Front Page: Twins Game Recap (9/29): Twins Lose Finale, Win Home Run Race

[Cooper Carlson]

The final game of the regular season came right down to the end, but unfortunately the Royals won it by a score of 5-4 on a walk off sacrifice fly. After 162 regular season games, the Twins finished with a 101-61 record and an AL Central title. Oh by the way, THE HOME RUN RECORD BELONGS TO THE TWINS. The Yankees hit one, but the Twins hit three and now the all time record belongs to the team in Minnesota.Box Score

Perez: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 62% strikes (63 of 102 pitches)

Bullpen: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 2 K

 

Home Runs: Cron (25), Cave (8), Castro (13)

Multi-Hit Games: Cave (2-for-4)

 

Bottom 3 WPA: Brusdar Graterol (-.358), Lewis Thorpe (-.340), Jonathan Schoop (-.117)

 

Ehire Adrianza (manager) knows how to make a home run lineup.

 

Rookie manager Ehire Adrianza put together the final lineup of the regular season and they got off to a hot start. The game started with the Twins trailing New York by one in the home run race, but the Twins had something to say about that. The first inning had a pulled home run from C.J. Cron at 115.6 MPH (22nd hardest hit ball in the majors) and then Cave hit an opposite field home run to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.

 

Martin Perez shows some encouraging signs for the playoffs.

 

The playoffs begin on Friday and I think Perez should make the team (don’t ask @Matthew_bTwins on Twitter if Perez should make it). He is excellent against left handed hitters (.233/.292/.301) and the playoffs will be a good time for him to come in and get a few lefties out. He did not have that bad of a start today, going nearly six innings and allowing three runs.

 

Kyle Gibson came on in relief in the middle of an inning thanks to a smart pitching change from rookie manager Arraez. He came in and struck out the lone batter he faced in what was his final audition for a playoff spot. He and Martin Perez will be two of the most interesting decisions made this week.

 

Kohl Stewart took over in the seventh inning. He will not make the playoff roster. Despite that, he pitched an excellent seventh inning that took a total of four pitches to finish off with a 4-3 lead.

 

Royals take the lead and win in the final innings

 

In a game loaded with playoff auditions, Lewis Thorpe did not have an excellent outing. The eighth inning started with a leadoff triple from Hunter Dozier which was followed by an RBI double from Ryan O’Hearn. Thorpe would go on to strike out the next hitter but was then pulled for Fernando Romero. It started to seem like Adrianza’s job was on the line unless he could pull out a win. Luckily for Ehire, Fernando Romero got the next two guys to keep the game tied but the managerial job definitely wasn’t safe at this point.

 

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Brusdar Graterol gave up a double and a single which eventually led to a game-ending walk-off sacrifice fly to cap off the 2019 regular season. I’m hearing rumors that Adrianza is being removed as manager

 

The home run record belongs to the Minnesota Twins

 

The Twins were able to barely pull out the home run title in the final game, hitting 307 total bombas while the Yankees finished with 306. Who would have thought Jason Castro would be the guy to set the record? That means Garver (catcher) broke the original record and now Castro (also catcher) broke the final record.

 

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

[Monticore]

Glad they got the HR record. What's the latest on Arreaz?

[TwinVike61]

I see it as a testament to this team where everyone contributes that it was Castro and Cave homeruns that get us the Season HR record.  

[Aerodeliria]

It would have been nice to tie the Twins record for most wins, but I'll take the team home run record, especially because we beat those guys on the east coast. Now, let's see if we can do it our series. I'm surprisingly optimistic.

[yarnivek1972]

I don’t know if I would call Stewart’s inning “excellent”. It was efficient. But he gave up 3 rockets that found gloves.

[h2oface]

Is Graterol of the pitch to contact school, only at higher speeds?

 

No matter how long it lasts..... and it will last about, at minimum, at least almost a year for sure, and maybe much longer, depending on what becomes of the "ball"..... for the Minnesota Twins, our Minnesota Twins, to be the MLB all time record holder in Home Runs for a season is truly something, and not a throw away, and not connected to what may or may not happen in the Play-offs this year, at all. So whether one discounts it and doesn't care, it stands on its own, and it is a great achievement that no other team in the history of MLB has ever done, including the Yankees!

[LVTwinsfan]

Grade 1 ankle sprain, Twins have til Friday to set their roster. I’m going with Arraez being good to go. Keep hitting more homers than the Yankees and more importantly scoring more runs per game. Go Twins!!

[Brian450]

Best possible outcome for Arraez and the Twins.  A 'grade one ankle sprain' ranges from 5 to 14 days to recover.  There will be slight instability, pain, swelling, joint stiffness and trouble walking... *fingers crossed for a FAST and FULL recovery!

[Danchat]

 

Is Graterol of the pitch to contact school, only at higher speeds?

 

No matter how long it lasts..... and it will last about, at minimum, at least almost a year for sure, and maybe much longer, depending on what becomes of the "ball"..... for the Minnesota Twins, our Minnesota Twins, to be the MLB all time record holder in Home Runs for a season is truly something, and not a throw away, and not connected to what may or may not happen in the Play-offs this year, at all. So whether one discounts it and doesn't care, it stands on its own, and it is a great achievement that no other team in the history of MLB has ever done, including the Yankees!

Graterol just turned 21 and has pitched only 52 innings above single A. He's really not ready to take on MLB pitching. He still has a ways to go to work on his pitches and mix speeds effectively. All he needs is time and good health, and those K numbers will increase.

[Kelly Vance]

Luis, get well soon. We got time.

 

Glad we got the home run record. I don't know why. I'm just glad. This team kind of deserves it.

 

If they loosen the strings on the ball next year, who knows, the record may stick for a couple years.I am hoping it is a good omen for beating the Yanks in round 1

[John Kelsey]

 

Graterol just turned 21 and has pitched only 52 innings above single A. He's really not ready to take on MLB pitching. He still has a ways to go to work on his pitches and mix speeds effectively. All he needs is time and good health, and those K numbers will increase.

 

Gerrit Cole had low K numbers until he was 27. 

[h2oface]

Graterol just turned 21 and has pitched only 52 innings above single A. He's really not ready to take on MLB pitching. He still has a ways to go to work on his pitches and mix speeds effectively. All he needs is time and good health, and those K numbers will increase.

Although I guess it is related, I am not srprised at the low Ks, I am surprised about how much solid contact, and contact in general batters are making. And bottom orders, too. I know how old he is. It still surprises me. Lots of contact.

[terrydactyls]

Best possible outcome for Arraez and the Twins. There will be slight instability, pain, swelling, joint stiffness and trouble walking...

 

That sounds like a good description of a normal day in my life.

[jmlease1]

I'm so happy the Twins got the HR record. Screw the Yankees.

 

Of course, since the Yankees didn't get it, no one is talking about it but that's just another reason to hate ESPN(Y).

 

It would have been nice to tie the '65 squad, but I have no regrets about this team. They've been tremendously fun to watch all year. It's a really easy team to like, and you never feel completely out of any game.

 

On to the playoffs!

[insagt1]

Based on what we saw from the pitching staff this final week: I think Gib has earned a spot; Perez by default will earn a spot; I don't think Graterol should be on the roster. He needs to be a k-man with that blinding speed, but he's not and the Yanks hitters will eat him up. He's young, he'll learn, but he's not ready. Stewart and Romero...no. Thorpe...barely. Stashak, Smeltzer and Dobnak...yes because all 3 can go more than 1 inning...in fact those 3 could combine easily for an entire game. Rogers, LIttell and Romo for sure.

 

I'd like to see the Twins carry 12 pitchers and 13 position players...mainly because of the tenuous condition of several of our position players. Certainly 12 pitchers should be enough.

 

I think we can play with the Yankees. We just don't want to get into a shooting match with them as far as scoring runs. The 14-12 and 10-7 type games won't go well for us IMO. But I think we can beat them. Heavens knows, we are way overdue!!!

 

Looking over the roster again, if they take 12, I can see both Thorpe and Stewart out. Harper also. Thorpe and Stewart have pretty identical numbers except in the k category where Thorpe has a lot more. Does that give him an advantage? And will Twins elect to keep Perez, despite his awful numbers lately? If they go with 13 (please no), then one of these guys makes the cut.

Edited September 30, 2019 by insagt1

[yarnivek1972]

Just curious as to whether Baldelli has said or given any hints as to the postseason pitching plans. Injuries, more than pretty much anything else, are going to determine which position players are active.

[John Kelsey]

I don't trust Graterol at all at Yankee Stadium, I wouldn't have him on the roster. 

[etwink]

If Perez gets in, it will be because of tenure, not because he has pitched in any protectable way the last few months. All I saw yesterday was a guy who gave up line drive after line drive and couldn’t find a way to close out batters in a very weak lineup. Sure, he was ok in the middle innings of his start but Rocco has no way of predicting what version of Perez he will get. Same thing with Gibson; any choice in his direction will be tenure-based, given how often he has found himself in the middle of 30 pitch, glacier slow innings. Neither of these guys give any confidence that they can handle the Yankees hitters.

[etwink]

Graterol just turned 21 and has pitched only 52 innings above single A. He's really not ready to take on MLB pitching. He still has a ways to go to work on his pitches and mix speeds effectively. All he needs is time and good health, and those K numbers will increase.

 

Yeah, I’m not sure what happened to Graterol yesterday. It was like he didn’t trust his heater. Smalley was nearly begging him to throw high fastballs to (I think) Mejia, because he hadn’t been able to catch up to high and tight all series and Brusdar kept pumping in low sliders one after another. Was he told to work on the slider and forget about the results?? Seemed really odd that a guy known for triple-digit heat was throwing so few fastballs.

[ashbury]

That sounds like a good description of a normal day in my life.

If you aren't available for the Yankees series as a result, we'll miss you.

[Melissa]

Finishing 40 games above .500 is quite an accomplishment for our team!

 

Let's hope Luiz recovers quickly and the bats heat up.

[insagt1]

 

Yeah, I’m not sure what happened to Graterol yesterday. It was like he didn’t trust his heater. Smalley was nearly begging him to throw high fastballs to (I think) Mejia, because he hadn’t been able to catch up to high and tight all series and Brusdar kept pumping in low sliders one after another. Was he told to work on the slider and forget about the results?? Seemed really odd that a guy known for triple-digit heat was throwing so few fastballs.

I think thats correct. Nobody wanted extra innings. So he was probably told to work on the slider...no matter what the outcome. but he isn't ready for a post season spot. Clearly hitters have had no problem hitting his heater. Time will help him