Article: Twins Game Recap (7/12): Late Rally, Bullpen Power Stunning Comeback Win

[In My La Z boy]

Agreed brute. Gibson is enough to drive you nuts. I also see Pineda getting better and better. I am about ready to vote Gibson to the pen if we pick up a stud starter. He's unbeatable for 2-3-4 innings and then...sometimes wriggles out, sometimes not. I don't have confidence in him starting a playoff game. I wish I did. Nice win! Better to be lucky than good on this one. I'll take it.

[bighat]

 

Twins got lucky tonight.

 

Sano reaches on an error, Adrianza a walk, Kepler on an infield hit (he did hustle his way on base for sure), and Polanco gets the game-winner on a catchable ball.

 

I'll take luck, because baseball is full of it, but, not a game they outplayed the other team.

 

Yeah, if you put money on the Indians in Vegas or if you're a Cleveland fan, you see it as a "bad beat". From one of their fan pages:

 

"Goody got a little anxious on a Miguel Sano groundball hit right to him and couldn’t make a throw to first, and three batters later Francisco Lindor almost made a spectacular play to throw out Max Kepler, but he was a half-second late. A batter after that, Oscar Mercado terribly misplayed a Jorge Polanco fly ball and suddenly the Twins had their first lead of the night at 4-3. If even one of those things broke the Indians’ way, maybe this game ends differently."

 

That said, the ball didn't exactly bounce the Twins way either. Miguel Sano hit a double off the top of the wall with a man on 1st. Arraez was kinda deeked by the OF and didn't score on that double. And Sano was just THIS CLOSE to hitting it out. If that ball goes 5 more feet it's a 3-3 ball game and the rest is a moot point. So keep in mind while the Twins got lucky, the Indians were pretty lucky too.

[Han Joelo]

Morris was pretty exasperated with Gibson as well, on the TV.  His slow approach, and especially his inability to bear down after giving up a solo homer.

 

As a Twins fan, it's always felt like we came out on the wrong side of these "luck" based games.  Adrianza's throw, Mercado's read, Goody's flub, the Perez throwout attempt (that was like even Steven luck--horrible throw, but it hit an ump, preventing another base.)

 

However, what Rogers did to those guys was the farthest thing from luck.

 

And the Indians were pretty lucky that the Twins didn't hit better with RISP last night.  (I did it! I kept myself from double pluralizing RISP!)

 

Almost as good as Rogers' finish, however, was Buxton's last AB.  After a three pitch flail-fest where he looked like the Buck of Yore, he fixed his approach and just missed pounding one off (or over) the wall.

[IndianaTwin]

Twins got lucky tonight.

 

Sano reaches on an error, Adrianza a walk, Kepler on an infield hit (he did hustle his way on base for sure), and Polanco gets the game-winner on a catchable ball.

 

I'll take luck, because baseball is full of it, but, not a game they outplayed the other team.

But if you want to discount the three Twins runs as not being deserved, you have to do the same with the two Cleveland got that weren’t deserved, and then our two solo homers beat their one.

 

Was it their best audition for the Tom Emanski video series? No. But it was well-played in terms of battling their tails off and picking each other up.

[diehardtwinsfan]

We got he first one in this critical series... win one more and I'm happy. Win two and I'm ecstatic. 

[Doomtints]

Another game, another pair of throwing errors by the Twins infield.

 

The Twins infielders seem to have a special affection for sloppy play when Gibson starts, though the infielders are starting to share the love with everybody.

[rdehring]

What a win.  I know I thought the game was lost after not scoring a couple times in the middle innings when we had chances.

 

Trevor May looks to me like a guy that should be a shut down reliever.  Big, strong guy who throws hard.  Plus, being a former starter he has several good pitches to work with.  If he can build on his recent performances and become that dominant late inning guy we thought we had, this bullpen isn't that far from being very good.

 

One trade for a very good short reliever who isn't a rental and on to the playoffs with the guys that got'em there.  Well, maybe also a lefty rental to replace Mejia.  So I guess that's two moves, but only one should cost any serious prospects.  

[lukeduke1980]

Totally agree with the sentiment of not wanting Gibby anywhere near a playoff game. Hopefully he's just out of his routine and he can regain some normalcy as a solid #4.

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

A win today and tomorrow would be golden! Silver = 2 out of three. Avoiding a sweep in Cleveland means a bronze, methinks.

[pierre75275]

Maybe using Gibson in relief and as an opener wasnt the best idea.

[Penthang]

Right now I’m feeling like Gibson is the guy you move to the bullpen when you shorten the rotation for the playoffs.

I think at this point most people would agree that Berrios and Odorizzi are games 1 & 2 then it’s between Pérez and Pineda. Pineda has really come on lately and Pérez has surprised most of us despite a string of starts where he wasn’t great. If the Twins can bring in someone who can vie for on of the first two game spots great, then that pushes Odorizzi down a slot and probably Pérez to the pen (I just can’t picture Pineda coming out of the pen). Gibson + Pérez in the pen for the playoffs? Maybe that’s a good solution? It still revolves around getting a front of the rotation guy.

[ashbury]

Twins got lucky tonight.

 

Sano reaches on an error, Adrianza a walk, Kepler on an infield hit (he did hustle his way on base for sure), and Polanco gets the game-winner on a catchable ball.

 

I'll take luck, because baseball is full of it, but, not a game they outplayed the other team.

So when we get breaks it's lucky, but when the other team gets them it proves our guys' lack of what it takes, or something?

 

Other teams get seeing-eye singles against us. That's basically what Kepler's overturned out-call was, had it been called correctly in the first place. (And I'm not faulting the ump on that, we're in a new era of precision that made no sense in times past.)

 

Sano committed an error, then got on base from one. That's the breaks evening out for the team, perhaps a little more directly than sometimes.

 

Their CFer misjudged a fly and didn't go in the right direction immediately. Last year Jake Cave was placed on my Do Not Fly list for an opposite mistake (diving and missing on a dying quail) that lost a game on the spot. It happens.

 

I feel such a lack of balance, in our collective reactions to events as they unfold. Every bad thing happens because of lack of ... something. Every good thing is luck.

 

We have a good team. We won a game. I enjoyed the part that I tuned in for - am I lucky, or did the breaks just even out for me?

[Mike Sixel]

Rocco did a great job last night.

[mickeymental]

 

Thieres, did you really have this posted seven minutes after the final pitch? Wow!

that's how the a.p. gets it done: write the game as if it's over after the seventh, then add changes to the top of the story. good job thieres, bravo twins daily!

[terrydactyls]

Two plays I would like to see on ESPN highlights are the pitch Perez framed for the umpire even though it bounced eight feet in front of home plate.  Priceless.  And the second base umpire so surprised by Perez' attempt to catch Buxton stealing second that he couldn't get out the way and got hit in the back.  Talk about bad luck for the Twins!  Buxton might have scored on that error.

[USAFChief]

Two plays I would like to see on ESPN highlights are the pitch Perez framed for the umpire even though it bounced eight feet in front of home plate. Priceless. And the second base umpire so surprised by Perez' attempt to catch Buxton stealing second that he couldn't get out the way and got hit in the back. Talk about bad luck for the Twins! Buxton might have scored on that error.

Concur on the Perez "frame."

 

Laugh. Out. Loud.

[PDX Twin]

 

But if you want to discount the three Twins runs as not being deserved, you have to do the same with the two Cleveland got that weren’t deserved, and then our two solo homers beat their one.

Was it their best audition for the Tom Emanski video series? No. But it was well-played in terms of battling their tails off and picking each other up.

 

Agreed. Neither team looked like a quality team last night. Both made enough mistakes to deserve to lose. Rogers was the difference.

[Riverbrian]

 

So when we get breaks it's lucky, but when the other team gets them it proves our guys' lack of what it takes, or something?

 

Other teams get seeing-eye singles against us. That's basically what Kepler's overturned out-call was, had it been called correctly in the first place. (And I'm not faulting the ump on that, we're in a new era of precision that made no sense in times past.)

 

Sano committed an error, then got on base from one. That's the breaks evening out for the team, perhaps a little more directly than sometimes.

 

Their CFer misjudged a fly and didn't go in the right direction immediately. Last year Jake Cave was placed on my Do Not Fly list for an opposite mistake (diving and missing on a dying quail) that lost a game on the spot. It happens.

 

I feel such a lack of balance, in our collective reactions to events as they unfold. Every bad thing happens because of lack of ... something. Every good thing is luck.

 

We have a good team. We won a game. I enjoyed the part that I tuned in for - am I lucky, or did the breaks just even out for me?

 

Yep

 

There are two teams trying to win. Two teams making mistakes. Both teams must be factored in the evaluation afterwards... yet rarely are because the fan base tends to focus on their team as if the other team had nothing to do with it.  

 

 

[wabene]

"If even one of those things broke the Indians’ way, maybe this game ends differently."

 

Maybe, maybe....ah let's go Odo!

[yarnivek1972]

Still no Rosario for Saturday. Cave in LF, Arraez at 3b, Gonzalez at 1b. Sano DNP - coaches decision.

[jokin]

 

Yeah, if you put money on the Indians in Vegas or if you're a Cleveland fan, you see it as a "bad beat". From one of their fan pages:

 

"Goody got a little anxious on a Miguel Sano groundball hit right to him and couldn’t make a throw to first, and three batters later Francisco Lindor almost made a spectacular play to throw out Max Kepler, but he was a half-second late. A batter after that, Oscar Mercado terribly misplayed a Jorge Polanco fly ball and suddenly the Twins had their first lead of the night at 4-3. If even one of those things broke the Indians’ way, maybe this game ends differently."

 

That said, the ball didn't exactly bounce the Twins way either. Miguel Sano hit a double off the top of the wall with a man on 1st. Arraez was kinda deeked by the OF and didn't score on that double. And Sano was just THIS CLOSE to hitting it out. If that ball goes 5 more feet it's a 3-3 ball game and the rest is a moot point.

 

So keep in mind while the Twins got lucky, the Indians were pretty lucky too.

 

Especially THIS, Twins had lots of hard hit balls right at Indian defenders. The game of baseball is one of both inches and split second decision-making.

 

I don't get folks expecting repeat perfection from athletes. Especially coming off of four days off- timing is bound to be off at some point. Re- Polanco's wicked line drive "misplay" to CF.... The hardest play to read for an OF is the line drive directly over his head. To make that play the CF had to make a perfect and instant read right off Polanco's bat contacting the baseball.

Edited July 13, 2019 by jokin

[DocBauer]

I still believe in Gibson, and my faith is wavering only a little. There has been real growth and an emergence from him the past 1 1/2 seasons. Giving him an excuse/break for his first few starts while building up strength, he has been up and down. But you have to look at the good/great starts and not just the poor ones.

 

There is still time for him to even out.

 

This bullpen has been surprising good for about a month now. I'm not saying it doesnt need a couple arms for a real WS run, but the pen has been good. Someone has 1 bad game and the entire pen is "blowing up" right before our eyes.

 

That's just not the case. In fact, with May improving, Duffey pitching the best he's ever pitched, and Littell looking like a keeper, the opposite is true.

[jokin]

 

Agreed. Neither team looked like a quality team last night. Both made enough mistakes to deserve to lose. Rogers was the difference.

 

And yet, after that fluke single off of Rogers in the 8th, just one pitch left just a fraction more up and out over the plate to Ramirez (OPSing .875 in last 15 games), instead of a bang bang DP, Ramirez ties the game. And then Rogers is the "goat."

[Darius]

It’s truly amazing what Cleveland has been able to do with pitching. I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like it.

 

Clevinger is getting incredibly good. It would not surprise me at all to see him win a Cy Young in the next couple of years. They just keep churning these aces out of their system at an unbelievable rate.

[yarnivek1972]

It’s truly amazing what Cleveland has been able to do with pitching. I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like it.

 

Clevinger is getting incredibly good. It would not surprise me at all to see him win a Cy Young in the next couple of years. They just keep churning these aces out of their system at an unbelievable rate.

It’s worth noting that Mr. Falvey was heavily involved in making that happen. Not only from a draft standpoint, but presumably from a developmental one.

 

Don’t want to get too far off on a tangent, but player development, especially pitching, is where the Twins need to show improvement from the previous regime in order to create sustainable success (as Falvey likes to call it).

Edited July 13, 2019 by yarnivek1972