Article: Twins 2, Dodgers 6: Twins Fall Below .500

[Seth Stohs]

For the first time since late April, the Minnesota Twins are a game below .500 (49-50).

 

In one of the longest games in major league history (OK, not really, it just seemed like it), the Dodgers post a second win against the Twins. Dodgers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda took about a month-and-a-half between pitches. Then in the sixth inning, one of the strangest 20+ minute delays in my lifetime kept the game going even longer. On Wednesday, the Twins will attempt to avoid being swept by putting Ervin Santana on the mound.Before the game even started, things were a bit strange for the Twins. Less than an hour before game time, Miguel Sano was scratched from the lineup due to his aggravated wrist (from Monday night’s hit-by-pitch). He got x-rays, and they were negative, which of course is positive. Eduardo Escobar was going to hit sixth and play shortstop. Instead, he moved to third base and batted cleanup. Jorge Polanco played shortstop. That was the easy lineup construction situation of this game.

 

Win Expectancy (via fangraphs)

 

 

Jose Berrios started for the Twins and he was solid early. He began the game with three shutout innings. He used his fastball at a variety of speeds, from 92 to 97. He also had a very sharp curveball again, as evidenced by this 1st-inning pitch to Corey Seager:

 

 

Top Three Twins (by Win Expectancy)

• Zack Granite (.078) - 1-4, RBI 1B
• Joe Mauer (.060) - 1-2, 2 BB
• Jason Castro (.026) - 1-4

Zack Granite gave the Twins a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the 3rd inning. However, in the fourth inning, the Dodgers bats took over. They scored four runs on five hits off of Berrios. While he got through the inning, he was pinch hit for in the top of the fifth frame. Trevor Hildenberger pitched a scoreless fifth frame. He got one out in the sixth as well.

 

However, that’s when things went strange. Paul Molitor came out to talk to the umpire and tell him he was making a double-switch. He had Ryan Pressly come in to the game to take Hildenberger’s spot as pitcher. He had Ehire Adrianza come in to play shortstop, replacing Jorge Polanco. Of course, Adrianza would bat in the pitcher’s spot in the double switch. Seemed simple enough.

 

As Molitor explained, the umpire somehow heard that Belisle was coming in for Rosario. Molitor thought that he explained it (Pressly for Polanco) correctly. Molitor took the blame for the miscommunication, though I certainly don't think he needs to.

 

 

 

But after Pressly threw one pitch, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came out to ask the umpires about the double switch. Confusion ensued. The umps talked to Roberts. Then went and talked to Molitor. Then Roberts again. Then they called the offices in New York where a rules interpretation was done. Over 20 minutes later, Polanco needed to stay in the game and Adrianza went to left field with Eddie Rosario coming up. That meant that the pitcher’s spot in the lineup would come up two spots earlier.

 

 

 

Roberts explained following the game that part of the concern was that Jorge Polanco had been taken out of the game for the first pitch after Pressly came in. He noted that apparently there is a re-entry rule that allowed Polanco to re-enter the game at shortstop when Adrianza went out to left field instead, removing the hot-hitting Eddie Rosario.

 

 

Of course, Roberts kept saying Escobar, which was wrong, and probably adds to the confusion.

 

After the 20+ minute delay, Pressly served up three straight hits to give the Dodgers two additional runs of offense. They didn’t need it, but it gave them the final 6-2 win.

 

AL Central

 

Cleveland won late on an Edwin Encarnacion grand slam. Earlier in the evening, the Royals topped the Tigers. The White Sox lost to the Cubs. The Twins came into their Tuesday night game at Dodgers Stadium with a .500 record and… …

 

Cleveland 52-45 .536 ---

Kansas City 52-47 .525 1.0

TWINS 49-50 .495 4.0

Detroit 45-54 .455 7.0

Chicago 39-58 .402 8.0

 

 

Bullpen Usage

 

Trevor Hildenberger, Ryan Pressly and Alan Busenitz worked out of the Twins bullpen on Tuesday night. Here is a look at which relievers may be available on Wednesday night.

 

 

 

What’s Next?

 

The Twins and Dodgers will finish their three-game series on Wednesday night (9:10 central time). It will be Ervin Santana (1-0, 5.40 ERA) facing right-hander Brock Stewart (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

 

Ervin Santana is coming off his worst start of the season. On Friday night, the All- Star gave up five runs and needed 95 pitches in just 3.1 innings against the Tigers. He gave up two homers in the game as well. In his one July start before the All-Star Game, he gave up two runs in nine innings. In his first post-All Star Game start, he gave up just two runs in six innings, but he walked five. Santana will look to get the Twins back on track.

 

Lefty Alex Wood, who is 11-1 so far this season for the Dodgers, was scheduled to start on Wednesday. Instead, right-hander Brock Stewart will make his first start for the Dodgers this season. He has worked 13 innings over six appearances this season out of the bullpen. Last year, he made seven appearances, including five starts for the big league club. Stewart was a name mentioned in the offseason when there were approximately 13.2 million Brian Dozier-to-the-Dodgers rumors.

 

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[USAFChief]

Molitor dorks up a double switch and you don't think he needs to take the blame?

 

Who should?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

There is no re-entry rule, though.

[h2oface]

It sure would be nice if the umpires can fill the live crowd in on what is going on when something like this delay happens, or when anything is happening that someone can fill us in on. As the fans got tired of waiting and started rumbling and booing and expressing their dissatisfaction with the unexplained delay that was lasting waaaaaaayyyy toooooo long, the powers that be just started blaring loud rappy hip hoppy type of music unmercifully at way too loud a volume. A special kind of rude crowd control to drown out the fans. It was almost painful.

 

From listening to the post game videos...... I lean toward Molitor was thinking one thing, but saying another. There has to be a better way to officially do substitutions than pencil written lineup cards in three different pockets.

[h2oface]

Not that it matters, but Wood is 11-1, not 10-0, and got bombed his last outing for his first and only loss of the year, skyrocketing his ERA from 1.56 to 2.17, giving up 9 runs (7 earned), and not making it through the 5th inning (sound familiar). He was finally relieved of his misery when the Twins new pitcher, Jaime Garcia, lofted a Grand Slam to finish him off.

[bighat]

Another lineup gaffe for Molitor. If this team doesn't make the playoffs, he's gotta be gone.

 

How many bases-loaded pop-outs and strikeouts last night? Twins have been squandering opportunities by the boatload recently. For example, Polanco walks and Castro singles. Two on, nobody out!  Gotta score here. But Berrios can't get the bunt down (strikes out) and Dozier strikes out. On Monday night Kepler pinch hit with the bases loaded and one out, and struk out.

 

I watched the first few innings and was really put off  watching Maeda. Gotta be the slowest worker in the game. A minute between pitches is absolutely unacceptable.

 

Down 4.5 games now. Under .500. Twins need to go on a serious run, pronto. We're talking winning 8-out-of-10. Maybe that'll start tonight? Go Santana!

[jimmer]

Another lineup gaffe for Molitor. If this team doesn't make the playoffs, he's gotta be gone.

 

How many bases-loaded pop-outs and strikeouts last night? Twins have been squandering opportunities by the boatload recently. For example, Polanco walks and Castro singles. Two on, nobody out! Gotta score here. But Berrios can't get the bunt down (strikes out) and Dozier strikes out. On Monday night Kepler pinch hit with the bases loaded and one out, and struk out.

 

I watched the first few innings and was really put off watching Maeda. Gotta be the slowest worker in the game. A minute between pitches is absolutely unacceptable.

 

Down 4.5 games now. Under .500. Twins need to go on a serious run, pronto. We're talking winning 8-out-of-10. Maybe that'll start tonight? Go Santana!

if the Twins dont make the playoffs Molitor should be gone? With the talent on this team (especially on the pitching side) the fact this team has held on this long in contention is quite something.

 

There are reasons to fire Molitor, but a team that shouldnt make the playoffs (based on talent level) not making the playoffs isnt one of them.

Edited July 26, 2017 by jimmer

[Darius]

This spiraled out of control quickly. They were a half game out just a few days ago.

 

This is why I preferred they sell. This was inevitable. Now they're just a losing team with a bunch of old soon-expiring contracts (Santana, Dozier, Garcia, Mauer, etc), out of which they didn't pull any residual value.

[IaFan1]

I don't blame Molitor. It was the umpires fault and Roberts was kind of jerk about it too.

[Old Twins Cap]

Twins have the bases loaded, the look on the Twins batter is one of pressure, and they act like they are really on the hotseat.

 

Twins pitchers load the bases, their look is of being under pressure and they strain to make the perfect pitch.

 

In other words, Twins look terrible on offense and on the mound, not making plays at the biggest moments of the game.

 

Imminent collapse.

[mikelink45]

I am a little confused by the continuing hate on Molitor.  I agree this switch was a mess, but I am not sure that MLB and its umpires handled it professionally and I agree that MLB needs to start announcing to the crowd what is going on in these prolonged interruptions - remember this is the year they are addressing length of game - how about length of interruptions?  Molitor has been given a lot of young and therefore inconsistent players from the FO.  The rotation help that this FO has thrown at the team this year is a joke.  If they wanted a Garcia type pitcher they should have gone after him in the off season and skipped the Tepesch, Wilf, and all the others I refuse to continue to remember.  

 

Dozier had not value last year according to reports, with this years performance he has less.  Molitor played Sano in RF last year, but was that his decision or was he following orders?   The Twins called up Polanco for ridiculous reasons and we lost the ability to send him back down to get himself right - winter ball ahead?  

 

The only other FO effort was getting a better catcher.  We did, but the raves stop here.  How many more runs have we surrendered than our opposition have given us (72)?  How big would that be if didn't have a great pitch framer?   We are currently 24th place among teams on run differential.

 

I do not care if Molitor stays or goes, but I also feel that there are very few managers who really impact the W-L records dramatically.  How many more games would we have won with a different manager?   I am harder on coaches.  I wanted the pitching coach to go last year and I am just as adamant this year.  I think pitching coaches actually have a greater impact on the team than the managers. 

[bighat]

 

if the Twins dont make the playoffs Molitor should be gone? With the talent on this team (especially on the pitching side) the fact this team has held on this long in contention is quite something.

There are reasons to fire Molitor, but a team that shouldnt make the playoffs (based on talent level) not making the playoffs isnt one of them.

 

Let me be clear: I think Molitor should have been fired last year. I don't think he's a good manager. The only reason I can see Falvine keeping him on is if the team makes the playoffs. Even if this team finishes a couple games above .500 he should go, IMO.

[Han Joelo]

This feels like the scene where the scrappy hero finally gives in to overwhelming opposition. Then somebody, maybe Sean Astin, gives an inspirational speech and the hero continues on.

 

Bad karma for Dave Roberts, being such a stickler. I hope Rosario sticks it to them today.

[nicksaviking]

When a double switch screw up happens in the uncommon instance of an AL manager playing by NL rules, and the AL manager was a player who never played in the NL, it's a struggle to think it was the umpires fault.

[USAFChief]

It wasn't the umpires fault. Molitor screwed up, then wouldn't admit it post game. If it was the umpire's mistake, don't you think Molitor reacts differently during the game? Sheesh.

 

And don't blame Roberts, either. He did exactly what he should have, and what I'd want Molitor to do.

 

This is big league baseball, not little league.

[Dantes929]

." Dodgers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda took about a month-and-a-half between pitches".  

Exhibit A for pitch clocks.    I hate slow pitchers and Maeda would have had to double his speed to even qualify for slow.    I got the feeling it was by design just to wear down the patience of the batter.    The equivalent of a 5 hour round in golf.  

[Seth Stohs]

 

How many bases-loaded pop-outs and strikeouts last night? Twins have been squandering opportunities by the boatload recently. For example, Polanco walks and Castro singles. Two on, nobody out!  Gotta score here. But Berrios can't get the bunt down (strikes out) and Dozier strikes out. On Monday night Kepler pinch hit with the bases loaded and one out, and struk out.

 

While I generally agree that the team hasn't been great in those situations, the inning you reference (When Berrios and Dozier struck out), Zack Granite came through with a two-out RBI single. 

[Seth Stohs]

No surprise to read Molitor bashers using this as ammunition. I wish the umpire had to talk about what happened. WE got the confused explanation from Roberts, and I thought a pretty clear explanation from Molitor. I thought the umpires handled it horribly. 

 

 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Anyone else think Mauer could have stole home in the fifth?

[Vanimal46]

 

." Dodgers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda took about a month-and-a-half between pitches".  

Exhibit A for pitch clocks.    I hate slow pitchers and Maeda would have had to double his speed to even qualify for slow.    I got the feeling it was by design just to wear down the patience of the batter.    The equivalent of a 5 hour round in golf.  

 

Concur 100% with implementing pitch clocks. It works out so smoothly in AAA and AA from the games I've attended. 

Admittedly I did not watch the game last night as it was past my bedtime, so maybe Maeda was working slower than usual?

Fangraphs has a neat feature called Pace Calculator and I hate to break it to everyone, but Maeda is not close to the worst out there.... In fact, the Twins now have 3 pitchers in the top 25 slowest paced SP! Jaime Garcia #12 at 25.7 seconds between pitches, Kyle Gibson #14 at 25.4 seconds, and Jose Berrios #23 at 24.8 seconds. 

[PDX Twin]

 

Twins have the bases loaded, the look on the Twins batter is one of pressure, and they act like they are really on the hotseat.

 

Twins pitchers load the bases, their look is of being under pressure and they strain to make the perfect pitch.

 

In other words, Twins look terrible on offense and on the mound, not making plays at the biggest moments of the game.

 

Imminent collapse.

 

We can hope that this is just youth. Young players on the big stage in front of tens of thousands will naturally get a little amped up in those situations. For some, that might bring out their best; for others (especially Berrios, I think) it causes them to move away from the things that make them successful. 

 

If this is still happening in a couple of years, we can call them chokers. For now, I'd rather just think of them as young and learning.

[Mike Sixel]

 

No surprise to read Molitor bashers using this as ammunition. I wish the umpire had to talk about what happened. WE got the confused explanation from Roberts, and I thought a pretty clear explanation from Molitor. I thought the umpires handled it horribly. 

 

So, you think Molitor did nothing wrong? That everyone else was wrong?

[USAFChief]

No surprise to read Molitor bashers using this as ammunition. I wish the umpire had to talk about what happened. WE got the confused explanation from Roberts, and I thought a pretty clear explanation from Molitor. I thought the umpires handled it horribly.

Please explain how the umpires "handled it horribly."

 

Specifically.

[USAFChief]

We can hope that this is just youth. Young players on the big stage in front of tens of thousands will naturally get a little amped up in those situations. For some, that might bring out their best; for others (especially Berrios, I think) it causes them to move away from the things that make them successful.

 

If this is still happening in a couple of years, we can call them chokers. For now, I'd rather just think of them as young and learning.

Young players like Bellinger?

[Winston Smith]

 

No surprise to read Molitor bashers using this as ammunition. I wish the umpire had to talk about what happened. WE got the confused explanation from Roberts, and I thought a pretty clear explanation from Molitor. I thought the umpires handled it horribly. 

How should they have handled then? 

[Mike Sixel]

 

Young players like Bellinger?

 

"you can't expect them all to be Mike Trout"......or Bellinger, or Machado, or Seager, or about 20 other young players. I'm so tired of "they are young" as an excuse all the time.

Edited July 26, 2017 by Mike Sixel

[bizaff]

 

So, you think Molitor did nothing wrong? That everyone else was wrong?

 

Dick Bremer tweeted out, "Video shows Lance Barrett looking at Paul Molitor's adjusted lineup card. Seems inexcusable for the umpire to misunderstand intended move."

 

Molitor said in the post-game his card was marked right.

 

The only two conclusions I can come to are that the umpire screwed up, or Molitor is lying about his lineup card.  I highly doubt Molitor is lying.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

The umps did lose control of the game.

 

Re-entry? Since when?

[gocgo]

Let's panic...seems like the right thing to do.  This is the toughest part of our schedule which gets much better after this road trip while Cleveland's schedule gets much tougher.  The Dodgers are good.  They rarely swing at borderline pitches outside of the zone.  They are very good at getting into predictable counts and hitting their pitch.  We can learn from this and get better.  

[Mike Sixel]

 

Dick Bremer tweeted out, "Video shows Lance Barrett looking at Paul Molitor's adjusted lineup card. Seems inexcusable for the umpire to misunderstand intended move."

 

Molitor said in the post-game his card was marked right.

 

The only two conclusions I can come to are that the umpire screwed up, or Molitor is lying about his lineup card.  I highly doubt Molitor is lying.

 

Certainly possible. I have no idea.