Twins Game Recap (7/18): Rosario Ignites Late-Inning Comeback

Rocco Baldelli, yer a genius!

Today is Thursday, July 18, it was the 95th game of the year and the Twins hit 3 home runs. The Twins are now 59% of the way through the season. Out of 59 years, the current team ranks 9th on the all-time list of Twins' home runs in one season and are on a pace to hit 302 home runs this season. They are now 90 home runs behind the single season MLB record. The next Twins team to pass is the 1962 team that hit 185 home runs.

Play Arraez more. (Sorry, I just had to say that.)

Nice and needed win. 

Cave was apparently going on contact, so it's hard to fault him for that. Arraez's base-running blunder was another mental mistake. We escaped our sloppy play this time, but often in tight games, those kinds of plays come back to bite you very, very hard.

Nice to get this win but the sloppy play has to stop.

That was a huge win (they all seem that way now).

Really fun game to watch. Incredible home run from Rosario. That truly felt like a breakout moment. The change in energy was electric.

Garver is pretty incredible as well. He’s emerging as a premier player. The guy can hit.

Hopefully this a springboard to 3 of 4.

2 more errors. Gotta clean that up.

Mental errors, laziness, and not hustling are luxuries this team (really no team) can afford if you want to achieve greatness. I am glad Eddie got back on the horse and atoned for yesterday's sins.

This felt like a potential season saver and hopefully it was. 

  On 7/19/2019 at 7:21 AM, howeda7 said:

This felt like a potential season saver and hopefully it was. 

That's how it felt to me also - Twins have their first 3-game winning streak, Cleveland hasn't lost since the Taft administration, down 2 runs late....Eddie freaking Rosario hits a PH homer to bring this team back.

Here's hoping this Twins team can take this momentum and win this series. Taking 3-of-4 from Oakland would be absolutely huge. Let's get another one tonight.

One of the most fun games of the year.  But the other commentators have already emphasized the other side of the coin - errors - physical and mental.  Why is this continuing.  It seems like it is increasing instead of being fixed.  What can be done? 

Is Schoop now a bench player? 

When are Buxton and Wade coming off the IL? 

  On 7/19/2019 at 12:26 PM, mikelink45 said:

One of the most fun games of the year. But the other commentators have already emphasized the other side of the coin - errors - physical and mental. Why is this continuing. It seems like it is increasing instead of being fixed. What can be done?

 

Is Schoop now a bench player?

 

When are Buxton and Wade coming off the IL?

I'm sorry but no way that Cave being doubled off on Kepler's smash is a baserunning error. With the normal lead he's taking and the momentum towards home on the pitch so as to be ready to score on a wild pitch, there's no way he's going to get back before Olson throws the ball to third. I have no issue with him breaking for home on that one - if you're not getting back you might as well score in case the ball hit the ground.

That's some insane nitpicking.

The Arraez and Sano errors were also pretty soft errors. Yeah they should get those but neither was a particularly simple play. Sano's was a smash that he didn't scoop right. It's an error but not one to complain too much on. Arraez hurried a throw after a bad hop. The throw probably needed to be hurried and I want him going for the out on that one.

Arraez's move to third was bad though. No upside to moving to third, wait for the call.

  On 7/19/2019 at 4:40 AM, MNT1996 said:

2 more errors. Gotta clean that up.

I truly hate to say it but Sano made 2 errors in Gibson's last start and I believe he is a liability in the field and totally unpredictable at the plate. I don't want to see him at 3rd in a really crucial game.

Nice to see Baldelli leave Gibson in for 7.

Score 5 or more and win. Score less than 5 and usually lose. Pretty simple formula. Applies again tonight.

Eddie, Eddie, Eddie.  Now maybe the team will get their "swagger" back and clean up some of those mental errors.

What are you talking about? Guys get picked off on that play all the time. I can remember (but not specifically) the Twins doing it twice this year. It's one thing to say a guy should be more cautious but to say that there's no excuse is laughably ignorant of actual baseball.

Taking a normal lead and then moving another 2-3 steps towards home with the pitch means that Kepler is likely 5-6 steps from the bag. That was a hard smash and Olson was immediately up and throwing. An entire infield away is like 125 feet. MLB players make that throw in an instant. Kep had no chance.

Ironically, the only people in the league who aren't doubled off on that are probably your pitchers and slow plodders who don't take much of a lead because they aren't going home on anything but the most obvious wild pitch anyway. Any player with any speed at all is too far from the bag. That's just bad luck.

  On 7/19/2019 at 1:57 PM, Only Here in Negative said:

What are you talking about? Guys get picked off on that play all the time. I can remember (but not specifically) the Twins doing it twice this year. It's one thing to say a guy should be more cautious but to say that there's no excuse is laughably ignorant of actual baseball.

 

Taking a normal lead and then moving another 2-3 steps towards home with the pitch means that Kepler is likely 5-6 steps from the bag. That was a hard smash and Olson was immediately up and throwing. An entire infield away is like 125 feet. MLB players make that throw in an instant. Kep had no chance.

 

Ironically, the only people in the league who aren't doubled off on that are probably your pitchers and slow plodders who don't take much of a lead because they aren't going home on anything but the most obvious wild pitch anyway. Any player with any speed at all is too far from the bag. That's just bad luck.

You are correct, that was bad luck.

However, players are taught to freeze on hard liners though the infield for just that reason. My son’s high school coach looses his mind when they make mental errors like those (and in case anyone might question, he played professionally has won multiple State Titles and was the National HS Coach of the Year in 2018).

  On 7/19/2019 at 12:48 PM, Tom Froemming said:

These just keep getting more and more silly. Come check out some highlights from a great win and have a laugh with me.

 

Excellent Tom. Eddie the Igniter. That PH at bat he looked like he could hardly wait, "throw the freakin' ball, clown." To Arraez defense, I thought the batter was hit by the pitch too.

The ball is by the ground, the runner can't see if the ball bounced or not readily. The reaction is to go home, if he hesitates or goes back and its on the ground, its an out without the runner going. Absolutely handled the right way, no way anyone said "My bad" in the dugout. More like "**** happens"

  On 7/19/2019 at 4:38 AM, Darius said:

Garver is pretty incredible as well. He’s emerging as a premier player. The guy can hit.
 

I remember a lot of us having great debates about Garver vs. Stuart Turner, who was drafted in the same year. 

I think the Twins got this one right.Turner's career MLB average is .134 in 37 games with the Reds in 2017. This year he's hitting .163 with the Reds' AAA affiliate.