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After dropping games two and three of the series, the Twins bounced back tonight to force a series split against the Chicago White Sox as they won by a score of 7-2. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Pineda 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO Homeruns: Kepler (12), Polanco (14) Top 3 WPA: Polanco (0.195), Pineda (0.163), Kepler (0.144) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pineda Impresses Right Before Trade Deadline With the Twins well out of contention, it is not secret that they will be sellers at the trade deadline, and one of the names that could be on the block is starting pitcher Michael Pineda, who will be a free agent at season’s end. While Pineda is not one of the biggest names on the block, he certainly had value for a contending team looking to add depth to their rotation, and starts like tonight will only help that trade value go up. In tonight’s start, Michael Pineda allowed just one run on four hits, across five innings of work against one of the best offenses in baseball. This was a great sign, as Pineda got hit around pretty hard in his only other start since returning from the Injured List, which also came against the White Sox back on July 7th. Pineda did run into a little struggle in the bottom of the third inning. After getting Zack Collins to fly out to left to leadoff the inning, Billy Hamilton laced a ground ball double to left field. Hamilton would then steal third in the next plate appearance, which would result in a walk to Tim Anderson. After Anderson stole second, the White Sox had a serious threat going with second and third and only one out. Adam Engle then hit a hard ground ball between third and short that just deflected off the glove of a diving Josh Donaldson. Andrelton Simmons was able to field the ball, but he didn’t have a play and everyone was safe, with Billy Hamilton scoring the game tying run. After a mound visit, Pineda was then able to get Jose Abreu to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the jam with the game still tied at one a piece. Max Kepler Hits Another Home Run in Chicago Much like Nelson Cruz, Max Kepler has grown accustomed to hitting home runs in Chicago, as he went deep again there tonight. This home run got the scoring started in the top of the third off a 1-1 breaking ball from Dylan Cease. When Kepler first hit the ball, it was clear that the ball had enough juice to get out, the question was would it stay fair. This time that answer was yes, as the ball struck the foul pole in right about 10 feet above the wall. The Twins String Together a Two Out Rally to Take the Lead in the Fifth With the score tied at one all in the top of the fifth, it appeared that Dylan Cease would give the White Sox lineup a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the inning with two quick outs versus Andrelton Simmions and Max Kepler. However, the heart of the Twins order was not about to let that happen. Jorge Polanco got the rally going when he laced a single into right. Nelson Cruz then followed that up with a ground-rule double over Adam Engel’s head in right. The White Sox appeared to catch a break, as had that ball stayed in play, Polanco would have likely scored from first. That was a moot point, however, as both Polanco and Cruz came around to score on a ground ball single up the middle off the bat of Josh Donaldson, giving the Twins a 3-1 lead. Trevor Larnach kept the two out rally going with a single of his own, but Miguel Sano swung and missed at three straight pitches, putting an end to the rally. Jorge Polanco Adds to the Twins Lead in the Sixth After starting the two out rally the inning prior, Jorge Polanco came up with another big two out hit in the sixth, this time it was a three-run blast to bust the game open for the Twins. The sixth inning got started much the same way as the fifth, with two quick outs. However, after an Andrelton Simmons single, followed by his first stolen base of the season, and a Max Kepler walk, the table was set for Jorge Polanco to deliver, and he did just that as he sent a 3-1 fastball into the Twins bullpen in right-centerfield, extending the Twins lead to five. Jorge Polanco’s night would not end there, as he would help add another insurance run in the top of the ninth. With one out in the inning, Polanco lined a double to left field. He then attempted to steal third and was initially ruled out, but after a successful Twins challenge he was ruled safe. He then came into score the Twins seventh run of the game (his third) on a Nelson Cruz sac-fly, giving the Twins the 7-2 lead. The Twins Bullpen has Strong Showing After a good start from Michael Pineda, it was the bullpen's job to protect the Twins lead and they did just that tonight, giving up just one run over four collective innings of work. Tyler Duffey was the first out of the pen to start the sixth, and though he gave up four hits, he did not surrender a run across 1 and 2/3 innings of work. Alex Colome came in an finished things off in the seventh, before giving up a run on a pair of doubles in the eighth. Caleb Thielbar then came in to close things out in the ninth. He gave up a leadoff walk to start the inning, but then got Billy Hamilton to strikeout before inducing a 6-4-3 double-play off the batt of Tim Anderson to seal the Twins victory. Bullpen Usage Chart What is Next? The Twins will return home on Thursday to being a four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. Game one of the series will begin Thursday at 7:10 p.m. CDT with Kenta Maeda on the mound against Angels starter Andrew Heaney. 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After splitting the first two games of the series against the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins had a chance to pick up their first series win against the the White Sox this season, but failed to do so and fell to a brutal 2-10 record against their division foe on the season. Box Score Pineda: 5.1 IP 12 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO Home Runs: Larnach (7) Bottom 3 WPA: Pineda (-.237), Cruz (-.105), Rortvedt (-.097) Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Michael Pineda Get Hit Around in Return from IL Earlier today, the Twins activated Michael Pineda of the Injured List for him to make a return to the staff. The hope is Pineda could pitch well over the next few weeks and boost his trade value at the deadline, however, today did not go according to plan as the White Sox lineup lit him up for twelve hits and five runs across 5 and ⅓ innings. TIme Anderson and Leury Garcia in particular had strong games against Pineda, as Anderson went 3-for-3 against him, while Garcia hit him even harder, as he also went 3-for-3 against Pineda with a triple and this home run that got the scoring started in the top of the second. Trevor Larnach Provides Only Offense for the Twins As has often been case this year, the Twins bats were quite for most of the game, as they were only able to muster just one run on six hits, with the lone run coming from a Trevor Larnach home run leading off the 4th. In addition to Larnach’s home run, Jorge Polanco and Luis Arraez had pretty good games themselves, with Polanco going 2-for-4 with two singles, and Luis Arraez also going 2-for-4 with a double, and made an incredible throw from third to get the final out of the seventh inning. Derek Law Pitches Well in Mop Duty Derek Law has not had the best of showings thus far for the Twins, as he had a 5.40 ERA in 10 innings so far in 2021, though his last two outings entering today’s game were a lot better. He continued that trend, as he only gave up 1 run over 2 and ⅔ innings of work. The lone run that Law surrendered was on a two-out double in the seventh. Overall, Law retired seven of the eleven batters that he faced, including a couple of strikeouts in the eight. Caleb Thielbar then came in and pitched a scoreless ninth inning after giving up a leadoff walk to Tim Anderson. Bullpen Usage Chart What’s Next? The Twins will rap up the first half of the season at home in a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers, with the first game coming Thursday night at 7:10 pm CT. View full article

The Twins woes with runners in scoring position did them in again tonight, as they game themselves plenty of scoring chances, but went 0-for-9 with RISP and failed to cash in on any of them and fell to the Texas Rangers by a score of 3-1.Box Score Thorpe: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Home Runs: Garver (6) Bottom 3 WPA: Polanco -.188, Kepler -.174, Simmons -.130 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): Download attachment: Screen Shot 2021-05-05 at 10.20.39 PM.png Garver goes deep Mitch Garver got the scoring started with one out in the bottom of second when he blasted an 88-mph fastball into the second deck in left-center field. After hitting just two home runs in 23 games in 2020, Garver is back on his 2019 home run pace, as this was already his sixth so far this season. Twins blow great scoring chance in the 4th After giving up the lead in the top of the inning, the Twins offense was poised to take it right back in the bottom of the inning. Nelson Cruz got the inning started with a sharp ground ball single to center field and was followed by a ground-rule double off the bat of Kyle Garlick, his first of two doubles on the evening. Mitch Garver then drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out. However, the Twins somehow found a way to not score any runs as Jorge Polanco struck out, followed by a force out at home off the bat of Max Kepler and a ground ball to short from Miguel Sano to get out of the inning. Even though the score was still tied, at the time it felt that was an opportunity that would haunt the Twins late in the ballgame. Lewis Thorpe makes 2nd start of the season After a rough 2020, Lewis Thorpe had to earn his way back in the Twins good graces with a strong spring training performance. As a result, Thorpe has earned the spot starter role for the Twins early in season. After giving up two runs in four innings in his first start, Thorpe gave the Twins another solid outing, as he allowed three runs over five plus. The outing had a chance to be better than it resulted, as Thorpe had given up just one run through five. However, Baldelli kept him in one inning too long as Thorpe gave up a walk and a single before getting pulled to start the sixth. Cody Stashak came in to relieve Thorpe, but failed to strand either runner, as both came around to score giving the Rangers a 3-1 lead. Alex Colome throws two shutout innings in reduced role It has been a very rough start to the 2021 season for newly acquired Alex Colome, who began the season as the Twins closer. In less than a month, he’s already not getting high leverage spots, but he’s filling more of a middle relief role as he was used to pitch multiple innings in a game the Twins were losing. So, it was only fitting that this was the appearance that Colome was able to keep the opposing team off the scoreboard. While it was nice to keep the Twins in the ballgame, it sure would have been better to have a few more outings like this earlier in the season when he was protecting a Twins lead in the final inning, but I digress. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here to see the bullpen usage over the past five days (link opens a Google Sheet). Click here to view the article

With the Cleveland Indians on a mission down the stretch, the Minnesota Twins have needed to do their own dirty work to try to clinch their first division title since 2010. Luckily, the Twins have taken care of business, so far, against the bottom-feeders of the American League Central, and with tonight's 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers, their magic number is suddenly down to two, with five games to play.Box Score Odorizzi: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 64.5% strikes (60 of 93 pitches) Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Cave (2 for 4), Wade (2 for 3, 2B) WPA of +0.1: Wade .207, Odorizzi .180, Rosario .160, Astudillo .108 WPA of -0.1: Sano -.179, Polanco -.157 Jake Odorizzi did an excellent job keeping the Twins in the ballgame, as the bats struggled to come through in the early innings. After a Detroit double and single led to a run in the first inning, Odorizzi allowed just one more baserunner, on a walk, while striking out six more hitters. He did come back out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, but was pulled during his warmups when Rocco Baldelli noticed something was off. The report was Odorizzi was lifted with hamstring tightness, so hopefully this shouldn’t be much of an issue for him as we move into postseason play. It took a while, but the Twins bats finally woke up in the seventh inning against Spencer Turnbull. Jake Cave led off the inning with a sharply pulled single into right field. LaMonte Wade Jr. followed that up with an excellent at-bat that resulted in a double down the third base line, and suddenly the Twins were in business with runners on second and third, with nobody out. This prompted Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire to go get Turnbull, and bring in David McKay to face Willians Astudillo. This proved favorable for the Twins, as Astudillo came through with a base hit up the middle to give the Twins their first runs of the game. After a Jason Castro hit-by-pitch and a Nelson Cruz intentional walk, Eddie Rosario came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, and he came through with a ringing double that made its way to the wall in left, scoring Astudillo and Castro, giving the Twins a 4-1 lead. Following Jake Odorizzi's six innings, Kyle Gibson came into the game to try to protect the Twins three-run lead. Gibson gave up a couple of singles in the inning, but struck out the other three batters he faced, popping as high as 96 MPH on the radar gun. He came back out in the eighth, and after the Tigers cut the lead down to two, thanks to a couple of doubles, things suddenly looked very interesting. However, after a visit to the mound, Gibson settled in to get the final two outs of the inning. Taylor Rogers came on in the bottom of the ninth and pitched an easy 1-2-3 inning, picking up his 29th save of the season. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Wed at DET, 5:40 pm CT (TBD-Norris) Thu at DET, 12:10 pm CT (TBD-Zimmermann) Fri at KC, 7:15 pm CT (TBD-TBD) Last Game Twins Game Recap (9/22): Twins Offense Erupts for Twelve Runs Over Royals Click here to view the article

This game had pretty much everything you could ask for from a great baseball game. An historic home run, three different comebacks to tie the game, and a walk-off hit-by-pitch by Ronald Torreyes. When all was said and done, 22 different Minnesota Twins played a part in their 9-8 win over the Chicago White Sox.Box Score Perez: 4.2 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 70.3% strikes (45 of 64 pitches) Home Runs: LaMarre (1), Sano (30) Multi-Hit Games: Rosario (3 for 6, 2 2B), Gonzalez (3 for 6), Arraez (3 for 6, 2B) WPA of +0.1: Gonzalez .359, Rosario .307, Wade .254, Torreyes .164, Rogers .144, LaMarre .122, Romo .111, Cruz .102, WPA of -0.1: Harper -.402, Sano -.214, Littell -.145, May -.143, Polanco -.114, Schoop -.100 After the Twins failed to hit a home run in their 5-3 win over the White Sox last night, it was Ryan LaMarre of all people who hit the Twins first home run of the series, leading off the bottom of the third inning. It was just LaMarre’s third home run of his major league career. The homer drew this great reaction from Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Ryan Saunders. Later in the third inning, Miguel Sano helped the Twins make more major league history, when he belted his 30th home run of the season, making the 2019 Minnesota Twins the first team to ever have five different 30-home run hitters in the same season. Sano’s home run traveled 482 feet, and became the second longest home run in Target Field history, behind only Jim Thome’s 490 foot blast back in 2011. Unfortunately for the Twins, the pitching staff was unable to hold the 5-0 lead they were given. Martin Perez was hit all over the yard tonight, giving up 10 hits in just 4- 2/3 innings. Somehow, he managed to give up just three runs. In the top of the sixth, Trevor May gave up home runs to Zack Collings and Adam Engel on back-to-back pitches, and just like that the game was tied. Tyler Duffey had another excellent outing tonight, striking out the White Sox' 3-4-5 hitters in the top of the seventh inning. Duffey has now worked 22 consecutive scoreless outings, dating back to July 28th. Over that time, Duffey has 33 strikeouts to just five walks in 19 2/3 innings pitched and has lowered his ERA from 3.82 down to 2.39. It was Sergio Romo’s turn in the top of the eighth inning to keep the score tied at five. Which is just what he did, getting a couple of big strikeouts with a runner on first to end the inning. However, he did so with an obvious limp after every pitch. The Twins came out to chat with him about it, be he insisted he was fine and stayed in the game to get the final two hitters. It will be worth monitoring this situation in the coming days to make sure nothing comes from it. Both Taylor Rogers and Zack Littell had to work out of jams in the top of the ninth and the top of the tenth respectively, to give the Twins hitters extra chances to try to win the game. The first two batters reached against Rogers via an error by Jorge Polanco, and a fielder’s choice by Rogers, when he tried to make the play at second after fielding a comebacker but was late with the throw. However, he was able to battle back by inducing a double play and getting Eloy Jimenez to strike out. In the tenth, Littell gave up two singles to lead off the inning. Then, after a sac bunt, Rocco Baldelli decided to load the bases with an intentional walk. That moved paid off, as Littell got a pop out and a flyout to get out of the jam. The Twins weren’t as fortunate in the 11th inning as they had been in the innings prior, as Tim Anderson led off the inning with a no-doubter off Zack Littell. Littell did a nice job not surrendering any more runs in the inning, keeping the White Sox lead at just one run. This played out huge for the Twins in the bottom of the inning, when Jonathan Schoop led off the inning with a single. He got pinch run for by LaMonte Wade Jr., who advanced to second on a C.J. Cron ground out, and to third on a wild pitch that barely got away from the White Sox catcher. This aggressive base running kept the Twins alive, as Mitch Garver came through with a sac fly to tie the game back up at six. In the 12th inning, Rocco Baldelli turned to Ryne Harper to get three outs, and the Twins bats back up with a chance to win the game. Harper did get those three outs However, that wasn’t until after he had surrendered a two-run home run to Ryan Cordell, giving the White Sox a 8-6 lead. Harper nearly gave up a few more runs, as the White Sox had first and third with two outs, but Harper got Eloy Jimenez to ground out to end the inning. The Twins may have been down but they certainly weren’t out of it, with the middle of their order due up in the bottom of the 12th. Nelson Cruz got the rally started with a lead off single, which was immediately followed by a double from Eddie Rosario, and just like that the Twins were in business. Then Miguel Sano came to the plate, and was immediately set down on three pitches. After Sano came Marwin Gonzalez, who after falling behind in the count, came through with a base hit to bring both Cruz and Rosario around to score, tying the game at eight. However, the Twins weren’t done quite yet. Luis Arraez followed up Gonzalez’s single with one of his own, Arraez’s third hit of the game. That brought LaMonte Wade Jr. up to the plate and he smacked a line-drive single up the middle. Fortunately for the Twins, Tony Diaz has learned from his mistakes earlier in the season, and held Gonzalez at third on a throw that would have had him out by 30 feet. This loaded the bases for Ronald Torreyes, who came in as a defensive replacement for C.J. Cron in the top of the 12th, and this happened. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Wed vs CHW, 6:40 pm CT (Cover-Odorizzi) Thu vs KCR, 6:40 pm CT (Montgomery-TBD) Fri vs KCR, 7:10 pm CT (TBD-TBD) Last Game Twins Game Recap (9/16): Berrios tosses a strong 7.1 innings Click here to view the article

With the Washington Nationals throwing Stephen Strasburg up against Martin Perez for the Minnesota Twins and their depleted lineup, it was going to be a tough test to secure the second win in as many nights for the Twins. The Twins had a few chances as the game went on, but failed to come through with any clutch hits, as they fell to the Nationals by a score of 6-2.Box Score Perez: 5 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 65.6% strikes (59 of 90 pitches) Home Runs: Polanco (21) Multi-Hit Games: Arraez (3 for 5), Polanco (2 for 5, HR), Castro (2 for 4) WPA of +0.1: Cruz .101 WPA of -0.1: Perez -.220, Rosario -.161, Astudillo -.159, Adrianza -.105 The Nationals jumped all over Martin Perez, from the get-go. After retiring Trea Turner for the first out of the game, Perez gave up a double to Adam Eaton, walked Anthony Rendon, a single to Juan Soto and a single to Ryan Zimmerman. By the time the Twins even sent their first hitter to the plate, they already trailed by a score of 2-0. The top of the third started off like a pretty harmless inning. Martin Perez retired Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon to get two quick outs, but after a walk to Juan Soto things got interesting. Perez got Howie Kendrick down 0-2 and delivered a quality slider down below the zone that Kendrick lifted into right field for what looked like a routine fly out. However, with Eddie Rosario, nothing has been routine for him in the outfield this year, and that was the case with this fly ball, as he let it sail over his head for an RBI-double. Just two pitches later, Ryan Zimmerman made the Twins pay dearly for this mistake, as he took Perez deep to give the Nationals a 5-0 lead. The Twins were able to answer back with a couple of runs in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a Luis Arraez one-out single, and Jorge Polanco taking Stephen Strasburg deep to cut the deficit down to three. Polanco’s homer was the Twins 277th of the season and gave the Twins the lead in the home run race over the New York Yankees. During the middle innings the bats for both teams stayed quiet. The Twins relievers, Zack Littell, Brusdar Graterol and Fernando Romero, all pitched scoreless innings to keep the Twins in the game. Unfortunately, the Twins were unable to take advantage of that. They put up a two-out threat in the fourth, thanks to a LaMonte Wade walk, and a Jonathan Schoop double, but Jason Castro was rung up on strikes to nullify that threat. In the bottom of the eighth, the Twins had yet another chance. The Nationals made a questionable move to bring former Twin Fernando Rodney, and his 5.54 ERA into the game to face Polanco, Cruz and Rosario. The inning started off strong for the Twins, as Polanco reached on an infield hit, and Cruz drew a walk, but then Rosario, Astudillo and Adrianza all hit lazy fly balls to the outfield, killing the Twins' chances. All this was done, by the way, with Mitch Garver waiting in the dugout with his helmet and batting gloves on but was never called upon to take an at-bat that could have tied the ballgame. Randy Dobnak came in to pitch for the Twins in the top of the ninth, and promptly gave up a solo home run to Trea Turner, to extend the Nationals lead to 6-2, which would be the final score of the ballgame, as the Twins got a couple of runners on but failed to score in the bottom of the ninth. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Thu vs WSH, 6:40 pm CT (Corbin-Gibson) Fri at CLE, 6:10 pm CT (Odorizzi-Civale) Sat at CLE, 6:10 pm CT (TBD-TBD) Last Game Twins Game Recap (9/10): Berrios Bounces Back in Twins Win Click here to view the article

It has been a rough little stretch for the Minnesota Twins of late. With the announcement of the Michael Pineda suspension, and a string of Twins' injuries, leading up to Byron Buxton undergoing surgery on his labrum, shelving him for the next 5-6 months, the Twins needed something to go their way. Fortunately, that is exactly what happened tonight, as Jose Berrios looked to be back on his front-of-the rotation form in tonight's 5-0 win over the Washington Nationals.Box Score Berrios: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 67.0% strikes (63 of 94 pitches) Home Runs: Garver (30) Multi-Hit Games: Arraez (2 for 4, 2B) WPA of +0.1: Berrios .455, Garver .143 WPA of -0.1: None The story of tonight was unquestionably the bounce back performance from Jose Berrios. After posting an 8.07 ERA over his last six starts, Berrios gave the Twins seven scoreless innings tonight against the Nationals. Berrios had a perfect game going into the fifth inning, until Howie Kendrick singled on a line drive to Eddie Rosario in right. The Twins got their first real scoring chance of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, after Luis Arraez drove a one out double over the left fielder’s head, setting the table for Jorge Polanco and Nelson Cruz to drive in the first run of the game. However, neither was able to come through with a clutch hit, and the game went to the seventh inning scoreless. In the bottom of the seventh the Twins finally broke the scoreless tie, thanks to Mitch Garver blasting his 30th home run of the season. The Twins were able to add one three more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, effectively blowing the game wide open. The inning started with a Jonathan Schoop hit by pitch, followed by a Luis Arraez single. Then after a wild pitch from Nationals pitcher Tanner Rainey, Jorge Polanco came through with a two-run double. The bases were reloaded thanks to walks from Eddie Rosario and Mitch Garver, leading to an Ehrie Adrianza sac-fly for the Twins fifth and final run of the game. Those insurance runs were important, as Taylor Rogers was up and warming in the pen to get the save, but instead he was able to get the night off, as Trevor May came in and sent the Nationals down 1-2-3 to finish off the Twins win. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Wed vs WSH, 6:40 pm CT (Strasburg-Perez) Thu vs WSH, 6:40 pm CT (Corbin-Gibson) Fri at CLE, 6:10 pm CT (TBD-TBD) Last Game Twins Game Recap (9/8) Clevinger Shuts Down the Scuffling Twins Offense Click here to view the article

The night after the Minnesota Twins got their first walk-off home run of the season, they sent their ace to the mound to try and clinch the series against the National League East leading Atlanta Braves. That wasn't meant to be, as Jose Berrios had perhaps the worst night of his career, helping the Braves tie up the series at a game apiece with their 12 to 7 victory over the Twins.Box Score Berrios: 5.2 IP, 9 H, 9 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 64.9% strikes (63 of 97 pitches) Home Runs: Cruz 2 (32), Garver (21), Rosario (24) Multi-Hit Games: Cruz (4 for 5, 2 HR), Rosario (2 for 5, HR) WPA of +0.1: None WPA of -0.1: Berrios -.271 It didn’t take long for the Braves to respond to last night's walk-off home run, with a home run of their own. On the first pitch of the game, Ronald Acuna Jr. took Jose Berrios deep to give the Braves a quick 1-0 lead. I guess this is what Acuna was jogging in for last night while Miguel Sano’s home run was still in the air. The Braves were able to get to Berrios again in the top of the third. After an Acuna walk, and an Ozzie Albies single, Freddie Freeman went deep for the second time in this series. However, unlike the one last night that needed every inch to get over the wall in left, this one was crushed well over the center field wall. After adding another run in the fifth, the Braves blew the game open with six runs in the top of the sixth. The innings looked like it wasn’t going to amount to anything, as two of the first three Braves to come to the plate in the inning struck out. However, that was followed by the Braves going single, single, triple, single, double, single, before Adam Duvall struck out for the second time in the inning. When all was said and done, the Braves had an 11-0 lead, with nine earned runs charged to Jose Berrios. That is the most earned runs Berrios has allowed in his entire professional career. The bats finally woke up for the Twins in the bottom of the sixth inning. Nelson Cruz got the scoring going with this blast. After an Eddie Rosario single, Mitch Garver followed with a no-doubter of his own, trimming the Braves lead all the way down to… well 11-3. The Twins threatened with a couple of two-out walks later in the inning but were unable to tack on any more runs. However, the Twins weren’t done scoring quite yet. In the bottom of the seventh, Max Kepler and Jake Cave led off with a couple of singles, setting the stage for Nelson Cruz to hit his second home run of the night, and 16th home run since the All-Star Break. The Braves tacked on another run in the top of the eighth, thanks to three more hits from the middle of the Brave order. In the bottom of the ninth, Eddie Rosario took new Braves closer Shane Greene deep to the opposite field for the Twins fourth home run of the night. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Wed vs ATL, 12:10 pm CT (Fried-Perez) Thu vs CLE, 7:10 pm CT (TBD-TBD) Fri vs CLE, 7:10 pm CT (TBD-TBD) Last Game Twins Game Recap (8/5): May Throws Fire, Sano Launches a Walk-Off Bomb in Twins Win Click here to view the article

After taking three of four over the weekend in Chicago, the Minnesota Twins were looking to keep their good road trip going as the made the rare trip down to South Beach to play the Miami Marlins. Jake Odorizzi took the mound and was looking to bounce back after his terrible start last time out against the New York Yankees. He did just that, and lead the Twins to a 2-1 victory in game one of the series.Box Score Odorizzi: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 66.0% strikes (68 of 103 pitches) Home Runs: Buxton (10) Multi-Hit Games: None WPA of +0.1: Odorizzi .200, Rogers .176, Duffey .141, Romo .129, Sano .114 WPA of -0.1: None There wasn’t a lot of action through the first couple innings of the game. Neither team was able to reach base during the first inning, and the first baserunner of the game was Miguel Sano who drew a one-out walk. He wouldn’t make it far, however, as he was thrown out on an inning-ending strike him out, thrown him out double play. The bottom of the second was going smoothly for Jake Odorizzi until Curtis Granderson hit a line drive into the left-centerfield gap. It appeared as though Eddie Rosario would have a play throw Granderson out at second, but he inexplicable misplayed the ball, allowing it to get past him and Granderson to advance to third on the error. Odorizzi was able to pick up Rosario by getting Harold Ramirez to fly out to end the inning. Byron Buxton got the scoring going in the top of the third when he hit a towering flyball over the fence in left-centerfield to give the Twins an early 1-0 lead. The Twins were able to add to their lead in the top of the fourth inning. Jorge Polanco started the inning with a leadoff walk, and looked for a second like the Twins might not be able to turn that walk into a run. Mitch Garver followed Polanco’s walk with a strikeout, and Edie Rosario proceeded to ground into a force out. Then on a 2-1 count, Miguel Sano drilled a double out to centerfield, bringing Rosario around to score from first. The bottom of the fourth was sailing along for Jake Odorizzi, like the rest of the game had up until that point. He got each of the first two hitters to flyout, before Starlin Castro stepped to the plate and roped a two-out single to the opposite field, setting the table for Curtis Granderson who pulled a double down the line that got all the way to the wall. The relay from Kepler to Arraez to Garver was a hair late and a hair offline, allowing Castro to slide in safely, cutting the Twins lead down to one. Jake Odorizzi was cruising along through five innings and into the sixth, and it appeared as though he was going complete six innings for the first time since June 15. However, that wasn’t meant to be, as with two outs in the sixth he walked Neil Walker, ending his night. Tyler Duffey came in and shut the door in the sixth by striking out Starlin Castro. He then followed that up with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh inning. Sergio Romo made his Twins debut in the bottom of the eighth against the team that just traded him away. Romo got both Cesar Puello and Miguel Rojas to flyout to begin the inning before he hit Brian Anderson on the first pitch of the plate appearance. Anderson was able to advance to second on a stolen base during the next at-bat but didn’t go any further as Romo ended the inning by getting Martin Prado to strikeout on a check swing that he couldn’t quite hold up on. The often animated Romo showed that he was pumped up to pitch for a competitive ball club again. After a much-needed week off, Taylor Rogers looked fresh in the ninth inning, going 1-2-3 to complete his 16th save of the season. With the Indians losing to Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros tonight, the Twins lead is back up to three games. During the game, it was announced that the Cleveland Indians had traded away Trevor Bauer as part of a three-team trade with the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres. In return they received outfielders Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes. If you are unfamiliar with Reyes, he is one of the bright young stars in the game. In 185 career games, Reyes has already hit 43 home runs and has a wRC+ of 122. At just 24 years of age, Reyes might be a nemesis for the Twins in the years to come. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Wed at MIA, 6:10 pm CT (Berrios-Alcantara) Thu at MIA, 11:10 am CT (Pineda-Yamamoto) Fri vs KC, 7:10 pm CT (Sparkman-Perez) Last Game Twins Game Recap (7/28): Bats Bounce Back Behind Gibson’s Strong Outing Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins were riding off their series victory over the Cleveland Indians to begin the second half over the weekend. Tonight, they welcomed the New York Mets for a two-game series to begin a nine-game home stand. Despite getting a quality start from Michael Pineda, the Twins came up just short in this hard-fought battle.Box Score Pineda: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 65.8% strikes (50 of 76 pitches) Home Runs: Schoop (15) Multi-Hit Games: Gonzalez (2 for 5); Rosario (2 for 4); Cron (2 for 4, 2 2B) WPA of +0.1: None WPA of -0.1: Cruz -.367; Sano -.175; Polanco -.167; Kepler -.134 Download attachment: vs Mets 7-16-2019.PNG (Chart via Fangraphs) The Mets got off to quick start in the top of the first to begin this short two-game series when outfielders Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto got a couple of singles to lead off the inning. Michael Pineda was able to battle back by striking out Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso. Then after a wild pitch, Robinson Cano hit a short fly ball to center field setting up Max Kepler for a chance to throw McNeil out at home, but a misfire out of his hand didn’t give the throw a chance. The inning about came to an end with just one run allowed, but Jonathan Schoop booted a groundball off the bat of Wilson Ramos, allowing Conforto to score the second run of the inning. The early innings were filled with a bunch of tough luck outs for the Twins hitters. In the first inning Jorge Polanco had a bid for a leadoff single, but it was snared out of the air by Mets second baseman Robinson Cano. Per Statcast, Polanco’s lineout had an expected batting average of .890. In the second inning, both Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler also had bids for a hit but were denied. The expected batting average on their two lineouts were .640 and .550 respectively. The Twins were final able to get a run on the scoreboard when Jonathan Schoop led off the inning with a solo home run to right-center field. With two-outs in the inning, the Twins put together a good chance to score but came up short when Mets center-fielder Michel Conforto made a great catch at the wall to rob Nelson Cruz of what would have been a game-tying double. Again, some misfortune for a Twins hitter, as the expected batting average on this Cruz flyout was .760. Eddie Rosario and C.J. Cron got a rally started in the fourth when they went single, double to begin the inning. Max Kepler then came through with an RBI-groundout to tie the game, and advance Cron to third with just one out. A Miguel Sano strikeout and Jonathan Schoop intentional-walk put runners on the corners with two outs for Jason Castro. Inexplicably, however, Castro wasn’t given the opportunity to drive in the go-ahead run as a botched double steal attempt ended the inning. The Mets were able to take the lead back in the top of the fifth, when Amed Rosario scored from third on a two-out base-hit from Michael Conforto. Rosario got on base with a one out double, and advanced to third thanks to a wild pitch from Michael Pineda in the next at-bat. It was more tough luck for the Twins in the bottom of the fifth. Robert Gsellman came into the game to replace Steven Matz to begin the inning and immediately walked Jason Castro and hit Jorge Polanco. Marwin Gonzalez then appeared to come up with a big line drive base-hit, but unfortunately it was lined right at Mets first baseman Pete Alonso who immediately doubled-off Jorge Polanco, effectively ending the Twins threat before it even started. Blake Parker worked himself into a bit of a jam in the top of the eighth but got out of it on this conventional 1-5-2-5 double-play to keep it a one run game. Things got very interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning. Against Mets closer Edwin Diaz, Miguel Sano struck out looking to lead off the inning, but took two strike calls, including strike three, that appeared to be outside the strike zone. Jonathan Schoop then came up and got into a quick 0-2 hole, before leaving with an apparent injury. Luis Arraez then came into a very difficult situation and fought all the way back to draw a one-out walk, fouling off numerous 98 MPH+ fastballs in the process. Mitch Garver, who pinch hit for Jason Castro in the seventh, lined a base hit to left field, giving the Twins first and second with just one out. After Garver it was Jorge Polanco’s turn, but he flew out to center field, and failed to advance the runners. Then Marwin Gonzalez came up and kept the game alive with a weak dribbler up the third baseline, resulting in an infield single, keeping the game alive for Nelson Cruz. Cruz put together a great at-bat against Diaz, bringing the count full, but swung at what would have been ball four and popped up in foul territory to end the ballgame. 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. Next Three Games Wed vs NYM, 12:10 pm CT (Vargas-Perez) Thu vs OAK, 7:10 pm CT (TBD-TBD) Fri vs OAK, 7:10 pm CT (TBD-TBD) Last Game Twins Game Recap (7/14): Cleveland Prevails, Avoids Sweep Click here to view the article

Coming off their first losing week of the season, and the lead in the division down to seven and a half games over the Cleveland Indians, the Minnesota Twins were looking for a big win to start a new week tonight, and that is just what they got. After being held to just one run against Homer Baily and the Kansas City Royals their last time out, the bats bounced back scoring nine runs on fifteen hits against reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.Box Score Gibson: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 61.2% strikes (60 of 98 pitches) Home Runs: Schoop (13), Garver (12) Multi-Hit Games: Garver (3 for 5, HR); Rosario (4 for 5); Astudillo (3 for 4) WPA of +0.1: Gibson .187, Rosario .117, Astudillo .111 WPA of -0.1: None Download attachment: vs Rays 6-25-2019.PNG (Chart via FanGraphs) After a 1-2-3 first inning, Eddie Rosario got the bats going to lead off the second when he pulled a two-strike curveball into right field and hustled his way into second for a double. After a flyout to centerfield by C.J. Cron and a groundout by Max Kepler, it looked like Rosario might get stranded on the bases. That is until La Tortuga stepped up and drove in Rosario on a first pitch infield single. In the top of the third, Willins Astudillo showed off his athleticism in right field, making this spectacular catch. Jonathan Schoop leadoff the bottom of the third with an upper deck blast. Statcast projected the home run to travel 408 feet, with a 104.1 exit velocity and a 27-degree launch angle. The Twins kept the bats rolling after that Schoop home run, with four of the next five hitters (Jorge Polanco, Mitch Garver, Eddied Rosario and C.J. Cron) all singling to drive in a couple more runs. The inning came to an end on a bad-luck double play, when Max Kepler lined out to Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi with him practically standing on first, allowing Choi to easily double-off Cron. After putting up three runs in the third inning, the Twins were able to blow the game open in the fourth with three more runs. Astudillo got the inning started with a double off the left-center field wall, and advanced to third on an infield single from Miguel Sano. Then, after a Schoop strikeout and a Polanco walk, both Astudillo and Sano came around to score on another single from Mitch Garver. Nelson Cruz reloaded the bases three pitches later with a single of his own, and that was the end of the night for Blake Snell. The Rays brought in Hunter Wood to try and get out of the inning, but it was more of the same as Rosario greeted him with an RBI single. The inning came to an end the next batter, with yet another inning ending double-play, this time by C.J. Cron. This closed the book on Snell, who gave up seven runs, all earned, on 11 hits in just 3 and 1/3 innings of work. The Twins were able to score for the fourth inning in a row in the bottom of the fifth, but it came at a price, as Max Kepler had to leave the game after being struck on the elbow with a 95 MPH fastball. They are currently calling the injury a right-elbow contusion, so hopefully Kepler can avoid being added to the ever-growing list of Twins players on the injured list. Jake Cave came in to the game to pinch-run for Kepler, and later came around to score on a Jorge Polanco sac fly. In the inning, Astudillo picked up his third hit of the night. Kyle Gibson was rolling along through the first five innings of the ballgame, and was on his way to an excellent bounce-back performances after a terrible start his last time out. Through that point, Gibson hadn’t allowed a run and had only given up one hit, while striking out four. However, Gibson started showing signs of cracking in the sixth when he gave up a leadoff home run to Willy Adames. Gibson was able to get through the inning without giving up any more runs and was looking sharp striking out both Avisail Garcia and Kevin Kiermaier to begin the seventh, before the wheels absolutely fell off the wagon. Gibson proceed to give up three runs on four straight hits, and the once insurmountable eight-run lead was trimmed to four. Gibson was able to finally get out of the inning by striking out Guillermo Heredia, which was Gibson’s seventh strikeout of the game. Ryne Harper came out of the bullpen in the eighth, giving the Twins an easy 1-2-3 inning, which put a lot of people at ease. Mitch Garver was able to tack on an insurance run in the bottom of the inning, when he belted his 12th home run of the season over the left-center field fence. Rocco Baldelli called upon Tyler Duffey to get the final three outs of the game, and just like Harper, he worked a smooth 1-2-3 frame to seal the Twins victory. Postgame with Baldelli Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: 6-25-2019 vs Rays.PNG Next Three Games Wed vs TB, 7:10 pm CT (Morton-Odorizzi) Thu vs TB, 1:10 pm CT (TBD-Perez) Fri at CHW, 7:10 pm CT (TBD-TBD) Last Game KC 6, MIN 1: Bad Inning Spoils Awesome Uniforms Click here to view the article