Twins 2, Athletics 1: Game of Firsts Ends in Twins Win

Rad that Lewis, Miranda, Winder, and Larnach joined Buxton as the stars of the game. That's so encouraging! None of those guys were even expected to be on the opening day roster.

Pagan is NOT the answer at closer.  Watching him muddle through those 28 pitches in the 9th was painful.

So who is the answer?  Count me in the camp (70%) of supporting Duran in that role.  

He offers a lot of upside with his stuff, but as he demonstrated last night, he is susceptible to the long ball when he strays away from his heat.

Is there a worthy alternative in this bullpen right now?  Call me crazy, but for right now---at this point in the season--------what is the downside of giving Joe Smith an opportunity?  

Yes, he's old....(38), has a funky delivery and won't overpower anyone.

What he WILL do is produce outs on weak contact.  6 pitches tonight---5 strikes....3 outs.  

His ERA is 0.00......10.1 IP over 11 games this year with only 2 walks.

Smith could be a viable short term alternative in the 9th until Duran is ready to take over.

Quick follow up to last post:

Last 4 appearances by Pagan:

3.2 IP

112 pitches thrown.  

Not a misprint.  112 pitches to record 11 outs.

7 walks over those 3.2 IP.

0 for 10 with risp and they somehow still win by the skin of their teeth. Pagan's 28 pitch tightrope over the volcano feat in stark contrast to Joe Smith's 6 pitch 1-2-3 master class.

Great win. Not sure the Twins have a pitcher suited to the traditional closer role. Duran (Inexperience, innings limit - do the Twins want him throwing regularly in high duress situations?) Smith (Funky pitchers are usually set-up guys) and Pagan (control issues.)

If I had to choose I would try it with Smith first.

Probably have to do it as an ad hoc/situational approach until some stronger BP arms are acquired via trade. 

Buxton was Buck!

Winder was again all we hoped for. In fact, he's been better than I expected as a rookie. He's going nowhere except his next turn in the rotation. 

Is Duffey the pitching version of Sano? Like last season, he suddenly seems to know how to get outs. Reminiscent of early 2021.

Awesome first HR for  Miranda! He looks good early, only the smallest of "deer in the lights" look, which might have been mitigated with a September fall up last season. But whatever. He will be at 3B soon, and for years to come. He's doing just fine right now with more to come.

I can't wait for AK to be healthy and ready to go and be a part of the future of this team. But in the meantime, let's give a shout out to Larnach and how quickly he has adapted. And has Kepler FINALLLY become the player we hoped for? I'll take 2/3 .

Lewis was a highlight. Saw at least one great defensive play and got his first ML hit in his first ML game. 

What's not to like right now?

I’m hoping the Duff man is settling in. He had a great appearance tonight. He would be my choice for closer if he makes another good showing. His heater was up tonight which makes his other offerings work. Duran  would be my other choice with the filthy offerings he employs. It’s the debate between experience and pure stuff. Pagan is walking too many to sustain a close down role. 
 

Great win tonight. Winder is a revelation. Can’t wait to see his next start. I hope we get to see Royce again tomorrow and Miranda was the difference maker tonight. The future is bright even if this year shows growing pains. 

Josh Winder

This guy is legit. Full fledged mlb pitcher, good command, good mix of pitches, excellent poise on the mound.

Royce Lewis

Excellent first game. Covered well at SS, making contact at the plate, got his first hit. The rest is history!

Byron Buxton

I still think this kid is gonna make it. Only one homer today? 

Trevor Larnach

Starting to do a good imitation of former Twins RF Michael Cuddyer. Bashing line drives, and gunning down runners with his power arm. 

Jorge Polanco

Oh please Jorge, don't lean backwards away from ground balls! Either you play them or they'll play you!

Gary Sanchez

Anybody here seen Sanchez actually glove a pitch bounced in front of him? Does he even try?

Tyler Duffey

He's a box of chocolates right now, because you don't know what you're going to get. He can't use his 4-seamer unless it's in a corner because it's too straight. Better to use a 2-seamer, which bends nicely arm side.  Clearly he's still searching for the right mix. Lucky he still has that bag of curve balls.

Emilio Pagan

Another box of chocolates, but with random flavors. Sorry, this isn't what you want at closer. As mentioned earlier, better to go with Joe Smith, who gets three outs in a real hurry, who cares how.

"He was in command of all his pitches. He probably could've gone longer."

So why didn't he?  Maybe this isn't just a Rocco thing after all.  It is starting to look like an organizational edict.  When your starter is clearly firing on all cylinders, why leave it to 3 or 4 different relievers to win it for you?  

On second thought, maybe Rocco is managing by Zoom and no one knows it.  

I think I'd rather have Smith in the fireman relief role, especially since he can pick up grounder double plays too. Duran makes sense in the 8th or 9th inning. Honestly, Jax is probably next up in some ways, but he is so valuable being able to throw multiple innings too. Duffey is the easy answer, but I'm not fully confident... Maybe until Pagan cleans up his walks?

Lewis, Miranda, Larnach, Kiriloff, Jeffers, Arraez, Centerino, and, hopefully, Martin. Those are eight legit position players making essentially league minimum over the next several years.

With Buxton and Polanco, we still have plenty of $ for CC. Add in one legit backup CC and maybe even Max hangs around two more years. That my friends, is a premier 13 player MLB position player roster in terms of talent and very manageable cost. The future could be quite bright. 

Smith's arm is gonna fall off if he keeps throwing so many pitches each outing.

"Buxton hit his ninth home run, putting him in fourth place in the American League this season. "

???

Well, Buxton, Judge, Cron, and Rizzo all have 9 and are tied for the MLB lead this season....... that is 4 guys, 3 are in the American League, and Buxton was the 4th one to get 9, but most would say that makes them all tied for 1st.

The Twinks are 16-11 and in first place, but watching them play this year, with a few exceptions, is like watching paint dry. Urshella, Sanchez, Jeffers, Sano, Polanco, Celestio, Pagan, Paddock, Gordon, Archer, etc. B-O-O-O-R-I-N-G!!

I would like to recognize Gary Sanchez as a catcher.  Coming into the season I thought he would be better by getting out of NY, but not by much.  I was thinking if he went from horrible to not very good that would be great.  However, he has handled a young and talent starting pitcher extremely well for his 1st two starts.  Morneau said last night that Sanchez had one of the strongest arms for a catcher in the league.  I was little perplexed by that but he was showing off the arm strength last night.  I was happy for him when he threw out a runner.  At Tampa the stolen bases were on Bundt, with his high leg kick, and Columbes slow wind up.

If, or when, Sanchez starts hitting the Twins will have one of the better back stop tandems in the league.

Twins will add a closer and some depth for the BP in June or July.

They have the arms to compete, albeit not with the Dodgers or Giants, but winning regularly is a tide that lifts all boats.

Future is bright though.  Building a Tampa Bay like depth around Buxton and Correa and Polanco makes the Front Office look smart.

7 hours ago, Monticore said:

0 for 10 with risp and they somehow still win by the skin of their teeth. Pagan's 28 pitch tightrope over the volcano feat in stark contrast to Joe Smith's 6 pitch 1-2-3 master class.

"Tightrope over the volcano". Great writing. Thanks. It perfectly described the top of the ninth inning in last night's game.

26 minutes ago, AKTwins said:

I would like to recognize Gary Sanchez as a catcher.  Coming into the season I thought he would be better by getting out of NY, but not by much.  I was thinking if he went from horrible to not very good that would be great.  However, he has handled a young and talent starting pitcher extremely well for his 1st two starts.  Morneau said last night that Sanchez had one of the strongest arms for a catcher in the league.  I was little perplexed by that but he was showing off the arm strength last night.  I was happy for him when he threw out a runner.  At Tampa the stolen bases were on Bundt, with his high leg kick, and Columbes slow wind up.

If, or when, Sanchez starts hitting the Twins will have one of the better back stop tandems in the league.

A shout out to Sanchez also for blocking three low pitches by Pagan in the ninth. Nice job Gary. Winder also gave him praise in Winder's post-game interview. I'm glad we got Gary Sanchez to be a Twin.

After watching Royce Lewis' interviews with MLB and with Dick and Justin, I would not trade Royce Lewis for any player in baseball. What an incredible young man.

1 hour ago, 9moons27 said:

The Twinks are 16-11 and in first place, but watching them play this year, with a few exceptions, is like watching paint dry. Urshella, Sanchez, Jeffers, Sano, Polanco, Celestio, Pagan, Paddock, Gordon, Archer, etc. B-O-O-O-R-I-N-G!!

I am sorry you feel this way. There is a lot to appreciate and enjoy about the game of baseball being played with good pitching and good defense and hitting to the opposite field. The proof is in the pudding and 16 -11 is the "proof". The "pudding" is good defense, good pitching and hitting the ball to the opposite field, if that is what the opposing team's defense and pitchers are giving you.  Winning this way is fascinating to watch.

6 hours ago, jimbo92107 said:

 

Gary Sanchez

Anybody here seen Sanchez actually glove a pitch bounced in front of him? Does he even try?

 

I'm not an expert, but I've heard many baseball people say that when a pitch is in the dirt and there are men on base the goal of the catcher is to keep the ball in front of him. Trying to glove it is more likely to result in the ball getting away, allowing runners to advance.

Last night was the second time recently that Pagan has loaded the bases in the ninth and escaped by the skin of his teeth. This is not acceptable. I realize we don't have a stereotypical closer on our staff, and maybe we don't need one, but right now my choice for save situations in the ninth inning would be not Pagan.