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

    David Youngs

    By David Youngs

    Last night's thunderstorms in the Twin Cities couldn't bring any electricity to the Twins' bats on Thursday afternoon. Read up on all the action from the second game of Thursday's pseudo-double-header. 

    Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

    Twins Video

     

    Box Score
    Starting Pitcher: Josh Winder, 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3BB, 2 K (77 pitches, 45 strikes, 58%)
    Home Runs: none
    Bottom Three WPA: Josh Winder (-.209), Byron Buxton (-.105), Jose Miranda (-.097), 
    Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)
    image.png.a5b4ba7c9255340001eb6e1e07a77693.png

    After a rocky finish to last night's weather-delayed game, the Twins finished up a 'less than pretty' series against the Astros with a 5-0 shutout loss on Thursday afternoon. Despite garnering seven hits (to Houston's eight), the Twins were unable to convert any rallies and left 16 runners on base throughout the game. 

    First Foe for Winder
    After two incredible starts to kick off his MLB campaign Josh Winder had his first sub-par start on Tuesday afternoon. The highly-touted prospect lasted just 3 1/3 innings, giving up six hits while walking three batters. Twins trainer Abe Masa accompanied skipper Rocco Baldelli to the mound to check on Winder towards the end of his outing. Winder continued to pitch and appeared fine. Hopefully, the young talent is healthy and will rebound for another great start next week!

    Bullpen
    After a rough outing in the first game of the day, the Twins' bullpen was adequate through 5 2/3 innings. Caleb Thielbar followed Josh Winder in relief and was scoreless through 1 2/3 innings. Tyler Duffey followed suit with two innings of scoreless ball. The highlight of the bullpen experience came from Cole Sands in the top of the eighth inning. Called up to the 40-man roster after last night's delay, Sands struck out the side, providing the only 1-2-3 inning on the day for the Twins' pitching staff. Sands wasn't as lucky in the ninth, giving up a homer to Yordan Alvarez. 

    Arraez and Rocco Return
    Despite the gloom of the box score, Luiz Arraez and Rocco Baldelli returned from the COVID protocol on Thursday. Baldelli managed both games today and Arraez made his debut in the second game of the pseudo-double-header, going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. 

    Nick Gordon is a Renaissance Man
    The Twins may have lost, but Nick Gordon won over the hearts of Twins fans between the two games on Thursday. After pitching a scoreless ninth inning of a blowout loss, Gordon made one of the most spectacular catches across the league in the second inning of the second game. 

    Gordon had an impressive day at the plate as well, going 2-for-3 with a pair of singles in the fifth and seventh innings. The former first-round pick has been a joy to watch for the Twins this season both in the field and at the plate. The Avon Park, Florida native has hit .294 in his last seven games, and Thursday afternoon's game was his first multi-hit game since April 21 against Kansas City.  

    Bullpen Usage Chart
    783577591_Bullpen2.png.ae0c3aea73e9196d7a0947d2feb0b8b9.png

    What’s Next?
    After a disappointing sweep, the Twins will look to regain momentum tomorrow night with a home series against the Cleveland Guardians. RHP Sonny Gray (0-1, 3.48 ERA) will face off against Aaron Civale (1-2, 9.45 ERA) in a battle of two of the AL Central's top teams. First pitch at Target Field is scheduled for 7:10 pm CST. 

     

    David Youngs is a 2020 Concordia College graduate who writes human-interest features and minor league coverage for Twins Daily. He can be found on a tennis court, in a boat with his walleye limit, or consuming chicken nachos.
    Follow David Youngs on Twitter: CyYoungsAward

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    Featured Comments

    mikelink45

    mikelink45 10,958

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    We have now played 20% or 1/5 of the season and the comments have really covered the trends.  Based on our teams experience we have the following tiers:

    These teams could be champions - Astros, Dodgers

    These teams are on par with us - Mariners, Rays

    These teams are losers - Tigers, Royals, Orioles, A's, Red Sox, White Sox (this will be adjusted soon, but this is where they were when we played them).

    This is looking back not forward with these teams.  So now it will be interesting to see how these tiers change in the next 32 games. 

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    wabene

    wabene 3,027

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    6 hours ago, Mark G said:

    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.  

     

    6 hours ago, Mark G said:

    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 count 2

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    Major League Ready

    Major League Ready 5,943

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

    We have now played 20% or 1/5 of the season and the comments have really covered the trends.  Based on our teams experience we have the following tiers:

    These teams could be champions - Astros, Dodgers

    These teams are on par with us - Mariners, Rays

    These teams are losers - Tigers, Royals, Orioles, A's, Red Sox, White Sox (this will be adjusted soon, but this is where they were when we played them).

    This is looking back not forward with these teams.  So now it will be interesting to see how these tiers change in the next 32 games. 

    There are 8 teams on pace to win 99 or more games.  (Yankees / Astros / Angels / Brewers / Mets / Dodgers / Giants ) That's a lot of very good teams without considering the White Sox are very likely to rebound and the Rays / Blue Jays have the personnel to win a Championship as well. 

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    mikelink45

    mikelink45 10,958

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    5 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

    There are 8 teams on pace to win 99 or more games.  (Yankees / Astros / Angels / Brewers / Mets / Dodgers / Giants ) That's a lot of very good teams without considering the White Sox are very likely to rebound and the Rays / Blue Jays have the personnel to win a Championship as well. 

    So true, but you left out the Twins! Of course. 

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    Whitey333

    Whitey333 1,472

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    The one thing that has bothered me about the Twins so far this season is their lackluster, uninspiring,  and their " awe shucks it doesn't matter if we lose" manager Rocco Baldelli.  Okay I guess that's 3 things.  We have lots of injuries yes.  Bad luck?  Please.  The Twins got their butts kicked by a much better team.  The starting staff was looking good early.  Now it's settling in to what we expected.  Too much inexperience.  Too much hoping for miracles from recycled washed up veterans.  Twins have a 2-3 week window coming up of very winnable games, injuries notwithstanding.  The time is now to put on a winning streak and get the injured players back on the field 

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