Twins 5, White Sox 1: Much Needed Win, Twins Avoid Sweep

[Theo Tollefson]

Following a depressing one-hit shutout Saturday night, the Twins had ground to make up in the division race in their Sunday finale against the White Sox. Could the Twins avoid the sweep or did the White Sox manage to have a renaissance against the Twins for their second straight series matchup?
 

Image courtesy of David Banks, USA Today Sports

 

Box Score
SP: Dylan Bundy 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (66 pitches, 47 strikes (71.2 strike %))
Home Runs: Carlos Correa (16)
Top 3  WPA:  Jhoan Duran .384, Dylan Bundy, . 275, Carlos Correa .231

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

The first three innings of this game were all pitching. The Twins and White Sox gathered two hits a piece with Kyle Garlick ensuring Lucas Giolito couldn’t have a no-hit bid going in the top of the second. 

Dylan Bundy had great command of the strike zone once again in the first three innings and kept the White Sox hitters looking like fools with his slider. Bundy compiled three strikeouts and issued no walks in the first three frames of the game and hoped to continue his success for a longer outing. 

In the top of the fourth, the Twins managed to make their first threat of scoring against Giolito thanks to singles from Jose Miranda and Gio Urshela. Nick Gordon followed up with a two-out walk, giving Gary Sanchez an opportunity to do damage with the bases loaded. Sanchez would not do anything as he struck out looking on a pitch that was a few inches out of the strike zone. No one could blame him for looking. 

Bundy responded well to the lack of run support in the bottom of the fourth as he retired the minimum on a flyout and two groundouts. 

The Twins broke the shutout in the fifth thanks to Carlos Correa’s 16th homer of the season to put the Twins up 2-0. In addition to Correa’s homer, the Twins worked Giolito’s pitch count up to 95 through five innings ending his afternoon there. 

With the Twins in the lead, Bundy did his best to enter cruise control for the fifth, he only hit one speed bump while in cruise control issuing a walk to A.J. Pollock. Aside from that, Bundy remained in command of the strike zone to keep the Twins up 2-0. 

Giolito was done after five and the Twins didn’t stop hitting in the sixth as Jake Cave led off the inning with a pinch-hit triple in Kyle Garlick spot. Cave’s chance to score was wasted though as Sanchez hit a ball to short that Cave ran on but was thrown out easily. 

However, the Twins wouldn’t let the White Sox walk away with the out as they challenged the call at home due to Yasmani Grandal’s blockage of the plate. From an objective perspective, Grandal blocked more of the plate than Sanchez did a month ago in a devastating loss to the Blue Jays. 

But the umpires would not give way to their call of Cave being out at home and the score remained 2-0. 

Even with Bundy dealing through five innings on 66 pitches. Rocco Baldelli’s fear of Bundy facing the batting order a third time greatly outweighed his fear of going to the bullpen too early after Saturday night's blowout. Griffin Jax was given the ball for the bottom of the sixth.

Jax proved those fears unfounded in the sixth on eight pitches. Michael Fulmer who followed, did not. Fulmer only got one out on 14 pitches in the seventh giving up three hits and the Sox first run of the game. 

Jhoan Duran came into the game to get the Twins out of their jam in the seventh without any further damage. 

Duran went out again for the eighth with another insurance run added from Max Kepler scoring on a wild pitch to make it 3-1, Twins. Duran pitched a stellar bottom half of the eighth. The Twins threatened again in the top of the ninth with Billy Hamilton, who pinch ran for Arraez, was at third and Correa at second. 

Fortunately, both Hamilton and Correa scored the Twins final two runs to give them some breathing room for the bottom of the ninth. Jose Miranda laced an RBI double to left-center field to make it 5-1 Twins. 

Caleb Thielbar was the Twins man to get the final three outs of the game. The first two hitters went down on a flyout and strikeout before Seby Zavala hit a ball to the left field fence for a single. Thielbar got the next batter out on the very next pitch to cement the Twins 5-1 win. 

What’s Next? 
The Twins head into the heart of the Evil Empire Monday afternoon to begin a four-game set against the New York Yankees. Chris Archer has the start of the Twins as the Yankees will send out Jameson Taillon. The first pitch is scheduled to start at 12:05 p.m. CT. 

Postgame Interview (Bally Sports Tweets)

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[BH67]

Dylan Bundy is now routinely providing five reliable innings per start and keeping the Twins in each game he pitches.  Deserved congrats aplenty, Dylan.

[mikelink45]

Redemption.  Yes, Bundy should have been allowed to go more innings, we can not always expect all the relief pitchers to be on every day and Bundy was definitely on today.  He is playing himself into a contract extension. 

Sorry to see Arraez slip to second in the batting race.

Duran just gained more votes for rookie of the year.  Which is tough for Miranda who also added to his resume.  It looked like Lopez was getting ready to come in, then Rocco had second thoughts.  Has he lost some of the teams confidence? 

Billy Hamilton - caught stealing third two games ago - falls down on the base path today.  Not what we anticipated.  Get that motor going BIlly.

Now if we can just shut down the Yankees!  Let Judge get some solo shots and stop the rest of the lineup - that seems to be the formula against them now. 

[LiamC]

How about that fireman performance from Duran there?

[USAFChief]

Nice Job Bundy.

Nice job Correa.

Nice job Duran.

And finally...I wonder if Falvine are feeling just a little snake bit. "OK. OK, Paddack ... Pagan ... Mahle ... Lopez ... Fullmer ... haven't exactly gone as envisioned. ...  I know, let's add Billy Hamilton! His ONLY skill is speed! Speed can't possibly go into a slump! What could go wrong??!?"

 

 

[darwin22]

A few observations after a much needed W today:

Correa:  Nice to see our $35m player come through clutch today!  Only his 4th 2-hit and 2RBI (should've been 3 RBI) game since July 1st.

Hamilton:  Yes, I realize his impersonation of Lonnie "skates" Smith proved to be a moot point after Miranda's double scored him, but how many Twins fans were thinking the following after that play:

"Correa finally gets a KEY hit late in the game and Hamilton spins out rounding 3rd base---Now we're going to waste this scoring opportunity leaving runners stranded and out bullpen will find someway to blow this game?"

Miranda:  If not for Julio Rodriguez, is there a more deserving candidate (other than Duran) to win ROY?

and finally...

Dylan Bundy:  Count me in the VERY SKEPTICAL department when Bundy was signed just before the lockout.  He has exceeded my expecations not only by his OVERALL performance, but by staying healthy being a consistent member of the starting rotation.

By no means do I think management should pick up his $11m option for 2023, but I would support a 2 yr/ 16m offer.  Would be interested to hear others opinion on this. 

Looking forward to 2023 who are LOCKS for this rotation?  I would venture 3 fall in that category:  Ryan, Gray and Mahle (assuming his shoulder is healthy by ST).  That leaves 2 open slots.  I would argue that very few teams would be willing to offer Bundy a 2yr/$16m deal.  

I know there are more "sexy" candidates" for those 2 other rotation slots-----but all of them----Maeda, Paddack, Ober and Winder----come with serious health concerns.

Wish I could say I was looking forward to the next 4 games before we face CLE next weekend.  I'd be lying if I made that claim..

[tony&rodney]

Bundy is clearly the best SP the Twins have right now. He has been fun to watch lately, even with the short 5 inning outings. We can worry about next year in November. 

Four games in NYC ... hope for the best.

[insagt1]

Billy Hamilton has made two bad moves already. Getting nailed at 3rd killing a rally and ultimately probably may have cost the Twins an important game. then today, spinning out and failing to score on a real 'gimmie'. Fortunately Miranda bailed him out, but not a particularly good start.

I had commented a couple days ago that it looked like Larnach and Jeffers were done for the year when added to the 60 day IL. Someone said, no, it was only to get them off the 40 man roster, but they could return to play anytime before the 60 days. I don't think thats correct. Definition: 'players placed on the 60 day injured list must remain on it for a minimum of 60 days...and are temporarily removed from a club's 40 man roster'.

Based on that, sure sounds like those two aren't coming back.

[stringer bell]

50 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

 

Miranda:  If not for Julio Rodriguez, is there a more deserving candidate (other than Duran) to win ROY?

 

Adley Rutschman (3.8 WAR) and Steven Kwan (4.0 WAR) are both having great rookie years.  Miranda has been very good, but those two plus Rodriguez have been better and play much better defense. 

[stringer bell]

25 minutes ago, insagt1 said:

Billy Hamilton has made two bad moves already. Getting nailed at 3rd killing a rally and ultimately probably may have cost the Twins an important game. then today, spinning out and failing to score on a real 'gimmie'. Fortunately Miranda bailed him out, but not a particularly good start.

I had commented a couple days ago that it looked like Larnach and Jeffers were done for the year when added to the 60 day IL. Someone said, no, it was only to get them off the 40 man roster, but they could return to play anytime before the 60 days. I don't think thats correct. Definition: 'players placed on the 60 day injured list must remain on it for a minimum of 60 days...and are temporarily removed from a club's 40 man roster'.

Based on that, sure sounds like those two aren't coming back.

Larnach and Jeffers can come back yet this year. It is procedural to put those guys on the 60-day list. The return time has been pushed back and there are no guarantees they won’t be pushed back farther. 

[USAFChief]

1 hour ago, insagt1 said:

I had commented a couple days ago that it looked like Larnach and Jeffers were done for the year when added to the 60 day IL. Someone said, no, it was only to get them off the 40 man roster, but they could return to play anytime before the 60 days. I don't think thats correct. Definition: 'players placed on the 60 day injured list must remain on it for a minimum of 60 days...and are temporarily removed from a club's 40 man roster'.

Based on that, sure sounds like those two aren't coming back.

Both moves were backdated to their initial placement on the 10 day IL, and  basically procedural to open spots on the 40 man.

Larnach has already spent more than 60 days on the IL and can be activated when/if healthy.

Jeffers went on the IL mid July and would be eligible mid September, but I think the latest I read said they were hoping for late September. 

[Nashvilletwin]

Nice win today, but I’m having a hard time getting over how badly we have been fleeced on the Mahle, Paddock, and Dyson trades. It’s crazy how bad our FO did on those. I can’t believe the Pohlads fall for the bs excuses the FO must be offering up - the owners should be livid.  

 

[Beast]

That’s such a huge win.

How about the much maligned Dylan Bundy?  The guy hasn’t allowed more than 2 earned runs in a start since the calendar turned to August.  He hasn’t had a bunch of cupcakes, either.  He’s faced Houston, Toronto, and Boston.  Not to mention today’s goose egg in Chicago in the biggest road win of the year.

He’s been a rock in this rotation lately when most everyone else is falling apart.  Very impressed by his resilience this year.  We were counting the days until was DFA’d a couple months ago.

Jake Cave is doing more for this team in big spots than anyone (except maybe Gordon and Miranda).  Another great play off the wall to turn a double into a single.  Of course, the triple was huge.  

Good for those two guys.  Good stories.   You throw Gordon in there too.  A rag tag group showing the stars how to grab a handful and get it done in clutch spots.

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, insagt1 said:

I had commented a couple days ago that it looked like Larnach and Jeffers were done for the year when added to the 60 day IL. Someone said, no, it was only to get them off the 40 man roster, but they could return to play anytime before the 60 days. I don't think thats correct. Definition: 'players placed on the 60 day injured list must remain on it for a minimum of 60 days...and are temporarily removed from a club's 40 man roster'.

I'm not contradicting anything said by others in the meantime but I want to caution that information you find on websites, even official ones, may be summaries. 

Matters like the 60-day IL are covered in the negotiated Basic Agreement between players association and MLB, and when in doubt it's best to go to that document for a definitive answer.  The most recent copy I found online is for 2021, at the MLBPA website:

https://registration.mlbpa.org/pdf/MajorLeagueRules.pdf

On page 12 there is the explanation of how players may be transferred from one injury list to another, where it states, "Time spent on the 7-day, 10-day or 15-day lists prior to any such transfer shall count towards the 10-day, 15-day or 60-day minimum inactivity periods, whichever is applicable.

So, players who have been on the shorter injured list for a long enough time, will be able to come back this season, even if transferred to the 60-day list in September.  Of course a 40-man move will be required to eventually activate them, assuming the roster is full as it is at the moment.

Anyone who enjoys playing "Armchair GM" would probably find the entire document interesting to skim through - concepts you have always heard about, are spelled out, sometimes in legalistic fashion, but it's all there without need to speculate.  Want to know how to move your franchise to another city where a franchise already exists?  It's there.  Wonder why it's called the "Rule-5 Draft"?  Take a look at Rule #5 (and its many sub-bullets).

[BH67]

In 11 innings, Seattle beats Cleveland, 6-3.  The Twins are somehow tied for first place.

I hereby ask Congress to revoke MLB's antitrust exemption should an AL Central team be admitted to the playoffs.

[Nine of twelve]

In spite of all the this team's shortcomings (some real, some perceived) today's win moves us into first place. Well, a tie for first place. Well, a tie for first place in the AL Central. In other words, we're no more mediocre than anyone else in our division.

[stringer bell]

51 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Nice win today, but I’m having a hard time getting over how badly we have been fleeced on the Mahle, Paddock, and Dyson trades. It’s crazy how bad our FO did on those. I can’t believe the Pohlads fall for the bs excuses the FO must be offering up - the owners should be livid.  

 

Okay, maybe there's fault to find here. The problem has been injuries for all of the guys named. Medical staff might be on the hook for okaying guys with arm issues and the brain trust could be catch flack for gambling on the health of guys with injuries. 

Beyond that guys like Fulmer and Lopez haven't been as effective after being acquired. Falvey and Levine could be faulted for acquiring these guys during breakthrough seasons and then have them regress to the mean.

Lopez and Mahle will be back next year and could recoup the value received. I won't dispute that the trades haven't panned out as of yet, but I think the jury is still out.

[AceWrigley]

4 hours ago, insagt1 said:

Billy Hamilton has made two bad moves already. Getting nailed at 3rd killing a rally and ultimately probably may have cost the Twins an important game. then today, spinning out and failing to score on a real 'gimmie'. Fortunately Miranda bailed him out, but not a particularly good start.

I had commented a couple days ago that it looked like Larnach and Jeffers were done for the year when added to the 60 day IL. Someone said, no, it was only to get them off the 40 man roster, but they could return to play anytime before the 60 days. I don't think thats correct. Definition: 'players placed on the 60 day injured list must remain on it for a minimum of 60 days...and are temporarily removed from a club's 40 man roster'.

Based on that, sure sounds like those two aren't coming back.

I think Jeffers was placed on IL July 15th with 60 days making Sept. 13th possible return date.

Larnach was IL'd retroactive to June 24th, with 60 days gone past making him available whenever he is healthy enough to be added back to the roster.

[Monticore]

Bundy has been a nice surprise. I'm glad he didn't bring in Lopez.

[Peter]

Huge win!!! Got nervous in 7th but Duran got them out of jam!!! Great to see C4 hit clutch HR!! Twins caught Cleveland now we are back where we belong in first place!!!

[insagt1]

7 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

I think Jeffers was placed on IL July 15th with 60 days making Sept. 13th possible return date.

Larnach was IL'd retroactive to June 24th, with 60 days gone past making him available whenever he is healthy enough to be added back to the roster.

The clarification needed was the backdating of when the 60 days started for each guy. They still have to spend 60 days on that list before they can return...which was my response. More info was needed for my old brain!

[Nashvilletwin]

9 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Okay, maybe there's fault to find here. The problem has been injuries for all of the guys named. Medical staff might be on the hook for okaying guys with arm issues and the brain trust could be catch flack for gambling on the health of guys with injuries. 

Beyond that guys like Fulmer and Lopez haven't been as effective after being acquired. Falvey and Levine could be faulted for acquiring these guys during breakthrough seasons and then have them regress to the mean.

Lopez and Mahle will be back next year and could recoup the value received. I won't dispute that the trades haven't panned out as of yet, but I think the jury is still out.

Re the jury, it’s back.  Sure, he returns next year (but I’ll take the under on Mahle next season as well - hope I’m wrong). But, the bigger point is that Mahle was a trade deadline acquisition in order to help this year.  That is why we gave up so many assets for him.  If we wanted to trade for him in the off-season, the price would have been much lower (especially now that he’s shut down with unclear expectations for the future).

 

The trade was a disaster. Yes, we got fleeced. Again. For the third time. The egg on the face of our vaunted FO is getting hard to wash off.

 

Lopez will be part of the pen next year, but expectations should be tempered - expect an every other day 6-7th inning type role behind Duran, Jax, Thielbar and the two other relievers we’d better add in the off-season. Fulmer may or may not be resigned - it’s beginning to look less likely.

[Whitey333]

Nice twins win.  Huge to avoid a sweep there.  Now the Yankees.  They have manhandled us for years.  I'm hoping we can at least gain a split.  It will probably be a huge bullpen day with 4 inning Archer on the mound.  A team could " win" the central with a 500 record or less.  May as well be the Twins.  

[Karbo]

15 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Has he lost some of the teams confidence? 

No I don't think so. Just the lead was large enough that it no longer was a save situation, and he could be saved for another day.

[DJL44]

10 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Beyond that guys like Fulmer and Lopez haven't been as effective after being acquired. Falvey and Levine could be faulted for acquiring these guys during breakthrough seasons and then have them regress to the mean.

I read somewhere that the best deadline acquisitions are usually relievers with a good career track record who have had some bad outings in the first half of the season. They often bounce back to their old level of performance and cost very little to acquire.

The other way to make sure you're a good trade deadline acquisition is to be acquired by the Cardinals. They always seem to get a huge performance out of deadline acquisitions. This year they struck gold with Montgomery and Quintana but I also remember Larry Walker and Will Clark performing down the stretch for St. Louis.

[Riverbrian]

8 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I read somewhere that the best deadline acquisitions are usually relievers with a good career track record who have had some bad outings in the first half of the season. They often bounce back to their old level of performance and cost very little to acquire.

The other way to make sure you're a good trade deadline acquisition is to be acquired by the Cardinals. They always seem to get a huge performance out of deadline acquisitions. This year they struck gold with Montgomery and Quintana but I also remember Larry Walker and Will Clark performing down the stretch for St. Louis.

 

10 hours ago, stringer bell said:

 

Beyond that guys like Fulmer and Lopez haven't been as effective after being acquired. Falvey and Levine could be faulted for acquiring these guys during breakthrough seasons and then have them regress to the mean.

Lopez and Mahle will be back next year and could recoup the value received. I won't dispute that the trades haven't panned out as of yet, but I think the jury is still out.

Agree that the jury is still out. It used to be Smith, Duffey, Thornburg and Pagan in high leverage. I hope the jury considers this when sequestered.  ?

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Re the jury, it’s back.  Sure, he returns next year (but I’ll take the under on Mahle next season as well - hope I’m wrong). But, the bigger point is that Mahle was a trade deadline acquisition in order to help this year.  That is why we gave up so many assets for him.  If we wanted to trade for him in the off-season, the price would have been much lower (especially now that he’s shut down with unclear expectations for the future).

 

The trade was a disaster. Yes, we got fleeced. Again. For the third time. The egg on the face of our vaunted FO is getting hard to wash off.

 

Lopez will be part of the pen next year, but expectations should be tempered - expect an every other day 6-7th inning type role behind Duran, Jax, Thielbar and the two other relievers we’d better add in the off-season. Fulmer may or may not be resigned - it’s beginning to look less likely.

The cost in prospects was for Mahle to help make the playoffs in ‘22 and help the team win in ‘23. If Mahle is successful in 2023, he may not provide the value that the prospects will eventually produce, but then again he might get them into the playoffs, so I do say the jury is still out. 
 

Spencer Steer might have a fine career or he might parallel Josmil Pinto or Willians Astudillo. 

[PDX Twin]

15 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Four games in NYC ... hope for the best.

At least Pagan is well rested.

[Nashvilletwin]

51 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

The cost in prospects was for Mahle to help make the playoffs in ‘22 and help the team win in ‘23. If Mahle is successful in 2023, he may not provide the value that the prospects will eventually produce, but then again he might get them into the playoffs, so I do say the jury is still out. 
 

Spencer Steer might have a fine career or he might parallel Josmil Pinto or Willians Astudillo. 

Or Mahle may never be any good again. Who knows? The point is that based on current expected value, we have lost this trade. It can’t be argued otherwise. Yes, I agree - we traded for a pitcher to help us now and next year. But he can’t help us now and his expected value next year has decreased substantially. Meanwhile, the assets sent are performing at or above expected levels at the time of the trade, At this point, based on expected returns, we have lost this trade, potentially big time. I hope it turns out differently.

 

But the bigger picture is the pattern of our FO getting fleeced for injured arms. Fool me once, shame on you; twice shame on me; three times is an absolute joke.