MIN 4, MIL 3: Kenta Maeda Carries No-No Into 9th Inning; Twins Win In Extras

[Andrew Thares]

Kenta Maeda nearly pitched the sixth no-hitter in Twins history, carrying a no-no into the ninth inning Tuesday night. He set a new franchise record by striking out eight consecutive batters at one point. Taylor Rogers blew the save, but the Twins pulled out the win in the 12th inning.Box Score

Maeda: 8.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 12 K

Home Runs: None

Win Probability Chart (via Baseball Savant):

Download attachment: Screenshot 2020-08-18 at 11.44.30 PM.png

 

 

There have been five no-hitters in Minnesota Twins history, and seven in franchise history if you count the two by the Washington Senators, which includes one by the great Walter Johnson in 1920. Kenta Maeda gave himself a great shot at becoming the sixth pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Twins history, taking the no-no into the ninth.. Unfortunately, that wasn’t meant to be, as it was broken up by an Eric Sogard base-hit into centerfield, that was just out of the reach of Jorge Polance, to leadoff the ninth.

 

The new Twins record streak of eight consecutive strikeouts for Kenta Maeda began with the second out in the third inning, when Maeda got Eric Sogard on a changeup. He then polished off Avisial Garcia with three straight fastballs to end the third. Maeda then work his most impressive inning with the Twins, striking out the heart of the Brewers order, that includes Christian Yelich, Keston Hiura and Justin Smoak. In the fifth, Maeda tied the previously held Twins record of seven consecutive strikeouts by getting Omar Narvaez on a changeup for the second out of the inning. The table was then set for Maeda to break the record, which he did with ease, taking care of Ben Gamel on three pitches for his eighth consecutive strikeout.

 

 

Overall, it was an excellent outing for Kenta Maeda, beyond just not allowing a hit until the ninth. He struck out 12 batters for just the fourth time in his MLB career, allowed just one run on one hit and two walks. So far, Maeda is looking like an excellent offseason acquisition for the Twins, and is up there with Nelson Cruz and Randy Dobnak for the early team MVP.

 

Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes was matching Maeda pitch for pitch through the first four innings of the ballgame, having retired 13 of the 14 batters that he faced. Yes, he retired 13 batters in just four innings of work, as Max Kepler reached first base on a dropped third strike, which remains the dumbest “written” rule in baseball in this writer’s opinion.

 

The Twins were finally able to break through in the bottom of the fifth, when Luis Arraez leadoff the inning with a double, for the first hit of the ballgame. He was immediately brought in, as Miguel Sano delivered a double of his own. The Twins were able to load the bases with two outs for Nelson Cruz, which has seemed like a guaranteed run scoring situation of late. However, Cruz showed that he is indeed human, as he struck out to end the inning.

 

Jorge Polanco was able to tack on an insurance run in the seventh, with a clutch two-out base hit past the first basemen. The inning got started with yet another Miguel Sano double, his third in the last two games. Ehire Adrianza then came in to pinch-run for Sano, and replace him in the field. He would later come around to score on the RBI single from Polanco.

 

The offense helped make the decision to send Maeda back out for the ninth by tacking on another insurance run in the eighth. Eddie Rosario drew a four pitch walk to leadoff the inning. He then stole second on what was originally ruled a strike’em out throw’em out double play. However, after a Twins challenge, the call was overturned, and Rosario was ruled safe. Rosario advance to third during the next plate appearance on a Angel Perdomo balk. After Luis Arraez walked, Ehire Adrianza brought in Rosario on a perfectly placed squeez bunt. The bunt was so well placed, the Adrianza actually got a hit. The inning came to an end the next batter on a very rare Byron Buxton double play.

 

The top of the ninth was brutal to watch as a Twins fan, and quite frankly I don’t really want to write about it, and I’m sure none of you guys want to read about it, so here is the gist, 2020 sucks.

 

After they failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, the Twins went to extra innings for the first time this season. That means this was the first look for the Twins with the new runner starting on second base rule. Caleb Thielbar came in to pitch in the top of the inning for the Twins, and did an excellent job, as he sent the Brewers down 1-2-3, without even allowing the runner to advance from second. Josh Hader came in to pitch for the Brewers in the bottom of the inning and was able to match Thielbar’s performance.

 

The 11th inning was more of the same, as both teams were still unable to advance the runner on second over to third. Jorge Alcala pitched a gem of an inning, as he allowed a one out walk to Christian Yelich, but kept the runner at second from getting to third. Then the Twins set a new franchise record in this game, by having just two hitters come to the plate in the bottom of the 11th. Ehire Adrianza hit a chopper to first, and Ildemaro Vargas was thrown out trying to advance from second. Byron Buxton then ended the inning on the very next pitch, as he grounded into yet another shocking double play.

 

The 12th inning was anything but a replica of the first two extra innings of this ballgame. With Alcala still pitching for the Twins, Ryan Braun leadoff the inning with a single to left, finally advancing the lead runner to third. Then after a Manny Pina popout, Max Kepler made this incredible diving catch on what looked like a sure fire go-ahead base hit by Orlando Arcia.

 

 

Fortunately for the Twins, Jedd Gyorko was not tagging up on the play, and did not score. Jorge Alcala then picked up the biggest strikeout of his life, getting Luis Urias to end the inning.

 

With Byron Buxton making the last out in the 11th, the Twins were able to start the bottom of the 12th with his speed on second, and did that ever come in handy. Alex Avila advance Buxton over to third with a swinging bunt to the first basemen to leadoff the inning. This led the Brewers to bring Ryan Braun in from the outfield to be the Brewers fifth infielder. After Max Kepler was hit by a pitch, Jorge Polanco came up big again, as he hit a weak groundball to second base, and Byron Buxton was able to slide in head first just ahead of the tag to secure the 4-3 win for the Minnesota Twins. Polanco’s groundball measured at just 45.6 MPH off the bat, and was the second slowest hit ball all game, behind only Ehire Adrianza’s squeeze bunt in the seventh inning.

 

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

Download attachment: Bullpen12.png

 

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[Danchat]

So, remember that Maeda's only a good pitcher when at Dodgers stadium? Yeah, neither do I.

[drock2190]

How did the twins win though?

[John Bonnes]

Absolutely nuts.

[Lasorda_This_Out]

Damn...that game could have gone seriously South? Rocco...WTF?

[Lasorda_This_Out]

One of your Coaches need to be Bitch Slapped?

[Lasorda_This_Out]

Apologize but this Bad Boy should have been quenched in the top of the 9th?

Somebody FU'd?

[Lasorda_This_Out]

Totally screwed Kenta? No excuse...

[Otto von Ballpark]

Max Kepler reached first base on a dropped third strike, which remains the dumbest “written” rule in baseball in this writer’s opinion.

Every other putout requires a fielder to secure the ball; why not putouts by strikes at the plate too? In this age of the K, in the absence of frequent contact, there’s an argument that the rule could go even further in favor of the batter-runner.

[h2oface]

Every other putout requires a fielder to secure the ball; why not putouts by strikes at the plate too? In this age of the K, in the absence of frequent contact, there’s an argument that the rule could go even further in favor of the batter-runner.

Because the batter swings and misses at a nasty pitch and already struck out! HE IS OUT! HE STRUCK OUT! If the batter is fooled by a pitch so badly, that he swings at something that isn't even close, he should not get a second chance. And for the pitcher to get charged a wild pitch on a strikeout is ridiculous. I don't mind the runners advancing, but I too have always thought this is a most horrible rule. What other play in baseball can a player that has made an out advance to the nearest base. There is none. How and why did this ever become a rule?

 

Once the batter has swung and missed, he is already out. Runners can chose to advance at their own risk at anytime. But the batter is out. Or should be.

 

That being said.... because it is a rule, it really pisses me off when a batter is not paying attention and feeling sorry for themselves and just stands there and gets tagged out.

[Otto von Ballpark]

The top of the ninth was brutal to watch as a Twins fan, and quite frankly I don’t really want to write about it, and I’m sure none of you guys want to read about it, so here is the gist, 2020 sucks.

I don’t get this — it was likely the 2nd most interesting/important half inning of the game, next to the game-winner. Of course I want to read about it! If you don’t want to dwell on it, that’s one thing, but to ignore it completely, dismissed with a meme? I had to miss much of this game and came first to TD to read the recap because I like this community and thought it would offer the best perspective, but I wound up recapping the rest of the game elsewhere. All of baseball, even the bad half-innings for the Twins, are part of my escape from actual bad stuff happening in 2020.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Because the batter swings and misses at a nasty pitch and already struck out! HE IS OUT! HE STRUCK OUT! If the batter is fooled by a pitch so badly, that he swings at something that isn't even close, he should not get a second chance. And for the pitcher to get charged a wild pitch on a strikeout is ridiculous. I don't mind the runners advancing, but I too have always thought this is a most horrible rule. What other play in baseball can a player that has made an out advance to the nearest base. There is none. How and why did this ever become a rule?

 

Once the batter has swung and missed, he is already out. Runners can chose to advance at their own risk at anytime. But the batter is out. Or should be.

 

That being said.... because it is a rule, it really pisses me off when a batter is not paying attention and feeling sorry for themselves and just stands there and gets tagged out.

It’s not a gimmick that was made up somewhere along the way, but rather it is part of the foundational principle of the sport: a batter-runner is presumed safe until a fielder puts him out (think “innocent until proven guilty”), and in order to record a putout, a fielder has to have control of the ball.

 

If applying that principle would cause frequent chaos and manipulation (for example, forcing baserunners to advance on dropped third strikes), an exception has been made. But it causes no chaos with first base unoccupied or with two outs, so the principle has been preserved in those situations.

 

It seems strange to us now, but the sport wasn’t founded on the idea of pitchers earning strikeouts by themselves. The sport evolved so they very much do so now, thus batters reaching base on dropped third strikes feels like an anachronism. But as one of the rarest outcomes in the sport (or any sport?), it doesn’t seem like we are asking too much of catchers to continue following the principle either.

[bighat]

 

I don’t get this — it was likely the 2nd most interesting/important half inning of the game, next to the game-winner. Of course I want to read about it! If you don’t want to dwell on it, that’s one thing, but to ignore it completely, dismissed with a meme? I had to miss much of this game and came first to TD to read the recap because I like this community and thought it would offer the best perspective, but I wound up recapping the rest of the game elsewhere. All of baseball, even the bad half-innings for the Twins, are part of my escape from actual bad stuff happening in 2020.

I turned off the game after Kenta lost the no-no. I came here to see how the hell Rogers blew it or what went on....so yeah, no matter how bad things are, there are people that want to read it.

[bighat]

That was a rather aggressive water-throw by Eddie in Jorge's eyes!

[Platoon]

I wanted to read it also. Not all Twins news is good, but it still may be interesting. It also may bring up that Rogers seems in a tough stretch.
 

Btw, I see that advancing Buxton to third via an out, albeit without a bunt, can be productive? Who’d a thunk it? 

[rv78]

Great performance by Maeda. Period.

What's wrong with Rogers? It looks like his pitches have lost movement. Pretty flat and straight. Not good when a guy that's been out of baseball (Thielbar) makes you look bad.

Time for Duff to start closing games? WOW, never thought I'd say that!

 

As for a hitter getting to run to first base after striking out, think of it as an error, either as a wild pitch or passed ball. Usually on an error the hitter is safe. How many times do other fieiders commit errors and still get a chance to throw the runner out?  

[CharlieDee]

Kenta was brilliant. It's an absolute shame he didn't get the win in this one.

[HrbieFan]

For whatever reason, Rogers has a 4.82 ERA against Milwaukee. I had a bad feeling after Garcia got that hanging slider. Then Rogers continues to throw 5 more hanging sliders. Feel bad for Maeda, but at least Alcala saved the day, he is going to be really good

[diehardtwinsfan]

as someone who didn't watch the game, can I ask what happened in that abomination of the 9th inning?

[lukeduke1980]

Rogers' looping breaking stuff is breaking into the zone. His fastballs are getting hit, the new kid Vargas, who later won some respect battling Hader, didn't turn a DP as Marwin tried to stretch instead of trying to catch the bad throw.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Great job again today moving runners over and across. Shows a perceptible shift in management's attitude toward winning.

 

Time to get brutally honest about Taylor Rogers' prospects as a true closer. The Twins need to go shopping. An objective look at this soon in a different part of this forum.

 

Another silver lining - Mitch Garver proved he can play first.  ;-)

[hybridbear]

I agree completely with the previous comments. It's not helpful to have a writer skip over the most important half inning of the game in terms of understanding the outcome. I had gone to sleep before Rogers blew it & came to read what happened. But instead I had to rely on the MLB GameDay summary of the plays & the few videos available there to understand what happened.

 

I completely disagree with Baldelli's decision to bring Maeda back out for the 9th, no hitter or not. Watch Maeda end up on the IL now after throwing so many pitches. I don't get Baldelli, he seems to be so progressive but then every once in awhile he makes these dumb "old school" decisions of ignoring pitch counts like this.

 

Also, what on earth is wrong with Rogers? Time to move on from him as closer & let Romo or Duffey get the saves. Rogers is not the best reliever this year at all. I'd say he's worse than May as well this year. Time for the pitching coach to figure out what's wrong with him.

[Dman]

I don't know if Rogers is just becoming too predictable or isn't throwing as well this year but they need to stop using him in the ninth.  He has been far from dominant this season what ever the reasons right I would rather anybody but Rogers out there in the ninth (Well maybe not Littel).  

 

Anyway I am guessing the ever supportive Rocko isn't going to panic and change anything so hopefully Rogers becomes dominant soon.

[Possumlad]

Lotta angsty energy on this board after one of the more fun & interesting victories of the year. Not everything always goes according to plan in baseball. While they're seemingly yet to hit a real stride, the Twins are winning games and I'm having fun.

 

If this thread is what we get after a almost no-hit, walk-off W, I'll take it as a reminder not to be hang around after a loss

[rdehring]

Lasted thru 11 when I could no longer stay awake. One of the best games I have ever watched. Thanks Kenta!

 

Like many, I am a bit concerned about getting Taylor Rogers back to the dominant reliever he was last year. Excited to see Arraez hitting this last week like we expected him to. Also excited to see how well Thielbar and Alcala did for three very difficult innings. Expect Thielbar solidified his spot on the roster for a few more weeks while Alcala sure looks to have an exciting future.

[mikelink45]

I think Rogers is the story line - not because of this one game, but because his season has shaken our faith in him, like Garver leading off, Rogers has, at least temporarily, lost the position as closer for many of us.   His WAR for the season is -0.3 and his ERA is 4.82 with a WHIP of 1.393.   

Are we using our RP too much - with the two BP games on top of double headers?  I am delighted that Alcala is shining.  We need that.

[JW24]

Second game of the season last year Rocco let Kepler stay in to hit against Brad Hand in the 9th, in a game the Twins wound up losing. The confidence he showed in Kepler there might have had some positive impact through the rest of the season. Same thing goes for Taylor Rogers now - it is more important to go through the struggles now than wonder what we can count on from him come playoff time. If anything, putting him into the highest leverage situations in a given game rather than every save opportunity might be the way to go.

 

Big win for the Twins, I really hope they find a way to score more than 4 runs in a game again this season.

[h2oface]

How does the song go?

"And it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the ol' ball game."

I believe that is the foundational principle of the sport.

That is why there is even a song about it that is sung during the 7th inning stretch of every game. Should those lyrics be changed to include the - except if the batter is so fooled he swings at a pitch that even the catcher can't catch, and then he has the opportunity to run to first base and even though the play is still ruled a strikeout, if he gets there before the ball gets there he is safe?

 

Think “innocent until proven guilty”? 

I know that's not really true. Not in practice, anyway. Propaganda.

I think there is now even a 3 strikes and you are out law.

Think "three strikes and you're out".

 

And all the other strikes count as one of the three strikes whether the catcher catches it or not.

 

Maybe the rules of football should be changed.

I mean, you can fumble the ball after you cross the goal line as part of a continuation of the motion, like after a third stike has been completed, and the play is over..... once they ball crosses the plate.... er, I mean, goal line.

 

I will always hate that rule. Was it always a rule? From the very beginning of baseball? Or was it added as a rule somewhere after the foundational very first rule book? And if so, there must have been a reason. But like the height of a pitcher's mound, and the distance from the mound to home plate, rules can change.

 

https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-dropped-third-strike-the-life-and-times-of-a-rule/

 

I'm glad Kepler was able to get to first tonight, though. I am a hypocrite when it comes to the Twins winning.

 

 

[GNess]

Rogers looks frustrated and anxious which are warning signs of someone who knows something is wrong, but really can't identify it so whatever it is can be adjusted/corrected.

[h2oface]

Kenta Maeda got "deGrom'ed".