Doubleheader Recap: Twins Sweep Tigers Behind Big Day From Jorge Polanco

[John Kelsey]

After taking the first game 2-0, the Twins trailed 2-1 heading into the final inning of the second leg of their doubleheader against the Tigers. Jorge Polanco drove in the game-tying run with his fifth hit of the day in the seventh inning before Marwin Gonzalez drove in the go-ahead run in the eight.Game 1: Twins 2, Tigers 0 (7 innings)

Box Score

Dobnak: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Home Runs: Polanco (4), Donaldson (2)

Top 3 WPA: Dobnak .329, Donaldson .107, Rogers/Duffey .083

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

Download attachment: Winchart1.png

 

Game 2: Twins 3, Tigers 2 (8 innings)

Box Score

Wisler: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Home Runs: None

Top 3 WPA: Polanco .526, Gonzalez .256, May .222

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

Download attachment: Winchart2.png

 

The Twins squeaked out two close, low-scoring games and came away with a sweep in a doubleheader against Ron Gardenhire and the Detroit Tigers on Friday at Target Field.

 

Rooker Time

 

This morning, the Twins moved Max Kepler to the 10-day injured list with a left adductor strain which allowed them to promote Brent Rooker from their alternate training site in St. Paul. Rooker is a 25-year old out of Mississippi State who posted a .933 OPS in AAA last season with 14 home runs in just 228 at-bats.

 

Rooker started both games in right field and got his first career hit…...by pitch before being substituted for Byron Buxton’s defense toward the end of the first game. In game 2, he notched his first hit and RBI on a sharp 112.2 MPH line drive to left to put the Twins up 1-0.

 

 

For the purposes of this article, I’m just going to choose to ignore that each time the Tigers made contact while Rooker was in the field, I held my breath and hoped it wasn’t going to right field, not unlike in a beer league softball game.

 

Twins pitchers cruise through Game 1

With Kepler out and Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario taking a seat with Mathew Boyd on the mound, the Twins trotted out a Rooker-Cave-Gonzalez outfield in Game 1 that was reminiscent of the cast of Caddyshack 2 when compared to the original.

 

The Twins kicked things off with a pair of home runs from Jorge Polanco and Josh Donaldson and that would be all they needed as Randy Dobnak, Tyler Duffey, and Taylor Rogers combined to shut out the Tigers offense in a game that only took 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete.

 

 

After Randy Dobnak allowed two baserunners in each of the first two innings, the Twins pitching staff hardly broke a sweat. Dobnak settled down and cruised through five innings throwing just 61 pitches and lowering his season ERA to 2.72. It certainly didn’t hurt to get a little defensive help from Josh Donaldson to close out the fourth.

 

 

Dobnak’s start was followed by a dominant two-strikeout inning from Tyler Duffey. Taylor Rogers then worked around a leadoff single to preserve the shutout and notch his eighth save of the season.

 

Other than the two home runs in the first inning, the Twins offense was mostly held in check by lefty Matthew Boyd for the second time this week. Boyd has been awful this year, but in his last two starts against the Twins he has struck out 14 batters in 12 innings and allowed just three earned runs.

 

Twins come from behind and score in extras in Game 2

In Game 2, the Twins scored in extra innings, in their own ballpark, but did not get to celebrate a walk-off win. The Twins were the road team in their home park, as they were making up a game that was scheduled to be played in Detroit earlier in the season. The Twins did their part to make the Tigers feel at home by using the Detroit home intro video and using the Tigers colors on the video board, which is about as comforting as hanging pictures from your house in a hostel that you’re staying in for six hours.

 

Twins fans were subjected to another bullpen game in Game 2, which was started by the suddenly unhittable slider machine Matt Wisler. As good as Wisler was, for my sake and my therapist's sake, I hope it was the last bullpen game of the year. It started to come unraveled in a third inning that can only be described as “gross”. Sean Poppen actually pitched adequately in the inning, but a few misplays from players out of their natural positions allowed the Tigers to score the only two runs they would get all day.

 

The offense continued to provide very little punch in the second game of the doubleheader against another Tiger lefty in Tyler Alexander. Despite collecting 11 hits in the game, the Twins did not have a single extra base hit after the two home runs in the first inning of Game 1 and did not draw a walk ALL DAY(!!!) until the seventh inning of the second game. Miguel Sano finished a very forgettable day 0-for-7 at the plate with five strikeouts and a GIDP. Jorge Polanco was the biggest bright spot, racking up four singles in Game 2, including a game-tying knock, to finish 5-for-7 on the day.

 

After Polanco’s base hit to tie the game in the top of the seventh, Marwin Gonzalez came through with the winner on a ground ball up the middle in the top of the eighth. The Twins took advantage of having a baserunner on second at the start of the inning to push the winning run across, and as an added bonus we all got to watch Willians Astudillo round third base again.

 

Avila injury

Not everything was coming up Milhouse for the Twins on Friday though. Alex Avila was pulled from the second game with the same lower back tightness that prevented him from finishing his last start behind the plate. With Mitch Garver already out indefinitely and with Avila likely headed to the IL, expect to see a lot more of Ryan Jeffers and even some starts for Willians Astudillo at catcher in the coming weeks (gulp).

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

Download attachment: Bullpen.png

 

Postgame Pint

Immediately following the sweep, John Bonnes, Matthew Trueblood and David Youngs discussed the games with a live virtual audience.

 

 

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[blindeke]

Is Astudillo really that bad behind the plate?

[darwin22]

I don't think so, but his sample size is pretty small.  Saying that, he's nowhere as good defensively as Avila, Jeffers or Garver.  It really won't matter much as I'm sure he's optioned to alternate site tonight since he was only called today for DH.

[Danchat]

 

Is Astudillo really that bad behind the plate?

I remember him being adequate, if a bit below average the past couple years. I'll go check and see what Fangraphs has to say about him.

 

From 2018-19, there were 88 catchers who caught at least 250 innings. Astudillo tied for 49th with 0 DRS (defensive runs saved). Fangraphs' pitching framing metric ranked him 44th at -0.1. Doesn't seem like he's a major liability.

[DocBauer]

I believe I heard the Twins were the 7th playoff team beginning today due to that horrendous 6 game losing streak. If the Tigers won 1 game today I believe they would be at .500. So if 4 of 5 teams in the ALC are still in the hunt, does that mean the ALC is not as bad as thought? Does it mean the NLC is just that much worse? I mean, the wins are comjng from somewhere, right?

 

Do we love and hate the 60 game season for all the drama that it is brining? Or do we now hate it that much more?

 

Some quick thoughts and questions from today's DH:

 

1] We saw the long ball and we saw clutch hitting. We won. Are we happy with that or disappointed the bats went silent again and we missed opportunity?

 

2] Congrats to Rooker for his first games, first hit and first RBI. I wish he had gotten in front of the one sinking ball instead of trying for the big catch.

 

3] I get Rocco wanting to secure the win in the 1st game. I think I would have thrown Dobber another inning.

 

4] You can like Astudillo or not but having him available was important today. He was able to take over the C spot late in game 2 and made some nice stops back there. With Avilla back barking, he couldn't have been ready at any more important time.

 

5] I feel bad for Poppen, I don't think he was throwing badly. Seemed like bad luck. That happens.

 

3 more to go, and we ARE the better team. Now let's go prove it.

[darwin22]

A few observations from watching both wins today:

1.  Does our lineup vs, LH pitching miss Garver and then now departed Schoop and Cron that much?  It sure appears so as we've been collectively atrocious all season.  Doesn't help when Baldelli is forced to playing Cave (4 for 27 vs. LH) with Kepler out. Saying that, Kepler is even worse this year going 4-36..111 avg.

 

2.  Getting JD back adds a huge dimension to this team thats been lacking all season.  I know only a couple of games...knock on wood....but he adds a presence that nobody else does, even Cruz.  His walk in the 8th was crucial.  He grinded that AB out after getting to 2 strikes.  His defense is Gold Glove.

 

3.  Nice to see Marwin Gonzalez break out from his horrendous slump...3 for his last 32...with hits in his last 2 ABs.  Hope his game-winning RBI is what he needed to get his swing back.  We need him as I cannot stand to see Adrianza in the lineup.

 

4.  I know we came back to win, but is just me not understanding Baldelli's decisions with his bullpen its a close game?  I've lost track of how many times Rocco has reached into his pen trailing by a run or two and goes with our #9 or #10 RP.  First it was the awful experience with Lewis Thorpe.  Today, I'm sorry, but I saw no reason why Sean Poppen was the BEST CHOICE to protect a 1-run lead in the 3rd inning.  Yes, Poppen got the 8&9 hitters out, but made a bad 1-2 pitch to Reyes for a single. What does Rocco do?  Of course, leave him in.  Although Rooker butchered the ball hit by Schoop into a triple to tie the game, even if Rooker plays it safer, its 1st and 3rd with Miggy coming up.  No reason to let a rookie continue in that situation.  This is not our 40th game in a 162-game season Rocco!!  I'm so tired of Baldelli appearing to just "wave the white towel" in games that are within reach of victory by keeping our least talented RPs in the game.  I know Thielbar worked out of a big jam after that, but at 35+ pitches with 2 runners on, allowing him to continue, was just bad managing.

 

 

[D.C Twins]

THE SKY IS FALLING. IT IS TIME TO PANI.....wait what?! (checking ear piece)....it appears everything is ok....please go about your business...

[Monticore]

I'm glad Astudillo is in there. I still see him as some kind of mythical folk hero who once released from the forest blesses the team with his good luck.

[stringer bell]

It looks like the Twins will be in third place, .5 games behind Chicago and virtually tied with Cleveland. 

[AceWrigley]

2 wins how ever sliced is a good day.

[launchingthrees]

Go easy on the bullpen Rocco.

[bighat]

Not the prettiest double-header sweep I've seen but at this point we'll take it.

 

With how the Twins have played against DET, KC and PIT, it's scary to think about what OAK, TB, HOU or the dreaded NYY might do against our boys.

 

Donaldson's presence seems to be welcome. Twins are 3-0 since his return.

 

Sano was 0-7 with 5ks on the day. WOOF. When he starts down this road, it can get real ugly. Just hit the ball the other way and you can bat .300 buddy.

 

Dobnak is 6-2 with a 2.72 ERA, but has just struck out 21 batters in 40 innings of work this year. You can't call him "dominant" but just look at the numbers. He's good. Still behind Maeda and Berrios IMO but is solidly our 3rd best starter.

[mikelink45]

A few thoughts came to mind as I read the review and the comments.  I love that we won the DH, but we have to remember that we were playing Detroit.  Our season has been heavy on Detroit, KC, and Pittsburgh - we have a tough final road so hopefully we can get some bats moving - we will not keep winning with 2 - 3 runs per game.

 

I do not understand why Dobnak was not allowed to pitch another inning or two in game one.  Save the BP.  If Dob gave up a hit or a walk take him out, but the RP does not have to come in for a clean inning and if Dobnak went a complete game the BP use chart would look a lot better.   With only two unused RP on the chart it reminds me of how much I hate BP games.

 

Sano should not be batting above #5 in the lineup.  Love the long bombs (although they do not count more than the ones that just clear the fence) but still hate the Ks and when we have players on base on want to keep the inning going.

 

Is Poppen the next to go down?  

 

Astudillo needs to replace Avila.  We need his energy and flexibility. 

[lukeduke1980]

Enough with the bullpen games at least in using up Wisler.

[ashbury]

Enough with the bullpen games at least in using up Wisler.

We won the close game he started. What better use for him did you have in mind?

 

[stringer bell]

 

Enough with the bullpen games at least in using up Wisler.

Unless the Twins activate Odorizzi for the doubleheader in St. Louis, they'll almost certainly do another bullpen game in one of those games. It is a bit more excusable, since they'll have two straight off days afterwards, so they won't have a compromised BP when they start their next series.

[twinbythebay]

I said it in the game thread yesterday, and I'll say it again here. I don't understand the absolute disgust that a lot of Twins fans seem to have about the bullpen games. I would understand it if they didn't have a deep bullpen, if the top guys were being overworked, or if they were trying to do this regularly over a 162 game season. But for this 60 game sprint of a season, when you have a bullpen that has proven its depth and effectiveness, if they give you a better chance to win games than using an unproven rookie starter like Duran, why not have regular bullpen games?

 

I've heard all of the arguments about overworking the bullpen, but they just don't hold any water. None of the bullpen arms have been overworked, and I don't think they've lost a game yet this season because they weren't able to use certain pitchers because of lack of rest.

 

Even looking at the bullpen chart after the doubleheader, Rogers, Duffey, May, Romo, and Clippard should all still be available to pitch today. Hopefully they only have to use two or three of those guys today, and then the others can be used tomorrow, as needed.

[John Kelsey]

 

Is Astudillo really that bad behind the plate?

 

Watching the game today should answer that question.