Twins 7, Rangers 9: Twins Score Plenty but Lose Again in Texas

[Seth Stohs]

The game went back-and-forth a few times. On Friday night, the Rangers used a six-run inning to get the win. On Saturday afternoon, the Twins had a six-run inning, but that proved to not be enough. 

Box Score
SP: Devin Smeltzer: 3 1/3 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (81 pitches, 50 strikes (61.7%))
Home Runs: Jose Miranda (7), Gary Sanchez (10), 
Bottom 3 WPA: Devin Smeltzer (-.667), Jhoan Duran (-.330), Nick Gordon (-.174)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Early Slugfest 
If you would have been asked before the game started what kind of game you would have expected on Saturday, this is probably what you would have assumed. Two powerful lineups that hit a lot of home runs, and a couple of lefties that the other team is familiar with. 

After a scoreless first inning, Devin Smeltzer gave up a three-run homer to same-sider Kole Calhoun. However, in the top of the fourth frame, the Twins put together a big inning. With Carlos Correa and Jorge Polanco on base, Jose Miranda launched a long, three-run shot to tie the game at three. 

Gio Urshela followed with a single, and Gary Sanchez gave the Twins a 5-3 lead with a big, two-run, opposite-field homer. 

Nick Gordon was hit by a pitch which brought a slumping Byron Buxton to the plate. Buxton launched a ball to right-center field that was thisclose to a home run. The double scored Gordon to make the lead 6-3. 

Given a lead, Smeltzer was unable to hold it. In the bottom of the fourth inning, he got the first batter out, but then a single from Leody Taveras and a line-shot double by Charlie Culberson put runners on second and third. Marcus Semien crushed a three-run homer to tie the game. One batter later, Corey Seager hit one out over the fencing in right-center field. That was the end of the day for Smeltzer, the Twins now behind 7-6.

It wasn’t a pretty day for starting-pitcher line scores, but Perez was then able to throw two quick, scoreless innings and complete six innings without any further damage. 

Big, Not So Bad, Bullpen!  
I remember thinking it, and typing it above, when it was 7-6 after four innings. Glen Perkins said it on the Bally Sports North broadcast. To paraphrase, “I certainly don’t think that this game will end 7-6.” The assumption was that it was going to be a long game with a ton of runs scored. 

Instead, the Twins bullpen came on and did a very nice job. (Hey, if we’re going to bash them every time things go bad, we need to praise them on the strong days.)

Griffin Jax came on and got the final two outs of the fourth inning. 

Tyler Duffey came on for the ninth straight time, he gave up zero runs. Over that stretch, he has worked 12 innings and given up nine hits, walked three and struck out 11 batters. The last time Duffey gave up a run was June 12th against the Rays. 

Trevor Megill had a quick, two-strikeout sixth inning which earned him a second inning. In the seventh frame, he got two slow ground outs before a strikeout to end the inning. 

Jovani Moran was warming up in the top of the eighth inning when the team was down 7-6, but when Gilberto Celestino’s ground out scored Luis Arraez to tie the game at 7-7, Jhoan Duran came in for the eighth inning. 

But Then…  
Of course, Duran has been the Twins’ best reliever pretty much all season, a guy who could hear his name called as an All Star on Sunday. But he did not have his best appearance. Light-hitting Leodys Taveras was late on two fastballs, so they threw a third straight fastball and he slapped the 0-2 pitch to left field for a single (while the Twins shifted him inexplicably to pull). After Josh Smith sacrificed him to second, Marcus Semien came to the plate. 

Duran hung a slider for him and Semien crushed a liner to left. What should have been a single, hit so hard it likely would not have scored a run, turned into a triple when Nick Gordon dove for the ball and it got by him. Corey Seager was intentionally walked, but #OldFriend Mitch Garver came through again. He was badly jammed by a Duran fastball but muscled a blooper into center field for an RBI single. Fortunately, Adolis Garcia grounded into a double play to end the inning. 

What’s Next? 
The Twins will finish their series in Texas with a 1:35 game against the Rangers. They are off on Monday before starting a quick two-game series at Target Field against the Brewers. 

Back to Sunday, the Twins will send righty Dylan Bundy to the mound. He is 4-4 with a 4.50 ERA on the season. However, over his past four starts, he is 1-1 with a 1.88 ERA. He’s allowed five earned runs on 17 hits and four walks in 24 innings. Those performances came against the Diamondbacks, Rockies, Guardians and White Sox. So, it will be interesting to see how he looks against the potent, powerful Ranger lineup. 

Texas will counter with right-hander Dane Dunning. The former Nationals first-round pick has been traded in a couple of significant deals. In 2016, about six months after the draft, he was traded to the White Sox in a deal for Adam Eaton. Then after the 2020 season, he was dealt to the Rangers in the Lance Lynn trade. This will be his league-leading 18th start of the season. He is 1-6 with a 4.15 ERA. In 93 1/3 innings, he walked 33 and struck out 82. He also leads the league with eight hit batters. 

Postgame Interview

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Cotton	21	0	0	42	0	63
Megill	2	22	0	0	22	46
Duffey	18	0	0	0	26	44
Pagán	0	23	0	10	0	33
Thielbar	11	8	0	13	0	32
Jax	0	17	0	0	15	32
Duran	0	9	0	0	14	23
Moran	0	8	0	0	0	8

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[ashbury]

Son Stashbury attended this and yesterday's game as part of his roadtrip.  Seeing as how we witnessed one of the losses at Detroit with him as well, I think we need to ban him from attendance at any further games until we figure out the cause of this jinx.  A depressing photo from the second inning, after the Calhoun home run had already been hit:

Little did he realize that it would become more depressing later on.

[SanoMustGo]

I'm afraid Bundy is due for a stinker

[Rosterman]

Now the bats are hot but the pitching can't keep us in the game. This is...Baseball!

[wsnydes]

58 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Seeing as how we witnessed one of the losses at Detroit with him as well, I think we need to ban him from attendance at any further games until we figure out the cause of this jinx.

This is the way...

[mikelink45]

12 runs in two games against 39 - 43 Texas and we lost both!  What is the analysis - they scored 15.

What is next?  When is that summer win streak supposed to start?  And why was Luis not starting.  He comes in for one AB and gets one hit! 

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Feels like we're back at the playground:

"We want a pitcher, not a belly-itcher!"

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, SanoMustGo said:

I'm afraid Bundy is due for a stinker

Dude, let's not count our chickens before they're hatched! 

[bighat]

Who's available in the 'pen tomorrow? Looks like Theilbar, Pagan, Cotton, & Moran. And Bundy's starting, and I'm thinking Buxton's due for his normal day off.

A sweep in TX and then a 2-game series against a very good Brewers team, Twins could be on a 6-game losing streak by Wednesday.

Does anyone still seriously think the Twins can win this division with the team they have?

[Squirrel]

4 minutes ago, bighat said:

Does anyone still seriously think the Twins can win this division with the team they have?

Yes.

[rv78]

Smeltzer was pretty stinky today. Jax could have went another inning but Rocco chooses to burn through another reliever, again for no apparent reason. Duffey continues to pitch decent when it doesn't matter. Duran takes his turn and lays an egg. 

Arraez got 1 at bat because Rocco doesn't believe in playing his best players. If you are a left-handed hitter going up against a lefty pitcher you can't hit. Even if you are currently the best hitter in the majors, so you sit the bench. 

Looks like a sweep for Texas with Bundy going Sunday.

This team has no direction, no killer instinct, no consistancy. They play exactly like the way their Manager manages.....Wishy-washy.

[wsnydes]

58 minutes ago, bighat said:

Does anyone still seriously think the Twins can win this division with the team they have?

Have you seen the rest of said division?

[bighat]

12 minutes ago, wsnydes said:

Have you seen the rest of said division?

Yeah - they're bad but I'm telling you, Chicago and Cleveland will catch and pass the Twins if something doesn't change in Minnesota.

[TwinsChupacabra]

Want to know the future?   The Twins will win this pitiful division, no matter how bad they play.  We will get destroyed in the playoffs.  After the season is over, many on this site will brag about Rocco winning another division title.  Ground Hogs Day.

[wsnydes]

1 minute ago, bighat said:

Yeah - they're bad but I'm telling you, Chicago and Cleveland will catch and pass the Twins if something doesn't change in Minnesota.

Something would have to change in Cleveland and Chicago too I order for that to happen.

Not saying it can't happen, but it really hasn't happened yet.  

[Blyleven2011]

3 losses in a row , all pitching disasters ,,, has pitching turned bad with the departure of Wes  this quickly 

[KirbyDome89]

1 hour ago, bighat said:

Does anyone still seriously think the Twins can win this division with the team they have?

Have you seen this division?

[Aggies7]

I think the twins are better than the Sox and guardians, but if either one of those teams goes on a run, they could easily overtake us. Cleveland went on a run and caught us before melting down. If someone reels off 7-8 wins in a row, they could easily take over first place.

[jimbo92107]

I blame Dick Bremmer. Mid-game he starts going on about Minnesota's "smothering defense..." I yelled "Nooooooooo!" at the screen, but it was to no avail. 

The rest is history. 

Where is a duck? We shall use my largest scales!

[Danchat]

53 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

I think the twins are better than the Sox and guardians, but if either one of those teams goes on a run, they could easily overtake us. Cleveland went on a run and caught us before melting down. If someone reels off 7-8 wins in a row, they could easily take over first place.

The Twins could also be the ones to go on a random 7-8 winning streak - their August and September schedules aren't that hard and I think July is going to be the low point for this team, and they'll lock up the division in September beating up on the AL Central.

That being said, they're probably getting crushed in the playoffs... I don't see any way around that barring some major moves and some major improvements from our pitchers.

[Game7-91]

3 hours ago, ashbury said:

think we need to ban him from attendance at any further games until we figure out the cause of this jinx.

Might be worth giving Jobu a try, save young Stashbury in case there's a curse brewing:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/jobu-major-league-movie-rum-cigar-1478333720

 

 

[operation mindcrime]

4 hours ago, SanoMustGo said:

I'm afraid Bundy is due for a stinker

It should be a fun game thread tomorrow!

[William K Johnson]

Looks like the clock has struck twelve for Smelzer.   

[Brazilian Twins Fan]

10 hours ago, bighat said:

Does anyone still seriously think the Twins can win this division with the team they have?

Oh yeah, they will win. What I'm really worried is about them wining a playoff game.

[Whitey333]

In the past 3 games the Twins have scored 20 runs. Unfortunately they have given up 24.  The may win the division but unless this FO gets off their butts and adds some quality pitching the division may be lost and surely they will embarrass in playoffs again.  You mentioned the bullpen did a good job. Then you kind of slide it in there that Duran gave up 2 runs. He is part of the bullpen.  A very good part.  But he still lost. Why sugar coat it?  He's entitled to lose games too I guess

[roger]

14 hours ago, ashbury said:

Son Stashbury attended this and yesterday's game as part of his roadtrip.  Seeing as how we witnessed one of the losses at Detroit with him as well, I think we need to ban him from attendance at any further games until we figure out the cause of this jinx.  A depressing photo from the second inning, after the Calhoun home run had already been hit:

Little did he realize that it would become more depressing later on.

What a fantastic photo, thanks.  Hell of a ballpark.

[roger]

5 minutes ago, roger said:

What a fantastic photo, thanks.  Hell of a ballpark.

Was thinking about the bullpen over night.  If you look at the rosters of both the Twins and Saints you will see six or seven guys that are either up with the Twins, or back with the Saints after being DFA’d.  Back and forth they go.  But wait, being DFA’d and back in St. Paul means no other team wanted them.  Having three or four of these guys as part of an 8 man bullpen says it all.  All winter I questioned, silently, those of you who were vocal about their lack of signing several bullpen arms.  Well, you were right to do so as we watch a wonderful season turn into chaos.

[Squirrel]

2 hours ago, Brazilian Twins Fan said:

Oh yeah, they will win. What I'm really worried is about them wining a playoff game.

Yeah ... but you have to get past one to get to the other ... some would prefer they lose the division just so they won't lose in the playoffs, again (at least a few have stated such in other threads)

[rwilfong86]

14 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

I think the twins are better than the Sox and guardians, but if either one of those teams goes on a run, they could easily overtake us. Cleveland went on a run and caught us before melting down. If someone reels off 7-8 wins in a row, they could easily take over first place.

Another bad week and a team that catches fire can flip the script in this division. 

[mikelink45]

2 hours ago, roger said:

Was thinking about the bullpen over night.  If you look at the rosters of both the Twins and Saints you will see six or seven guys that are either up with the Twins, or back with the Saints after being DFA’d.  Back and forth they go.  But wait, being DFA’d and back in St. Paul means no other team wanted them.  Having three or four of these guys as part of an 8 man bullpen says it all.  All winter I questioned, silently, those of you who were vocal about their lack of signing several bullpen arms.  Well, you were right to do so as we watch a wonderful season turn into chaos.

Good observation - in a league and time when everyone is desperate for RP our DFA squad says a lot about their value.