AJ Condon

The Twins aren’t getting the same production from the up the middle players on the field (C/2B/SS/CF) that played a big part in their offensive success a year ago. Between players not continuing their success from last year and new backups not performing like the former, the up the middle players aren’t getting as much production.The offense hasn’t looked like the Bomba Squad that set a home run record last year, or was up there for best offenses in the league. For starters, it’s no secret to any fan that players like Mitch Garver, Jorge Polanco, Luis Arraez and Byron Buxton aren’t producing like they did just a year ago. As a team, the Twins just aren’t getting the same production from those up the middle players. Last season the Twins ranked first in team OPS at the catcher position, fifth at second base, seventh at shortstop and 8th at centerfield. Currently, the Twins rank fourth worst in team OPS by players up the middle. That is broken down by being ranked 23rd at catcher, 18th at second base, 26th at shortstop and 21st at centerfield. Catcher Mitch Garver showed last season that he was one of the best catchers in the league, offensively that is. While playing just 93 games he ranked second in HRs, sixth in RBIs and first in OPS of catchers who played at least 15 games. In his 17 games played he is .154/.262/.212 with just one home run and two RBIs, an immense drop off. Garver’s drop in numbers can be explained by a couple things. First off, he isn’t barrelling the ball like he was last season. His exit velocity has actually increased by .1% but he is barreling the ball only 3.4% of the time compared to 15.5% last season when he was in the top 4%. On top of that he isn’t hitting the ball in the “sweet spot” as much either. That has dropped from 33.6% to 27.6% while his strikeout rate has increased 15% from last season! He’s pulling the ball a lot more frequently this season which allows for more of a shift to be played on him. Though his chase rate has dropped, he seems to be whiffing at pitches at a significantly higher rate than his career. This season, his whiff rate is at 33% compared to a career 24.2%. The numbers Garver put up last season were obviously going to be tough to match, but it was tough to predict this big of a drop-off. It isn’t just Garver’s fault. Last season, the Twins’ got solid production from their back-up catcher in Jason Castro. With the lower usage of Garver, Castro was the number two option for the Twins and he was able to hold his own compared to Garver’s career year. Though his numbers were nothing special, he had an OPS of .767 which was higher than 23 other teams catcher’s OPS. He totaled for 13 home runs, knocked in 30 runs while batting .232. Alex Avila has been a different story on offense. He has just six hits and only one of them being a home run. It’s pretty evident by watching games that the catcher position hasn’t come close to the production we got from it just a year prior. The difference between Castro last year and Avila this year has been more hurtful because it looks as though Avila will be playing close to half the games. It didn’t help when Garver was removed from a game and placed on the 10-day IL. Middle Infield Another area the Twins have lacked this year is their middle infielders. Jorge Polanco has taken a drastic step backwards in his power game. Last season he broke out for a total of 69 extra-base hits including 22 home runs. This year, in 31 games, he has just seven. While his average is sitting at .275, his OPS has dropped from .841 to .682. The guy I was really excited for this year has also been brought back to Earth after he was a menace at the plate the season prior. Luis Arraez wasn’t going to match his numbers from last year, but they’ve dropped more than I would’ve expected. No one expected him to bring the power aspect to the plate this year. He grinds his at-bats and finds ways to make it on. This year hasn’t gone as well. He’s played in 23 games so far and is striking out at a 12.2% rate compared to 7.9% last year. Though he is still getting a good amount of hits, his average has also dropped, which was expected.. He is hitting .284 compared to .334 last season. That has played apart in his drop of OPS where he sits at .665 compared to his .838. Centerfield Throughout the past season and a half, the centerfield position hasn’t been held by just one player. Byron Buxton is the Twins starter out there, but injuries have held him from getting much action in his young career. In turn, the position has also been held by Max Kepler and Jake Cave. Last season, the Twins combined for an OPS of .821, which ranked eighth, from the centerfield position. This season it’s dropped all the way down to .646. This year the position has been held by Buxton and Cave who hold an OPS of .681 and .627, respectively. The drop in OPS by the center fielders can be explained in part because of how successful Kepler was last season and the amount of games he played out in center. Buxton also was having a solid season in limited time holding an OPS of .827. Is this just a slow start from these up the middle players? Will they be able to turn things around late in the season and in the playoffs? It is detrimental to get these guys back to their form in order to make a deep playoff run. Let me know what you think in the comments below! Click here to view the article

Josh Donaldson, the biggest free agent signing in franchise history, started out his Twins tenure by going 1-for-10. Donaldson broke out of his mini slump Tuesday night at an empty Target Field in front of cardboard cut outs of former Twins. He and fellow new Twin, Homer Bailey, helped lead Minnesota to a 6-3 victory over St. Louis.Box Score Bailey: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K Home Runs: Polanco (1), Donaldson (1) Top 3 WPA: Bailey .131, Polanco .122, Sanó .093 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): Download attachment: WinChart.png With former Twins behind the backstop watching the Bomba Squad play their home opener, they got off to a hot start. Homer Bailey pitched his way to a win in his debut. The Bringer of Rain arrived at Target Field in style with his first bomba in a Twins uniform. Following the game, Donaldson said, "I've been on some teams to where it's been strictly relied on the home run ball. This team has the capability to do that, but we also have the ability to manufacturing some runs, and create some runs without just the home run ball." Just like the Twins’ offense did for Kenta Maeda in his debut, Homer Bailey was given an early cushion to work with. The Twins got off to a quick start in the first filling the bases, but fell short of punching one across. They didn’t make that same mistake twice. In his first at-bat of the 2020 season, Byron Buxton was able to pick up an RBI on a fielder's choice. Just two batters later, Josh Donaldson was able to pick up his first RBI in a Twins uniform with a sac-fly. The Twins found themselves with a comfortable five-run lead after Jorge Polanco gave Target Field its first home run of the season with a 2-run blast. Just like Maeda, Bailey used his early cushion to his advantage. Through four innings, Bailey had given up just two walks and two hits while striking out four Cardinals. Three of those strikeouts came off his sinker with the slider picking up the fourth. Of the run support, Bailey smiled and said, "With this type of offense, it's not a surprise when you have this many weapons in your lineup." He later added, "You try to have that short inning, and get these guys back in the dugout as quick as you can after you team puts up big innings like that." After a strong start by Bailey, the Bringer of Rain decided to make his presence felt across Twins Territory. He went oppo in the bottom of the fourth for his first home run in a Twins uniform. https://twitter.com/...287014744457216 It took a little longer than Twins fans were hoping, but they should get used to seeing Donaldson trot around the bases in the coming years. Rocco Baldelli said after the game, "That's probably the first of many." "I was pretty excited running around the bases," said Donaldson after the game. Bailey got brought back to reality for a moment in the fifth when he left a hanging slider right over the heart of the plate on a full count. Tyler O’Neill hit the ball a long way in the bullpen to cut the deficit to just four runs. Before turning the ball over to the bullpen, Bailey came back very strong and retired the next three batters to end the fifth. His night was ended after five innings giving up just two runs on four hits and two walks. Following the game, Bailey said, "I like the score at the end of nine innings, and that's the most important thing." The bullpen came in and helped Bailey earn a deserving win in his debut. With a four run lead, they allowed just one run, that very easily could’ve been an out, but we’ll give Buxton a break for all the runs he’s saved us. The lone run came on a deep fly ball to center field. Buxton appeared to have an *easy* leaping catch, but instead, the ball hit the palm of his glove and bounced over the fence. After that solo shot, May struck out the side and passed the duties along to Sergio Romo. Taylor Rogers is yet to make his 2020 debut but hopefully it’s solely because there hasn’t been a spot where he’s really needed. Whether or not that’s the case, Rogers hopefully can see some action soon so the lefty can bring havoc on opposing batters. Baldelli said after the game that not using Rogers to this point in the season is circumstantial. He added, "It's absolutely circumstance. I want to get Rog out there as much as anyone. Believe me. Tonight was an opportunity, surely, for him to pitch, but also, looking ahead, looking at Sergio being up and hot in the bullpen in the eighth inning, making sure we set ourselves up going forward. I just thought it was the right thing to let Sergio go in in a three-run game and pitch tonight." He continued, "Nothing has changed from last year in any way. Rog is our guy. Rog is the guy we're going to lean on in very difficult circumstances when we need outs. He's the guy we're going to turn to. We want him pitching the innings that we would call our most important innings." In all three of their wins now, the bullpen has helped hold the early lead the offense has set up. They’ve given up just one run in 13 innings in those three wins. It’s been nice to see guys like Cody Stashak and Lewis Thorpe come in early in the season and show they can be key pieces for the Twins. Not to mention Trevor May, Tyler Duffey, Romo and Taylor Rogers who haven’t had to work as much with these younger guys stepping up. The Twins finish up this two game series tomorrow and look for a sweep in their first interleague play of the season. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Download attachment: Bullpen.png Postgame Pint At our postgame pint, Andrew Thares, Ted Schwerzler and Nathan Palmer join John Bonnes to talk about the Twins lineup jumping on the Cardinals early and the bullpen shutting the door late. Check it out below, or download the podcast. And check out PostgamePint.com to find out how to join us after the next Twins game. Seth Stohs contributed the player and manager quotes to this article. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins make history! Yes, you read that correctly. The 2017 Twins became the first MLB team ever to make the playoffs following a 100-loss season. Paul Molitor turned his team around for a playoff run that ended as quickly as it started, at the hands of some familiar foes.We're running a 20-part series in which we look back at each Minnesota Twins season of the 2000s. A rotation of different writers will highlight key moments, unearth forgotten details, and share nostalgic tales from the past two decades leading up to the present. This installment covers the 2017 season. Team Record: 85-77 Finish: 2nd Place in AL Central (Won 2nd Wild Card) All Star(s): Ervin Santana (P), Brandon Kintzler (P), Miguel Sanó (3B) Awards: Brian Dozier (Gold Glove, 2B), Byron Buxton (Gold Glove, CF), Paul Molitor (Manager of the Year) Playoffs: Lost to NYY in A.L. Wild Card Game Season Overview From a 100-loss season to making the playoffs as a wild-card, there was a big shift in just one year for Paul Molitor and the Minnesota Twins. They were mired in a six-year playoff drought heading into 2017, with a lot of young prospects looking for breakout seasons. From 2014 to 2016, we saw many of the key components of the current Twins team make their MLB debuts as a new talent core started to come together. After a detrimental 2016 season, these young prospects saw an increase in their playing time across the board while finding more stability defensively. Center fielder Byron Buxton was one of the top prospects coming into the league when he debuted in 2015. Though he struggled early in his career, he took a big step forward in 2017, especially in a spectacular second half that earned him MVP votes. His power continued to increase as he lowered his strikeout percentage. Meanwhile he fully established himself as an elite center fielder, earning not only the AL Gold Glove in center but also a Platinum Glove as baseball's best overall defender.At 23, shortstop Jorge Polanco was already in his fourth season in MLB (he played just nine games his first two) and finally solidified his spot on the roster. Signs of his budding power were apparent with 46 extra-base hits, and the switch-hitter showed strong contact ability with a 15% strikeout rate.With Miguel Sanó's right field experiment thankfully in the rear-view mirror, he started coming into his own as a third baseman. At the plate he was a prototypical strikeout-prone slugger, hitting 28 homers and striking out 173 times in just 114 games. Now right field belonged to Max Kepler, who showed modest improvement in his sophomore season. He dropped his K-rate a little, but didn’t draw as many walks. Defensively he was outstanding.Left fielder Eddie Rosario had his breakout season in 2017, clubbing 27 home runs and 33 doubles while ranking second on the team with a career-high .290 average. His glove was a mixed bag, as he finished with a -11 for Defensive Runs Saved Above Average.When talking about this turnaround for the Twins, it’s almost impossible to leave out Joe Mauer, who nostalgically led the team in average (.305). At 34 years of age, he had his best post-catcher season. Mauer hit above .300 for the first time as a first baseman. While he hit only seven home runs, his 36 doubles tied for second-most in his career. Defensively he was impressive and many felt he deserved a Gold Glove (Eric Hosmer won it). In the rotation, Ervin Santana led the way, putting forth a tremendous campaign that harkened back to Twins workhorse starters of the early 2000s. In what would be his last successful major-league season (to date), Santana logged 211 and 1/3 innings with five complete games and three shutouts. At 34 he was an All-Star and finished seventh in AL Cy Young voting. He was joined atop the rotation by José Berríos, who turned the corner after a brutal rookie year. Berríos posted a 3.89 ERA and 1.23 WHIP while winning 14 of his 25 starts. He allowed only 15 home runs in 145 2/3 innings. Fueled by a powerful offense, with 10 players reaching double-digit homers, and a patchwork pitching staff behind Santana and Berríos, with Brandon Kintzler coming out of nowhere as an All-Star closer and the ageless Bartolo Colon contributing as a starter in the second half, the Twins were massively improved from 2016. Still, they found themselves three games under .500 and seven games out of first place when the deadline arrived. Here, a clash between the clubhouse leader and his new bosses emerged. The new front office, led by Derek Falvey and Thad Levine, went into sell mode, trading newly acquired starter Jaime García for to New York for prospects (including right-hander Zack Littell). Clubhouse leader Brian Dozier, sporting a .767 OPS at the end of July in a stark dropoff from 2016's brilliance, voiced his dismay. And he backed it up. Dozier slashed .314/.411/.605 with 17 homers in 56 games after August 1st as the Twins went 34-22 and locked up one of the American League's two wild-card bids. Come October 3rd, they found themselves facing off against the league's other wild-card winner: the New York Yankees. Minnesota had lost nine straight playoff games to the Yankees. In the top of the first, it looked like things might be different this year. Dozier did exactly what he did best: leadoff home run. (He toppled Jacque Jones' team record with his 21st in July.) Soon after, Rosario sent a ball out for a two-run homer and the Twins had an early 3-0 lead. Yankees stud right-hander Luis Severino didn’t even finish the first inning. But Santana – who it later turned out was bothered by a finger issue – fell just like his opponent did, and the game was tied after the first. By the fourth inning the Yankees had a 7-4 lead, and by the time it was over the Twins lost 8-4. Another fun season ended at the hands of New York. Team MVP: Brian Dozier (2B) Other Contenders: Byron Buxton (CF), Ervin Santana (SP), Joe Mauer (1B), Eddie Rosario (LF) Dozier was a menace at the plate and in the field in the 2017 season. He turned 30 in the second month of the season but continued to show improvements on offense. While he didn't match his 42 home runs from 2016, his late surge allowed him to knock out a team-high 34. That wasn’t the only category he led in. Dozier also paced the lineup in RBIs (93), runs scored (106), and walks (78). He finished second behind Buxton with 16 steals. With a strong defensive showing, Dozier won his first Gold Glove award, committing only five errors in 151 starts at second. Alongside Buxton he became the first Twins Gold Glover since Mauer in 2010. Dozier's individual performance in 2017 wasn't quite as amazing as 2016, but it was infinitely more impactful for the team as he – with help from Buxton, Santana, Mauer, Rosario and others of course – willed the Twins to their first postseason berth in seven years. 3 Most Pivotal Games July 30th: Lost @ Oakland Athletics, 6-5 After resiliently battling through the first four months, the Twins saw their season slipping away as the trade deadline arrived. Ten days earlier, they were a half-game out of first place, and now suddenly that deficit had grown to seven games. On this date, July 30th, the Twins traded Garcia – whom they'd acquired less than a week earlier – to New York in a clear pivot from buy to sell mode. Meanwhile, the team suffered its third walk-off loss in four games, with Yonder Alonso's homer off Tyler Duffey in the 12th sealing Minnesota's 15th loss of July. Dozier, who openly begrudged the García trade, struck out five times. August 6th: Won vs Texas Rangers, 6-5 One week later, Minnesota was four games under .500. After Berríos gave up five runs in the first inning courtesy of two home runs, the Twins were on the ropes. Berríos bounced back with four shutout innings while Kepler and Dozier each hit two-run homers to cut the lead. Rosario drew things tied with a solo shot in the third, Robbie Grossman added a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth, and the bullpen shut down Texas to close out the game. This began a season-high six-game win streak for the Twins, during which they moved above .500 for good and cut Cleveland's division lead down to 3 1/2 games. September 17th: Won vs Toronto Blue Jays, 13-7 With only 14 games left in the season, and the division out of reach thanks to Cleveland's 22-game win streak, Minnesota sat just one game ahead for the second wild-card spot. In this contest against Toronto, the Twins scored in only two innings but made 'em count, with seven runs in the second and six in the fifth. Rosario homered twice while Mauer drove in five. Though the Twins followed with a sweep in New York (foreshadowing!), they never saw their wild-card lead drop below 1 1/2 games again. They would finish five games ahead of the Angels to secure the second spot. Unforgettable Highlights Mauer’s First Career Walk-off Home Run In his 14th MLB season, the Minnesota legend Mauer was still without a walk-off home run. On May 5th, that all changed. The Twins took a 3-1 lead into the ninth, but Kintzler blew a rare save by giving up two runs to tie the game. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Mauer stepped up to the plate. On a 1-2 count, he belted a high fastball out into the right-field bullpen for his first ever walk off home run in a 4-3 win. Ervin Santana's Shutouts In a career season, the veteran Santana pitched recorded three complete-game shutouts. His first came against the White Sox on April 15th, when he gave up just one hit and walked one batter. On May 23rd, he walked two and gave up two hits against the Baltimore Orioles. His last came on June 9th, against the San Francisco Giants where he gave up four hits and walked just one batter. Byron Bustin' Around the Bases The year prior, Buxton went from home-to-home for an inside-the-park homer in 14.05 seconds for a Statcast record. On August 18th against the Diamondbacks, Buxton broke his own record by racing around the bases in just 13.85 seconds. Gold Glove Double Dip As mentioned earlier, Buxton and Dozier both received of Gold Glove Awards, ending a six-year dry spell for the franchise. It was the first time since 2007, when Torii Hunter and Johan Santana earned the honor, that the Twins had two Gold Glove winners in the same season. Paul Molitor's Redemption After one of the worst seasons in Twins history, Molitor turned his team completely around. While working under new baseball ops leadership (which had been mandated to keep him in place), he oversaw a 26-win improvement on his way to winning AL Manager of the Year. The Twins became the first team to ever make the playoffs following a 100-loss season, even if it was short-lived. One Detail You Probably Forgot Though he didn’t do much in this season, and wasn’t called up until the middle of August, a future stud arrived. Mitch Garver made his debut on August 19th when he came in to pinch-hit against the Diamondbacks in a 5-0 win. He totaled only 52 plate appearances with nine hits for slash line of .196/.288/.348. Two years later he would turn in one of the better offensive seasons by a catcher in team (and league) history. Fun Fact The Twins started out the season with a three-game sweep against the Kansas City Royals. It was Minnesota's first time opening with brooms since 2007 when they swept the Orioles. ~~~ Previous Installments: The 2000 SeasonThe 2001 SeasonThe 2002 SeasonThe 2003 SeasonThe 2004 SeasonThe 2005 SeasonThe 2006 SeasonThe 2007 SeasonThe 2008 SeasonThe 2009 SeasonThe 2010 SeasonThe 2011 SeasonThe 2012 SeasonThe 2013 SeasonThe 2014 SeasonThe 2015 SeasonThe 2016 Season Click here to view the article

With the Minnesota Twins’ starting rotation most likely losing some of its pitchers from last season, Randy Dobnak is the best internal option to remain in the rotation with Jose Berrios. Though he didn’t join the team until late in the season, he looked like a viable option for the future.Randy Dobnak was a guy many baseball fans didn’t know about until he was announced the starter of Game 2 of the ALDS. Even at that point, it was his 4.99 Uber rating or beautiful mustache that was getting talked about more than his pitching. What Dobnak does well Dobnak relies on four pitches: sinker, curveball, four seamer and changeup. His two favorite pitches are the sinker and curve which he uses 64.4% of the time. His curveball is also his best strikeout and put-away pitch. When throwing the curve, he strikes out batters 50% of the time and puts them away 27.5%. He doesn’t have an overpowering fastball, which averages 93.4 MPH, but he is able to get batters to chase and whiff at the ball at an above-average rate. His chase rate is 37.8% compared to a league average of 28.3% and a whiff rate of 27.0% compared to a league average of 24.3%. This also helps him set up his curveball for that putout pitch. Another aspect of Dobnak’s game that is very appealing is his low walk rate. He had a walk rate of 4.2% while league average was 8.3%. Though he does have a below-average strikeout rate, keeping the walks down ensures a lower WHIP, which helps keep runners off the bases. Dobnak also had a LOB% of 77.4 LOB% (league average is 71.43). Another reason why I think Dobnak should be in the first man in the rotation over the other internal candidates is he's proven capable of going longer in games. In the three games he started, not opened, Dobnak gave up just two earned runs while going at least five innings. I don’t think there was much surprise that Dobnak didn’t go deeper into games, even though he pitched well enough and seemed able to continue the game. With how he pitched in games he started this season, however he deserves to have the best chance from the internal candidates to have the starting spot. I asked Twitter who they thought the best candidate was and here are the results: Please share your thoughts in the comments below, and let me know who you think is the best internal candidate. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY 4 Off-the Radar Pitching Trade Targets for the Twins Should Twins Consider Moving Mitch Garver to 1B? Excellent Plate Discipline Emphasizes Why Luis Arraez Deserves Starting Spot on 2020 Twins Click here to view the article

In a season where records were set with the long ball, Luis Arraez made a name for himself with his discipline at the plate and contact hitting. The rookie made his debut on May 18 and showed why he deserves the starting spot next season.Arraez showed his discipline at the plate throughout the season, but my favorite example came in a home game against the New York Mets. Some of you might already know which at-bat I am talking about. Arraez inherited an 0-2 count as he entered the game in the ninth inning to replace Jonathan Schoop, who pulled a muscle in his abdomen. Coming cold into a game down one run in the ninth inning isn’t any player's forte, especially being down 0-2. But, Arraez drew an eight-pitch walk like it was normal to him. He fouled off four pitches — three fastballs that were all north of 98.5 MPH and a slider — before the crowd erupted after his battle. That wasn't the only time Arraez impressed with his plate discipline. According to Baseball Savant, out of the 1,471 pitches that Arraez saw, he either fouled off or swung and missed at just 12.4% of pitches out of the zone. There were only four Twins players that had a lower percentage. Mitch Garver and Jason Castro were two of them with a 9% and 11.5% in the 1,502 and 1,146 pitches they saw. The other two players were Ryan LaMarre (10.4%) LaMonte Wade Jr. (5.9%) but they combined for a total of just 371 pitches. This stat referenced above includes swings at balls outside of the zone when there are two strikes, so it could be a little misleading, as Arraez could be expanding his zone to protect. With less than two strikes, his percent drops down to 5.3. In addition to his excellent plate discipline, Arraez also keeps teams from shifting against him. He has the ability to hit to any part of the field, with 26 of his hits going to the pull side, 45 up the middle and 38 to the opposite field. In the box, Arraez also showcases a new approach during the pitch. Instead of waiting back in the box for the ball, at times he would actually scoot up in the box as the pitch was coming. Here is a video of him using this approach in the minors: Twins fans got to see a lot of what Arraez has to offer this year, and it is just the start of his exciting career. Though he doesn’t bring much power to the Bomba Squad, he is a very reliable hitter. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY Handbook Preview: Welcome to the OffseasonTwins Daily 2019 Awards: Most Improved PlayerTwins Daily 2019 Awards: Rookie of the Year Click here to view the article

After a 12 inning game and the White Sox using a bullpen game, it looked like the Twins’ offense would have some fun at the plate tonight. It was the complete opposite as the offense was no-hit through 5 1/3 innings, and got just three hits total. Despite giving up a lot of leadoff hits, Odorizzi managed to keep the Twins in the game as the Twins dropped the series finale.Box Score Odorizzi: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 64.5% strikes (61 of 94 pitches) Bullpen: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Rosario (2-4, 2B) Bottom 3 WPA: Arraez -.111, Wade -.127, Sano -.207 Twins’ offense can’t figure out Chicago bullpen The Twins’ offense found themselves struggling against one of the worst bullpens in the league. For 5 1/3 innings, four White Sox pitchers threw a no-hitter while allowing three walks. They had a threat in the first after back-to-back walks with one out, but, a Rosario pop out followed by a Sano strikeout ended the inning. After a leadoff walk in the second, the White Sox bullpen sent down 13 straight batters going into the sixth inning. That’s when the no-hitter came to a close as Polanco ripped a single into center field. After a Cruz walk, Rosario squeaked a ball through the infield to score Polanco. Cave drew a walk to fill the bases with two outs for pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. but he grounded out to end the inning. After picking up their first hits, the Twins’ couldn’t use the momentum and went down 1-2-3 in the seventh. In the eighth, Rosario drilled a ball off the wall in right, but got thrown out trying extend it to a triple. In the ninth, the Twins again went down 1-2-3 to close out the game. Odorizzi able to minimize damage Jake Odorizzi was one out away from picking up a quality start, but ran into trouble in the sixth to end his night. Though Odorizzi picked up nine strikeouts tonight, his stuff wasn’t the best. Odorizzi gave up a leadoff hit in four of the six innings he pitched in. After giving up a leadoff single in the first, he picked up two strikeouts with Castro throwing out Garcia to end the inning. In the second he gave up a leadoff double followed by a Jimenez single to score a run, but Odorizzi picked up another double play and strikeout to get out of the inning. Odorizzi flew through the next two innings picking up four more strikeouts in back-to-back 1-2-3 innings. Through those four innings, Odorizzi already had seven strikeouts. Odorizzi found himself in a jam in the fifth inning with runners on first and second with just one out after a pair of singles. Odorizzi took advantage of facing the number eight and nine batters next, picked up another strikeout and was out of the inning with no harm. After giving up another leadoff hit, Odorizzi got two quick outs and it looked as if he would be able to at least complete six innings. With an 0-2 count to Moncada, he doubled to left-center to drive in the second run. After Jimenez drew a walk, Odorizzi’s night was ended. Bullpen Cody Stashak came into the game with two runners on and two outs and threw just three pitches to pick up a huge strikeout on Collins to end the inning. Stashak was also given the seventh inning, and he too gave up a leadoff single. He picked up back-to-back strikeouts to the eight and nine batters and then got Garcia to fly out to end the inning. Fernando Romero came in for the eighth, and believe it or not, gave up another leadoff hit. He got Abreu to ground out and struck out Moncada before being pulled for Brusdar Graterol. Graterol did his job, and got Jimenez to ground out to keep it a one-run game. A new inning, another leadoff hit, this time it was a home run to Collins to straight -away center. Graterol followed that up with nine pitches to pick up the last three outs, including a strikeout. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article

Jose Berrios was given an extra day of rest after the Twins went with a bullpen day in a 6-5 win over the Red Sox last night. Things didn’t work out as planned, as the Twins fell to Boston 6-2 tonight. The Twins’ offense struggled against Eduardo Rodriguez and failed to come through with runners on as he sailed through the lineup picking up eight strikeouts. The Indians got into a close game in the ninth but their bull pen stranded bases loaded, and with a Twins loss, are now five and a half games back.Box Score Berrios: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 64.4% strikes (65 of 101 pitches) Bullpen: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Rosario (28) Multi-Hit Games: Rosario (2-for-4, HR), Sano (2-for-3, BB), Cron (2-for-3, BB) Bottom 3 WPA: Polanco -.106, Cave -.157, Berrios -.228 Extra Day Doesn’t Help Berrios The hope was that Berrios could use the extra day of rest to get back to his dominant self we saw earlier this season, and not the Berrios we saw last month, when he had his worst month of his career since his rookie year in … August. Since his start at the end of July when he threw seven shutout innings, he has given up 23 runs in just 27 innings coming into tonight. Berrios is usually pretty good at keeping the ball in the ballpark, in fact he’s giving up just 1.2 home runs per nine innings. This season, the first three innings is where he has surrendered the most with 13. Today, he again struggled early as he gave up two home runs to Mookie Betts in his first two at-bats, in the first two innings, on just two pitches. This year, he has also now given up 10 home runs on the first pitch of an at-bat. After a rough start to the game, Berrios was able to turn things around for a few innings. After the second home run by Betts, Berrios retired 11 of the next 13 batters, which was capped off by a very athletic play by Berrios himself. Something that Berrios was able to use an extra rest day to his favor was getting his velocity back up. Recently, Berrios’ velocity has been consistently in the low 90s, but tonight it looked back to normal as he topped out at about 95 mph and was normally hanging around 94 mph on his fastball. That was about it for good things from Berrios, as he left the game without even recording an out in the sixth inning. Berrios gave up a leadoff single that was followed by a walk and a double to score another run as he left with runners on second and third. Eduardo Rodriguez Quiets Twins Rodriguez came into tonight's start having given up just three runs in his last 17 1/3 innings, and tonight he continued his success shutting out the Twins offense for seven innings. Rodriguez gave up just five hits while striking out eight batters. Though Rodriguez wasn’t giving up many hits, he issued four walks, but the Twins just couldn’t come through in times of need. Rodriguez struck out the side in the top of the first, and picked up his fifth strikeout in the second inning stranding two runners. In the fourth, the Twins got back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, but Cave grounded into a double play. The inning wasn’t over quite yet as Rodriguez walked the next two batters to fill the bases. He got Willians Astudillo to fly out to end the threat with no runs being scored, but four guys reaching base safely. In the final three innings, he faced just 11 batters while recording nine outs including two more strikeouts, the final coming against Max Kepler to end the inning, and Rodriguez’s start. Bullpen Once the Twins' bullpen came into the game, they quieted down the Sox offense. Ryne Harper came in for the first time since being recalled and pitched just two pitches and recorded an out with runners on second and third. Cody Stashak came in with hopes of keeping the runners on the bases. Mookie Betts picked up another RBI with a single scoring the Sox sixth and last run of the game. Stashak picked up the final two outs to end the inning and strand two runners. Stashak picked up a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh before giving way to Brusdar Graterol for his second career outing. After giving up a leadoff walk, Graterol got three straight lineouts to end the inning. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article

Saw during the game he was listed day-to-day, then after the game Rocco said he is expected to play tomorrow

The Cleveland Indians won, again, against the Detroit Tigers, but the Twins held their own and kept the division lead at 3 1/2 games. Jonathan Schoop continues his power streak as he hit two more home runs today, as the Twins inch closer to breaking two MLB home run records. Jake Odorizzi tossed six solid innings today for a quality start while striking out eight Sox batters as the Twins secured a series win.Box Score Odorizzi: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 60.2% strikes (59 of 98 pitches) Bullpen: 3 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K Home Runs: Schoop (20, 21), Garver (24) Multi-Hit Games: Garver (3-4 HR), Polanco (2-4 2B), Schoop (2-4 2 HR) Top 3 WPA: Schoop .302, Odorizzi .120, Polanco .059 Bombas to Start, Bombas to End After the Twins offense scored just three runs last night against the White Sox ace, they came out early and mashed against Ross Detwiler. It started with a three-run homer from Jonathan Schoop for his 20th of the season. The Twins are now just one home run away from Jorge Polanco from breaking the record for most players with 20 home runs in a season. The Twins added some more runs the next inning after a leadoff hit-by-pitch, a double and an intentional walk gave them bases loaded with no outs. Eddie Rosario grounded into a fielder’s choice but beat the throw to drive in one run, and then Miguel Sano smacked a ball that went right through Tim Anderson’s legs for another run. The Twins offense somewhat stalled after these early runs as they struggled to get men on base, and when they did, couldn’t close. In the fourth inning they put together a two-out rally with two hits, and Cruz’s second intentional walk of the game, but Rosario grounded out to end the threat. In the next three innings, the Twins sent just 11 batters to the plate and never had a runner past second. That included Sano being hit by a pitch, which would later put him out of the game, and two hits, one of them by Luis Arraez, who took over for Sano. Schoop had enough of the scoreless innings for the Twins as he mashed his second home run of the game down the third base line. After Cave showed some smart base running and extended a single into a double, Mitch Garver sent a ball high and deep to left-center field to put the Twins up 8-2. Odorizzi Minimizes Damage in Route to Quality Start Just like last week when Odorizzi faced off against this White Sox team, he gave up a run in the first inning. However, he was able to mimnimize the damage as he came back to strike out Moncada after falling behind 3-0, and went upstairs to strike out Anderson to finish the inning. After a big turn around in the first inning, Odorizzi sailed through his next two innings with two 1-2-3 innings where he picked up a strikeout in each inning. After he retired the first batter in the fourth and had set down nine straight, he ran into some trouble after allowing two hits and a walk to load the bases. Odoirzzi was again able to keep the damage minimal as he got a fielder’s choice and picked up his fifth strikeout of the game after giving up just one run. In the fifth inning, Odorizzi picked up two quick outs, but ran into a bit of trouble after allowing a walk and a sharp single to center field. Odorizzi made quick work of Moncada and struck him out on three straight pitches to end the inning. Odorizzi picked up his third 1-2-3 of the game in the sixth which included his eighth strikeout of the game as his night ended and he picked up a quality start. Schoop’s Power Jonathan Schoop continues to mash the ball as of late, and unlike his usual blowout-game home runs, he has been hitting bombas in bigger spots for this Twins offense. In his last five games that he has played, he has six hits, but five of them are home runs. Take a look at the Twins' win percentage at the time of his first 16 home runs and the win probability it added: For reference on his last five home runs: -Aug. 16 Schoop hits two-run go-ahead home run in the seventh. -Aug. 21 Schoop extends lead to five runs with a two-run homer which turned out to be helpful insurance runs. -Last night Schoop homers in the second to extend the lead to 2-0. -Tonight’s second inning three-run home run to get the Twins on the board, and his eighth inning insurance home run (didn’t add that much win probability). Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article

After a huge night from the Minnesota Twins’ offense that was led by Nelson Cruz, and a perfect night from the bullpen, the Twins were set up to win the series today as Jake Odorizzi faced off against Lucas Giolito. Odorizzi ran into trouble early and Giolito sailed through the Twins’ lineup as the White Sox take a series in Minnesota. For the Mets, Marcus Stroman gets his second chance against the Indians in less than a month to help the Twins and keep their lead at three games.Box Score Odorizzi: 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 62.5% strikes (65 of 104 pitches) Bullpen: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: None Bottom 3 WPA: Rosario, Arraez and Castro -.055, Sano -.056, Odorizzi -.163 Giolito Sails to Complete Game Giolito absolutely cruised through the Twins offense today after getting some early runs from his offense. He used those first-inning runs and first-pitch strikes to really settle down and go deep into today’s game. Giolito struck out 12 batters, his third straight game with 10+, and got first-pitch strikes on 22 of the 30 batters he faced. The first time through the Twins’ order, Giolito gave up just one hit, which was to Polanco in the first on a bunt, and struck out five batters. The Twins picked up their second hit in the fourth on a rocket by Nelson Cruz that had an exit velocity of 117 MPH, but Giolito got two outs on the next two batters. He worked through the fifth and sixth innings very rapidly, using only eight and nine pitches, respectively, to get two more 1-2-3 innings. In the seventh inning, it took him 12 pitches to get the 1-2-3 mostly because Cruz worked a full count then drilled a ball straight to Engel in center field. He had two very impressive streaks of consecutive batters sent down. After the Polanco bunt single, he set down the next nine batters before Cruz picked up his single. Rosario reached on a fielder's choice the next at-bat and then Giolito sent down the next 11 batters including three straight 1-2-3 innings. It wasn’t until Schoop hit a double with one out in the eighth that the Twins’ had their first runner in scoring position. They failed to do anything with it as Giolito picked up two more strikeouts to end the inning. Giolito completed this game while facing the Twins’ top three hitters picking up two more strikeouts on Kepler and Cruz. Odorizzi’s Bad Luck If you just looked at the box score, you’d get a different view of how today’s game went for Odorizzi. Odorizzi struggled to retire the first batter of innings which helped lead to a short start and the White Sox hitters also seemed to be finding the perfect spots for their hits. But, Odorizzi also was throwing some good pitches that hitters were putting in play for hits. In the first inning, Polanco missed touching second base on a double-play attempt which was originally called a FC, but changed to an error on Polanco, his 17th this season. Jose Abreu reached on 2-2 cutter, poking the ball into left field for the White Sox to score their first run. After a wild pitch, Skole also found himself in a 2-2 count, and a hit a blooper over second with an exit velocity of 67.7 for the Sox's second run of the inning. In the third, Odorizzi again gave up a leadoff single, and two singles later, which included Abreu’s second RBI of the game on a ball that landed perfectly in right field between Cave and Schoop with an expected batting average of .050. After three innings, the White Sox had seven hits, all singles, with only two of them being hard-hit, and three runs. In the fifth inning, Odorizzi gave up another leadoff hit, but this time for a double. After getting a strikeout and a groundout, Odorizzi looked as if he would be able to pitch around this. He threw another wild pitch and Abreu was able to come around to score. Odorizzi was able to strike out Goins to end the inning, but this is definitely a start Odorizzi is going to want to forget. Bullpen Solid Again A night after the bullpen had a perfect two innings to help secure the win, the bullpen again was shut-down today, though Giolito’s very solid outing kept the offense at bay. Ryne Harper was the first one out of the pen and ran into some trouble after a leadoff double, wild pitch and walk, putting himself in a jam. He was able to pick up a huge fly out and strikeout, then Polanco made an amazing snag to end the threat and inning. Then it turned to Sam Dyson and Tyler Duffey who each had quick and easy 1-2-3 innings. Dyson looked really solid, and since coming back from injury, has given up just one run in five innings. Duffey came in for the eighth and struck out two hitters and hasn’t given up a run in his past 11 outings. Trevor May got the ninth inning and struck out the first batter he faced, then gave up a single, but got an infield fly out and a fly ball to Arraez to end the inning. May has now only given up one earned run in his last 11 innings. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article

The Twins looked like they were going to pick up a sweep against the Brewers, but got a taste of their own medicine from last night. Trent Grisham hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth to give the Brewers their first lead of the game. The Twins offense got going early, but fell silent in the second half of the game. Gibson struggled with his control but was able to minimize the damage as the Twins failed to extend their lead as the Indians lost earlier today.Box Score Gibson: 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 59.8 % strikes (55 of 92 pitches) Bullpen: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K Home Runs: Sano (21), Garver (23), Rosario (26) Multi-Hit Games: None Top 3 WPA: Sano .114, Rosario .155, Polanco .157 Bottom 3 WPA: Garver -.136 Cron -.199, Romo -.685 After a back and forth first five innings, things quieted down for the most part for the next three innings. The Brewers made Sam Dyson and Trevor May work for their three outs, but each got away while facing four batters. Sergio Romo was given the eighth inning and saw the lead wash away. On a routine ground ball to Jorge Polanco, Polanco committed his second error of the game, and third of the series. After a weak ground ball up the middle, the Brewers had a big threat late with runners on the corners with no outs. Last night the Twins got a big three-run homer, tonight it was the Brewers. Rookie Trent Grisham hit just his second home run of his career, but it was crucial for the Brewers in today’s game as they are contending for a wild card spot right now. This put the Brewers up 5-4 going into the ninth. Twins Offense Strikes Early; Goes Quiet Mitch Garver took the place for Max Kepler in the leadoff spot today as lefty Gio Gonzalez was on the mound for the Brewers. GarvSauce got the action going as he led off the game with a solo shot to right. After two strikeouts followed, Eddie Rosario hit another oppo shot for his 100th career home run. After a quiet second inning, Miguel Sano hit the third bomba of the day in just three innings. Sano blasted the shot to left-center field for a SanoDoubter to extend the lead back to two. The Brewers answered again to bring the score to 3-2, but the Twins opened it right back up. Kepler drew his second walk of the game. That was followed by a double for Schoop bringing Gibson up to bat with runners on second and third with one out. Gibson showed great patience at the plate drawing a full-count walk to load the bases. Bases loaded, the Twins kryptonite so far this year. Gonzalez picked up a huge strikeout against Garver for the second out of the inning. However, Polanco had no intentions of letting this opportunity go to waste as he ripped a two-RBI single to extend the Twins lead to 5-2 and ending Gio Gonzalez’s day. After scoring five runs in the first four innings, the Twins offense really quieted down during the second half of the game. Between the fifth and the ninth, the Twins got just one runner in scoring position when Ehire Adrianza pinch hit for Gibson and got a triple. Garver followed that with a line drive straight to third base, and Adrianza was doubled off. The Twins got just two other base runners and that came from C.J. Cron getting hit by a pitch twice. In the ninth, the Twins drew three straight walks to load the bases with two outs. Another bases-loaded opportunity for the Twins, but this time they failed to execute as Cron flew out to end the game. Gibson Minimizes Damage After having one of his worst starts his last time out against a division rival, Gibson looked to not struggle with his control again. Though he did struggle with his control today, he was able to strand seven runners and keep the damage minimal. After he got some early run support in the first, he allowed a lead off single followed by a walk. Gibson picked up a huge strikeout against Christian Yelich for the first out of the inning. A one-out single brought in the lead runner, and after an error that should’ve been a double play, Gibson found himself with the bases loaded with one out. Gibson got the ensuing batter to ground out, and this time the Twins were able to turn two. In the second inning, Gibson allowed a leadoff double, and later a two-out walk, and he found himself in a jam yet again. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, he got Grandal to ground out to end the inning. The Brewers put together three singles to score another run, and with two outs, Gibson found himself in yet another jam with runners on second and third. He picked up another huge strikeout, this time on Arcia, on a 3-2 curveball to end the inning. In the fifth, Gibson gave up a one-out double to Moustakas and was able to get Cain to ground out on the next at-bat. With two outs and Moustakas on third, Thames picked up his third hit of the day driving in the Brewers third run. Gibson struck out Gamel to end the inning, and also his day, as he was pinch-hit for in the next inning. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article

The Atlanta Braves got going right where they left off last night and hammered Perez early. For the second straight game, the Twins offense was silent through five innings, this time Fried was striking out batters left and right. They awoke in the sixth, and tried another comeback in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as they drop the series and are in trouble to be up just two games before their series against the Indians.Box Score Perez: 6 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 65.9% strikes (67 of 102 pitches) Bullpen: 3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Sano (20) Multi-Hit Games: Rosario (2-for-5), Sano (2-for-5, HR), Cron (2-for-4), Cave (2-for-4, 2 2B) Bottom 3 WPA: Rosario -.049, Schoop -.085, Perez -.321 Braves Ready For Perez The Atlanta Braves came out swinging early today and jumped all over Martin Perez for another rough start by Perez’s. Perez has been the Twins’ worst starter for quite some time now. Since May 30th, 11 starts, he holds a 6.21 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Today was no different for him. After getting Ronald Acuna Jr. to fly out to start the game, Albies and Freeman went back-to-back, while both only seeing one pitch. The inning wasn’t over as the Braves put together a 2-out rally with a single and double scoring another run. The home runs and double were all on fastballs left right over the heart of the plate, and Perez paid. After a quick 1-2-3 in the second, the deficit got worse in an ugly third inning that ended featuring the only Twins highlight thus far. The ugly inning went single, single, walk, passed ball to score one, error, RBI single, and a walk to bring in a run. All of this was done with no outs, but what better way to get out of an inning then getting three outs in one pitch. For the second time in just over two weeks, the Twins turned a triple play and both were behind Perez. Last time it was Arraez-Schoop-Sano, and today it started with Sano going to Schoop and ending it with Cron at first. This was the fifth time in franchise history to turn two triple plays in the same season. Perez was able to settle down after that triple play and gave up one run in his next three innings. Perez had two very bad innings, but was able to stay in the game and give the Twins six innings to allow the bullpen to do less work than seemed likely after the first inning. Fried Fires Through Twins Max Fried was red hot to start off this game, and gave the Twins offense a lot of trouble through his first five innings. After the first time through the order, Fried was perfect while striking out seven of the nine batters he faced. Jeremie Rehak was the home plate umpire and had a lot of questionable calls that had the whole Twins dugout in a frenzy and Marwin Gonzalez smashing his helmet into the ground following a strikeout. The Twins got their first hit to start the fourth inning which was a double, and later had runners on second and third with two outs. Miguel Sano drilled a liner to center field that was caught to end the Twins threat. The next inning the Twins had another second and third, this time with only one out, but Fried picked up a huge strikeout on Schoop and then Graver flew out to end the threat again. Through five innings, Fried had given up just three hits while striking out a season-high 10 batters, but much like last night, the Twins woke up in the sixth inning. The Twins put three singles together and Fried’s day was over. Fried ended up being responsible for the three runs that were ultimately scored that inning. Twins Comeback Falls Short The Twins, just like last night, were dead through the first five innings, but in the sixth inning they came alive to make things interesting. Tonight it was four singles and a double in the sixth to score three runs and trim the lead to four. Unlike last night, the Twins couldn’t use the momentum to get closer. Ronald Acuna Jr. put the finishing touches for the Braves this series as he hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to put them back in front by six runs. The Twins stranded runners on second and third in back-to-back-to-back innings, though the third time was after they scored three runs. The Braves added two more runs in the ninth to really put the game away. The Twins put together three more singles in the ninth to score another run and a Miguel Sano three-run home run brought the deficit down to just four. Next Series The Twins will face the Cleveland Indians tomorrow for a four-game series that will be huge in terms of standings. The Indians won game one today and if they win game two, they will be just two games back of the Twins. Though the starters got hammered these past two games, Zack Litell, Cody Stashak, and Kohl Stewart gave the Twins quality innings in the bullpen so the Twins’ top guys could have some time off for this huge series. Postgame With Baldelli Click here to view the article

Jose Berrios continued his dominance and struck out 11 Marlin batters as he threw seven scoreless innings. The Twins’ offense rebounded from their slow night last night and jumped on Sandy Alcantara for seven runs and ran him out of the game before he finished the fifth inning. Sean Poppen blew the shutout with a grand slam, but Rogers shut down their rally.Box Score Berrios: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, 69.1% strikes (56 of 81 pitches) Bullpen: 2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Home Runs: Garver (20), Rosario (23), Kepler (29) Multi-Hit Games: Garver (2-for-4, HR), Rosario (2-for-4, HR, 2B) Top 3 WPA: Garver .241, Berrios .200, Kepler .158 Berrios Lights Out Bert Blyleven said before Berrios’ start that he would give him a high-five and a pat on the back if he threw a complete game shutout. He struck out a season-high 11 batters, had a 1-2-3 inning in six out of seven innings he pitched. Unfortunately, he was pulled after just seven innings throwing only 81 pitches. Berrios was perfect through four innings while striking out six of the nine batters he faced. In the fifth, he surrendered two weak-hit balls for singles, but followed it up by getting the next three batters out, one via a strikeout. In the sixth inning, he struck out the side to bring his total up to ten on the night. In his last inning, he picked up his season-high 11th strikeout of the night, but fell short of his career high of 12 after being pulled after just 81 pitches. Berrios was unstoppable on the mound tonight but was pulled before he was able to go for a complete game. Berrios is still deserving of a high-five and a pat on the back after he silenced this Marlins’ team. Bomba Squad After an unorthodox night from the Twins’ offense, they pounced on Sandy Alcantara for three home runs and forced him out of the game before he could even finish the fifth inning. Mitch Garver got things going after Jose Berrios battled a leadoff walk which was followed by Max Kepler’s second walk of the day. Garver ended an 0-for-17 streak with a 3-run bomba to capitalize on the leadoff walks. This was just the start of the hitting fun for the Twins tonight. Kepler led off the fifth inning with a solo shot for his 29th home run of the year to put him in third in the A.L. lead in home runs. The fifth inning wasn’t done for Alcantara, after Garver hit a swinging bunt down the third base line, Eddie Rosario hit the team’s third home run of the game. This was only Eddie’s hit fourth home run since June 5th in 31 games. After a walk and double, Alcantara’s night was done, but another run was surrendered on a Schoop single to add on to his rough night. Poppen Blows Shutout Sean Poppen came in after a stellar performance by Berrios and worked through the eighth inning with ease. The ninth was completely different as he gave up three straight singles to start the inning followed by a grand slam by Brian Anderson to cut the deficit to only three runs. Poppen picked up a strikeout on the following batter before Taylor Rogers came in to close out the game striking out the two batters he faced. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article