Twins 9, Rays 1: Garlick Powers Twins to Win

OK Jorge, time for you to get on board with the offense, now, too. 

New win streak started. Let it roll......

Like how Archer is throwing, especially after his having almost no spring training.

Seems like Larnach is a different player in his second year.  Good to see Kepler’s average moving up.  Can’t find the words to describe my thoughts on Duran.

This was a very well played game by the Twins, I thought. McClanahan was just filthy with his stuff and command but Garlick got to him on two rare pitches which weren't excellent. And then as soon as the Rays took him out the Twins feasted on the bullpen.

Meanwhile, pitching and defense remained great. Archer clearly battled with his command but he came through and the bullpen did the rest. And boy, I love to watch Jhoan Duran. He's filthy as well.

Small correction to an otherwise excellent article: It's McClanahan, with only one n.

Also, apparently they made a change and Josh Winder is now starting tomorrow. Looking forward to that!

Maybe their doubles will get Polanco and Sanchez going. Why hasn't Winder pitched?

Archer was not acquired from Tampa Bay he was a free agent signing 

36 minutes ago, Monticore said:

Maybe their doubles will get Polanco and Sanchez going. Why hasn't Winder pitched?

First career start tomorrow!

Super respect that Garlick was able to make the headlines for a game story WITHOUT it being a pun about food. That is a sign that he has finally "made it."

I thought because TB was so familar with Archer, I thought they'd really clobber him especially since they were so ready for Bundy.  But he did pretty well while working out the bugs on the fly and gaining endurance. It's a shame they signed Archer so late nevertheless I'm glad they signed him because in the long run he'll pay hugh dividends.

McClanahan pitched pretty well but luckily we were still in the game by the time he tuckered out and we blew the game wide open. I thought they'd put Winder in the 5th so he'd be able to get the win. Don't know why they are saving him.

2 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Reported elsewhere on the site that Winder will start the finale in Tampa/St. Petersburg. Beyond that, Winder and now Sands are on the team as starters-in-waiting and only in the bullpen to pitch long relief on a short start due to injury (Gray in Boston) or ineffectiveness (Archer against the Sox). 

My concern is that using a top prospect in a limited and low leverage role isn't the best utilization of their talents. This, of course, is complicated by the short Spring Training and expanded roster limits. As it stands right now, the Twins are on to their seventh starter (Winder), but it would seem to be temporary, as neither Gray's or Ober's injury would seem to hold them out for much over the ten day Injured List minimum. 

It’s for an initial debut.  It’s always a good idea to make debuts less stressful for the rookies.  There is plenty of time during the next 6-10 years for Winder to start on a regular basis.  

3 hours ago, blindeke said:

Super respect that Garlick was able to make the headlines for a game story WITHOUT it being a pun about food. That is a sign that he has finally "made it."

But you gotta admit, he sure spiced up the offense.

Great win!

But, for all of you that like to talk about Sano's average exit velocity.....

just make sure you are factoring in the 0 mph for each of his Ks!

That will help you understand why your advanced metrics fail the logic test

It's clear from his past performances that Sano is a really streaky hitter. However, this prolonged spell of poor production to start the season may need a sharp reset. He shouldn't just be placed in the lineup day after day waiting for him to produce. Maybe something is wrong physically?

6 for 13 with RISP love to see that it felt like every game last year was 2 for 10.

Fun game. I hope Archer can regain his command. The stuff is there but he isn’t throwing enough strikes. It’s going to catch up to him. 

Buxton being a late scratch is concerning. Can't help but get that creeping feeling any time he's removed for an injury.

Garlick, wow. He's got 4 hits this year and 3 of them are HRs. He's making it awfully tough to send him down when he plays like this against lefties.

Would be very nice to win this series in Tampa.....

One other thing……Duran is looking better every time he goes out there. He was so efficient I was hoping they would give him a third inning. What a weapon to have in the pen. Now we just need two more like him….

Twins have played 21 games.  Buxton has only been in 13 of them.  Sounds frustratingly familiar.  He needs to get healthy and stay on the field.  Up to this point nothing has changed with him.  He's very good when he plays.  He just doesn't play any where near enough.  Here's hoping he gets better.  I'd love to see a healthy Full Season of Buxton production.

You had to like how the Twins kept battling against McClanahan, who has terrific stuff. He kept ringing up Ks, but it never felt the Twins were just getting overwhelmed. You saw Polanco have a long AB against him, etc and they kept fighting him. Garlick of course did exactly what he was supposed to do: crush lefties. 

Archer didn't have an easy time of it out there, but battled through it and limited the damage. I think he gets another inning if it had been May already and he'd had another start under him, but with his injury history I approve of being cautious with him. Bullpen did a great job. My goodness, Duran!

Really nice to see the team keep pushing and add runs in the 9th to pad the lead. Correa is clearly heating up, which is great news. Just a nice win by a team that's playing pretty darn well right now. TBR are a very good team and a tough beat anywhere. Be lovely to steal the series from them!

How did the bullpen go five scoreless innings and hold Tampa to one run?

Not a big deal...... he did give up 6 runs, just not all in the first inning.

"....as Dylan Bundy gave up six runs in the first inning "

He gave up 4 in the first, and one in the 2nd, and 1 in the 3rd.