Article: That's The Ticket: Wake Up Call

[Nick Nelson]

The Twins just got done running through a gauntlet. The past two weeks have featured a brutally tough section of the schedule that certainly took its toll.

 

Finally, things are going to get a little easier, starting with Monday night's series opener against the White Sox.Minnesota's last four opponents – Royals, Rangers, Cardinals, Cubs, – have all had high-caliber pitching staffs and records well above .500. Over that 13-game stretch, the Twins went 4-9 while averaging 2.6 runs per game.

 

Now, the White Sox come to town, bringing with them the fewest wins in the AL (30). Chicago's 4.15 team ERA is second-highest in the league. If you take Chris Sale's production out of the mix, that number goes up to 4.39, but unfortunately, the Twins won't be taking his production of the mix. He pitches on Wednesday.

 

Still, there are many reasons to believe that Minnesota's stalled out offense can get back on track at Target Field this week. Let's take an in-depth look at the probable starters and determine which game is your best bet to attend if you want to see some crooked numbers on the scoreboard.

 

Monday, 7:10 PM: LHP John Danks vs. RHP Tommy Milone

 

Here are the last 12 starting pitchers the Twins have faced, along with each one's ERA and WHIP:

 

Chris Young: 2.25, 0.92

Edinson Volquez: 3.33, 1.22

Wandy Rodriguez: 3.20, 1.25

Colby Lewis: 4.08, 1.19

Nick Martinez: 2.77, 1.33

John Lackey: 3.41, 1.22

Michael Wacha: 2.48, 1.04

Carlos Martinez: 2.80, 1.28

Jaime Garcia: 1.76, 0.90

Kyle Hendricks: 4.28, 1.24

Jon Lester: 3.80, 1.34

Jake Arrieta: 3.07, 1.12

 

I know it can be tempting to get down on the Twins lineup with the slump they've been going through, but that is a pretty ridiculous stretch of mound opponents.

 

You've got to imagine these hitters are excited to take their licks against John Danks, who is more vulnerable than any of the names listed above. In 13 starts, he's 3-7 with a 5.16 ERA and 1.45 WHIP, having allowed 88 hits (including 11 homers) in 75 innings of work.

 

Danks hasn't been a particularly effective pitcher since 2010, but the Sox are locked in to him with his five-year, $65 million contract running through next season.

 

In three June starts, the left-hander is 0-3 with a 6.35 ERA. Opponents are batting .312/.351/.516 against him on the road this year. And Minnesota knocked him around for seven runs in 2 1/3 innings in a meeting at Target Field back in early May.

 

This has the makings of a slump-busting offensive night for the Twins, but of course, it's up to the hitters to take advantage. In particular, keep an eye on Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe, Torii Hunter, Kurt Suzuki and Byron Buxton. Righty swingers have crushed Danks to the tune of a .909 OPS this season.

 

Tuesday, 7:10 PM: RHP Jeff Samardzija vs. RHP Mike Pelfrey

 

The last time the Twins saw Samardzija, he shut them down at U.S. Cellular Field with eight innings of two-run ball, notching a season-high nine strikeouts. However, that type of performance hasn't exactly been typical for the big right-hander.

 

In his 14 starts this season, Samardzija has allowed 110 hits, most in the American League. If you subtract his gem against the Twins a month ago, his ERA jumps to 4.90, which in today's pitching-dominated game is flat-out terrible.

 

Shark's impeccable control (a remarkable turnaround from his early days) has helped him limit damage to an extent while also enabling him to consistently pitch deep into ballgames, but he is a guy that can be knocked around.

 

Wednesday, 12:10 PM: LHP Chris Sale vs. RHP Phil Hughes

 

This, of course, is a tough assignment. There's no way around it: Sale is one of the best pitchers in baseball, leading the league in strikeouts and WHIP. He has held his opponents to two or fewer runs in 11 of his 14 starts.

 

But…

 

Two of the three starts in which he's given up more than two runs have come against the Twins. In fact, in his only outing at Target Field this year, Sale was blasted for eight runs on nine hits over three innings – by far his worst start of the year and in fact his worst as a big-leaguer.

 

No team has really had much success against Sale over the course of his immensely impressive career, but the Twins have fared better against him than most.

 

Come On Down!

 

Getting out to the ballpark over the past week has been a bit of an expensive proposition. Buxton's debut against the best team in baseball, followed by the Cubs making a rare visit during a beautiful weekend, pushed ticket demand to its highest level since the Home Opener.

 

Now, things settle down a bit for these weekday contests against a familiar foe. You'll find plenty of good prices on Ticket King's resale marketplace for this series, especially for Wednesday's nooner if you can cut out of work (tons of tickets under $20).

 

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[Rosterman]

The Twins are salivating with the new ticket market. Considering they had roughly 18,000 tickets available via them for EVERY game once the season started (they are still offering season ticket plans), the demand for tickets is thin on StubHub (which is season ticket resales). The Twins are selling lots and lots of tickets for close to full price by themselves. It goes to show that if you win, people will come. So...they have to keep winning!