PHI 2, MIN 1: Kepler Stays Hot, Hoskins Pops Deciding Homer

This wasn't the best lineup the Twins could have put out there. In a 2-1 game, the lineup matters.

well, it's not like they've got a .500 hitter on the bench.

Twins have matchups against de Grom and Syndegaard the next two games. Shoulda grabbed this game and ran. Instead they rolled over.

Berrios deserved better. If the Twins can't hit Zach Eflin, it's gonna be a long 2 games in New York to start the week.

Walk haunted and I would take my odds on that play at the plate.  Definitely better than 50/50 but such is baseball.     Yeah, de Grom and Syndegaard are tough but the Twins often have a tougher time against the soft tossers.   Good sign that the only two times the Phillies have scored fewer than 5 runs were the last two.  Forget Friday, you're not going to hold anyone down with 10 freebies and 3 errors. 

My main concerns going into the season were the bullpen and the all or nothing nature of the lineup at the plate. I’ve been surprised by the bullpen but today is an example of the pitfalls of having a lot of swing and miss guys. Eflin was begging to get smoked and they couldn’t put anything together

Sure would be nice it these guys could get some hits. What do they say? Good teams find a way to win close games.....

I know we want to play all our players, but Polanco on the bench?  Give me a break - don't give Philadelphia a break. Get our bats in the lineup.  

You know what y'all?   It's baseball, it happens.   Yeah, they had their chances but came up short.   It's baseball.   Philly looks to be a pretty good team this year and the Twins showed well overall.  

It was a good, close game and I enjoyed watching it.   Sucks that they lost, but now we move on to the next contest.

Man, I love this game

I know we want to play all our players, but Polanco on the bench? Give me a break - don't give Philadelphia a break. Get our bats in the lineup.

He’s been battling shoulder issues all spring. It’s pretty likely IMO that he will need to be rested more than would be typical for a starting shortstop.

well, it's not like they've got a .500 hitter on the bench.

LOL

The Twins did pretty well considering there was no place for Cruz to play except to pinch hit. The big question is how will the Twins solve this problem when playing at the National League park in the World Series this season?.

So we're 5-3. A lot of folks will say, "meh". Well, going 5-3 every 8 games allows you to meh your way to a 100-win season.

Didn't see the game.  Buxton have good ABs?

I know we want to play all our players, but Polanco on the bench?  Give me a break - don't give Philadelphia a break. Get our bats in the lineup.  

I know there are a lot of off-days here but we still need to rest people and give others a chance to play, if for no other reason than not to get rusty. If you're going to play your B lineup do it when Berrios is pitching. It still gives you a chance to win, as shown by today's game. We came up short but we were right there. Save your best lineup for when you've got someone else starting.

Didn't see the game.  Buxton have good ABs?

First at-bat was ugly, with a first pitch pop out to the catcher on a slider in the zone with a runner on first and no outs. His second at-bat was good, stayed away from balls off the plate and stung a line drive 400 ft to center for an out. He did foul another slider in the zone though, so he probably needs to learn to spit on that pitch in hitter's counts. I didn't see the final at-bat but the play-by-play report looks decent.

Couple of real close Berrios pitches that hit the corners but were called balls in key spots. This game was one of those coin toss situations... 

Going 3-4 on an early season road trip against these teams was never going to be the end of the world. That's worst case scenario at this point.

Hopefully, they can steal one from the Mets and have a winning road trip.

Couple of real close Berrios pitches that hit the corners but were called balls in key spots. This game was one of those coin toss situations...

It's too bad that the Twins don't have one of those pitch framing catchers to turn those close calls into strikes.

When Hoskins hit his homerun, my first thought was: "Grab that bat and see if it's corked." That was a one-handed swing on a low and away curve. It's a shame to get beat by that.

Eflin was helped a lot today by Twins swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. There was one Adrianza at bat where Elfin threw him 8 straight balls. He could have walked twice! I laughed when Adrianza singled at the end of the at bat.

Considering how often the ump was giving Eflin K's 2-4 inches off the plate, I can't exactly blame any of the Twins for swinging more at stuff inside and outside the plate. Justin Morneau was getting so annoyed those strike calls that even Dick Bremer noticed, and Dick usually doesn't comment on umpiring.

 

From yesterday. Looks pretty good to me.

 

Tom:

 

As people were complaining about the Mets pitchers getting strikes called outside the zone it would be interesting to see that chart.  Can you post that one as well?