MIN 8, CLE 6: Twins Use Team Record 10 Pitchers In Victory

Snapshot (chart via Fangraphs)

Dozier led off the game with a double high off the left field wall, came around to score the first run and finished 3-for-5 with that three-run homer, his 33rd, and three runs scored.

Byron Buxton successfully stole his 23rd-consecutive base, setting a new team record. He also made another insanely good catch. Bonus points for it coming in the eighth inning of a one-run game. Then he delivered an RBI single in the top of the ninth to provide a huge insurance run.

https://twitter.com/statcast/status/912872001689309186

Eddie Rosario was also a handful for Cleveland pitchers, going 4-for-5 with his 27th homer. Rosario had a .660 OPS over the first month of the season, but quickly turned into as steady a contributor as you could ask for. He's had at least at .810 OPS in every month since (league average OPS is .751). There have been hot streaks from a number of other hitters that have overshadowed Rosario’s contributions to a degree, but Rosie has built a body of work over the summer that is truly impressive.

Unfortunately, you still have to take the bad with the good when it comes to Rosario. He represented the go-ahead run after a leadoff double in the top of the fifth. Eduardo Escobar sent a chopper to the left side in front of Rosario, who was thrown out trying to advance to third. Conventional wisdom, for good reason, says you don't try to go to third unless the ball is hit between you and second base. Sigh. Oh that Eddie, when will he learn? The next batter hit into a double play.

Bartolo Colon gave up two runs in the first inning and was removed from the game due to illness. There was a bizarre managerial moment in the third inning in which Paul Molitor was denied a request to make a pitching change.

Tyler Duffey had allowed the first two batters of that inning to reach, and Neil Allen decided to go out and have a chat prior to Duffey facing lefty Jay Bruce. Duffey fell behind 2-0, which prompted Molitor to hop out of the dugout and call for Buddy Boshers … which was against the rules. I guess since Allen had already visited Duffey in that plate appearance, a change couldn't be made until it was over.

Luckily that fiasco didn't matter much, as the rest of the pen provided 6.2 innings of two-run ball. Dillon Gee really got this contest back under control for the Twins, as he provided two scoreless, one-hit innings early on.

AL Wild Card Standings

WC1: Yankees 88-69 (+5.0)

WC2: Twins 83-74

Angels 78-79 (-5.0)

***ALL OTHER TEAMS ELIMINATED***

Postgame With Dozier

Bullpen Usage

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

Looking Ahead

Wed: Twins (Adalberto Mejia) at Cleveland (Danny Salazar), 6:10 pm CT

Thu: Twins (Ervin Santana) at Cleveland (Carlos Carrasco), 11:10 am CT

Fri: Twins (Jose Berrios) vs. Detroit (Matthew Boyd), 7:10 pm CT

Looking Back

MIN 10, DET 4: Deja Vu All Over Again

MIN 10, DET 4: Twins Blow Out Tigers Bullpen

MIN 7, DET 3: Gibson, Offense Keep Rolling