Article: Twins Game Recap (7/25): Bomba Squad Cruz to Win

[AJ Condon]

Nelson Cruz and the Minnesota Twins continued their hitting hot-streak and jumped on Lucas Giolito and the White Sox. Jose Berrios finally got some run support and picked up his first win since June 6. Poppen put up two shutout innings as the Twins' bullpen gets another break.Box Score

Berrios: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 75.5% strikes (80 of 106 pitches)

Bullpen (Poppen): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

 

Home Runs: Cruz 3 (25), Kepler (26), Sano (17)

Multi-Hit Games: Cruz (3-5, 3 HR), Sano (2-4, HR), Buxton (2-4, 2 2B)

 

Top 3 WPA: Berrios .111, Kepler .140, Cruz .377

Bottom 3 WPA: Buxton -.048, Garver -.040, Polanco -.034

 

Offense Continues to Thrive

 

Nelson Cruz has now homered in the last four games, and has seven home runs in the last six games. He came into tonight’s game with 382 home runs in his career, but did something for the first time in his career tonight. It came against the ace of the Sox as he faced him three times and hit three home runs. Giolito came into this game giving up only 10 home runs, but surrendered five to the league’s best home run hitting team.

 

His first home run was a solo shot and went 473 feet that set a record for the longest home run in Guaranteed Rate Stadium in the Statcast era. His second and third home runs traveled 433 and 430 feet, respectively, and came with a runner on. His home run distance added up to 1,336 total feet and all three balls went to three different spots on the field.

 

 

Max Kepler and Miguel Sano each got in on the home run fun by hitting two-run home runs of their own. Byron Buxton brought his energy back to the lineup by extending a single into a double and hitting a stand-up double in the eighth.

 

Berrios’ Quality Start

 

After seeing some of the worst pitching of the season throughout the last series, Jose Berrios came in and showed why he is the ace of this ball club. Though this long start was a night late, it still came at a good time as most of the bullpen was able to have another night off.

 

Though Berrios has been pitching outstanding this year, he hasn’t picked up a win since June 6 solely because of the lack of run support in those games. He had an ERA of 2.65 through seven starts in 44 2/3 innings. Tonight was no different from Berrios, but completely different from the offense.

 

Berrios was locked in tonight as he gave up only two earned runs, one unearned, through seven innings. He managed to strikeout eight batters, getting five on his four-seam fastball, two with his changeup, and only one on his dirty slider. He also was able to get 17 swinging strikes.

 

Poppen Continues AAA Success

 

During a series that no Twins’ pitcher cares to remember, there were three standouts, and all of them were in AAA before the series started. With the bullpen getting worked so much recently, another move happened before today’s game that brought up Sean Poppen for the second time this year.

 

After the three call-ups from last series gave up just two runs in 9 2/3 innings, Poppen continued their recent success tonight. In his first inning of work, Jose Abreu helped him out by not retouching second base on his way back to first after a fly ball and Rosario tossed it to Schoop to double him up. He then struck out James McCann to end the eighth.

 

He worked through an easy 1-2-3 ninth inning to finish the game and his second appearance of the year. He got a weak ground ball and struck out the final two batters with his slider.

 

Poppen’s stuff looked really good, but struggled with his control a little. His fastball has good movement on it and sits around 94-95 MPH and he really likes to use his sinker and sliders. They both have great movement and some White Sox hitters swung at some pitches in the other box.

 

 

Postgame With Baldelli

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days.

 

Click here to view the article

[MMMordabito]

Wow, Nelson Cruz!

 

Glad he's on my team!

[AceWrigley]

Cruz's homer awesomeness is akin to Thome. Amazing.

[Darius]

That was a satisfying offensive performance. We needed a win like that.

 

How freaking good is Sano lately. He’s now OPSing .940 over his last 30 (aka, more than a month). For reference, Alex Bregman is OPSing in the neighborhood of the low .920s over the last two years (his best two by far). Alex Rodriguez, Chipper Jones, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Vlad Guerrero, Miguel Cabrera, and Edgar Martinez have career OPS in the .930s.

 

Sano is playing like a superstar right now. Not saying he will, but if he can keep this up, he’s one of the top 5-10 hitters in the league. It sure looks to be for real, though.

 

Everyone is always so concerned about where he plays defensively. If he keeps hitting like this it doesn’t matter, just get him in the lineup.

[Monticore]

Meanwhile, Cleveland never loses.

[twinsfanstreif]

How did Buxton go 2-4 with 2 doubles and still have a negative value? Did I miss something?

[twinsfanstreif]

Freaking Cleveland! How in the world do they keep doing this? They're not crushing everyone, just winning by one run every night!

[diehardtwinsfan]

Cruz has been a force this year... I'm quite glad the FO stepped up and signed him.

[Old Twins Cap]

Sano maturing at the plate.

 

Unfortunately, in the field, he looking like a rookie at 1B. Sure, he will get better, but we're in the playoff hunt and 1B handles the ball a lot.

[puckstopper1]

Finally a good start on the hill for the Twins. 

 

Way to go Jose!

 

Hopefully the next several starters will be able to follow Jose's lead...

Edited July 26, 2019 by puckstopper1

[mikelink45]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/sports/baseball/minnesota-twins-home-runs-record.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_190726?campaign_id=2&instance_id=11095&segment_id=15570&user_id=df677009e65a80ff046d9aedfdc120f5&regi_id=275511920726

 

An article in the NYT about the Bomba squad

[Tom Froemming]

Some highlights here. This was kind of a weird game. There was a strange interference call that turned a sure out into basically a leadoff double, but Jose managed to pitch around it. Anyway, all the bombas, Berrios Ks and Buxton doubles are in here if you're interested.

[USAFChief]

 

Some highlights here. This was kind of a weird game. There was a strange interference call that turned a sure out into basically a leadoff double, but Jose managed to pitch around it. Anyway, all the bombas, Berrios Ks and Buxton doubles are in here if you're interested.

*obstruction call    

 

This is probably neither here nor there, but as a "ute" i was taught, when caught in a rundown, "run into someone if you get half a chance. You might get the call." 

 

It was close, but I think there's a reasonable argument to be made the call was technically correct. It's on Schoop to get out of the way, by rule.

 

I thought the bigger mistake was to relax when the throw came into second, and assume the play was over. If he plays the play out, takes a quick step towards the baserunner--who had given up--he tags him and the play is over.

 

EDIT: Also, these highlight packages are teh awesome!

[alarp33]

 

*obstruction call    

 

This is probably neither here nor there, but as a "ute" i was taught, when caught in a rundown, "run into someone if you get half a chance. You might get the call." 

 

It was close, but I think there's a reasonable argument to be made the call was technically correct. It's on Schoop to get out of the way.

 

I thought the bigger mistake was to relax when the throw came into second, and assume the play was over. If he plays the play out, takes a quick step towards the baserunner--who had given up--he tags him and the play is over.

 

It was certainly a smart play by the runner, that is what they are taught. 

 

Personally I think the umpire very much bailed him out when he didn't need to though. The runner turned way too far towards the outfield, and reached his arm out to make contact with Schoop. You have 3 feet to establish your new baseline, and I think he went further out than that

[AceWrigley]

 

Freaking Cleveland! How in the world do they keep doing this? They're not crushing everyone, just winning by one run every night!

Terry Francona is a very good manager.

[JW24]

 

How did Buxton go 2-4 with 2 doubles and still have a negative value? Did I miss something?

I was surprised to see this as well, but I suspect WPA takes situational hitting into account. Buxton's two doubles came after the game was essentially out of reach, so there was minimal Win Probability to add to the game. Just a guess though.

[Riverbrian]

 

*obstruction call    

 

This is probably neither here nor there, but as a "ute" i was taught, when caught in a rundown, "run into someone if you get half a chance. You might get the call." 

 

It was close, but I think there's a reasonable argument to be made the call was technically correct. It's on Schoop to get out of the way, by rule.

 

I thought the bigger mistake was to relax when the throw came into second, and assume the play was over. If he plays the play out, takes a quick step towards the baserunner--who had given up--he tags him and the play is over.

 

EDIT: Also, these highlight packages are teh awesome!

 

I won't argue the call without a tape measure. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

Freaking Cleveland! How in the world do they keep doing this? They're not crushing everyone, just winning by one run every night!

They went 14.. hopefully that tires out their pen for a couple days. 

[KFEY93]

 

Sano maturing at the plate.

 

Unfortunately, in the field, he looking like a rookie at 1B. Sure, he will get better, but we're in the playoff hunt and 1B handles the ball a lot.

Good thing he isnt our starting first baseman huh? 

[jz7233]

 

Freaking Cleveland! How in the world do they keep doing this? They're not crushing everyone, just winning by one run every night!

Cleveland has a great bullpen and clutch hitting.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Sano maturing at the plate.

 

Unfortunately, in the field, he looking like a rookie at 1B. Sure, he will get better, but we're in the playoff hunt and 1B handles the ball a lot.

This is the kind of thing that happens over 162 games, though. As long as the ugliness is temporary, you can hold your nose and get through it because Sano is crushing the ball. Unless something bad happens in the next two months, Miguel will not be manning first base in the postseason.

 

It's far more likely that Schoop is the odd man out and Miguel resumes duties at third, Cron stays at first, and Arraez slides to second.

[Tom Froemming]

 

*obstruction call    

 

This is probably neither here nor there, but as a "ute" i was taught, when caught in a rundown, "run into someone if you get half a chance. You might get the call." 

 

It was close, but I think there's a reasonable argument to be made the call was technically correct. It's on Schoop to get out of the way, by rule.

 

I thought the bigger mistake was to relax when the throw came into second, and assume the play was over. If he plays the play out, takes a quick step towards the baserunner--who had given up--he tags him and the play is over.

 

EDIT: Also, these highlight packages are teh awesome!

And on the defensive side, I was always taught to "peel" in a rundown situation like that. Once you get rid of the ball, you get the heck outta there. 

 

You're right, it probably was the right call by the book, I just don't recall ever seeing that before. Much more fun to be able to look back and say "hey that was weird" in a blowout victory. 

 

Thanks for the feedback. These are basically a dish I'm working on in my test kitchen right now. I'm still not sure what the right mix of ingredients is yet or if they'll ever end up as staples on the main menu, but it's fun to play around with some new flavors. 

[USAFChief]

 

 

 

Thanks for the feedback. These are basically a dish I'm working on in my test kitchen right now. I'm still not sure what the right mix of ingredients is yet or if they'll ever end up as staples on the main menu, but it's fun to play around with some new flavors. 

Can only speak for myself but I absolutely love 'em. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

*obstruction call    

 

This is probably neither here nor there, but as a "ute" i was taught, when caught in a rundown, "run into someone if you get half a chance. You might get the call." 

 

It was close, but I think there's a reasonable argument to be made the call was technically correct. It's on Schoop to get out of the way, by rule.

 

I thought the bigger mistake was to relax when the throw came into second, and assume the play was over. If he plays the play out, takes a quick step towards the baserunner--who had given up--he tags him and the play is over.

 

EDIT: Also, these highlight packages are teh awesome!

I mostly agree, though I tend to skew on the side of "it was a bad call because Schoop was obviously trying to get out of the way and Engel ran four feet laterally to "hit" him... but they *barely* touched". In that situation, I think it should have been a non-call because it didn't actually impact the play and Engel went right at Schoop.

 

But you're right that Schoop should have tagged him out at second. There was no reason to lollygag and wait for the runner to come to him when 4-5 steps at him and the play is over.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Cleveland has a great bullpen and clutch hitting.

Their "clutch" hitting didn't really show up last night, as they went 14 innings against the freakin' Kansas City Royals.

 

Also, Cleveland's OPS is 28th in MLB with RISP. The Twins are 9th.

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/split/39/sort/OPS/order/true

[USAFChief]

 

I mostly agree, though I tend to skew on the side of "it was a bad call because Schoop was obviously trying to get out of the way and Engel ran four feet laterally to "hit" him... but they *barely* touched". In that situation, I think it should have been a non-call because it didn't actually impact the play and Engel went right at Schoop.

 

But you're right that Schoop should have tagged him out at second. There was no reason to lollygag and wait for the runner to come to him when 4-5 steps at him and the play is over.

Weird play, agreed. I guess my only point was, it was, IMO sorta right on the border line of what should be, and shouldn't be, obstruction. I could see either side of the argument, and the ump has to call it in real time.

 

And a tremendous, heads up base running play, by the way. What did he have to lose?

[Tom Froemming]

 

I was surprised to see this as well, but I suspect WPA takes situational hitting into account. Buxton's two doubles came after the game was essentially out of reach, so there was minimal Win Probability to add to the game. Just a guess though.

Correct. WPA is 100% based on context. Here's a breakdown of how he got there:

 

-.025 for striking out to lead off the third inning in a 1-1 game

-.025 for hitting into a fielder's choice to record the first out of the fifth inning in a 3-1 game

+.002 for hitting a bases-empty double in a 9-2 game

.000 for hitting a two-out, bases-empty double in a 10-2 game

 

Once Nelson Cruz homered to put the Twins up 5-1 in the fifth, their win expectancy was already all the way up to 96.2%. Jose and Poppen pitching well ensured that number stayed very high, giving little opportunity for hitters to account for much WPA no matter what they did.

[gocgo]

 

Freaking Cleveland! How in the world do they keep doing this? They're not crushing everyone, just winning by one run every night!

They are winning by 1 run over bad teams...teams that they should be blowing out.  We got this.  We are the better team and their schedule changes after July.  Also, look at the last 3 weeks of the season for them and the Twins.  No comparison.  They play 2 teams with losing records (White Sox and Tigers).  Twins play the Nats at home, Cleveland on the road, and then it's White Sox, Tigers, Royals the rest of the way. Twins win the division.

Edited July 26, 2019 by gocgo

[MMMordabito]

Poppen's stuff looked good.  I'm definitely intrigued.  He has quite a bit of work to do on the command and control though.  If the Twins had been playing Oakland or New York, I'm quite certain he would have contributed to the problem instead of the solution.

[Alex Schieferdecker]

It feels as though Duffey, Harper, May, and Rogers have punched their tickets to be a part of this team's home stretch + potential playoff bullpen. That leaves four spots remaining.

 

Perhaps one to two of those spots will be filled by relievers the Twins trade for, or by a starter who gets moved to the bullpen to make room for a starter who was traded for. For the final two to four spots, the Twins have a lot of candidates with potential but mostly thin resumes to compete for them: Eades, Hildenberger, Littell, Poppen, Romero, Smeltzer, Stashak, and Thorpe.