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Phillies Town | Dodgers 5, Phillies 3: Philadelphia Does Their Best Twins Impression

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Welcome to Phillies Town, Twinkie Town’s Philadelphia Phillies playoff coverage because I like watching Jhoan Duran play baseball and don’t handle change well. Let’s go Phillies!


I thought covering the Phillies would be fun because they are a good baseball team, have fun players that are easy to root for, and have a recent track record of postseason success. However, I think the Phillies are actually pulling a prank on me because they did their best postseason Twins impression in my first game as a Phillies fan.

The game started well for Philadelphia against two-way superstar and probable GOAT Shohei Ohtani, tagging him for three runs in the second inning. Speedy catcher JT Realmuto ripped a triple to center with two men on to bring in the first two, with Realmuto coming around on an eventual sac fly from former Twin Harrison Bader. Meanwhile, Cy Young conteder Cristopher Sanchez was carving up the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup for the first five innings, allowing only two hits and a walk.

You can only hold off that Dodgers lineup for so long. They finally got to Sanchez in the sixth with a timely two-out rally. After retiring Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez, Freddie Freeman and Tommy Edman both reached in front of repeated Dodgers postseason hero Enrique Hernandez, who drove both runners in with a double in the left field corner. 41-year-old David Robertson got the Phillies out of the inning with them still on top 3-2.

Robertson stayed in to face the first two batters in the seventh inning, but allowed Andy Pages and Muncy to both reach before manager Rob Thomson turned to veteran fireman and Fargo, ND legend Matt Strahm. In a dangerous spot against two of the best hitters alive, Strahm was able to strikeout Ohtani looking and get Betts to pop out. But with one out to go, the other Hernandez, Teoscar, did the rest of the damage, driving a three-run shot out to right center to put Los Angeles up 5-3.

Unfortunately for the Phillies, they did their best 2025 Twins impression with the lineup providing absolutely nothing after their big third inning. Ohtani retired 15 of the final 17 Phillies batters he faced and gave way to a deeply flawed Los Angeles bullpen. Unfortunately, the Dodgers’ wealth of starters mean that former All-Star Tyler Glasnow was the first man out of the ‘pen. He pitched well in the seventh, but ran into trouble in the eighth when he walked the bases full with two outs. Fireman Alex Vesia came in to get pinch hitter Edmundo Sosa and put an end to the Phillies’ threat.

A couple of ex-Twins paired to give the Phillies a last breath of hope in the ninth. After an excellent top half pitching from Jhoan Duran, where his only flaw was a walk to Ohtani who they were clearly trying to pitch around, Max Kepler hit a soft double to right field with one out to bring up the tying run. However, it only took former top prospect Roki Sasaki three more pitches to get Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott to hit into the final two outs.

Final: Dodgers 5, Phillies 3

FORMER TWINS WATCH

  • Jhoan Duran: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 2K
  • Max Kepler: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 K
  • Harrison Bader: 0-0, 1 SF, 1 HBP, left game with hamstring injury

STUDS

  • JT Realmuto: 1-4, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 3B
  • Cristopher Sanchez: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K
  • Jhoan Duran: electric

DUDS

  • Trea Turner/Kyle Schwarber/Nick Castellanos: combined 0-9, 4 K, 1 BB
  • David Robertson: 0.1 IP: 1 H, 1 HBP, 2 R
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Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/playoff...philadelphia-does-their-best-twins-impression
 
Welcome to Phillies Town

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In case you missed it, I spent about 10,000 words and far too much time breaking down the best teams for Twins fans to root for this postseason, following a very defined and scientific process while surely introducing none of my own personal bias against the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees. The Seattle Mariners came out on top in the AL with a final score of 39/50 thanks to Jorge Polanco, Mitch Garver, and a relatively fun roster. However, our overall champion was from the NL with the Philadelphia Phillies achieving a 44/50 mark.

The win comes largely thanks to their Minnesota connections and how much fun they have on a baseball field. Philadelphia starts former Twins Max Kepler and Harrison Bader in their everyday lineups, while Jhoan Duran has continued his 9th inning dominance since being acquired at the deadline. Additionally, current Twins Mick Abel and Kody Clemens would get championship rings should the Phillies win the World Series. To make things even more exciting, they’ll face off in the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the modern reincarnation of the early 2000s Yankees.

We’re in for a fun one tonight with Cy Young contender Cristopher Sanchez facing off against two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who has been marvelous since returning to the mound this summer. The lefty-throwing Sanchez gets the platoon advantage on the likes of Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Max Muncy which should play to the Phillies’ advantage, but it’s worth noting that Freeman essentially has even splits against lefties, and while Ohtani is worse, it’s still an .898 OPS compared to his 1.076 mark against righties.

As we say here at Phillies Town: win, Phillies, win!
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Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/playoff-coverage/49524/welcome-to-phillies-town
 
Phillies Town | Dodgers 4, Phillies 3: Late Rally Falls Short

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Welcome to Phillies Town, Twinkie Town’s Philadelphia Phillies playoff coverage because I like watching Jhoan Duran play baseball and don’t handle change well. Let’s go Phillies!


One game after the Phillies’ offense stalled out in the late innings, Philadelphia reversed course by saving all their runs for the final two frames in game two. Unfortunately, they didn’t have quite enough time to mount a full comeback.

Let’s pick up the game in the seventh, since nothing of note happened until that point. Starter Jesus Luzardo had dominated the game up to that point, retiring 15 straight Dodgers and not allowing a baserunner since the fourth inning. With the pitch count looking healthy and Philadelphia low on reliable relievers behind former Twin Jhoan Duran, Luzardo came back out for the seventh inning, facing the star-studded Dodgers lineup for a third time. Unfortunately, that dreaded third time penalty immediately showed up, with Luzardo allowing Teoscar Hernandez and Freddie Freeman to both reach, putting runners on second and third with no outs.

Manager Rob Thomson turned to Orion Kerkering, the Phillies’ second-best righty in the ‘pen, to face an impossible situation. Kerkering was able to get Tommy Edman swinging for the first out. The second man up was Enrique Hernandez, who hit a soft grounder just past the mound. Trea Turner tried to get the runner at home, but Teoscar Hernandez narrowly beat the tag to break the seal and put the Dodgers up 1-0.

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Kerkering made the damage worse by walking Max Muncy to load the bases with still only one out. After getting Andy Pages to pop out, catcher Will Smith delivered the kill shot with a clutch single to left to score two more. Shohei Ohtani added one more run on an RBI single of his to give the Dodgers a four run lead on a night where the Phillies had managed only a single hit through the seventh.

The ex-Twins did their best to mount a rally in the late innings, though. Max Kepler led off the eighth with a pinch-hit, bloop triple to right. Turner drove him in, but ultimately the Phillies couldn’t manage another run in the inning. Philadelphia got the benefit of finally seeing the Dodgers’ struggling relievers in the ninth, particularly Blake Treinen. The first three batters of the ninth inning reached, highlighted by a double from Nick Castellanos on a slider well out of the zone which scored two more for the Phillies with him on second as the tying run, still with no outs.

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With a slew of lefties coming up, the Dodgers pulled Treinen for left-handed Alex Vesia. Bryson Stott laid down a picture perfect bunt to try to advance Castellanos to third, but Max Muncy made the best defensive play of the postseason so far by nabbing the lead runner.

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Another former Twin did his part to keep the rally alive. Harrison Bader, with a bad groin and all, delivered a pinch-hit single, putting the winning run on base still with only one out. Max Kepler had a chance to tie or win the game, but hit a soft grounder to second, as he is wont to do. Vesia was slow getting to first base, keeping Kepler from hitting into his patented game-ending GIDP. Unfortunately, NL batting champ Trea Turner also couldn’t come up with the final hit the Phillies needed, officially putting them down 2-0 and needing to win three straight games to advance.

The good news is that the Phillies have been horrendous at home over the last three postseasons and have come back from down 2-0 in the past, but they’ll need the offense to come to life facing one of the best pitchers in the NL in Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It’s a tall task, but they have the talent to do it.

FORMER TWINS WATCH

  • Max Kepler: 1-2, 1 3B, 1 R
  • Harrison Bader: 1-1 with a clutch ninth inning hit on a bum groin
  • Jhoan Duran: 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K

STUDS

  • Jesus Luzardo through 6 innings: 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K
  • Kepler/Bader: Key pinch hits to spark the rally

DUDS

  • Jesus Luzardo in the 6th: 0 IP, 2 H, 2 R
  • Orion Kerkering: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 K
  • Trea Turner/Kyle Schwarber/Bryce Harper: combined 1-10, 3 BB, 5 K (now a combined 1-19, 4 BB, 9 K this postseason)
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Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/playoff...n-dodgers-4-phillies-3-late-rally-falls-short
 
Monday Morning Minnesota: The “Louis Varland Is Pretty Good” Edition

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The first round of the playoffs has finished, and now we get to see some old friends do cool things in the playoffs! Jhoan Duran, Louis Varland, and Harrison Bader all have now made playoff appearances, with Varland earning rave reviews from his teammates:

Kevin Gausman on Louis Varland and his big strikeout in the 6th:

“That was one of the greatest trades we’ve ever made.” #BlueJays

— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) October 4, 2025
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In Twins Territory, Rocco Baldelli was officially let go from his post as team manager. And thus begins a fairly consequential offseason for the Twins as they decide how to put together a team using the fewest resources possible.

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:


Elsewhere in Twins Territory:


In the World of Baseball:

  • Jorge Castillo at ESPN takes a look at rookie Trey Yesavage’s playoff debut in Game 2 of the ALDS.
  • Daniel Kramer at MLB.com looks at how the Seattle Mariners finally got their first playoff win in 24 years.
  • Several teams have fired their managers, or have announced they will not be returning in 2026, including:
    • San Francisco Giants (Bob Melvin)
    • Minnesota Twins (Rocco Baldelli)
    • Los Angeles Angels (Ron Washington and Ray Montgomery)
    • Atlanta Braves (Brian Snitker)
    • Texas Rangers (Bruce Bochy) – the Rangers hired Skip Schumaker
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Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/general...sota-the-louis-varland-is-pretty-good-edition
 
I’m still salty about the 2005 AL Cy Young Award

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Coming off a sparkling 2004 season & AL Cy Young Award win, Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Johan Santana put up what was perhaps an equally compelling campaign in 2005. His recognition for such an achievement? A 3rd-place AL Cy Young Award voting finish—possibly one of the worst travesties of MLB awards voting EVER.

But don’t just take my word for it—let’s see for ourselves:

2005 AL Cy Young 1st Place: Bartolo Colon​

  • 21-8, 3.48 ERA, 33 GS, 2 CG, 222.2 IP, 157 K, 43 BB, 1.16 WHIP, 4.0 WAR
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2005 AL Cy Young 2nd Place: Mariano Rivera​

  • 43 SV, 1.38 ERA, 78.1 IP, 80 K, 18 BB, 0.87 WHIP, 4.0 WAR
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2005 AL Cy Young 3rd Place: Johan Santana​

  • 16-7, 2.87 ERA, 33 GS, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 231.2, 238 K, 45 BB, 0.97 WHIP, 7.2 WAR
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To quote the old song:

“One of these things is not like the other…one of these things just doesn’t belong”
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Well, I guess in this case it would be “one of these things VERY MUCH belongs!”. To this day, I don’t understand how Santana wasn’t the ‘05 AL Cy Young recipient—mind-boggling! Two theories:

  • Bartolo Colon racked up 21 wins to Johan’s 16. This was clearly the result of the 2005 Anaheim Angels knowing how to score runs and the ‘05 Twins not. Today, we have a better understanding that other pitching stats matter far more than wins (or winning percentage). But twenty years ago, 20+ wins was seemingly a golden ticket for some new mantle hardware.
  • An East Coast bias for Mariano Rivera. There is little doubt that Mo was the greatest closer of all-time—but equally little doubt that a one-inning closer simply cannot replicate the value of a starting pitcher. Rivera’s 4.0 WAR is actually quite impressive for the modern closer configuration. But only relievers like Goose Gossage or Bruce Sutter—who would reliably pitch 100-150 innings a season—ever compiled SP-like WAR.
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You might be thinking “why does this matter—everyone knows Santana was a dominant pitcher”. But consider: Johan bookended 2005 with Cy Young Awards in ‘04 & ‘06. He first appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2018—and immediately dropped off after garnering only 2.4% of votes. What if he had a 3-peat on his ledger?

Only Greg Maddux & Randy Johnson ever won three consecutive Cy Youngs (both took home four in a row, actually)—and they were HOF locks.

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That’s why the 2005 AL Cy Young Award voting still rankles to this day. If justice had been served, Johan Santana may have a plaque—or at very least still be in the running for one—in Cooperstown.
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Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...al-johan-santana-bartolo-colon-mariano-rivera
 
North Star Stature Showdown: an OOTP tournament

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His jersey is in Cooperstown, too! | Bruce Kluckhohn / Getty Images

Early in the season (I can’t remember exactly when), someone in the comments (can’t remember who) brought up the idea of a tall vs. short Out of the Park tournament. Now that the Twins season is over, it’s time to make that a reality.

With many thanks to whoever came up with the idea, we are proud to present the North Star Stature Showdown!

Having searched through Baseball Reference’s database, I have built up a 28-man team of the tallest players in Minnesota Twins history and a team of their shortest players. Each had to have some unfortunate omissions in order to fill up every position (I picked by height first, then by games played as a Twin, then by enough to fill out the diamond), but every player on the short team is between 5’7” and 5’10”, while all but four players on the tall team are between 6’5” and 6’11”.

And while I haven’t plugged these teams into OOTP yet — as usual, they’ll be imported with their best season as a Twin — I suspect that the tallest batter in Twins history, 6’8” Carson McCusker, will not be able to play on these teams because he debuted in the majors after the release of OOTP ‘26. So he’ll be the honorary manager. (If I am able to import him from Baseball Reference, he’ll take Joey Gallo’s spot.)

For jersey numbers, I tried to match each player with a number he wore as a Twin; for unavoidable duplicates, I picked another number they wore in the majors.

Your rosters, listed by relevant height by position (and numerically within matching heights), are:

Tall Tales:

Starting Pitchers
17 — Bailey Ober — R/R — 6’10”
48 — Mike Smithson — R/R — 6’8”
34 — Mike Pelfrey — R/R — 6’7”
35 — Michael Pineda — R/R — 6’7”
44 — Kyle Gibson — R/R — 6’6”

Relief Pitchers
60 — Jon Rauch — R/R — 6’11”
50 — Aaron Slegers — R/R — 6’10”
51 — Alex Meyer — R/R — 6’9”
58 — Trevor Megill — R/R — 6’8”
45 — John Candelaria — L/L — 6’7”
59 — Michael Tonkin — R/R — 6’7”
30 — Garry Roggenburk — R/L — 6’6”
31 — Dan Naulty — R/R — 6’6”
39 — David West — L/L — 6’6”

Catchers
7 — Joe Mauer — L/R — 6’5”
14 — Glenn Borgmann — R/R — 6’4”

Infielders
40 — Cotton Nash — R/R — 6’7”
19 — Kennys Vargas — S/R — 6’5”
37 — Scott Stahoviak — L/R — 6’5”
22 — Miguel Sanó — R/R — 6’4”
27 — Terry Jorgensen — R/R — 6’4”
9 — Gene Larkin — S/R — 6’3”

Outfielders
21 — Walt Bond — L/R — 6’7”
26 — Mike Poepping — R/R — 6’6”
32 — Dave Winfield — R/R — 6’6”
41 — Michael Restovich — R/R — 6’6”

Utility Players
8 — Dave McCarty — R/L — 6’5”
13 — Joey Gallo — L/R — 6’5”

“But what about middle infielders?”, you may ask. Well, it took until searching 6’4” players to find someone who played shortstop, which brought Terry Jorgensen and his eight games at the position onto the roster. And for second base, the only player 6’3” or taller with any time at the position is Gene Larkin, who played the position for… let me check… one-third of an inning in 1991. Good enough for the team.

Short Stories:

Starting Pitchers
18 — Eddie Bane — R/L — 5’9”
20 — Lee Stange — R/R — 5’10”
22 — Bobby Castillo — R/R — 5’10”
31 — Darrell Jackson — S/L — 5’10”
54 — Sonny Gray — R/R — 5’10”

Relief Pitchers
33 — Jackie Collum — L/L — 5’7”
19 — Bill Pleis — L/L — 5’10”
24 — Danny McDevitt — L/L — 5’10”
27 — Brandon Kintzler — R/R — 5’10”
28 — Mike Marshall — R/R — 5’10”
30 — Francisco Oliveras — R/R — 5’10”
53 — Danny Coulombe — L/L — 5’10”
56 — Carmen Cali — L/L — 5’10”
70 — Ronny Henriquez — R/R — 5’10”

Catchers
7 — Christian Vázquez — R/R — 5’8”
64 — Willians Astudillo — R/R — 5’9”

Infielders
3 — Sergio Ferrer — S/R — 5’7”
4 — Houston Jiménez — R/R — 5’8”
39 — Donovan Solano — R/R — 5’8”
74 — Ronald Torreyes — R/R — 5’8”
8 — Nick Punto — S/R — 5’9”
11 — Chuck Knoblauch — R/R — 5’9”

Outfielders
1 — Jarvis Brown — R/R — 5’7”
6 — Quinton McCracken — S/R — 5’7”
34 — Kirby Puckett — R/R — 5’8”
47 — Sandy Valdespino — L/L — 5’8”
37 — Ben Revere — L/R — 5’9”

Utility Players
12 — César Tovar — R/R — 5’9”

Over the next few weeks, I’ll play out the tournament and we’ll see which size ends up on top! (And I promise my own 5’3” height will not unfairly bias me toward the short squad.)
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Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/general...owdown-an-out-of-the-park-baseball-tournament
 
How to make sure Twinkie Town shows up in your Google search

As many of you are likely aware, Google searches are … different these days.

The good news is Google is offering a solution for folks who like to get their news from specific sources. If you want to help Twinkie Town — while also streamlining all your Google searches — there is now a way.

Simply click on this link and add Twinkie Town as one of your “Source preferences.” That’s all there is to it!

Back in August, the tech giant debuted a feature called “Preferred Sources.” It’s a way for Google to prominently feature the results from websites you trust, like Twinkie Town:

“With the launch of Preferred Sources in the U.S. and India, you can select your favorite sources and stay up to date on the latest content from the sites you follow and subscribe to — whether that’s your favorite sports blog or a local news outlet. …

When you select your preferred sources, you’ll start to see more of their articles prominently displayed within Top Stories, when those sources have published fresh and relevant content for your search.“

As some of you might know, AI searches are hurting outlets around the world and in all spaces. We’ve worked hard at Twinkie Town to build a brand you can trust and rely on for Minnesota Twins coverage. Our goal is to serve you, the fans.

If you’re a fan of our work and want to get the best Twins coverage possible, this is an excellent win-win to improve your Google searches while helping Twinkie Town out.
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Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/general...e-twinkie-town-shows-up-in-your-google-search
 
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