June 2, 20215 yr The Twins fumbled in Baltimore Tuesday night, as all three phases of the game let them down in a drab 7-4 loss to the Orioles. Box Score Pineda: 3 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Garlick (4), Astudillo (4) Bottom 3 WPA: Pineda -.339, Polanco -.097, Sano -.068, Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Four pitches into the game Cedric Mullins was already standing comfortably at third base. Conversely, Mitch Garver was in a crumpled heap on the floor after taking a groin shot foul ball from Trey Mancini. The Twins immutable injury crisis continued to mount Tuesday. After being helped slowly from the field, the only available bench players for the Twins were Trevor Larnach (in a walking boot yesterday), Rob Refsnyder (LITERALLY a white outline of him painted on the Camden Yards outfield fence), and Nick Gordon (hasn’t played in a week). The Twins are a mess, don’t let the opposition fool you. Astudillo, pressed into outfield service, provided perhaps the most scarring experience for Twins fans on the 2nd pitch of the game. Cedric Mullins ripped a line drive to right field, La Tortuga was all over the place. Indeed, the route Astudillo took to the ball was more reminiscent of a play one would expect to see in Williamsport than Camden Yards. After a long Kyle Garlick home run tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the 3rd, Michael Pineda began to unravel. Pineda was giving up significant hard contact Tuesday night, with 7 batted ball events over 100mph through 3 innings. By the end of 3, the Orioles had a 5-1 lead, and an 84% chance to win the game. The Twins 4th inning response was best summed up by Jake Depue. Pineda was replaced by Luke Farrell in the bottom of the 4th inning. If you’re thinking tonight's waxing was unusual for Pineda, you’re right. Pedro Severino added a long home run to left field off a hanging Farrell breaking ball to make the lead 6-1 in the bottom of the 4th, and put the game beyond reach. The Twins showed flashes offensively throughout the rest of the game. They had runners on the corners in the top of the 5th before the incredibly disappointing Josh Donaldson struck out to end the threat. Nelson Cruz doubled to lead off the 6th. Kirilloff followed up with an RBI double of his own to narrow the lead to 6-2. Miguel Sanó and Willians Astudillo could not keep the inning going. The Twins can still win tomorrow and win the series with Baltimore. A victory would give them 8 victories in their last 11 contests. In spite of this, the Twins haven’t been convincing. This feels like a team walking up a downward facing escalator being pushed inexorably to the bottom. Entering play tonight, the Twins RDIFF was -21, the White Sox was +80. That tells you more about the cavernous gulf in class between the teams than the 10.5 game gap in the standings ever could. Juan Minaya entered in the 6th and gave up a home run to Maikel Franco on his first pitch. And so it went for the Twins pitching staff in this game, each pitcher entered, each pitcher promptly gave up ground to the Orioles. Any sniff of a comeback was immediately extinguished by Baltimore, leaving the Twins bench looking tired, exasperated, and frustrated. The Twins again threatened in the 7th, a Garlick walk and a Donaldson hit by pitch putting men on 1st and 2nd with one out. Dillon Tate walked Cruz to load the bases with one out. Trevor Larnach pinch hit for Rortvedt and struck out swinging. Kirilloff came through with a single to trim the lead to 7-3 with the bases still loaded. Polanco grounded out to short to end the inning. In the 8th, Astudillo cut the lead with a solo home run to left field, his 4th. Andrelton Simmons followed up with a single to center, the Twins again threatening. Simmons second guessed taking second base after the ball was thrown away by the pitcher, getting caught in a run down and providing the second little league caliber play of the night from the Twins. In their final half inning, the Twins again threatened. Trevor Larnach doubled Nelson Cruz over to 3rd. Alex Kirilloff struck out swinging, leaving Jorge Polanco as the Twins last hope. Bleacher Tweets On my recap days, I’m going to throw in a crowd sourced statistic, joke, story, or complaint to get more voices into the recap. This week, Cody Pirkl brings you more Twins gems. Bullpen Usage Chart FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Farrell 17 0 16 0 36 69 Minaya 0 0 13 0 33 46 Robles 0 21 0 16 0 37 Rogers 0 21 0 6 0 27 Colomé 0 0 10 0 17 27 Thielbar 0 0 22 0 0 22 Duffey 0 13 0 0 0 13 Alcala 0 10 0 0 0 10 What’s Next? On Wednesday, the Twins will send Randy Dobnak to the hill against Matt Harvey. First pitch is at 6:05 CT. View full article
June 2, 20215 yr 31 minutes ago, Jamie Cameron said: Pedro Florimon added a long home run to left field off a hanging Farrell breaking ball to make the lead 6-1 in the bottom of the 4th, and put the game beyond reach. Wrong Pedro.
June 2, 20215 yr Do you have to draw the short straw to get to describe these games? How painful. When two rookie outfielders (Larnach, Kiriloff), two waiver wire outfielders (Refsnyder, and Garlick) and the perpetual butt of the jokes - Astudillo are becoming your top five players the season does not look very good. (Sorry to leave you off the list Jose.)
June 2, 20215 yr Author 4 minutes ago, mikelink45 said: Do you have to draw the short straw to get to describe these games? How painful. When two rookie outfielders (Larnach, Kiriloff), two waiver wire outfielders (Refsnyder, and Garlick) and the perpetual butt of the jokes - Astudillo are becoming your top five players the season does not look very good. (Sorry to leave you off the list Jose.) I’ve definitely had my fair share of stinkers this year, but they allow me to mess around with different things with writing and paying attention to the prospects has been fun. Thanks for reading and commenting as always Mike!
June 2, 20215 yr Great write up. I was laughing enough to take the sting out of a loss. Just wish a highlight of Turtle’s route had been included.
June 2, 20215 yr Twins fall down and go boom tonite! I'm sure there is great relief in the O's clubhouse. No team really deserves to lose 14 in a row. Twins are simply cobbling together 9 guys who can still walk upright. Meanwhile Sano is nearly under .150. Used to do a BA watch like this for Chris Davis....another slugger turned k-king, who this year is mercifully out for the season with an injury (I hear) Donaldson's HR power is gone. Might also be the same for Cruz. Just a lousy night for the Twins...but someone had to lose to the O's eventually. We'll get 'em tomorrow.
June 2, 20215 yr At least we can rely on Pineda to give us five or six decent innings... You just can't brag on any Twins player these days...
June 2, 20215 yr ESPN writers still think the Twins have too much talent not to compete at least for the wildcard this year. Apparently, they get paid for writing such things I've heard. Sounds like a good gig.
June 2, 20215 yr 8 hours ago, Jamie Cameron said: I’ve definitely had my fair share of stinkers this year, but they allow me to mess around with different things with writing and paying attention to the prospects has been fun. Thanks for reading and commenting as always Mike! It's sad that this club has been reduced to prospect watching and goofing around with new things. I thought we were going to get a legitimate competitive window that lasts, not two seasons followed by the obligatory first round sweep. Maybe 2021 is a blip on the radar and they will turn it around in the second half or 2022 or something. Just looked at the standings and they fell behind Detroit again.
June 2, 20215 yr Not-so-bold prediction: Twins lose the rubber match, lose 3-of-4 in KC and lose 5-of-6 to the 'Stros & Yanks. I for one am really having trouble finding an excuse to watch this team. And that says a lot because I enjoy Twins baseball. Looking forward to the rebuild and the trade chips. Let's just hope someone catches fire. Starting pitching is always a big need at the deadline. If Pineda can at least stay healthy and have a couple more palatable starts he could fetch a prospect or two. It's a shame that the rest of our team has been playing so poorly. Dead horses like Cruz and Donladson aren't worth much.
June 2, 20215 yr It should be illegal to construct a team as bad as Baltimore — And we just lost to them.
June 2, 20215 yr A big Twins rally in the 7th? A walk, a HBO, and another walk. That's a comeback rally???
June 2, 20215 yr 9 minutes ago, terrydactyls said: A big Twins rally in the 7th? A walk, a HBO, and another walk. That's a comeback rally??? Yup. It's that kind of year. Enjoy the ride.
June 2, 20215 yr Author 9 hours ago, MplsFan said: Great write up. I was laughing enough to take the sting out of a loss. Just wish a highlight of Turtle’s route had been included. Thanks for reading! That definitely would have made it better.
June 2, 20215 yr Anyone else catch the disgust with which Provus described Simmons making an out on the bases, while trailing by multiple runs late? Even the perpetually positive Cory Provus couldn't hide his feelings about the awful play of this team. Speaking of that play...simply terrible baseball. Incredibly terrible. It's one thing to lack talent. But Rocco's team lacks the simple ability to play the game. They lack precision, fundamentals, smarts. They did that even when 300 HRs glossed it over, and it's gotten progressively worse.
June 2, 20215 yr Boy the Twins must be excited to see that they can sell more tickets for upcoming games - now, if only the fans were excited to buy those tickets. Who will win the attendance contest - Saints or Twins?
June 2, 20215 yr Will the injuries ever end? Was yesterday's loss the proverbial 'spike' in the coffin?
June 2, 20215 yr 9 minutes ago, USAFChief said: Anyone else catch the disgust with which Provus described Simmons making an out on the bases, while trailing by multiple runs late? Even the perpetually positive Cory Provus couldn't hide his feelings about the awful play of this team. Speaking of that play...simply terrible baseball. Incredibly terrible. It's one thing to lack talent. But Rocco's team lacks the simple ability to play the game. They lack precision, fundamentals, smarts. They did that even when 300 HRs glossed it over, and it's gotten progressively worse. Could Rocco himself be the problem?
June 2, 20215 yr 24 minutes ago, mikelink45 said: Boy the Twins must be excited to see that they can sell more tickets for upcoming games - now, if only the fans were excited to buy those tickets. Who will win the attendance contest - Saints or Twins? 20,000 seems like a good number for the Twins to aim for. The upcoming Yankees series should give them a boost.
June 2, 20215 yr 15 minutes ago, theBOMisthebomb said: 20,000 seems like a good number for the Twins to aim for. The upcoming Yankees series should give them a boost. Lets hope so - even the announcers are having trouble staying enthused. In July the Vikings start to dominate the news, lets hope the team has some momentum then. I would hope all the prospects are playing, but then that would only damage the St Paul team.
June 2, 20215 yr 1st time I saw Rotsedt (forgive me for slaughtering your the name) I wasn't impressed. He never got set fast enough to give the pitchers a good target. The OF was indeed scary, as Garlic anchored in CF and Astudillo tried to navigate through unfamiliar waters.. When will they realize that bats can't substitute the need for a true CFer. Umpiring was terrible! Uniforms helps to project a vibe team wants to instill. They have accomplished that objective. By bringing back the baby blues, looks like they have brought back the Twinkies Era. Missing opportunities, many wrong mindsets and not having a proactive trading system. The damage has been done, is it too late? I hope not but it'll take drastic measures.
June 2, 20215 yr I’m not trying to be overly pessimistic, but if there is going to be a major sell off, should Falvey and Levine be the ones doing it? An interesting read, would be a case by case analysis of the front office acquisitions, trades, releases etc since taking over the nucleus provided by Terry Ryan.
June 2, 20215 yr 13 minutes ago, ashbury said: "Drab" aptly describes this season. Generally they don't even lose interestingly. Really? It seems like the Twins 2021 season has largely been characterized by a failure to drive in baserunners, untimely fielding errors, plus some bullpen struggles. Those seem like interesting ways to lose, no? As compared to falling behind early and never mounting a serious challenge to even the score.
June 2, 20215 yr Kirilloff looks fantastic. Other than that, we have the trades and the rebuild to look forward to.
June 2, 20215 yr 40 minutes ago, Herschel78 said: I’m not trying to be overly pessimistic, but if there is going to be a major sell off, should Falvey and Levine be the ones doing it? An interesting read, would be a case by case analysis of the front office acquisitions, trades, releases etc since taking over the nucleus provided by Terry Ryan. Add to that how seemingly ill prepared this team is in the basic fundamentals of baseball. Yes, the injuries have thrown a curveball into their plans. But anyone who watched those teams back when Tom Kelly was managing this club is having a real problem watching this team [fortunately, some of us can't watch this team...thanks to BSN]. And the fact they aren't prepared to play the game falls entirely on the on field management...in my opinion. We also need to ask how that nucleus delivered by Mr. Ryan and his staff, Sano, Buxton, Rosario, Kepler, Polanco and Berrios, have not only not gotten better, in some cases aren't as good as they were a few years ago?
June 2, 20215 yr 3 hours ago, terrydactyls said: A big Twins rally in the 7th? A walk, a HBO, and another walk. That's a comeback rally??? It's not baseball, it's HBO!
June 2, 20215 yr This just up at MLBTradeRumors: "Twins catcher Mitch Garver exited last night’s game after taking a foul tip from the bat of Trey Mancini to the groin, and while the initial diagnosis was only a contusion, additional tests provided a more concerning outlook. Garver announced on his Instagram story that he underwent surgery after undergoing ultrasound imaging at the emergency room. Thankfully, Garver adds that he is “recovering well,” but the mere fact that surgery was required likely points to an absence of some note." And he had just heated up to 2019 Garver this last month.... Still no mention about whether he was wearing a cup or not. He had to be, right?
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