Article: MIN 6, SEA 5: Comeback Victory Capped By Trevor May Save

[TFRazor]

 

Can you imagine being a Twins' player, waking up this morning, seeing you are 23 games above .500, 10 games up in the division, destroying HR records left and right and then realizing that Tommy Milone is pitching for the Mariners tonight?

 

That's gotta give an extra hop to your step.

 Is it okay to hope for our third 8-homer game of the season? Or is that asking too much?

[BattleYourTailOff]

May was OK. He got a gift strike out, but then two weak pop outs from good hitters. I seem to remember him having a good change up when he was a starter. He doesn't seem to use it much anymore. I think it would be an effective pitch for him as hitters have to gear up for his juiced up fastball.

it’s a good thing he’s high velocity cuz he misses his location really badly on a lot of pitches. That popout by Seager to end the game was supposed to be outside & he put it middle-in happy zone.

Edited June 12, 2019 by BattleYourTailOff

[bird]

 

Happiness is having Garver and Cron on the bench last night and not seeing where I'd need to have them pinch hit.

 

 

Yes, this is a remarkable thing! A dozen position players with a 1 WAR or better (a LOT better in most cases). 

 

It seems to be this team's year. Sit two guys down and watch their replacements be run producers.

[USAFChief]

it’s a good thing he’s high velocity cuz he misses his location really badly on a lot of pitches. That popout by Seager to end the game was supposed to be outside & he put it middle-in happy zone.

both Vogelbach and Seager got great swings off May.

[Dantes929]

 

The Twins have't blown many saves because they haven't had very many save opportunities due to the large leads that they've built.  

I considered that but have two counterpoints.    If the pen was as bad as folks here believe then the runs given up by the relievers would offset the large leads creating more save opportunities but instead as you have pointed out there are fewer save opportunities.    Further, the Twins are also number three in save percentage which is a mostly independent stat from opportunities.    None of those teams listed above crack the top 10.   I really just want to point out that it is very rare for a fan base to be happy with their bullpen.    I remember when Jesse Crain went 23 appearances without giving up a run and it seemed like no one noticed.   He then gave up a home run  and fans immediately went back to calling him Crain wreck.     

[RatherBeGolfing]

 

 Is it okay to hope for our third 8-homer game of the season? Or is that asking too much?

 

It has been a few weeks so we are due

[USAFChief]

I did...there was acknowledgment that the bases should have been loaded with nobody out...but not the usual outrage that we get when the call goes the other way. I’m firmly in the ‘let the umpires call the pitches, it’s not a big problem’ camp. But that was one of the worse calls on an extremely high leverage pitch that we’ll see all year.

I'm firmly with you on hating the idea of a machine calling balls and strikes.

 

Terrible idea that remove some of the beauty of the game, while probably not improving the strike zone at all.

[jmlease1]

I thought this umpire was really inconsistent on calling low pitches around the corners. It probably evened out over the course of the game (Seattle appeared to benefit early, Twins benefited late) but it makes for a frustrating game and it's hard on the pitchers and catchers.

 

Polanco was terrific again. 2 leg doubles? Does he have a bet on with Buxton or something?

 

I'm glad May got the 9th, regardless of Rogers status. He needs to throw late innings and the teams needs to know if he's a guy who can close out a game. A bit wobbly last night, but the stuff is there.

 

I feel less concern over this team facing a 2-3 run deficit than any Twins team in a very long time. Very hard to keep this offense down all game.

[Don Walcott]

 

Two of his three walks were to Encarnacion and close to intentional.

He got the following batter Vogelbach to strike out the first two at bats. It is the third at bat against Vogelbach that was bothersome. He stayed on the outside every pitch of that at bat. He needed to trust his stuff and come in hard inside. Eventually Vogelbach three his bat out there and flared one to left for an RBI.

I am not worried about the walks. I do wonder if he is questioning his stuff as he pitches to Encarnacion and even coming inside against Vogelbach.

I think this is exactly right. In the first AB, it was clear Perez didn't want to pitch to EE. In the second AB, it was clear Perez should not be pitching to EE. In the third AB, they shouldn't have forced Perez to pitch to EE. Rather, they should have saved his pitches for Vogelbach, who didn't look like he could hit Perez, until he reached out and blooped one.

 

The way he looks right now, I'm not sure why we'd ever pitch to EE for the rest of this series. Doesn't look like anyone else on that team is going to hurt us. Can't believe the Indians traded him. And I'm worried that he's auditioning for the Astros right now.

[Mike Sixel]

The Twins have't blown many saves because they haven't had very many save opportunities due to the large leads that they've built.

True. But also the pen has been better than expected.

[USAFChief]

I think this is exactly right. In the first AB, it was clear Perez didn't want to pitch to EE. In the second AB, it was clear Perez should not be pitching to EE. In the third AB, they shouldn't have forced Perez to pitch to EE. Rather, they should have saved his pitches for Vogelbach, who didn't look like he could hit Perez, until he reached out and blooped one.

 

The way he looks right now, I'm not sure why we'd ever pitch to EE for the rest of this series. Doesn't look like anyone else on that team is going to hurt us. Can't believe the Indians traded him. And I'm worried that he's auditioning for the Astros right now.

he's certainly auditioning for someone.

[stringer bell]

The league has adjusted to Pérez' adjustments. He'll have to adjust a bit more, but he's got a live arm and enough stuff to be a successful starting pitcher. Regarding Encarnación, he is on most everything right now. I would guess right now the word in the Twins' clubhouse is "don't let that guy beat you".

 

May is walking a tightrope on the mound, but the fastball up is hard to square up. If he could drop an occasional curve in there, and get ahead in counts, he could be really effective. Who sits tonight vs. a soft-tossing lefty? About the only sure thing is that Garver replaces Castro. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Great game, but Perez is starting to become a problem. He doesn't give us enough innings, even for a 5th starter. The rotation has been pretty solid, BUT..

 

(1) We have two guys who go 5 innings at best and rarely more in Pineda and Perez,

(2) Two guys who rarely go beyond 6 innings in Odorizzi and Gibson, and

(3) Only ONE starter who you feel like is likely to/might go 7 innings or more in Berrios.

 

My thinking is that while yes, we need another BP arm or two, another starter who can at least consistently go 6 plus innings might help the BP almost as much by limiting their innings. Is that Smeltzer? Who knows? Another 5 innings or less start or two by Pineda or Perez and I would seriously think about giving Smeltzer a 2-3 game run to see if he's as good as he looked last time. And, I'd do it before the trade deadline because it might impact some thinking. 

The Twins are actually 2nd in the AL in innings pitched per start, just a tiny, tiny sliver behind Houston -- 5.77 vs 5.71. AL average is only 5.15.

 

This is 2019 baseball.

[BattleYourTailOff]

I considered that but have two counterpoints. If the pen was as bad as folks here believe then the runs given up by the relievers would offset the large leads creating more save opportunities but instead as you have pointed out there are fewer save opportunities. Further, the Twins are also number three in save percentage which is a mostly independent stat from opportunities. None of those teams listed above crack the top 10. I really just want to point out that it is very rare for a fan base to be happy with their bullpen. I remember when Jesse Crain went 23 appearances without giving up a run and it seemed like no one noticed. He then gave up a home run and fans immediately went back to calling him Crain wreck.

 

Hahaha. Crain Wreck was a great nickname. You’re right the bullpen does get that NFL kicker treatment from fans but we just remember bullpen failures past in the playoffs and would love to avoid that. Edited June 12, 2019 by BattleYourTailOff

[Doomtints]

 

Great game, but Perez is starting to become a problem. He doesn't give us enough innings, even for a 5th starter. The rotation has been pretty solid, BUT..

 

(1) We have two guys who go 5 innings at best and rarely more in Pineda and Perez,

(2) Two guys who rarely go beyond 6 innings in Odorizzi and Gibson, and

(3) Only ONE starter who you feel like is likely to/might go 7 innings or more in Berrios.

 

My thinking is that while yes, we need another BP arm or two, another starter who can at least consistently go 6 plus innings might help the BP almost as much by limiting their innings. Is that Smeltzer? Who knows? Another 5 innings or less start or two by Pineda or Perez and I would seriously think about giving Smeltzer a 2-3 game run to see if he's as good as he looked last time. And, I'd do it before the trade deadline because it might impact some thinking. 

 

This is by management decision. Baldelli has a very hard 100 pitch max rule, regardless of whether or not the pitcher is getting good results.

 

Yes this puts more pressure on the pen, and yes it's been surprising to all of us that no moves have been made. If the Twins wait until the deadline, the interesting arms will all be gone to whoever the Twins would be facing in the postseason... and there are no waiver wire trades this year.

[gocgo]

I would like to point out that the strikeout pitch to Encarnacion (whatever his name is...the chicken wing guy) was framed nicely while bringing it back into the zone for the umpire.

[Dantes929]

 

Hahaha. Crain Wreck was a great nickname. You’re right the bullpen does get that NFL kicker treatment from fans but we just remember bullpen failures past in the playoffs and would love to avoid that.

The failures I remember in the playoffs were from the #2 reliever in the game at the time.     

[MN_ExPat]

This is by management decision. Baldelli has a very hard 100 pitch max rule, regardless of whether or not the pitcher is getting good results.

 

Yes this puts more pressure on the pen, and yes it's been surprising to all of us that no moves have been made. If the Twins wait until the deadline, the interesting arms will all be gone to whoever the Twins would be facing in the postseason... and there are no waiver wire trades this year.

 

So you’re saying... Go ugly early, because if you go ugly late, all the good ugly ones are gone??

[AlwaysinModeration]

I, personally, am glad that EE is not on Cleveland any more. And also that the Twins beat the Mariners even despite giving up a 3-run bomb to him. Hope they can contain him today and tomorrow at least a bit.

 

I think Perez is alright. Certainly plenty good for a fifth starter for now.

 

May came in with the smallest of margins, and worked out of a (self-induced) jam. I’d chalk that up as a good outing.

[Circus Boy]

As EE sauntered to the plate, I turned to my wife and said, "I don't like this. He knows he's going yard." And so did Perez and every Twins player and every fan in the stands and at home watching telly. Let's be clear: Like Chuck Norris, EE grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage.

 

I'd walk him every time there's men on base.

[VATwinsFan]

 

 Is it okay to hope for our third 8-homer game of the season? Or is that asking too much?

Hope?  I'd say expect or demand.

[bighat]

 

About a year ago, I was a passenger in a friends car. We were driving through a parking lot, we were laughing and joking about something. Without warning, a car started to back out into his path. The backing car nosed out maybe a foot but must have saw us, because the car stopped and waited for him to go by.

Of course, the backing car did start to back out and this made my friend kinda apply the brakes a little and maybe slightly adjust the wheel to the left before straightening out and continuing on as normal.

When this happened... my friend went from mid-sentence in the middle of an uncompleted joke to screaming, cussing, out of his mind angry at the idiot driver who started to back out.

Twinsdaily can be that way sometimes.

 

Count me in as one of those people. When Sano struck out in the 8th....grrrr....when May put 2 on in the 9th...grrr...

 

But man. Think about how many teams out there are hovering around .500 and watching their guys just blow games left and right. Think about how last year at this time we were still holding out hope as we watched Dozier and Mauer and Robbie Grossman and Fernando Rodney every night. Man....last year, a bad game would or a bad week from a player would just kill this team. These days, a bad week from a player doesn't even matter because this team is so deep. Weird getting used to this.

[Dantes929]

 

Hope?  I'd say expect or demand.

They will hit x home runs tonight.   I don't think our hope, expectations or demands will change the x to y or z.

[Riverbrian]

 

Yesterday was Tuesday, June 11 and it was the 65th game of the year.  The Twins are now 40%  of the way through the season.  Out of 59 years, the current team ranks 33rd on the all-time list of Twins' home runs in one season and are on a pace to hit 317 home runs this season..

 

I just wanted to mention that I appreciate your consistency of these posts. 

[Riverbrian]

 

Yes, this is a remarkable thing! A dozen position players with a 1 WAR or better (a LOT better in most cases). 

 

It seems to be this team's year. Sit two guys down and watch their replacements be run producers.

 

This is how a team becomes bulletproof. The Dodgers and Cubs have been doing it this way for awhile now. I am so pleased that the Twins have followed that path and are doing even better with it at the moment. 

 

Now if the Twins can take the same approach on the mound... We might end up being used to this contention thing for a long long time. 

[Riverbrian]

 

he's certainly auditioning for someone.

 

EE auditioning for another team would be like you auditioning for a bowling team.

 

You've rolled a ball or two in front of others.  

 

 

[BattleYourTailOff]

They will hit x home runs tonight.   I don't think our hope, expectations or demands will change the x to y or z.

I demand they hit at least y homeruns but z would be best.

[Riverbrian]

 

You're probably right about that although it's a statistic that can be impacted by short starts or the use of an opener where your starter only goes and inning or two. We've been fortunate in that we haven't had a lot of short stats and haven't used any (?) openers. As another poster pointed out, the Twins are also impacted by what appears to be a pretty hard 100-105 pitch limit that Baldelli uses. 

 

This all points out to me that (1) we have to have an 8 man BP if we're going to use this system (means no Arreaz, Astudillo or Cave), and that  (2) we either need 2 BP arms by the deadline or 1 BP and 1 quality starter. Absent that, this BP will be running on fumes by mid to late August. Also, God help us if we lose Berrios or Rogers for any extended period. 

 

The very second we have an injury to the rotation, or end up with a larger number of short starts... the bullpen will have to pick up the slack. It works that way. 

 

This team is playoff bound, offensively this team is World Series possible. The front office HAS TO add depth on the mound... this means finding either starters or a complete bullpen full of talent to make up any quality innings loss from our current rotation.

 

Plus, we have 3 free agents in our midst. I fully expect the front office to make a trade for a starter with at least another year of control and I expect a couple of high impact bullpen arms in addition. 

 

If the front office doesn't support this team with mound acquisitions... they should have their drivers license suspended. 

 

[james2334]

 

it’s a good thing he’s high velocity cuz he misses his location really badly on a lot of pitches. That popout by Seager to end the game was supposed to be outside & he put it middle-in happy zone.

The velocity is the only reason he's effective and when you think of it both seattle players, that popped out to end the game, stepped into the box looking dead red fastball the whole way. Both players got those fastballs in the hitting zone, but neither guy could do anything with it because of the velocity. If he could spot his curveball or incorporate the occasional change up he could be downright filthy. 

[AlwaysinModeration]

I demand they hit at least y homeruns but z would be best.

Bombas. Bombas.