Game Recap: Pirates 6, Twins 2

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

The Minnesota Twins mustered just three hits in a 6-2 loss to the Pirates Saturday afternoon at Target Field. Read more about the game in today's recap.Box Score

Michael Pineda: 4.1 IP, 6, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Home Runs: None

Bottom 3 WPA: Pineda -.275, Arraez -.083, Donaldson -.080

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

Download attachment: chart.png

Unfortunately for the Minnesota Twins, a win streak — even one as minor as two games — just wasn’t in the cards.

 

The Twins fell Saturday afternoon to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-2, evening up the series at one win apiece. The team is now 7-12 overall.

 

Michael Pineda — who has been arguably the Twins’ best and most consistent starting pitcher during the early portion of the season — struggled in this one, allowing two home runs and surrendering five runs, though only four were earned, over 4 1/3 innings.

 

The team didn’t fare much better at the plate either, as they managed to drive in an anemic two runners and picked up only three hits, two being doubles off the bat of Jake Cave. Willians Astudillo picked up the team’s only other hit, a single.

 

However, Saturday didn’t contain only doom and gloom — just mostly — for the Twins, who did manage to have a couple of bright spots shine through.

 

For starters, Byron Buxton did this:

 

 

Additionally, Cave stayed hot, picking up two extra base hits after hitting his first home run of the season Friday night.

 

Finally, Devin Smeltzer pitched 4 2/3 shutout innings in his 2021 debut. He struck out three and only threw 52 pitches.

 

Other than that, things were pretty dreary. Jorge Polanco’s batting average dipped back below the Mendoza line following an 0-for-3 day, Ryan Jeffers continues to strike out at an alarming rate and Alex Kirilloff remains (officially) hitless in his major league career.

 

However, there is some evidence that the Twins got a little unlucky Saturday afternoon. They managed to hit nine balls — two less than the Pirates — that qualified as being hard hit by Baseball Savant, though only two — Cave’s doubles — were converted into hits. They also hit six balls that had an xBA of at least .500, including Astudillo’s single and one of Cave’s doubles; Kirilloff's fly out in the second inning had an xBA of .700 and Polanco's line out in the fourth an xBA of .870.

 

So it goes sometimes in the game of baseball. While frustrating due to the greater context of the first 19 games of the season, Saturday's loss was of the run-of-the-mill variety that occur many times throughout the course of the season, even among the league's best teams.

 

The Twins will look to bounce back Sunday afternoon and claim the series two games to one. Matt Shoemaker will take the hill and will face off against and as yet undetermined Pirates pitcher. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. CT.

 

Postgame Interview

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

[se7799]

Ouch. These hurt. But as someone pointed out to me on another thread, we are top 5 in hard hit percentage.

[jkcarew]

I feel bad for the fans that attended that game. Like going to a Timberwolves game with the air conditioner stuck on 45 degrees, and the cheerleaders out with COVID. An absolute and total waste of money and time.

[Aggies7]

was james rowson the greatest hitting coach of all time or what?

[MNT1996]

Fire the damn hitting coach

[jimbo92107]

Looking for bright notes... hmm. I will say Kirilloff looks competent at the plate. Like several other Twins, he made good contact, but drove fly balls straight at outfielders. Odds are that some of those drives will fall between the fielders at some point. 

 

Pineda looked like average Pineda, except he wasn't moving the ball around enough. Is that the catcher's fault?

[blindeke]

Imagine where they'd be without Cave and Astudillo carrying the team.

[puckstopper1]

Small positive but Smeltzer did a solid job as a long reliever and saved the rest of the bullpen.

[Darius]

This just isn’t a good baseball team. That’s about it.

[D.C Twins]

New hitting coach please (yes the sample size is large enough and no, Cruz and Donaldson are not dependent on a hitting coach)

[cHawk]

Hmm, must’ve missed a time warp. Must be July if we’re confirming we’re a bad team. My calendar says April. Infact, ALL of my calendars say April.

[cHawk]

Update: Weird, all of my NEIGHBOR’s calendars say April too.

[Doctor Gast]

This series is so weird so far. It seemed the spigot was locked shut with the top 6 players that should've been opened full blast. Only the bottom of the order (Cave and Astudillo) that were able to hit them. And that Pineda isn't a machine, he can have a bad game.

[Monticore]

I had hopes that maybe they could win 2 in a row, but...

 

The Turtle and Cave are the Ruth and Gehrig of this team.

[darwin22]

Call me a "fair weather" fan if you want.......Twins fan since 1972 as a 7-year old, but I didn't watch last night and glad I didn't invest any time today into this collection of coddled, soft and apathetic underachievers.  0-22 from the top 6 in your lineup against one of the WORST SP's in MLB--really?  

 

Will spend the rest of the season checking out the younger players at AA Wichita, High A Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers.  

 

A big waste of nearly $200 purchasing the MLB package on DirectV, but at least my wife can enjoy (at times) watching her favorite team.

 

This franchise is headed in the wrong direction------which starts at the top with Falvey/Levine down to the dugout-----Baldy and to the players.  A very sad commentary as I don't see any accountability from management and little if any fire/grit from players on the field.

 

30 years since last WS..............last playoff win in 2004...........last playoff series win in 2002.  18 straight playoff losses.  I'm done.

[MMMordabito]

Call me a "fair weather" fan if you want.......Twins fan since 1972 as a 7-year old, but I didn't watch last night and glad I didn't invest any time today into this collection of coddled, soft and apathetic underachievers. 0-22 from the top 6 in your lineup against one of the WORST SP's in MLB--really?

 

Will spend the rest of the season checking out the younger players at AA Wichita, High A Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers.

 

A big waste of nearly $200 purchasing the MLB package on DirectV, but at least my wife can enjoy (at times) watching her favorite team.

 

This franchise is headed in the wrong direction------which starts at the top with Falvey/Levine down to the dugout-----Baldy and to the players. A very sad commentary as I don't see any accountability from management and little if any fire/grit from players on the field.

 

30 years since last WS..............last playoff win in 2004...........last playoff series win in 2002. 18 straight playoff losses. I'm done.

Will you follow the Saints?

[MplsFan]

Attended the game today. First one since the pandemic. It was boring as heck. The players seemed as bored as the fans. Until the bats heat up and the players and Rocco show any urgency, I’m not going back. Appreciated Smeltzer’s effort today- he might be our best pitcher. Cave’s effort too (I said in another post that I’d be fine with him carrying us for a couple days).

[mikelink45]

 

Ouch. These hurt. But as someone pointed out to me on another thread, we are top 5 in hard hit percentage.

I am so proud of having hard hit outs!

[insagt1]

So far this month, the Twins team just isn't clicking or in synch at all. Yes there are injuries, but the lineups they have trotted out there last two games should have been able to produce more than4 runs...2 by 8th and 9th hitters solo HR's. Hitting (or lack of it} can't seem to get on the same page as the games where the pitching is good. the 'k count is frightening. Don't have to focus entirely on Sano...there are a ton of guys striking out far too often.

 

The two out hit with runners on has become an endangered species this season. We all know they can and should do better eventually. But the trend is not good. If it doesn't translate into 'w's' hard hit balls and 'better swings' don't mean very much at all.

 

Too much talent on this team to be looking this bad.

 

 

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

At least I did okay in Twingo...

[Aerodeliria]

 

I am so proud of having hard hit outs!

Thank you. I actually did LOL...

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

At least I did okay in Twingo...

A few of the interesting squares I had were:

 

- Cave RBI

- Jeffers walks on 4 pitches

- Twins throwing error

 

...but I couldn’t connect them

[theBOMisthebomb]

Attended the game today. First one since the pandemic. It was boring as heck. The players seemed as bored as the fans. Until the bats heat up and the players and Rocco show any urgency, I’m not going back. Appreciated Smeltzer’s effort today- he might be our best pitcher. Cave’s effort too (I said in another post that I’d be fine with him carrying us for a couple days).

I took my brother to the game today and my present to him was the ticket. He is a diehard as well, though doesn't go to as many games as me. He was not happy with the results or the effort. I felt almost bad he didn't enjoy the gift more.

[Aerodeliria]

For all of this talk of bullpen by committee, Baldelli more-or-less uses the same basic patterns for games. Irrespective of your feelings about this, it does not exactly jive with the outward posturing. This has resulted in a record of 2-6 in one-run games (0-3 in 'overtime'--my new preferred term) and 1-3 in two-run games. The good news is that, in general, the starters have exited the games in fairly good shape; the bad news is 'the system' hasn't really worked at all when turning games over to the bullpen.

 

The first-place Royals, who really do practice bullpen by committee FYI, are 5-0 in one-run games and 2-1 in two run games, and their system seems to be working. Should the Twins adopt a real bullpen by committee?

 

The season is long to be sure, but the farther a team is adrift, the harder it is to make up ground.

[PopRiveter]

I didn’t see the game and sounds like about all I missed was that Buxton gem.

Thankful that the video was in the article, because that was marvelous.

Otherwise, I made the right choice to catch a few fish.

[bighat]

Bloggers and Tweeters keep telling us that "It all evens out" - no, it doesn't. There is a reason some teams are 100-62, and other teams are 62-100.

 

The bullpen, fundamental defense, and offense have been godawful. If things continue the way they are going, the Twins won't even come close to making the playoffs - in fact they will field one of the worst MN teams in years.

 

Bloggers and Tweeters can dig around and find obscure stats that the Twins are excelling in (ie: from the 3rd-5th innings their XFIP + BABIP x WAR Squared is ranked 14th in baseball). Means nothing. I mean, I can probably find something positive about the Ice Capades but it doesn't mean it's a good production.

 

Five games is a small sample size. 20 games is not. This team is getting smoked by good teams and is barely able to compete with bad ones. They are vastly underperforming and deserve all the criticism they've been getting and then some.

 

 

[Dave The Dastardly]

"They managed to hit nine balls — two less than the Pirates — that qualified as being hard hit by Baseball Savant, though only two — Cave’s doubles — were converted into hits. They also hit six balls that had an xBA of at least .500, including Astudillo’s single and one of Cave’s doubles; Kirilloff's fly out in the second inning had an xBA of .700 and Polanco's line out in the fourth an xBA of .870."

 

How many runs did that put up on the scoreboard?

[Mahoning]

It seems that Buxton's heroics are always futile. He had that monster day on April 11, when the Twins led Seattle 6-0, then blew it. He made a great catch against Oakland, then again yesterday. Some frustration would be natural. Though Cave awakened from his slumbers yesterday, the Twins' outfield, especially without Garlick, is remarkably unproductive with the bat.

[spanman2]

A very capable team playing incredibly bad ball right now.

[Trov]

One thing I have noticed is most of the hits Twins are getting generally are balls being hit to the opposite field overall.  I am of belief this is the best way of hitting overall.  I hope the hitters start to embrace the approach more.  

 

In terms of Pineda, outside of the two HR, it was not a terrible outing.  The errors did not help, and so many of the hits were weak contact that fell in front of the OF.  Nothing more frustrating for a pitcher than weak contact getting hits and errors behind you.  You think, what do I have to do to get someone out?  

 

I will say MLB standings, outside of a couple of teams, are no where near expected at this point.  Still a long year, and hopefully this is just a terrible stretch and we will turn around soon.