MIN 5, PIT 2: Randy Dobnak Delivers 6 Scoreless, Max Kepler Provides Key Insurance Homer

[Andrew Gebo]

Randy Dobnak, Mr. Reliable, delivered six more shutout innings pitching in the stadium he used to visit as a kid. He has now given up just one run in 15 innings pitched this season. Continue reading for the full recap ...Box Score

Dobnak: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Home Runs: Kepler (4)

 

The Legend of Randy Dobnak Continues

We all know the story of Randy Dobnak being an uber driver, but the story of Randy Dobnak is becoming much more than that. The story of Dobnak is now that of a really good big league pitcher who’s throwing high quality innings for a very potent postseason contending team.

 

Making his first career appearance in his home city of Pittsburgh, Randy Dobnak once again provided the Twins with a stellar outing and held the Pirates to no runs through six innings while only surrendering three hits, two of which were infield singles. With multiple starting pitchers on the shelf, Dobnak has emerged as a reliable quality arm for the Twins rotation and continues to give them a chance to win every time he takes the mound.

 

Trevor Williams Silences the Bomba Squad

Trevor Williams is certainly no household name but he was able to neutralize the high powered Minnesota lineup for seven innings. The Twins were unable to get a single extra base hit against Williams and their lone run off him came courtesy of a bloop single by Marwin Gonzalez that was mere centimeters from being foul.

 

The Twins finally broke through for another run in the ninth inning when Marwin Gonzalez once again delivered the blow on a single, scoring Buxton and pushing the Minnesota lead to 2-0. Max Kepler delivered the finishing blow later that inning when he launched a three-run home run giving Minnesota a 5-0 lead and sending the non-existent crowd home early.

 

Twins Bullpen Does It Again

One of the early storylines for this Twins team has been the dominance of their bullpen, which was on full display again tonight. Rocco turned to the ‘pen in the seventh inning following the stellar outing by Dobnak and the trio of Stashak, Duffey and Alcala slammed the door on Pittsburgh, preserving the victory.

 

Although the one blemish came in the bottom of the ninth, when Josh Bell launched a two-run home run off Jorge Alcala.

 

All We Do Is Win Win Win No Matter What

Even on a night in which the Twins’ bats were as cold as Minnesota in January for most of the game, they were still able to win their sixth game in a row and improve to 10-2, their best start to a season in franchise history.

 

This team has shown the ability to win in a multitude of ways, which is a sign of a very good team, which is exactly what the 2020 Twins are.

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

Download attachment: Bullpen.png

 

Postgame Pint

Immediately following the game, Twins Daily's writers Seth Stohs, Matt Braun, Matthew Taylor and Renabanena were joined by a live virtual audience and discussed the Twins' 5-2 win over the Pirates.

 

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You can also listen to the Postgame Pint and never miss another one. Just head over to our iTunes page and subscribe. Every morning you'll have a new episode waiting for you. Or listen wherever you download your favorite podcasts.

 

 

 

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[twins_89]

Dobnak is saving the Twins over the first part of the season. It's hard to believe the team is 10-2 and has gotten a grand total of 10 innings out of Odorizzi/Hill/Bailey (and Pineda).

[MN_ExPat]

Good game. Alcala’s pitch to Bell in the 9th really wasn’t that bad of a pitch... Bell just simply put a good swing on it. Kudos to him and a tip of the cap.

 

Skol Twins!

[Monticore]

10-2. I'll take it.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Good game. Alcala’s pitch to Bell in the 9th really wasn’t that bad of a pitch... Bell just simply put a good swing on it. Kudos to him and a tip of the cap. Skol Twins!

Only a bad pitch in the sense that everybody in the park was looking fastball.  He'll learn.  Lotta upside in that inning.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Four walks yesterday set up today's 3-run dong.  Magnificent.

 

Cave gets a silver star for being around third before that 2-out dying quail hits the white line.

[Danchat]

At this point I don't think you can remove Dobnak from the rotation. He did it last year and he's doing it now - he just gets outs. With it seeming unlikely that Rich Hill has what it takes to hold down a starting role due to his durability, Dobnak should take his spot. Rotation can be Berrios-Maeda-Dobnak-Odorizzi-Bailey (once healthy) and then we'll also get Pineda back in a month.

[Monkeypaws]

I didn't expect 10-2. With Donaldson, Hill, Bailey iffy, and no Pineda, kudos to the braintrust and the field staff. 

 

They're doing this with most guys offensively not even hot or sparking.

 

Out-pitching Cleveland speaks volumes of the all around depth of the 2020 Twins.

[Twins1964]

Where are all the Twins fan rubes who were having seizures a year ago when the Twins weren’t pursuing big name trades and/or signings for pitchers such as Craig Kimbrel. These non geniuses exhibit class envy by dogging the Pohlads and are idiots. Falvey and Levine have been exceptional in building a World Series contender. Rubes - go away. Your comments show how unknowledgeable you really are.

[T_J]

I think we can scrap any idea of a traditional rotation this season. 

[Aichiman]

 

Where are all the Twins fan rubes who were having seizures a year ago when the Twins weren’t pursuing big name trades and/or signings for pitchers such as Craig Kimbrel. These non geniuses exhibit class envy by dogging the Pohlads and are idiots. Falvey and Levine have been exceptional in building a World Series contender. Rubes - go away. Your comments show how unknowledgeable you really are.

I'm beginning to think we made a big mistake in signing Donaldson.  We could have signed Cron for one more year and kept Sano at 3rd for one more year.

 

[Doctor Gast]

Dobnak has been great, a real work horse. He has done everything that he has been  asked to do. He has deserved a spot in the rotation. He has been asked to pitch in the #2 spot & has pitched 3 excellent games & should be 3-0

[HrbieFan]

10-2 with limited production from Sano, Garver, Arraez, Donaldson and Bux. I'll take it and let's get at least a few more bats going today

[jmlease1]

Another really nice outing by Dobnak. Funny how this season is playing out for Dobnak kinda like it was in Gleeman's sim season, lol.

 

Josh Bell was tough. That's why he was the Pirate all-star last year, he's a very nice player. Dunno if the rest of the team will get there in time for him to be part of a winner in Pittsburgh, but he's a good player and a guy you can't make a mistake to. Alcala will learn how to handle a guy like that (I hope!), good experience for him to face someone like that in a lower-leverage situation.

 

Buxton's double was encouraging. He didn't look like he was flailing at that ball, hopefully that helps him get it going.

[Dantes929]

 

Where are all the Twins fan rubes who were having seizures a year ago when the Twins weren’t pursuing big name trades and/or signings for pitchers such as Craig Kimbrel. These non geniuses exhibit class envy by dogging the Pohlads and are idiots. Falvey and Levine have been exceptional in building a World Series contender. Rubes - go away. Your comments show how unknowledgeable you really are.

I was always the one arguing with the ones you call rubes but it seems odd that you are bringing it up now, that you are calling them rubes and that you want them to go away when I haven't seen any posts like that for a while now.   Not to mention the big(gish) signings in recent years of Odorizzi, Cruz, Maeda, HIll and Donaldson seem to have worked out pretty well.    Free agent signing proponents were the majority, many are still here, they have valid points and plenty of anecdotal evidence just like I felt I had when I was supporting the develop from within approach.   I don't want them to go away.    I appreciate opposing viewpoints.

 

[FritzDahmus]

 

Where are all the Twins fan rubes who were having seizures a year ago when the Twins weren’t pursuing big name trades and/or signings for pitchers such as Craig Kimbrel. These non geniuses exhibit class envy by dogging the Pohlads and are idiots. Falvey and Levine have been exceptional in building a World Series contender. Rubes - go away. Your comments show how unknowledgeable you really are.

 

Hey Twins1964 -

Don't get too cocky about your self-diagnosed genius and our inferior intellects. We get enough of that naming calling and bullying in political comment sites. Keep it to the discussion points and issues.

 

In my humble but inferior opinion [based on your expert diagnosis], I think the hitting is terrible so far this year throughout the league....and even modest pitching talent can maneuver their way through most line-ups. With the exception of the Twins [early on], the Dodgers, the Yankees, and the Rockies. This will change. You will need Verlander-types and not Dobnak-types to pitch your way past the likes of Yankees, etc...

 

Donaldson will help defensively in that regard. Clippard will help in this regard. Maeda will help in this regard [that was their best acquisition....I think]. Duffey and May....could be ready as well in that regard. Rogers of course as well.

 

[HawksNest]

 

Where are all the Twins fan rubes who were having seizures a year ago when the Twins weren’t pursuing big name trades and/or signings for pitchers such as Craig Kimbrel. These non geniuses exhibit class envy by dogging the Pohlads and are idiots. Falvey and Levine have been exceptional in building a World Series contender. Rubes - go away. Your comments show how unknowledgeable you really are.

 

Falvine have been hitting it out of the park recently!

 

P.S., you seem nice!

[Steve Lein]

When it comes to Dobnak, my bold prediction I sent a buddy via text on July 25th: "he becomes Twins ace this year..."

 

Posted this in the other Dobnak article to, but I don't make that statement behind a lack of evidence, it's right in front of you:

 

Since the last time he gave up more than 4 runs in any appearance (May 16th of 2018), from Cedar Rapids to the majors, Randy Dobnak has, in 54 games:

 

a 23-9 record

277.2 IP

1.95 ERA

1.07 WHIP

nearly 4:1 K to BB ratio

Sub .600 OPS allowed

[puckstopper1]

While I am concerned about the injuries/lack of innings out of the SPs AND some of the bats, a 10-2 start far exceeds expectations.

 

FWIW, this 10-2 start equates to roughly a 27-6 start in a full 162 game season.

 

I'll let one of my all-time favorite movies characters tell you what I think of that..."

 

 

[Shaitan]

Sorry, but Dobnak only had 1K and doesn't throw 99mph.

 

Clearly he's not MLB material.

 

\sarcasm

[Linus]

Sorry, but Dobnak only had 1K and doesn't throw 99mph.

 

Clearly he's not MLB material.

 

\sarcasm

It’s the latest data analytics theory. It’s called pitch to contact. It’s going to be big!