HOU 9, Twins 1: The Astros Are Really Good At Baseball

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs)

Odorizzi: 29 Game Score, 4.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 K, 4 BB, 55.3% strikes (52 of 94 pitches)

Home Runs: Astudillo (2)

Multi-Hit Games: Polanco (2-for-4), Kepler (2-for-4)

WPA of 0.1 or higher: None

WPA of -0.1 or lower: Odorizzi (-.241)

Early in the game, things looked OK for the Twins. Jake Odorizzi started out with two scoreless innings. The Twins had their opportunities early against Astros rookie starter Framber Valdez. They had runners in scoring position but were unable to capitalize. Odorizzi then gave up two-run homers to Alex Bregman in the third inning and Evan Gattis in the fourth inning. And from there, the Astros piled on a bit.

Odorizzi just didn’t throw enough strikes. As much as the goal was to not let Bregman beat them, he had the two-run homer and in the eighth inning, he put the icing on the cake with a bases-clearing double. On a related note, I like cake. I rarely have cake, but I do like it. Sometimes I like just the vanilla cake with vanilla icing. Sometimes, chocolate cake is good, especially with some creamy chocolate icing (most of the time it’s a little too rich for my liking). My favorite might be vanilla (yellow) cake with chocolate frosting. Although strawberry shortcake is also fantastic!

Back to Jake Odorizzi… in his post game presser, Mike Berardino asked him if he might be interested in being a “Primary” pitcher. Fair to say he doesn’t seem too interested in it.

Anyway, back to the Twins. Willians Astudillo DHd and hit a home run. He now has two home runs, two strikeouts and zero walks. Yes, his scouting report and minor league track record have been proven pretty accurate through his small-sample-size big league career.

https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1037517440211513344

It was a rough game for Tyler Austin on Wednesday. He started and played first base. He went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. Later in the game, he was chasing a pop up, but he slipped on the warning track near the first base dugout and landed hard. An inning later he was removed from the game for a pinch hitter for precautionary reasons.

Austin now has 26 strikeouts in 78 plate appearances (33.3%). While that isn’t great, it is worth noting that in his time with the Yankees this year, he struck out 40.1% of his 132 plate appearances (53 Ks). Also of note, he has seven home runs in 78 plate appearances with the Twins. He had eight home runs in 132 plate appearances with the Yankees. Improvements.

A brief look at the number of pitches thrown by the relievers in Wednesday’s game:

Andrew Vasquez (8), John Curtiss (24), Oliver Drake (7), Taylor Rogers (6), Matt Belisle (29).

https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1037551908615929857

What else got your talking and asking questions throughout Wednesday’s game?

Next Three Games

Thu: Off

Fri vs. KC, 7:10 pm CT: TBD (meaning, Opener to go with “primary” Stephen Gonsalves)

Sat vs KC, 6:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios

Sun vs KC, 1:10 pm CT: TBD (reportedly Zack Littell and Chase De Jong piggybacking)

Last Three Games

MIN 10, TEX 7: Tex-plosion!

HOU 4, MIN 1: Astros Take Advantage of Pivotal Polanco Error

HOU 5, MIN 2: Rough Opener, Strong Stewart Homecoming