Archived Game Threads

Catch-Up Randy Dobnak actually had some double plays turned behind him, Sano might've very well found his swing, and today already marks the final game of the season (pending playoffs) between the Twins and KC. We're nearly at the halfway mark of the season and it's a three horse race at the top of the AL Central with Cleveland 0.5 games back and Chicago a game back so, as we all expected in this shortened season, every game counts. Where to Listen WCCO 830, TIBN, 102.9 The Wolf Where to Watch Fox Sports North Starting Pitchers Minnesota: Matt Wisler, 0-1, 1.50 ERA, 12.0 IP, 1.00 WHIP, making his second start as an opener.Kansas City: Kris Bubic, 0-3, 5.12 ERA, 19 K…

http://www.thegamblingforum.com/sites/default/files/field/image/twins%20vs.%20royals_0.png Welcome back to another exciting Game Thread installment brought to you by Twins Daily! The game last night was not fun to watch. Sounds like Odorizzi will be ok but probably very sore for a few days. According to reports from the Twins, Zach LittelI might be shut down for an extended period of time. Hopefully today's outcome turns out better. I am now officially tired of playing the Kansas City Royals. They're like an annoying fly or mosquito buzzing around my face...Enough already! I miss playing some of the other divisions. I miss playing AL East teams and I miss playing AL Wes…

Just want to say as a lead up to a heartfelt thanks to TwinsDaily and these here game threads, this pandemic related self isolation routine is old hat to me. I just splurged for the mlb tv package, and am watching most of the Twins games assuming i don't nod off. Last time i watched Twins games on a regular basis, i was taking care of my father during his last couple years. Dad was also a fan of the Twins, who were our first hometown winners back in '87 and living in Rochester MN, not counting the fact Dad grew up in NY state, and it is hard to imagine the Yankes didn't win sometime in his youth. Anyway, games were something regular to plan around that Dad enjoyed wa…

Catch-Up Baseball is..weird. We went from an assault on batters in Kenta Maeda to, yesterday. But the beauty of this is there's always more baseball and tonight the Twins have an opportunity to bounceback and speaking of bouncing back, we get to see if Jose Berrios can tonight. The Twins are also estimated by nearly every playoff projecton metric to be at or above a 97% chance to make the postseason so more caution will be exercised with Buxton and Garver being put on the IL, although Garver's injury sounds like the worst blow so far as Jeffers has been called up to split time with Avila. Where to Listen WCCO 830, TIBN, 102.9 The Wolf Where to Watch Fox Sports North …

Catch-Up I'm 23 years old, if I think of the most dominant pitching performances I've been alive to watch, a few games come to mind. Roy Halladay's Playoff No-No, "Mad Max's," 20K game, and last night. What Kenta Maeda able to do was simply incredible. It wasn't velocity that got him 8 no-hit innings, it was his cadence, his delivery, and it was his smile once he allowed the hit that I think shows us all what kinda ballplayer he is and we're lucky to have him playing for us. As I said I'm 23 but I'll make this guarantee, I have NEVER seen some many ugly swings in my life and thats all a credit to our "ace," wearing that #18 proudly. Where to Listen WCCO 830, TIBN, 102.9…

Friends, meet Phil the Badger. Originally from a certain city in western Pennsylvania, he left because he was tired of certain fellow woodchuck popping out of his hole and looking for his shadow all the time. Badger Phil just can't abide repetition. So he lit out with some migrating sidehill gophers and now welcomes us to Milwaukee. He is here to make sure i don't just reuse last week's game thread intro. Oh right.We are playing in Target field this time. Maybe that will free me feom Phil's wrath? Brewers: 0. Corbin Burnes ® P 1. Avisail Garcia (R ) CF 2. C. Yelich ( L) LF 3. Keston Hiura (R ) 2B 4. Justin Smoak ( S ) 1B 5. Ryan Braun (R ) DH 6. Omar Narvaez ( L) C 7…

The Twins wrap up a wrap around weekend series with Kansas City tonight, after taking 2 of 3 from the pesky Royals on Saturday and Sunday. The Twins will rely on yet another bullpen game, while the Royals turn to Rookie southpaw Kris Bubic. Odds are this game finishes 4-2, so bet the under if you are one of those people, and thank me later. The Pitchers: LHP Kris Bubic (0-2, 5.40 ERA, 15 K's, 15 IP) vs RHP Matt Wisler (0-1, 1.80 ERA, 11 K's, 10 IP) Bubic is making his fourth career start in the big leagues, and his first against the Minnesota Twins. Despite Bubic's struggles in the majors thus far, he is a guy that has very solid minor league numbers, and is a fairly …

http://www.thegamblingforum.com/sites/default/files/field/image/twins%20vs.%20royals_0.png Welcome back to the Twins Daily game thread experience and happy Sunday! I was hoping to take both games against the Royals yesterday but at least we split the double header. Truth be told I'm already kind of tired of the Royals this year. They feel like a thorn in my side or maybe a thorn in the side of the Twins. Their starting pitching and bullpen in general is actually better than I expected along with a few guys in their lineup...the bright spot yesterday was seeing Zack Littell looking good. Another positive I see so far this year is that we are still winning without firing …

Can you imagine playing 53 games in 44 days?!? That's what the St. Louis Cardinals face for their final stretch of the season, after a COVID-19 outbreak led to games being cancelled for over 2 weeks. This season has been very odd, but luckily for the Twins, today's doubleheader was caused by weather, and not a virus. Jake Odorizzi and Jose Berrios will start today with a well-rested bullpen and possibly an extra player on the roster. Lineups Twins Maximilian Kepler RF Jorge Polanco SS Nelson Cruz DH Marwin Gonzalez 3B Miguel Sano 1B Luis Arraez 2B Byron Buxton CF Alex Avila C Jake Odorizzi P Royals Whit Merrifield CF Jorge Soler DH Salvador Perez C Hunter Dozi…

Catch-Up How did you all enjoy your day off? I'm sure the Twins did. Buxton is playing arguably the best all around baseball of his career, the Twins so far have gotten an incredible return on investment in Kenta Maeda, and now we get to see if Odorizzi can bounceback after his rough start back from injury against a Royals team who has the 12th most strikeouts as a team batting and amongst the teams who have played every game this season, rank last in walks as a team (25th overall). With no off day in sight for 21 days, starting off this long stretch of games with a win is vital. Where to Listen WCCO 830, TIBN, 102.9 The Wolf Where to Watch Fox Sports North, MLB.TV Fr…

Good evening and welcome back to the always fun Twins Daily Game Thread! Get ready for some exciting baseball action along with a few laughs. I think Maeda is going to throw a real gem tonight. Sitting with a 2-0 record and an ERA of 2.65, Maeda is looking like a great addition to our rotation this year. I apologize for posting this late today but I got stuck on a conference call at work and couldn't get them to hang up. By the way, tomorrow I'm turning 49 years old. Somehow I just woke up one day and realized I'm going to be almost 50! Where did the time go? If any of you have hit 50 does it feel weird? I probably have more years behind me than I do in front of me (ho…

I was so impressed with last night's thread, that i figured if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That, and in this heat, my cat nap turned into a tiger, and rampaged my whole day. Sadly i don't think i can match "Deer Hunter" Squirrel's one shot kill, paying attention to one play: the Rosario grand slam, and essentially catching the entire ball game. (and just to show i put some thought into this intro...) Twins: 0. Tyler Clippard (R ) P 1. Max Kepler ( L) RF 2. Jorge Polanco ( S ) SS 3. Nelson Cruz (R ) DH 4. Eddie Rosario ( L) LF 5. Marwin Gonzalez ( S ) 3B 6. Mitch Garver (R ) C 7. Luis Arraez ( L) 2B 8. Miguel Sano (R ) 1B 9. Byron Buxton (R ) CF Brewers: 0…

Oooops ... forgot I was supposed to get this game thread started!!! Well ... let's get it started! I'm hoping Dobnak gets things rolling, and continues his good starts, and the Twins bats get going! I hope ... I hope ... TWINS Max Kepler (L) RF Jorge Polanco (S) SS Nelson Cruz (R ) DH Eddie Rosario (L) LF Marwin Gonzalez (S) 1B Luis Arraez (L) 2B Ehire Adrianza (S) 3B Byron Buxton (R ) CF Alex Avila (L) C Randy Dobnak (R ) P BREWERS Eric Sogard (L) 3B Keston Hiura (R ) DH Christian Yelich (L) LF Justin Smoak (S) 1B Avisail Garcia (R ) CF Ben Gamel (L) RF Luis Urias ® 2B Omar Narvaez (L) C Orlando Arcia (R ) SS Adrian Houser (R ) P Go Twins!

Is it time to panic yet? Of course not! Honestly, after the last three games, I am just as confident in this team being a contender than when the team had a sparkling 10-2 record. However, these last three games have me concerned for the first round of playoffs. Any team in baseball can win a 3 game series, as clearly shown against the cellar-dweller Royals. In basketball, having 16 teams make the playoffs work, as star players can play huge parts of every facet of the game. Baseball is my favorite sport because of the opposite of that. Even if you are one of the greatest players of a generation, you may still end up without a playoff win a decade into your career. Jaco…

1. Dedication: If i were clever, i would dedicate this game thread to the pioneers of Twins Daily. But i wasn't around in the before times, when Godwin's law was the only thing keeping people civil on the internet. And many of the folk from my first baby steps in these pages are still around. So i'll say thanks for the hard work, and hope ya reminisce or otherwise toot your own horn as ya feel inclined, as that's better than aught i could say. 2. Kansas City. They're a stuborn bunch of gutsy players, ain't they? Speed, Pitching, and fielding. Gotta admire them. Real pioneer values. Isn't KC somewhere near the beginning of the Oregon trail? Though i suppose "you have die…

http://www.thegamblingforum.com/sites/default/files/field/image/twins%20vs.%20royals_0.png Good afternoon and welcome back to another exciting game thread experience from Twins Daily! Too bad we snapped the 6 game win streak yesterday...I was actually thinking we could go 58-2 this year. Regardless, 57-3 is still a good year! I will say this is one of the most talented Minnesota Twins team I've ever seen (over 35 years). I only wish we were playing a full season. This group of players could put up some awesome numbers over a full 162 game schedule. It's nice to sit atop the win column over the rest of the league as well. The +29 run differential is nice to look at too.…

The Twins look to finish off their season, and series, sweep of the Pirates this afternoon at 12:35. Kenta Maeda takes the bump for the Twins after two very strong outings to start his Twins career. None of the games in this series have been real exciting, and it almost appears as if the Twins know they are the better team and can sleep walk through 8 innings, whether it is the first 8 or the last 8, and turn it on when needed. The Pitchers: RHP Kenta Maeda (2-0, 1.64 ERA, 11 IP, 12 K's) vs RHP JT Brubaker (0-0, 0.00, 5 IP, 7 K's) Maeda has thrown 2 gems against 2 lineups that are much better than the Pirates, and I expect that trend to continue today. As we have see…

Catch-Up What if I told you being tied for the best start in club history was not the leading headline for the Twins yesterday. What if I also told you Eddie "Destroyer of Junkballs," Rosario wasn't the leading story either after two awesome RBI singles. The leading story centers around arguably the most peculiar delay in baseball history, a drone hovering over Target Field. Despite this, the Twins pushed forward to route the Pirates 7-3 thanks to a good bounceback game from Berrios, timely hitting again, and Jake Cave see below. Where to Listen WCCO 830, TIBN Where to Watch Fox Sports North Starting Pitchers Minnesota: Randy Dobnak*, 1-1, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 1.11 WH…

Is it bad that I expect more from this squad? Yes, the Twins are 8-2 this year, which is an amazing start! However, the starting rotation is down to 2 of its original members, nearly everybody in the lineup is slumping, and Jose Berrios has been the worst member of the rotation. If you told me those three things in 2 weeks ago, I would have expected a below .500 record. This team’s depth is showing, though. Lineups and Analysis Jose Berrios (0-1, 7.00 ERA) vs. Joe Musgrove (0-2, 4.76 ERA) Twins Maximilian Kepler (L) RF Jorge Polanco (S) SS Nelson Cruz ® DH Eddie Rosario (L) LF Miguel Sano ® 1B Luis Arraez (L) 2B Marwin Gonzalez (S) 3B Alex Avila (L) C Byron Buxton…

The Twins welcome Derek Shelton and the Pittsburgh Pirates to town for a quick two game home series before both teams pack up and travel back to Pittsburgh where they will square off in another two game series, making this a four game series. Very stupid of you MLB, but more on that later. The Twins come off of a very productive week, taking 2 from STL, and 3 of 4 from the Cleveland Indians. The Pirates sit at 2-7 on the year, complete opposite of our 7-2 Minnesota Twins. The Pitchers: LHP Derek Holland (0-0, 3.18 ERA, 5.2 IP, 5 K's) vs LHP Lewis Thorpe (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.2 IP, 1 K) Derek Holland is coming off a very poor year with an ERA of 6.08, and peripherals such …

Pun noun a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings. (courtesy of google search) I fogured i'd just encourage folk to get them out of your system now before the game starts. If people can mean several things with the same word, well, how do we know what they mean to mean? That way leads to chaos and anarchy. Did you hear about the Twins new pitch combining a slider with a sinker? It slinks. I'll show myself out. But not before sharing the lineups, and pointing out that Buxton is in center, so all is right with the world. Tribe: 0. Aaron Civale (R ) P 1. C.…

Welcome back to another exciting Twins Daily game thread extravaganza! The match up tonight between the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians should be another drama filled match up. I can't believe it's already August 1st. The whole calendar this year seems to be off...My college kids (all three) have been home since March and thankfully, so far they are still set to head back to school over the next few weeks. It's actually been nice to have them home this long but I think its time they leave the nest for awhile. I think they are ready to fly the coop too. I don't know if anyone else is in the same situation with college kids but my wallet could use a break as …

1. My precioussss game thread intro. It came to me on my birthday. Normally, what with the trade deadline, and i leave it to other more informed game threaders to introduce the complicated situation. But this year is weird, so it is just the unemployment deadline? Or something. 2. A favorite line from 'A Little Night Music': "Happy Birthday to Me." I don't know why, bjt it is, and it isn't even very important... But i am suppose to be introducing a baseball game, so i will change the topic to "Smiles of a Summer Night" the movie that got Ingmar Bergman internation recognition just before he made "The 7th Seal", which i keep meaning to watch in memory of Max Von Sydow, a…

The Twins are currently riding a three game winning streak fresh off two strong pitching performances from newcomers Homer Bailey and Rich Hill, which led to a short sweep of the Cardinals. The Indians sit at 4-2 and just took 2 of 3 from the Chicago White Sox, but were shutout last night by Giolito and the rest of the Sox bullpen. Tonight features the best arm the Twins will go up against all year in Shane Bieber, with Jose Berrios taking the bump for Minnesota. This is a key 4 game set that will set the tone for the Central. The Pitchers: RHP Shane Bieber (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 IP, 14 K's) vs RHP Jose Berrios (0-0, 11.25 ERA, 4 IP, 1 K) Bieber was outstanding on Openi…

I'm back!!! So glad to be back on Twins Daily to finally create and be involved in game threads, and it has been something I have missed ever since the last out against the Yankees. The Twins are off to a good start, sitting at 3-1, and are looking to make it 4-1 against the 2-2 Cardinals. This is the second, and final game, of a short 2 game home and home split with the Cardinals. The Twins will travel to STL in September. The Pitchers: RHP Daniel Ponce De Leon (1-2, 3.70 ERA, 48.2 IP's, 52 K's, 2019) vs LHP Rich Hill (4-1, 2.45 ERA, 58.2 IP's, 72 K's, 2019) Coming into the series the Cardinals expected to toss Miles Mikolas against the Twins tonight, but h…

*knock knock knock* "Is this thing on? Are we live?" Given the Miami Marlins fiasco the past few days, I had my doubts that the season would be able to continue just a couple days ago. However, the Twins will continue to fight for one of the million postseason spots available this year. The last game thread I was supposed to do was actually cancelled, but not because of COVID-19. A team that won't be named killed off the Twins' World Series hopes in quick fashion. However, it is a new year, and as we have all seen, ANYTHING can happen in 2020. For example, did I see myself working 40 hour weeks while having a full college schedule online for 2 months at the beginning …

Catch-Up What's the best part of baseball? I would argue its the fact that unlike other sports, you get an opportunity to write a wrong the day after a rough game and now the Twins have that chance. A fully rested bullpen, a trade acquisition with high aspirations making his debut, a full blown nerdy analytical lineup from Rocco, let's do this. Where to Listen WCCO 830, TIBN Where to Watch Fox Sports North Starting Pitchers Minnesota: Kenta Maeda*| 10-8, 4.04 ERA, 153.1 IP, 1.07 WHIP in 26 starts and 11 relief appearances in 2019.Chicago: Reynaldo Lopez**| 10-15, 5.38 ERA, 184.0 IP, 1.46 WHIP in 33 starts in 2019.*=Kenta Maeda: History lesson for you all. Garver swi…

Catch-Up We finally made it and it was beautiful. The Twins led Major League Baseball in HR's last season and on the first pitch of last night's game, Kepler started us right back on the path to break records, maybe this season will be the most in a 60 game stretch? Despite Berrios' rough start, the bullpen looked fantastic. May lighting up the radar gun, Stashak's slider looked vicious, and now after not having baseball for four months, the Twins have an opportunity to win their first series of the year within a 17 hour window. Where to Listen WCCO 830, TIBN Where to Watch Fox Sports North Starting Pitchers Minnesota: Randy Dobnak*| 2-1, 1.59 ERA, 28.1 IP, 1.13 WHI…

GO!

Welcome to Summer Camp baseball. The Twins take on the Cubs for their first and only July exhibition before they start the postponed 2020 season. The season figures to be dramatic and entertaining. It is guaranteed to be different with a scant 60 games scheduled, all against Central Division foes (AL & NL), featuring roster and rule changes that will further change the grand old game. First, a word about this game thread and all of the regular season game threads. The idea of a game thread is to provide a place to discuss today's game, as if you were at the game watching with friends. Introductions set the stage and give some of our talented members a chance to pre…