stringer bell

Will another hit change the bullpen rotation?

If the starting center fielder was still in the game, I think he catches that one.

Auto nudity is permitted apparently.

Duran with a 50% strand rate. Sometimes stats are deceptive.

Ya' think you can count on a guy.......and then Duffey disappoints. Actually, with all the five inning starts, this puts a lot of stress on the BP. Instead of needing two perhaps three to hold a lead, three or four have to be effective. I suppose they can bring Duran back for the eighth, but then he certainly won't be available tomorrow.

Sixteen outs, no Ks and honestly, they didn't hit the ball hard in the first inning when they scored the run.

Yes, Celestino is improved. Yes, he is an asset in the field, but I've never seen more soft hits. What is his BABIP?

Yes.

Kirilloff three more hits tonight. That is 11 in his last five games. Tonight, all singles.

"the"

Yep, I like Smeltz better than either Archer or Bundy right now. I really have no problem with him starting here and saving innings for all of the rest of the rotation.

Angel Hernandez behind the plate should be an adventure. Actually, the zone is a little tight, but he hasn't been too bad........so far.

I don't think three runs will be near enough.

I did. I edited the post.

How about center? If Buck is only out there half of the time, Lewis could find a lot of starts in center field.

Enjoying the game threads? Want to put your brand on a game thread? You can compose an introduction to a game thread. There is one introduction remaining without an assigned volunteer (May 31st). If interested in doing an intro, send me a message and I will get back to you within 24 hours. A new schedule has been posted for the month of June and there are available dates to be filled. Here is a link for that schedule. You also can find it above in the thread entitled "Game Thread Introductions-2022". Thanks in advance for your interest. Here is the link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VBGARQcTvpGJTZghxN4meDvK3rgl6wmTzWy1_OJ7UJM/edit

50-54 home wins (somewhere between 60% and 2/3 wins at home..500 on the road--that nets 90-91 wins and if a team gets to 54, they have a leg up on getting 95.

Ober will pitch at KC I believe. Honestly my current trust level is 1) Ryan 2) Gray 3) Ober 4) Winder 5) Smeltzer 6) Bundy 7) Archer. I noticed Smeltzer’s velo consistently in the low 90s. Much better than the 86-88 that he had before. The separation in speed between the heater and breaking stuff should make him more effective.

OPS of .700 is currently above average. So if Urshela could put up an OPS of .697, that would be satisfactory.

Aaaand we now have a google doc for June Game Thread introductions! There are six dates left to fill and I would encourage first timers to give the introductions a try. There is also one date left in May (the 31st). It would be appreciated if a volunteer could be found for that date, as well. The schedule gets tougher in June. If the Twins are healthy, the month of June might really tell the tale for the season. The game threads should be well-attended and entertaining. Go Twins! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VBGARQcTvpGJTZghxN4meDvK3rgl6wmTzWy1_OJ7UJM/edit

Sánchez probably is pricing himself out of a role for the Twins in 2023. Acceptable defense plus an OPS+ of 128 is not a profile of a backup catcher. Urshela is the Twins’ primary third baseman for now. Given how many injuries occur, having an experienced player who could start at a couple positions on a good team is a good thing. In I’m not a fan of his offense, not from the numbers, but the approach, which seems to be “swing early and after that just try to make contact”. It’s too soon to make judgments on the former Yankees. They are professionals and are assets to the club. One year of Sánchez and two of Urshela for a good player (Kiner-Falafa) and Josh Donaldson and his contract could be a good deal for both clubs.

The Surge are at home in Wichita and the Saints are at Omaha. I wonder why the Twins chose to send Larnach to Wichita.

Kirilloff has a place to play on the major league team, Lewis does not. I agree that Kirilloff driving the ball and getting two extra-base hits is the most important news of the night in the minors. In his last three games he has eight hits, so maybe the turnaround came in the doubleheader on Tuesday. I would expect that he will have to both pass the "eye test" of finding his swing and sustain the hard hit balls before the Twins would consider his recall in a week to two weeks.

Larnach should be back this week and he has done well. Arraez has been satisfactory at first and Kirilloff is starting to hit at St. Paul. Both the starting rotation and the bullpen have surprised, but I think both could use some fortification.

Kirilloff had four hits for the Saints today, including a double and a homer. His AAA numbers suddenly look very good. I believe Alex now has eight hits in the last four games. Hopefully, he can sustain this hot streak, get his confidence back and return to help the Twins.