Article: MIN 7, MIL 2: 5 Alive!

[Tom Froemming]

The Twins beat the Brewers Thursday night to win their fifth-straight game, putting them right back in the thick of the playoff picture. Dietrich Enns didn’t last long in his debut, but the bullpen was outstanding and a couple of slumping hitters busted out.Win Expectancy (via Fangraphs)

Download attachment: WinEx810.png

Now that Jorge Polanco is out of his funk, the only slumping Twins hitters are Joe Mauer (.194 average over last four weeks) and Byron Buxton (.559 OPS since returning from the DL).

 

Well, better make that were Joe Mauer and Byron Buxton.

 

Joe and Buxton had three hits each, Miguel Sano had a pair of hits and, of course, Polanco collected two more base knocks. Jorge is now 14-for-28 so far this month. I haven’t had the chance to fire that through my Internet machine to analyze, but that seems pretty darn good.

 

Enns walked in a run with one out in the third inning, and that was enough to get the hook despite the Twins holding a four-run lead. He gave up two runs (one unearned, but due to his own error) on five hits and a walk while throwing just 53 pitches. The average velo on his fastball was 89.6 mph and his go-to secondary offering was his curveball, which averaged 79.8 mph, according to Baseball Savant.

 

Enns will still be searching for his first MLB strikeout his next time out, whenever that may be, but he did cross another big milestone off the list. He got his first hit. Like, first hit ever as a professional. Enns had zero plate appearances in the minors, which was evident as he struck out trying to bunt in his first plate appearance. Things went much better his second time up.

Alan Busenitz was the first man out of the bullpen, making his first appearance since Aug. 1 and just his third outing since being recalled on July 24. Booze threw 2.2 perfect innings while striking out two batters. Sano made an excellent inning-ending double play to help him out of a jam in the third.

Ryan Pressly held Milwaukee scoreless in both the sixth and seventh innings, Tyler Duffey pitched a perfect eighth with two K's and Buddy Boshers capped off an impressive night for the bullpen with a scoreless ninth.

 

Since the Brandon Kintzler trade, the Twins bullpen has given up just three earned runs over 31.1 innings (0.86 ERA). It’s so obvious now that trade was simply a motivational tactic by the new front office. Man, those guys are good.

 

Both Cleveland and Kansas City lost again, putting the Twins back into second place in the AL Central, 3.5 games back. At the conclusion of the game, the Twins were just one game out in the Wild Card race, but Seattle’s game was still in progress.

 

With all the victories lately, you’d think the Twins would loosen up a bit and have some fun. But, as evidence from this behind-the-scenes footage from FOX Sports North, the fellas have been all business:

Postgame With Buxton

Postgame With Molitor

Twins W-L Record

Overall: 57-56 (.504)

Last 10: 7-3 (.700)

Last 20: 10-10 (.500)

Last 40: 18-22 (.450)

Last 80: 38-42 (.475)

 

Defensive Lineups

Here’s a look at the starting lineups from the past seven games:

Download attachment: Lineups810.png

Bullpen Usage

Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days:

Download attachment: Bullpen810.png

Looking Ahead

Friday: Twins (Kyle Gibson) at Detroit (Anibal Sanchez), 6:10 pm CT

Saturday: Twins (Jose Berrios) at Detroit (Jordan Zimmermann), 5:10 pm CT

Sunday: Twins (Ervin Santana) at Detroit (Matthew Boyd), 12:10 pm CT

 

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[Don Walcott]

Last night it was bombs. Tonight, singles and walks. It's good to see a bunch of mostly young hitters taking what the other team is giving them. It's just as good to see a mostly young bullpen getting locked in to do the job.

[Brandon]

Wouldnt it be our luck if we get to the world series against the Nationaks and Kintzler saves game 7?

[Dantes929]

 

Wouldnt it be our luck if we get to the world series against the Nationaks and Kintzler saves game 7?

Nah.  The Nationals luck that we beat Kinsler in the 7th game.   Nats don't resign him, he comes back to the Twins and he gets  the save for us against the Nats in game 7 of next year's world series.

[DocBauer]

Said it the other night and say it again, I just love this team. They are a, mostly, young team who is winning and playing good, competitive ball and have been in the thick of things for most of the season.

 

What? A .500 team in the thick of things? Sounds crazy I know, but it's reality. Especially when you consider the last 6 years. There is an awful lot to like here people. Something is building, and it's only going to get better.

 

And isn't it strange/funny, how when you give guys chances with talent how they perform? Over the past several months, even going back to last season in some cases, (Berrios), guys that should be given up on, jettisoned, etc, are showing real life. Zombie or not, at times, there have been claims Berrios was a bust. Buxton was a bust. Same with Rosario, Polanco, etc. There's still a long way to go, but if you look with an honest eye, you can see all the young talent starting to mold itself.

[DocBauer]

Had to walk away after the first couple of innings for a night spent with friends. Can someone offer perspective on Enns? I see he walked in a run, but was he suddenly pitching so poorly he had to be pulled with 1 out and a lead?

[Tommygun921]

*In the Rocks voice* FINALLY!!...Busenitz has come back!!!...to the bullpen.

[Respy]

 

Had to walk away after the first couple of innings for a night spent with friends. Can someone offer perspective on Enns? I see he walked in a run, but was he suddenly pitching so poorly he had to be pulled with 1 out and a lead?

 

Possibly Molitor did not want Enns starting today.

Possibly Molitor was playing the splits on Manny Pina in a crucial situation: .347 this year against lefties, .259 this year against righties.

Possibly Enns was on a low pitch limit we don't know about.

Possibly Molitor knew Enns was a bit taxed after running way too hard for that infield hit.

 

Thankfully the bullpen was fairly rested so they could manage the 6.2 innings!

[drjim]

Possibly Molitor did not want Enns starting today.

Possibly Molitor was playing the splits on Manny Pina in a crucial situation: .347 this year against lefties, .259 this year against righties.

Possibly Enns was on a low pitch limit we don't know about.

Possibly Molitor knew Enns was a bit taxed after running way too hard for that infield hit.

 

Thankfully the bullpen was fairly rested so they could manage the 6.2 innings!

Molitor probably realized quickly Enns isn't any good.

[yarnivek1972]

Possibly Molitor did not want Enns starting today.

Possibly Molitor was playing the splits on Manny Pina in a crucial situation: .347 this year against lefties, .259 this year against righties.

Possibly Enns was on a low pitch limit we don't know about.

Possibly Molitor knew Enns was a bit taxed after running way too hard for that infield hit.

 

Thankfully the bullpen was fairly rested so they could manage the 6.2 innings!

Possibly Molitor watched Enns not get anyone out the second time through the order.

[Dantes929]

 

Possibly Molitor did not want Enns starting today.

Possibly Molitor was playing the splits on Manny Pina in a crucial situation: .347 this year against lefties, .259 this year against righties.

Possibly Enns was on a low pitch limit we don't know about.

Possibly Molitor knew Enns was a bit taxed after running way too hard for that infield hit.

 

Thankfully the bullpen was fairly rested so they could manage the 6.2 innings!

Possibly he saw Enns make an error and walk in a run and thought he might be rattled and wanted to get him out of there with the lead.   Minus his own error Enns might have been ok.    He got out of there without it being a total disaster and I am ok if we see him again.    Might just be nerves.

[mikelink45]

Enns struggles, Gonsalves has a good AAA start.  Will be start to recognize our own assets at some point?

[adjacent]

For what I could see on TV, Enns seems a lefty with a sneaky fast ball but not much else. The curve ball didn't fool anybody, at least yesterday. Maybe a talk with Bartolo about how to mix the pitches can help.

[Tibs]

The schedule the rest of the month sets up for the Twins to make a run. 3 against Detroit this weekend, 3 against Cleveland and 3 against Arizona next week, then 8 of 11 against the White Sox to end the month with the other 3 being against the Blue Jays.

[Dantes929]

 

For what I could see on TV, Enns seems a lefty with a sneaky fast ball but not much else. The curve ball didn't fool anybody, at least yesterday. Maybe a talk with Bartolo about how to mix the pitches can help.

Smalley was saying his best pitch was his change up but that he wasn't throwing it.   Then he threw a couple but without good command.   I don't think we saw the best of Enns but not sure of it.    

[PDX Twin]

 

They seem like they are learning to fail, then win again and turn it on. 

 

To me, this has been the biggest difference between 2016 and 2017. Last year, the horror start took away their confidence and they never got it back. Every time they lost a game you expected them to lose three more in a row.

 

This year, with the exception of the West Coast swoon two weeks ago, there has always been a sense that they could always come back following a defeat and win the next one. Some of this is probably greater maturity in players such as Buxton, Berrios, Sano, Kepler, Polanco, and Rosario. Some of it MIGHT be more effective mentoring by the new veterans Castro, Gimenez, Belisle, and maybe even Colon. 

 

Whatever the reason, it seems likely that they will be able to at least hang around .500 and get the experience of serious September competition. I'm not counting on making the post-season, and if they do I'm expecting at best a wild-card or first-round loss, but it is sure a lot more interesting than last year (or 2011 or 2012 or 2013 or 2014 or 2015)!

[Dantes929]

 

Enns struggles, Gonsalves has a good AAA start.  Will be start to recognize our own assets at some point?

I would like to see Gonsalves   because we have read so much about him but Enns AAA stats are really good also.   One game samples don't mean much.

[Doomtints]

I was not expecting the Twins to sweep the Brewers.

 

It seems the middling teams who surged around the all star break are coming back down to earth. The Indians, Royals, Cubs, etc., are all looking like .500 teams again. 

[Vanimal46]

It's happening!!!

[AlwaysinModeration]

The schedule the rest of the month sets up for the Twins to make a run. 3 against Detroit this weekend, 3 against Cleveland and 3 against Arizona next week, then 8 of 11 against the White Sox to end the month with the other 3 being against the Blue Jays.

If the Twins win all of them, they could even be in first place.

[AlwaysinModeration]

I don't think we saw the best of Enns but not sure of it.

There is a good pun in there somewhere, but I can't seem to put my finger on it.

[Dantes929]

 

There is a good pun in there somewhere, but I can't seem to put my finger on it.

Not a pun guy and it may have been used before.     Molitor could have left Enns in but he had a lead to protect so he pulled him.    Classic case of the Enns justifying the means.

[yarnivek1972]

I watched the game and I actually was hopeful about Enns. He looked relatively composed, actually did have some stuff, and was a huge improvement over the Nick Tepesch, Alan Wilks and Nick (?) Turleys of the world. You could actually see him as a major league starter on a contending team if you squinted hard enough.. He will get a couple more starts because we have 14 games in 13 days starting next Tuesday so I think we'll have a good sense of how good he is pretty quickly.

 

The timing on Gonzalves is probably based on that same scheduling issue. We have a doubleheader against the White Sox on Monday the 21st so we can bring a guy up for the day and send him back down without having to wait 10 days to bring him back up again. Gonzalves started last night so he would be roughly on schedule to pitch on Monday the 21st. It would be fun to see him up pitching one game of the doubleheader..

I believe the 26th man has to be someone already on the 40 man. Of course, nothing prevents the Twins from adding Gonsalves to it prior to that date.

[AlwaysinModeration]

I believe the 26th man has to be someone already on the 40 man. Of course, nothing prevents the Twins from adding Gonsalves to it prior to that date.

It would burn an option year and start his clock. I don't think they'd add anyone to the 40 or bring anyone like Romero or Gonsalves up before September for that reason. (Garver might fit this description as well.)

[Dantes929]

 

It would burn an option year and start his clock. I don't think they'd add anyone to the 40 or bring anyone like Romero or Gonsalves up before September for that reason. (Garver might fit this description as well.)

I see the longer term value in it and for the sake of one start I think it better to wait.   Will be disappointed if all three don't make the September call up.   Does that burn an option.

[drjim]

It would burn an option year and start his clock. I don't think they'd add anyone to the 40 or bring anyone like Romero or Gonsalves up before September for that reason. (Garver might fit this description as well.)

Calling up Romero or Garver right now would have no impact on options. It is only a problem for Gonsalves if he is sent back down.

[yarnivek1972]

 

Calling up Romero or Garver right now would have no impact on options. It is only a problem for Gonsalves if he is sent back down.

 

 

And as I understand it, it only burns an option if he is optioned out for more than 20 days.  I don't know when the Red Wings season is scheduled to end, but we are exactly 20 days from September 1.

[drjim]

And as I understand it, it only burns an option if he is optioned out for more than 20 days. I don't know when the Red Wings season is scheduled to end, but we are exactly 20 days from September 1.

Then he might be in business too.

 

I'm actually surprised Enns hasn't been sent down, would be a good time to bring up another bat. There are options, all better than Enns in my mind, for the next start in 8 days.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Calling up Romero or Garver right now would have no impact on options. It is only a problem for Gonsalves if he is sent back down.

True, but we're talking about a doubleheader game, which makes it likely he would be sent down.

[Mr. Brooks]

True, but we're talking about a doubleheader game, which makes it likely he would be sent down.

But he could return on 9/1 and it would be less than 20 days, so it wouldn't burn an option.