Twins 9, Rays 4: Buxton Homers Twice, Twins Offense Crushes The Rays

[Thiéres Rabelo]

In yet another inspired night by the offense, who had Byron Buxton homer twice, the Twins got a convincing win against the Rays to start the series. Devin Smeltzer had a quality start, despite not finishing it the way he wanted.

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Devin Smeltzer, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (96 pitches, 61 strikes, 63.5%)
Home Runs: Byron Buxton, 2 (17), Carlos Correa (5)
Top 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (.198), Devin Smeltzer (.110), Jorge Polanco (.082)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Over the last seven days, the Twins offense has experienced a spike in productivity. Coming into this game, they had baseball’s second-best OPS in that span, at .945. The bats continued to impress at the beginning of this game. Despite capitalizing on only one run, five of the first eleven Minnesota batters reached safely.

They quickly jumped to a 1-0 lead with a second-decker from Byron Buxton five pitches into the game. According to Aaron Gleeman, that home run raised Buxton’s SLG to .702 since May 26, when he snapped a 0-for-30 slump. It was Byron’s fifth homer in the past six games – only his second of the season as a designated hitter.

Despite having several batters reach base, the Twins failed to bring them home. Through four innings, Minnesota went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Fortunately for them, Devin Smeltzer put together another lovely outing.

The Rays tied the game in the top of the second on an Isaac Paredes long solo home run. Smeltzer gave up a leadoff walk to start the third but then followed that up brilliantly: he retired nine consecutive batters on only 35 pitches. He completed five innings of one-run ball with only 70 pitches. All he needed at that moment was some run support.

Twins explode for six runs in the fifth
Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen kept the Twins scoring on a leash during the first four innings, but his start was wrecked in the fifth inning. Minnesota crushed him scoring four runs on six hits, four of them for extra bases – not to mention a walk drawn by Trevor Larnach.

Buxton led the way hitting his second solo home run of the night, smashing a low-hanging slider for a line drive that barely cleared the centerfield wall into the Twins bullpen. With that dinger, Buxton became only the fourth player in Twins history with back-to-back multi-homer games, joining Don Mincher, Kirby Puckett, and Eddie Rosario.

Two more runs came in the following three at-bats when Carlos Correa hit a double to left, then was pushed across by Max Kepler, thanks to a fielding error. Kepler himself scored next, with Jorge Polanco hitting a double to left, making it 4-1 Minnesota.

A mound visit didn’t help Rasmussen, as he gave up a walk to Trevor Larnach. Gary Sánchez then hit a grounder to left that third baseman Yandy Díaz couldn’t glove, allowing Polanco to score the fifth run and Larnach to go to third. That was the end of the night for Rasmussen, but not the end of the Twins' scoring spree.

Now facing old friend Ralph Garza Jr., Nick Gordon got a two-out single off the end of the bat to bring home Sánchez. At this point, Luis Arráez was the only Twin not to reach base on the night. That, of course, would change as he followed Gordon’s RBI single with one of his own. He hit a liner to right that scored Gio Urshela from second, making 7-1 Twins.

Smeltzer pitches into the seventh, departs after being roughed up
After five brilliant innings, Smeltzer pitched yet another scoreless frame in the sixth inning. His streak of consecutive retired batters reached eleven before he gave up a two-out single to Harold Ramírez. He struck out Díaz to end the inning with a healthy 84-pitch count, which made the decision to bring him back for the seventh a no-brainer.

Unfortunately for him, his almost impeccable start was stained, and he had to leave the game before he could record a single out in the inning. Randy Arozarena hit a long flyball to deep center that could’ve been gloved, but Gordon failed to. It took Kepler too long to get to the ball that bounced off the centerfield wall, which allowed Arozarena to score an inside-the-park home run.

On the very next pitch, Vidal Bruján hit a bullet to deep left, out of Larnach’s reach, for another home run. Even after a mound visit, Smeltzer seemed a bit off, and after an eight-pitch at-bat, he gave up a walk to Paredes, prompting Rocco Baldelli to pull him from the game. Griffin Jax came into the game and, with three strikeouts, made sure the Rays didn’t score anymore.

The Twins bullpen needed some damage control after Thursday’s meltdown against the Yankees. Jax striking out the side and preventing a Rays rally in the seventh was a good start. Then, in the eighth, Baldelli made the odd choice of bringing Joe Smith into the game (he tossed 26 pitches the night before). He had a blown save on Thursday night, giving up a game-tying two-run home run.

Maybe one way to reason for bringing Smith into this game is that he could regain some confidence. Coming into tonight’s game, he had an awful 8.44 ERA in his previous seven appearances. He could use a good outing here. But he wasn’t off to a good start, giving up back-to-back singles to Manuel Margot and Ramírez. Margot would end up scoring on an Arozarena groundout, but Smith managed to keep the damage to the one run.

Correa adds on some insurance
Garza Jr. settled down and finished his outing by retiring seven out of eight batters, keeping the Twins offense scoreless in the sixth and the seventh innings. But once he departed the game, the Twins bats were back at scoring some more runs.

Arráez hit a leadoff single to open the eighth and, a couple of at-bats later, Correa took reliever Calvin Faucher deep for his fifth home run of the year, breaking the game open once again. Then, it was up to Emilio Pagán, who had no trouble closing out the game with a perfect ninth, making it his fourth scoreless appearance in the last five games.

What’s Next?
Both teams are back on the field tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:10 pm CDT. No starter has been officially determined by the Twins yet, while the Rays will turn to rookie righty Shane Baz, who will be making his season debut.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	TOT
Smith	0	0	0	26	24	50
Cano	0	33	0	13	0	46
Jax	0	0	27	0	14	41
Megill	0	38	0	0	0	38
Moran	0	0	0	36	0	36
Pagán	0	0	15	0	15	30
Duffey	0	19	0	0	0	19
Duran	0	0	0	15	0	15
Thielbar	0	0	14	0	0	14
Cotton	0	0	0	13	0	13

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[BH67]

Welcome to ABC Primetime.  The Summer of Arraez, Buxton and Correa will be fantastic.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

That was a cleanse.

[FlyingFinn]

Chi Chi Gonzalez pitching tomorrow.

[GNess]

I don't understand the takes on this year's Twins that state emphatically, "They can make playoffs, but can't win it all." 

First of all, the current Twins roster will likely change (improve?) near the trade deadline. Secondly, the Twins can score and defend - if any 1 or 2 of the pitchers such as Gray, Ryan or Pitcher X gets hot, of course they can win it all.

Baseball and almost all professional sports have numerous examples of the hot team winning it all even if they weren't the best on paper - like the 87 Twins.

Added benefit - this team is fun.

 

[wsnydes]

Nice bounce back after yesterday's collapse.  Good to see the bats putting together big innings as well as putting the ball over the fence.

And another good outing from Smeltzer.  I don't know how he do, but I'm glad he do and I enjoy watching him do.  No idea how long it lasts, but I'll gladly take it while Iit does.

[Unwinder]

I was at this game! And I was about ten feet from where the first Buxton homer landed! Very fun game to be at.

I'm guessing Smith got the nod today to keep as many arms as possible fresh for the Chi Chi Gonzales start tomorrow.

[Aggies7]

I applaud Rocco for bringing smeltzer out for the 7th, even though he gave up the inside the parker and the subsequent homer. Maybe it wasn’t that tough a call in a 6 run game but I’m glad he got a shot. 

[ashbury]

Kudos to perennial whipping boy Pagan for his clean ninth.

[USAFChief]

Smeltzer has really been a godsend. 

[jimbo92107]

Smeltzer further cements his rightful place in the starting rotation. Who else on the staff goes that deep into a game, more than once?

Pagan was used properly this time. Five runs ahead, and his worst implosion was for two or three runs. With little pressure, he worked his stuff the way he's supposed to. Very live arm, just needs to get his confidence back. 

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, GNess said:

I don't understand the takes on this year's Twins that state emphatically, "They can make playoffs, but can't win it all." 

First of all, the current Twins roster will likely change (improve?) near the trade deadline. Secondly, the Twins can score and defend - if any 1 or 2 of the pitchers such as Gray, Ryan or Pitcher X gets hot, of course they can win it all.

Baseball and almost all professional sports have numerous examples of the hot team winning it all even if they weren't the best on paper - like the 87 Twins.

Added benefit - this team is fun.

 

Because the playoffs are a different game than the regular season. In the playoffs, the back end rotation arms don't even pitch. There aren't rest days and depth is often irrelevant. 

Across a regular season, 3 starters worth a #3 spot can get you into the playoffs, but once a team gets to the playoffs it goes:
Team A #1 vs. Team B #3 Team A 1-0
Team A #2 vs. Team B #3 Team A 2-0
Team A #3 vs. Team B #3 Team A 2-1
Team A #4 vs. Team B #4 Team A 3-1
Team A #1 vs. Team B #3 Team A 4-1 series over.

[BD57]

Looks like we can take "What's wrong with Buck?" off the list of questions about the team.

[h2oface]

6 hours ago, Unwinder said:

I was at this game! And I was about ten feet from where the first Buxton homer landed! Very fun game to be at.

I'm guessing Smith got the nod today to keep as many arms as possible fresh for the Chi Chi Gonzales start tomorrow.

I guess since Chi Chi exercised his opt-out clause in his minor league contract and they had until Saturday to decide whether to select Gonzales onto the big league roster or grant him his release, they are giving him one last start. I bet they DFA him regardless after the game with Gray and Ryan ready, and he will be in the same situation anyway. I hope he pitches with gusto. 

[Riverbrian]

5 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Because the playoffs are a different game than the regular season. In the playoffs, the back end rotation arms don't even pitch. There aren't rest days and depth is often irrelevant. 

Across a regular season, 3 starters worth a #3 spot can get you into the playoffs, but once a team gets to the playoffs it goes:
Team A #1 vs. Team B #3 Team A 1-0
Team A #2 vs. Team B #3 Team A 2-0
Team A #3 vs. Team B #3 Team A 2-1
Team A #4 vs. Team B #4 Team A 3-1
Team A #1 vs. Team B #3 Team A 4-1 series over.

If Team A #1 doesn't pitch like a #1. Your model falls completely apart. 

If Team B #3 (pick one) doesn't pitch like a #3. Your model falls completely apart. 

And the model falls apart every playoff every year. ?

[mikelink45]

Another enjoyable game.  This stretch has been so fun and such a comparison to the lack luster Royals/Tigers series. 

Smeltzer has earned his place in the rotation, Chi Chi is our sacrificial lamb - hope he comes in and shines.

[Riverbrian]

 

I tried to get logged in. I'm not much of an Apple device guy and it became impossible to log in so I just imagined in my mind what was happening.

What I saw in my head was pretty good. 

 

[jmlease1]

My goodness, Byron Buxton is amazing. Hopefully, he's going to stay on this tear for a while!

Smeltzer did a nice job, but I'm a little worried that the shine is coming off from him. The FIP suggests he's been a bit lucky, and it's just tough when you're not getting Ks. I'm not saying I expect him to fall apart completely, but I also wouldn't put too many hopes on him. Hopefully he can find ways to get more easy outs. But he's still done a good job stepping in at a time when we needed someone to do it with all the injuries.

[USAFChief]

8 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

My goodness, Byron Buxton is amazing. Hopefully, he's going to stay on this tear for a while!

Smeltzer did a nice job, but I'm a little worried that the shine is coming off from him. The FIP suggests he's been a bit lucky, and it's just tough when you're not getting Ks. I'm not saying I expect him to fall apart completely, but I also wouldn't put too many hopes on him. Hopefully he can find ways to get more easy outs. But he's still done a good job stepping in at a time when we needed someone to do it with all the injuries.

I doubt anyone thinks Smeltzer can continue posting a 2.38 ERA and a .97 WHIP while K'ing 4 per 9. He's going to regress.

But he HAS given the Twins 6 absolutely vital starts at a time when the rotation was mostly in dire need.

The man deserves applause.

[stringer bell]

2 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

My goodness, Byron Buxton is amazing. Hopefully, he's going to stay on this tear for a while!

Smeltzer did a nice job, but I'm a little worried that the shine is coming off from him. The FIP suggests he's been a bit lucky, and it's just tough when you're not getting Ks. I'm not saying I expect him to fall apart completely, but I also wouldn't put too many hopes on him. Hopefully he can find ways to get more easy outs. But he's still done a good job stepping in at a time when we needed someone to do it with all the injuries.

Hey, Buck is on another amazing power run. However, I still don't see the same guy we saw in April--a nightmare on the base paths, all-world center field and a guy who hits ropes all over the field. Maybe I'm nit-picking, but Buxton is not running full-speed very often, only playing center about half to 60% of the time and is hitting the ball over the fence a lot. I fear we may go through times where he's not barrelling balls and he slumps (not 0-30, but twenty or thirty unproductive at-bats). That said, this version of Buxton is still pretty doggone valuable.

Ideally Smeltzer would be a fifth starter. Right now, he's the top starter on the active roster. Much like Dylan Bundy's first few starts, if his command is excellent, he can get guys out, but the margin for error is tiny. I like that the Twins can put at least one lefty in the rotation and still have to like Smeltzer's story. He's easy to root for. 

[Riverbrian]

3 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I doubt anyone thinks Smeltzer can continue posting a 2.38 ERA and a .97 WHIP while K'ing 4 per 9. He's going to regress.

But he HAS given the Twins 6 absolutely vital starts at a time when the rotation was mostly in dire need.

The man deserves applause.

And in comparison to others still in rotation. The man deserves more starts. 

[Karbo]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

 

I tried to get logged in. I'm not much of an Apple device guy and it became impossible to log in so I just imagined in my mind what was happening.

What I saw in my head was pretty good. 

 

IMO the play by play was below avg. Too much yac yac yac and not enough real game info.

[Riverbrian]

1 minute ago, Karbo said:

IMO the play by play was below avg. Too much yac yac yac and not enough real game info.

That wasn't what I imagined in my head. ?

 

[Karbo]

10 hours ago, GNess said:

I don't understand the takes on this year's Twins that state emphatically, "They can make playoffs, but can't win it all." 

First of all, the current Twins roster will likely change (improve?) near the trade deadline. Secondly, the Twins can score and defend - if any 1 or 2 of the pitchers such as Gray, Ryan or Pitcher X gets hot, of course they can win it all.

Baseball and almost all professional sports have numerous examples of the hot team winning it all even if they weren't the best on paper - like the 87 Twins.

Added benefit - this team is fun.

 

They have the hitting and defense, but without at least 1 more decent starter and a couple of decent relievers they are not a serious WS contender. The 87 Twins had a decent to good bullpen, and a good offence and defence.

[USAFChief]

4 minutes ago, Karbo said:

IMO the play by play was below avg. Too much yac yac yac and not enough real game info.

I generally find national announcers don't really know the teams involved well enough to give us good insight. 

That was the case last night. 

[VivaBomboRivera!]

10 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Chi Chi Gonzalez pitching tomorrow.

The cure for this is offense. We know Chi Chi will do his best.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

9 hours ago, jimbo92107 said:

Smeltzer further cements his rightful place in the starting rotation.

Wait a minute, we have a rotation...?

[Karbo]

7 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I generally find national announcers don't really know the teams involved well enough to give us good insight. 

That was the case last night. 

But they could at least give info like infield in or back, or if someone is warming up in the pen etc..

[PDX Twin]

53 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Hey, Buck is on another amazing power run. However, I still don't see the same guy we saw in April--a nightmare on the base paths, all-world center field and a guy who hits ropes all over the field. Maybe I'm nit-picking, but Buxton is not running full-speed very often, only playing center about half to 60% of the time and is hitting the ball over the fence a lot.

He's reminding more of late-career Barry Bonds than early-career Barry Bonds. I much preferred the latter.

[PDX Twin]

21 minutes ago, Karbo said:

IMO the play by play was below avg. Too much yac yac yac and not enough real game info.

I didn't watch for Apple reasons, but this is not unusual for national telecasts. They probably used a "generic" broadcast team who does all sports. Baseball, because of its pace, requires a very different on-air persona than continuous-action sports such as basketball, hockey, and American football. Long live Vin Scully!

When I watch European football games on American TV, I have to turn the sound off with almost all of the American broadcasters. (Most networks use English broadcasters, but Fox's broadcasters are particularly bad.) Like baseball, footie has a unique pace that does not fit well with continuous ultra-high-energy hype. The worst I ever heard was an American hockey broadcaster trying to use the same adrenaline style. He lasted about 30 seconds for me before I was frantically hunting for the mute key!