MIN 5, BAL 2: Slegers, Cave Lift Twins Out of Slump

Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs)

Aaron Slegers: 61 Game Score, 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 K, 1 BB, 65.3% strikes

Bullpen: 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 K, 1 BB

Lineup: 2-for-7 w/RISP, 7 LOB

WPA of 0.1 or above: Slegers .266, Hildenberger .126, Cave .120

WPA of -0.1 or below: None

This is exactly the type of game we’ve come to expect from Slegers down in Triple A. He doesn’t overpower hitters (just two strikeouts) but he keeps them off balance. The Orioles only got one run off of three hits and a walk against Slegers, who only needed 72 pitches to complete his six frames.

The Twins scored their first run in the bottom of the third thanks to a pretty comical error by the O’s. Minnesota took a 3-0 lead, but things tightened up again thanks to a pair of Jonathan Scoop solo homers — one off Slegers and the other off Addison Reed.

Clinging to a one-run lead, Trevor Hildenberger pitched a scoreless eighth inning. The Twins added a pair of runs in the bottom half to take some of the excitement out of Fernando Rodney’s night. He pitched a perfect inning with a pair of strikeouts to earn his 18th save.

https://twitter.com/TwinsHighlights/status/1015092741485801473

There was a huge call overturned that hurt the Twins. Max Kepler hit what originally appeared to be a run-scoring double to put the Twins up 4-2 in the sixth. After a closer look, it was determined it was a ground-rule double. Jorge Polanco, who came around to score from first on the play, was forced to go back to third base, where he was eventually left stranded.

Cave was the offensive star of the night, but Logan Morrison was 2-for-4 with his 10th home run and Kepler was 2-for-4 with a double.

Postgame With Molitor

https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1015070367574978560

Bullpen Usage

Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days:

AL Central Standings

CLE 48-37

MIN 36-48 (-11.5)

DET 38-51 (-12)

CHW 30-56 (-18.5)

KC 25-61 (-23.5)

Next Three Games

Fri vs. BAL, 7:10 pm CT: Lance Lynn vs. Dylan Bundy

Sat vs. BAL, 1:10 pm CT: Kyle Gibson vs. Kevin Gausman

Sun vs. BAL, 1:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Alex Cobb

Last Three Games

MIL 3, MIN 2: Pushing Against a Stone

MIL 2, MIN 0: Strikeouts Galore

MIL 6, MIN 5: Oh, That Rodney Experience