Game Recap: Royals 7, Twins 4

[Thiéres Rabelo]

The Twins visited a last-placed Royals team, coming off a then league-worst nine consecutive losses. Even though Minnesota built an early three-run lead, J.A. Happ struggled badly, allowing six runs, and the Twins simply couldn’t bounce back. They drop four in a row and are now back at last place.

Box Score
Happ: 4.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Happ -.405, Cruz -.135, Arraez -.092

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Unsurprisingly, J.A. Happ and Brady Singer both struggled early in the game, making this a high-scoring affair very quickly. Minnesota manufactured three runs in the top of the first: Luis Arraez and Josh Donaldson hit back-to-back doubles to open the game and Trevor Larnach scored both of them with a grounder towards the mound. Singer made an awful throw to home plate, which not only allowed Donaldson to score but also Larnach to reach second. Alex Kirilloff joined the party and pushed Larny across on a single, a couple of at-bats later.

But that wouldn’t last. As a matter of fact, Happ pitched an incredibly good first inning, retiring the top of the Kansas City order on only seven pitches. For a moment, things actually looked like they were going to go smoothly for a change. But it’s the 2021 Twins we’re talking about.

After the offense went down in order in the top of the second, the ballgame was tied before a single out could be recorded. Happ gave up four consecutive hits to open the home second, including a leadoff home run to Salvador Pérez and a couple of doubles. Singer wasn’t sharp either and the Twins threatened in the following inning, loading the bases for Max Kepler. He struck out to end the inning, failing to end his slump.

Also in the third, the Royals took their first lead of the game. Pérez hit a one-out single and was followed by a home run by Hanser Alberto. The Royal lineup ambushed Happ once again in the fifth, with three consecutive hits to start the inning. The third one, an RBI-single by Carlos Santana, gave Kansas City a 6-3 lead. Happ was done shortly after that and he has now allowed 47 runs in his last 47 innings. Could he be the next Twins starter to be DFA’d, joining Matt Shoemaker?

The offense even tried to start a rally during the sixth inning. Royals reliever Jake Brentz loaded the bases without recording an out, but all the Twins could get was one run, with Arraez grounding into a double play to score Kepler.

Tyler Duffey and Alexander Colomé provided a couple of rather uneventful, scoreless innings, while Danny Coulombe pitched himself in and out of a jam in the seventh. Their effort kept the Twins within two runs, with a chance to win it. But then Taylor Rogers, out of all people, struggled with his command during the eighth. He tossed two wild pitches in the inning, allowing Nicky Lopez -- who had hit a double off him -- to advance from second to third and then score standing. Donaldson managed to reach in the ninth, but the threat never materialized.

Postgame interview

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	SUN	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	TOT
Coulombe	0	0	43	0	0	16	59
Duffey	23	0	15	0	0	13	51
Thielbar	30	0	0	16	0	0	46
Robles	0	0	0	0	34	0	34
Law	0	0	0	0	32	0	32
Colomé	0	0	0	14	0	17	31
Rogers	0	0	0	0	0	22	22
Alcala	0	0	0	0	19	0	19
Jax	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[beckmt]

Yes, time to DFA Happ.  It is time for the prospects, nothing to lost now.

[darwin22]

Although only a short 20 minute drive away from Kauffman Stadium, I had ZERO interest in attending tonights game as I knew the Twins/JA Happ would be just the remedy for the Royals to end their 9 game losing streak.  

A few observations after ANOTHER bad night of baseball:

1.  JA Happ:  Can we just end his tenure now?  For those who argue that Happ should maintain his spot in rotation-----PLEASE....PRETTY PLEASE respond with a detailed argument in his favor.

Noticed a 3-0 lead after 1st inning and commented to my spouse..."well...Happ will p*ss away this lead very soon."  I wasn't mistaken.  

Im sure front office doesn't want to eat whatever portion of Happ's $8m contract a DFA would result in. With Shoemaker gone (good riddance), why can't Happ be relegated to long relief as I can't believe any contending MLB team would want him.

2. Offense disappears after a 3-0 start.  Hmm...we've sure seen that far too frequently this season. Best chance to get back in this game came in the 6th as Twins had bases loaded with no outs.  What followed was a microcosm of this teams inability to perform with RISP.  Arraez DP and JD whiff results in 1 measly run.  Just horrible.

3.  What do with starting rotation moving forward?  Yes, a poor rehab AAA start for Pineda last night, but his reasonable success earlier this season combined with his strong performance in 2019 and 2020-imo, should make him a commodity on the trade market.  So assuming Twins can find a way to deal him, what would starting rotation look like for rest of season.

My thoughts:

SP1  Berrios:  Count me in the camp that is 95% in favor of keeping Berrios and looking in the offseason to find a way to sign him to a contract extension.

SP2  Maeda:  If he can stay healthy----you just got to hope--what else can we do?------he can find some semblance of the reliable (and productive) SP we was in 2020

SP3 Bailey Ober:  May be in the minority here.....but I like Ober's upside and he's shown in his starts (subtract starts vs. White Sox) that his stuff can play at this level.

Here's where things change...

SP4  Charlie Barnes:  Promotion from AAA Saint Paul.  In 9 GS this season Barnes is 3-2 with a 3.94 ERA/ 1.27 WHIP with a strong K/BB rate (43-15) and respectable/good opponents batting avg (.240).  Although Barnes had two BAD starts in June----he did have 3 excellent starts allowing only 1 ER in 17 IP.  IMO, its time...rest of season is 100% for evaluation---to see what he (and others) can do.  Barnes is only 25. 4th Rd. pick in 2017 draft out of Clemson.

SP5   Josh Winder:  Yes, I'm going there.  Not as highly touted as others (Balazovic & Duran), but this kid is showing he's ready for "The Show"  After dominating in 10 starts at Wichita in May and June (only 1 start with 2+ ER allowed)...his performance tonight against Omaha in his AAA debut was nothing short of fantastic.  5.2 IP...1  hit...2 walks...1 ER and 8K's.  If he can pitch close to what he's done all season the next 2 weeks, I see ZERO downside to getting him in rotation soon after the AS break.

Backup SP Option:  Dobnak.  Hasn't done much to justify getting regular starts, but his most recent start--if memory serves---showed some promise.

[Vanimal46]

Father Time won again against Happ. It’s painful we are seeing the end of his MLB career without any nostalgia connected with his career.

Everyone that was relied upon to replace Happ/Shoemaker at some point is injured or ineffective. It’s debatable now whether relying on Dobnak, Smeltzer, Thorpe, Balazovic, or Duran was smart heading into the season. The unfortunate reality is all of them have been hurt for durations if not all of the season. Now we’re talking about rushing Winder to the show after 1 AAA start… It’s sad that he’s the lone wolf remaining as upside pitchers available in the farm. 

 

 

[Game7-91]

[VivaBomboRivera!]

1 hour ago, beckmt said:

Yes, time to DFA Happ.  It is time for the prospects, nothing to lost now.

Good idea to find his replacement first.

Quote

Tyler Duffey and Alexander Colomé provided a couple of rather uneventful, scoreless innings, while Danny Coulombe pitched himself in and out of a jam in the seventh. Their effort kept the Twins within two runs, with a chance to win it.

For those aching to find a bright spot, this was probably it.

Oh, there was another bright spot - Jim Kaat on the color commentary through until the break.  That'll keep me tuning in.

This ball club needs therapy.

[beckmt]

17 minutes ago, VivaBomboRivera! said:

Good idea to find his replacement first.

 

Try any of the rookies,  Winder would be my choice as first option.  We have lots more.

[Yawn Gardenhose]

27 minutes ago, VivaBomboRivera! said:

Oh, there was another bright spot - Jim Kaat on the color commentary through until the break.  That'll keep me tuning in.

Big fan of Kaat's clear and consistent rejection of analytics. Not sugarcoating it, yet not coming off as a sourpuss. That's a tough needle to thread these days, and he did it deftly. More please. 

[Johnny Ringo]

Kaat was and is the best color commentator going. It continues to baffle me that he is not in the HOF as a player. Yes a modest WAR of 51, but 283 wins, 16 Gold Gloves, 25 years in the Show, an amazing ambassador for the game and a world class guy. His continued exclusion breaks my heart. 

[SoDakTwinsFan4]

2 hours ago, VivaBomboRivera! said:

Oh, there was another bright spot - Jim Kaat on the color commentary through until the break.  That'll keep me tuning in.

Exactly. Old Jim isn't afraid to criticize unlike the other analysts on BSN North

[VivaBomboRivera!]

44 minutes ago, SoDakTwinsFan4 said:

Exactly. Old Jim isn't afraid to criticize unlike the other analysts on BSN North

He certainly had some observations on Kepler's batting approach.

Kaat is not hostile to analytics at all. A man with his intelligence couldn't be. He balances that understanding with a grasp of pitching, hitting and fielding mechanics that enhances the spectators' enjoyment of the game.

Oh, and he certainly is supposed to be in the hall...

[USAFChief]

So let me get this straight....there's a clock "somewhere in each stadium" that lets managers and umps know if they have time to challenge a call, and....

 

THE MANAGER OF THE MINNESOTA TWINS DOESNT KNOW AHEAD OF TIME WHERE THAT CLOCK IS??!?

 

That's either a bald faced lie, or an admission that Rocco and his staff are woefully unprepared to do their job. And further, don't take their job seriously. 

How is it possible he doesn't know that piece of "grounds rules" information? In ANY stadium, much less a division rival where the Twins play 8 or 9 times a year? Did KC recently move this clock? And if so, how is that any excuse?

This may sound trivial to some of you, but I do not concur. If true--and why would he lie to us about it--it's an incredibly damning indication he doesn't give his job anywhere near the attention it deserves. 

What else isn't important enough for him to care about?

For the record, it also seems impossible to believe that after Friday night's game, he doesn't know what the plan is for Saturdays pitching. No injury, nothing unusually short about Happ's start, no unusual reliever usage. Nothing. But he has no idea who's pitching THE NEXT DAY?

[Swing Batter-Batter]

Really enjoyed Jim Kaat and his analysis. I was initially surprised at his analysis of some of the batters but, then after thinking about it, it made perfect sense. His job was to get those guys out when he played.

[Whitey333]

What happened to Max Kepler?  He used to be such a solid player.  He's just a shell of what he used to be.  And by the way do the Twins have a manager?

[roger]

When looking for starting pitchers to replace Happ, Pineda, et. al., no one is considering Player A.  With all the trading the FO should be doing over the next four weeks, there should be at least one pitcher coming back who is close to the major leagues.  Say someone on a similar schedule as Winder and either is ready for a promotion to AAA or recently promoted.  Or maybe someone that was called up for a game or two earlier this season and is back at AAA. 

That's Player A, who following the trade joins the Twins rotation for the remaining two months of the season.  With all the guys potentially leaving, if they can't get at least one good pitcher who fits the above description, then put the guys in the front office on the same boat with the Manager and ship the whole bloody lot off for wherever.

[Mahoning]

Add me to the list of those who appreciate Jim Kaat. What a breath of fresh air! Unlike the babbling Morneau and Smalley, who mumble at least twice and mostly just repeat the standard "wisdom," Kaat speaks clearly, adds some information, and says it just once. Last night he marveled at Rortvedt missing ball after ball because, at least in part, he sits on the ground so he can't shift to block balls. Kaat wondered why.

[Mahoning]

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

What happened to Max Kepler?  He used to be such a solid player.  He's just a shell of what he used to be.  And by the way do the Twins have a manager?

Everyone -- especially Bremer and Morneau -- seems to believe that 2019 was the REAL Kepler, whereas the evidence is mounting that it was an extreme anomaly. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

28 minutes ago, Mahoning said:

Add me to the list of those who appreciate Jim Kaat. What a breath of fresh air! Unlike the babbling Morneau and Smalley, who mumble at least twice and mostly just repeat the standard "wisdom," Kaat speaks clearly, adds some information, and says it just once. Last night he marveled at Rortvedt missing ball after ball because, at least in part, he sits on the ground so he can't shift to block balls. Kaat wondered why.

Good comment.

The radio guys have been asking all year why our catchers plant themselves into the ground and then have trouble moving to block pitches. The breaking pitch in the dirt is a tool in the toolbox a pitcher must have, especially today with the more effective uppercut swings at the low pitches. we see.

The radio guys were also pretty much describing how angry Taylor Rogers was while trying to pitch the 8th last night, with all the shakeoffs and then the last wild pitch which was not blocked. I am going to have to take the side of Taylor Rogers on this one.

[bighat]

Any doubts they Twins get swept in KC?  White Sox had lost 8-of-9, played the Twins and swept 'em. Royals had lost 9 straight, played the Twins....bingo.

This team is every bit as bad as their record shows. On paper they're better, but watch them play a series and it's obvious they're terrible. If you can't blame the manager when a team has no fire, grit, and plays lackluster ballgames, who can you blame? Sure the FO didn't give the Twins a chance with pitching, but it's the manager's job to pick up a team when they're deflated. Rocco has utterly failed in coaching his team up this year.

Glad to see Donaldson trade talks are heating up. Cruz should get the Twins a couple lottery tickets. Here's hoping this team starts auditioning young starting pitchers sooner rather than later. Season's been over for a month, time to see what we've got in AAA and AA.

 

[darwin22]

8 minutes ago, bighat said:

Any doubts they Twins get swept in KC?  White Sox had lost 8-of-9, played the Twins and swept 'em. Royals had lost 9 straight, played the Twins....bingo.

This team is every bit as bad as their record shows. On paper they're better, but watch them play a series and it's obvious they're terrible. If you can't blame the manager when a team has no fire, grit, and plays lackluster ballgames, who can you blame? Sure the FO didn't give the Twins a chance with pitching, but it's the manager's job to pick up a team when they're deflated. Rocco has utterly failed in coaching his team up this year.

Glad to see Donaldson trade talks are heating up. Cruz should get the Twins a couple lottery tickets. Here's hoping this team starts auditioning young starting pitchers sooner rather than later. Season's been over for a month, time to see what we've got in AAA and AA.

 

Bighat:  Excellent analysis of the sad state of affairs with what USED to be a franchise with players (Hrbek, Gaetti, Mienkiewicz) who played with emotion--grit--intensity and HATED to lose.  I think you nailed it with Rocco.  His managerial style---trust the process, play for tomorrow--must be what the FO wants.  Its not what I want.  Attitude reflects leadership. Rocco's laid back style is NOT working.  I'm not advocating a "Billy Martin clone" replacement, but I really wonder if Rocco has the internal talent to motivate his players.  Will be interesting to see what transpires over the next few weeks as Cruz, Pineda and Simmons---all on expiring contracts--should be dealt.  

[Danchat]

1 hour ago, Mahoning said:

Everyone -- especially Bremer and Morneau -- seems to believe that 2019 was the REAL Kepler, whereas the evidence is mounting that it was an extreme anomaly. 

Yes, Kepler's career is generally overrated, but he's currently faring worse than he's usually been, hitting around .680 OPS. Plus, since he returned from injury, he's hitting .158 with a 37% K rate. Right now, I'd rather see Sano in the lineup than Kepler.

[bighat]

14 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

Bighat:  Excellent analysis of the sad state of affairs with what USED to be a franchise with players (Hrbek, Gaetti, Mienkiewicz) who played with emotion--grit--intensity and HATED to lose.  I think you nailed it with Rocco.  His managerial style---trust the process, play for tomorrow--must be what the FO wants.  Its not what I want.  Attitude reflects leadership. Rocco's laid back style is NOT working.  I'm not advocating a "Billy Martin clone" replacement, but I really wonder if Rocco has the internal talent to motivate his players.  Will be interesting to see what transpires over the next few weeks as Cruz, Pineda and Simmons---all on expiring contracts--should be dealt.  

Don't forget Kirby "jump on my back, boys" Puckett!

Yeah. Say what you will about Gardy, the guy was a firebrand and lots of players gravitated to him. Rocco seems much the opposite - that can be okay, as evidenced by our own Tom Kelly, who sat stonefaced in the dugout as the team clinched a game 7 victory in the World Series. 

Rocco's very much a low-energy guy, which might work well for teams that are winning but for underachieving teams he doesn't seem to be a good fit. Then again, underachieving teams are probably the toughest to manage. Losing teams are one thing - but underachieving teams are a different animal. Bad situation all around.

 

[beckmt]

1 hour ago, darwin22 said:

Bighat:  Excellent analysis of the sad state of affairs with what USED to be a franchise with players (Hrbek, Gaetti, Mienkiewicz) who played with emotion--grit--intensity and HATED to lose.  I think you nailed it with Rocco.  His managerial style---trust the process, play for tomorrow--must be what the FO wants.  Its not what I want.  Attitude reflects leadership. Rocco's laid back style is NOT working.  I'm not advocating a "Billy Martin clone" replacement, but I really wonder if Rocco has the internal talent to motivate his players.  Will be interesting to see what transpires over the next few weeks as Cruz, Pineda and Simmons---all on expiring contracts--should be dealt.  

IT will be interesting to see the quotes of the departing players.  Most will say nothing, but there might be an outer or two

[TwinsChupacabra]

And the Turtle can't catch and hit better than Rortvedt?  Rocco never gave him a real chance at catcher, the only position that would have given him some stability on the team.   

Hope you enjoy the sub .200 BA's.

[Danchat]

3 hours ago, TwinsChupacabra said:

And the Turtle can't catch and hit better than Rortvedt?  Rocco never gave him a real chance at catcher, the only position that would have given him some stability on the team.   

Hope you enjoy the sub .200 BA's.

Rortvedt is light years ahead of Tortgua defensively. The best outcome for Rortvedt will probably be hitting .220 with some pop, and top-notch fielding as a catcher - there's a reason why Drew Butera lasted so long in the majors.