Article: LAA 2, MIN 1: Ohtani Excellent as Angels Walk Off Twins

[Tom Froemming]

The rookie showdown of Shohei Ohtani vs. Fernando Romero lived up to the hype, but the Angels prevailed thanks in large part to some incredible execution on defense. Romero and the bullpen did what they could, but it’s really hard to win when you only score one run.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs)

Download attachment: Snapshot513.png Download attachment: WinEx513.png

Romero passed another test Sunday, facing a veteran lineup in front of 38,000 fans on the road. He finally gave up a run, but he also struck out six batters over five innings. Romero wasn’t as sharp as we’d seen him previously, but to his credit he never unraveled.

 

Romero would have managed to get through five scoreless innings if the Twins would have been able to turn a double play. Instead, Justin Upton beat out the throw by a half step, allowing the run to come in from third. Romero gave up four hits and walked three batters.

 

The Twins tied it up in the seventh as Logan Morrison drew a walk, then advanced to third on a Robbie Grossman single. It appeared the Twins benefited from a missed call when a foul tip was called on what would have been strike three on Robbie. Joe Mauer came off the bench to deliver an RBI single.

 

It looked like the Twins would go ahead in the top of the ninth, but the Angels made an excellent play to nab Ehire Adrianza at the plate. Adrianza was running from first on the pitch that Grossman drove into the outfield. Mike Trout fielded the ball and relayed it in to Ian Kinsler, who threw a one-hopper on the money to keep the game tied.

 

Zach Duke hit the first batter he faced on a 0-2 count. The Angels bunted the runner over. Zack Cozart hit a ball into the outfield and it was looking like the Twins were also going to have the opportunity to make a game-saving throw, but instead of two perfect throws, Eddie Rosario failed to transfer the ball from his glove into his hand.

Ohtani was phenomenal. Over 6 1/3 innings, he gave up just three hits (two to Logan Morrison), struck out 11 batters and walked two. He topped out at 99.4 mph, but his slider, splitter and curveball were all formidable as well. The slowest curve he threw was 74.6 mph. I have no idea how any batter can realistically be prepared to handle all of his offerings.

 

Taylor Rogers pitched a scoreless sixth, but ran into trouble in the seventh. Ryan Pressly entered the game with no outs and runners on first and second base. He struck out Trout and induced a double play ball to wiggle out of trouble.

 

Reed pitched a scoreless eighth before the Angels got to Duke in the ninth.

 

Bullpen Usage

Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days:Download attachment: Bullpen513.png

 

Next Three Games

Mon vs. SEA, 6:10 pm CT

Tue vs. STL, 7:10 pm CT

Wed vs. STL, 12:10 pm CT

 

Last Three Games

MIN 5, LAA 3: Twins Outlast Angels in Gutsy Victory

MIN 5, LAA 4: Rally Rosie

LAA 7, MIN 4: What’s Up With Berrios?

 

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[IndianaTwin]

I was on the road, so I wasn’t able to watch. Should the Twins have easily turned the double play? Should Escobar have gone home?

[jun]

I was on the road, so I wasn’t able to watch. Should the Twins have easily turned the double play? Should Escobar have gone home?

Escobar's fault?

[Tom Froemming]

 

I was on the road, so I wasn’t able to watch. Should the Twins have easily turned the double play? Should Escobar have gone home?

Just added the highlight reel. It would have been an excellent double play. Escobar had to leap to reel it in and his momentum was carrying him toward second. He did an outstanding job getting the out, but Dozier couldn't get enough on the throw to first. 

[Platoon]

I didn't think so, he was going to his left and it seemed like they did what they could. The guy just beat it.

[TheLeviathan]

Would've been nice to have that one to get to .500, but it's hard to be anything but overjoyed with a 7-3 road trip.

[Han Joelo]

Well fought game.  Fun to see good defense, even if some of it was from the Angels.  Upton almost took that ball, but Trout established his presence with authority.  Sounded like Calhoun had a great throw earlier.

 

Wish Rosario could have held serve, though, and made a throw of his own.

 

I'm encouraged by the BP of late; guys picking one another up.  Pressly was tremendous in relief of Rogers, and Rogers had been good before that.  And of course--Romero.  

[blindeke]

Ohtani is ridiculous. Hard to believe he's only 24 and they're paying him league minimum.

[Dantes929]

 

Well fought game.  Fun to see good defense, even if some of it was from the Angels.  Upton almost took that ball, but Trout established his presence with authority.  Sounded like Calhoun had a great throw earlier.

 

Wish Rosario could have held serve, though, and made a throw of his own.

 

I'm encouraged by the BP of late; guys picking one another up.  Pressly was tremendous in relief of Rogers, and Rogers had been good before that.  And of course--Romero.  

The throw by Calhoun was awesome.   The relay was nice but didn't look like Adrianza had a great read on the play.    

[mikelink45]

This is what good baseball looks like.  No one at fault, just a great game.

[MN_ExPat]

Totally agree.   Great game, bummed they lost, but all in all that was just a fun game to watch.

[Twodogs]

I was at the game. Escobar made as good of a play as he could. The Twins left 9 guys on base, so they had their chances to plate a couple of guys. Mauer came through nice in a pinch hitting situation. The Twins have been playing pretty well lately, it would be nice to see the whole squad together soon. Sano, Polanco, Santana added to the mix.

[nater79a]

Just looked at the bullpen usage attachment.  Lots of green zeros next to Phil Hughes,     Guess he has become the new Tyler Kinley in the pen.    Can't use him in a close game or high leverage situations.    At some point this needs to change...can't just hold a spot for a guy waiting for the next mop-up situation to occur.

Edited May 14, 2018 by nater79a

[USAFChief]

Tough loss, but nice road trip.

 

The DP would have been a really tough turn, but here’s where Dozier’s weak arm probably made the difference.

 

And I think Adrianza HAS to run the bases better and score on that double.

[jokin]

 

Ohtani is ridiculous. Hard to believe he's only 24 and they're paying him league minimum.

 

Only 23. 

[h2oface]

The Twins' 9th was loaded. A single, a double, and two walks, and not a run. It was a great play that got Adrianza at the plate, but man he seemed slow. The bases loaded, and the hottest hitter of the series at the plate, and a first pitch foul pop up. And not a run.

 

The Angels' 9th was so short. 8 of the 9 hitters in the game at the time were right handed! The next six Angels' batters in a row would be right handed, and the Lefty was brought in. Those 87-88 mph fastballs were just what the doctor ordered. 5 pitches and the game was over. Duke was still in after hitting the first right handed batter with his third pitch that he lost total control of, the only curve thrown. It was impressive to see a first pitch bunt that was perfectly executed. No hesitation. No missing the ball or a fouling it off. Not one failed attempt. He just squared up and reached down and bunted the low, 88mph strike perfectly. I was so jealous. And with a runner on second, in scoring position with one out, the next hitter, Cozart, was another right handed batter, and the lefty was still allowed to pitch his 5th pitch to him.

 

Was anyone else amazed it was Duke, who was so perfectly used to get one dangerous lefty (Otani) the day before..... was anyone else amazed or disgusted that Duke got the call there?

[h2oface]

 

Tough loss, but nice road trip.

The DP would have been a really tough turn, but here’s where Dozier’s weak arm probably made the difference.

And I think Adrianza HAS to run the bases better and score on that double.

 

Escobar's throw to Dozier's shins wasn't a great help, either, eh? Though play that had to have two perfect throws.

[Dozier's Glorious Hair]

 

Was anyone else amazed it was Duke, who was so perfectly used to get one dangerous lefty (Otani) the day before..... was anyone else amazed or disgusted that Duke got the call there?

 

Who would you have used? Rogers, Pressly, and Reed already pitched, Hildenberger wasn't available, and Rodney needed to be saved to close out the game. That leaves Duke, Magill and Hughes.

 

No, I am neither amazed nor disgusted that Molitor chose Zach Duke over Matt Magill and Phil Hughes to pitch the bottom of the 9th inning of a tie game.

[Old Twins Cap]

When the core of the lineup goes 0 for 12, Kepler, Escobar, Rosario, and you only score one run, you aren't going to win many games.

 

Guys were prolly tired after a long road trip and we didn't get it done.

 

Duke had the freshest arm, unless you want to put Fill Hughes out there.

 

Plenty of positives to bring home though.

[Riverbrian]

 

I was on the road, so I wasn’t able to watch. Should the Twins have easily turned the double play? Should Escobar have gone home?

 

It was a tough turn on a big hop to 3B with Upton speed from home to first. It was turnable but it was not easily turnable. 

 

IMO... The double play wasn't the defining moment of the 5th inning. Two batters before was the moment. With nobody out and Maldonado on 2nd base. Petit at SS tried to make an impossible throw to get Cozart on a ground ball deep in the hole. He had no chance... he wasn't even close and the impossible throw attempt allowed Maldanado to advance to third on the throw. If he puts the ball in his pocket. Maldanado has to freeze at 2nd and there isn't a runner on third when Upton is up. 

 

On the Adrianaza (I assume you meant) play at the plate. He was off with the pitch so I assume that he didn't see the ball leave the bat. The ball was also hit behind him so he stopped to find the ball and this cost him momentum while the ball bounced directly off the wall to Trout, who cleanly hit the cut, and a strike was delivered home and he was out by a fairly large margin. Adrianaza probably wasn't perfect on his base running but I am really curious if the 3rd base coach waived him around. He would have had enough data to put up a stop sign. I have not seen video to say for sure. 

 

Hindsight... He should have stopped at third. 

 

All in All... It was a great game. I enjoyed every pitch. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

Adrianaza probably wasn't perfect on his base running but I am really curious if the 3rd base coach waived him around.

The coach was waving him around, it was pretty clear on one of replays during the game broadcast.

[Riverbrian]

 

The coach was waving him around, it was pretty clear on one of replays during the game broadcast.

 

In consideration of the result. That seems a little optimistic. 

 

Not blaming him but... 

[RichReese]

 

Escobar's fault?

I think the previous play was the problem.

[USAFChief]

http://www.startribune.com/adrianza-s-baserunning-duke-s-breaking-ball-and-dozier-s-first-pitch-hacking/482508382/

 

Adrianza simply has to score on a double to the wall on which he was running on the pitch. Bad baserunning is the only possible explanation.

[IndianaTwin]

It was a tough turn on a big hop to 3B with Upton speed from home to first. It was turnable but it was not easily turnable. 

 

IMO... The double play wasn't the defining moment of the 5th inning. Two batters before was the moment. With nobody out and Maldonado on 2nd base. Petit at SS tried to make an impossible throw to get Cozart on a ground ball deep in the hole. He had no chance... he wasn't even close and the impossible throw attempt allowed Maldanado to advance to third on the throw. If he puts the ball in his pocket. Maldanado has to freeze at 2nd and there isn't a runner on third when Upton is up. 

 

On the Adrianaza (I assume you meant) play at the plate. He was off with the pitch so I assume that he didn't see the ball leave the bat. The ball was also hit behind him so he stopped to find the ball and this cost him momentum while the ball bounced directly off the wall to Trout, who cleanly hit the cut, and a strike was delivered home and he was out by a fairly large margin. Adrianaza probably wasn't perfect on his base running but I am really curious if the 3rd base coach waived him around. He would have had enough data to put up a stop sign. I have not seen video to say for sure. 

 

Hindsight... He should have stopped at third. 

 

All in All... It was a great game. I enjoyed every pitch.

 

Thanks. My question was actually on the ground ball and whether Escobar should have seen it was going to be a tough double play and gone home instead to get the runner at the plate. I saw the play later and saw that going home would probably been an even tougher play since he was going to his left.

 

I was able to listen and it was a great game. Both teams had a couple big plays they made and a couple they didn’t. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.

[Tom Froemming]

I like that Glynn sent him. They had to make a great play and he was out only by a matter of inches. 

 

To Adrianza's defense, I think his internal clock was telling him somebody was gonna get under that ball. I was thinking the same thing until just before it fell, it was up there a long time. Per Baseball Savant, batted balls of that same profile are only hits 43% of the time.

[USAFChief]

 

I like that Glynn sent him. They had to make a great play and he was out only by a matter of inches. 

 

To Adrianza's defense, I think his internal clock was telling him somebody was gonna get under that ball. I was thinking the same thing until just before it fell, it was up there a long time. Per Baseball Savant, batted balls of that same profile are only hits 43% of the time.

And I think this is where the limits of something like statcast shows up, determining hit probability based solely on exit velocity and launch angle.

 

The ball was directly in the right center gap, didn't have a great deal of hang time, short hopped the wall, and neither outfielder came anywhere close to catching it. There is no way that ball is a hit only 43 percent of the time.  

[Puckett34]

Great game.   Good 7-3 road trip that could've easily been more.   Hopefully it rolls over to a good homestand.   6 out of 9 would be nice.

[terrydactyls]

I like that Glynn sent him. They had to make a great play and he was out only by a matter of inches. 

 

To Adrianza's defense, I think his internal clock was telling him somebody was gonna get under that ball. I was thinking the same thing until just before it fell, it was up there a long time. Per Baseball Savant, batted balls of that same profile are only hits 43% of the time.

 

Weren't there two outs? If so, there is no internal clock. You are running full speed at the crack of the bat and you don't stop until either the third base holds you up or you cross home plate. That's basic baseball. Or it used to be before metrics dictated that 43% of those balls would be caught. No need for anyone to be thinking. Just run, Forest, run.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Weren't there two outs? If so, there is no internal clock. You are running full speed at the crack of the bat and you don't stop until either the third base holds you up or you cross home plate. That's basic baseball. Or it used to be before metrics dictated that 43% of those balls would be caught. No need for anyone to be thinking. Just run, Forest, run.

There was only one out at the time.