Roster Moves: OF Alex Kirilloff heads to the 10-day IL with recurring right wrist issues that caused him to miss time last season. The move is not official yet, but OF Trevor Larnach is expected to be recalled to the Twins. Larnach is currently slashing .105/.182/.105 at AAA in 5 games. Larnach OPS'd over 1.000 in 20 ST plate apperances.

Jharel Cotton, who pitched in last nights ballgame, has been DFA'd. The Twins have added Dereck Rodríguez to the 40 man, and called him up. 

 

The Pitchers

LHP Clayton Kershaw (10-8, 3.55 ERA, 144 K's, 121.2 IP) vs RHP Chris Paddack (7-7, 5.07 ERA, 99 K's, 108.1 IP)

The Twins get to see one of the best pitchers in the last decade plus in Clayton Kershaw. This is the first time the Twins will have seen Kershaw in his career. The southpaw has went from being the anchor of the rotation to being the 5th starter used, but there is still plenty left in the tank. Kershaw battled injuries last year, which is causing the Dodgers to be careful with his usage, as they know they'll be playing in October. Kershaw relies heavily on his slider, which opponents hit under .200 on in 2021. The pitch had a whiff rate of 44 percent, and he struck out 108 of his 144 opponents out with the pitch. The fastball is thrown around 35% percent of the time, and at just 90 MPH, it got hit to the tune of a .453 SLUG in 2021. Kershaw's third pitch is a big looping curve, which he primarily throws to RHH. The pitch had similar success to the slider last season. He may throw over a changeup once or twice, but don't count on it. He threw it just 11 times last season. Paddack, who has seen the Dodgers plenty, is looking to bounceback in a Twins uniform. The right hander threw his 4 seamer 60% of the time last season, but it got hit, and it got hit hard. Opponents hit .314 on the pitch, including .531 slug and 10 homers. The changeup, which is easily his best pitch, allowed opponents to hit just under .235 last year. The curveball, which is the key to unlocking Paddack's full potential, took a step forward last year, but still needs to be consistent. 

 

The Lineups

Twins

1. Byron Buxton (R) DH
2. Luis Arraez (L) 2B
3. Gio Urshela (R) 3B
4. Jorge Polanco (S) SS
5. Gary Sanchez (R) C
6. Max Kepler (L) RF
7. Miguel Sano (R) 1B
8. Gilberto Celestino (R) CF
9. Nick Gordon (L) LF

Dodgers

1. Mookie Betts (R) RF
2. Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
3. Trea Turner (R) SS
4. Max Muncy (L) DH
5. Justin Turner (R) 3B
6. Chris Taylor (R) LF
7. Cody Bellinger (L) CF
8. Gavin Lux (L) 2B
9. Austin Barnes (R) C

Buxton slides into the DH role today in order to keep him off his feet, with Gilberto Celestino sliding over to CF in todays game. Arraez gets the start in the field against a lefty with Correa taking a day off. Arraez was not clean in the field at third base last night. Polanco gets his first start at SS in a long while, with Sanchez starting behind the dish. Kepler stays in RF even with Buxton out of the lineup. Kepler showed promise with two hits off lefties last night, including a double. Sano, who is still hitless, gets another chance against a southpaw. Nick Gordon slides in for the injured Alex Kiriloff. The Dodger's lineup looks largely the same, with the only change being behind the dish. Will Smith (not him, or him), gets the day off with Austin Barnes calling pitches.

Vegas Odds: Dodgers -190, Twins +160. O/U 8.5.

 

On This Day: 1984 - Pete Rose, then playing for the Montreal Expos, gets his 4,000th career hit joining Ty Cobb as the only two players in Major League history to collect that many hits. This hit comes exactly 21 years after Rose collected his first career hit.

 

Pick to Click: Gio Urshella hits another homer.

 

Prediction: Dodgers 7, Twins 3

 

Go Twins!

Today I learned Dereck Rodriguez is back in the Twins organization. Good luck to him. I’m assuming he’s long inning insurance in case of a rough start from Paddack?

Wish Rocco would have Correa use tomorrow for his off day with the rest of the club. Need that $35 million presence in the field every day, esp against a lefty! Shifts Polanco to short and Buck DHing as well. Not a fan. Good luck Paddack!

Quick hook for Cotton.  I guess I didn't see him pitch too much.

5 minutes ago, Puckett34 said:

Quick hook for Cotton.  I guess I didn't see him pitch too much.

I'm surprised they gave up on Cotton before they gave up on Romero just because they kept Cotton around all off-season and he got the job over Minaya. Either way, I don't think either is a difference maker. Rodreguiez probably isn't any good either. 

Eddie.

37 degrees, 20 MPH wind gusts, with a chance of snow. I’m sure the Dodgers are thrilled to be here for this mini series. 

Nothing like Minnesota in April. Find Your True North. That's why I live in LA. Here it's Find Your True Fruits and Nuts. 

Kiriloff DOESN'T catch that. Fantastic

Just now, Mill1634 said:

Kiriloff DOESN'T catch that. Fantastic

Maybe, maybe not, because Kirilloff probably doesn't have to dive sideways for it.

What a boneheaded play by Gio.

I bet we could trade this dude for a good left handed reliever. 

Paddack's velo is way down here early. Probably too early to be concerned too much with the weather, but something to keep an eye on.

1 minute ago, Mill1634 said:

I bet we could trade this dude for a good left handed reliever. 

Don't put too much stock in this start from Paddack. It's cold and he's facing an incredible offense, a team he's probably seen more than any other team in his career.

Starting him against the Dodgers was a questionable move.

Urshela’s had a rough couple of days defensively. 

My interest in watching the rest of this game is vanishing fast. Does Paddack have options left?

My god. Bad news bears. 

Paddack is not having a very nice day.

I think we're seeing who goes to the bullpen when we go to a 5 man rotation

Is there a return policy on trades? I’d like Taylor Rogers back. 

Maybe the Twins could trade for Bellinger to bat between Sano and Sanchez. Could set records!

Minor miracle that we got out of that only allowing 2. Still gives you a chance. Hopefully Paddack settles in and can give us 3 or 4 innings. 

Yeay! Half an inning clmplete!

And we stranded more runners than we let in.

We seem to be back to the old, bad Buxton at the plate. Bad swings at low, 2-strike breaking balls out of the strike zone three times in two games. 

Strike outs and errors, the Old Twins are back.

11 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Don't put too much stock in this start from Paddack. It's cold and he's facing an incredible offense, a team he's probably seen more than any other team in his career.

Starting him against the Dodgers was a questionable move.

At a certain point, pitchers have to be able to get results against teams that have seen them before.  If Paddack is here for 3 years, he's going to see the Central teams 10-12 times each.  If indeed Paddack shouldn't be started against a team that's seen him only 6 times from 2019-2021, then trading for him was a massive mistake.

3 minutes ago, PDX Twin said:

We seem to be back to the old, bad Buxton at the plate. Bad swings at low, 2-strike breaking balls out of the strike zone three times in two games. 

Everyone is aware of what Buxton can do now, and there's going to be some adjustments.  Buck is gonna have to adjust too.

Only 3 hits, two errors, a SB and a HBP.

2 runs in the first. Not a stretch to think that will be enough for Kershaw.  I’m aware it’s early, but I’m also very familiar with this scenario. Next is a series of 1 inning stunts from at least 5 relievers.