Archived Game Threads

The Rockies and Twins will play the rubber match today, and the matchup heavily favors the Twins. After allowing 1 run over the last three games, the Twins will send out RHP Joe Ryan. Ryan had a very ugly start to his matchup against Cleveland, but corrected course to eventually provide the Twins with a quality start that the bullpen would wipe away. But we don't need to rehash that game at the moment. In terms of transactions, it appears that LHP Jovani Moran will be added to the roster, according to Phil Miller of the Strib. The Twins have not made an official move as of this moment. EDIT: The Twins are placing RHP Joe Smith on the 15-day IL with upper…

Game Thread, Twins vs. Red Sox, 5/26 @ 7:10pm CT There is a division beyond that which is known to the midwest. It is a division as vast as money and as timeless as headlines. There is no middle ground between pennants and curses, between a pesky homer and a foul ball, and a 9 inning game can last more than 4 hours. This is the division of publicity. It is an area which we call... The Eastern Time Zone. And thence hail our opponents of this evening: The Boston Redsox. (Apologies to the Twilight Zone writers while i'm thinking of it...) While Twins have been losing 90 games a season, Boston has alternated winning and losing 90 games a season, and has thrown a world…

I don't hate the Yankees. I don't hate the Yankees. I don't hate the Yankees. You heard right: I don't hate the Yankees. In fact, I harbor a soft spot for the Bronx Bombers directly related to the NYC subway system, the crack epidemic and some very bad baseball. My no-hate affair began in 1988 with a two-week 4th of July road trip to Manhattan that ended up lasting five years. By October I lived on the Upper West Side and, when the ’89 baseball season rolled around, the Yankees truly stink, stank, stunk. Steinbrenner's squad was about to embark on four years at a 288-359 won-lost clip. Ah, the days of Stump Merrill, Neon Deion and Bam-Bam Meulens. The good news for …

The Twins are currently up two games on August 20th, and if you would've told any of us on the site that in February, we would've been thrilled and taken it in a heartbeat. However, the Twins found themselves up by double digit games just a few months ago, and the mood has understandably changed. Thankfully for the Twins they have the easiest remaining schedule in the MLB. Win, and they'll be in the playoffs, and likely AL Central champs. The Twins look to even up the series with the White Sox after falling last night. The Pitchers: RHP Reynaldo Lopez (7-10, 5.29 ERA, 129 K's) vs RHP Michael Pineda (8-5, 4.20 ERA, 109 K's) Lopez has had a very solid six game stret…

Howdy, y’all. Tonight the Minnesota Twins (61-55) and Texas Rangers (53-65) kick off the “I-35 Series” at Target Field. That’s right, these two teams are separated by just 14 hours and 922 miles of good ol’ American concrete. The drive takes a leisurely 14 hours from Target Field to Globe Life Stadium, all the way down Interstate 35 door-to-door. Since we’re talking about freeways, let’s take a look at what’s under construction tonight in Twins Territory. Minnesota sends hardhat-wearing, lunchpail-carrying Dylan Bundy (6-5, 4.76 ERA) to the mound. He’s earned plenty of criticism but he’s been showing up for work every 5th day which you’ve got to respect. The guy thr…

Baseball's Holy Land I was speechless, sort of, when I first sat down to write a game thread intro about the Padres. I mean if there is one professional baseball team I know very little about it’s the Padres, despite attending a Catholic school. So I gave my blessings to an old friend and classmate to fill in for me. Hopefully he will be my salvation. So without further adieu; Hello faithful, this is Hari Kerry spilling his guts for your entertainment. Like the Dastard, there isn’t much I can tell you about the Padres, other than the fact they usually suck (15 winning seasons in over 50 years of competition) despite what they did to the Twins last nigh…

Hello everyone and welcome to the game thread for the Royals vs. Twins on Joe Mauer Day. The weekend is all Joe Mauer all the time and his elevation to the Twins' Hall of Fame along with the retirement of number 7 has brought back many Twins' greats and Mauer teammates. There will be a sellout crowd tonight and I would expect the game to start later than the posted 6:10 start time. Mauer and his career have been discussed to death on this site, so I will leave that topic and concentrate on the game. First thought--With now a two-catcher rotation and ten very capable players everyone is getting days off. Adrianza is in the lineup at least twice a week and Gonzalez gets f…

Astro – the term means “relating to the stars, celestial objects, or outer space” For many years the Houston Astros were floating around in outer space caught in a baseball orbit that saw them flailing around hopelessly and unable to gain any traction. Today’s Astros are no longer in orbit but have gently landed in first place in the AL West. Thanks to years of #1 picks they have become the team to beat in the AL West. A couple of notes to ponder: Astroturf – It seems to be a contradicting term. I mean, grass in outer space. C’mon, it hardly grows in my yard and certainly won’t grow in space. However, Astroturf is simply a brand name. The original AstroTurf brand …

I was sitting quietly, minding my own business, imbibing some game thread inspiration when, wouldn't you know it, someone thought they should tell me my behavior was inappropriate. I looked at the interloper with a steely glaze and asked them who they thought they were, interrupting my contemplation of a very important matter? I further explained that drinking inspiration is a time-honored method of writing and how dare they question my methods? Next thing I knew, I was on the street, my meager possessions in hand and cursing the busybody who dared question my methods. I guess I shouldn't have been drinking amber colored liquid from a cut glass tumbler during working …

@wsnydesI'll call your David Hasselhoff game thread introduction (which was quite the write up. I am envious of your attention to detail) and raise you a Richard Dean Anderson game thread intro, who was born 72.5 years ago (that would be January 23rd, 1950, and according to my glance at wikipedia) in Minnesota, no less. So he's like... topical and stuff. And thematically appropriate. Those of you who think out bullpen somewhat thin, doesn't it make victory more meaningful to see how Rocco's going to MacGyver the last few innings? And when we're on the road at some strange new ballpark like the one in Detroit, isn't that like visiting a new world through a Stargate? Okay …

Lineups: Twins Danny Santana – SS Brian Dozier – 2B Joe Mauer – 1B Trevor Plouffe – 3B Torii Hunter – RF Kurt Suzuki – C Aaron Hicks – CF Shane Robinson – LF Mike Pelfrey - P Pirates Josh Harrison – RF Neil Walker – 2B Andrew McCutchen – CF Starling Marte – LF Jung Ho Kang – SS Pedro Alvarez – 1B Francisco Cervelli – C Jordy Mercer – SS Jeff Locke – P -------- Afternoon Twins fans, I can safely say that it's not likely many game threads have been written whilst overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Yet, I am fortunate to say that I am doing just that here in Virginia Beach. A friend is getting married on Saturday in Norfolk, so I flew out here early with the wife and …

Throw me a cookie, i'm in a slump. They say nothing is so difficult as hitting a major league fastball, but try swing at the fastballs of fans expectation, and trying to swat all where the fielders aren't, so as we all get safely to first, second, third, and home after the game. So i ain't exactly written many good intros this season. Case in point: i be this here metaphor is forced and gorunds into a double play. I might as well call the infield fly rule right now and put me out of my introductory misory. Of course the wise course would have been to lay off this idea as the way outside ball it is and drive the next idea into the cheap seats... That all said, you …

Game Thread: Indians @ Twins, 6/3 @ 1:10 CT Probable Starters: Mike Clevinger (4-2, 3.14 ERA) vs Kyle Gibson (1-3, 3.57 ERA) - 4 Thoughts - 1. Arbitrary Twins splits I love the excess amount of splits Baseball Reference has for each player. Let’s pull out some arbitrary splits for our starting hitters for the 2018 season. Mitch Garver Home- .734 OPS Away- .585 OPS - Miguel Sano In Wins- .970 OPS In Losses- .614 OPS - Brian Dozier 6th Inning- 1.402 OPS 9th Inning- .301 OPS - Ehire Adrianza (Career) July- .280 B.A. March-April- .216 B.A. - Eduardo Escobar In a 2-1 Count- 1.364 OPS In a 1-2 Count- .268 OPS - Logan Morrison 2 Outs, RISP- .931 OPS Within 1 Run- …

Yesterday, 2017 1st Round Pick Royce Lewis had a grand moment, foreshodowing to a (possibly) grand career. Today, the Twins will battle the Guardians. In one corner, we have Shane Bieber. A former Cy Young Winner. A dragon who shoots flames of fire past its victims (the opposing hitters). In the other corner, we have Devin Smeltzer. A survivor of one of the harshest and most unforgiving diseases known to man, who is now pitching in the major leagues. Bieber vs. Smeltzer. Guardians vs. Twins starts right now. On Bally Sports North.

Woke up this morning and my mind was empty except for enjoying the “rhythm of the falling rain” (we’ve really needed it and I love hearing the rain fall). Then I remembered that I promised to do the game thread intro and ….. my mind was still empty. According to The Weather Channel (a semi-reliable source), the TC will enjoy a high of 79 degrees today with a 40% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. I trust that they will hold off until after the game. Tomorrow looks a little more iffy. It was great to see the Twins get back in the “Win Column” last night. One of the most enjoyable things about this team is that after the first week was out of the way, they have man…

It was not a good day at the park yesterday, expect for the fan give-away bomber hats. Let’s see if the team can take a game in the series. Add to Post Here are some things to think about: I have to admit that I was nervous about Byung-ho Park when I followed him during spring training, now I think he seems to be catching on with MLB pitching. Six home runs in the month of April, and a very respectable .561 Slugging percentage….he is fitting in very nicely. I talked with him (sort of) in Ft. Myers and enjoyed his quiet demeanor. He seems to be letting his hitting (and his interpreter) do the talking for him. These 1st inning (or early inning) run deficits, where the o…

In memoriam of all of those who served and gave everything they had so we can enjoy one of our favorite pastimes, baseball.

Gametime forecast: 36 deg, clear, 0%PoP Twins: SP, Gibson Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Willingham LF Colabello DH Plouffe 3B Kubel RF Pinto C Hicks CF Florimon SS Indians: SP, Carrasco Morgan CF Swisher 1B Kipnis 2B Santana DH Brantley LF Cabrera SS Murphy RF Gomes C Chisenhall 3B Okay, Brian. Tag! You're it! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck... Goose (or gray/grey duck)!!! (Hey watch where you are pinching... The Game isn't played like that... Top of the Head for Goose... Just like the Duck part) Thanks ChiTown Things to Think about: 1. Arcia -- I can see folks are already up in ar…

Lineups: Twins: Jamey Carroll 2B Joe Mauer C Josh Willingham LF Justin Morneau 1B Trevor Plouffe 3B Ryan Doumit DH Oswaldo Arcia RF Aaron Hicks CF Pedro Florimon SS (Pedro Hernandez P) Red Sox: Jacoby Ellsbury CF Shane Victorino RF Dustin Pedroia 2B David Ortiz DH Mike Napoli 1B Jonny Gomes LF Jarrod Saltalamacchia C Stephen Drew SS Pedro Ciriaco 3B (Allen Webster P)

Good afternoon Twins fans and welcome back to more Game Thread fun! The Minnesota Twins kick off another inter-division battle tonight with the Detroit Tigers. After sweeping the White Sox this weekend our first place Twins are looking to add some more distance between their division rivals by beating up the Tigers. Can our starting rotation keep up the good work? Can Buxton keep up the torrid pace he has been showcasing at the plate? Can Correa get in the groove and start producing at the plate? Tune into tonight's game to find out while posting some humor, opinions, and banter on this very Game Thread. Tonight's pitching matchup will feature the Tiger's lefty Eduar…

The Twins are coming! The Twins are coming! I was sitting at the computer one afternoon, hammering away at my baseball novel (doesn’t everybody have a baseball novel they’re writing - you know, for the last decade or so?) when my blonde sister-in-law called. “When did we get married?” she demanded in frustration. “I got nothing.” Okay, before you start thinking I’m involved in some sort of kinky relationship, let me explain. My wife and I were married the same year my sister-in-law and her husband tied the knot. And my sister-in-law was at work trying to fill out some family health insurance form and drew a blank when the form asked for the year of their marriage. …

Good morning and welcome to the always popular, often talked about Twins Daily Game Thread! I'm feeling the pressure already building as I write this introduction. Unfortunately, yesterday's game was rained out. There is now a real pent up demand to watch Twins baseball and actively participate in the Game Thread today. Even though this game will be played over the noon hour and during most peoples regular work schedules, I'm confident the fans will be out in droves today. Yesterday's rainout got me thinking about days off and playing hooky. In a way, the rainout yesterday may have benefitted our ball club as they have struggled the last few games. I think the guys …

Twins: SP Kyle Gibson 2B Dozier 3B Carroll C Mauer 1B Morneau RF Doumit DH Colabello LF Thomas CF Hicks SS Florimon Angels: SP Tommy Hanson LF Shuck CF Trout DH Pujols 2B Kendrick 3B Callaspo 1B Trumbo C Conger RF Cowgill SS Aybar Things to think about for tonight's game: 1. Think about Kyle Gibson... When going through a struggling season such as this one. Rookie pitchers with potential become our dreams. Let's hope this dream is a good one. 2. Think about Pacific Time... I'm supposed to be watching baseball at 7:10 Central at the latest. I'm supposed to be in bed around 11PM. California messes up everything. 3. Think about Tommy Hanson... A shadow of…

Another decent start for Phil Hughes last night …. without any run support. It’s a pity that he is 0-4. He hasn’t pitched perfectly but he deserves better than this. I know King Felix is hard to hit but the Twins need to warm up those bats! It’s cliché but I’m thinking that they need to bring in a chicken or two – seems to me this would be a good task for Kennys Vargas. The Mariners improved their record to 7-9. After tonight’s game, I want to see both the Twins and the Mariners at 7-10. The Twins will put the ball in the hands of Trevor May. Trevor is from Kelso, Washington. Kelso is south of Seattle – almost on the Oregon border but he should have a lot of…

Game-time forecast: Partly cloudy with a 60-percent chance of rain. Winds blowing in from center field at 5-10 m.p.h. Temperature around 70. White Sox: SP, Quintana Eaton CF Beckham 2B Gillaspie 3B Abreu 1B Dunn DH Ramirez SS Viciedo RF De Aza LF Flowers C Twins: SP, Pino Santana SS Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Willingham LF Morales DH Suzuki C Parmelee RF Escobar 3B Fuld CF ------------------------------------------------ Okay, Brian ... thoughts on you ... hopefully unrained on ... ------------------------------------------------- "Only Love Can Bring the Rain... That falls like tears from on high" Umm... Must be lotsa love being sent toward the cities from JB. Si…

If at first you don't succeed... Who's fault is it? Yes. The line ups seem to be...up. Fancy that. So i thought maybe i'd make up for my earlier mistake, maybe even get the drop on someone. Things to think about: 1. Speed. Buxton... Hamilton... My, that was quick! 2. Velocity. Apparently a focus of our pitchers. But that's just speed in a given direction. 3. That fancy new stat about how hard the ball is hit. Something about exit speed? Oh right. 4. And if i am going to get this intro up before someone else does, i better be fast... um yeah. 5. Sorry for being single minded today. Jose Berrios ( R) 1. Max Kepler (L) RF 2. Jorge Polanco (S) SS 3. Nels…

Game-time forecast: Partly cloudy with a 30-percent chance of rain. Winds blowing in from right field at 10-15 m.p.h. Temperature around 70. ChiTown is coming along with the lineups. Check This Space for great specials. Hey, Bri -- not sure what's special, but here you go ... Brewers: SP, Peralta Segura SS Braun RF Lucroy C Gomez CF Ramirez DH Davis LF Gennett 2B Reynolds 3B Overbay 1B Twins: SP, Correia Santana CF Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Willingham LF Arcia RF Plouffe DH Nuñez 3B Pinto C Escobar SS -------------------------------------------------- Things to Think About: 1. Fun -- 28 and 29... That's kinda fun. Yes... That's where our wildest dreams live aft…

I survived my first game thread (7/25), although the Twines and Señor Berríos didn’t fare so well in Dodgerville that night. Here goes another one as they put their 6-game winning streak on the line against the aging and wilting Tigers of Detroit. Looking at the pitching statistics below, the Twins’ starter leads his Tiger counterpart in EVERY statistical category listed: more wins, fewer losses, lower ERA, lower WHIP, more K/9, and less BB/9. And Detroit is paying their starter $18,000,000 this year (and $24,000,000 next year and $25,000,000 for two years after that) with the Twins’ starter making $525,000. After seeing those numbers, I’m not quite so dismayed (see bel…

Tonight is Fireworks Friday at Target Field! Fireworks may have originated in China, but they are as American as baseball, apple pie, hot dogs, and the right to blow one’s fingers to smithereens with fireworks…at least in South Dakota where I’m from. In case you’re wondering, it’s tough to type this with the two bandaged fingers that I have left (kidding). When I was a kid, I would use fireworks as a way to destroy old toys and blow up ant hills. I watched my neighbors grandkids having Roman candle fights on the 4th and I couldn’t help thinking of all of the stupid stuff I did with fireworks and that somehow, miraculously, I managed to survive with minimal damage a…

Happy Wednesday everyone, and I do emphasize the happy, as there hasn’t been much happy around these parts of late, and to be fair, for good reason. Our Minnesota Twins along with something they call a bull pen will attempt to defeat the Houston Astros, who currently hold the best record in baseball and are up 2 games to none on this series. Before we continue with the tarring and feathering of the entire front office, the scouting staff, the players, and TC Bear, I should note with full disclosure that our Twins are 0-2 on game threads that I start. That means that I am clearly to blame as my win percentage in game threads is worse than that of the Twins pen… think ab…