Game notes are topics that have come up during a game that we think deserve some more attention. That can be a player, a play and it could be a good thing or a bad thing, a mistake or a great play or anything really.
We used to have them at the end of our Game Recaps articles.
We made a logo and everything. Well, kind of. It’s a notes icon with some text on it. HEY! That’s what a logo is.
We just wanted somewhere to talk about some of the little things that happen in a game that we wanted to expand on. So…this is our 1st separate Game Notes article and it’s about Game 2 between the Minnesota Twins and the Toronto Blue Jays from August 5th, 2022 and it had a pretty crazy ending so…check that out then let us know what you think with a comment or on social media.
Game Notes * Why Didn’t Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. Adjust for the Throw to 1st in Extra Innings?
Jake Cave swung through strike 3 but Blue Jays C Danny Jansen didn’t catch the ball so Jake took off running to try to get to 1st base before the ball. The ball rolled into foul territory on the 1st base side and when he corralled it and picked it up, his first thought was to try to tag Cave but he was already too far away so he tried to throw to 1st for the out.
2:31 into the Game Highlights video
Cave was in the baseline and Guerrero, Jr. didn’t help his catcher out by trying to give him a better target forcing him to try to lob it over Cave so he threw it high and Guerrero didn’t catch it. Cave was safe at 1st and Nick Gordon advanced to 3rd on the play.
It’s obviously a fast play but, and any 1st baseman out there let us know, shouldn’t it be automatic as a 1st baseman when you see a ball go into foul territory on the 1st base side to step to the other side of 1st base for an easier and shorter throw? Jansen could also make a harder throw. If all the catchers and first baseman on the Blue Jays know that a ball in the dirt to the first base side in foul territory means the throw should be to the right (foul territory) side of 1st base every time, this play wouldn’t have been a problem at all.
The video of it above is 10 seconds long and Jansen gets the ball around the 4-second mark of the video so Guerrero has plenty of time to move to the foul territory side of 1st base for an easy throw for the out.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider on the play:
“And then in the 10th inning — I think if you want the ball hit to anyone, it’s Matt Chapman. And the strikeout to Cave — Jano blocks everything and I think when he tried to tag him, he kind of lost his angle a little bit on the throw to first and made it a little bit of a tougher play than it probably should have been. So, you look at those things as opportunities to get better.”
– Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Schneider
It was interesting to see that and not to see Justin Morneau point that out as a former 1st baseman. Maybe that’s not the case but it sure seems like that would make it easier, doesn’t it?
If you thought Twins fans were bad, try searching Danny Jansen on Twitter to see what Toronto Blue Jays fans think about their catcher. Wow!
The pitch landed just past home plate so it’s easy to see why it was a hard play for the catcher to make. He blocked it. That’s his job. Are there any catchers who would expect to catch that pitch? No way, right? It’s going to bounce into their chest protector and they just want to keep it in front of them so they can hopefully get to it quickly and keep the runner/s from advancing.
The pitch landed just past home plate.
Then go to the throw to first base. Is it an easy throw? Yes would be the obvious answer but it’s not a normal throw for professional baseball players during a game. They’re throwing the ball hard on every play unless it’s a short toss of about 10 feet or so and those throws don’t usually have a runner between them and the throw’s destination.
** What is Nick Gordon doing on that play?
He’s going back to 2nd base for some reason. Staying where he was seems more plausible but it’s almost as if he’s tagging up on the play going all the way back to 2nd base. He only advances to 3rd after he sees the ball get away from Guerrero.
How far away should he be from 2nd base? A quarter to a third of the way to 3rd base?
He was ripped for getting caught off 3rd in the 1st game against Detroit. Did that play a part in what he did here? Was he hesitant to go when the ball hit the dirt? Shouldn’t he go as soon as he sees it bounce away from the catcher? Would he not have made it to 3rd easily? Add in that Jansen knows it’s a force out at 1st while Gordon would need to be tagged out at 3rd and would he even try to make a throw to 3rd?
2:01 in, Nick Gordon is caught off of 3rd base to end the bottom of the 9th
*** How ‘bout Gilberto Celestino avoiding the ball as he ran to 2nd in the bottom of the 9th?
Gilberto Celestino replaced Gio Urshela as a pinch-runner after Gio singled to lead off the bottom of the 9th. Luis Arraez then hit a ground ball to 2nd and Gilberto had to try to dance around said ground ball while simultaneously trying to get to 2nd as quickly as possible so he wouldn’t be thrown out.
The Minnesota Twins have an exciting matchup in Game 2 as they’ll face their former teammate in RHP José Berríos while also seeing their brand new pitcher they acquired on Tuesday in RHP Tyler Mahle. They both have similar numbers so it should be fun to see how this game plays out.
José Berríos has been struggling this season but the last time he faced his former team, he looked like his old stellar self – 7IP 3H 2R/ER 2BB 13K 1HR & his 4th win of the season in a 12-3 shallacking in Toronto.
That was the beginning of June. Since then, he’s gone 4-2 with a 4.68 ERA and a 1.231 WHIP with 11 walks and 57 strikeouts in 10 starts and 57.2 innings.
The Minnesota Twins made a couple more moves today and one of them is somewhat shocking, more for who it is than for why, though. RHP Tyler Duffey was Designated For Assignment (DFA) or Release today after spending the last 10 years in the organization and exactly 7 years with the big club when he made his Major League Debut on August 5th, 2012.
It makes sense but it’s still a difficult move since he had turned himself into a very effective reliever since the beginning of the 2019 season. Unfortunately, he’s been far from that this season. He’s lost velocity on his fastball and the control of his nasty curveball hasn’t been there for the majority of the season so hitters were able to sit on that fastball and his curveball was popping up too much so it was likely easy to recognize right away out of his hand. He messed around with a changeup in July but only threw 33 of them even though it really seemed to help keep hitters off their timing.
We would assume the Twins would like to see him clear waivers so he could get to St. Paul and be able to get some work in down there to see if he can get back to being a reliable option out of the bullpen.
Rookie RHP Cole Sands was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to take Duffey’s place on the 26-man roster.
It was also reported that reliever RHP Jharel Cotton and starter RHP Aaron Sanchez cleared waivers and reported to Triple-A St. Paul.
Here’s how both teams lined up:
Minnesota Twins Lineup:
Toronto Blue Jays Lineup:
Game Recap
Twins fans didn’t have to wait long to see their newest starting pitcher as it took just 4 pitches for RHP Tyler Mahle to strike out CF Whit Merrifield swinging for his 1st out for his new team. 1B Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. grounded out to short and DH Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. flew out to left field.
Former Twins starting pitcher RHP José Berríos was making his 2nd start at Target Field as an opponent and he started it by setting the Twins down 1-2-3 on 7 pitches as the Twins were looking for that early fastball.
RF Teoscar Hernández led off the 2nd inning with a line drive to right center field for a single, at least. He tried to extend it to a double but CF Mark Contreras was on his horse knowing he might have to try to keep this hit to a single. He got to it, turned and fired a strike to 2nd for the first outfield assist of his MLB career* and Hernández had to settle for a single and a seat on the bench in the dugout. SS Bo Bichette struck out swinging and 3B Matt Chapman flew out to CF to end the top of the 2nd. *See our Game Notes section at the bottom of the article for more on Mark Contreras.
The Twins got a 1-out single from LF Nick Gordon but it was quickly taken care of by an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Blue Jays C Danny Jansen walked to lead off the 3rd inning but LF Raimel Tapia grounded into a 5-4-3 double play quickly cleared the bases and Tyler Mahle then struck out 2B Santiago Espinal on a foul tip to end the top of the 3rd inning.
1B Tim Beckham grounded out to 3rd to begin the bottom of the 3rd then CF Mark Contreras, fresh off a great defensive play in the previous half inning, put the Twins in front with his 2nd home run of the season to the bullpen in left center field. Marko Oppo!
C Sandy León struck out looking and 2B Luis Arraez flew out to left field to end the 3rd.
1-0 Twins
Mahle set the Blue Jays down 1-2-3 via groundout, strikeout and flyout. The Twins then got a leadoff double from SS Carlos Correa followed by a walk from Jorge Polanco and an RBI-single to center from 3B Jose Miranda (DYKM?) on the very next pitch. A mound visit was then followed by Nick Gordon sending a loud blast to right field for a 3-run shot and his 5th home run of the season on the 1st pitch he saw.
Cave flew out to CF, Beckham singled to deep short for an infield hit, Contreras lined out to CF, León walked and that was it for José Berríos as the Blue Jays made a pitching change to RHP Trevor Richards. Luis Arraez flew out to left field again to end the 4th inning but what an inning…
The comeback got 1 run closer with a 1-out HR from Santiago Espinal (7). A Whit Merrifield single followed and that brought up Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and he fouled off the 2nd & 4th pitches, both of them fastballs then he crushed a slider over the center field wall to bring the Jays within 1.
Mahle struck out Gurriel, Jr. swinging then got Hernández to line out to center to keep the Minnesota Twins in the lead.
5-4 Twins
Zach Pop replaced Trevor Richards and Jake Cave greeted him with a base hit to left field but Tim Beckham grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to take all the good feelings away. Contreras then popped out to 3rd to end the 6th.
RHP Griffin Jax replaced Tyler Mahle to pitch the 7th for the Twins.
RHP Tyler Mahle’s Final Line 6IP 5H 4R/ER 1BB 5K 3HR – 86 pitches (61 strikes) In Line for the Win
Jax used his slider to strike out the side in the 7th getting Bichette swinging, Chapman looking and Jansen swinging on just 11 pitches. Mow ‘em Down, Griff! I’ll call that Air Force because that sounds good! SLIIIIIDER!
Hey, how ‘bout a stretch, huh?
Sandy León then led off the bottom of the 7th with his 2nd double of the season in his 2nd game as a Twin. The Blue Jays replaced Zach Pop with RHP Adam Cimber, a submariner pitcher and Luis Arraez lined out to center. Carlos Correa singled but Sandy León could only advance to 3rd on a slow ground ball through the right side. Jorge Polanco struck out, leaving it up to Jose Miranda to pick him up to help the Twins get an insurance run…
but he flew out to center field to end the 7th.
Still 5-4 Twins
RHP Jhoan Duran replaced Jax to pitch the 8th for Minnesota and he got Tapia to ground out to short for the 1st out. Toronto pinch-hit Alexandro Kirk for Santiago Espinal. The at-bat started with two straight high heaters at 101 mph. Duran got strike one with another 101 that was taken then he threw a perfect pitch that hit the high outside corner of the zone but was called a ball. Man, that’s frustrating. 3-1 is a whole lot different than 2-2, blue! COME ON! Another heater, this one in the zone at 102.1 mph, was fouled off to make it a full count and Jhoan reared back and threw the next pitch 102.8 mph that was swung through for the 2nd out.
Whit Merrifield took the 1st pitch, also the first non-fastball, for strike 1 then he hit the 2nd one to right field for a single. Guerrero, Jr. came to the plate and singled to right field as well but Duran got Gurriel, Jr. to ground out to 3rd to end the top of the 8th and..
Still 5-4 Twins
Whit Merrifield moved to 2nd base and Bradley Zimmer replaced Alexandro Kirk, batting 9th and playing center field. RHP David Phelps replaced Adam Cimber. Nick Gordon led off the bottom of the 8th with a ground rule double (15) on the first pitch. Jake Cave flew out to center field and Gordon just bluffed an attempt to advance to 3rd. Tim Beckham struck out swinging on a check swing and Contreras also struck out swinging to send it to the 9th and new closer Jorge López to face Teoscar Hernández, Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman.
Hernández grounded out softly back to the pitcher. Bichette singled through the left side. Chapman flew out to 2nd. Danny Jansen singled to right field on a sharp ground ball. Bichette advanced to 2nd. Down 0-2 in the count, Raimel Tapia fought off an inside sinker to get it to land in short center field to tie the game.
Cavan Biggio pinch-hit for Zimmer then flew out to left field but…
The Game is Tied at 5!
Whit Merrifield moved back to center field, Cavan Biggio took over at 2nd base and RHP Yimi Garcia replaced David Phelps and Gio Urshela, pinch-hitting for Sandy León, singled to right field and was pinch-run for with Gilberto Celestino. Luis Arraez grounded out to 2nd. Correa reached on a fielding error by Biggio and Celestino advanced to 3rd. Polanco was intentionally walked. Miranda struck out swinging and Nick Gordon flew out to left field so we have…
FREE BASEBALL!!!
Even if we didn’t want it! DOH!
RHP Michael Fulmer replaced Jorge López to pitch the 10th for the Twins. Biggio started the inning at 2nd base. Whit Merrifield struck out swinging for the 1st out. Guerrero, Jr. got the unintentional intentional walk. Gurriel, Jr. singled to center. Biggio advanced to 3rd because he had to hold up as the hit went over Arraez’s head and he wouldn’t want to get doubled up so the bases were loaded with 1 out. Hernández struck out swinging so it was up to Bichette and…
HE STRUCK OUT LOOKING!!!
RHP Jordan Romano replaced Yimi Garcia to try to keep the game tied against Jake Cave, Tim Beckham and Mark Contreras. Nick Gordon began the inning at 2nd base. Cave was taxed with trying to bunt Gordon over to 3rd. He missed the first pitch. He pulled back on the 2nd & 3rd pitches to make it 1-2. He fouled off the 4th pitch to even the count and he took the 5th pitch to fill the count. He swung through the payoff pitch but it wasn’t caught so Cave took off for 1st base…and Blue Jays C Danny Jansen tried to tag him but he wasn’t close enough so he had to try a lob throw to 1st because he was in foul territory and Cave was between him and Guerrero at 1st base.
Up to the plate came Tim Beckham. He took the first pitch for a ball. Cave took 2nd base but it’s fielder’s indifference since his run didn’t matter. On the 2nd pitch, Beckham hit a grounder to 3rd but the contact play was on so Nick Gordon took off for home. Matt Chapman fielded the ball and threw home but the ball hit the ground in front of Jansen making it hard to catch and Nick Gordon slid into home. It looked like he was out but Jansen never had the ball so…
THAT IS A WALK OFF WIN!!!
Condensed Game (8:51 Run Time)
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Final Score Toronto Blue Jays 5 | 6 Minnesota Twins W-Fulmer(4-4-) L-Romano(3-3)
The Minnesota Twins started a 4-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays who fired manager Charlie Montoya a little more than 3 weeks ago. They were 4 games above .500 then and are now 12 games above .500 after going 12-4 with interim manager John Schneider at the helm. Should we really be that surprised? I mean, John Schreider has them “makin’ their way the only way they know how” now, right?* *If you don’t know that reference, ask someone familiar with the 80’s.
It’s been crazy the last few days/weeks with all of the Twinsactions (Twins Transactions), huh? Well, we have some more yet again:
The Minnesota Twins placed OF Kyle Garlick on the 10-Day Injured List (IL) (retroactive to August 2nd) with a right rib contusion. They also reinstated OF Gilberto Celestino from the Paternity List, activated Trade Deadline acquisition RHP Tyler Mahle & optioned LHP Jovani Moran.
Here’s how both teams lined up:
Minnesota Twins Lineup:
Toronto Blue Jays Lineup:
Game Recap
It was very sunny all day. How Sonny* was at Target Field? *Funny that Sonny is followed by Gray. Mostly Sonny, then?
It’s a pretty tough matchup, though. Toronto Blue Jays starter RHP Alek Manoah has been very good through his 2nd season. A 1st time All-Star this year, he had a 2.43 ERA and a WHIP under 1 (0.99) through 20 starts.
The first 3 innings included just 2 walks for Toronto while the Twins did not get on base.
In the 4th, Alexandro Kirk led off with a walk but Sonny Gray got RH Teoscar Hernández to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to quickly empty the bases then struck out SS Bo Bichette. The Twins got a leadoff single from SS Carlos Correa then DH Byron Buxton grounded out to 2nd. Both 2B Jorge Polanco & CF Nick Gordon walked to load the bases as 3B Jose Miranda came to the plate and he was hit on the left hand with a pitch to put the Twins up 1-0.
He stayed in the game after an injury delay then LF Jake Cave flew out to short to end the 4th inning.
1-0 Twins
Sonny Gray allowed another leadoff walk to begin the 5th inning but he struck out both 3B Matt Chapman and CF Whit Merrifield. 2B Cavan Biggio singled to center field and DH George Springer walked but Sonny got 1B Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. to ground out to short to keep Toronto off the board. The Twins got just a 1-out walk from C Gary Sánchez.
Minnesota Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli went to his bullpen as his starter had reached 96 pitches so he brought in RHP Emilio Pagán to pitch the 6th inning. He got Kirk to ground out for the 1st out but left a pitch up that was crushed by Teoscar Hernández to tie the game at 1.
Bichette followed with a double to center field then a single from Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. brought Bichette in to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead. Chapman lined out to short and Carlos Correa tried to get the runner at first but it was wide and skipped on the grass to get past 1B Luis Arraez for a 2-base error putting Gurriel at 3rd. Whit Merrifield then singled to 3rd on a low throw that they still scored as a hit and it brought in another run. Biggio then grounded out to 1st to end the top of the 6th.
3-1 Blue Jays
Byron Buxton struck out to lead off the bottom of the 6th. Polanco walked and Nick Gordon doubled to right field to score Polanco but Jose Miranda grounded out to short and Jake Cave flew out to center field to leave & Gordon on base.
3-2 Blue Jays
RHP Trevor Megill replaced Pagán to pitch the 7th and he allowed a 1-out double to Guerrero, Jr. but got out of it with a flyout and a strikeout. Toronto replaced Manoah with LHP Tim Mayza and the Twins went down 1-2-3 on 2 groundouts and a strikeout.
Trevor Megill came out for another inning and promptly allowed another Bichette double and that was followed by an RBI-single from Gurriel, Jr. He got Chapman to strike out but Merrifield singled to right field so Rocco went to RHP Tyler Duffey and he allowed back-to-back singles that scored 2 more runs then Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. showed his power with a 3-run Home Run to left field and, just like that, it was
9-2 Blue Jays
Duffey then walked Kirk but got Hernández to ground into a 5-4-3 inning ending double play but the damage had been done.
The Twins got a 1-out walk from Buxton but nothing else to end the 8th.
Duffey came back out for the 9th, allowed a lead off single then got a force out and struck out the last 2 batters.
Don’t call it a comeback? Jack Cave hit his 1st home run of the season but that was it. A disappointing outing for the bullpen in what was a close game when they took over.
Get ’em tomorrow!
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Final Score Toronto Blue Jays 9 |3 Minnesota Twins W-Manoah(12-5) L-Pagán(3-5)
TOR: LHP Tim Mayza: 1IP 1K HR – 11th Hold RHP Yimi Garcia: 1IP 1BB 1K RHP Anthony Bass: 1IP 1H 1R/ER 1K 1HR
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Game Notes * Mistake Pitches will Kill You
It didn’t go the Twins way as they had the front end of their bullpen try to keep a 1-run lead and it didn’t work as Emilio Pagán gave up the lead and Trevor Megill & Tyler Duffey allowed it to get out of hand.
Emilio Pagán threw a splitter that didn’t split and that ball didn’t come back but the single from Gurriel, Jr. isn’t a bad pitch as it was up & away but he got to it.
This ball was sent up the middle with a shift to the left side.Look where it ended up being hit.
Megill was getting too much of the plate missing more in the zone instead of more out of the zone whether that’s east-west or north-south. Duffey missed on a couple of pitches, especially the home run ball to Guerrero, but the Springer 2-run single isn’t a bad pitch. He just put in play and took advantage of the infield being in.
You could say the same thing about this Duffey pitch to Springer that turned into a 2-run single because the infield was in.
But… they have to do better with their command and their control. Duffey’s knuckle curve which was hit for the 2-run single from Springer and the Home Run from Guerrero has been a bad pitch for most of the season.
It’s a combination of his fastball velocity being down and the curveball popping up too much so it’s easy to recognize and if it’s popping up, it’s usually going to be a meatball.
Duffey had messed with adding a changeup and it seemed to breathe some new life into him. Did he go away from it? He’s only thrown 33 of them according to Baseball Savant.
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Next Up Game 2: RHP Tyler Mahle (5-7, 4.40 ERA, 1.246 WHIP*)
vs
RHP José Berríos (8-4, 4.96 ERA, 1.321 WHIP)
*ERA=Earned Run Average, WHIP=Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched
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Thank You for reading our TwinsTakes! We’d love to hear your TwinsTakes!
The Minnesota Twins will try again to win the rubber game. They didn’t get it done in San Diego so we’ll see if they can change that in this one. Of course, this isn’t the same team that lost in San Diego as the MLB Trade Deadline expired yesterday at 5pm CST and the Twins made four trades to help their team win the American League Central or make the playoffs via one of the 3 Wild Card spots.
They currently lead the American League Central by just 1 game over the Cleveland Guardians. The White Sox are 2 games back as well. If the Twins weren’t leading the division, they’d be tied for the final Wild Card spot with the Tampa Bay Rays.
MLB American League Wild Card Standings on August 2nd, 2022
Trade Deadline
There is just one trade deadline now in Major League Baseball. There used to be a second one at the end of August that teams could use to still help their teams improve. It was a waiver deadline so teams had to expose players to waivers and if a team claimed a player, they could negotiate a trade with that team for that player or if no team claimed a player, they could negotiate with any team. The team could also pull the player off waivers to keep him.
The Minnesota Twins acquired 4 players at the deadline on Tuesday, 3 pitchers and one catcher and they didn’t have to trade anyone on their Major League roster. They only sent prospects the other way. All of them were valuable prospects and assets within the organization but this is why you have to have a great farm system. You never know what you’ll need at the trade deadline. You don’t plan on needing anyone but injuries and players not performing the way you thought they would always happen and you need to have the ability to acquire pieces to help your team make the playoffs and win the World Series.
The Minnesota Twins acquired closer RHP Jorge López from the Baltimore Orioles for reliever RHP Yennier Cano (AAA), LHP Cade Povich (High-A), LHP Juan Rojas (FCL-Rookie Level) & RHP Juan Nunez (FCL-Rookie Level).The Minnesota Twins acquired starting pitcher RHP Tyler Mahle from the Cincinnati Reds for prospects 2B/3B Spencer Steer (AAA), 3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand (AA) and LHP Steven Hajjar (High-A).The Minnesota Twins acquired reliever RHP Michael Fulmer from the Detroit Tigers for prospect RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (AA). The Minnesota Twins acquired C Sandy León the Cleveland Guardians for RHP Ian Hamilton (AAA).
Twinsactions (Twins Transactions)
The Twins made a couple of moves before the game, activating LHP Caleb Thielbar and selecting the contract of newly acquired C Sandy León. To make room for them, they optioned C Caleb Hamilton* and designated P Joe Smith for release or assignment. *So… at least this means 3B/1B Jose Miranda got to see Hamilton.** **Jose Miranda’s cousin is Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the hit musical, Hamilton and he hasn’t actually seen it, yet. Maybe when the Twins are in New York? Nope! He’ll be a little busy with that baseball thing and they don’t do Mondays.
Here’s how both teams lined up:
Minnesota Twins Lineup:
Detroit Tigers Lineup:
Game Recap
The majority of the time it’s a good thing for the Minnesota Twins to have RHP Joe Ryan start the game. Last time out, that wasn’t the case as he gave up 5 home runs in his start in San Diego. Let’s see if he made a rebound in this game.
He started out this game by striking out the 1st two batters, both swinging strikeouts, then got a ground ball to 1st to set the Tigers down 1-2-3 in the 1st inning. The Twins also were set down 1-2-3 in the 1st inning (flyout, popout & flyout.)
The no-hitter only lasted one inning for Twins pitcher Joe Ryan as 1B Harold Castro singled to CF to lead off the 2nd inning but Ryan sandwiched two more swinging strikeouts around a popout to get through the 2nd inning.
Minnesota Twins 1B Jose Miranda also singled to lead of the bottom of the 2nd inning. 3B Gio Urshela lined out to short. CF Nick Gordon walked. LF Jake Cave lined out to CF for the 2nd out. C Sandy León came to the plate for his 1st at-bat as a Minnesota Twin and he made it memorable as he doubled to the left field corner to score both Miranda and Gordon and put the Twins up 2. Welcome to Minnesota, Sandy! That was also his 1st double of the season!
RF Mark Contreras struck out to end the inning.
2-0 Twins
Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the 3rd. Harold Castro got another single but that was the only non-out in the 4th inning but 4 of the outs were via the strikeout, 2 for each team.
Joe Ryan began the 5th inning by hitting the batter with a pitch. He then got 2B Jonathan Schoop to strike out swinging and 3B Koby Clemens to line out to RF but he followed that by hitting C Tucker Barnhart with a pitch and, after a mound visit, Tigers rookie CF Riley Greene made him pay for it with a bloop single to center field that cut the lead in half. Ryan did strikeout LF Victor Reyes to end the inning.
2-1 Twins
The Twins responded by going down 1-2-3 on 2 strikeouts & a groundout.
Newly-acquired & former Detroit Tiger reliever RHP Michael Fulmer took over for Minnesota in the 6th.
Joe Ryan’s Final Pitching Line: 5IP 3H 1R/ER 0BB 9K In line for the Win 78 Pitches (63 Strikes)
Fulmer allowed a 1-out single (Harold Castro again) but struck out one and caught Castro stealing to end the inning.
Detroit also replaced their starting pitcher, LHP Tyler Alexander, by bringing in RHP Jose Cisnero.
Tyler Alexander’s Final Pitching Line: 5IP 2H 2R/ER 1BB 5K In line for the Loss 66 Pitches (47 Strikes)
Cisnero walked DH Byron Buxton on 4 pitches. He then threw a wild pitch that allowed Buxton to advance to 2nd. The next pitch was high and way inside forcing Carlos Correa to evade the pitch and go down. The next pitch was low and away but Correa still got a piece of it to send it to short left field to bring Byron Buxton in to make it 3-1.
2B Jorge Polanco grounded into a force out at 2nd and 1B Jose Miranda lined a ball to right field that looked like a hit for sure but the other Castro (Willi) made a fantastic catch for the 2nd out and Gio Urshela struck out to end the 6th inning.
Even Miranda’s outs are impressive!
3-1 Twins
Twins LHP Caleb Thielbar replaced Fulmer for the 7th and he needed just 12 pitches to set the Tigers down 1-2-3, the last two by way of the strikeout so…KKaleb! The Twins had to face a new pitcher, Tigers LHP Andrew Chafin, and got back-to-back 1-out singles from Jake Cave & Sandy León but left them there with an inning-ending double play ball from Mark Contreras.
Twins rookie phenom RHP Jhoan Duran replaced Thielbar and he walked the first batter but then set down the next 3 hitters after a mound visit via forceout, groundout and a strikeout.
Former Twins reliever RHP Derek Law replaced Chafin to face his former team and he allowed a leadoff hit to Byron Buxton and a 1-out hit to Jorge Polanco then walked Jose Miranda to load the bases and Gio Urshela hit a sacrifice fly to add another run for the home club. Nick Gordon struck out to end the 8th.
Newly-acquired closer RHP Jorge López came in to make his Twins Debut and he needed just 7 pitches to earn his 1st save as a Twin and help them win the series.
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Final Score Detroit Tigers 1 | 4 Minnesota Twins W-Ryan (8-4) L-Alexander(2-5) S-López(20) H-Fulmer(19), Thielbar(10), Duran(11)
The Minnesota Twins were looking for some redemption from a 10-1 loss in game 1 that made it a 3-game losing streak and now 2-3 after the All-Star break. Minnesota Twins starter RHP Joe Ryan allowed 5 HRs and couldn’t get out of the 5th inning. The bullpen finished the last 3.1 innings of the game and RHP Jharel Cotton made it onto Pitcher List’s 8 Nastiest Pitches list with his nasty changeup so it wasn’t all bad but…
the players likely don’t care about that as their minds are on how to snap their 3-game losing streak as they’re set to face Padres RHP Joe Musgrove with their own RHP Sonny Gray on the mound.
Twinsactions
Unfortunately, the Minnesota Twins had to place OF Max Kepler (right 5th toe fracture), & 1B/DH Miguel Sanó (left knee inflammation) on the 10-Day Injured List (IL) today. They selected the contract of INF Tim Beckham and OF Mark Contreras was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul. They said Miguel Sanó may have aggravated his injury on a slide into 2nd base in his last rehab game with the St. Paul Saints.* *Has Miguel Sanó played his last game in a Twins Jersey?
RHP Bailey Ober (right groin strain) was also moved to the 60-Day IL to make room for Beckham on the 40-Man roster.
Also, Twins OF Gilberto Celestino was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on July 25th when the Twins activated Miguel Sanó but he was recalled yesterday when the Twins put 3B Gio Urshela on the paternity list because he was expecting the arrival of a baby girl.
Here’s how both teams lined up:
Minnesota Twins Lineup:
San Diego Padres Lineup:
Game Recap
1B Luis Arraez led off the game by lining out to left field on the game’s first pitch from San Diego Padres starter Joe Musgrove. Both SS Carlos Correa & DH Byron Buxton struck out swinging on curveballs to end the top of the 1st. Twins RHP Sonny Gray allowed a 2-out walk in a scoreless bottom of the 1st and he struck out 3B Manny Machado but it took him 20 pitches (10 strikes.)
The Twins went down 1-2-3 on a couple flyouts and a groundout in the 2nd. The Padres then led off the bottom of the inning with a line drive single off the bat of RF Nomar Mazara but the Twins turned a fantastic 6-4-3 double play on a sharp hard-hit ground ball to short.
It’s a good thing, too, because CF Trent Grisham followed it with a double to center field but Sonny Gray got SS Ha-Seong Kim to ground out to 3rd to end the inning and keep the game scoreless. Luis Arraez had to make a great play to pick the throw at 1st, too.
Still 0-0
Twins RF Gilberto Celestino got the Twins first hit with a 2-out flare to right field but Arraez grounded out to end the top of the 3rd.
Manny Machado then put the Padres in front with his 18th HR of the season in the bottom of the 3rd.
1-0 Padres
Byron Buxton then used his BuxTon of Power as he learned from his 1st at-bat and expected the 2-strike high fastball* and put it in the seats to tie the game with his 26th HR of the season. 2B Jorge Polanco followed that with a walk but RF Alex Kirilloff grounded into a 3-5-1 double play to end the inning. *In his 1st at-bat, Padres RHP Joe Musgrove threw him a 2-strike high fastball that Buxton took but it was only to set up the curve for the strikeout.
1-1 Tie
San Diego led off the bottom of the 4th with a single from Luke Voit but Sonny Gray struck out both Nomar Mazara & Austin Nola looking then got Trent Grisham to ground out to 1st.
The top of the 5th began with 3B Jose Miranda being hit-by-a-pitch. LF Nick Gordon then beat the shift with a weak liner to the left side of the infield. C Gary Sánchez struck out swinging and that brought up Celestino for the 2nd time and he repeated his 1st at-bat with another flared hit to right field and Jose Miranda read it beautifully to score from 2nd and put the Twins up 1. Arraez & Correa both struck out swinging to leave Nick Gordon stranded at 2nd base. Will that come back to bite the Twins in this close game?
2-1 Twins
San Diego led off the bottom of the 5th with a line drive single to LF by Ha-Seong Kim but 2B C.J. Abrams lined out to CF. Kim stole 2nd but Gray struck out Profar looking. A Mound Visit preceded the next at-bat (Machado HR’d in his last AB) then Machado lined out to CF to end the 5th.
Still 2-1 Twins
Buxton led off the top of 6 with a walk but Polanco K’d swinging on another wicked yacker then Kirilloff GIDP’d (4-6-3) for the 2nd time to end the inning.
Twins RHP Sonny Gray’s Final Line: 5IP 5H 1R/ER 1BB 5K 1HR – in line for the Win 79 pitches (52 strikes)
Was he pulled too soon?* *Check out our Game Notes section at the bottom of the article for more on this topic.
Former Padre RHP Emilio Pagán came in to pitch the 6th for the Twins and he got a weak comebacker that he got to but threw low to 1st for a 2-base throwing error that allowed Hosmer to get on and advance to 2nd. Voit K’d swinging (splitter). Mazara K’d swinging (fastball). Austin Nola BB’d but Grisham flew out to CF.
And…Still 2-1 Twins
Padres RHP Joe Musgrove’s Final Line: 6IP 4H 2R/ER 2BB 8K 1HR – in line for the Loss
“Who made these god-awful jerseys, Huh? WHO WAS IT?”
RHP Nabil Crismatt replaced Joe Musgrove and set the Twins down 1-2-3 with 2 strikeouts.
The Twins made a defensive adjustment replacing RF Alex Kirilloff with just-recalled OF Mark Contreras. RHP Trevor Megill also replaced Emilio Pagán to pitch the 7th and he got Kim to ground out to 3rd on a slow chopper that Jose Miranda had to charge to make a great play on. The very next pitch is the same play to short but San Diego 2B C.J. Abrams is one of the fastest runners in the league so Carlos Correa put everything on his throw and it sailed a little up the first baseline and off Luis Arraez’s glove to allow Abrams to advance to 2nd.
Jurickson Profar came to the plate with the Padres yet to have a hit with a runner on base (0-for-11, 0-for-6 with Runners In Scoring Position (RISP)) and he hit an 0-2 curveball that had a 103-mph exit velocity off the bat up the middle to the right of 2nd base but it was headed right for the 2nd base umpire Jerry Layne. He tried to get out of the way but it hit him in the left leg/knee so it was a dead ball and Abrams, who would’ve easily made it to 3rd had to go back due to the rule on a dead ball. Abrams would’ve easily scored had it not hit the umpire. Profar was visibly upset with Jerry Layne after the play as he was doing the palms up gesture wondering why he didn’t get out of the way of a ball that was coming at him that fast.
The Twins made a pitching change to RHP Griffin Jax and he struck out Manny Machado and got Eric Hosmer to pop up to short to get the Twins out of trouble and Jurickson Profar was doing a small clap as he waited on the field for his glove & hat, probably at the umpiring crew or one specific umpire. As they came back from the commercial, Profar & Jerry Layne were talking and it appeared they had smoothed things over.
To the top of the 8th…
San Diego LHP Adrian Morejon replaced Nabil Crismatt to pitch the 8th and he struck out Celestino. Luis Arraez singled to right field. Carlos Correa was at the plate and A.J. Pierzynski said he was a pitch away from the golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts in a game and, on the very next pitch, Carlos Correa launched his 13th HR of the season to center field to triple the lead to 4-1! BOOM! 4 bases is much better than 4 strikeouts!
Byron Buxton then singled to left field on a sharp line drive. After ball 1 to Jorge Polanco, Padres C Austin Nola went out to talk to his pitcher. He then threw ball 2 and as he threw ball 3, Byron Buxton stole 2nd off the young pitcher. Polanco walked. Kyle Garlick was announced as a pinch-hitter for Mark Contreras so San Diego made a pitching change to RHP Dinelson Lamet. Garlick then hit into what should’ve been an inning-ending double play but young 2B C.J. Abrams may have rushed his throw from 2nd as it went in the dirt and 1B Eric Hosmer couldn’t scoop it so it got past him allowing Byron Buxton to score and Garlick to advance to 2nd.
Twins 3B Jose Miranda came to the plate and he took the first 2 pitches that were just barely strikes. He didn’t like the first call on the low curveball. He then fouled off a slider in the zone, took a fastball way low & outside for ball 1 and a slider way inside that he had to get out of the way of for ball 2 to make the count even. He fouled off a slider way outside and another one that was high then he got a fastball middle away and he laced it to right field for an RBI-single to make it 6-1.* *Check out the Game Notes section at the bottom of the article for more on Jose Miranda.
The ability to foul off pitches to keep an at-bat alive is so valuable. It allowed Miranda to see more pitches until he got one he liked or, as Tim Laudner would say, “a pitch he can handle.”
Twins rookie phenom RHP Jhoan Duran entered the game to replace Griffin Jax and he had both Luke Voit and Nomar Mazara shaking their heads as they struck out looking before Austin Nola grounded out to 2nd.
The Twins went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 9th on a groundout, a flyout and a rocket of a lineout off Carlos Correa’s bat (111 mph.)
RHP Tyler Duffey replaced Duran and he got Grisham to ground out to 1st then walked Kim and followed that by hitting Abrams with a pitch. A mound visit must not have helped since he gave up a 3-run HR to Jurickson Profar to make it 7-4. He then struck out Machado and got Hoser to ground out on a comebacker to end the game. Just a reminder that the Twins still need some bullpen help.
Hitting Home Runs MN: Byron Buxton (26), Carlos Correa (13)
SD: Manny Machado (18), Jurickson Profar (10)
Doubles MN: Nick Gordon (12)
SD: Trent Grisham (13)
2-Out RBI MN (Inning): Jose Miranda(8th), Nick Gordon(8th)
SD (Inning): Manny Machado(3rd)
Other (Defense, Key Plays, etc…) MN: Sweet 6-4-3 DP in the 2nd (Correa, Polanco, Arraez) Arraez pick of Miranda throw to end the 2nd Umpire Jerry Layne getting hit by the ball in the 7th
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Game Notes
* Pitch Counts & When to Pull a Starting Pitcher
Fox broadcaster & former Twins catcher A.J. Pierzynski criticized Twins manager Rocco Baldelli for taking out Sonny Gray after the 5th inning saying he was only at 70 pitches so why not try to sneak 3 more outs out of him since Rocco had said in their pregame interview/meeting that the bullpen was exhausted. He added, “This is how you wear out a bullpen.”
He was actually at 79 pitches and his average pitches per start was 78 before the start of the game. A.J. had added that Gray was in “control of the game” or something to that effect but Gray had allowed the leadoff batter to reach in his last 2 innings and, of the 14 balls put in play by the Padres off Sonny Gray, 9 of them had an exit velocity over 100 mph and the 3 in the 5th inning had exit velocities of 100.6, 101.4 & 107.0. He was losing velocity on his pitches and he was also right at his average for pitches per start of 78. He had only thrown more than 90 pitches just twice in his 14 starts before this start.
So… does Rocco deserve some criticism for pulling him? Maybe but, especially in a 1-run game, we need to know more about the situation than just the pitch count to understand the decisions the manager makes when going to his bullpen. For all we know, Sonny Gray was asked what he thought about trying to pitch another inning and he took himself out. We don’t know and speculation and/or second-guessing is very easy to do after the fact. It worked out very well tonight.
Also, when Rocco said his bullpen was exhausted, was he referring to right now or referring to why they’ve struggled this season. All 5 relievers that pitched in this game had not pitched since Tuesday or Wednesday.
In a 1-run game with your starting pitcher beginning to look tired and losing velocity while giving up rockets off the bat, it’s very understandable to go to the bullpen.
Plus, he may be expecting some new arms showing up in the next few days via the Trade Deadline.
** Sweet stories about Minnesota Twins Legends Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew & Tom Kelly from former Twin C A.J. Pierzynski
The Twins used to hold spring training in Orlando and A.J. had a bunch of balls signed by Oliva. He didn’t know who Tony-O was back then (1994). When he had signed & started his Twins career in the minors, his parents were moving so his mom had called and asked if he wanted these signed ⚾️s and he said the name in the middle of all of those ⚾️s was Tony Oliva.
He also said Tony Oliva was always at Spring Training and even in his mid-fifties, he would still take live batting practice and still hit home runs and he’d say to “watch the snake 🐍 pop” because there were woods behind the ballpark and when the ball would land the snakes would jump up.
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He mentioned Twins Harmon Killebrew as the nicest man you’d ever meet. He talked about the Minnesota Twins Caravans. They would take 4 Dodge Durangos and travel around Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa & Wisconsin to get out and meet Twins fans. It’d be some active Twins players and some Twins Legends. A.J. said they’d drive from place to place and “just listen to Harmon Killebrew tell stories.” How fun does that sound?
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Story about Tom Kelly teaching his pitchers what to do to hold runners on base. “If you can’t hold runners on, you can’t pitch for me.” A.J. said he’d teach them to say to themselves slowly before they threw a pitch:
“Hold the runner, bleep bleep!”
Insert your favorite profanities there! Haha!
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He also talked about David Ortiz not working out in Minnesota since he couldn’t/wouldn’t use all fields as a hitter so he was non-tendered then signed as a free agent by Boston 38 days later and they just allowed him to do what he did best and a week ago, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
At least his Twins career helped him get over 500 Home Runs, right?
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Next Up
At San Diego for the Rubber Game to see who wins the series as 3:10 pm on Bally Sports North:
