Archived Game Threads

Good evening Game Thread fans! I'm back for another Friday night thread opener! Please, please...hold your applause! Tip your waitstaff... Today's tilt features an old friend and a new friend. Unfortunately for the old friend, we hope he loses. Fortunately for the new friend, we hope that he doesn't. Of course, I'm referring Jose Berrios and Tyler Mahle. Berrios, after an awful first half of the season, had a pretty good July. Tyler Mahle, on the other hand, is making his Twins debut after being acquired from the Reds at the trade deadline. He faces a pretty tough lineup that beat up the Twins bullpen last evening. Before I get too far into this thing, …

Roster Move: Jovani Moran was optioned to AAA-STP to make room for tomorrow's starter Tyler Mahle. OF Gilberto Celestino was activated from the paternity list and Kyle Garlick hit the 10 day IL The Pitchers: RHP Sonny Gray (6-3, 3.41 ERA, 74.0IP, 69K's, 1.0 bWAR) vs RHP Alek Manoah (11-5, 2.43 ERA, 126IP, 114 K's, 3.3 bWAR) The Minnesota Twins will have their hands full with tonight's starter Alek Manoah, who was possibly the biggest winner of the ASG after his mic'd up appearance in Hollywood. Alek last started against the Tigers, going 5.1IP, allowing 4 earned runs on 7 hits including a homer, a walk, and 4 strikeouts. Manoah has yet to start a game thi…

Busy days for the uniform crew! Four new players coming in over the last 24 hours who need names stitched onto their backs. This is a game thread, but I can’t resist adding my two cents to the trade feedback. I was a big-time skeptic. This team was not very good before the trade deadline. (Decent, maybe, but not very good.) At minimum, the club needed to add one quality starter and two quality relievers in order to finish the season strong and have a prayer of playing and maybe even winning a game in October. How much would this cost? Could it be worth what we would have to give up in order to create a slim chance of an October win? Could they manage to do this witho…

Good afternoon Twins fans and welcome back to some more game thread action! Trade day has finally arrived. Say hello to former Reds pitcher Tyler Mahle and goodbye to 3 former Twins prospects Spencer Steer, Steve Hajjar and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. The Twins certainly need to bolster their pitching staff and hopefully this moves the needle to get us through October. Honestly we will need a whole lot more as well. The Twins take on the lowly Tigers tonight and hopefully pull out another win after last nights 5-3 victory over Detroit. With only a 1 game lead over Cleveland in the standings, the Twins really do need to take advantage when playing these struggling t…

I'm generally a "glass half full, silver linings, it's better to be in first place than last place like last year" kind of guy, but the current state of Twins pitching is making that a little difficult these days. Aaron Sanchez will take the mound for the Twins tonight. Aaron debuted in 2014 at the age of 21 as one of the bigger pitching prospects in baseball and a big hope for a bright future in Toronto. He is not that guy anymore. Sanchez began his career in the bullpen and was quite effective in 2014 (1.09 ERA in 33 IP). In 2015 he started working his way into the rotation with 11 of his 41 appearances being starts. He was again quite effective with a 3.22 ERA in 92.1 …

There’s nothing like a rubber match between two teams fighting for a playoff spot in late July, and that’s what’s on tap today at 3:10pm CT as the Twins take on the Padres. Manager Rocco Baldelli is throwing the kitchen sink at this one, with Buxton, Correa, Arraez and Polanco all getting the starting nod. Some new faces highlight the bottom third of the Twins roster today, including Tim Beckham making his first MLB start since 2019. The 2008 #1 overall draft pick will slot in the DH spot, batting 7th. Caleb Hamilton will catch and bat 9th, and recently recalled Gilberto Clestino gets the call in RF batting 8th. The Twins will be without Max Kepler (IL), Miguel Sano…

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…

Welcome Game Thread fans, it's me, your host for this evening's matchup between the home town Padres of San Diego and your traveling Twins of Minnesota. Our Twins come into the series as a team that wins 'em all or loses 'em all since coming out of the break. The Padres meanwhile, came out of the break to take 2 of 3 from the 1st place Mets and then went ahead and decided to drop 2 of 3 to the not so 1st place Tigers. Which teams will we see for this series? Before I get into more of this game, I think it worth mentioning that today is a National Holiday. It's not all that well known, but a day of celebration it is indeed! Forget about Thanksgiving, or 4 of th…

Good morning/afternoon, Twins fans! Today the Womb-mates of Minneapolis finish their annual home/away series against the Makers of Beer in Milwaukee. Nothing fancy from me today. Just a little stream of consciousness. (Warning: My consciousness sometimes goes to strange places.) My family has just “enjoyed” three weeks of passing around the omicron virus, and this week is my turn. (I'm still testing positive, so cautious Game Thread readers may want to mask-up.) Good side: We have gotten an extra 10 days with our delightful 2-year-old granddaughter, waiting for 10-day quarantines to expire allowing them to fly home to Massachusetts. Bad side: Feeling yucky for s…

Good afternoon Twins fans and welcome back to more game thread fun! Today the mighty Minnesota Twins (and current AL Central Division leaders) take on the NL Central Division leader Milwaukee Brewers. Unlike the drivel Rosenthal discusses in The Atlantic about the Twins collapsing in the second half of the season and getting lapped by the White Sox and Cleveland, I think the Twins are going to run away with the division. Tonight's game will be a good test for the Twins! Not only do I think the Twins will dominate the AL Central this second half but I think they will dominate tonight's game. The Twins lineup looks good and ready to roll. Buxton and Correa are both in…

I had a whole game thread primed and ready to go, but breakfast burritos called and am running late. Anyway, here’s the lineups: MIN P: Sonny Grey 1: Arraez DH 2: Correa SS 3: Polanco 2B 4: Kepler RF 5: Kirilloff LF 6: Gordon CF 7: Miranda 1B 8: Urshela 3B 9: Shanchez C Detroit P: Hutchison 1: Greene CF 2: Baez SS 3: Castro 1B 4: Cabrera DH 5: Hasse C 6: Grossman LF 7: Schopp 2B 8: Clemens 3B 9: Castro RF

@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 …

Welcome back to another Sunday edition of everyone's favorite TD topic, the Game Thread! Today is July 17th, a busy day through the annals of history. Many of the events that have occurred on this date are less than ideal. Tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed on this date in 1918. TWA Flight 800 AND Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed on this date. Of course, Disneyland opened on this date in 1955. Several notable deaths occurred as well. John Lewis, of civil rights fame, and Walter Cronkite both died on this date in 2020 and 2009, respectively. But, perhaps the most significant thing to happen on this date occurred in 1952. I'm of course referring t…

The Twins have been depressing lately so I wanted to talk about a couple more exciting things today. One local feature and one national. Let's start local (Twin Cities local, sorry all you out of town/state-ers). The Firemen's Softball Tournament is taking place this weekend in Bloomington (East 90th and Portland for anyone who wants to check it out!). For those of us who's bodies no longer allow them to play hardball we've migrated to the soft side of things and this tournament is the spectacle of the summer. If you enjoy beer, sun, large crowds of people, and lots of softball you should swing on down and check it out. Just follow the gigantic crowds to find the "sh…

Didn't see one started. Sox 7, Twins 3

The Twins and the White Sox will kick off a four-game series tonight at Target Field. This is a very important series for both teams, but more pressure is on the White Sox, as they are currently 5 games back in the AL. The spectrum of outcomes this series can either have Chicago 1 game out or 9 games back from the Twins. With all the managerial firings this year, one has to wonder if this series could determine Tony La Russa's fate. The Twins have done their part in managing the White Sox this season, with a 5-1 record that could have been 6-0 if the bullpen was firing on all cylinders last Wednesday. The last time Chicago was at Target Field was April 22nd-24th, i…

It's Quick Turnaround Time after last night's three rain delays extended the game until past midnight here in the Eastern time zone. And speaking of quick turnarounds, I'm a big fan of roundabouts. Research in the U.S. has found that roundabouts lead to a 37 percent reduction in collisions, 75 percent reduction in injury collisions and 90 percent reduction in fatalities, all compared to traffic lights. Conversion to roundabouts also leads to quicker traffic flow, with a reduction in delays of anywhere between 20 and 89 percent. They are also cheaper to build than traditional intersections, there are lower maintenance costs compared to a traffic signal, and they prov…

The Pitchers RHP Jason Alexander (2-1, 4.75 ERA, 17K, 36IP, -0.3 bWAR) vs RHP Josh Winder (4-2, 3.12 ERA, 27K, 40.1IP, 0.7 bWAR) The Twins will avoid the two headed monster at the top of the Brewer's rotation in Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes, and instead will be lined up with Jason Alexander in game one, making his 7th start of the season. Despite the below average surface numbers, Alexander has pretty good below the surface numbers. Alexander started against the Cubs last time out, going 5.1IP, allowing 7 runs, 6 earned, on 8 hits while allowing a home run, and walking and striking out 2. This was his first start back in the rotation, but he did throw 94 p…

This series has been pretty bittersweet. Some good individual outputs, but poor pitching has led to some bad results. We have seen GarvSauce make his final appearances of the season (as he is going to have surgery on a torn flexor tendon). I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he is playing his last game today. Salvaging a game here would be awesome, and if Bundy performs like has recently, there will be a good chance of that. 1 1B Luis Arraez 2 SS Carlos Correa 3 DH Byron Buxton 4 RF Max Kepler 5 2B Jorge Polanco 6 LF Alex Kirilloff 7 CF Nick Gordon 8 3B Jose Miranda 9 C Ryan Jeffers P: Dylan Bundy 1 3B Josh Smith 2 2B Marcus Semien 3 …

Noticed this hadn't been started and the time is now. Devin Smeltzer (L) Martin Perez (L) 1. Byron Buxton (R) DH 2. Carlos Correa (R) SS 3. Kyle Garlick (R) RF 4. Jorge Polanco (S) 2B 5. Jose Miranda (R) 1B 6. Gio Urshela (R) 3B 7. Gary Sanchez (R) C 8. Gilberto Celestino (R) CF 9. Nick Gordon (L) LF 1. Marcus Semien (R) 2B 2. Corey Seager (L) SS 3. Mitch Garver (R) DH 4. Adolis Garcia (R) RF 5. Nathaniel Lowe (L) 1B 6. Jonah Heim…

The heat is on, in the immortal words of Glen Frey! Our hometown heroes venture into the sizzle and swelter of mid-July Texas heat to take on the Rangers tonight. It's a cool 106 degree day in Arlington, 62% dewpoint.....when the word sultry was developed Texas in July surely was in mind. But...gametime temps estimated to be 85...Whew, what a relief. Though the Texas skies are sunny this will be a Gray affair tonight, as our man Sonny takes the hill for the good guys and Jon, formerly Jonathan, tries his luck for the Rangers. Tonight is the the first meeting between the two teams this season. So who is hot, and who is not? as the Twins prepare to take on the Texas h…

Good morning Twins fans and welcome back to another Game Thread extravaganza! The mighty Minnesota Twins take on the Chicago White Sox this afternoon and will try to go for the sweep in Chicago. After last nights exciting win and great pitching performance from Winder, Joe Ryan will take the mound today against former Twin and now White Sox starting pitcher Lance Lynn. Joe Ryan is having a great year so far. Heading into today's game Ryan brings with him a 6-3 record with a 3.00 ERA. Lynn on the other hand has been less exciting with a 1-1 record and a 4.50 ERA. Minnesota now has a 4.5 game lead over Cleveland and a 6.5 game lead over the third place White Sox headi…

Roster Move: The Twins have placed RHP Chris Archer on the 15-day IL with a hip issue and have recalled RHP Josh Winder to start tonight. The Pitchers: RHP Josh Winder (3-2, 3.06 ERA, 24K, 36.1IP, 0.6 bWAR) vs RHP Michael Kopech (2-5, 2.78 ERA, 63K, 68IP, 2.0 bWAR) Winder was very good his last time out against the Guardians in which he threw the 2nd game of the doubleheader, going 6 innings while allowing 4 hits but no runs. He walked one and struck out one while throwing 81 pitches. Winder hasn't been great at getting the strikeout this year, but has been good in all other facets. The White Sox lineup is the second best lineup he's faced on paper behind…

When in the course of human events. it becomes necessary for one fan base to complain vociferously enough about the lack of base running, and the dubious control we have on our opponents running game, and become so focussed that we lose ourselves in one petty detail, like if Buxton steels home on a strike 3 for a third out, does he actually have to beat the pitch home, beat the catcher controlling his bobbling of the pitch in an effort to get the tag down? or does he have to beat the other umps check swing call? Curious minds want to know these things... Anyway, it is good to take step back, appreciate the big picture, that the season is actually going ok…

Happy 4th of July Weekend, everyone! I am here today to discuss whether Independence Day (1996) or The Sandlot (1993) is the best 4th of July movie ever. Now I know The Sandlot is not a movie based around the 4th of July, but it's a movie about the heart of America and the 4th of July night game is a special part of the movie. Independence Day is clearly a movie based around the 4th of July and features one of the greatest movie speeches of all time. There's aliens and victory cigars. It's a tight battle. To make my final decision on which is best I had to go to the quotes. The Independence Day speech is an all-timer. "We will not go quietly into the night!" gives me…

Hi everybody, and welcome to today's game thread. I will follow my usual format of five topics. I don't typically include analysis or predictions because that type of thing can be found elsewhere on this site written by people more skilled at those things than I am. 1. Happy middle day! Today is the middle of 2022. There have been 182 days this year before today and there will be 182 days after today. To be more precise, 1:00 PM CDT marks the midpoint, which by coincidence happens very near the start time of today's game. 2. Today's game is the middle game of a three-game series between the Twins and the Orioles. Our team will secure a series win if we come out …

Good Evening, aTwinsFanInMaryland here tonight with your game thread. The big news of today came on the coaching front as we saw Pete Maki take over the reigns at pitching coach, along with Colby Suggs being promoted to bullpen coach. These moves come on the heals of the shocking Wes Johnson departure. Roster Moves: One set of roster moves today as we saw Tyler Thornburg designated for release or assignment. Taking his place on the active roster is Juan Minaya, whose contract was selected from the Saint Paul Saints. The Pitchers: RHP #41 Joe Ryan (6-3, 3.20 ERA, 53K’s) vs RHP #80 Spenser Watkins (1-1, 5.14 ERA, 18K’s) The Lineup: …

Things to think about: 0: Thinking. What is it? Are you doing it now? Good for you! It's important. "It seperates us from people who like "Love Song" (great book, dumb title)"* Alas, i like to just pop references in lieu of thinking too often. And i apologize if today is no different. 0: Counting. Some things do, some things don't. Then there is the counter thought: does a counter count? I don't know. Today i'm only a Duke. 1: "I want my Johnson."** This is Wes's final game, right? I will sure miss him. If anyone feels like writing up an homage or other tribute to his wokr here, go for it. 2: Alternating Currently. It seems we win a game. Then they…

Good afternoon, Twins fans! After playing three games in 27 hours, the Central Division Leadership has taken a brief recess (21 hours or so) before two more games in 21 hours starting tonight. Then the Twins travel back across Guardiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin (or maybe cut across Ontario and Michigan if the pilot is not afraid of water) to play the Orioles of Maryland at the weekend. Pre-Game Diversion: Favorite Baseball Books This is a topic that has appeared here from time to time: favorite baseball movies or books. Since I don’t do a lot of movies, I’d like to hear about your favorite baseball books tonight. (I’m thinking about histories or novels, not anal…

Hello again Twins baseball Game Threaders. I'll be your host again for today's double header action between your Minnesota Twins and those pesky Cleveland Guardians. Last week, these two teams met at Target Field and moving in the opposite direction in the standings. Cleveland came in on a roll and took two of three from the local 9. The local 9 were also on a roll of their own, just in the wrong direction towards the depths of second place in the division. Since then however, your Twins have regained their footing and have won 3 straight after a poor first game loss at the hands of the Rockies. Cleveland however, has lost five straight including a bludgeoning last …