Article: MIN 2, KC 0: Gibson Shines on Night Honoring Mauer, Prince

[Thiéres Rabelo]

It was a special night for Joe Mauer and for the memory of Prince, as both Minnesota legends were honored before a sellout crowd at Target Field. But it sure was also a very special night for Kyle Gibson, as he was dealing, and hopefully regained some momentum in the season.Box Score

Gibson: 8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 62.5% strikes (55 of 88 pitches)

Bullpen: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

 

Home Runs: Garver (11)

Multi-Hit Games: Adrianza (2-for-3)

 

WPA of +0.1: Gibson .566, Garver .276

WPA of -0.1: Polanco -.133, Rosario -.133, Schoop -.279

Download attachment: Win614.png

(chart via FanGraphs)

 

What we witnessed tonight wasn't even new. Gibson has been one of the most solid and trustworthy starters for the Twins in roughly the past two years. However, he was coming off a very rough start in which he gave up five earned runs over five innings against the Tigers last Saturday. That was the fourth time this season he gave up at least four earned runs.

 

Still, he's got plenty of credit. Entering the game, Gibby already led the Twins starters this year in swinging strike rate, at 13.9%, a career high for him. That ranks 14th among all pitchers in baseball. And this was the version of Kyle that led the Twins in this game, as he got 11 swinging strikes. During the sixth inning, Gibby also became the 11th pitcher in history to toss 1,000 innings in a Twins uniform. A nice addition to go with the night of memories and milestones,

 

The offense had a rare bad game, as the Twins' lineup struggled against Royals' starter Brad Keller. He gave up only three hits. The Twins went 0-for-5 with men in scoring position and grounded into two double plays. But this is the 2019 Twins offense we're talking about.

 

They managed to win this game with one swing of the bat late, as Mitch Garver hit a clutch home run in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Jake Diekman.

 

 

Bullpen Usage

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

Download attachment: Pen614.png

 

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[terrydactyls]

Today is Friday, June 14 and it was the 68th game of the year.  The Twins are now 42%  of the way through the season.  Out of 59 years, the current team ranks 29th on the all-time list of Twins' home runs in one season and are on a pace to hit 317 home runs this season.

[Cglidds]

Gibby gets it done! No nibbling tonight! Well done!

[Aerodeliria]

The high-scoring games are a lot of fun, but I love the low scoring W's.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Great pitchers' duel tonight. I enjoyed it very much.  Gibby was awesome all night. Do any of you think he should have gone out to pitch the ninth inning? I would have liked that...but Rocco wants to win ball games. I guess that is the purpose of the game. And win they did.

[Seth Stohs]

Some great stuff after the game:

 

Asked when he knew he had all four pitches tonight, Gibson said "It definitely wasn't in the bullpen. That was about as erratic as I've been in awhile. Just didn't feel good. I don't know what was going on. I feel like I slept on my right arm last night."

 

Gibson said that he didn't know if he would or wouldn't pitch until after the Garver home run. "It wasn't a discussion until Garv hit the homer, then they got Rog hot."

 

Asked if he cared about whether or not he got the 9th, Gibson said, "I always care. Rocco and Wes and everybody that's been around me knows that I never want to come out of the game. I asked if I could go until I got a runner on, and he quickly said No, they were bringing Rog in."

 

To reach 1000 innings with the Twins: "It's pretty cool. It really caught me off guard." He continued, "For it to happen and catch me off guard is really cool. I have a lot to be thankful for. It's been a really fun organization to be a part ot."

[Seth Stohs]

I added Garver's post-game interview to the article... He's got good stuff on Gibson's performance but also on the huge home run... Love that he went up there thinking homer... then had to step out and re-set himself... Didn't know it was out... He also basically admitted that he peaked at the launch angle and exit velocity as he rounded the bases and said that it's pretty much exactly what you want. First curtain call. The emotion of the moment. The fan reaction... pretty special.

[Monticore]

Gibson was terrific but I'm glad he brought in Rogers.

[Thiéres Rabelo]

 

Some great stuff after the game:

 

Asked when he knew he had all four pitches tonight, Gibson said "It definitely wasn't in the bullpen. That was about as erratic as I've been in awhile. Just didn't feel good. I don't know what was going on. I feel like I slept on my right arm last night."

 

Gibson said that he didn't know if he would or wouldn't pitch until after the Garver home run. "It wasn't a discussion until Garv hit the homer, then they got Rog hot."

 

Asked if he cared about whether or not he got the 9th, Gibson said, "I always care. Rocco and Wes and everybody that's been around me knows that I never want to come out of the game. I asked if I could go until I got a runner on, and he quickly said No, they were bringing Rog in."

 

To reach 1000 innings with the Twins: "It's pretty cool. It really caught me off guard." He continued, "For it to happen and catch me off guard is really cool. I have a lot to be thankful for. It's been a really fun organization to be a part ot."

I'd love to see Gibby getting that 9th, but after reading that interview, I kind of feel happy to see how assertive this coaching staff actually is. Excellent insight, Seth! Thank you!

[jz7233]

 

Gibson was terrific but I'm glad he brought in Rogers.

Unfortunately only one Rogers in the bullpen. I really don't think Rogers needed for this game.

[wallyrichards]

Great job by Gibby, Garver and Rodgers tonight. I didn't realize Glen Perkins was Amish lol JK. Happy to see Gibson go 8 innings so we didn't have to use anyone other than Rodgers. Best guy out of the  bull pen. Not sure how Hildenberger is doing down on the farm but they may want to look at bringing him backup because we have some real issues. One other thing do we need a hole weekend to honor Joe? I mean the guy made a dump truck full of money what else are they going to give him? 

[MNT1996]

Adrianza is almost hitting .290. Crazy.

[wallyrichards]

 

Adrianza is almost hitting .290. Crazy.

He's underrated, doesn't complain and I'm glad we got him.  

[bighat]

 

One other thing do we need a hole weekend to honor Joe? I mean the guy made a dump truck full of money what else are they going to give him? 

 

So because an athlete made a lot of money, the Twins shouldn't spend a "hole weekend" honoring him? He's the first catcher to win 3 batting titles. Oh yeah, he's also got an MVP Award and is chasing the Hall of Fame. Arguably a top 5 athlete in the state's history. The Twins would be crazy not to honor Mauer in this fashion. Sure, while many of us have moved on, there are tons of Twins fans who will never have enough Joe M. from Cretin-Derham Hall. This season is brimming with feel-good stories, why not keep the good times rolling?

 

Gibby was great tonight. Let's get 'em tomorrow.

[Dantes929]

Thanks for the recap.  Any chance we can bring back the section that has the times, dates and possile matchups for the next three games.    I know.   I'm lazy.    Nice win tonight.   I personally think the distress over the pen is over the top especially with Rogers back.    You want to see a bad bullpen go look at the 1987 Twins stats.   Best ERA on that bullpen was 3.94.   By far the best.   We have 5 guys with at least 15 appearances that beat that and most by a big margin.   Of course it would be nice to add a dependable arm or two but we had some solid bullpens last decade and they all went through worse stretches than this.   All relievers and all bullpens give up runs and give up leads.   Seriously.   Go look it up.

[Seth Stohs]

 

One other thing do we need a hole weekend to honor Joe? I mean the guy made a dump truck full of money what else are they going to give him? 

 

1.) Yes, but

2.) Last night, they only really honored Mauer (and his wife Maddie) for their work in the community. 

 

 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

 

Great job by Gibby, Garver and Rodgers tonight. I didn't realize Glen Perkins was Amish lol JK. Happy to see Gibson go 8 innings so we didn't have to use anyone other than Rodgers. Best guy out of the  bull pen. Not sure how Hildenberger is doing down on the farm but they may want to look at bringing him backup because we have some real issues. One other thing do we need a hole weekend to honor Joe? I mean the guy made a dump truck full of money what else are they going to give him? 

Respect.

[Blake]

I find it interesting that Gibson was pulled even though he was never really in trouble last night.

 

Great way to go, though. 8 innings by Gibson then Rodgers to finish the game.

 

Maybe this game is the "El Gasolina" moment for this team, where the bullpen was frayed then Berenguer came in for a spot start and threw 8 innings?

[DocBauer]

Early in the season Gibson struggled some, understandably as he was re-gainng strength and getting his arm in full shape, and only lasting 4-5 IP. But in those starts, you could STILL see the Gibson we expected. I don't have numbers in front of me, but the last month or so he has looked and performed as expected. (Yes, a clunker or 2, but everyone has those including Berrios). This is the 2nd or 3rd time we've seen Gibby just be dominant for a game.

 

Even when he was "struggling" I mentioned on more than one occasion he would be fine and he and Berrios were still our top two rotation arms. (Which is also why I've argued repeatedly for an extension as well). Now, I never suspected Odorizzi would morph/develop in to an ACE. And make no mistake, at this moment in time, Odorizzi IS an ACE even if he isn't a consistent 7IP starter.

 

I have understood calls to acquire another SP "better than" Berrios or Gibson. To be fair, it's not as if there is a market place somewhere stocked with such an item. Those two guys are pretty darn good! And with Odorizzi throwing the way he is, I'd say our front 3 stack up with just about anyone in baseball.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Despite general board consternation over Gibson, probably because of his E.coli induced rough start, Kyle has quietly put up a better 2019 than 2018.

 

His K% is up 3.1%.

 

His BB% is down a whopping 4.1%.

 

His FIP is down 0.28.

[wabene]

One for the suggestion box: I like how you have pared down the top twenty list to only those who played. Now that you have a little extra space how about having a season stat line to go with their days performance for overall perspective (for the lazy man)?

[ewen21]

 

I find it interesting that Gibson was pulled even though he was never really in trouble last night.

 

Great way to go, though. 8 innings by Gibson then Rodgers to finish the game.

 

Maybe this game is the "El Gasolina" moment for this team, where the bullpen was frayed then Berenguer came in for a spot start and threw 8 innings?

I refuse to listen to anyone who would complain about Gibby not getting a complete game.  YES he had only 88 pitches thrown and two hits allowed with just three outs to go.  It would have been great to see a complete game, but then I have a hard time questioning it.  We won.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Unfortunately only one Rogers in the bullpen. I really don't think Rogers needed for this game.

It was a close game and Rogers hadn't pitched in eight (!) days.

 

It was a smart move to bring in Taylor. He needed game action to stay fresh and the game was close enough that bringing in your best reliever for the ninth made sense.

 

The Twins are playing the Royals, not the Yankees. Odorizzi starts today. There's a good chance Rogers isn't even needed for the rest of the series and I'd much rather see Rogers pitch a meaningful ninth last night than to pitch the eighth in an 8-3 game tomorrow just because his arm needs to throw an inning.

[Riverbrian]

 

Unfortunately only one Rogers in the bullpen. I really don't think Rogers needed for this game.

 

Gibson pitched great, Rogers is back. The Twins win. 

 

"Unfortunately" is the first word you type. 

 

 

 

[lukeduke1980]

I liked KCs pitcher keller. Nice aggressive approach.

[USAFChief]

Gibson pitched great, Rogers is back. The Twins win.

 

"Unfortunately" is the first word you type.

well it IS unfortunate.

 

Complete game wins are worth more in the standings than regular wins.

[jmlease1]

Gibson's stuff has been looking good all year, it's felt like just a matter of time before he put it all together again. (LENIII was on this track re: Gibson yesterday on KFAN) KC's a good team to get well against right now, but I feel pretty good about Gibson regardless. I totally agree with the decision to pull him for the 9th and send in Rogers. It's the right play based on the game situation, our bullpen situation, and our team.

 

The rest of June is interesting from a schedule perspective: KC, Bos, KC, TB, CHW. Quite a few wins to found there, and an opportunity to push the White Sox into seller territory.

[Don Walcott]

I would have like to see the CG, especially as everything was lining up perfectly for it. But it was also good to see Rogers back.

 

That's "Rogers" who is our best reliever and potential All-Star, not "Rodgers." Seriously, can we all just get the spelling of this guy's name right from now on?

[h2oface]

First of all, to all the Nibwits, I swear I heard Gibson all the way out here in LA, yell "BITE ME!" during his after game shower. Never fear, the nibwits will still be holding on to the past and will be biting at the bit to bring out their favorite, tired, lame greatest hit at the first sign of a bit of a control struggle in a future game. They just can't help themselves, like a skipping vinyl record.

 

What a great game...... to win. It would have been a tragically sad one to lose. But good teams win the close ones. I have no problem, as it turned out, to have Rogers, on his first appearance back from the minor back problem that made him sit and rest, close out the game. 

 

But.....count me as one that still wants to see the rare complete game shutout. This was not a game that was pushing a pitcher that had already reached 120 pitches after the 8th. He was averaging 11 pitches per inning, and at 88, throwing a 2 hitter, was still dominating. And he now had a 2 run lead. You could send him out and see if he goes 1-2-3. If he gets a runner on, Rogers is still ready, and he can just ignore that runner, and pretend he started the inning with a one run lead, and the bases empty.

 

Mind games aside, there was no downside whatsoever to let Gibson start the 9th and give him a shot at the shutout. Silly vanity stats, you say? Not near as silly as equating 12 pitches under 100 in a game, ONE GAME, a shutout game that is so rare these days.......one game in June.... to be so important for saving him in October. And complete game shutouts still mean a lot to a starter. That alone, and the added confidence it can give him, is worth giving him the 9th.

[h2oface]

 

That's "Rogers" who is our best reliever and potential All-Star, not "Rodgers." Seriously, can we all just get the spelling of this guy's name right from now on?

 

Good luck with that. I still see Gaterol (he wants his r back) all the time, at least 5 to 6 different versions of Kirilloff, and Pressly is still getting abused and he isn't even on the team any more. Plus waiting in the wings...... Balazovic and Rortvedt, among others. Rogers seems like a relatively easy one to conquer, though (I hope I don't falter, myself). Hell, I still see an occasional Maurer! (Hey, there is where Graterol's r went)