Article: MIN 11, TB 8: Twins Get a Scare on Friday the 13th, Prevail over Pesky Rays

[Tom Froemming]

The Twins aren’t dead yet, but they’ve given themselves very little room for error. They can’t afford to do things like, for example, blow seven-run leads. Well, it’s a good thing they didn’t do exactly that Friday, but things were pretty hairy there for a second.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs)

Jake Odorizzi: 27 Game Score, 4.1 IP, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 K, 1 BB, 58.4% strikes

Bullpen: 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 K, 1 BB

Lineup: 6-for-13 w/RISP, 7 LOB

WPA of 0.1 or higher: Grossman .125, Cave .124, Mauer .100

WPA of -0.1 or lower: None

Download attachment: WinEx713.png

Things got off to such a wonderful start. The Twins scored four runs on six hits in the first inning. They added four more runs in the third, with the big blow coming in the form of a Joe Mauer three-run homer. You build an 8-1 lead in the third and it should be easy sailing from there, right?

 

The Rays did not go down quietly. Not. Even. Close.

 

They added a run in the fourth before putting together a four-run inning of their own in the fifth. Another run in the sixth brought them back within a run.

 

The Twins’ lineup just kept on rolling, however, as Brian Dozier hit a leadoff double, was driven in on an Eduardo Escobar single and then Esky scored on a Robbie Grossman double to give Minnesota a three-run cushion.

 

Then, Trevor Hildenberger delivered what the Twins really needed: A clean inning. After Tampa Bay had scored in four consecutive frames, Hildy came in and struck out the side. Obviously this was a night where the offense shined, but Trevor coming in and slamming the door like that really seemed to represent the stomping out of any comeback the Rays were going to mount. Zach Duke followed with a clean eighth.

 

These last three games have reminded me a lot of the 2017 second half Twins. Tons of crooked numbers coming from the bats. They’re not stringing together single runs in innings or just scoring on homers, they’re stringing things together and delivering with runners on.

 

There were a ton of contributors, as you’d expect from a game in which 11 runs are scored on 15 hits, but Jake Cave was particularly impressive. He hit an RBI single over the shortstop in the first, a double to the left-center gap that plated another run in the third and then led off the seventh with a triple he pulled into the right-center gap. He’s now hitting .324 with a .928 OPS.

 

Mauer drove in four and Grossman reached base safely four times, going 3-for-3 with a walk.

 

Bullpen Usage

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

Download attachment: Bullpen713.png

AL Central Standings

CLE 51-42

MIN 43-49 (-7.5)

DET 40-56 (-12.5)

CHW 31-61 (-19.5)

KC 26-66 (-24.5)

 

Next Three Games

Sat vs. TB, 1:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Chris Archer

Sun vs. TB, 1:10 pm CT: TBD

All-Star Break

Fri, July 20 at KC

 

Last Three Games

MIN 5, TB 1: Who’s the Snub?

MIN 8, KC 5: Twins Recover from Rough Start

KC 9, MIN 4: Slegers Slayed by Royals

 

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[Han Joelo]

I'm really enjoying my free MLB.tv subscription so far.  For every player we lament the Twins letting get away or never developed, there are real success stories, like Cave (so far) and Hildenberger.

 

The damn Yankees haunt the Twins again, though, with losing to Cleveland.

[IndianaTwin]

Great idea to link to the game recap over in the game thread. How about doing the same thing in reverse and linking the game thread to the game recap? Maybe put "Today's Game Thread" between the "Next Three Games" and "Last Three Games".

[mickeymental]

 

I'm really enjoying my free MLB.tv subscription so far.  For every player we lament the Twins letting get away or never developed, there are real success stories, like Cave (so far) and Hildenberger.

 

The damn Yankees haunt the Twins again, though, with losing to Cleveland.

it might be considered a small but not insignificant victory that the damn yankees developed jake cave between june of 2011 and march 2018.

[BJames]

Looks like the Twins could choose between Slegers,Littell or Romero to start Friday.  Or go with the surprize start of Santana.  

[Old Twins Cap]

Joe is on a run, and is now up to 27 rbi's on the year.

[bighat]

Who starts Sunday? Slegers gets another shot?

[jorgenswest]

I hope Romero. He should be available.