Game Recap: Angels 10, Twins 3

[Thiéres Rabelo]

Thanks in large part to an epic Justin Upton grand slam, the Angels put together a six-run seventh inning to put tonight’s game out of reach. How out of reach? Willians Astudillo pitched.Box Score

Thorpe: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Home Runs: None

Bottom 3 WPA: Dobnak -.394, Cave -.178, Garlick -.149

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

Download attachment: chart.png

 

Thorpe starts off great, but can’t pitch past the fourth

After an exciting Spring Training, Aussie Lewis Thorpe got called up to step in and take the mound in the series opener. His first impression couldn’t have been much better, as he cruised through the first on only ten pitches, nine of which were strikes. He struck out Mike Trout on three pitches to close out the inning, including a couple of nasty whiffs with his slider.

 

 

Something Twins fans were looking forward to seeing in Thorpe’s repertoire was his new, improved four-seam fastball. During his impressive Spring Training, he showcased a much-improved velocity, topping out at 93 mph, after averaging 89.7 mph in 2020. However, that wasn’t the case tonight. Thorpe’s four-seamer averaged only 89.5 mph throughout this outing, topping at 91.5 mph.

 

To make up for it, Thorpe relied on the next best thing on his arsenal, the slider. Half of his sixty pitches were sliders, a percentage nearly twice as big as his career average. They produced a total of 20 swings, eight of which were whiffs. He managed to pitch three very solid, scoreless innings, allowing only one hit. Then, disaster struck.

 

After quickly retiring the first two batters in the fourth, Thorpe walked Trout after evening the count 2-2, and the Angels followed up with back to back hits and put the first two runs of the game on the board, Thorpe did get the last out of the inning, but he was done for the night, after having thrown nearly 72% strikes.

 

After being dominated by Heaney, the Twins offense rallies against an old friend...

Lefty Andrew Heaney had no trouble overpowering the Twins lineup like most lefties have been doing since the start of last season. With Byron Buxton (1.538 OPS against lefties this season) still unavailable due to hamstring mild strain, the Angels starter cruised through the first five innings, allowing only a hit and a couple of walks. He also induced three double plays.

 

But then Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler both reached to open the sixth, causing Joe Maddon to pull Heaney. To relieve him, the Angels turned to Twins old friend Aaron Slegers, who was having a very solid start of the season. Mitch Garver didn’t care about that, though.

 

 

And neither did Josh Donaldson.

 

 

...but then the bullpen gives the lead away, and more

Randy Dobnak took over for Thorpe in the fifth and quickly pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Similar to tonight’s starter, Dobnak also had an amazing spring, but so far had failed to replicate that. But that fifth inning was the closest he got to anything resembling a good outing tonight.

 

Facing the top of the Angels’ order, Dobber gave up back-to-back-to-back hits to open the sixth. The lead was gone after Trout singled to left, bringing home both runners. He retired the next three batters, which caused him to be brought back to the seventh. Nothing worked once again and, after giving up three more hits, including an RBI-single to David Fletcher, Rocco Baldelli decided he was done.

 

Caleb Thielbar came in and was absolutely burnt by Angels bats. After striking out Shohei Ohtani, he decided to intentionally walk Trout and load the bases, to face Justin Upton with two outs. Bad call. Upton, who has a career .909 OPS against the Twins, mercilessly destroyed Thielbar’s 69 mph meatball, to hit a grand slam. Jared Walsh followed up with another homer, making it 10-3 Angels, after a six-run seventh inning.

 

At least La Tortuga made some of us smile during this blowout.

 

 

What’s next?

Tomorrow night, at 8:07 pm C.T., Matt Shoemaker takes on the mound for game two, trying to get the 6-8 Twins back on track. However, the struggling offense will have to face another lefty in José Quintana.

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

Click here to see the bullpen usage over the past five days (link opens a Google Sheet).

 

Click here to view the article

[jun]

Release Cave, call up Broxton. Demote Dobnak, call up Law. Let Thorpe be the long man instead. Let Alcala be the closer.

Trust starters more and let them pitch through. I just don't have much faith in this bullpen.

[cHawk]

Train wreck. Nothing but a train wreck of a performance. Rocco looks like the Mike McCarthy of the MLB. Walk Trout with the count 2-2? WTF? Dobnak for a 3rd Inning after he gave up two the previous inning?

 

I could realistically see management running this team into the ground. In-game particularly. Please prove me wrong.

[jun]

Thorpe should utilize his sliders and off-speed pitches more and he really needs to locate his fastball. He is going to be killed if he keeps throwing his low speed fastball in the middle of the plate. I think Thorpe has the stuff to be successful. He just has to trust it and be smart.

[Mill1634]

 

Not good. I wonder if this was not found before the game started? Would think that they would’ve made a roster move if they did. Guessing it’s a pitcher.

[USAFChief]

 

Not good. I wonder if this was not found before the game started? Would think that they would’ve made a roster move if they did. Guessing it’s a pitcher.

Not good, to put it midlly.

 

Might not be a player.

 

On another note...who here still thinks this is a good bullpen?

[h2oface]

Nothing like just giving up. I had an offer to go to the game today. And with Buxton out, and who is scheduled to pitch today, could not do it. I just can't bring myself to watch this team live right now. I made the right choice.

[singlesoverwalks]

I don't really get why Jake Cave has to be on the team.

[theBOMisthebomb]

At what point do we break the glass in case of emergency? I don't think we are there yet. Still, this team is showing some glaring weaknesses that can't be ignored. I've been a Cave defender throughout. This is getting brutal to watch him. Sano needs to turn things around quickly. How many leads has this bullpen surrendered? This is just the start of the list.

[rv78]

Players the Twins wouldn't miss...... CAVE, DOBNAK, COLOME, SANO and 1 former player..... BALDELLI. Looks like they found the new closer.... LaTortuga.

[bighat]

Let's look at the positives for a minute:

 

Sano was 1-for-3 with a walk (by the way, 2nd in all of MLB in walks with 13 total, as many as Trout). Polanco was 1-for-3 with a walk. Kepler 2-for-3 and Donaldson 2-for-4. A struggling Garver was also 2-for-4.

 

Of course....they somehow still managed to score just 3 runs. You'd think with all of those guys above finally hitting, you'd at least see a 5 or 6 spot on the board.

 

Dobnak, what can you say. Dude got an extension, looked like a savvy move, and now he's just been awful. Kind of feel bad for him. Honest question: if the Twins hadn't given him this extension, would he be in St. Paul right now?

 

Cave, another guy who should be playing once per week but instead has become an every day player. He seems to succeed as a role player - where the heck is Buxton already?

 

Theilbar is this year's Ryne Harper. A great little comeback story, a fun little broadcast human interest piece. But if he keeps getting shelled you've got to cut bait.

 

Twins are in last place in the AL Central. If the Twins play like they have been for another week, people are going to start to notice. This team doesn't look good, and it's not like they've got any major pieces on the DL or waiting in the minors right now. The players you see are pretty much what we're rolling with. And it's not looking pretty.

 

 

[DMN13]

Cave started poorly last year and improved, however, he is not STARTER material.  We are supposedly loaded with OF talent, so let's get it up here if Buxton continues to play only half the games in a season.

 

Thorpe pitched very well.  Disappointed the velocity isn't as advertised, but if that bleeder doesn't get through in the 4th, he would have pitched the 5th and then who knows what might have happened?  Unless he was on a pitch count, I believe he should have pitched the 5th anyway, as he had not been hit hard at all.  Clearly I am old-school, but really, can't we at least try to save some bullpen arms by expecting starters to at least go 5 innings?!

 

Are the bombas long gone or will we heat up when/if we get our full lineup in play?  

[peterb18]

Yes, extremely poor managing. I also think that catching is a problem. Championship teams have solid catching. But, it’s not as glaring as the thoughts of the other posters. Just a bad team now....as a person who hardly missed a game over the years.....just hard to watch. Turned them off last night. But, the front office are not traditional in baseball operations and they have their plan.

[lukeduke1980]

Glad things have returned to normal in 2021- Kyle Seager and Justin Upton owning Twins pitching.

 

A lot of guys left on base - that's the theme to me this year.

[twinfan]

The entire bullpen, from long relief to the closer, is a big mess right now. We can't even expect Berrios and Maeda to win games if they blow all leads or allow the opposition to extend their lead. Cave and Sano are a mess though at least Sano will hit a bomber once in a week. This division winner is quickly turning into an also-ran. However, it's a long season and I expect them to straighten things out (at least I hope). Things are always overblown either way at the start of the season. This team is like the Yankees right now. They aren't hitting either though their bullpen has been just a bit better and they've had some injury problems..

[Doctor Gast]

I didn't watch the game (got too late in Brazil). Had great hopes for Dobnak but it appears he's broken. I don't know all that contributed to it, I don't know if I can hang the blame on one person. All I know he's broken and needs to be fixed. But again if Dobnak got beat because of infield singles. He had done his job, it's infield not doing theirs.

Astudillo seemed to do pretty good as a reliever, maybe we found an answer when facing NL teams. ppl

[In My La Z boy]

Rocco isn't pulling the proper pitching strings. Every move seems wrong. Should have started Dobs - had 2 strikes on Trout - obviously should have left Pineda in the other day. Go to a 6 man rotation, and let your starters go further into the game dammit. Cannot explain Dobs other than the contract and the bullpen. Mowed em all down as a starter in the spring. Looks awful out of the pen so far. Well, almost everyone looks awful out of the pen so far. 

[jun]

A lineup of Buxton, Arraez, Cruz, Kirilloff, Donaldson, Kepler, Garver, Broxton, Simmons should be good both offensively and defensively. (Reserve: Polanco, Sano, Jeffers, Astudillo). Starters: Maeda, Berrios, Pineda, Shoemaker, Happ. Bullpen: Alcala (closer), Rogers, Robles, Duffey, Law, Thorpe (long reliever) Colome (low leverage and mop up) and Thielbar (mop up). Cave needs to go, Garlick and Dobnak need to be demoted.

[yeahyabetcha]

Another 4 inning start. Lack of quality starts and Rocco’s unwillingness to leave a starter in when a starter is having a good outing seems to be the main problem to me. Any team that has a plan to rely on the bullpen for 4 plus innings each game is going to have issues. I think the Twins BP is ok if it is not constantly being over worked.

[Joey Self]

Anyone figured out yet why an infield fly was called in the 6th inning with only Trout on first?  Donaldson made a great play in not catching the ball, and forcing Trout at 2nd. 

I looked up the rule at https://content.mlb.com/documents/2/2/4/305750224/2019_Official_Baseball_Rules_FINAL_.pdf on page 149, it says:

"An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an

attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort,
when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied,
before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations
himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the
purpose of this rule."

I've known since Little League that there had to be runners at 1st and 2nd or the bases loaded for a ball to be an infield fly.  The ump that called it needs to be instructed on that--AGAIN.

JcS

[USAFChief]

Anyone figured out yet why an infield fly was called in the 6th inning with only Trout on first? Donaldson made a great play in not catching the ball, and forcing Trout at 2nd.

 

I looked up the rule at https://content.mlb.com/documents/2/2/4/305750224/2019_Official_Baseball_Rules_FINAL_.pdf on page 149, it says:

 

"An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an

attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort,

when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied,

before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations

himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the

purpose of this rule."

 

I've known since Little League that there had to be runners at 1st and 2nd or the bases loaded for a ball to be an infield fly. The ump that called it needs to be instructed on that--AGAIN.

 

JcS

If an infield fly automatic out had been called, there'd be no force out of Trout at 2nd.

[Joey Self]

 

If an infield fly automatic out had been called, there'd be no force out of Trout at 2nd.

 

My point is that it wasn't an "infield fly" by the definition of the rule. There was only one man on base. 

A runner on first can be forced at second; the batter has to hustle down the line to make sure it isn't a double play. 

[MNT1996]

This potential success of this season was riding on a lot on if a good portion of the Twins lineup would revert back to their 2019 selves. There's a good chance that doesn't happen, and if it doesn't, I think it's going to be a hectic scramble for that 2nd wildcard spot. 

 

Side note: Twins front office needs to stop playing games. Get rid of Cave and call up Kirilloff already

[darwin22]

As others have noted this team---at this point---losers of 6 of last 7 games has been a complete TRAIN WRECK that Falvey & Levine need to correct NOW.

 

A few suggestions:

#1  Time to cut bait/DFA Jake Cave!  This is NOT the same serviceable 4th OFer that played reasonably well in 2018 and 2019.  He's atrocious!  Now 6-43 (.140 avg) with a .369 OPS...yes OPS...not talking about his slugging pct...his OPS.  Has 40% whiff rate with 17 K's, which mirrors what he did in 2020:  44K's and only 5 BB in 42 games.

 

Corresponding Move:  Call up Kirilloff.  Starting LF and backup/fill in 1B for Sano.  Time to put on your BIG BOY PANTS Alex and show what you can do.

 

#2  Demote Jeffers to alternate site.

Its not a RULE that Baldelli has to have 3 catchers available.  Astudillo has proved he can be decent as a backup to Garver.  

Time to put the heat on Garver and give him the regular job.  Although he had a key hit last night, he's showing that his monster 2019 was an aberration.  

Jeffers looks totally lost at the plate with his numbers proving it:  .190avg (4-21) with 12 K's and a .451 OPS.  

 

Corresponding Move:  Promote Travis Blankenhorn from alternate site to serve as backup 3B for Donaldson.  Can also play 2B.  Had good numbers in 2019 hitting .277 with 19 HRs and 54 RBI between Fort Myers and Pensacola (AA). 

 

#3 Demote Dobnak to alternate site.  Can't believe anyone could argue much with this but Dobnak's 11.88 ERA, 1.92 WHIP and .359 opponent batting average.

 

I think Dobnak IS STILL an important piece of this team, but has had trouble adjusting to his new role.  He's also been, in my opinion, hung out to dry by Baldelli pitching too many innings, but I digress.  With AAA games starting soon--1st week of May---Dobnak needs to stretched out as SP.  The inevitable injury to one of our SPs will happen, so he needs to be ready to fulfill SP5 slot.

 

Corresponding Move:  Promote Stashak back from alternate site.  Stashak needs to be a stabilizing/reliable option in bullpen.  With Dobnak at AAA--------Thorpe showed enough last night to stay in pen as "long man" and be a LH option for Baldelli as Thielbar hasnt proved he can a trusted option in a key late inning situation.

 

#4 Possible move-------If Garlick continues to struggle----especially his defense-----management needs to strongly look at calling Keon Broxton up for his slot.

 

Finally:  Something needs to be done with Baldelli's decision making:

1.  Inconsistent lineup decisions

2.  Pre-determined bullpen decisions

3.  Knowing what to do with his SP's--------Leaving Shoemaker in far too long--last Sundays game when he was losing if.  Hooking Pineda vs. BST with a 3-0 lead with his pitch count only at 80

 

Have to end with this:  Turned game off last night-----it was basically over at 5-3 in 7th-------after Upton's grand slam off Thielbar-------but I have to ask others:  Has anyone ever seen a MLB manager order an intentional walk to load the bases when the batter has 2 strikes??  I've watched MLB for over 40 years and have NEVER seen this.  Yes, I know it was Mike Trout.  But, with 1B open---------why order the IBB after Thielbar had got the count to 2-2?  Would be a moot point if Garver actually could've made a good throw to nail runner at 3B for 3rd out----------but what confidence is our good little buddy...trust the process...Rocco showing in Thielbar by ordering that walk with Upton on deck?   

 

If some serious changes aren't made in the near future-------this season will be over before Memorial Day.

[USAFChief]

My point is that it wasn't an "infield fly" by the definition of the rule. There was only one man on base.

 

A runner on first can be forced at second; the batter has to hustle down the line to make sure it isn't a double play.

All of which would seem to indicate there wasn't an infield fly automatic out called.

[Joey Self]

 

All of which would seem to indicate there wasn't an infield fly automatic out called.

 

Right.  So Trout should have been forced at second.  Donaldson didn't catch the ball.

I went to the Angels telecast this morning, and they also said an infield fly was called. The home plate ump looked like he made the hand gesture that the ball was dropped as it was being transferred, but that clearly didn't happen. 

 

JcS

[joefish]

It was not an infield fly rule call. They ruled that Donaldson intentionally dropped the ball.

You don't have to catch it, but you cannot intentionally drop it. There is a difference.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Anyone figured out yet why an infield fly was called in the 6th inning with only Trout on first? Donaldson made a great play in not catching the ball, and forcing Trout at 2nd.

 

As others have mentioned, infield fly wasn’t called. It was the intentional drop rule:

 

https://www.closecallsports.com/2017/09/phillips-dp-attempt-reversed-by.html

[twinbythebay]

As others have mentioned, infield fly wasn’t called. It was the intentional drop rule:https://www.closecallsports.com/2017/09/phillips-dp-attempt-reversed-by.html

I heard this call on the radio, and I had no idea this was a rule. Leave it to baseball to be so complex that I'm still learning new rules after a few decades!

[Heinie Manush]

Argggggh.  I'm so happy to be beyond the Terry Ryan anti-analytics reign but Rocco seems to be a slave to them.   I'll give him credit for being consistent, but pulling in the infield:  in the sixth inning, with a one run lead, with no outs, with a runner on second as well as third... for Trout makes no sense.