Nash Walker

On an 0-1 count in the bottom of the ninth inning, Miguel Sano crushed a 443 foot home run to help the Twins defeat the Braves 5-3 on Monday. Jake Odorizzi went six full innings and allowed just one run on a Freddie Freeman gift to the short left field porch. Trevor May was phenomenal in two innings of work, and Max Kepler blasted his 31st homer of the season. What does this win really mean?
 
1. If you did not already know, the Twins are one of the best teams in baseball.
Atlanta is in first place in the NL East with a record of 66-47 and have one of the most potent lineups in the league. Ronald Acuña Jr., Josh Donaldson, Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies round out a terrifying core. This is a true World Series ready team and the Twins sat them down in game one.
 
2. The pressure is back on Cleveland
While the Twins battled, the Indians fell to Mike Minor and the Rangers by a score of 1-0. The Tribe were -170 favorites at home and their offense faltered. With Jose Berrios on the hill for Minnesota tomorrow, the heat finds the Indians once again as the division lead is back to four games.
 
3. The biggest week of the season started in the best possible way
What is better than an electrifying win against a really good squad on the Monday of your most crucial week on the home stretch? Nothing! The Twins will host the Indians later this week for four games and hope to enter with their current four game lead, or possibly more?
 
The Special Season continues, and the Twins have won their 70th game. Enjoy it, Twins fans.

On an 0-1 count in the bottom of the ninth inning, Miguel Sano crushed a 443 foot home run to help the Twins defeat the Braves 5-3 on Monday. Jake Odorizzi went six full innings and allowed just one run on a Freddie Freeman gift to the short left field porch. Trevor May was phenomenal in two innings of work, and Max Kepler blasted his 31st homer of the season. What does this win really mean?
 
1. If you did not already know, the Twins are one of the best teams in baseball.
Atlanta is in first place in the NL East with a record of 66-47 and have one of the most potent lineups in the league. Ronald Acuña Jr., Josh Donaldson, Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies round out a terrifying core. This is a true World Series ready team and the Twins sat them down in game one.
 
2. The pressure is back on Cleveland
While the Twins battled, the Indians fell to Mike Minor and the Rangers by a score of 1-0. The Tribe were -170 favorites at home and their offense faltered. With Jose Berrios on the hill for Minnesota tomorrow, the heat finds the Indians once again as the division lead is back to four games.
 
3. The biggest week of the season started in the best possible way
What is better than an electrifying win against a really good squad on the Monday of your most crucial week on the home stretch? Nothing! The Twins will host the Indians later this week for four games and hope to enter with their current four game lead, or possibly more?
 
The Special Season continues, and the Twins have won their 70th game. Enjoy it, Twins fans.

Although there have been a number of surprises, Jake Odorizzi has been one of the best for the Minnesota Twins. After going 7-10 and posting a 4.49 ERA in 2018, Odorizzi has improved mightily. His 9.4 SO/9 is the highest of his career. Odorizzi had a phenomenal month of May, going 4-0 with a 0.94 ERA and opponent BA of .160.
 
In July, Odorizzi holds a 9.35 ERA and is allowing a 1.106 OPS in four starts. His last start came at home against the Yankees, where he surrendered nine runs and two homers in four innings. Odorizzi will start tonight against Miami.
 
The importance of Odorizzi is two-fold. The Twins need a solid second starter, and they need someone to shut down right-handed bats. The Yankees and Astros have Aaron Judge, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, George Springer, Edwin Encarnacion, Luke Voit, and DJ Lemahieu, just to name a bunch. Because Odorizzi is a fly ball pitcher, his .204 BAbip suggests that his outfield is active against righties. On fly balls, his opponents are batting just .165.
 
To put perspective into this importance, here is how righties are hitting against the Twins starters:
 
1. Odorizzi- .178/.264/.327 - .591 OPS
2. Gibson- .249/.299/.369 -.668 OPS
3. Berrios- .238/.290/.385 - .675 OPS
4. Perez- .256/.332/.418 - .749 OPS
5. Pineda- .253/.307/.481 - .788 OPS
 
 
If Odorizzi can find at least some of his dominance from May, the Twins chances greatly increase. This is true for both the rest of the regular season and the playoffs against either Houston or New York. His arsenal against the right side of the plate could dictate how far this team goes.
 
There is optimism to be found in his last few starts. His BAbip in the last 28 days is .349, and with Byron Buxton back from his concussion, that number will inevitably decrease.
 
Tonight is an opportunity for Odorizzi to bounce back against a beatable Marlins lineup. Go Twins!