RHP Lucas Erceg: 
1IP 0H 0R/ER 3BB 1K – Win
RHP Dany Jiménez
1IP 1H 0R/ER 0BB 1K – Hold
RHP Trevor May
1IP 0H 0R/ER 0BB 1K – Save

Hitting
Home Runs
MN:
None
OAK:
Ryan Noda (16)

Doubles
MN:
Matt Wallner (10)
OAK:
None

2-Out RBI
MN:
None
OAK (Inning):

Nick Allen (2nd)

––––– TT –––––

Game Notes

*
Why is a Run Batted In (RBI) taken away when it’s scored off of a double play?

The stat is called “Run/s Batted In” so that should qualify if the batter hit the ball and the run scored. He put the ball in play and a runner came home. Someone or many people obviously thought getting 2 outs should be penalized for some reason. Isn’t getting two outs on one swing enough punishment?

Runs Batted In (RBI) | MLB Glossary

During the game, Twins play-by-play broadcaster, Dick Bremer, said Wallner wouldn’t get an RBI because of that rule then said someone had just started an argument to change that rule then asked his broadcasting analyst partner & former player (& hitter) Justin Morneau what he thought of that rule & if it should be changed to which Morneau said, “Well, he did bat him in.”  So we know where Morneau stands on it. Bremer said they disagreed on it but they never said anything more about it. It doesn’t really make sense to not award an RBI if the run comes in because the ball was put in play. If it’s because of an error then sure because the run may not have come in if the play was made. Should a run scored from a walk be scored as a RWI (Run Walked In?) It wasn’t batted in. Maybe it should be Run Scoring Play or RSP so Rispy? Yeah… I’ll show myself out. 😂

**
Prepping for the Playoffs

It was nice to be able to set up the playoff rotation and get some relievers some work on coming into a game mid-inning. Louie Varland could be huge in the playoffs with his arm and that heated fastball. Then they have RHPs Chris Paddack and Brock Stewart not to mention the rest of the bullpen in RHPs Griffin Jax & Emilio Pagán plus LHPs Caleb Thielbar & Dallas Keuchel. Is RHP Jorge Alcala going to be an option? He was pitching in AAA for the St. Paul Saints a week ago.

From the Twins Injuries & Moves article:

“RHP Jorge Alcala (right radial stress fracture)
Expected return: Possibly September
Following the completion of the Triple-A season, Alcala continued his baseball activity by pitching in the Twins’ simulated game at Target Field on Sept. 27.

The Twins placed Alcala on the IL on May 16 after he was unable to participate in his throwing program without discomfort. Further tests revealed a stress fracture to the radius bone in his right forearm, an injury without much precedent among pitchers, according to head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta. (Last updated: Sept. 27)”

Baseball Notes

Minor League Baseball Gets a Major League Logo – SportsLogos.Net News

Minor League Baseball has a new league logo… well, new for them, at least.

Unveiled this evening, the new MiLB logo features the silhouette from the long-used Major League Baseball logo, a step or two closer to the pitcher in the batter’s box, with a new double blue colourway and four stars placed diagonally. The actual baseball from MLB’s version of the logo has been removed.

Next Up

The Twins head to Colorado to face the Rockies for three games to finish the regular season.

––––– TT –––––

Sadly this is our first recap of the season. You can check out our Season Preview HERE!

Thank You for reading our TwinsTakes! We’d love to hear your TwinsTakes! 

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2023 Minnesota Twins Season Preview – A New Design on Winning?

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Robb

That’s a lot of new in 2023 for Major League Baseball and the Minnesota Twins but before we get into everything new, let’s go over the old but not too old. We’ll just back about a year ago.

The 2022 Minnesota Twins looked like a great team for most of the season, leading the Central Division for 108 days of the 181-day season. Unfortunately for the 2022 Minnesota Twins they don’t reward teams for leading the division for the most days. It’s been said that the biggest reason the Twins didn’t make the playoffs was the injuries they endured over the season and for sure, that played a major part in them struggling down the stretch but that wasn’t the only reason they didn’t make the playoffs.

2022 Minnesota Twins games against the Cleveland Guardians

Minnesota Twins 2022 Schedule & Results against the Cleveland Guardians from Baseball-Reference

The Twins went 6-13 (W-L) against the Cleveland Guardians during the 2022 season.* As you can see above, they started 3-3 in their first 6 home games then went 2-1 in the first 3 games of a 5-game road series that included a double-header. They went 1-10 against Cleveland for the rest of the season. 8 of the 13 losses came late in the game off of Twins relievers. Think of the difference in the season if they were able to win those games. They would’ve been 86-76 & Cleveland would’ve been 84-78.
*They went 33-24 against the rest of the Central Division.

One-run games were also part of the reason they didn’t make the playoffs. They were 20-28 in on-run games and, again, they were 13-11  in the first half and 7-17 in the 2nd half. 

The bullpen was obviously a huge part of losing those games in Cleveland and likely a lot of the close games as well. The bullpen had injury issues almost immediately last season as RHP Jorge Alcala was done for the season after April 12th and RHP Cody Stashak, after looking like his old dominant self, was out after 21st. For the season, the bullpen was 10th in the American League in ERA, 11th in WHIP, last in Saves but 2nd in innings pitched. In the entire league, they were 16th in ERA, tied for last in Saves and 3rd in innings pitched.

What Can You Do to Stay Healthy?

One thing you can do is change your head trainer. The Minnesota Twins dismissed head athletic trainer Michael Salazar following the season and hired Nick Paparesta 17 days later. 

The Twins were second in the Majors with 2,363 player-days lost to the injured list, including 19 players on the IL to finish the season. 

Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey indicated that the Twins will hope to work with their new athletic trainer to put their players in a better state of physical readiness entering Spring Training as a preventative measure against soft-tissue injuries:

“There’s some luck that plays in, but we can’t just chalk everything up to luck and hope for the best. We need some good luck for sure on that side of it. We’ve had that at different junctures in the past, but we haven’t over the last year, so that’s one. The other part is the preventable side… it’s about offseason work, it’s about planning, preparation, going into March or February and feeling like we’re in a position where we are pushing guys.”

From MLB Twins Beat Writer Do-Hyoung Park

You can also battle injuries by creating more &/or better depth in your organization.

Trading Places

Minnesota Twins CBO Derek Falvey and General Manager Thad Levine Traded & Acquired MLB players both for and with prospects:

On November 18th:

Traded 3B Gio Urshela to the Los Angeles Angels for RHP Alejandro Hidalgo

Acquired INF Kyle Farmer from the Cincinnati Reds for pitching prospect RHP Casey Legumina (who they had just added to their 40-man roster on November 15th)

On January 20th

Traded 2022 American League Batting Champion INF Luis Arraez to the Miami Marlins for RHP Pablo López and prospects SS Jose Salas & OF Byron Chourie

On January 24th:

Acquired OF Michael A. Taylor for pitching prospects LHP Evan Sisk & RHP Steven Cruz

If you group all of them together, they traded 2 infielders and 3 prospects for an infielder, a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, a gold-glove center fielder and 3 prospects. That’s a pretty good haul.

They moved Gio Urshela so Jose Miranda could take over at 3rd base, exchanged a left-handed utility bat for a right-handed utility bat while also adding to the top of their rotation and adding a gold-glove center fielder to improve their defense and take some pressure off of Byron Buxton and also to allow him to DH to start the season.

It’s always sad to see fan favorites like Gio Urshela and Luis Arraez go but they had to trade for pitching because they haven’t been able to sign any top-end pitching for whatever reason. 

Luis didn’t really have a place to play with Kirilloff being their likely 1st baseman but they were also cashing in on Luis Arraez’ value as a batting champion.

Finding Mister Right in Mister Christian… Vázquez

When the current front office regime took over in October (Derek Falvey) & November (Thad Levine) of 2016, the first big free agent signing they made was to sign a starting catcher, C Jason Castr0, to a 3-year contract to help the improve the pitching staff with his framing and defense. 6 years & a month or so later and the Twins signed Christian Vázquez to be their starting catcher to help improve the pitching staff with his framing and his defense, although it sounds like the framing isn’t as much of a game-changer but Mister Christian should still be Mister Right for the Minnesota Twins:

Vázquez graded out as an average pitch framer, ranked in MLB’s 55th percentile last season, but he was worth 11 defensive runs saved, tied with J.T. Realmuto for fourth-best among catchers. He also brings a top-five quickness in his exchange when throwing out runners, which helped him rank in MLB’s 71st percentile in pop time last season.

The clubhouse presence and preparation will be what the Twins pay for across the next three seasons, as Vázquez has been a solid but unspectacular hitter throughout his career, with a .695 OPS across 2,633 plate appearances. His best season, by far, was in 2019, when he crushed 23 homers in 138 games, but that’s the only year in which he reached double digits.

From another Do-Hyoung Park article

4 Days Later…  Another Addition

Just hours after the conclusion of the Christian Vázquez introductory press conference, the Twins added another free agent when they agreed with OF Joey Gallo on a 1-year, $11M contract. This made everyone think Max Kepler was definitely on the way out as Gallo is a former gold-glove winning outfielder and that made it 3 left-handed hitting outfielders on the roster.

This one seems strange as Joey Gallo looks like a left-handed Miguel Sanó, a player with tons of power who strikes out a ton. Obviously, the defense plays a huge part in this but it’s also a one-year, prove-it deal. The other thing that is interesting is the new rule banning infield shifts that should help him (and Kepler) get more hits.

So… we’ll put this as a wait and see. Gallo can also play 1st base and versatility is huge in baseball nowadays. It gives the player and the team more options to their lineup.

A Couple of Short Stops Before Going Home

Carlos Correa opted out of his 3-year contract with the Twins like everyone assumed he would as he ventured out in free agency to try to get the huge contract he wanted but didn’t get a year ago. Most Twins fans thought there was at least a slim chance the Minnesota Twins could get him signed because he said he liked it here and they had the room to fit him in their payroll. It was for sure a long shot as the bigger payroll teams were definitely going to make a run at him.

Most of the big market teams who were in the market for a shortstop took a run at Carlos Correa as free agency entered the month of December. Then a couple of weeks later, a deal was reached with the San Francisco Giants for 13 years & $350M and for what seems like forever that would’ve been it. Do the physical, plan the introductory press conference and sign the contract but the physical triggered something the Giants didn’t like about a leg injury 8 years ago and they told Correa’s agent they weren’t going to do the deal that had been agreed to but would consider re-working that deal. Well, the agent wasn’t going to wait so literally hours later a deal was agreed to with the New York Mets for 12 years & $315M. 

Ok. Do the physical, plan the introductory press conference and sign the contract, right? Amazingly not! Apparently the Mets consulted the same doctor the Giants did so… obviously, they came to the same conclusion of concern about his right leg. WOW!

The Minnesota Twins kept in contact with Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, through all of this as they had offered a 10-year, $285M contract but they weren’t willing to move off of that offer.* Once the Mets deal fell through, they connected again and on January 10th, they agreed to a 6-year, $200M contract that includes vesting options in each of 2029 ($25M), 2030 ($20M), 2031 ($15M) & 2032 ($15M) that would make it a 10 year, $270M contract… pending physical, of course. 

And that physical went fine. Wow! This will likely go down as the craziest free agent pursuit ever! Maybe they’ll make a movie about it or, at least, an afterschool special.
*Add in the $35.1M from 2022 and that’s a 11-year, $320.1M contract or an average annual value(AAV) of $29.1M. Giants – 15-years, $340M = $22.67M AAV; Mets – 12-years, $315M = $26.25M AAV. Many fans thought the Twins offer wasn’t good enough because it didn’t go over $300M. The final contract of 6yr, $200M is $33.33 AAV & the 10yr, $270M (if completely vested) is $27M AAV.

The New Rules

A lot of fans love the game the way it is so they don’t like when the league changes the game with new rules so they may not be happy as the league have made several changes to the game for the 2023 season. Those changes are:

  1. Pitch Timer – 15-seconds with bases empty; 20 seconds with runners on
    1. Hitter gets 1 timeout per plate appearance; must be in batter’s box with 8 seconds left
    2. Pitchers get two disengagements (pickoff attempts or step-offs) per batter; violations are a balk
    3. Limits on pickoff attempts led to 26% increase in stolen base attempts in Minors
    4. Pitch timer helped reduce game length by 25 minutes in Minors in ‘22
  2. Shift Restrictions
    1. Two infielders must be positioned on either side of 2B when pitch is released
    2. All four infielders must have both feet within the infield when pitcher is on rubber
    3. Shift restrictions increased batting average and decreased strikeouts in Minors while giving players more opportunity to show off their athleticism
  3. Bigger Bases
    1. 1B, 2B and 3B increased from 15” square to 18” square
    2. Bigger bases expected to have positive impact on player safety
    3. Distance reduced by 3″ from home to 1st and home to 3rd, reduced by 4.5″ from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd
    4. Bigger bases reduced injury events near the bases by more than 13% in the Minors in 2022
  4. Balanced Schedule
MLB Network 2023 Balanced Schedule Notes

Wow! That’s a lot to take in but this video with Theo Epstein should make it a lot clearer:

After listening to the explanation of the rules and the reason for them, it makes a lot more sense why they’ve made these changes and it should make the game better because it will be quicker and it should help add more excitement to the game. 

How quickly the players adjust will be one of the more interesting things to watch.

The Twins Are All In!

You don’t give out $25M+ contracts to just hope it’s going to work out. The Twins are now in it to win it. They added 2B Donovan Solano as a Utility player in late February to add to their depth and maybe as another infielder as 2B Jorge Polanco is likely to start the season on the Injured List (IL) with left knee inflammation. 1B Alex Kirilloff will also begin the season on the IL as he continues to recover from offseason surgery on his right wrist.

They also added UTIL Willi Castro to the 40-man roster and the active roster as more depth in the infield although he’s listed as an outfielder.

They have everything they need to win right now:

Catcher: Christian Vázquez – Ryan Jeffers

1st Base: Alex Kirilloff (IL) – Joey Gallo – Donovan Solano – Kyle Farmer – Jose Miranda

2nd Base: Jorge Polanco (IL) – Donovan Solano – Kyle Farmer – Nick Gordon

3rd Base: Jose Miranda – Kyle Farmer – Donovan Solano  – Nick Gordon

Shortstop: Carlos Correa – Kyle Farmer – Nick Gordon – Royce Lewis (IL-60-Day)

Left Field: Joey Gallo – Michael A. Taylor – Nick Gordon – Trevor Larnach

Center Field: Byron Buxton – Michael A. Taylor – Nick Gordon – Joey Gallo

Right Field: Max Kepler – Michael A. Taylor – Joey Gallo – Nick Gordon – Trevor Larnach

Designated Hitter: Jose Miranda

Starting Rotation: RHP Pablo López – RHP Sonny Gray – RHP Joe Ryan – RHP Tyler Mahle – RHP Kenta Maeda – RHP Josh Winder (IL) – RHP Cole Sands – RHP Chris Paddack (IL-60-Day)

Bullpen: RHP Jhoan Duran – RHP Jorge López – RHP Griffin Jax – LHP Caleb Thielbar – RHP Jorge Alcala – RHP Emilio Pagán – LHP Jovani Moran – RHP Ronny Henriquez (IL)

They just need a Bullpen!

This preview started with last year’s disappointment which was largely caused by the bullpen not coming through enough of the time. They were last in Saves but 2nd in innings pitched so the Twins improved their starting rotation. They should pitch deeper into games to take some pressure off the bullpen so they can come through more often. 

The bullpen needs a much better season out of RHP Jorge López but they should also get more out of a healthy RHP Jorge Alcala, a better RHP Griffin Jax & RHP Emilio Pagán and from LHP Jovani Moran taking a step to higher leverage innings in his 1st full season.

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Minnesota Twins Recap vs Texas Rangers – August 20th, 2022

Posted on August 21, 2022 by Robb
Minnesota Twins Recap vs the Texas Rangers - August 20th, 2022

The Minnesota Twins won a close game last night where they scored 2 runs in the first inning off back-to-back home runs from 1B Luis Arraez(7) and DH Jose Miranda(13) and the pitching staff allowed just 1 run over 9 innings getting the final out of the game on a bad running play on a flyout to right field and an outfield assist from RF Max Kepler to SS Carlos Correa.

They’ll try to extend the winning streak to 5 tonight as they honor former Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire by inducting him into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

A Gardy Gnome at the Home & the Hall of Fame of the Minnesota Twins - Ron Gardenhire inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame - August 20th, 2022
A Gardy Gnome at the Home & the Hall of Fame of the Minnesota Twins

They’ll induct OF Dan Gladden and OF/UTIL Cesar Tovar on Sunday afternoon

The Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame will grow by 3 this weekend with Ron Gardenhire, Dan Gladden & Cesar Tovar.
The Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame will grow by 3 this weekend with Ron Gardenhire, Dan Gladden & Cesar Tovar.

Twinsactions
(Minnesota Twins Transactions)

Twinsactions - RHP Tyler Mahle placed on 15-Day IL; LHP Devin Smeltzer recalled from Triple-A St. Paul - August 20th, 2022

The Minnesota Twins placed RHP Tyler Mahle on the 15-Day Injured List (IL) with right shoulder inflammation, retroactive to August 18th. Mahle’s velocity was way down in his start on Wednesday night so he was pulled after just 2.1 innings with what was called right shoulder fatigue. It was announced on Thursday an MRI revealed no structural damage but he would likely miss his next start. Now, he’ll miss at least 2 starts and he would be available to come off the IL on the day of his scheduled start on September 3rd at the Chicago White Sox. We’ll see if that happens but for now, the question is who will start on Tuesday in Mahle’s spot in the rotation to start a 3-game series in Houston.

But…that is a question for later. Let’s get to the game…

Here’s how both teams lined up:

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

Minnesota Twins Lineup vs the Texas Rangers - August 20th, 2022

Texas Rangers Lineup:

Texas Rangers Lineup at the Minnesota Twins - August 20th, 2022

Game Recap

The Texas Rangers led off the game with a double that bounced into then fell out of the left field wall off the bat of 2B Marcus Semien. Minnesota Twins starting pitcher RHP Chris Archer got the next 2 batters out on 2 groundouts but RF Adolis García hit an RBI-double to put the Rangers up 1-0 early. A flyout from Brad Miller ended the top of the 1st. The Twins got a 2-out, 4-pitch walk of Byron Buxton but they didn’t get anything out of it as 2B Jorge Polanco popped out to 3rd to end the 1st inning.

1-0 Rangers

Texas went down 1-2-3 in the 2nd while the Twins got a 2-out single from CF Nick Gordon but LF Jake Cave lined out to center to end the 2nd inning.

Same thing in the 3rd just replace Nick Gordon’s single with Carlos Correa and Jake Cave’s lineout with Byron Buxton.

Nathaniel Lowe singled to leadoff the 4th inning but Adolis García grounded out to 3rd to force out Lowe out at 2nd. Brad Miller walked but CF Leody Taveras struck out swinging and 3B Ezequiel Duran grounded out to short but it took a heckuva throw from Correa to get him at first to end the top of the inning. The Twins went down 1-2-3 to end the 4th.

Still 1-0 Rangers

In the 5th, Marcus Semien reached with 2 outs on a high throw from SS Carlos Correa but Chris Archer got SS Corey Seager to fly out to center to end the top of the 5th. For the Twins, LF Jake Cave reached on an error with 1 out then C Gary Sánchez walked which brought up Luis Arraez and he tied the game with an RBI-single on a line drive to left center field. 

Carlos Correa grounded out back to the pitcher and Byron Buxton lined out to center field to end the 5th but it was now a…

1-1 Tie

Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli went to his bullpen to bring in recently called up LHP Devin Smeltzer.

Twins RHP Chris Archer’s Final Line:
5IP 3H 1R/ER 1BB 5K – No Decision
(77 Pitches – 45 Strikes)

Smeltzer allowed a leadoff single to Texas Rangers 1B Nathaniel Lowe but then got Adolis García to pop up to 2B but neither Polanco or Arraez could find the ball in the twilight so it dropped in the infield. Arraez got it off the first bounce and threw the ball to 2nd for the 1st out. Texas pinch-hit Mark Mathias for Brad Miller and he lined out to 2nd on the first pitch he saw. Before he threw a pitch to Leody Taveras, Smeltzer made a throw to first that appeared to have gotten there in time to nab García at 1st to end the inning but he was called safe. The Twins challenged that call and…

The call stood so it wasn’t confirmed. Really sad they can’t confirm these calls. He looks out on this replay.

Taveras then singled to center on the next pitch and Ezequiel Duran hit a wicked RBI-single to short that got past Carlos Correa and deflected to Jake Cave, who was charging the ball to make a throw home and it looks like the throw would’ve beat the runner but Jose Miranda cut it off and you can see C Gary Sánchez jumping as if he thought they’d have gotten the runner at home.

C Meibrys Viloria grounded out to 1st to end the top of the 6th but the Rangers got their 1-run lead right back.

2-1 Rangers

The Twins got a 2-out walk from Miranda but Gordon grounded out to 3rd to end the 6th after a pitching change to LHP Brett Martin.

Rangers RHP Glenn Otto’s Final Line
5.2IP 3H 1R 0ER 3BB 1K – In Line for the W
(86 Pitches – 48 Strikes)

Smeltzer allowed two 2-out singles to Corey Seager and Nathaniel Lowe but got García to line out to right field to send it to the 7th inning stretch.

The Rangers made another pitching change, bringing in LHP Brock Burke to face Jake Cave, Gary Sánchez and Luis Arraez. The Twins pinch-hit Gio Urshela for Cave for the righty matchup with the lefty pitcher and he doubled (19) on a line drive to left field and was pinch-run for with Gilberto Celestino. Sánchez struck out swinging. Arraez grounded out to 2nd. Celestino was able to advance to 3rd but Correa struck out swinging to end the 7th.

Celestino remained in the game as the left field to begin the 8th and Devin Smeltzer set the Rangers down 1-2-3 (strikeout, bunt back to the pitcher, popout). The Twins got a 2-out walk from Max Kepler and that brought rookie sensation 3B Jose Miranda to the plate. The at-bat started with 3 straight balls but somehow this high ball was called a strike…

Pitch 3 was called a strike! Who knows what happens on a 3-0 pitch but nobody will ever know because of this call - Minnesota Twins vs Texas Rangers - August 20th, 2022
Pitch 3 was called a strike! Who knows what happens on a 3-0 pitch but nobody will ever know because of this call.

Miranda fouled off the next pitch then took ball 3 (would’ve been ball 4) then fouled off 2 more pitches to keep the at-bat alive then hit a screaming liner to right-center field and with 2 outs and a full count, Kepler was off with the pitch and he rounded 3rd and was headed home and…

He’s safe because of a bad, hurried throw from center field that Marcus Semien couldn’t handle and

This… Game… Is… Tied AGAIN!!!

Do You Know Miranda? - Do You? Do you know Minnesota Twins rookie 3B/1B Jose Miranda?
Do You Know Miranda?

Aggressive send from 3rd but with 2 outs but it’s a chance to score and you force the Rangers to make a play and they couldn’t complete it.

Nick Gordon ended the inning by grounding out to 3rd.

With a save no longer possible, Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli brought in his closer RPH Jorge López to give his team a chance for a walkoff win in the bottom of the 9th. 

López has been shaky since he was traded to the Twins at the deadline but he got the save last night so maybe he’s coming around now. He got pinch-hitting Jonah Heim to lineout to left field but then he hit Bubba Thompson with a pitch to put a man on base then he allowed a hard-hit ball up the middle but Jorge Polanco was there to field it, get to 2nd for the 2nd out then fire it to 1st for an inning-ending 4-3 double play!

The Rangers brought in RHP Jonathan Hernández and Jonah Heim remained in the game as the catcher. The  Twins got a 1-out single from Gary Sánchez but Luis Arraez grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to send it to Extra Innings.

The Twins brought in LHP Caleb Thielbar to replace López and Marcus Semien began the inning as the runner at 2nd base. Thielbar allowed back-to-back singles (Seager &  Lowe) to allow Texas to take a 3-2 lead but he got Adolis García to strike out before Rocco went to RHP Griffin Jax and he allowed an RBI-single to Mark Mathias to double the lead to 4-2 but he got Taveras to strikeout looking and Duran to ground out to short to send it to the bottom of the 10th.

4-2 Rangers

Luis Arraez began the inning as the runner at 2nd base. Hernández came out to pitch the 10th for Texas and he walked Correa on 4 pitches that weren’t close but he came back to strike out Buxton looking for the 1st out. Bux wasn’t happy about the call but it was definitely in the zone. Polanco grounded out to 2nd for the 2nd out. Arraez advanced to 3rd. Max Kepler then reached on a weak grounder that the pitcher didn’t field and up to the plate came Jose Miranda once again and…

He flew out to left field to end the game. Aww… he can’t be the hero every time!

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Final Score
Texas Rangers 4 | 3 Minnesota Twins 
W-Hernández(1-0) L-Thielbar(2-2)

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Next Up for the Minnesota Twins:
Game 3 of 4…

RHP Joe Ryan
(9-5, 3.92 ERA, 1.149 WHIP*)

vs

RHP Kohei Arihara
(0-1, 4.96 ERA, 1.941 WHIP)

*ERA=Earned Run Average, WHIP=Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched

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Minnesota Twins Series Notes at Los Angeles Angels-8-14-2022

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Robb
Minnesota Twins Series Notes at the Los Angeles Angels - August 12th - 14th, 2022

The Minnesota Twins lost 4 out of 5 games on their 5-game road trip and now trail the Cleveland Guardians by 2.5 games in the American League Central Division and are 2 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the final Wild Card spot with 48 games to go in the regular season. They are also tied (in winning %) with the Chicago White Sox but they have played 2 fewer games than them.

They play 24 of those games at home including 12 of their next 15 (KC(3), TEX(3), at HOU(3), SF(3) & BOS(3)) before they go on a 7-game road trip for 3 in Chicago & 4 in New York. They also play Cleveland 8 times & Chicago 9 times so there should be plenty of chances to get those 2.5 games back.

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Coming off a sweep at the hands of the dominant Los Angeles Dodgers in 10-3 & 8-5 losses and they were eerily similar to Twins games against the New York Yankees where the Twins showed a glimmer of hope by taking a 3-2 lead with a Jorge Polanco 3-run Home Run then added to it with a Gary Sánchez dinger but the Dodgers tied it up right away in the next half inning but another glimmer… Jose Miranda made a great defensive play at 3rd base to end the inning with the game still tied. In the 6th, 7th & 8th innings, the Twins had one base runner when Miranda reached on an error. The Dodgers took the lead back with a Chris Taylor HR on an 0-2 pitch that was left up in the 6th:

Chris Taylor HRs on an 0-2 pitch left up in the zone – 10-3 L at LAD – August 9th, 2022

Then added 3 more runs on a Joey Gallo* HR in the 7th for an 8-4 lead. The Twins had two 2-out hits in the top of the 9th and scored another run on a wild pitch but that was it. On to Anaheim to face the Los Angeles Angels for 3 games.
*The same Joey Gallo who was hitting .159/.282/.339 (Average / On-Base% / Slugging%) in 82 games with those Yankees and the Twins walked Will Smith to get to Gallo.

The Minnesota Twins had not lost 4 games in a row all season long and avoiding long losing streaks is part of having a good season but they have to put a winning streak together at some point, too. This was a good chance to start something against the Los Angeles Angels who have been struggling with injuries and are not having the kind of season they envisioned for 2022. 

The Twins seemed ready to take advantage of it as they had a great game all around in a 4-0 shutout in Game 1:

They looked like they had Game 2 in hand and had it taken away from them despite one of the greatest defensive plays you might ever see from Minnesota Twins CF Byron Buxton in the bottom of the 10th for the very rare 8-3 inning-ending double play:

It probably shouldn’t have gotten to extra innings and should’ve ended as a 3-1 win for the Twins if a strike is called a strike:

Pitch 5 should’ve been strike 3 to end the game but it was called a ball for some reason.

There’s a great Twitter account called UmpScorecards that scores how home plate umpires do calling balls & strikes each game. They even list the 3 most impactful calls and, for some reason, that missed strike wasn’t number 1, 2 or 3 which is amazing since it would’ve ended the game.

Ump Scorecard for August 13th, 2022 – MIN at LAA

But it didn’t so that at-bat turned into a walk and the next batter tripled to tie the game but was thrown out at home to send the game to extra innings… 

… and the Twins lost in the 11th on a 2-run HR. That’s a tough, bad 5-3 loss.

On to Game 3 as the Twins looked to redeem themselves and Byron Buxton gave them a 2-0 lead with his 28th HR of the season. 

The Angels tied it on a 2-run double to left field in the 3rd inning and took a 3-2 lead on a sacrifice fly in the 4th. The Twins had a few chances but just couldn’t get the big hit and they ended up losing 4-2.

The Minnesota Twins were 2-for-24 with Runners In Scoring Position in the series and 6-for-35 on the 5-game road trip as they were 4-for-11 in the 2 games vs the Dodgers. That’s not good enough. They need to be better and the players know it and feel it more than anyone else, even the most passionate of fans.

Series Notes
*
“Passion” & the Minnesota Twins Should Be a Good Thing

There are a lot of passionate Minnesota Twins but it really seems the most passionate fans are also the most negative fans. A bad loss means the season is over or someone should be fired or released or at least benched. I would assume most of the time they don’t really mean the things they say because it’s usually a reaction to a negative outcome for their team and immediately responding when your emotions are high isn’t usually a good way to go.

Usually an immediate response comes with profanity and/or the intelligent phrase, “They suck.” It’s understandable to be upset about your team losing or playing badly but that feeling really shouldn’t last long because it is just a game for fans. 

We all want our teams to win as much as possible but it’s also getting more difficult to win. There are now more playoff spots so it’s easier to get into the playoffs but harder to win* because now a team has to win at least 11 games (3-4-4) and at most 13 games (2-3-4-4) with the top 2 seeds from each league getting byes in the 1st round.
*Easier to get in, harder to win!

2022 MLB Playoff Format - Another Bracket System - No Reseeding.
2022 MLB Playoff Format – Another Bracket System – No Reseeding.

Sports should not get a fan upset for more than a few minutes even if fan is short for fanatic.

Doesn’t every team go through a slump or two during a 162-game season? The New York Yankees are 3-9 in August and 8-15 since the All-Star break. The Twins are 5-7 in August and 8-11 since the All-Star break.

All they can do now is learn from it and quickly move on as they start a 3-game series against Kansas City tonight so there’s no time to feel bad for themselves. They have to get to work to win these games against teams they should beat. 

They still have the talent to win and get in then it’s let’s see what happens in The Dance. Hopefully, they still have all of their fans with them but, hey, every fan has a choice to keep supporting their team. It’s not difficult. We’ve heard fans say it’s difficult to be a fan of “insert team here” but is it? No. It isn’t difficult to be a fan, especially if they are your favorite team. 

It’s really simple. Support your team. Cheer for them in victory and defeat.

I truly believe every employee of every professional organization wants their team to win and are doing what they think is best to get them to the ultimate end goal of winning a championship. Sometimes that means rebuilding or selling instead of buying at the deadline because the team hasn’t shown an ability to get over a hump. It is a process and it takes time for players and teams to learn how to win. 

**
How do you Correct Mistake Pitches?

The bad pitch on an 0-2 count from Michael Fulmer is a mistake pitch and they’ve happened way too often for the Twins this season. Why?

Is it lack of execution? Control? Command? Mechanics? Grip? Pitching has so many variables but we also live in a time where there are a lot of tools to evaluate a pitch and the pitcher.

Is there a stat for mistake pitches? I couldn’t find one but I found probably too many articles on & around the subject of pitching command, pitching control and pitch location so we’ll have to get back to you on this subject.

***
1 and 4 to Won in 4?

Could this be a turning point to the Minnesota Twins 2022 season?

Sooner or later, there comes a time where the players and the team have to figure out what they want to be and just bear down and get to it because there’s not a lot of time to do it anymore. Does it take a players only meeting? Those seem overrated but there’s something to them or else they wouldn’t happen at all. 

The coaches and managers can only do so much. They can’t go out on the field and do it for them. They can only try to put the team and each player in the best position to have success and then let them go do it.

We’ll see what happens next.

––––– TT –––––

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