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[Minnesota Twins]

Game XIV: Tigers @ Twins

NOT Hunter Wendelstedt.

Division rivals, Michigan edition. With muchly much Links 4 U!

First pitch: 7:10 Central​

Weather: National Weather Service still gutted, mid-50s and partly cloudy if we can trust this stuff anymore​

Opponent’s very good SB site: Bless You Boys​

TV: Steve Jobs (really Wozniak) TV+​

Radio: Last week Gladden said “I’m used to doing it solo” and I’LL BET HE IS​

Detroit starter Reese Olson was a Brewers draftee in 2018; in 2021 they traded him for bullpenner Daniel “Meow Meow Tiger” Norris. Olson primarily throws a slider, mid-90s sinker, and change. When he’s on — as he hasn’t been this year, yet — the slider’s his best pitch. He’s certainly facing the right lineup to get on track against! David Festa was called up to start this game because, Reasons. (Read John Foley on Festa’s struggles seeing hitters multiple times in the order.) 2024 digits:

So many early-season stories! Thusly, a bonus Hosken Powell Memorial Link Dump:

Here’s some clickbaity headlines I read fairly recently. One goes “Four games into MLB season and Twins fans are already dead inside” and another “‘Made of Glass” – Twins’ $100M Star’s Durability Questioned as Apparent Injury Against White Sox Fuels Fan Outrage’”

Hey, how do I get one of these jobs? Where you churn out crap and get paid for it? Beats actually putting effort into writing. But I’ll bet the writers have to do a LOT of it on a lot of different sites to get by. So I salute the hustle.

Here’s one which isn’t clickbait: “Dominant pitching carries Twins to undefeated record in young season.” Only problem is, that’s the LG Twins from Seoul, South Korea. Oh, well!

There’s been a lot of stuff about “torpedo bats.” (Here’s a writer talking to physics nerds about their effect; here’s an expert at FanGraphs using a computer to model their effects. Both decide it’s “too soon to say for sure.”) This article by David Lengel makes the suggestion that if MLB wants to allow this latest innovation, they should keep it in the minors first and see what happens. Since that’s sensible, no doubt Manfred won’t do it.

Speaking of Manfred and stupid, his going along with the A’s “Gambling City Or Bust Plan” resulted in the A’s debut at temporary (???) residence Sacramento going... not so smoothly. Neil deMause has the juicy details. Including this blockquote:

The A’s temporary home in Sacramento — Pacific League Ballpark Sutter Health Park — doesn’t have bathrooms attached to the dugouts. Yes, that’s right, much to the dismay of the A’s and visiting teams like Monday night’s Chicago Cubs, whereas every other MLB Stadium has a tunnel that leads from the dugout to the clubhouse and locker room, Sutter Health’s player’s area is located near left field.

So when Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki had to head to the clubhouse to presumably take a leak, he had to do what is now being called “The Walk of Shame,” as they paused the game so Suzuki could run all the way across the outfield and do his business.

deMause is also on the “Baseball In Portland Or Bust” saga, and writes for the 100 millionth time that stadiums do NOT pay for themselves. In this case, the sell that taxes on player salaries would pay for the stadium. There’s several accounting problems with this; another problem is how when you build a stadium and people spend money on games there, that’s money they are NOT spending on other local businesses. Instead of this money getting spread around, it’s going to one rich owner. You’re effectively taxing those other businesses to benefit one. Portlanders can debate the merits of this, but stadiums NEVER pay for themselves, and that should be a starting understanding in any rational discussion.

(Actually, there’s been one stadium built in the last 45 years that DID pay for itself, and more — the public got back more in revenues than they paid in construction costs. Guess which stadium it was? I’ll give you a hint, I bought Dome Dogs there.)

Community member jjjam brought to our attention how the crummy rotten Pirates owners removed a small sign honoring Roberto Clemente; here’s how a Pittsburgh TV station’s website covered it. And you can read this SABR tribute to Clemente’s humanitarian work written by Thomas Kern.

As usual, the Twins are offering New Food Items at Target Field; here’s a list with some pictures from Jason DeRusha at Minnesota Monthly. As usual, I’d be more interested in going to the actual restaurants that serve this stuff, or making my own version at home. I question the inclusion of a grilled SPAM sandwich — it would be popular in Hawaii, but I dunno about here; Kurt Suzuki left years ago. And I say this as probably the only TwinkieTown staffer who’s been to the SPAM Museum.

Another annual thing is players announcing their Walk Up Music, here’s the list. Some of it I don’t know because it’s in a lovely language I don’t speak, some of it I don’t know because it’s in genres I'm not familiar with. I gotta credit Trevor Larnach for going with “Today Was a Good Day” old-school style, along with Bailey Ober (“Back in Black”) and Simeon Woods-Richardson (“When Doves Cry”). Louie Varland lists “Free Bird,” but it’s by MOONLIGHT instead of Skynrd — is that an improvement? I don’t know.

The Twins also announced that some extra games will be aired on Fox 9 this season for free. Not many. Here’s that list... oddly, provided by The Manila Times. As in, The Philippines. Do we have some fans there? I hope so!

Peter Labuza at TwinsDaily did an excellent five-part series on the history of the Pohlad family’s business ventures. Here’s Part One, which says it’s probably mostly hearsay that Carl Pohlad got his start as “muscle” foreclosing on farmers during the Depression. That slightly contradicts this 2009 Minnesota Monthly article by Britt Robson, saying “he boxed as a prizefighter, though he did so under an alias so he could keep his pugilistic persona distinct from his business pursuits,” and mentions the muscle/foreclosure story. It references no direct sources about that, though. Labuza’s articles are very thoroughly sourced.

Part Two is about how Carl crapped all over the Twin Cities’ public transportation system for profit. Part Three is how Carl crapped all over America’s airline industry for profit. (In both endeavors, he wasn’t the only jerk involved.) Part Four is about Bill Pohlad’s work as a movie producer and director, and rightfully praises some of the films he’s produced. (I especially admired Into The Wild. The movies Bill’s directed himself are honorable efforts, and not very good.)

Notably, in Part Five, Labuza writes that the Pohlads current financial concerns aren’t mostly tied to the “debt” they have with the Twins (as The Athletic first wrote, possibly rather hastily, and clickbait sites piled on with titles like “Twins’ Future in Jeopardy as Franchise Battles Astronomical Debt.”) Labuza describes how the Pohlads are heavily invested in office property, and the value of that has been dropping for quite some time.

So now, when they’re not making money off of illegally underpaying construction workers, the Pohlads are making money by building/buying up nursing homes!

How well are they run? I don’t know. I’ve been to one of them, and it seemed fine. However, the company plans to vastly increase their holdings in the industry. And, in my experience, when companies own a large number of care facilities, they will tend to cut staffing and reduce worker pay. This demoralizes workers, who then have less respect for the job. You can read about some companies doing that now in this article.

I can’t say that this is what the Pohlads will be doing. But it is what basically every other for-profit company running nursing homes now does.

What most people don’t know is that Medicare will only pay for long-term care for a brief period, about three weeks. After that, you have to pay for it out of your savings. Medicaid will pay once your savings are completely gone. Medicare pays much more than Medicaid.

So what many companies are doing is providing a decent level of care, then draining people’s savings, then booting them out to facilities providing less care. Or to be completely on their own.

(John Oliver did a piece on this; I’ve cued it up to an example he gives. By the way, that exact same company was taking care of Mrs. James after her stroke right when this aired. During a pandemic. When I couldn’t even visit. It was... fun times for us.)

I digress... but, seriously, go read Labuza’s whole series. It’s outstanding work. One of the best things a Twins blogger has ever done.

Any more rich sports people being jerks? Hmm, whaddya think? The fabulously rich Pat McAfee, who I described as an intolerable boor and bore, helped spread a story about an 18-year-old young lady that’s completely untrue and has resulted in hideous harassment of her and her entire family. She plans to sue. She will get nothing from it. Money and vileness always wins.

I also described that the spread of sports gambling will take over the fiscal budgets of many states, and that this is bound to be a public health disaster. Hi, Virginia.

Let’s end on a fun thing! From nationalpastime.com, where you can read “Today In Baseball History,” the Tigers and Senators had a neat one 59 years ago. After 15 years umpiring minor-league games, Emmett Ashford became the first Black umpire to work in MLB. You wanna video? Here’s a video!

(That’s from an unfinished documentary. Getting funding to finish these things is tough, folks.)

Neil Lanctot at Smithsonian writes that “Ashford was past his prime when he got his chance in the Major Leagues. He was over 50, his eyes were no longer as sharp as they’d been and some of his questionable calls enraged American League managers.” Yeah, but we have umpires like that now, the pitches are thrown harder/break harder than in Ashford’s day, and currently older umpires still get to annoy us... and they aren’t even Fun. Ashford was Fun. “‘Fans were dazzled by the way the diminutive but solidly built Ashford sprinted down the foul lines and by his exuberant style of calling balls and strikes (which one sportswriter likened to a “French prosecutor shouting J’accuse).’” Shouldn’t baseball be Fun?

Isn’t it pretty to think so?

Incidentally, while it’d be too perfect if that 1966 game was between the Tigers and Senators-who-would-be-future Twins, you bright folks will know that THOSE Senators moved here in 1961. The 1966 Senators were an expansion team, and in 1972 they’d move to Texas. Everything’s bigger in Texas. Including stadium subsidies! Ah, the joys.

gotwinsgo

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/...ta-reese-olson-carlos-correa-mighty-ty-france

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Tigers 7, Twins 6: Bullpen falters, all have the sadness now

I feeeeel you, Jorge. I feeeeel you. This is the mourning of our loss... | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Hey, Buxton was basically responsible for four runs, that’s good!

Byron Buxton’s return after a few days away had a lot of energy, and David Festa seemed to do pretty well until he was done. But struggling Jorge Alcala continued to struggle, and another lead disappeared into the wisps of mists of the fogs of memory, right? Right. Inning-by-inning notes:

1: Crowd looks like something you'd get during a soggy rain delay. Apple has an ad on the mound for “The Farmer's Dog,” a movie about a Rottweiler that disembowels Kyle. Or a celebrity pub in England. Something.

Castro has eye black that looks like a kid's Halloween costume cat whiskers. Correa takes a walk. He enjoys watching birds when he walks. He likes the quiet when he walks. The crowd honors this preference.

2: Festa will pitch a perfect game. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life.

Detroit starter Reese Olson has really ruddy cheeks. Even in his profile page. They're not bad! It's just something I associate with redheads.

Buxton takes a walk to enjoy the birdsong. Then he steals second to follow the call of a yellow warbling plaborsnatcher. Julien can't move him over, so Thai Franz singles him in. Mickey Gasper has a nice 1920s silent porn mustache. Vázquez gets a hit and the universe collapses upon itself. Twins 1-0

3: Dillon Dingler is Gasper's silent porn name. He bloops a leadoff single. Festa walks Gleyber Torres and ruffles Kerry Carpenter's jersey to load them with two out. But Riley Greene grounds out to first. Yay side team me us go!

Now the mound ad is for Japan Airlines, cuz I'm sure a lot of Minnesotans/Detroiters fly to Japan. Maybe car execs? In the Mad Men days?

A two-out knock for Larnach and then Buxton smacks one good, yet it’s right at the LF dude. I could look up his name but so could you.

4: Despite that gunky end to last inning, Festa ends this one at 55 pitches thrown. Good! And doing well second time through the order, which was a problem last year until John Foley fixed him.

Foshay Tower TV appearance! The top floor has an observation deck. Makes you think of being a businessman in October of 1929.

Julien gets a leadoff hit. An Apple guy (Ryan Spilborgs) talks to Julien about knowing fellow Canadian Justin Morneau. But not in Québécois. Gasper walks (on strike 3). Vázquez resets the space-time continuum with the rally-killing GIDP.

5: Detroit’s not-pitching-today Casey Mize says to TV “we returned all our guys” (from last year) “and added some free agents.” That means you didn't return ALL the guys.

Silent porn name Dingler gets another leadoff single. A two-out Torres single moves him to third, and Wallner throws it into the third base dugout. That knocks Festa out after 64 pitches.

Danny Electric Charge Coulombe comes in to get Kerry Carpenter on an 85MPH cutter up and in, stranding Torres at third. Not forever; he doesn’t need a ride back to the hotel or anything. Deuce 1-1

TV showing the "Spartan helmet" the Twins will use for homerun celebrations now. Vázquez came up with the idea. Those who can't do, do mail-order ads for I, Claudius props.

Wallner HBP and Castro duck fart put two on with nobody out. Correa does NOT GIDP! Castro to third. Larnach takes ball two for strike two and strike three for strike three. Buxton too fast for GIDP, so RBI! Then Julien to right for RBI! Reliever Brenan Hanifree more afraid of France than Luxembourg is, so he walks him. Gasper ends the inning with a popup. Still, it's Baldellers over Leylanders 4-1

6: Captain Antacid Jorge Alcala in. Goes 3-2 on first hitter, walks him (Tyler Greene). WPs Greene to second. Huge battle with Spencer Torkelson, who hits two barely-foul near-homers, and walks. Colt Keith dribbles one nobody can make a play on, bases loaded. For some F****NG REASON there was nobody warming up until JUST NOW, so Alcala still in... Zack McInstry singles two home. Alcala gone. From what I'm seeing, his offspeed misses so badly, guys can just sit on the hard stuff.

Now Justin Topa mounding. On the night people are seeing the new Joe Mauer statue (still wrapped in plastic), young catcher Dingler gets gets his third hit, then Trey Sweeney has a fielder's choice RBI. Mea thinka gamea overa.

Vázquez walks, so that's something. Rocco uses pinch-runner, unusual for him replacing a catcher. DaShawn Keirsey steals second. Nothing comes of it, Leyland still smoking in the Metrodome 6-4

7: Revolutionary leader Castro puts Carpenter on with an E-5. Colt Keith gets him home with two outs. Game DEFINITELY over. Mound ad now for Zoom Business, appropriate because the Twins are PHONING THIS SEASON IN.

Spilborgs says “Twins need something good to happen.” Yeah, them and ALL THE REST OF US, BUDDY, these is Dark Days. But hey, Buxton has Bomb! Game still over 6-5

8: Nearing three hours and THIS GODD**N GAME IS STILL F****NG GOING, Cletus Jist. Did I ever mention Cletus? He's God's other son, the one we don’t like to talk about, 'cuz that boy's what ain't quite right in the head. Jesus invented the Grand Canyon and music and orgasms; Cletus invented infections and creepy deep-sea ocean fish and Rob Manfred. The Tigers score more off of Scott Blewitt, who didn't blow it, 'twas already blewn. Willie Hortons 7-5

9: Credit to Blewitt for doing these Death Innings here.

Larnach gets on for the Twins, bringing up Buxton, whose weakness is offspeed stuff, so he gets all offspeed stuff. Julien has infield hit? Ty France up?

Hit. One run down.

But because Rocco pinch-ran Harrison Bader for Julien, that means not-really-a-major-leaguer Gasper (who may be a really nice guy, for all I know), gets to bat with two out and two on and Twins lose

Studs: Buxton, France, Festa until yanked

Duds: Alcala, basically every Rocco decision tonight. Listen, I'm sick of morons saying "get rid of Rocco and his spreadsheets," they're missing that any manager Derek Falvey hires will manage via the numbers. And it’s what 90% of MLB teams do, except the ones who aren't even trying (ChiSox, Sacthletics, etc).

But not having someone warming up earlier to rescue Alcala after he faced the minimum three hitters wasn’t a spreadsheet fail; it was bad game management. Wasting Bader as a pinch-runner for (not slow guy) Julien, instead of having him available to pinch-hit for "in over his head" Gaspar, was bad game management. Bader probably wouldn't have hit, either (Tommy Kahlne's a very good pitcher), yet you want your best bench option up at that moment.

This team feels like they're on the verge on checking out in mid-April, and that includes the manager. I checked out before the season started -- I'm worried about a LOT MORE STUFF than a terrifically wonderful sport with fun skilled guys in colorful pajamas -- but for fans hoping for better, this has gotta be frustrating.

Comments of the gamethread go to Imakesandwichesforaliving for “I’m going to be leaving the bar and this game will still be going on,” and Nagusrkiinsandpoint for nailing capitalist realism.

Tomorrow will have Chris Paddack — you know him, you love him — against mound opponent Jackson Jobe at 1:10. God willing, I’ll still be sleeping, or something. But hope the rest of you join the gamethread, and thanks to all who did tonight!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/...all-have-the-sadness-now-jorge-alcala-notgood

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Tigers 4, Twins 0: Uh-oh!

Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

UH-OH!

If nothing else, the Twins have done a marvelous job this season of setting the tone, even if the tone in question is that sort of ear-splitting, screeching electronic jumble of noise that reminds you of logging onto a DSL connection.

With some trepidation — understandably — about another Chris Paddack start, Twins fans cringed in unison as Saturday afternoon’s setup with the Detroit Tigers began with a leadoff walk to Zach McKinstry, who immediately zoomed to third on a subsequent Carlos Correa throwing error, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Spencer Torkelson.

Walks, poor defense, instant deficits. Once again, 2025 Twins baseball was off to a rip-roaring start.

Another sacrifice fly in the fourth scored a second run for Detroit, after Torkelson singled, Riley Greene walked, and Colt Keith advanced the runners. With Paddack already up over 70 pitches, the Tigers had garnered a 2-0 lead with only two hits on the ledger.

Ultimately, Paddack would wind up getting through five innings on 93 pitches with only the two runs allowed on two hits, in what was his best start of the season by a long shot. But even as Paddack settled in after the early difficulty, fans were left glancing up at the scoreboard and realizing that — with just two baserunners in four innings — the offense had completely disappeared again.

Edouard Julien would reach with a sharp one-out single in the fifth (I still believe) but Harrison Bader would GIDP shortly thereafter, making it five shutout innings for #4 MLB prospect Jackson Jobe.

Jobe would get a boost when Spencer Torkelson doubled the Detroit lead with nobody out in the sixth.

Today’s game would produce the first major-league win for the young Jobe (who improves to 1-0 on his career.) He only recorded two strikeouts, but importantly kept the zone under control and walked just one Twin hitter.

The Twins had no competitive offensive innings after the first — if you still consider that effort competitive — and once again looked completely outclassed on nearly all sides of the ball.

Hey, but Jose Miranda came in and knocked an eighth-inning single. YYYYYYYYYYES! Unfortunately, he was tagged out on the bases after second baseman Colt Keith left his foot off the bag while receiving an attempted fielder’s choice throw; Miranda pulled up short of second, missed the “safe” call from the second-base umpire, and was tagged out for real while already retreating to the dugout.

Carlos Correa added a ninth-inning double (for sympathy reasons), but the heart of the order failed to bring him home. Game over — Detroit shuts out Minnesota with a 4-0 final, with a light chorus of boos rearing its head as Byron Buxton went down looking for the game’s final out.

COURTESY: Baseball Savant

So, that does it for a potential bounceback weekend, as the Tigers have secured the series win and will go for the sweep tomorrow. The Twins fall to 4-11, and could be tied for last place in the division should the Chicago White Sox pull out a win this afternoon. The series will conclude tomorrow, after which point the New York Mets will roll up onto the premises to really put the hurt on.

Thanks for joining us as always!

STUDS:

I’m not sure when I last covered a completely studless game, so for morale’s sake, let’s say -

SP Chris Paddack (5 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K)

DUDS:

RP Kody Funderburk (2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K, HR)

DH Trevor Larnach (0-for-4, 2 K)

PH/3B Jose Miranda (1-for-1, TOOTBLAN)

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/12/24407002/tigers-4-twins-0-uh-oh

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Game 15: Tigers at Twins

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The grind continues as the start grinds.

First Pitch: 1:10 pm CDT​

TV: Twins.TV / ~ / Radio: TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM

Aren’t you glad you get to wake up on this lovely Saturday afternoon and witness a Chris Paddack start for a 4-10 Twins team? I know I am. In fact, that’s the kind of lede I’ve been anxious to write all winter long. What is Twins baseball for, if not for a reintroduction to sweeping, crushing, instantaneous reality?

After another competitive game last night, Minnesota’s ninth-inning rally fell short after Mickey Gasper was called upon to hit with the game on the line. Today, the Twins will get the “Why him? Why now?” ball rolling a little earlier, with Paddack in line to make his 25th start with Minnesota in his fourth season with the team.

After facing lefty-heavy Tigers lineup with only one LHP (Danny Coulombe) on the staff, Twins have added Kody Funderburk from St Paul for today’s game. Scott Blewett DFA’d to make room.

— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) April 12, 2025​

In anticipation of an abbreviated start, the Twins DFA’d Scott Blewett ahead of Saturday’s matchup, bringing Kody Funderburk back from St. Paul to have a fresh arm handy for the ballgame. Paddack went just 3.1 innings in his first start (allowing nine earned runs and four ewalks), and stretched that to four full innings in his second outing (still surrendering seven hits, four runs, and another pair of free bases.)

Jackson Jobe will be oppo-bumpin’ today. The 22-year-old righty will be making his third-ever major-league start, having already walked seven hitters in nine innings of 2025 work. MLB.com’s #4 prospect heading into the season (behind only Roki Sasaki, Roman Anthony, and our very own Walker Jenkins), it’ll be interesting to see what the Twins will be dealing with for the foreseeable future.

Jobe has never faced the Twins in four games in the bigs.

The Twins have Harrison Bader back in the lineup and camping out in left, and Christian Vazquez gets his second straight start behind the dish after being lifted in the middle innings last night only to watch fellow backstop Ryan Jeffers start bleeding out on the field. Get well soon, Ryan.

GO TWINS GO!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/12/24406881/game-15-tigers-at-twins

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 5, Tigers 1: Tiger By the Tail

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

Clinging to hope!

After a crushing defeat (Friday night) and a humiliating one (Saturday afternoon) to the Detroit Tigers, the Minnesota Twins looked to salvage a single game this Sunday. It happened—and ultimately turned into perhaps the most impressive W of the season so far!

In trying to get the young season onto a better track, Byron Buxton took matters into his own hands this afternoon by trucking a first inning solo home deep into the LF bleachers.

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
Pump the horn!

Then, Brooks Lee—now in the bigs after Jose Miranda’s colossal brain fart—made contact on a 10-hopper through the infield in the 2nd to plate Ty France and give MN a 2-0 lead.

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
Welcome back Brooks!

Alas, Spencer Torkelson would continue tormenting the Twins by launching a solo home run off SP Simeon Woods Richardson to lead off the 4th and cut the lead in half.

SWR himself would wriggle out of a 5th inning jam and turn this contest into a bullpen game with the Twins clinging to a 2-1 margin.

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
Solid through 5

First out of the pen was Louis Varland and he was cookin’ with (100 mph) gas.

But as has been the case so many times coming into today, MN bats went silent for a stretch—until Edouard Julien pinged one off the LF foul pole to lead off the 6th! Then, Byron Buxton doubled on a ball most mere mortals would have sufficed for a single and scored on a France single. 4-1 Twins!

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
Speed kills!

Cole Sands & Griffin Jax each matched Varland’s veracity out of the pen in the 7th and 8th, while the MN Lumber Company got back in business with Matt Wallner plating Willi Castro to expand the lead to 5-1.

Jhoan Duran’s 9th was the same as the 6th-7th-8th: no damage done.

Your Final: Minnesota Twins 5, Detroit Tigers 1.

At 5-11, the Twins continue to hold the 2025 season’s tiger by the tail as they welcome in the New York Mets for a three-game series beginning tomorrow night.

Studs​

• Joe Mauer: Forever and always, of course, but now also engraved in bronze!

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Unveiled by his children

• Buxton: Changing the game with power and speed.
• The Varland-Sands-Jax-Duran bullpen: 4 IP, 7 K, 1 BB, 0 ER.

Duds​

• Other than me for picking the wrong two games to attend this weekend? Nahhhh!

Comment of the Game​

• Brandon Brooks pulling out the BEEP BEEP as Buxton led the charge to victory.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/...buxton-joe-mauer-statue-varland-jax-sands-win

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 1, Mets 5: PFP on Thursday

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Soto goes deep. Ryan shines. Another E1 costs Twins a run.

It was a cold blustery game in Minneapolis Monday night. Stocking caps were abundant on the few fans at the game, and it started off as expected, a tough night at the plate.

Clay Holmes saw immediate success on the rubber, striking out the side in the bottom of the first.

The cold weather didn’t stop Matt Wallner though from hitting a triple in the bottom of the 4th. The ball wedged underneath the right field wall. Someone should show former Twin Kyle Farmer this video... if you know you know. After the Wallner triple, Correa would yet again hit one on the screws right to Lindor at short, leaving a runner on third. It’s been a slow start to the season for Correa who can’t seem to find a gap.

Joe Ryan was not disappointing on the mound either, he ended up walking the 9-hole batter in Acuna in the top of the third and an Alonso RBI single would score the run. Otherwise a good night for Ryan, keeping pace with Holmes.

Twins tied things up in the bottom of 5 with a Christian Vasquez sac fly to left, but it wouldn’t hold into the next inning. Mark Vientos doubled in the top of 6, Pete Alonso ran all the way home from first. Twins refuse to throw it home and instead lob it to second to hit Vientos, it was something.

Then, another throwing error by the Minnesota Twins pitching staff to first base. Vientos scores. This is the fifth error on a pitcher throwing it to first for the Twins in this young season.

That leads me to a simple Google search.

Why is PFP important?

• Complete Pitcher:
• A good pitcher is not just about throwing strikes; they also need to be athletic and adept at fielding, turning potential hits into outs.
• Saving Runs:
• Effective fielding can prevent runs from scoring, especially when a runner is on base.
• Changing Momentum:
• A well-executed fielding play can shift the momentum of the game, giving the pitcher an advantage.
• Holding Runners:
• PFP helps pitchers develop the skills to hold runners on base and prevent them from advancing.
• Avoiding Distractions:
• PFP also teaches pitchers how to focus and avoid distractions from batter-runners, which is crucial for covering first base effectively.

Finally in the 7th Soto goes deep, and the rest is really history.

If the Twins don’t pick things up, fan support will continue to dwindle.

The Twins have two more games against the Mets, then they are off Thursday and on the road over Easter weekend against the NL East basement dwellers in the Atlanta Braves.

Stars of the day for the Twins.

Matt Wallner hits a triple going 2-4 at the plate. Trevor Larnach gets walked twice and also provided a base hit and a run.

Go Twins!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/14/24408599/twins-1-mets-5-pfp-on-thursday

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Game 17: Mets at Twins

Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Joe Ryan faces Mets for first time in his career. Ty France is named AL player of the week.

First Pitch: 6:40 p.m.

TV: Twins.TV

Radio: TIBN

Opposing Team’s Site: Amazin’ Avenue

It’s a cold and windy day in Minneapolis. The Twins host the Mets for the start of a three-game series before having an off-day Thursday and then heading to Atlanta for Easter weekend.

Twins Lineup

Edouard Julien DH

Byron Buxton CF

Willi Castro 2B

Matt Wallner RF

Carlos Correa SS

Trevor Larnach LF

Ty France 1B

Brooks Lee 3B

Christian Vazquez

Joe Ryan SP (1-1, 2.65)

Mets Lineup

Francisco Lindor SS

Juan Soto RF

Pete Alonso 1B

Brandon Nimmo LF

Mark Vientos 3B

Jesse Winker DH

Luis Torrens C

Tyrone Taylor CF

Luisangel Acuña 2B

P- Clay Holmes (1-1, 4.30)

VIVE LA FRANCE!

Congrats to Ty France on being named AL Player of the Week! pic.twitter.com/jo1xxQjl0V

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 14, 2025​

American League player of the week Ty France, and the 5-11 Minnesota Twins play host to former Yankees Clay Holmes and Juan Soto’s New York Mets who are 10-5 on the season.

Holmes is on the mound Monday for the Mets after filling the closing role for the Yankees for the last three seasons. Holmes is 1-1 with a 4.30 ERA on the season. He is going up against Joe Ryan who is also 1-1. Ryan has an ERA of 2.65. Ryan is coming off a nice start in Kansas City, giving up no runs and the Twins won 4-0. This is Ryan’s first time facing the Mets.

Major League Baseball just announced that Ty France was AL Player of the week. Over the past week, even though the Twins were tough to watch a lot of the time, France managed a nice stat line in 25 at bats: .440/.500/.815, 2 HR, 6 RBI. France will start at 1B and bat 7th for the Twins against the Mets Monday.

The Twins are coming off a 5-1 win on Sunday that hopefully sparked the club and the fanbase. Fewer fans are showing up to watch the team daily, seats are empty and a chilly night like Monday is not going to help. Brooks Lee returned to the lineup Sunday and got an RBI single in his first AB. Jose Miranda was sent down to AAA. Also, Scott Blewett was designated for assignment and picked up by the Orioles. Just like most pitchers who go to the Orioles from the Twins, he will likely succeed.

Something you may have picked up on this weekend:

The Twins have a new home run celebration, and it doesn’t involve a stinky old sausage.

The Twins are starting a new HR celebration today. Pablo Lopez will put this helmet on whoever hits a HR.

Christian Vazquez thought of it & got it on Amazon same day delivery.

The idea is to incorporate the spartan mentality, and fight. pic.twitter.com/nAtDgaa5mK

— Tricia Whitaker (@TriciaWhitaker) April 11, 2025​

Spartan helmet it is. Also, here is a video of two injured Twins, modeling the new look. Hopefully, we will see Royce wearing it soon.

It’s a good day at work when Royce Lewis models the new @Twins home run celebration apparel.

A spartan helmet. Representing a fighting mentality, in the midst of a tough start to the season, — that of a Spartan warrior.

Christian Vazquez came up with the idea. Got it same day… pic.twitter.com/LHvV6kHCyA

— Tricia Whitaker (@TriciaWhitaker) April 12, 2025​

Finally, players to keep an eye on in this series:

Mets

Clay Holmes strikeouts, in 14.2 innings pitched he has 20 K

Pete Alonso is batting .321 with 4 HR and 18 RBI

Twins

Ty France is batting .298 with 2 HR and 8 RBI

Griffin Jax, after a rocky start Jax came in and struck out the side Sunday, in 5 2⁄3 innings pitched, he has 9 K

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/14/24408439/game-17-mets-at-twins

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 6, Mets 3: 13 hits power Twins to win

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Bailey Ober was solid and the offense stayed on the attack throughout the night.

Bailey Ober got the start tonight for the Twins and had a good night. There were a couple blemishes, though, solo homers from Pete Alonso and Juan Soto were the Mets only runs until the 7th inning.

Meanwhile, the Twins offense took a blow as Matt Wallner had to leave the game with a hamstring injury in the 1st inning, he is day-to-day.

The Twins pushed their first run across in the 3rd, thanks to a Francisco Lindor error on a Ty France grounder, allowing Harrison Bader to score. Carlos Correa followed that with a single to score another run, but France was thrown out trying for 3rd base to end the inning.

In the 4th, Ryan Jeffers appeared to have a 2-run homer to left but it was ruled a double as it hit just off the top of the wall. Instead, Bader got an RBI infield single to make it a 3-2 game, and Edouard Julien hit into an inning ending double play.

In the 5th, the Twins pushed another run home on a France grounder after Buxton had gotten to 3rd with 1 out. Also in this inning, another injury, this one to Carlos Correa as he left with a wrist injury, with Brooks Lee taking his spot.

In the 6th, Jeffers led off with a double, then scored on Julien’s clutch 2 out single to make it a 5-2 game.

Ober was still going strong into the 7th inning, but a 1-out single and a double put two in scoring position. Cole Sands was brought in to put out the fire, and allowed a sac fly RBI, and a weak grounder to 2nd from Lindor ended the threat.

Brooks Lee smacked a homer, his first of the year, to deep right field to push the Twins up 6-3 in the 7th.

In the top of the 9th, Jhoan Duran came out for the save and, despite an error allowing the first batter to reach, he struck out Lindor to end the game.

Studs (Lots of em tonight):

Bailey Ober: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Cole Sands: Big outs to get us out of a jam in the top of the 7th.

Byron Buxton: 2-4, 2 R, SB

Carlos Correa: 1-2, RBI

Brooks Lee: 1-2, HR

Ryan Jeffers: 3-3, 2 2B

Harrison Bader: 3-4, RBI, SB

Duds:

NO DUDS TWINS WIN!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/15/24409470/twins-6-mets-3-13-hits-power-twins-to-win

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Game 19: Mets at Twins

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Going for the series victory!

First Pitch: 12:10 PM
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM, Audacy
Know Thine Enemy: Amazin’ Avenue​

Gut shot Wednesday:
Fans will all say
“Don’t fall to the cellar.”
Got hot though in
Tuesday’s showin’,
Still not in the cellar.
There’s a hope we all enjoy it,
Season on the line;
Pohlads likely will destroy it,
And all complain and whine.

Every morning dawns as we
Await the skid to stop
But then they drop
Another game and we’re distraught.
All this leaves us scared
Though they did win one yesterday,
Because when Ls occur,
It seems a futile way.

Now they’ve got to get restarted,
Just one thing to do:
Play to give this team a chance
With playoff hopes in view.
Yet when foes
Perform as clinics,
All are cynics now;
Wishing that this team were stellar,
Always wondering how.

Every morning dawns as we
Await the skid to stop
But players drop
With further pains and we’re distraught.
All this leaves us scared
Though they did win one yesterday,
Because when strains occur,
It seems a futile way.

Gut shot Wednesday:
Fans will all say
“Don’t fall to the cellar.”
Get hot though, an’
Hopes are growin’,
Please, our Twins: be stellar.
There’s a hope we all enjoy it,
Season on the line;
Still don’t know, which must annoy it:
Will someone give a sign...?

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/...vercome-injuries-win-the-third-win-the-series

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 4, Mets 3 (10 inn.): Walk-off for morale

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Pen is on, but Jax off in tight spaces... Twins still able to walk it off!

Wednesday at noon they were downtown
Playin’ in the MLB
Swingin’ with their heavy bats, man;
Hopin’ for a win to see.

Start gettin’ four-plus out of Festa
Then the bullpen comes a-throwin’ strong.
Just about to call in relievers, man,
Guys to prove today that they belong.

But can we deem it wise, calling in certain guys
With leverage starting to rise?

‘Cause first along came Coulombe in a max press,
Then it’s Varland doin’ it all.
Duran brought comfort after Jax stress;
Last was Sands and walk-off playin’ ball.

The offense did what it was able;
There were STUDS, some who ain’t that flat.
A trio kept the hitting line stable now;
Bader, Castro, Buxton — two with the bat.
But suddenly the game was tied up,
The Mets had plated three rapid runs.
When Gasper “hit” (a spurious label),
We all plopped back in our seats on our buns.

Then in extras, they shut down the Mets’ man,
Before France drove in Buck, made it bright.
And andy gets the fame
Of the Comment of the Game
About relievers spinning
While we celebrate the winning

As along came Coulombe in a max press,
Then it’s Varland doin’ it all.
And Duran brought comfort after Jax stress;
Last was Sands and walk-off playin’ ball.

Playin’ ball...
Playin’ ball...

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/...-byron-buxton-bullpen-manfred-man-still-sucks

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Matt Wallner Heads to IL; Twins Trade for Jonah Bride

Photo by Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images

Bad news and bad news in this case.

After departing the game Tuesday with hamstring tightness, the Twins placed outfielder Matt Wallner on the injured list. Wallner’s injury sounded relatively minor, and in a different situation it’s possible he could have avoided the injured list entirely, but the Twins are running out of bodies after a slew of injuries this past week.

Royce Lewis has been on the injured list the entire season with his own hamstring injury, while minor injuries have piled up for the rest of the Twins’ infield. Carlos Correa left the game Tuesday with wrist discomfort that has been bothering him since last season. Willi Castro was removed with oblique soreness yesterday. Christian Vazquez left bloodied after taking a foul tip off his throwing hand. Jose Miranda injured his hand while shopping at Target after getting demoted earlier this week. Austin Martin has yet another hamstring strain. The Twins had a single player (Brooks Lee) who could play third base or shortstop, and he’s not 100% himself as he’s still returning from a Spring Training back injury.

To complicate matters further, the depth shortstops in AAA have also been hurt to start the season. Peyton Eeles is recovering from offseason surgery and Will Holland has, shocker, a hamstring injury. The Twins are simply out of players who can man the left side of the infield, so a roster move had to be made before heading to Atlanta. Enter Jonah Bride.

Bride was designated for assignment by the Miami Marlins earlier this week; the Twins traded cash considerations to jump the waiver wire and guarantee they got him in their system. Bride was off to a terrible start to the season, slashing just .100/.200/.100 on the season without a single extra base hit. He had better numbers last year with a .276/.357/.461 in 71 games for Miami, though a look under the hood shows those numbers were a lot of smoke and mirrors.

Bride’s average exit velocity, barrel rate, hard-hit rate, bat speed, xBA, xSLG, and xwOBA were all in the bottom third of the league in 2024 despite his strong batting line. Those have continued to be poor this season and his strikeout rate skyrocketed on top of it, albeit in a 45 plate appearance sample. He does have a strong AAA record with a .940 career OPS in 166 games.

I wouldn’t expect Bride to be in the organization that long, though it would be a boon to the Twins if he put it all together. For now, he’s a warm body who can play third base while Brooks Lee can handle short until one of Correa or Castro can make it back.

In the meantime, the Twins will need to find a way to replace Wallner’s production for the next week and a half, a tall task for a team that was already struggling offensively. Harrison Bader will likely be in the lineup every day, while the Twins will have to decide between DaShawn Keirsey’s defense or Mickey Gasper’s (theoretical) offense for the other lineup spot.

Also, whoever has the Twins voodoo doll, maybe just set it down for a bit.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/17/24410570/matt-wallner-heads-to-il-twins-trade-for-jonah-bride

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins to Call Up Top-100 Prospect Luke Keaschall

Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Injuries abound but a Top 100 prospect is the benefactor.

Amid a slew of injuries to some of their best hitters, the Twins are turning to consensus top prospect Luke Keaschall, according to Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic. Keaschall, 22, was the Twins’ second round pick in 2023 and ranks as high #44 on Baseball Prospectus’ Top 100 list.

It’s the end of a rapid ascension for Keaschall, who flew up prospect boards in 2024. Last season, Keaschall posted a .303/.420/.483 slash line between AA and AAA with a walk rate (13.4%) nearly as high as his strikeouts (17.2%). Keaschall’s lack of high-end power is the only thing keeping him from being a routine mid-order bat, though he played most of last season through a torn UCL so it’s possible there’s more than meets the eye. If that profile sounds familiar, it’s because the Twins’ front office has a type (see: Brooks Lee, Austin Martin, Jose Miranda, Luis Arraez, Kaelen Culpepper, etc etc).

The other concern for Keaschall is his defensive home. That elbow injury limited him to primary DH duties, but he still saw time at second, first, and centerfield. This season, he’s only seen time at second and DH, with the Twins wanting to limit the workload on his elbow. With all the injuries this Twins lineup has endured, getting Keaschall at DH would be a definite upgrade. The Twins also have Chris Sale, Martin Perez, and Yusei Kikuchi on the upcoming schedule and would still like to protect Edouard Julien from them, if possible, meaning Keaschall could get some run at second base too.

Keaschall’s promotion also means that one of Carlos Correa or Willi Castro is headed to the IL, though it’s unclear which one as of now. Correa is dealing with a wrist issue, which manager Rocco Baldelli confidently said was not a long term concern. Castro, meanwhile, is dealing with a sore oblique which tends to knock hitters out for a few weeks. Keaschall will join Jonah Bride in Atlanta on a sudden fresh-faced Twins roster.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/17/24410840/twins-to-call-up-top-100-prospect-luke-keaschall

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Atlanta 6, Twins 4: Griffin Jax off again, and it chafes, oh so much

There was no good USA Today image of Sad Jax available; Getty doesn’t have any photos from this game AT ALL. So this’ll have to do. | Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images

Something's off with the guy I root for a whole lot.

Our favorite Air Force guy goes down in flame again, wasting a decent Chris Paddack outing. Ugh. Inning-by-inning notes:

1: Good crowd at Truist Field overall, but not so much in the pricey seats behind home plate.

Two pitches mean two Twins outs. Ty France at least makes Bryce Elder throw a few more. 10 more, in fact! And takes the walk. Tres bien. Trevor Larnach pushes up that pitch count before the inevitable K. He’s really struggling right now. Fix him, John Foley!

Nice defence by 3B Brooks Lee for the second out!

2: Carlos Correa also swings at the first pitch, and gets a double. Ryan Jeffers gets another! Rookie Luke Keaschall golf-swings one to right, first MLB base hit and RBI! And his first steal! Unfortunately he is no relation to Supreme Vampiric Council chair Kristen Schaal.

Apple talking to Chris Sale. Just a reminder how much Jerry Reinsdorf has s**t on the White Sox the last few years. This conversation lasts FOREVER.

You can’t assume a double play, but Eddie Julien makes a poop throw which keeps the inning alive. Then Carlos makes a poop throw on a routine grounder! This De Fence is Deez Nuts right now. Paddack gets out of it, but throws 15 extra pitches he shouldn’t have had to. Twins 2-0

3: Foley must have fixed Larnach! He has home score hit run. First dong of the year for Trevs.

Chris Paddack walks off the mound after out #3 glowering like Danny McBride in Eastbound and Down. Our big tough menacing Twinkies 3-0

4: Keaschall doubles Brooks Lee to third! Then, contact play, Lee out. F**K PUTTING ON THE CONTACT PLAY WITH NOBODY OUT I HATE THAT. Julien with a short flyout to center, but Luke’s too fast for Michael Harris II’s arm!

Home ump Lance Barrett takes a foul right off the face mask. Why do we endanger umps this way? Is Manfred a moron? It’s a rhetorical question.

Ozzie Albies BARELY beats out a good Correa throw for the first Atlanta hit. Sean Murphy gets the second. Paddack gets out of it on a popup, but that’s 69 pitches for him, which means we’re getting at least four innings of the Best Bullpen in Baseball, uh-oh. Minnesoterans 4-0

5: 90 pitches for Elder, which means he’s probably done. Too bad.

Apple says the Twins’ injuries are a “M*A*S*H unit.” The TV show or Altman classic?

Jarred Kelenic homers. Paddack strikes out the next guy on 97 MPH. Definite Kenny Powers fired up. Great stop by Correa to end things, good side 4-1

6: I feel like I’ve seen Aaron Bummer forever. He used to be a ChiSoxer, and the Twins used to play division opponents 1000000 times per season, so those seven seasons were forever, in a way.

TBBIB time; my townie neighbor Louis Varland. (Unless he lives in Edina or whatever now.) He walks a guy with two outs, and has very Thikk thighs. 98 on the black for Strike Three, good Louis.

7: I didn’t know Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia! Good Apple TV, for once. One of the many De Los Santos-es gets the Twins in order.

Danny Electric Charge Coulombe for the Twins. A leadoff single but nothing else.

8: De Los George Santos still in. Throws basically fastballs and this basically works.

TBBIB now featuring CAPT Griffin Jax, USAF. He’s been scuffling, to put it mildly. A one-out walk to Ozuna; Matt Olson singles him to third. Infield hit; Ozuna scores. Jax walks them full.

Sands in; Harris II ties the game. A Baldwin who wasn’t in Hunt For Red October knocks in two. Then somehow the inning ends. Atlanta 6-4

9: Raisel Iglesias sings “To All The Twins I’ve Stopped Before.” Twins lose

Studs: Keaschall’s fun debut and 1977 Mark Hamill hair, Correa’s batting (2-3, 1 BB), Paddack’s decent start

Duds: Oh, Griffin, baby, baby...

Comments of the gamethread: imakesandwichesforaliving with “Jax needs to work in mop-up duty for a bit”; Nagurskiinsandpoint correctly describing a certain former Minnesota sports figure’s rotten behavior; Kirillofffan19 correctly identifying what’s terrible about comments on Daily Norseman (while praising the site's writers, as is right).

Lousy comments of the gamethread: People who show up late in the thread to throw poop in a very Daily Norseman way at the Twins for losing (and no, SooFoo, I don’t mean you, of course). I understand your frustration, and I share it. But when you pop in at the end of a gamethread that the rest of us have been on for three hours, just to chime in with your negative comments, it feels like you’re trolling us. And I don’t think that’s what you intend. So, next time, could you wait to make those comments on the recap, instead? Be as angry with the team as you like, but don’t show up just to bum out us gamethreaders. The recap’s more of the place for that.

That said, thanks to you other folks for being on the thread, it was fun! Until the game went to heck.

Tomorrow’s game will be Simeon of the Long Name against Mr. long-winded interview himself, Chris Sale, at 6:15 Central.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/...a-twins-4-griffin-jax-off-again-and-it-chafes

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Braves 4, Twins 3: Well-fought, welp - lost

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Buck, Correa, and Keaschell can’t do it all.

All I really want to talk about tonight is Luke Keaschell, who followed up his motivating major-league debut with a first-inning RBI double to immediately put the Twins up 1-0.

Keaschell, who many are calling the greatest Twin to ever grace the 40-man roster, would be kept quiet for the rest of the night, including a game-ending strikeout. Even a strong showing from Minnesota’s more established stars would not be enough to even the series on Saturday night, as the Atlanta Braves did enough to outplay the Twins and secure the interleague series with a 4-3 victory.

One of those aforementioned stars, Byron Buxton, put together a three-hit game that included a triple, his fifth stolen base of the year, and a run scored. Carlos Correa added his first homer of 2025, an opposite-field slap job into the people-seaters.

But all this action, even from the heavy hitters you’d most expect to contribute (like newly minted franchise legend Luke Keaschell), wasn’t enough to spell a talented Braves team. Matt Olson tied the game in the bottom of the first inning against opener Justin Topa, then tagged bulk man Simeon Woods-Richardson for another run with a third-inning RBI single. Later down 3-1, they scratched a pair across the plate with a key sixth-inning rally, featuring a game-tying homer from Michael Harris II (coming right after a pair of key defensive plays in the visiting half) and a go-ahead knock by Alex Verdugo with third base juiced.

All four earned runs were charged to Topa and SWR; we saw good ol’ Beef Stew get two outs without allowing a run, and Jorge Alcala kept it a one-run game the rest of the way. It was a decent team effort, but it fell just short, even with Minnesota scoring with relative frequency throughout the night, instead of their usual output of a few early-inning runs and radio silence.

But is static any better than radio silence? I’ll leave that to you to decide in the comments. You can also figure out what the hell that meant.

COURTESY: Baseball Savant

STUDS:

CF Byron Buxton (3-for-4, 3B, R, RBI)

SS Carlos Correa (1-for-4, RBI, R, HR)

RP Jorge Alcala (2 IP, H, 0 ER, BB, K)

DUDS:

SP Justin Topa (IP, 3 H, ER, K)

LF Harrison Bader (0-for-4, 3 K)

C Christian Vazquez (0-for-4, K)

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/19/24412218/braves-4-twins-3-well-fought-welp-lost

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Game 22: Twins at Braves

Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Maybe a masterful pitching performance should be called a “Silva”?

First Pitch: 12:35 PM CT​

TV: Twins.TV​

Radio: TIBN​

Know Thine Enemy: Battery Power​

In baseball parlance, a “Maddux” is defined as a complete-game shutout where the starting pitcher uses less than 100 heaves to call ballgame. Since we are in Greg Maddux territory this weekend, it’s a good time to look at the astounding day in 2005 when Minnesota Twins SP Carlos Silva nearly eclipsed that threshold by a considerable margin.

On the Friday night of 5/20/25, the Milwaukee Brewers poured into the Metrodome in front of a solid 30,073 crowd. Silva took the bump for the home team and set the Brew Crew down on 6 pitches in the first inning.

Hi-ho Silva!

Then 7 pitches in the 2nd.

Then a “whopping” 10 pitches in the 3rd.

And 8 pitches in the 4th.

Hmm...something special might be brewing (pardon the pun).

Photo by DAVID BREWSTER/Star Tribune via Getty Images
Machine-like efficiency

Carlos wobbled a bit in the 5th—an excruciating 13 deliveries to home plate—and allowed a solo home run to Damian Miller. Fortunately, Twins’ bats had long put the outcome of this contest to bed. When Nick Punto raps out four safeties and Juan Castro goes yard, the scoreboard is going to light up like a pinball machine counter.

Photo by BRUCE BISPING/Star Tribune via Getty Images
Remember when Juan Castro was the SS of the future? Good times.

Back to Silva...

• 6th: 3 pitches (single, double play, fly out)
• 7th: 7 pitches
• 8th: 10 pitches (two strikeouts were so inefficient!)

With his team coasting to a 7-1 victory, Silva continued to conserve in the 9th—Brady Clark, Jeff Cirillo, & Geoff Jenkins went down on 10 pitches.

Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Hats off to Carlos Silva!

The final line for Silva: 9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 0 BB, 74 pitches, 54 strikes, 20 balls, 13 ground balls & 14 fly balls. Perhaps most amazing of all: just 3 swinging strikes!

I have a very specific memory of not being able to watch Silva’s masterpiece because I was traveling—the where escapes me—after completing my freshman year of college (the May 20 date checks out for this). But I do recall hearing about it after-the-fact and being amazed at the efficiency.

Due to family being in town this afternoon, Ben will be taking you home with the recap. Happy Easter whether you celebrate in church, hunting hidden eggs, or both! Perhaps Joe Ryan can show Silva-like efficiency leading this lineup and allow the rest of the day to be enjoyed basking in a (rare) Twins victory:

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/...dux-carlos-silva-joe-ryan-grant-holmes-brewer

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Braves 6, Twins 2: Poorly-Fought, Also Lost

Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Chances to turn the season around are diminishing.

After a morale-boosting series win against the New York Mets, the Minnesota Twins got swept by the Atlanta Braves to make sure Twins fans could once again lose hope.

It was a poor showing from the start in today’s game, with Joe Ryan surrendering a two-run homer to Matt Olson in the first inning, the first of three homers allowed for Ryan. The Twins’ starter gave up three more hits in the second, two in the third, and a hit and HBP in the fifth. When it was all said and done, Ryan lasted five innings but gave up eight hits and six runs on top of the three bombs.

Louie Varland, Jhoan Duran, and Danny Coulombe each closed threw perfect innings to close out the game, but unfortunately the game was already out of reach for the Twins’ inept offense.

The Twins only had five hits on the day, with only two going for extra bases, courtesy of Byron Buxton. The Twins did manage to load the bases in the fourth inning, but a Luke Keaschall infield fly and Brooks Lee hard-hit fly out ended the threat, though a run came in on a wild pitch. They had runners in scoring position with less than two outs in the third, fourth, and fifth inning, but that wild pitch was the only run that came in from those squandered opportunities.

There’s truly not much else to say about this game without looking toward the bigger picture. Below, you can see the worst record for division winners through 25 games. The Twins are 7-15 through their first 22, and will likely be in the 9-16 category after their next three against the Chicago White Sox. Either the Twins are going to have one of the best turnarounds in MLB history or they’re just bad. The 2006 Twins show anything is possible, especially in a weak division, but the playoff window may be closing before the Twins have a chance to get healthy.

Courtesy of MLB.com

The Good News is that the Twins have the aforementioned White Sox and Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles visiting this week. Fangraphs still gives the Twins a 31.2% chance to make the playoffs (hilariously just .1% behind the 11-9 Cleveland Guardians), but that obviously changes if the Twins continue on this pace and turn in trade deadline sellers. If the Twins can’t go at least 4-2 this week, it may be time to start looking toward the future.

Including a new ownership group. Please. Save me, anonymous baseball billionaire.

STUDS

• Byron Buxton: 2-5, HR, 2B
• Luke Keaschall: 1-3, BB, generally looking alive and happy to play baseball (a true win for this offense at the moment)
• Varland/Duran/Coulombe: 3 perfect innings on a grand total of 25 combined pitches

DUDS

• Joe Ryan: 5 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 5 K, 3 HR allowed
• Edouard Julien: 0-5, 2 K
• Brooks Lee: 0-4, 2 K
• The entire team: 0-7 with RISP, 9 left on base

Everyone forget about this team for a few hours and enjoy Easter dinner with your families.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/20/24412621/braves-6-twins-2-poorly-fought-also-lost

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Monday Morning Minnesota: The “We’re in the Bad Place” Edition

Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Doom and gloom on the horizon

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!
• A few transactions from the Twins this week, including sending Matt Wallner to the IL, trading for Jonah Bride from the Marlins, and calling up top-100 prospect Luke Keaschall to the majors!
• Zach Koenig takes us back to 2015, where a certain Twins squad was also dealing with its own early-season struggles.
• John Foley checks out the data on Twins hitters and who’s approaching the plate a little differently this year.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• John and Ben have a cathartic 20-ish minute rant about the state of the Twins before recapping the games from last week.
• Aaron Gleeman at The Athletic gives his no-holds-barred take on the Twins’ drop in game attendance this year.
• Phil Miller at the Star Tribune introduces Jonah Bride to Twins Territory.
• Theo Tollefson at Zone Coverage evaluates the growth in DaShawn Keirsey Jr.’s game.

In the World of Baseball:

• Old friend Luis Arraez was involved in a scary collision Sunday night, but according to Padres manager Mike Shildt, he is in stable condition.
• As bad as the Twins are right now, at least we didn’t give up 24 runs, like the Orioles allowed to the Reds yesterday.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/...g-minnesota-the-were-in-the-bad-place-edition

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins’ Pitchers with Updated Approaches

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

Which Twins pitchers are doing things differently than in the past?

Last week, I looked at some Twins’ hitters operating differently in this season’s early going. Today, let’s do the same with the pitchers.

Joe Ryan: Is Fastball Heavy Again​

Despite Sunday’s clunker against Atlanta, Ryan has had a solid start to the season, with a 4.00 ERA, more than a strikeout per inning, and just three walks allowed over 27 innings. As this crowd knows, one of the things I monitor with Ryan is how often he’s using his secondary pitches. After breaking through to the majors as one of the more fastball-reliant starting pitchers in all of baseball, he’s worked hard to develop his splitter, slider, and sweeper and build the confidence to throw them in any count.

Before a shoulder injury ended last season prematurely, Ryan was on pace for a five-win season and threw his fastball less frequently than ever before. It was the first time in his career that his four-seamer made up fewer than half his offerings.

Visual from Baseball Savant

So far in 2025, he’s reverted to his fastball-heavy ways, throwing 58.2% four-seamers through five starts. If you include the sinker he often mixes in against right-handed batters, Ryan is operating with about 65% fastballs this season.

On one hand, we can take this as a sign that Ryan is feeling healthy and strong again, coming off the injury. And the four-seamer has generated good overall results, generating 1.4 Statcast runs per 100 pitches, which is right in line with last season. On the other hand, four of the five homers he’s allowed thus far have come off of four-seamers and sinkers, and his secondary pitches are what raise his ceiling from mid-rotation arm to potentially something more.

I wondered if that was influenced by the cold April temperatures that can make it difficult for pitchers to get a grip on offspeed and spin, but there doesn’t seem to be a pattern that correlates with temperature. At first pitch, three of Ryan’s five starts have had temperatures of 68, 74, and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Jhoan Duran: Has A Sweeper​

Sometimes overlooked in the awe that comes with watching Jhoan Duran’s powerful arsenal is that his pitch mix can be somewhat predictable, especially in terms of pitch movement. I’ve written before that Duran’s four-seamer is more of a horizontal moving running fastball than the true vertical breaking four-seamer that we often think about with high-velocity four-seamers.

That horizontal break has increased over time as Duran’s arm angle has subtly lowered. That fastball movement, when paired with his splinker, which also has mostly arm-side horizontal movement, and his up and down curveball that has typically had below average horizontal glove-side break, has meant that Duran has never really had a pitch in his repertoire that moves primarily to his glove side (i.e., away from right-handed batters):

Visuals from Baseball Savant

The lack of a glove-side breaking pitch is perhaps the main reason why Duran has had reversed platoon splits. Right-handed batters have performed 32 points of wOBA better against him than left-handed hitters have since he debuted in 2022.

This season, he’s flashed a new sweeping breaking pitch that has about two times as much horizontal break as his curveball, while running at about the same velocity. (You can see it in the yellow dots on the right-hand side of the visuals above.) The public stuff models love it, with both Stuff+ and PitchingBot giving the sweeper above-average marks.

He’s thrown eight of them (just 6%) across his ten appearances, all to right-handed batters. The advantage of mixing in something to threaten that outer part of the plate, after everything else busts them inside, opens up pitch sequences and swings like this:

Jhoan Duran, 98mph Splinker (called strike) and 88mph (new) Sweeper/Sword, Overlay.

LOL. pic.twitter.com/wFFr2jbTXj

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 16, 2025​

Louis Varland: Has a (Very) Viable Breaking Ball​

One of the major challenges Louis Varland faced in trying to stick as a starting pitcher was his lack of swing-and-miss breaking stuff. Last season, Varland’s gyro slider was the second-worst performing slider (-10 runs) in baseball among the more than 400 pitchers who threw at least 50 sliders. His curveball was also significantly below average (-1.4 runs per 100 pitches). Both pitches were hit hard often and generated middling whiff rates, leaving Varland too fastball reliant and predictable.

So far this year, used exclusively as a reliever, Varland has favored his curveball of the two breakers, throwing it about a quarter of the time, and a little more often than that to right-handed batters. He’s cut his slider usage to about 10%.

It’s not the same curveball that he worked with previously, though. This one has about four more ticks of velocity than his starter version had. It’s now the hardest curveball in baseball, running in the upper 80s, with a sharp up-and-down movement profile as you can see here:

Opponents are 1 of 11 in at-bats ending on Louis’ revamped curveball, and they’ve whiffed on a huge 58.3% of their swings against it. That’s about twice the whiff rate he got with it last season, and its 25% hard hit rate allowed is about half last season’s mark.

Both pitch quality models grade Varland’s new hammer as well above average and significantly better than last year’s version. Now we’ll see if he leans into his new weapon, a la Griffin Jax when he was first adapting to full-time bullpen work.

Bailey Ober: A Sinker and Diminished Slider Velo ​

Big Bailey got rocked in his first start of the season for the second year in a row, but has looked more or less like his usual self over his next three starts. His seasonal numbers (6.16 ERA, 5.77 FIP) are ugly, but that’s going to be the case for a while.

I noticed two differences in Ober’s approach that are worth mentioning.

First, he’s thrown ten sinkers so far this season. That is something that he’s never done in the big leagues before. While he’s not as fastball-forward as teammate Joe Ryan, Ober is similar in that he also regularly works up in the zone with his four-seamer. Opposing hitters know this.

The league’s hitters have been steadily adjusting and performing better against elevated four-seamers, which has led many pitchers who rely on that pitch and location, including Ryan, to experiment with sinkers to offer a slightly different fastball look from the same trajectory and velocity band, but with a different movement profile and plate location.

These aren’t the Carlos Silva bowling ball sinkers for generating grounders, but instead something with just enough movement and difference from the four-seamer to miss a barrel or create hesitation to steal a called strike. They help keep hitters honest.

Visual from Baseball Savant

Ober’s new sinker (the orange dots in the plot above) has about 4 inches less vertical break (i.e., more drop) and about 7 inches more horizontal movement than his four-seamer, giving him something he can use against right-handed hitters who might be cheating up.

Its shape also fits nicely between his four-seamer and signature changeup, which might make it a useful bridge in the same way some pitchers use cutters to split the difference between their fastballs and horizontal breaking balls.

Change number two is that Ober’s slider, which he had pushed up to 86 mph and used more like a cutter last season, is back to looking more like a traditional slider, in terms of velocity and shape, this season.

Visual from Baseball Savant

It’s averaging 83.4 mph and has gained about 4 additional inches of vertical drop and an extra inch of horizontal movement. Those changes seem to have helped the pitch draw more whiffs (35%, up from 22.7%), but it’s also been hit very hard when put in play, with 2 homers, 2 doubles, and a 62.5% hard hit rate allowed.

Ober’s velocity has been a tick or two down across the board, which may be driving this as much as any intentional change. Nonetheless, I’d prefer to see his slider live in the mid-80s and his sweeping breaking pitch to sit around 80-81. The pitch quality models agree, grading his slider this season more harshly than last. Something to watch when he takes the bump against the White Sox tonight.

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John writes for Twinkie Town, Twins Daily, and Pitcher List, with an emphasis on analysis. He is a lifelong Twins fan and former college pitcher.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/22/24406048/mlb-minnesota-twins-pitchers-with-updated-approaches

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 4, White Sox 2: Buxton saves the day

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

A pitchers duel turned into a nail biting finish, with Byron Buxton making an insane diving catch to end the game and give the Twins a win.

After getting swept by the Braves, the Twins went into this home stand needing to take advantage of their easier schedule these next 6 games. That starts with the 5-17 White Sox.

Bailey Ober got the start tonight, and was effective despite allowing 8 hits and a walk. He was able to get out of a bases loaded jam in the 2nd with only 1 run allowed on a sacrifice fly RBI by Jacob Amaya. He stranded two more in scoring position in the 4th, and got an inning ending double play in the 5th. He forced another double play in a scoreless 6th, ending his night.

On the offensive side, the Twins managed to tie the game up in the 2nd. A walk, a White Sox error, and a single by Ty France got them on the board. Then, in the 3rd, Luke Keaschall walked, stole 2nd, then scored on another White Sox error.

In the 8th, Larnach crushed a 2-run homer to right field to give the Twins a 4-1 lead. Those insurance runs would prove to be very useful.

Jhoan Duran entered to close the game out, but immediately gave up a single and two walks to load the bases. He got Joshua Palacios to strike out, then a fielders choice RBI for the 2nd out, bringing Andrew Benintendi to the plate with the tying run on 2nd.

In his career, Benintendi has a .901 OPS against the Twins, and, fittingly, he crushed Duran’s fastball into right center field with an exit velocity of 101 MPH. Against any other center fielder that is a game tying double, but Byron Buxton made a diving catch, landing on the warning track to end the game.

Studs:

Byron Buxton: Do I have to explain this one?

Bailey Ober: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, BB, 6 K

Luke Keaschall: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 SB, 2 R

Trevor Larnach: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB

Duds:

NO DUDS TWINS WIN!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/22/24414444/twins-4-white-sox-2-buxton-saves-the-day

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Game 24: White Sox at Twins

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Was it a win yesterday? Yep. Was it the White Sox? Yep. Has the team yet been sold? Alas...

April is the root-for season,
Speedy team or slow.
But now everybody has a question:
Who to root for? Wish we’d know.

You know how it is with baseball:
It’s a sport designed to please.
So much light to be found
In an early springtime breeze.

But oh, when the ballgame has lost its flow
And the offense is as shivery as rime,
So injured too, and healin’ few...
Now is the awful time.

Oh, now is the time — yes, now is the time —
When they’re all stayin’ out and there’s no one comin’ in,
Yeah, that’s when we know it’s a struggle to win.
The fun is getting low with anxiety to show,
And you can’t cite Chicago, their beating as a spin;
Now they’re all stayin’ out and no one’s comin’ in.

An ownership the state reviles—
No wonder they’re outside.
You know the fans are always thinkin’
That the Pohlads always lied.

We know that they care for money,
How much of it they speak to gloat.
The fans just call them losers,
And the box office: how they vote.

But oh, when the stadium has lost its glow
With misery the only offered view,
You walk about and find that all of your friends
Are findin’ somethin’ else to do.

Oh, now is the time — yes, now is the time —
When they’re all stayin’ out and no one’s comin’ in,
That’s when we know that our patience is thin.
Fun is getting low at Target’s latest show,
And you can blame the Pohlads, their greed a central sin,
Why they’re all stayin’ out and there’s no one comin’ in.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/4/...sell-the-team-joe-pohlad-poor-attendance-fans