Archived Game Threads

Some one pointed out that we just passed the 40 game mark. Half way through the first half of the season. Zeno would be proud. If he knew about Major League Baseball. I am taking a cue and writing half of a game thread intro. The good half, i hope. When i finish my parade, maybe i'll write the other half? Only one way to find out. Things to think about. 1. Winning. I'm positive about this. It takes thinking to win. 2. Numbers. It helps to have more. 3. Bingo... It's nice song, eh? How do you sing it backwards? _ _ _ GO! Twins Kyle Gibson ( R) 1. Jorge Polanco (S) SS 2. Jonathan Schoop (R ) DH 3. C.J. Cron (R ) 1B 4. Eddie Rosario (L) LF 5. Willians A…

Quick introduction for the third game of four in the Twins @ Seattle series. The Twins are now 29-15 (14-7 on the road) and lead the AL Central by 5 games. After a 13-2 start, Seattle has fallen below .500. These are two of the leading home run hitting teams in MLB. José Berríos vs. Wade LeBlanc. Twins 29-15 Polanco ss Schoop 2b González 1b Rosario lf Cron dh Kepler rf Sanó 3b Castro c Buxton cf Berríos p Mariners 22-25 Gordon 2b Haniger rf Vogelbach dh Encarnación 1b Narváez c Healy 3b Bruce lf Crawford ss Smith cf Le Blanc p

The Twins out crushed the Mariners in game one of the series, and I don't expect game two to be any different. The Twins and Mariners are two of the top hitting home run clubs in all of the MLB, and neither pitcher is dominant. The one thing the Twins have going for them is the defense. This Seattle team is atrocious on the defensive side of the ball, and I almost felt bad for them last night. The Pitchers Martin Perez (5-1, 3.11 ERA, 46 K's) vs Marco Gonzales (5-2, 3.18, 42 K's) Both pitchers ERA look very respectable, as do the win-loss records. However, I have a hunch that tonights game will be higher scoring than both pitchers ERA indicate. Martin Perez was okay…

The Twins are on a West Coast swing, starting in the North, though still south of the Twin Cities, in Seattle, facing the Mariners. This should be an interesting series because the Mariners have been able to put some runs on the board. Though, their pitching seems to be able to give up quite a few runs also. Which is good for the Twins, not so good for Seattle. It's funny, because I sort of kept an eye on Seattle and noticed they had a good record, but looked at how many runs they were giving up and realized their early season record was smoke and mirrors. And, as of this writing, Seattle shows a -12 run differential while our favorite team, the Twins, show a run diff…

As Twins fans await further news on Mitch Garver, the team tries to win the series in an afternoon game against the Angels. Currently, the Twins are 26-15, an outstanding record given expectations. The Angels, however, have underwhelmed in 2019. With generational talents like Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, shouldn't the Angels be contenders? As a large market team, the Angels can afford to spend more money than the Twins. However, have they put that money to good use? This year, the Angels spent money on several players. While Mike Trout will most likely be worth his enormous contract, many of their new players have not played to expectations. The pitching has been ter…

Welcome back to another exciting game thread and fun filled evening! I need to start this game thread by first apologizing to all of the Twins Daily readers out there. I was supposed to start the game thread last night but completely forgot about it (yes, I will take the blame for our loss last night). In order to redeem myself and help the Twins stop their 2 game skid I'm prepared to do two things: 1. I will be attending tonights game and will personally cheer the boys on! 2. In order to rebuild my reputation on this site and build a more neighborly community, I am prepared to buy a couple of beers for any Twins Daily readers lucky enough to attend tonights gam…

Twins start a three game set against the Angels tonight at Target Field. This is game #40 for the Twins this season. So far, the Twins have gone: 6-4 7-3 6-4 6-3. So if my powers of sequence divination are correct, the Twins will win this game to wrap up a 7-3 record in their fourth ten game set. Or go 13-7 in their second score, looking at it another way. On the hill tonight, José Berrios. He’s 3-0 with 20 IP, 4ER, 18Ks, 0BBs in his last three starts. Going for the Angels, leftyTyler Skaggs. His last 3: 2-1, 15.2 IP, 9ER, 14Ks, 8BBs. Lineups: Twins, 25-14 Garver DH Polanco SS Cron 1B Rosario LF Marwin RF Willians 3B Adrianza 2B Castro C Buxton CF Angel…

Happy Mothers' Day to all posters in TDland to whom this applies! <crickets chirping> Anyone? <more crickets chirping> Maybe one or two potential mothers out there reading? <even more crickets chirping> Very sad, imo. We need more women here. Being on a sports fansite, such as this, is always a bit one-sided, unfortunately. And I don't think it's due to a lack of enthusiasm for the game, because I know and talk to a lot of women about sports ... they just aren't here. Where's shorty when you need her? (BYTO reference) Anyway ... hope you all are finding a moment to honor the mothers in your lives, whether they be your spouses, partners, gir…

To Two Twain. A twin billing. Double header. Zaphod Beeblebrox would be proud. I wonder the position he would play in a baseball game? Not to be confused with the cricket wars. "If at first you don't succeed, try again." (now with less trying) doesn't really apply to baseball, does it? It should be if at first you don't succeed, sounds like you are out, so head back to the dug of outs. And as a side note, should the game get too boring. What is your favorite work of Samuel Clements? And what in this game reminded you of it? Er... besides this question? And as yesterday had an Abbot and Costello clip, could some kind tech savvy poster track down the Niagra falls bi…

Today, the Twins take on the Tigers, managed by Ron Gardenhire. After the series sweep in Toronto, I thought I'd look into starting pitching numbers, specifically, wins. Currently, the Twins are 23-12 with Twins starters having collected 20 of those 23 wins. Twins have decent starting pitching. Who'd a thunk it? For some reason, it seems me it's sort of important that Twins starters are picking up the majority of the wins. And, as we all know, numbers don't lie. And now, for some things to think about: 1. Berrios 2. Odorizzi 3. Perez 4. Gibson Pitching for the Twins: Jake Odorizzi Pitching for the Tigers: Tyson Ross. 5. Play ball!

The Minnesota Twins look to sweep the Blue Jays in their three game series north of the boarder, and look to take home the season series win 4-3 with a win tonight. Kyle Gibson will look to bounce back after a rough outing, and the pitching staff will look to throw a third straight shutout. Vlad Guerrero Jr. has been given the day off from the Blue Jays lineup after struggling to get going in his first go around in the show. The Pitchers: Kyle Gibson (2-1, 4.68 ERA, 29 K's) vs Trent Thorton (0-3, 4.08 ERA, 38 K's) The Twins lost 6-5 in Gibson's first go around against the Blue Jays. Gibson threw 5.1 innings, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits. He also walked three hitters, w…

Happy Jose Day!!!! Jose Berrios takes the mound tonight to square off with Aaron Sanchez. The Twins look to tie the season series at 3 games apiece tonight. The team bounced back effortlessly last night with an amazing performance from Martin Perez, and the long ball was working against underrated Blue Jays righty Marcus Stroman. Let's keep it rolling today. The Pitchers: Jose Berrios (5-1, 2.91 ERA, 46 K's) vs Aaron Sanchez (3-2, 3.09 ERA, 29 K's) Jose Berrios is the best Twins pitcher on the staff, and it really isn't all that close. However, we have seen him struggle with his breaking ball in his last few outings. It will be interesting to see how the curveball …

The Twins move on to Toronto, hopefully putting behind them what was a miserable experience, all the way around, in the Bronx. Fortunately, the weather in Toronto should be excellent, with deer prancing about the meadows of Canada. And, Canadians should have discarded their traditional snow suits for something a bit classier: Now, deep thoughts, courtesy, RB: 1. Suppose a wall in right field that is 316 feet from home plate. 2. A ball clears the wall by 6 inches. 3. Another ball clears the wall by 200 feet. 4. Does the ball that clears the wall by 6 inches count less than the ball that clears the wall by 200 feet? Pitching for the Twins: Martin Perez …

Since the time of dawn, i have been trying to think of a game thread idea worthy of the epic battle between the financial juggernauts of apple of extraordinary size, and the well raised featherweights of the midwest, a gap in resources only widened by the Aaron Hicks deal. (We flipped a pitcher with them at the last deadline, and got man they call Cave from them? Or was it Austin? I for get, but i don't think either is as memorable)) Naturally i don't got one. But they said i should write something anyway. So i shall have mercy and not run too much more. I might get thrown out. It is the first Sunday in May, a month beloved by flowers, Camelot casts, and homonymsters …

Bounceback test. The Twins played a lousy game at “The Stadium” last night. Their past poor games have been answered by good games, with no indication of a skid. They face another lefty (Happ) today and Jake Odorizzi will answer the bell for the Twins. A reminder that there is a game thread intro signup thread. If you’d like to improve on my efforts to start a game thread, please sign up. Lineups: Twins Garver. C Polanco SS Cruz DH Rosario LF Gonzalez 3B Cron 1B Kepler RF Schoop 2B Buxton CF Odorizzi P 3-2 3.34 Yankees LeMahieu 2B Voit 1B Sanchez DH Andujar 3B Torres SS Gardner CF Maybin RF Romine …

The Twins head to daunting Yankee Stadium for their annual matchup with the Bronx Bombers, but this Yankees squad will look a little different than the one we saw last year. The Yankees injured list is better than their actual lineup, but that hasn't stopped New York from getting off to a solid start. The Pitchers Kyle Gibson (2-0, 4.88 ERA, 24 K's) vs James Paxton (3-2, 3.38 ERA, 51 K's) Kyle Gibson has started to look like last years Gibby after having a bout with E-coli during spring training, which caused him to lose a large amount of weight. James Paxton is one of the best lefties in the AL, and will be the second left handed starter the Twins have seen all year…

It’s the rubber game of the season series today. Berrios vs. Peacock. I’m on my phone so no lineups. I’ll be attending the game today. 55 degrees and mostly cloudy was the last forecast I saw.

The Twins finished March/April with a 17-10 record and hold first place in the AL Central. Tonight is game 3 with the Astros--I'll call it pivotal, with Berrios scheduled to go in tomorrow's finale. Playing with "house money" (a split guaranteed) with the acknowledged ace going on Thursday would be pretty sweet. The Twins have only scored five runs in the last three games after earlier having the most runs per game in MLB. Good pitching beats good hitting, or the other way around. Some of the hitters are slumping a bit--Cruz, Polanco, Rosario, Cron and one hasn't really found his stroke yet (Gonzalez). McHugh has struggled in his last couple of starts and Perez has …

Game 2 of the four-game series features Michael Pineda versus Gerrit Cole. The Twins currently have the second-best record in MLB while the Astros are percentage points ahead in the AL West. Pineda has been inconsistent so far, while Cole has been disappointing. It would figure that many more runs will be scored tonight in cold, wet Target Field. Today marks the end of April and the Twins, in addition to their 17-9 record, have some good stats going for them. They lead in homers per game, OPS, and are in the top quadrant for runs per game. Pitching is middle-of-the-pack. They have out-homered their opponents by a 50-29 count. Even in good years, the Twins haven't outho…

After a very nice sweep of the very bad team, Baltimore, the Twins face a team that is the opposite of very bad, the Houston Astros. This is a good test on this home stand and, hopefully, the home town 9 can bring the lumber and the pitching needed to navigate the loaded Houston lineup. Though, truth be told, the Twins have been putting on a pretty impressive show with the lumber themselves. On paper, this is not a matchup that favors the Twins, however, games are not played on paper, but on grass, mainly because paper just doesn't hold up well under baseball cleats. Some things to think about; 1. Whether or not the weather will cooperate. 2. Will the pitcher…

It's a sad day in Minnesota. After today, the Twins will be done playing the Baltimore Orioles. So far, the Twins are 5-0 vs. the Birds, with a chance to sweep the season series today. They have averaged more than four homers per game against the Baltimore pitching staff. It is tough to win six straight against anyone, but a loss today would be a disappointment. Today's lineups: Baltimore 10-18 J. Villar2B 31-114 10 3 6 .272 S. WilkersonRF 3-16 1 1 1 .188 D. Smith Jr.LF 27-97 19 5 3 .278 R. NunezDH 29-101 18 6 0 .287 R. Ruiz3B 21-84 10 2 0 .250 A. WynnsC ----- -- -- -- -- C. Davis1B 9-62 10 2 0 .145 J. RickardCF 17-80 6 2 1 .213 R. MartinSS 10-62 1 0 1 .161 Pitch…

Baltimore Lineup: Jonathan Villar (S) SS Trey Mancini ® RF Dwight Smith Jr (L) LF Renato Nunez ® DH Rio Ruiz (L) 3B Joey Rickard ® CF Chris Davis (L) 1B Stevie Wilkerson (S) 2B Pedro Severino ® C P Dan Straily Twins Lineup: Max Kepler (L) CF Jorge Polanco (S) SS Nelson Cruz ® DH Eddie Rosario (L) LF C.J. Cron ® 1B Marwin Gonzalez (S) 3B Willians Astudillo ® RF Jonathan Schoop ® 2B Jason Castro (L) C' P Jose Berrios Mill's thought: Might be time to move Max Kepler down in the order, but there isn't a clear candidate to hit leadoff. Polanco makes sense, but not until Sano comes back. When Sano is back, I see the top of the order being: SS Polanco LF Eddie Rosa…

Despite the Houston series, overall, the Twins return home after compiling a 4-2 road trip, which, let me see, divide the zero, carry the 1 and, yes, the numbers say the Twins won more games than they lost, which means a winning road trip. Not only that, but the Twins return home leading the Central division and get to play the team that helped the Twins achieve their winning road trip: Baltimore. With that, I now need to think "WWRBD" (what would RiverBrian do) about 5 things to think about: Without further ado, here goes: 1. Hot Dogs or Brauts: which is better? 2. Correct answer for 1: Yes 3. Is it still possible to get peanuts and cracker jacks at the ballpark?…

The rubber game. So named in the hope that we bounce back. Rubber was originally made from a tree in india i think. But when synthetics started, maybe it got made in Cleveland, and they could be harking back to the old days in the tree? Or maybe they just wish they were in Indiana rather than Ohio. Which brings me to a favorite franchise. The adventures of Henry Jones Junior. But in Houston they are more about the future. Meet George Jetson... Now to tie it all together, Elroy will have very fond memories of his dog. And that's how Houston named it's major league franchise... Next topic: Glue. Strong stuff. If it is a rubber game for us, does it not follow that…

I didn't see a game thread started yet, so here is one. TWINS (yeahhh!) : Mitch Garver [R] C Jorge Polanco SS Nelson Cruz [R] DH Eddie Rosario [L] LF C.J. Cron [R] 1B Marwin Gonzalez 3B Jonathan Schoop [R] 2B Max Kepler [L] RF Byron Buxton [R] CF Michael Pineda [R] SP ASTROS (booo!) : George Springer [R] CF Jose Altuve [R] 2B Alex Bregman [R] 3B Michael Brantley [L] LF Carlos Correa [R] SS Yuli Gurriel [R] 1B Josh Reddick [L] RF Tyler White [R] DH Max Stassi [R] C Wade Miley [L] SP One Thing To Think About: Kepler is not leading off against the lefty. His R/L splits are still small-sample-size, but are poor on the lefty side of the ledger. The rest of the line…

Minnesota: "Houston, we have a problem" Houston: "Oh, you mean you are visiting an Astros team with an undefeated home record? We don't see that as a problem... No one will think less of you if you lose. Just look upon it as a challenge!" Minnesota: "Roger that." See? I have done my research. I looked at the extended standings and seen the home and away records. I also know the entire history of Sam Houston and the city named after him can be boiled down to a Dr. Doolittle-esc "talks with the space program", so that's what i did. If you wan't greater in depth, the internet is your oyster. Dive right in, and feel free to share a pearl or two with us all! …

My ribs and brisket are smoking and I'm lonely.* Somebody start a Game Thread. *By "my" ribs and brisket, I'm meaning the ones I pulled out of the freezer. Not that I crawled into the smoker. I wouldn't fit. Game started 10 minutes ago and the Twins are up 2-0. Lineups to come.

I have been resurrected! Fittingly, I have come back to life in time for Easter. You see the Dastard was dead for about a month, then I was resurrected. No, I’m not a zombie, though my wife at times might disagree. In fact she lives to disagree with me, but that’s neither here nor there. Well, actually it’s more here than there because we don’t go there as often anymore. But getting back to my return, my vintage iMac (once you go Mac you never go back) gave up the ghost about a month ago. Partially anyway. The built-in monitor after beaming blue waves at me for nine years pulled Douglas MacArthur’s Old Soldier’s trick and just faded away (fittingly MacArthur start…

Today, the Twins are in Baltimore, playing a team that, in years past, has been an antidote to losing. Unfortunately, this years version of Baltimore has been playing pretty well, meaning the Twins may very well have their work cut out for them. With that, let's see if my mind can come up with five things to think about: (tip o' the cap to RiverBrian) 1. Did anyone else laugh at the excitement of Chris Davis finally breaking out his hitless streak and the breathless reporting of the "return of Chris Davis?" 2. Eddie Rosario: The most engaging and enraging player I've watched in a long time. 3. Jose Berrios, curve ball: some assembly required. 4. Camden Yards: I …

Since I have too much time on my hands of late, I thought I'd get this game thread started early. Once there's a lineup, it's game thread time. Pineda vs Buchholz. The best lead-in to a game thread I think one could write, has already been written. So read Matthew Lenz' article on Pineda. I think that's the best place to start. Lineups: BLUE JAYS Eric Sogard(L) 2B Freddy Galvis(S) SS Randal Grichuk(R ) CF Justin Smoak(S) DH Teoscar Hernandez(R ) LF Rowdy Tellez(L) 1B Brandon Drury(R ) 3B Billy McKinney(L) RF Danny Jansen(R ) C Clay Buchholz (R ) P TWINS Max Kepler(L) RF Jorge Polanco(S) SS Nelson Cruz(R ) DH Eddie Rosario(L) LF C.J. Cron(R ) 1B Marwin Gonzal…