News Twins Team Notes

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 5, Orioles 2: Bat flips don’t lie

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Makes a man want to hit a slam... ish.

Taking a request tonight!
Tonight in...
(We got from sandwiches asking here)
Tonight in...
Tonight in...
We’re here, we’re here!

It’s always good to see the Twins advance like this,
Know how to grant any glad fan’s wish,
Withhold the drama (please!), completed (please!)
No problems (we’re here, we’re here!), no problems
Go crazy with a bomb like that,
There’s Byron knockin’ ‘em flat,
Then Bader (see!) a tater (see!)
Leaving the crowd going bawdy.

All STUDS tonight,
You know the Twins don’t lie
When they’re dominant in the fight
Always in action, connection:
Don’t you see? Tell me this is perfection.

Hey now, Simeon started, was groovin’,
It was driving ‘em crazy,
And the bullpen kept on this idea,
Never giving ‘em chances.
And when the Orioles could just score, nobody got any more,
Just send them to the naughty world (just groove!)
But was the dominance expected? No matter: it’s selected,
So seize the win, we’re taking it! (let’s go!)

It’s always good to see the Twins advance like this,
Know how to grant any glad fan’s wish,
Withhold the drama (please!), completed (please!)
No problems (we’re here, we’re here!), no problems
Go crazy with a bomb like that,
There’s Byron knockin’ ‘em flat,
Then Bader (see!) a tater (see!)
Leaving the crowd going bawdy.

All STUDS tonight,
You know the Twins don’t lie
When they’re dominant as they go
Every combo, let’s go:
Don’t you see? Tell me this is perfecto.
There’s not a DUD tonight,
The Twins don’t lie
When they’re dominant in the fight
Always in action, connection:
Don’t you see? Tell me this is perfection. (we’re here, we’re here!)

Hey now, all of the offense was groovin’, all hammerin’ that man,
They go, go round the bags as they’re movin’, with a cheering from that fan
They’ll win this Wednesday game, they’ve come to play now, play now:
See, they’re doin’ what they planned, so we stand, and we go
Fully nuts: we rant and we rave!

Ballin’ on behalf of the offense,
Ballin’ on behalf of the arms,
Ballin’ on behalf of the offense,
Ballin’ on behalf of the arms.

It’s always good to see the Twins advance like this,
Know how to grant any glad fan’s wish,
Withhold the drama (please!), completed (please!)
No problems (we’re here, we’re here!), no problems
Go crazy with a bomb like that,
There’s Byron sendin’ it to fly.
Then Bader (see!) a tater (see!)
Leaving the crowd going bawdy.

Now we need to read the Comments,
Need to pick the one that will earn some adornments.
Let me see:
Gonna go with James Fillmore and Silva, he’d say!
Though there are still more yet still to see.)

We came to see a game and got to see
A rip or three that we backed with the chanting: “That’s a good win, on three!”
Drive it back with a pop, cleared the wall like Humpty Dumpty
It leaves the ballclub jazzy
(Why’d the MLB try contraction?)
It’s the politest Minnesotans
Never guilty, always kindness in our actions
No dopes, no dopes, now we’ve picked up our hopes
And we cheer cause we’re here, let’s subvert the old tropes, tropes!

All STUDS tonight,
The Twins don’t lie
When they’re dominant as they go
Every combo, let’s go:
Tell me that this is perfecto.
There’s not a DUD tonight,
The Twins don’t lie
When they’re dominant in the fight
In action, connection:
Don’t you see? Tell me this is perfection. (we’re here, we’re here!)

(Good night’n!)
(Good night’n!)

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...arrison-bader-dingers-simeon-woods-richardson

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 5, Orioles 2: Sweeeeeeeeep!

The Minnesota Twins sweep the Baltimore Orioles in three games at Target Field

From fishing celebrations to buck bombs to spartan helmets, this Minnesota Twins team is on fire, and it is fun to watch.

While the competition hasn’t been overly stiff, wins are wins and the Twins have won five in a row and 10 of their last 11 games at Target Field. It’s all at a perfect time when the Minnesota Timberwolves are working to beat the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals.

Despite striking out three times at the plate and an error in the field. Brooks Lee was the key player of the game this afternoon. He managed a go-ahead two-run double in the bottom of the 8th with two outs. Heading into this inning the Twins only had three hits on the afternoon.

Brooks Lee hammers a 2-run go-ahead double to put the @Twins ahead! pic.twitter.com/v48OLtOo9K

— MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2025​

Despite the Orioles having a majority of the baserunners and hits, the Twins situational hitting took them to the finish in this one. Trevor Larnach tied things up with his 5th home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth.

Trevor Larnach goes yard to tie things up pic.twitter.com/VTmiQhPkFV

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 8, 2025​

“I thought I had a better chance hitting right handed than left-handed today,” Lee said to broadcaster Katie Storm after the game.

He also touched on this winning streak, and says this team is going to keep it going.

“We find a way to win, and we have been doing that for a few days now, and we are going to keep doing that,” he said.

Lee is a California transplant who loves fishing. His new celebration imitates him reelin’ in what I think is likely a nice Minnesota walleye. He went ice-fishing with Louie Varland in a few spots last year on the Twins Caravan, and according to reports, and now his new celly, he clearly loved it. Well, his big go-ahead double was just in time for the fishing opener which is Mother’s Day weekend coming up. According to my MLB app, it also has him in contention for AL Player of the Week. He says the clubhouse is meshing well right now.

“It’s been great, it’s a lot of fun. We have a great clubhouse and a great group of guys,” he said.

We would be remiss if we didn’t touch on the toss from Byron Buxton in center field Thursday afternoon, throwing out a runner at the plate.

In addition to everything else he's doing well right now, Byron Buxton just nailed a runner at the plate with a great throw from center field. pic.twitter.com/ZYtOOa7xoa

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) May 8, 2025​

On the mound, Bailey Ober got the start for the Twins as Joe Ryan was battling an illness. Ober pitched 5 innings, giving up 8 hits and 1 ER. He walked 1 and struck out 6. The bullpen was a big part of the story though, giving up only 2 hits and no earned runs. Sands, Topa, Jax (W,) and Duran (S) all made appearances.

Next up for the 18-20 Twins is a weekend series against the San Francisco Giants. The Giants sit in a tough NL West, in third with a 24-14 record.

Let’s Go Twins! Keep it rollin’, for Mom.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/8/24426439/twins-5-orioles-2-sweeeeeeeeep

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Eddie Rosario wasted no time jolting the 2015 Twins

Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images

One pitch is all it takes!

After their horrendous start to the 2015 season, the Minnesota Twins had stabilized a bit following Trevor Plouffe’s panache. But heading into a May 6 contest with the Oakland (RIP) Athletics, the squad was just 14-13. Things could still go either way on the ‘15 season.

But then Eddie Rosario dug in and changed all of that with his first major league hack.

A native of Guayama, Puerto Rico, Rosario came to the Twins organization via the fourth round of the 2010 MLB Draft. His development was a bit up-and-down: the raw talent showed immediately and he played for the Puerto Rico squad in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He also received a 50-game suspension in 2014 for use of a banned substance.

Photo by Robbie Rogers/MLB via Getty Images
Baby Eddie representing his country of birth

But when Eduardo Nunez & Oswaldo Arcia hit the IL in early May of ‘15, it opened a roster spot for the young prospect.

Entering the Target Field batter’s box against A’s lefty Scott Kazmir, Eddie led off the third inning in the 8th slot of Paul Molitor’s lineup. With a cadre of family members in the bleachers, the first sphere Kazmir sent his way did not return to the field of play...

I’ll never forget watching this moment on TV while living in Burnsville, MN. It is exceedingly rare that a first swing possesses such magic, but—as conveyed by Dick Bremer & Bert Blyleven in the booth—that was exactly what transpired here.

Rosario was no flash-in-the-pan. He’d stick with the big club for the ‘15 duration and put up this line: 122 G, 474 PA, 18 2B, 15 3B, 13 HR, 11 SB, 102 OPS+. In the field, his Cuddyer-like cannon would gun down as many runners as his scattershot brain would sometimes let on.

Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Chugging towards 3B

After a 6-year Twins stint followed by some club-hopping, Eddie is—believe it or not—still kicking around. This year he appeared in 2 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers before being granted free agency in lieu of accepting an assignment. As the ‘21 Atlanta Braves discovered, Eddie remains a small-sample-size weapon in the biggest of moments.

Photo by Jeremy Chen/Getty Images
That swing looks VERY familiar!

The Twins would throttle the A’s 11-0 that May 6, 2015 evening (6 scoreless innings from Kyle Gibson—somewhere TJ is smiling). By the time May closed, the Twins were a remarkable 20-7 within its boundaries—moving into 1st place in the AL Central!

As you can see, I was pumped!

(Late breaking news: Eddie Rosario is now in Atlanta again! You can’t keep Rosie down!)

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...irst-pitch-oakland-athletics-scott-kazmir-wow

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Game 40: Giants at Twins

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The masculine urge to be so back.

First Pitch: 6:15 pm CDT​

TV: KMSP, FOX / ~ / Radio: TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM

Apparently, April showers bring May flowers.

After I wrote exactly ONE optimistic preview so far this year (before the second game of the season), the Twins made life difficult by digging an immediate hole for themselves and playing like hot ass in a can all week leading up to the Saturday games.

But this time, the story is a little different.

Seven games under .500 last weekend, the Twins said, “you know what? try this on for size,” and have since rattled off six straight wins, including salvaging a series victory at Fenway Park, sweeping the Baltimore Orioles, and winning a national night game opener against the San Francisco Giants.

Now, despite little ground made up within the division — and I’m of the opinion that you should only really be focused on your own record until at least July — the Twins are very suddenly sitting with a 19-20 record, and are just one more good ballgame away from pulling to the .500 mark for the first time this season.

Is this actually a winning team? It sure hasn’t looked like one since the end of March, but with the pitching corps locked in and the injured offense on the mend, there’s more reason to be excited about the Twins now than there has been at just about any point so far this season. It sure feels like that elusive regressing to the mean is already underway.

Joe Ryan makes his return to the rotation after a brief illness this week, and it’s just in time, because he’ll be squaring off against Logan Webb on the side of San Francisco. Having already won a Chris Paddack start this weekend, Minnesota has a little bit of breathing room in not needing to beat Webb to still have a chance to win the series. However, sources are telling me that they are going to try to win anyway. Imagine that!

Webb, of course, is a reigning first-time All-Star (despite a second-place Cy Young finish in 2023) who’s already rocked up 1.2 bWAR with a league-leading 1.87 FIP and low home run numbers in eight starts so far, thanks in large part to a sinker that might be the best in the league.

Christian Vazquez finds himself the only non-starter in a lineup built from a roster that suddenly has a very clear A-Squad / Bench Bats dichotomy.

The Twins go for seven in a row tonight, on another beautiful evening at Target Field.

GO TWINS GO!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/10/24427437/game-40-giants-at-twins

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 2, Giants 1: Seven Nation Army

Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Because the Twins won seven in a row, on national TV, you know?

Folks, the Twins are back to .500.

A week that’s reminded the fanbase why there’s reason to believe in this core of players was capped on Saturday night by the kind of complete performance that felt like wishful thinking just a few days ago. Minnesota took home a gritty, 2-1 nailbiter win over the San Francisco Giants, with elite pitching paving the way.

First, the credit to Joe Ryan. Still visibly ill — deep breathing, lying on the floor between innings, and none of his usual swagger on display in a major energy conservation effort — Ryan nevertheless turned in six innings of two-hit ball, walking none and surrendering the lone Giant score on a second-inning Heliot Ramos homer.

At only 76 pitches upon exit, Ryan almost certainly would have pitched deeper into the game had he not spent all of Monday vomiting “20-30 times” after attending a screening of Sinners. Vampires aren’t for the faint of heart, Joe.

As characteristically solid as Joe Ryan was, so too was Logan Webb. For those in Twins Territory unfamiliar with Webb’s track record given his NL West stomping grounds, wonder no more, as it was assuredly on display tonight. Carving up Twins hitters with plenty of groundball outs and nine K’s to boot, Webb pitched 7 innings (103 pitches) and was tagged with just the one homer himself — however, Trevor Larnach’s came with a man on, and it made all the difference in the game.

The Twins haven’t been too good this season when failing to score more than three runs, so you’d be forgiven for thinking two wouldn’t be enough. So too would Rocco Baldelli, tossed in the middle innings for a balls-and-strikes argument; in a 2-1 game, every minor swing counts, and Rocco got his money’s worth with a hat toss that national announcer Jason Benetti likened to Mary Tyler Moore. (To Rocco’s credit, it had to have been the most convincing outburst I’ve ever seen from the Minnesota manager; generally speaking, his ejections are extremely finger-waggly, more evoking the anger that would get a skipper tossed, rather than actually containing any.)

The Twin bullpen had to be perfect all the way home, and they basically were — assist to Christian Vazquez. Griffin Jax breezed through the seventh, but Cole Sands’ eighth began with another extra-base knock from Ramos, a leadoff double to turn the heat up.

Ramos took third on a sac fly — then was erased one play later in one of Vazquez’s clutchest moments as a Twin, period.

All that was needed now was a clean ninth from Duran, and after demonstrating a little PFP work with a 1-6-3 double play turn, the star closer froze Willy Adames with a beautiful breaker to end the ballgame.

So, seven in a row. The Twins have come all the way back to a 20-20 record, six back of the league-leading Detroit Tigers. After a rough go in Cleveland, the team has won consecutive series against the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles (a sweep), and San Francisco Giants (with a chance for the sweep tomorrow.)

It wasn’t too far off from now on last year’s calendar, when the Twins went on a roll for 12 in a row — against weaker competition, I might add. Most positive stretches happen more gradually, over a broader time horizon — at least for normal baseball teams. But the Twins haven’t seemed like a very normal baseball team lately; who knows how far this year’s run will go?

COURTESY: Baseball Savant

STUDS:

Twins Pitching (9 IP, 4 H, ER, 0 BB, 9 K)

DH Trevor Larnach (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR)

C Christian Vazquez (0-for-2, R, BB, PO)

DUDS:

NO DUDS! TWINS WIN! TWINS WIN!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/10/24427763/twins-2-giants-1-seven-nation-army

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 7, Giants 6: Crazy Eight!

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

Game-of-the-year candidate!

The Minnesota Twins came into this beautiful Mother’s Day afternoon contest looking to put the finishing touches on a Target Field sweep of the San Francisco Giants. It took a rollercoaster, game-of-the-year candidate, 3+ hours of baseball to decide the fate, but at the end of the day: Mission Accomplished!

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Spoiler Alert!

Right away, the Giants took advantage of a bout of Pablo Lopez wildness to push a first-inning run across on a Heliot Ramos sac fly (scoring Mike Yastrzemski).

Ramos proved pesky again in the 4th, blasting an oppo-taco 2-run tater to extend San Fran’s lead to 3-0.

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Ramos feeling it in the early goings

But in the Twins’ 4th, the bats finally started cutting through the unseasonably warm May atmosphere against SF starter Landen Roupp: a Trevor Larnach infield single was immediately followed by a Brooks Lee blast to cut the deficit to 3-2!

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
A good day in the cleanup spot for Lee

Alas, ever-pesky in trying to avoid a sweep, the Bay Area brethren changed the number again in the 5th—helped by a Lopez balk (his 3rd of the season, oddly) allowing Jung Hoo Lee to sac-fly in Yastrzemski. 4-2 Frisco.

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Not quite Ace Pablo this afternoon

Once again, however, Twins’ bats kept battling: a Byron Buxton sac fly plated Kody Clemens—and could have been much more if not for a tremendous diving catch by Ramos—in the bottom of the 5th to again cut SF’s lead down to a single digit (4-3).

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Keeping it close

As soon as San Francisco manager Bob Melvin turned the game over to his bullpen, MN pounced. In the 6th, the Twins loaded the bases for Royce Lewis who (of course, in the most dramatic moment) got off the schneid with a clean RBI single. A Harrison Bader force-out grounder brought in Willi Castro to give the Twins their first lead—5-4—of the afternoon!

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Rolls Royce

Yet, this rollercoaster-ride of a game would continue: in the 8th, a bad bounce off Griffin Jax’s buttocks would allow Ramos (yes—him again) to plate Willy Adames to tie things at 5-5. A clearly-rattled Jax then nearly walked in the go-ahead run before recovering from a 3-0 count to preserve the deadlock.

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Giants put bat-to-ball and tie it up

After Danny Coulombe preserved his ERA perfection in the 9th, the Twins’ first walk-off window was quickly winnowed by three straight whiffs off the side-winding Tyler “Twin Brother of Former-Twin Taylor” Rogers.

There would be bonus baseball on Mother’s Day.

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
More baseball for Moms to enjoy!

As you’d probably expect from this game by this point, San Francisco blooped a few balls around the infield against Jhoan Duran in T10 and plated their Manfred Man to again reclaim the lead at 6-5.

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Maddening little bloops give SF the lead

But in the bottom of the 10th, Lee continued his torrid afternoon with a solid single and Ryan Jeffers immediately brought MN’s Manfred Man—Ty France—in to tie the game 6-6 on a sacrifice ground-out. After another argument with the home plate umpire—a common theme through this series—Twins manager Rocco Baldelli could be heard on the TV broadcast saying something like “get a hit here, K”.

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
A lot of drama with the Men in Blue

Well, “K” (DaShawn Keirsey, Jr.) did his manager, momma, team, and fanbase proud...

MAKE THAT 8 IN A ROW FOR THE TWINS!

Keirsey Jr. walks it off in extras!

MIN (ML -155)
pic.twitter.com/C4gq0mwGvd

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) May 11, 2025​

Your Final: Minnesota Twins 7, San Francisco Giants 6

EIGHT WINS IN A ROW FOR THE TWINS—now a winning baseball team at 21-20!!!

Up next: a day off before opening a three-game series at Camden Yards to (hopefully) beat up on Baltimore again.

Studs​

• Jeffers: Gunning down a SB attempt in a close contest.
• Lee: Big blasts from the cleanup slot.
• Lewis: Solid hit in a big spot.
• Keirsey: Walk-off winner!
• Moms: all of ‘em—everywhere!

Duds​

• The home plate umpire: Causing chaos all day.

Comment of the Game​

• norff uses just a few words to describe the entire afternoon.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...-pablo-lopez-mothers-day-moms-dashawn-keirsey

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Monday Morning Minnesota: The “DaShawn Keirsey Jr. Appreciation Post” Edition

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

Eight sounds great!

The Twins are now one of the hottest teams in baseball, sweeping the Baltimore Orioles to start the week and finishing off the San Francisco Giants this weekend to improve to 21-20 and maintain their eight-game winning streak. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. hit a walk-off single to left field in the 10th inning on Sunday, finishing a wild 7-6 game. They are still 4th in the AL Central, which speaks to how good the division has been this year, and are now 5.0 games behind the Tigers.

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Need to vent about the Twins? Or provide some reasons to calm down? Check out our Game Threads and join the conversation!
• In case you forgot what happened this past weekend, our Game Recaps are back as well!
• John Foley looks at how Danny Coulombe has found success this season.
• Zach Koenig takes us back to 2015 and the heroics of Eddie Rosario.
• Ben Jones provides the April Farm Report, highlighting AAA slugger Carson McCusker.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Phil Miller at Star Tribune highlights an interesting opinion Rocco holds about road trips.
• Theo Tollefson at Zone Coverage looks at what led the Twins to finally get over .500.
• Matthew Leach at MLB.com provides an update on Matt Wallner’s return from injury.

In the World of Baseball:

• Detroit is still atop the AL with a 26-15 record, with the Guardians, Yankees, and Royals all tied at 2.5 games behind. The Dodgers maintained their position atop the NL, with a 27-14 record, putting them a game ahead of the Padres and Mets.
• Manager Bud Black and bench coach (and old friend) Mike Redmond were fired from their roles with the Rockies, which clearly will fix the Rockies, as opposed to spending money to upgrade the team.
• Buster Olney at ESPN highlights a few things to watch with the trade deadline this year.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...-dashawn-keirsey-jr-appreciation-post-edition