Astros 5, Twins 0, Lack of Luck, Runners Left on Base

Luck has zip to do with it, lack of good coaches is probably a reality.

Well the graduate level course is over.  We can go back to teams on or below our own level. 

Obviously disappointed in losing all 3 games. I would have been OK with some sort of split. But 3 losses against a very good team even at home, doesn't spell doom and gloom going forward. It's baseball. Stuff happens. We weren't supposed to win in Tampa, remember?

I didn't get to watch today, still, a few personal thoughts:

1] Ryan wasn't as sharp in the opener as he has been. Personally, while it was atrocious, I felt he got squeezed a lot by the ump. Disappointed in Winder today, but I have faith in him and a rebound. Bad games happen even for seasoned pitchers. You're going to, obviously, have a few bumps in the road here and there with rookie/young pitchers. 

2] More disappointed in Archer Wednesday night. He just seemed tight or pressing and seemed to overthrow or miss constantly. I don't know if it was the weather or just a very bad day. I've been surprised and encouraged before that game and how the Twins have been handling him. But he's got to rebound next start in a big way.

3]I know we're playing a little short and banged up at the moment, but the offense was starting to click. And I know the Astros are a quality team with some good arms, but the offense has suddenly disappeared the past 6 games. Come on guys!

4] Arraez could fall out of bed every day and hit .300. He's an important part of this team and I'm glad he's still with us..

5] Gordon's draft status will probably always mark him as some sort of "disappointment" no matter his career going forward. But he's starting to hit. His speed is a valuable asset. He can cover 6 positions at least "comfortably" defensively. That catch in CF today was OUTSTANDING and I just marvel at how quickly he has adapted to the OF, on the fly, pun intended, since being thrown out there in 2021.

6] In baseball, there is always tomorrow and the next series. Time to move on, get back in the saddle, and get back in the WIN column starting tomorrow. 

LET'S GO TWINS!

I wanted to say that the strikes vs. balls ration seemed so different in these games. But it was about even in the double-day game, and Verlander gave a lesson in pitching in the first game by going for contact vs. working the corners.The walks hurt with Ryan & Co. Probably didn't help Winder either.

Pitchers throw stikes. Set their pace. Try to control the game. The minute first-class hitters see "the nibble" they can wait it out. First pitch strikes put the pitchers in front. If you can get a secon pitch strike, then you can start the nuibbling. The six pitch inning by Verlander is one ALL pitchers should study.

That being said, were the Twins hitters just overmatched? Again, getting a runner on base SHOULD also change the pitcher work ethic. It should make them worry (as every Twins pitcher seemed to when a Astros was on base) that the runner was going to advance. So you throw strikes, which the Astros seemed prepared to attack, too...especially in that over-sealous inning for Cano/Stashak.

The Dodgers and the Astros have showed the weaknesses of the Twins. Hey, even the Orioles and A's, in their own way (as well as The Royals) did hold their own.

Don't start buying a season ticket package to get preferential treatment for the post season yet.

I want to be positive but that was an......Whoping start to finish...Gonna have to find another gear if we want any series wins...in the play offs....

50 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

 

3]I know we're playing a little short and banged up at the moment, but the offense was starting to click. And I know the Astros are a quality team with some good arms, but the offense has suddenly disappeared the past 6 games. Come on guys!

4] Arraez could fall out of bed every day and hit .300. He's an important part of this team and I'm glad he's still with us..

 

If only Arraez had Gordon's speed; Buxton's drop seems rather odd but then no one is doing much except Celestino.

It was just one series, an abysmal display, but only three games.

More worrisome, the Twins looked intimidated on a number of instances. Their bats were pretty weak overall. One can only hope that the expectation within the clubhouse was less fearful than what we saw from the action and managing.

Lack of luck…..hmmmm that was much closer to a butt kickin. 

Cold showers at Target Field. Hope a few lessons sank in!

Our team was exposed.  But one thing I want to complain about is how Gordon - no matter what he does always has a "but" attached.  I am very pleased with his play and glad he is on the team. 

Beyond that - let's step up and beat those Guardians. 

Houston just played better baseball than us for these 3 games, no other way to put it. Houston worked counts and didn't waste any AB's, they were aggressive on the basepaths, and their pitchers went right at hitters. This is a great series to learn from, how we need to be more aggressive if we want to have a real chance against some good teams. Not saying it is going to happen overnight, but Houston looked miles ahead of us in almost every aspect of the game.

I should be more upset about a nasty sweep like this, but I'm not. Overmatched and outgunned. Just like when LA came to town, now they know how they stack up against the top squads - at least when not at full strength. 

Make adjustments, keep the ship pointed at .500 by July 1 and see what happens. 

I was there today, and watching the conclusion of last night’s suspended game as Houston pounded us silly was especially painful. Putting the two games together, it seemed like the Twins were patching together lineups with duct tape and spit.

Our defense stayed pretty strong - Lewis made a great run to catch a foul pop fly in front of the left field tarp, and both Gordon and Celestino looked quite decent. Contreras looked tentative in left field and had a couple of late breaks on fly balls.

On offense we didn’t perform well in the clutch. Some here call this timidity, or lacking urgency, or bad luck. In the box the hitters seemed intent but unable to string together consecutive hits. 

Luis Garcia’s extreme herky-jerky windup was annoying to watch and apparently confused a lot of batters (apparently the home plate umpire, too).

Arraez was exactly who we have come to expect: working long counts, getting his hits, looking a bit lost in the field, but catching a tricky pop foul, still figuring out his footwork around first base.

Karmarsuk’s (sp?) polish sausage was the high point of those 6 or was it 7 hours! ??⚾️

Well, the Twins we’re doing great until the bigger, better, and more experienced kids got out of school.

Seriously, the Twins were badly outhit, outpitched, outran, outfielded, and, yes, outcoached. (They were even outumped).

Was it just me, or did there just seem to be such a lack of fire in the belly from this team?  

With all the Houston's RHPs, why didn't Gordon play more? With many LH hitters hurt there was no need to put so many RH hitters in the line up and not play Gordon.

No faith in Archer. Maybe it's just the results, but there seems to be something wrong with his mental approach. Like he has other things on his mind besides pitching well.

The report card can wait until the All Star game in July. Some players will get opportunities and others will look for jobs with another team down the road.

5 hours ago, USAFChief said:

 Nitpic, but the Twins did not leave 16 men on base

 They left 9.

Either way, it's yet another demonstration of why RBI are an incredibly important offensive stat, despite what you read.

YES!

I have heard so much about the starting staff and how it is right up there with the best so far this season.  They have done well within the leash they are on, but is it possible that Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, KC, and Oakland would make a lot of staffs look good?  Three straight bad starts in three days suddenly?  And go back to the Dodgers.  It will be interesting to watch the next month or two to see if the pattern continues.  

I have heard so much about the starting staff and how it is right up there with the best so far this season.  They have done well within the leash they are on, but is it possible that Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, KC, and Oakland would make a lot of staffs look good?  Three straight bad starts in three days suddenly?  And go back to the Dodgers.  It will be interesting to watch the next month or two to see if the pattern continues.  

Woof. I don't know about you all, but my feelings about this team have really changed after this series. I'm not sure they're even a .500 team let alone a playoff team.

Twins were just flogged and dispatched with ease by a good - not great - Astros team. Twins looked very overmatched and almost from the get-go had zero chance to stay in a ballgame. Even if the Astros are hot and the Twins are dealing with injuries, this is still an MLB ballgame and we should expect it to look like one. Instead the Twins looked like an AAA or AA squad trying to keep up in a Spring Training exhibition match.

Buxton played 2/3 of the series, we had Joe Ryan and Josh Winder on the mound for 2/3 of the series. There are no excuses, the Twins just rolled into this series expecting to lose to a better team and that's exactly what happened. Out of the entire 27 innings the Twins were in the game for like 1 of them. Worst looking baseball of the season and it went on for 3 games in a row, at home.

The offense is still unable to score more than 3-4 runs a game against a struggling or below-average pitcher, and when they are facing anything resembling quality pitching it's shock if they don't get shut out. You gotta score more runs, boys. They need like 3-4 more guys to start hitting, that's a tall order.